3. =Individual Liberty.= They had just been set free from the tyranny of the most complete governmental machine on the face of the earth. In Egypt the man was nothing, the state was every thing. The Israelite system was an absolute contrast to the Egyptian. For four centuries after the Exodus the Israelites lived with almost no government, each man doing what was right in his own eyes. They were the freest people on earth, far more so than the Greeks or the Romans during their republican epochs. Moses trained them not to look to the government for their care, but to be a self-reliant people, able to take care of themselves. If they had passed this initial stage of their history surrounded by kingdoms they would have become a kingdom. But they learned their first lessons of national life in the wilderness, untrammeled by environment and under a wise leader, who sought to train up a nation of kings instead of a kingdom. 4. =Military Training.= We trace in the history of those forty years a great advance in military discipline. After crossing the Red Sea Moses did not care to lead them by the direct route to Canaan, lest they should "see war" (Exod. 13. 17, 18). Attacked by the Amalekites soon after the Exodus, the Israelites were almost helpless (Exod. 17. 8-16; Deut. 25. 17-19). A year later they were the easy prey of the Canaanites at Hormah (Num. 14. 40-45). Forty years after they crossed the Jordan and entered Canaan, a drilled and trained host, a conquering army. This discipline and spirit of conquest they gained under Moses and Joshua in the wilderness. 5. =Religious Education.= This was the greatest of all the benefits gained in the wilderness. They were brought back from the idolatries of Egypt to the faith of their fathers. They received God's law, the system of worship, and the ritual which brought them by its services into a knowledge of God. Moreover, their experience of God's care taught them to trust in Jehovah, who had chosen them for his own people. Even though the mass of the people might worship idols, there was always from this time an Israel of the heart that sought and obeyed God. Blackboard Outline. =I. Eve. le. Wan.= 1. Opp. Isr. 2. Tra. Mos. 1.) Bir. 2.) Edu. 3.) Cho. 4.) Tra. 5.) Cal. 3. Ten Pla. 1.) Bl. 2.) Fr. 3.) Li. 4.) Fl. 5.) Mur. 6.) Boi. 7.) Hai. 8.) Loc. 9.) Dar. 10.) Dea. fir. bo. 4. Pass. 5. Exod. =II. Wil. Wan.= 1. Seas. 1.) M. S. 2.) R. S. [G, S., G. A.] 3.) D. S. 2. Des. 1.) D. Sh. 2.) D. Par. 3.) D. Eth. 4.) D. Si. 5.) D. Zi. 3. Lan. 1.) Gos. 2.) Mid. 3.) Ed. 4.) Mo. 5.) Can. 4. Mts. 1.) Mt. Sin. 2.) Mt. H. 3.) Mt. Neb. 5. Pla. 1.) Ram. 2.) B.-zep. 3.) Mar. 4.) El. 5.) Rep. 6.) Kad.-bar 7.) Jah.