away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them manded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast com358 DEUTERONOMY XXVI—THE PRAYER OF THANKS Chapter 26 ND it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the it, and dwellest therein; 3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us. 4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God. 5 And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: 6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: 7 And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: & And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. 9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: 11 And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. 12 | When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; 13 Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought The Brazen Serpent BY FEODOR A. BRUNI, A RUSSIAN ARTIST, RECTOR + And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.”— Num., 21, 8. A NEW task was now set upon Moses. As the Israelites approached inhabited lands he had to become a statesman, a negotiator with nations and kings to be allowed to pass in peace through their territory. The king of Edom refused, with some show of justice, to have this great horde of people cross his lands. Arad, the Canaanite, went so far as to attack them, and take many prisoners. At that Israel turned upon him, and "utterly destroyed" his kingdom. Yet with Edom Moses would not fight, because the Edomites were supposed to be descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother. Hence the people had to march all around the country of Edom; whereas, their first victory having given them confidence, they were now eager to advance by the shortest road, fighting their way into Palestine. Again they protested against the long days of marching; again they "spake against God." This time fiery serpents were sent among them, appearing everywhere, as though raining down from the clouds. Many of the unfortunate people died of the stings. They cried to Moses for mercy, and God bade him set up a serpent of brass in the centre of the camp. Each wounded person who looked on it was saved. |