THE DESTROYING ANGEL.
He stopped at last,
And a mild look of sacred pity cast
Down on the sinful land where he was sent
To inflict the tardy punishment.
"Ah! yet," said he, "yet, stubborn king, repent,
Whilst thus unarm'd I stand,
Ere the keen sword of God fill my commanded hand;
Suffer but yet thyself and thine to live:
Who would, alas! believe
That it for man," said he,
"So hard to be forgiven should be,
And yet for God so easy to forgive!"
Through Egypt's wicked land his march he took,
And as he march'd the sacred first born strook
Of every womb: none did he spare,
None, from the meanest beast to Pharaoh's purple heir.
Whilst health and strength and gladness doth possess
The festal Hebrew cottages;
The blest destroyer comes not there
To interrupt the sacred cheer:
Upon their doors he read, and understood
God's protection writ in blood;
Well was he skill'd i' the character divine;
And though he passed by it in haste,
He bow'd and worshipp'd, as he pass'd,
The mighty mystery through its humble sign.
—A. Cowley
THE EGYPTIANS DROWNED IN THE RED SEA.
THE RED SEA.
When the Israelites were gone, peace settled down upon Egypt and all things prospered. This was because Pharaoh had given freedom to the people of Israel, and so had caused the displeasure of God to be removed from the land.
But Pharaoh did not think of it in that way. He began, rather, to think that he had done a most foolish thing in allowing 600,000 faithful workmen and slaves to go out from the land. The Egyptians needed their help in brick making, and in the planting and reaping of the heavy crops.
The more he thought of it, the stronger grew his determination to bring the Israelites back. He had forgotten the suffering that had come to his people; and perhaps he began to think this suffering might more easily have been kept away.
So what do you suppose the foolish, hard-willed, stubborn-hearted Pharaoh did? He gathered together a great army and started out in pursuit of the Israelites.
"If only we can overtake them before they reach the Red Sea," he thought, "we shall easily drive them back into Egypt."
Now, the Lord heard the wicked plotting of Pharaoh, and although he allowed him to set forth, he allowed no harm to come to his chosen people.
A great cloud he had placed behind them and all around them as they traveled by day, so that by it they were shielded from the view of any enemy that might be lurking in the neighborhood of their march.
And by night this cloud became a pillar of fire, that by its light they might be guided through the strange wilderness.
When Israel, of the Lord beloved,
Out from the land of bondage came,
Her fathers' God before her moved,
An awful guide in smoke and flame.
By day, along the astonished lands
The cloudy pillar glided slow;
By night Arabia's crimson sands
Returned the fiery column's glow.
There rose the choral hymn of praise,
And trump and timbrel answered keen;
And Zion's daughters poured their lays,
With priest's and warrior's voice between.
But when Pharaoh came upon the Israelites, with his great army of horse and men and war chariots, they were resting beside the waters of the Red Sea.
When the Israelites saw the army, they were stricken with fear. They forgot that God had led them thus far, and that he had promised to guide them and bring them at last, safe, into the promised land of Canaan.
They rose in terror; and many of them began to cry out against Moses, who had allowed this danger to come upon them.
"Be not afraid!" said Moses. And just then the pillar of cloud moved around so that it blinded the Egyptians. They could not see the Israelites. They could hardly see each other; for it was like a dense fog fallen upon them.
"Stretch out thy rod across the sea," said the voice of God to Moses. Moses obeyed. The waters parted, and the Israelites passed over to the other side unharmed.
But when they were half across the cloud lifted, and the Egyptians saw the Israelites.
Down into the water-parting they plunged,—men, horses, chariots, all; and on they dashed in quick pursuit.
Foolish Pharaoh! Did he not know that the parting of the water was not for him? Had not he yet learned that God was with the Israelites?
The Israelites were now across the sea. They were climbing the opposite bank. The last man had reached the top. Then Moses raised his rod again, and the waters of the sea came together with a great rushing sound. They foamed and seethed, and the great army of the Egyptians sank beneath the great pillars of water that closed over them on either side. All were drowned; and the Israelites were at last freed from Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
"Fly, Misraim, fly!"—From Edom's coral strand
Again the prophet stretched his dreadful wand:—
With one wild crash the thundering waters sweep,
And all is waves—a dark and lonely deep;
And strange and sad the whispering breezes bore
The groans of Egypt to Arabia's shore.
Then the Israelites halted in their march and held a festival of thanksgiving; for they were now free from their old enemy.
Then they went on into the wilderness. And Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women event out after her with timbrels. And Miriam said, "Let us sing to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously."
They offered sacrifices, they prayed and sang, and danced.
MIRIAM'S SONG.
Sound the loud timbrel o'er Egypt's dark sea!
Jehovah has triumphed—His people are free!
Sing!—for the pride of the tyrant is broken:
His chariots, his horsemen, all splendid and brave,—
How vain was their boasting!—the Lord hath but spoken,
And chariots and horsemen are sunk in the wave.
Sound the loud timbrel o'er Egypt's dark sea!
Jehovah has triumphed—His people are free!
Praise to the Conqueror, praise to the Lord!
His word was our arrow, His breath was our sword!
Who shall return to tell Egypt the story
Of those she sent forth in the hour of her pride?
For the Lord hath looked out from his pillar of glory,
And all her brave thousands are dashed in the tide.
Sound the loud timbrel o'er Egypt's dark sea:
Jehovah has triumphed—His people are free!
—Moore.
MOSES STRIKING THE ROCK IN HOREB.
IN THE WILDERNESS.
So led He them, in desert marches grand,
By toils sublime, with test of long delay,
On, to the borders of that Promised Land,
Wherein their heritage of glory lay.
Wonderfully they were being led. Surely one would suppose they could never doubt God again, nor Moses, the leader God had chosen for them. But alas! there were many among them who seemed little better than the Egyptians, their oppressors.
They had gone only a few miles when they came to the waters of Marah, which were bitter. They were tired, and longed to encamp for the night. Then they began to groan and to cry aloud, "O, why have you brought us into a land where there is no water?"
But Moses, never failing in trust and patience, cast a tree, which the Lord had shown him, into the waters, and lo! they became sweet. The people drank and were satisfied; and there they encamped and rested.
When God gave them the sweet water to drink, he said to Moses, "If thou wilt obey me I will be with thee always. I will keep, and bless, and strengthen thee, thee and all thy people. And there shall come to thee neither disease nor plague."
When the people heard these words, they were comforted and meant never to doubt again. But a few days after this, when they had come into the heart of the wilderness, and there seemed no way of finding food, again they complained to Moses that he had led them into the wilderness to starve.
But God heard their murmurings and sent great flocks of quails on which to feed them. Thousands and thousands were there of them, and they covered the ground, the trees, and the tents, so great were their numbers. The Israelites caught them and ate them, and their hunger was appeased.
"But what shall we do in the morning?" the fretful, faithless ones said.
And in the morning the ground was covered with tiny round loaves of sweet bread, the manna that had been sent from heaven; for so were the children of Israel fed in the wilderness. And when, by and by, again there was no water to drink, Moses struck a great rock with his rod, and the water poured forth.
The children of Israel had now come into the wilderness of Sinai, and had pitched their tents at the foot of the mountain. Moses was commanded by the Lord to go into the mountain, while the people rested in the valley below. And when Moses had reached the top, God spoke to him.
"Go and tell the Israelites how great a thing God has done for them, in bringing them through the Red Sea and freeing them from the cruel king, Pharaoh.
"Tell them to remember that they are my chosen people, and that I will be their God always.
"Bid them prepare themselves for the third day; for on the third day will I come down upon this mountain and speak with them. They shall not come up into the mountain. Whosoever touches the mountain top shall be put to death. But when the trumpet sounds, then will I speak, and they shall all come up into the mountain." Moses went down into the valley and gave these words to the people. So they all made ready for the third day.
When the morning of the third day came, the Israelites looked up towards the mountain top. Behold, a heavy black cloud hung over it, and fire and smoke poured out from it, and the whole mountain shook!
The people were frightened, and ran and hid themselves. But the trumpet sounded, and God descended upon the mountain.
And a voice called to Moses: "Again say to the people that they shall not come up into the mountain. But thou, and Aaron with thee, come thou up into the mountain."
And Moses and Aaron obeyed. And there, upon the mountain top, they beheld the glory of God, like a great cloud of glory.
Then Moses and Aaron went down into the valley to tell the people what they had seen. And when they had told the people, Moses went back into the mountain; for God had told him to come there alone, that he might tell him how to guide the great multitude that had been given to his charge.
MOSES BREAKING THE TABLETS OF THE LAW.
It was from Mt. Sinai that God gave to Moses the tablets upon which were written the Ten Commandments; for Moses was in the mountain forty days and forty nights, listening to the words that God spoke to him.
And when so many days had gone by and Moses did not return, then the people began to be frightened.
"Moses has gone away and left us," they wailed, "and we have no gods to guide us. Let us make a golden calf and set it up before us that we may worship it." And so they built an altar, and placed the golden calf upon it, and held a great feast.
They were in the midst of their feast when Moses came down from the mountain, the tablets in his hands.
"What is this?" he thundered, as he drew near and heard the music and saw the dancing and the feasting.
The people were frightened. Some of them ran to hide; and so angry was Moses that he hurled the tablets of stone from him and broke them in pieces.
"Why didst thou allow this thing to be done?" asked Moses of Aaron.
"The people gave me their gold to melt, and it came out from the fire a golden calf," answered Aaron weakly.
Then Moses took the calf and ground it to powder; and the 3,000 idolatrous men among them he commanded to be slain.
Then Moses went again up into the mountain, and again wrote the ten commandments upon tablets of stone, and again carried them to the people.
And now that the children of Israel might have a place for worship, the Lord commanded that the people should make a tabernacle, and that in it should be kept the sacred tablets.
So the people went to work, and every man woman and child had a part in the building of the tabernacle.
THE TABERNACLE.
The tabernacle was made of boards, with bars put across; and these bars and boards were made of shittim wood and covered with gold. Within the tabernacle, under the upper end, were four more pillars; a beautiful covering, called the vail, was hung over them; and this hid the inside, which was the most holy place, "the Holy of Holies," it was called. None could go in there but the High Priest; and he went only once a year. In the Holy of Holies was placed the ark. The ark was a chest, or box, made of shittim wood, covered with gold; and there were rings in the sides for poles to be put in when the ark was moved. The top of the ark was called the mercy-seat; two golden angels, called cherubim, were placed one on each side of the mercy-seat; they looked over it, and their wings covered the top. In the ark were afterwards kept the tables of the commandments, Aaron's rod, and afterwards a golden pot full of manna, which God commanded to be put there. Outside the vail was the altar, on which the holy bread, called shew-bread, was placed, and the great gold candlestick. The tabernacle stood in a large open court; pillars of brass surrounded it, and curtains were hung upon them. The brazen altar for burnt offerings, and the great laver where the priests washed, stood in this court. There were coverings and curtains to the tabernacle and court.
Over the boards of the tabernacle was thrown a covering of fine linen, beautifully worked in scarlet, and purple, and blue; over the linen was a covering of goat's hair; over this, a covering of ram's skins dyed red; and another covering of thick skins was over all. The people were not allowed to go into the tabernacle; but the priests went in every morning to offer incense, and every evening to light the lamps; and on the Sabbath, to take away the old shew-bread from the table, and to put on new. The sacrifices were offered in the court, where the people stood.
Now, when the tabernacle was set up, Moses made Aaron the High Priest and clothed him in the sacred garments of his office,—the coat, the girdle, the robe, the ephod, the breastplate, and the mitre. The coat was a long linen robe, with sleeves, and having a girdle worked in blue and purple and scarlet. The robe was a long, blue linen garment, without sleeves.
Around the skirts were golden bells, which sounded whenever the High Priest went into the Holy Place.
The ephod was a short robe, worked also in blue, purple and scarlet; and around the waist was worn a girdle of gold.
The breastplate was made of cloth, and was very thick. It had four rings to join it to the ephod, and twelve beautiful stones were set in it; and on these stones were cut the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, that is, the twelve sons of Jacob.
The mitre was a linen turban; and on the front of it were the words, Holy of Holies!
When all was ready, the children held a sacred feast, and Moses anointed Aaron with oil.
The tabernacle established, the Israelites were now ready to move on towards Canaan.
RETURN OF THE SPIES FROM THE LAND OF PROMISE.
THE PROMISED LAND.
Twelve men were chosen, one from each tribe, and sent ahead to see what manner of place Canaan was, if there was land enough, and if the people dwelling there were friendly.
The twelve men set out, and after forty days came back again to the camp, bringing rich fruits which they had gathered there. "The land of Canaan is a beautiful country," they said, "and it is filled with fruits and corn; but we fear the people there, for they are fierce and warlike."
At this many of the Israelites were frightened. Again they forgot God's promises and began to upbraid Moses for having taken them from their comfortable home in the wilderness.
Then God was angry with them; and he spoke to them in tones of thunder, telling them that for their wickedness they should never be permitted to see the promised land of Canaan; that they should die in the wilderness; and that only the children and the few faithful elders should live to reach the Promised Land.
This was a most grievous punishment to the people; but in a few days they had forgotten it, and again rebellion arose among them.
Three men, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, grew jealous of the power of Moses and Aaron, and asked why all glory should be theirs.
Moses, worn with the faithlessness of his people, fell upon his face and wept when these jealous men spoke thus to him. His heart ached with the injustice of it, and he despaired ever of teaching his people.
The next day Korah and all his people came and stood before the tabernacle, as Moses had bid them. Then the voice of the Lord spoke, bidding the people move away from the tabernacle, leaving the three doubting men and their families standing alone.
Then there came a burst of thunder; the earth rocked and groaned; then a great gulf opened beneath the feet of Korah and Dathan and Abiram, and they, with all their children, were swallowed up.
Then God commanded Moses to take twelve rods; and upon the rods to write the names of the twelve tribes. On the rod of the tribe of Levi he was to write the name of Aaron, because Aaron was of that tribe.
"Place now the rods in the tabernacle; and the rod bearing the name of him I appoint High Priest shall bud and blossom."
DEATH OF KORAH, DATHAN, AND ABIRAM.
And when the morning came, behold the rod of Aaron had budded and blossomed. Then the people were content; and the rod was kept ever after in the tabernacle.
For a time peace was in the camp, and more than once the Israelites came near unto the Promised Land. But it had been said they should never reach it; and so many, many times they fell back and turned away.
Over and over again they rebelled at Moses and Aaron, until the patience of those two was exhausted. They forgot themselves to ask for guidance, and once, unable to endure greater trial, they cried out, "O ye rebels! ye rebels!" and there was anger in their hearts as they spoke.
By and by the time came for Aaron to die. So Moses took the priestly garments from him and gave them to Eleazer. Then Aaron died, and the Israelites mourned for him thirty days.
Then the people wandered on and on. Once they were bitten by serpents; and that they might be healed, Moses lifted a brazen serpent in the wilderness and bade the suffering ones to look upon it and live.
But now the forty years were nearly at an end; Canaan, too, was very close; and, although the elders knew that it was not for them to see the Promised Land, yet their children would; and so there was joy in the camp.
But now the death of Moses was at hand. He was one hundred and twenty years old, and had wandered forty years, leading the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness. So God said to Moses, "Come thou up into Mt. Pisgah. From there thou shalt see the fair land of Canaan spread out before thee, although thou mayst never go thither."
So Moses called his people together and told them that his end was at hand. He told them of all God had done for his people, and how wonderfully they had been led forth from bondage. He then bade them take Joshua for their leader; for he it was who should lead them into the Promised Land.
The people wept most bitterly, and many prostrated themselves before the good man who had borne so much for them.
Then Moses turned and went up into Mt. Pisgah. There lay the fair land of Canaan at his feet, with its fertile valleys and rich fruits and abundant harvests of corn.
Upon this fair scene Moses gazed; then, raising his face towards God, thanked Him that the wanderings of the children of Israel were now at an end.
Then he laid himself down and died. The Lord buried him, but no man knew how or where.
And when the children of Israel knew he would come no more to them, they wept too for him thirty days upon the plains of Moab.