out the corn," Deut. xxv. 4. is to show that ministers, who provide us spiritual food, ought to be maintained themselves, 1 Cor. ix. 9, 10, for so the apostle Paul had explained it.

CHAPTER VII.

OF THE SINS AND PUNISHMENTS OF THE JEWS IN THE WILDERNESS.

1 Q. Aafter all this account of the moral, ceremonial, and judicial laws, can you tell me whether the people of Israel obeyed them or no?

A. No; they often broke the laws of God, and sinned against him, and were often punished, Isa. lxiii. 10. Psalm 1xxviii. 32—34.

2 Q. What were the most remarkable sins against God in the wilderness?

A. Besides their murmurings at some difficulties in the beginning of their journey, the first remarkable and notorious crime was their making a golden calf, and worshipping it at the foot of Mount Sinai, Exod. xxxii. 4, 8.

3 Q. What temptation, or what pretence could they have for such a crime?

A. Moses was gone up into Mount Sinai, and tarried there so many days longer than they expected, that they wanted some visible token of God's presence among them; and so they constrained Aaron to make this golden image; to be a representation of the presence of God, but without God's appointment, Exod. xxxii. 1.

Note, It is scarcely to be supposed that this was the mere image of a common calf, or that the Jews could fall down and worship such an image; or that they could suppose an ox or calf, which was the idol of their enemies the Egyptians, was a proper emblem of the God

of Israel, their deliverer from Egypt. Probably therefore it was the image of a cherub, partly in the form of a winged ox. And since God was represented immediately afterwards by Moses as dwelling among the cherubims on the mercy-seat, this might be a common opinion or notion before hand among the people even of that age :* and it might be made as a visible representation of the presence of God; for they proclaimed a feast to Jehovah, ver. 5, in the same manner as Jeroboam, long afterwards, made, perhaps, the same sort of images for the same purpose, which are called calves. But both this and that being done without God's appointment, it was all idolatry, and in a way of the utmost contempt, it was called worshipping a calf; and was accordingly punished as highly criminal. See chap. v. qu. 36.

4 Q. How did God punish them for the golden calf?

A. The children of Levi were commanded to slay their brethren, and they slew three thousand of the children of Israel, Exod. xxxii. 27, 28.

5 Q. What was another of their remarkable sins? A. In the next stage, after Sinai, they loathed the manna which God sent them, and murmured for want of flesh, Numb. xi. 4.

6 Q. How was the murmuring punished?

A. God gave them the flesh of quails in abundance, and sent the plague with it, Numb. xi. 31, 33. 7 Q. What was their third remarkable sin?

There were some things relating to the worship of God which that people had some general notion of, before Moses went up into the mount to learn all the particulars from God; as for instance, they had altars, and sacrifices, and sprinkling of blood, Exod. xxiv. 4, 6, 8. They had priests, Exod. xix. 22, 24, and a tabernacle, or moveable chapel, Exod. xxxiii. 6, 7. And they might know that God dwelt among angels, or some glorious winged beings as his attendants. And these cherubs might be sometimes figured as flying men with calves' feet, or as flying oxen, as part of the equipage or attendants of God.

A. Being discouraged by the spies, who searched out the land of Canaan, and brought an ill report of that promised land, they were for making a captain to return to Egypt, Numb. xiv. 3, 4, 36.

8 Q. How was this rebellion chastised?

A. Ten of the spies died immediately of a plague, and all the people were condemned to wander forty years in the wilderness, till all those who were above twenty years old should die by degrees in their travels, Numb. xiv. 29-37.

9 Q. Who of the spies were saved?

A. None but Caleb and Joshua, who followed the Lord fully, and gave a good account of the land of promise, Numb. xiv. 6, 23, 24, 37, 38, and xxvi. 65.

10. Q. What was their fourth remarkable sin?

A. When Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, stirred up a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, Numb. xvi. 1, &c.

เ

11 Q. What was the occasion of this rebellion of Korah and his companions?

A. They pretended that all Israel were holy, and that Aaron and his family had no more right to the priesthood than they; and that Moses took too much upon him to determine every thing among them, Numb. xvi. 3, 10.

12 Q. How were Korah, Dathan, and Abiram punished?

A. They and their families were swallowed up by an earthquake,* and their two hundred and fifty companions were burnt by a fire which came out from God, v, 31, 35; and when the congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron for the death of these sinners, God smote above fourteen thousand of them, and they died of the plague, ver. 41—50.

13 Q. What miracle did God work to show that he had chosen Aaron's family to the priesthood?

* Yet in Numb. xxvi. 11 the sons of Korah are excepted

A. He bid the heads of the people choose twelve rods for the twelve tribes of Israel, and write Aaron's name upon Levi's rod, and lay them up in the tabernacle till the morrow: at which time they took each man his rod, and Aaron's rod blossomed and yielded almonds, Numb. xvii. 2-10.

14 Q. What was done with this rod of Aaron ?

A. It was laid up in the ark to be a lasting testimony against these rebels, ver. 10, and to confirm Aaron's right to the priesthood.

15 Q. What was the fifth remarkable sin of the people?

A. They murmured because of the length of the way, and for waut of better food than manna, Numb. xxi. 4. 5.

16 Q. How was this new murmuring punished? A. God sent fiery serpent among them, which destroyed many of them, Numb. xxi. 6.

17 Q. How were the people healed, which were bitten by the serpents ?

A. By looking up to a serpent of brass, which Moses put upcn a high pole at God's command, Numb. xxi. 8, 9.

18 Q. What was the sixth remarkable sin of Israel?

A. Whoredom and idolatry; for they loved the Midianitish women and worshipped their gods, Numb. xxv. 1, 2.

19 Q. How was this whoredom and idolatry punished?

A. By the command of God and Moses to kill the offenders, and by a plague which slew twenty-four thousand of them, Numb. xxv. 4, 5, 9.

20 Q. Who tempted them to this idolatry?

A. Balaam, the wicked prophet and soothsayer, Numb. xxxi. 16.

21 Q. Why did he tempt them to it?

A. Because God hindered him from cursing Israel, when Balaak the king of Meab had hired him to do it, Numb. xxii. 5-12.

22 Q. How did God hinder him?

A. Three ways. (1.) By forbidding him to go at first, though afterwards he permitted him. (2.) By making his own ass speak to him, to stop him when he was going. (3.) By inspiring him with prophecies, and compelling him to bless Israel, three or four times, instead of cursing them. See Numb. xxii. 12, 30, 31. and xxiii. 7, 8, &c.

23 Q. What became of Balaam at last ?

A. He was slain among the Midianites by the men of Israel under the conduct of Moses, before they came to the river of Jordan, Numb. xxxi. 1-8.

CHAPTER VIII.

OF THE JEWS' ENTRANCE INTO CANAAN, AND THEIR

GOVERNMENT BY JUDGES.

SECTION I.

Of the Israelites' possession of Canaan.

1 Q. What became of the people of Israel after all their wanderings in the wilderness?

A. Though their sins and punishments were many and great, yet they were not destroyed; but God brought them at last into Canaan, the land which he promised to their fathers, Josh. i. 11.

2 Q. Did Moses lead them into that land?

A. No; he was only permitted to see it from Mouut Pisgah, and there he died, and God buried him, Deut. xxxiv. 1-8.

3 Q. Did Aaron go with them into Canaan?

A. Aaron died before Moses, and Eleazar his son was made high priest in his room, Numb. xx. 24-28. 4 Q. Why were not Moses, the lawgiver, nor Aaron, the high priest, suffered to bring the people into the land of promise?

A. Because they had both sinned and offended