And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, "Get you up this way by the south, and go up into the mountains: and see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many; and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strong holds; and what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land."

Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes. So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, to the entering in of Hamath. And they went up by the south, and came to Hebron; and the children of Anak were there.

And they came unto the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cl.u.s.ter of grapes, and they bore it upon a staff between two; they brought also of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

That place was called the valley of Eshcol (that is, "cl.u.s.ter"). And they returned {244} from spying out the land at the end of forty days.

And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, "We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Howbeit the people that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. Amalek dwelleth in the land of the south: and the Hitt.i.te, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanite dwelleth by the sea, and along by the side of Jordan."

And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it."

But the men that went up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we."

And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, "The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak: and we were in our own sight as gra.s.shoppers, and so we were in their sight."

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

MOSES SMITING THE ROCK By Murillo [End ill.u.s.tration]

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And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, "Would G.o.d, that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would G.o.d we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore doth the Lord bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones shall 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 a.s.sembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that spied out the land, rent their clothes: and they spoke unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, "The land, which we pa.s.sed through to spy it out, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not."

WATER FROM THE ROCK.

_Pa.s.sage Through Edom Refused_.

(The people refused to believe the report of the courageous spies, and their wanderings continued.)

And the children of Israel, even the whole mult.i.tude, {248} came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. And there was no water for the mult.i.tude: and they a.s.sembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.

And the people strove with Moses, and spoke, saying, "Would G.o.d that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! And why have ye brought the people of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our cattle? And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink."

And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the people to the door of the tent of meeting, and fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Take the rod, and a.s.semble the mult.i.tude, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye to the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the mult.i.tude and their cattle drink."

And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the people together before the rock, and he said unto them, "Hear now, ye rebels; shall we bring you forth water out of this rock?"

And Moses lifted up his hand, and smote the rock with his rod twice: and water came forth abundantly, and the {249} mult.i.tude drank, and their cattle. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because ye believed not in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this people into the land which I have given them." These are the waters of Meribah (that is, strife); because the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.

And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, "Thus saith thy brother Israel, 'Thou knowest all the trouble that hath befallen us: how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time: and the Egyptians oppressed us, and our fathers: and when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border: let us pa.s.s, I pray thee, through thy land: we will not pa.s.s through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go along the king's highway, we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we have pa.s.sed thy border.'"

And Edom said unto him, "Thou shalt not pa.s.s through my land, lest I come out with the sword against thee."

And the children of Israel said unto him, "We will go up by the highway: and if we drink of thy water, I and my cattle, then will I give the price thereof: let me only, without doing anything else, pa.s.s through on my feet."

And he said, "Thou shalt not pa.s.s through."

And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. Thus Edom refused to give {250} Israel pa.s.sage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.

And they journeyed from Kadesh: and the children of Israel, even the whole mult.i.tude, came unto Mount Hor. And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying, "Aaron shall be gathered to his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto Mount Hor: and strip Aaron of his priestly garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and shall die there."

And Moses did as the Lord commanded: and they went up into Mount Hor in the sight of all the mult.i.tude. And Moses stripped Aaron of his priestly garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. And when all the mult.i.tude saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.

THE BRAZEN SERPENT.

And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the difficulties. And the people spoke against G.o.d, and against Moses, "Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this bread of manna."

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

ROCK TEMPLE IN PETRA, IN THE LAND OF EDOM

From a photograph belonging to the Forbes Library, Northampton, Ma.s.s., and used by special permission.

Hidden away in the rocky gorges of Edom, Petra is one of the strangest and most marvelous cities of the world. Even yet it has not been fully explored. Its temples and tombs are carved out of the solid rock [End ill.u.s.tration]

{253}

And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us."

And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pa.s.s, that everyone who is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live."

And Moses made a serpent of bra.s.s, and set it upon the standard: and it came to pa.s.s, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of bra.s.s, he lived.

_Battles by the Way_.

And from thence they journeyed to Beer: that is the well whereof the Lord said unto Moses, "Gather the people together, and I will give them water."

Then sang Israel this song:--

THE SONG OF THE WELL.

"Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it: The well, which the princes digged, Which the n.o.bles of the people delved, With the scepter, and with their staves."

And from the wilderness they journeyed past many places, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh down upon the desert.

And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the {254} Amorites, saying, "Let me pa.s.s through thy land: we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's highway, until we have pa.s.sed thy border."

And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pa.s.s through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz: and he fought against Israel.

And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.

And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the towns thereof. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even to Arnon. Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say,--