SECTION XXXVI.

THE PEOPLE REBEL AGAINST MOSES AGAIN-GOD'S DISPLEASURE-DECLARES WITH AN OATH THAT NONE BUT CALEB AND JOSHUA OF ALL THAT GENERATION SHOULD EVER POSSESS THE PROMISED LAND.

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

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