understand it clearly, we should recollect that this act was one of defiance against the Power by which they were protected: for the Amalekites had seen before their very eyes the wonders which the Lord had wrought for this people in the Red Sea and in the desert; and the aggression was, therefore, in every way stronger than that of any people with whom, in after days, the Hebrews were engaged in warfare. They lifted up their swords against the Israelites, in the very presence, as it were, of that mighty Protector, the mere report of whose deeds struck terror into the hearts of nations, later in time and remoter in place, who had only heard of those things by "the hearing of the ear." For this their doom was abiding enmity and ultimate extirpation; and very noticeable are the terms in which it is expressedshowing the superior importance which was now attached to written testimonials: "Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly put out the remnant of Amalek from under heaven." To impress it upon the people that their deliverance was due to God, Moses erected an altar, at which their thanks might be publicly acknowledged, and the memory of their deliverance perpetuated: and the name which he imposed upon it, JEHOVAH-NISSI [JEHOVAH IS MY BANNER], made it a memorial of their obligation to extirpate Amalek.

This victory enabled the Hebrew host to advance, and encamp in peace in the wilderness at the foot of "the great mountain," which they did on the first day of the third month from their leaving Egypt.

This was the point of their immediate destination: in this place they were to behold the glory of their God, veiled in clouds,-to hear His voice amid the thunder,-to see His glances in the lightning, and to feel the power of His right arm when it shook the mountains (). No sooner had they arrived at this place than the operation for which they were brought

"Because this shall be known as my banuer of the war which JEHOVAH will have with Amalek, from generation to generation."-Exod. xvii. 16. The valley is Wady Sheikh.

there, of forming them into a peculiar nation, commenced. The first measure was to obtain from the Israelites a distinct and formal recognition of the supreme authority of Jehovah, and the promise of implicit obedience to it. Moses, who had gone up into the mountain, returned to the Israelites, with instructions to say to them, in the name of God, "Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I have borne you as on eagle's wings, and brought you hither unto myself. Now, therefore, if ye will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be to me a peculiar treasure above all people. For though the whole earth be mine, yet ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation."* As they were unacquainted with any other priests than those of Egypt, the words in the last sentence probably conveyed to them the impression that from among the nations of the earth it was proposed to set them apart to his peculiar service and honour, in like manner as the hierarchy of Egypt was set apart as a distinct and honoured caste from among the Egyptian people.

The cheerful and ready answer of the people to Moses, "All that JEHOVAH hath spoken we will do," was gladly reported by him to the Lord, who then answered that on the third following day He would appear in glory upon the mountain, in the sight of all the people, to deliver in person the laws to which he required obedience. Against that time the people were to purify themselves, and wash their clothes, that they might appear worthily before their King. Moses bore this intelligence to the people, and it was arranged that they should on that day come forth from the camp, and stand, in an orderly manner, around the base of the mountain; and barriers were set up lest any rash persons should break through to look upon JEHOVAH, and so perish.

The eventful day arrived, being the fifth day of that month, and the fiftieth after the departure from Egypt. The morning was ushered in with terrible thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud rested upon the mountain-top. There was heard a sound like that of a trumpet, but so exceedingly loud that the people trembled greatly. They were then drawn out, and stood around the mountain, "to meet with God." They found the mountain wholly enveloped in fire, and smoke, and thick darkness; for God had descended in fire upon the mountain, which quaked beneath his feet. No figure or similitude appeared, but a VOICE was heard from amidst the thick clouds, giving utterance to the words which form the Decalogue. So awful and tremendous was the scene, that all the people, and even Moses himself,† feared exceedingly and trembled the more especially when they heard that Voice which they had not deemed that mortal man could hear and still live. They drew back from the mountain, and entreated Moses that they might no more hear what they had heard, or see such things as they had seen; and desired that he would himself draw nigh, and hear what else JEHOVAH, their God, might say, and report it to them, and they would be obedient,—" But let not God speak to us, lest we die." They then retired still further from the mountain, and Moses advanced to the thick darkness where God was. Then the Lord said to him, "I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said in all that they have spoken. O that there were such a heart in them that they would fear Me, and keep my commandments always, that it may be well with them, and with their children for ever! For I will raise them up a Prophet like unto thee, and will put my words into his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him: and it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken to my words, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." After he had heard these tender expressions, which so strongly exhibit God in his paternal character, and this promise, which is replete with significance to those who believe that Jesus Christ is the "Prophet" therein foretold, Moses returned to the people to dismiss them to their tents; after which, as required, he returned to the mountain, to receive from the Lord the fundamental laws and institutions by which the chosen people were in future to be governed; and which will, presently, receive from us such attention as our limits will allow us to bestow.

Exod. xix. 4-6.

It may be important for some persons to note that neither Moses and Aaron, nor any other persons, were present upon the mountain from which the Voice spoke. Moses did go up in the first instance, but was sent down again to the people, and was with them when the Decalogue was delivered.

On this first occasion Moses received a number of civil laws; and as they referred chiefly to the settled life which the Israelites as yet had only in prospect, the promise of the heritage in Canaan was renewed, with the intimation that no sudden expulsion of the present inhabitants of that land was within the Divine intention; but that they would be expelled by degrees, in proportion as the increasing population of the Hebrews might enable them to occupy the lands vacated by the Canaanites.

Moses returned to the camp to make this communication to the people. They promised obedience to the laws, which he then communicated to them. Then Moses wrote down all the words which the Lord had spoken; and, the next morning early, proceeded to build an altar at the foot of the mountain, and to set up twelve stones, corresponding to the number of the tribes. After sacrifices had been offered upon the altar, Moses took the book in which he had written down laws and promises which had already been received, and read them aloud to the people; and when they had again declared their formal assent to the terms of this covenant, he took the blood of the sacrifices, and sprinkled it over them, saying, "Behold the blood of the covenant which Jehovah has made with you concerning all these things."

After this, Moses, as he had been directed, ascended again into the mountain, attended by Joshua, and accompanied by Aaron, Nadab and Abihu (two of his sons), and seventy of the elders of Israel. They entered not into the thick cloud; but, although they paused far below it, they were allowed to obtain a glimpse of that glory of the God of Israel which the cloud concealed. That which they beheld was but-speaking after the manner of men—the place of His feet, but it appeared "a pavement of sapphire, like the body of the heavens for bright

ness."

They ate together, there upon the mountain, on the meat of the peace-offerings which they had lately sacrificed, and on which the people were feasting in the plain below.

Moses was then called up into the clouded summit of the mountain. Before he went he desired those who had come with him to remain there until his return, and then proceeded, with Joshua, into the cloud. To the people in the plain, the higher part of the mountain seems at this time to have exhibited the appearance of being invested by a thick and dark cloud, while from the very top arose a large body of " devouring fire.' For six days Moses and Joshua remained under the cloud; but on the seventh day Moses was called to the very top, to which he went, leaving Joshua, probably, below. He there received instructions for the establishment of a priesthood, and the construction of a tabernacle, with laws concerning the Sabbath, and some other matters; and, in the end, he received two tablets of stone, on which God had written the words of those ten principal laws which he had previously proclaimed in the hearing of all the people.

Moses remained in the mountain forty † days, during which he was divinely sustained, so as to feel no need of food. This long stay was probably unexpected by himself, and certainly was so by the friends he had left below, who, after some stay, how long we know not, grew tired of waiting longer, and returned to the camp. As the time passed, and nothing further was heard of Moses, the people became anxious and alarmed, and at last concluded that he had perished in that "devouring fire" that shone upon the mountain-top. Having, as they deemed, lost the leader, in whom they appear to have had as much confidence as they were capable of giving, they seem to have conceived that they were at liberty to construct their religious and civil system according to their own fancies; or, perhaps, surrounded, as their course was, by difficulties which they had not energy to meet, they contemplated a return to Egypt, calculating, perhaps, that a voluntary return, together with the death of their

That is, fire in action, flaming, raging.

The Hebrews often use a determinate number to express an indeterminate one. "Forty," in particular, is much used to express "many," without any intention to say, precisely, how many. Whether the word is used in its determinate or indeterminate sense in this instance, we, of course, do not know.

This seems to be intimated by Stephen (Acts vii. 39, et seq.), and appears highly probable in itself. The Jewish writers attribute the whole of this last affair to the influence and the representations of the Egyptian vagabonds-"the mixed multitude"-who went up with the Israelites. This may have had something to do with it; but there is so little to exonerate Aaron and the people for their several shares in the transaction, that Josephus, always jealous for the honour of his nation, omits all notice of it.

deliverer, would procure them a favourable reception in that country. The first act which occurred to them would have seemed a very suitable preparation for such a movement; at any rate, it exhibited strongly the Egyptian tendencies of their minds-the effects of that influence which, whether for good or (as in this instance) for evil, a civilised and accomplished people must always exercise upon any less accomplished and civilised people with whom they are, or have been, in contact. To appreciate this influence properly, in the case of the Hebrews, is to obtain the key to much which might otherwise seem obscure in the early national history of that people.

The Israelites had but lately heard God, from amid the lightnings, forbid that any image should be made for worship; and although that Voice, which "shook the heavens," had filled their souls with dread, and might still seem to ring in their ears, they now applied tumultuously to Aaron, saying, " Up, make us a god to go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him." Perhaps these expressions were not intended to be disrespectful to Moses, though from the difference of the Hebrew idiom they may seem so to us. At all events, in applying to Aaron (who had not yet, that they knew, been appointed to the priesthood) they recognised the authority which Moses had delegated, during his own absence, to him and to Hur. It is not by any means to be understood that the demand which they made, conveyed a rejection of JEHOVAH, the God of their fathers, whose wonders they had so lately witnessed, and by whose bounty they were still fed from day to day. It appears very evident from all that passed, that what they wanted was a symbolical representation of him, after the Egyptian fashion,-a consecrated image to which they might render worship. Their minds were too gross to take in the idea of God apart from an image which might seem to embody and concentrate his presence. Even the sensible manifestations of his presence which JEHOVAH had afforded, and which was indeed still before their eyes, was not sufficient for them. They must have a representative image; but this God had strictly forbidden, knowing how easily the toleration of any image might lead them into the worship of other gods. All this was well known to Aaron yet, wanting the moral courage of his brother, and fearing, perhaps, that a refusal from him might lead them to transfer to another that authority which they were at present

disposed to recognise in him, he had the culpable weakness to comply with their desires. But he required that they should contribute the ear-pendants of the women and children,* possibly calculating that the reluctance of the women to part with these ornaments might occasion delay or difficulty; but, if so, he was mistaken. The ear-pendants were promptly collected, and given to him. He gave them to the founders (Egyptians, probably), who very quickly transformed them into a golden image, bearing the familiar figure of a calf-or rather a young bull, no doubt in imitation of the Egyptian Apis, without the example of which this was not the representative symbol of the Deity which they were the most likely to have found. In setting up this idol, Aaron was careful to keep it in the minds of the people that it was but a symbolical figure of the true God. He recognised it with the words, "This is thy God, O Israel! that brought thee out of the land of Egypt," and proceeded to proclaim a feast to JEHOVAH for the next day. On that day a large majority of the people concurred in offering burnt-offerings † and peace-offerings before the "golden calf," upon the altar which Aaron had caused to be made; and after the unhallowed sacrifice, they rose up for singing and dancing, and wanton play, according to the practice of the Egyptians in some of the services. of Apis, or rather of Osiris, whom the bull Apis represented.

At that very time Moses, still in the mount, was commanded to descend to the people, in language which made their sin and the Divine indignation known to him. He hastened down, and in his descent was joined by the faithful Joshua, who had waited patiently for him. As they went down together, the noise from the camp reached their ears; and Joshua, whose ideas were of a military character, supposed it the sound of war. But Moses answered, "It is not the shouting for victory, nor the howling for defeat, but mirthful songs that I hear." When they came near enough to notice the calf and the dancing before it, the anger of Moses was so excited, that he threw from his hands the tablets of stone which he had received from God, and brake them in pieces beneath the mountain, intending, probably, thereby to intimate that, in like manner, the recent covenant between God and them was broken on their part, and, in consequence, rescinded on His. Then he advanced to the golden calf, which they had made, "and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the Israelites drink of it,”—thus adding disgust to ignominy; for gold thus treated is of a most abominable taste (7).

After thus destroying the idol he proceeded to the punishment of the idolaters themselves. He stood at one of the entrances to the camp and cried, "Who is on JEHOVAH's side? Haste to me!" and in answer, all the men of his own tribe-that of Levi-gathered around him. These he ordered to go from one end of the camp to the other, sword in hand, and slay every one who persisted in his idolatry, without favour or affection either to their neighbour or their brother. They obeyed him; and 3000 men fell that day by their hands. Nor was this all ; for the Lord sent plagues among the people, to punish them further for this great offence.

It was on this occasion that Moses was enabled to manifest his love for his people by his urgent intercessions with the Lord on their behalf; as well as the noble disinterestedness of his own character, by his refusal of the tempting offer from God to adopt his family in their room, and to "make of him a great nation." He prayed that the Almighty would “blot him out of his book," or take his life away, unless He would forgive" the great sin of his people." In the end he prevailed with God, not only to receive them again into his favour, but to rescind the intention which had been intimated of withdrawing His own presence from them, and of sending an inferior angel to conduct them to the land of promise, and to drive out the Canaanites before them. It is but just to add that the intimation of this last purpose threw the Israelites into the utmost grief and consternation; and they remained, as mourners,

It does not appear that the men wore ear-rings; neither did the men among the Egyptians, although this ornament was common enough among various semi-civilised and barbarous nations of Asia and Africa.

"Burnt-offerings,"-Offerings entirely cousumed upon the altar.

"Peace-offerings."-Offerings in which certain parts only were consumed on the altar, the rest being eaten by the offerers. § One of several allusions in the Scriptures to the register-books, in which the names of all the living were entered by the scribes, and scored off at their death. Metaphorically, God is supposed to have such a book-the book of the living,—and to be blotted out from it is to have the life taken away.