being drowned or slaughtered, they implored the assistance of God; and Moses, by the -command of God, stretched forth his rod over the Red Sea; and, behold, the waters were divided before them, and stood like a wall on their right hand and on their left, and they passed through on dry ground. Pharao rushed furiously after them into the midst of the sea; whereupon Moses once more stretched forth his rod over the waters, and they suddenly returned to their former place, and buried Pharao with his whole army in the deep.
11. [1]The children of Israel had now to travel through a vast wilderness, and came, fifty days after their departure from Egypt, to Mount Sinai, where God, amidst thunder and lightning, gave them the Ten Commandments, written on two tables of stone. He also renewed with them the covenant He had made with their fathers, and regulated their religious and civil duties by most salutary laws. But the people soon forgot the Commandments and blessings of God, and continually complained and murmured; nay, they debased themselves to such a degree that they made a golden calf, and adored it as their god.
12. [2]In punishment of these and many other grievous sins, the Israelites had to remain forty years in the desert, until another and better .generation had grown up. Nevertheless, God continually bestowed favors upon them. He rained bread, called manna, from Heaven for
- ↑ Did the Israelites now go on straight to Chanaan? How long were they journeying from Egypt to Mount Sinai? What happened at Mount Sinai? Did God give them the Ten Commandments only? What return did they make for all these benefits?
- ↑ How was their ingratitude punished? Did God abandon them altogether? What favors did He still show them? When, and how, did they get possession of Chanaan? Is there not a figure in all this? What does the deliverance from Egypt signify? What does the journey through the desert signify? What does the promised land call to our mind!
