SECTION VII.

NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE-TIME OF SOJOURNING-CHANGE OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE YEAR-REDEMPTION OF THE FIRST-BORN-THE WAY WHICH THEY WERE LED-JOSEPH'S BONES-SUCCOTH-PILLAR OF FIRE AND CLOUD.

THE number of persons, besides children and a mixed multitude, who went up out of Egypt that night, was six hundred thousand men. And their first journey was from Rameses, in Goshen, to Succoth, so called from the booths which they erected there.

"Now," says Moses, "the sojourning of the children of Israel, [in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan] was four hundred and thirty years." The period, as here given, commences with the first promise made to Abraham, (Gen. xii. 2,) after he entered the land of Canaan, which was thirty years before the time when it was foretold that his seed should be oppressed and afflicted in a strange land, four hundred years. It was especially commanded that no part of the flesh should be carried out of the house where the paschal lamb was eaten; and a more important regulation was, "a bone of him shall not be broken."

This month had been originally called Abib, and was the seventh of the civil year of the Hebrews, but its name was now changed to Nisan; and they were directed to reckon it henceforward, the first month of their year.

In consequence of the redemption of the first-born of Israel as above related, God laid claim to every first-born of man and beast, among the Hebrews. When it happened to be of clean animals, appointed to be used in sacrifice, it was offered as a burnt-offering to the Lord; but when it was an unclean animal, as an ass, it was redeemed by a lamb, or its neck was directed to be broken. And all the first-born of the children of Israel were considered as consecrated to the Lord, and must be redeemed; but, afterwards, the Lord took the whole tribe of Levi as a substitute for the first-born, as will be related hereafter.

From the land of Egypt to Canaan, there was a direct way, which the sons of Jacob had passed with ease, several times; but the Lord led not the people along this way, which led through the territory of the Philistines, although that was near; because these people were hostile and warlike; and it would have discouraged the hearts of the people to have encountered such enemies, immediately after commencing their journey, and they might have been disposed to return again to Egypt; but "God led the people through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea," which was a circuitous route.

The people were not forgetful of the solemn injunction of Joseph to carry his bones with them, when God should visit them, and bring them up out of the land of Egypt.

Succoth has been mentioned as the first stage which they made after leaving Egypt; their next was Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. In conducting this great host, God was pleased to become their guide, in a very extraordinary and miraculous manner. Before the armies of Israel, in the day time, there appeared a bright cloud in the form of a pillar, and at night it appeared like a pillar of fire, which constantly went before them, in their marches, and never forsook them, during the forty years that they wandered in the wilderness. From Etham they were directed to take their route by Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal Zephon. far as can be judged from the present topography of the country, this route led them in a southern direction along the coast of the Red Sea, until they could in that direction proceed no further.

As

SECTION VIII.

PHARAOH PURSUES THE ISRAELITES, and overTAKES THEM AT THE EDGE OF THE RED SEA-ALARM OF THE PEOPLE-PROMISE OF DELIVERANCE-THE SEA DIVIDED BY THE ROD OF MOSES.

As soon as Pharaoh and his people had time to recover from their consternation on account of the death of the first-born, and it was told to the king that the people fled, he began to repent that he had let them go, and thus was deprived of the services of this great multitude, who had been treated as slaves. Pharaoh, therefore, quickly summoned an army of chariots of war, and of horsemen, to pursue after the Israelites, and overtook them encamping near the sea, in the place before mentioned. And when the Israelites saw the Egyptians marching towards them, they were greatly alarmed, and cried unto the Lord. They also reproached Moses for bringing them out of Egypt, and said, "Because there were no graves in Egypt hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness, wherefore hast thou dealt with us to carry us out of Egypt? It had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than to die in the wilderness." And Moses said, "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show you to-day; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the Lord said unto Moses, wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel,

that they go forward. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it, and the children of Israel shall go on dry land, through the midst of the sea. And I, behold I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them, and I will get me honour on Pharaoh and upon all his host, and upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen." And now, lest the Egyptians should make a sudden assault upon this great multitude of unprepared people, the angel of the Lord who had hitherto gone before the host in a pillar of cloud and fire, removed, and went behind them; and came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and while it furnished light to the latter, to the former it occasioned dense darkness; so that during the whole night they did not approach near to the Israelites. And when Moses stretched his rod over the sea, the waters were divided; for "the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind, all that night, and made the sea dry land. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them, to the midst of the sea." towards the morning watch, the Lord impeded the progress of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drew them heavily; and the Egyptians began to think of flight; for they said, "The Lord fighteth for them." By this time the Israelites having reached the opposite shore-for the channel of the sea at this place was narrow-Moses was directed again to reach forth his hand over the sea, and the waters immediately returned, and overwhelmed the flying Egyptians, their chariots, and their horsemen, and all their host; so that of this powerful army not one remained alive. "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hands of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea-shore; and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses."

And

On this occasion, Moses composed a song, the oldest poetic composition in existence, unless we should suppose that the book of Job was written before this time. "And Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances." And they sung the song which Moses had composed, and accompanied it with their instruments.

SECTION IX.

ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS WANT OF WATER-MARAH-ELIM-WANT OF FOOD -MANNA PROMISED SABBATH-QUAILS-DESCRIPTION OF THE MANNA-REGULATIONS FOR COLLECTING IT-POT OF MANNA TO BE LAID UP FOR A MEMORIAL.

THE Israelites were now delivered from this formidable enemy; but they were in a wide and howling wilderness. The name of that part of the wilderness into which they now had entered, was Shur. And having marched three days without finding water, at length they came to Marah, where they found water, but it was bitter, hence the name given to the place. The people began now to manifest their rebellious disposition, for they murmured against Moses and said, "What shall we drink? And when Moses cried unto the Lord, he showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, they were made sweet. And leaving Marah they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees, and they encamped there by the waters."

not.

At some of these stages they must have continued a number of days, as on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing from the land of Egypt, they arrived at their next resting place, which was in the wilderness of Sin, on the way from Elim to Sinai. The provisions which they had brought with them from Egypt being exhausted, the people began to be in want; and regretted that they had ever left the flesh-pots of Egypt, where they did eat bread to the full; and they murmured against Moses, who constantly had recourse to the Lord for help. And he said, "I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day; that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily." This is the first clear intimation which we have in Scripture of the observance of the Sabbath after its institution; and the mention of it is made in that familiar manner, which would induce us to think, that it was no new thing and there was nothing in the circumstances of the people which could be a reason for setting apart the seventh day of the week, at this time, as a day of rest. To overawe the agitated people, and to reprove their wicked murmurings, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. What that appearance was, which is called THE GLORY OF THE LORD, we cannot certainly tell; but it was doubtless a very bright appearance; but whether there was seen, on these occasions, any person in the form of man, cannot be gathered from the sacred record. But the Lord not only promised to furnish bread for this great

congregation, but flesh also; the latter was first given: "For in the evening the quails came up, and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay round about the host." And when the dew disappeared the people saw "a small round thing, as small as the hoar-frost, on the ground." "And when they saw it, they said, manna-what is it?" And thus this extraordinary bread received its name. They were now directed by Moses to go out and gather, every one for himself; and when they brought it in to be measured with an omer, "He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack they gathered, every man according to his eating." Moses had given strict orders, that no portion of the manna should remain until the morning, but the people disobeyed his voice, and kept of it until the morning, and it bred worms and stank; and he was much displeased. Every morning they gathered what was necessary for that day; except that on the sixth day, they collected double the usual quantity, namely, two omers for one man. And Moses said unto them, "To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord; bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you, to be kept until the morning; and that which was laid up on the sixth day did not stink; neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, eat this to-day, for to-day is a Sabbath unto the Lord; to-day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none." Notwithstanding these plain directions, some of the people went to gather on the seventh day and found none. This perverseness occasioned another exhortation respecting the observation of the Sabbath, "See, for the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." That is, no man was permitted to go out to collect food on the Sabbath; but this did not prohibit them from going out to worship; or even to lead their ox or ass to watering; or to relieve the sick and afflicted. "So the people rested on the seventh day." The appearance of the manna was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers made with honey. In order that future generations might have a memorial and sensible evidence of this extraordinary and long continued miracle, Moses directed the people to fill an omer with the manna, and to put it up before the Lord. This command seems to have been anticipated, here; for it is said that Moses and Aaron laid it up before the TESTIMONY to be kept: but the ark of the testimony in which the manna was deposited, did not yet exist. The command, however, might have been given now,