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moment, the glory of the Lord appeared before the Israelites, and His voice declared to Moses, that as a punishment for their disbelief and revolt, the people should be smitten with pestilence and die, and from Moses alone should descend a great and mighty nation, bearing God's name and spreading His truth. But Moses entreated God to forgive them: And now, I beseech Thee, let the power of my God be great, according as Thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is longsuffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children into the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech Thee, the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of Thy mercy, and as Thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. And the Lord said: I pardon 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 who have seen My glory, and My miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, have tempted Me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice; surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked Me see it: but My servant Caleb, because he has another spirit within him, and has followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went, and his seed shall possess it.' During forty years the Hebrews were to lead a wandering life in the desert, one year for each day spent by the spies in their journey of exploration; to their children was reserved the conquest of the land which they themselves dreaded so much, and where should be the home of their prophets, the cradle of their warriors, the throne of their kings; of all their vast hosts, Joshua and Caleb alone, the brave-hearted and loyal followers of Moses, were to be permitted to enter the land of Promise.

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The people repented of their sinful want of faith, and mourned in deep affliction; they were eager and almost impetuous in their desire to prove their valour, and demanded to be led on to the conquest of Canaan, But Moses said, Wherefore now do you transgress the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that you be not smitten before your enemies. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword.' But the people were unable to moderate their ardour. As they rushed madly forward, they were overpowered by the fierce and hostile tribes, scattered, and pursued southward to the old Canaanite town Hormah.

55. REBELLION OF KORAH AND HIS FOLLOWERS, [NUMB. XVI.]

Faith in God, and submission to His servant Moses, were lessons which the Israelites seemed unable to learn. This was again strikingly proved by the rebellion of Korah and his associates, which followed almost immediately after the events just narrated, and was attended with terrible punishments.

Korah was of the race of Levi; he was indeed also descended from Kohath, like Moses and Aaron, but not through Amram, but through his younger brother Izhar; and it was to the elder line of Amram-to Aaron and his descendants-that the right of priesthood had been exclusively assigned. Now Korah was an aspiring and ambitious man. He would not acknowledge the superior gifts of Moses and Aaron. Belonging to the tribe of Levi, he believed himself entitled to the highest sacerdotal privileges. He succeeded in gaining the co-operation of some other men, as Dathan and Abiram, who, being members of the eldest tribe, considered themselves wronged by their exclu

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sion from the sacred offices, to which they believed they had a natural claim. They were joined by a number of discontented Israelites, men of wealth and influence, who bore unwillingly the civil authority of Moses, which enforced order and obedience from all alike. Filled with a bitter spirit of jealousy, they exclaimed: You take too much upon you; for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then do you lift yourselves up above the congregation of the Lord?' When Moses heard their complaints, he fell down upon his face, conscious of his own humbleness. Then, as if inspired by Divine counsel, he said to Korah and all those who had joined him: Indeed, to-morrow the Lord will show who are His, and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself: him whom He has chosen will He bring near to Himself.' Then he commanded them to take censers, to fill them with fire, and to offer incense in them on the next day, when God would make manifest His will. And then, turning more particularly to Korah, he addressed him thus: Hear me, you sons of Levi: does it seem a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has 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 to them? And He has brought thee near to Himself and all thy brethren, the sons of Levi, with thee and must you seek the priesthood also?' Lastly he summoned Dathan and Abiram before him; but they refused to appear, sending the insolent answer : • Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that flows 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 flows with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of

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these men? we will not come up.' Moses, deeply grieved and mortified, poured out his prayer before God: Respect not Thou their offering; I have not taken one ass from them, nor have I hurt one of them.' On the following morning, Korah and his mutinous companions assembled before the Tabernacle, each bearing in his hand a censer filled with incense. They were joined by Moses and Aaron. The glory of the Lord shone before the congregation, and He said to the two brothers: Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.' But they fell down upon their faces and exclaimed: O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt Thou be wroth with all the congregation?' God listened to this fervent appeal, and He bade them command the children of Israel to stand aloof from the tents of Korah and of Dathan and Abiram, lest they be consumed by all the sins' of these wicked men.' Then Moses proclaimed in a loud voice: Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that I have not done them of my own mind: if these men die the common death of all men, or if they be punished with the punishment of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord makes a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth, and swallows them up, with all that appertain to them, and if they go down alive into the pit; then shall you understand that these men have provoked the Lord.' And, the Biblical narrative continues: And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men, that appertained to 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 there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.'

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The people, seized with consternation and horror,

sought to flee among the din of clamouring voices; for they were afraid that the earth would devour them all. Then the censers of the rebellious sinners were, by the command of God, collected together, and, being beaten flat, employed for a covering of the altar; they were thus preserved as eternal witnesses of the crime and its terrible punishment; or, as the sacred historian observes, 'to be a memorial to the children of Israel that no stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron shall come near to offer incense before the Lord, lest he be as Korah and as his company.' But on the morrow the people's indignation burst forth anew; they complained that Moses and Aaron had killed their brethren, and once more they rose up in revolt. The Lord punished them with a terrible plague, smiting more than fourteen thousand of the Israelites. Aaron, by the request of Moses, entreated the pardon of God, and purified the people by an incenseoffering, and then the plague was stayed.

56. THE BLOOMING ROD OF AARON.

[NUMB. XVII.]

The authority of Aaron as High-priest, and as the spiritual mediator between God and Israel, was to be openly manifested and confirmed by a striking sign, in order that his supremacy might for ever be secured and recognised. Each tribe was commanded to bring one rod inscribed with its name; that of the tribe of Levi was to bear the name of Aaron. The rods were given to Moses, who took them into the Tabernacle. Now the tribe whose rod would blossom and bud was to be considered as specially elected and favoured by God. And the Bible narrates: It came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the Tabernacle, and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. . . . And the Lord said

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