Page:On the Desert - Recent Events in Egypt.djvu/142

 breath of the Almighty, "I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." In all their wanderings He was their Leader. The symbol of His presence went before them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

By keeping in mind this peculiar relation of the Divine Ruler to the state, we may understand the whole constitution of the Hebrew Commonwealth. The government was not a monarchy, but a theocracy. They had no King but God: He was the only Lord. As such, no act of disobedience or disrespect to His authority, could be light or small. The most extreme instance of a punishment disproportioned to the offence, is that in which a man was stoned for gathering sticks on the Sabbath day! This may be said to be the pet case of the critics who sit in judgment upon Moses, and they do not fail to make the most of it: "What an exaggerated importance is here given to a petty offence, and how inexorable must have been the law which punished such a trifle with death!" And yet, strange to say, the story is told in perfect frankness and simplicity, with no attempt at concealment or disguise, as if the act needed any explanation or apology. Turning to the narrative, we find that this is a solitary instance — that it stands alone; there is not another like it in all the Jewish history. Wherefore it was probably attended with unknown aggravations. Acts trivial in themselves sometimes derive importance from the circumstances in which they are committed. This may have been done publicly and purposely, as an affront to the Divine Majesty; as an open defiance of Him who had ordained the Sabbath as a day of rest, to be kept sacred and inviolable; and so it may have been punished as a wanton contempt of authority. Trifling as it seemed, it was a violation of an express command lately given, and a wilful offence which could not be passed over.