Journey Around Edom
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cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Angels had ministered to
them as they climbed the rocky heights or threaded the rugged paths
of the wilderness. Notwithstanding the hardships they had endured,
there was not a feeble one in all their ranks. Their feet had not swollen
in their long journeys, neither had their clothes grown old. God had
subdued before them the fierce beasts of prey and the venomous rep-
tiles of the forest and the desert. If with all these tokens of His love
the people still continued to complain, the Lord would withdraw His
protection until they should be led to appreciate His merciful care, and
return to Him with repentance and humiliation.
Because they had been shielded by divine power they had not real-
ized the countless dangers by which they were continually surrounded.
In their ingratitude and unbelief they had anticipated death, and now
the Lord permitted death to come upon them. The poisonous serpents
that infested the wilderness were called fiery serpents, on account
of the terrible effects produced by their sting, it causing violent in-
flammation and speedy death. As the protecting hand of God was
removed from Israel, great numbers of the people were attacked by
these venomous creatures.
Now there was terror and confusion throughout the encampment.
In almost every tent were the dying or the dead. None were secure.
Often the silence of night was broken by piercing cries that told of
fresh victims. All were busy in ministering to the sufferers, or with
agonizing care endeavoring to protect those who were not yet stricken.
No murmuring now escaped their lips. When compared with the
present suffering, their former difficulties and trials seemed unworthy
of a thought.
The people now humbled themselves before God. They came to
Moses with their confessions and entreaties. “We have sinned,” they
said, “for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee.” Only
a little before, they had accused him of being their worst enemy, the
cause of all their distress and afflictions. But even when the words were
upon their lips, they knew that the charge was false; and as soon as
real trouble came they fled to him as the only one who could intercede
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with God for them. “Pray unto the Lord,” was their cry, “that He take
away the serpents from us.”
Moses was divinely commanded to make a serpent of brass resem-
bling the living ones, and to elevate it among the people. To this, all