Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

stiff-necked people." And God commanded, "Take off your
ornaments, that I may know what to do to you." In penitence and
humiliation, "the children of Israel stripped themselves of their
ornaments by Mount Horeb."
By divine command, the tent that had served as a temporary
place of worship was taken "far from the camp." This was further
evidence that God had withdrawn His presence from them. The
people felt the rebuke keenly, and to the conscience-stricken
multitudes it seemed to predict greater calamity.
But they were not left without hope. The tent was pitched
outside the camp, but Moses called it "the tabernacle of meeting."
All who were truly repentant and wanted to return to the Lord were
told to go there to confess their sins and seek His mercy. When they
returned to their tents, Moses entered the tabernacle. The people
watched for some sign that his intercessions for them were accepted.
When the cloudy pillar came down and stood at the entrance of the
tabernacle, the people wept for joy, and they "rose and worshiped,
each man in his tent door."
Help From God, a Necessity
Moses had learned that in order to lead the people successfully,
he must have help from God. He pleaded for an assurance of God's
presence: "Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your
sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may
find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your
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