God-Spell

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Meeting Esau

 

Safely away from Laban, Jacob had to face an­other trouble. He was returning to Canaan where he would meet the brother who had threatened to kill him. He was encouraged by meeting some angels at a place which he named “Mahanaim.” Messengers whom he had sent on in advance returned to tell him that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men. Jacob’s heart misgave him. He could not hope to cope with such a force. However, he did what he could; he divided his people and posses­sions into two bands, and, what was more important, he prayed to God for protection and safety, remind­ing God of His promises. It is not that God needs to be reminded of His promises, but He likes His children to approach Him in prayer, and speak of them.

 

That night Jacob lodged at Mahanaim. He pre­pared a bountiful present for Esau to appease the anger which he supposed his brother nursed against him. He sent the present and then his family across the River Jabbok, whilst he remained alone, thinking of the dangers of the morrow. Presently he found he was not alone; someone was with him. He prob­ably thought it was an emissary from Esau, for he wrestled with him. Really it was an angel but Jacob struggled, putting forth all his energy in defence of his family. Gradually he realised that he was not struggling with flesh and blood. Towards day-break the angel said, “Let me go.”

 

“I will not let thee go except thou bless me,” replied Jacob.

 

“What is thy name?” asked the angel. “Jacob,” he replied.

 

“Thy name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel, for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”

 

“Tell me I pray thee, thy name,” begged Jacob. But the angel replied, “Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name?” No name was given, hut he blessed Jacob, now named Israel, a striver with God.

 

In the morning the two brothers met, and Jacob found that his fears were groundless. Esau had prospered and had forgotten the injuries of the past. His father was still alive, and probably had shown his old partiality for Esau while Jacob had been away. Esau fell on Jacob’s neck and kissed him, and it was only when Jacob pressed him that he accepted the present he had prepared. Men like Esau are not long troubled by the loss of spiritual privileges. Success in this life outweighs all such considerations.

 

The two brothers parted good friends, and Jacob went on his way until he came to Shechem, near the centre of the promised land. There he bought a piece of ground for money; God had not yet given him any portion of the land.

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The Promise renewed

 

Soon afterwards trouble arose between Jacob and the people of Shechem, and he went on to Bethel. There he erected an altar to the God of Abraham, and made his people put away the strange gods they had treasured; including those that Rachel had stolen from her father. Here the promise was once more renewed, “I am God Almighty . . . the land which I gave unto Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.” Thus the promises were emphasised in each generation, for they are the foundation on which the hope of the Kingdom of God is based.

 

Again Jacob journeyed south. Near Bethlehem one more son was born, but in giving birth to him his beloved Rachel died. She called the child’s name Ben-oni, the “son of my sorrow,” but Jacob called him Benjamin, the “son of the right hand.” Jacob’s family was now complete, twelve sons and one daughter. The sons were the heads of the tribes of Israel through whom the story of the Bible is con­tinued until it reaches its climax.

 

Isaac died at the age of 180, and was buried in the cave of Machpelah by Jacob and Esau. After this, Esau, like Cain, Ham and Japheth, Nahor, and Ishmael, disappears from the Story. It was the last separation; henceforth the Story has to do with all the descendants of Israel.

[Resource Manager]

CHAPTER VI

 

JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN

 

AMONG the sons of Jacob Joseph was his father’s favourite; Jacob made no secret of his feelings, and clothed him in a way that marked his prefer­ence. Such conduct caused Joseph’s brethren to be jealous, and they showed their feelings in their deal­ings with him. His father’s favour, and his brothers’ jealousy might have spoiled Joseph’s character; that it did not is a great point in his favour.

 

The situation was made worse by two dreams that Joseph had. In the first, the brothers were making sheaves in the harvest field when the sheaves of his brethren bowed down to Joseph’s. In the second dream, the sun, moon, and eleven stars made obeisance to him. When he told these dreams his brothers were more indignant than ever, and even his father expostulated with him, saying, “Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?” His brothers nursed their jealousy, waiting for an oppor­tunity to express it by action.

 

Joseph sold into Egypt

 

Such an opportunity soon came. As they tended their flocks they journeyed northward in search of pasture. One day Jacob sent Joseph to seek his brethren and see that all was well. He went to Shechem, and then on to Dothan. When his brothers saw him coming one of them said, “Behold, this master of dreams cometh,” and suggested that they should kill him and take his many coloured coat to their father, telling him that they had found it. Reuben, the eldest, wishing to save him, suggested that they should content themselves with putting him into a pit, intending later on to rescue him. This proposal was agreed to, and Joseph was placed in a pit.

 

While Reuben was away from the party a band of Ishmaelite merchants came by. Their appearance suggested a new idea to Judah. Why kill Joseph? It will be no profit to us; let us sell him to the Ishmaelites. The others agreed, and Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver.

 

When Reuben went to rescue him from the pit and found it empty, he said, “The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?” But he could do nothing, but joined in with his brothers; and together they dipped Joseph’s coat in the blood of a kid to show their father. When Jacob saw it he said, “It is my son’s coat, an evil beast hath devoured him.” His sons tried to comfort him; but all he could say was, “I will go down to the grave to my son mourning.”

Meanwhile the Ishmaelites had carried Joseph into Egypt, where they sold him to an Egyptian named Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. In his service Joseph carried out his duties faithfully, and earned the respect of his master. He was a good man, who desired to serve his God even in a strange land surrounded with the gods of a people wholly given to idolatry. His master found he could he trusted and placed him in charge of all that he had.

 

When things seemed to be improving a fresh trouble plunged him into greater distress. His master’s wife fell in love with him, and constantly urged him to accede to her desires, but Joseph steadily refused, saying, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” She persisted in her solicitations, and when she would have held him he fled from the house. Then she did a still more horrible thing; she accused Joseph of having done by force what he had refused to do at her request. Potiphar was angry and cast Joseph into the prison where special prisoners were bound, thus making him a prisoner as well as a slave.

 

Once again the influence of a good man over his fellows was shown. The keeper of the prison marked Joseph’s conduct and gradually committed the con­trol of the prisoners to him. Over ten years had passed since Joseph had been sold into slavery, when two of Pharaoh’s servants who had been placed in his charge had dreams. They were troubled because there was no one to interpret them. Then Joseph appeared in a new light. “Interpretations belong to God,” he said, but suggested that if they would tell him their dreams God might enable him to supply the interpretation. They did so, and events proved the interpretations given by Joseph to be correct; one servant, a butler, was restored to the royal favour, and the other was hanged. Joseph took advantage of the opportunity to endeavour to improve his own lot. “Have me in thy remem­brance,” he said to the butler, “when it shall be well with thee, and bring me out of this house.” But the butler forgot all about him, and Joseph remained in the prison.

[Resource Manager]

Joseph promoted

 

Two years later Pharaoh had dreams. They were strange ones, and made a great impression on him. He told them to the magicians of his court but they could not, or dared not, interpret them. Pharaoh was troubled and all his court knew it. Then the butler remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh about him. Joseph was sent for in great haste, but urgent as was the call he shaved himself before going in to Pharaoh; the etiquette of the court prohibited anyone going before Pharaoh unshaved. Then Pharaoh told his dreams. He had been standing by the Nile and saw seven splendid cows come up out of the water. Then seven lean ones came up, the worst that had ever been seen in Egypt. As Pharaoh looked on, the lean cows ate up the fat ones, and yet were as thin as before. After that he saw a stalk of corn grow up with seven ears, full and good, but seven ears, thin and withered, swallowed the good ears.

 

Joseph gave the interpretation. God, he said, was showing what was about to happen. There were to be seven years of incredible plenty in the country, followed by seven years of dreadful famine. Besides interpreting the dreams, Joseph gave advice to Pharaoh. He counselled him to gather the surplus of the years of plenty and thus provide for the time of famine. Pharaoh was so impressed by the advice and the demeanour of Joseph, that he made him Grand Vizier of the kingdom, with power to do as he desired in all things. He invested him with the royal signet ring and the Order of the Golden Collar, an honour given to very few in the land. He also. caused him to ride in the royal chariot, and changed his name to Zaphenath-paneah, which means “abun­dance of life.”¹⁶ He gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of the priest of On, or Hierapolis, by whom Joseph had two children, Ephraim and Manasseh. Thus the rejected brother came to high honour in a land where he had been a slave and a prisoner.

 

The seven years of plenty came and there was joy in all the land. With light work and abundant har­vests, plenty to eat and drink, life was pleasant. Then came the first year of the famine, and things were different. A second year, and a third followed, and the Egyptians realised how much they owed to their Grand Vizier. The corn he had stored up saved their lives and the lives of their beasts. One thing was not so good. They had been compelled to sell their land, their beasts, and finally themselves to Pharaoh in exchange for food, so that by the end of the famine everything in Egypt, except the posses­sions of the priests, belonged to Pharaoh.

 

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¹⁶ Or, the substance of the land is this living one (Yahuda).

[Resource Manager]

Famine in Canaan

 

The famine affected other countries including Canaan. In the south of that land, where Jacob lived, harvests were not too plentiful at the best of times; in a period of drought they were very scanty. Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt and wondered whether he should go there. But in a previous time of famine, God had told his father not to go to Egypt, so he determined to stay in Canaan and send his sons for food. He sent them all—all except Benjamin.

 

The ten men went. The oases on the way were dried up, and they wended their way over the dry wastes hoping to obtain the corn they needed. When they arrived in Egypt they were conducted into the presence of Joseph; they were not natives of Egypt and their request was one for the Governor to deal with. Joseph recognised them but they did not recog­nise him. They thought of him as a slave in Egypt, or perhaps dead; besides, he was dressed in Egyptian garments and was closely shaved, and it was about twenty years since they had sold him, a youth of seventeen.

 

As they bowed before him Joseph thought of his dreams. He answered them roughly, and accused them of being spies. They told him that they were members of one family, and that their father, an old man, and their youngest brother, were at home. For a time Joseph was obdurate and for three days he kept them under watch. Then he called for them and said, “This do, and live; for I fear God; if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prison house; but go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses, and bring your youngest brother unto me.” They were seriously troubled, but they could do nothing. As they listened to him they felt that all this had come upon them for their treatment of Joseph, and said so between themselves, not realising that he could understand every word they said, for he had spoken to them through an interpreter.

 

They went back to their father leaving Simeon behind as a hostage. On the way one of the sacks of corn was opened, and there was the money that had been paid for it! The discovery made them more nervous, and when they arrived home and found that every man’s money had been returned, nervousness gave place to something like panic.

 

More corn from Egypt

 

The famine continued, and the corn they had brought was nearly spent. Jacob urged them to go for more, but Judah told his father that the man in Egypt had said that when they came again they must bring their youngest brother with them. It was a terrible trial for the old man. “Why did ye tell the man that ye had yet a brother?” he asked. Eventually Jacob was forced to agree; “Take your brother, and God Almighty give you mercy before the man. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

 

It was a sad company that took its way over the sandy road to Egypt. Fear of the reception they might get, anxieties about their father and Benjamin, the dread of meeting the great Egyptian who had been so austere and yet so determined to learn all particulars about their family, and the return of their moneys, greatly troubled them. At last they reached the city and were admitted to Joseph’s presence. They were told that they were to eat with him. What did that portend? Was more trouble in store? When Joseph came in they bowed themselves to the ground, and gave him a little present Jacob had sent. Joseph asked, “Is your father well? the old man of whom ye spake?” To Benjamin he said, “God be gracious unto thee, my son.” When they sat down to eat they were astonished to find that they had been arranged in strict order from the firstborn to the youngest. Everything was strange, and inexplicable; “the man” seemed to know all about them. But the good fellowship of the meal put all questionings on one side “they drank and were merry with him.”

[Resource Manager]

Joseph makes himself known

 

When they left they were well satisfied. The great man had treated them kindly, and they had plenty of food for their households. Their satisfaction was soon dispelled, for a messenger overtook them asking peremptorily “Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh and whereby he indeed divineth?” They looked at each other and at the messenger in amazement. None of them would steal anything from the great man’s house. So conscious were they of their innocence that they said, “With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen.” The sacks were opened, commencing with that of the eldest, and a cup was found in the sack of Benjamin, where it had been placed by orders from Joseph. They tore their clothes, and with every mark of dejection returned to meet the great man of Egypt. There he stood, stern, and seeming to look right through them. “What deed is this that ye have done?” he said, “Know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine?”

 

It was Judah who replied in a noble speech that indicated how great a change there had been in him since he had suggested that his brother should be sold. With an eloquence born of grief he pleaded the cause of Benjamin and his aged father. “When he seeth the lad is not with us he will die,” he said, and offered himself as a substitute.

 

Suddenly Joseph burst in upon his words. “Cause every man to go out from me,” he said. They were alone the great man of Egypt and the eleven sons of Jacob. As they gazed upon him, wondering what was about to happen, he spoke the startling words, “I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?” What a moment! Joseph whom they had sold as a slave was the ruler of all the land of Egypt!

 

As they gazed at him in wonderment he told them what had happened. “God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth.” It was the over-ruling providence of God to ensure the preserva­tion of “the seed” that was necessary for the fulfil­ment of the “everlasting covenant” God had made with Abraham. The news spread through Pharaoh’s house, and Pharaoh invited the men and their father to make their home in Egypt. Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian Church, made effective use of the incident, treating it as a type of the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth.¹⁷

 

Joseph provided all that was necessary; carts and waggons, with animals to draw them. The eleven men hurried away with the great news. “Joseph is yet alive,” they cried to their aged father, “He is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Jacob’s heart almost stopped beating, so great was the shock of the good news. When he was convinced he said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive; I will go and see him before I die.”

 

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¹⁷ See Acts 7:9-13.

[Resource Manager]

Jacob comes to Egypt

 

Yet Jacob had his doubts. Isaac, his father, had been forbidden to go to Egypt. Ought he to leave the land of promise? But God appeared to him in a vision and said, “I am God, the God of thy father; fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation; I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will surely bring thee up again.” Thus his fears were allayed, he could still hope for the land of his desire. So he and his sons, and his son’s sons, and all that they possessed went down to Egypt.

 

As soon as they arrived Joseph took his father and his brethren to Pharaoh. They were allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, and, as they were shepherds, were given charge of Pharaoh’s flocks and herds. The king of Egypt at this time was not a native Egyptian, he was one of what are known as the Hyksos, or Shepherd, kings. Shepherds were an abomination to the Egyptians, but the coming of Israel was a welcome event to the rulers of the country. They were from Canaan and would serve Pharaoh better than any native would do.

 

Pharaoh gave a special audience to Jacob. When he asked him his age, Jacob replied, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few and evil have been the days of the years of my life.” The old patriarch then gave his blessing to Pharaoh, and retired to the land of Goshen. The district had been selected by Joseph and, was apart from Egypt itself. There Israel could increase and multiply, ready for the next step in the purpose with which they were connected.

 

Jacob’s death

 

The remainder of the years of famine passed by and the harvests of the land became normal again. Seventeen years later Jacob died at the age of 147. Before he died he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, whom he treated as if they were his own; after which he pronounced blessings on his own sons. One point in connection with his sons must be recorded, that is the blessing of Judah, of whom Jacob said,

 

“Judah is a lion’s whelp;

From the prey, my son, thou art gone up;

He stooped down, he couched as a lion,

And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,

Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

Until Shiloh come;

And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.”

 

The blessing of the dying patriarch added some­thing to the growing promises. It pointed to one who should come, Shiloh—”he whose kingdom it is.” Over a thousand years afterwards a prophet foretold that the kingdom should be overthrown; and should be no more until he should come whose right it was, and the one whom the prophet had in view was to be a descendant of Judah. Six hundred years later still an apostle spoke of “the seed that should come to whom the promise was made,” the seed of Abraham, of Isaac, of Israel and of Judah.¹⁸ Before the story is finished it will be seen why it is that “How many soever be the promises of God, in him (that is in the Seed) is the Yea, wherefore also through him is the Amen.”¹⁹

 

After his death Jacob was embalmed in accord­ance with the customs of Egypt. Before he died he gave instructions about his burial. “Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field which Abraham bought for a possession of a burying place.” Thus in death, as in life, his mind was set on the Promised Land. It was his great hope, and though, like Abraham and Isaac, God gave him no inheritance in it, he died in faith, not having received the promises, because God had purposed some better thing, namely that all the faithful believers of the promises should be glorified together.²⁰

 

By permission of Pharaoh a great company set out for Canaan to take part in the burial of Jacob. There were chariots and horsemen, with all the pomp of Egyptian pageantry. A great mourning took place, and then Jacob was left with his dead ancestors to await the fulfilment of the promise.

 

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¹⁸ Ezek. 21:27; Gal. 3:19.

¹⁹ 2 Cor. 1:20.

²⁰ Heb. 11:39-40.

[Resource Manager]

Joseph’s faith

 

The brethren of Joseph were fearful lest he should now requite them for the evils of the past. They entirely misunderstood his character. He recognised the hand of God in his life, and saw that his brothers’ envy had been part of a divine plan to preserve the seed of the covenant. “Now therefore, fear ye not,” he said, “I will nourish you and your little ones.”

 

After a long and useful life in the service of his fellows, Joseph died at the age of no years. Like his father he looked forward to the hope of Israel. His last words were, “I die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” He too longed for the country of the promise. All his glory in Egypt was as nothing compared with the hope associated with the promise. That had led him on, and accounts for his final charge, “God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.”

 

This is the last look at the history of the family of Jacob; when the Bible story is resumed it is as the history of a nation. The essential thing in the family history is the desire for, and the love of, the Land of Promise.

[Resource Manager]

CHAPTER VII

 

ISRAEL IN EGYPT

 

NOW there arose a new king over Egypt which knew not Joseph.” With these words the next chapter of the story opens. They imply more than they say. The Shepherd kings had never been popu­lar with the native Egyptians; they were regarded as foreigners and oppressors, and were hated for both reasons. The memory of the time of the famine faded, but the oppression remained; the people were practically in servitude to Pharaoh. At last the discontent broke out, and after a terrific conflict the Hyksos were driven out, and a new Dynasty, the eighteenth, began. It was a king of this Dynasty that knew not Joseph.

 

The Israelites, the descendants of Jacob, had come from Canaan; so had the Hyksos kings, though their origins were further north. They were therefore regarded as helpers of the defeated kings, and prob­able enemies if trouble broke out on the Syrian border. So the new king placed them under task­masters, reducing them to a condition of serfdom, compelling them to make bricks and build store cities. Two of these are named, Pithom and Raamses. In Egypt such labour was of a severe character; the labourers had to work from morning to night, hastened on by the rods of overseers.

 

The birth of Moses

 

As the people multiplied Pharaoh tried to keep their numbers down. He gave instructions to the midwives who attended on the Hebrew women to destroy every son that was born, but they refused to do so. Then he ordered his own people to throw every male Israelite child into the river to be drowned. This command was carried out, though it was evaded in at least one instance. Before the issue of the decree a man of the tribe of Levi, named Amrarn, had had two children, a girl named Miriam, and a boy named Aaron. Now his wife had another child, a boy, and the father and mother did all they could to save the child’s life. For a time they kept him hidden in the house, and, when they could no longer do this, the mother prepared an ark, or shrine, of bulrushes, covered it with pitch, and put her little son in it, placing the ark at a spot where Pharaoh’s daughter was in the habit of going to bathe. Miriam was told to watch and see what happened.

 

Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile and when she saw the ark among the flags by the river’s brink, she sent one of her attendants to fetch it. As soon as she saw the child she was touched; she knew it was a Hebrew baby, and she knew her father’s command, but she determined to save the baby’s life and to treat him as her own son. Miriam then came forward and asked if she should call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby. When Pharaoh’s daughter agreed Miriam fetched her mother, who thus became nurse to her own child. Pharaoh’s daughter, whose name, probably, was Hatshepsut, gave him the name of Moses, because, she said, “I drew him out of the water.” The name is very much like a part of that of her father—Tuthmoses.

 

Tended by his mother, Moses imbibed a knowledge of Israel’s past history and of the promises. Brought up in the court of Pharaoh he was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, for young princes were taught everything that was likely to fit them to rule. For forty years he lived in the court, gaining knowledge and experience that were to help him in his later career. Yet he never forgot that he was a Hebrew, nor the great promises concerning the future of his nation.

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Moses forced to leave

 

When he was forty years of age he reached a crisis. Going out one day to see how his brethren were, he saw an Egyptian taskmaster smiting one of the Hebrews. Looking around to see if he was observed, he slew the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. He thought his brethren would have seen in this the first act in a series that would have resulted in their deliverance. On the following day he saw two Hebrews striving together. As he approached he said to the one in the wrong, “Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?” He was startled by the reply. “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? thinkest thou to kill me as thou killedst the Egyptian?” Moses realised that the thing was known; perhaps it had become common talk among the Hebrews. There was no time for reflection; he fled, and crossed the desert to the land of Midian.

 

When he arrived there he saw seven young women filling troughs with water for their flocks to drink. Some shepherds drove them away, but Moses inter­vened and enabled them to water the flocks at once.

 

The incident led to his staying with the priest, the father of the seven, and to his marriage with one of them. He had left Egypt, as he thought, for good, rejected by his own countrymen. Yet he was to return and the time he spent in the land of Midian was a preparation for the great work of his life. Two sons were born to him; otherwise the days passed uneventfully in the solitude of the desert.

 

Meanwhile things were growing worse for the Israelites in Egypt. The action of Moses probably caused their bondage to be increased, and when yet another king ascended the throne the condition of the people grew worse than ever.

 

A miracle in the desert

 

At the end of forty years a strange thing happened to Moses. He was at Horeb, tending the flocks of his father-in-law, when he saw a bush apparently on fire and yet not burned. Fascinated by the peculiar sight he approached the bush. As he drew near he heard a voice saying, “Moses, Moses.”

 

Startled, he replied, “Here am I.”

 

The voice continued, “Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground.”

 

It was the Lord, speaking through an angel. The Voice continued, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt, for I know their sorrows.” He proceeded to tell of His purpose to give them the land of Canaan, and to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. “Now,” he said, “I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”

 

Moses was not prepared for such a commission. Forty years reflection had enabled him to realise the difficulty of the task he had been so ready to under­take before. He gave many reasons why he should not return to Egypt, and then asked Whom he should say had sent him. The answer he received was a remarkable one. The Voice said, “I will be Who I will be. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, ‘I will be hath sent me unto you’.” It was a strange name, but wonderfully expressive to people who think. The usual rendering of the Hebrew, “I am that I am” is a poor expression beside it. “I am” asserts existence, “I will be” declares a purpose. When it reads “I will be Who I will be” it makes this known, and only God can declare a purpose and be perfectly sure of carrying it out. The first stage in the development of the purpose was the deliverance of Israel from Egypt.

[Resource Manager]

Moses’ commission

 

God did not tell Moses that his task was an easy one—quite the reverse. It was a difficult one, and the difficulties were of two kinds; firstly that of convincing a nation of slaves that deliverance was at hand, and, secondly, of persuading Pharaoh to let his slave population go. So God encouraged Moses by a series of signs. First He told him to throw his rod upon the ground where it became a living, writhing serpent, which reverted to a rod when he took it by the tail. His hand became leprous, and then clean again. He was told that if these signs were not sufficient for the Israelites, he was to take the water of the Nile and pour it out before them and it would become as blood. Still unconvinced Moses said, “Oh Lord, I am not eloquent; I am slow of speech.”

 

“Who made man’s mouth?” asked the Lord, “I will be with thy mouth.”

 

Still he objected. “Oh Lord, send I pray thee by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send,” as much as to say send any one but me. This made God angry, but He replied, “Is there not Aaron, thy brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well, and behold he cometh forth to meet thee.”

 

At last Moses was convinced. He said farewell to his father-in-law, took his wife and two sons, and started for Egypt. On the way a peculiar incident occurred. The Lord sought to kill him, it is said. Perhaps a serious illness threatened his life. Moses knew the reason. During his stay in Midian he had not carried out the ordinance that was the token of the covenant God had made with Abraham; neither of his children had been circumcised. So Zipporah, his wife, took a sharp flint, and circumcised her two sons, saying “A bridegroom of blood art thou.” It dedicated them anew to God, and hallowed him for the great work he had to do. He proceeded on his way, and, as he had been told, Aaron met him, and together they proceeded to Egypt.

 

When Moses and Aaron arrived in Egypt they called for the elders of Israel and told them of the com­mission they had received, and showed the signs. The people believed the glad message; they bowed their heads and worshipped.

 

Let my people go

 

Moses and Aaron then went to the Palace from which Moses had fled forty years before, and entered into the presence of Pharaoh. They stated their message. “Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Let My people go that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.” It was not a very drastic demand, but Pharaoh rejected it. “Who is the Lord?” he said. He knew, or thought he knew, Amon-Ra and the many gods of Egypt; he knew nothing of the One God of Israel. They tried to reason with him, but without effect. Pharaoh charged them with encouraging the people to be idle; keeping a feast was only an excuse to leave their work. The result was an increase in the burdens of the people; they must find their own straw and yet make as many bricks as before. The taskmasters and officers urged on the people, and beat them unmercifully. Expostu­lation was in vain, the only reply was “Ye are idle; therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice.” It was so different from what they had expected, that the people turned on Moses and Aaron, and Moses turned to God and told Him how badly things were going.

 

God was over-ruling affairs for something much greater than a sacrifice in the wilderness. He reminded Moses of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and said, “I am Jehovah your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will bring you into the land concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it to Abraham, and I will give it to you for a heritage.” But the people were too distressed to listen; the bondage was harder than ever. Moses and Aaron entered the royal palace again, where Aaron cast down his rod and it became a serpent. The magicians of Egypt, who had remark­able powers (Egypt was the cradle of magic), cast down their rods, which also became serpents. As they gazed at the writhing creatures Aaron’s serpent-rod swallowed all the rest. But Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to take heed to the sign. Later on God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but it was a heart that had been already hardened.

[Resource Manager]

The Ten Plagues

 

Next morning Moses went to the Nile to meet Pharaoh, and told him that unless he gave permission for Israel to go into the wilderness the waters of the land should be turned into blood. Pharaoh refused, and the Nile, and other waters of Egypt ran like blood, and the fish that were in them died. The magicians were able to perform a similar operation, and Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened. For seven days the phenomenon continued. It was a terrible blow for Egypt, for the Nile was worshipped as a god. The God of the despised Hebrews had caused the Nile-god to be an enemy to his worshippers.

 

Again Moses stood before Pharaoh and demanded permission for Israel to go and serve Yahweh.²¹ Again Pharaoh refused, and as Aaron stretched out his rod frogs seemed to come from everywhere, covering the whole land, and invading the houses. Egypt had never seen the like. The magicians also provided frogs, or appeared to do so, yet Pharaoh was sufficiently impressed that he begged Moses to put an end to the plague, promising to allow Israel to go and sacrifice. When the frogs died they were gathered into great heaps and the whole land stank. But when the frogs went, Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.

 

Aaron was next told to smite the dust of the land that it might become lice. It is probable that “lice” is an incorrect translation, and that what really came were vast swarms of gnats and mosquitoes which made life a misery. This time when the magicians tried to imitate Aaron they failed. They said, “This is the finger of God.” They were beaten, but Pharaoh was not; his heart was still hardened.

 

On the fourth occasion Moses met Pharaoh and repeated his demand for the people to be permitted to go and serve their God. If Pharaoh still refused the land would be filled with “swarms.” What they were to consist of was not stated. This time an additional sign was to be given; Egypt should swarm with noxious things, but the land of Goshen would be entirely free from them. The “swarms” came; they were probably made up of various insects, including the scarab, or dung-beetle, which the Egyptians worshipped. If the Egyptians killed the insects they killed their gods! Pharaoh hastily called for Moses and Aaron, “Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land,” he said. Moses pointed out that they could not do that, they would have to sacrifice the “abomination” of the Egyptians, and would be in danger of being stoned. The Egyptians worshipped the bull, the cow, and the ram, three animals usual in Israelitish sacrifices. Pharaoh yielded. “I will let you go, only ye shall not go very far away”; he said, “intreat for me.” So the plague ceased — and Pharaoh hardened his heart once more.

 

The fifth plague was a murrain on the cattle of the Egyptians. Again the land of Goshen was free. When this plague fell Pharaoh sent to enquire what had happened in Goshen, and found that not a single beast had died there. Even that did not move him; he still hardened his heart.

 

The plagues were increasing in severity. When the next fell Moses and Aaron took handfuls of ashes from the furnace and scattered them in the air, causing boils and blains to break out on men and beasts. The magicians were so affected by them that they could not stand before Moses. This time God hardened the heart of Pharaoh.

 

When Moses next met Pharaoh it was with a much sterner message. “Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, Let My people go that they may serve Me. For I will this time send all My plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.” He threatened that a very grievous hail should sweep through the land, destroy­ing all the cattle that were in the fields and every form of vegetation. Many of the Egyptians removed their cattle from the fields that they might save them. The thunders crashed, the lightnings flashed, and storms of hail swept the land. Egypt had never experienced such a thing, and all the while the land of Goshen was free from the plague. Pharaoh was cowed this time. “Intreat the Lord, and I will let you go,” he said, “ye shall stay no longer.” But when the hail and the lightnings ceased he again hardened his heart, though part of Egypt’s harvests for the year had been destroyed.

 

An eighth plague followed. Moses said, “Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before Me? Let My people go that they may serve Me; else I will bring locusts into thy borders.” It was a terrible threat; it meant ruin for Egypt. Pharaoh’s servants were impressed; they begged their lord to let the men go. Their fears communicated themselves to Pharaoh, and he called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, serve the Lord your God; but who are they that shall go?” Moses’ reply was very far-reaching. “We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds, will we go.” Pharaoh was torn between two desires. He knew that if they went with all their possessions they would never return. If he refused to let them go, the locusts would come and eat up what remained of the harvests of the land. The vacillation of his mind was shown by his reply. “So be the Lord with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones; look to it; for evil is before you. Not so; go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what ye desire.” It was an incoherent reply, but Pharaoh showed what he meant by his action in driving Moses and Aaron from his court. So the locusts came; the whole land was darkened by them, and they devoured every vestige of vegetation that was in the country. Pharaoh was beaten. “I have sinned,” he said, “against the Lord your God and against you.” Then a strong wind carried the locusts away, and “the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” He had gone so far that he must follow his path of refusal to the bitter end.

 

A ninth plague followed. An intense darkness covered the land of Egypt, except the land of Goshen. For three days the whole life of the nation was at a standstill. It was terrible. The sun was the chief god of Egypt. As Amon-Ra he was supreme, but in this conflict with the God of the Hebrews he could do nothing, he could not even appear dimly through the darkness. Again Pharaoh called for Moses and told him that they might all go, all except their flocks and herds. But there was to be no compromise and no concession. “Our cattle shall go with us, there shall not a hoof be left behind,” said Moses. Another hardening of heart followed. “Get thee from me,” Pharaoh said, “take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou seest my face, thou shalt die.” Moses replied, “Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.” He left in great anger; he had spoken his last word to Pharaoh, he never saw him again; the last plague came unannounced.

 

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²¹ The name Yahweh, usually represented as Jehovah, or the LORD, is based upon the name given at the Bush. “I will be who I will be.”

[Resource Manager]

The Passover

 

Before the last plague fell upon the land other events of importance took place. The Israelites were told to ask of their neighbours jewels of silver and jewels of gold and thus “spoil the Egyptians.” They were to prepare for an instant departure from the land in a night when all the firstborn of the land of Egypt should be slain.

 

Special preparations were made for that night. It commenced an epoch, and the month in which it took place became the first month in Israel’s new calendar. Every household was to take a lamb which must be of the first year and be without blemish. If the family was too small for a lamb, two or more families were to join together. When the lamb was slain its blood was to be caught and sprinkled on the door posts and lintels of their houses. The whole of the lamb was to be eaten; anything that was left over was to be burned. The lamb had to be eaten with bitter herbs, and all who partook of it were to do so with their loins girded, their feet shod, and their staves in their hand.

 

In the midst of these directions God gave Israel a warning of what He was about to do. “I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements.” Only where the sprinkled blood was seen on the doorposts would there be safety. “When I see the blood I will pass over you.” When Moses gave the instructions to the people he said, “The Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians, and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you.”

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Death of the firstborn

 

It was midnight. In Goshen the Israelites had slain their lambs, had sprinkled the blood as directed, and were ready to leave at a moment’s notice. In the rest of Egypt most of the people were asleep, yet there must have been a sense of impending doom. They had gone through so much. Rumours of the terse words that Moses had addressed to Pharaoh must have passed from lip to lip. What did they portend? Why did not Pharaoh give way? Would they all have to die because of his obstinacy? “And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle; . . . and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” It was enough; the contest was over; Pharaoh was beaten.

 

He sent hastily to Moses and Aaron saying, “Rise up get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel, and go serve the Lord as ye said.” There were no reservations now, all could go little ones and flocks and herds. He ended his message with a despairing cry, “Be gone, and bless me also!”

[Resource Manager]

Egypt, Sinai, and Southern Palestine.

 

CHAPTER VIII

 

FROM THE EXODUS TO SINAI

 

IT is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the Land of Egypt.” The Egyptians thrust their presents upon the Israelites as they left Goshen with their kneading troughs and unleavened dough bound up with their clothes. The event was deeply impressed on the national mind, and in the darkest days that followed, the memory of it was as a beacon light shining through the gloom. In the midst of the events of that night and day one memorial of it was incorporated into the legislation of the nation. The firstborn of Israel, whether of man or beast, were sanctified unto the Lord.

 

From Rameses the host marched to Succoth. Their destination was Canaan, but they avoided the direct route by Gaza. There were Egyptian garrisons on that road, and it was not desirable that any opposition should be encountered during the days that immedi­ately followed, so they went towards the wilderness of the Red Sea. They did not go as a rabble of people; they marched in ranks like armed men, and they carried with them the bones of Joseph. In this way they went to Succoth, and thence to Etham in the edge of the wilderness. They were guided by a pillar of cloud, which assumed a luminous appearance at night, a pillar of fire, to give them light. It showed them that they were led by the Lord.

 

The Egyptians destroyed

 

They reached the shores of the Red Sea, where they encamped. News of their movements reached Pharaoh who had recovered from his panic, and regretted the loss of so many slaves. When he heard that they were by the Red Sea he gathered his chariotry together and started in pursuit. He knew there was no escape that way, they were “entangled in the land.” When his army drew near, the Israelites realised the plight in which they were. They immedi­ately lost faith and chided Moses for putting them in such a position, saying that it would have been better to have stayed in Egypt.

 

In these circumstances Moses showed the kind of man he was. “Stand still,” he said, “and see the salvation of the Lord. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” The pillar of cloud removed to the rear, giving light to Israel, but dense darkness to the Egyptians. As Moses stretched out his hand God caused a strong east wind to blow. It blew all night, and caused the bed of the sea to become dry land, and Israel passed safely over to the other side. That was “the salvation of the Lord.”

 

When the people of Israel had crossed, the Egyp­tians came to the edge of the sea and also attempted to cross. But the returning waters made the sea bed a quagmire and caused their chariots to roll heavily. Then the waters returned in full rush. The Egyptians tried to retrace their steps, but it was too late. Of all the array of chariotry that had started in pursuit, there remained not one. Israel were safe, and free. Moses sang an inspiring ode in memory of their deliverance, a song that has never been forgotten. It can be read in Exodus 15, with the refrain of Miriam and the women of Israel.

 

Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously,

The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.

[Resource Manager]

Bread from heaven

 

After such a stupendous deliverance Israel should have been ready to face any difficulties. Yet as soon as they had reached the wilderness at Marah, where the water was bitter, they murmured. The bitterness was cured by casting in a tree that grew near by. Then they went to Elim where there were wells of water and palm trees. Afterwards they entered the Wilderness of Sinai where they murmured again. They forgot the hard bondage in Egypt, they remem­bered only the flesh pots. Now there was nothing to cat—why had they come?

 

God provided them with food, “angel’s food” it is called in one of the Psalms; the people called it manna. It tasted like wafers and wild honey. It had to be gathered every day, except on the Sabbath, as it would not keep from one day to the next, though that which was gathered on the sixth day kept fresh for the Sabbath. The glory of the Lord accompanied it on the first occasion, and the supply lasted till the wilderness journey was over. A pot of it was “laid up before the Lord” Even in this provision the contrariness of the people was mani­fested. Some gathered more than they required, thinking of the morrow; then it bred worms and stank. Others went out on the Sabbath and found none. They also murmured for water, and Moses was told to smite the rock, when water gushed out for the people to drink.

 

Soon afterwards their way was challenged by the Amalekites who came out against them. Joshua, the servant of Moses, was placed in charge of the host engaged in the fighting. As long as Moses held up his hands Israel prevailed, when his hands sunk through weariness Amalek prevailed. The difficulty was met by Aaron and Hur holding his hands up for him, and Amalek was defeated.

[Resource Manager]

The Ten Commandments

 

Three months after leaving Egypt the Israelites came to Sinai where they encamped. There God revealed Himself to them, and told them that if they obeyed His commandments they should be a peculiar treasure (a treasure acquired for a possession) unto Him, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In response to this the people answered, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” It was a momentous decision, the basis of a covenant which was afterwards made between God and Israel.

 

As they were gathered around Mount Sinai the Lord descended upon it in fire. Suddenly from the midst of the fire a Voice was heard; it was the voice of the Lord proclaiming the laws that formed the central feature of the covenant. In brief they may be summarised thus:

 

I. Thou shalt have none other gods before Me.

II. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image.

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

IV. Remember the seventh day to keep it holy.

V. Honour thy father and thy mother.

VI. Thou shalt do no murder.

VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

VIII. Thou shalt not steal.

IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness.

X. Thou shalt not covet.

 

Forty years afterwards Moses, referring to this occasion, said, “These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire . . . and He added no more.” No wonder when they heard the voice of God, and saw the awe inspiring scenes, they said to Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us lest we die.” Much was added to the law, statutes and ordinances of all kinds, but these were given through Moses, not by the audible voice of God.

 

Shortly afterwards God called to Moses to come up into the mount with Aaron and two of his sons, and seventy of the elders of Israel, though Moses alone was to approach near to the Lord. Then Moses wrote the words of the law and prepared an altar under the mount. Some of the “young men of the children of Israel,” the firstborn, offered burnt and peace offerings to the Lord. Some of the blood was put in basins, and a portion of it was sprinkled on the altar. Then Moses took the book in which the covenant had been inscribed, and read the words of the Lord in the ears of the people, who again promised obedience. Then he took the rest of the blood that was in the basin and sprinkled it on the people, saying, “Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you.” The story is becoming increasingly one of promises and covenants.

 

A remarkable incident followed. Moses, Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel had a vision of God, not amid mighty thunderings and flashing lightnings, but in peaceful beauty. Under His feet there was a pavement like a sapphire or a lapis lazuli, clear as the body of heaven, and there they ate and drank with God in the persons of His angels. It was a part of the ritual of covenant making. The peace of the occasion was symbolic of the future; they were guests of God. Afterwards Moses went higher up the mountain, leaving Aaron and the rest to return to the plain.

 

The object of Moses’ journey to the higher parts of the Mount was that he might receive two tables on which the Ten Commandments were engraved, further laws and ordinances, and the specification of a tabernacle that was to be prepared as the centre of the worship of God. All this time the glory of the Lord abode on the mountain; it was like devouring fire coming from the midst of a cloud. It must have been a time of ecstasy for Moses; for the rest of the community it was a time of test. There, with the representatives of Yahweh, Moses received the pattern of the tabernacle and its furniture, particulars of the offerings that were to take place there, and of the clothing the priests were to wear. When everything was arranged Moses and Joshua prepared to descend from the mount.

[Resource Manager]

Idolatry

 

All the time Moses had been in the mount nothing was heard of him by the people in the plains. The people, deprived of the presence of their leader, wondered what had happened to him. Gradually Questioning gave place to anxiety, and anxiety to fear. Suppose they were attacked? Nothing is more calculated to sap confidence than absolute and enforced inaction. At last they could stand it no longer. Their leaders came to Aaron saying, “Up, make us gods which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.”

 

Aaron made no attempt to argue with them; perhaps he too was anxious and worried. Had the devouring fire consumed his brother? So he told the people to break off the ear-rings from their ears, and of them he made a golden calf, using a graving tool to fashion it. They had already forgotten the words they had heard only a short time before, “ Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image.” There was the calf, just like those they had seen in Egypt, and when Aaron said, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt,” the people accepted it, and the next day was appointed to be a feast to the Lord. Thus Israel were trying to mix two things that will not coalesce, the worship of idols and of the One True God. When the next day came they arose early to keep the feast and worship the golden calf. There was music and dancing, and the noise that accompanies the rejoicings of a crowd.

 

Moses was made aware of what had happened by God, Who told him that He purposed to destroy the people and make of Moses a greater nation. But Moses pleaded for Israel and God turned from His anger. Then Moses and Joshua came down to the plains. As they reached the lower slopes Joshua heard the noise in the camp. He heard it with the ear of a soldier. “There is a noise of war in the camp,” he said. Moses knew better. Saddened, yet angry, he said, “It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, but the voice of them that sing do I hear.” When they were closer and saw the people he threw down the tables of stone on which the commandments were written and broke them to pieces. Then he took the calf, ground it to powder, which he strawed on the water, and made the children of Israel to drink of it. He asked Aaron why he had done such a thing. Aaron’s reply was a pitiful one. He told of the people’s request and how he had obtained their golden ear-rings, and said, “Then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.” Surely it was the poorest excuse ever offered by a grown man.

 

It was no time for dallying. “Whoso is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me,” said Moses. The tribe of Levi, his own tribe, responded. He commanded them to take their swords, go through the camp, and slay right and left. Three thousand men were killed.

[Resource Manager]

Forgiveness

 

On the morrow Moses addressed the sobered assembly. “Ye have sinned a great sin,” he said, “now I will go up unto the Lord, peradventure I shall make atonement for your sin.” He went, and his prayer for them was one of rugged eloquence. “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold; yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin;—and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written.” It was the simple prayer of a great man, who was ready to sacrifice himself for his people. Many centuries afterwards the Apostle Paul said a somewhat similar thing for the same nation.²² God did not blot out the name of Moses from His “book,” it stands there in the book, or the story, as that of one of the greatest men who have ever lived, and when the story finds its sequel in the Kingdom of God, Moses will be among the greatest of those who will shine as the stars for ever and ever.²³

 

It was necessary however to teach the people a lesson. The tent associated with the worship of God was removed to the outside of the camp. Solemn scenes took place at this crisis. Moses had passed through emotional experiences sufficient to cause any man to break down. He prayed that he might be shown how he might know God, and God promised that His presence should go with him. In response to this promise Moses gave expression to one of the outstanding truths of the Bible story. He said, “So shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” It is a basic truth with many applications; the people of God must be separate from the world; in it, and among it, yet not of it.

 

The close communion that had been established led Moses to make a very bold request. “Show me, I pray thee, Thy glory,” he said. In reply God said, “Thou canst not see My face.” No man has seen God at any time. His Angels see Him, but He is beyond the powers of human sight, though by His Spirit, He is everywhere present. But God said, “There is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock; and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand until I have passed by; and I will take away Mine hand, and thou shalt see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” At the same time God told Moses to prepare two stones to take the place of those he had broken, and to come up into the Mount alone. Moses went up and stood there. “And the Lord passed by before him.” As He did so He proclaimed His name and attributes. “Yahweh, Yahweh, El, full of compassion and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy and truth; keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children upon the third and upon the fourth generation.” It was a thrilling manifestation of the glory of the Lord, and it must have been the source of immense strength and encouragement to Moses in his difficult and arduous task.

 

One thing more must be noted. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words; for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.” It tells us something of the way in which the Bible story has been written, and it links it with the covenants of God.

 

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²² See Romans 9:1-3.

²³ See Daniel 12:3.

[Resource Manager]

The Tabernacle

 

The rest of the first year was occupied in con­structing the tabernacle. The materials were supplied by the people, who offered willingly of their substance, and placed themselves at the disposal of those who exercised the supervision of the work. The free will offerings were so abundant that the people had to be stayed from giving. By the end of the year the tabernacle was set up. The cloud, which had led Israel to Sinai, took up a position over the tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

 

All that can be done here is to describe the general appearance of the finished work. A visitor to the camp would have seen in the midst of an orderly array of tents, an enclosure, a hundred cubits long by fifty cubits wide.²⁴ It was separated from the people by hangings of fine linen, depending on brazen pillars filleted with silver, and was entered through a screen. Inside the enclosure were three things, an altar, a laver, and a tent. The altar was the one used for burnt offerings, where at the appointed times the priests offered the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly sacrifices. Between it and the tabernacle was the laver in which the priests washed before entering the tent.

 

Over the tabernacle were curtains that protected it from the weather. First was a curtain of fine linen, blue, purple, and scarlet, embroidered with figures of cherubim. Above that was a covering of goats’ skins, then one of rams’ skins dyed red, and finally one of badgers’ skins. All these were above the building itself, which was made of boards covered with gold, held together with pieces of wood that ran from end to end.

 

The tabernacle had a porch before it through which the priests passed into the first section, known as the Holy Place. Inside that there were three articles of furniture, a lightstand with seven branches, an altar on which incense was burned, and a table on which were placed twelve loaves, one for each of the tribes. Every evening as darkness fell the seven lamps on the lightstand were lit.

 

Between the Holy Place and the inmost sanctuary there was a veil made of blue, purple, and scarlet, with fine twined linen, embroidered with figures of cherubim. Lifting the veil aside, the Most Holy Place was entered. Within it was the ark of the covenant (a golden covered box containing the two stones of the law, a pot of manna, and, later, Aaron’s rod), above which was the Mercy-seat, shadowed by the outstretched wings of the two golden Cherubim. There, from time to time, the glory of the Lord shone forth to signify the acceptance of the offerings for the people.

 

In and about the whole tabernacle the priests, clad in special garments, carried on the services, which varied according to the days. In his gorgeous robes, made “for glory and for beauty,” the High Priest was an imposing figure. There was much that was typical in all these things, but that is no part of the story itself; it has to be sought for by the interested enquirer.

 

Many laws and ordinances were given in connection with the services of the tabernacle and the conduct of the people, but these must be passed by. One notable incident took place soon after the tabernacle was finished. Two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, in the course of their duties, offered “strange fire” unto the Lord. Immediately they were struck dead by means of fire. It was a drastic lesson, and its importance is as great to-day as ever it was. So important was the lesson of the incident that Aaron was forbidden to show the customary mourning for the death of his sons. In the service of God men must offer, or do, just what He commands. Human thoughts cannot arrange the method of approach to Him He must be approached in the way He has provided, and no man can alter that. To-day the way is belief, repentance, baptism, and a general obedience to God’s commands. Any way that does not include these things is like offering strange fire on the altar.

 

One other principle connected with the tabernacle must be noted. It is the place of blood in all the sacrifices. The “blood of sprinkling” has been mentioned in connection with the Passover. In relation to the sacrifices it is said, “The life of all flesh is in the blood thereof.” It was not the mere shedding of blood that was taught by the sacrifices. It pointed to “the precious blood of Jesus Christ,” and it indicated that it is the life that matters, for when blood was poured out before God, it signified that He desired the life of those who would serve Him to be dedicated to His service. Any emphasis laid on the shedding of blood, to the exclusion of the importance of the life of the worshipper, is a great mistake.

 

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²⁴ A cubit may be reckoned, roughly, at I foot 9 inches, though authorities differ as to the exact measurement.

[Resource Manager]

CHAPTER IX

 

FROM SINAI TO THE DEATH OF MOSES

 

IN earlier days the firstborn had acted as the priest of the family, but the organisation of the people as a nation, and the institution of a set form of worship with many rites and ceremonies, made a special priesthood necessary. The response of the tribe of Levi to the question, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” marked them out as the ones for this service, and they were dedicated to that purpose. God said, “Thou shalt take the Levites for Me instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.”

 

As the days passed the people began to murmur again. They had tired of the manna; to eat it day after day was too monotonous. They thought of the flesh they had eaten in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, and the garlic. The mixed multitude who had accompanied them, were particularly loud in their complaints, they wanted flesh to eat. God provided flesh; a strong wind brought huge flights of quails, which flew so low that they could be caught as they flew, wearied by their struggle with the wind. All night and all the next day the people gathered them. But when they had partaken of them a plague broke out and great numbers of the people died.

 

Moses’ life must have been an anxious one. Even Aaron and Miriam spoke against him on account of Ethiopian woman whom he had married. They were both rebuked by God, and Miriam was stricken with leprosy, which was only healed on the inter­cession of Moses. It was on this occasion that God spoke of Moses in a very remarkable way, saying, “If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so; he is faithful in all Mine house; with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches, and the form of the Lord shall be behold.” Fifteen hundred years afterwards these words assumed an important significance when a prophet like unto Moses appeared before the people of Israel.²⁵

 

Spying out the land

 

At the suggestion of the people²⁶ twelve spies were sent to see the land to which they were going, to report on its produce, the people who dwelt there, and the sort of fortifications that guarded the cities they would have to capture. For forty days the spies journeyed through the land. On their return they brought, among other things, a specimen of the grapes of the country, a cluster so large that it had to be borne on a staff. The land, they said, was a good land; it flowed with milk and with honey, but the people of the land troubled them. There were giants among them, and they dwelt in cities that were walled and very strong. The goodness of the land was ignored, and the wonders of God’s dealings in the past were forgotten. In vain two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, sought to still the fears of the people and to reason with them. It was no use. Suddenly the glory of the Lord shone in the pillar of cloud on the tabernacle. In a moment all was stilled, as God spoke to Moses threatening to send a pestilence among the people.

 

Once more Moses acted as an intercessor, and God’s response to his appeal is one of the outstanding statements in God’s Story. “I have pardoned,” he said, “according to thy word; but as truly as I live all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.”²⁷ Note the surety, as truly as God lives!—God Who is from everlasting to everlasting, and Who inhabiteth eternity! So surely as He lives all the earth shall be filled with the glory of God. Centuries have passed since the words were spoken, and the earth has not been filled with the glory of the Lord. It cannot be so until the Seed of Abraham sits in the gate of his enemies, Lord of all the earth, when all the evil associated with sin shall be purged from the earth.

 

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²⁵ See, e.g., Acts 7:37.

²⁶ See Deut. 1:22-25.

²⁷ Quoted from the A.V.

[Resource Manager]

Faithless rebellion

 

The generation that rejected the advice of Joshua and Caleb was not to be associated with any such results. They had despised the words and the power of God, and they had to bear the results of their conduct. Forty days had led to such a discouraging report; forty years were to be spent in the wilderness. During that time the spies and the faithless people were to fall in the wilderness. Only two adults escaped that fate, Caleb and Joshua.

 

When this punishment was announced the people refused to believe it, and proceeded to take matters into their own hands. They invaded the country of the Amalekites, but were defeated, and they sorrow­fully realised that for forty years they must wander in an inhospitable land. Of that forty years of dis­grace and punishment little is known. The route they followed is recorded, and the camping places are named, but that is all except references to a few happenings which must be narrated.

 

The first was the rebellion of Korah. In the encamp­ment of the people around the tabernacle, the tribe of Reuben pitched near the Kohathite section of the Levites. Korah, a Levite, resented the position which had been assigned to him in the service of the taber­nacle. Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob, and the tribe resented the comparatively unimportant place it occupied in the camp. So a party was formed, headed by the envious Korah and two leaders of the disgruntled tribe. Two hundred and fifty princes joined them; they seem to have been some of the firstborns who had occupied so important a place in the national organisation before the choice of the Levites.

 

At last the discontent broke out. “Ye take too much upon you,” the leaders said to Moses and Aaron, “all the congregation are holy.” Moses was very angry, but he appointed the following day for a test by which the Lord would indicate whom He chose. On the morrow the test took place. Korah and his company, with Aaron, and the two hundred and fifty princes attended, each having his censer in his hand. (The fact that the “princes” possessed censers suggests that they had been connected with the priestly functions in the past). When they had assembled round the door of the tabernacle, the glory of the Lord shone forth, and a voice spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them.” Once more Moses acted as intercessor. “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin and wilt Thou be wroth with all the congregation?” The voice spoke again. “Speak unto the congregation saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” With anxious forebodings the people did so. As the three men and their families stood there Moses said, “If these men die the common death of all men, then the Lord hath not sent me. But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, . . . then ye shall understand that these men have despised the Lord.” As the people looked the earth opened her mouth, and Korah and his friends, and all that pertained to them, perished, whilst the fire of the Lord consumed the two hundred and fifty princes that offered incense. Next day the discontent broke out again. They charged Moses with killing the people of the Lord, as though he had caused the earth to open and swallow them up. At once a plague broke out, a plague that was only stayed by the intervention of Moses and Aaron, the latter of whom took incense and made atonement for the people.

 

The rebellion of Korah was an opportunity to vindicate the position of Aaron. The prince of each tribe was told to bring a rod, which, together with that of Aaron, was placed in the tabernacle before the Lord. When they were examined next morning the rod of Aaron had budded and brought forth almonds. The rod was placed in the ark of the covenant as a silent witness to the choice of Aaron and his family to act as priests.

 

The forty years drew to an end and Miriam died in Kadesh, where again there was no water for the people to drink, and Moses was told to take his rod and speak to a rock that it should give water. Moses and Aaron gathered the people together to witness the miracle. But Moses erred, and instead of speaking to the rock he spoke to the people. “Hear now, ye rebels,” he said, “shall we bring you forth water out of this rock?” as he struck the rock twice, and the waters gushed out. It was a lack of faith on Moses’ part, he “believed not to sanctify” God, and it was a complete failure to magnify the God of Israel; he spoke as if he and Aaron were givers of the water. The people’s thirst was quenched, but Moses paid heavily for his mistake. He was not to lead the people into the Promised Land. No one can omit to sanctify God without paying a penalty for such a failure.

[Resource Manager]

The brazen serpent

 

Now the journey was nearly over, the forty years had almost gone, and Israel had reached Mount Hor, on the edge of the land. There, on Mount Hor, Aaron died and was buried. After thirty days mourning for the dead High Priest the people continued their way. They found this last portion of the journey a terribly hard one. The king of Edom refused to let them pass through his country and they had to go around it. The hardships of the way caused more murmurings. This time punishment came by a visitation of fiery serpents. Multitudes of the people died, but Moses was instructed to make a serpent of brass and place it on a pole. Anyone who had been bitten by a serpent and then gazed at the brazen serpent as it was lifted up, was healed. This was another thing that found a much greater meaning fifteen hundred years afterwards.²⁸

 

When Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his land the host turned northward to the country of the Amorites. Here they were not only refused passage, but the king, Sihon, came out against them to battle. He was defeated and Israel took possession of his land. Then Og, the king of Bashan, came against them, and met with a similar fate, and at last Israel had a territory of their own, though not in the land they were seeking.

 

Israel blessed

 

The triumph of Israel made Balak the king of Moab realise his danger. Against a people who had gained such victories he could do nothing. Away in Pethor there was a prophet named Balaam, who was reputed to be a man of wonderful powers, and Balak sent for him to come and curse Israel. At first Balaam refused. He wanted to go, for great riches were offered as an inducement, but God told him he was not to go. Balak then sent more princes and, at last, Balaam agreed to go. He quieted his conscience because God had said that if they called him he might go. The wages of unrighteousness were too alluring to be resisted, and even a rebuke from his ass, and one from an angel who came to withstand him, did not really influence him. Finally God told him that he might go, but that he was only to say that which God told him.

 

In the hands of the Spirit of God Balaam could not help himself. Four times he blessed the people whom Balak had hired him to curse. The incident illustrates a truth expressed long afterwards, that prophecy is not from man but from the Holy Spirit. But if an evil man, under the Spirit of prophecy, could not speak the words he desired to utter he could give advice that was likely to lead to the results desired. A religious feast was held in Moab. Such events were associated with much licentiousness, and the men of Israel fell into the trap. The attraction of the women of Moab was too much for them; they joined them in worship and in the orgies of the festival. Moses gave instructions that all who had taken part in the heathen rites were to be killed, and Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, earned a special commendation by killing a prince of the tribe of Simeon and a Midianitish woman whom he had brought into the camp. War was declared against the Midianites, and in the course of the fighting Balaam was slain.

 

By the conflicts which had taken place a consider­able territory east of the Jordan fell into the hands of the Israelites. It was a land suitable for pasturage, and two of the tribes, Reuben and Gad, and a part of another, Manasseh, had large possessions of flocks and herds. They asked for permission to settle in these countries; Moses granted their request on condition that they left their women and children, with their flocks and herds, in the strongholds of the land, while the fighting men went over Jordan to help their brethren to conquer their inheritance.

 

The time had now come for Moses to die. He had lived a long, active, and interesting life. He had been associated with the great movement that was to establish Israel in the land promised to Abraham in which they were to be the Kingdom of God. Like all men he made mistakes, and he had to pay the penalty. Before he did so he gave a final address to the people. He recited the laws, and told them that God would at some time in the future choose a place which should be the centre of their national worship.²⁹ He promised great blessings if they were faithful to God, and warned them of the terrible things that would happen if they turned to the idols of the nations. The great evils would culminate in their being scattered among all the nations of the earth, though even there they should find no ease, but experience trembling of heart, failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind. History has only too well shown what such predictions meant.

 

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²⁸ See John 3:14.

²⁹ See Deut. 12:5 etc., and page 152-3.

[Resource Manager]

Moses’ death

 

One of the most striking statements made by Moses on this occasion was, “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me.” He told them that God would put His words into the mouth of this Prophet and added, “It shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.” These words found a wonderful significance some fifteen hundred years afterwards when Jesus, the Prophet like unto Moses, actually appeared.

 

Moses finished his address with the repetition of a song in which he set forth the purpose God had in His dealings with Israel, and pronounced a blessing on each of the tribes. When he had finished he went to the top of Pisgah to view the land he was not to enter. There it lay before him as a great panorama with all its variegated characteristics. It was, as he himself said, “a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven; a land which the Lord thy God careth for; the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.” Having satisfied his eyes with the beauty of the scene, the old man lay down to die. The angels of God buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, “and no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.”

 

He was a hundred and twenty years old. Forty years had been spent in Egypt gaining experience in governing people. Forty had been passed in the desert where he could commune in quietness with his God. The last forty had been spent in the great task of leading Israel out of Egypt. Finally he died in sight of the goal of his desires. There he sleeps until the God of the spirits of all flesh shall call him to enter the land which he saw but could not enter.

[Resource Manager]

Canaan in the Times of Joshua

 

CHAPTER X

 

JOSHUA AND THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN

 

WHEN Moses died the leadership of the people passed to his minister, Joshua, who was of the tribe of Ephraim. The great task which lay before him might have appalled any man. He was encouraged by God, who said “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, to you have I given it as I spake unto Moses. Be strong and of a good courage, . . . only be strong and very cour­ageous, to observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee.” God said something more, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein.” A book of the law of the Lord which had been written by Moses was already in existence.

 

Rahab and the spies

 

Joshua commenced his leadership by sending two men to view the land. Immediately across the Jordan was the city of Jericho, and there the two men lodged in the house of a harlot named Rahab. The king of the city sent to fetch them, but Rahab, whose house was on the town walls, hid them on the roof, covered them with flax, and told the king’s messengers that they had already left. When the messengers had gone she went up to the spies and told them that the fear of Israel had seized all the people of the district. Reports had reached them of the happenings in Egypt forty years before. In return for her help they promised that her life, and the lives of her relatives should be spared. She was to place a scarlet thread in her window so that they might recognise the house and spare all who were therein. Three days later the men returned to Joshua with the news that “all the inhabitants of the land do melt away because of us.”

 

Crossing the Jordan

 

Preparations were then made for crossing the Jordan. The priests were to bear the ark, and the people were to follow. As soon as the feet of the priests were dipped in the brink of the water, the waters rose up as a heap “a great way off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan,” while those that flowed to the Dead Sea failed and were cut off, thus allowing the people to cross over the bed of the river. News of this event travelled through the country, and the inhabitants of Jericho and the districts around realised that God was working for Israel. Before the Jordan re-commenced its flow twelve stones were taken from the bed of the river and placed on the west side in a circle, at a place called Gilgal, a name which means a wheel or a circle, to be a perpetual reminder of the crossing of the river.

 

Safely across, an important ceremony took place. Circumcision, the token of the covenant made with Abraham, had not been practised during the wilder­ness journey. It was necessary for it to be performed now, for all that was to follow was related to that covenant. As in the case of the circumcision of the sons of Moses sharp flints were used. After the rite had been performed it was said, “I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.” It was a play on the name “Gilgal” which thus obtained a double significance. Simultaneously with this event the supply of manna ceased.

 

Before the people advanced against Jericho Joshua saw a man beside him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua asked whether he were for them or for their enemies. His answer was startling, “Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come.” Joshua recognised him as an angel, but nothing is recorded of what was said or done on the occasion.

[Resource Manager]

The fall of Jericho

 

The siege of Jericho is one of the most peculiar episodes in the history of war. The army of Israel, with a company of priests carrying the ark of the covenant and seven trumpets made of rams’ horns, encompassed the city in silence once every day for six days. On the seventh day they marched round the walls seven times; then at a given signal, the priests blew with the trumpets and the people gave a great shout, “and it came to pass that the wall fell down flat.” We know now that the wall fell outwards so that the invaders might more easily enter the city. One part of it escaped, the portion where the house of Rahab stood, and where her father and kinsfolk were gathered. All the rest of the inhabitants were destroyed, and the city was burned. Later on Rahab was married to Salmon of the tribe of Judah, and became an ancestress of Jesus of Nazareth.

 

Before the fall of Jericho, Joshua had proclaimed all the city to be devoted to the Lord; and that all the spoil was to be placed in the treasury. He also pronounced a curse on anyone who attempted to rebuild the city.

 

Jubilant at the outcome of the first siege the Israelites went into the hill country to Ai. Confident of success only a portion of the armed men were used. Their confidence was misplaced, for they were defeated and driven back with loss. Joshua was dismayed; a reverse at this stage was likely to undo the effect of the crossing of the Jordan and the capture of Jericho. He fell on his face before the Lord. Then he learned the reason for the reverse; he was told “Israel hath sinned, they have trans­gressed My covenant; yea, they have even taken of the devoted thing.”

 

The culprit was identified by lot, which finally fell on Achan of the tribe of Judah. Thus identified, Achan confessed that he had taken a wedge of gold, two hundred shekels of silver, and a Babylonish gar­ment, and had hidden them in his tent. He had stolen that which belonged to God, and he, and all his, were stoned at a spot named the Valley of Achor (troubling). Seven hundred years later the prophet Hosea told of a time when the Valley of Achor should become a door of hope for the people of Israel.³⁰

 

The sin of Achan having been punished Ai was again attacked. This time stratagem was employed and the city was taken; it was burned and the whole of its inhabitants were put to the sword.

 

The fall of Jericho and Ai gave Israel a position in the country, and Joshua moved to Mount Ebal, where he erected an altar to the Lord. He inscribed a copy of the law of Moses (probably the ten Com­mandments) on stones. Then in a great assembly of the people he read the law from the book that Moses had written, and the blessings and cursings which Moses had pronounced on the obedient and dis­obedient respectively. It was a solemn dedication of the nation to be the people of God in the land that had been promised to their fathers.

 

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³⁰ Hosea 2:15.