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And every month, and every week, and eachOf various appointed feasts should callFor special service, and continuallyFrom day to day should offerings be made.And, as each individual should bringHis voluntary private offering,That he might be accepted before God,Should Aaron or his sons officiate;And every Levite should be theirs to serve.
But ah! alas! alas! so soon! so soon!Even in this holy service sin appears;For those two eldest consecrated sons—Nadab, Abihu (who on SinaiHad in His brighter glory seen their God)—Lightly regarded His express command,Offered strange fire before Him and transgressed,And in a moment were devoured by fire,Aaron the while forbid to show a signOf the deep grief that stirred within his heartFor their rebellion and his own sad loss.
And then, ere long, Aaron himself had joinedHis sister in rebellious thought and wordOf that long-suffering brother, on whom fellThe heaviest weight of all the sin and woeThat Israel knew in those distressful years.And he had seen the Lord come down in wrathUnto the tabernacle door, and callHimself and Miriam, that they might seeHis vindication of His faithful one.Miriam was smitten there with leprosy,And they must needs bewail their foolishness,And beg of Moses to entreat the LordFor healing,—and again his prayer was heard.
Then, drawing nigh to Canaan, at God's wordThey chose from every tribe a noted manTo search the land they hoped so soon to gain:And these returned with wavering report,Bringing rich token of abundant wealth,
