second year, that the signal for marching was given, by the taking up the cloud from off the tabernacle of the testimony. "And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran."

In the first rank marched the tribe of Judah with Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, as their leader.

Then Issachar, whose chief captain was Nathaneel, the son of Zuar.

Then Zebulun, whose leader was Eliab, the son of Helon.

These three tribes marched in the front, before the tabernacle, which was borne after them by the sons of Gershon and Merari.

Then marched the tribe of Reuben, led on by Elizur, the son of Shedeur.

After him came the tribe of Simeon, whose captain was Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai.

And next the tribe of Gad, over which was Eliasaph, the son of Deuel.

Then came the Kohathites bearing the ark and other holy vessels of the sanctuary, in the centre of the camp.

Behind the Kohathites, and next in order, marched the tribe of Ephraim, over which was Elishama, the son of Ammihud. And Manasseh led on by Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur.

Next marched Benjamin, whose leader was Abidan, the son of Gideoni.

Then followed the tribe of Dan, over which was Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai.

And Asher, whose leader was Pagiel, the son of Ocran. And Naphtali brought up the rear, whose leader was Ahira, the son of Enan.

This order of march was uniformly observed at all times; during all their journeyings through the wilderness.

SECTION XXXII.

MOSES' INVITATION TO HOBAB.

"AND Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel, the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, We are journeying unto a place, of which the Lord said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go, but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. And he said, leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest, we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead

of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the Lord shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee." Although it is not said here whether Hobab, which seems to be another name for Jethro, went along with his son-in-law or not, yet his offering no further objection gives ground for the inference, that he did. And that this was the fact, can be ascertained from what is said in the first chapter of Judges, where we read, "And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees, with the children of Judah, into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad: and they went and dwelt among the people."

After leaving Sinai, the Israelites marched three days before they came to a resting-place; "And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was upon them by day when they went out of the camp. When the ark set forward, Moses was accustomed to employ the following solemn prayer, "Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee before thee." And when it rested, he used the following, "Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel."

The prospect was now, that in a short time the Israelites would have been at the end of their journey; and doubtless this would have been the event, if they had not rebelled against the Lord. So, when the time came for their departure from Horeb, the Lord said, "Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount. Turn ye, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereto, in the plains, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea-side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, and unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Behold, I have set the land before you, go in and possess the land, which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give it to them and to their seed after them."

SECTION XXXIII.

THE PEOPLE REBEL AGAINST MOSES-A BURNING SENT AMONG THEM THE LORD PUTS HIS SPIRIT ON THE ELDERS.

NOTWITHSTANDING all the miracles which they had witnessed, and all the wonderful deliverances which they had experienced, the people continued to murmur and complain; and the anger of the Lord was again kindled against them; "and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp." And when the peo

ple cried unto Moses, he prayed unto the Lord, and the fire was quenched. On account of this burning, the name of the place was called, Taberah.

But soon the perverseness of this stiff-necked people discovered itself again. They remembered the fish, the cucumbers, and melons, which they enjoyed abundantly in Egypt; and also the leeks, onions, and garlick, of which they were very fond: and they had become weary of the manna, which was dry and always the same; for when they gathered it, it had the appearance of coriander seed, or bdellium; but before it was eaten, it was ground in mills, and then baked into cakes, in pans; and when thus prepared, its taste resembled that of fresh olive oil. This spirit of murmuring revived so frequently, and was now so general-for all the people wept throughout their families, standing in the door of their tents, and was so unreasonable, since they were well supplied, every day, with nutritious and pleasant food-that Moses was much disturbed in mind, and poured out the following bitter complaint before the Lord: "Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant, and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? Have I begotten them, that thou shouldst say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom (as a nursing father beareth the sucking child) unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? For they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness." The Lord, therefore, directed Moses to assemble to him the seventy elders of Israel, who had already been appointed judges and elders over the people, and when they were convened at the door of the tabernacle, the Lord took of the spirit that was upon Moses, and gave it unto the seventy elders; and when the Spirit rested upon them they prophesied, and did not cease. But two of the elders, Eldad and Medad, remained in the camp, and the Spirit rested upon them also; for they were of the number that were written, but went not up to the tabernacle. And a young man ran and told Moses that Eldad and Medad were prophesying in the camp. And Joshua said, My Lord, Moses, forbid them. And Moses said, enviest thou for my sake? Would God, that all the Lord's people were prophets; and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them." Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

But as the people had complained so bitterly of the want of flesh, the Lord promised that they should have it, not for one or

a few days, as on the former occasion, but for a whole month, until it came out at their nostrils, and became loathsome. Thus did God in righteous judgment grant the requests of this discontented people. As it is said in the Psalms, "He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls." And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp on every side. And the people gathered the quails all that day and night, and next day; so that he that gathered least had ten homers. "And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people; and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague. The name of this place was, therefore, called Kibroth-hattaavah, (the graves of the lusters;) "because there they buried the people that lusted." It is altogether probable, that this pestilence was produced by the quails; in that hot region, so much flesh was unwholesome; and so much animal matter putrifying about the camp, must have greatly infected the air.

SECTION XXXIV.

NEW TROUBLES ARISE FROM AN UNEXPECTED QUARTER.

MOSES, as we have seen, had married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, prince of Midian, in Arabia. This is the country which was originally called Ethiopia, (Cush,) which name was afterwards transferred to the country on the other side of the Red Sea. Miriam and Aaron, it would seem, were not well pleased with this woman; or they felt the prejudices which are common against people of a foreign nation; and as marrying among strangers had met with the disapprobation of the patriarchs, they took occasion, at this late hour, to find fault with their brother for bringing an Ethiopean woman into their family. But the real spring of this behaviour appears to have been spiritual pride. They both had received, in some degree, the gift of inspiration; and Aaron had been highly honoured by being made high-priest, and also the instrument of God and Moses, in the wonderful works wrought in Egypt; and they envied the authority which Moses exercised, and thought that he took too much upon him, and did not bring them forward before the people, as much as they wished. Therefore, they said, "Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not also spoken by us?" Now, there never lived a man upon earth, who was less ambitious of power and authority than Moses; or who was less disposed to arrogate to himself what did not belong to him, or to deprive others of

their just rights. On this occasion, he seems to have remained entirely passive, as there is not a word recorded, as having been spoken by him. But the Lord espouses the cause of the meek, and quickly vindicates their rights, and their character. "And the Lord spoke suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they came out. And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words. If there be a prophet among you, the Lord will make himself known unto him in a vision, and speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all his house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold; wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the Lord was enkindled against them, and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and behold Miriam became leprous white as snow; and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and behold she was leprous. And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us wherein we have done foolishly and have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed, when he cometh out of his mother's womb." "And Moses," whose spirit of forgiveness and forbearance knew no bounds, "cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. And the Lord said, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days; and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. And afterward the people removed from Hazaroth and pitched in the wilderness of Paran."

Why Miriam only was punished for this offence, in which Aaron was engaged with her, must be left to conjecture. Probably, the discontent originated with her, and her brother had been influenced by her to join in the complaint against Moses: or the sacerdotal character of Aaron rendered it unsuitable. that he should be visited by a judgment of this sort, which would have utterly disqualified him for the duties of his sacred office.