GOD GOES BEFORE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN A PILLAR OF CLOUD. THEY PASS THROUGH THE RED SEA. THE EGYPTIANS FOLLOWING AFTER THEM, ARE DROWNED. MANNA IS GIVEN IN THE DESERT, AND WATER OUT OF THE ROCK. GOD SPEAKS THE WORDS OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
AFTER Pharaoh had let the children of Israel go, the Lord led them toward Canaan. Yet not by the shortest way, which passed through the land of the Philistines, lest the Philistines should make war against them and they should be discouraged and go back into Egypt. The Lord showed them another way, toward the Red Sea. And Moses took the dead body of Joseph with him, because, as we have read, Joseph, before he died, made the children of Israel promise that they would carry him up when they should go back to Canaan.
And the people journeyed to a place called Etham on the edge of the wilderness. There they set up their tents and made a camp. As they journeyed, the Lord went before them in a cloud to show them the way. The cloud was shaped like a pillar, reaching up toward heaven. They could see it all the time. In the day it was the color of a cloud, but at night it was the color of fire. It gave them light at night, so that they could journey both in the day and in the night when the Lord commanded. And the Lord did not take away the pillar of cloud in the day, or the pillar of fire in the night, from before the people.
But after the children of Israel had left Egypt, Pharaoh and his servants were sorry they had let them go, and they said, Why have we let Israel go from serving us? Then Pharaoh made ready his chariot, and took with him all the chariots in which his soldiers rode out to battle, and went after them. And he came up to them while they were encamping by the sea. When Pharaoh came near, the children of Israel looked back and saw the Egyptians marching after them. Then they were greatly afraid and cried out to the Lord. They blamed Moses also, for bringing them away from Egypt. It would have been better for them, they said, to stay and work for the Egyptians, than to be slain there in the wilderness. But Moses told the people not to fear. He said to them, Wait, and see how the Lord will save you; for the Egyptians, whom ye have seen to-day, you shall see no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you need do nothing but be still.
And Pharaoh and his army followed after the children of Israel until they had almost come up with them. Then the cloud which went before the children of Israel, changed its place and came behind them. It came between Pharaoh's army and the children of Israel. That side of it which was turned toward Pharaoh's army grew very dark, so that his soldiers could not see to come any nearer to the children of Israel all that night. But the other side of the cloud, which was turned toward the children of Israel, was bright like fire and gave them light in their camp.
And the Lord said to Moses, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. And lift up thy rod and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the sea. Then Moses lifted up his rod and stretched out his hand over the sea. And the Lord sent a great wind all that night, which blew the water away from that' part of the sea, so that the bottom of the sea was left dry. And the children of Israel went down into it, and walked on the bottom of the sea on dry ground. The waters were piled up high on each side of them like a wall; yet they did not come down to drown them, all the while they were walking through the sea.
And that is the way the children of Israel went out of Egypt. They walked through the Red Sea on dry ground, till they all came safe to the other side. When Pharaoh saw they had gone, he and his chariots and his horsemen followed after them—for he thought that they would be able to pass through the sea as the children of Israel had done. But in the morning the Lord looked out of the pillar of fire and of the cloud, on the Egyptians, as they were marching through the sea. And he made the a of their chariots come off, so that they could drive but slowly, and he troubled the Egyptians. Then they were afraid and said to each other, Let us make haste back, for the Lord fights against us, and he fights for the children of Israel. But before they had time to go, the Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea once more. And Moses stretched out his hand; and the waters came together again and covered the Egyptians in the bottom of the sea. Then all Pharaoh's horses and his horsemen, and all his army, were drowned. Not one of them was left alive. And the children of Israel saw them lying dead upon the seashore, where the waters washed them up.
But Moses and the Israelites were safe on the other side of the Red Sea. There they sang a song of praise to the Lord for saving them from Pharaoh. And Moses brought the people into the wilderness, and they journeyed for three days and found no water. And they came to a place called Marah. There they found water, but when they had tasted it they could not drink, for it was bitter. Then they complained against Moses, and said, What shall we drink? And Moses prayed to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which he took and threw into the water, and the water was made sweet so that the people could drink of it.
And they journeyed and came to Elim, where were twelve wells and seventy palm trees. And they journeyed again, and came to the desert of Sin. And the people, because they were hungry, spoke wickedly to Moses and Aaron. They said that while they were in Egypt, they had plenty of bread and flesh to eat. They wished that God had made them die there, for Moses and Aaron had brought them out in the wilderness on purpose to kill them with hunger. And the Lord told Moses he had heard their complainings, and that in the evening they should have flesh to eat, and in the morning as much bread as they wanted. Then they would know that it was the Lord who took care of them.
And the Lord did as he promised; for in the evening, about the time the sun was going down, great numbers of quails came flying up to the camp so that the people could catch them. And in the morning, after the dew was dried, there was left, spread all over the ground, a small, white, round thing which looked like the frost. When the children of Israel saw it, they lid not know what it was. But Moses said to them, This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. And the Lord commanded the people to go out and gather it, each man as much as he and his family would need for one day. But the Lord said they must not gather any to keep till the next day, for, by the next day, there would be more on the ground for them; and the Lord wanted them to trust him, each day, for their daily bread. Yet some of them disobeyed the Lord and kept part of what they gathered till the next morning, and by that time it was spoiled and had worms in it.
After that the people went out every day and gathered the food which the Lord sent for them. When they had gathered enough, and the sun had grown hot, all that was left on the ground melted away. But on the day before the Sabbath, the men gathered twice as much as they did upon other days, and what they saved of this was not spoiled by the next morning. For the Lord sent none on the Sabbath, because he did not want the people to go out and gather it, or to do any work on that day. Therefore he sent them enough for two days, on the day before the Sabbath. Yet some of them went out to gather it on the Sabbath, but found none. And the Lord was displeased because they went; so, after that, they did not go out, but rested on the Sabbath day. The people called this new food Manna: it was small, and round, and white, like the seed called coriander seed, and tasted like cakes made with honey. And Moses told Aaron to take a pot, and put into it as much as one man would eat in a day. And that pot of Manna, the Lord said, must always be kept, so that the Israelites who should live long afterward, might see what kind of food the Lord had given the children of Israel, when he led them through the wilderness to the land of Canaan. And the people ate manna until they came into that land.
And they journeyed and came to a place called Rephidim, but found no water there. Then they found fault with Moses and said to him, Give us water that we may drink. Moses asked why they found fault with him. They answered, that he had brought them out of Egypt to kill them, and their little children, and their cattle, with thirst. Then Moses cried to the Lord and said, What shall I do to these people? for they are almost ready to stone me.
Now by this time they had come near to the mountain called Horeb, where Moses saw the fire burning in the bush, and where the Lord told him he should bring the people. And when he asked what he should do, because they were almost ready to stone him, the Lord commanded him to take his rod in his hand and go on before the people, until he came to a rock that was in Horeb, and the Lord said that Moses should strike the rock with his rod and then water would come out of it. And Moses obeyed the Lord. He took the rod in his hand and struck the rock, and water flowed out of it, and the children of Israel drank of the water. And a people, called the Amalekites, came and fought against them. Now there was among the children of Israel a brave man named Joshua, and Moses said to him, Choose men and go out, fight with the Amalekites; to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. And Joshua did as Moses told him. He chose men and went out and fought with the Amalekites, and Moses went up on the top of the hill, and Aaron, and a man named Hur, went with him. Then Moses held UP his rod, and as long as he held it up, the children of Israel overcame the Amalekites, but whenever he let it down the Amalekites overcame them. And Moses' hands were tired with holding up the rod so long, therefore Aaron and Hur took a stone and put it under him, and he sat upon it. Then they held up his hands, one on the one side, and the other on the other side, till the going down of the sun, and God gave the children of Israel the victory. But God was displeased with the Amalekites for making war against them, and he said that the time should come when that people would all be destroyed, and no one would remember them.
In the third month after the children of Israel went out of Egypt, they came near the mountain called Sinai, and encamped before it. And Moses went up on the mountain and the Lord spoke to him there. He told him to say to the people, that they had seen how he punished the Egyptians for their sakes, and afterward brought them out of that land. And now, the Lord said, if they would obey his commandments, he would love them more than any other people.
And the Lord said he would come down in a thick cloud and speak with Moses on mount Sinai, so that the people should hear him; and he commanded Moses to tell them to wash their clothes and make themselves clean, and to be very careful not to sin, but to be ready for the third day, when the Lord was coming down before them all on mount Sinai. On that day, God said, none of them might go up on the mountain, for whoever should go there would surely be put to death. But when they should hear the great sound of a trumpet far up on the mountain, they should come and stand at the foot of the mountain.
After the Lord had spoken these things, Moses went down and told the people, and they washed their clothes, and were careful not to sin. And on the third day, in the morning, there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud, on mount Sinai. And the trumpet, which, no doubt, an angel blew, sounded very loud, so that all the people trembled when they heard it. Then Moses led them out of the camp, and they came and stood near the foot of the mount. And all the mountain smoked, because the Lord came down in fire upon it, and the smoke went up like the smoke from a furnace, and the mountain shook greatly. And when the trumpet sounded long, and grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him, and called him to the top of the mount.
And God spoke, on mount Sinai, the words of the Ten Commandments. These are some of them:
I. THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.
This means that we must love God more than anything else; for if we love anything more than Him, then that is our idol that we set up in His place, to serve instead of Him.
II. THOU SHALT NOT MAKE ANY GRAVEN IMAGE, NOR BOW DOWN TO IT, NOR WORSHIP IT.
There are a great many people in the world who believe that an image of gold, or silver, or wood, or stone, can help to save them. But, in this commandment, God forbids every man to make such an image, or to bow down to it and worship it; for God is the only one who can save men, and they are to worship Him alone.
III. THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN.
This means that whenever we speak God's name, we must do it reverently, remembering how great and holy a name it is. For if we speak it carelessly, or thoughtlessly, we offend Him.
IV. REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY, TO KEEP IT HOLY.
We keep the Sabbath holy, when we do not take that day for work, or for pleasure; but spend the time in worshipping God, in reading His word, in thinking and talking about His kindness to us, and in doing good to others.
V. HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER.
Next to obeying God, we should obey our parents; not putting off what they tell us to do, nor even waiting to be told, if we know their wishes already. But doing, out of love to them, such things as they approve; for this is God's commandment.
VI. THOU SHALT NOT KILL.
We break this commandment, not only when we kill a person, but when we feel as if we would be glad for him to die; because then we have the wish for his death in our hearts, and God looks at our hearts.
VII. THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.
When a man leaves his wife to live with another woman instead of her; and when a woman leaves her husband to live with another man instead of him, they commit adultery. God forbids us to commit this sin. He commands us, also, to be pure in all our thoughts, words, and actions.
VIII. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.
We must not take anything for our own that belongs to another. If we have ever done so, whether by mistake or on purpose, God commands us to give back, or to pay for, the thing we have taken.
IX. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR.
This means that we must never say anything about another person which is not true. And when we are saying what is true, we must be very careful how we say it, lest we leave out a little, or add a little, and so make it different from the real truth.
X. THOU SHALT NOT COVET ANYTHING THAT IS THY NEIGHBOR'S.
To covet a thing is to wish that it was ours. We must not covet what belongs to another. God gives to us all just what we ought to have, and he knows best whose everything should be.
And all the people heard the thunderings, and the sound of the trumpet, and they saw the lightnings, and the mountain smoking. They heard God's voice also, and were afraid. Then they said to Moses, Speak thou with us and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die. But Moses told them that God had not come to cause them to die, but to make them fear to sin against him. And the people stood a good way off from the mountain, but Moses went up on the mountain near to the dark cloud where God was.
There the Lord talked with him, and gave him many more laws for the children of Israel to obey. Afterward Moses came down from the mount, and wrote those laws in a book, and read them out to the people. When the people heard them, they promised to obey all the words that the Lord had spoken.