Part 3

But one day the daughter of the king came down to the water to bathe. Straight towards the place where the baby was she came, while Miriam, the baby's sister, hid among the bulrushes, trembling with fear.

"See this poor little baby!" said the princess; and the tears came in her eyes. "It is one of the children of the Israelites," she said, "hidden here from the cruel soldiers."

Then the kind woman lifted it from its little basket and held it close to her heart.

Now, Miriam was a wise little girl; and when she saw that the princess was kind, she came out from the bulrushes and said, "Shall I not bring you a good woman to nurse the little baby for you?"

Then the princess bade her go with speed, for already the baby was beginning to cry.

Miriam ran and brought the baby's mother.

"Take this child, good woman," said the princess, "and bring it up as your own. It shall be my child, and I will name it Moses, because I drew him out of the water."

And so the little baby was taken back to its old home, and every day the princess sent to know if it were well; and often she came herself, bringing gold for its nurse and fine linen for the child.

When the baby grew to be a boy the princess sent him to the wisest teachers in the land, that he might himself grow wise and great.

But the true mother of Moses had taught him the religion of his fathers, and had told him the story of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph. She had told him, too, of the promise of God, that sometime the Israelites should again possess the land of Canaan.

To Moses this was a wonderful story; and he wished often that he might be the prophet that was to deliver his people.

One day Moses saw an Egyptian cruelly beating an Israelite. His heart burned with indignation, and he fell upon the Egyptian and slew him.

Then Moses fled out into the wilderness; for he knew he had offended against the law.

On through the wilderness he pressed, till he came into the field where a priest named Jethro lived. Jethro gave him food and shelter; and it came about that Moses became one of Jethro's family. For a long time he dwelt among these people, tending their flocks, and thinking about his poor people, suffering in their bondage to the Egyptians.

MOSES' VISION.

Far out across the sandy wild, Where, like a solitary child He thoughtless roamed and free, One towering thorn was wrapped in flame-- Bright without blaze it went and came, Who would not turn and see?

--_Keble._

One day, as Moses tended the sheep on Mt. Horeb, there appeared beside him a bright light. And in another instant a bush near by leaped with red flames.

The branches crackled; the tongues of flame streamed up against the sky; but still the bush was not consumed, nor did it wither.

"This is strange," Moses thought; and he went up to the bush.

"Moses! Moses!" called a voice from out the flames.

Then Moses knew it was the voice of the Lord; and he fell upon his knees before the bush. He was afraid.

"The place where thou standest it is holy-ground!" said the voice again. "I am God, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob."

"I have seen my people's sorrow. I have heard their cry. I am come to send thee to Pharaoh. And thou shalt bring my people out of Egypt."

"Who am I, O Lord," Moses cried, "that I should be chosen to go to Pharaoh?"

"Fear not," said the voice of God again. "I will be with thee. Go, and tell thy people that I sent thee. If Pharaoh disobey my command, then will I send punishment upon him. Plagues will I send upon Egypt, and I will bring out my people safely." Still Moses was afraid. It was a great duty that had been laid upon him. He dared not believe he could do all that the Lord bade him to do. What if the people refused to believe him?

"Throw thy rod upon the ground," God said to Moses. For he knew the fear that was in the heart of the man, and he meant to give him courage.

Moses threw the rod upon the ground, and behold, it was changed into a serpent.

"Take the serpent in thy hand," commanded the voice from the burning bush.

For a moment Moses hesitated; for it was a terrible serpent, with fangs having deadly poison; and even the heart of the bravest man might well quail at such a command.

But Moses knew the Lord would not allow it to harm him. So he seized it by the tail--when lo! it changed again to a rod.

"Now," said the voice from the bush, "go to the people of Israel. Tell them these signs I have given to you that they may believe that I have sent you."

Still Moses feared. "O Lord," he cried, "I cannot speak well. My tongue is slow; I have no words."

But the Lord said, "Who hath made thy tongue dumb? Have not I, the Lord? Go; obey my command and I will instruct thee what thou shalt say. Take, too, thy brother Aaron with thee; and I will teach both Aaron and thee what to say."

Then Moses obeyed. Timid was he still; but the Lord gave him strength, and he set out from the house of Jethro to deliver the people of Israel. And as he journeyed towards the city, the Lord spoke, too, to Aaron, and bade him to go out to meet Moses.

Then Aaron and Moses met; and when they met, they fell upon each other's necks and wept.

Then they told each other what the Lord had said to them, and together they went into the presence of Pharaoh and said, "Behold the Lord hath told us to come to thee, and bid thee set free the people of Israel."

But Pharaoh sneered and said, "I know not the Lord of the Israelites, nor shall I set the people free."

Instead, Pharaoh called together his governors and bade them oppress the Israelites more heavily still; to give them more work and less pay; to punish them; and in every way to do those things to them that would make their yoke still harder to bear.

The governor obeyed. Then the poor Israelites blamed Moses and Aaron.

Moses went to God with the great burden of care now upon him. He was now eighty years of age, and the care weighed upon him most heavily.

"All this I do know," the Lord said. "But have trust in me. I have heard the groanings of my people. I remember the covenant that I made with Abraham, and I will bring the people out from Egypt into the land of Canaan."

THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT.

Yet think not thou, amidst thy warlike bands, They lie beyond redemption in thine hands. The God in whom they trust may help them still, They know He _can_ deliver, and He _will_: Whether by life or death afflicts them not; On His decree, not thine, they rest their lot.

--_Montgomery._

God gave to Moses and Aaron power to do wonderful things, miraculous things, that through them Pharaoh might know that the power of God was with them.

Aaron went before Pharaoh, and, throwing down his rod before him, it turned to a serpent.

But Pharaoh only laughed. "My wise men can do as much," he said. So he called them. They also did in like manner, but the rod of Aaron swallowed up the rods of Pharaoh's wise men.

Now, it is the river Nile that makes Egypt the fertile, fruitful country that it is. Without it Egypt would be a burning desert. The Egyptians well knew this. One day Moses went down to the waters, and, stretching his rod out over them, turned them to blood. The people were frightened.

The fish died; and no man could drink of the water.

Then Moses stretched out his rod again across the water; and behold thousands upon thousands of frogs came up out of the water. They infested the land. The houses were full of them. They sprang upon the banquet table of the king; and when he went to bed they were there also.

Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and said, "Take away these horrible frogs, and I will set thy people free."

Moses raised his rod again, and the frogs disappeared. There was rest in the land again.

But when they were gone, Pharaoh hardened his heart again. He would not let the Israelites go.

"Stretch forth thy rod again," came the word of God to Moses. He stretched forth his rod, and another plague fell upon the country. The ground was covered with lice, and the lice swarmed upon the animals and upon the people.

Then Moses went to Pharaoh and said, "Let my people go; but if thou wilt not, I will send flies upon thee and upon thy people; but I will send no flies upon the Israelites."

But Pharaoh would not listen. And the flies came--wasps and biting insects. But none of these came near the Israelites, though about the homes of the Egyptians they swarmed until Pharaoh, beside himself with torment, called upon Moses to deliver him from the plague, promising again to free the people of Israel.

Again this plague was lifted; and again Pharaoh perjured his soul. For no sooner was he free, than again he refused to let the people go.

Then the Lord sent Moses again into the presence of the king. "If thou wilt not let the people go," said Moses to Pharaoh, "then a plague shall fall upon the cattle; and not one shall be left alive to all the Egyptians; but those of the Israelites shall be free from harm."

Pharaoh made no answer; and on the morrow the plague fell, and not only the cattle but the magicians were covered with boils. Besides this, a terrible storm came. The trees were broken down, and the crops in the fields were destroyed.

Pharaoh was terrified. Famine he knew now would follow; for they had neither meat nor corn for food. And again he promised freedom to the Israelites.

But when the storm had ceased, and the crops were again growing, he forgot his terror, and freed not the people.

Then the locusts came, millions upon millions of them. They swarmed upon every bit of green in all the land and devoured it,--the leaves, the grass, and the newly-growing crops. Not a leaf nor a blade was left. And again famine sent terror into the soul of Pharaoh. And again he promised freedom to the Israelites; and again he refused, when the plague was lifted, to keep his promise.

Then came a terrible darkness upon the country,--a darkness that no light could penetrate.

"Go, Moses," said Pharaoh again. "Go out from the land to the land thou lovest. Go; but leave behind thee thy cattle and thy possessions. Those belong to Egypt."

Now, to have set out with the great company of the Israelites without cattle and corn for food would have been worse than useless for starvation would have come upon them.

Therefore Moses answered, "No, Pharaoh, the Israelites go not forth from Egypt without their cattle and corn and all that belongs to them."

Then Pharaoh was angry, and he drove Moses forth from him, saying, "Never more let me look upon thy face!"

Moses went out from the palace and told all that had happened to the Lord.

The darkness ended in three days. Then God said, "Now will I send another and a greater plague upon Pharaoh; and after this, he will let the people go."

So God sent an angel to smite the first-born of all the Egyptians. This Moses told to his people, and bade them put a mark upon their own doorsteps, that the angel might pass by the homes of the Israelites, and leave their children unharmed.

This the Israelites did; and in the night-time the angel came. Not one house of the Israelites did he enter; but in every house of the Egyptians, when the sun rose, there lay the dead body of the oldest child.

Then a groan went up from the people. There was wailing in the streets. Pharaoh himself could bear no more. He sent for Moses and Aaron in the night time and said to them, "Rise up, you and the Israelites and all their children. Take all that you have and be gone."

Then Moses and Aaron told the people, and bade them make haste lest again Pharaoh repent. But Pharaoh's heart was too heavy. At last his proud spirit was subdued, and Moses and Aaron, with 600,000 Israelites, set out for the land of Canaan.

THE DESTROYING ANGEL.

He stopped at last, And a mild look of sacred pity cast Down on the sinful land where he was sent To inflict the tardy punishment.

"Ah! yet," said he, "yet, stubborn king, repent, Whilst thus unarm'd I stand, Ere the keen sword of God fill my commanded hand; Suffer but yet thyself and thine to live: Who would, alas! believe That it for man," said he, "So hard to be forgiven should be, And yet for God so easy to forgive!"

Through Egypt's wicked land his march he took, And as he march'd the sacred first born strook Of every womb: none did he spare, None, from the meanest beast to Pharaoh's purple heir.

Whilst health and strength and gladness doth possess The festal Hebrew cottages; The blest destroyer comes not there To interrupt the sacred cheer: Upon their doors he read, and understood God's protection writ in blood; Well was he skill'd i' the character divine; And though he passed by it in haste, He bow'd and worshipp'd, as he pass'd, The mighty mystery through its humble sign.

--_A. Cowley_

THE RED SEA.

When the Israelites were gone, peace settled down upon Egypt and all things prospered. This was because Pharaoh had given freedom to the people of Israel, and so had caused the displeasure of God to be removed from the land.

But Pharaoh did not think of it in that way. He began, rather, to think that he had done a most foolish thing in allowing 600,000 faithful workmen and slaves to go out from the land. The Egyptians needed their help in brick making, and in the planting and reaping of the heavy crops.

The more he thought of it, the stronger grew his determination to bring the Israelites back. He had forgotten the suffering that had come to his people; and perhaps he began to think this suffering might more easily have been kept away.

So what do you suppose the foolish, hard-willed, stubborn-hearted Pharaoh did? He gathered together a great army and started out in pursuit of the Israelites.

"If only we can overtake them before they reach the Red Sea," he thought, "we shall easily drive them back into Egypt."

Now, the Lord heard the wicked plotting of Pharaoh, and although he allowed him to set forth, he allowed no harm to come to his chosen people.

A great cloud he had placed behind them and all around them as they traveled by day, so that by it they were shielded from the view of any enemy that might be lurking in the neighborhood of their march.

And by night this cloud became a pillar of fire, that by its light they might be guided through the strange wilderness.

When Israel, of the Lord beloved, Out from the land of bondage came, Her fathers' God before her moved, An awful guide in smoke and flame. By day, along the astonished lands The cloudy pillar glided slow; By night Arabia's crimson sands Returned the fiery column's glow. There rose the choral hymn of praise, And trump and timbrel answered keen; And Zion's daughters poured their lays, With priest's and warrior's voice between.

But when Pharaoh came upon the Israelites, with his great army of horse and men and war chariots, they were resting beside the waters of the Red Sea.

When the Israelites saw the army, they were stricken with fear. They forgot that God had led them thus far, and that he had promised to guide them and bring them at last, safe, into the promised land of Canaan.

They rose in terror; and many of them began to cry out against Moses, who had allowed this danger to come upon them.

"Be not afraid!" said Moses. And just then the pillar of cloud moved around so that it blinded the Egyptians. They could not see the Israelites. They could hardly see each other; for it was like a dense fog fallen upon them.

"Stretch out thy rod across the sea," said the voice of God to Moses. Moses obeyed. The waters parted, and the Israelites passed over to the other side unharmed.

But when they were half across the cloud lifted, and the Egyptians saw the Israelites.

Down into the water-parting they plunged,--men, horses, chariots, all; and on they dashed in quick pursuit.

Foolish Pharaoh! Did he not know that the parting of the water was not for him? Had not he yet learned that God was with the Israelites?

The Israelites were now across the sea. They were climbing the opposite bank. The last man had reached the top. Then Moses raised his rod again, and the waters of the sea came together with a great rushing sound. They foamed and seethed, and the great army of the Egyptians sank beneath the great pillars of water that closed over them on either side. All were drowned; and the Israelites were at last freed from Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

"Fly, Misraim, fly!"--From Edom's coral strand Again the prophet stretched his dreadful wand:-- With one wild crash the thundering waters sweep, And all is waves--a dark and lonely deep; And strange and sad the whispering breezes bore The groans of Egypt to Arabia's shore.

Then the Israelites halted in their march and held a festival of thanksgiving; for they were now free from their old enemy.

Then they went on into the wilderness. And Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women event out after her with timbrels. And Miriam said, "Let us sing to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously."

They offered sacrifices, they prayed and sang, and danced.

MIRIAM'S SONG.

Sound the loud timbrel o'er Egypt's dark sea! Jehovah has triumphed--His people are free! Sing!--for the pride of the tyrant is broken: His chariots, his horsemen, all splendid and brave,-- How vain was their boasting!--the Lord hath but spoken, And chariots and horsemen are sunk in the wave. Sound the loud timbrel o'er Egypt's dark sea! Jehovah has triumphed--His people are free!

Praise to the Conqueror, praise to the Lord! His word was our arrow, His breath was our sword! Who shall return to tell Egypt the story Of those she sent forth in the hour of her pride? For the Lord hath looked out from his pillar of glory, And all her brave thousands are dashed in the tide. Sound the loud timbrel o'er Egypt's dark sea: Jehovah has triumphed--His people are free!

--_Moore._

IN THE WILDERNESS.

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.

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.