10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor
his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy
neighbor’s. (Ex. 16-20.)
At the command of the Lord, Moses afterwards gave laws concerning
worship. He made Aaron high priest, and after him his oldest son, and
thus successively from son to son. The other sons of Aaron became
priests, and the other descendants of Levi, or the Levites, became their
assistants.--A Tabernacle, or large tent, was raised and divided into
two parts: The Holy of Holies and the Holy Place. In the Holy of Holies
was a chest, called the Ark of the Covenant, and a pot filled with
manna. The ark was overlaid with gold, the cover was of pure gold, and
was called the Mercy Seat. Only the high priest might enter the Holy of
Holies, and even he only once a year. The Holy Place was for the
priests. Round about the Tabernacle was the Court, which was without a
roof, here the people should assemble.--The seventh day of the week was
the day of rest, or the Sabbath.--There were three great feasts: The
Passover, in memory of the passing out of Egypt; The Feast of Weeks, or
Pentecost; and The Feast of Tabernacles, in memory of Israel’s living in
tents.--There were many kinds of sacrifices. The most important
sacrifice was brought on the great Feast of Atonement, when the high
priest went into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood of an ox and
of a he-goat on the Mercy Seat for the sins of himself and of the
people. (Ex. 23-29; Lev. 16.)
The Lord said to Moses: Come up to me on the mountain, and I will give
thee the Tables of the Law. Moses was with the Lord for 40 days and 40
nights. And the Lord gave him the two Tables of the Law. They were
written on both sides; the writing was the writing of God; it was
written by God’s own finger.--While Moses was on the mountain the people
said to Aaron: Make us a god which shall go before us; for Moses does
not return. Aaron made a golden calf, and the people danced around it.
When Moses came down from the mountain and saw the calf and the dancing,
his anger was kindled, and he cast the tables against the mountain so
they broke; and he took the golden calf and ground it to powder and
strewed it on the brook that runs down the mountain. Then he bade the
Levites go with drawn swords through the camp, and 3,000 were killed on
the same day.--Moses went again on the mountain, and was there for 40
days and 40 nights, and he ate no bread and drank no water, and the Lord
wrote the ten commandments on two new tables of stone. These were
afterward kept in the Ark of the Covenant. (Ex. 24, 32, 34.)
The Israelites went from Sinai toward Canaan, and Moses sent twelve
spies into the country. These returned, saying: The land is very good;
but we are as grasshoppers compared to the inhabitants, of such stature
are they. But Joshua and Caleb, two of the spies, replied: We can subdue
the land, for the Lord is with us. But it availed not. The people would
not go against the Canaanites, but wished to choose a new leader and
return to Egypt. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the Tabernacle,
and the Lord spoke thus by Moses: For forty years shall ye wander about
in this wilderness, until all those are dead who were 20 years old or
over when ye went out of Egypt; none who hath seen my wonders in Egypt
shall come into Canaan, except Joshua and Caleb. (Num. 13-14.)
Thus they must for 40 years wander about in the terrible wilderness
among serpents and in dry places. But the Lord sustained them, so their
clothes were not worn out, and their feet swelled not. Nevertheless they
murmured against the Lord and many times tried His patience. Thus they
once complained that they had neither food nor drink. The Lord then sent
fiery serpents among them, and many died from their sting. The people
humbled themselves, and Moses interceded for them. The Lord said: Make a
serpent of brass and set it upon a standard. When any one had been
bitten by a serpent, and he looked up to the serpent of brass, he lived.
(Num. 21.)
When the 40 years were ended, the Israelites had come so near to Canaan
that only the river Jordan lay between. Moses now went up into Mount
Nebo, and the Lord showed him all the land and said: This is the land
which I have promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob; but thou shalt not
enter it. There Moses, the servant of the Lord, died, 120 years old, and
the Lord buried him. There never arose a prophet in Israel with whom the
Lord spoke thus face to face. (Deut. 34.)