The Bible Story Part 143

And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, 'Gather ye of it every man according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, shall ye take it, every man for them which are in his tent.'"

And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less.

And Moses said unto them, "Let no man leave of it till the morning."

Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. And they gathered it morning by morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun grew hot, it melted. And it came to pa.s.s, that on the sixth day they {196} gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said to them, "This is that which the Lord hath spoken, 'To-morrow is a solemn rest, a holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake, and boil that which ye will boil; and all that remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.'"

And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, "Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to-day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day is the sabbath, in it there shall be none."

And it came to pa.s.s on the seventh day, that there went out some of the people to gather, and they found none.

And the Lord said unto Moses, "How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, because the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."

So the people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel called the name thereof "Manna": and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

And Moses said, "This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, 'Let an omerful of it be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I fed you {197} in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.'"

And Moses said unto Aaron, "Take a pot, and put an omerful of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations."

As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron did. And the children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they ate the manna, until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.

_The Battle with Amalek at Rephidim_.

Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of G.o.d in mine hand."

So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pa.s.s, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah my Banner: and he said, "The Lord hath sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."

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THE SONG OF THE MANNA GATHERERS

Comrades, haste! the tent's tall shading Lies along the level sand, Far and faint: the stars are fading Over the gleaming western strand, Airs of morning Freshen the bleak burning land.

Haste, or e'er the third hour glowing With its eager thirst prevail O'er the moist pearls, now bestrowing Thymy slope and rushy vale.

Comrades--what our sires have told us, Watch and wait, for it will come.

Not by manna show'rs at morning Shall our board be then supplied, But a strange pale gold, adorning Many a tufted mountain's side, Yearly feed us, Year by year our murmurings chide.

There, no prophet's touch awaiting, From each cool deep cavern start Rills, that since their first creating Ne'er have ceased to sing their part; Oft we hear them In our dreams, with thirsty heart.

--_John Keble_.

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

IN THE WILDERNESS OF SINAI

From a photograph belonging to the Forbes Library, Northampton, Ma.s.s., and used by special permission.

[End ill.u.s.tration]

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MOSES CLIMBS MOUNT SINAI TO TALK WITH G.o.d.

_The Giving of the Commandments_.

In the third month after the children of Israel had gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up to G.o.d, and the Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 'Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure to me from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.' These are words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel."

And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do."

And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet G.o.d; and they stood at the foot of the mount. And all Mount Sinai smoked, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and G.o.d answered him by a voice. And the {202} Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

And G.o.d spoke all these words, saying,--

THE COMMANDMENTS.

"I am the Lord thy G.o.d, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

I.

"Thou shalt have none other G.o.ds before me.

II.

"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 G.o.d am a jealous G.o.d, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands, of them that love me and keep my commandments.

III.

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

IV.

"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 G.o.d: 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 {203} earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

V.

"Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy G.o.d giveth thee.

VI.