"These were the divisions of the children of Israel by their hosts:and they set forward.

And Moses said unto Hobab the son of Reuel, the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, We are journeying unto the place of which Jehovah hath said, I will give it unto you:come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for Jehovah hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go, but I will depart to mine own land and to my kindred. And he said, Leave us not, 1 pray thee, because thou knowest that we encamp in the wilderness; and thou shalt be eyes for us. And it shall be, if thou come with us, that whatever good Jehovah doeth unto us, the same will we do unto thee."

The hosts of Israel start in good order, at the commandment of the Lord, and His presence with them, every tribe filling its place. So with the church; it had its Pentecost-too brief, and never to return on earth; but only the faint image of what shall be, when He who is last Adam shall present her to Himself "a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing."

At the very beginning, however, there is a portent of the future, and failure in him to whom the people have been committed. Constantly we see failure at the very beginning; and that, even, with those in places of fullest responsibility, and upon whom, under God, all seems to depend. So Noah failed after the flood. The priesthood failed on the day of its installation, when two sons of Aaron offered "strange fire which Jehovah had not commanded," and perished for their temerity. Scripture re cords these things that we may learn from them the needful lesson, that no man, be he who he may, can we trust implicitly, or blindly follow. Leaders there must be, and confidence ought to be given them, but with the reservation always that we follow them as they follow Christ. The sins of the most godly, the errors of the wisest, are in their consequences to be dreaded more than the greater follies and sins of lesser men; our weak idolatry of those through whom God may have ministered to us largest blessing, is ever productive of disastrous results. "Esteem them very highly in love for their works' sake" is the Scripture rule, and "whose faith follow."

Israel were going under the guiding care of Jehovah. The first of all duties was that of implicit confidence in Him; yet Moses turns to a child of the wilderness, that, with the competence derived from natural acquirements, he may be to them "instead of eyes."

Commentators explain this as quite consistent; and followers of "higher critics" see in it a sign of contradictory documents, which, if we will allow them, they will settle with the scissors. In truth, there is a contradiction; but the fault is not in Scripture, but in man, who so easily forgets his resource in God. It is easy to see influences at work in Moses' natural link with the Midianite chief. Easy too it is to cover it with fair names, for "Hobab" means "lover," and he is the son of Reuel, "the friend of God." How often human piety and friendship come in as arguments with us in the wrong place!

All this evidently illustrates the danger of which we are speaking in connection with "guides." The Midianite, the "man of strife," may well remind us of the fierce controversialism of so many who assume to be guides . Controversy is often needed, but one characterized by a spirit of this sort is no fit leader for the people of God.

"And they departed from the mount of Jehovah three days' journey; and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah went before them in the three days' journey to seek out for them a place of rest. And the cloud of Jehovah was over them hy day, when they went out of the camp."

Accordingly we never see Hobab in such a place at all. On the contrary, the divine comment on Moses' request is found in the ark moving out of its usual place in the midst of the camp, and going at their head:"And the ark of the covenant went before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting-place for them." Thus the Lord vindicates Himself from the reproach which the unbelief of His people would cast upon Him. He is the actual, the only and all-sufficient Leader, the Shepherd of Israel, whose eyes are never weary, whose heart is never at fault, "who never slumbereth nor sleepeth. "

"And it was so, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Arise, Jehovah, and let thine enemies be scattered, and those that hate Thee flee before thy face! And when it rested, he said, Return, Jehovah, unto the many thousands of Israel."

How thoroughly God identifies Himself with His people is seen in the prayer which Moses, as taught of God, utters as the ark sets forward. The enemies that he anticipates are now but Jehovah's enemies, and they scatter as He advances. And when it rests, and the cloud settles down once more, then His face is turned with satisfaction toward His own, who in that sheltering cloud-canopy recognize the brooding wings under which they may rest securely, and not a note even of alarm find how to penetrate.

Extract from Num. Bible