felt themselves bound to Jehovah by special ties of gratitude, and
more and more came to consider the worship of any other god, by a
Hebrew as base disloyalty. So the Exodus, and the experiences at
Sinai, pointed the way, at least, toward monotheism.

=Justice.=--Of great importance also was the influence of these
experiences on their ideas of right and wrong, and their conception of
the character of Jehovah. Because they as a nation had been enslaved
they were the better able to sympathize with the oppressed and
down-trodden. "Remember," their prophets could always say, "that _ye_
were slaves in the land of Egypt." And when, in after years, they were
unjust in their dealings with foreigners living among them, they were
reminded that "Ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."

These ideals were reflected in their conception of their God. Many of
their notions about him were crude and unworthy, even late in their
history. This was natural and inevitable in the light of the times in
which they lived. But in these Egyptian and desert experiences we see
a notable beginning of nobler religious ideals. From this time on they
were impelled to think of Jehovah, first of all as the God who had
brought them up out of the land of Egypt, and who had taken their
part, humble shepherds as they were, against the mighty Pharaoh, the
king of Egypt. To that extent, at least, their God was a God of
justice and mercy. Other ideas, which were inconsistent with this,
continued for a time, but gradually fell away, until at length great
seers arose who proclaimed that God is nothing else than justice and
mercy; righteousness is the essence of his character, and that is all
he asks of men.

"Righteousness and justice are the foundation of thy throne."