Bible Stories For Kids

[Soldier4Christ]

The Ladder That Reached to Heaven
Genesis 27:42 - Genesis 29:12

AFTER ESAU FOUND that he had lost his birth-right and his blessing, he was very angry against his brother Jacob; and he said to himself, and told others:

       "My father Isaac is very old and cannot live long. As soon as he is dead, then I shall kill Jacob for having robbed me of my right."

       When Rebekah heard this, she said to Jacob, "Before it is too late, do you go away from home and get out of Esau's sight. Perhaps when Esau sees you no longer, he will forget his anger, and then you can come home again. Go and visit my brother Laban, your uncle, in Haran, and stay with him for a little while."

       We must remember that Rebekah came from the family of Nahor, Abraham's younger brother, who lived in Haran, a long distance to the northeast of Canaan, and that Laban was Rebekah's brother.

       So Jacob went out of Beersheba, on the border of the desert, and walked alone, carrying his staff in his hand. One evening, just about sunset, he came to a place among the mountains, more than sixty miles distant from his home.

       And as he had no bed to lie down upon, he took a stone and rested his head upon it for a pillow, and lay down to sleep.

       And on that night Jacob had a wonderful dream. In his dream he saw stairs leading from the earth where he lay up to heaven; and angels were going up and coming down upon the stairs. And above the stairs, he saw the Lord God standing. And God said to Jacob:

       "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac your father; and I will be your God, too. The land where you are lying all alone, shall belong to you and to your children after you; and your children shall spread abroad over the lands, east and west, and north and south, like the dust of the earth; and in your family all the world shall receive a blessing. And I am with you in your journey, and I will keep you where you are going, and will bring you back to this land. I will never leave you, and I will surely keep my promise to you.

       And in the morning Jacob awakened from his sleep, and he said:

       "Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it! 5-thought that I was all alone, but God has been with me. This place is the house of God; it is the gate of heaven!"

       And Jacob took the stone on which his head had rested, and he set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on it as an offering to God. And Jacob named that place Bethel, which in the language that Jacob spoke means "The House of God."

       And Jacob made a promise to God at that time, and said:

       "If God really will go with me and will keep me in the way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and will bring me to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God: and this stone shall be the house of God, and of all that God gives me I will give back to God one-tenth as an offering."

       Then Jacob went onward in his long journey. He walked across the river Jordan in a shallow place, feeling his way with his staff; he climbed mountains and journeyed beside the great desert on the east, and at last came to the city of Haran. Beside the city was the well, where Abraham's servant had met Jacob's mother, Rebekah; and there, after Jacob had waited for a time, he saw a young woman coming with her sheep to give them water.

       Then Jacob took off the flat stone that was over the mouth of the well, and drew water and gave it to the sheep. And when he found that this young woman was his own cousin Rachel, the daughter of Laban, he was so glad that he wept for joy. And at that moment he began to love Rachel, and longed to have her for his wife.

       Rachel's father, Laban, who was Jacob's uncle, gave a welcome to Jacob, and took him into his home.

       And Jacob asked Laban if he would give his daughter, Rachel, to him as his wife; and Jacob said, "If you give me Rachel, I will work for you ' seven years."

       And Laban said, "It is better that you should have her, than that a stranger should marry her."

       So Jacob lived seven years in Laban's house, caring for his sheep and oxen and camels; but his love for Rachel made the time seem short.

       At last the day came for the marriage; and they brought in the bride, who, after the manner of that land, was covered with a thick veil, so that her face could not be seen. And she was married to Jacob, and when Jacob lifted up her veil he found that he had married, not Rachel, but her older sister, Leah, who was not beautiful, and whom Jacob did not love at all.

       Jacob was very angry that he had been deceived, -- though that was just the way in which Jacob himself had deceived his father and cheated his brother Esau. But his uncle Laban said:

       "In our land we never allow the younger daughter to be married before the older daughter. Keep Leah for your wife, and work for me seven years longer, and you shall have Rachel also."

       For in those times, as we have seen, men often had two wives, or even more than two. So Jacob stayed seven years more, fourteen years in all, before he received Rachel as his wife.

       While Jacob was living at Haran, eleven sons were born to him. But only one of these was the child of Rachel, whom Jacob loved. This son was Joseph, who was dearer to Jacob than any other of his children, partly because he was the youngest, and because he was the child of his beloved Rachel.

[Soldier4Christ]

Jacob and Rachel
Genesis 29:1-30

JACOB CONTINUED ON his way, getting ever farther away from his brother Esau's wrath. At last he reached Haran, the place where his uncle Laban dwelt. He saw a green field, and in the field a well. Three flocks of sheep were lying there, resting, and waiting to be watered.

       As Jacob drew near he greeted the shepherds and asked them whether they knew a man named Laban.

       They replied, "We know Laban, and here, behold, Rachel, his daughter, cometh with the sheep."

       As Rachel approached, looking sweet and beautiful, Jacob was deeply touched. He rolled away the stone which covered the well and watered the flock of Laban. Then he embraced his young cousin and lifted up his voice and wept.

       When Rachel learned who Jacob was, she hastened to tell her father, Laban, and he greeted Jacob joyfully, and made him welcome in his home.

       Jacob remained in Laban's home for a month, tending the flocks and herds. When Laban asked him what wages he wanted to receive, Jacob rescued any money, but said, "I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter."

       Jacob wished to have Rachel for his bride, for he had already begun to love her dearly. Laban thought this was a very good bargain, and readily agreed.

       Jacob toiled for seven years in his uncle's service, and the time seemed to pass very quickly, for he knew that at the end of that time he would win the hand of A great wedding feast was prepared, and the wedding day came at last. Jacob was full of happiness, but, alas Laban deceived Jacob, and forced him to marry Leah, the older daughter instead. Jacob was very angry at this, but Laban explained that a younger daughter cannot marry first, but would have to wait until the older daughter was married, so that Jacob would have to work for him seven more years if he also wanted to wed Rachel.

       So Jacob, who had cheated his brother, was now cheated in turn.

       Jacob worked for seven more weary years, always remembering, however, that at the end of this time he would win the hand of his beloved Rachel.

       Finally, after seven more years had passed, Jacob also married Rachel, and now he was happy at last.

[Soldier4Christ]

Jacob and Esau
Genesis 32 to Genesis 33

JACOB REMAINED TWENTY years with Laban, whose daughter Rachel he had married.

       In those days men's chief riches consisted in flocks and herds; and Jacob had the care of those belonging to Laban. His uncle tried to deprive him of the wages which he had promised to give him; but, notwithstanding this, Jacob himself grew rich in cattle, and beasts of burden, and numerous servants.

       At the end of the twenty years that Jacob had been with Laban, God bade him return to his own land; so he gathered together all his possessions, and set out on his way thither.

       As Jacob still feared the anger of his brother Esau, whom he had cruelly treated, he sent messengers before him into Edom, where Esau lived, to say that he, and all his family with him, were coming, and that he hoped his brother would be friendly with him. But when his messengers returned, bringing word that Esau, with four hundred men, was advancing to meet him, he was much afraid, thinking now his brother was going to kill him.

       So he divided his people and his flocks into two companies, that if the one were attacked, the other might escape away; and when he had done all that he could for self-defense, he prayed to God that Esau might not kill him, with his children and servants.

       Then he took a great number of his cattle, his sheep and camels, and sent them on before him in separate droves, bidding the men who were with them tell Esau, when they met him, that they were a present from his servant Jacob.

       It was not long before Esau and his four hundred men came in sight; and then Jacob, putting his children in a place of safety, went forward to meet him, bowing himself down to the ground to do honor to his brother.

       But Esau, who had forgiven his brother's ill deeds, ran to him in the most loving manner, kissing him, and weeping for joy that they had at last met. And he asked him kindly about all the people with him and what was the meaning of the droves of cattle he had seen on the road.

       Jacob told him that the people were his family, and that the cattle were for a present to himself. And when Esau refused to take it, he urged him, that he might be sure his brother had forgiven him.

       Then Esau returned to his own country, and Jacob, in time, came back to the land of Canaan, as God had promised that he should do.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Story of Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors
Genesis 37

AFTER JACOB CAME back to the land of Canaan with his eleven sons, another son was born to him, the second child of his wife Rachel, whom Jacob loved so well. But soon after the baby came, his mother Rachel died, and Jacob was filled with sorrow. Even to this day you can see the place where Rachel was buried, on the road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Jacob named the child whom Rachel left, Benjamin; and now Jacob had twelve sons. Most of them were grown-up men; but Joseph was a boy seventeen years old, and his brother Benjamin was almost a baby.

       Of all his children, Jacob loved Joseph the best, because he was Rachel's child; because he was so much younger than most of his brothers; and because he was good, and faithful, and thoughtful. Jacob gave to Joseph a robe or coat of bright colors, made somewhat like a long cloak with wide sleeves. This was a special mark of Jacob's favor to Joseph, and it made his older brothers envious of him.

       Then, too, Joseph did what was right, while his older brothers often did very wrong acts, of which Joseph sometimes told their father; and this made them very angry at Joseph. But they hated him still more because of two strange dreams he had, and of which he told them. He said one day: "Listen to this dream that I have dreamed. I dreamed that we were out in the field binding sheaves, when suddenly my sheaf stood up, and all your sheaves came around it and bowed down to my sheaf!"

       And they said scornfully, "Do you suppose that the dream means that you will some time rule over us, and that we shall bow down to you?"

       Then, a few days after, Joseph said, "I have dreamed again. This time, I saw in my dream the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars, all come and bow to me!"

       And his father said to him, "I do not like you to dream such dreams. Shall I, and your mother, and your brothers, come and bow down before you as if you were a king?"

       His brothers hated Joseph, and would not speak kindly to him; but his father thought much of what Joseph had said.

       At one time, Joseph's ten brothers were taking care of the flock in the fields near Shechem, which was nearly fifty miles from Hebron, where Jacob's tents were spread. And Jacob wished to send a message to his sons, and he called Joseph, and said to him:

       "Your brothers are near Shechem with the flock. I wish that you would go to them, and take a message, and find if they are well, and if the flocks are doing well; and bring me word from them."

       That was quite an errand, for a boy to go alone over the country, and find his way, for fifty miles, and then walk home again. But Joseph was a boy who could take care of him-self, and could be trusted; so he went forth on his journey, walking northward over the mountains, past Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, and Bethel -- though we are not sure those cities were then built, except Jerusalem, which was already a strong city.

       When Joseph reached Shechem, he could not find his brothers, for they had taken their flocks to another place. A man met Joseph wandering in the field, and asked him, "Whom are you seeking?"

       Joseph said, "I am looking for my brothers, the sons of Jacob. Can you tell me where I will find them?"

       And the man said, "They are at Dothan; or I heard them say that they were going there.

       Then Joseph walked over the hills to Dothan, which was fifteen miles further. And his brothers saw him afar off coming toward them. They Walking knew him by his bright garment; and one said to another: "Look, that dreamer is coming! Come, let us kill him, and throw his body into a pit, and tell his father that some wild beast has eaten him; and then we will see what becomes of his dreams.

       One of his brothers, whose name was Reuben, felt more kindly toward Joseph than the others. He said:

       "Let us not kill him, but let us throw him into this pit, in the wilderness, and leave him there to die."

       But Reuben intended, after they had gone away, to lift Joseph out of the pit, and take him home to his father. The brothers did as Reuben told them; they threw Joseph into the pit, which was empty. He cried, and begged them to save him; but they would not. They calmly sat down to eat their dinner on the grass, while their brother was calling to them from the pit.

       After the dinner, Reuben chanced to go to another part of the field; so that he was not at hand when a company of men passed by with their camels, going from Gilead, on the east of the river Jordan, to Egypt, to sell spices and fragrant gum from trees to the Egyptians.

       Then Judah, another of Joseph's brothers, said, "What good will it do us to kill our brother? Would it not be better for us to sell him to these men, and let them carry him away? After all, he is our brother, and we would better not kill him."

       His brothers agreed with him; so they stopped the men who were passing, and drew up Joseph from the pit, and for twenty pieces of silver they sold Joseph to these men; and they took him away with them down to Egypt.

       After a while, Reuben came to the pit, where they had left Joseph, and looked into it; but Joseph was not there. Then Reuben was in great trouble; and he came back to his brothers, saying: "The boy is not there! What shall I do!"

       Then his brothers told Reuben what they had done; and they all agreed together to deceive their father. They killed one of the goats, and dipped Joseph's coat in its blood; and they brought it to their father, and they said to him: "We found this coat out in the wilderness. Look at it, father, and tell us if you think it was the coat of your son."

       And Jacob knew it at once. He said: "It is my son's coat. Some wild beast has eaten him. There is no doubt that Joseph has been torn in pieces!"

       And Jacob's heart was broken over the loss of Joseph all the more because he had sent Joseph alone on the journey through the wilderness. They tried to comfort him, but he would not be comforted. He said: "I will go down to the grave mourning for my poor lost son."

       So the old man sorrowed for his son Joseph; and all the time his wicked brothers knew that Joseph was not dead; but they would not tell their father the dreadful deed they had done to their brother, in selling him as a slave.

[Soldier4Christ]

Pharaoh's Dream
Genesis 39 to Genesis 41

THE MERCHANTS WHO bought Joseph sold him to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who treated him very favorably, and put all his affairs under Joseph's care. But after he had served his master faithfully for some time, Joseph was falsely accused of some wrong doing; and his master, without inquiring into the matter, shut him up in prison.

       But God was with him in the prison, as He had been while Joseph was ruling over Potiphar's household; and He caused the keeper of the prison to put trust in him, so that he had the whole care of the other prisoners, and of all that was done there.

       Two of these prisoners, chief servants of Pharaoh, dreamed strange dreams, and God gave Joseph wisdom to interpret them. He told one of them that his dream signified that in three days he should be taken out of prison and hanged; the other prisoner's dream signified that in three days he should be released and restored to favor. And he begged this one, after he should be set at liberty, to try to get him also out of prison. But when the man got out of prison, he thought no more about Joseph for two whole years.

       At the end of that time, Pharaoh, to whose service he was restored, had two dreams that made him unhappy, and whose meaning none of his wise men could tell him.

       He dreamed that seven fat cattle were feeding in a meadow, and that seven lean ones came and ate them up. Again he dreamed of seven ears of good corn on one stalk, and that seven blighted ones sprang up and devoured them. And when no one could tell him what these dreams meant, the chief butler remembered how Joseph had explained to him his dream in the prison.

       So he told the king, who immediately sent for Joseph out of prison, related his dreams to him, and asked him what they signified. Joseph answered the king that in these dreams God had showed him what He was about to do: that He was going to give Egypt seven years of plenty, and after them seven years of famine. And he advised Pharaoh to seek out some discreet person whom he might set over the land of Egypt, with officers under him, to store up, during the years of plenty, corn enough to supply them in the years of famine.

       Pharaoh thought the advice was good, and that no one was so fit as Joseph to do all this; so he made him ruler. And Joseph stored up the corn, so that, when the famine came, other countries sent to Egypt to buy food.

[Soldier4Christ]

Joseph and His Brethren
Genesis 42 to Genesis 45

THE LAND OF Canaan, where Joseph's father and brothers were living, was one of the countries afflicted by famine; so, when they heard that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob sent his sons there to buy some.

       They did not know, and bowed down before him, that he was their brother whom they had sold for a slave. But Joseph knew them, and treated them roughly, telling them they were spies. They answered him that they were no spies, but honest men--twelve brothers, one of whom, Benjamin, the youngest, was with their father in Canaan; and another, Joseph, was dead. But he said that the only way of proving themselves honest men was for one of them to go and fetch their youngest brother, while he kept the others in Egypt. And, having said this, he put them all in prison for three days.

       On the third day they were brought before Joseph again, and then he told them that one of them must be left in prison, while the others carried corn to their father, and brought back their youngest brother.

       When they heard this they were greatly distressed; and they said to each other that now punishment was coming upon them for their cruelty, a long time ago, to their brother Joseph.

       Joseph wept when he heard his brothers speaking in this way, for he understood what they said, though they did not know it, as he spoke in different language from theirs. Then he sent them away with corn, keeping Simeon till they returned with Benjamin.

       Jacob was very unwilling to let him go; but their corn was soon done, there was none to be had anywhere save in Egypt, and Joseph had said they should not have any more unless Benjamin were with them. So he was obliged to send him.

       When his brothers came again, Joseph entertained them very kindly at first, but presently he made as though he would keep Benjamin for his slave. Upon this, Judah, who had promised to take care of Benjamin, pleaded so earnestly, offering to be a slave in his place, that Joseph told them he was their own brother whom they have sold into Egypt.

       And he forgave them.

       Then he sent for his father, and made them all live with him in the land of Egypt.

[Soldier4Christ]

Moses in the Bulrushes
Exodus 1 to Exodus 2:10

JOSEPH DIED IN Egypt when he was a hundred and ten years old; and all the people mourned for him. Some time after this, when the descendants of Jacob had become very numerous, there was a king of Egypt who treated them in a harsh manner. He tried to make slaves of them, setting them to all kinds of hard labor. But, the more he oppressed them, the more they increased in number; and the Egyptians were afraid lest, in time of war, the Israelites might turn against them, and make their escape out of the land.

       So the king commanded that all the sons of the children of Israel, or Hebrews as they are also called, should be put to death as soon as they were born. But the Hebrews to whom he gave this wicked command did not obey him; at which the king was so angry that he ordered his own people to throw all these poor little children into the river.

       At this time a Hebrew named Amram had a son born: he was a beautiful child, and for three months his mother, Jochebed, succeeded in saving him from the Egyptians.

       But at last she found she could no longer conceal him. So she made an ark, that is, a sort of cradle, of bulrushes coated over with pitch, laid him in it, and then placed the ark among the reeds that grew by the riverside, while his sister stood watching in the distance to see what would become of him.

       Presently the king's daughter, attended by her women, came down to the river, and, perceiving the ark among the reeds, she sent one of her servants to bring it to her.

       It was accordingly brought; and when she saw the poor little child crying, she was sorry for it, for she knew it must be one of the Hebrew children whom the king had commanded to be killed, and whose mother had laid it there, hoping that some one would have compassion on it.

       The child's sister, seeing how the princess pitied him, then came forward, and asked whether she should fetch a Hebrew woman to nurse it for her. The princess bade her do so. So she fetched his own mother, and the king's daughter told her to take the child away and nurse it for her. Then his mother joyfully carried her little one home again.

       When he was old enough to be taken to Pharaoh's daughter, she called him her son, named him Moses, which means "drawn out of the water," and had him taught all that was known to the Egyptians, who were a very learned people.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Israelites' Burdens
Exodus 2:11 to Exodus 6:13

MOSES WAS BROUGHT up in the court of Egypt. But when he was about forty years old, he went among his own people again, and was grieved to find how sadly they were oppressed by the Egyptians.

       Once he saw an Egyptian ill-treating a Hebrew; so he killed the man, and buried his body in the sand. The king would have put him to death for this, but Moses escaped into the land of Midian, and dwelt there.

       One day, when he was feeding his flock near Horeb, God called to him out of a bush that flamed with fire, and yet was not burned. And He told Moses that He had seen the sufferings of the people of Israel, and would deliver them, and bring them into the good land of Canaan, as He had promised to Abraham. And He commanded him to tell Pharaoh to let the people go, that they might serve God in the wilderness.

       He also appointed various wonderful things to be wrought before Pharaoh, that he might know that He who had sent him this command was the true God, whom he and his people ought to worship.

       Moses was very unwilling to go to Pharaoh, for he thought the king would not heed what he said; but God would have him do it, and also told him to take his brother Aaron with him. So he went; and when he came before the king, Pharaoh asked who the Lord was that he should obey Him. And he told Moses and Aaron that they hindered the people in their work by telling them about their God wanting them to go and sacrifice to him in the wilderness. It was only because they were idle that they wished to do so. They should not go. And he ordered that more work should be given them than before.

       The Hebrews had been making bricks of clay mixed with straw. So Pharaoh commanded that no more straw should be given them, but they should get it for themselves where they could; while, at the same time, they were obliged to make as much brick as when straw was found for them.

       But, instead of making bricks, their time was now spent in seeking straw; and they were beaten because the usual quantity of work was not done.

       The poor Hebrews were very sad, and bitterly reproached Moses and Aaron for making their condition so much worse than it had been.

       And though God assured them, by Moses, that He would certainly deliver them out of Egypt, they were so unhappy and faint-hearted that they would not believe it.

[Soldier4Christ]

Pharaoh's Overthrow
Exodus 7 to Exodus 14

AFTER THIS, BY God's command, Moses and Aaron went many times to Pharaoh to bid him let the people go. But Pharaoh would not, though God sent strange and terrible plagues upon him and his people to punish them for their wickedness, and make them obey Him.

       At length, as Pharaoh had commanded all the sons of the Hebrews to be slain, God in one night destroyed all the first-born in Egypt; and then, fearing for their own lives, the Egyptians hastily drove out the Israelites, men, women, children, and cattle, with their household goods, hurriedly gathered together.

       There were six hundred thousand men, besides women and children. God caused a pillar of cloud to go before them in the daytime, to show them the way they were to take, and at night He led them by a pillar of fire.

       After the children of Israel had left Egypt, Pharaoh, though his kingdom had been nearly destroyed for his disobedience to God, was angry with himself for having let them go. So he gathered together a great army, and pursued them to where they were encamped, in the wilderness by the Red Sea.

       When the people saw they were pursued, they were much afraid, and reproached Moses for bringing them there; for they thought it would have been better to be slaves in Egypt, than to be killed in the wilderness. But Moses bade them not fear; God would deliver them.

       Then the pillar of cloud and of fire, that had gone before to guide them, removed, and went behind the camp, so that it stood between the Egyptians and the children of Israel. To the Egyptians it was cloud and darkness, so that they could not continue their pursuit; but to the Israelites it gave light.

       Then Moses, as God had commanded him, stretched out his rod, or staff, over the sea; and the waters divided, standing like a wall on the right hand and on the left, leaving dry land between them, so that the whole multitude passed through the very middle of the sea to the opposite shore. The Egyptians, seeing this, hastened to follow; but God sent a violent storm upon them, which threw them all into confusion.

       When they were in the middle of the sea, where the Israelites had gone safely, God bade Moses again stretch out his hand over it; and when he did so, the waters came back again to their place, and drowned Pharaoh, and all the Egyptians: there was not one of them left alive.

       So God delivered the children of Israel, as He had said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Moses Smites the Rock
Exodus 17:1-7

AFTER THE EGYPTIANS had been all destroyed, the Israelites went forward into the wilderness; and when they had been traveling three days, they were in distress for want of water.

       They did indeed find some at a place called Marah, but it was so bitter they could not drink it. So again they reproached Moses, as they had done when the Egyptians pursued them to the Red Sea, asking him what they were to do for drink.

       Then God bade him throw into the water a certain tree which He showed to him; and when Moses had done this, it became quite good to drink.

       In a few days after, the people were in want of food; and again they were angry with Moses and his brother Aaron, who was with him taking care of the Israelites.

       They said they wished they had stayed in Egypt, where they had enough to eat, for they had been brought into the wilderness only that they might die of hunger. Then Moses asked them why they murmured against him and Aaron, when it was God Himself who had brought them out of Egypt; their murmuring was really against God.

       And yet, though He was displeased at their conduct, He would supply them with food, that they might know that he was indeed their God. So, in the evening, great flocks of quail came about the camp for the Israelites to eat; and in the morning, when the dew was dried up from the ground, there lay upon it a small round thing, like coriander seeds.

       The people did not know what it was; but Moses told them that was bread that God had sent them. There it was, fresh every morning, except on the seventh day, which God had in the beginning made a day of rest. On that day He would not have them gather it, giving them twice as much on the sixth day, that they might have enough for the seventh.

       This was called "manna"; and when it was ground, like grain, they made bread of it. God gave it them for forty years, till they came to the land of Canaan.

       But, though God had done so much for them, the children of Israel were a most ungrateful people. The very next time they wanted water, they were so angry with Moses that they were ready to kill him.

       Then Moses prayed to God to tell him what to do. And God bade him take some of the chiefs of the people, and go to a certain rock in Horeb, and strike it with his rod, and water should come out of it. So he took the men with him, and struck the rock, and water flowed abundantly.

[Soldier4Christ]

Aaron's Golden Calf
Exodus 32

WHILE THE CHILDREN of Israel were encamped in the wilderness, Moses' wife and his two sons, together with Jethro, his father-in-law, came to him there. And Jethro, seeing how Moses was overburdened with the care of so many people, advised him to appoint officers over them, under himself, who might attend to all their smaller concerns.

       But God Himself had the chief government of the people; and on Mount Sinai, where Moses spoke to Him and saw His great glory, He gave to them, not only the Ten Commandments, but many other laws and directions, for all they should do in worshiping Him.

       That was an awful sight when God spoke to Moses on Sinai! For there were thunders, and lightnings, and a thick cloud, like the smoke of a furnace, about the mountain; and from out of it came a great voice of a trumpet, sounding louder and louder: and then Moses went up and spoke with the Lord God.

       Moses was forty days in the mount, and the people began to wonder what had become of him.

       So they asked Aaron to make them some images which they might worship, and that might guide them out of the wilderness. Aaron knew there was only one God, yet he did as the people desired.

       He bade them bring their golden ornaments to him; and then he melted them, shaped the metal into the form of a calf (one of the false gods of the Egyptians), built an altar before it, on which the people might lay their offerings, and told them that was their god that had brought them out of the land of Egypt.

       The next day the people offered sacrifice to this calf, just as the heathen, who did not know God, worshiped their idols, or false gods.

       But God saw this; and He was so displeased at their wickedness that He would have destroyed them all, had not Moses interceded for them. Then Moses came down from the mount to the camp, and asked Aaron how it was that he and the people had committed so great a sin.

       Aaron tried to excuse himself by laying the blame on the unruly Israelites. But there was no excuse for him. And after Moses had burned the calf, he ground it to a powder, and threw it into the water that supplied the camp.

       God also, though he had granted Moses' prayer, commanded that great numbers of the people should be put to death for their sin.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Ten Commandments
Exodus 19-35

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS which God gave on Mount Sinai were written by Himself on stone tablets. And when Moses came down from the mount, and saw the people worshiping the gold calf, in his anger he threw them down, and they were broken.

       But after God, at Moses' prayer, had so far forgiven the sin of the Israelites as not to destroy them all, He bade moses hew two tables of stone, like the first, and bring them to Him on Mount Sinai, that He might again give them his commandments.

       Moses did so, and went up early in the morning to the mount. He was in the mount with God forty days and nights, neither eating nor drinking; and when he came down with the stone tables, on which the commandments had been again written, his face was so bright that the people could not look at him. He had to cover himself with a veil while he talked to them.

       God had bidden him tell the people of Israel that if they kept His commandments, He would bless them, and make them prosperous; but if they did not keep them, He would give them into the power of their enemies, and afflict them with all kinds of troubles.

       God also would have them prepare a place in which He might be worshiped; and, as the people were traveling onward to the promised land, He bade them make it like a tent, which might be carried along with them, and set up when they rested on their march.

       This tent was called the Tabernacle; and God gave exact directions how it was to be made, and also how they were to make the altar on which sacrifice was to be offered, and the ark, which was a chest, to hold the tables of stone.

       The people were glad to do what God desired them in this matter, and brought such large quantities of precious materials to construct the Tabernacle, and those other things that were to be in it, that at last Moses was obliged to bid them bring no more.

       When all was completed, God commanded that the Tabernacle should be set up in the wilderness of Sinai. And when it was set up. His glory filled it; a cloud also rested upon it by day, and at night a light like fire.

       As long as God would have the children of Israel remain in their camp in the wilderness, this cloud remained on the Tabernacle; when He would have them go on their journey, the cloud was taken up from it, and went before them.

       In this way the people knew whether God would have them travel on, or stay where they were.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Return of the Spies
Numbers 13 to Numbers 14

WHEN THE CHILDREN of Israel were encamped in the wilderness of Paran, Moses, by God's command, sent twelve men, one from each of the twelve tribes, or families into which they were divided, into the land of Canaan, that they might bring him word what sort of country it was, and what kind of people lived in it.

       He also told the men to bring back with them some of it's fruits.

       So the twelve men, who are called spies because they went to see the country, went, and were out forty days. When they returned, as it was the time when grapes were ripening, they brought with them, from Eshcol, a bunch of grapes, so large and ripe that two of them carried it between them.

       This, and other fruits that they had gathered, they showed to the Israelites, and told them that the country whence they came was very fertile, but that the people in it were so powerful and warlike that it would be impossible to drive them out, as God had said they should.

       They were giants, and lived in large cities, defended by walls. And though Caleb, a brave man, one of the spies, wished that the people should at once march forward and take it, the other spies repeated that it was impossible.

       Then the people began to reproach Moses and Aaron for bringing them into that wilderness to be slain by their enemies; and they threatened to put Moses away from them, and choose, in this place, a captain who might lead them back into Egypt.

       Caleb, and Joshua, another of the spies, entreated them not to rebel against God; for, if they obeyed Him, He would certainly, as He had promised, give them that rich country. But the multitude only clamored the more, and were even for stoning Moses and those with him.

       Then suddenly the glory of the Lord was seen in the Tabernacle; and God Himself, in His displeasure, declared that as the people would not believe him, they should no longer be His people, nor have the good land He had promised them.

       But Moses again prayed earnestly for the rebellious Israelites, begging God to pardon them. And God heard his prayer, and said that He would not entirely cast them off.

       But that none of those men, for whom He had done such great things, in delivering them out of Egypt, and feeding them in the wilderness, and who had yet constantly rebelled against Him, should enter into the promised land: they should all die in the wilderness.

       Only their children, together with Joshua and Caleb, should be brought into Canaan.

[Soldier4Christ]

The Brazen Serpent
Numbers 21:4-9

THE PEOPLE WERE at first very sorry for having so displeased God. But they soon forgot it all; and the next time that they were without water in their encampment, they murmured, as usual, against Moses and Aaron.

       Then God commanded Moses to take the rod with which he had struck the rock in Horeb, and before all the people to speak to a certain rock, which He pointed out, and it should give water for them and their cattle.

       But now both Moses, and Aaron, who was to go with him, did wrong. They thought that speaking to the rock, as God had said, would not be sufficient; so Moses struck it twice with his rod, angrily asking the multitude whether he and Aaron must fetch them water out of the rock.

       And though, notwithstanding their disobedience, the water, when the rock was struck, flowed out in such abundance that all had enough, God told moses and Aaron that because they had not obeyed Him when He bade them speak to it only, they should neither of them enter into the promised land.

       Aaron, whom God had appointed chief priest, died very soon afterward, on Mount Hor, and Eleazar, his son, was chosen by God as priest in his place.

       The land of Edom, which God had given to Esau, now lay between the Israelites and the way by which they were to go to Canaan. So Moses sent messengers to the King of Edom, asking leave to pass through.

       But the king not only refused to let them pass through, but threatened to lead out his army against the Israelites; so they were obliged to turn aside, and go round Edom. There they met with so many difficulties that they got quite dispirited, and , as before, murmured against God.

       Then God, to punish them, sent among them fiery serpents, which stung great numbers of the people, so that they died. The fear of death made the Israelites repent, and confess their sin in speaking against God.

       So they asked Moses to pray for them, that God would take away those dreadful serpents. And when Moses prayed, God told him to make an image in brass in the likeness of one of the serpents, and to set it up on a pole, and He promised that every one who was stung should be cured when he looked up to it.

       Moses did as he was commanded. And every one who looked upon the brazen serpent was healed.

[Soldier4Christ]

Balaam and the Ass
Numbers 22

THE ISRAELITES HAD to fight their way to the promised land, and God so often gave them victory in battle that the nations around were afraid of them.

       Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, the king of Bashan, both came out with armies against them; but the Israelites overcame them, and took possession of their territories.

       The victorious army afterward pitched their tents in the plains of Moab; and Balak, king of that country, fearing he and his people should also be destroyed, sent to Balaam, who was a prophet (that is, one to whom God shows things that are going to happen), to come and pronounce a curse upon the Israelites, which might prevent their taking his kingdom from him.

       Balaam at first refused to curse the Israelites, for he knew that God had blessed them. But Balak entreated him, promising him honors and riches; and at last Balaam consented.

       So, in the morning, he saddled his ass and went with them. But God was angry with him for desiring Balak's riches and honors, and sent an angel to stand in the way and oppose him.

       God, who can do whatever He will, enabled the ass, upon which Balaam rode, to see the angel; and she turned aside to avoid him. For this her master struck her. But again the angel stood before him in a path where there was a wall on each side; and the ass, seeing him, and trying to turn aside as before, crushed Balaam's foot against the wall.

       Then Balaam struck her again. But a little farther on the angel stood before them a third time; and the ass, seeing him, fell down under Balaam, who angrily struck her with his staff. God now wonderfully caused the ass to speak; and she asked Balaam why he had beaten her.

       Then God made Balaam himself see the angel standing with his drawn sword in his hand; and Balaam bowed down before him to the very ground. And the angel reproved Balaam for striking his ass, telling him that because he had wished to do what God did not will, God had sent His angel to oppose him in the way; and, had not the ass turned aside, he would have been slain.

       Balaam then confessed that he had done wrong, and offered to go back. The angel, however, bade him go on to Balak, but to be careful to speak only what God should bid him say.

       So Balaam went on; and when he saw all the encampment of the children of Israel stretching far before him, by God's command he blessed the people whom Balak had sent for him to curse.