“And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the Lord hath commanded, that ye should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.[128] Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day.”[129] The chief feature of interest in this text relates to the prohibition of fires on the Sabbath. As this is the only prohibition of the kind in the Bible, and as it is often urged as a reason why the Sabbath should not be kept, a brief examination of the difficulty will not be out of place. It should be observed, 1. That this language does not form part of the fourth commandment, the grand law of the Sabbath. 2. That as there were laws pertaining to the Sabbath, that were no part of the Sabbatic institution, but that grew out of its being intrusted to the Hebrews, such as the law respecting the presentation of the shew-bread on the Sabbath; and that respecting the burnt-offering for the Sabbath:[130] so it is at least possible that this is a precept pertaining only to that nation, and not a part of the original institution. 3. That as there were laws peculiar only to the Hebrews, so there were many that pertained to them only while they were in the wilderness. Such were all those precepts that related to the manna, the building of the tabernacle and the setting of it up, the manner of encamping about it, &c. 4. That of this class were all the statutes given from the time that Moses brought down the second tables of stone until the close of the book of Exodus, unless the words under consideration form an exception. 5. That the prohibition of fires was a law of this class, _i. e._, a law designed only for the wilderness, is evident from several decisive facts. 1. That the land of Palestine during a part of the year is so cold that fires are necessary to prevent suffering.[131] 2. That the Sabbath was not designed to be a cause of distress and suffering, but of refreshment, of delight, and of blessing.[132] 3. That in the wilderness of Sinai, where this precept respecting fires on the Sabbath was given, it was not a cause of suffering, as they were two hundred miles south of Jerusalem, in the warm climate of Arabia. 4. That this precept was of a temporary character, is further implied in that while other laws are said to be perpetual statutes and precepts to be kept after they should enter the land,[133] no hint of this kind here appears. On the contrary, this seems to be similar in character to the precept respecting the manna,[134] and to be co-existent with, and adapted to, it.