tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4931784878365794092024-03-05T05:37:03.212-08:00Fundamentals of Dispensational Truthdwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-58800982311780811312015-02-17T20:00:00.001-08:002015-02-17T20:03:14.652-08:00#90. Concluding features (Numbers xxvi. - xxxvi.).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We have now considered the teaching of the
Book of Numbers up to the end of chapter
xxv. From this point to the end of the Book, we
have eleven more chapters. Had our
intention in this series been a study of each book as it stands, we should have
dealt next with the structures and analysis of the remaining chapters. This work had been partly done, but upon
weighing the matter over, and considering the teaching of these remaining chapters
in the light of the title, “<i>Fundamentals of dispensational truth</i>”, we
have decided to replace this detailed study by the briefest of summaries. So much of the ground is retraced in these
chapters <span style="color: #f79646;">of Numbers</span>, the new matter being
largely connected with the re-adjustment of the people in view of the entry
into the land, and the summary will be sufficient to lead on to the study of
the fifth book of Moses, that of Deuteronomy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Numbers xxvi. is occupied with the numbering of the
people. This is the third census. The three occasions on which a census was
taken are as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 63.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(1)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Before the
building of the tabernacle (Exod. xxx.
11; xxxviii. 25). This provided silver for the work of the
tabernacle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 63.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(2)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">At the opening of
the Book of Numbers, in the wilderness of Sinai (Numbers i.).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 63.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(3)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The third
numbering is recorded here in Numbers
xxvi. The record is followed by this
solemn comment:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt 1in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “These
are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the
children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. But among these was not a man whom Moses and
Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the
wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had
said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them save
Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun” (Numb. xxvi. 63-65).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Even Moses is not spared. He, too, must suffer loss, because of his
failure to sanctify the Lord at Meribah:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And the Lord said unto Moses, Get thee up
into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children
of Israel. And when thou hast seen it,
thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was
gathered. For ye rebelled against My
commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to
sanctify Me at the water before their eyes” (Numb. xxvii. 12-14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> With these solemn words we may compare the
witness of the apostle Paul:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified . . . . . All
our fathers were under the cloud . . . . . all . . . . . all . . . . . all . .
. . . all, but with many of them God was not well pleased . . . . . Let him
that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall” (I Cor. ix. 24 - x. 12).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any
of you an evil heart of unbelief . . . . . So we see that they could not enter
in because of unbelief. Let us therefore
fear, lest, a promise being left us . . . . . any of you should seem to come
short of it” (Heb. iii. 7 - iv. 1).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “This one thing I do, forgetting . . . . .
reaching forth . . . . . I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. iii. 13, 14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> As we read these words, who among us would
have the temerity to say that we are sure that that crown and prize are
ours? We do not, of course, mean to cast
the slightest doubt upon the absolutely perfect and inalienable position that every
believer occupies in grace. The passage
in view is not dealing with position in grace, but with service, running a
race, fighting a good fight, finishing a course. There is as much difference between these two
things as between the rock foundation once laid, and the subsequent erection
built upon it that shall be tried by fire (I Corinthian iii.). When we are dealing with Israel in the Book
of Numbers, we must remember that they are a redeemed people. Redemption had delivered them from the
bondage of Egypt, and the Red Sea flowed between them. Moses himself was a saved man; yet he “suffered loss”. The reader would be helped in his study if he
were to read Psalm.xc.&xci., noticing that
Psalm xc. speaks of those whose
carcases fell in the wilderness, while
Psalm xci. speaks of those who,
being under twenty years of age, were preserved for those forty years, and led
into the land under Joshua.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> A beautiful spirit is manifested in the
reply of Moses in Numbers xxvii. to the sentence of death. He makes no complaint, he offers no
excuses; he bows before the Lord, but
asks that a successor shall be appointed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Numbers xxvii. deals with the request of the daughters of
Zelophedad, and the Lord’s answer. The
latter, together with the further enactment given in the last chapter of
Numbers, has to do with the law of the kinsman-redeemer, an important principle
which underlies the beautiful account in the book of Ruth and the teaching of
Scripture in connection with the Redeemer Himself (<i>See </i>the series on “<i>Redemption</i>”, volume XII, p.109). Chapters xxviii. & xxix. restate the law regarding various offerings
and feasts. This was necessary for the
guidance of the people about to enter the land, but does not demand a detailed
study here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
Chapter xxx. is devoted to the
question of vows: their fulfillment and
their cancellation. A special place is
given to the woman in the matter. Her
vow can be rendered void either by her father, if she be unmarried, or by her
husband, if she be married. The words,
“He shall bear her iniquity” (xxx. 15) give us a faint picture of the
relationship between Christ and His people.
Moreover, the passage throws light upon the true status of women. It is introduced by the words: “This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded”. A word here may perhaps be in season when the
tendency of the times, even among the Lord’s people, is to throw over the
restraints of Scripture in the interests of a false “liberty” and “equality”. The treatment of the daughters of Zelophedad,
taken together with this chapter, would help to give a balanced judgment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In
Numbers xxxi. Moses is commanded
to avenge the children of Israel upon the Midianites. This is the last command laid upon
Moses: “afterward shalt thou be gathered
unto thy people”. Midian is
defeated. Balaam is slain. The spoils of war are purified with fire and
the water of separation. A great
difference is made between the levy imposed upon those who actually went out to
the battle, and the remainder of the congregation who stayed at home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The prey taken was of three kinds: persons (verses 12, 18, 35), beasts (verses 32-34)
and money & goods (22 & 50). These were divided among the congregation and
the army. In this we have an
anticipation of David’s ruling concerning “his part . . . . . that tarrieth by
the stuff” (I Sam. xxx. 24). On the
other hand there is due recognition of the active part played by the soldier,
whose levy was “one soul of five hundred” whilst that of the congregation was
“one portion of fifty” (Numb. xxxi. 27-30).
At the close of this levy, a census was taken of the warriors, which
revealed the fact that there “lacked not one” of them. Moved with gratitude, they bring an oblation,
to make an atonement for their souls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Chapter xxxii. is mainly concerned with the request of
Reuben and Gad, that their inheritance should be allotted to them in the land
of Gilead because “the place was a place for cattle”. They requested that they should not be
brought “over Jordan” (xxxii. 1-5).
Their request was granted, upon condition that they sent their quota to
war, until Israel had entered into their own possessions. There is an important lesson here, which we
shall probably consider in our study of the Book of Joshua and its typical
teaching. We may anticipate, however,
without going into detail:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> (1) It was the possession of cattle, not the
glory of the Lord, or the following of His will, that influenced Reuben and
Gad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> (2) It was an attempt to reverse God’s order — which
was the conquest of Canaan first, and then the spreading out to occupy the land
“from sea to sea”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> (3) The gaining of their request meant that many
never returned to wife and children or inheritance. And when Israel began to be taken into captivity,
they were among the first to go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is “natural” to shirk the crossing of
Jordan, but it is foreign to the teaching of Scripture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Chapter xxxiii. is occupied with a record of the journeys of
Israel. The word “journeys” in verse one
is, in the Hebrew, “pullings up”, and has reference to the tent pegs. The whole is a record of pilgrimage, and a
remainder of the way in which the Lord had led the people, suffering their
ways, providing food and raiment, and eventually leading them into the land of
promise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Chapter xxxiv. fixes the bounds of the inheritance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Chapter xxxv. provides for the tribe of Levi forty-eight
cities, of which six are reserved as cities of refuge for the man-slayer
(verses 1-6). Three of these cities were
in the land of Canaan, and three on the other side of Jordan (14). The avenger of blood is the
kinsman-redeemer; and this chapter,
together with those that deal with the problem of the daughters of Zelophedad,
provided a twofold aspect of the work of the Redeemer, corresponding to the two
words, “destroy” and “deliver” in Hebrews
ii. 14, 15.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> From another angle, the avenger of blood
may be regarded as symbolizing the law, from whom the man-slayer was not freed
until the death of the High Priest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Chapter xxxvi. brings this book to a close with the added
statement already considered regarding the case of the inheritance passing to
the daughter of a family. Marriage
within the tribe is the only restriction;
freedom of choice is allowed within these limits. This may well be taken as an illustration of
the vexed question of the freedom of choice among moral agents. Man must of necessity be free; otherwise he ceases to be either moral or
responsible. His freedom, however, is
not absolute but relative; for God’s
will shall with certainty be accomplished.
Freedom of choice is not permitted to spoil the inheritance or ourselves
or of others, for this inheritance has much to do with the great purpose of the
ages. We ask the reader to observe that
we use the words, “freedom of <i>choice</i>” and not “freedom of <i>will</i>’. Who among us can say “I will” and not feel
how much he is bound by circumstances?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> With this survey we conclude our study of
the book of pilgrimage; and look forward
with interest to the restatement which is contained in the book of Deuteronomy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-36991927782837543772015-02-17T19:52:00.000-08:002015-02-17T19:58:08.786-08:00#89. Numbers xxii. - xxv. Balaam and Baal-Peor.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Throughout the unfolding of the purpose of
the ages — whether the whole sweep of that purpose, as visualized from Genesis i.
to Revelation xxii., whether man himself, from Paradise lost to
Paradise regained, whether Israel, or the Church, or even the individual life
of the believer throughout all times and under all dispensations — Scripture
apprizes us of a series of Satanic attacks, carried out along lines parallel
with that purpose, including, prominently, an attack upon the exclusive worship
of God, and a seduction from the path of moral purity. These attacks are not confined to the
beginning of any new dispensation, but are repeated, with undiminished force,
at their close. Rebellion began in
heaven and war will again take place in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting
against the Dragon and his angels. That
old Serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, who deceived our first parents when
placed in the garden of Eden, will deceive the nations once again, just before
the garden is restored at the last.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Coming closer to our subject, Israel had
been delivered out of Egypt but five months when we find them ensnared in the
matter of the golden calf and its immoral "play", for they made
themselves naked (Exod. xxxii. 1-6, 25).
This terrible breaking of the covenant of Sinai was visited by a
judgment executed by the sons of Levi.
And now, as we are about to read the account of the closing attack upon
Israel, just as they are to cross the Jordan, we find again, in the matter of
Baal-Peor, the same idolatry and immorality, followed by vengeance executed by
the javelin of Phinehas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The book of the Revelation reveals a
similar attack at the time of the end, “that woman Jezebel” teaching the same
double evil in the church in Thyatira (Rev. ii. 20). Before the dreadful fall of Israel in the
matter of Baal-Peor, much is recorded concerning Balaam himself, and
considerable space is devoted to his unwilling inspiration and utterance of the
prophetic parables.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Three battles are recorded: against
Irad the Canaanite, Sihon, king
of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, but these sanguinary fights are disposed of
in a few verses. The record of the final
attack under Balaam, however, occupies more than one hundred verses. Moreover, the N.T. refers to Balaam three
times, and makes allusion to two points in the story recorded in Numbers:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Which have forsaken the right way, and
are gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the
wages of unrighteousness, but was rebuked for his iniquity; the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad
the madness of the prophet” (II Pet. ii. 15, 16).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and
ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the
gainsaying of Korah” (Jude11).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “But I have a few things against thee,
because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak
to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things
sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication.
So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which
thing I hate” (Rev. ii. 14, 15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> A reference is made to this period in I Cor. x. 8:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Neither let us commit fornication, as
some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Two references are made to Baal-Peor
outside the books of Moses:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They joined themselves also unto
Baal-Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead” (Psa. cvi. 28).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They went to Baal-Peor and separated (<i>nazar</i>,
as Numb.vi.7) themselves unto that shame;
and their abominations were according as they loved” (Hos. ix. 10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> As a detailed examination of the whole of
the narrative is beyond our limits, these references will enable us to
appreciate the features that require consideration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Just as Balaam comes upon the scene at the
very end of Israel’s period of wandering, and just before they cross over into
the promised land, so these N.T. Scriptures which refer to Balaam, are
Scriptures that deal with the last days, viz.,
II Peter, Jude and
Revelation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> II Peter
is occupied with prophecy, both false and true, revolving around the
second coming of the Lord. Chapter
ii. is taken up with the question of
false prophets, and the ungodly of ancient times. The angels that sinned, the old world in the
days of Noah, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, are examples cited of the
ungodliness yet to come. Even a passing
acquaintance with the Scriptures that deal with these three subjects will
indicate the awful uncleanness associated with them, and this is immediately
taken up by the apostle (ii. 10-14), and is followed by the reference to
Balaam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Jude follows very closely the same lines
as II Peter ii. He, too, introduces three ancient examples
of ungodliness: Israel, the angels,
and Sodom & Gomorrah, and, again, terrible uncleanness is
indicated (Jude 7, 8). These three
classes are balanced in the epistle by three evil individuals: Cain,
Balaam & Korah,
and throw light upon the character of the last days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The book of the Revelation also speaks of
the last days, and again we read of Balaam.
This time a special doctrine is associated with his name, and also with
Nicolaitanes. Now, inasmuch as both <i>Balaam
</i>and <i>Nicolaitan </i>have the same meaning, namely, the overcoming of the
people, we see that Satan will once more introduce his unclean doctrines at the
time of the end to ensnare the people of God.
Balaam’s doctrine was taught at Pergamos — “where Satan’s throne
is.” Balaam stands before us as the
great typical false prophet: he sins
against light and knowledge and is
overcome of greed: He was in league with
the forces of evil, as may be seen by the references to enchantments (Numbers xxiii. 23; xxiv. 1
and falling into a trance, xxiv.
4). Four times does Balaam utter in parable form
the words that God put into his mouth.
Balak takes Balaam to view Israel from three different heights, but no
loophole can be found for the curse to fall upon them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Balaam’s four parables represent four
aspects of the perfect standing of every true child of God. Under the first covenant Israel had
undertaken to inherit the position of a kingdom of Priests by their obedience,
saying: “All that the Lord hath spoke we
will do” (Exodus.xix.3-8), and as a part of their preparation for the
confirmation of this covenant Moses was to:
“sanctify them to-day and to-morrow
and let them wash their clothes
and be ready against the third day” (Exod.xix.10,11). Alas, we know too well that Israel utterly
failed, and the Lord, in grace, set aside that covenant and introduced another,
a better covenant, established by better promises, resting upon an infinitely
better Sacrifice, and in the hand of a better Mediator.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> When Israel do, eventually, enter into
their blessed inheritance, it will not be by their own obedience, neither will
they be able to “wash their clothes and be ready against the third day”. The book of the Revelation gives the new and
better state:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us
from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and
His Father” (Rev. i. 5, 6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “These are they which have come out of
greater tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the
blood of the lamb” (Rev. vii. 14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Thou hast redeemed to God by Thy blood out of
every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made them unto our
God kings and priests: and they shall
reign over the earth” (Rev. v. 9, 10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The first of Balaam’s parables emphasizes
the believer’s separation unto God:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and
shall not be reckoned among the nations” (Numb. xxiii. 9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This is the basic truth concerning
Israel. The second parable emphasizes
the perfect acceptance of every child of God:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “He hath
not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel”
(Numb. xxiii. 21).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Yet on both sides of this parable of
Balaam we have the record of Israel’s terrible failure. The apparent contradiction is, however,
removed when we remember that Balaam speaks of their <i>standing</i>, whereas
Moses speaks of their <i>state</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The two parables that follow emphasize the
glory and the victory of the people “in the latter days” (Numb. xxiv. 14). “His kingdom shall be exalted” (Numb. xxiv.
7), and Balaam plainly prophecies that this exaltation is associated with the
Messiah:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and
a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. Out
of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion” (Numb.xxiv.17,19).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Before ending the prophetic utterances,
Balaam speaks of the end of the Amalekites, the Kenites and the Assyrians. Ships shall come from the coast of Shittim,
and afflict both the Assyrian and the Hebrew,
and then he also (that sent the
ships) shall perish for ever. Daniel, in
xi. 30 of his book, speaks of
these “ships of Chittim”, and makes it clear that they come against the Beast
of the Apocalypse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Here, then, we have a false prophet, who
sets out, at the bidding of a king, to curse Israel, uttering such truths as
demand nothing less than the inspiration of God as their origin. Balaam realized his helplessness in the
matter, saying to Balak:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Have i now any power at all to say
anything? The word that God putteth in
my mouth, that shall i speak” (Numb.xxii.38).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Must
i not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?” (Numb.
xxiii. 12).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “If Balak would give me his house full of
silver and gold, i cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either
good or bad of mine own mind: but what
the Lord saith, that will i speak” (Numb. xxiv. 13).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw
Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him” (Numb.
xxiv. 2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is therefore apparent that Balaam’s
utterances had no relation to his own heart, or his own moral character. He, himself, was wicked, unrepentant, and in
league with Satanic powers, yet God
could so come upon him that he was
powerless to resist being made a mouthpiece of the Almighty. If wicked Balaam and wicked Caiaphas can
utter prophetic truth by the mighty constraint of the Spirit of God, how much more may we believe that “holy men
of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Pet. i. 21)?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is sad to leave this high standpoint of
the blessed <i>standing </i>of the elect of God, for the narrative of their
terrible <i>state </i>which follows in
Numbers xxv. Balaam’s intended
curses were rendered impossible, but Balaam’s subtle doctrine ensnared the
people of God:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And Israel abode in Shittim, and the
people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the
sacrifices of their gods: and the people
did eat, and bowed down to their gods, and Israel joined himself unto
Baal-Peor” (Numb. xxv. 1-3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> No censer of incense stays the judgment
that now falls. The javelin of Phinehas
“made an atonement for the children of Israel”, and his reward is remembered in
the words of Israel’s last prophet (Mal.ii.4,5). The words that follow deal with abuses in
connection with marriage, and the intention of the Lord in marriage — “That He
might seek a seed of God” (<i>Elohim</i>) (Mal. ii. 15). They reveal the diabolical character of
Balaam’s doctrine. Its connection with
Cain, the fallen angels and the cities of the plain in II Peter
and Jude, further emphasizes the Satanic plot at
Baal-Peor, at the moment of entry into the land, to sow his own tares, “the
seed of the wicked one”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is surely something more than an
accident that the passage already quoted from
Hos. ix. 10 should use the word <i>nazar
</i>(“separate”), which is found in
Numb. vi. 3, where we have the
law of the Nazarite. What a
contrast. Israel should have been
“separated” as a nation unto the Lord:
instead, they corrupted themselves, and “separated themselves unto that
shame, and their abominations were according as they loved”. This passage from Hosea makes us think of the
charge against the church of Ephesus, “Thou hast left thy first love”,
although, be it said, they hated the deeds of the Nicolaitanes. Hate, however, is not so strong as love, and
with the loss of the first love, hatred of the Nicolaitan doctrine waned, so
that by the time we reach Pergamos, the Nicolaitan doctrine has a hold, and is
coupled with the doctrine of Balaam, and answered by the seduction of
Jezebel. And now Levi with his sword and
Phinehas with his javelin give place to the Lord Himself, out of whose mouth
goeth a sharp two-edged sword.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The last act of Moses was the execution of
vengeance, a faint anticipation of
the “Day of vengeance of our God”:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterwards shalt thou be gathered unto thy
people” (Numb. xxxi. 2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Each tribe of Israel sent 1,000 armed men
to execute this vengeance of the Lord against Midian, for all Israel had been
guilty, and had actually lost double this number, 24,000 having died, as Numb.xxv.9
declares. In this connection we
earlier quoted I Cor. x. 8. As some
may have a difficulty because that passage says 23,000, it should be noted
that I Cor. x. 8 specifies how many died <i>in one day</i>,
for some had been hanged, and some slain earlier (Numb.xxv.4,5). Phinehas, whose javelin executed the first
stroke of vengeance on a daughter of Midian, led the army on this dreadful
mission. This was no conquest of
territory, it was not the claiming of an inheritance; it was a priestly blotting out of a sinful
alliance. In this battle Balaam meets
his end, unrepentant to the last. Not a
single man of Israel was lost in this battle, and a thank offering was brought
to make an atonement for their souls before the Lord, amounting to 16,750
shekels of gold. This was brought into
the tabernacle of the congregation, “for a memorial for the children of Israel
before the Lord” (Numb.xxxi.54). This,
in some measure, counters the other memorial for the children of Israel, made
of the rebels’ censers (Numb. xvi. 40).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Surely we are justified in seeing in these
12,000 overcomers a foreshadowing of that great company, the 144,000 who
overcome, who were not defiled with women, and who stand out in contrast with
the awful doctrine of Balaam and Jezebel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Israel now prepare to enter the land of
promise, and the remaining chapters of Numbers are occupied with the numbering
of the people, with laws adjusted to suit the changed circumstances, and with
the special provision of the cities of refuge.
These we hope to consider in our next article, which brings the survey
of Numbers to a conclusion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-87637814964864167992015-02-17T19:49:00.002-08:002015-02-17T19:50:55.001-08:00#88. Numbers xx. - xxv. The twofold opposition encountered by Israel and its relation to Eph. vi. 12.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Israel, as they press on from Kadesh, meet
with opposition in various forms. The
Edomites, who were related by blood, refuse passage through their territory and
even the purchase of drinking water. The
Moabites, who were also related to Israel through Lot their father, sought to
curse Israel, and succeeded in entrapping them in evil practices. Arad the Canaanite, Sihon King of Heshbon and
Og King of Bashan, in no way related to Israel but rather the seed of the
Serpent, oppose, too, in different ways.
A careful consideration of these contests will throw light upon the
conflict of the Church to-day, and especially upon the meaning of the apostle
in Eph. vi. where the armour of God is specified and the
contestants indicated. “We wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers” (Eph. vi.
12). Edom and Moab represent “flesh and
blood”; Arad, Sihon and Og the
“principalities and powers”. Two
distinct lines of action are indicated to deal with these two types of
opposition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Edom, of course, is Esau the brother of
Jacob, and so the message sent to the King of Edom opens with the words: “Thus saith thy brother Israel” (Numb.xx.14). The request was for permission to
pass through the country, and the request was accompanied by a promise that
neither fields, nor vineyards, nor wells of water should be touched, but that
the King’s highway should be kept “until we have passed thy borders”. This modest request was refused. The children of Israel sent again saying:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water,
then will I pay for it: I will only,
without doing anything else, go through on my feet” (Numb. xx. 19).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Edom again replied, “Thou shalt not go
through”, but Deut. ii. 28, 29 suggests that the request to purchase food
and drink was granted. Neither Edom nor
Moab, however, would allow Israel to pass through their territory. Jephtha’s summary of the time shews this
clearly:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Then Israel sent messengers unto the King
of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land, but the King of
Edom would not hearken thereto. And in
like manner they sent unto the King of Moab:
but he would not consent; and
Israel abode in Kadesh” (Judges xi. 17).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Deuteronomy xxiii. 3, 4 shows that Moab refused what Edom granted:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They met you not with bread and with
water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt: and because they hired against thee Balaam
the Son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>The Companion Bible </i>note to Deut. ii. 28
suggests that Moab sold too, but the very clear-cut distinction made
between Moab and Edom in Deut. xxiii. 3,
4 & 7 is rather opposed to this
suggestion. However, be that as it may,
Edom and Moab both refused permission for Israel to pass through their
territory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What did the Lord say? Did He command, “Arise, O Israel, manifest by
conquest that you are the redeemed of the Lord”? No;
Israel’s attitude was to be the reverse of this. All that is written in Numbers xx. 21 is:
“Wherefore Israel turned away from him”. Deuteronomy ii., however, makes very clear what Israel’s
attitude was to be:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Ye are to pass through the coast of your
brethren, the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves
therefore. Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no,
not so much as a foot breadth” (Deut. ii. 4, 5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Much the same is said of the
Moabites: “Distress not the Moabites
neither contend with them in battle” (ii. 9).
Here is no uncertain sound, and the spiritual analogy is not difficult
to perceive:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We wrestle not with flesh and blood”
(Eph. vi. 12).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your
goods” (Heb. x. 34).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews.xi.13).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “No man that warreth entangleth himself in
the affairs of his livelihood” (II.Timothy.ii.4).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Let your moderation be known to all men”
(Phil. iv. 5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “I have learned in whatsoever state I am,
to be content (or independent)” (Philippians iv. 11).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Passages like these bear out the
analogy. We are not citizens here. This world is partitioned out to others; brothers indeed in the flesh but, alas, not
in the line of promise. We leave them
their inheritance, we do not meddle with them, we shall not possess one foot of
their territory, and we are forbidden to enter into conflict. “From such turn away” is the apostle’s echo
of the words, “Israel turned away from him”.
If the rebuff of the world hurts our pride, we must remember that we
should have no pride left to be hurt.
The redeemed of the Lord should have no “rights” in the world. Their citizenship is not here; they are at best pilgrims seeking a pathway
home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> When we come to the consideration of the
Canaanite opponents, we are on entirely different ground. The first is King Arad the Canaanite. We read:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And when King Arad the Canaanite, which
dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some
of them prisoners” (Numb. xxi. 1).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The spies had originally entered the land
by this route (<i>see </i>Numb. xiii. 17), and this early act of unbelief (as
we have seen the sending of the spies to be) not only brought disaster upon
those who lived at the time, but upon their children forty years afterwards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Canaanites are delivered into the hand
of Israel and are utterly destroyed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> A request is next sent to Sihon, King of
the Amorites, couched in terms almost identical with those used for Edom. The request is refused, Sihon comes out and
fights against Israel; and Israel smites
him with the edge of the sword, and takes possession of his territory. What Israel took from Sihon had originally
belonged to Moab (Numb. xxi. 26), who had become idolatrous, as we see
from xxi. 28, 29: “The lords (baalim) of the high places of
Arnon . . . . . O people of Chemosh” (Chemosh being an idol, II Kings xxiii. 13).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This was a legitimate conquest on this
side of Jordan before the land of promise was reached; and the Church to-day, while not forgetting
the restrictions associated with Moab and Edom, can win back territory which
was lost to Satan and his hosts, which once belonged to the outer circle of
God’s people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Og, King of Bashan, also went out against
Israel, and he, too, was overcome and destroyed. This king was the last of the Rephaim; his bedstead (or tomb) was nine cubits long,
“after the cubit of a man”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The destruction of Sihon and Og is
commemorated in a psalm of praise, which specially emphasizes the mercy of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“To Him which smote great
kings:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> For His mercy endureth for ever:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And slew famous kings:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> For His mercy endureth for ever:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Sihon, King of the Amorites:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> For His mercy endureth for ever:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And Og, King of Bashan:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> For His mercy endureth for ever” (Psa. cxxxvi. 17-20).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This seed of the giants, the Rephaim, were
the tares sown by the Wicked One; it was
mercy utterly to destroy them. And so,
when the day arrives for the Church to ascend into the heavenly inheritance,
the principalities and powers, the world holders of this darkness and the
“spiritual wickednesses” that have, under the authority of Satan, for so long
barred the way, shall in like manner be destroyed. Already by the cross they have been “spoiled”
and “triumphed over” (Col. ii. 15). For
the present time our orders are to “stand”, to “stand against” and to
“withstand”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> If it was vital that Israel should follow
out implicitly the instructions given them in their passage from the wilderness
to the promised land, it is surely equally important that we also should
neither exceed nor fall short of the instructions given for our own
guidance. The teaching that some hold
regarding “warfare” to-day, is as though Israel, long before the arrival at
Kadesh, marched forward indiscriminately with sword in hand, simply because
they knew that over the Jordan lay their inheritance and that even then they
were really “more than conquerors”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We have touched, in passing, upon each of
the opposing forces met by Israel, but so much is involved in the action of Balak
and Balaam that this must be reserved for separate study in a subsequent paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-16429663367694621382015-02-17T19:38:00.000-08:002015-02-17T19:47:56.664-08:00#87. The start from Kadesh (Numbers xx. - xxv.).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Once again we have, interposed between
chapters of history, further laws pertaining to the priests and the people,
full of matter and abundantly repaying careful study. It is not our purpose, however, to investigate
every detail of these books, time alone being against us, so we pass over chapters xviii. & xix. and take up the theme again in chapter xx.,
where another series of incidents is recorded, some of which are used in
the N.T. and all of which are full of needed lessons for those who, having been
redeemed by the precious blood, are pressing on like Caleb and Joshua to the
inheritance ahead. It is not of our
choosing that these historic incidents should necessitate so much insistence
upon the Philippians aspect of truth, and we shall not shirk it because some
may not readily appreciate the lessons taught.
We need all the counsel of God, and a faithful ministry does not keep
back anything that is profitable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The section before us occupies six chapters,
and for the first approach, the structure found in <i>The Companion Bible </i>is
of service in placing the distinct grouping of events before the eye. The following analysis brings into prominence
the features that represents the lesson element, the features therefore that we
mostly desire:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9fTi9J8NgR6CxSWLW4bRGn-2am9pKAeVR0Z0mkWx1xKjXDyyMC_m2VR9zZJuuV5rOoROdM9crt8RvKzayEq5XJy0n9CcSw0FynzDapywquLcUL5kD3RdkW-XQiI5buqviXokz5gakaA/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-18+11.42.45.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9fTi9J8NgR6CxSWLW4bRGn-2am9pKAeVR0Z0mkWx1xKjXDyyMC_m2VR9zZJuuV5rOoROdM9crt8RvKzayEq5XJy0n9CcSw0FynzDapywquLcUL5kD3RdkW-XQiI5buqviXokz5gakaA/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-18+11.42.45.png" height="496" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Here is the old trouble, viz., no water
and no bread. While both Moses and Aaron
forfeit entry into the land, the structure balances this with the two passages
which say (even after failure in one instance) that “the children of Israel set
forward” (</span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">see </i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">xx.12,13,24 for Moses and Aaron; and
xxi. 10 & xxii.1
for Israel). Earlier we see how
the Lord defended the high honour of Moses against the murmurs of Aaron and
Miriam, and how he defended Aaron against the gainsaying of Korah. Nevertheless high honour brings high
responsibility. To him that has had much
given, of him will more be required. The
five talent man must produce five more talents to be level with the two talent
man who produced two. We are therefore
still in an atmosphere of service, contest, endurance, pressing on, reward or
loss.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Wasted years.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Chapter xx. opens with the words: “Then came the children of Israel, even the
whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month”, and unless we
are already prepared, we should naturally assume this to be within a brief
interval of the last recorded movement.
As a matter of fact an interval of some 37½ years must be recognized as
intervening between Numbers xiv. and
Numbers xx.:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Your children shall wander in the
wilderness forty years ... and ye shall know My breach of promise” (Numb.
xiv. 33, 34).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This should warn us to be prepared to find
the interval, but the definite date of Aaron’s death leaves no doubt. Chapter
xxxiii. enumerates the itinerary of
Israel from the time they went forth out of Egypt until they pitched by Jordan
in the plains of Moab, and it is there we read:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And Aaron the priest went up into the
Mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord, and died there, in the fortieth year
after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first
day of the fifth month” (Numb. xxxiii. 38).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Miriam dies without entering the promised
land; Aaron dies without entering; and so does Moses, although the death of
Moses is deferred until later. The men
that were twenty years old and upward who had seen the mighty work of the Lord,
and who had nevertheless refused to go up at the leading of the Lord, were now
all dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The children that they had said were to be
a prey in the wilderness had been miraculously preserved, and were now about to
go into the land. The fact that these
repeat the sin of their fathers removes all idea that they were essentially
different from their parents; their
entry is still of the grace of God.
Moses called them rebels, and so they were; nevertheless, in that, and in his angry striking
of the rock, Moses failed. The comment
of Psa. cvi. 32, 33 should be remembered:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They angered him also at the waters of
strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: because they provoked his spirit, so that he
spake unadvisedly with his lips.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Let none think that we comment on Moses’
lapse in any self-righteous spirit. Who
amongst us would have endured one year, let alone forty years, of this people’s
manners and ways?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is perhaps a closer link between
minister and people than at first appears.
Paul said to the Thessalonians:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of
rejoicing? Are not even ye in the
presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For ye are our glory and joy … when Timothy …
brought us good tidings of your faith . . . . . we were comforted . . . . . . . for now <i>we
</i>live if <i>ye </i>stand fast in the Lord” (I Thess. ii. 19 - iii. 8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> To the like intent we read I John ii. 28
and II John 8:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And now, little children, abide in
Him; that, when He shall appear, <i>we </i>may
have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Look to yourselves, that <i>we </i>lose
not those things which we have wrought, but that <i>we </i>receive a full
reward.”*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 13.5pt; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">[NOTE *
- Some texts read “ye”, but we do
not feel that there is sufficient evidence to warrant the alteration. If “ye” had been originally written, who
would want to alter it to the more difficult “we”?]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is, moreover, another reason for the
death of Moses and Aaron before entry into the land of promise. Both stood for a failing law and failing
priesthood. Law was to be dead and
buried before Joshua (whose name is the same as Jesus) should rise and lead the
people over Jordan. God had forgiven
many sins of Moses and Aaron, and could have forgiven many more. It pleased Him, however, to prevent the
representative of the law from crossing the Jordan, and we do well to learn
both the personal lesson for ourselves, and the doctrinal lesson for the
church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Types of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The rock and the brazen serpent are
evident types of Christ. In the earliest
history of Israel, the smiting of the rock had been by divine command:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Behold, I will stand before thee there
upon the rock of Horeb; and thou shalt
smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may
drink” (Exod. xvii. 6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> When once more water was to be brought out
of the rock at the end of the forty years’ pilgrimage, no command was given to
strike it again. The sacrifice of Christ
is never to be repeated. There shall be
in the day of Israel’s return a fountain opened for sin and uncleanness, and
they shall look upon Him Whom they pierced, but they shall never pierce Him
again. The striking of the rock in the
second place is an O.T. parallel of the awful words of Heb. vi. 6:
“They crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The second great type of this section is
the brazen serpent. Again the people
murmur (Numb. xxi. 5), and use very similar expressions to those recorded
in xx. 3-5, yet in
chapter xx. no punishment follows,
while in Numbers xxi. the murmuring is immediately followed by the
judgment of the fiery serpents. It will
be remembered that earlier still the people had murmured, and had been visited
with dire judgment. Is there anything in
the passage to account for this? There
is one thing common to the two passages recording that punishment is absent,
and that is a slighting reference to the manna:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna,
before our eyes” (Numb. xi. 6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Our soul loatheth this light bread”
(Numb. xxi. 5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What expressions are here, when speaking
of the gift of God — the corn of heaven, angels’ food.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The chapter in John which speaks so much
of the manna, and of Christ as the true bread that came down from heaven, shows
the spiritual equivalent of this loathing of the manna, and the “dried up”
soul:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “This is a hard (dried up) saying” (said
many of His disciples), “who can hear it . . . . . the words I speak unto you
they are spirit and they are life” (John vi. 60-63).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Murmuring is evil enough, but when it
takes the form of loathing the gift of God and the type of Christ, judgment
falls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> When Israel sinned and broke the law at
the foot of Sinai the Lord’s reply was, in effect, “Make an ark”. Here, the only remedy is: “Make a fiery serpent and set it upon a
pole.” Here is a most precious
anticipation of those statements in the epistles that reveal that the curse of
the law can only be removed by one dying under a curse (Gal. iii. 13), or that
reconciliation can only be accomplished by imputing sin to the One Who knew no
sin:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “For He hath made Him to be sin for us,
Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (II
Cor. v. 19-21).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Numbers xxi. 8 is the O.T. equivalent of John iii. 16:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 5.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have eternal life” (John iii. 14, 15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> By the time Hezekiah came to the throne,
the brazen serpent, preserved by Israel and carried by them into the land, had
become an idolatrous image:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “He removed the high places, and brake the
images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that
Moses had made: for unto those days the
children of Israel did burn incense to it;
and he called it Nehushtan — a brass thing” (II Kings xviii. 4).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The symbol of Israel’s redemption had
degenerated to the level of the obscene <i>Asherah</i>, and idolatrous
images. If Satan cannot blot out a truth
by denial, he will ruin it by fleshly prominence. Where the symbol of the cross is most
prominent to-day, the reality of its teaching is lost. The apostate church abounds in crucifixes,
images and incense, but where is the glorious doctrine of the cross of
Christ? How can we tolerate the wearing
of crosses as ornaments, when we remember of the dreadful truth for which it
stands? What a sad thing for people of
any time, when the grandest symbol of their faith has to be destroyed as “a
thing of brass” in order to save them from idolatry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The apostles, writing to different
companies of the church, warn of idolatry, and we are not so removed from all
spheres of temptation but that the warning should be remembered by ourselves
also.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We will next consider the remaining items
indicated in the structure which deal with the opposition of Edom, Arad, Sihon,
Og and Moab.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-22091080939912348962015-02-17T19:27:00.002-08:002015-02-17T19:36:25.328-08:00#86. Numbers xvi. & xvii. The Lord knoweth . . . . . depart from iniquity (II Tim. ii. 19).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It will be remembered that the section of
Numbers that has just been before us, viz.,
xi.-xiv., revealed many points of
analogy both with Philippians and Hebrews.
There is one other epistle that comes into line with Philippians,
namely, II Timothy, and we shall find that the next section of
Numbers which we are to study (xvi. and
xvii.) is used in II Timothy
in a significant context.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Numbers xvi. & xvii. is in the first place an attack upon the distinctive
office of the priest, in the second place it provides a corrective against an
argument often used in opposing the distinctive character of the church, the
body, and of the distinctive company in that church who shall attain unto the
prize of the high calling. This is
anticipating somewhat, so we will deal with the actual passage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Numbers xvi. & xvii. must be looked upon as a whole. There are two rebellions, one by the princes
led by Korah, and the other by the people, both having reference to the
distinctive calling of the priest. The
two chapters may be visualized as follows:--<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nVV7ZCtL3lQ9EqxPJ8dZKUpERC4LAXI1Rpn_ExwHbfYIwCUr6qu2_u9ZX_9qk0F58C8lo5iS_psw-feIXjTPzMNna_904nyNrb5U2UbS5WCdlm6-zjgw8LDsQmftNphD9J9QSaRCTQA/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-18+11.34.13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nVV7ZCtL3lQ9EqxPJ8dZKUpERC4LAXI1Rpn_ExwHbfYIwCUr6qu2_u9ZX_9qk0F58C8lo5iS_psw-feIXjTPzMNna_904nyNrb5U2UbS5WCdlm6-zjgw8LDsQmftNphD9J9QSaRCTQA/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-18+11.34.13.png" height="436" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> What was the basis of Korah’s rebellion? Let him speak for himself:--</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the
congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above
the congregation of the Lord?” (Numb. xvi. 3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> At the close of chapter xv.
is the command of the Lord that all the children of Israel should wear a
fringe and a riband of blue, a reminder to them to keep all the commandments of
the Lord, to seek not the desires of their own hearts, and to be holy unto the
Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Korah’s argument was that, seeing that <i>all
the congregation </i>was holy, there should be no such distinctions among them
as was evident in the high positions held by Moses and Aaron; that Moses and Aaron had lifted themselves up
above their fellows — all of whom were part of the same congregation of the
Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Moses’ first response is to prostrate
himself before the Lord. He saw the
seriousness of this rebellion, and wisely sought the face of God before
attempting to justify himself before man.
His opening words dispose of the insinuation of Korah, that Moses and
Aaron had lifted <i>themselves </i>up
above the congregation. If there had
been any “lifting up” it was by the sovereign disposal of the Lord Himself:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> “Even
to-morrow the Lord will shew who are His, and who is holy (set apart): and will cause him to come near unto
Him: even him whom He hath chosen will
he cause to come near unto Him. This
do: Take your censers, Korah, and all
his company; and put fire therein; and put incense in them before the Lord tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord
doth choose, he shall be holy; ye take
too much upon you, ye sons of Levi” (Numb. xvi. 5-7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Moses
now draws the attention of Korah to the illogical nature of his objection. Korah himself was a Levite, and God had
separated the Levites from the congregation of Israel. They had been brought near to do the service
of the tabernacle of the Lord:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> “He hath
brought thee (Korah) near to Him; and
all thy brethren, the sons of Levi, with thee:
and seek ye the priesthood also?” (Numb.xvi.10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> All
Israel might have justly murmured against Korah, as Korah murmured against
Aaron.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Moses
sought to remonstrate with the sons of Reuben, but they would not hear, but cast
the aspersion upon Moses, that he wished to make himself altogether a prince
over them. Then comes the dreadful
ordeal. “Depart, I pray you, from the
tents of these wicked men” (Numb. xvi. 26).
We know the tragic end. Korah and
his men went down alive into the opened earth and were swallowed up, and the
250 men who had offered incense were consumed with fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Here is
a “new thing” or as the Hebrew reads:
“but if the Lord create a creation”.
The first earthquake is associated with usurpation of the priest’s
office. Uzziah also is connected both
with an earthquake and with usurpation of the priest’s office, and Antichrist
will be likewise associated with both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> While we
may be keenly interested in the typical teaching of this passage as it
illuminates the days of antichristian rebellion that are still future, it will
be more profitable to observe the bearing of this tragic end upon
ourselves. One might object, and say
that such things can have no possible bearing upon the church. Let us see.
Two utterances of Moses stand out prominently in chapter xvi.:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> “The Lord will show who are His” (verse
5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> “Depart, I pray you, from the tents of
these wicked men” (26).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> These
words re-appear in II Timothy ii.:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> “Nevertheless
the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them
that are His, and, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from
iniquity” (II Tim. ii. 19).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> In what
way does II Timothy ii. resembles
Numbers xvi.? Let us remember Korah’s objection to the
possibility of some being called to glory higher than others, though all
members of the same congregation, and then let us see the way in which the
apostle deals with that same spirit:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> “But in a great house (</span><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">parallel with
the whole congregation</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">) there are not only vessels of gold and of silver (</span><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">like the
offices of Moses, Aaron, and the Levites</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">), but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to no
honour. If a man therefore purge himself
from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the
Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (II Tim. ii. 20, 21).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Some
object to the distinctive glory of the church of the mystery by appealing to
the fact that all the Lord’s people, of whatever calling and company, are
redeemed by the same precious blood, and belong to the same Christ. This is no valid objection. The Lord could choose and has chosen some of
the redeemed to “inherit the earth”, some to walk the streets of the New
Jerusalem, and some to enter their inheritance in the heavenly holiest of
all. The same answer that Moses gave to
Korah must be given here. It is a matter
of the Lord’s sovereign choice. Limiting
ourselves to the one company, the church which is His body, some express
themselves in almost angry terms when any suggestion is made to the teaching of
Philippians, with its out-resurrection and prize, or to II Timothy
with its contest and crown, endurance and reign. These possible distinctions in the one church
in the heavenlies are no more objectionable than the evident distinction
between the comely and uncomely members of the one human body, or the
distinctions that obtained in Israel. To
any who would seek further argument, we would commend the chapter in </span><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Dispensational
Truth </span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">entitled: “An election within an election”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">
Returning to Numbers xvi. &
xvii. we observe that the censers of the
men who rebelled were beaten out into sheets for a covering of the altar, and
to act as a memorial of their rebellion, while the rod that budded was placed
in the holiest of all before the testimony, as a token against the rebels:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> “And thou shalt quite take away their
murmurings from Me, that they die not” (Numb. xvii. 10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We are brought back therefore to the
initial seed of this awful crop of death — murmuring. Murmuring about God’s sovereign disposal of
glory, dignity or honour reveals a failure to appreciate that the smallest and
lowliest blessing we receive is all of grace.
Korah should have remembered the signal mercy that had led him out of
Egypt, and have been thankful that his bones were not bleaching with those of
the Egyptians on the shore of the Red Sea.
No wonder Philippians, the epistle of the prize winner, is the epistle
of rejoicing, the epistle of contentment, the epistle that warns against
murmuring. Some, we fear, may resent
this message: may it be a means of help
to those who having heard the higher call are seeking grace to run with
patience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-21124273700157991742015-02-17T19:11:00.000-08:002015-02-17T19:22:41.665-08:00#85. Numbers xi. - xiv. “These things are examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things” (I Cor. x. 6).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is one thing to perceive glimpses of
truth — and for the smallest ray of light how can we be too thankful — it is
quite another matter to so perceive the trend of a passage as to receive
illumination, both upon detail and upon the general scope. While we most gratefully seize upon the
veriest crumbs of doctrine or practical teaching which we may receive from such
a book as the book of Numbers, readers of <i>The Berean Expositor</i> will
feel, somehow, that unless we can get larger views than just a survey of a few
verses, we shall probably miss many essential points.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> As
we turn the pages of Numbers xi., xii.
& xiii. onward, the task seems too
great to be able to discern order and design in such a wealth of detail and
such a mass of description. Yet the
words of Numb. xi. 23: “Is the Lord’s hand waxed short?” is a challenge to faith, and consequently,
before we proceed with our study of
Numbers xii. we seek for light
upon the scope of this section. And
first where does the section that commences at
chapter xi. end? We read
on until we arrive at the close of Numbers
xiv. to find that chapter xv.
opens with laws that were to be enforced when the people entered the
land. This evidently marks a dividing
line for us. It would be good discipline
for us all if we had time and space to take the reader step by step through the
intervening chapters so that the discovery of the underlying unity should be
received as a gift from the Lord, and not, as we fear it will appear, as a
matter of course. The structure or the
scope of a passage is of the first importance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Quoting from the opening chapter of the
book: “The Foundations of Dispensational
Truth” by the late <i>E. W. Bullinger, D.D.</i>, we read:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> "There is one great foundation
principle in the science of LOGIC which will meet all the difficulties, if we
are careful to observe it. It is
this: <i>We cannot reason from the
particular to the general.</i> The
difficulties experienced by some of our readers are due to the fact that they
arise from a consideration of only <i>parts </i>of the truth. To find the answer to them, it is vain to
continue the discussion of them as separate difficult points: we mean difficulties connected with the
earlier Pauline Epistles written before
Acts xxviii., such as ordinances,
the one body of I.Corinthian.xii. or the spiritual gifts of I Corinthian xiii., xiv., etc."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> These words may help our readers to
appreciate any light that can be cast upon the scope of a passage, so that we
may reason from the general to the particular, which is of course the only true
way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> A strictly literary structure is too vast
an undertaking, but the following synopsis will make it clear that a purpose
runs through the record of Israel’s murmurings, and to see that will suffice:--<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Quite a number of items that bear upon the
teaching associated with Philippians and our own calling call for attention. Let us briefly pass them in review.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The ark goes before to search out a place
of rest. Can we not find help here? Speaking to those who were His disciples, the
Lord said: “I go to prepare a place for
you” (John xiv. 2), and this blessed promise is precede by a statement of
principle: “If it were <i>not so </i>I
would have told you”. This is still true
for the Church of the One Body. To learn
of the hope, we need to know where Christ is now, and if details and
explanations are not always given, surely the promise still holds good: “I would have told you”. We shall see presently that the sending of
the spies was a contradiction of trust in this fact.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The mixed multitude, and the ten spies,
are a type of the effect upon the believer of failure to abide by such
scriptures as:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Why, as though living in
the world, are ye subject to ordinances” (Col. ii. 20).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “No man that warreth entangleth himself
with the affairs of his livelihood” (II.Timothy.ii.4).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Ephesians says to us “Remember”; Philippians says to us “Forget”. We are to <i>remember </i>that we were
hopeless aliens, but Israel remembered the onions and garlick instead. We are to <i>forget </i>the things that are
behind, and to set our mind on things above.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Even the two passages that speak of the
resistance of Moses are important to us.
Moses was not moved by jealousy when he heard that Eldad and Medad, who
had remained in the camp, had prophesied.
And when God said in His wrath:
“I will smite them with pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make
of thee a greater nation and mightier than they” (Numb. xiv. 12), Moses did not
entertain the thought for a moment, but pleaded with the Lord to pardon the
people and remember His Own glorious Name.
Here is a concrete example of the spirit inculcated in Phil. ii. 3, 4:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Let nothing be done through strife or
vain glory; but in lowliness of mind let
each esteem other better than themselves.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things
of others.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Miriam’s leprosy and her being shut out of
the camp for seven days, and the jealous spirit manifested, typify Israel in
her <i>lo-ammi </i>(not my people) condition between the first coming of Christ
when the kingdom was preached, and the second coming of Christ when it shall be
established. The meekness of Moses is
here mentioned, anticipating that other period of rejection, when the Lord
should say: “I am meek and lowly in
heart” (Matt. xi. 29).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Let us now concentrate our attention on
those sections that are most prominent.
It will be seen that the two features of greater importance are
members B and <i>B</i>. The first looks back with longing eyes to
Egypt and its flesh-pots; the second
looks with bias upon the land of promise and exaggerates its difficulties. The ten spies are said to have brought up a
“slander upon the land” (Numb. xiv. 36), and above all comes the revelation of
God’s breach of promise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> How often has the sad history of chapters xi. & xii. been repeated after Egypt, and turn against a
true man of God among them, putting up some trumpery charge against him,
largely to cover their own baseness, as was the objection against the Ethiopian
wife of Moses. Whenever we have to meet
the parallel of Numbers xii., let us immediately look for the parallel
of Numbers xi., and see it manifested by the failure of Numbers xiv.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Our study for this paper must now
concentrate upon the story of the spies and the result of their report:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And the Lord speak unto Moses, saying,
Send thou men that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the
children of Israel” (Numb. xiii. 1, 2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Has it ever struck the reader that there
is a note of pain, a sense of distrust in the words: “that they may search the land of Canaan, which
I give”? Why search? Why send men to see “what the land is,
whether it be fat or lean” (Numb. xiii. 20), if God had described it and given
it Himself? Does it not sound like
unbelief? It not only sounds like
distrust, but it was. The command to take
the twelve men and send them as spies did not originate with God: it was an answer to their own request, and
once again, it brought leanness into their soul. When Moses rehearsed the affair in the ears
of Israel he reminded them of their unbelief:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the
land before thee: go up and possess it,
as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. And ye came near unto Me every one of you and
said: We will send men before us, and
they shall search out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go
up, and into what cities we shall come . . . . . Yet in this thing ye did not
believe the Lord your God, Who went in the way before you, to search you out a
place to pitch your tents in; in fire by
night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day” (Deut. i.
21-23).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> A reference to Ezek. xx. 5, 6 shows that at the time when the Lord
delivered Israel out of the land of Egypt, He had already “espied for them” a
glorious land. Israel’s request for the
spies therefore was sheer unbelief, it was a despising of the Lord, a slighting
of His loving care and provision. It has
its analogy to-day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Quite a number of those who believe the
teaching of the epistles of the mystery have expressed themselves as
unsatisfied by the scantiness of the revelation there contained as to (1) just
what constitutes the glory of our inheritance, and (2) just exactly by what way
the Church shall enter into its hope.
There is a looking back to the hope of an earlier dispensation, a sort
of envy at the lavish description of the millennial kingdom, or the wonders of
the heavenly city, and one senses something petulant in the request, “Where is
our hope described in the epistles of the Mystery? Why are there no details given to us as to
others?” There is also a querulous
complain that whereas I Thessalonian
iv. or
I Corinthian xv. are most
explicit, one cannot be sure from the prison epistles whether the Church of the
One Body will be caught up by rapture, will die off and pass through death and
resurrection, whether all will go together, whether there will be angelic
accompaniments, etc., etc. All this,
which superficially sounds like earnest enquiry, is but the old unbelief of
Israel re-expressed. They wanted to know
more than God had revealed about “the land” which was their inheritance, and
they wanted to know more than God had revealed as to “what way we must go up”. Both these questions were already answered by
faith. God had espied the land and had
called it good. God went before them
with fire and with cloud “to shew them by what way they should go”. Faith needs nothing more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> If our inheritance at the right hand of
God, “far above all”, is so transcendentally above all human thought and
experience, what words of human language could describe the riches of the glory
of that inheritance of the saints? If in
the resurrection and translation we need such adjusting to the new sphere of
blessing “in the heavenly places”, how should we be the better if God described
the process. It is enough for us that as
we receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of “Him”, the
ascended Lord, and of “it”, the mystery, <span style="color: red;">we shall
receive as full an answer to our quest for knowledge as God sees fit to give.</span> If we are assured that: “when Christ Who is our life shall be
manifested, we also shall be manifested with Him in glory”, what does it matter
that “the way we must go up” is left unexplained? We shall arrive — praise God. We do not know how — well, that is His
responsibility, not ours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Our refusal to be turned back to I Thessalonian iv. as the hope of the Church is to be understood
in the light of Numbers xiii. &
xiv. We seek the spirit that enabled Caleb
and Joshua to believe God, and leave the consequences. As we pointed out when dealing with Col. i. 23
(<i>see </i>volume XXI), the
great evidence of progress in the truth, or of the beginning of decline, are
closely associated with holding steadfast to “the hope”. Caleb and Joshua were threatened with stoning
for the stand they took. We shall
probably get its equivalent again and again;
but as in their case, so in ours, His truth shall be our shield and
buckler.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> One of the reasons why the Lord was not
too explicit about the land of Canaan, and the way up, was because it was
inhabited by a monstrous seed of the wicked one, the giants, the sons of Anak,
and viewing such antagonists with the eyes of the flesh, the spies said: “We were in our own sight as grasshoppers,
and so we were in their sight”. The
cities were walled and very great — and grace was not given in the wilderness
to deal with these remote difficulties.
When at last Israel did stand before the walls of Jericho, they fell
down flat at the shout of faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The pathway to our inheritance is blocked
by principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness and world holders of
darkness. If we should see them with the
eyes of the flesh, we should crumple up as did Daniel. God mercifully spares us this vision. We believe His Word; that is enough. If we knew the formidable strongholds of
Satan that must be overcome in “the evil day”, we should recoil in fear and
unbelief. We shall not face them until
we are all assembled beneath the banner of our true Captain, the greater
Joshua, with Jordan behind us, and the land of promise immediately before
us. Why not take a leaf out of this book
of experience; why not believe what God
has revealed, and lovingly accept as best what He withholds?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Two
Psalms should be read in connection with this passage of Israel’s history. Psalm xc.
speaks of those who, being over twenty years of age, died in the
wilderness: they were taught to number
their days. Psalm xci. speaks of their children, who grew up at
their sides, and who saw the pestilence and the arrow doing their work, yet
knew that they should not come nigh them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> While a sinner may be saved at the
eleventh hour, it would appear from many passages of Scripture that a believer
who is saved, and who puts his hand to the plough, who looks back like Lot’s
wife, who does not press toward the mark, who like Demas loves this present
evil age, or like the Hebrews of Hebrews
vi. or Esau of Hebrews xii. exchange their birthright for a little ease
here, are running a serious risk of suffering loss in that day, of losing their
crown or their reward. Caleb and Joshua,
on the other hand, are examples of those who press on unto perfection, who
attain “the better resurrection” of
Hebrews xi., or the “out-resurrection”
and “prize” of Philippians iii.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> May we draw attention to one more
feature. “The better resurrection”
of Hebrews xi. is a close parallel with the
“out-resurrection” of Philippians
iii. Now we are not left to surmise as
to when the better resurrection was entered, for Hebrews xi.
declares that those who looked for the better country all died in faith,
not having received the promise, “God having provided some better thing for us,
that they without us should not be made perfect” (Heb. xi. 40).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Caleb and Joshua were not permitted by the
Lord to go on to the inheritance at once.
No, they had to wait the forty years just like the rest. The overcomers of Hebrews xi.
did not enter the heavenly city immediately after death, no, they had to
wait until the whole of their company were raised together, the “better
resurrection” referring not to the time when it is entered, but to the prize
appertaining thereto which would be presented when the time had come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> So with
Philippians iii. The
out-resurrection need not take place before the resurrection and translation of
the whole Church, but it will qualify for “the prize of the high calling”,
which is parallel with Caleb’s additional inheritance when God’s time comes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is not without significance that Paul’s
other reference to a “prize” should be most intimately associated with Israel’s
failure in the wilderness (I Cor. ix.
24, x.13), nor should we slight the precious lesson of
the closing sentence: “But will with the
temptation make the end (or goal), so that ye may be able to bear it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> The trials of the pilgrim path are for our
future glory. He knows; therefore, follow on.</span></div>
</div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-26267457564235275722015-02-10T22:35:00.002-08:002015-02-10T22:39:05.305-08:00#84. Numbers xi. “Mark them . . . . . whose god is their belly.”<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Following the law dealing with the
Nazarite are a series of chapters that deal with the dedication of the
tabernacle and its service (chapters vii.-x.).
As we considered the tabernacle in the articles which dealt with the
book of Exodus, we will pass on to other features, taking up our study in chapter xi.
which begins to deal with the chief feature of the book, and the one of
most important in its lessons for ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Chapter xi. commences a series of events, accompanied by
significant movements and journeyings of Israel, that have been incorporated
into the practical parts of some of the epistles, and demand a prayerful as
well as a careful study. We have already
had before us the provoking of the Lord by Israel at the Red Sea, at Marah, in
the wilderness of Sin, at Rephidim and at Horeb. The book of Numbers records three more
provocations, viz., at Taberah (Numb. xi. 1), at Kibroth Hattaavah (Numb. xi.
4), and at Kadesh Barnea (Numb. xiv. 2) where
they filled up their measure and lost the promised land. Of the first of the three acts of provocation
recorded in Numbers no specific details are given, but the simple statement:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And when
the people complained, it displeased the Lord:
and the Lord heard it; and His
anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burnt among them” (xi. 1).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Murmuring or complaining is not treated
with the seriousness that it merits, and there will doubtless be many sad cases
where believers will suffer loss as a result of failure to mark and forsake the
sin of unbelief and ingratitude. <span style="color: blue;">If we really believed that God was leading us, we could not
complain: it is only when we commence to
doubt His care that complaining can possibly begin. </span> It is not without true reason therefore
the chapter x. ends with the reference to the ark and cloud,
symbols of God’s presence and leading.
To murmur in the very presence of God, and in sight of that pillar of
cloud was unbelief, and the fire of the Lord consumed to the uttermost parts of
the camp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> I Corinthians x. 6-10 uses this wilderness experience to enforce a
lesson, saying:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Neither murmur ye, as some of them
murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Philippians, while it does not actually
refer to this period, treats of the same aspect of truth — the going on like
Caleb and Joshua — and in that epistle comes the exhortation:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Do all things without murmurings and
disputings” (Phil. ii. 14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> A murmuring or complaining member of
Christ is giving the lie to his calling.
It is the first step to a wasted life, the “perdition” of Heb. x. 39,
the “destruction” of Phil. iii.
19. Philippians counters this spirit by
implicating joy. A rejoicing believer is
proof against the temptations of the wilderness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Following this general reference comes one
that is specific:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And the mixed multitude that was among
them fell a lusting: and the children of
Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?” (Numb. xi.
4).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This mixed multitude has appeared before,
viz., in Exod. xii. 37, 38. They had evidently come out under the shelter of the passover, and they had come through the Red Sea, as we
find them here in Numbers xi. This mixed multitude were the result of
mixed marriages contracted while in Egypt. Leviticus xxiv. 10 speaks of the son of an Israelitish woman
whose father was an Egyptian. When
Israel returned to Jerusalem under Nehemiah, mixed marriages again were a
source of trouble (<i>see </i>Nehemiah
xiii. 23 & Ezra ix. 1, 2). Jehoshaphat’s ruin is traceable to his
“affinity” with Ahab. This mixed
multitude, when expressed in spiritual equivalents, appears in II Cor. vi. 14-18, and hinders that “perfecting” of holiness
which is the goal before us (II.Cor.vii.1).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Israel, when they wept, said:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Who will give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in
Egypt freely; the cucumbers and the
melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick. But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna,
before our eyes” (Numb. xi. 4-6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is not without significance that
Egypt’s food is given as six items.
Before the Israelites lay the land of promise, and the food items
mentioned in Deut.viii.8 are seven in number. <i>Behind </i>them lay the viands of Egypt, <i>ahead
</i>the fruits of the land of promise, and <i>around </i>them, before their
very eyes and fresh every morning, was the manna, with its taste like fresh
oil. One of the seven items of Canaan’s
food was olive oil, and the manna seems to have been a foretaste, a sort of
“earnest of the inheritance”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> That it was to be accepted gratefully and
highly prized, the references in Scripture testify. A golden pot of manna was among the few items
that were laid up in the holiest of all (Heb. ix. 4), and the Psalmist speaks
of it as “The corn of heaven” and “angel’s food” (Psa. lxxviii. 24, 25). Yet, did we not know, alas too well, our own
hearts, we should hardly believe that a redeemed people, so recently sighing
under the bitter bondage of Egypt, should so soon forget the bitterness and
remember the tasty morsels like leeks, onions and garlick. They said “we remember”, and the apostle
in Phil. iii. 13 says, “forgetting those things which are
behind”, and Heb. xi. 15 says:
“Truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came
out, they might have had opportunity to have returned”. Stephen, in
Acts vii. 39, tells us that
Israel turned back again in their hearts unto Egypt, while in Numb. xiv. 4
we read that they actually said:
“Let us make a captain, and let us return unto Egypt”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> No one with a knowledge of Hebrews, with
its double reference to “The Captain of our salvation” (Heb. ii. 10), and “The
Captain and Perfecter of faith” (Heb. xii. 2), will fail to see the solemn
bearing of this spirit upon the alternatives of Hebrews, viz., “On to
perfection” or “Back to perdition”. The
poet has said: “Distance lends
enchantment to the view”, and Israel’s memory was biased; they forgot the bondage while they remembered
the fish, etc., and we do well to profit by this lesson.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> How awful the words sound when we think of
their setting:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “There is nothing at all, beside this <i>manna</i>,
before our eyes” (Numb. ix. 6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is almost like crucifying to themselves
the Son of God afresh, and putting Him to open shame. It is comparable with Esau who for one morsel
of meat sold his birthright. It is
parallel with those who were failing of the prize as these Israelites were,
whose “god was their belly”. <span style="color: blue;">It is not without deep reason that the first temptation of
Adam, and of Christ, revolved around something to eat. This is the first avenue of temptation, and
sometimes it is enough.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is something infectious about
evil. The mixed multitude start lusting,
the children of Israel begin to weep and complain, and now Moses under the
heavy strain begins to speak:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy
servant? . . . . . Have i conceived all this people? Have i begotten them, that Thou shouldest say
unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking
child, unto the land which Thou swearest unto their fathers?” (Numb. xi. 11,
12).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Poor Moses — mighty leader as he was, man
of faith that so wondrously overcame — he was nevertheless a shadow only of Him
Who was to come:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “For it became Him . . . . . in bringing
many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings” (Heb. ii. 10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There came a day when the patience of
Moses snapped, he spoke unadvisedly with his lips and lost entry into the land
of promise. He was a saved man, he
appeared upon the Mount of Transfiguration, he was faithful, as a servant, in
all his house — few, if any, have even walked so closely with the Lord or been
so highly honoured — yet the greatest and the best are unworthy to loose the
latchet of the Saviour’s shoes. Every
crown must be placed at the feet of the Redeemer, He alone is worthy: no flesh shall glory in His presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Lord meets Moses’ difficulty by
appointing seventy men of the elders of Israel to share his burden, even as He
had deputed Aaron to share the work at the first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Then the Lord takes up the complaint of
Israel and their desire for flesh:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days,
nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days, but even a whole month, until
it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which
is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, Why came we forth out of
Egypt?” (Numbers.xi.19,20).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We know how the Lord fulfilled this
dreadful pronouncement. A wind brought
quails from the sea, which flew so low that they were easily caught. All that day and all that night and all the
next day the people gathered quails:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And while the flesh was yet between their
teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people”
(Numb. xi. 33).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The following passages of Scripture seem
to be a fitting comment and conclusion to this solemn passage:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We remember” (Numb. xi. 5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They soon forgat His works; they waited not for His counsel, but lusted
exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul” (Psa. cvi.
13-15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
to be content . . . . . I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth
me” (Phil. iv. 11-13).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Be content with such things as ye
have: for He hath said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. xiii. 5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-47586871796351752452015-02-10T22:24:00.002-08:002015-02-10T22:31:22.711-08:00#83. Separation and blessing precede service (Numbers.v.&vi.).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> At the dedication of the altar described
in Numbers vii., twelve princes of the tribes of Israel bring
their offerings consisting of twelve chargers, twelve silver bowls, and twelve
spoons of gold, besides meal, oil, incense, bullocks, rams and lambs. Between the numbering of Israel and the
apportioning of the service of the Levites, and this offering of the princes
comes a somewhat strange section dealing with leprosy, trespass, jealousy and
the Nazarite vow. There must be some
lesson for us here, and to its discovery and understanding we now apply
ourselves. First of all let us see what
connection these separate items have, for we do not endorse the critical view
that we have, in this fourth book of the law, merely a miscellaneous collection
of laws and incidents strung together without method or purpose:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCP3512WhAy_5t8akctkglY656g1qcHevT6FiTVoll0oz6LYs2fgMmxCLZy_srvMNCLYEheNGHl7IcPG3mdgxm54kw79SrWOhUTZK-JHq18Rf6jpngC374QbUXejkun4vLNvgydJz6z9k/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-11+14.28.54.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCP3512WhAy_5t8akctkglY656g1qcHevT6FiTVoll0oz6LYs2fgMmxCLZy_srvMNCLYEheNGHl7IcPG3mdgxm54kw79SrWOhUTZK-JHq18Rf6jpngC374QbUXejkun4vLNvgydJz6z9k/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-11+14.28.54.png" height="362" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Not till all this is traversed do we hear
any more of tabernacle service. Here is
a solemn word concerning ministry and service unto the Lord, which is true in
principle for all time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Just as the blessing is threefold, so the
cause of separation (uncleanness) is threefold.
The trespass offering is twofold.
First, trespass in general, with its added fifth; then the particular trial of jealousy. The Nazarite section is twofold. First the loss and defilement of the days of
separation by unavoidable contact with sudden death; then the true consecration of the days of
separation, with its special offering of
the Nazarite’s hair. Let us now pass
these sections in review that the lessons they teach may not be lost upon us:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Command the children of Israel that they
put out of the camp every leper, and everyone that hath an issue, and whosoever
is defiled by the dead. Both male and female
shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the
midst whereof I dwell” (Numb. v. 2, 3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> These three causes of defilement seem to
be chosen to enforce the fact “that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing”. Leprosy is contagious; it is a defilement contracted through the
everyday intercourse of man with man. It
teaches us that, however innocent we may be, or however legitimate our callings
and dealings, the very fact that we are “in the world” calls for the cleansing
which the precious blood of Christ alone can give. The defilement by the various issues that are
specified in the law occur in the ordinary course of nature, revealing to us
that there is a deeper need of cleansing than that of our personal and
voluntary transgressions. That, since
the sin of Adam, we are indeed rendered unfit by the very depravity of our
natures. Here we have “the flesh”, as
such, and its natural uncleanness. The
defilement by the dead was not contracted involuntarily, but in the very
exercise of humane and kindly ministry.
Here we have service in a world of death, and the Christian worker would
do well to remember that while His Lord could be a friend of publicans and
sinners, yet remain holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners, it is
not at all easy for the best of us to follow in His steps uncontaminated. Here, therefore, are three causes of
defilement, three occasions that brought about separation from the conscious
enjoyment of the presence of God:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
LEPROSY.—Contagion in a world of sin, in the daily round of business and
life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
ISSUES.—Natural weakness. The
flesh. This body of death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> DEFILEMENT
BY THE DEAD.—Ministry itself exposes us all to defilement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Speak unto the children of Israel, when a
man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the
Lord, and that person be guilty; then
they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the
principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him
against whom he hath trespassed. But if
the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be
recompensed unto the Lord, even to the priest;
beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for
him” (Numb. v. 6-8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Prominence is given in this case to the
individual recognition of personal responsibility, notwithstanding the fact
that the ram for atonement is there in the background. Let us note the following features:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(1)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The trespass is against the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(2)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Yet the principal, and added fifth, is to be rendered
unto a fellow-creature. (Verse 8 does
not conflict with this as it makes provision for one who had no kinsman).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is essential that true views of sin and
trespass shall be entertained by all the people of God. Sin against my brother is really sin against
God. David sinned grievously against
Uriah the Hittite, but it was perfectly true in his confession to say that he
had sinned against God (Psa. li. 4). The
prodigal son sinned against the father, and outraged common decency, yet he
confessed that he had sinned against heaven.
Two things are necessary if we are to preserve a clear conscience at all
times: confession and reparation:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> They
shall CONFESS their sin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> He
shall RECOMPENCE the principal and add a fifth part.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The fifth part is a double tithe, two
tenths. Thus there is a double
recognition of sin against God and against man, even as the whole law is summed
up as love to God and neighbour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> A very special form of trespass
follows: “If any man’s wife go aside,
and commit a trespass against him” (Numb. v. 12). The reason why adultery was so severely dealt
with in Israel includes the following:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(1)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It typified the apostacy of the nation from the
covenant made with the Lord, the figure of marriage and its terms being used throughout
their history to set forth their close attachment to the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(2)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In a nation whose laws of inheritance were of so
exacting a nature, adultery and illegitimacy introduce vexing and disturbing
elements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(3)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">True marriage had in view “a seed of God” (Mal. ii.
15); adultery gave place to the devil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Spiritual adultery makes blessing and
service hopelessly impossible: “The
woman shall be a curse among her people” (Numb. v. 27). Defilement and trespass, treated separately
in verses 2-8, are seen to be but two parts of one whole, for in verse 12 the
defilement of the woman is said to be a trespass against her husband.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There now follows the positive side of the
lesson: the real, personal, voluntary
separation from all defilement, both natural and moral, unto the Lord, the
separation of the Nazarite. The word <i>Nazarite
</i>is simply the Hebrew word <i>nazir</i>, which is translated: “him that was separated from” in Gen. xlix. 26, and
Deut. xxxiii. 16. In Numbers vi.
<i>nezer </i>is translated “separation” eleven times, and “consecration”
twice. A most important secondary
meaning of <i>nezer </i>is “crown”. It
is so translated eleven times in the A.V.
We give hereunder those found in the law. When we read these passages it is quite easy
to see how the same word that is translated “separated” and “consecrated”, and
which gives us the word “Nazarite”, can also mean a “crown”:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Thou shalt put the mitre upon his head,
and put the holy crown upon the mitre” (Exod. xxix. 6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And they made the plate of the holy crown
of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engraving of a signet,
HOLINESS TO THE LORD” (Exodus.xxix.30).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Upon the mitre, even upon his forefront,
did he put the golden plate, the holy crown” (Lev. viii. 9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “He that is high priest among his
brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured . . . . . shall not go
in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or his mother: neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor
profane the sanctuary of his God; for the
crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him” (Lev. xxi. 10-12).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In some measure the Nazarite was separated
to God even as was the high priest himself.
The <i>nezer </i>(crown) was not limited to the high priest; it was also used of kings, <i>e.g.</i>, II Sam. i. 10; II Kings xi. 12, for they also were the Lord’s anointed. Samson, too, the judge and deliverer of
Israel, was a Nazarite (Judges xiii. 5), and all point forward to the true
Nazarite of God, the Lord Jesus, Who was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners (Heb. vii. 26), and Who for our sakes sanctified Himself (John
xvii. 19).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Considerable difference of opinion exists
among lexicographers as to the connection between Nazareth and the word
Nazarite. Although etymologically the
likeness is accidental and not real, who can avoid comparison of the two
estimates — man’s and God’s — expressed in the two following inscriptions?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on
the cross. And the writing was, Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John.xix.19).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And they made the plate of the holy crown
(<i>nezer</i>) of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing . . . . . Holiness to
the Lord” (Exod. xxxix. 30).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Man called Him the Nazar<i>ene</i>: God saw in Him the true, anointed, separated,
and devoted Nazar<i>ite</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Just as anyone, a man or a woman, could
take the Nazarite vow without usurping the priesthood, so to-day sanctification
and Christ-likeness are open to all without in any sense encroaching upon the
exclusive glory of the risen Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Nazarite’s separation to the Lord was
to be manifested in three connections (Numb. vi. 3-6):--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 63.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(1)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">ABSTIENENCE FROM
THE PRODUCT OF THE VINE.—“Wine, strong drink, vinegar of wine, vinegar of
strong drink, liquor of grapes, dried grapes.
Anything made from the vine, from the kernels even to the husk.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 63.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(2)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">ABSTINENCE FROM
CUTTING THE HAIR.—“All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no
razor come upon his head: until the days
be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be
holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 63.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(3)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">ABSTINENCE FROM
CONTACT WITH THE DEAD.—“All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord,
he shall come at no dead body.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> In no circumstances was the Nazarite
allowed to break the last rule. It could
not be relaxed even for father, mother, brother or sister, when they died, and
if it should happen that someone suddenly died at their side, the number of
days already passed were considered lost, the head of his consecration was
defiled, he had to shave his head, offer sin offering, burnt offering and
trespass offering, and begin again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> While Scripture warns against some kinds
of wine, it commends others, and, apart from wine altogether, grapes are most
wholesome and good for food. Here then
is the principle of voluntary abstinence from things innocent in themselves,
which finds its parallel in the pilgrim path of the believer to-day:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And they that use this world, as not
using it to the full” (I.Cor.vii.31).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Let your moderation be known to all men”
(Phil. iv. 5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Jeremiah, lamenting the downfall of
Israel, says: “Her Nazarites were purer
than snow, they were whiter than milk” (Lam. iv. 7), and calls upon Jerusalem
to act like the Nazarite who had become defiled, whose days of separation were
lost. “Cut off thine hair (<i>nezer</i>),
O Jerusalem, and cast it away” (Jer. vii. 29).
The Nazarite who had fulfilled his vows offered his hair to the Lord,
and it was put into the fire under the peace offerings. Space will not permit a fuller study of the
Nazarite here, but it will come before us when dealing with Samson.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We have seen sufficient to realize the
importance of the command:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the
Lord” (Isa.lii.11).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “If a man
therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour,
sanctified and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work”
(II.Timothy.ii.21).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Such exhortations as “shun”, “flee”, “turn
away” in II Timothy ii. 16, 22 and
iii. 5 are equivalent to-day to
the abstinence enjoined upon the Nazarite of old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-50108196515965765832015-02-10T22:08:00.001-08:002015-02-10T22:18:24.061-08:00#82. The numbering, every one according to his service (Numbers i. - iv.).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Two numberings of Israel are recorded in
the book of Numbers. They are recorded
in chapters i.-iv. and
xxvi.-xxvii. Two distinct
objects are in view. In the first
numbering, service is before us; in the
second, inheritance. In both, ability to
go forth to war is specified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In the numberings of the tribes of Israel,
Levi is omitted, and Joseph is represented by both Ephraim and Manasseh, thus
retaining the number twelve. The
numbering of the tribe of Levi was done separately, and is recorded in Numb. iii. 14-29, where a special reason for this distinction
is given.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And I, behold, I have taken the Levites
from among the children of Israel instead of all the first-born that openeth
the matrix among the children of Israel, therefore the Levites shall be
Mine; because all the firstborn are
Mine: for on the day that I smote all
the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the firstborn of
Israel, both man and beast: Mine they
shall be; I am the Lord” (Numb. iii. 12,
13).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The total number of the firstborn males of
all Israel amounted to 22,273 (Numb. iii. 43), whereas the total number of the
Levites, who were the substitutes for these firstborn, only amounted to
22,000. This left 273 unaccounted for,
and these had to be redeemed at the price of five shekels a head. The numbering of Israel had the following
objects in view:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(1)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">To discover how many of an
age of twenty years and upward were able to go forth to war (Numb. i. 45).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(2)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">To set apart the tribe of
Levi for the service of the tabernacle (Numb.i.50).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(3)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">To ensure order when Israel
encamped or marched (Numb. ii. 1-34).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-hyphenate: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">(4)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">To settle the particular
service of the three sections of the Levites (Numb. iii. 21-37).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The tribe of Levi was sub-divided
according to the sons of Levi — Gershon, Kohath and Merari. These had their allotted places: the Gershonites west of the tabernacle (Numb.
iii. 23), the Kohathites south of the tabernacle (Numb.iii.29), the Merarites
north of the tabernacle (Numb. iii. 35), leaving Moses and Aaron and his sons
the east side of the tabernacle. Each
section of Levites, moreover, had its special charge. The Gershonites had the care of the
tabernacle, the hangings, the door, the court and the cords of the
tabernacle. The Kohathites had charge of
the ark and all the furniture and vessels of the tabernacle. The Merarites took charge of the boards,
bars, pillars and sockets, and pins and cords of the court (Numb. iii. 21-37).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Lord not only regulated the position
and service of each son of Levi, but every tribe had its allotted place for
encampment:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Every man of the children of Israel shall
pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house; over against about the tabernacle of the
congregation shall they pitch” (Numb. ii. 2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The ensigns of the twelve tribes are not
described in the Scriptures. Judah’s
ensign, the lion, is fairly familiar to all Scripture students, but for the
rest we must accept the voice of tradition for what it may be worth. The targum of Jonathan, a paraphrase in
Chaldee, gives to each tribes one of the signs of the Zodiac:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWDVk3zX7LOzt6aX_4HKpkwwzBSNXepnTuvxky3g2xY1zxUZqkws2dqrwaRdTneV-Q1SWiWRiOYHAEQPlRKe654IwbURk5nVTYZ_0GZ_wNUUcs6xaTGMMVfKYsKJ7stq3VtJpQDSjhKs/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-11+14.13.28.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWDVk3zX7LOzt6aX_4HKpkwwzBSNXepnTuvxky3g2xY1zxUZqkws2dqrwaRdTneV-Q1SWiWRiOYHAEQPlRKe654IwbURk5nVTYZ_0GZ_wNUUcs6xaTGMMVfKYsKJ7stq3VtJpQDSjhKs/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-11+14.13.28.png" height="316" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The witness of the stars (Gen. i. 14-19; Psalm xix.)
was, from Adam to Moses, the ancient testimony to the purpose of the
ages. When Israel, the people of type,
sign and symbol, were formed, the significance of the twelve “signs” in the
heavens was perpetuated by the tribal “ensigns”. This important testimony is carefully
explained and illustrated in Dr. Bullinger’s <i>Witness of the Stars</i>, and a
most helpful synopsis is given in Appendix 12 of <i>The Companion Bible</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText">
<span style="font-size: large;"> It will be observed that, at the four
cardinal points, East, South, West and North, are symbols that also appear with
the Cherubim:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They four had the face of a <i>man</i>,
and the face of a <i>lion </i>on the right side; and they four had the face of an <i>ox </i>on
the left side: and they four also had
the face of an <i>eagle</i>” (Ezek.i.10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The first living creature was like a <i>lion</i>,
and the second living creature like a <i>calf</i>, and the third living creature
had a face as a <i>man</i>, and the fourth living creature was like a <i>flying
eagle</i>” (Rev. iv. 7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The fourfold picture of the Lord Jesus, as
set forth in the four Gospels, focuses the witness of the heavens, the
testimony of the ensigns of Israel, and the pledge of the cherubim upon the
Person and work of the Saviour:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmNjEu4VEvoO_XktC2poN0eC0behYULoT9Ja5VlW1A8g_fscjxAWjlgljIGmO3oWlXJhP6yTvx3ijiecmCuyxRztt3wTpF8NuFLsf1L0ROt9abc7dT12IE9MY6fHAAX-QP-ZHZ-xLZA98/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-11+14.12.10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmNjEu4VEvoO_XktC2poN0eC0behYULoT9Ja5VlW1A8g_fscjxAWjlgljIGmO3oWlXJhP6yTvx3ijiecmCuyxRztt3wTpF8NuFLsf1L0ROt9abc7dT12IE9MY6fHAAX-QP-ZHZ-xLZA98/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-11+14.12.10.png" height="140" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Returning to the tribe of Levi and their
particular service, we find careful details set out in Numbers.iv. It was
not left to chance to decide the order in which these Levites approached their
respective tasks. Aaron and his sons
come first. These take down the vail and
cover the ark with it. Full instructions
are given in Numb. iv. 1-4 as to the covering of the various articles of
tabernacle furniture:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And when Aaron and his sons have made an
end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp
is to set forward: after that, the sons
of Kohath shall come to bear it: but
they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of
Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation” (Numb.iv.15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Gershonites come next, bearing the
curtains, hangings, etc., as already mentioned (Numbers.iv.24-28), and last of
all the Merarites:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “According to the commandment of the Lord,
they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and
according to his burden” (iv.49).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In this concluding verse we have the three
underlying principles that relate to all scriptural service, viz.:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">According to </span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">THE
COMMANDMENT of the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">According to </span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">HIS SERVICE.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">According to </span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">HIS BURDEN.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What is the supreme and only authority for
service? Surely that it be “according to
the commandment of the Lord”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
commandment.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“He called . . . . . He gave
them power” (Matt. x. 1).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Have not I chosen you
twelve?” (John vi. 70).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Ye have not chosen Me, but
I have chosen you and ordained you” (John.xv.16).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What is true of the ministry of the twelve
apostles is true of all subsequent ministry;
it must be according to the Lord’s command. In the days of the Law, death followed
transgression in service (<i>see </i>Numb. iv. 15, 19). While physical death does not follow
transgression in service now, who can say how much <i>spiritual </i>deadness
results from it here, and how much loss will result there when the service is
tried by fire? If the Lord called some
to be evangelists, and some to be teachers, it is surely evident that He needs
both. The criticism of friends counts
for nothing in these matters. Some have
“problems” respecting the ministry of women, but the “commandments of the Lord”
are plain, <i>vide </i> I.Cor.xiv.34, Titus ii. 3-5 & I
Tim. ii. 12-15. There is an order in
later ministry that is as definite as any given in Numbers i.-iv.:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “God hath set some in the church, first
apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers” (I Cor. xii. 28).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “He gave some apostles, and some prophets,
and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers” (Eph. iv. 11).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Whatever dispensation is in view, order is
to be observed. Apostles and prophets
came first. They were the foundation ministry
of the church of the mystery (Eph. ii. 20).
Evangelists (II Tim. iv. 5) came next;
then teachers (II.Tim.ii.2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">His service.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Having then gifts differing according to
the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophecy according to
the proportion of faith; or ministry,
let us wait on our ministering; or he
that teacheth, on teaching; or he that
exhorteth, on exhortation; he that
giveth, let him do it with simplicity;
he that ruleth, with diligence;
he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness” (Rom. xii. 6-8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “If the foot shall say, Because I am not
the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the
hearing? The eye cannot say unto the
hand, I have no need of thee. God hath
set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him” (I.Corinthian.xii.15-21).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> And yet, for example, we meet with some,
eminently fitted to be the <i>hosts </i>of the church, who spoil a good witness
by persistently trying to <i>teach </i>or <i>preach</i>. Others, whose business abilities are demanded
by the Lord, leave the church the poorer while they indulge some foolish whim
of their own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">His burden.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And unto one He gave five talents, to
another two, and to another one: to
every man according to his several ability” (Matt. xxv. 15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “All these worketh that one and the
selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will” (I Cor. xii. 11).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “But let every man prove his own work, and
then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another, for every
man shall bear his own burden” (Galatian vi. 4, 5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We have not been careful to draw attention
to the different dispensations that the above scriptures represent, our idea
being merely to show that, in all dispensations, true service must be accepted
and regulated according to the
threefold principle of Numb. iv. 49. Service
that is not according to plan is disobedience, a waste of time and opportunity,
robbing someone else of service that might have been rendered, eliminating any
possibility of reward, and resulting in failure to glorify the Lord. The appeal to apparent success, or
expediency, and all the shifts of human reasoning leave us unmoved. The word of God, unaltered, is our basis of
salvation, and nothing lower or less can be the basis of our service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> To every reader of this magazine we make a
personal appeal. See that you have your
“marching orders” direct from the Word of God.
If you have, happy are you. But
if there is the slightest tampering with “His commandment”, the slightest
departure from “his service”, the smallest attempt to avoid “his burden” — what
kind of servants are you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> As we have already seen, the people of
Israel carried the ensigns of the cherubim, God’s great pledge that He will
surely accomplish His purposes of man’s
redemption and restoration. An obedient
Israel will have the inestimable blessedness of being fellow-workers together
with God. In like manner obedient
servants of God to-day may enjoy this privilege; but what a world of tragedy is found in the
closing words of the second numbering recorded in Numbers.xxvi.:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “These are they that were numbered by
Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plain
of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. But
among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest
numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, They shall
surely die in the wilderness. And there
was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son
of Nun” (Numb. xxvi. 63-65).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> I Corinthian ix. 24 - x. 13 and I
Cor. iii. 11-15 show us that Israel in
the wilderness and Belshazzar in Babylon are not the only ones of whom it shall
be said: ‘Numbered . . . . . weighed . .
. . . and found wanting.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> May we truly pray the apostle’s first
prayer, “Lord, what wilt <i>Thou </i>have <i>me </i>to do?” (Acts ix. 6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-67250203249003568312015-02-10T22:02:00.002-08:002015-02-10T22:06:19.209-08:00#81. The Book of Numbers. My breach of promise (Numbers.xiv.34).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The English title of this fourth book of
Moses is taken from the one given it by the LXX. <i>Arithmoi</i>, which has its origin in the
fact that the opening chapter deals with the numbering of the tribes of
Israel. The title of the book in the
Hebrew Bible, however, is <i>B’midbar</i>, “In the wilderness”, which indicates
the true setting of its tragic story.
Perhaps the verse that best epitomizes the book is Numb.xiv.34:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “After the number of the days in which ye
searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your
iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “My breach of promise”! What an expression to come from the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! What a
revelation of the complete apostacy of His people! It was for the guidance and comfort of this
people that Moses wrote Psalm xc. and also, as we believe, Psalm xci.
Most readers know that the Psalms are divided into five books, each of
which corresponds with one of the books of Moses. The fourth of these comprises Psalms xc.-cvi., and is the Numbers section, which is
appropriately opened by the Psalm of Moses.
This Psalm has a direct bearing upon the condition of those men who,
being twenty years old and upwards, were condemned to die in the wilderness,
while Psalm xci. speaks to those, their children, who were to
be spared and carried triumphantly through the wilderness and into the promised
land.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The references in Psalm xc.
to the 40 years’ wandering in the wilderness are:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Thou turnest man to destruction, and
sayest, return ye children of men” (xc.3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “All our days are passed away in Thy
wrath, we spend our years as a tale that is told” (9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The days of our years are threescore
years and ten” (10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “So teach us to number our days, that we
may apply our hearts to wisdom” (12).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The statement concerning the threescore
years and ten refers primarily to the children of Israel. Any man who was twenty years of age when
Israel were turned back into the wilderness could “number his days”—he would
die at, or before, attaining 60 years—so with all the rest, 70 years being a
fair average.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In this plight Israel’s hope is in the
Lord and His “return”, which will be the better realized when we consider the
general structure of the Psalm. But
before this is set out, we must consider the relationship of the two Psalms
together. <i>The Companion Bible </i>says
that “Psalms xc. and xci. are evidently one Psalm in two parts”, and
the reader of the Hebrew Bible will find nothing to suggest the end of one
Psalm and the beginning of another. In
the absence of any division it is more easily seen that the opening verse
of Psalm xc. corresponds with the opening verse of Psalm xci.:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Lord Thou hast been our dwelling place in
all generations” (Psa. xc. 1).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “He that dwelleth in the secret place of
the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psa. xci. 1).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The two Psalms, taken together, exhibit
the following theme:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Psalms
xc. & xci.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 103.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A | xc. 1, 2.
The Lord. The dwelling place of
His people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 103.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> B |
xc. 3-17. Result of being
expelled from this security.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 103.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> |
xci. 1. The Lord. The dwelling place of His people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 103.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>B</i> |
xci. 2-15. Result of abiding under
His shadow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> While
Psalm xc. speaks to Israel as
condemned to die in the wilderness,
Psalm xci. assures their children
that none of the instruments of destruction — the snare of the fowler, the
noisome pestilence, the terror by night, the arrow by day, the lion and the
adder — shall come nigh or hurt them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The expansion of that part of Psalm xc.
which shows Israel’s condemnation and hope is as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Psalm xc. 3-15.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 58.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A | 3.
Return. Spoken in wrath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 58.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> B |
4. 1,000 years are but as
yesterday and as a watch in the night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 58.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> C |
5. Carried away as with a flood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 58.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
D | a
| 6. In morning flourish. In evening cut down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 58.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> b | 7,
8. Consumed by Thine anger . . . . .
wrath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 58.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>C</i> | 9,
10. Passed away as a tale told.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 58.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>D</i> |
<i>b</i> | 11.
Power of Thine anger . . . . . wrath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 58.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
a</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> |
12. Teach us to number our days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 58.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> |
13. Return . . . . . repent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 58.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>B</i> |
14, 15. According to the days of
affliction. Satisfy us in the morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is not our present purpose to give an
exposition of these Psalms, but they have been quoted here because of the light
they throw upon the lessons of the Book of Numbers. Psalm xcv. also makes pointed reference to the Book of
Numbers and is, in turn, quoted at length in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Chapters ii. & iv. of the epistle to the Hebrews particularly
allude to Israel’s failure in the wilderness. In them Joshua’s leadership is used as a type
of the great Captain Who shall yet lead many sons to glory, “Jesus” in Heb. iv. 8
being not the Lord, but Joshua.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Closely associated with the numbering of
Israel and their failure in the wilderness is the appointment of the Levites,
the rebellion of Korah, and the inability of the priesthood to lead the
people. All this, as Hebrews teaches,
reveals the need of Christ, the one true, perfect High Priest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What we must keep in mind as we seek the
typical lesson of the Book of Numbers, is that this people, rebellious though
they were, suffering loss as they did, were nevertheless a redeemed
people. The truth is summed up in the
words of I Cor. iii. 15: “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall
suffer loss: but he himself shall be
saved; yet so as by fire.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The wilderness journeyings of Israel fall
into two parts. The first of these was
according to divine purpose. It
commenced at the shores of the Red Sea, led through Marah and Elim to Sinai,
and thence to Kadesh Barnea. From the
1st of Abib, in which the Exodus commenced, to the time of the arrival at
Kadesh Barnea was sixteen months. As we
have said, this period of Israel’s wilderness experiences was of divine
purpose, and in it were taught them many precious lessons, as at Marah, Elim,
and again in connection with Amalek.
During that period the law was given from Sinai and the tabernacle
built. The forty years’ wandering,
however, was a result of unbelief and we must be careful to keep these two
periods distinct. Some having seen the
forty years of unbelief have said, "There is no wilderness experience for
the believer to-day", and so become an easy prey to those who would urge
them to act as though heavenly places were already attained, and reigning a
present reality. We would urge any such
to consider the fact that the earlier part of Israel’s wilderness experiences
was by God’s ordering for their teaching and profit; like Abraham, their father, they did not enter
immediately into possession of the land, but became strangers and pilgrims,
tent-dwellers, ever moving on. The
sixteen months’ wilderness experience of Israel and the life-long pilgrimage of
Abraham (Hebrews xi.) are examples of how we may enjoy the blessings that are ours
in Christ, by faith. The actual entry
into the land, and the fall of Jericho under Joshua, anticipate the day of
redemption and the redemption of the purchased possession.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The
book of Exodus, and Numbers i.-xii. record the first wilderness experience, and
contain much that illuminates the believer in his experience to-day. The remainder of the Book of Numbers deals
with the period of unbelief and resumption of the journey. Deuteronomy concludes the story, and Joshua,
a type of the risen Christ (“Moses My servant is dead: now therefore arise”, Josh. i. 2), leads Israel into the land of promise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The truth of the mystery is of course
entirely dissociated from what we have been considering. So far as the dispensational teaching of the
epistle to the Ephesians is concerned, it is an act of unbelief to attempt to
discover in the O.T. that which God never revealed there. Its distinctive doctrine, too, transcends
anything that is set forth in type in the law, yet we may learn from these O.T.
types the broad principles that underlie the distinction between the truths of
Hope and Prize, between Ephesians and Philippians, between Living and Reigning,
between the Overcomers, like Caleb, and Overcome, like those who perished in
the wilderness. It is naturally outside
the scope of these articles to attempt a detailed exposition of these books — all
that we can hope to do is to point out those more obvious passages that
illuminate the ways of God and His people, suggest lines of practical teaching,
and generally set forth those underlying fundamentals of dispensational truth
which it is the prime object of <i>The
Berean Expositor </i>to make plain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-41985690062066906902015-02-10T21:47:00.002-08:002015-02-10T22:00:06.154-08:00#80. A dispensational forecast (Leviticus xxiii.).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This chapter of Leviticus is distinguished
from the rest of the book, by the fact that it surveys the typical year of
Israel’s fasts and feasts, and sets forth, so far as the people of Israel and
those associated with them are concerned, the purpose of the ages. A reading of the chapter impresses one with
the important sabbatic principle that underlies the whole purpose. The chapter opens with a reference to the
weekly Sabbath (verses 1-3), and then proceeds to outline the feasts and fasts
that occupy the first seven months of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It will be remembered that at the Passover,
first instituted in Exodus xii., a change was made in the calendar, and Abib
became “the beginning of months”. The
seventh month, therefore, and the twelfth month of the respective reckonings
would overlap, and so, for the purposes of typical teaching, Israel’s year is
limited to the first seven months, the remaining months being allowed to run
their course unnoticed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
sabbatic principle.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The sabbatic principle is not confined to
the written revelation of God. It is
found throughout the works of His hand.
All are familiar with the seven-hued rainbow, and most know that in the
diatonic musical scale there are seven notes, the sequence being repeated at
the eighth or octave. Turning to the
observations of men of science we may mention the periodic law of the
elements. Sir William Crookes said of
this law:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> "I am convinced that whoever grasps
the key to the periodic law will be permitted to unlock some of the deepest
mysteries of creation."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Dr. E. J. Pace, in his book <i>The Law of the
Octave</i>, shows by a series of diagrams, too complicated to describe and
perhaps unnecessary so far as we are concerned, that the elements composing the
universe all obey this law of the seven sequence. Dr. Ethelbert W. Bullinger’s <i>Number<span style="color: #f79646;">s </span>in Scripture</i> will supply further information
of interest. We are, however, more
concerned with the presence of the number seven in the typical and
dispensational foreshadowings of Scripture.
We find that there are seven features, developed in an orderly sequence — a seven of days, a seven of weeks, a seven of months, a seven
of years, a seven times seven of
years, a seven times seventy of
years, and a period of seven times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPXdkVqEttE-884majEROlXnsvFhJsbJ8nlrX-OCuFFQ3740_09Zblz1j73azrKwJqnccK2xXfbD-ZhBbYsXyePMxOEWhd9eSPT5IQZNzofqAv8m79DAbzBplK99CLdg3hNpb9fO3r-8s/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-11+13.50.31.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPXdkVqEttE-884majEROlXnsvFhJsbJ8nlrX-OCuFFQ3740_09Zblz1j73azrKwJqnccK2xXfbD-ZhBbYsXyePMxOEWhd9eSPT5IQZNzofqAv8m79DAbzBplK99CLdg3hNpb9fO3r-8s/s1600/Screenshot+2015-02-11+13.50.31.png" height="162" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Here we have orderly and regular
progression.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The only passages that may be questioned
in this series are Daniel ix. and
Leviticus xxvi. That Daniel ix.
implies a period of years we show in the series dealing with Daniel’s
prophecy. That the term “times” is
prophetic of a period we discover by studying its usage in Daniel. Leviticus.xxvi.33,34 suggests that the “seven times” of Israel’s
punishment is co-extensive with the period of Gentile dominion (the seven times
of Nebuchadnezzar’s madness). These
questions are dealt with more extensively in the series on Daniel. It is sufficient for our present purpose that
we recognize this sabbatic principle at work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This series of sevens leads up to the
octave, the new beginning, the new heaven and earth “wherein dwelleth
righteousness”. So that we find the
seventh feast of the year expanded, and prominence given to one part of it — “the
eighth day” (Lev. xxiii. 39). In this
last phase we see, in type, Israel’s wonderful restoration — the steps leading
up to it being set out, as we shall see, in strictly historical order.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The
feasts mentioned in Leviticus
xxiii. are the following: The weekly Sabbath, Passover, Unleavened
Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles, and the Eighth Day
of the Feast. Their interrelation may
be demonstrated as follows:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In the series dealing with the Second
Coming of Christ, the expression, “The <i>sunteleia </i>of the age”, used by
the disciples in Matt. xxiv. 3, is shown to correspond to the feast of
ingathering. Three of these feasts have
been fulfilled; four await
fulfillment. And just as those that have
been fulfilled have been fulfilled literally and in historic sequence, so we
may confidently expect the remainder to be fulfilled in the same way when the
appointed time comes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Passover.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> No reader of the four Gospels, who is
taught of God, can fail to see that Christ Himself was the true Passover
Lamb. He was the Lamb of God (John.i.29; Exod. xii. 3-5). He was
without spot or blemish (Heb. ix.
14; I.Pet.i.19; Exod. xxii. 5). And He
was most severely scrutinized as was the
passover lamb from the 10th to the 14th day of the month (Luke xxiii. 4,
15, 22, 41, 47).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 5.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The passover was slain “between the two
evenings”, and Lev. xxiii. 32 makes it clear that a day began and ended
with an evening — “from even unto even”.
It was therefore possible for the Lord to partake of the passover lamb
and Himself be offered upon the 14th Nisan — an impossibility had the Jewish
day begun at midnight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> I Corinthian v. 7 makes it perfectly clear that Christ
fulfilled the great type of the passover:
“For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us”. And the typical meaning of the feast of
unleavened bread was entered into by the believer: “Therefore let us keep the feast . . . . .
with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (I Cor. v. 8). Pentecost, too, was fulfilled to the exact
day, as Acts ii. demonstrates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> It is interesting to see that the feasts
of Israel are all recognized in the epistle to the Corinthians:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">PASSOVER.—“Christ our Passover” (I Cor. v. 7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">FEAST OF WEEKS.—“Let us keep the feast” (I Cor. v. 8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “On the
first of the Sabbaths” (I Cor. xvi. 2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">THE
FIRST-FRUITS.—“Christ the First fruits” (I Cor. xv. 23).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">PENTECOST.—“I will tarry . . . . . unto Pentecost” (I
Cor. xvi. 8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> After Pentecost comes the long interval
which spans the whole of the period from Israel’s rejection to the sounding of
the trumpet that ushers in the day of their ingathering. One critic has objected to the statement made
by the writer that the parable of the sower covers the whole time period from
the day of the Lord’s earthly ministry to the future day of the Lord, on the
ground that this would include the dispensation of the mystery. But we must realize that if Matthew xiii.
or Daniel ix. or any other prophecies leap over the present
interval, they must necessarily include the actual period now occupied by the
manifestation of the mystery. These
prophecies, however, contain no indication of the revelation to be made known during
this uncharted period. So, while it is
true that the dispensation of the mystery was never a subject of O.T. prophecy,
we can nevertheless see, now that the revelation has been made, that the gap
between Pentecost and the seventh month leaves provision for the present
dispensation. The rest of the
dispensational purpose as foreshadowed in Israel’s ceremonial year will be
fulfilled as surely as were the four feasts from Passover to Pentecost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Trumpets.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “He shall send His angels with a great sound
of a trumpet, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other” (Matt. xxiv. 31).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We shall be changed, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump” (I Cor. xv. 51, 52).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “For the Lord Himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of
God” (I Thess. iv. 16).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “In the days of the voice of the seventh
angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He
hath declared to His servants the prophets” (Rev. x. 7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Day of atonement.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Ye shall afflict your souls” (Lev. xxiii.
27).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “I will pour upon the house of David and
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon Me Whom they have
pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son . . . .
. the land shall mourn, every family apart” (Zech. xii. 10-12).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Behold He cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also
which pierced Him, and all the tribes of the land shall wail because of Him”
(Rev. i. 7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Christ has . . . . . entered into heaven
itself . . . . . and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second
time without sin unto salvation” (Heb. ix. 24-28).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Tabernacles.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “I will remove the iniquity of that land
in one day. In that day, saith the Lord
of Hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the
fig tree” (Zech. iii. 9, 10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They shall beat their swords into
ploughshares . . . . . they shall sit every man under his vine and under his
fig tree; and none shall make them
afraid” (Micah.iv.3,4).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “I will go up to the land of unwalled
villages, I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them
dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates . . . . .” (Ezekiel
xxxviii., xxxix.).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Ingathering.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The feast of the ingathering, which is in
the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field”
(Exod. xxiii. 16).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The LXX
here reads: “the <i>sunteleia</i>” where
the A.V. reads: “the feast of the
ingathering”. This is referred to by the
disciples in Matthew xxiv.: “Tell us when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and
of the <i>sunteleia </i>of the age?”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Eighth Day of
the Feast.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “In the last day, that great day of the
feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me
and drink. He that believeth on Me, as
the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
waters. But this He spake of the Spirit”
(John vii. 37-39).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is a reference here to several
prophecies, such as Ezekiel xlvii. The last feast is therefore parallel with
Pentecost and an expansion of it. What
Pentecost foreshadowed was not the church of the mystery, but the ingathering
of Israel and the pouring out upon them of the Spirit as a life-giving stream. Here, therefore, given to the people of type
and shadow, was a sacred calendar, a period of seven months in which was
foreshadowed, so far as the earthly side was concerned, the unfolding purpose
of the age.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The creation week, with its six days of
work and one of rest, the fact that Heb.
iv. 9 speaks of a rest or Sabbath
keeping for the people of God, the fact that the sabbatic principle underlies
the whole scheme, lends colour to the Rabbinical view that the ages will
conform to the same principles. The
Rabbis taught that the world was two thousand years without the law, two
thousand years under the law, and two thousand years under the Messiah. The Revelation tells us of the thousand years
of glory at the close. The world draws
near to the end of its sixth day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is folly to attempt the computation of
the time of the end, for at least two reasons.
It transgresses the evident prohibition of Acts i. 7
& Matt. xxiv. 36, 44; and it assumes that chronology since Christ
is trustworthy. At the best we can only
say that this present year of grace is approximately A.D.1932. There is no proof — and we believe the
uncertainty to be of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The church of the mystery finds no
exposition in Leviticus; its hope is
entirely separated from the hope of Israel.
This does not, however, clash with the obvious deduction, that if the
hope of Israel draws near to its realization, how much nearer must our hope
be? Grace now; and glory soon. What manner of persons ought we to be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-18657420656213206042015-02-10T21:41:00.002-08:002015-02-10T21:45:19.191-08:00#79. Azazel. The Scapegoat (Leviticus xvi.).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The day of Atonement has always been held
to be a very solemn and searching type of that One Sacrifice, once offered, for
sin, by the Lord Jesus Christ. Like all
types of divine things, we shall find that it utterly breaks down in some
features. Yet even these are not to be
regarded as faults, but inherent in the very nature of the case. For example, observe how, in Hebrews ix.,
the Holy Spirit lays hold upon several such inadequacies in type:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Into the second went the high priest
alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for
the errors of the people” (Heb. ix. 7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “But Christ . . . . . by a greater and
more perfect tabernacle . . . . . neither by the blood of goats and calves, but
by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place” (Heb.ix.11,12).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Here we have heaven itself instead of the
tabernacle made with hands; here we have
“His own blood” instead of the blood of bulls and goats; and here we have no need for an offering for
His own sins, for this High Priest was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from
sinners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The immediate cause for the great symbolic
rite of the Day of Atonement was the action of Nadab and Abihu in offering
strange fire unto the Lord. While access
to the presence of the Lord is a most blessed privilege of the redeemed, unholy
familiarity must not be allowed, lest it breed contempt, and consequently <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The Lord spake unto Moses, after the
death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and
died: and the Lord said unto Moses,
speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place
within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not” (Lev. xvi. 1, 2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “That he die not” has allusion to the fate
of the two sons, Nadab and Abihu. It is
repeated in xvi. 13, where, in contrast
with the strange fire that called down judgment, Aaron was to take <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “A censer full of burning coals of fire
from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense, beaten
small, … that he die not” (Lev.xvi.12,13).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Our earlier studies of the offerings will
have prepared us to appreciate more readily a good deal that is written in Leviticus xvi., and as the scapegoat has become the most
controversial subject in the passage, we shall at once devote ourselves to its
consideration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The goat for
Azazel.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The peculiar feature of this atonement is
that, not one, but two, goats are presented before the Lord, one being
subsequently slain and the other, the living goat sent away and let go in a
land not inhabited. The margin of the
A.V. draws attention to the fact that the word rendered “scapegoat” is the
Hebrew word <i>Azazel</i>, and further investigation shows that, placed in
juxtaposition, are the expressions “one lot for the Lord” and “the other lot
for Azazel”, which has lent colour to the suggestion that Azazel must be a
person. We do not think that it would be
edifying to indicate the many different explanations of the allocations of
these lots that have, from time to time, been put forward, but we give a few in
order that the reader may be able to judge of the matter for himself:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> NEWBERRY
gives a note explanatory of Azazel, “Heb. <i>Hazah-zeel</i>, from <i>hez
</i>a goat, and <i>ahzal </i>to depart”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> ROTHERHAM
says: “Azazel is a title of an
evil being, opposed to Jehovah, to whom, on the great day of propitiation, the
live goat was sent, not as a sacrifice to Satan, but rather because of the
death of the other goat, in virtue of which he cries aloud to Satan, ‘Slay me
if thou durst, I claim to live! I have
already died in my companion whose death is accounted mine’.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> THE OXFORD GESENIUS translates Azazel, “entire removal”, which is
very similar to the view of Tholuck and Bahr, who take the word as a form of <i>azal</i>,
to remove.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Another view is that the goat of Azazel is
not a type of Christ at all. This
interpretation holds that it symbolizes the unbeliever, who is sent away from
the presence of the Lord bearing his sin, and Barabbas is mentioned as the
antitype of the goat whose life was spared.
Taking this last view first, we cannot accept it because of the simple
statement in Lev. xvi. 5: “Take two kids of the goats <i>for a sin
offering</i>”. Surely, if the Lord
intended us to understand that only one of the goats was a type of the Lord’s
offering, this statement would have been qualified. The fact that no one knew which goat would be
for the Lord and which for Azazel necessitated that they should both be without
blemish, and therefore types of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The scapegoat.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Let us now examine the Scripture afresh,
and go back, beyond modern speculation, to the interpretations of earlier
times. The Latin Vulgate renders <i>Azazel
</i>by <i>Hircus emmisarius</i>, which means “a goat for sending away”. The LXX translates <i>Azazel </i>by <i>apopompaios</i>,
which is a word made up of <i>apo</i>, “away” and <i>pempo</i>, “to send”. In non-biblical usage this word meant “the
turner away”, “the averter”, and carried with it a good deal of superstition,
but there is no reason for rejecting the simple meaning of the LXX, “the sent
away”. Now “the goat for sending away”
is the literal meaning of the Hebrew words <i>Az Azel</i>. <i>Az </i>is
a Hebrew word for “goat” and is so translated in the A.V. fifty-five
times. In five other places it is
translated “she goat” and once “kid”.
Some find difficulty here, as the “kids” taken in Lev. xvi. 5
are not “she goats”. On the other
hand there are two words available when “he goats” are to be specified, <i>attud
</i>(Numb.vii.17 & in sixteen other places), & <i>tsaphir </i>(II
Chron. xxix. 21 and in four other places).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The words used in Leviticus xvi. are more general, and do not constitute a
legitimate objection. <i>Azel </i>is the
verb, “to send away”. With the simple etymology
of the word before us, coupled with the ancient testimony of the Septuagint, of
Symmachus, of Aquila and of the Latin Vulgate, we believe the A.V. is correct
and that the goat for Azazel is the goat for sending away, the “escape” goat,
the one set free.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This live goat is atoned for. Verse 10 reads, “to make an atonement <i>with
</i>him”. There are some who uphold this
rendering, but as the same preposition is used in verses 6, 16 & 18 it must
be rendered similarly, “to make an atonement <i>for </i>him”. The note in <i>The Companion Bible </i>on Lev. xvi. 10
is as follows:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “ ‘With him’, Heb. ‘for him’. See verses 16, 18. The scapegoat was not used to make atonement,
but atonement was made <i>for </i>it.
Hence he was to be ‘let go’ free.
See verse 22.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The
two goats are therefore to be considered together as exhibiting God’s method of
dealing with His people’s sin. The idea
expressed by some, that the live goat symbolizes those whose sins are
unforgiven is disposed of by the following facts:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> First, the goat on whom the Lord’s lot
fell is killed; its blood makes
atonement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Because of the uncleanness of the
children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins”
(Lev. xvi. 16).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>“In all their sins.” </i>This must not be minimized. Atonement has been made concerning all the
sins of the people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Secondly we read:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“And when he hath made an
end of reconciling the holy place” (Lev.xvi.20).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This is a reference to verse 16, and
assures us that the work of atonement was “finished”, “ended”, “accomplished”,
as the word <i>kalah</i> is translated.
Even in dealing with types of the offering of Christ, it is a serious
thing to introduce any measure of uncertainty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Thirdly:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “When he hath made an end of reconciling
the holy place . . . . . he shall bring the live goat . . . . . and confess
over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their
transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat” (Lev.
xvi. 20, 21).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> By comparing verse 16 with verse 21 we
find that atonement was made for Israel’s transgressions in all their sins, and
confession was made of all these transgressions in all their sins. These confessed sins were forgiven sins, and
the whole point of the passage turns upon confession. Psalm xxxii. & Psalm li.
bear eloquent and moving testimony to the need for the <i>confession </i>of
sins, even though they be atoned for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “When I kept silence my bones waxed old .
. . . . I acknowledged my sins . . . . . I said I will confess my
transgressions” (Psa. xxxii. 1-5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Wash me … cleanse me … for I acknowledge
my transgressions” (Psa.li.2,3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I.John.i.9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Some have asked whether, if the epistles
assure us that God has forgiven us all trespasses, it is of faith that we ask
to be forgiven. The Scriptures written
for our learning do not teach us to ask for forgiveness, but it is for our
moral good that, while rejoicing in the freedom of His grace, we nevertheless
confess our sinnership. It is just as
true for us as for Israel that we should both confess and forsake all known
evil (Psa. xxviii. 13), otherwise we may come under the judgment of Romans vi.,
and be found teaching that, because we are under grace, we may continue
in sin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Fourthly, these atoned-for and confessed
sins are now sent away:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Confess over him . . . . . and shall send
him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness . . . . . unto a land not
inhabited: and he shall let go the goat
in the wilderness” (Lev. xvi. 21).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Jewish tradition has unwarrantably
mutilated this part of the inspired law.
We read in their account that the live goat was taken to some
precipitous place and there dashed to pieces down the rocky slope. Sadly enough, some Christian expositors have
enlarged upon this imagination as though it were resident in the type. The truth is all the other way. There can be no second sacrifice for the same
sins in a type like this. The live goat
carries away confessed sins, atoned sins, into a land of “separation”. The live goat is “let go”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In
Leviticus xiv. we have the same
words used in connection with another double symbol. There, two birds, one dead and one living,
instead of two goats, one dead and one living, the words “let loose” and “let
go” in Lev. xiv. 7 & 53 being the same as are used of the live
goat. The living bird is dipped in the
blood of the bird that was slain, and then “let loose”. In the case of the live goat, sins that have
been atoned for are confessed over it instead, and it, too, is then “let go”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The word “forgiveness” in Eph. i. 7
is <i>aphesis</i>, which, in works outside the Scriptures, is variously translated “let go”, “to set
free”, “quittance”, “discharge”, “divorce”.
Luke iv. 18 this word “forgiveness”
occurs twice in the phrases “<i>deliverance</i> to the captive”, “<i>to set at
liberty </i>them that are bruised”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The scapegoat seems to be in the mind’s
eye of the prophets when they wrote:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 45.0pt; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “I will forgive their iniquity (the goat
slain) and I will remember their sins no more” (the goat set free) (Jer.xxxi.34).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 45.0pt; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 45.0pt; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Who is a God like unto Thee, that
pardoneth iniquity? (the goat slain) … Thou wilt cast all their sins into the
depths of the sea” (the goat set free) (Micah vii. 18, 19).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 45.0pt; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 45.0pt; margin-right: 45.0pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Thou hast, in love to my soul, delivered
it from the pit of corruption (the goat slain), for Thou hast cast all my sins
behind Thy back” (the goat set free) (Isa. xxxviii. 17).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We have touched upon the symbol and pledge
of resurrection, in the live goat, for though it may be deduced, it is not
prominent, the complete removal of sin being the immediate purpose of this
glorious type. Let us all thank God for
the sacrifice slain — let us not omit praise for Azazel, “the goat that was
sent away”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-81590586859621108822015-01-29T01:46:00.004-08:002015-01-29T01:54:35.830-08:00#78. “The law of the leper in the day of his cleansing.” (Leviticus xiii. & xiv.).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The great outstanding type of cleansing in
Leviticus is that of the leper, given in
chapter xiv. — “The law of the leper in the day of his cleansing”. Before we can hope to appreciate the blessing
of this typical cleansing we must have some understanding of the nature of the
defilement, and this necessitates a consideration of chapter xiii.
also. In chapter
xiii. the priest pronounces the leper
unclean, while in chapter xiv. he pronounces him clean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Alongside the main subject of the leper
and his cleansing are the related subjects of leprosy in a garment or in a
house. Leprosy in the person is typical
of sin within, it is indeed “deeper than the skin” (Lev. xiii. 2). Leprosy in the garments is typical of our
“habits” — the English idiom retains the figure, for we still speak of some clothing
as a “habit”, e.g., “a riding <i>habit</i>”.
Scripture uses the figure continually.
“Be clothed with humility.” “The
robe of righteousness.” “Put on (as
clothing) the new man.” The house speaks
of relationships — home, witness, service, etc., “The house of God”, “The
household of God”, “The household of faith”.
The subject matter of Leviticus
xiii. & xiv. is disposed as
follows:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The law of
leprosy (Leviticus
xiii. & xiv.).<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 130.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A | xiii. 1-46.
The leper. Pronounced unclean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 130.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> B
| xiii. 47-57. Leprosy in a garment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 130.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> C |
xiii. 58. Cleansing of garment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 130.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
D | xiii. 59.
“The law.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 130.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> |
xiv. 1-32. The leper. Pronounced clean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 130.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>B</i> |
xiv. 33-47. Leprosy in a house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 130.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>C</i> | xiv. 48-53.
Cleansing of house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 130.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>D</i> |
xiv. 54-57. “The law.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Upon
reading Leviticus xiii. one of the first impressions received is the
extraordinary care that the priest must exercise in judging as to whether the
person before him is, or is not, suffering from leprosy. No hasty judgment is allowed. No indiscriminate generalizings, for leprosy
cuts a man off from fellowship with God and his neighbours, deprives him of all
visible means of grace, all domestic and social privileges, and consequently it
must be dealt with most carefully. The
priest is given the most detailed account of the symptoms, and his diagnosis
does not depend upon his feelings or his reasoning, but upon the Word of
God. Then, observe the care that must be
exercised whenever there is a doubt in the mind of the priest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Then the priest shall shut
up him that hath the plague seven days” (Lev.xiii.4).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> If at the end of that time there is still
uncertainty, the suspected person must be shut up for yet a further seven days
(xiii. 5). How this should warn us
against hasty judgments, uncharitable interpretations, or biased opinions of
the actions of others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “It is but a scab” (xiii. 6). The whole subject is loathsome, but also is
sin, and we are but looking into the mirror of the Word. A scab may, or may not, be a cause for
putting away. The one great point that
the priest was to observe was that “it spread not”. If, however, spreading be evident, “he shall
be seen of the priest again”, then, if the spreading continues, the dread
sentence goes forth, “it is leprosy”.
Here is a lesson that should give us pause. The person is pronounced leprous and unclean
when the plague with which he is afflicted <i>spreads</i>! If we would have this interpreted for us in
spiritual language, we may heed the apostle’s statement:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “I know, and am persuaded by the Lord
Jesus, that there is nothing unclean (or common) of itself: but to him that esteemeth anything to be
unclean, to him it is unclean” (Rom.xiv.14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “All
things indeed are pure, but it is evil for that man that eateth with offence” (Rom.
xiv. 20).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in
that thing which he alloweth” (Rom. xiv. 22).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We
know that an idol is nothing in the world . . . . . howbeit there is not in
every man that knowledge: for some with
conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol ... and through thy knowledge the weak brother is perishing, for whom
Christ died” (I.Cor.viii.4-11).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> While we live and walk in this world it is
impossible to avoid contact with evil somewhere, and while this is to be
deplored, it is but an indication of the present state of things, and the
effect upon us is described in the language of the type as, it is but a “scab”. Though by no means spiritual or right, such
things are not a sufficient ground for the breaking off of fellowship, for
“then must ye needs go out of the world”.
But where anything tends to “spread”, and weaker brethren are stumbled,
then it is time to judge the thing and pronounce it unclean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The law of
cleansing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> While we should not too quickly turn away
from the awful picture of sin given in
chapter xiii., our immediate
object is rather the <i>cleansing </i>of the leper, which is given in chapter xiv. Referring
to the structure <span style="color: #f79646;">(see above “<i>A</i>”)</span>,
we see that the section dealing with the cleansing of the leper occupies verses
1-32. This, we shall discover upon reading,
is further divided into two sections.
First the full ceremonial (1-20), then the provision for one who might
be too poor and unable to afford so much.
This, therefore, reduces our field of investigation to the first twenty
verses. The intricate detail of this
passage is apt to overwhelm the reader, and he may thus miss one or two most
essential distinctions. To enable all to
see these features we set out verses 2-20 as follows:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A1 | xiv. 2-7.
Out of the camp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A2 | xiv. 8, 9.
Into the camp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A3 | xiv. 10-20.
At the door of the tabernacle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is vital to the understanding of this
lesson that these three divisions shall be kept distinct. Each has its own ceremonial, and what is done
at the door of the tabernacle would be impossible either outside the camp, or
during the seven days tarrying abroad in the camp. We can now fill in the detail of each
section:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A1 | xiv. 2-7.
Out of the camp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
a | The two birds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
b | Cedar, scarlet, hyssop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>a</i> |
The two birds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> B1 |
xiv. 7. “HE SHALL PRONOUNCE HIM
CLEAN.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A2 | xiv. 8, 9.
Into the camp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
c | Wash clothes, shave and wash flesh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
d | Seven days tarrying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>d</i> |
Seventh day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>c</i> |
Shave, wash clothes and wash flesh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> B2 |
xiv. 9. “AND HE SHALL BE CLEAN.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A3 | xiv. 10-20.
At the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
e | Trespass offering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
f | Wave offering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
g | The blood applied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
<i>g</i> | The oil applied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>e</i> |
Sin offering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
<i>f </i> | Burnt offering and meat offering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> B3 |
xiv. 20. “AND HE SHALL BE
CLEAN.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> As
we observe what is said regarding the cleansing of the leper, we shall find
food for thought. In the first section
he is “pronounced clean”. In the second,
he begins to take active part “that he may be clean” (verse 8). “And he shall be clean.” In the third, there seems at first to be a
set-back. He is spoken of as “the man
that is to be made clean” (verses 11, 18 & 19), and not until atonement has
been made do we read, “and he shall be clean” (verse 20). It is evident that deep teaching is here. May we look ever to the Lord that we may be
guided into the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The two birds.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> First let us consider the initial act of
cleansing. The margin tells us that the
birds may be sparrows, and there is a possibility that the English word is derived
from the Hebrew, which is <i>tsippor</i>.
With these two birds are taken cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop. Perhaps we may never penetrate the typical
intention, yet these things are written for our learning. A variety of suggestions have been made from
time to time, which it would serve no useful purpose to repeat here. But two N.T. passages come before the mind
that seem to point the way to the truth intended. The spiritual equivalent of leprosy is found
in the words:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> “Hating even the garment spotted by the </span><i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">flesh</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">” (Jude 23).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> “Keep himself unspotted from the </span><i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">world</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">” (James i. 27).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The flesh and the world are the two great
sources of spiritual defilement, and nothing but the cross of Christ can
deliver the believer from their contamination:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They that are Christ’s have crucified the
<i>flesh</i>” (Gal. v. 24).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The <i>world </i>is crucified unto me”
(Gal. vi. 14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> By nature we are all defiled and
unclean. “In the flesh . . . . . and in
the world” is the centre and circumference of the natural man (Eph. ii. 11,
12). The combination of cedar and hyssop
makes one think of I Kings iv. 33, where the whole range of the vegetable
kingdom seems comprehended in the words:
“He spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the
hyssop that springeth out of the wall”.
Scarlet is what we know as cochineal, and the combination may indicate
the world and the flesh, the contaminating agents, being placed under the power
of the death and resurrection of Christ.
However this may be, the great feature of this offering is found in the
two birds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is not often that we have, in one
offering, so vivid a picture of both the death and resurrection of Christ as we
have here. One of the birds was taken
and killed in an earthen vessel over running water (the same word as “living”
in verse 6), and then the living bird, together with the cedar wood, scarlet,
and hyssop, were dipped into the blood of the bird that was killed: the leper was then sprinkled seven times, and
the living bird let loose into the open field.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The two aspects
of cleansing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> As a result of this, the man is
“pronounced clean”. Here is the initial
cleansing. All this while the leper has
done nothing. He is brought to the
priest. The priest goes out of the camp
to inspect him. The priest commands to
take for the leper the two birds. The
priest kills the one bird, the priest dips the bird, the priest sprinkles the
leper, the priest pronounces him clean.
But immediately following this extremely passive attitude comes one of
personal activity:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “He shall wash his clothes, and shave off
all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean” (Lev. xiv. 8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “That he may be clean.” What does that mean? He had been pronounced clean already, yet
upon his own washing and shaving the words are added, “that he may be
clean”. The same idiom and the same
explanation are found elsewhere:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Love your enemies … that ye
may be the children of your Father” (Matt.v.45).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Does any one understand this to mean, that
a man may bring about his own regeneration by loving his enemies? No, it is understood to mean “that ye may be <i>manifestly
</i>the children of your Father”. The
lesson is this. First our cleansing is
entirely the work of God in applying to our need the death and resurrection of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Then when this is
done, and we are “pronounced” clean, the newly awakened soul begins to stir
itself, that it may be in act, what it is in fact. This is set forth by the washing of the
clothing — the habits, and the flesh — by our own act, and the shaving off of all
the hair which has been associated with the disease (<i>see </i>Leviticus
xiii.), and II Cor. vii. 1 is a commentary upon the type:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> To this same Corinthian church the apostle
had already written:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified,
but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our
God” (I Cor. vi. 11).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The same sequence is the same as in Leviticus xiv.:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-left: 77.4pt; text-align: justify;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 12.8pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; page-break-inside: avoid;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 2.5in;" width="240"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I & II Corinthians<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 184.5pt;" width="246"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Leviticus xiv.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes; page-break-inside: avoid;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 22.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 2.5in;" width="240"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Ye
are washed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Let
us cleanse ourselves.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 184.5pt;" valign="top" width="246"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Pronounced
clean.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“He
shall wash himself.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Another precious parallel is found in John xiii. 10
where a due consideration of the two words translated “wash” is most
helpful:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“He that <i>hath been bathed
</i>needeth not save <i>to wash </i>his feet, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">but is clean every whit.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
eighth day.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The washing and shaving is repeated on the
seventh day after the admission back into camp, and the word then goes forth, <i>and
he shall be clean</i>. With the eighth
day, however, we seem to start all over again.
We read now of “the priest that maketh him clean”, and “the man that is
to be cleansed”. The man is now
“presented” at the door of the tabernacle, and full acceptance, conscious
access, real service is in view, and for that a further preparation is
necessary. In other articles we have
shown that redemption (<i>exodus</i>) and atonement (<i>eisodus</i>) are
complementary. The former is set forth
by the two birds, with never a word about trespass, sin or acceptance, and the
latter is set forth by the full fourfold offering — trespass, sin, meal and
burnt offering — fully set out in
Leviticus i.-vii., and analysed
with some care in other articles of this magazine. In this cleansing, the whole man is not
sprinkled, but three representative members are touched, first with the blood
and then with the oil. The right ear,
the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot. This is a symbol full of service. The servant must hearken in order to obey,
and then hand and foot are engaged in loving obedience. All this takes place on “the eighth day”, the
day of circumcision, which finds its exposition in Philippians iii. and
Colossians ii.:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We are the circumcision, which worship
God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh” (Phil. iii. 3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “In Whom also ye are circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands, in putting off <i>the body of the flesh</i>
(R.V.) by the circumcision of Christ” (Colossians ii. 11).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Here is the resurrection stand. Here is where and when the four great
offerings of Leviticus i.-vii. have their place. Redemption is for the sinner, atonement for
the saint. First deliverance <i>from</i>,
and then access <i>to</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The oil on
the blood.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Here is a most important order, a
corrective to much mischievous teaching that is abroad to-day. Sanctification of the Spirit is taught in the
Word. Cleansing by the Word is
scriptural. But the Spirit is powerless,
and the Word unavailing, <i>unless behind and beneath all is the precious blood
of Christ</i>. An <i>undue </i>emphasis
upon the Holy Spirit may not be from God.
It is the Spirit’s office to glorify the Son of God. The true order in sanctification is that
of Leviticus xiv. First
the application of the blood, then the application of the oil “upon the place
of the blood” (Leviticus.xiv.28). Just as the
initial cleansing of Leviticus.xiv.2-7 underlies all that follows, so the
initial sanctification by the blood of Christ underlies all progressive
appreciation on our part. The trespass
offering speaks of personal acts of sin, the sin offering speaks of inherent,
radical sinfulness, the burnt offering is the recognition of the satisfaction
which the Father found in His beloved Son, and the bloodless meat offering, the
gift of thankfulness for mercy received.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Lord, Who cleansed the leper, and
whose once-offered sacrifice did away, for ever, with all the offerings of the
law, endorsed the whole typical teaching of
Leviticus xiv., and bade the
cleansed leper “offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them”
(Matt. viii. 4).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We do most earnestly pray that every
reader, after pondering the teaching of
Leviticus xiv. together, will
appreciate perhaps more than ever the blessed meaning of the words, <i>“The
blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin”</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-30835255924574340262015-01-29T01:39:00.003-08:002015-01-29T01:43:51.417-08:00#77. Leviticus. Some phases of holiness.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The laws enumerated in Leviticus were all
given by the Lord from Mount Sinai. This
is plainly stated four times. At the end
of chapter vii., where the five great offerings are detailed,
we read:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “This is the law of the burnt offering, of
the meat offering, of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of
the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offering; which the Lord commanded Moses in Mount
Sinai, in the day that He commanded the children of Israel to offer their
oblations unto the Lord, in the wilderness of Sinai” (Lev. vii. 37, 38).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Again at the beginning of chapters xxv. and end of
xxvii. we read:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And the Lord spake unto Moses in Mount
Sinai.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “These are the commandments, which the
Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in Mount Sinai.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Throughout the book there are indications
that Israel are living in camp. Both the
incidents that break into the narrative, namely, that of Nadab, and that of the
blasphemer (chapters x. & xxiv.), speak of the camp, and their very
introduction indicates that the actual giving of the law was in progress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The time occupied in the giving of the law
in Leviticus is just one month. This is
discovered by referring to the following:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And it came to pass in the first month in
the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared
up” (Exod. xi. 17).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And the Lord spake unto Moses in the
wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of
the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of
Egypt” (Numb. i. 1).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Under the shadow of the law and its
threatenings, therefore, was given this gracious typical provision for
sin. The laws of Leviticus come with the
same divine authority as the ten commandments of Exodus xx.
The book of Leviticus contains
more of the spoken words of God than any other, and while we do not intend by
this statement to imply that it is more inspired than the rest of Scripture,
nevertheless, the fact should give pause to any waverer who listens to the
critic who relegates the whole to later times, and speaks of it as a pious
forgery. Leviticus, moreover, is quoted
in forty places in the N.T. and these quotations are not confined to one
section, but are found in the four Gospels, the Acts,
Hebrews, Peter, James,
Jude, Revelation, I & II Corinthians, Galatians,
Romans, Ephesians and
Colossians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The fundamental basis of the book is holiness,
and it is no exaggeration to say that holiness is implied in every law, every
ordinance and every offering. <i>Qadosh</i>,
“holy”, and its variants occur over one hundred times, variously
translated, “holy”, “hallow”,
“sanctify”, and “sanctuary”.
Closely allied with this holiness are the various laws and ceremonies
that deal with uncleanness and purification.
Redemption from sin is not in view in these. The great central offering for sin is seen in
the institution of the day of atonement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Uncleanness.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 5.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> As one patiently seeks out the varied laws
that deal with uncleanness in Leviticus, and as the scriptural emphasis upon
the many and varied causes of contamination begin to be translated by the
Spirit into their spiritual equivalents, one feels like Isaiah who, in the
presence of the Lord, cried, “Woe is me, for i am undone, because i am a man of
unclean lips”, and more than ever are we thankful for that precious blood “that
cleanseth us from all sin”. In this book
we discover that even the natural workings of the body may nevertheless be
unclean, and we learn that, irrespective of any fault of our own, there are
many outside sources of defilement that may render us unclean. There is one case, where the near relation of
the dead is definitely permitted to make himself unclean out of love and
devotion, but, though permitted, this uncleanness is nevertheless not allowed
to pass; it must be removed, as must all
other (<i>See </i>Lev. xxi. 1-4).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In Leviticus, cleanness is used as a
synonym for holiness, and to know this is a valuable help in the understanding
of the will of God concerning our sanctification:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Put difference between holy and unholy,
and between unclean and clean” (Lev. x. 10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In
Leviticus xi. we have the law
regulating the matter of clean and unclean beasts that might or might not be
eaten by an Israelite:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “These are the beasts which ye shall eat
among all the beasts that are on the earth . . . . . and in the waters.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> A long list is given of prohibited beast,
fish, fowl and creeping thing, and then come the concluding words:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Ye shall not make yourselves abominable
with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean
with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.
For I am the Lord your God; ye
shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any
manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of
the land of Egypt to be your God: ye
shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. xi. 43-45).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Profaneness.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Another opposite to holiness, in
Leviticus, is profanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They shall be holy unto their God, and
not profane the name of their God” (Lev. xxi. 6, 7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “He shall not go in unto the vail, nor
come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that
he profane not
My sanctuaries: for I the
Lord do sanctify
them” (Lev. xxi. 23).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “If a man eat of the holy thing
unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereto . . . . . they shall not
profane the holy thing” (Lev. xxii. 14, 15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Neither shall ye profane My holy
name; but I will be hallowed among the
children of Israel; I am the Lord which
allow you” (Lev. xxii. 32).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The word translated “profane” is <i>chalal</i>,
and means “to penetrate”, and so, in its more intensive forms, it means
ruthlessly to violate all sacred bounds, brazenly to enter holy ground. The adjective <i>chol </i>is rendered
“unholy” in Lev.x.10, where it is placed in contrast with “holy”
and “clean”:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “That ye may put a difference between holy
and unholy: and between unclean and
clean.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The idea of being “common” in opposition
to “sacred” can be seen in Ezek.xlviii.12-15, where <i>chol </i>is translated
“profane”:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “This oblation of the land . . . . . a
thing most holy . . . . . and the five thousand that are left in the breadth .
. . . . shall be a profane place for the city.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> That this “profane” place simply means,
the place for the common people is seen by the concluding words of the verse,
“for dwelling, and for suburbs”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Blemish.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Not only are uncleanness and profaneness
placed in contrast with holiness, but, in the setting aside from holy service
all that are physically blemished, another aspect is typified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Speak unto Aaron, saying, whoever he be
of thy seed in their generation that hath any blemish, let him not approach to
offer the bread of his God . . . . . he hath a blemish; that he profane not My sanctuaries” (Lev.
xxi. 17-23).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What is true of the priest is also true of
the offering:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye
not offer; for it shall not be acceptable
for you . . . . . it shall be perfect to be accepted: there shall be no blemish therein” (Lev.
xxii. 18-25).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> How these types force us to the blessed
realization of the fulness of the Lord Jesus Christ! Both as Offering and High Priest He was “without
blemish and without spot”, “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners”,
and can we not see in Eph. i. 4-6 the close connection between holiness, and
acceptance in the Perfect One?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“That we should be holy and
without blame . . . . . accepted in the Beloved.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Holiness
and sin.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The removal of defilement in order to
attain to holiness is set forth in a great variety of ways in Leviticus. We have rinsing in water, washing in water,
sprinkling with blood, anointing with oil, and the making of atonement, in
order to cleanse. Some of these
different processes we must consider, but the only aspect we propose to notice
before closing this article is a special word translated “cleanse” which shows
the intimate connection between unholiness and sin:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“And he shall take <i>to
cleanse </i>the house . . . . .” (Lev. xiv. 49).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“And he <i>shall cleanse </i>the
house with the blood of the bird . . . . .” (Lev.xiv.52).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“And Moses took the blood .
. . . . and <i>purified </i>the altar” (Lev. viii. 15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> These words “cleanse” and “purify” are the
<i>piel </i>form of the verb <i>chata</i>, “to sin”, and there can be no true
holiness that is not intimately connected with the sacrifice of Christ. True, we read of the sanctification of the <i>Spirit</i>,
and the sanctifying by the <i>Word</i>, but this is subsequent to, and based
upon, the sanctification which is by His <i>blood</i>. This we shall see more clearly in the passage
we hope to consider in our next article.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Thou
shalt put a
difference.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> When Israel were redeemed out of Egypt, we
read that the Lord “put a difference” between Israel and the Egyptians (Exod.
xi. 7), and where, in Exod.viii.23, we read, “I will put a division
between My people and thy people”, the margin reads, “(<i>Heb.</i>) <i>a
redemption</i>”, for “a division”. What,
therefore, is holiness or sanctification but redemption carried to its logical
conclusion? The teaching of Leviticus is
expressed in the words of Lev. x. 10:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And that ye may put a difference between
holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This putting a difference between
righteousness and unrighteousness, between light and darkness, Christ and
Belial, believer and infidel, is summed up in
II Cor. vii. 1, as “perfecting
holiness in the fear of God”, and separation from evil unto God, perceiving,
and acting out the difference that grace has made, is the essence of true
sanctification. While the law made
nothing perfect, and Levitical cleansings and offerings failed to touch the
conscience, they foreshadowed the great work of Christ, “the very image”, and
are a preservative against that emotional and fleshly “holiness” that passes,
with some, for the real thing. “True
holiness” is ours in Christ (Eph. iv. 24).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-41256258989256345272015-01-29T01:29:00.003-08:002015-01-29T01:37:37.530-08:00#76. Leviticus. The book as a whole.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In the series entitled “Redemption” in
volumes XVII & XVIII we have given the five great offerings with which
Leviticus opens a fairly close study. We
now pass on to a wider consideration of the book, asking all our readers to
refer to the articles dealing with Leviticus
i.-vii. in the volumes referred to
above, so that their study may be as complete as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Before attempting a detailed exposition,
it is incumbent upon us to seek the general disposition of subject matter, and
at the outset we must confess that the task appears formidable. However, believing Leviticus to be a part of
inspired Scripture, we approach it with the same confidence that we should an
epistle of Paul, expecting to find beneath the surface those evidences of its
divine composition which we have observed so frequently in other parts of the
Word.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The complicated character of the book and
the mass of intricate detail preclude all idea of an exhaustive analysis, but
the following presents a survey of the teaching of the book without the
omission or suppression of any section.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 5.0pt;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> All that is necessary at the moment is to
indicate in a few words the obvious relationship of the various parts. Leviticus opens and closes with freewill
offerings. Five great basic sacrifices
occupy the opening chapters, and five separate sets of vows, and their
redemption, occupy the closing chapter.
While there is not an exact parallel between these two sets of five, it is
noticeable that in both cases the opening offering is the highest in character.
In
Leviticus i. it is the whole
burnt offering, entirely devoted to God. In
Leviticus xxvii. it is the
devotion of persons, men, women or children, to the Lord. The second offering is the meat (or meal)
offering, while the second vow is the sanctification of a house. The third offering is the peace offering and
the third vow the sanctification of a field and its produce. The sin offering and the firstling of beasts
come fourth, and include one kind that can never be redeemed (xxvii.28). Lastly we have the trespass offering and the
redemption of tithes. The fuller
exposition of Leviticus xxvii. must await its place in the series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The two sections under the letters B
and <i>B</i>
should be read and compared together.
The first is occupied with the sanctifying and the service of the
priests. The second with the feasts and
service that were incumbent upon all Israel.
In both there is a most impressive warning. The sacred nature of the priest’s office is
most tragically enforced by the destruction of Nadab and Abihu, when they
offered strange fire before the Lord.
The equally sacred responsibility of the people is enforced by the
tragic end of “the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian”,
who for cursing the name of the Lord was stoned to death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Associated with both of these groups is
the law concerning clean and unclean things. Chapter
xi. gives a long list of clean and
unclean animals, and its true object is revealed in the words: “Ye shall sanctify yourselves . . . . . make
a difference” (Lev. xi. 44-47). Chapter xii.
is occupied with the purification of women after child-birth; xiii. & xiv. deal with the plague of leprosy and the law
of its cleansing, and xv. with various physical causes of
uncleanness. Chapters xviii.-xxii., which supplement xi.-xv.,
take up the question of defilement and uncleanness once more, dealing
with unlawful marriage relationships and unchaste acts. Leviticuss xvii. & xix. are concerned with the abominable rites of
Molech and further unchastity, xx. with defilement by death and physical
blemishes, and xxi. with the peculiar separateness of Aaron and
his seed. Once again the teaching of
these chapters focuses upon the separateness of Israel: “Ye shall therefore put a difference … I have
severed you from other people” (Lev. xx. 24-26). The two outstanding features that remain are
the atonement and the punishment for sins in
chapters xvi., xvii. & xxvi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It would serve no useful purpose to
attempt the exposition of any one feature at this stage; we leave the outline with the prayerful
student, trusting that he will not only compare it with the various outlines
put forward at different times by other servants of God, but above all test it
by close reference to the Book itself.
In subsequent studies we hope to deal with a series of salient features
that are of importance in the school of faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-55245813316552185902015-01-22T18:55:00.002-08:002015-01-22T19:04:01.727-08:00#75. The new covenant anticipated (Exodus xxxiv. & xxxv.).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In preparation for the proclamation of the
Name of the Lord, and the partial revelation of His glory to Moses, the Lord
instructs Moses to hew two tables of stone like to the two that had been
broken, and to be ready in the morning to ascend the mount. Precautions were to be taken that neither man
nor beast should be near. This being
accomplished, we read: “And Moses rose
up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord commanded
him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone” (Exod.xxxiv.4). The proclaiming of the name of the Lord
immediately followed:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Then the Lord passed before him, and
proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah God, tenderly compassionate and gracious,
long-suffering and abounding in mercy and truth, reserving mercy for thousands,
bearing away iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means
clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and
upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation” (Exod.xxxiv.6,7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is by no means unanimity among
Hebrew scholars as to the correct reading of the phrase: “And that will by no means clear <i>the
guilty</i>”. We may see by the italic
type that “the guilty” are words added to complete the sense. The words “by no means” are the rendering of
an idiomatic use of the verb with which most students are familiar. For example, “Thou shalt surely die” is a
good English translation, yet literally the words are, “Dying, thou shalt die”. Here in
Exod. xxxiv. 7, “Clearing, He
will not clear” represents the order of the words. Spurrell translates the passage: “And justifying the unjustified; <i>yet </i>visiting the iniquity of the
father”, etc. Dathe and Boothroyd, after
<i>De Dieu</i>, render the passage: “And
do not altogether destroy the impious.”
Boothroyd, moreover, in his “Bible” translates it: “Clearing him that is not clear.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is no essential difference between
“clearing the guilty” and “justifying the ungodly”. The introduction of the words, “That will by
no means clear the guilty”, in some measure nullifies the gracious words that
precede. There we read that the Lord
forgives or “bears away” the iniquity, transgression and sin which constitute a
person guilty. Surely, it is the blessed
truth taught alike to Abraham, Moses and David, and made abundantly plain by
Paul in Romans.iii.&.iv., that He Who bears away our sin <i>does </i>“clear
him who is not clear”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The proclamation of the name Jehovah
involves a two-fold attitude to sin: an
attitude of graciousness, mercy, long-suffering and faithfulness in bearing
away sin, yet, by no means condoning sin or compromising God’s own
Holiness. This shows that sin, though it
be forgiven, often leaves behind a crop of trouble that must be reaped. For example, David was forgiven, yet as a
result of his sin, even though forgiven, war never departed from his
house. Moses was forgiven, but he
nevertheless never entered the promised land.
So here, sin will be forgiven, yet the iniquity of the fathers is
visited upon the children. The sins of a
believer to-day are forgiven, but the effects of his sin go on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Once more we see Moses grasping the
intention of the Lord by faith, and daring to urge yet more grace:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="margin: 0in 45pt 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And
Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If now I have found grace in Thy
sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us: FOR IT IS A STIFF-NECKED PEOPLE; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take
us for Thine inheritance” (Exodus xxxiv.
8, 9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Surely Moses knew that God did “clear him
who is not clear”. Look at the holy
boldness that faith possesses when standing on the ground of grace. The Lord had said that the reason why He
would not remain with Israel was that they were “a stiff-necked people” (Exod. xxxii. 9, xxxiii. 3 & 5), yet Moses, with the vision of the glory still
fresh and the proclamation of the name of the Lord still present to his memory,
urges this as a reason for the Lord to alter His threat, to turn away His wrath
and to go among them once more. Truly,
the principles of grace and merit are at the two extremes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
re-stated covenant.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Following this manifestation of grace the
Lord re-states covenant conditions in verses 10-17, following it up in verses
18-26 with a selection of the commandments which are the working out of the
terms of the covenant. It will be
observed that, in this new statement, practically one item only is stressed,
the matter of idolatry and the making of a covenant with idolaters. Every covenant must have at least two parties,
with mutual obligations. Consequently
verses 10-17 are distributed under the pronouns “I” and “Thou”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The omission of the remaining nine
commandments from these words of the covenant does not imply that they were not
repeated (<i>see </i>verse 28), but the insistence upon the first commandment
would cause Israel to realize that the worship of God alone was the first
essential. No amount of obedience to any
other command would compensate for the breaking of this, the essential clause.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> When Israel came out of Egypt many
marvelous plagues attended their deliverance;
but the Lord says here that He will, in the working out of this
covenant, “do marvels”, and that it will be a “terrible thing” that He will do
with Israel. Moreover these marvels will
be such as have not been seen in all the earth, nor in any nation. There are hints of this scattered throughout
the history of Israel. A very definite
statement is found in Micah vii.
15-17:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “According to the days of thy coming out
of the land of Egypt will I show unto him <i>marvelous </i>things. The nations shall see and be confounded at
all their might: they shall lay their
hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they
shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and
shall fear because of thee.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is evident, when we survey the teaching
of Scripture, that these unprecedented marvels are not described in their full
import until we reach the book of the Revelation. When we compare the opening of the Revelation
with the original covenant of Sinai, we perceive the change that is brought
about by the changed covenant:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Ye have seen what I did unto the
Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles wings, and brought you unto
Myself. Now, therefore, if ye will obey
My voice indeed and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto
Me above all people: for all the earth
is mine; and ye shall be unto Me a
kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exod. xix. 4-6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This is the original covenant, and upon
hearing its term Israel said, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exod.
xix. 8). Alas, the flesh cannot fulfil
such promises. But a few weeks pass and
Israel break the covenant and are threatened with extinction. Though the people will never become a kingdom
of priests on the terms of their own law-keeping, the words of Revelation i.
indicate that by the grace of God, and through the redemption of Christ,
they will ultimately attain to this glorious position:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Unto Him that loveth us and loosed us
from our sins by His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and
His Father, to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen” (Rev. i. 5,
6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The covenant of marvels is fulfilled by
the Lord in this book of the Revelation.
The vials of His wrath are poured out upon the earth and, sun, moon and stars share in the judgment. Micah
vii. tells us that the nations shall
come out of their holes like worms.
Revelation tells us that they shall hide themselves in the dens and in
the rocks of the mountains (Rev. vi. 15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What Israel failed to attain by law, they
shall reach through redeeming love: and
this re-stated covenant of Exodus
xxxiv. follows the wonderful exhibition
of divine forbearance and forgiving grace revealed at the intercession of
Moses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Following the new terms of the covenant of
marvels is a repetition of one or two commandments that arise out of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The commandments so put forward, and
thereby emphasized and enjoined upon this people, are as follows:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> 1. <i>The
four feasts that mark out their ecclesiastical year.</i>—Unleavened bread is a
reminder of their separation from evil unto the Lord, but the statement in
verse 25 concerning the unleavened sacrifices would remind Israel that it is by
the blood of atonement, and not by the works of the law, that they can ever
hope to find acceptance. The last feast,
the ingathering, symbolizes all Israel’s hope, and keeps it before them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> 2. <i>Redemption.</i>—This
is selected for repetition. The
firstborn of man and beast belong to the Lord.
This, as we find by referring back to
Exod. xiii. 12-15, was ordained
to keep perpetually in mind the deliverance of Israel and the slaying of the
firstborn in Egypt. The firstling of an
ass did not come into the same class as the firstling of an ox or sheep, for
the ass was not an animal fit for sacrifice.
It must either be redeemed by the sacrifice of a lamb, or its neck must
be broken. All firstborn sons, too, like
the ass must be redeemed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The injunction at the close against
seething a kid in its mother’s milk, guards the mind against what might appear
indifference to animal suffering or cruelty.
God’s commands concerning animal sacrifices were necessitated because of
sin, but He would have His people follow the paths of love and kindness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> 3. <i>The
observance of the sabbath knew no exceptions.</i>—Ploughing and harvesting are
exacting periods in the life of an agricultural people, nevertheless, however
pressing the apparent need, the seventh day sabbath must be preserved. It was, as we have seen, a sign between
Israel and the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> 4. <i>The
first of the firstfruits were to be given to the Lord.</i>—This is much in line
with the many customs still existing in virtue of which some tangible tribute
is paid annually to an overlord in recognition of his dues and demands upon the
fealty of the one in covenant. As we
shall see later, these firstfruits were a foreshadowing of resurrection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What was the effect upon Moses of this new
covenant of graciousness? The skin of
his face shone. He could not but catch
something of the glory. True, both the
record here and the inspired comment in
II Corinthian iii. show that the
glory was transient, yet it foreshadowed the fuller blessings of the new
covenant where they who behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled face are
transfigured. Moses, we are told, “wist
not that the skin of his face shone”. To
boast of modesty is to be immodest. To
parade humility is to be proud. True
sanctity walks hand in hand with conscious unworthiness. Boldness of access by reason of the faith of
Him, and fear and trembling when working out that salvation, go together. Paul did not know his own greatness. He rather marveled at the grace given to the
least of all saints. David was a man
after God’s own heart, but he knew what it was to pray for forgiveness of deep
and awful sin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Others will take knowledge of us when we
have been in the presence of the Lord, just as the priest who had been offering
incense would carry some of the fragrance with him on returning from the
sanctuary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The section concludes with one more
reference to the sabbath, this time particularizing its effect in the
household:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your
habitations upon the sabbath day” (Exod. xxxv. 3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> The
law of the sabbath suited Israel’s land.
Even the law concerning fires on the sabbath would mean sickness and
death if applied to a northerly country such as England. The climate of this country would not allow
the sabbatic year to be kept, unless the Lord accompanied the command with
perpetual miracles. But these are
particular features of the covenant made between the Lord and Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> After this last reference to sabbath rest,
the remainder of Exodus is occupied with the description and making of the
tabernacle under the guidance of Bezaleel and Aholiab. When the work was finished, the gracious
promise of the Lord’s presence was kept:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Then a cloud covered the tent of the
congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exod. xl. 34).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The closing words of Exodus tell us that
the token of the Lord’s presence never again left the people. He Who led them out, led them in. The redeemed of the Lord have no need to
plead for His leading, for it is theirs as part of His one great act of
love. What they need is eyes to see the
cloud and the fire, and hearts responsive to the indications of His will.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Thus
all things are
now ready for
the great covenant
worship with which
the ten commandments open. The book of worship, so far as details are
concerned, is the book of Leviticus, and this must be our next study.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-54723141543322484682015-01-22T18:47:00.002-08:002015-01-22T18:53:04.087-08:00#74. The presence and the glory (Exodus xxxiii.).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We take up the narrative at the point
where the Lord promised to send His angel to go before Israel, but said that He
Himself would not go up in the midst of them, lest He consumed them in the way. These were “evil tidings”, which brought
about a general mourning. No man put on
his ornaments, for the wearing of these was a sign of rejoicing, as abstention
therefrom was of mourning. The Lord said
to Moses: “Say unto the children of
Israel, Ye are a stiff-necked people; if
I had come one instant among you, I had destroyed you (<i>Horsley </i>and <i>De
Wett</i>): therefore now put off thy
ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do with thee” (Exod. xxxiii.
5). Here we have, set forth in symbol,
the necessity for <i>repentance</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Following this manifestation of repentance
came the removal of the “tent” without the camp, indicating the necessity for
separation from the prevailing ungodliness, a witness-bearing by active
association. This “tabernacle” must not
be confounded with the tabernacle already so fully described, for that was not
then made. This one is called “The
tabernacle of the congregation” (or “assembly”). The LXX translates this, “The tabernacle of
witness”, and although there is no apparent connection between “congregation”
and “witness”, we do not get the full intention of the Hebrew word <i>moed</i>
unless we include the idea of testimony.
<i>Ed </i>is the Hebrew word translated “witness” in Exod. xx. 16;
<i>eduth </i>is the word translated, “the tabernacle of witness” in Numb. xvii. 7. <i>Moed</i>,
translated “congregation” in Exod.
xxxiii. 7, is rendered in Gen. i. 14
“for seasons”, and in Gen. xvii.
21 “at this set time”; also “feasts”, “set feasts”, “solemnly”, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
This removal of the tabernacle “without the camp” was itself a witness,
and the congregation that worshipped there was no longer “all Israel”, but
“every one that sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the
congregation which was without the camp”.
It is plainly around this feature that
Heb.xiii.13 is written, and about
this self-same separation that the great cloud of “witnesses” are arrayed
in Hebrews xi. In this separated congregation we have in germ
the idea of a church, “a called-out
company” as <i>ekklesia </i>means.
Exodus xxxiii. 8-11 must be read
as a description of what happened subsequently, that is, when the true seeker
after God had given his testimony by going without the camp. Then, each time after that, when Moses
entered the tabernacle to communed with the Lord, these same men (and possibly
others following their example) rose and worshipped, every man in his tent
door. There is a precious lesson
here. By his act of separation and
devotion, each man turned his own dwelling-place into a sanctuary, much as the
early church worshipped in houses, remembering all the time that their great
Mediator was in the presence of God, and outside the camp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is strong emphasis here upon
communion with God: “And the Lord spake
unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exod.xxxiii.11). What a glorious contrast to the
obscene worship of the golden calf! Here
is no visible image, just a small tent, and the cloudy pillar to indicate the
presence of the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This peculiar prerogative of Moses is
mentioned more than once, to show how specially favoured and honoured he was:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “If there be a prophet among you, I the
Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and I will speak unto him in
a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who
is faithful in all Mine house. With him
I will speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he
behold” (Numb. xii. 6-8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is among the last things said of Moses,
at his death, that “there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses,
whom the Lord knew face to face” (Deut.xxxiv.10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Moses now faces the altered conditions,
and seeks of the Lord guidance and renewed assurance: “See Thou sayest unto me, Bring up this
people, and Thou hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me. Yet Thou hast said, I know thee by name, and
thou hast also found grace in My sight” (Exod.xxxiii.12). Here we are permitted to hear the communion
of Moses with his God. How blessedly
simple, intimate and direct it is! Moses
neither overrated his own abilities, nor under-estimated the task before
him. How was it possible, he argued, to
reconcile such a task with the favour in which he stood with the Lord? So he continues: “Now, therefore, i pray Thee, if i have found
grace in Thy sight, show me now Thy way, that i may know Thee, that i may find
grace in Thy sight: and consider that
this nation is Thy people” (verse 13).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Let us observe that Moses does not tell
the Lord what to do, nor does he even voice his own conscious need of the
Lord’s presence, but just asks, “Show me now Thy way”, adding, as an additional
plea, “Consider that this nation is Thy people”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is no reference in the Lord’s first
answer to the “way” or the “people”, but He met Moses’ initial fear and need by
saying: “My presence shall go with thee,
and I will give thee rest” (verse 14).
Moses had before him, perhaps a task more gigantic than has ever since
fallen to man to perform, but here, at the outset, he is assured of rest. From now onward he may enjoy a continual
sabbath, for the word for rest here is used by the Lord in Exod. xx. 11. So, when Moses responded to this gracious
word of God, he did not speak of “bringing” up the people of Israel himself,
but of the Lord “carrying” them: “If Thy
presence go not with me, carry us not up hence” (verse 15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“I will give
you rest.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Here service takes on a new form — a more
blessed form — it becomes fellowship. We
cannot do better than turn to Matthew
xi. to obtain an illustration of the
principle set forth here. The whole
setting of this chapter is one of doubt, disappointment and triumphant trust,
John the Baptist had sent from prison saying:
“Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?”. The generation that had seen the Lord’s
miracles and heard His words is next compared to fractious children who will
neither mourn at funerals nor rejoice at weddings. The cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida are
rebuked for their unbelief, and it is then, at that time, and in these
circumstances, that we read: “At that
time Jesus answered and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight” (verses
25, 26). It is in this setting and
context that the words of comfort follow:
“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and
learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. For My yoke is easy, and My
burden is light” (verses 28-30).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The following sentences taken from <i>With
Christ in Palestine</i>, by A.T.Schofield,M.D., are suggestive:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> "I was looking at a very good commentary
as to what ‘yoke’ is supposed to mean here, and I found it means ‘fellowship,
restraint, and subjection’. No doubt
these are three minor uses of a yoke . . . . . but the chief great primary use
of a ‘yoke’ is seldom grasped by Christian people; most are so occupied with the secondary uses
I have named that its great purpose is entirely missed. A yoke first of all is a contrivance to
enable oxen to pull a load along the road or across the field; ‘yoke’ is simply another word for
‘harness’. Harness is not put upon an
animal primarily for subjection or restraint or fellowship; it is put on to enable it to draw a load.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Speaking now for a moment as a physician,
who sees a great many nervous and broken-down people of all sorts, I find that
the greater number are not only sick in their bodies, but also sick in their
minds, and what they mostly suffer from is a complaint which I call ‘sore
neck’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> What, then, had made the neck sore? It is that the collar either does not fit, or
it has not been properly padded . . . . . Christ has come to us and says, It is
not enough for you to come to Me as weary and heavy laden and find rest for
your conscience in Myself: you want some
means of shielding your heart from all the petty worries and troubles . . . . .
and all the contrariety and meaningless vexations of this world of sorrow . . .
. . When the <i>yoke </i>is easy then the burden is light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> What, then, is this yoke padded with? The two materials mentioned are meekness and
lowliness of heart . . . . . I take it, meekness is our attitude towards man,
and lowliness is the attitude towards God."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is something of this that we find
in Exod. xxxiii. 15: “And he said unto Him, If Thy presence go not
with me, carry us not up hence”. Now it
is in connection with the very fact that the Lord had spoken to Moses face to
face, that we meet the statement: “Now
the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the
earth” (Numb. xii. 3). It is evident
that this meekness is displayed on many occasions when lesser souls would have
given way to impatience. But alas for
human nature! the meekest man on earth
spoke unadvisedly with his lips and failed;
<i>One </i>only could ever be the “perfecter of faith”. Moses reasoned that the presence of the Lord
was the great evidence of His favour:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “For wherein shall it be known here that I
and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight?
Is it not in that Thou goest with us?
<i>So </i>shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people
that are upon the face of the earth” (Exod.xxxiii.16).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
positive side of
sanctification.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>“So shall we be separated.” </i>— Here
is a word in season for us all.
Separation is, too often, a matter of “separation <i>from</i>”, a
negative thing, whereas it should be “separation <i>to</i>”, the positive
truth. <span style="color: red;">Fellowship
with the Lord is the great antidote to worldliness</span>, but separation from
worldliness alone has produced Pharisees and founded monasteries. Hebrews xiii. 13, the oft-quoted passage, does <i>not </i>merely
say: “Let us go forth therefore without
the camp”. What it does say is: “Let us go forth therefore <i>unto Him </i>without
the camp.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Israel’s separation from the nations was
evidence by their observance of clean and unclean meats: “I am the Lord your God, which have separated
you from other people. Ye shall
therefore put a difference between clean and unclean” (Lev. xx. 24, 25). Israel’s separation brought about this
observance. It was because the Lord <i>had
separated </i>them, that “therefore” they made the difference. Israel were not permitted to intermarry with
the Canaanite, but this abstention did not make them separate. They abstained because they had been separated: “Neither shalt thou make marriages with them
. . . . . for the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto
Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth” (Deut. vii.
1-6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The sanctification which is summed up in a
series of negatives is not the real thing.
That is not scriptural sanctification which merely does <i>not </i>do
this, does <i>not </i>go there, does <i>not </i>drink this, for we are solemnly
warned against the false system which says:
“Touch not, taste not, handle not.”
Our positive sanctification is found in Him, and proceeds from this
alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The
Lord’s answer to Moses reveals the value, in His sight, of true
intercession: “I will do this thing also
that thou hast spoken: for thou hast
found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name” (Exodus.xxxiii.17).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h1 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Show
me Thyself!<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Answered prayer beget prayer. The Lord’s promise of His presence stimulates
Moses to a further request: “And he said, i beseech Thee, show me Thy glory”. What is the true burden of Moses’
request? Together with Israel, he had
seen the glory of the Lord manifest upon Sinai, and in the cloud. Moreover, he had entered into the presence of
the Lord, and the Lord had talked with him face to face, and the similitude of
the Lord he had seen. Yet, upon the
gracious promise of the Lord’s presence with him, he is emboldened to press
further and say: “Show me Thy glory.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The word “show” involves seeing. A similar request is found in Song.of.Solomon.ii.14, “<i>Let me see </i>Thy countenance”. Moses said, “<i>Let me see </i>Thy glory”. He evidently sought something fuller than he
had experienced hitherto. He had been
“shewed” the pattern of the tabernacle;
this was something he had “seen”, and in the Lord’s answer to this
request he uses the same word, saying, “My face <i>shall not be seen</i>”
(Exod. xxxiii. 23). Earlier in Exodus we
have means adopted “lest the people break through … <i>to gaze</i>”. When Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the
seventy elders ascended the Mount, we read that “they <i>saw </i>the God of
Israel”. In the passage we are
considering Moses must have desired something more than had been vouchsafed on
the earlier occasion. Moses said, “Let
me see <i>Thy glory</i>”. The Lord
answered:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Thou canst not see <i>My face</i>” (Exod.
xxxiii. 20).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “While My glory passeth by, I will put
thee in a clift in the rock, and will cover thee with My hand, while I pass
by: And I will take away Mine hand, and
thou shalt see My back parts: but My
face shall not be seen” (Exod. xxxiii. 22, 23).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Does it seem evident that in this passage
“glory” and “face” are interchangeable in some way? <i>Spurrell </i>translates Exod. xxxiii. 18-23 as follows:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Furthermore he said: O show me, I pray Thee, THINE OWN SELF! ... then will I turn aside . . . . . this the hollow of My hand, and thou shalt
behold Me retiring, but My face shall not be seen.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This was the fullest revelation that could
then be given to any mortal man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The prayer of Moses is answered for us all
in II Cor. iv. 4 & 6:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, Who is the image of God . . . . . the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the FACE OF JESUS CHRIST.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> That this is connected with Exodus xxxiii. & xxxiv. is seen by a reference to II Corinthian iii. There we read of the passing glory of the
old covenant, and the failing glory of the <i>face of Moses </i>(II.Cor.iii.7). All that the Lord could do for Moses was to
let His goodness pass before him and proclaim the Name of the Lord before
him. Moses needed protection from the
fuller personal revelation of the Lord, and the clift in the rock and covering
hand might well speak to Moses of his need of Christ. The glory of the law fades in the presence of
“the glory that excelleth” (II Cor. iii. 10, 11). It was nevertheless a gracious revelation to
Moses. The proclamation of the Name, its
effect upon Moses, the altered covenant, and the summary of its terms given
in Exodus xxxiv., must be reserved for our next paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-12903757676481171942015-01-22T18:37:00.000-08:002015-01-22T18:46:11.516-08:00#73. The mediation of Moses (Exod. xxxii. 1 - xxxiii. 3).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In connection with the worship of the
golden calf, there are some solemn features that could not be dealt with in the
previous article. The language used by
the Lord concerning Israel indicates a change in their relationship: “Go, get thee down, for <i>thy </i>people,
which <i>thou </i>broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted
themselves” (Exod.xxxii.7). The Lord does
not speak of “My” people, but “thy” people.
He does not say that He, the Lord, brought Israel from Egypt, but speaks
of Moses as their leader. Israel had,
for the time, fallen out of covenant with God and had become <i>lo ammi</i>,
“not My people”. There is much the same
intention in these words as in those of the Lord Jesus concerning
Jerusalem: “<i>Your </i>house is left
unto you desolate.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Israel had corrupted themselves. The word used here occurs also in Hosea.xiii.9
where we read: “O Israel, thou hast <i>destroyed </i>thyself”. We first meet the word in Genesis vi. — an ominous context: “The earth also was corrupt before God . . .
. . And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh
had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Gen. vi. 11, 12). We have some small conception of the depth of
corruption that filled the earth at the time of the flood — the same word is used
of Israel in Exodus xxxii. It is
also rendered “destroy” in Genesis: “I
will <i>destroy </i>them with the earth”;
“I will <i>destroy </i>all flesh” (Gen. vi. 13-17).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The relation between “corruption”,
“destruction”, “idolatry” and the “covenant” is seen in Deuteronomy iv.:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Lest ye <i>corrupt </i>yourselves, and
make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or
female.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget
the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make you a
graven image or likeness of any thing, which the Lord Thy God hath forbidden
thee . . . . . and shall <i>corrupt </i>yourselves, and make a graven image . .
. . . if thou shalt seek Him . . . . . He will not forsake thee, neither <i>destroy
</i>thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which He sware unto them”
(Deuteronomy iv. 16, 23, 25, 29, 31).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Here we have the same word, <i>shachath</i>,
translated both “corrupt” and “destroy”.
We expect our readers to prove all statements made in these pages, and
therefore anticipate the findings of some who may consult <i>The Companion
Bible </i>on verse 31. The word there is
marked with the reference figure to verse 26, as though <i>shamad </i>is used
in verse 31. This is not correct,
however, and users of the <i>T.C.B.</i>
would be well advised to cross out the reference to 26 in verse 31. [This comment is in the cause of truth, and
entirely after the heart of the editor of the <i>T.C.B.</i>; it is made by a
sincere admirer of this valuable work.
We say this lest any should think that we have anything but admiration
for the witness of the late Dr. Bullinger].<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> As we read
Deuteronomy iv., we sees how
Israel’s corruption of true worship reverted in its corrupting and destroying
effect upon themselves. The inspiration
that governs all Scripture led Paul, in
Romans i., to speak of “the
incorruptible God” in a context of idolatry and personal degradation (i.
23-25).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> When dealing with Romans i.
we drew attention to the close parallel that exists between the
histories of the Gentile and of Israel.
It is so important to realize this that we repeat the following
quotations:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4e7Oi2DNQd1yIzVDVCZ2JB-jUbVz76mUXVtadDsx76JSzxlY2hcyNYDSmTJ2suqmkahX5DTmPvDkDpqZZIoSlJ6vPPfQ1aExpTI3OzIubFPsPqK1EVnZonp34uLIZv8gyt2ohmIOEo1Y/s1600/gentile+romans.i.+israel+psalm.cvi..png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4e7Oi2DNQd1yIzVDVCZ2JB-jUbVz76mUXVtadDsx76JSzxlY2hcyNYDSmTJ2suqmkahX5DTmPvDkDpqZZIoSlJ6vPPfQ1aExpTI3OzIubFPsPqK1EVnZonp34uLIZv8gyt2ohmIOEo1Y/s1600/gentile+romans.i.+israel+psalm.cvi..png" height="278" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Romans i. 18-32 has much in common with II Thess. ii. 1-12 &
II Tim. iii. 1-8, and the link
with Genesis vi. shows that we have the same evil at work in
the patriarchal age with Israel as at the end of this dispensation. In like manner we have in II Peter ii.
“destructive heresies, even denying the Lord that brought them”, and
soon “lascivious ways”. Then follows the
sin of the angels, and of Sodom and Gomorrah, a reference to the brute beasts
that perish in their own corruption, eyes full of adultery, the way of Balaam,
and finally servants of corruption, likened to dogs and sows. Here we have the degeneration that sets in
upon departure from the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is because of the close affinity
between the glory of the incorruptible God, and the blessing of man, that we find
in the covenant of the ten commandments, written by the finger of God, that
which preserves not only pure worship, but pure family life. As surely as man corrupts the worship of God,
so surely will he corrupt himself, <span style="color: red;">and in seeking to
“worship God in spirit and truth” he is at the same time pursuing his own
truest interests.</span> The Millennium
itself is characterized by the “knowledge of the Lord”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In the tenth verse of our chapter we have
the repudiation of Israel: “Now
therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may
consume them; <i>and I will make of thee
a great nation</i>” (Exod. xxxii. 10).
This leads us back to Genesis
xii. where the Lord made the promise to
Abraham.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Promise <i>versus </i>Law.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Moses makes no reference to this
suggestion, but throws himself and his people upon the grace of God. He will not even repeat the Lord’s word with
reference to himself, “thy people, which thou broughtest out”, but boldly
says: “Lord, why doth Thy wrath wax hot
against <i>Thy </i>people, which <i>Thou </i>has brought forth out of the land
of Egypt?” (verse 11). Moses reminds the
Lord that He is Israel’s Redeemer. This
sinful, stiff-necked people are the Lord’s redeemed, typically, by the blood of
the Lamb, “with great power and a mighty hand”.
Moses further pleads for the name of God among the enemy: “Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and
say, For mischief did He bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to
consume them from the face of the earth?” (verse.12). Finally he reminds the Lord of the covenant
established before the law of Sinai. He
anticipates the argument of the apostle in Galatians:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And this I say, that the covenant, that
was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and
thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none
effect. For if the inheritance be of the
law, it is no more of promise; but God
gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore
then serveth the law? It was added because
of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made”
(Gal. iii. 17-19).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Moses, the man of law, and Paul, the man
of grace, speak alike. Moses does not
plead the covenant of Sinai — he goes back “four hundred and thirty years”
earlier to the covenant with Abraham:
“Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou swearest
by Thine Own Self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars
of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed,
and they shall inherit it for ever”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In response to this prayer, the Lord repented
of the evil He had purposed against Israel.
Over against the Lord’s repudiation, Moses had placed the Lord’s
redemption; against their own
corruption, the degrading of the Lord’s name among the heathen; against making of Moses himself a great nation,
the unconditional covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Levi and Phinehas.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Moses’ intercession with God did not by
any means indicate a hiding or minimizing of Israel’s sin. We read that “Moses’ anger waxed hot”, and
that, seeing that the covenant was already broken, he cast the tables of stone
to the ground, breaking them on the mount.
He cause Israel to realize their sin by compelling them to drink the
bitter fluid compounded of the calcined image, and made Aaron to understand
that he had brought a great sin upon Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> When Moses saw the extent of their
corruption — “they were naked” — he, who had interceded for them with God, now
reveals that covenant promises do not mean indulgence for sin, and three
thousand men were slain by the sword of Levi, who were spared the wrath of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Psalm cvi.
brings together the worship of the golden calf, and the sin of
Baal-peor, recorded in Numbers xxv. There are several features that are common
to the two records. The hint of uncleanness
in Exodus xxxii. becomes an obvious fact in Numb. xxv. 1-3, 6-8. The execution by the sons of Levi in Exodus xxxii.
corresponds to the command of
Numb. xxv. 5: “Slay ye every one
his men that were joined unto Baal-peor”.
The added zeal of Phinehas in some measure counterbalances the sin and
fall of Aaron, for the Lord says:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Behold, I give unto him My covenant of
peace: And he shall have it, and his
seed after him for an everlasting priesthood;
because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the
children of Israel” (Numb. xxv. 12, 13).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This passage illuminates the true meaning
of atonement; it is no “covering up” of
sin: “Phinehas … hath turned My wrath
away . . . . . and made an atonement for the children of Israel”. <i>In this case </i>the atonement did not
save; <i>in our case </i>wrath is turned
away, but the atonement is made by death other than our own. In both cases plague follows the idolatry and
uncleanness, and with the solemn words of
Rom. i. 27 in mind, some medical
men believe this is to be the origin of one disease that is spreading among
mankind to-day. The sons of Levi had an
awful consecration that day (Exod. xxxii. 29).
Moses had called: “Who is on the
Lord’s side? Let him come unto me”, and
there followed the slaughter of the three thousand men by the sword of Levi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Once more Moses is the intercessor, this
time going so far as to say: “And if
not, blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which Thou hast written”. But, just as he himself had pleaded the grace
of God to save Israel from being blotted out, so the Lord in His turn rejects
Moses’ suggestion, saying: “Whosoever
hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book”. Whether Moses had the thought in mind that he
could thereby make an atonement, we do not know — he had said to the
people: “Peradventure, I shall make an
atonement for your sin” — but the passage foreshadows the greater Mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself a ransom for all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Israel’s sin, while it did not bring about
their extinction, yet put them at a greater distance from the Lord: “Therefore now go, lead the people unto the
place of which I have spoken unto thee:
behold, My angel shall go before thee ....... <i>I will send </i>an angel
before thee . . . . . <i>I will not go </i>up in the midst of thee” (xxxii. 34
- xxxiii. 3). While angelic leading may
be blessed, it was by comparison a severe loss to Israel, for they had
forfeited the <span style="color: red;">Lord’s presence in their midst.</span> We shall see more of this as we consider chapter xxxiii. The lessons are so many and so solemn that
reiteration and application seem out of place.
Exodus xxxii. is a chapter to
read before the Lord, praying that there may be no present-day parallel with
the position of Aaron and the people in our own walk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Let us not say that the Lord
delayeth; let us watch and pray; let us worship God in spirit, boasting in
Christ Jesus, and having no confidence in the flesh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-10589598251594649132015-01-19T18:47:00.000-08:002015-01-19T18:57:59.895-08:00#72. The golden calf (Exod. xxxi. 18 - xxxii. 14).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The worship of the golden calf and the
breaking of the two tables of stone are the closing incidents of this great
section of the book of Exodus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The worship of the calf is in exact
correspondence with the worship of the God of Israel by the seventy (Exod.
xxiv. 9-11), and the promise of the two tables of stone with their reception by
Moses (Exod. xxiv. 12-14 & xxxi. 18):--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A | xxiv. 9-11.
Worship of God of Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> B |
xxiv. 12-14. Tables of stone
promised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">) - -
- - - - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - - (<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>B</i> |
xxxi. 18. Tables of stone given.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> |
xxxii. 1-14. Worship of golden
calf.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> When Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and
seventy of the elders of Israel ascended the mountain, we are told that “they saw
the God of Israel ... and they did
eat and drink”. Then it was that the
Lord spoke of the tables of stone:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Come up to Me into the mount, and be
there: and I will give thee tables of
stone, and the law, and the commandment WHICH I HAVE WRITTEN, that thou mayest
teach them” (Exod. xxiv. 12). (The R.V.
corrects the A.V. here, for the Lord spoke of <i>the </i>law, not “a” law and <i>the
</i>commandment, not “commandments”).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> If this passage stood alone it would be
sufficient for all who bow before the authority of the Scriptures. The verse distinctly affirms that, before
Moses ascended into the Mount, the Lord had already written the tables of
stone. It is of course possible to
explain the passage as being merely a figure of speech, but the number of times
the fact is mentioned leaves no room for doubt.
The subject is important enough to warrant a careful tabulation of all
the references, which will now be given.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h1 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Did
God actually write
the Law?<o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Let us read further evidence on this vital
question:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Exod. xxiv. 12.—Already quoted above.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Exod. xxxi. 18.—“And He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of
communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone,
WRITTEN WITH THE FINGER OF GOD.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Exod. xxxii. 15, 16.—“And Moses turned, and went down from the mount,
and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both sides; on the one side and the other were they
written. And the tables were THE WORK OF
GOD, and the writing was THE WRITING OF GOD, graven upon the tables.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Exod. xxxiv. 1, 28 (also Deut. x. 1-14).—“And the Lord said unto Moses,
Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first; and I WILL WRITE upon these tables the words
that were in the first tables, which thou breakest . . . . . And he was there
with the Lord forty days and nights: he
did neither eat bread nor drink water.
And HE WROTE upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Deut. iv. 13.—“And He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded
you to perform, even ten commandments:
and HE WROTE them upon two tables of stone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Deut. v. 22.—“These words (i.e. the ten commandments quoted in verses
6-21) the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of
the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice; and He added no more. And HE WROTE them in two tables of stone, and
delivered them unto me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">7.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Deut. ix. 9, 10.—“When I was gone up into the Mount to RECEIVE the
tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you .
. . . . the Lord DELIVERED unto me two tables of stone WRITTEN WITH THE FINGER
OF GOD.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Here are seven separate passages of
Scripture. One makes promise of the
bestowal of the tables, three record the receiving of them, and three more
rehearse the fact years after the event.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
testimony is clear
and complete.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The ten commandments which formed the
“covenant” between Israel and the Lord were written by none other than God
Himself. The remaining commandments,
statutes and judgments, all spring from these basic commandments and were given
to Moses during the forty days, commencing with the law given in the
Mount. We may therefore declare that God
has not only <i>spoken</i>, but He has written, and thereby made it plain to
all His people that He will communicate in written word His will for them. In the language of Paul in I Cor. xv. 3
the reader will doubtless perceive a reflection of Deut. ix. 9, 10: “For i <i>delivered </i>unto you first of all
that which i also <i>received</i>”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Worship.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This section, as we
have seen, begins and ends
in worship, and what is true
of this small section is true of the whole
age-purpose. The somewhat veiled
story of Ezekiel xxviii. revolves around the thought of worship. The temptation of the Lord in Matthew iv.
reaches its climax in worship.
The Beast, at the last, enables Satan to attain his end — worship
(Revelation xiii). The times of the
Gentiles begin and end with false worship (Daniel iii.,
Revelation.xiii.). Worship is the goal of the mystery of iniquity
(II.Thess.ii.4), and the word “godliness” in the phrase “the mystery of
godliness” (I.Tim.iii.16) is “good or accepted worship” (<i>eusebeia</i>). The Gentile apostacy was connected with
worship (Romans.i.21-23) at the beginning, and will be so at the end — “a form
of worship” (II Tim. iii. 5). The last
of all gospels stresses worship (Rev.xiv.7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The first and all-embracing term of the
covenant of Sinai was: “Thou shalt have
no other gods before Me” (Exod. xx. 3), and the first step in transgression is
the making of “any graven image, or any likeness of anything . . . . . thou
shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them” (Exod. xx. 4, 5). Idol worship is demon worship:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “What say I then? that the idol is anything, or that which is
offered in sacrifice to idols is anything?
But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice
to demons, and not to God” (I Cor. x. 19, 20).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The gods of Egypt, as well as the Egyptians
themselves, were the objects of God’s wrath in the plagues (Exod. xii. 12).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
worship of the
golden calf.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="margin-right: 31.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And when
the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people
gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, up, make us gods,
which shall go before us; for as for
this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not
what has become of him” (Exod. xxxii. 1).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There are two points of great importance
in this verse. The first has reference
to the word “delayed”. The word is the <i>piel</i>
form of the verb, which generally indicates intensity. The verb itself is <i>bosh</i>, meaning “to
be, or to feel, shame”, and at first sight the translation “delayed” seems to
have no connection. That <i>bosh</i>
does mean “to be ashamed” the following passages will show: Gen. ii. 25;
Psalm vi. 10; Isa. i. 39, and the A.V. so translates it seventy-one
times. Once, the verb is translated “become
dry” (Hos. xiii. 15), and <i>yabesh </i>is used in Gen. i. 9
and Exod. xiv. 16 of the “dry land”. This, rather than “ashamed”, is at the root
of the word, and the transition of the meaning is as follows: “To flag, fail, grow flaccid, limp,
spiritless”, then “to languish at long delay, to feel ashamed, confounded.” There is one other reference in the A.V.
where the <i>piel preterite </i>is found, viz.,
Judges.v.28: “Why <i>is </i>the
chariot so <i>long </i>in coming?”. Here
the mother of Sisera betrays her uneasiness and confusion at the delay of her
son.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Exodus xxxii. 1 therefore tells us that Israel began to flag,
to dry up, to feel somewhat ashamed at the long delay — they felt that
something ought to have been done by then, much as we may feel at being kept
waiting for an interview beyond what we may think a reasonable time. Israel did not realize that one of the first
phases of worship is expressed in the word “wait”:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Let not them that wait on Thee, O Lord
God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake” (Psa. lxix. 6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Yea, let none that wait on Thee be ashamed”
(Psa.xxv.3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Let me not be ashamed of my hope” (Psa.
cxix. 116).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Hope maketh not ashamed” (Rom. v. 5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “According to my earnest expectation and
my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed” (Phil. i. 20).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Habakkuk had to learn the importance of
waiting God’s time (Hab. ii. 1-4), and the same lesson is rehearsed in Hebrews x. 37-39. It was the evil servant who said, “MY Lord
delayeth His coming” (Matt. xxiv. 48).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Romans i.
reveals an affinity between idolatry and ingratitude:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They glorified Him not as God, neither
were thankful ... and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an
image ...” (Rom. i. 21-23).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Exodus xxxii. 1 shews the same connection:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Up, make us gods, which shall go before
us, for as this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we
know not what has become of him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “As for this Moses” — It does not sound
very respectful; the people fail in
their attitude both to God and man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The idol that was made by Aaron from the
golden earrings of the women was in the form of a calf. Memphis, which was near to Goshen, and On,
which was in the midst of Goshen, were both famous for the worship of the Sacred
Bull. At the death of the Bull, whose
name was <i>Apis</i>, it was called <i>Osiris, Apis </i>or <i>Serapis</i>, and
a new calf, born of a cow that could have no more young, became the new
god. There is a mixture here of the
false and the true:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “These be thy gods, O Israel, which
brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said,
To-morrow is a feast to the Lord” (Exod.xxxii.4,5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Here is confusion — “gods” and “the Lord”,
and Aaron in his answer to Moses manifests that he is a temporizer:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this
people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord
wax hot; thou knowest the people, that
they are set on mischief. For they said
unto me, Make us gods . . . . . and there came out this calf” (Exod. xxxii.
21-24).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We are warned in Scripture to judge not
lest we be judged. With all humility and
full consciousness of our own weakness and liability to err, we feel that
nothing can be put forward to justify Aarons’ action. Three thousand men lost their lives, the
whole of the people were shamed, the precious tables of stone written by the
finger of God shattered, and the initial term of the covenant broken, all
largely because one man did not stand firm for God and His revealed will. What a blessed contrast it is to turn to Galatians ii.
and see there the magnificent stand of the apostle for the truth of the
gospel, and his subjection to the popular voice “no, not for an hour”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The statement that the people “rose up to
play”, that they were “dancing” round the golden calf, and that Aaron had made
them “naked unto their shame among their enemies”, reveals the lascivious
character of their worship. Many have
found a difficulty in understanding verse 20:
“And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and
ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of
Israel drink of it”. The modern chemist
would probably use tartaric acid in accomplishing this, but the ancient
Egyptians used <i>natron</i>. The
resulting powder has a nauseous taste, and the action would be symbolical of
the bitter result of their folly. Should
any, moreover, feel any difficulty about the amount of gold indicated, he
should acquaint himself with the statements of archaeologist and
historian. "The rich frequently had
ornamental works, statues, and furniture of solid gold. <i>Diodoros </i>mentions a golden statue at
Babylon, forty feet high, weighing one thousand Babylonian talents", and a
list is given of other similar effigies "making a total of at least 690
talents, reckoned equal to L11,000,000 sterling". Thus <i>Wilkinson </i>in <i>Ancient Egyptians</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Not only did Israel turn back in heart to
the leeks and the fish which they did eat in Egypt, they also turned to their
gods — yes, even after the majesty of Sinai and the meditation of Moses. The lapse of forty days was a test, and under
that test Israel failed. The number
forty is often associated with a test. How wonderfully the Lord Jesus entered into
Israel’s position, triumphing where they failed. He, too, waited for forty days; He, too, was tempted to worship Satan, but He
gloriously triumphed, giving glory to God and honouring His Word. The spies searched the land of Canaan forty
days, and again Israel failed, and for forty years wandered in the wilderness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is a sad parallel with Exodus xxxii.
even to-day. The great Mediator
has ascended, the time seems long;
ministers appointed by God yield to the pressure of the people; they effect a compromise: “gods” and “the Lord” are brought together,
and the One Who accomplished their redemption is slighted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> The outcome of this awful departure from
the covenant of God we must consider in our next paper. Meanwhile, let us not miss the solemn lessons
that everywhere are apparent in this chapter, for in the scriptures written to
us and about us is the warning concerning “heaping to themselves teachers”, and
“a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof”. The added word,” From such turn away”, is, in
measure, an echo of Exod. xxxii.
26, where Moses stood in the gate of the
camp and cried: “Who is on the Lord’s
side? Let him come unto me”.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-24289584061617232982015-01-19T18:23:00.002-08:002015-01-19T18:41:25.921-08:00#71. The sabbath. A sign and a covenant (Exodus xxxi.).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> With the reference in Exod. xxxi. 1-6 to the two men who were specially endowed
with wisdom for the making of the tabernacle, and the enumeration of its
furniture in Exod. xxxi. 7-11, the description of the tabernacle and its
parts comes to an end. Upon the close of
the description of the place of worship follows the sign and covenant of the
sabbath, the giving of the law on the two tables of stone, and the lapse into
idolatry during the absence of Moses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>The Companion Bible </i>shows the
inter-relation of these parts very clearly;
we give a somewhat condensed copy of the structure here:--</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Exodus xxiv. 9 - xxxii. 14.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A | xxiv. 9-11. The worship of the seventy elders.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> B | xxiv. 12-14. The tables of stone promised.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> C | xxiv. 15-18. The six days and the seventh.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> D | xxv. 1 - xxxi. 11. The tabernacle and its furniture.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> C | xxxi. 12-17. The six days and the seventh.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> B | xxxi. 18. The tables of stone given.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A | xxxii. 1-14. The idolatry of the people.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 5.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It has sometimes been felt that the making
of such a structure as the tabernacle demanded greater skill than it can be
supposed a nation of slaves, whose labour was in the brick fields, could
possess, but we must leave God out of our reckoning. He not only gave Moses detailed instructions
and a perfect pattern, but fitted specially appointed workers for their task:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “I have called by name Bezaleel . . . . . I
have filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in
knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And I behold, I have given unto him
Aholiab . . . . . and in their hearts I have put wisdom, that they may make all
that I have commanded thee” (Exod. xxxi. 1-6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This covers the whole question: the God who gave the command provides the
wisdom and skill necessary for its accomplishment. Bezaleel means, “In the shadow of God”; Aholiab means, “The tent of my Father” — two
precious and fitting names for men who were to be used of God in the
construction of the tabernacle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> While we would make no pretensions to
supernatural endowment to-day, we do most certainly believe that when God calls
a man to a service He equips him for the work.
He may be but a fisherman or a gatherer of sycamore fruit. He may be the wisest of kings or the most
learned of pharisees, but, be he whom he may, his fitness for service will be
given by the One Who called him to the work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What
a blessed thought, too, is conveyed to the heart of the worker by the name
Bezaleel, “In the shadow of God”. There
is the place where wisdom, knowledge and understanding are first received, and
ever after maintained — “Not by might, nor by power, but My Spirit, saith the
Lord”. There is also a note of
instruction in the name Aholiab, “The tent of my Father”. Paul stresses the necessity to be occupied
with “God’s building” when building upon the one foundation: all else passes away in smoke and fire (I
Corinthian iii.). Just as the tabernacle
imaged the person of the Lord when He was made flesh and “tabernacled” among
men (John i. 14), so we find the “shadowing” suggested in Luke i. 35:
“The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The second half of Exodus xxxi.
is devoted to the question of the sabbath, so that, in some sense, we
have in this chapter the six days’ work (1-11), and the one day sabbath
(12-18). This, as the structure shows,
falls exactly into correspondence with one special week recorded in Exod. xxiv. 15-18:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And the glory of the Lord abode upon
Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days;
and the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> The placing of the covenant of the sabbath
immediately after the appointment of the workers of the tabernacle would be a
reminder that even work for God must be allowed to crowd out worship. We may all profit by this lesson.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The sabbath.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We will now look into the teaching of Scripture
regarding the sabbath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In the first place it is important to
remember that not only is there the weekly sabbath day enjoined upon Israel,
but that a system of sevens, from days to years, is found in Scripture. Creation is stamped with the number seven. In the Hebrew of Gen. i. 1
we find seven words, <i>Bereshith bara elohim eth hashshamayin beth haerets
</i>— and twenty-eight letters, 7*4.
This cannot be shown in English because in that language separate
letters for the sounds “th”, “sh”,
&c., must be used.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The present creation is introduced by the
word of God: “And God said”. In this phrase there are ten Hebrew letters
having the following numerical equivalents:
<i>Vav 6, Yod 10, Aleph 1, Mem 40, Rosh 200, Aleph 1, Lamed 30, He 5,
Yod 10, Mem 40</i>. These figures total
343, which is 7*7*7, or raised to the superlative. If, moreover, the reader will look at this
series he will see that exactly seven different letters are used.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The present creation occupies a double set
of three days followed by a seventh rest.
These sets of three perfectly correspond with each other:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">1<sup>st</sup> Day . . . . . Light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">2<sup>nd</sup>
Day . . . . . Firmament
and waters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">3<sup>rd</sup> Day . . . . . Dry land. PLANT
LIFE.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">4<sup>th</sup> Day . . . . . Light bearers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">5<sup>th</sup> Day . . . . . Fowls in the firmament. Fish in the waters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">6<sup>th</sup> Day . . . . . Beasts of field.
HUMAN LIFE.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Then the 7<sup>th</sup> day . . . . . rest.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This sevenfold character lies behind the
whole purpose of the ages, and Peter’s comment:
“One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as
one day” (II Pet. iii. 8) suggests that the whole range of time, from the
Adamic creation until and including Millennium, will be a series of seven days,
each measuring one thousand years. The
feasts of Israel, specified in Leviticus
xxiii., fill up the interval between
Creation and Millennium, and foreshadow the purpose of the ages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We find the following use of “seven” in
the Scriptures that deal with Israel:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Seven DAYS.—“The seventh day
is a sabbath of rest” (Lev. xxiii. 3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Seven WEEKS.—“Seven sabbaths
shall be complete” (Lev.xxiii.15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Seven MONTHS.—“In the
seventh month” (Lev. xxiii. 24).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">So far as feasts are
concerned the year ends here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Seven YEARS.—“The seventh
year shall be a sabbath of rest” (Lev. xxv. 4).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Seven times seven YEARS.—“It
shall be a Jubile unto you” (Lev.xxv.8-13).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Seventy times seven
YEARS.—“Seventy weeks are determined” (Dan. ix. 24).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Seven TIMES.—“I will chasten
you seven times” (Dan. iv. 16).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Israel’s chastisement the
same length of time as Gentile madness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Here we have a progressive series of seven
features, showing that the weekly sabbath was one of a series of ordinances
enjoined upon this people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The sign and
the covenant.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Just as blood of the passover lamb (Exod.
xii. 13), the unleavened bread (xiii.9), and the redemption of the firstborn
(xiii. 13) were “signs” or “tokens”, so the sabbath was a special “sign” to
Israel of their separation unto the Lord from all other nations. This sanctification is expressed in Lev. xx. 24-26:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “I am the Lord your God, which have
separated you from other people. Ye
shall therefore put a difference between clean beasts and unclean ... ye
shall be holy unto Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other
people, that ye should be mine” (Lev. xx. 24-26).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The
scruples discussed in Romans xiv. as to “days” and “meats” arose out of the
relationship of such things to Israel’s exclusive position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The observation of the sabbath was given
for an “age-abiding covenant”, but it is well to notice that in Exodus xxxi.
both the “sign” and the “covenant” are restricted to Israel (xxxi. 16,
17):--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Wherefore <i>the children of Israel </i>shall
keep the sabbath ... an age-abiding covenant. It is a sign between Me and <i>the children
of Israel </i>for the age.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There can be no intrusion of others into
this covenant. It belongs to Israel, and
to those who, by becoming proselytes, are reckoned with Israel. The breaking of the sabbath by the
performance of work was punishable by death, and anyone who thus transgressed
the commandment was cut off from the people of God; he had broken the covenant. The sabbath, moreover, was to be observed and
kept as an age-abiding covenant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There are reasons for observing the
sabbath attached to the various commands that we should notice. The first passage is that which occurs in the
ten commandments. The reason given there
for sabbath observance is that the Lord, after the six days’ creation, “rested
the seventh day; wherefore the Lord
blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it”.
So long as Israel observed the sabbath day, they were a witness to the
God of creation, and the creation narrative of
Genesis i. & ii.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In
Exod. xxiii. 12 the sabbath is
enjoined so that ox, ass and servant may be refreshed. The words are echoed in Exod. xxxi. 17:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “For in six days the Lord made heaven and
earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The word “refreshed” is <i>naphas</i>, and
could almost be translated “had time to breathe”. We do not entertain the thought that the
mighty Creator becomes weary with work, but it is helpful to see how He stoops
to the needs of the creatures made in His image.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Attached to the command to keep the
sabbath is a reminder that Israel was once a servant in the land of bondage, so
that the institution of the day showed God’s mercy to Israel and His concern
for others (Deuteronomy v. 12-15).
Reverence for the sanctuary of God, also, was associated with the
sabbath (Lev. xxiii. 32). Though
shrouded in type and symbol, the sabbath, nevertheless, was an opportunity of
experiencing and expressing something of the grace of God:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “If thou turn away thy foot from the
sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of
the Lord; and shalt honour Him, not
doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own
words” (Isa. lviii. 13)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Both the true spirit of the sabbath, and
the false representation of it, as it had become by the tradition of the
elders, are very vividly brought to view in the Gospels. When the disciples plucked a few ears of
corn, and rubbed them in their hands, they broke the sabbath according to the
tradition of the Pharisees. Of course
reaping and threshing on the sabbath were forbidden by the law, but these
formalists taught that to pluck an ear of corn was “reaping”, and to rub it in
the hand was “threshing”, even as walking on grass was a species of threshing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The persecution of the Lord, and the
crucifixion itself, may be traced to His attitude toward the sabbath day:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus,
and sought to slay Him because He had done these things on the sabbath day”
(John v. 16).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In spite of the fact that the Lord kept
every jot and tittle of the law, the Pharisees refused to recognize in His
actions any observance of the sabbath.
They said: “This man is not of
God, because He keepeth not the sabbath day” (John ix. 16). While these things are important, and have in
view the great sabbath rest that awaits the children of God (Heb. iv. 9-11), we
must not omit the statements concerning the sabbath and other holy days and
feasts that are found in Paul’s epistles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Sabbath, Sunday
and the Church.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is evident that Paul could not have
written Romans xiv. had the sabbath day been binding upon the
church. The law of the sabbath does not
leave room for “esteeming every day alike” (Rom. xiv. 5), and if this be true
regarding such an established institution as the sabbath, it is also most true
regarding the first day of the week.
When Paul said to the Galatians:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Ye observe days, and months, and times
and years, i am afraid of you, lest i have bestowed upon you labour in vain”
(Gal. iv. 10, 11), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">he
made no exception of the sabbath day.
His words in Colossians ii., however, leave one without a doubt as to the
purport of his teaching:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or
in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbaths,
which are a shadow of good things to come:
but the body is of Christ” (Col. ii. 16, 17).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> With the coming of the full truth of the
mystery, there passed off the scene all types and shadows. The inclusion of the “sabbaths” in such a
context as Colossians ii. should make us doubly on our guard against
any specious arguments that “have a show of wisdom”, but which lead away from
our full and complete position in Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We respect the conscience of the weaker
brother regarding the observance of days, the abstaining from meats, and other
items that have no longer any value for us.
Sunday is not the sabbath, and no manipulation of the references to the
first day of the week can make it so.
Moreover, we do not seek to impose Sunday observance upon the world of
the ungodly, for we realize that no such claim belongs to our calling, or to
them. We thankfully accept Sunday as an
opportunity for obtaining that necessary one day’s rest in seven which our
physical nature demands. We, moreover,
welcome the opportunity it provides for more completely turning aside from the
things of everyday life to the worship of God, and the ministry of His Word,
but <i>we see no special sanctity </i>in a meeting held on Sunday, neither
would we allow any thought of the “day” to influence our attitude or
witness. Concern for the conscience of
others is the only bondage to which we are willing to submit in this matter. The bondage of “holy days” is “not after
Christ” and is to be rejected.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Whatever the sabbath meant to Israel a
rest, a delight, a prophecy of the rest that remaineth, a sign, a covenant, a
mark of the high calling of God, this, like circumcision and other rites, we
find in full measure in Christ. <i>He is
our Sabbath</i>, and we need no shadows of good things to come. We have the blessed substance. While we walk in Him, we need no holy days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-4189930291150232822015-01-19T18:14:00.002-08:002015-01-19T18:19:19.517-08:00#70. The holy anointing oil (Exod. xxx. 22-28).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The last item to be considered in this
long and important section has to do with the composition of the holy anointing
oil or ointment, and of the incense to which allusion has already been made in
the description of the altar of incense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The
holy anointing oil was composed of specified quantities of myrrh, cinnamon,
calamus and cassis, compounded together with sufficient olive oil to give it
proper consistency. The incense, as we
have already seen, is also specified. A
prohibition attaches to both of these — the holy anointing oil and the
incense:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “This shall be an holy anointing oil unto
Me throughout your generations. Upon
man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it,
after the composition of it: it is holy,
and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever
compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall
even be cut off from his people” (Exod.xxx.31-33).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Light on sanctification.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The prohibitions concerning this anointing
oil will throw some light upon the scriptural conception of holiness. It is “holy”;
therefore the first prohibition is:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>“Upon man’s flesh shall it not be
poured.” </i>— We read that the holy anointing oil was poured upon the
head. The Psalmist said, “It ran down
the beard, even Aaron’s beard”, and even to the skirts of his garment; but it was not to be poured upon man’s
“flesh”. There was an anointing which was
a part of the everyday toilet, and an anointing that was used as a mark of
respect and favour to a guest. This was
not limited to the head and beard, but extended to the “face” (Psa. civ. 15),
“feet” (John xii. 3), and “body” (Mark xiv. 8), and was used at “birth” (Ezek. xvi. 9), and “death” (Mark xvi. 1).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We have here a very necessary distinction
which we do well to ponder. There is an
anointing that belongs to man as such.
Sweetness of temper, a kindness of manner, a natural gentleness of
disposition may be very fine; they have
a fragrance and a smoothness that is all to the good. But we must never make natural qualities in
any measure parallel with spiritual graces.
The Holy Spirit does not anoint man’s “flesh”:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “That which <i>hath been </i>born of the
flesh <i>is </i>flesh” (John.iii.6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The flesh profiteth <i>nothing</i>” (John
vi. 63).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The mind of the flesh is enmity against
God” (Rom.viii.7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “<i>Eye </i>hath not seen, nor <i>ear </i>heard,
neither have entered the <i>heart </i>of man . . . . . but God hath revealed
them unto us by His Spirit” (I Cor. ii. 9, 10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The natural (soul-ical) man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God” (I.Corinthian.ii.14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The works of the flesh” are sharply
distinguished from “the fruits of the Spirit”, and never, until grapes grow on
thorns or figs on thistles will the flesh produce anything other than its own
works. Consequently we must remember
that none can be holy or sanctified outside of Christ, and it is the new man
and not the old upon whom the grace of the Spirit descends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>“Neither shall ye make any other like
it, after the composition of it. It is
holy, and it shall be holy unto you.” </i>— This emphasizes from another point
of view the necessity to distinguish between the flesh and the Spirit, bringing
into prominence this time the danger of counterfeit. If the anointing be not of the Lord, if it be
not the fragrance of Christ, if it be not the work of the Spirit, then however
near to the true counterpart it may appear, it must be repudiated. It is a holy thing, and it must be kept
so. The thought of holiness here, as in
all the teaching on the subject in both Old and New Testaments, is very largely
that of something specially set apart for God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>Whosoever putteth any of it upon a
stranger, shall be cut off. </i>— Some things belong to the Lord’s people alone. No stranger could partake of the Passover
(Exod. xii. 43). It was a memorial of
redemption and national birth. No
stranger was allowed to contribute anything towards the offerings of the
Lord. This prohibition still holds good
regarding Christian service, and condemns all such means of making money as
dances, whist drives, and the like, that are everywhere spreading their
“corruption” and making all such service “unacceptable” by reason of the
“blemishes” (Lev. xii. 25).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> No stranger, not of the seed of Aaron, was
allowed to draw near to God to offer incense (Numb.xvi.40). No stranger could be king of Israel (Deut.
xvii. 15). No stranger upon pain of
death was allowed near the tabernacle when it was taken down (Numb. i. 51), and
no stranger could ever be appointed to the priest’s office (Numb. iii.
10). Strange fire, strange incense,
strange wives, strange gods, a strange vine, strange apparel; these things help us to realize something of
the limits set by God regarding that which belongs to His holiness, and speaks
of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Lord’s Anointed.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There are three outstanding offices that
are associated with anointing in the Scriptures — those of Priest (Exod.
xxviii. 41), King (Psa. xviii. 50) and Prophet (I Kings xix. 16) — and these
three offices are filled, and in their fullest measure, by Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> His title, “The Christ”, is but the Greek
form of the Hebrew “Messiah”, “the Anointed One”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the
Holy Ghost, and with power” (Acts.x.38).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel” (Luke iv. 18).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “For God giveth not the Spirit by measure
unto Him” (John.iii.34).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Thy Throne . . . . . Thy Sceptre . . . .
. Thy God hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows” (Heb.
i. 8, 9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> He is God’s Anointed, His Prophet, Priest,
and King. We confess that He is <i>the
Christ</i>, and we acknowledge this threefold fulness. All true sanctification flows from Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is a phase of the anointing that
belongs to the period of miraculous gifts (II Cor. i. 21, 22) which is omitted
in the dispensation of the mystery (Eph.i.13), but the true anointing
remains. It is seen in “the unity of the
Spirit”, which brings us into such vital union with Christ that His anointing
becomes ours. We are partakers of His
holiness. He is made unto us
sanctification as well as redemption (I Cor. i. 30).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> While the mystery was never a subject of
Old Testament revelation, a very beautiful figure of sanctified unity is given
in Psalm cxxxiii. that it would benefit us to ponder:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
for brethren to dwell together in unity.
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the
beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went
down to the skirts of his garments: As
the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountain of Zion.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Here we have a double figure of
unity. The ointment that was poured upon
the head of Aaron extended to the very skirts of his garments. The A.V. of the second figure needs a
correction. There is no real “dew” in
Palestine, but a “summer sea night mist” rolls in and drenches the parched
earth. The mist makes no
distinctions. It unites in one Mt. Hermon
away in the North and Mount Zion in the South. So are all in Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The apostle says, “We are unto God a sweet
savour of Christ” (II Cor. ii. 16). Just
as we found that “consecration” was “filling the hand” with Christ in service
and offering, so true sanctification, true unction, true anointing is a life
that is so much of Christ, that every act, every word, every thought is just
the manifestation of the Anointed One.
Words easy to write, words that condemn us as we think of ourselves, words
that compel us to flee to Him, to be buried in His death that we may rise to
walk in newness of life and serve in newness of spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This holy anointing of ours in Christ
comes not “on the flesh”; it resolutely
sets aside all counterfeit; it is found
where “Christ is all” or not at all, and it is not enjoyed by the alien, the
stranger, the foreigner from grace. As
we can more fully say, “For me to live is Christ”, as we more fully “preach
Christ”, as the life of Christ is more really the life we now live in the
flesh, as the fruit of the Spirit is more evidently manifest, so shall we
approximate more to the fulfillment of this sacred type of the holy anointing
oil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> John, writing to believers of another
calling, expressed the same truth, saying:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The anointing which ye received of Him abideth
in you ... it hath taught you, <i>ye shall abide in Him</i>” (I John ii.
27).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> So we come to the conclusion of this type
of Christ and His work as set forth in the tabernacle. At every step it has spoken of the Son of
God. Starting with the ark and mercy
seat, pausing at the altar of brass, and finishing with the holy anointing oil
and sweet incense, we can truly say that “<i>Christ
is all, and in all</i>”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-9891952384751537932015-01-19T18:09:00.002-08:002015-01-19T18:13:01.886-08:00#69. The brazen laver (Exod. xxx. 17-21).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Immediately following the record of the
atonement money, we have the command to make “a laver of brass to wash withal”,
and upon examination we discover that there is a closer connection between the
two statements than appears on the surface.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Before proceeding to this closer study we
would allude to yet a third item, which will be found to add one more example
of a similar nature: we refer to the
brazen altar. When Korah, Dathan and
Abiram died for their sin, we learn that:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Eleazar the priest took the brazen
censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made plates for a covering of the
altar; to be a memorial unto the
children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come
near to offer incense before the Lord” (Numb.xvi.39,40).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This was done at the commandment of the
Lord, Who also said: “They shall be a
sign unto the children of Israel” (verse 38).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We have, therefore, the brazen altar,
closely associated with the sign and memorial of Korah’s sin; we have the two silver sockets of the
tabernacle made of the atonement money paid by every Israelite over twenty
years of age for the ransom of his soul, and now we are to find that the brazen
laver is connected with another sinful association with the true worship of
God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Immediately following the record of the
making of the altar of brass in Exodus
xxxviii., we read:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And he made the laver of brass, and the
foot of it of brass, of the looking glasses of the women assembling, which
assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation” (Exod. xxxviii.
8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> At first sight we are inclined to look
upon this as a free-will offering to the Lord given by a company of godly
women, but the note in the margin, “Heb. assembling by troops, as I Sam. ii. 22”, sets one thinking. To speak of women “assembling by troops” at
the door of the tabernacle has an unpleasant sound, and the dreadful purpose of
their assembling is revealed in all its hideousness by a reference to I.Sam.ii.22.
The margin of <i>The Companion
Bible </i>very gently comments on the word “assembling” in Exod. xxxviii. 8: “doing service, or worshipping according to
Egyptian practice”. By using the
mirrors, therefore, for the construction of the laver, this practice was
abolished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It is not for us to enlarge upon
immorality. The teaching of “that woman
Jezebel” is associated with what is false worship right down the ages, and
Babylon is well called, “the Mother of Harlots”. It is common knowledge that many of the
temples of Astarte or Venus were famous (or rather infamous) for the practice
of the same uncleanness. The brazen
mirrors of these women, which possibly symbolized their sensual vanity, were
confiscated, and from the metal thus acquired the laver “to worship withal” was
made.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Three witnesses, therefore, to human
failure, in close association with divine worship, were ever before the eyes of
Israel:--</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 63.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(1) The silver sockets made of their ransom money, telling of their
need of atonement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 63.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 63.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(2) The brass covering of the altar, as “a sign” and “a memorial” to
all that they stood in need of a true Priest whose offering should be
acceptable before the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 63.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 81.0pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 63.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -45.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(3) The brazen laver, a standing witness against all uncleanness, and
to the utmost need for care lest the flesh, or earthly beauty, should intrude
into that which after all is alone spiritual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #3366ff; font-size: 12.0pt;"> It comes as a shock
to the lover of Art, to learn that, lovely as old stained glass may be,
ravishing as some Gothic Cathedrals truly are, yet that all this beauty is
merely upon the natural or soul-plane, and cannot enter into the worship of God
Who is Spirit. Lovers of music also need
to remember that the delights of harmony and the soul-exalting strains of
beautiful music rise no higher than this self-same plane. God looks for the “ornament” of a meek and
quiet spirit, and the “adorning” of the doctrine of God our Saviour. He listens for the “melody” of hearts, and
the “songs” of thanksgiving that may at times escape even from the “inmost
prison”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
emphasis upon cleansing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In an Eastern land, where the temperature
is high, where sandals are worn, and where food is eaten with the fingers,
constant washing would be necessary for cleanliness and health alone, but in
addition to this we find (in the commandments of the law) washings of persons,
sacrifices, articles, and buildings at every turn. Before Aaron and his sons were invested with
the priestly robes, they were washed with water (Lev. viii. 6). Before Israel received the law from Mount
Sinai, both their persons and their clothing were washed (Exod. xix.
10-15). No priest was suffered to
approach the altar of God, on pain of death, without washing both hands and
feet (Exod. xxx. 19, 20), and to this the Psalmist refers when he says: “i will wash my hands in innocency; so will i compass Thine altar” (Psa. xxvi.
6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Uncleanness could be contracted not only
in the ordinary course of life and nature, but in several ways that had
something of a ceremonial and typical character. Leviticus xii.-xv. details a series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> After childbirth: for a man child 7 days; for a maid child 14 days, and a further
period of either 33 or 66 days until the days of purifying be fulfilled. At the end of this time a sin offering was
made and atonement accomplished — “and she shall be clean” (Lev. xii. 1-8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Uncleanness arising from leprosy might be
in a man, in his garment, or in a house, and cleansing was effected after the
leprosy had departed, or, in the case of a person, if it had covered the whole
skin and turned white. Garments were
burned or washed in water, houses were demolished, or scraped, and a very
elaborate ceremonial cleansing (to which a special paper must be devoted) is
described in Leviticus xiv.: “The law of the leper in the day of his
cleansing”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Other cases of uncleanness are specified
in Leviticus xv., and the chapter concludes:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Thus shall ye separate the children of
Israel from their uncleanness; that they
die not in their uncleanness, when they defile My tabernacle that is among
them” (Lev. xv. 31).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Certain animals were set aside as unclean,
and defilement was contracted even by touching them, to say nothing of eating
them. To touch a grave rendered a person
unclean; hence arose the custom of <i>whitening
sepulchres </i>to make them easily visible.
To touch a dead body, or to enter a tent where the dead lay, rendered a
person unclean. The scrupulous
sanitation of the law of Moses must be studied to be appreciated. For example, the destruction of vessels upon
which the carcase of a mouse had fallen was commanded without a reason being
given. Modern sanitation warns against
mice and rats as carriers of plague, and endorses the teaching of the law. Some commands concerning personal cleanliness
are too intimate for our pages, but we believe every one would be at least
physically the better for a little more of this “law” in their daily routine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Spiritual
application of this
truth.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Taking the great mass of detail concerning
uncleanness as read, we must consider the spiritual application which Scripture
makes of this matter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Wash thine heart from wickedness”,
says Jer. iv. 14; nevertheless, though nitre and much soap be
used, Israel’s iniquity would still be marked before the Lord <i>(An
opportunity here for a lesson to children, with a handkerchief, marking ink,
soap, soda and water)</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Wash you, make you clean, put away the
evil of your doings”, says Isa.i.16, yet in i. 18
it is added: “Though your sins be
as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow”.
This will be accomplished by the Lord Himself, for “in that day there shall
be a fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness:” (Zechariah xiii. 1), of
which Psalm li. supplies a prophetic anticipation: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and
cleanse me from my sin . . . . . wash me and I shall be whiter than snow”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The
N.T. is replete with references to the necessity for cleansing, and for the
perfect provision that has been made. We read of the cleansing power of the
Word in Eph. v. 26, when the church is presented in glory, having
neither spot, nor wrinkle, nor any such thing, but being holy and without
blemish. And again:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Now ye are clean through
the word which I have spoke unto you” (John.xv.3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Sanctify them through Thy
truth, Thy Word is truth” (John xvii. 17).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Ye have purified your souls
in obeying the truth” (I Pet. i. 22).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In
II Cor. vi. 14-16 we have a
series of circumstances that bring about spiritual defilement: being yoked with unbelievers, having
fellowship with unrighteousness or with darkness, mixing up Christ and Belial,
faith and infidelity, the temple of God and idols.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Cleansing is expressed in such terms as,
“Come out from among them …”, “Be ye separate …”, “Touch not the unclean
thing”, and is fully explained in plain language to the church in II Cor. vii. 1: “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Writing to the Hebrews, who knew full well
the “diverse washings” which they were called upon to make, the apostle says:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “For if the blood of bulls and of goats,
and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying
of the flesh: How much more shall the
blood of Christ, Who through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot to
God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God”
(Heb.ix.13,14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The graves, the bones, the dead that
defiled Israel are here seen as types of the dead works that defile the
conscience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Let us draw near with a true heart in
full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience,
and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews x. 22).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Cleansing has much to do with service, as
is illustrated by the following passages:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Purge your conscience . . . . . to serve
the living God” (Heb. ix. 14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “As ye have yielded your membership
servants to uncleanness . . . . . even so now yield your members servants to
righteousness unto holiness” (Rom. vi. 19).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “A vessels unto honour, sanctified, and
meet for the master’s use” (II.Tim.ii.21).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Redemption is for sinners, and releases
from their bondage. Atonement is for
saints, and makes them nigh. Cleansing
is for service, and keeps the vessel meet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We have seen that cleansing is through the
blood of Christ, and by the Word of God.
Hearts are purified by faith (Acts xv. 9), and souls are purified by
obedience (I Pet. i. 22). Purging is
necessary for fruitbearing (John xv. 2), and for service (II Tim. ii. 21). We have not been called unto uncleanness, but
unto holiness (I Thess. iv. 7). All the
injunctions written in the law concerning the priests are focused upon the
believer’s walk of the present day in
Titus ii. 3: “In behaviour as
becometh holiness”, which word “holiness” is <i>hieroprepes</i>, “proper to
priests”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Such
is part of the teaching of the law connected with the brazen altar, “to wash
withal”. May we hear the voice of the
Son of God: “If I wash thee not, thou
hast no part with Me” (John xiii. 8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-8224269406744804192015-01-15T23:26:00.001-08:002015-01-15T23:28:27.212-08:00#68. The atonement money (Exod. xxx. 11-16).<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The institution of the half shekel of
silver as atonement money in this passage is associated with numbering the
children of Israel and with the possibility of plague. <span style="color: blue;">At first sight there
is no apparent connection between these items, but a consciousness that all
Scripture is inspired and profitable is a great help forward in its
understanding.</span> The association of
these features evidently meant something to Moses and Israel, and it will to us
as we allow the Word to enter and give us light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “When thou takest the sum of the children
of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his
soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them;
that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest. This shall they give, every one that passeth
among them that are numbered, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary
(a shekel is twenty gerahs): an half
shekel shall be the offering of the Lord” (Exod.xxx.12,13).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 5.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What is the association between numbering,
plague and the ransom of half a shekel?
And why are we told just here that the shekel is equal to twenty gerahs? It is evident that each person paid ten
gerahs, and if we took our stand with this people we should not be long before
we saw some association between the ten gerahs and the ten plagues that fell
upon Egypt, from which Israel were spared and delivered by redeeming blood. This is no play of imagination, as a
reference to Exodus xiii. will show.
There we find that by reason of the fact that Israel were spared, while
the tenth plague were enjoined to wear the phylacteries as “a sign and a
memorial”, and to sanctify every firstborn, whether of man or beast, unto the
Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The males shall be the Lord’s. And every firstling of an ass thou shalt
redeem with a lamb . . . . . and all the firstborn of man among thy children
shalt thou redeem . . . . . when Pharaoh would not let us go, the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt,
both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that
openeth the matrix, being males; but all
the firstborn of my sons I redeem” (Exod.xiii.12-15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Later on another phase of substitution was
introduced whereby the whole tribe of Levi was set apart instead of every
firstborn of the whole nation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And I, behold, I have taken the Levites
from among the sons of Israel instead of all the firstborn … because all the
firstborn are Mine: for on the day that
I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the
firstborn of Israel, both man and beast:
Mine shall they be: I am the
Lord” (Numb.iii.12,13).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Then comes the numbering of the Levites in
verses 14-39, and the numbering of the firstborn of Israel in verses
40-43. It so transpired that there were
22,273 firstborn males of Israel and 22,000 Levites of one month old and
upward, leaving 273 to be specially redeemed by the payment of five shekels
apiece. This sum of 1,365 shekels was
given to Aaron and his sons (Numbers.iii.45-51).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is evidently some similar principle
at work in Exodus xxx. In
this case the numbering is of all who are twenty years old and upward, and the
ransom money is appointed for the service of the tabernacle as a memorial (xxx.
16). The number of those who thus paid
their half shekel was 603,550 men, and of the total sum 100 talents were used
to make the sockets of silver on which the tabernacle rested, while some, at
least, of the remainder were used in the making of the silver hooks, chapiters
and fillets that were specified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> No distinction was made between rich and
poor in the matter of this atonement money:
“The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less” (Exod.
xxx. 15). Whilst we have a recognition
of “each one’s several ability” in the distribution of the talents, one
receiving five, another two, and another only one, whilst reward for service
will be in some measure proportionate to faithfulness, yet, <span style="color: blue;">when we deal with such matters as redemption and atonement,
“there is no difference”</span>, all alike are redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb, all alike pay their half shekel, neither more nor less.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> It
is a blessed thought, that every time an Israelite looked at his own firstborn
son, he had a “memorial” of substitution before him. Every time he looked at a Levite accomplishing
the service of God, every firstborn male could say: There is one who hath taken my place. Every time he considered the foundations upon
which the tabernacle rested, they spoke of his atonement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What of the spiritual realities of which
these are but shadows? Does our
conception of service, worship and the present position of Christ at the right
hand of God bring vividly to our mind and heart the consciousness that we are
not our own; that we are bought with a
price?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is one occasion in the history of
David, in which “numbering”, “plague” and “ransom” figure, that should be
considered as a contrast to this ordinance.
David was moved to number Israel and Judah. Even Joab realized that the spirit that
prompted this numbering was not good (II Sam. xxiv. 3), and David subsequently
confessed that he had sinned greatly (verse 10). The result was judgment, in the form either
of famine, defeat, or pestilence, and the sequel was the erection of an altar
and the offering of sacrifice. The words
of Exod.xxx.12 come to mind as one reads this tragic
chapter:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Then shall he give every man a ransom for
his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; <i>that there be no plague </i>among them,
when thou numberest them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The numbering of Israel by David was
evidently done either in pride, or in unbelief of the power of God. The grace of God that chose Israel for His
own ignored their numerical inferiority as compared with other nations (Deut.
vii. 7, 8). While Israel remained true,
“one should chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight” (Deut. xxxii.
30), but when they were unfaithful “a small company of men” was sufficient to
conquer “a very great host”, for the Lord would not be with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The solemn numbering of Israel with the
accompanying emphasis upon atonement would impress upon them the truth
concerning both their own shortcomings and the Lord’s grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The depths of love were sounded when the
spotless Son of God was “<i>numbered </i>with the transgressors”. Whenever we think of that, the only numbering
that matters to us is that we have been numbered with His saints, and rejoice
in the hope of the glory of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-30897956001363281772015-01-15T22:28:00.000-08:002015-01-15T23:19:58.273-08:00#67. The altar of incense, or acceptance through Christ.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The first article of furniture for the
tabernacle that is specified is the ark of the testimony; the last is the golden altar of incense. The ark, together with the mercy-seat, speak
of righteousness and atonement; the
altar of incense speaks of intercession and acceptance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Prayer is likened to incense in Psa. cxli. 2:
“Let my prayer be set forth as incense, and the lifting up of my hands
as the evening sacrifice”. In Psa.lxvi.15 the word “incense” is used in a
way that at first appears somewhat strange:
“I will offer unto Thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings with the incense of
rams”. We find, however, that this word
is translated “perfume” in Exod.xxx.35, and in its verbal form (<i>qatar</i>)
not only means “to burn incense” (as in
Exod.xxx.7), but to burn “fat” (Exod.xxix.13), and “the bullock” of
the burnt offering (Lev.i.9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The N.T. references to incense associate
it with prayer:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The people were praying without at the
time of incense” (Luke i. 10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And another angel came and stood by the
altar, having a golden censer; and to
him much incense was given, that he should give it to the prayers of all the
saints on that golden altar which is before the throne. And the smoke of the incense went up with the
prayers of the saints out of the hand of the angel before God” (Rev. viii. 3,
4).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The expression, “give it to the prayers” —
a somewhat clumsy rendering of the dative case — is perhaps best explained, with
<i>Vitringa </i>and others, as: “that he
might give the effect of incense to the prayers of the saints”. <i>His </i>intercession makes <i>our </i>prayers
possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This incense is variously described in
Scripture. It is called “<i>perpetual </i>incense
before the Lord” (Exod. xxx. 8). Like
the shewbread that was to be before the Lord “alway” (Exod. xxv. 30), or the
breastplate upon the High Priest’s
breast “continually” (Exod. xxviii. 30), or the cloud by day and fire by night
that guaranteed the presence of the Lord with Israel “alway” (Numb.ix.16),
the symbol of Christ’s intercession and perfect acceptance was to be “alway” before
the Lord. “He <i>ever </i>liveth to make
intercession for us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Many times it is called “sweet
incense”. The margin of Exod. xxx. 7
gives it as “incense of <i>spices</i>”.
This is the correct rendering, and refers to the special composition of
the incense given by the Lord, as we read in
Exod. xxxvii. 29: “And he made
the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the
work of the apothecary”. The ingredients
of this incense are given in
Exod.xxx.34,35:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte (<i>netaph</i>,
a drop, a gum), and onycha (<i>shecheleph</i>, shell of the perfume crab), and
galbanum (<i>chelbenah</i>, an aromatic gum);
these sweet spices with pure frankincense; of each shall there be a like weight. And thou shalt make it a perfume (incense), a
confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered (Heb. salted) together,
pure and holy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>The Companion Bible </i>states that
there are five ingredients in the incense, evidently counting “sweet spices” as
one. Its repetition after the three
cited by name, however, would lead one to read:
“Take unto thee sweet spices, namely, stacte”, etc. The word “tempered” (<i>malach</i>) literally
means “salted”, and some, including <i>Maimonides</i>, maintain that salt was
actually an ingredient. This, however,
does not seem to be the truth. Both the
Chaldee and Greek versions render the word “mix” or “temper”, as though the
various spices were mixed together, as salt is mixed with the food over which
it is sprinkled. Salt was, of course,
offered with every offering on the altar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The figurative meaning of the word “salt”
may be gathered from other usages. Salt
was valuable, and stood for the whole of one’s keep. We still use the phrase, “He is not worth his
salt”. So, when we read in Ezra iv. 14:
“We have maintenance from the king’s palace”, the margin tells us that
the Chaldee reads: “We are seated with
the salt of the palace”. There is a
suggestion that these men were in a covenant with the kings of Persia, as we
read in Numb.xviii.19 of a “covenant of salt”. Be this as it may, the one thing we do not
understand when reading Ezra iv. 14 is that these men were actually
“salted”. Let us, however, not miss the
truth because of inability to decide the literal meaning of the language that
describes the type. <i>Ainsworth </i>says:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> "If our speech is to be always with
grace, seasoned with salt, as the apostle teaches (Col. iv. 6), how much more
should our incense, our prayers unto God, be therewith seasoned?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The
lessons of the
incense.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The first feature that strikes one when
reading Exod. xxx. 1-10 is the intimate association between the
position of the altar of incense and the purpose of the mercy-seat:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And thou shalt put it before the vail
that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the
testimony, <i>where I will meet with thee</i>” (Exod.xxx.6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Fellowship with God commences with the
death of Christ, but continues through His ever-present intercession at the
right hand of God. He has entered with
His own blood, and that offering is ever remembered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The second feature is found in verses 7
& 8:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet
incense every morning, <i>when </i>he dresseth the lamps . . . . . and when
Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual
incense before the Lord throughout your generations.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The lamps stand for testimony. Among the duties of the priest was the
“dressing” of the lamps. This would
include “snuffing”, for “snuffers” are mentioned in Exod. xxxvii. 23. Is it
not a cause for real gratitude to remember that, whenever the Lord is obliged
to “snuff” our lamps of testimony, He not only does it with “snuffers of gold”,
but the sweet savour of His own acceptableness ascends before the Father,
canceling and covering the offensiveness of our failure, even as the
sweet-smelling incense overcame the smell of the badly burning lamp?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The third feature is found in verse 9:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Ye shall offer no strange incense
thereon.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We read elsewhere of “strange fire” (Lev.
x. 1), and of a “strange god” (Psa.lxxxi.9).
The holy oil was never to be put upon a “stranger” (Exod.xxx.33). All this testifies to the preciousness of
that sweet-smelling savour that ascends on our behalf through the work of
Christ <i>alone</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> When we really weigh over the two
expressions, “strange incense” and “strange fire”, we begin to realize something
of the abomination that Christendom must be with its religious flesh, its empty
ritual and its parade of human wisdom and merit. To the professing church, even as to Israel,
the Lord could truly say:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Bring Me no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me . . . . .
when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not
hear” (Isa. i. 10-15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Unless Christ be “all” in our worship, God
cannot be well pleased.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Perhaps the most solemn references to the
symbolism of the incense are the following:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And he shall take a censer full of
burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of
sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail; And he shall put the incense upon the fire
before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is
upon the testimony, THAT HE DIE NOT” (Lev. xvi. 12, 13).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.5pt; margin-right: 31.5pt; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Take a censer, and put fire therein from
off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and
make an atonement for them … And he stood between the dead and the living, and
the plague was stayed” (Numb.xvi.46-48).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> At first it may seem a strange thing that
incense should be used “lest he die” and “to make an atonement”, but it will be
observed in both cases that the fire is specified as “from off the altar”. Sacrifice has been made, blood has been shed,
and even the horns of the golden altar of incense have been touched with
atoning blood (Exod. xxx. 10).
Translated into the truth of the person and work of Christ, if we have
been reconciled by His death, we shall be saved by His life. If our initial salvation is found in His
blood, we remember with joy that “He is able to save them to the full end that
come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth <i>to make intercession </i>for them . . . . . now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Heb. vii. 25; ix. 24).
The blood of Christ is not only
effectual for our initial justification — it is remembered by God in every act
of daily cleansing (I John i. 7). He Who
gave Himself for His church, will cleanse it and present it blameless before
the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> There is no more sacrifice for sin. The Christ Who died, dieth no more, but the
fragrance of that offering and its sweet savour ascend as incense before the
throne. There, like Aaron, under the
cloud of that fragrance, we draw near and meet with God. There our prayers find “the effect of
incense” given to them. No prayer should
be offered to God that is not presented “for Christ’s sake”. It is the incense of His blessed Name that
accompanies our prayers and makes them acceptable. We often have felt, even when “grace” has
been said before a meal, that the omission of the words “for the sake of
Christ” has robbed it of its sweet-smelling savour. At our altar of incense our lamps may be
trimmed and lighted with acceptableness, for our service is rendered “for the
sake of His name”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> We saw in a previous study that the true
meaning of consecration was to come before the Lord with hands filled with the
fulness of Christ; so we see here, that
all our acceptableness in prayer and worship is because of that blessed One at
the right hand of God, far above all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Accepted in the Beloved”
(Eph. i. 6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Unto you therefore which
believe IS THE PRECIOUSNESS” (I Pet. ii. 7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dwightchuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00387099529365584475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493178487836579409.post-13603803618675234992015-01-15T22:22:00.002-08:002015-01-15T22:25:14.782-08:00#66. The knowledge of the Lord.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Before we continue our studies in the
closing chapters of Exodus, it seems necessary that the subject opened in the
previous paper should not be left without the sequel supplied by the N.T.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> In Exodus we have seen the knowledge of
the Lord, commencing in redemption, progressing through separation and pilgrim
supply, and culminating in sanctification.
If we gather up some of the teaching of the N.T. upon the subject of
knowledge, we shall have before us the same truth in terms applicable to
ourselves. No one who realizes the truth
of Eph. iv. 18 can ever speak slightingly either of
ignorance or knowledge:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Having the understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God through the IGNORANCE that is in them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This ignorance alienates from the very
life of God! It does not mean merely a
little less culture. The passage speaks
of the Gentiles, and Romans i. contains the genesis of their defection:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Even as they did not like to retain God
in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind” (Rom. i. 28).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Israel likewise failed in connection with
knowledge:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “They have a zeal of God, but not
according to <i>knowledge</i>, for they being <i>ignorant </i>of God’s
righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Rom.x.2,3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The great prayers of the prison epistles
give a high place to knowledge:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The spirit of wisdom and revelation in
the <i>knowledge </i>of Him . . . . . that ye may <i>know </i>. . . . .” (Eph.
i. 17, 18).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And to <i>know </i>the love of Christ,
which passeth <i>knowledge</i>” (Eph. iii. 19).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “And this I pray, that your love may
abound yet more and more in <i>knowledge </i>and in all judgment” (Phil. i. 9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “That I may <i>know </i>Him, and the power
of His resurrection” (Phil. iii. 10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “That ye might be filled with the <i>knowledge
</i>of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col. i. 9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The results of the true application of
this knowledge must be considered also.
Looking again at these great prayers, we find that this knowledge is for
a very high and holy purpose. The Ephesian
prayers lead on to “fulness”:-- <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “The fulness of Him that filleth all in
all” (Eph. i. 23).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “That ye may be filled unto all the
fulness of God” (Eph. iii. 19), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">and
the path to this goal is pointed out as a result of knowing the exceeding
greatness of resurrection power to us-ward who believe, and of the
comprehension with all saints of that which really passes all knowledge — the
love of Christ. This same knowledge is
to enable us to <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBlockText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“approve
things that are excellent (try the things that differ), so that ye may be
sincere and without offence till the day of Christ” (Phil. i. 10).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> This is a goal that must commend itself to
every renewed mind, and if “knowledge” can help towards it, it is indeed of
supreme value. The acquisition of
knowledge for its own sake is nowhere taught in Scripture. The Colossian prayer seeks knowledge: “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto
all pleasing” (Col. i. 10). What Paul
thought of this glorious knowledge is seen in
Phil. iii. 8: “Yea doubtless, and
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the <i>knowledge </i>of
Christ Jesus my Lord”, and the prayer of the Colossian epistle leads on to
“increasing in the knowledge of God”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Sin entered into the world in connection
with the tree of knowledge, and the new man “is renewed in <i>knowledge </i>after
the image of Him that created him” (Col. iii. 10). The light of the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ is the very “gospel of the glory of Christ”
that the god of this age seeks to veil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> The climax and crown of the perfect man is
expressed in the words: “Then shall I <i>know
</i>even as also I am known” (I Cor. xiii. 12).
The sophistry and the intolerance of the Pharisees could not stand
before the simple testimony of the man born blind: “One thing I <i>know</i>, that, whereas I was
blind, now I see” (John.ix.25). How
much service will fail to stand the test of that day, because the deep lesson
learned by Paul and expressed in the words of
Rom. vii. 18 has never been
learned: “For <i>I know </i>that in me
(that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> What a comfort resides in the blessed
words: “<i>We know </i>that all things
work together for good to them that love God” (Rom. viii. 28). Think of the repeated phrase — “we know” — in John’s epistle with its blessed assurance:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We <i>know </i>that when He shall appear
we shall be like Him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We <i>know </i>that He was manifested to
take away our sins.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We <i>know </i>that we have passed from
death unto life.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We <i>know </i>that the Son of God is
come”, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">think,
too, upon the wealth of doctrine, practice and consolation that is hung upon
the one word “knowing”: “<i>knowing </i>that
tribulation worketh patience” (Rom.v.3).
Without this knowledge glorying in tribulations would be impossible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>Knowing </i>this, that
our old man is crucified with Christ” (Rom. vi. 6).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>Knowing </i>that Christ
being raised from the dead dieth no more” (Rom.vi.9).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Without this knowledge who would
contemplate the reckoning of self as dead without shrinking back with dread? So
Rom. xiii. 11; II Cor. iv.
14; Gal. ii. 16; Eph. vi. 8, 9;
I Thess. i. 4; II Pet. i.
20, iii. 3, and other places. What was Paul’s great stay when all Asia left
him? when no man stood by him? when the truth for which he had lived, suffered
and was about to die was forsaken and betrayed?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Nevertheless I am not
ashamed, for I KNOW Whom I have believed” (II.Tim.i.12).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> While it is perfectly true that there is a
knowledge that puffeth up, a knowledge that is nothing worth, a knowledge that
is proud, selfish and false, is this any reason why we should renounce the true
because of the counterfeit? “I would not
have you ignorant” is still written.
“Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ” is still true. “Add to your
faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge” is still a divine command. As with Israel of old so now. Redemption, separation, pilgrimage,
sanctification are all stages in the knowledge of the Lord, and the glorious
goal is foreshadowed in Israel’s prophetic history:--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> “After those days, saith the Lord, I will
put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My
people, and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the Lord; <i>for
they shall all know Me</i>, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith
the Lord; <i>for I will forgive </i>their
iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. xxxi. 33, 34).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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