§40. The Law at Sinai (Exod. 15:22-25, 27; 19:1)

A. THE MARCH AND THE MURMURING

And Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters for they were bitter. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet.

And they came to Elim, where were twelve springs of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters. And they took their journey from Elim, and in the third month they came to the wilderness of Sinai; and there Israel encamped before the mount.

B. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;

I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor the likeness of any form that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Thou shalt do no murder.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, "Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

And Moses said unto the people, "Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not."

And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

§41. The Great Rebellion (Exod. 24:13, 18; 32:1-8, 15-20, 30-35)

A. THE GOLDEN CALF

And Moses and Joshua his minister went up into the mount of God. And Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, "Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him."

And Aaron said unto them, "Break off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me."

And all the people brake off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf: and they said, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."

And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, "To-morrow shall be a feast to the Lord."

And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, "Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed unto it."

And Moses turned and went down from the mount with the two tables in his hand. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp."

And he said, "It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear."

And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

B. MOSES' PRAYER

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, "Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make atonement for your sin."

And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, "Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written."

And the Lord said unto Moses, "Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. And now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them."

And the Lord smote the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

[The people were forgiven, but again and again they rebelled. Moses prayed for them, but the Lord said they must wander in the wilderness forty years. At last Moses led them to the plains of Moab and to the river Jordan, where he made his farewell speech.]

§42. The Last Days of Moses (Deut. 31:1-3, 6-8; 34)

A. THE FAREWELL SPEECH

And Moses spake these words unto all Israel, "I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: and the Lord hath said unto me, 'Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.' The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee; he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath spoken. Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."

And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt go with this people into the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed."

B. THE DEATH OF MOSES

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land.

And the Lord said unto him, "This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither."

So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.

And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face; in all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his land; and in all the mighty hand, and in all the great terror, which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel.

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

117. After the Revolutionary War, the thirteen American states adopted a constitution. Washington was the great leader. We all honor him now, but during his life many were jealous of him and the people often found fault with him and lost confidence in him. He was greatly tried and would have given up the presidency but for his sense of duty. So it was with Moses. He brought deliverance to the people and gave them their first great laws, but they constantly murmured against him and against God. The long story of his leadership of Israel during forty years in the wilderness is told in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. We shall study a few of the main incidents.

118 (§40A). After the victory over the Egyptians, Moses led the people toward Mt. Sinai. Notice on the map the mountain range in the Sinai Peninsula. What difficulty soon arose? How did the people meet it? This was the beginning of a number of trials that Moses had in his leadership.

119 (§40A). How long did it take to reach Mt. Sinai? The gathering at the mountain was a very solemn occasion. Israel was to receive a constitution. Think of the solemn time when the constitution of the United States was adopted.

120 (§40B). What do we call these great words? Every student should know them by heart. If they were learned in the Primary Department it would be well to recall them.

121 (§40B). How were the people impressed by the holy law? Let us understand that when we speak of "the fear of the Lord" it does not mean that we are afraid of him, but that we have a great reverence for him.

122 (§41A). How long had Moses remained in the mountain to which he had gone to receive the laws? The people could not understand a God whom they could not see. They wanted an idol such as the Egyptians had. Tell the story of the golden calf.

123 (§41A). How did Moses learn of what had happened? What did Moses bring down from the mountain? What did Joshua hear? What did Moses do when he found what had happened? Is it ever right to be angry?

124 (§41B). The people had greatly disappointed Moses, but he was very sorry for their sin. He went to pray for them. Read carefully his wonderful prayer. Moses well knew God's love, but he knew also that wickedness must be punished.

125. We shall consider another great rebellion in connection with the next two heroes whom we study. It resulted in the Hebrews being sentenced to travel about for forty years. Moses led them. He was their chief, ruling over them, and their general, enabling them to conquer their enemies.

126 (§42A). Moses had led the people for forty years. At last the grand old man brought them to the very border of the Promised Land. What river was all that separated them from Canaan? Locate the place of the last camp just opposite Jericho. The book of Deuteronomy gives the farewell speeches of Moses. This section is a part of what he said to them. Tell it in your own words. What great American gave a Farewell Message to his countrymen?

127 (§42B). It was a great disappointment to Moses that he could not lead the people into Canaan, but he cheerfully accepted God's will. It must have been a wonderful sight that the old man saw from the mountain. Imagine yourself on Mt. Nebo. Look over Canaan and tell what Moses saw. Where did Moses die? How did Israel mourn for him? What did the writer of the last verses think of this great man? Learn Mrs. Alexander's beautiful poem.

THE BURIAL OF MOSES

WRITTEN REVIEW

Draw a picture of two large tables of stone. Write the first five commandments on one, using just the first sentence of each commandment. Write the last five commandments on the other in full, except that for the tenth commandment use only its first four words. Do this very neatly.