brother, to take the Rod of God, which God had given him to do wonders
with, and to cast it down on the ground in front of Pharaoh and his
servants.
And when Aaron cast it down, the rod turned into a serpent!
So Pharaoh called his wise men and sorcerers to see what they could do.
They were used to playing with snakes, and teaching them tricks; and
when they threw down their rods, they also turned into serpents. But
such a wonderful thing happened then—Aaron's rod swallowed up all their
rods! That was a thing they could not do!
But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not let the Children of
Israel go.
So God sent some dreadful plagues on the land of Egypt. He turned all
their water into blood; He sent frogs over the land, which came into
their houses and got up on to their beds; He sent a great darkness over
all the land in the day-time, so that the Egyptians could not find
their way about, and many more things which I have not space to tell
you.
For many days Moses had been trying to persuade Pharaoh to let the
Children of Israel go out of his land; and though God had sent great
and dreadful plagues to warn the Egyptians that they must obey Him, yet
Pharaoh would not listen.
At last, God sent Moses to him again and told him that if he would not
let His people go, God would send His destroying angel through the
land, and the first-born of every man and beast must die! And there
would be most dreadful sorrow through all the land of Egypt.
XLIII. The Passover
The Easter full moon was shining down in all its white glory on the
land of Egypt, more than three thousand years ago.
It was the last night that the Children of Israel were to stay in
Egypt! To-morrow they would be free.
For that night, at midnight, the destroying angel would pass through
the land of Egypt, to kill all the first-born of the Egyptians; and
there would not be one house where there was not one dead.
Perhaps you think to yourselves, children, "But would the first-born of
the Israelites die too? How would the destroying angel know which were
Egyptians, and which were the Children of Israel?"
Ah! God had foreseen how to prevent that! He had not let plagues touch
the houses of His own people!
He told Moses that all who wished to be safe on that dreadful night,
must take a lamb, and when they had killed it, they must put its blood
in a basin, and sprinkle the blood on their houses.
God told them to take a bunch of hyssop, and to sprinkle the top of the
doorway and the side posts with blood; and He promised that when He saw
the blood He would pass over that house, and not allow the destroying
angel to enter.
That was why it was called The Lord's Passover.
And when God saw the blood of the Lamb, He looked forward to the time
when His own dear Son would be the Lamb of God which taketh away the
sin of the world.
Do you not think, children, that those Israelites made sure that the
blood was sprinkled on their house? Can you not Picture them running
outside to look before they shut themselves inside the door? And can
you not almost hear them saying, "Yes, there is the blood of the Lamb!
Now we are safe!" And so hurry inside again, and stay there until the
morning, as they were commanded.
And does not this question come home to your heart and mine to-day? Is
the blood of the Lamb of God sprinkled on my heart? Am I safe from the
punishment of my sins because Jesus died for me?
If so, children, we may rest secure, and go out rejoicing on our
journey towards the Promised Land in heaven.
* * * * * * *
God told them also to take the flesh of the lamb and to roast it at the
fire, and all who were in the house were to eat the Passover Supper.
It was a night to be remembered for ever, when the Lord delivered His
people out of Egypt! And we, too, may say—
"Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the
feast!"
XLIV. Bread from Heaven
So the Israelites left the Red Sea behind, and they went three days'
journey into the wilderness, and found no water for them to drink.
At length they came to a place called Marah, where to their joy they
found some water. But when they came to taste it, the water was so
bitter that they could not drink it.
Then the people were very very angry with Moses, and blamed him very
much.
So Moses cried to the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when
he had cast into the waters they were made sweet and nice, and the
people could drink.
Soon after this the great company had eaten up all the bread they had
brought out of Egypt, and there were no shops to buy anything at, nor
any corn growing in the wilderness.
Here was a new trouble, so the people began to scold Moses and Aaron
again, saying they wished they had stayed in Egypt after all.
They forgot all about the cruel taskmasters, and the bricks, and their
slavery; and they told Moses he had brought them into the wilderness
to kill them with hunger! How soon they had forgotten all that God had
done for them, and how they had walked through the midst of the sea on
dry land!
God was very grieved when He heard their murmurings; but He promised
Moses that He would rain down bread from heaven for them to eat.
So that evening the Lord sent a number of little birds, called quails,
for the people to eat, and they satisfied their hunger; and in the
morning He sent them the bread from heaven which He had promised.
Perhaps you will say, children, "Loaves from heaven?" I daresay the
Israelites thought the same, and wondered as you do.
So in the morning when they went out of their tents, the dew laid on
the ground, and when the dew was gone, the whole ground was covered
with little white seeds. And the Children of Israel called it Manna.
The Lord told them this was bread from heaven, and that they were to
gather a measure—called an omer—full for each person, which would make
them enough bread for the whole day.
On the day before the Sabbath, they were told to gather two omers full
for every person, and to make it into cakes ready for the Sabbath day.
The taste of the cakes was like wafers made with honey.
And now, children, here comes a very sweet little lesson for you and
for me.
Jesus is the true Bread from heaven, and every day, if we want to grow
strong, and brave, and good, we should—before we begin the work, or
play, or school of our day—kneel down and ask God to give us a sight of
Jesus, and to let us taste the sweetness of His love. This will be our
Bread from Heaven!
But soon came another difficulty. As the great company moved on their
journey, they left the water which God had made sweet far behind them;
and very soon they were thirsty again, and there was no water to drink!
They forgot all about the Manna and the sweetened water at Marah; and
they went and scolded Moses again.
So God told Moses to go to the Rock in Horeb, and to strike it with his
Rod, and water would flow out of it for the people to drink.
Moses did exactly as God told him, and the water flowed from the Rock,
and so the People drank and were no longer thirsty.
XLV. The Tabernacle in the Wilderness
The children of Israel had been delivered from the bondage of the
Egyptians, God had led them in the Wilderness by His pillar of cloud by
day, and His pillar of fire by night; He had given them His Holy Law,
which we call the Ten Commandments; and now God longed that the people
should be brought near to Himself, and that He should be able to dwell
among them.
So while Moses was up on the mountain alone with God, God told him to
make tent or tabernacle where the people could bring their sacrifices,
and where they might worship Him.
So the first thing Moses had to do was to tell the people that if they
had willing hearts, they were to bring gold and silver and brass; and
blue and purple and scarlet and fine linen; and shittim wood; and oil
for light; and precious stones and spices; all these for an offering to
the Lord, to be used for setting up the Tabernacle.
[Illustration: GIFTS FOR THE TABERNACLE.]
And then within the Tabernacle there were to be some very holy things.
It was divided into two parts. One part was called the Holy Place, and
the other the Holiest of all.
In this Holiest place of all there was only one thing to be put, and
that was an Ark with the Angels (called Cherubims), shadowing the Mercy
Seat above it.
In this Ark, or chest, God told Moses to put the slabs of stone with
the Commandments written upon it; and this reminds us of those words,
"Yea, Thy law is within my heart."
And then, resting on the top of the Ark, or chest, was the Mercy Seat,
where the blood of the Lamb was sprinkled, and where God's glory would
shine from day to day, as He talked with Moses from above the Mercy
Seat.
Then in the other part of the Tabernacle, called the Holy place, there
were to be three things. An Altar of Incense, overlaid with gold;
the Table of Shewbread, where fresh loaves were to be put daily; and
opposite to that, was the Golden Candlestick, all of gold, for the
light.
God chose Bezaleel, the grandson of Hur, and filled him with wisdom
to make all the wonderful things of the Tabernacle, according to the
pattern God had given Moses, and to teach other wise-hearted men to
help him in this holy work.
Surrounding the Tabernacle was a fence made with boards and curtains.
Every part of the Tabernacle was to be made so that it might be taken
down, and carried from place to place, and put up again when the camp
rested.
Only the priests might enter that enclosure hung with curtains. As the
people looked into it from the doorway, or looked down upon it from the
hillside above it, the first thing that they would see shining out in
the light of the sun was the Brazen Altar, or Altar of Burnt Offering.
[Illustration: HERE THE PRIESTS OFFERED UP THE SACRIFICES.]
Here the Priests offered up the sacrifices which were brought by the
people, and God accepted them for the sake of Jesus, His Holy Son.
For, children, we cannot draw near to God to worship Him, without the
perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord, who is "the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world."
Then there was the Laver of Brass, at which the Priests washed before
they went into the Tabernacle.
I cannot tell you, children, all that this wonderful Tabernacle means,
but some day you will be able to understand how it all foreshadowed the
loving life, and glorious work, of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.
* * * * * * *
So when the Tabernacle was finished, "then a cloud covered the tent of
the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle."
XLVI. Breaking God's Law
So God told Moses to lead the Children of Israel to a mountain called
Sinai, and there He commanded all the congregation to wait while He
gave them His Holy Law.
Moses went up to the top of the mountain to meet God, and to hear Him
speak, and the people waited in the plains below.
But before God began to give His law to the people, He sent Moses down
again to them to warn them once more not to come near the mountain; and
even Moses, who was God's faithful servant, felt that the sight was
very terrible, when he drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
God had many things to say to Moses, and many instructions to give him
about making the beautiful Tabernacle, where they were to worship Him;
so that he was up in the mountains a very long time—forty days and
forty nights—and by and by the people began to get tired of waiting.
[Illustration: THE GLORY OF GOD.]
They began to distrust God, and people soon get disobedient who
distrust God! Then they said to Aaron, "Make us gods to carry before
us, for as for this Moses, we do not know what has become of him."
I think Aaron was very sorry that the people were so foolish and so
wicked. But he did as the people asked him. He made them a golden calf
for them to worship, and allowed them to play round it.
Just as they were shouting and dancing and feasting, Moses began to
come down from talking with God.
He held in his hand two pieces or slabs of stone on which God Himself
had written His Holy Law—those ten Commandments which we often hear
read, and which begin with "I am the Lord thy God which brought thee
out of the Land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, thou shalt have
no other gods before ME."
Moses was carrying these two slabs of stone, and he and his servant
Joshua (who I think had waited somewhere on the mountain while Moses
talked with God) came down once more towards the camp. But when they
had got within sight of it, they heard the sound of shouting and
singing.
Then Moses looked down over the edge of the mountain, and he saw the
golden calf set up, and the people worshipping it; and he was so
grieved and angry that he cast down the two slabs of stone, which had
been made by God, and written on by God, right out of his hand down the
steep mountain side, and they were broken all to pieces!
Then Moses and Joshua hastened down, and Moses stopped the people in
their worship of the golden calf. He cast it into the fire and burnt
it, and was very angry with Aaron and the people.
Then he went to the Lord, and told Him all about it, confessing the
great sin of the people, and asking Him to forgive it.
God is very pitiful and of tender mercy; and though He had to punish
the people for their sin by sending a plague among them, yet He did
forgive them, and He told Moses to lead the people forward again, and
to make two fresh slabs of stone, and told him to write His law upon
them over again.
How often we find in our daily lives, children, that when we mean to be
very good, after all, we do not keep to what we had intended to do.
The only way is for us to ask God to write His Holy Law in our hearts
every day, and to beg Him to keep us from doing what would displease
Him. If we trust in our own strength we shall be sure to fail; but if
we look to Him and truly seek to please Him, He will help us to become
more and more like the Lord Jesus.
And when we know that we have failed in anything, let us not wait a
single moment, but lift our hearts to our Father in heaven, and ask
Him, for Jesus' sake, to wash away our sin and make us pure and white
again in the precious Blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
XLVII. A Great Victory
Soon after the smiting of the Rock, out of which God made water to flow
for the people's thirst, another difficulty came.
As the great company of the Children of Israel travelled on, some
enemies, called, Amalekites, came out against them, and tried to
conquer them.
So Moses called Joshua and told him to choose men who could fight, to
go against the Amalekites; and that he would go to-morrow to the top of
the hill with the Rod of God in his hand.
So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek; and
Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
So Moses stretched out his hand with the Rod of God in it, and then the
Children of Israel prevailed and conquered, but when he let down his
hand, Amalek prevailed.
But poor Moses got very weary, and his hands seemed very heavy, so that
he could not hold them up any longer!
But Aaron and Hur thought of a very good plan. They took a large stone
for Moses to sit on, and they stood by him and held up his hands, one
on each side, and his hands were steady till the sun went down.
And Joshua had a great victory over Amalek, because God fought for them.
And God told Moses to write it down in a book, and tell Joshua about
it, that He would utterly destroy the Amalekites.
We read afterwards in Deuteronomy xxv. 17, that God had been specially
angry with the Amalekites because they had attacked the Israelites when
they were faint and weary, and had smitten the hindmost and weak ones
in the camp instead of fighting bravely with the strong.
It seems to me that we may take this first battle of the Israelites as
a sort of picture of Satan's temptations and buffetings.
He attacks us where we are weakest. He perhaps tells us that God
has forgotten us for a little while, that we are like those weaker
Israelites in the camp, who were particularly exposed to the enemy!
Then what must we do, when we feel Satan is too strong for us?
We must, like Joshua, resist with all the fighting power at our
disposal; and like Moses we must take the Rod of God—the rod of faith
and prayer—and go up on the hill top and get nearer God!
Do you wonder what the hill top is for us?
It is kneeling in our room and asking Him to help us.
It is looking up with our hearts, and saying one word of faith to Jesus!
And when they had gained that great victory over Amalek, Moses built an
altar to God, and offered a sacrifice, and he called the name of it—
"Jehovah-Nissi," which means "The Lord our Banner!"
Here is a hymn which has comforted and cheered numbers of people who
have found Satan—like Amalek—very strong!
Why should I fear the darkest hour,
Or tremble at the Tempter's power?
Jesus vouchsafes to be my Tower!
Though hot the fight, why quit the field?
Why must I either fly or yield,
Since Jesus is my mighty shield?
I know not what may soon betide,
Or how my wants shall be supplied;
But Jesus knows, and will provide.
Though sin would fill me with distress,
The Throne of Grace I dare address,
Since Jesus is my righteousness.
Though faint my prayers and cold my love,
My steadfast hope shall not remove,
While Jesus intercedes above.
Against me earth and hell combine:
But on my side is power divine:
Jesus is all, and He is mine!
XLVIII. Caleb's Daughter
The old man whom you see in this picture is Caleb, one of the two
faithful spies who brought a good report of the land of Canaan.
So when after forty years, the land was divided among the people,
Joshua blessed Caleb and gave him Hebron or Kirjath Arba: and Caleb
drove out from it three giants, and he made his home there.
There were still many enemies round him, so Caleb sent his soldiers to
fight against Kirjath Sepher, and promised that the man who took the
city should have his daughter Achsah for his wife.
So Othniel the son of Kenaz was the successful one. At length the
wedding day came. When Achsah was starting for her husband's home,
she begged Othniel to ask her father to give her a field as a wedding
present.
[Illustration: HE GAVE HER THE UPPER SPRINGS AND THE NETHER SPRINGS.]
Caleb seems to have agreed to this; but Achsah knew he was rich as well
as loving; so she alighted off her ass, and ran to his side, "Give me
a blessing!" she said. "You have given me a south land—give me also
springs of water!"
And he gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.
* * * * * * *
Jesus says to us to-day, "How much more shall your Father which is in
heaven, give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him."
XLIX. The First King
So the child Samuel grew up and became a prophet of the Lord, and
he judged the people and helped them in all their difficulties, by
encouraging them to seek God and trust in Him.
But the Children of Israel often turned back from the Lord and followed
their own ways, even making idols for themselves like the Canaanites
had.
This grieved Samuel very much, because he knew that it would make God
very angry with them.
At length Samuel was getting to be an old man, and the people got tired
of being judged by his sons, who were not very good and faithful young
men, and they asked Samuel to make a king to rule them, and go to war
with them as they saw other nations do.
This was the greatest grief of all to Samuel, because the Lord was
their King! But nothing that he could say would turn them from their
wish to have a king whom they could see, and who would lead them to
battle against their enemies.
The Lord told Samuel that he could do as the people asked; but that in
choosing an earthly king they had rejected the Lord, who had brought
them up out of the land of Egypt, and delivered them from all their
foes.
There was at this time a man of the tribe of Benjamin whose name was
Saul. He was a very handsome young man, and was so tall that he was
head and shoulders above everyone else. His father's name was Kish.
One day, the asses belonging to Kish strayed away and got lost, and
Saul and his servant went a very long way to seek for them.
They searched for a long time, but could not find them. At last, the
servant suggested that they should go to the prophet who lived near the
place to which they had travelled, for he thought perhaps he might tell
them where to find the asses.
So they came to the city where Samuel the prophet lived, and when they
made enquiries, they found that Samuel was going to offer a sacrifice
there that very day.
Now the Lord had told Samuel that He would bring the young man who was
to be king to him, that he might anoint him.
So Samuel met Saul and invited him to dinner, and told him that he
wanted to speak to him presently, and that he should go back to-morrow.
"And as for the asses," he said, "that were lost three days ago, they
are found!"
So when they had eaten their meal, Samuel and Saul went on the housetop
and Samuel talked with him for a long time; and early the next morning
Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on Saul's head, and told him he
was anointed to be King over God's inheritance.
He told him also that he was to go to Gilgal and wait there seven days,
until he came down to him to offer a sacrifice to the Lord.
But now, children, we come to Saul's first disobedience. Saul waited
seven days, but he forgot that God's prophet had said "wait seven days,
even till I come to offer the sacrifice," and when Samuel delayed to
come for a few hours, Saul took upon himself to offer the sacrifice.
Then Samuel came! And Saul hurried out to meet him. But Samuel drew
back from his greeting, and told him he had been very disobedient, and
that the Lord would choose someone else to be the king; one who would
keep God's commandments and love Him with all his heart!
So Samuel went back to Gilgal, and Saul went to fight against the
Philistines.
* * * * * * *
By and by God sent another message to Saul by Samuel the prophet, and
this was the message: "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, I remember what
Amalek did to Israel . . . when he came up from Egypt, now go and smite
Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not."
So Saul went to fight against Amalek and conquered them; but again he
was disobedient. He saved the king and did not kill him as he had been
commanded, and he also saved all the best of the sheep and oxen.
Then the Lord said to Samuel, "It repenteth Me that I have made Saul
king, for he hath not kept My commandments."
And it grieved Samuel, and he cried unto the Lord all that night.
And when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, the king
hurried to him and told him he had done all that the Lord had told him
to do!
But Samuel stopped him. "What is the meaning of this bleating of sheep
that I hear, then?" he asked.
And Saul said, "The people saved the best to sacrifice to God!"
And Samuel said, "Do you think that the Lord has as much pleasure in
sacrifice as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is
better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. Because
thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee
from being king."
And as Samuel sorrowfully turned away, he knew that he should never see
Saul's face again.
This is a very sad and solemn story, children.
Let us all be aware of little disobediences, lest they should grow into
greater ones.
God will dwell in the humble and contrite heart, which trembles at his
word. He will give grace to the lowly.
Let us pray, as David did in Psalm cxix., "With my whole heart have I
sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments!"
And then this promise shall be ours: "He that doeth the will of God
abideth for ever!"