replied: 'I am that I am; thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel, I am has sent me to you.' Then He encouraged him again and bade him, on his arrival in Egypt, assemble the elders in Israel in order to comfort them by the certain promise that they would inherit the land of Canaan, and then appear fearlessly before Pharaoh, and ask his permission to allow the Hebrews to go a three days' journey into the wilderness for the purpose of offering up sacrifices to Him. Yet I know,' said the Lord, 'that the king of Egypt will not let you go, even not by a mighty hand. Therefore, I will stretch out My hand and smite Egypt with all My wonders, which I will do in the midst thereof; and after that he will let you go. And I shall give this people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians; and it will come to pass, that when you go, you will not go empty; but every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that sojourns in her house, articles of silver and articles of gold, and raiment; and you shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters, and you shall plunder the Egyptians.' Still Moses felt his own weakness, and he said, 'Behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken to my voice, for they will say, The Lord has not appeared to thee.' God, gracious to Moses, and loving him for his meekness, inspired him with new courage. First He commanded him to throw down his staff, which instantly became a serpent; and when Moses seized it by its tail, it returned to its original form, and became a staff again. Then the Lord bade him put his hand into his bosom: he did so; and when he drew it out, it was leprous and white as snow; then putting it once more into his bosom, it became well again. If this was not sufficient, Moses was to take water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry land, when it would be turned into blood. It was obvious that the Israelites would believe in the words of a man who came to them with such supernatural powers.

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But now Moses urged another difficulty: he felt that a man who is to move the multitude, and to kindle the enthusiasm of a nation, must be endowed with eloquence; but the gift of language was denied to him; he was slow of speech; how could he persuade Pharaoh to yield, or induce his own countrymen to aid him in his schemes of deliverance? But God said to him: Who has made man's mouth? or who makes dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Do not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I shall be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.' Yet the diffidence of Moses was not conquered in the slightest degree: as if he had heard no argument, received no Divine assurance, he simply exclaimed, 'I beseech Thee, my Lord, send, I pray Thee, by the hand of any one whom Thou wilt send.' This reluctance, which, creditable in itself, became reproachful by its excess, justly roused the anger of God, who replied: 'Do I not know Aaron the Levite, thy brother, that he can speak well? and also, behold, he comes forth to meet thee, and when he sees thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak to him, and put the words in his mouth: and I shall be with thy mouth, and shall teach thee what to do. And he shall speak for thee to the people, and he shall indeed be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of a God. And thou shalt take this staff into thy hand, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.'

Moses, now at last yielding to the Divine behest, summoned courage, and resolved upon his immediate departure. He went to his father-in-law Jethro, and requested his permission to return to Egypt, pleading that he was desirous to see whether his brethren were yet alive. Jethro readily and cheerfully gave his assent to the proposed journey; so Moses set off accompanied by his wife Zipporah and their two sons; for a second son, Eliezer, had but lately been born to them. They travelled southward through

It

Midian, and passed through the wilderness of Arabia. was here that Aaron came to meet Moses; the two brothers found each other at Mount Horeb, and there Aaron heard from the inspired lips of his younger brother the glorious mission with which he had been entrusted, and was told of the signs which he was to perform before the Egyptians and the Israelites. Full of faith and growing courage, Moses and Aaron continued their journey.

As soon as they arrived in Egypt, they assembled the elders of the Hebrews, and informed them of their Divine charge. They told them how once more the Hebrews were to be a free people, how they were to live in their own land, following their own worship, glorifying the One God, abiding by His decrees. Egypt, the land of slavery and idolatry, was to be left for ever. To the eager listeners, these words brought hope and consolation; the messengers of the glad tidings were their own kinsmen, men who were manifestly strengthened by the power of the Lord, whose words seemed imbued with the Divine spirit, and whose miraculous staff performed wonders before their eyes. They saw and heard, and they believed firmly, and in a transport of gratitude and fervour prostrated themselves. before their Eternal Deliverer. The moment had now arrived for Moses and Aaron to proceed to the palace, and to appear before Pharaoh himself. Fearlessly the two brothers came into the great king's presence with words which to the despot sounded like a command: Thus has the Lord God of Israel said, Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the desert.' Pharaoh replied, haughtily and tauntingly: Who is the Lord whose voice I shall obey to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.' Vain were the remonstrances of Moses and Aaron, vain the pleadings of the people. Pharaoh, enraged at the bold request of the enslaved nation, exclaimed, Wherefore do you, Moses and Aaron,

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disturb the people from their works? Go you to your burdens.' Not content with his disdainful refusal, he determined to add to the hardships of the Israelites. He increased their labour by not giving them straw for the bricks, and exacting, notwithstanding, the same number of bricks as before. They are idle,' said the king, 'therefore they cry, Let us go and sacrifice to our God let the work be hard upon the men, so that they may have fully to do with it, and not listen to vain words.'

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The taskmasters went out to enforce these unfeeling commands, which fell heavily upon the hearts of the oppressed people sighing for freedom. In sorrow they dispersed through the land to gather stubble instead of straw. But they toiled in vain; they were unable to finish their heavy task, and their overseers, who were held responsible for its accomplishment, were inhumanly beaten by the Egyptian task-masters. And when the Hebrew overseers cried to Pharaoh at the injustice of his servants, they heard again the same cruel words: 'You are idle, you are idle; therefore you say, Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord. Go, therefore, now, and work, for no straw shall be given you, yet shall you deliver the tale of bricks.' In an agony of despair, the overseers went to Moses and Aaron, and upbraided them in all the bitterness of their hearts. Was not their fate worse now than it had ever been before? Did it not seem as if they must perish by the hatred of an enraged king, manifestly determined to crush them? Help seemed far off indeed. Even Moses trembled; he doubted his mission; but he carried his fear to the Lord, and sent up to Him a touching, desponding supplication: Wherefore hast Thou done so evil to Thy people, wherefore is it that Thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh, to speak in Thy name, he has done evil to this people, and hast Thou in any way delivered Thy people?' The Lord answered the prayer of Moses, and never before had His

majesty and omnipotence been pronounced in words so distinct and so solemn: 'Now shalt thou see what I shall do to Pharaoh, for by a strong hand will he send them away, and by a strong hand will he drive them out of his land;'-and He continued: 'I am the Lord; I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by My name the Eternal was I not known to them. Thus Moses was placed at a high spiritual preeminence above the patriarchs. Abraham, it is true, had been led throughout his life by the direct word of God; in like manner the Divine spirit lingered around the calm and pensive Isaac; it cheered and counselled the wanderings and trials of Jacob; and Joseph, though not so constantly favoured, had been specially watched over, and brought to a glorious destiny. But Moses was to witness the wondrous redemption of God's people; he was to see the realisation of the promises made to his forefathers by virtue of solemn covenants. His conception of the Heavenly Father was to be more complete and more sublime; he was to understand Him not only as the All-powerful God (D), but as the Eternal' (77), whose will and glory exist for ever, and whose word is unfailing.

But the Israelites were crushed in spirit; they turned away from prospects of hope and gladness; they ceased to believe in their freedom: they hearkened not to Moses through shortness of breath and through hard bondage.' Therefore, when the Lord commanded Moses to go again to Pharaoh, and to repeat the old request, Moses not unnaturally answered: Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened to me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?' But the Lord bade Moses not be afraid; He would arm him with Divine power to move Pharaoh, while Aaron would be his prophet,' the man of commanding eloquence able to express his thoughts; and He added: 'I shall harden Pharaoh's heart, and mul