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CHAPTER XII.

God talks with Moses in Mount Sinai. The Tabernacle and Priesthood. The Promised Land is

forfeited by the Murmurers.

ND the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to Me into the mount, and be

there, and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, on the mount, and was there forty days and forty nights.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, and told him that he was to gather offerings from the children of Israel, that every man and woman might give what they could toward the worship of God. Gold, and silver, and brass, and bluc, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and oil, and precious stones, for the tabernacle

and the priests' dresses when they offered sacrifice before the Lord for the sins of the people. And God told Moses how to make an ark of wood, overlaid with pure gold. And in the ark was to be kept the testimony that God gave Moses. And he was to make a mercy seat of pure gold, and two cherubims of pure gold, whose wings were to stretch over the mercy seat, and a table overlaid with fine gold, and golden vessels of many kinds, and candlesticks. And the Lord shewed Moses in the mount a pattern of all the things that he was to have made for the service of the tabernacle. He ordered Moses to make curtains of fine linen, with blue, and purple, and scarlet, for a tent that was to contain the tabernacle, and the table, and furniture, and the altar; and a vail to divide the holy place, where the table and candlesticks were, from the most holy place, where the tabernacle was, where none but the priests might enter. And God shewed Moses how all these things were to be made, and what Aaron and his sons, who were to be consecrated priests, were to wear when they offered sacrifice. And God gave unto Moses, when He had shewn him all that

he was to do, two tables of stone written with the finger of God. And Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did neither eat bread nor drink water. And when he came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables in his hand, the skin of his face shone with the glory of God with whom he had been speaking. And whilst he told the children of Israel all the things that God had commanded him, he put a vail on his face, for they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses told the people what God had commanded, and those who were wise and willing-hearted amongst them brought offerings of gold, and silver, and brass, and the women spun goats' hair and made fine linen for the service of God. And they made the tabernacle, and the curtain, and the vail, and the table, and the altar, and enclosed all in a court, as God had commanded, and made beautiful robes for Aaron the priest and his sons to wear when they ministered before the Lord. According to all the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. And Moses looked upon it, and behold they had done it as the Lord had commanded; and Moses

blessed them. And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.

Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeyings.

Now, Aaron was of the tribe of Levi, Jacob's third son, and he was to be a priest, he and his sons, before the Lord, and they were to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. Day by day they were to offer sacrifice, with solemn ceremonies, and in sacred garments, which God had described to Moses on Mount Sinai. A bullock and two lambs were to be offered

in sacrifice day by day, and the fire upon the altar was to be ever burning, it was never to go out. All this, with the different kinds of sacrifices that were to be offered, and the ceremonies, were described to Moses by God Himself. And many other laws and commandments were given, which the people were to obey to the very letter. And Moses told Aaron and the children of Israel all these things, that they might keep God's law. And God promised, if they would walk in his statutes and keep his commandments, that He would set His tabernacle amongst them, that He would be their God and they should be his people.

After this God commanded Moses and Aaron to number all the children of Israel, that is the men, of twenty years old and upwards, that they might know how many men there were amongst them able to go and fight the battles of Israel. So they were numbered by Moses and Aaron, and they found six hundred thousand, and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. But of the Levites, God said to Moses, Thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of