SECTION XXXV.' MEN SENT TO EXPLORE THE PROMISED Land. HAVING passed through the terrible wilderness of Paran, the children of Israel came to Kadesh-barnea, which is near the mountain of the Amorites, on the border of the land of Canaan. And Moses now exhorted the people to go up immediately, and possess the land which lay before them; and told them not to be afraid nor discouraged. But the whole of the people united in a petition that they might be permitted, in the first place, to send men, to search out the land, and bring them word by what way they must go up, and into what cities they should first come. This proposal was entirely pleasing to Moses; and also met with the approbation of God; for we read in Numbers, that "God spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men that they may search out the land of Canaan which I give unto the children of Israel; of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. And Moses, by the command of the Lord, sent them from the wilderness of Paran. And these were the names of the men. Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua, the son of Zachur; of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat, the son of Hosi; of the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh; of the tribe of Issachar, Igal, the son of Joseph; of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea, the son of Nun; of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti, the son of Raphu; of the tribe of Zebulun, Gadiel, the son of Sodi; of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi, the son of Susi; of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel, the son of Gemalli; of the tribe of Asher, Jethur, the son of Michael; of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi, the son of Vophsi; and of the tribe of Gad, Geuel, the son of Machi. In catalogues of the tribes, Levi was no longer numbered, as being consecrated to the service of the sanctuary; and by means of Joseph's two sons, the number of the twelve tribes was kept up, without counting Levi. The orders given to these men were, that they should go up and "spy out the land of Canaan, and see what it is; and the people that dwell therein, whether they be weak or strong, few or many; and what sort of land they inhabit, whether it be good or bad; and what kind of cities they have; whether they dwell in tents, or in strong holds; and whether the country was covered with wood, or was bare; and finally, they were directed to bring back with them some of the fruits of the land, as the season was that of the first ripe grapes. So these men explored the country from the south, where they entered it, even unto Hameth. Among the places which they visited, was Hebron, one of the oldest towns in the world, for it was built seven years before Zoan, in Egypt. Near this spot their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had been accustomed to pitch their tents; and here also was the cave, where these patriarchs lay sleeping in the dust. But, at this time, it was in the possession of the sons of Anak, three of whom, Áhiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the spies saw with terror and dismay; for they were men of gigantic stature. And in passing through the country, they came to a certain valley of extraordinary fertility, where they found clusters of grapes of such enormous size, that they resolved to cut down a branch, and suspend it on a staff or pole, so that the grapes might not be crushed, and carry it back to the camp, in compliance with the orders which they had received. This valley and the brook which passed through it, received the name of Eshcol, on account of the cluster of grapes, which the children of Israel did cut down from thence. And they returned, after having spent forty days in exploring the land. And they came to Moses at Kadesh, in the wilderness of Paran, and reported what they had seen, and showed the fruit of the land. And they all testified that the country was exceeding good, a land flowing with milk and honey nevertheless, the majority said, "The people be strong that dwell in the land; and the cities are walled and very great;" and above all they said, "We saw the children of Anak there." They also reported that the Amalekites dwelt in the south, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites in the mountains, and the Canaanites along the sea coast, and along the valley of Jordan. This report of the majority of the spies greatly intimidated the people, and a fearful state of commotion was produced in the camp; but Caleb and Joshua endeavoured to compose and encourage the people; and exhorted them to go up at once and take possession of the land; for said they, "We are well able to overcome it." But the men who went up with them said, "We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we." And thus they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched, saying, "The land eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of stature; and there we saw the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.' SECTION XXXVI. WITH THE PEOPLE REBEL AGAINST MOSES AGAIN-GOD'S DISPLEASURE-DECLARES THE people became more and more agitated; and "the whole congregation lifted up their voice and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the congregation murmured against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or, would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the Lord brought us into this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? Were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly; and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun, who were of the number of those that went to spy out the land, rent their clothes, and addressed the multitude, saying, "The land which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us; a land flowing with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord; neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear them not." But the spirit of rebellion had become too violent to be quelled with words, however reasonable or persuasive, Therefore, instead of yielding to Caleb and Joshua, they resolved to put them to death by stoning; and would instantly have executed their purpose, had not THE GLORY OF THE LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation, before all the children of Israel. "And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me; and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have showed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation, and mightier than they. And Moses said unto the Lord, The Egyptians shall hear it, for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them; and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land; for they have heard, that thou, Lord art among this people; that thou Lord, art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them; and that thou goest before them, by day-time in a pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. Now, if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee, will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according unto the greatness of thy mercy; and as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt, even until now. And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with THE GLory of the LORD. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles which I did in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened unto my voice; surely they shall not see the land, which I sware unto their fathers; neither shall any of them that have provoked me see it: but my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land, whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it. To-morrow, turn ye, get ye into the wilderness, by the way of the Red Sea." "Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness, and all that were numbered of you, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me. Doubtless, ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware, to make you dwell therein, save Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness. After the num.. ber of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. I, the Lord, have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die." Accordingly, "the men which Moses sent to search out the land, who returned and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord. But Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still." And when Moses told all the words of the Lord unto the children of Israel, they mourned greatly. "And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised; for we have sinned." But Moses commanded them not to go up, for the Lord was not among them; and told them they would be smitten by their enemies. "But they presumed to go up to the hill-top; nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah." SECTION XXXVII. THE REBELLION OF KORAH, DATHAN, ABIRAM AND ON, WITH TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY PRINCES OF THE CONGREGATION. THE great rebellion mentioned in the last section, and the heavy punishment incurred, did not terminate the perverse conduct of this stiff-necked people; nor relieve Moses from further and even greater troubles. For now, certain leading men of the tribes of Levi and Reuben, formed a combination with two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, men of celebrity and influence, against Moses and Aaron. Their pretext was, that Moses and Aaron took too much upon them, and lorded it over God's heritage. They said, "Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?" And when Moses heard their allegation, he fell on his face. But he simply referred the whole matter to the proper tribunal, to the decision of God. "To-morrow," said he, "the Lord will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near unto him; even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. This do; take you censers, Korah and all his company, and put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord to-morrow: and it shall be, that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy; ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi. Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord; and to stand before the congregation, to minister unto them. And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren, the sons of Levi with thee, and seek ye the priesthood also? for which cause both thou, and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him?" It is evident from this cutting reproof and expostulation, that this rebellion was instigated by Korah, who was the cousin of Moses and Aaron; and who envied the latter the honour conferred upon him in being invested with the office of the high-priest. And by his artful representations he had brought over almost all the leading men |