And the Lord faid unto Mofes, Bring Aaron's rod again before the teftimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me.

That there was any trick, or contrivance of Mofes, in this cafe, is improbable on this account, that it was not himself, or his pofterity, but Aaron, and his family, that was, in confequence of it, honoured with the priesthood. The children and pofterity of Mofes ranked no higher than other Levites, without any mark of diftinction, or any advantage whatever; and he must have been a man different from all other men, if he had preferred the defcendants even of his brother to his own. The fons of Mofes are particularly mentioned, as well as those of Aaron; but we are informed of nothing concerning them, befides their names.

The remaining events in the life-time of Mofes I fhall barely mention. During the forty years that the Ifraelites abode in the wilderness, it is too probable that they continued in the neighbourhood of the stream which firft iffued from the rock of Rephidim, fo that they were fufficiently fup

plied with water.

On their removing

northwards to Kadefh, the fouthern border of the land of Canaan, the people were again diftreffed for want of water, when they were relieved a fecond time by a ftream from a rock; and on this occafion it was that the improper conduct of Mofes and Aaron was the cause of their not being permitted to go over the river Jordan.

The country of the Edomites lying in their way, they afked leave, but were refufed, to pafs peaceably through it. They therefore made the whole circuit of their country, and came to the fouthern border of the Amorites, on the other fide of Jordan. But before this, having been attacked by Arad, one of the princes of the fouthern parts of Canaan, they vowed the destruc tion of his cities; and this was afterwards accomplished by Joshua. After this Aaron died, and was buried in Mount Hor, and was fucceeded in the office of high priest by his fon Eleazar.

In this going round all the land of Edom, the people being much diftreffed, murmured once more, and they were punished H 2

for

for it by fiery ferpents, but they were relieved, when, by the particular order of God, they only looked towards a brazen ferpent, which had been erected on a pole for that purpose. Thus the hand of God was confpicuous in their relief from this calamity, as well as on every other occafion.

The Ifraelites being now come to the borders of the Amorites, to the eaft of the river Jordan, they asked leave to pass peaceably through it; but being refused, and oppofed by force, they defeated them, and took poffeffion of their country. After this Og king of Bafhan coming in an hoftile manner against them, they defeated him also, and taking poffeffion of his country, they became mafters of a very large and fertile tract on the other fide of Jordan, bordering on the Moabites and Ammonites, the defcendants of Lot.

Here Balak king of Moab, being jealous of the Ifraelites, but not choosing to meet them in battle, hired Balaam a prophet to pronounce a curfe upon them, thinking that this would enfure their destruction.

But

But instead of this God was pleased to compel him to pronounce a bleffing.

In this transaction the Midianites joined the Moabites; and the Ifraelites, continuing fome time in their neighbourhood, were tempted to join in one of their religious feftivals, in which, as in various acts of the heathen religion, the people indulged themselves in the promiscuous commerce of the fexes. But by the zeal of Phinehas, the fon of Eleazar, a stop was put to this evil. For this infidious attempt of the Midianites to draw the Ifraelites into idolatry, war was ordered to be made upon them; the confequence of which was the total defeat of the Midianites, and the plundering, but not the taking poffeffion, of their country. In this battle Balaam the prophet alfo fell, and by the judgment of God every person concerned in any acts of idolatry along with the Midianites, which was the worship of Baal Peor, died before they came to the land of Canaan. This Mofes particularly obferved to them. Deut. iv. 3. Your eyes have feen what the Lord did becaufe of Baal Peor.

H 3

Peor. For all the men that followed Baat Peor, the Lord thy God hath deftroyed them from among you; but ye who did cleave to the Lord your God are alive, every one of you, this day.

In the last years of the life of Mofes he wrote the book of Deuteronomy, confifting of a recapitulation of the great events which have been recited, the moft earnest exhortations to the people to continue firm in their allegiance to the true God, foretelling their profperity in cafe of obedience, and the dreadful calamities that would overtake them (and they have all actually come to pafs) in cafe of their difobedience; and laftly in encouraging Jofhua, who fucceeded him in the general conduct of the people. After this, not being permitted to pass the river Jordan, he was indulged with a fight of the promised land from Mount Pifgah; and there, though in full vigour, he died, or was thought fo to do, But to me it seems not improbable, that, as he appeared together with Elijah, who was tranflated into heaven without dying, on the mountain on which our Saviour was transfigured,