From Mount Sinai, Moses brought them the two stone tablets, with the Ten Commandments written upon them.
In his picture Mr. Sargent has represented Moses with two little horns on his forehead. After Moses came down from Mount Sinai, where God had spoken to him, his face shone, or, as the Bible says, “sent forth beams or horns of light.” These horns are also shown very distinctly in Michelangelo’s wonderful statue of Moses.
Here we see him represented as a sort of spiritual giant, holding toward us for our observance the two stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments upon which all Christian living should be based.
JOSHUA
During the forty years’ wandering in the wilderness many hostile tribes were encountered and had to be subdued. Then a young man, strong, energetic, and skillful in arms, came forward to lead the army. This young leader was Joshua, represented at the right of Moses in the act of sheathing his sword.
Moses himself saw the promised land far off from the top of a mountain. The Lord had told him to go there to look upon it, as he could not live to reach it. Moses then spent his last days instructing his people and their new leader, Joshua the warrior, who was to guide them to the end of their journey.
Having received the promise of divine help, the Israelites under their new leader again took up the march. When they reached the River Jordan, it, like the Red Sea, divided and allowed them to walk over on dry land; the guarded massive walls of Jericho fell that they might enter and possess the land. But there were still other hostile tribes to be conquered before they could feel that the land was really theirs. They were successful in all their battles except one, in which defeat came to them because one man had stolen plunder and hidden it in his house contrary to his promise to God. The sin confessed, victory returned.
When all the land was conquered it became Joshua’s duty to divide it among the different tribes, a long and difficult task. This accomplished, he gathered his people together and told them that his time of leadership was about to end. Then he made them decide for themselves whether they would henceforth worship idols or the one God. They vowed they would worship the one God, and Joshua caused them to erect a monument as a reminder of their vow.
In our picture the simple, straight lines of the figure of Joshua are suggestive of the determined, forceful character of the man. They give an impression of great strength. Notice how the light falls upon his upraised arm and the straight folds of his garment. It seems to come directly from the wings of the figure of Moses, as if to acknowledge the wisdom and inspiration which Joshua received from the great leader. The face of Joshua, half hidden under his hood, is thoughtful yet determined. Here is a man of strong, steady purpose, pressing on persistently until he, with all his people, should reach the promised land.