"The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst
of fire."--_Deuteronomy 5:4._
WHEN the lightning and thunder and the loud voice of the trumpet
came forth from the cloud on Mount Sinai, and God had spoken the Ten
Commandments, He called to Moses to come up and speak with Him in the
cloud. How wonderful it must have been! Moses was the only man that
ever spoke so near to God.
God gave him two blocks of stone written with the Ten Commandments,
written with God's own Finger. Then God told him to make a chest to
keep them in. It was to be made of wood, with gold all over it; and two
figures of cherubims were to be one on each side. This chest was to
be called the Ark of the Covenant. And it was to be put into a square
room, inside a tent, that was to be made with curtains, and carried
about with the Israelites. It was to be called the Tabernacle. And this
was to be a very holy place.
The children of Israel would say their prayers in front of the
Tabernacle; but they were not to go into the place where the Ark was,
because they were sinful, and God is holy. That place was to be called
the Holy of Holies, and no one might go near it but the Priests whom
God chose, and set apart to lead His worship.
The first High Priest was to be Moses' brother Aaron; and he was to
wear a beautiful dress when he ministered before God--a high cap with
"Holiness to the Lord" on it, a long embroidered robe, edged with gold
bells and pomegranates, and a blue scarf crossed over her breast; and
in the middle a breast-plate, made of twelve precious stones, each
carved with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, so that he
might have them on his heart as he prayed to God. All this and much
more God told Moses while he was on the mount.
[Illustration: MOSES DESTROYS THE TABLES OF THE LAW.--Ex. 32:19.]