VII. MOSES IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN

EXODUS 2.13-25

MOSES grew up from that little babe who had been hidden in the flags or reeds of the Nile, and he had been educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, as if he had been the real son of Pharaoh's daughter.

God was watching over Moses all the time, and preparing him for the great and wonderful work he was to do.

Do we all sometimes feel it very hard to learn difficult tasks? Do we, as we grow older, sometimes wonder what work God is getting us ready to do for Him?

I remember when I was young, how I was asked to stay for a fortnight at a lady's house whom I had never seen, or heard of, before. She called on my father, and said she should like to know his two eldest daughters, and would he allow us to come and stay with her?

So we went; we were about nineteen and twenty at that time, and we felt very homesick and strange at first. But do you know? That was one of the best things that ever happened to both of us!

That dear, kind old lady, had a heart full of love to Jesus our Saviour; and she used her money, and her house, and her influence, to help young people to love Him too. And when we got to know her, we had such a happy time, and set to work ourselves to try to bring others to love Jesus. Well, that was God's love in training us for what He wanted us to do afterwards. So, with Moses; he went in and out of Pharaoh's Court, and learned many things which were most useful to him, all his life, in God's Service.

The Children of Israel, or the Hebrews as they were called at this time, were slaves in Egypt, and one day Moses saw an Egyptian using one of the Hebrews very badly. So Moses interfered, and killed the Egyptian who was ill-treating one of God's people.

This made Pharaoh very angry, and he tried to kill Moses.

So Moses fled, and by and bye, he reached the land of Midian, where he sat down by a Well, and rested himself.

MOSES IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN.

This Well belonged to the Priest, or Prince of Midian; and he had seven daughters, who every day came to the Well, and filled the troughs for their father's flocks to drink.

But some shepherds came and drove the girls away, wishing, I suppose, to use the trough to water their own flocks, without waiting for the maidens to finish their task.

But Moses stood up and helped them, so that they watered their father's flock very quickly.

When they came home, their father asked them how it was that they returned so soon?

And they said: "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water for us!"

In the East, people are very hospitable, and ready to entertain strangers; and directly Reuel (or Jethro) heard what his daughters said, he exclaimed: "Where is he? How is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread."

By and by, Moses and Zipporah had a little son.

So Moses was very happy to stay with Jethro, and soon he married one of Jethro's daughters, named Zipporah. And by and bye Moses and Zipporah had a little son, whom Moses named Gershom.

But while all this was going on in Midian, the plight of the Hebrews who were in Egypt grew worse and worse.

The King, who had wanted to kill Moses, had died, and the Children of Israel sighed under the cruel bondage that the Egyptians put upon them.

And their cry came up to God.

And God looked down out of heaven upon the poor, hardly-used slaves, and He came down from heaven and spoke to Moses about them.

And the words He said are full of the tenderest comfort to all who are in trouble. For God sees it, whatever it is. Also He listens to our cry, when things are too hard for us. But best of all, He knows just what is in our hearts, which nobody else can see or hear, and to this sorrow He says, "I, even I, am He that comforteth you."

So God said to Moses, "For I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up into a good land ... flowing with milk and honey."

And God chose Moses, whom He had so wonderfully trained, to be His Servant, who should deliver the Children of Israel from their hard slavery.

Moses knew all about Egypt. He could speak the language of the Egyptians: he understood all about the Court of Pharaoh, and the customs of the Egyptians. So God sent him straight down to Egypt to deliver His people, and He gave him this great and beautiful promise to cheer his heart:

"Certainly I will be with thee."

Then God explained to Moses that Pharaoh would not let them go, but that He would shew great wonders in Egypt by His Mighty Hand, and after that, Pharaoh would be so frightened, that he would let them go.

All this came to pass; for God sent plague after plague on the Egyptians, until at last, in a marvellous way, God delivered the whole of the Israelites, with all their possessions and flocks and herds, right out of the hand of Pharaoh. And God brought them through the Red Sea on dry land, while the great army of the Egyptians who followed hard after them, with their Chariots and horses, were drowned in the deep waters, so that there was not one left!

And afterwards, God led His people through the wilderness, and did bring them into the Land of Canaan as He had promised.

VIII. A GOOD REPORT OF THE LAND

THE Children of Israel—the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—had come down to Egypt in consequence of the seven years of famine. Joseph was there, and was great in the eyes of Pharaoh, and the king made old Jacob and his sons, with their families and their flocks, welcome to live in the land of Goshen.

For a time, they were very happy and prosperous, and God blessed them and they increased in numbers and riches.

But by and by, the Egyptians began to look round upon these Children of Israel, and jealousy of their success filled their hearts.

The Pharaoh who had made them so welcome for Joseph's sake, was dead. And another king arose who had forgotten all about Joseph, and he began to lay burdens on the Children of Israel, and to force them to build his palaces and cities.

He began . . . to force them to build his palaces and cities.

At length, the cruelty and the burdens became intolerable, and the Lord God in Heaven saw their affliction, heard their groaning, and sent down to deliver them.

Moses was His chosen servant, and under him, after many wonderful deliverances, the people were brought right out and set free, and were taken back to the borders of the land which God had promised to give to Abraham and his children after him.

But the Children of Israel were disobedient, and forgetful of all the wonders that God had shown them, in delivering them from Egypt. He had made a way for them to walk dry-shod through the Red Sea; He brought water out of a rock for their thirst; and He sent down manna every day for their food.

But because of their murmuring, complaining spirit, God told Moses that He could not let them go into the land of Canaan just yet.

So He led them about in the wilderness; spreading His cloud over them in the day to shield them from the sun's scorching rays; and by night He put a pillar of fire to give them light and comfort.

At length, in the second year after they came out of Egypt, they reached the wilderness of Paran. And now God told Moses to take one chief man out of each of the twelve tribes of Israel, and he was to send them into the land of Canaan to bring back a report of what they found there.

There were twelve men chosen, but of these only two, Caleb and Joshua, were faithful to God all through.

The twelve men set out, and at the end of forty days they returned with their report of all they had seen.

They brought with them pomegranates and figs; and the grapes were so plentiful, that from one place called Eshcol they brought a bunch which required two men to carry it on a pole between them.

For God had promised when they left Egypt, that He would bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey, and that He would drive out all their enemies before them.

If only they had remembered this!

So the messengers began to tell their tale. They said that indeed it was a rich land, flowing with milk and honey. "And see," said they, "here is some of the fruit of it."

You can imagine for yourselves how Caleb and Joshua stood by, listening to the eager words of the other ten.

And now came another word, which made those two faithful men tremble—and it was an unbelieving, faithless word!

"Nevertheless," the ten spies went on, "the cities are walled, there are giants there, and numbers of enemies dwell on every side; we are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!"

Then you can imagine Caleb and Joshua starting forward to still the people, and they cried: "Let us go up at once and possess the land, for we are well able to overcome it!"

But the ten spies persisted that they could not go up, and all the people mourned and wept, and told Moses that they had better return to Egypt, for they would die in the wilderness, and their wives and their children would be a prey for their enemies.

Oh, how sad is want of faith! They forgot the power of God and the promises of God! They let Satan whisper in their hearts that, after all, God would fail them, and though the land was beautiful and full of food and plenty—"Nevertheless" there were too many enemies to face.

God was very grieved at the unbelief of the people, and He said that none of those who had distrusted Him should enter into the land of Canaan, but their children should in due time enter in and possess it.

This is a solemn lesson for us all. There are right times to say "Nevertheless."

Peter said to Jesus: "Nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net," and they got a great draught of fishes!

Paul said: Nevertheless the Lord stood by me, "and strengthened me," and he fought a good fight to the end!

God did not forget the faithfulness of Caleb and Joshua; for Joshua was chosen, years afterwards, to lead the people into the land and to fight the Lord's battles; and Caleb, "because he had wholly followed the Lord," entered with his children into the Promised Land, and had a happy possession in it.

It was true of them both: "None of them that trust in Him shall be desolate."

IX. MOSES HIDDEN IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK

EXODUS 33.17-23

FOR forty years, Moses, the little boy who had been taken out of the water by Pharaoh's daughter, was brought up in Pharaoh's Palace in Egypt, where he learned the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in word and deed.

He evidently knew that he belonged to the Israelites or Hebrews, as they were called; but it was not till he had reached forty years of age that he began to look upon the sad plight of his own people.

The Egyptians had gradually made the Hebrews into slaves, and were using them with great cruelty; but at length Moses understood that God was going to deliver the people by his hand.

However, the first effort he made, was that he killed an Egyptian who was hurting a Hebrew man; and this came to the ears of Pharaoh, and he was so angry that Moses fled away, and never stopped till he reached the land of Midian.

Here he remained for another forty years. He married a wife and had two sons, and he tended the flocks of his father-in-law, and lived a very peaceful life.

But one day God came down and spoke to him. He told Moses that in Egypt, the condition of God's people was getting worse and worse, and that He had chosen Moses to be their deliverer.

God said that He would go with him, and help him through; and promised that they should all serve God on this very Mountain in Horeb, where God was now speaking to him.

It would take too long to tell you all the wonders that God had to do to set His people free from their bondage; but at length they escaped from Egypt—every one of them—they went through the Red Sea on dry land, because God kept back the water on each side of them; and as they passed in to the dry pathway God had made for them, He took His Pillar of Cloud, which used to lead them, and He put it behind them, so that it was between them and their enemies. And it was a cloud of darkness to the Egyptians, but it was a bright light to the Israelites, all night.

When they had passed over, God took the cloud away, and the Egyptians followed through the Sea, but God let the waters go back on Pharaoh and his host, and they were all drowned in the sea, and the Israelites were all safe on the other side.

This is a glorious lesson for us, to show us how God will conquer our great enemy, Satan, and will bring us safely through, if we trust Him.

When the Children of Israel came to Horeb, God called Moses up on the Mountain to receive His Commandments, and to listen to all that God wished him to do; but the people began to get restless and disobedient.

Moses had been on the Mountain for forty days, and they said to Aaron, the brother of Moses, who was the High Priest, "Up! Make us gods, which shall go before us, for as for this Moses we know not what is become of him!"

Then Aaron made a Golden Calf for them to worship!

When Moses came down from talking with God, and found what had happened, he threw the slabs of stone on which God had written His law, over the edge of a precipice, and they were broken in pieces beneath the mountain.

The Lord was very grieved and angry at the disobedience of the people. And Moses besought the Lord to forgive them; and he even asked God to blot his name out of the Book where He had written it, sooner than that the whole Congregation should perish.

And God heard his prayer for the forgiveness of the people, and told Moses to go forward and lead them to the Land. And God said, "My Presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest."

Now Moses loved God very much, and he answered the Lord, "If Thy Presence go not with me, carry us not up hence, for wherein shall it be known here, that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight? Is it not in that Thou goest with us?"

And the Lord said unto Moses, "I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken."

And then Moses, emboldened by God's wonderful kindness in answering his prayer, made a yet further request. "I beseech Thee, show me Thy Glory!" he said.

And the Lord promised to shew Moses all His Goodness, and all His Mercy; but God told him he could not see His face, for the Glory of it would be too much. The Lord pointed out a place on the mountainside where there was a clift, or cleft, in a rock, and He told Moses he might stand within that cleft, and God would put His hand over him, so that the glory of His face should not be seen.

So Moses hastened into that cleft of the rock, and the Glory of the Lord passed by, and after He had passed by, Moses was allowed to see His back, but His face might not be seen.

It is a wonderful story; and I think it should dwell in our hearts, that the Holiness of God is great beyond what any words of ours can picture.

There is a prayer of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John, which is very comforting when we think with solemn awe about the Holiness of God.

"Father I will that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with me where I am: that they may behold my glory, which Thou hast given me; for Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

God gave His own beloved Son, Jesus our Lord, to wash away our sins, and make us fit to see his Glory by and bye.

And in the Book of the Revelation we are told, that in Heaven, God's servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face.

MOSES SEES THE GLORY OF GOD.

X. AARON'S ROD THAT BUDDED

NUMBERS 16 AND 17

BEFORE we begin to talk about the pleasant happy story of Aaron's Rod, and how it came out into buds and flowers, there is a very dark and sorrowful story which we must think of first.

The Lord told Moses to make a beautiful Tabernacle or Tent, where He would speak to him face to face; and He appointed the different Tribes to pitch their tents round it.

God choose Aaron, the elder brother of Moses, to be the High Priest. Aaron was the head of the tribe of Levi, and his family were the only ones who were allowed to approach God in the offerings which were to be presented for sin; and to offer the sweet Incense on the Golden Altar of Incense, which was in the Holy Place in the Tabernacle.

God said this Incense was to be made in a special way, and no one was to make any like it. And the Lord warns the people that "the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death."

Even Aaron's two elder sons, Nadab and Abihu, died before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, when they took their censers, "and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not."

These things were well known, and understood by the Israelites; but so evil are men's hearts and so easily excited to jealousy, that three men named Korah, Dathan and Abiram, gathered together a number of the Princes of the Congregation, and came to Moses and Aaron with complaints, that Moses and Aaron were taking too much upon themselves, and that all the Congregation were equally fit to draw near to God, and to do those parts of the Holy Service, which God had appointed that only Aaron and his sons should do.

Moses was dreadfully grieved, and he fell on his face in bitter sorrow.

Then he told Korah and the Princes that they were to present themselves at the door of the Tabernacle on the following day.

The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up Dathan and Abiram.

He said to them, "This do: Take you censers, Korah and all his company, and put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord to-morrow."

But Moses warned them that the Lord would choose who was holy, and who should draw near to Him.

Korah and his company would not heed the warning. They had time to think over and repent of their sin, for the Lord is a God ready to pardon. But they went on in their proud arrogance, and oh! to what a dreadful end it led them.

So the next day Korah gathered all the Congregation together against Moses and Aaron, at the door of the Tabernacle. But Dathan and Abiram, who specially strove against the authority of Moses, would not come up, but remained in their tents.

Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron to separate themselves quickly from the Congregation that He might consume them all in His anger.

But once more Moses and Aaron fell on their faces, and interceded with the Lord for those people who had not joined in the rebellion; and the Lord heard their prayer, and told Moses to send the people to a distance, lest they should be consumed in the sins of these rebellious men.

So the people fled from round about the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

And then God sent an earthquake, and the Earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up Dathan and Abiram, and their families and their tents.

And as the Congregation fled still further from the awful cry of them, a fire came out from the Lord, and destroyed Korah, and the two hundred and fifty Princes, who had offered Incense.

It is an awful thing to risk God's punishment.

This is a very, very sad story; but it is written down in the Bible, to show that we must obey God's commands, and seek Him in the way He has provided.

In the Old Testament times, the way to approach God was by the Priests whom God had appointed to present the Offerings for sin, and to burn the Incense; but now, since God sent His dear Son, Jesus Christ, to make atonement for our sins, Jesus is the Way to God. He is "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world."

After all these dreadful things happened, the Lord spoke to Moses again. God told him that each of the Princes at the head of the Twelve Tribes, was to bring a rod, with his name clearly marked on it, and Moses was to take the twelve rods and place them in the Tabernacle before the Ark of the Testimony.

Aaron the High Priest was the head of the Tribe of Levi, and his rod, with his name on it, was to be sent in with the others.

And God said, "The man's rod whom I shall choose, shall blossom; and I will make to cease the murmurings of the Children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you."

Moses did this, and went in on the morrow to look at the rods; and "behold the rod of Aaron, for the house of Levi, was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded Almonds."

AARON'S ROD THAT BUDDED.

Then Moses carried all the rods out for the children of Israel to see, and the Lord said, "Bring Aaron's rod again before the Testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not."

XI. TO THE CITY OF REFUGE

WEARY and spent, the man ran; traversing the hot desert roads in the daytime; and hurrying on through the night if perchance there were a moon or stars to guide him; or else crouching in some corner behind some rock, till daylight enabled him to hurry forward once more!

Why was the man running over the ground at his topmost speed? Was he carrying a message, or bringing bad news, or what could it be?

No, he was hurrying to a place of safety!

But why? you may ask. Was he being pursued, or what was it?

Yes, he was being pursued by a man who was called "The Avenger of blood."

For God's law was, that a man who had hated his neighbour and had planned to kill him and had carried out his purpose should surely be put to death.

So if any one was killed among the Children of Israel, at once "the Avenger of blood" hurried to the spot and seized the murderer, who was then examined before the priests and the judges; and witnesses were called to give evidence as to whether the prisoner had intended to kill his neighbour, so that the judges might decide whether he were guilty or not. God's law made it necessary that there should be more than one witness before a man could be condemned.

But if a death were caused by an accident, God provided a way of escape for the manslayer, and it is this way of escape that I am going to tell you about.

When the Children of Israel had wandered in the wilderness for forty years—for their murmuring and disobedience, as God had said—they came at length to the land of Canaan; and here God told Moses to divide the land among the different tribes, and instructed him to separate Six Cities in different parts of the land, three on one side of the River Jordan, and three on the other side.

These six cities were to be called "cities of refuge," and God told Moses to make good roads leading to them, so that if any one killed a man by accident or at unawares, he might flee to one of those six cities, at his utmost speed, and not lose his way in his haste; for when once there, he would be sheltered, and in safety, so that the Avenger of blood might not catch him and kill him.

You will find in the 19th chapter of Deuteronomy the wonderful directions which God gave Moses about these cities.

God said, that any one who killed his neighbour ignorantly, and had not intended to hurt him, might flee to the city of refuge, and be safe.

If a man and his neighbour went into a wood to cut down a tree, and the axe-head of one of them flew off and struck the other man, so that he died, then the manslayer as he was called could flee to one of those cities, and live! Or if a man let a stone fall upon his neighbour by accident, and it killed him, he could flee to the city of refuge, and live!

For when once there, he would be sheltered and in safety.

As soon as he entered the city of refuge, the elders of the city came forward and inquired into the circumstances which had made him fly there; and so soon as they were satisfied that the death of his neighbour was an accident, and that he was not worthy of death, they made him welcome to their city, and henceforward the city of refuge was to be his shelter.

But if any man hated his neighbour, and laid in wait for him, and rose up against him, and smote him mortally, so that he died, and were to flee into one of these cities, then the elders of his city should send and fetch him from there, and deliver him unto the hand of the Avenger of blood that he should die. These were the rules which God made.

The man who hurried to that city of refuge knew in his own heart whether he was guilty or not; and if he knew that it was an accident which had happened, then when he reached the city how gladly did he pass the gate, and get safely inside!

You can imagine how he sank down breathless and faint within that portal, and how thankful he was in his own heart that God had provided a way of escape for him!

In this city of refuge, he must stay; nor was he free to leave it for a single moment, till the death of the High Priest who might be living in those days. It might be many years, or it might be only a short time; but whether long or short there was no safety for him outside those walls. If he ventured out, if the Avenger should meet him, he would certainly be killed.

And it seems to me that there are one or two lessons which we may learn from this story, which God has written for our learning.

May we not think of Jesus Christ our Saviour as our City of Refuge?

And if He is, shall we not, beneath the Sheltering Walls of His Salvation, be at rest from all our fears?

We read, in the 6th of Hebrews: "That . . . we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us."

That man, running from the Avenger, wanted life!

And if we fly to Jesus Christ to get life, we find that He, Himself, is the Way—the plainly marked, loving path to safety.

He is the Truth, for His promises are faithful.

He is the Life, for there is no eternal life apart from Him.

How tenderly He says to us: "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you Rest."

XII. THE LETTER THAT WAS LAID BEFORE THE LORD,
AND THE LORD'S ANSWER

HEZEKIAH, King of Judah, did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the Kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.

Immediately after he came to the throne, he destroyed all the high places where the people had worshipped false gods, and he broke their images; and he followed the commandments of the Lord with all his heart.

And the Lord was with him, and he prospered in all he set his hand to.

He defeated the Philistines, and rebelled against the yoke of the King of Assyria, and refused to serve him.

Meanwhile, however, Hoshea, who was then King of Israel, was very much harassed by the Assyrians, and God permitted them to come into the land of Israel and besiege Samaria for three years. They took it, and carried numbers of captives into the land of Assyria, because His people had transgressed His commandments.

The Assyrians, having gained these victories, turned their attention to the land of Judah, over which the good King Hezekiah reigned, and they fought against and took some of the fenced cities.

Then Hezekiah sent a present to the King of Assyria, hoping to bribe him not to pursue the war any further.

To make this payment Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the Temple of the Lord, and sent all the money that was in the Treasury.

But the riches which were known to belong to the Kings of Judah and Israel were an immense attraction to their enemies: so that instead of turning back, the King of Assyria sent his greatest generals with a host of soldiers to surround Jerusalem and besiege it.

When they reached the conduit of the upper pool, which supplied water to the city, Rabshakeh called to King Hezekiah to come out to them.

Then Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah came forward to hear what Rabshakeh had to say.

And Rabshakeh's first words were full of pride and threatening: "Thus saith the great King, the King of Assyria, 'What confidence is this wherein thou trusteth? In whom dost thou trust? If ye say, "We trust in the Lord our God," Hezekiah has broken down His altars and told Judah they are to worship in Jerusalem!'

"Now therefore ... I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou canst on thy part put riders upon them!"

Then Hezekiah's messengers begged Rabshakeh to speak in the Assyrian language, and not in Hebrew, which the people understood.

But Rabshakeh was more insulting than ever; and told all who listened to him, that it was vain for Hezekiah to say "The Lord will deliver you!" Sennacherib had conquered other nations, and their gods had not delivered them! And the Lord would not deliver Jerusalem out of his hand.

But Eliakim told the people not to answer a word. Then they returned to the king with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

Then Hezekiah rent his clothes and put on sackcloth, and went up into the house of the Lord, and sent his messengers to Isaiah the Prophet, saying that it was indeed a day of trouble, and surely the Lord had heard the words of Rabshakeh.

But the Prophet Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: "Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the King of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."

So Rabshakeh returned, and when he found fresh troubles in his own land, he sent a message by letter to Hezekiah, saying they were not to rejoice that they had escaped their enemy! For they would surely come and fight against them another time!

Then Hezekiah received the letter and read it, and carried it up into the House of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And he prayed to the Lord, and told Him it was quite true that other nations had been defeated by the cruel King of Assyria, but they had not the Lord God of Israel to trust in; and then he ended with these words: "O Lord our God, I beseech Thee, save Thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know, that Thou art the Lord God, and Thou only!"

And then the Lord gave His long glorious answer: "Thus saith the Lord concerning the King of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city, to save it, for Mine Own Sake, and for My servant David's sake."

"And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and eighty-five thousand men: and when they arose early in the morning they were all dead corpses."

So Sennacherib, King of Assyria, departed and returned to Nineveh; and as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch, his god, his two sons smote him and killed him.

God's words had come true.

XIII. THE QUEEN OF SHEBA

WHEN David grew old, one of his sons, named Adonijah, exalted himself, to make himself king instead of his father.

He conferred with Joab the captain and with Abiathar the priest, and it was arranged that all the sons of the king should be invited to a great feast; but when the invitations were given, it was found that he had not included his brother Solomon, nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the soldier, nor Nathan the prophet, who were all devoted friends of King David.

So Nathan the prophet spoke to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, and begged her to go to King David and tell him that Adonijah had set himself up as king; and to remind David that he had promised her that he would give the kingdom to Solomon his son.

David was very much troubled with what Bathsheba and Nathan told him, and he solemnly assured them that God had promised the throne to Solomon, and to no one else; and he then sent for Zadok, and he told him and Nathan to anoint Solomon King over Israel at once, and to blow with the trumpet and say, "Solomon is King!"

And he told them that Solomon was to ride on the king's own mule, and sit on the king's throne.

So they took a horn of oil out of the Tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet, and all the people said: "God save King Solomon!" And the people came up after him, rejoicing with music and great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.

Thus Solomon was established in his kingdom, and reigned over all Israel and Judah.

Now Solomon loved the Lord—and it says "the Lord loved Solomon."

One day he went up to the high place at Gibeon to sacrifice to the Lord there; and he offered a thousand burnt offerings upon the altar. And the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream; and God said:

"Ask what I shall give thee!"

Then Solomon thanked God for the great kindness which He had shown David his father, in giving him a son to sit on his throne; and acknowledged how David had walked before the Lord in uprightness of heart. And then he added: "O Lord my God . . . I am but a little child . . . give me therefore an understanding heart to judge Thy people; for who is able to judge so great a people?"

And the Lord was pleased with Solomon's request, and He told him that because he had asked this thing, and not asked for himself riches or honour or long life, God would grant his prayer for an understanding heart, and would add besides riches and honour, so that there should be no king like Solomon in all the world, nor ever would be again.

And then, after these gracious and wonderful assurances, the Lord God added this warning—and it seems to me that the warning comes home to every one of us now: "If thou wilt walk in My ways to keep My statutes and My commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days."

Then Solomon awoke from his dream, and he came to Jerusalem and offered burnt offerings unto the Lord there.

He at once set about ruling his kingdom and exercising the wonderful wisdom which God had given him.

And this was why, when he had built cities and palaces, and gathered gold and silver and spices in abundance; when he had been permitted to build a magnificent Temple for the Lord, the Queen of Sheba heard of his fame, concerning the Name of the Lord, and travelled many hundreds of miles from the south below Egypt, to prove Solomon with hard questions and to see the glories of his kingdom.

She gave Solomon gold, and a very great store of spices.

And Solomon answered all her questions, and showed her all his work and his riches. When she had seen the house he had built and the food daily spread on his table, and the number of his servants, and the ascent which he had built to go up to the House of the Lord, the queen seemed to have no more strength in her, and she exclaimed:

"It was a true report that I heard in mine own country, but the half was not told me!"

"Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom."

"Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighteth in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel . . . to do judgment and justice."

And she gave King Solomon gold, and a very great store of spices and precious stones, which she had brought on her camels from afar.

And Solomon gave her whatever she asked of him, besides the royal presents which, as a great king, he bestowed upon her unasked.

There is a verse in Isaiah and another in the Psalms which I love to read, which seem to remind us not only of the Queen of Sheba, but of that glorious day which is coming by and by for those who are the children of God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ:—

"For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him."

"Thou wilt show me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy: at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

XIV. THREE COMMANDMENTS
ABOUT EARTHLY THINGS

     V. "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God hath given thee."

OUR best and most beautiful example of this loving, dutiful obedience is given us in the early days of our Lord's life on earth.

We read of it in the second chapter of Luke.

Jesus was twelve years old, and He knew that His Heavenly Father had given Him a great work to do here in this world. One day in Jerusalem He had stayed in the Temple talking to the learned Doctors of the Law, and Joseph and His mother missed Him from among the company who were journeying homewards to Nazareth; and when they found Him in the Temple, His mother said, "Thy father and I have sought Thee, sorrowing!"

And His gentle answer is a pattern to all of us: "Wist ye not—" (Did you not know)—"that I must be about My Father's business?" He was reminding her then of God, Who had sent Him, His only begotten Son, into the world to save sinners.

But with all that in His heart, the Bible goes on to tell us, "Jesus went down with them to Nazareth, and was subject unto them." That means that He was perfectly obedient in His earthly home.

Then we have the sweet example of Ruth the Moabitess.

Her husband was dead. But Ruth was devoted to her mother-in-law, and when Naomi wished to return to the land of Israel, though all Ruth's friends lived in Moab, she entreated to be allowed to take that long journey with Naomi, and to stay with her always.

And as you can read for yourselves in the Book of Ruth, she was wonderfully blessed through her goodness to her mother-in-law. God watched her sweet and dutiful behaviour, and He gave her the great honour of being one of the ancestors of King David, and then, through him, of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was born at David's city, Bethlehem, thirteen hundred years afterwards.

Thus the Commandment that contained a promise of blessing was fulfilled.

     VI. "Thou shalt do no murder."

What is murder? It is hatred in the heart, cherished and unpardoned, unconfessed to God, which ends in a cruel deed.

If we find in our own hearts an unforgiving spirit—a grudge against any one—a wish, perhaps, to do them harm or pay them back—let us beware!

Our Lord says: "When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any one!"

Now I am going to tell you about a murder, which was a very sad one.

David, as you know, loved God very much; but he had grown very rich and powerful, and he had begun to value earthly things more than God's Commandments.