disease. The leper was to offer two sparrows with cedar wood, scarlet wool and hyssop. One of the sparrows was to be sacrificed in an earthen vessel over running waters. The other sparrow was to be dipped alive by the priest, with the cedar wood, the scarlet wool and the hyssop, in the blood of the sparrow that was killed; and the priest was to sprinkle the leper with the blood seven times, and then to let the live sparrow go, that it might fly into the field. Afterwards the garments of the leper were washed, and then, with other ceremonies and offerings, according to his rank and wealth, he was cleansed, and again admitted to the congregation.

The disease of leprosy is a figure of the state of the soul when it has fallen into mortal sin. We here see that God placed the remedy for leprosy in the hand, of Aaron and his sons, one of the conditions being that the leper should himself say that he was unclean, and should suffer himself to be brought to the priest. In the same way, the leprosy of sin is to be cleansed in the sacrament of penance, on the condition of a sincere confession being made and of an absolution being obtained from the priest who is the minister of the sacrament. The law of Moses contains also very many other interesting figures of the new and better covenant of Jesus Christ, if our space and time permitted us to study them all.

27. The Punishment of Blasphemy.

It happened in a quarrel between two Israelites, that one of them blasphemed the Holy Name of God

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and cursed it. He was seized and brought before Moses, who ordered him to be put in prison till he should know what the Lord should command. The Lord in reply spoke to Moses saying: "Bring forth the blasphemer without the camp, and let them that heard

him put their hands upon his head, and let all the people stone him; and speak to the children of Israel, The man that curseth his God shall bear his sin.' Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and they brought

forth him that had blasphemed without the camp, and they stoned him. Such was the severe law of Moses, showing the hatred of God for the sin of blasphemy. When his own people afterwards blasphemed and reviled the King of Kings in his own person upon the cross, he prayed for them, and said: "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do."

§ 28. The People quit Mount Sinai; further murmurings. Moses now commanded the people to march forward from Mount Sinai to the borders of the land of Canaan, the pillar of the cloud constantly going before them. The holy Tabernacle also was taken down and set up, in their various encampments; and whenever the ark was lifted up, Moses sang: "Arise, O Lord, and let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy face;" and when the ark was set down, he said: "Return, O Lord, to the multitude of the host of Israel."

Notwithstanding the continual presence of the Majesty of God over the holy sanctuary, notwithstanding the many miracles they had witnessed, the daily providence by which they were fed with manna, the terrible punishment of the sin of the Golden Calf, and their special covenant concluded with God and ratified with blood, such was still the degraded and servile temper of many among the people, that murmuring was always rife among them. First, they repined at the fatigue of their marching, and were punished by a fire from God. Next, they found fault with the manna, and said: "We remember the fish which we ate in

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Egypt, the cucumbers come into our mind, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. Our soul is dry, our eyes behold nothing but this manna." God heard their murmuring, and brought a miraculous flight of quails into the camp; but afterwards punished the gluttony of the people with a pestilence. Soon after this even Aaron and his sister, Mary, the prophetess, spoke publicly against Moses; God, however, rebuked them both, and Mary was punished by a leprosy that lasted seven days. Thus at length they came to Pharan, the southern border of the land of Canaan.

§ 29. The Spies bring back an evil report of the Land.

Moses here chose Josue and Caleb, and ten other men, one from each tribe, to go up and view the land, and to bring back a report of it. They went up as far as Hebron, and cutting off a branch with its cluster of grapes, which two men carried upon a pole, together with specimens of the pomegranates and figs, they came back to the camp, after an absence of forty days. Moses and Aaron now assembled the congregation, who were desirous to hear their report. The messengers then came forward to speak to the multitude,

(1.) St. Paul draws the very particular attention of all Christians to the events of the history about to follow. "I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers all passed through the sea," &c. "But with most of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the desert. Now these things were done in a figure of us, that we should not covet evil things, as they also coveted. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted, and perished by serpents. Neither do you murmur, as some of them murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them in figure, and they are written for our instruction upon whom the ends of the world are come." (I. Cor., x., 6, 11.)

and showed them the fruits of the land, saying: "The land into which thou sentest us floweth indeed with milk and honey, as may be seen by these fruits: but

it hath very strong inhabitants, and the cities are great and walled." And they spoke ill of the land which they had viewed, saying: "The land devoureth its inhabitants: we saw certain monsters of the giant