iv. _Religion._ While other nations were rapidly learning

to deify the powers of nature, the Patriarchs believed not

only in a God above and beyond nature, but in a God Personal,

Omnipotent, and Holy. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

was no mere abstraction, no mere law. He could and did reveal

Himself by angelic appearances, by visions, by dreams; He could

console, strengthen, encourage; He could punish, rebuke, and on

repentance forgive. Abraham, the _Friend of God_ (Jas. ii. 23),

intercedes with Him in behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. xviii.

23–33); Isaac is warned by Him against going down into Egypt

(Gen. xxvi. 2); Jacob is consoled by Him at Bethel when setting

out into the land of exile (Gen. xxviii. 13–15), and wrestles

with Him by the fords of Jabbok till the break of day (Gen.

xxxii. 24); Joseph believes in His invisible but ever-present

help in prison and in a strange land, and ascribes to Him all

his wisdom in the interpretation of dreams (Gen. xli. 16).

The Divine Promise of a great future Abraham believed under

circumstances of greatest trial, and his faith was _counted to

him for righteousness_ (Rom. iv. 3). Moreover the God of the

Patriarchs was no mere “national or household God.” His sphere

of operation was not restricted to the Patriarchs and their

families; He is the God of all the earth (Gen. xxiv. 3), the

God of Righteousness and Holiness. He punishes the people of

Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. xix. 24, 25); He plagues Pharaoh’s house

(Gen. xii. 17); He is the God of the priest-king Melchizedek

(Gen. xiv. 18), and of the Philistine Abimelech (Gen. xx. 3); He

protects not only Isaac the “child of promise,” but the outcast

Ishmael the “child of the bondwoman” (Gen. xxi. 13); He is with

Joseph in prison, but He sends dreams to Pharaoh, and through

Joseph He saves Egypt from famine (Gen. l. 20).

v. The _Religious Worship_ of the Patriarchs was in keeping

with the simplicity of their creed. The head of the family

was also the priest of the family. Whenever Abraham, Isaac, or

Jacob, reached any new spot in their pilgrimage, they invariably

erected an altar, generally of stone and on a high situation

(Gen. xxii. 9; xxvi. 25; xxxv. 7); there they called on the

name of Jehovah, there they presented their burnt sacrifice,

there they offered up their prayers. Their history also proves

the existence of offering covenant-sacrifices, and celebrating

covenant-feasts (Gen. xv. 9–18; xxi. 32); the making and paying

of vows (Gen. xxviii. 23); the erection of memorial pillars, and

the consecration of them by pouring upon them oil and wine (Gen.

xxviii. 18); the rite of circumcision (Gen. xvii. 10–14); and

the paying of tithes (Gen. xiv. 20)[49].

vi. The _Character of the Patriarchs_ is never represented as

perfect, their faults are freely exposed, theirs is no ideal

history. If we compare the four most eminent amongst them,

we seem to trace in (i) _Abraham_, “the faith that can remove

mountains” in its power and in its fulness, revealing itself

in unfaltering trust and unquestioning obedience under the most

trying circumstances conceivable; in (ii) _Isaac_, the faith

that can possess itself in patience, and discharge the ordinary

duties of life in quietness and waiting; in (iii) _Jacob_, the

violent contest of faith with the flesh, the higher with the

lower nature, till by hard discipline the latter is purified,

and the “Supplanter” becomes the “Prince,” the “Prevailer with

God;” in (iv) _Joseph_, the fidelity and perseverance of faith,

revealed not only in the patient endurance of the most grievous

trials, but in energetic action, and at length crowned with

victory. “He unites in himself the noble trust and resolution of

Abraham, with the quiet perseverance of Isaac, and the careful

prudence of Jacob.” He is moreover an eminent historic type

of Christ, in (1) his persecution and sale by his brethren,

(2) his resisting temptation, (3) his humiliation and exaltation,

(4) his dispensing to a famine-stricken people the bread of life,

(5) in the fulness of his forgiving love[50].

BOOK III.

FROM THE SETTLEMENT OF THE ISRAELITES IN EGYPT

TO THE GIVING OF THE LAW.

Illustration: A MAP OF CANAAN, EGYPT & SINAI

to illustrate the

PATRIARCHAL HISTORY

and

THE EXODUS.

Stanford’s Geographical Establishment

London: Macmillan & Co.

CHAPTER I.

_THE BIRTH AND CALLING OF MOSES._

EXOD. I.–VI. B.C. 1706–1491.

THE district of GOSHEN (_frontier_), also called the _Land of Rameses_

(Gen. xlvii. 11), where the Israelites were settled during the period

of their sojourn in the land of the Pharaohs, was the most easterly

border-land of Egypt. It was scarcely included within the boundaries of

Egypt proper, and was inhabited by a mixed population of Egyptians and

foreigners (Exod. xii. 38). Eminently a pasture land and adapted to the

rearing of flocks and herds, it included also a considerable portion

of fruit-bearing soil, which owed its fertility to the overflowing of

the Nile, called by the Egyptians Hapi-Mu, _the genius of the waters_,

by the Israelites Sihor, or Shihor, _the black_ (Is. xxiii. 3; Jer.

ii. 18). Touching on the west the green valley of this wondrous river,

and stretching onwards to the yellow sands of the Arabian desert

immediately south of Palestine, it was then, as it has always been, the

most productive part of Egypt, yielding luxuriant crops of wheat and

millet, and abounding in cucumbers and melons, gourds and beans, and

other vegetable growths (Num. xi. 5).

Sacred History does not reveal to us many particulars respecting the

early portion of the period during which the sons of Jacob sojourned

in _the land of Ham_. We know that they were _fruitful and multiplied

and waxed exceeding mighty_, so that when the time came for them to

go forth from Egypt they could scarcely have numbered less than two

million souls. We need not, however, suppose that these were all the

direct descendants of the seventy immediate relatives of Jacob. When

that Patriarch and his sons went down into Egypt they would naturally

take with them not only their flocks and herds, but their menservants

and maidservants (Gen. xlv. 10, 11). Of the number of these we can

form some calculation by remembering the 318 _trained servants_, who

accompanied Abraham at the rescue of Lot[51] (Gen. xiv. 14); the _great

store of servants_ possessed by Isaac (Gen. xxvi. 13, 14), two-thirds

at least of whom passed into the possession of Jacob, and must be added

to the _two hosts_ which he brought from Mesopotamia (Gen. xxxii. 7, 8).

But even thus their increase was marvellous, and must be ascribed to

the direct superintending Hand of God. The effect, however, of their

stay was perceptible in other respects. They not only increased in

numbers, but became acquainted with many arts and sciences, and thus

fitted for their future national existence. One portion, indeed, of

the nation seems to have retained its pastoral habits even to the

end. The descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh (Num. xxxii. 1)

probably tended their large flocks and herds on the eastern border of

Goshen, but others settled in the cities and villages on the confines

of the land of Goshen, and not only adopted more generally agricultural

pursuits (Deut. xi. 10), but became acquainted with many useful arts,

with writing, the working of precious and common metals, the grinding

and engraving of precious stones, with carpentry, byssus-weaving, and

pottery (1 Chr. iv. 14, 21, 23), with fishing, gardening (Num. xi. 5),

and artificial irrigation (Deut. xi. 10)[52]. On the other hand, they

could not fail to become acquainted with forms of religious worship

hitherto utterly unknown to them. Now, for the first time, could

they witness the gorgeous and mysterious ceremonies that attended the

worship of Ra, the “Sun-God,” or of Isis and Osiris. Now, for the first

time, they might behold the incense burnt three times every day[53],

and the solemn sacrifice offered once a month to the sacred black calf

Mnevis at On (_Heliopolis_), or to his rival the bull Apis at Memphis.

Now they saw, as they could scarcely have seen elsewhere, the adoration

of _the creature rather than the Creator_ carried to its furthest point,

and divine honours paid not only to the mighty Pharaoh, the Child,

the representative of the Sun-God, but to almost everything _in the

heaven above, and the earth beneath, and the waters under the earth_,

to the crocodile and the hawk, the cat and the dog, the hippopotamus

and the serpent. That the simple patriarchal faith of the descendants

of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob would suffer from contact with such

diverse forms of idolatry might naturally be expected. The worship

of the sacred calf exercised over them a peculiar fascination. _Your

fathers worshipped other gods in Egypt_, says Joshua afterwards (Josh.

xxiv. 14), _they forsook not the idols of Egypt_, is the accusation of

Ezekiel (Ezek. xx. 7, 8; xxiii. 3).

But an important event exercised a still greater influence on their

social and religious condition. A change took place in the reigning

dynasty. _There arose a new king over Egypt_ (Ex. i. 8; Acts vii. 18)

_that knew not Joseph_, who regarded with no friendly feelings the

strange community with alien rites and traditions, settled on the

eastern outskirts of his realm. He viewed with alarm their rapid

increase, and dreaded lest, in the event of a war, instead of guarding

his kingdom against, they might join the enemies of Egypt, the roving

tribes of the East, “the terror of the inhabitants of the Nile valley,”

and fight against his own people, and effect their escape from the land.

Accordingly he determined to reduce them to the condition of public

serfs or slaves; and in order to crush their free and independent

spirit, set taskmasters over them, and employed them in gigantic works,

making bricks for his treasure cities, PITHOM and RAAMSES. Day after

day, therefore, their lives were made bitter with hard bondage, while

beneath a burning rainless sky, naked and in gangs, they toiled under

the lash in the quarry or the brick-field. But this expedient did not

produce the effects the monarch desired. The more they were afflicted,

the more this strange people grew and multiplied, and _waxed exceeding

mighty_. Thereupon instructions were given to the Hebrew midwives to

destroy in some secret way every Hebrew man-child. And when this too

proved ineffectual, from the unwillingness of the midwives to obey so

cruel a decree, an order was issued that every Hebrew boy should be

flung into the waters of the Nile. What Abraham had seen in mystic

vision was now fulfilled (Gen. xv. 12); _a horror of great darkness_

had settled upon his descendants; strangers in a strange land, they

were suffering grievous affliction, they _sighed by reason of their

bondage, and their cry came up unto God_ (Ex. ii. 23).

But it was at this juncture, when every thing seemed at the worst,

that the future Deliverer of Israel was born. AMRAM, a man of the

house of Levi, married JOCHEBED, a woman of the same tribe, and became

the father of a daughter MIRIAM, a son AARON, and a boy remarkable

from his childhood for peculiar beauty (Ex. ii. 2; Acts vii. 20). For

three months his mother succeeded in eluding the vigilance of Pharaoh’s

inquisitors, and concealing her child. But at the close of that period,

finding further concealment impossible, she constructed an ark or

boat of papyrus stalks, and having protected it with pitch or bitumen,

placed the child therein among the reeds of the Nile. There the mother

left it, but Miriam the sister stood afar off to watch her brother’s

fate. As the ark floated with the stream, the daughter of Pharaoh,

attended by her maidens, came down to bathe in the waters of the sacred

river, and as she walked by the bank, her eye lit upon the basket, and

she sent one of her attendants to fetch it. It was brought, and when

opened, _behold! the babe wept_. Struck with compassion the Egyptian

princess, though she perceived it was _one of the Hebrews’ children_,

determined to rear it for her own. At this moment Miriam approached,

and asked permission to call a nurse for the child. Permission was

given, and Jochebed once more saw her boy restored to her, with the

command to rear it for its preserver. The child grew, and after a while

was brought to the Princess, and she, in memory of its preservation,

named it MOSES, or in its Egyptian form MO-SHE, from _Mo_, “water,” and

_Ushe_, “saved” (Ex. ii. 10).

The Foundling of the Nile was now formally brought up as the adopted

son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and, in conformity with his high position,

received a suitable education. He became _learned_, St Stephen tells

us (Acts vii. 22), _in all the wisdom of the Egyptians_; in all

therefore, we may believe, that the science of that day could teach

him of arithmetic, writing, astronomy, medicine, and sacred symbolism.

On the same authority we further learn that Moses became mighty not

only _in words, but also in deeds_ (Acts vii. 22). What these _deeds_

were is not known[54], but it is certain that the Hebrew youth was in

a position to have achieved a splendid career. He might have _enjoyed_

to the full _the pleasures_ of the Egyptian court (Heb. xi. 25),

and amassed much of its accumulated treasures. But the traditions,

the hopes, the creed of his own nation had not, we may believe, been

concealed from him by his mother. Hence when he came to the age of

forty, chancing to go forth from On or Memphis to the land of Goshen,

he beheld one of his countrymen not only toiling amidst the shadeless

brick-fields, but suffering the bastinado from his Egyptian taskmaster.

Filled with indignation Moses _looked this way and that way_, and

seeing no one by, slew the Egyptian, and hid the corpse in the white

sand of the desert. The next day, seeing two of the Hebrews quarrelling,

he tried to act as arbiter between them. His good offices, however,

were not only rejected by the one he decided to be in the wrong, but he

discovered that the murder of the Egyptian was no secret. He imagined

that his countrymen would have recognised in him a Deliverer sent from

the God of their fathers, but they did not. Before long, news of the

murder reached the ears of Pharaoh, and Moses perceiving that his life

was no longer safe fled from Goshen in a south-easterly direction to

the land of Midian, or the peninsula of Sinai in Arabia, peopled by the

descendants of Abraham by Keturah (Gen. xxv. 2).

He was sitting on a well in Midian, when he perceived the approach of

the seven daughters of JETHRO[55], the chief and priest of that country,

to draw water for their flocks. They were in the act of filling the

troughs, when certain Arabian shepherds rudely tried to drive them

away. Thereupon, with the same zeal he had shown in behalf of his own

countrymen, Moses intervened, and defended the maidens against the

intruders. Their unusually early return prompted the enquiries of their

father, and led to his introduction to the chivalrous stranger. Moses

was contented to dwell with the Midianitish chief, and kept his flocks,

and afterward married his daughter ZIPPORAH, by whom he became the

father of two sons, GERSHOM (_stranger_) and ELIEZER (_God is my help_).

And here amidst “the granite precipices and silent valleys of Horeb,”

in quiet and seclusion, forty years of his life passed away (Acts

vii. 30). Here, as nowhere else, he could commune alone with God, and

know himself, and learn the lessons of patience and self-control, and

dependence on the Unseen, while the daily duties of his shepherd life

made him acquainted with every path and track and fountain in a region,

which he was afterwards to revisit under such different circumstances.

Meanwhile, though there was a change of ruler, the lot of the

Israelites experienced no alteration. Still they toiled in cruel

bondage, still their cry went up to the God of their fathers. At length

the time drew near when the Promise made to Abraham was to be fulfilled,

the oppressing nation _judged_, and the people delivered (Gen. xv. 14).

One day Moses was leading the flocks of Jethro some distance from the

spots, where he seems to have usually tended them, _to the back of

the wilderness_, and came to _the mountain of God, even to Horeb_,

when a marvellous sight arrested his attention. He looked, and behold!

before him burning with fire was a bush of wild acacia[56], “the shaggy

thorn-bush of the desert.” But though enveloped in flames, it was

not consumed! It remained unsinged and uninjured by the fiery element

which played around it! Astonished at the prodigy, Moses determined

to draw near and ascertain the cause of this _great sight_, and as

he approached, lo! a Voice, the Voice of God, called unto him out of

the midst of the bush, saying, _Moses, Moses!_ The awe-struck shepherd

answered the Voice, and then was directed to draw not nearer, but take

his shoes from off his feet, for the place on which he stood was _holy

ground_. Moses complied, and hiding his face, for _he dared not look

upon God_, listened, while the Lord spake again, assuring him that He

was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob; He had not

been unmindful of the sufferings of His people in Egypt; He had seen

their affliction; He had heard their cry; He had come down to deliver

them from their oppressors, and to bring them up into a land _flowing

with milk and honey_, and He had appointed no other than Moses himself

to be their Deliverer, and bring them forth from the land of Egypt.

Filled with awe and misgiving, Moses at first sought in every way to

excuse himself from the tremendous commission. _Who am I_, said he,

_that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the

children of Israel out of Egypt?_ _I will be with thee_, was the reply.

But who was this _I_? When Moses went to the children of Israel, and

assured them of the commission he had received, what was the Name he

was to announce to them as his authority? _Thus shalt thou say unto the

children of Israel_, replied the Almighty, _I AM_――JEHOVAH, the Eternal,

the Self-existent――_hath sent me unto you_ (Ex. iii. 14).

But this did not satisfy Moses. What outward and visible assurance

could he give the people of his divine mission? This difficulty was

also met. The Lord invested him with a threefold miraculous power,

whereby to attest his authority, alike before the people and before

Pharaoh. First, he should cast his staff, his shepherd’s crook, upon

the ground, and it would become a serpent, and on taking the creature

by the tail it would resume its former state. Then he should put his

hand into his bosom, and it would become leprous, but on returning it

to his bosom would become as his other flesh. Thirdly, if they believed

neither the first nor the second sign, he was to take of the water of

the Sacred Nile, and pour it upon the dry land, and it should become

blood. But now Moses pleaded another obstacle. He was not _eloquent_,

he was _of a slow speech, and a slow tongue_; no words had he wherewith

to bend the awful Pharaoh on his throne. _Who hath made man’s mouth?_

was the reply; _Who maketh the dumb, the deaf, the blind? Have not I

the Lord? Go, and I will be with thy mouth, I will teach thee what thou

shalt say._ Still Moses made another effort to roll off from himself

the awful responsibility of the commission. _O my Lord_, he cried,

_send, I pray Thee, by the hand Thou shouldest send_. This last proof

of distrust provoked even the Lord to anger, but it was the anger of

Love, the Love that remembers mercy and sustains the weak. The Lord

had already provided a spokesman. Aaron his brother was at this moment

on his way to meet him, and he was known to be able to speak well.

Together, like the Apostles afterwards, the Brothers should go in

before Pharaoh; Aaron should be _instead of a mouth_, and Moses should

be to him _instead of God_, and with his rod he should perform the

prescribed signs. Then, at last, his timidity was removed; he consented

to go, and the object of the Vision of the Burning Bush was thus far

attained (Ex. iv. 1–17).

CHAPTER II.

_SIGNS AND WONDERS IN EGYPT._

EXOD. IV.–XI. B.C. 1491.

THE first step Moses took towards fulfilling the trust thus confided

to him was to request of his father-in-law permission to revisit his

brethren in Egypt. Jethro gave his consent, and then, having received

the Divine assurance that _all the men were dead which sought his life_,

accompanied by Zipporah and her two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, Moses

commenced his return to Egypt[57]. He had not proceeded far before

he encountered his brother Aaron coming forth to meet him, to whom

he explained their commission, and the signs that were to attest it.

On arriving in the land of Goshen the Brothers gathered together all

the clans of the nation. Aaron, as spokesman, rehearsed _the words

which the Lord had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of

the people_. His announcement had the desired effect. The Israelites

believed that the Lord God of their fathers had indeed interposed in

their behalf, _and bowed their heads and worshipped_. The next step

was to procure from Pharaoh the necessary permission for the departure

of the people. But now, even as the Almighty had forewarned them, the

difficulties of the Brothers commenced. On presenting themselves before

Pharaoh, and informing him of the will of Jehovah, the God of Israel,

that His people should be permitted to go three days’ journey into the

wilderness, there to offer sacrifice unto Him (Ex. v. 3), the monarch

haughtily asked, _Who is Jehovah, that I should obey His Voice to let

Israel go?_ Conceiving the God of Israel to be merely a national god,

it seemed to him inexplicable that One who had suffered His worshippers

to endure a lengthened and degrading bondage, could demand of him, the

mightiest monarch of the earth, to let His people depart. Concluding,

therefore, that it was only an expedient to excite aspirations for

freedom among the bondslaves, in contemptuous mockery of them and their

God, he ordered that the severity of their toil should be doubled.

Hitherto straw had been found them, wherewith to make bricks for the

treasure-cities and other gigantic works then in progress; but now it

was ordered that they must go and gather straw for themselves, and yet

the tale of bricks must not be diminished; what it was before, that it

was to remain, and to be completed also. To comply with this tyrannical

command was impossible, and the Israelitish officers, who had been

set over the people by the Egyptians were beaten, and their complaints

to Pharaoh were utterly disregarded. This produced a great change

of feeling towards Moses and Aaron, at whose announcement of speedy

deliverance the people had so lately _bowed the head and worshipped_.

They heaped reproaches upon them, and openly charged them with being

the cause of their now accumulated miseries, of _having made their

savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh_ (Ex. v. 1–21).

Thus the first attempt of Moses to execute his commission ended

in complete failure. In deep dejection he laid before Jehovah the

ineffectual issue of his efforts, and in reply not only received a

second assurance of protection and ultimate triumph, but was told that

as Pharaoh had rejected the _word_ of God, God would now speak to him

in _deeds_, and multiply His _signs and wonders_ in the land of Egypt,

till the Egyptians knew that He was the Lord. But the contest, in which

Moses was now to engage, was not to be fought with _carnal weapons_.

As the accredited servant of Jehovah, he was to contend against the

gods of Egypt, against those arts, the very lifeblood of heathenism,

in which Egypt deemed itself so strong, its magic and necromancy, its

priests and conjurers. Accordingly the Brothers went a second time into

Pharaoh’s presence, and renewed their request. The monarch demanded

a miracle in attestation of their claim. Thereupon Aaron threw down

his rod before the king and his courtiers, and straightway it became a

serpent. But snake-charming was an art in which Egypt bore off the palm

from every other country of the world. Pharaoh, therefore, summoned

his magicians[58], who cast down their rods, and they likewise became

serpents. But though Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods, the monarch

would not acknowledge that his servants had been defeated; he hardened

his heart, and refused to recognise in this miracle an authoritative

warning to let the people go. The “signs,” therefore, were now to

become _Plagues_ (Ex. vii. 8–14).

(i) Accordingly, on the morrow, at the command of God, Moses made his

appearance before Pharaoh, just as he was going to offer sacrifice to,

or perform his religious ablutions in the sacred waters of the Nile,

the “Father of Life,” the “Father of the Gods[59],” as it was called by

the Egyptians. In words few but decisive he announced the reason of his

coming, and then the word was given; Aaron lifted up his rod, and in a

moment, before the very eyes of the monarch and all his servants, the

waters of the sacred, fructifying river, not only in the stream itself,

but in the “canals and tanks, in the vessels of wood and vessels of

stone, then, as now, used for the filtration of the water from the

sediment of the river bed,” were turned into blood. The fish, though

similarly objects of religious reverence, died in incredible numbers,

and the “Father of Waters,” the source of health and blessing, stank,

nor could the Egyptians drink thereof, for there was blood throughout

all the land of Egypt. But again the magicians were summoned; with

their enchantments, they caused other water, probably obtained by

digging about the river, to assume the same blood-red appearance, and

Pharaoh turned into his house, and hardened his heart, neither _would

he let the people go_ (Ex. vii. 14–25).

(ii) After an interval, therefore, of seven days, Moses and Aaron

again presented themselves before him, and when their request was

again denied, inflicted the _second_ plague. From the streams, the

rivers, the ponds of Egypt, _Frogs_[60] came up over the whole land,

penetrating into the royal palace, the houses of the courtiers and of

the people, defiling bed-chamber and bed, oven and kneading-trough,

with their loathsome touch. Again the magicians were summoned, and

though they were utterly unable to counteract, they succeeded in

imitating this plague also. Pharaoh was more deeply moved than before;

he not only condescended to beg of Moses and Aaron that they would

intreat Jehovah to remove this plague from his people, but undertook

to allow the Israelites to depart and do sacrifice to the Lord. But

no sooner had the desired deliverance been vouchsafed, than he again

hardened his heart and refused to fulfil his word (Ex. viii. 1–15).

(iii) For the _third_ time, therefore, Aaron uplifted his rod, and

now, not from the “Father of Waters,” but from the fertile soil of

Egypt itself, came forth innumerable swarms either of _Lice_ or of

_Gnats_[61], which afflicted both man and beast with intolerable

discomfort. This plague all the spells and incantations of the court

magicians were unable to imitate, and they were fain to confess to

Pharaoh, _This is the finger of God_, but he hardened his heart, and

_hearkened not unto them_ (Ex. viii. 16–19).

(iv) On the morning after, as he went forth to the waters of the river,

which he had lately seen so grievously dishonoured, he was met by

Moses, and refused for the _fourth_ time to relieve the people of their

bondage. On this the servant of Jehovah spake the word, and there came

innumerable _Flies_ of various kinds[62], usually a fearful torment

in Egypt, but now attacking with unwonted fury both man and beast, and

swarming in every house of the Egyptians, while they touched neither

house nor person of the Israelites in Goshen. Such was the intolerable

severity of this plague that Pharaoh so far relented as to permit

the people to sacrifice to Jehovah _in the land itself_, but with the

proviso that they should not leave it. This Moses would not concede.

Therefore the monarch extended his concession to a journey some little

way into the wilderness, but on the removal of the judgment revoked it,

and retained the nation in bondage (Ex. viii. 20–32).

(v) The _fifth_ Plague was now inflicted. A grievous _Murrain_ broke

out amongst the horses, the asses, the camels, the oxen, the sheep

of the Egyptians, so that all the cattle of Egypt, including not only

the useful beasts, but probably “the sacred goat of Mendes, the ram of

Ammon, the calf of Heliopolis, the bull Apis[63],” died, while in the

land of Goshen, as Pharaoh himself ascertained, there was not one of

the cattle of the Israelites dead. But even this had no effect on his

proud heart (Ex. ix. 1–7).

(vi) Accordingly Moses and Aaron were commanded to take _handfuls of

ashes of the furnace_, and _sprinkle_ them upwards _towards heaven_,

and on their so doing, _Boils_ and _Blisters_, and other eruptive

disorders, broke forth upon man and upon beast. Even the royal

magicians suffered so terribly from this the _sixth_ plague, that they

_could not stand before Moses_, but the heart of their master was still

hardened, nor would he yield to the will of God (Ex. ix. 8–12).

(vii) With still greater solemnity, therefore, the coming of the

_Seventh_ Plague was announced to him, and he was warned to send his

servants and gather together such of his cattle as were grazing in

the fields, if he would not have them utterly destroyed by a terrible

_Storm of thunder, lightning, and hail_[64]. By some, who heard the

warning, it was heeded in time, by others it was utterly disregarded.

But it was too surely fulfilled. Moses stretched forth his rod toward

heaven, and on the fair garden of Egypt, with its green meadows

and fields of corn and barley and maize, the storm burst forth with

unwonted fury. _The Lord thundered out of heaven, and the Highest gave

His thunder_ (Ps. xviii. 13). _The fire ran along upon the ground_,

the hail rattled, and smote _the vines and fig-trees_ (Ps. cv. 33),

and every herb of the field, and every tree of the field, the barley

then _in the ear_, and the flax then _bolled_ or risen in the stalk,

as also the cattle and herdmen that had not been removed to any place

of shelter. Alarmed beyond measure at this unexampled tempest, Pharaoh

begged Moses to intercede for him, owned this time that he had sinned,

that the Lord was righteous, that he and his people were wicked, and

promised to do all that was required of him. But, as before, when the

fury of the elements was hushed he refused to abide by his word (Ex.

ix. 13–35).

(viii) And now for the _eighth_ time the release of the people was

demanded, and the monarch was told that, in the event of refusal,

the country, already grievously devastated, should be given up to the

awful ravages of the _Locusts_, which, in numbers, _such as neither his

fathers nor his fathers’ fathers had seen_, should swarm in the palace

and the hut, covering the face of the ground, and eating up whatever

herb or tree had escaped the fury of the late storm. This announcement

filled the Egyptians, already suffering severely, with uttermost alarm.

_Let the people go_, they cried to their king, _that they may serve

the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?_

Even Pharaoh was fain to lend an ear to this remonstrance. Summoning

Moses and Aaron, he informed them that he was ready to allow such as

were _men_ amongst the Israelites to depart and serve their God, but

their wives and children must remain as a guarantee for their return.

The servants, however, of Jehovah, were not empowered to make this

concession, and the plague began. A strong east wind blew continuously

and brought the locusts, which in dense swarms covered the face of

the land, so that it was darkened and became a desolate wilderness,

without a leaf upon the trees or a blade of grass in the fields[65].

The obduracy of the monarch now broke down, and was followed by a

brief repentance, which lasted no longer than the west wind which swept

away the locusts; for once more, in the face of an utterly devastated

country and a murmuring people, he refused to hearken to the word of

the Lord (Ex. x. 1–20).

(ix) Without the pre-announcements, therefore, which had preceded

the infliction of the other plagues, the _ninth_ now appeared in the

shape of _Darkness_[66] so dense _that it might be felt_, which for

three days enveloped the entire land, save only the favoured country

of Goshen. During this period the light of the sun was obscured, an

awful and preternatural gloom shrouded the land, so that the Egyptians

neither could see one another nor rise from their place. At the end

of the three days Pharaoh once more capitulated; all the Israelites,

young and old, might depart, the flocks and herds alone must remain.

These conditions, however, were rejected by Moses, and he was dismissed

from the palace with the warning to take heed that he saw the face of

Pharaoh no more, for _on the day that he saw his face, he should surely

die_ (Ex. x. 21–29).

CHAPTER III.

_THE LAST PLAGUE――THE PASSOVER――THE EXODUS._

EXOD. XI.–XV.

HITHERTO the elements of nature had each in their turn been

commissioned to fight against Pharaoh. In all the preceding plagues

there had been human intervention. The rod or the hand of Moses had

summoned from the sacred river, or the fertile soil, or the rainless

air, or the desert sands of Arabia, the ministers of punishment, and

wrought _signs and wonders in the land of Ham_, and had proved that

the God he served was no mere national god, but was Lord over earth and

air and water, over cattle and man, over tree and herb. But none of the

elements of nature were to bring on Pharaoh God’s _last sore judgment.

At midnight_, said Jehovah, _will I go out into the midst of Egypt, and

all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn

of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the

maid-servant that is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts;

I will execute judgment against all the gods or princes_ (Ex. xiii. 12

_Marg._) _of Egypt, I am Jehovah_.

Before, however, this last great blow was struck, involving the

firstborn of the highest and the lowest in one common fate, certain

important preliminaries were to be enacted. It was now the Hebrew

month of Nisan or Abib, the _month of green ears_. On the fourteenth

day of this month it was announced that the last sore judgment would

be inflicted. But on the tenth day of this month, a month to be to

the Israelites henceforth the _beginning of months_, the first month

of their sacred year, the father of every household was to select a

lamb or kid, without blemish, a male of the first year. It was to be

kept till the fourteenth day, and then slain just before the evening

twilight (Ex. xii. 1–6). A portion of the blood was to be sprinkled

with a bunch of hyssop on the two side-posts and the upper door-post

of the houses of the Israelites, and on the selfsame night the lamb,

roast with fire, whole, not a bone being broken, was to be eaten with

unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Of this meal each household was

to partake, with their loins girded, their shoes on their feet, their

staves in their hands, in haste like persons in a hurry to depart. Of

the flesh of the lamb nothing was to be allowed to remain until the

morning, and all remnants were to be burnt with fire. And at midnight,

while they were partaking of this mysterious meal, the Lord, they

were told, would _pass through the land of Egypt_, and smite all the

firstborn, both of man and beast, but when He saw the blood sprinkled

on the houses of the Israelites, He would _pass over_ them, and the

plague should not be upon them to their destruction (Ex. xii. 7–12).

Such was the ordinance of the PASSOVER, a Memorial-Feast to be

celebrated, not on that night only, but throughout all future

generations, and to be kept for a period of seven days, during

which leavened bread was neither to be eaten nor found in any of the

houses of the Israelites. On receiving from Moses the Lord’s commands

respecting this Feast, the elders of Israel, partakers with him of

a like faith in the certainty of the events about to be enacted (Heb.

xi. 28), _bowed their heads and worshipped_. On the tenth day of Nisan,

the Month of Redemption, each household selected a lamb or kid, kept

it till the fourteenth day, slew it, sprinkled the blood upon the

side-posts and the upper door-post of their houses, and at midnight

were eating of it with the prescribed ceremonies, when suddenly the

last and most awful of all the Ten Plagues began. The Lord smote all

the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of the captive

that was in the dungeon unto the firstborn of the mighty Pharaoh

himself, and all the firstborn of cattle. In the darkness of that

awful night the monarch rose up, he and all his servants, and all the

Egyptians, and a loud frantic cry arose throughout the land, for there

was not a house where there was not one dead. Terrified and confounded

the stubborn king could no longer resist the power of Jehovah. He

implored Moses and Aaron, as an act of kindness, to depart with

the utmost speed. And not only he, but all his people joined in

the petition, and pressed upon the Israelites jewels of silver and

jewels of gold, earrings, signet-rings, necklaces, and festal apparel.

Thus furnished by the Egyptians themselves with costly ornaments

befitting the great day of their deliverance[67], the whole host of

the Israelites, numbering 600,000 men capable of bearing arms, besides

women and children and a mixed multitude from the lower orders of the

Egyptians, went forth from RAMESES, and in the darkness and cool of the

night pursued their way (Ex. xii. 37, 38).

The nearest route to Canaan would have been the usual caravan route,

which runs in a north-easterly direction along the coast of the

Mediterranean, and would not have occupied more than a few days. But

it would have brought the host into collision with the warlike and

powerful nation of the Philistines, and for such an encounter they were

as yet totally unfit. From RAMESES, therefore, which was probably on

the eastern skirts of the Delta in the _Wady Tumeilat_, they proceeded

in a southerly course, and after a day’s journey halted for the first

time at SUCCOTH (Ex. xii. 37), the place of _booths_, “formed by the

luxuriant foliage of tamarisk, sycamore, and palm” at the verge of

the cultivated land of Egypt. The next day’s halt was at _Etham in the

edge of the wilderness_ (Ex. xiii. 20). At this point the Lord Himself

in an outward and visible form assumed the direction of their march,

appearing by day in a Pillar of Cloud, and by night in a Pillar of

Fire. Such a miraculous intervention was indeed needed to confirm the

faith of the host, for instead of being conducted round the northern

extremity of the Red Sea, so as to escape with all speed beyond reach

of their Egyptian oppressors, they were commanded to turn and encamp

before Pihahiroth (_the place of sedge_), between Migdol (a frontier

_Watchtower_) and the western side of the Red Sea over against

Baal-zephon. Here they had scarcely encamped, when lifting up their

eyes the Israelites discerned the terrible horses and chariots of

Pharaoh pursuing after them. Astonished that the people had not made

good their flight into Asia, and deeming them entangled in the land

and shut in by the wilderness, the monarch had directed all his forces

to give chase to the fugitives. In wild alarm the Israelites cried out

to Moses, and already complained of their deliverance from the bondage

of Egypt. But the faith of their leader was not shaken. He bade the

trembling, panic-stricken host stand still and _see the salvation of

the Lord_.

They had not long to wait. For at this moment the Angel of God,

who went before the host of Israel in the Pillar of Cloud and Fire,

stationed himself behind them so as to deepen the gloom in which the

Egyptians were advancing, and afford light and encouragement to the

Israelites. Simultaneously, Moses advanced towards the Red Sea, either

at the present fords of Suez, or at some point higher up, and stretched

over it his rod. Thereupon a strong East wind began to blow, the waters

were divided, the bottom of the sea was exposed, and amidst walls of

water standing up on either side of them on their right hand and on

their left, the caravan of the Israelites defiled in long procession.

All night the wondrous passage continued, and as the morning broke

they had safely landed on the further shore. Meanwhile their foes,

determined to prevent the second escape of their prey, had rushed on

amidst the pitchy darkness that surrounded them into the same awful

pass. But, at the morning watch, when they had reached the midst of the

sea, the Lord looked upon them from the Pillar of Fire and of the Cloud,

and troubled their hosts, and caused their heavy chariot-wheels to

sink in the sand, so that _they drave them heavily_. In wild confusion

they shouted to one another to turn back, but it was too late. Again

the hand of Moses was uplifted, and straightway the waters, till now

congealed from their lowest depths (Ex. xv. 8), began to break and give

way, and the sea _to return to his strength_. All efforts to escape

were fruitless, fast and furious the sea swept on, the engulphing waves

closed over them, horse and chariot and horseman _sank like lead in the

mighty waters_. Then from the Israelitish leader, and the host which

had stood still and seen the deliverance Jehovah had wrought for them,

there burst forth a noble song of praise and thanksgiving, while Miriam

his sister, and her women, accompanied them with timbrels and dances.

Together they sang the praises of Him who _had triumphed gloriously,

who had cast Pharaoh’s chariots and his host into the sea, and drowned

his chosen captains in the waves, whose right hand become glorious in

power had dashed in pieces the enemy, who had blown with His wind, and

gathered the waters with the blast of His nostrils, and in His mercy

led forth the people which He had redeemed_. (Ex. xv. 1–19. Comp. Ps.

lxxvii. 16–19.)

Thus, at length, the word of the Most High, which He spake to the

patriarch Abraham at least 400 years before, was fulfilled. The seed

of the Patriarch had grown into a great nation; they had been strangers

in a land that was not theirs; they had suffered cruel affliction and

degradation; but the oppressing nation had been judged, and _with much

substance_ the oppressed had come forth. The jewels of silver and gold

and the festal apparel, which their late tyrants had forced upon them,

well became this their national birthday. Once slaves, they were now

free; once a degraded tribe, they were now an independent people. They

had left behind them Egypt with its grinding tyranny, and its memories

of years of suffering. They had been _baptized unto Moses in the cloud

and in the sea_ (1 Cor. x. 2), their faces were set towards a Promised

Land, their hopes fastened on a glorious Future.

CHAPTER IV.

_THE JOURNEY FROM THE RED SEA TO REPHIDIM._

EXOD. XV.–XIX. B.C. 1491.

AND now the ransomed people commenced their journey. Skirting the

eastern shore of the Red Sea, they “entered” the wilderness of Shur

(or Etham, Num. xxxiii. 8), on the western base of the high table-land

which forms the northern portion of the peninsula of Sinai[68]. A three

days’ march brought them to a well, probably _Ain Howâra_, plentifully

supplied, indeed, with water, but so bitter that they could not drink

of it, whence they called it Marah (“_bitterness_”). This was the first

test of their faith in their Invisible Leader, and they proved unequal

to it. They murmured against Moses, saying, _What shall we drink?_ In

his distress Moses turned to the Lord, who bade him cast a tree into

the waters, and they were straightway sweetened. Leaving Marah they

reached ELIM (Wâdy _Ghurundel_, or Wâdy _Useit_), where were twelve

wells of refreshing water, and three-score and ten palmtrees. Here

they probably staid some days, and then passing between vast cliffs,

probably at the mouth of the _Wâdy Tayibeh_, again came in sight of the

deep blue waters of the Red Sea (Num. xxxiii. 10), where they encamped,

and were able for the last time to discern the shadowy line of Egypt,

the land of bondage. Leaving the sea-shore on the fifteenth day of the

second month, they entered the shadeless desert of Sin (Ex. xvi. 1). By

this time the supply of bread they had brought with them from Egypt was

consumed, and the people burst forth into loud murmurings against Moses

and Aaron. _Would God_, they cried, _we had died by the hand of the

Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots, and did eat

bread to the full_. Thereupon Moses was commissioned to assure them of

speedy relief, and that very evening dense flocks of quails, immense

numbers of which are found in Arabia Petræa and the adjoining countries,

covered the ground around their encampment (Ex. xvi. 13). Moreover

the next morning, when _the dew had gone up, behold! there lay on the

face of the wilderness a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost,

white, like coriander seed, the taste of which was like wafers made

with honey_. On seeing this curious substance, and not knowing its

origin or properties, the Israelites exclaimed Man-hu, “_What is it?_”

whence the substance hitherto unknown received the name of MANNA (Ex.

xvi. 14–36).

Two conditions were annexed to the enjoyment of this extraordinary

and unlooked-for blessing. The people were instructed to gather only a

sufficient quantity for the wants of a single day, an omer (about five

pints) each man, and they were to leave none of it until the morning.

Some of them, however, infringed both these conditions, and in both

instances found cause to regret their conduct. Some took the trouble

to gather more than the prescribed quantity, and found that in spite

of their exertions _he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that

gathered little had no lack_. Others _did_ leave some of it until the

morning, but they too found themselves disappointed, for it was in a

state of decomposition and utterly unfit for food. On the sixth day,

however, each man was surprised to find himself able to gather twice

the usual quantity. This circumstance Moses explained to them. The

seventh day was to be observed as a holy SABBATH (_rest_) unto the

Lord, on that day no manna would be found lying on the ground, but

on the sixth day they were to gather twice the usual quantity to make

provision for the deficiency on the Sabbath. This command, however,

was not universally obeyed. Some went out to gather on the Sabbath,

but returned empty-handed. Thus the institution of the Day of Rest

was presented as one of peculiar significance, and a preparation was

made for the more precise legislation respecting it to be afterwards

promulgated. In memory of this miraculous supply of the people’s needs,

Moses directed that an omer of the Manna should be put aside in a

vessel as a memorial to all future generations (Ex. xvi. 32–34; John

vi. 31, 32; 1 Cor. x. 3; Heb. ix. 4).

After a halt of a week in the wilderness of Sin, and also at two

intermediate stations, DOPHKAH and ALUSH (Num. xxxiii. 12–14), the

positions of which are unknown, the Israelites reached REPHIDIM

(“_places of Rest_”), most probably the _Wâdy Feirân_, and “the finest

valley in the whole peninsula.” Two circumstances distinguished their

encampment in this valley. In consequence of a second failure of water

the murmurings of the people against their leader reached such a pitch,

that they showed signs of a readiness even to stone him with stones.

Again, however, the Lord interposed, and mercifully directed Moses to

strike a rock in Horeb, _i.e._ one of the outer hills in the Sinaitic

group, whereupon a copious stream flowed forth, and refreshed the

thirsty host. In memory of the murmuring of the people, Moses named the

spot MASSAH (“_temptation_”), and MERIBAH (“_strife_”) (Ex. xvii. 7).

The other circumstance which rendered memorable the encampment at this

spot was of a different nature. One of the main streams of population

occupying at this time the Sinaitic Peninsula, was the powerful tribe

of AMALEK. Their settlements extended from the northern part of the

peninsula, even to the borders of Palestine. They were descended from

Esau, and were governed by a chief, who bore the title, by some deemed

hereditary, of AGAG, the “_Burner_” or “_Destroyer_.” (Comp. Num. xxiv.

7; 1 Sam. xv. 8, 9.) Regarding the encampment of the Israelites in the

rich and fertile valley of Rephidim with no friendly feelings, they

mustered their forces, and treacherously falling upon their exhausted

rear, _smote the hindmost of them and the feeble amongst them, when

they were faint and weary_ (Deut. xxv. 17–19). To repel this attack

Moses directed a young man, whose name is here for the first time

mentioned, JOSHUA, or as he was now called HOSHEA (_salvation_), the

son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, to select a body of men, and go

forth to meet Amalek in the valley. Meanwhile he himself ascended the

hill, whence, probably, the refreshing streams had issued, with the

rod of God in his hand, and accompanied by Aaron and Hur. There within

sight of the battle in the valley below, he stood and stretched forth

his hands in supplication to heaven. So long as his hands remained thus

uplifted, the Israelites made good their superiority over the foe, but

as often as from weariness his hands drooped Amalek prevailed. For a

long time the contest seemed undecided. At length Aaron and Hur, seeing

Moses wearied with his exertions, took a stone and placed it under him,

and stayed up his hands in the attitude of supplication, till the sun

went down, by which time Amalek had sustained a total defeat, and been

smitten with the edge of the sword. This victory and the circumstances

leading to it were too important to be forgotten. On the summit of the

hill, where he had stood in the attitude of prayer, Moses erected an

altar, which he called JEHOVAH-NISSI (_the Lord is my Banner_), and,

by the Divine direction, inscribed in a book the account of Amalek’s

attack, and rehearsed it in the ears of Joshua. Their treacherous

conduct had placed them under the same ban as the nations of Canaan,

and the Lord _would utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from

under heaven_ (Ex. xvii. 14; 1 Sam. xv. 2, 3; 2 Sam. viii. 12).

Not long afterwards, JETHRO, the father-in-law of Moses, having

heard all that the Lord had done for his kinsman, and of the wonderful

deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, left his tents among the

Midianites and came to meet him, with his daughter Zipporah, and

her two sons Gershom and Eliezer. After mutual salutation, the two

passed into the tent, and Moses recounted to his father-in-law the

marvels of the Exodus, the travail of the people by the way, and

their late deliverance from the sword of Amalek. Jethro rejoiced at

the recital, bestowed upon the Israelites his solemn blessing, and

offered sacrifices to Jehovah, to which and the thanksgiving-feast that

followed, Aaron the future high-priest, and all the elders of Israel

were invited. On the morrow, perceiving Moses occupied from morning

until evening with the administration of justice and the settlement

of disputes among the people, Jethro ventured to remonstrate with him

on the risk he incurred by undertaking unaided so heavy a burden. He

suggested that judges, rulers, and elders, _able men, such as feared

God, and hated covetousness_, should be appointed, who should at stated

seasons see justice done between man and man, and reserve only the

weightier matters for the attention of Moses himself. His wise advice

was adopted, and men were duly appointed to preside over every ten,

every fifty, every hundred, and every thousand of the people, and thus

equalize the burden hitherto sustained by Moses alone (Ex. xviii. 1–27).

CHAPTER V.

_SINAI AND THE GIVING OF THE LAW._

EXOD. XIX. XX. B.C. 1491.

AT length the halt at Rephidim came to an end. In the third month (Ex.

xix. 1), the Israelites once more set out in a southerly direction,

and after ascending winding valleys and rugged passes and staircases

of lofty rocks rising one above the other in long succession, reached

a level plain (probably _Er-Raheh_)[69], in front of which “towered

the massive cliffs of Sinai,” rising “like a huge altar in front of

the whole congregation.” Here in a spot where they could find water and

pasture for their flocks and herds, they pitched their tents _before

the Mount_ (Ex. xix. 2). The natural aspect of everything around them

was of a character calculated to exert a most solemnising influence

upon their feelings. They had reached a kind of “natural sanctuary, not

made with hands,” which for magnificence and grandeur far exceeded any

of those massive Egyptian temples, on which their eyes had rested by

the green valley of the Nile. Far removed from the stir and confusion

of earthly things[70], amidst a scene of desolate grandeur and a

silence unbroken even by the sound of waters or the trickling of rills

down the mountain gorges[71], they experienced everything that the

natural influence of scenery and association could effect towards

fitting their minds for the great and sublime transactions now about

to be enacted between them and the Almighty. They were about to receive

direct communication from the Lord of all the earth, and to learn

why _with an outstretched arm, and signs and great wonders_, they had

been delivered from the bondage of Egypt, and thus led forth into the

wilderness.

By way of preparation for the great scene, Moses left the congregation

encamped on the plain, and proceeded up the winding steep ascent of

Sinai. On reaching the summit, the Lord called unto him, and made known

His intention of renewing the patriarchal Covenant, which, though it

might seem to have been forgotten during the weary years of bondage

in Egypt, had never been disannulled (Gal. iii. 17), and was now to be

solemnly republished. Like all Covenants, it contained a stipulation

and a promise. If Israel would obey the Voice of Him, who had delivered

them from Egypt, and _borne them on eagles’ wings, and brought them to

Himself_ (Ex. xix. 4), if they would submit themselves to His laws, and

keep His commandments, then, _though all the earth was His_, yet should

they be _a peculiar treasure unto Him above all people_. Jehovah “would

enter into a special relation towards them, He would undertake the

duties and claim the privileges of sovereignty,” while they should be

unto Him _a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation_. It was not a single

and peculiar order that was to be elevated to the high position of a

member of the priest-kingdom, as was the case in Egypt. Every Israelite

was to sustain this relation, and in the midst of a world given up to

idolatry, was called to preserve the knowledge of the one true God, and

exhibit to the nations the spectacle of a people walking in the ways

of Holiness, Righteousness, and Truth. The conditions of this Covenant

Moses made known to the Elders and people of Israel; he laid before

them _all the words which the Lord commanded Him_, and when they had

voluntarily agreed to obey them, he returned with their reply to the

Lord, and was told of the intention of Jehovah to come unto him _in a

thick cloud, that the people might hear him, and believe him for ever_

(Ex. xix. 9).

Three days, therefore, were now devoted to preparatory and ceremonial

ablutions, during which the people were commanded to abstain from all

sensual and worldly enjoyments. Then bounds were set round the mountain

on which a God of Holiness was about to appear, lest any of the people

should ascend or even touch it. Of any infringement of this prohibition

death was denounced as the certain penalty, and that not inflicted in

the usual way, lest the executioners should themselves be polluted, but

from a distance with stones and arrows (Ex. xix. 12, 13; Heb. xii. 20).

At length the morning of the third day dawned, and the awful silence

of the mountain-sanctuary was broken by peals of thunder, which echoed

and re-echoed amidst the rocky gorges, while flashes of lightning

lit up the peaks of Sinai, and revealed by their contrast the pitchy

darkness and the thick cloud which had settled upon the mountain-top.

Presently the Voice _as of a Trumpet_ (comp. Rev. i. 10, iv. 1),

sounded exceeding loud, audible even above the crash of the thunder,

so that every soul in the camp trembled. This was the signal God had

made known to Moses, who straightway led forth the people out of the

camp _to meet with God, and they stood at the nether part of the mount_,

which appeared _altogether on a smoke, like the smoke of a furnace_,

enshrouding a mysterious flame in which the Lord descended (Ex. xix.

18). Again the Trumpet pealed with a long-continued blast, and _waxed

louder and louder, and Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice_,

summoning him to meet Him on the top of Sinai. Arrived there, he was

commanded again to warn the people, and even the priests, against

drawing too near, or breaking through the bounds that had been set

about the mount for the purpose of indulging any profane gaze, and

so incurring the inevitable penalty of death (Ex. xix. 21). Moses

therefore returned to the awestruck crowd on the plain below, and

renewed the solemn warning. Then _from out of the midst of the fire,

and the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a great voice_ (Deut. v.

22), JEHOVAH Himself spake to the assembled host _face to face_, and

proclaimed the Ten fundamental Words of the law of the Covenant. Not

as the Lord of the universe, or the Creator of all things, did the Most

High now reveal Himself to the people, but as their Redeemer, who had

_brought them out of the land of Egypt, and from the house of bondage_

(Ex. xx. 2). (I) _Beside Him_, therefore, they were to have _no other

god_; (II) _of Him_ they were to make no _representation_, or construct

any _graven image_, or any _likeness_ in the form of anything either in

the heaven above or the earth beneath, or the waters under the earth;

(III) for His _Name_ they were to entertain the deepest reverence, nor

profane it by taking it in vain; (IV) His _Day_, the seventh Day, _the

Day of rest_, they were ever to observe; six days they might labour,

and do all their work, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord

their God, no work might be done by the head of the family, or his

son, or his daughter, his manservant, or his maidservant, his cattle,

or the stranger sojourning within his gates. Such was the duty of the

Israelite towards God. But now also the Almighty proclaimed man’s duty

towards his neighbour. He enjoined and connected with a special promise

of temporal prosperity (V) _filial Reverence for Parents_, and forbade

(VI) _Murder_, (VII) _Adultery_, (VIII) _Theft_, (IX) _False Witness_,

and (X) _Covetousness_ (Ex. xx. 1–17).

These were the Ten Words, the fundamentals of the Divine Law, under

which the Israelites were henceforth called to live, and which they

were to accept as the charter of their constitution. But so great was

their terror, when they heard God thus speaking to them _face to face_,

that they fled, and standing afar off implored Moses to intercede with

the Almighty that they might no more hear His voice, lest they should

die. _Go |thou| near_, said they, _and hear all that the Lord our God

shall say, and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak

unto thee, and we will hear it and do it_ (Deut. v. 27). Their request

found favour in the sight of Jehovah, and Moses was now solemnly

appointed as the Mediator between the Israelites and God. At the same

time, the Lord intimated that He would raise up a still greater PROPHET

than Moses, from the midst of the Israelites, yet like unto him, _that

He would put His words in His mouth, and He should speak unto them all

that He commanded_ (Deut. xviii. 13–19). Accordingly in his capacity

of Mediator, Moses now returned up the mountain, and ascended into the

thick darkness that still abode upon it for the purpose of receiving

the further commands of Jehovah. After remaining there for some time,

he came back to the people. They had on their part already agreed to

enter into covenant with God. But it was necessary that this Covenant

should now be solemnly ratified by them, its provisions read in their

hearing, and formally accepted as the basis of their constitution.

Accordingly Moses first wrote all the words that Jehovah had spoken

in a book, probably a papyrus-roll, and then, having built an altar at

the foot of the mount and set up twelve pillars, he caused calves and

goats to be slain as burnt-offerings and peace-offerings by the hands

of certain selected youths. In the ears of the assembled people he next

read every word of the Law, and when these conditions of the Covenant

had been formally accepted by them, he took the blood of the victims

already slain, together with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop (Heb.

ix. 19–21), sprinkled one half of the blood on the altar, and the roll

containing the Covenant-conditions, and the other half on the people,

saying as he did so, _Behold the blood of the Covenant which the Lord

hath made with you concerning all these words_.

But one portion only of the ceremony was complete. The victims had

yielded up their life. The blood, the source of life, had been

sprinkled on the altar and accepted by Jehovah. It was now necessary

that the sacrificers should join in the Covenant-feast. To celebrate

this, Moses, accompanied by Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders,

as representatives of the people, ascended to a level spot near the

summit of Sinai. There they saw the glory of the God of Israel, under

whose feet there was, as it were, _a paved work of a sapphire-stone,

and the body of heaven in its clearness_. But instead of suffering

any harm from such close proximity to the majesty of the Supreme, they

ate and drank in His presence of the Covenant-feast, and thereby were

assured of His mercy and loving-kindness (Ex. xxiv. 9–11).

CHAPTER VI.

_MOSES IN THE MOUNT――THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CALF._

EXOD. XXIV.–XXXIV. B.C. 1491.

THUS the Covenant was formally ratified, and the nation solemnly

devoted itself to the service of the God of Israel. Further revelations,

however, awaited Moses, and after committing the charge of the people

to Aaron and Hur (Ex. xxiv. 14), he again went up into the mount

accompanied only by Joshua, his minister and attendant. After an

interval of six days the voice of God summoned him to ascend alone

yet higher into the midst of the cloud that still overhung the mount,

and for forty days and forty nights he there remained in mysterious

converse with Jehovah. During this period the Lord showed him in vision

a representation of the sanctuary (Heb. viii. 5), which He required

should be the solemn place of meeting between Him and the people, and

gave him the necessary instructions for its erection (Ex. xxv.–xxviii.),

together with full particulars respecting the order of its services and

ritual (Ex. xxix. xxx.), as also the names of the two men who were to

be employed in building it, viz. BEZALEEL of the tribe of Judah, and

AHOLIAB of the tribe of Dan (Ex. xxxi. 1–11). At the same time Moses

received two tables of stone, on which the Ten Commandments had been

written by the finger of God.

While, however, the Israelitish leader had been engaged in solemn

converse with the Supreme, a far different scene had been going on in

the plain below. His prolonged absence had filled the Israelites with

doubt and perplexity. When the glory of the Lord descended upon Sinai,

they had, indeed, felt the mountain quake, they had heard the thunder

roar, they had seen the lightning flash, but of JEHOVAH Himself they

had beheld no form or similitude. Now to believe in One who did not,

like the gods of every other nation round about, reveal Himself under

any palpable figure, was not easy for men who had so long lived amidst

the fascinations of the idolatrous rites of Pagan Egypt. As weeks

therefore passed away, and still no sign appeared of the return of

their leader, the people began to lose their trust in Him whom they had

promised to obey. They wished to break up their long encampment; but

who would go before them, and guide them in the way? Yearning therefore

for some visible representative of Jehovah, and possibly yielding to

the suggestions of some of the Egyptians amongst _the mixed multitude_

in the camp, they gathered themselves together before Aaron, with the

petition that he _would make them gods to go before them_, for as for

Moses, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, they knew

not what was become of him. Unable to stem the popular clamour, and

taking refuge in an unworthy expediency, Aaron bade them bring him

the golden earrings of their wives, their sons, and their daughters,

and of these he fashioned a calf, probably according to the well-known

form of the Egyptian Apis or Mnevis, whose worship the people must

often have witnessed during their sojourn in the Nile Valley. Then

building an altar he proclaimed a three days’ festival to Jehovah.

Accordingly, with the earliest dawn of the following day, the people

arose, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the image,

exclaiming, _These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the

land of Egypt_, and concluded the ceremony with one of those licentious

orgies, accompanied by song and dance, which were so common amongst

heathen nations (Ex. xxxii. 4; 1 Cor. x. 7).

It was while they were in the very act of celebrating this idolatrous

festival that Moses, accompanied by Joshua, returned from the presence

of the nation’s invisible King. He had already received Divine

intimation of the apostasy of the people, and in his capacity of

Mediator had already interceded in their behalf. Now with the two

tables of the Law in his hands he descended the Mount. To the ear

of his companion the noise of the host, as it ascended upwards from

the valley below, _sounded like the noise of war in the camp_. But

Moses knew otherwise. _It is not the noise of them that shout for the

mastery_, he replied, _neither is it the voice of them that cry for

being overcome, but the noise of them that sing do I hear_. Then as he

drew near the camp, and beheld with his own eyes the heathenish orgies

that were going on, his feelings overmastered him; his anger waxed

hot, and he cast the Tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath

the Mount. Next advancing towards the senseless image, he seized it,

burnt it with fire, reduced it to powder[72], strewed the ashes on the

neighbouring brook of Horeb, and compelled the people to drink thereof.

Then after sternly rebuking his brother for conniving at so heinous

a sin, he stationed himself at the entrance of the camp, and bade

all, who still remained faithful to Jehovah, gird on their swords, and

without regard to family tie or private friendship, slay the offenders

from gate to gate with the edge of the sword. It was a severe but

necessary test of the fidelity of the people, and the sons of Levi

were found faithful. With a zeal very dissimilar from that which had

animated their forefather at Shechem (Gen. xxxiv. 25, 26), instead

of siding with Aaron, though their tribal leader, they arose and slew

about 3000 of the offenders, thus effacing the blot on the memory

of their tribe, and qualifying themselves for high functions in the

sanctuary (Ex. xxxii. 25–29).

In order to make an atonement for the people’s sin, Moses, on the next

day, re-ascended the mount, and solemnly interceded with the Almighty

on their behalf. Standing _in the gap_ (Ps. cvi. 23) between a justly

offended God and an erring nation, he offered, if no other way of

forgiveness was possible, freely to surrender his own life, and to

suffer the blotting out of his own name from God’s Book. Eventually

his intercession prevailed. The Almighty promised that the nation

should not be cut off, and that He would send His Angel before them,

who should lead them into the land promised to their forefathers. But

further punishment certainly awaited them; in the day of His visitation,

He would visit their sin upon them, an earnest of which they speedily

experienced in the shape of plagues (Ex. xxxii. 35), with which _the

Lord plagued the people_, because of their sin in _turning His glory

into the similitude of a calf that eateth hay_ (Ps. cvi. 20).

The announcement of Moses that their journey into the Promised Land was

not to be suspended, but that Jehovah would not go up in their midst,

was received by the people with much lamentation (Ex. xxxiii. 4). Their

sorrow was accepted as a sign of repentance, and Moses caused his own

tent to be pitched at a long distance without the camp, and named it

the _Tent, or Tabernacle of Meeting_ (Ex. xxxiii. 7). Then, accompanied

only by Joshua, he passed through the long line of the people’s tents,

at the doors of which they stood and watched him, and, as he entered

his own, the Cloudy Pillar, which hitherto had rested on the top of

Sinai, descended, and stood before it, and amidst the joyful reverence

of the watching host, the Lord conversed with Moses, _face to face, as

a man speaketh unto his friend_ (Ex. xxxiii. 11). The descent of the

Cloudy Pillar, and its position at the entrance of the tent of Israel’s

leader, though at a distance from the people, was a sign that his

intercession had prevailed. In spite of their recent sin, Jehovah had

not _forgotten to be gracious_, He would fulfil His promise, and the

nation should be led into the land assured to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

and every one, who sought the Lord, might draw nigh, and consult Him

through His servant Moses in the appointed place of meeting.

Emboldened by this measure of success, Moses expressed a desire,

since he was the ordained leader of the people, and had found grace in

the sight of God, that he might be permitted to behold the essential

Glory of Him, with whom he was privileged to speak face to face (Ex.

xxxiii. 13). He asked for more than he, or any other finite creature,

could endure. The Face――the essential Majesty――of Jehovah no man could

see and live. But if he ascended the mount on the morrow, and took

precautions that no man or beast appeared in sight, and brought with

him two fresh tables of stone hewn out of the rock, the Lord promised

that he should see so much of His Glory as mortal eye could bear.

Accordingly on the morrow with two fresh-hewn tables he ascended, and

awaited the mysterious revelation. Every precaution had been taken; no

man was allowed to be seen throughout all the mount, no flock or herd

was suffered to feed before it (Ex. xxxiv. 3). Alone, unattended even

by the faithful Joshua, the accepted mediator between the people and

their invisible King stood in a cleft of the rock. And while he stood

“covered with Jehovah’s hand,” the Lord passed by and proclaimed, _The

Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant

in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity,

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, unto the third and fourth generation_. As Moses

listened to this proclamation of the incommunicable attributes of the

Most High――“Justice and Mercy, Truth and Love”――like Elijah after him

in a cleft of the same jagged rocks (1 K. xix. 9–13), he bowed his head

towards the earth and worshipped, and interceded for a more complete

renewal of the broken covenant between Jehovah and His people. His

prayer was heard. The Covenant was once more renewed, and for a second

period of forty days and forty nights Moses remained in the Divine

Presence, and received fresh instructions respecting the moral and

ceremonial laws of the Theocracy.

At the close of this period, with the two fresh Tables, inscribed

with the Ten Words, he again returned to the people. On this occasion,

he retained more permanent marks of the awful converse he had been

permitted to hold. Aaron and the elders of the people were afraid

to approach him, for _the skin of his face shone_ with a celestial

radiance, and the reflection of Jehovah’s glory gilded his brow.

The lawgiver himself, not aware of the change that had come over his

features, called unto them, and at length emboldened to approach, they

heard at his mouth all the commands of God. But the unearthly splendour

was not permanent. Lest, therefore, the people should behold the fading

away of this visible credential of his interview with the Supreme,

Moses was in the habit of placing a veil upon his face whenever he

departed from them (Comp. 2 Cor. iii. 13)[73], but removed it as often

as he was permitted to behold the presence of the Lord, and receive

fresh renewals of the celestial radiance.

BOOK IV.

THE MOSAIC WORSHIP AND POLITY.

CHAPTER I.

_THE TABERNACLE._

EXOD. XXXVI.–XL. B.C. 1490.

THE encampment of the Israelites before Sinai continued for more than

a year (Num. i. 1). At this point, then, it will be convenient to group

together and consider the most important of those ordinances which they

now received, and the chief features of the constitution under which

they were called to live.

The purpose for which the Jewish nation was raised up was of the

most momentous character. In the midst of surrounding idolatry and

moral degeneracy, they were called to preserve intact the doctrine of

_the Unity of God_, to be the guardians of _His gracious promises of

Redemption_, and to exhibit to the world _holiness_ (See Rom. ix. 4, 5).

The doctrine of the Divine Unity was the kernel of the Mosaic law, and

as such was defended by the sternest and most rigorous enactments. The

Israelites were forbidden even to mention the names of the gods of the

Canaanite nations (Ex. xxiii. 13); they were commanded to burn or

destroy their images, their altars, their sacred groves (Ex. xxiii. 24;

xxxiv. 13); they were to deem accursed the precious metals of which

their idols were composed (Deut. vii. 25), and on no pretence whatever

were they to conclude any treaty or make any marriage with them (Deut.

vii. 2, 3). Relapse into idolatry was to be regarded as the greatest

crime, and whether committed by a city or an individual was to be

punished with unrelenting severity. In the latter case, death by

stoning was the inevitable penalty; in the former, all the inhabitants

were to be put to the sword, the whole spoil was to be collected into a

heap and burnt, and a solemn curse was to be pronounced against any one

who attempted to rebuild it (Deut. xiii. 6–18). No less vigorous were

the enactments against the construction of any representation of the

true God under any form or similitude, whether of man or animal, of

bird or fish or star.

But while all idolatrous forms of worship were thus rigorously

forbidden, the Almighty condescended to make known to His people the

way in which He was willing to receive their adoration. Stooping to the

infirmities of a nation just delivered from degrading bondage, He took

them by the hand, and provided for the wants of their religious nature

in a way marvellously adapted to their native genius and character, as

also to their previous habits and modes of thought.

And first, that the Israelites might have a visible assurance of

the Divine presence in their midst, a sanctuary was to be erected,

not according to any model suggested by the people themselves, but

according to a Divine pattern shown to Moses in the Mount (Ex. xxv. 9;

Heb. viii. 5). The Patriarchs had their pillars of stone (Gen. xxviii.

18, 19), or the shade of the consecrated grove (Gen. xxi. 33). The

Egyptian had his huge colossal temples, built of vast granite blocks,

or hewn out of the solid rock. Not such was to be the sanctuary of

Jehovah amongst a people journeying through a wilderness to a Promised

Land. As the nomad chief had his tent in the midst of his tribe, so

Jehovah, as the Head of the Hebrew pilgrim-nation, ordained that a

Tent or _Tabernacle_ should be erected for Him, where He might _meet

and speak unto_ His people, and _they might draw nigh to Him. I will

sanctify_, said God, _the Tabernacle of meeting, ... there will I meet

with ... and will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their

God, and they shall know that I am the Lord their God_ (Ex. xxix. 42–46;

xxx. 6, 36).

In the erection of this Pavilion-Temple every member of the nation was

invited to take a part, and to contribute either the gold and jewels

of which the Egyptians had been spoiled, or the arts which, as we have

seen, many of the Israelites had learnt from them. While, therefore,

the superintendence of the work was entrusted to two skilful artificers,

BEZALEEL of the tribe of Judah, and AHOLIAB of the tribe of Dan (Ex.

xxxi. 2, 6; xxxv. 34), many of the congregation contributed offerings

of gold and silver and brass, of blue and red and crimson, of fine

linen, and goat-skins, and ram-skins dyed red. Others were despatched

in different directions throughout the fertile valley where they were

encamped, to fell the Shittah or Acacia tree, which grew abundantly in

the neighbourhood of Sinai, and was exactly adapted by its durability

and lightness for the construction of a moveable tent, and while the

workmen prepared it for its different purposes, the women employed

themselves diligently in weaving and spinning blue and crimson hangings,

thus consecrating the arts which they had learnt, while serving as

bondslaves in the houses of the princes of Egypt (Ex. xxxv. 20–35).

(A) The AREA, or Court, within which the Tabernacle stood, was an

oblong square, 100 cubits[74] in length by 50 in breadth, formed by

curtains of fine linen 5 cubits in height, hanging from pillars of wood

with capitals overlaid with silver and furnished with sockets of brass.

These pillars, 20 on each longer side and 10 on each shorter, were held

together by means of silver rods attached by silver hooks, and were

fastened into the ground by means of pegs of brass. The entrance[75]

was from the east, so as to catch the rays of the rising sun. Here the

curtains extended only 15 cubits from each corner, and the intervening

space with its 4 pillars formed the entrance, and was overhung with

curtains of fine twined linen, of the richest and most brilliant

colours, blue and purple and scarlet.

In a line with the Entrance and the Tabernacle itself stood (a) THE

ALTAR OF BURNT-SACRIFICE, and (b) THE GREAT LAVER FOR PURIFICATION.

(a) _The Altar of Burnt-offering_[76] (called in Malachi i. 7, 12, _the

table of the Lord_) was in form a square, 5 cubits long, 5 broad, and

3 high, and was constructed of hollow boards of acacia-wood overlaid

with brass (Ex. xxvii. 4, 5). So long as the Tabernacle was stationed

in any one place, these were probably filled with earth, which thus

formed the upper side or surface, on which the sacrifices were offered.

Each corner of the altar was furnished with horns of acacia-wood

overlaid with brass; to these the victims were fastened, and on them

their blood was sprinkled at the consecration of the priests, and the

sacrifice of the sin-offering (Ps. cxviii. 27; Ex. xxix. 12; Levit.

iv. 7, 18, 25). From each side projected a horizontal ledge, to the

outer edge of which was attached a perpendicular grating of brass,

resting like the Altar upon the ground, for the purpose of catching

any portions of the sacrifice or the fuel that might fall. The ledge,

on which the priests officiated, was approached by a slope of earth,

for the Law forbade the construction of steps leading up to the altar

(Ex. xx. 26). The implements used in the sacrifices, such as pans and

shovels for collecting and removing the ashes, basins for receiving the

blood, fleshhooks for turning the pieces of flesh, were all of brass

(Ex. xxvii. 3; see 1 Sam. ii. 13, 14).

(b) _The great Laver for purification_ stood between the Altar of

Burnt-offering and the Tabernacle. It was made of the brass from

the metal mirrors belonging to the women who served at the door of

the Tabernacle (Ex. xxxviii. 8), and was probably of a circular form

standing on a basis or foot. In it the flesh of the victims was washed,

as also the hands and feet of the priests, before they performed any

holy function (Ex. xxx. 18–21).

(B) The TABERNACLE itself was entered, at its eastern side, through a

magnificent curtain, 10 cubits in width, supported on five pillars (Ex.

xxvi.). Its dimensions inside were 30 cubits in length, 10 in breadth,

and 10 in height. It was formed of planks of acacia-wood overlaid with

gold, fixed into the ground by means of two tenons, each fitting into

a socket of silver, resembling the sharp end of a spear. At the top

they were united by bars of acacia-wood, 5 bars to each piece, passing

through golden rings. The roof was formed of several sets of curtains;

the innermost, 10 in number, formed of fine twined linen of various

colours, and adorned with cherubic figures of curious workmanship;

next to these were 11 curtains of goats’ hair; then one of rams’ skins

with the wool on dyed red; and lastly, another of badgers’, or, more

probably, seals’ skins[77].

The Tabernacle consisted of two portions, (a) THE HOLY PLACE, and

(b) THE HOLY OF HOLIES (Ex. xxvi. 33, 34: and comp. Heb. ix. 2, 3).

(a) _The Holy Place_, 20 cubits in length and 10 in height and width,

was divided from the _Holy of Holies_ by a veil of the most costly

materials and the most splendid colours. Without any opening to admit

the light from above, it was illumined only by a _Golden Lamp_ or

_Candlestick_, with _seven_ lights, fed with pure olive oil, kept

burning day and night, and trimmed each morning by a priest with golden

snuffers, who carried away the snuff in golden dishes. From the base,

on which the lamp rested, rose a shaft dividing itself on either side

into three branches, so that it had seven arms, each adorned with

calyxes of almond flowers, apples, and buds of pomegranates or lilies

(Ex. xxv. 31; xxxvii. 17–25; Heb. ix. 2).

Opposite the Golden Lamp was the _Table of Shewbread_ (Ex. xxv. 23–29),

made of acacia-wood, overlaid with gold, 2 cubits in length, 1 in

breadth, and 1½ in height, and standing on 4 feet. It had a border to

prevent the loaves from falling off, and was furnished with rings and

staves for removal. Belonging to it were cups or spoons for incense,

bowls for wine, dishes for bringing and removing the loaves, all of

gold. These loaves, called also _bread of the face_, being set _before

the face of the Lord_ (Levit. xxiv. 5–9), were twelve in number,

according to the number of the tribes. Baked of the finest meal, flat

and thin, they were placed every Sabbath on the Table in 2 rows, 6 in

each, and sprinkled with incense, and accompanied with libations of

wine in the golden bowls. Here they remained till the next Sabbath,

when they were taken away and replaced by twelve fresh loaves, and

eaten by the priests[78] in the Holy Place, out of which they might not

be carried, the frankincense having been burnt as an oblation on the

Altar of Sacrifice.

Between the Table of Shewbread and the Golden Lamp and immediately

before[79] the veil separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies

was the _Golden Altar of Incense_ (Ex. xxx. 1–11). Made of acacia-wood,

in shape a square, 1 cubit in length and breadth and 2 in height, and

ornamented round the middle with a golden wreath, it was furnished,

like the Altar of Burnt-offering, with horns, rings, and staves; but

unlike it was wholly overlaid with _gold_. On it incense, carefully

prepared of four different ingredients (Ex. xxx. 34–38), was placed

by the officiating priest morning and evening, with live coals taken

from the Altar of Burnt-offering, that the smoke of the incense

might perpetually ascend before the Lord. Once a year its horns were

sprinkled with the blood of the sin-offering of the Atonement, and on

no other occasion, except when a sin-offering was presented for the

High-priest or the congregation.

(b) _The Holy of Holies_, separated, as we have just said, from the

Holy Place by a costly veil supported on a screen of 4 pillars, formed

_a perfect cube_ of 10 cubits in length, breadth, and height. While

the Holy Place, though never penetrated by the daylight, was illumined

by the splendid Golden Lamp, the Holy of Holies was left _in utter

darkness_, symbolical of Him whom _no man hath seen, nor can see_

(1 Tim. vi. 16). Within this most sacred enclosure neither priests nor

people as a body, but the High-Priest only, and that but once a year,

ever entered. Here stood nothing but the ARK _of the Covenant_ (Ex.

xxv. 10–16). This was an oblong chest of acacia-wood overlaid with the

purest gold within and without, 2½ cubits in length, 1½ in breadth,

1½ in height. It stood on 4 small feet, which were provided with

4 golden rings, through which staves of acacia-wood overlaid with gold

were passed, and which when once inserted were never to be removed.

Within it were placed[80] the two stone tables, on both sides of which

the Decalogue had been inscribed. Round the top ran a crown or wreath

of pure gold, and upon it was the _Mercy-Seat_, of the same dimensions

as the Ark, made not of wood overlaid with gold, but entirely of pure

gold. At either end of the Mercy-Seat rose two golden Cherubim, with

outspread wings and faces turned towards each other, and eyes bent

downwards, as though desirous _to look into_ its mysteries (1 Pet.

i. 12). Neither their size nor their form are distinctly described. By

some they are thought to have been handed down by patriarchal tradition

from those which were placed in Paradise (Gen. iii. 24); by others

to have resembled Egyptian models; while Josephus (_Ant._ III. vi. 5)

declares that they resembled no figures known to men, and that in his

day their form was utterly lost. In Ezekiel (i. 5–13) we find them

likened to compound figures with the head of a man, an ox, a lion, and

an eagle, with four wings, two serving for flight, two to cover the

body, and straight feet inflexible at the knee. It is not improbable

that they represented the manifold powers of nature――created life

in its highest form――their overshadowing wings meeting as in perfect

harmony, their eyes cast downwards towards the Divine Law, over which

seemingly so rigid and unbending was the compassion of ONE _forgiving

iniquity, transgression and sin_[81].

NOTE.

HISTORY OF THE TABERNACLE.

SUCH was the Pavilion-Temple which Moses constructed _according

to the pattern shown him in the Mount_. The chief facts

connected with its history are as follows.

i. During the wanderings in the wilderness it was the one place,

where Jehovah “met His people,” and where from the ineffable

glory above the mercy-seat He revealed His Will. There the

Spirit came upon the 70 elders and they prophesied (Num. xi.

24, 25); thither Moses and Aaron were summoned on all important

occasions, as on that of the rebellion of Miriam (Num. xii. 4),

of the unfaithfulness of the spies (xiv. 10), of the rebellion

of Korah (xvi. 19), of the sin of Meribah (xx. 6); there on

the death of Moses his successor was solemnly appointed (Deut.

xxxi. 14).

ii. During the conquest of Canaan it was, probably, moved from

place to place, wherever the host of Israel was encamped.

iii. Afterwards it was brought to _Shiloh_ (Josh. ix. 27; xviii.

1; xix. 51), on account, doubtless, of its secluded and central

position, and as being within the territory of the powerful

tribe of Ephraim, to which Joshua belonged, and here it remained

during the entire period of the Judges (comp. Josh. xix. 51;

xxii. 12; Judg. xxi. 21).

iv. But in the time of Eli, the licentiousness of his sons

stained the sanctity of Shiloh, and degraded the Tabernacle

almost to the level of a heathen temple (1 Sam. ii. 22), while

the capture of the ark by the Philistines (1 Sam. iv. 22) still

further dimmed its glories, and Samuel himself sacrificed at

other places, Mizpeh (1 Sam. vii. 9), Ramah (ix. 12; x. 3),

Gilgal (x. 8; xi. 15).

v. After this it was for some time settled at _Nob_ (1 Sam. xx.

1–6), and thither also misfortune followed it: Saul murdered the

priests (1 Sam. xxii. 11–19), and Abiathar fled with the sacred

ephod to David (xxiii. 6).

vi. In the time of David and Solomon we find it at _Gibeon_

(1 Chron. xvi. 39; xxi. 29), but the ark was now removed to

Kirjath-jearim, and afterwards, on the capture of Jerusalem, to

that city, where a new Tabernacle was constructed to receive it

(1 Sam. vi. 17; 1 Chron. xv. 1). Its glory now waned more and

more, it became connected with the worship of the high-places

(1 Kings iii. 4), retained only the old altar of burnt-offering

(1 Chron. xxi. 29), and eventually it seems to have been either

taken down, or left to be forgotten and “_vanish away_[82].”

CHAPTER II.

_THE PRIESTS._

EX. XXVIII. XXIX. LEV. VIII. IX. NUM. III. IV.

PRIOR to the Mosaic period, as has been already noticed[83], the head

of each family and the firstborn appear to have exercised all kinds

of government, ecclesiastical as well as civil, being both kings and

priests in their own houses.

At the departure, however, from Egypt, it was declared that all

the firstborn were specially sanctified to God in token of the

mercy shown to them there (Ex. xiii. 2), and when Moses received the

Divine commands concerning the construction of the Tabernacle, it was

ordered that from the children of Israel Aaron and his sons should be

specially selected _to minister in the priests’ office_ (Ex. xxviii. 1).

Subsequently, when the whole tribe of Levi displayed such signal zeal

on the occasion of the construction of the golden calf (Ex. xxxii. 26),

that tribe was separated for the service of the sanctuary, and accepted

in the place of the firstborn, as the royal guard to wait on Israel’s

King (Num. i. 47–54; iii. 5–13).

But though the whole tribe was set apart for these important purposes,

a strictly prescribed order regulated its particular functions to each

branch, of which there were three, (a) THE LEVITES, (b) THE PRIESTS,

(c) THE HIGH-PRIEST.

(a) _The Levites_ entered on their duties at the age of 30 (Num. iv.

23, 30, 35), and were consecrated, not as the priests, by anointing and

investiture, but by a ceremony of washing accompanied by sacrifices,

after which the elders laid their hands upon them, and Aaron presented

them _as a wave-offering before the Lord_, in token that they were

offered to the Lord by the congregation for the service of the

sanctuary, and handed over by Him to the Priests[84]. Thus occupying

a middle place between the people, who were all ideally _a kingdom

of priests_, and the higher sacerdotal orders, they might approach

nearer to the Tabernacle than the other tribes, but they might not

offer sacrifice, nor burn incense, nor handle the holy vessels of the

Sanctuary, till they were concealed from view (Num. iv. 15).

The Levites, then, were _the assistants of the priests_, and consisted

of three families or sections, the sons of GERSHON, KOHATH, and MERARI.

i. The _Kohathites_ held the first rank, as being the family to which

Aaron belonged. It was their duty, on the removal of the Tabernacle, to

bear all the sacred vessels, including the Ark itself, but not before

the priests had concealed them from the profane gaze with a dark blue

pall (Num. iii. 31; iv. 6, 9, 15; Deut. xxxi. 25).

ii. The _Gershonites_ were charged with the removal of the curtains,

veils, and tent-hangings (Num. iv. 22–26).

iii. To the _Merarites_ was entrusted the heavier portion of the

Tabernacle furniture, such as the boards, pillars, and bars, and

therefore with the Gershonites they were permitted to use the oxen

and waggons contributed by the congregation, while the Kohathites

were only suffered to remove the sacred vessels on their shoulders

(Num. vii. 1–9). With this arrangement agreed their position in the

encampment in the wilderness. While the place of honour on the east

was occupied by the sons of Aaron, the Kohathites were on the south,

the Gershonites on the west, the Merarites on the north.

In place of territorial possessions, the Levites received the tithe

of the produce of land and cattle, of which they again gave one-tenth

to the priests (Num. xviii. 24–26). At the close of the wanderings

they would need a more fixed abode, and 48 cities with suburbs of

pasture-land for their flocks and herds were assigned them. Of these

the Levites had 35; Kohath 10; Gershon 13; Merari 12; while the

remaining 13, including the six _Cities of Refuge_, were assigned to

the Priests.

It was also designed that at the settlement of the nation in the Land

of Promise their functions should be not only diffused as widely as

possible, but should include others besides those of merely assisting

the priests. They were to take the place of the old _household priests_,

to share in all festivals and rejoicings (Deut. xii. 19; xiv. 26, 27;

xxvi. 11), to preserve and transcribe the law (Deut. xvii. 9–12), and

to read it publicly at the Feast of Tabernacles every seventh year

(Deut. xxxi. 9–13).

(b) The _Priests_ were consecrated to their office with far more

imposing ceremonies than the Levites. After laying aside their old

garments, they washed their bodies with pure water, were anointed with

the holy oil, and then arrayed in their new vestments (Ex. xxix. 4–7).

Themselves _compassed about with infirmity_, they needed to _offer up

sacrifice first for their own sins_ before they could intercede for

others (Heb. v. 2; vii. 27). On the head therefore of a bullock they

solemnly laid their hands, and thus symbolically transferred to it the

guilt that clung to themselves; then in token of their entire devotion

to their solemn calling, a ram was slain as a burnt-offering, and

its blood sprinkled on the altar (Ex. xxix. 10–18; Lev. viii. 18, 19).

Another ram was next slain as a peace-offering, and some of its blood

was smeared on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand,

the great toe of the right foot, in token of their intention to devote

every member to the service of Jehovah; and finally, as they were

not only to intercede for the guilt of the people, but to offer their

praises and thanksgiving, sacrificial cakes of unleavened bread with

portions of the sacrifice were placed in their hands, and these they

waved before the Lord (Ex. xxix. 19–24).

The vestments they wore during their ministrations consisted of fine

linen drawers, and over these a closely-fitting tunic or cassock,

white, woven whole in one piece and broidered, reaching to the feet.

This was confined round the waist by a girdle wrought with needle-work,

exhibiting the three sacred colours, blue, purple, and scarlet,

intermingled with white. Upon their heads they wore a linen tiara in

the form of the calyx of a flower. In all their ministrations they seem

to have been bare-footed.

Certain qualifications were essential before they could enter on the

discharge of their duties. As the victim was required to be without

blemish, so also was the sacrificer, and in Levit. xxi. 17–21 the

defects are enumerated, which excluded from the priestly office.

During their period of ministration they might drink neither wine nor

strong drink (Levit. x. 9); except in the case of the nearest relatives

they might make no mourning for the dead (Levit. xxi. 1–5); or shave

their heads, or, like the priests of heathen nations, “_make cuttings

in their flesh_,” or otherwise mutilate themselves (Levit. xix. 28;

1 Kings xviii. 28). They were permitted to marry, but might not ally

themselves with one of an alien race, or an unchaste woman, or one

who had been divorced, or the widow of any one but a priest (Lev. xxi.

7, 14).

Their duties were to keep the fire ever burning on the altar of

burnt-offering both day and night (Levit. vi. 12); to trim and feed

with oil the golden lamp (Ex. xxvii. 20, 21); to offer morning and

evening the regulated sacrifices at the door of the Tabernacle (Ex.

xxix. 38–44); to lay the fresh shewbread on the table every seventh

day (Lev. xxiv. 8); to blow the silver trumpets and proclaim all solemn

days (Num. x. 1–10); to examine the lepers and pronounce whether they

were clean or unclean (Lev. xiii.); to act as judges and expositors

of the law, and teach the people the statutes of the Lord (Lev. x. 11;

Deut. xxxiii. 10).

A distinct provision was made for their support, and consisted of

(i) one-tenth of the tithes of the whole produce of the country paid

to the Levites (Num. xviii. 21, 26); (ii) the loaves of shewbread

(Levit. xxiv. 9); (iii) the firstfruits of oil, wine, and corn (Num.

xviii. 12); (iv) the redemption-money for the firstborn of man or

beast, five shekels a head, and also for everything devoted (Num.

xviii. 14, 15); (v) the perquisites of the sacrifices, the flesh of

the burnt-offerings, peace-offerings, and trespass-offerings, and

especially the heave-shoulder and the wave-breast (Num. xviii. 8–14;

Levit. x. 12–15); (vi) a fixed portion of the spoils taken in war

(Num. xxxi. 25–47).

(c) The office of _High-priest_ was conferred first on Aaron, then

on his son Eleazar[85] and his descendants. At some period before the

time of Eli, the succession passed to the line of Ithamar, and there

continued till the time of Solomon, in whose reign it reverted to the

line of Eleazar (1 Sam. ii. 35; 1 Kings ii. 35).

The same ceremonies accompanied the consecration of the High-priest

as that of the priests, save that the anointing, which in the latter

appears to have been confined to the sprinkling of their garments with

the sacred oil, was more copious in his case, and the oil was poured

upon his head (Lev. viii. 12; Ps. cxxxiii. 2).

The vestments of the High-priest were far more rich and splendid than

those of the priests. Like the latter he wore the linen drawers, but

in place of the closely-fitting tunic he wore _the robe of the Ephod_,

which was all blue, of woven work, without sleeves, reaching down to

the feet, and drawn over the head through an opening, which was fringed

with a border of woven work to prevent its rending. The skirt of

this robe was set with a trimming of pomegranates of the three sacred

colours, blue, crimson, and purple, with a golden bell between each

pomegranate, designed to give forth a tinkling sound as he went in

and out of the holy place. Immediately above this robe was _the Ephod_

itself, a short cloak consisting of two parts, one covering the back,

and the other the breast and upper part of the body, wrought with

colours and gold. The two halves were united on the shoulder with two

onyx stones, on each of which were engraved the names of six of the

tribes. It was gathered round the waist by a curious _girdle_ of fine

twined linen, adorned with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet. Just above

the girdle, and attached to the Ephod by rings and ribbons of blue, was

the _Breast-plate_, or the _Breast-plate of Judgment_. This, like the

Ephod, was of cunning work, a square of a span breadth, formed double

so as to make a bag, set with 12 precious stones, in 4 rows, each

engraved with the name of one of the tribes. Within the Breast-plate

was the _Urim and the Thummim_ (_Light_ and _Perfection_, Ex. xxviii.

15–30). Not a word in Scripture explains the meaning of these

mysterious objects, but they were certainly employed in some way now

unknown for ascertaining the Divine will (comp. 1 Sam. xxviii. 6;

Judg. i. 1; xx. 18; 1 Sam. xiv. 3, 18; xxiii. 9; 2 Sam. xxi. 1). Some

identify them with the twelve stones inscribed with the names of the

twelve tribes, and suppose that “the illumination, simultaneous or

successive, of the letters” guided the High-priest to the answer;

others think that within the Breast-plate was a stone or a plate of

gold inscribed with the name of Jehovah, and that by means of this

he was enabled to discern the Divine Voice, as it proceeded from the

glories of the Shechinah.

Like the other members of the order, the High-priest wore on his head a

tiara, but attached to this by a blue ribbon was a gold plate, on which

was engraved _Holiness to the Lord_ (Ex. xxviii. 36–39; xxxix. 30).

Some of the functions of the High-priest were peculiar. (i) To him

alone it appertained to enter the Holy of Holies on one day in the

year, the day of Atonement, to sprinkle the blood of the sin-offering

on the mercy-seat, and burn incense within the veil (Lev. xvi.).

On this occasion he did not wear his full pontifical dress, but was

arrayed entirely in fine white linen (Lev. xvi. 4, 32), a custom which

afterwards seems to have undergone some change. (ii) To him alone it

belonged to consult the Divine Oracle (Num. xxvii. 21), and preside

over the Court of Judgment (Deut. xvii. 9). (iii) Even greater purity

and blamelessness was required of him than of the other priests; he

could marry none but a virgin in the first freshness of her youth (Lev.

xxi. 13), and as illegitimacy was an absolute bar to the office, the

importance attached to genealogies was great, and in these the name of

the mother as well as father was registered.

The office lasted for life, but does not seem to have had any peculiar

emoluments attached to it over and above those enjoyed by the Priests.

CHAPTER III.

_THE SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS._

EX. XXIX. XXX. LEV. I.–VI. NUM. XV.

THE rite of sacrifice so universal in the ancient world came down

to the Israelites from the earliest times, from the days of their

forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the generations that lived

before the Flood, and was regulated by Moses with the utmost precision.

One rule applied to all sacrifices. They could only be offered on the

_Great Brazen Altar of the Tabernacle_. To offer them on high places,

or spots selected by the caprice of the worshipper was expressly

forbidden (Lev. xvii. 4; Deut. xii. 13, 14), though this rule appears

to have been subsequently relaxed in the case of the prophets (1 Sam.

xiii. 8–14; xvi. 1–5; 1 Kings xviii. 21–40).

Perhaps the simplest classification of sacrifices is that which

arranges them under the heads of (I) THOSE OFFERED WITHOUT, and

(II) THOSE OFFERED WITH BLOOD.

I. _Unbloody sacrifices_ will include (a) _First-fruits and Tithes_,

(b) _Meat- and Drink-offerings_, (c) _Incense_.

(a) _First-fruits and Tithes_ were presented by every Israelite to

the priests in token of gratitude and humble thankfulness to Jehovah,

and consisted of the produce of the land either in its natural state,

as grain, fruit, grapes, wool, or prepared for human use, as meal,

oil, new wine (Ex. xxiii. 19; Num. xviii. 12; Deut. xviii. 4). To the

Levites also was paid the tenth part of all produce of the land and of

cattle (Lev. xxvii. 30–33; Num. xviii. 21–24).

(b) _Meat- and Drink-offerings_ generally accompanied each other.

The Meat-offering was composed of fine flour seasoned with salt, and

mingled with frankincense and oil, but without leaven. A portion of

the flour and oil the priest placed upon the altar, together with all

the frankincense, and there burnt them, the rest of the flour and oil

becoming his own perquisite. Sometimes cakes of fine flour were offered

with oil and salt, but without leaven or honey (Lev. ii. and vi. 14–23).

A Drink-offering consisted of wine, which was poured at the foot of the

altar; the quantity varying according to the victim, being for a lamb

or kid a quarter of a _hin_ (= 1 gallon, 2 pints); for a ram one-third,

for a bullock one-half (Num. xv. 5, 7, 10; xxviii. 14). By these

offerings, as by those of tithes and first-fruits, the Israelite

acknowledged the undeserved bounty of Jehovah, and dedicated to Him

the best of His gifts, _flour_ the staff of life, _wine_ the symbol

of strengthening and refreshing, _oil_ the symbol of richness. (Comp.

Ps. civ. 15.)

The Meat-offering might be presented,

Either (1) by itself as a free-will offering, as in the instance of

(i) _the twelve unleavened cakes on the Table of Shew-bread_, (ii) _the

sheaf of the first-fruits of barley on the second day of the Passover_,

(iii) _the two wheaten loaves at Pentecost_,

Or (2) together with the Burnt- and Thank-offering, but _not_ with

the Sin- or Trespass-offering; as (I) of _public_ sacrifices, with

(i) the daily morning and evening sacrifice, (ii) the Sabbath-offering,

(iii) the offering at the new moon, (iv) on the great day of Atonement;

(II) of _private_ sacrifices, at (i) the consecration of priests and

Levites, (ii) the cleansing of the leper, (iii) the termination of the

Nazarite vow.

(c) _Incense_, the last example of an unbloody offering, accompanied

every proper meat-offering, but was also offered daily on the golden

altar in the Holy Place, and on the great day of Atonement was burnt

in the Holy of Holies by the High-priest before the Ark. The greatest

pains were taken in its preparation. It was compounded by the “art of

the apothecary” of four ingredients beaten small[86], stacte, onycha,

galbanum, and pure frankincense (Ex. xxx. 34–36), nor could any other

kind be offered (Ex. xxx. 9). Desecration of this incense by using it

for common purposes was to be punished with death (Ex. xxx. 38).

II. In reference to the second class of sacrifices, in which the life

of a victim was taken and its blood poured upon the Altar, it is to

be observed that these were limited to the _herd, the flock, and all

clean birds_. All wild and unclean beasts were strictly excluded. The

Israelite was to select only those animals which were _most nearly

connected with man_, and of these, again, such as were _most meek,

innocent, pure, and valuable_, such as oxen, sheep, goats, pigeons,

and turtle-doves[87]. The selected victim was required to be perfect of

its kind and without blemish, not less than eight days old, and usually

a year. If it was blind, or broken, or maimed, or had any defect, as

a wen or scab, it could not be offered (Lev. xxii. 20–27; Deut. xv.

21, 22; xvii. 1).

Such being the conditions respecting the victim, the offerer was

required first to purify himself by ablutions, and then to bring the

victim to the door of the Tabernacle, _i.e._ to the _Great Brazen Altar

of Burnt-offering_ in the court. There, whatever might be the precise

kind of offering, he was to lay his hand on its head in token of

surrender, dedication, and substitution, and then to slay it _himself_

(Lev. i. 5). He had now performed his part, all the rest devolved upon

the priest. He began by receiving the blood of the animal in a vessel,

and then sprinkled it in different ways upon the Brazen Altar (Lev.

iv. 6, 7, 25; v. 9), or, as we shall see, in some cases, on the Golden

Altar of Incense, and, on one day in the year, on the Mercy-seat in

the Holy of Holies. He then performed other ceremonies, which varied

according to the nature of the sacrifice. _But uniformly it was

required_ (a) of the _offerer_, (i) to bring his victim to the altar,

(ii) to lay his hand upon it, and (iii) to slay it; (b) of the _priest_,

(i) to receive the blood in a vessel, and (ii) to sprinkle it upon the

altar.

Of the bloody sacrifices the chief were (a) BURNT-OFFERINGS,

(b) PEACE-OFFERINGS, (c) SIN- AND TRESPASS-OFFERINGS.

(a) In the case of the _Burnt-offering_, any kind of animal fit for

sacrifice might be offered, but the victim was always required to be

a male, and to be accompanied by a meat-offering. After presentation

at the great altar, imposition of the hands of the sacrificer, and

slaughtering, the priest sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about

(Lev. i. 5, 11). The victim was then flayed, washed with water, and cut

in pieces, and the parts thus divided were laid on the altar upon the

wood, and entirely consumed by fire.

The _burning by fire_ was the chief point in this class of offering,

and “marked it as an expression of perpetual obligation to complete,

sanctified, self-surrender to Jehovah[88].” Hence it was not presented,

like the sin- and trespass-offerings, upon the commission of any

particular sin, nor like the peace-offerings upon the acceptance of any

special Divine mercies; it embodied the _general idea_ of sacrifice,

and in a sense represented the whole sacrificial institute. Every

morning and evening, therefore, a lamb was sacrificed with its usual

meat- and drink-offering as a burnt-offering on behalf of the whole

covenant people, and the evening victim was to be so slowly consumed

that it might last till the morning, an expressive symbol of that

continual self-dedication to God which is the duty of man[89] (Ex.

xxix. 38–44; Lev. vi. 9–13).

(b) Of _Peace-offerings_ there were three kinds, representing various

emotions of the offerer, the _thank-offering_, the _freewill gift_, and

the _vow_ (Lev. iii. 1–17; vii. 11–21, 28–36).

The nature of the offering was left to the sacrificer; it might be

taken from the herd or from the flock, might be male or female, but not

birds (Lev. iii. 1). Like the burnt-offering it was always accompanied

by a meat-offering, which consisted of unleavened cakes mingled with

oil, and leavened bread (Lev. vii. 12, 13).

The ritual of the Peace-offering was up to a certain point the same

as that of the Burnt-offering. The sacrificer brought his victim

to the Brazen Altar, laid his hands upon it and slew it, while the

priest sprinkled the blood upon the altar; but after this there was

a distinction. The victim was divided, and the priest laid upon the

altar the fat of the kidneys, and the “lobe” or flap of the liver,

and in the case of a sheep the fat tail, and burnt them with fire. He

then separated the right shoulder and breast, and waved them before

the Lord, and they became his portion which he was to eat _in a clean

place_ with his family and friends. The remaining portions of the

victim were then restored to the sacrificer, who the same day feasted

thereon, together with his whole family and his friends (Lev. vii.

15–21; xix. 6; xxii. 30).

This _Sacrificial Feast_ was peculiar to the _Peace-offerings_, and

indicated that the atonement was complete, that the sin was covered

and cancelled which had separated the offerer from Jehovah, who now

welcomed him to His table, and in this meal gave him a pledge of

reconciliation. “To an Oriental mind two ideas were inseparably united

in the notion of a meal; on the one hand, that of fellowship and

friendship existing among the participators themselves, and also

between them and the provider of the meal; and on the other hand,

that of joy and gladness, so that even the highest and purest joy,

viz. blessedness in the kingdom of heaven is described under the figure

of a meal[90]” (Ps. xxiii. 5; xxxvi. 8; Matt. viii. 11; xxii. 2–13;

Lk. xiv. 16). As the _total consumption by fire_ on the altar was the

culminating point in the burnt-offering, so this _sacrificial feast_

was that of the peace-offering, which, therefore, whenever presented

with other offerings, was invariably the _last_[91]. (Comp. Ex. xxiv.

5, 11; xxix. 1–32).

(c) The _Sin-_ and _Trespass-offerings_ were peculiar to the Mosaic

Law, which was _added on account of transgression_ (Gal. iii. 19), and

deepened the knowledge and conviction of sin (Rom. vii. 7, &c.).

(a) The _Sin-offering_ consisted of _one animal only_, and was

not accompanied by a meat-offering. The victim if offered for the

whole covenant people was _a kid of the goats_ (Lev. xvi. 5, 9, 15;

Num. xxviii. 15, 22, 30); for the priests and Levites at their

consecration _a young bullock_ (Ex. xxix. 11; Numb. viii. 8 ff.); for

the High-priest on the great day of Atonement _a young bullock_ (Lev.

xvi. 3, 6, 11); for the purification of women after childbirth _a young

pigeon or turtle-dove_ (Lev. xii. 6, 8; comp. Lk. ii. 22, 24); for

the cleansing of a leper or a leprous house _a yearling ewe_; or, in

a case of poverty, _a bird for the leper and two for the house_ (Lev.

xiv. 13, 22–49); for an inadvertent transgression of some prohibition,

(a) on the part of the whole congregation or the High-priest, _a young

bullock_, (b) a prince, _a he-goat_, (c) a common man, _a yearling ewe_

or _kid_ (Lev. iv. 1–35).

The Ritual of the Sin-offering deserves attention. The offerer brought

the victim to the great altar, laid his hand upon it with a confession

of the sin and a prayer for its expiation, and then slew it. The priest

then dipped his finger in the blood, and in the case of a prince or

individual, sprinkled it seven times on the horns of the Brazen Altar

(Lev. iv. 7, 18, 30, 34); in that of the High-priest and congregation

seven times on the veil before the Ark, and seven times on the horns

of the Golden Altar of Incense (Lev. iv. 6, 17, 25); on the great day

of Atonement, the High-priest himself sprinkled it seven times on and

before the Mercy-seat, and then seven times streaked with it the horns

of the Altar of Incense (Lev. xvi. 14, 15, 19); the rest of the blood

was poured on the ground before the Brazen Altar. After the sprinkling,

the same portions were burnt on the altar, as in the case of the

peace-offerings, and in ordinary cases the rest of the victim was

eaten by the priest in the court of the Tabernacle with only the males

of his family; but any vessels in which the flesh had been boiled

were required, if earthenware, to be broken; if metal, to be carefully

scoured (Lev. vi. 24–30). But in the case of the more important

Sin-offerings, where the blood was sprinkled within the Holy Place, or

the Holy of Holies, the entire carcase, except the altar-pieces, with

the hide, entrails, &c., was conveyed to a clean place without the camp,

and there burnt with fire (Lev. iv. 11, 12, 21; xvi. 27).

Except when offered for the whole people, or the priests and Levites

at their consecration, Sin-offerings were presented as an atonement

for sins of _culpable weakness and ignorance, negligence and frailty_,

repented of by the unpunished offender, who was thus restored to his

place in the commonwealth. They could not be offered for _presumptuous_,

or _deliberate_ and _unrepented_ sins, such as wilful murder or

adultery, for which the punishment of death was appointed (Num. xv.

30, 31; Deut. xvii. 12; and comp. Heb. x. 26).

(b) The _Trespass-_ or _Debt-offering_, on the other hand, though

closely connected with the Sin-offering and sometimes offered with it,

as in the case of the leper (Lev. xiv. 12), was always offered for some

_special act_ of sin, and was regarded in the light of reparation to

the Lord for a wrong done to Him. Hence it was presented for sins “in

which the offence given, or the debt incurred by the misdeed, admitted

of some sort of recompence, which could be actually estimated[92].”

The following cases will illustrate the occasions on which a

trespass-offering could be presented. A leper, on the occasion of

his cleansing, owed a debt-offering to Jehovah, for the time of his

exclusion from the camp; the Nazarite for a temporary suspension of his

vow by touching a dead body (Num. vi. 12); a man, who had inadvertently

appropriated or made away with anything consecrated to the Lord (Lev. v.

15, 16), or unwittingly violated a Divine prohibition (Lev. v. 17, 18),

or denied a trust or any damage sustained by the thing entrusted, or

denied having found some lost article of property, or sworn falsely

in such a matter (Lev. vi. 2 ff.). In these cases, whether the wrong

done was in a matter of property or to the Lord, the damage was made

good with an overplus, generally a fifth of the value, while the

trespass-offering itself was the substitute for the damages due to

the Lord, and assessed by the priest. The victim was, as in the case

of the sin-offering, _one animal only_, and always a ram.

CHAPTER IV.

_HOLY TIMES AND SEASONS._

EXOD. XX. LEVIT. XXIII. XXV. DEUT. XV. XVI.

THE Holy Times and Seasons of the Israelites may be arranged under

three heads.

I. Those that were connected with the _Seventh Day of Rest_, such

as (a) the _Weekly Sabbath_, (b) the _Month-Sabbath_ or _New Moon_,

(c) the _Year-Sabbath_, (d) the _Year of Jubilee_.

II. The _Day of Atonement_.

III. The _Great Historical Festivals_; (a) The _Passover_, (b) The

_Feast of Pentecost_ or _Weeks_, (c) The _Feast of Tabernacles_.

I. Those connected with the _seventh Day of Rest_.

(a) The observance of the weekly Sabbath, or day of Rest, is not

improbably thought to have been known to the Israelites before the

giving of the Law (Ex. xvi. 22, 23), as, indeed, the words of the

Fourth Commandment, “_Remember_ the Sabbath-day to keep it holy,” seem

to imply (Ex. xx. 8–11, comp. Gen. ii. 1–3). The observance of this

day was appointed for _a perpetual covenant_, as _a sign between God

and the children of Israel for ever_ (Ex. xxxi. 16, 17). It was to

be shared by the whole people with the stranger; and, to complete the

picture of tranquillity, with the animals. Bodily labour was strictly

prohibited: it was unlawful to kindle a fire for cooking food (Ex.

xxxv. 3; Num. xv. 32), or to go out of the camp to gather manna (Ex.

xvi. 22–30). Wilful desecration of the day was punished by stoning

(Ex. xxxi. 14; Num. xv. 35).

In the Tabernacle-service the daily burnt-offering was doubled (Num.

xxviii. 9), the shew-bread was renewed (Lev. xxiv. 8), and the priestly

course for the week commenced their duties.

The Sabbath was not regarded as a fast, but a day for rest from

worldly occupation and holy joy; it was ordained by God _for man_ and

the furtherance of his truest and highest interests (Mk. ii. 27, 28).

“The thought of HIM, who is raised above all change, and who after the

completion of the works of Creation rejoiced that everything was very

good; this coupled with the cessation from work was to lead man up to

the contemplation of his own origin from God. As the bodily refreshment

restored his physical energies, so should the consciousness of

union with the Almighty and the Eternal restore the true life to the

soul[93].”

(b) _The Month-Sabbath_, or _New Moon Festival_, was ushered in by

blowing with the silver trumpets, and by the sacrifice of eleven

victims in addition to the daily offering (Num. x. 10; xxviii. 11,

&c.). Business and trade were in later times suspended (Amos viii. 5),

sacrificial feasts were held (1 Sam. xx. 5–24), and the people resorted

to the prophets for religious instruction (2 Kings iv. 23).

The New Moon of the _seventh_ month (_Tisri_, October), being the

commencement of the civil year, was observed with still greater

solemnity. It was one of the seven[94] days of Holy Convocation. Not

merely were the trumpets blown at the time of offering the sacrifices,

but it was a day _for the blowing of trumpets_ (Num. xxix. 1–6), whence

its name the _Feast of Trumpets_. In addition to the daily sacrifices,

and the eleven victims offered on the first day of each month,

nine other victims were offered as burnt-offerings with a kid for

a sin-offering[95].

(c) During the _Seventh_ or _Sabbatical year_ the land was to lie

fallow, and _enjoy her Sabbaths_ (Ex. xxiii. 10, 11; Lev. xxv. 2–7;

Deut. xv.). No tillage or cultivation of any sort was to be practised,

and the spontaneous produce of the fields, instead of being reaped, was

to be freely gleaned by the poor, the stranger, and even the cattle. By

this rest the land, like man, was to do homage to its Lord and Creator,

and the poorest were to share without stint in those spontaneous

blessings which by His will it brings forth, and the Israelite,

who every seventh day acknowledged God’s claim on his time, thus

acknowledged also His claim upon his land. In Deut. xv. we find that

the seventh year was also to be one of release for debtors. In spite

of the threatenings in Lev. xxvi. the Sabbatical year, as appears from

2 Chron. xxxvi. 20, 21, was greatly neglected; after the return from

the Captivity its observance revived (see 1 Macc. vi. 49)[96].

(d) _The Year of Jubilee._ At the end of seven times seven years, that

is, forty-nine entire years, the fiftieth was observed as the year

of _Jubilee_, a word of uncertain meaning. It was proclaimed by the

sound of trumpets on the tenth day of the seventh month, Tisri, the

Day of Atonement. During this year the soil was to lie fallow, as in

the Sabbatical year, but in addition to this, all land that had been

alienated was to return to those to whom it had been allotted at the

original distribution, and all bondmen of Hebrew blood were to be

liberated (Lev. xxv. 8–16, 23–35; xxvii. 16–25). “As the weekly Sabbath

and the Sabbatical year was intended to restore thorough rest to man

and to the land, so the year of _Jubilee_ was designed to raise the

whole people, in respect to their rights and possessions, from the

changeableness of outward circumstances to the unchangeableness of the

Divine appointment; to prevent the inordinate accumulation of wealth

in the hands of a few; to relieve those whom misfortune or fault had

reduced to poverty; to restore that equality in outward circumstances

which was instituted on the first settlement of the land by Joshua; and

to vindicate the right of each Israelite to his part in the Covenant,

which God had made with his fathers respecting the Land of Promise[97].”

II. _The Day of Atonement_ was observed on the tenth day of the seventh

month, Tisri, as the great day of national humiliation, and for the

expiation of the sins both of the priests and the people. This was the

highest, the most perfect, the most comprehensive of all the acts of

expiation, and not only took place but once in the entire year, but was

performed by the High-priest alone, and that not in the Holy Place but

the Holy of Holies.

Its celebration is prescribed in Lev. xvi.; xxiii. 26–32; Num. xxix.

7–11. The day was to be regarded as a _high Sabbath_, a day of _holy

Convocation_, on which the Israelites, under pain of extirpation, were

expected to _afflict their souls_ with fasting and mourning. (Comp.

Lev. xvi. 29, 31 with Acts xxvii. 9.) The ritual was as follows. The

High-priest having bathed, arrayed himself not in his gorgeous robes,

but in the white linen garments common to himself and the rest of

the priesthood. As a sacrifice for himself and the priests he brought

a bullock for a Sin-offering, and a ram for a Burnt-offering, which

he had purchased at his own cost; as a sacrifice for the people two

he-goats for a Sin-offering, and a ram for a Burnt-offering, which were

purchased out of the public treasury. The two he-goats he then brought

to the Door of the Tabernacle, _i.e._ to the Brazen Altar, and there

having presented them before the Lord, cast two lots upon them, one

inscribed _for Jehovah_, the other for _Azazel_[98]. This done, as the

head of a priesthood itself _compassed with infirmity_ (Heb. v. 2), he

first proceeded to make atonement for his own order. Accordingly he

slew the bullock, and taking a censer filled with live coals from the

Altar of Burnt-offering and two handfuls of Incense, he passed with

these through the Holy Place onwards behind the veil into the Holy of

Holies, and there threw the incense upon the coals so that the fragrant

cloud might envelope the Mercy-Seat. Then returning to the Brazen Altar

and taking some of the blood of the bullock in a vessel he once more

passed into the Holy of Holies, and sprinkled it seven times before

the Mercy-Seat, the seat of the glory of Jehovah. Having thus made

expiation for himself and his own order, he slew the goat upon which

the lot _for Jehovah_ had fallen as a Sin-offering for the people, and

sprinkled its blood as he had done that of the bullock. Then on his

return from the Holy of Holies he purified the Holy Place, now solitary

and deserted, by sprinkling the blood of both victims seven times on

the horns of the Golden Altar of Incense, and, as some think, on those

of the Altar of Burnt-offering.

The purification of the Tabernacle completed, he came forth and laid

both his hands upon the goat, on which the lot _for Azazel_ had fallen,

solemnly confessed over it the sins of the people, and then gave it

to a man chosen for the purpose to be led away into the wilderness,

_into a place not inhabited_, and there let loose. This done, he once

more entered the Tabernacle, bathed, and having arrayed himself in

his gorgeous robes, offered the two rams as a burnt-offering, one for

himself, the other for the people, and at the same time placed upon the

altar the fat of the two sin-offerings[99]. While these were consuming,

the remains of the victims were conveyed outside the camp, nor could

they who were deputed for this office, or the man who had led away the

scape-goat, return into the camp till they had purified themselves and

their clothes with water.

The distinction between this solemnity and others is very striking.

It took place but once a year, five days before the joyous Feast

of Tabernacles, which testified to the nation’s gratitude for

the preservation of _the seasonable fruits of the earth_. In it

the High-priest alone officiated. Clad not in his gorgeous robes,

but in the simple, pure white robes common to him and the rest of

the priesthood, he made expiation for himself, his order, and the

people,――an atonement for the sins of the whole year. On this day,

and this day only, he entered within the Veil, and sprinkled the blood

before the Mercy-Seat seven times. On this day, and this day only,

the idea of the remission of sin found its highest expression in the

sacrifice of one goat as a sin-offering to Jehovah, and the solemn

confession of the sins of the whole people over another, and its

dismissal laden with its awful typical burden into a far distant and

separated land, _a land not inhabited_, lying, as it were, under the

curse of Jehovah. This solemnity contained the exact antidote to the

sombre and often cruel rites of heathenism. The lots were cast over

both the goats, both were presented to Jehovah at the Door of the

Tabernacle, at _His_ command the Scape-Goat carried away the burden

of the people’s sins into an unknown desert land, _He_ sanctified the

people, and accepted the atonement for the High-priest, the priestly

order, and the entire nation, and the purification of the Place where

He had condescended to meet the Israelites. In the Epistle to the

Hebrews (ix., x.) we have the key to the expressive imagery of this

Great Day in the Jewish year. The fact that once in the year the

High-priest could enter within the Veil, intimated that under a system

of provisional and typical ordinances the way _into the Holiest of

all was not as yet made manifest_. But when the true High-priest, even

Jesus Christ, offered Himself unto death on the Altar of His Cross for

the sins of the whole world, the Veil of the Temple _was rent in twain

from the top to the bottom_ (Matt. xxvii. 51; Mark xv. 38). He died,

He rose again, and, clad not in the resplendent robes of that Divine

Nature He had before the world, but in the garb of our human nature,

He ascended into the Heavenly Sanctuary, the antitype of the Jewish

Sanctuary on earth, and there pleads, and will for ever plead, the

merits of His blood before the throne of God.