Yet it was almost with reluctance that many left the place where they had so long encamped. They had come almost to regard it as their home. Within the shelter of those granite walls 377 God had gathered His people, apart from all other nations, to repeat to them His holy law. They loved to look upon the sacred mount, on whose hoary peaks and barren ridges the divine glory had so often been displayed. The scene was so closely associated with the presence of God and holy angels that it seemed too sacred to be left thoughtlessly, or even gladly.

Og dog var mange af dem ligefrem uvillige til at forlade det sted, hvor de havde haft deres lejr så længe. De var næsten kommet til at betragte dette sted som deres hjem. I ly af disse granitmure havde Gud samlet sit folk, borte fra alle andre folk, for at gentage sin hellige lov for dem. De elskede at se på det hellige bjerg, over hvis ældgamle toppe og nøgne kløfter Guds herlighed så ofte havde vist sig. Dette landskab var så nøje forbundet med Guds og hellige engles nærværelse, at folket følte, at det var for helligt til at forlades uden videre, og det var ikke med glæde, at de rejste derfra.