of Israel to be on his side, and to join with him in his complaint against Moses and Aaron, for usurping an undue share of power over the people. It seems that Dathan and Abiram were not present at this altercation between Moses and Korah; and when they were summoned to make their appearance, they said, "We will not come. Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? Moreover, thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up." Upon hearing this accusation, Moses was exceedingly angry, and said unto the Lord, "Respect not their offering. I have not taken one ass from them; neither have I hurt one of them." As is usual in such cases, different persons entered into this rebellion with different motives. Dathan and Abiram were dissatisfied that the people were kept so long in the wilderness; and especially, since the prospect was, that they would continue wandering there for many years to come.

On the next day appeared Korah and all his company, two hundred and fifty princes, with their censers, before the tabernacle; and Aaron stood also with his censer; and the whole congregation were assembled; and they took every man his censer and put fire in them, and laid incense therein, and stood in the door of the tabernacle with Moses and Aaron; and THE GLORY OF THE LORD appeared unto all the congregation. "And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, Separate yourselves from the congregation, that I may consume them in a moment."

But Moses and Aaron entreated for the people, and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin and wilt thou be wroth with the whole congregation? And the Lord said, Speak unto the congregation, saying, get you up from out of the tabernacles of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs lest ye be consumed in all their sins. So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side; and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents; and their wives and their sons and their little children. And Moses said, Hereby shall ye know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men, then the Lord hath not sent me.

But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord." And he had no sooner finished speaking, "than the ground clave asunder that was under them. And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them; and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that was round about them fled at the cry of them; for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense." By the command of God the censers of these men were made into broad plates, for the covering of the altar, because by being offered before the Lord, they had, as it were, been hallowed.

But on the succeeding day, the children of Israel, whose rebellious spirit nothing could subdue, began again to murmur against Moses and Aaron, saying, "Ye have killed the people of the Lord." And the congregation assembled against Moses and Aaron; but when they looked toward the tabernacle, behold the cloud covered it, and THE GLORY OF THE LORD appeared. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, "Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them, as in a moment; and Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces. And Moses said to Aaron, "take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar and put on incense, and go quickly into the congregation, and make an atonement for them, for there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague is begun. And Aaron ran into the midst of the congregation, and behold the plague was begun among the people; and he put on incense and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stayed." The number who died of the plague, on this occasion, was fourteen thousand seven hundred, beside them that fell with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

To prevent all future contests about the right to the priesthood, all the tribes were commanded of God, each to bring a rod; and on every rod was written the name of the chief of the tribe who brought it; and Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi. These rods were directed to be laid up before the testimony, and it was declared, that the man's rod whom the Lord had chosen, should blossom. And when an examination was made. of the rods, the rod of Aaron, for the house of Levi, had budded and blossomed. And Moses was directed to lay up Aaron's

rod for a memorial, and it was preserved for generations in the ark, with the pot of manna.

SECTION XXXVIII.

SECOND MURMURING ON ACCOUNT OF THE WANT OF WATER.

WHILE Israel remained encamped at Kadesh, Miriam who was several years older than either Moses or Aaron, died, and was buried there. "And there was no water for the congregation; and the people chode with Moses and Aaron, saying, Would God we had died when our brethren died before the Lord. And why have ye brought the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? And wherefore have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us into this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs or vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink." Upon this trying occasion, as before, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces, at the door of the tabernacle; and THE GLORY OF THE LORD appeared unto them. And the Lord directed Moses to take the rod, and collect the congregation, and to speak to the rock, and it should bring forth water. But Moses, chafed and provoked with the unceasing rebellion of the people, instead of simply doing what the Lord commanded, said to them, "Hear now, ye rebels, must we fetch water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand and smote the rock twice; and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank and their beasts also." But this conduct of Moses greatly displeased the Lord, therefore he said, "Because ye believed me not to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring the congregation into the land which I have given them." This place also, like the former, received the name of Meribah, because there the children of Israel strove with the Lord.

SECTION XXXIX.

MESSAGE TO THE KING OF EDOM-DEATH OF AARON.

FROM Kadesh, the direct way for the march of the children of Israel was through the country of Edom. Moses therefore sent messengers to the king of Edom, to solicit a peaceable passage through his territory; and they were commissioned to say, "Thus saith thy brother Israel, thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us; how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt, a long time, and the Egyptians vexed

us and our fathers; and when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel and hath brought us forth out of Egypt, and behold we are in Cadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy borders. Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country. We will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells. We will go by the king's highway, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left until we have passed thy borders." But the king of Edom would not grant this favour to Israel; and threatened them with a hostile attack if they should attempt to enter his country. And when they repeated their request, offering to pay for the water which their cattle might need, still they met with a positive refusal. They were, therefore, under the necessity of turning their march another way; endeavouring to pass around the land of Edom; and in their progress they came to mount Hor, which became famous on account of the death of Aaron; for he having been a partaker of the sin of Moses which excluded him from the land of promise, was also prevented from entering Canaan. The circumstances of Aaron's death were unusual and solemn. Moses was directed to take him and Eleazar, and bring them up unto mount Hor; and they went up in the sight of all the congregation. And then Moses stripped off Aaron's sacerdotal robes, and put them upon Eleazar his son. And Aaron died there, in the top of the mountain; and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. And all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.

While Israel was endeavouring to encompass the land of Edom, where they found the way exceeding difficult, so that the hearts of the people were much discouraged, they were attacked by Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the south. At first he had some success against Israel, and took some of the people prisoners, but they vowed a vow, that if the Lord would deliver their enemies into their hand, they would utterly destroy their cities; and the Lord heard them, and gave them the victory: and accordingly they utterly destroyed them and their cities, and called the name of the place, Hormah.

SECTION XL.

FIERY SERPENTS INFEST THE PEOPLE ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR REBELLION.

THE people having again sinned against God and Moses his servant, saying, "Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread; therefore, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the

people; and much people of Israel died." They now began as usual to repent, and came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and thee. Pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us." And again Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it on a pole, and whoever that was bitten of the fiery serpents, when they looked upon it, lived." From our Lord's discourse with Nicodemus, we learn, that the erection of this brazen serpent on a pole for the healing of the dying Israelites, was a type of the lifting up of the Son of man on the cross, for the salvation of sinners; and that the manner of obtaining the cure was the same. "For as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so shall the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

The armies of Israel continued their march and came successively to Oboth, Ije-Abarim, which is on the coast of Moab, Zared, and Arnon, which river is the boundary between the territory of Moab and of Ammon; and thence they journeyed to Beer, or the well, where the Lord gave water to the people; on which occasion Moses composed a hymn which the people sang. "Spring up, O well, sing ye unto it. The princes digged the well; the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves." Their next stage was Mattanah; then Nahaliel; then Bamoth, in the valley, which is in the country of Moab, and from thence to the top of Pisgah. Having now reached the borders of the Amorites, Moses sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the country, to obtain permission to pass through his country, promising not to turn aside from the highway into the fields or vineyards, nor to drink the water of his wells, but to march directly through the land, until they had passed his borders. But Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his borders, and not content with a refusal of this reasonable request, he collected an army and went forth to attack Israel, in the wilderness. And at a place called Johaz, a battle was fought, in which Sihon was completely overthrown. And Israel took possession of the country of the Amorites, from Arnon to Jabbok on the borders of Ammon, and dwelt in their cities; and they took Heshbon the royal city, which Sihon had built and ornamented with much pains.

After vanquishing the Amorites, and taking possession of their country, they went up by the way of Bashan; and Og, king of Bashan, came out and fought with them at Edrei; but was utterly overthrown, and all his people destroyed.