The morrow came; Korah, with his two hundred and fifty adherents, appeared before the tabernacle, each with his censer in his hand; an immense multitude followed them, no doubt to abet their sedition; the glory of the Lord appeared; an awful voice was heard, "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment;" the people retired from the conspirators; Korah, Dathan, and Abiram disappeared beneath the opening ground, and their deluded followers were consumed with supernatural fire. In the midst of wrath, however, God remembered mercy; the children of the rebels were spared, because they were innocent of the crime of their fathers; and, in a subsequent age, we find that their posterity had a place appointed for them by David in the temple, where they were to keep the doors, and to sing the praises of God.

Did the fate of Korah and his companions produce any salutary effect upon the Israelites ?

Well would it have been for the unhappy Israelites, had they taken warning from the fate of these infatua ted conspirators. But no sooner had the spectators recovered from their consternation, than they accused Moses and Aaron with the murder of the people. Again the mysterious cloud gathered over the Tabernacle, and Moses perceived that a dreadful infliction of the divine wrath was at hand. A deadly plague had already commenced its ravages, and though Aaron hastened to offer an atonement for the guilty people, fourteen thousand seven hundred of them were destroyed.

How was the sacerdotal dignity of Aaron confirmed? To prevent the authority and dignity of Aaron from being again factiously disputed, to decide for ever his sacerdotal preeminence among his brethren, God was pleased to perform a miracle, whose testimony could not be evaded, and which was calculated to perpetu ate the remembrance of the crime and folly of the mutinous people to the latest posterity. Aaron on the one hand, and the head of every tribe on the other, were commanded to bring each an almond rod, upon

which was inscribed the name of the person or tribe presenting it. The rods were deposited all night in the Tabernacle; the next morning they were examined; it was discovered that a miraculous change had been effected upon the rod of Aaron; it was covered with verdant buds, with flowering blossoms, and with ripened fruit. The people were then convinced, that in the family of Aaron the priesthood was to remain, and the rod was preserved in the ark as the perpetual memorial of the will and appointment of God.

SECTION II.

THE ISRAELITES ON THE BORDERS OF CANAAN.

WHAT Canaanitish king excited the indignation of the Israelites?

APPROACHING towards the confines of Canaan, the valour of the Israelites was tried by a Canaanitish sovereign whose name was Arad, who disputed their passage through his dominions, and who succeeded in taking some of them prisoners. But their just indignation was aroused; they thirsted for ven

A. C. 1452. geance; a second time they assailed him; they gave him a signal defeat; and they passed an anathema upon his state, which was finally fulfilled by Joshua.

What circumstance was the means of preventing Moses and Aaron from entering into Canaan?

In the wilderness of Sin a new murmur arose from the want of water; again a stream gushed from a rock; but the conduct of Moses and Aaron upon this memorable occasion, was so opposed to the divine will, that it was declared to them, that they should not enter into the promised land. It appears from the statement of the Inspired Volume, that though Moses was "very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth," he became so exasperated, that he

twice struck the rock with the sacred rod; he addressed the people in the language of passion ; and he arrogated to himself an honour in the performance of the miracle, which he ought to have ascribed exclusively to God. He said to the Israelites, "Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? ......And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them."

Was this sentence soon fulfilled upon Aaron?

This sentence was soon fulfilled upon Aaron. In the hundred and thirtieth year of her age, his sister Miriam had, a few months before, been carried to her grave, and the hour of his own dissolution arrived. A most impressive and affecting scene was presented to the Israelites. In the sight of the whole congregation, accompanied by his son Eleazar, and Moses, Aaron ascended mount Hor. He was there divested of his pontifical robes; in the sacred garments, Eleazar was immediately arrayed; and then, proceeding beyond the sight of the congregation, he resigned his spirit into the hands of his Maker, with all the meek and cheerful resignation, which became an individual who had been honoured with the extraordinary communications of the Holy Spirit, and with the typical representation of the great High-Priest of the church. Aaron was in the one hundred and fortieth year of his age, when he died, and the place

of his sepulture remained ever afterwards A. C. 1452.

unknown.

What was the character of Aaron?

The character of Aaron has been justly held in the highest estimation by the Jews. He was a man of distinguished talents, of ready and impressive eloquence, and most probably of extensive acquirements in knowledge. While he evidently possessed much of the meekness which was the distinctive peculiarity of Moses, he was deficient in strength and decision of character; and in the instance of the golden calf, and

the sedition of Miriam, he was too easily persuaded, most likely against his own judgment and conscience, to deviate from his duty, and to abet a profane and wicked rebellion against his God. It is supposed by some, that he was an eminent writer, as well as an eloquent speaker; that he not only discharged the functions of high-priest, but prominently engaged in the administration of the government, and that he rendered valuable assistance to Moses in the composition of the sacred books which bear his name.

Relate another rebellion and another punishment of the Israelites.

No scene of solemnity, no event of commanding and afflictive interest, could subdue the rebellious propensities of the Israelites. As they journeyed round the confines of Edom, weary with the length of the way, and longing for some variety in the nature of their provisions, they broke out in a sedition so furious, so provoking, and so wicked, that they were again most signally punished by the indignation of God. The serpents with which some districts in Arabia abound, called in the sacred narrative fiery, because of the excruciating anguish and the fatal effects which were produced by the venom of their sting, were sent in vast numbers among the congregation, and a great multitude were soon stretched lifeless upon the sand. When the cries and intreaties of the expiring sufferers induced Moses to intercede for the cessation of their calamity, he received from God a command which sufficiently proves how the events which occurred to the Israelites were typical of the Mediatorial work of the Messiah. A brazen serpent, representing the reptile which infested the camp, was elevated upon a pole in a conspicuous situation, and the people who had received the mortal poison, upon looking to the significant representation, were instantly healed. Thus, "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so was the Son of man lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Name two Canaanitish kings who were destroyed by the Israelites.

After a number of marches on the borders of the

Moabites and Ammonites, the Hebrews approached the land of the Amorites, and requested from A. C. 1451. Sihon king of Heshbon, peaceably to pass through his territories. His hostile reply, and determined opposition, were punished by the defeat of his army, the destruction of his kingdom, and the extermination of his subjects. Og, king of Bashan, who appears to have been formidable for his military prowess and indomitable valour, shared the same miserable fate.

Who were Balak and Balaam?

The victorious progress of the Israelites, excited the alarm of the neighbouring potentates. Balak, the king of the Moabites, either from a superstitious fear, or from a reasonable conviction that the triumphs of the Israelites originated in the favour of their God, sent for Balaam, a celebrated prophet or diviner of Pethor, a city on the Euphrates, to pronounce a malediction upon the people he hated, and thus to obtain their discomfiture and ruin. His malignant intention recoiled upon himself, and subserved the victory of the people he intended to destroy. Balaam, a venal, perfidious, hypocritical, and very wicked man, at length set out on his way, but he was met by the angel of the Lord; the speaking of his ass made him sensible of the divine interposition; and though he became anxious to return to his home, he was required to proceed, but only to speak in accordance with the divine impression and command. The king met the diviner, conducted him to a feast in his capital city, and the next morning led him to some elevated positions in the vicinity, from which he could distinctly view the vast encampment of the Israelites. Seven altars were reared, upon each of which a bullock and a ram were offered. Balaam then retired; received his command; instead of pronouncing a curse, he was induced by an irresistible influence from above, to bless the people, to proclaim their identity with the favour and protection of the Most High, to assert the inevitable destruction of their enemies, and to describe their glorious destiny in the subsequent ages of the world. At the urgent request of the disappointed Balak, a second, and a third time, the same process was tried, and on each oc