The plains of Moab, with the territories of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, were now entirely subdued by the Israelites, and were to form a part of their future possessions. The district was fertile, and rich in pasturage for cattle: and the, tribes of Reuben and Gad desired to have it for their portion; as they were shepherds, and had numerous flocks. and herds. Moses gave them the land, on condition that they passed over Jordan with the other tribes, and aided them in conquering their portions. Moses commanded them to repair the cities, and establish in them their families, and the old men not capable of bearing arms, leaving only a sufficient guard for their protection, which was accordingly done. Besides these tribes, a part of the half tribe of Manasseh had also a portion of the country east of Jordan: their territory lay to the north from the sources of that river to the southern extremity of the sea of Tiberias. Next came the tribe of Gad, and farther south, the tribe of Reuben, whose country was on the borders of Moab, from which it was separated by the river Arnon. These are frequently called the Tribes Beyond Jordan.

CHAPTER XVIII.

MOSES EXHORTS THE PEOPLE,

AND APPOINTS JOSHUA TO BE HIS SUCCESSOR.

MOSES DIES.

THE long expected time was now arrived, when the children of Israel were to enter the Land of Promise. But, before they crossed the river Jordan, which flowed between them and Canaan, their leader and lawgiver was to die. We can scarcely conceive a greater trial of faith and resignation; yet even here let us gratefully acknowledge the mercy of God, who tempered the trial to the age and character of his servant. Though Moses must have ardently desired to see the Land of Promise, and to establish in it the people he had led from bondage to its borders,yet before the peaceful settlement of the Israelites the sins of the Canaanites were to be fearfully punished, as a warning to the nations of the world; and years of toil, warfare, and conquest were to precede their expulsion from the land. For this purpose, a warlike leader, not a peaceful lawgiver, was better suited; and however we may at first view mourn for the death of Moses on the eve of accomplishing his great enterprise, we cannot but own his chastisement was a blessing in disguise, and that his departure could not, at any future time, have been so happy for himself, or so justly fitted to the wants and circum

stances of the Israelites. Whatever were the feelings of Moses, he submitted without a murmur to the divine will: he neither repined, nor uttered a complaint; but, fully acknowledging the justice of God, and relying with unshaken faith upon His mercy and compassion, he resigned himself to His holy will and prepared to deliver up his charge.

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The Israelites assembled to hear the final exhortation of their great deliverer. In the presence of all the people, Moses recapitulated the history of the departure of their fathers out of Egypt, their receiving the law from Mount Sinai, their crossing the desert to Kadesh Barnea, their repeated rebellions, - their wanderings and death in the wilderness,-and the safe arrival of the present generation on the borders of the land, promised to Abraham more than four hundred years before. He showed them how every instance of disobedience had been followed by severe and immediate punishment; and he solemnly declared, in the name of the LORD their God, that, if they disobeyed Him, as their fathers had done, punishment as severe, and as certain, would fall upon them. These punishments were expressly named: famine, the pestilence, and the sword of their enemies, should consume them, if they ceased to obey the statutes and ordinances given them at Mount Sinai, and turned away to idolatry, and the worship of the false gods of the surrounding nations. If, on the contrary, they obeyed the voice of the LORD their

God, and kept themselves free from the idolatrous practices of other nations, then they were to possess for ever the land of Canaan in peace, and enjoy the highest possible state of prosperity.

“And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments, which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul; That I will give you the rain of your land in due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn and thy wine, and thy oil. And I will send grass in thy field for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full."

"Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods and worship them; and then the LORD'S wrath will be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly off the good land which the LORD giveth you."

“Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates;

that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD swear unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth."

The Almighty had chosen out the Hebrew nation to keep alive in the world the knowledge of Himself, of his holiness, justice, mercy, and truth. The sin of idolatry, was, therefore, the greatest sin they could commit; and this sin was to be invariably visited with heavy and grievous punishment. Idolatry also implied many other sins; since, as we before stated, the idol-worship of the Canaanitish nations was extremely impure and cruel. This should be carefully kept in mind, when reading the history of the Hebrew people.

Moses promised the Israelites a certain conquest of the nations in Canaan, strong and powerful as they were: but he warned them not to think that the land of Canaan was given them on account of their own righteousness; for, on the contrary, they were "a stiff necked people," and had been rebellious against the LORD. It was not for their righteousness, but for the wickedness of the Canaanites, that they were driven out before them.

The Seven Nations whom the Israelites were commanded to destroy utterly, were distinctly named; they were the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, and Gergasites: these, for the greatness of their crimes, were to be *Deut. xi. 13-21.