CONTENTS.-PART I. CHAP 1.-The oppression of the Israelites in Egypt by Pharaoh, and his cruelty towards them, CHAP. 2.-Amram and Jochebed have a son; who, after a concealment of three months, is left by his mother on the brink of the river Nile, CHAP. 3.-Moses is found by the daughter of Pharaoh, and afterwards, as her adopted son, educated at Cuar. 4.-Moses leaves the court of Pharaoh. He CHAP. 5.-Moses flees from Egypt, and is hospitably CHAP. 6.-Moses in Midian. He goes to Mount Horeb, CHAP. 7.-God appears to Moses in the burning bush, and makes known his intention of sending him CHAP. 8.-God directs Moses to go to Egypt with a message to Pharaoh. Moses is reluctant to per- CHAP. 9.-Moses is still reluctant. God provides Aaron to assist him. He sets out for Egypt with his wife CHAP. 10.-Aaron meets Moses. They go to Egypt. The elders of the Israelites are informed of the CHAP. 11-Moses, Aaron, and the elders of Israel appear before Pharaoh. He disregards their mes- sage, and oppresses the Israelites more severely, CHAP. 12.-The task-masters unjustly reproach Mo- ses and Aaron. A new communication is made CHAP. 13.-Moses and Aaron appear before Pharaoh. Aaron's rod becomes a serpent. What the magi- Page CHAP. 14.-Pharaoh does not relent. Another mes- sage is delivered to him. The waters of Egypt CHAP. 15.-The plague of frogs. Pharaoh is more CHAP. 16.-The plague of flies, of murrain, and of CHAP. 17.-The plague of hail, and of locusts, CHAP. 18.-The plague of darkness.-Pharaoh in a rage orders Moses from his presence, CHAP. 19.-What is meant by the Israelites borrowing of the Egyptians. Of what the passover was a CHAP. 20-The passover. The destruction of the first-born of the Egyptians. Pharaoh urges the Israelites to depart, which they do, CHAP. 21-Assembly of the Israelites at Rameses. First day's march to Succoth. Etham. The pillar CHAP. 22-The Israelites encamp between Migdol and the sea. Pharaoh overtakes them, LIFE OF MOSES. CHAPTER I. The oppression of the Israelites in Egypt by Pharaoh, and his cruelty towards them. It was about seventy years after Jacob and his family came into Egypt that Joseph died. During this period, he had continued to be governor over the whole land,-the next in authority to the king, and possessing great power and influence. He had procured for his father and brethren the privilege of residing in Goshen, one of the most fertile portions of the country. There they lived securely, as a separate community, and, under his fostering care, had been rapidly advancing in numbers and prosperity. The death of Joseph produced no immediate change in their condition. A peaceable people, still protected by the reigning monarch, and treated as friends by his subjects, the Israelites "waxed exceeding mighty, and the land was filled with them." But not many years elapsed before their prospects were sadly darkened. A new king, in all probability a foreigner and usurper, took possession of the throne. He disregarded entirely the character and valuable services of Joseph. He disliked the measures which, under his influence, had been pursued with regard to the Israelites, and cherished towards them a bitter suspicion and jealousy. They were in possession of one of the most pleasant and productive parts of the kingdom; and why should strangers thus incroach upon the rights of himself and his subjects? They were becoming very rich and powerful. Their flocks and herds were spreading on every side. Their dwellings were covering the land. They would soon be,-if they were not already,superior in numbers and strength to his own people; and, in case of any attack from foreign inva ders, the Israelites would, as he pretended, most certainly join them, and thus leave the Egyptians no hope of resistance. Defeat, and perhaps exter mination, must be the issue. Most unjustly were the peaceful and unoffending shepherds of Goshen the objects of these vindictive feelings. They had furnished no occasion for them. But wicked men who have evil designs to accomplish, will always find, or invent, some plausible reasons for their conduct; as did the Egyptian monarch in this case. He called together his counsellors and principal men, and laid the matter before them. He proposed to adopt a course of proceeding which, without any open and direct assault upon the Israelites, should in a crafty and, as he flattered himself, very wise way, so afflict them, that they would rapidly decrease in numbers, and, at length, become utterly extinct. His plan was speedily put into execution. A vast amount of hard labor, and probably of tribute also, was exacted from the Israelites. Task-masters were set over them, to oppress and wear them down with grievous toils and burdens. Among other labors of great magnitude, they were required to build treasure-cities for the king; containing extensive granaries, and magazines for the safekeeping of all kinds of warlike instruments. "The Egyptians," we are told, "made the children of Israel to serve with rigor; and they made their lives bitter (or sorrowful) with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor;"-with great severity, and without mercy. But this cruel bondage was very far from accomplishing the object for which it was designed. The Israelites had long been accustomed to labor. They were a temperate, industrious, and hardy race, capable of enduring a great deal of toil and fatigue. |