So led He them, in desert marches grand,
By toils sublime, with test of long delay,
On, to the borders of that Promised Land,
Wherein their heritage of glory lay.
Wonderfully they were being led. Surely one would suppose they could
never doubt God again, nor Moses, the leader God had chosen for them.
But alas! there were many among them who seemed little better than the
Egyptians, their oppressors.
They had gone only a few miles when they came to the waters of Marah,
which were bitter. They were tired, and longed to encamp for the night.
Then they began to groan and to cry aloud, "O, why have you brought us
into a land where there is no water?"
But Moses, never failing in trust and patience, cast a tree, which the
Lord had shown him, into the waters, and lo! they became sweet. The
people drank and were satisfied; and there they encamped and rested.
When God gave them the sweet water to drink, he said to Moses, "If thou
wilt obey me I will be with thee always. I will keep, and bless, and
strengthen thee, thee and all thy people. And there shall come to thee
neither disease nor plague."
When the people heard these words, they were comforted and meant never
to doubt again. But a few days after this, when they had come into the
heart of the wilderness, and there seemed no way of finding food, again
they complained to Moses that he had led them into the wilderness to
starve.
But God heard their murmurings and sent great flocks of quails on which
to feed them. Thousands and thousands were there of them, and they
covered the ground, the trees, and the tents, so great were their
numbers. The Israelites caught them and ate them, and their hunger was
appeased.
"But what shall we do in the morning?" the fretful, faithless ones said.
And in the morning the ground was covered with tiny round loaves of
sweet bread, the manna that had been sent from heaven; for so were the
children of Israel fed in the wilderness. And when, by and by, again
there was no water to drink, Moses struck a great rock with his rod, and
the water poured forth.
The children of Israel had now come into the wilderness of Sinai, and
had pitched their tents at the foot of the mountain. Moses was
commanded by the Lord to go into the mountain, while the people rested
in the valley below. And when Moses had reached the top, God spoke to
him.
"Go and tell the Israelites how great a thing God has done for them, in
bringing them through the Red Sea and freeing them from the cruel king,
Pharaoh.
"Tell them to remember that they are my chosen people, and that I will
be their God always.
"Bid them prepare themselves for the third day; for on the third day
will I come down upon this mountain and speak with them. They shall not
come up into the mountain. Whosoever touches the mountain top shall be
put to death. But when the trumpet sounds, then will I speak, and they
shall all come up into the mountain." Moses went down into the valley
and gave these words to the people. So they all made ready for the third
day.
When the morning of the third day came, the Israelites looked up towards
the mountain top. Behold, a heavy black cloud hung over it, and fire and
smoke poured out from it, and the whole mountain shook!
The people were frightened, and ran and hid themselves. But the trumpet
sounded, and God descended upon the mountain.
And a voice called to Moses: "Again say to the people that they shall
not come up into the mountain. But thou, and Aaron with thee, come thou
up into the mountain."
And Moses and Aaron obeyed. And there, upon the mountain top, they
beheld the glory of God, like a great cloud of glory.
Then Moses and Aaron went down into the valley to tell the people what
they had seen. And when they had told the people, Moses went back into
the mountain; for God had told him to come there alone, that he might
tell him how to guide the great multitude that had been given to his
charge.
[Illustration: MOSES BREAKING THE TABLETS OF THE LAW.]
It was from Mt. Sinai that God gave to Moses the tablets upon which were
written the Ten Commandments; for Moses was in the mountain forty days
and forty nights, listening to the words that God spoke to him.
And when so many days had gone by and Moses did not return, then the
people began to be frightened.
"Moses has gone away and left us," they wailed, "and we have no gods to
guide us. Let us make a golden calf and set it up before us that we may
worship it." And so they built an altar, and placed the golden calf upon
it, and held a great feast.
They were in the midst of their feast when Moses came down from the
mountain, the tablets in his hands.
"What is this?" he thundered, as he drew near and heard the music and
saw the dancing and the feasting.
The people were frightened. Some of them ran to hide; and so angry was
Moses that he hurled the tablets of stone from him and broke them in
pieces.
"Why didst thou allow this thing to be done?" asked Moses of Aaron.
"The people gave me their gold to melt, and it came out from the fire a
golden calf," answered Aaron weakly.
Then Moses took the calf and ground it to powder; and the 3,000
idolatrous men among them he commanded to be slain.
Then Moses went again up into the mountain, and again wrote the ten
commandments upon tablets of stone, and again carried them to the
people.
And now that the children of Israel might have a place for worship, the
Lord commanded that the people should make a tabernacle, and that in it
should be kept the sacred tablets.
So the people went to work, and every man woman and child had a part in
the building of the tabernacle.
[Illustration]