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THE MOSAIC ERA. 
 
Edward O. Jenkins, Printer and Stereotyper, 
 20 North William St., N. Y. 
 
I ■ • OCT 
 
 r\ r 
 
 ^x...... 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THESE studies of the sacred records of the Mosaic 
 era are on the same plan as a series formerly issued 
 by the author on " The Ages before Moses." As ex- 
 plained in the preface to the former volume, that plan 
 was "the result of an attempt to combine the advan- 
 tages of the expository and topical methods, and at the 
 same time to secure the benefit of continuoiis exposition, 
 without wearying and discouraging those who have not 
 time to dwell on details." The attempt has also been 
 made to exhibit the perspective of the history ; so that 
 not the mere number of the chapters or verses, but the 
 relative importance of the matter, should determine the 
 space given to the exposition, regard also being had to 
 the element of time. This will account for the rapid 
 manner in which some parts of the sacred text are 
 passed over, compared with the attention given to oth- 
 ers. Care has been taken to avoid the temptation of 
 merely selecting topics for illustration ; the constant aim 
 has been to present in outline, and in their organic rela- 
 tions, the salient features of the entire series of Scrip- 
 tures which gives us the history of the times of Moses. 
 
vi Preface. 
 
 The critical questions affecting the date, authorship, 
 and integrity of the books, which are so much agitated 
 at the present time, do not come within the scope of 
 this volume. It is hoped, however, that, though no 
 attempt is made to deal directly with a subject which de- 
 mands separate and special treatment, these expositions, 
 by calling attention to the coherence, compactness, and 
 close organic relations of the different books, and to the 
 manifest unity of the whole, may tend in some degree 
 to aid in the solution of the questions suggested by " the 
 higher criticism." 
 
 The author has a profound conviction, which the 
 studies resulting in this volume have greatly confirmed, 
 that the value of the Old Testament Scriptures for 
 spiritual edification is greater than is generally supposed 
 even by Christian people. The prejudice against what is 
 called '* spiritualizing" is carried by many so far, that 
 *' the spirit " is lost altogether, and only '^ the letter" 
 remains. The rejecting of the spiritual significance of 
 the Hebrew records is only what is to be expected on 
 the part of those who deny the spiritual altogether ; but 
 it does seem unaccountable that so many who ac- 
 knowledge the paramount authority in things spiritual 
 of Christ and His apostles, should nevertheless disregard 
 such plain statements as these : " All these things hap- 
 pened unto them for ensamples : and they are written 
 for our admonition " ; " Whatsoever things were written 
 aforetime, were written for our learning, that we through 
 patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have 
 
Preface. vii 
 
 hope " ; and so completely forget the emphatic warning 
 given in reference to this very subject, " the letter kill- 
 eth, but the Spirit giveth life." 
 
 With regard to the acknowledged danger of license in 
 the doctrine of types, it is important to remember that 
 it is the prevailing ignorance on the subject which gives 
 it scope. The true way to meet the extravagance of 
 fanciful interpretation, is not to abandon the field to it 
 by avoiding the subject, but diligently to cultivate it in 
 the interests of truth and reason. On the same principle 
 many of the vagaries of modern ritualism are traceable 
 to the want of education on the subject of the rites of 
 the ancient Church and the light thrown upon them in 
 the New Testament. " We venture to assert," says 
 Cave, and we believe truly, '' that it is because so little 
 has been heard of late in Protestant pulpits of the Chris- 
 tian doctrines of priesthood and sacrifice, that the Rom- 
 ish exaggerations of those truths have found a house 
 ready swept and garnished for their reception."" 
 
 The numerous testimonies to the usefulness of the 
 previous volume which have reached the author, have 
 encouraged him to hope that its successor will not be en- 
 tirely unwelcome, and that with all its imperfections it 
 may be of some service to students of the Bible. 
 
 St. John's Wood, 
 
 London, April, 1881. 
 
 * "The Scriptural Doctrine of Sacrifice," p. 25. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 I. Israel in Egypt : Exodus i. 
 
 Place of Mosaic Era in Sacred History. — Threefold Interest of the 
 Subject.— The Historical Interest.— The Bible and the Monu- 
 ments. — The Pharaoh of the Oppression and the Pharaoh of 
 the Exodus. — The Evangelical Interest. — A Stage in the De- 
 velopment of the Great Redemption. — The " Son " of the 
 National Era. — The Personal Interest. — Educational Value of 
 the Stay in Egypt. — How the School became a Prison. — Whence 
 the Necessity of an Exodus, pp. 1-15. 
 
 IT. The Way Out : Exodus ii.-iv. 
 
 There seemed no Way. — God's Way. — A Deliverer Prepared for the 
 People. — Moses' Birth and Education. — His Call and Commis- 
 sion. — His Credentials and Qualifications. — The People Pre- 
 pared for Deliverance. — All Things Ready, pp. 16-30. 
 
 III. Pharaoh Subdued : Exodus v.-xi., xiv. 
 
 The Exodus Proper. — Comparison with the Genesis. — Objects to be 
 Accomplished. — Spiritual Significance of the Long Conflict. — 
 The Simple Demand. — The Demand with Simple Sign. — The 
 Demand with Plague Signs. — The Plagues. — Attempts at Com- 
 promise. — The Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart. — The End. 
 pp. 31-46. 
 
 IV. Israel Saved : Exodus xii.-xiv. 
 
 The Subduing of Pharaoh Not Enough. — The Way of Salvation for 
 Israel. — Atonement. — Redemption. — By Paschal Sacrifice. — 
 
 (ix) 
 
X Contents. 
 
 " Christ our Passover." — The New Life. — " The Hosts of the 
 Lord." — The Pillar of Cloud and Fire. — The Red Sea. — The 
 Seven Stages of Israel's Salvation, pp. 47-60. 
 
 V. The Wilderness : Exodus xv.-xviii. 
 
 The Red Sea Song. — Marah. — Elim. — Manna in the Wilderness. — 
 Water from the Rock. — The Contest with Amalek. — The Meet- 
 ing with Jethro. pp. 61-76. 
 
 VI. The Sinai Revelation : Exodus xix., xx. 
 
 The Preliminary Sketch. — The Full Revelation. — The Holy One. — 
 Relations of Holiness and Love. — Mount Sinai, the Fountain- 
 Head of Reverence. — The Decalogue. — The Law and the 
 Altar. — Sinai and Pentecost, pp. 77-89. 
 
 Vn. The Sinai Covenant : Exodus xx. 22-xxiv. 
 
 " The Sinai Revelation " and " The Sinai Covenant." — " The Book 
 of the Covenant." — Its Four Divisions. — Act of Inauguration. 
 — The Altar and Pillars. — The Ceremonial and its Significance. 
 — Immediate Results of the Transaction. — The Three Stages 
 of Privilege, pp. 90-103. 
 
 VIII. The Tabernacle Revelation : 
 
 Exodus xxv.-xxxi. 
 
 The Complement of the Law. — Includes it. — Preserves and Perpet- 
 uates it. — Substance of the Tabernacle Revelation. — Its Sym- 
 bolic Language. — Two Sides of Truth Expressed in it. — Order 
 6f the Revelation. — Its Three Leading Thoughts. — The Sab- 
 bath as a Sign. pp. 104-117. 
 
 IX. Lapse and Restoration : 
 
 Exodus xxxii.-xxxix. 
 
 The Apostasy: its Nature. — Aaron's Part in it.— Conduct of Moses. 
 — Judgment. — The Mediator. — Intercession : its Three Stages. 
 — The Tent of Meeting. — Results of Mediation : the Name, the 
 Tables, the Tabernacle. — Transfiguration of Moses. — Reforma- 
 tion of People. — Divine Grace Magnified, pp. 118-131. 
 
Contents. xi 
 
 X. The Tabernacle : Exodus xl.-Leviticus i. i. 
 
 Importance of the Tabernacle. — Prevailing Neglect of it. — Symbols 
 and Types. — The Typical Founded on the Symbolic. — General 
 Sketch of Tabernacle. — The Tabernacle Proper. — The Apart- 
 ments and their Furniture. — The Court. — The Cloud and the 
 Glory. — The New Testament Tabernacle. — End of Exodus 
 Compared with Close of Genesis, pp. 132-145. 
 
 XI. Ritual of the Altar : Leviticus i.-vii. 
 
 Historical Importance of Leviticus. — Its Practical Value. — Its 
 Roughness Without and Beauty Within. — Order from Court 
 without to inner Shrine. — Ritual of Court : that of Altar. — 
 Foundation of Worship. — The People's Place of Meeting. — 
 The Place of Sacrifice, pp. 146-152. 
 
 (I.) General Features of Sacrifice. 
 Presentation of Animal. — The Killing of it. — Disposition of the 
 Blood. — The Burning on the Altar, pp. 152-157. 
 
 (II.) Special Features of the Different Sacrifices. 
 The Historical Order. — The Logical Order. — The Sin Offering. — 
 The Trespass Offering.— The Burnt Offering.— The Meat Offer- 
 ing. — The Peace Offering. — System of Saving Truth in the 
 Offerings, pp. 157-170. 
 
 (III.) How Christ Fulfilled the Ritual of the Altar. 
 His Advent. — His Life. — His Parting Words. — His Death. — His 
 Burial. — Transition to Ritual of Holy Place. — Fulfilment of 
 Offerings Required of Us. pp. 170-177. 
 
 XII. Ritual of the Holy Place : 
 
 Leviticus viii -x. 
 
 The Place of Worship for the Priests. — Their Representative 
 Character. — Order of the Consecration Services. — (I.) Separa- 
 tion of Aaron a fid His Sons. — (II.) Their Investiture. — The 
 Ephod and Girdle. — The Breastplate. — Urim and Thummim. — 
 Robe of the Ephod. —The Mitre.— Our Great High-Priest.— 
 Garments of the Priests. — Abuse of Vestments. — (III.) The 
 Afwinting.—W.'s, Significance.— Order of the Ceremony.— (IV.) 
 
xii Contents. 
 
 The Sacrifices. — The First Day. — The Waiting. — The Eighth 
 Day. — The Holy Place Opened.—L\i^, Light, and Love. — The 
 Veil and the Throne. — Nadab and Abihu. pp. 178-199. 
 
 XIIL Ritual of the Most Holy Place : 
 
 Leviticus xi.-xxii. 
 
 Entered only on the Great Atonement Day. — Preparatory Impres- 
 sions. — Evil Around : Clean and Unclean. — Sin Within, as 
 Hereditary Taint, as Disease, as Defilement. — Health Laws of 
 Moses. — Conception of Purity. — Ritual of the Great Atone- 
 ment Day. — Its Fulfilment by Christ. — Close Connection be- 
 tween Atonement and Obedience, pp. 200-220. 
 
 XIV. Sacred Times : Leviticus xxiii.-xxvii. 
 
 The Number Seven. — The Seven Days. — The Sabbath, — The Seven 
 Weeks. — Passover. — Pentecost. — The Seven Months. — Trum- 
 pets. — Tabernacles. — The Sacred Year. — The Seven Years. — 
 The Sabbatical Year. — The Seven Weeks of Years. — The 
 Jubilee. — The Sabbatic Series. — The Eighth Day Series. — 
 Promises and Threatenings. — " Singular " Vows. pp. 221-244. 
 
 XV. The Camp : Numbers i.-vi. 
 
 The " Middle Books." — Relations to Genesis and Deuteronomy. — 
 Mutual Relations of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. — Idea of 
 the Book of Numbers. — The Land and the Earth. — Is Canaan 
 a Type of Heaven? — Pedigrees and Standards. — Priestly and 
 Levitical Arrangements. — Order of the Camp. — Care to keep 
 it Pure. — Special Consecration of the Nazarite. — The Priestly 
 Benediction. — Trinity and Unity, pp. 245-257. 
 
 XVL — The March : Numbers vii.-xiv. 
 
 Preparations. — Offerings : of the Princes ; of the People. — Obser- 
 vance of Passover. — Signals for Starting. — The March. — Order. 
 — Watchwords. — Hobab. — Taberah. — The Graves of Lust. — 
 Sedition of Miriam. — The Great Apostasy. — The Sin and Doom 
 of Unbelief pp. 258-268. 
 
Contents. xiii 
 
 XVII. The Forty Years : Numbers xv.-xix. 
 
 Historic Gap in Numbers. — Significant Silence. — God's Faithfulness 
 and Man's Failure. — Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.— Divine 
 Right of the Priesthood. — Ordinance of the Red Heifer, 
 pp. 269-280. 
 
 XVIII. The New Departure : Numbers xx.. xxi. 
 
 Re-assembling at Kadesh. — Apparently Hopeless Beginning. — Its 
 Real Hopefulness. — Defeat Retrieved. — The Brazen Serpent.— 
 The Well and the Song. — The Sin of Moses and Aaron. — The 
 Death of Aaron, pp. 281-289. 
 
 XIX. Balaam : Numbers xxii.-xxv. 
 
 Moab and Midian. — The Prophet of Pethor. — " The Way of Balaam." 
 —The Entrance.—The Way itself.— The End.— The Words of 
 Balaam. — The Threefold Blessing. — Comparison with the 
 Priestly Benediction of the Old Testament and the Apostolic 
 Benediction of the New. pp. 290-298. 
 
 XX. The Star and Sceptre Prophecy : 
 
 Numbers xxiv. 15-24. 
 
 Prophecy of a Coming King. — Comparison with Shiloh Prophecy. — 
 Destruction of Enemies. — The Sword and the Word. — Scope 
 of the Prophecy. — The Course of its Fulfilment, pp. 299-308. 
 
 XXI. The Second Muster : 
 
 Numbers xxvi.-Deuteronomy i. i. 
 
 Last Duties and Last Words. — The Second Census. — Moses' 
 Successor Appointed. — Ritual Reminders. — War against 
 Midian. — The Itinerary. — Distribution of Land. — Levitical 
 Cities and Cities of Refuge. — Close of Numbers and Transi- 
 tion to Deuteronomy, pp. 309-314. 
 
xiv Contents. 
 
 XXII. The Second Law : Deuteronomy i.-xxx. 
 
 The Three Parting Addresses. — Difference in Style. — Critical Ques- 
 tions. — The First Address. — Its Historical Basis. — The Second 
 Address. — The Deuteronomy Proper. — Its Legal Basis and 
 Prophetic Outlook. — The Third Address. — Its Covenant Basis 
 and Prophetic Outlook. — Solemn Warnings, pp. 315-325. 
 
 XXIII. The Dying Song of Moses : 
 
 Deuteronomy xxxi., xxxii. 
 
 Death of Moses Announced. — Commissioned to Write a Song of 
 Instruction. — Substance of the Song.— Fulfilment of its Pro- 
 phetical Portions. — ^Judgment and Mercy. — Calling of the G'en- 
 tiles. The Roman and the Teuton. — The English-speaking 
 Peoples. — A Song for the Times, pp. 326-337. 
 
 XXIV. Last Words : The End : 
 
 Deuteronomy xxxiii., xxxiv. 
 
 Appendix to Pentateuch.— The Parting Blessing.—The Mosaic 
 Theology. — Its Comprehensiveness. — Its Crown of Love. — 
 Sinai and Calvary. — Moriah and Pisgah.— Israel's God and 
 God's Israel.— Echoes of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. — 
 The " Heritage for ever " from the Mosaic Era. pp. 338-345. 
 
 Appendix on " Jehovah," '' Israel," and " Christ." 
 
 I. The Name " Jehovah " pp. 349-352 
 
 II. The Name "Israel" 353-354 
 
 III. The Title "Christ" 355-359 
 
e 
 
 I. 
 
 ISRAEL IN EGYPT. 
 EXODUS I. 
 
 WE have before us a study in sacred history : the 
 times of Moses the great Law-giver of Israel. 
 It may be well first to consider the relation of this period 
 to the whole of which it is a part. 
 
 If we understand sacred history in the largest sense, 
 then the ages of creation which are manifestly referred 
 to in the Epistle to the Hebrews (i. 2 ; xi. 3)," may be 
 considered as belonging to it ; and throughout these vast 
 reaches of time which preceded the advent of man upon 
 the earth, we recognise the working of the Eternal Wordf , 
 who in the end of a later age (Hebrew ix. 26), " appeared, 
 to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." But taking 
 a more limited and familiar view of sacred history, we 
 may consider it as including those successive ages or dis- 
 pensations of Divine mercy and grace, which the fall of 
 man rendered necessary, for the purpose of rescuing him 
 from sin, delivering him from the sorrow it entailed, and 
 preparing him for the lofty destiny which, according to 
 the constitution of his nature, and the loving purpose of 
 the God who made him, is in store for him. 
 
 * The word is aliovag, not worids, as in our version, but ag'^s. 
 t See also John i. 3 ; Col. i. 16. 
 
2 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 The first age, or dispensation, begins with the prom- 
 ise given to Adam and Eve immediately after the fall ; 
 and closes with the judgment of the flood. The second 
 begins with the promise given to Noah, as he stood with 
 his rescued family around an altar reared upon the land 
 from which the waters of the flood had just receded ; and 
 closes with the judgment of the Babel dispersion. The 
 third age begins with the call of Abraham, and is going 
 on still. It differs from the previous ages or dispensations 
 by the introduction of the new principle of separation,"- as 
 distinguished from the general offer of mercy which had 
 been previously made once and again to all mankind. 
 Its characteristic call is : " Come ye out and be separate." 
 That call was first addressed to Abraham as the head of 
 a family : " Get thee out of thy country, and from thy 
 kindred, and from thy father's house " (Gen. xii. i). It 
 was afterwards addressed to the nation of Israel, when 
 God " called His Son out of Egypt " (Exod. iv. 22, and 
 Hosea xi. i). In its final form it is addressed to men of 
 all nations and climes, and this is the tenor of it : " Come 
 ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the 
 Lord ; and touch not the unclean thing, and I will re- 
 ceive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall 
 be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 
 
 Thus we have successively, within the third age, three 
 divisions, covering respectively the era of the separate 
 family (patriarchal times) ; of the separate nation (the 
 times of Israel) ; and of the separate church (the "times 
 
 * Sec a previous work by the same author, entitled " The Ages 
 before Moses," p. 159. 
 
Israel in Egypt. 3 
 
 of the Gentiles "). The period before us evidently falls 
 in the second of these divisions, that of the separate na- 
 tion ; and it covers the era of the founding of the nation. 
 The time occupied is short, being all embraced, or nearly 
 all, in the lifetime of a single man, that of Moses, who 
 was, under God, the founder of the separate nation. 
 But though the time is brief, the records are extensive, 
 corresponding to the great importance of the period. 
 Four books of the Bible are devoted to it : the Books of 
 Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These 
 will be our text-books in the study of the period. 
 
 Our subject has, or ought to have, a threefold interest : 
 Historical, Evangelical, Personal. 
 
 First, the Historical Interest. No one can now deny 
 that these books of Moses contain veritable history. In 
 former times of ignorance a sceptic might take the posi- 
 tion that the whole story was the invention of a later 
 age. But no man of any intelligence can take this posi- 
 tion now. The very stones, the mighty stones of Egypt, 
 cry out against it. There is scarcely a sentence in the 
 books of Moses about Egypt that does not find confir- 
 mation and illustration from the monuments of Egypt 
 and the partially preserved papyrus rolls. So minute is 
 the accuracy, that not only is the history proved to be 
 authentic, but to be contemporaneous with the events it 
 records.* The two histories — of Israel in the Bible — of 
 Egypt as recovered from the monuments — lie alongside 
 of each other, like two adjoining countries in a dissected 
 
 * See R. Stuart Poole, in Contemporary Review, March, 1879, p. 
 758. 
 
4 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 map, which fit exactly the one into the other, clearly- 
 proving that they are fashioned out of one piece. And 
 not only do the Bible and the monuments fit into each 
 other with such wonderful exactness, but there are cases 
 in which we can see in the one so manifestly the com- 
 plement of the other, that it is just as if, on the dissected 
 map which we have used for illustration, some name 
 were written across the intersection, with the beginning 
 of it on the Israel side, and the rest on the Egypt side, 
 or vice versa. 
 
 Most conspicuously is this the case in the Bible ac- 
 count of Israel in Egypt in the time of the oppression, 
 as compared with the abundant records of the reign of 
 Rameses II., the great Sesostris of the Greek historians ; 
 so much so that the best of modern Egyptologists no 
 longer express any doubt as to the identity of this well- 
 known monarch with the Pharaoh of Israel's oppression. 
 The very name Pharaoh, which at first created a diffi- 
 culty, is now a confirmation ; for while it has been proved 
 to be a general term applied to all the monarchs of the 
 Pharaonic dynasties, it was just in the reign of this mon- 
 arch and his successor that it became so universal as to 
 pass into a proper name. It is used on the monuments 
 exactly as it is used in the Hebrew text. The same 
 Pharaoh is known to be a mighty conqueror, the greatest 
 of all the kings of Egypt, who exacted forced labor 
 from his slaves on a vaster scale than ever had been 
 done before. It is proved also from the monuments 
 that, though belonging to a race of Theban kings, he 
 fixed his capital, not at Thebes in the far south, but at 
 Zoan or Tanis in the far north, in the very region where 
 
Israel in Egypt. 5 
 
 the children of Israel had their centre of population, and 
 at the very place which is spoken of in the Psalms as 
 the scene of the marvels which were wrought at the 
 time of the Exodus (Ps. Ixxviii. 12, 43). And then, to 
 crown all, the very treasure cities which are mentioned 
 in this first chapter of Exodus, Pithom and Raamses, 
 have been discovered and identified as the work of this 
 same Pharaoh. So conclusive have these and other 
 correspondences appeared, that we find so distinguished 
 an authority as Brugsch-Bey saying : " The new Pha- 
 raoh who knew not Joseph, who adorned the city of 
 Ramses, the capital of the Tanitic nome, and the city of 
 Pithom, the capital of what was afterwards the Seth- 
 roitic nome, with temple cities, is no other, can be no 
 othcr^ than Rameses II., of whose buildings at Zoan the 
 monuments and the Papyrus rolls speak in complete 
 agreement." 
 
 With this identification as a fixed point, we can go 
 back four hundred years, according to the Bible chro- 
 nology, to the time of Joseph ; and again, at the close of 
 the Shepherd dynasty, which is proved by a wonderful 
 memorial stone of the age of Rameses II., to have been 
 just four hundred years before, we find a state of things 
 exactly corresponding to that which is depicted in the 
 closing chapters of Genesis, supplying all the conditions 
 which are necessary to give the highest degree of proba- 
 bility to the history of Joseph as recorded there ; and 
 we can go forward to the reign of the immediate suc- 
 cessor of Rameses II. and find the very character of the 
 Pharaoh of the Exodus, and such a sudden cessation of 
 the boastful strain of the monuments as to suggest the 
 
6 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 suspicion of some great disaster, like that series of woes 
 ending in complete overthrow, which is narrated in the 
 book before us. 
 
 But we must not be tempted to spend too much time 
 on these historical matters. They may come up again 
 as we travel onward in our theme. Meantime, enough 
 has surely been said to justify the claim which has been 
 made of a deep historical interest in the subject before 
 us. 
 
 Next, the Evangelical Interest. And here we have a 
 double point of view. First, that of the plain history, 
 viewed as a stage in the development of God's great 
 plan of Redemption, leading on towards the fulness of 
 the time when '' God sent His Son, made of a woman, 
 made under the law, to redeem them that were under 
 the law." This view is so obvious and so familiar, that 
 I need not dwell on it. 
 
 But besides this, there is the unquestionable fact, 
 recognized by all who have any spiritual insight into the 
 Scriptures, that we have in the history before us, not 
 only a preparation for the great Salvation which was to 
 be unfolded in the latter times, but an illustration or 
 series of illustrations of the great Salvation itself. This 
 the Apostle Paul distinctly points out, when he says, 
 " all these things happened to them for ensamples " (lit- 
 erally "types"); and our Lord Himself plainly suggests 
 it, in such a passage as that in which He makes use of 
 the lifting up of the serpent on the pole as a type of His 
 own death ; or again, when He connects so closely the 
 old ordinance of the Passover with the new one of the 
 Lord's Supper. This view of the history is quite familiar 
 
Israel in Egypt. 7 
 
 too ; but there is a thought which gives unity and con- 
 sistency to the entire scheme of the third age, embrac- 
 ing all the three divisions of patriarchal, national, and 
 church times, which has almost, if not altogether, escaped 
 notice. Every one knows that the distinctive promise 
 made to Abraham was the promise of a seed, and every 
 one knows that while this promise had an immediate 
 reference to Isaac, and a more distant reference to the 
 seed of Israel as a nation, it had its final fulfilment in 
 '^ the Seed of the woman," viz., Christ. But the precise 
 manner in which these several fulfilments are connected 
 together in continuity of development has been little 
 regarded. It is capable of being exhibited in more than 
 one point of view ; but at present I shall take only one. 
 The promise to Abraham was the promise of a son. 
 In the first generation Isaac was the son of promise to 
 the exclusion of Ishmael, " as it is written ' In Isaac 
 shall thy seed be called.' " In the next generation Jacob 
 was the son of promise to the exclusion of Esau. In 
 the third generation Joseph" had " the birthright" (see 
 I Chron. v. i, 2). Thus was the line of promise filled 
 up in the patriarchal era. In the next, or national era, 
 corresponding with the change of dispensation, we find 
 the son no longer in an individual, but in the nation as 
 a whole. Thus, Exod. iv. 22 : " Israel is My son, even 
 
 * Joseph, though one of the twelve, in a certain sense stands by 
 himself, " separated from his brethren " (Deut. xxxiii. i6). In the 
 nation he is represented by his two sons, who rank after Judah, the 
 ancestor of the Messiah. There was no tribe of Joseph. We may 
 therefore regard him as one of" the patriarchs," in a sense in which 
 his brethren were not. 
 
8 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 My firstborn " ; and again (Hosea xi. i), '' when Israel 
 was a child, then I loved him, and called My son out of 
 Egypt." Israel as a nation then, was the fourth son in 
 ^t the succession, and his history covers all the period of 
 the national era. In the subsequent era we have f/ie 
 ^ Son of Promise sent in the fulness of the time, to bless, 
 not only Abraham's seed, but all the nations of the 
 earth. 
 
 In view of this succession how natural it is to look for 
 resemblances between the different sons of promise ; 
 how natural, especially, to find in the earlier ones typical 
 prophecies of the Great one who was in the fulness of 
 the time to come. In another place* I have shown how 
 Isaac was a type of Christ as the Son of God ; Jacob as 
 the Son of man ; Joseph as the " Saviour of the world," 
 and " the Shepherd and Stone of Israel." In the same 
 way it may be observed that the history of the " son " 
 of the national era presented some features strikingly 
 suggestive of the history of the Son of promise who 
 was to come, such as these : the miraculous birth of the 
 nation, its being called out of Egypt in its childhood, its 
 being despised and rejected and evil-intreated of men, 
 though never forgotten of God, and finally put to death 
 by the Romans ; after which it was raised again a new 
 spiritual body,f the church, according to the plain 
 teaching of the Apostle James in the Council at Jeru- 
 salem, as recorded in the 15th chapter of Acts (verses 
 14-16). This view of the place of Israel in the succes- 
 
 * See " Ages before Moses," Lect. IX. 
 t See Appendix : Israel and Christ. 
 
Israel in Egypt. 9 
 
 sion of the promise throws light upon many passages of 
 Scripture which have been stumbhng-blocks to inter- 
 preters who have failed to see it. Take, for instance, 
 that passage in Hosea, applied by the Evangelist Mat- 
 thew to Christ: " out of Egypt have I called My son." 
 How often has this been cited as a misapplication of a 
 prophecy, which manifestly refers to the nation of Israel ; 
 and sometimes commentators have tried to defend it on 
 the ground of its being a mere accommodation ; whereas 
 it is most natural, most appropriate, and most striking, 
 Avhen we only keep in mind the link of connection be- 
 tween the son of the earlier and the son of the later era, 
 and the closely typical relation of the former to the 
 latter. Or take those passages where the servant of 
 Jehovah is spoken of in Isaiah ; and how erroneous it at 
 once is seen to be, to conclude that because some of 
 these passages seem to refer to the nation of Israel, 
 therefore, they do not refer to the Holy One of Israel, 
 of whom the holy nation was an imperfect type. Here, 
 again, we might occupy a whole lecture in exploring this 
 inviting field, but we must refrain. Enough has prob- 
 ably been said to justify the claim for a deep evangelical 
 interest in this history. 
 
 Lastly, the Personal Interest we may dismiss in a single 
 word, by saying that *'all Scripture is given by inspira- 
 tion of God, and is profitable (and few parts more so 
 than the books before us) for doctrine, and reproof, and 
 correction, and instruction in righteousness, that the man 
 of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all 
 good works." 
 
10 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 The National era, like the Patriarchal, begins with an 
 '"^ Exodus. In fact, every dispensation of grace does, and 
 must. Adam's Exodus looks a very sad one ; but after 
 he had sinned, it was the only way of safety for him. It 
 was really in mercy to him that the Lord brought him 
 out and away from the scene of his disobedience. Noah's 
 was a strange, but most significant Exodus, from the 
 heathenism of the old world across the boat-bridge which 
 spanned the dark waters of judgment. Abraham's spir- 
 itual career begins with an Exodus from old heathen 
 Fadan-Aram ; and all his spiritual descendants must be- 
 gin their career in like manner by an Exodus from their 
 old unconverted state. It is quite in keeping then with 
 God's dealings with His children in all ages, that the first 
 step in the history of the chosen nation should be an 
 Exodus. 
 
 The Exodus, as we all know, is from Egypt. But be- 
 fore we speak of the getting out, we must have a word 
 as to how they got in, and why they stayed in so long. 
 "Israel in Egypt" is the theme of the first chapter. 
 
 By a reference to the history of Abraham (Gen. xv. 
 13), we find that the four hundred years' affliction in 
 Egypt had been distinctly foretold ; but this only throws 
 us back upon the previous question : Why was it fore- 
 told ? Why did it enter into the Divine plan at all ? 
 We can find in the Patriarchal history the answer to this 
 question also. In Genesis xlvi. 3, we read that God 
 spake unto Israel in visions of the night, and said : " I 
 am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down 
 into Egypt ; for I will there make of thee a great nation." 
 The explanation of Israel in Egypt is found in the pur- 
 
Israel in Egypt. ii 
 
 pose of God to make of Israel a great nation. This 
 thought may be briefly expanded thus : time was needed 
 to grow in numbers ; contact with the world's best civ- 
 ilisation was needed to learn important lessons of na- 
 tional wisdom and life ; experience of severe trial was 
 necessary in order to weld the people firmly together, 
 and to teach them that, while much was to be learnt 
 from contact with the world, their only safety lay in re- 
 liance upon God. May we not also suppose that Israel 
 was kept in Egypt so long, for the purpose of showing, 
 in a very striking manner, how thoroughly unsatisfactory 
 is the world's greatness and glory apart from the Divine 
 presence and blessing. As this thought is, perhaps, less 
 familiar than the others, let us dwell upon it for a little. 
 
 Remember that Egypt was the grandest representa- 
 tive of the world's most ancient civilisation. In some / 
 respects indeed she has had no peer in all the world's ^ 
 history. And the period of the story of Israel in Egypt 
 was just the period of Egypt's greatest glory. It 
 covers all the time of the Eighteenth dynasty, with its 
 succession of illustrious Thothmes and Amenophs, and 
 includes all the glories of the Nineteenth dynasty, the 
 greatness of which passed away with the son of Rameses, 
 who was overthrown in the Red Sea. Of Thothmes III., 
 whom he calls " the Alexander the Great of Egyptian 
 history," Brugsch-Bey says, that he left " a whole world 
 of monuments behind him," " that the riches in works 
 of all kinds can scarcely be counted, from the largest 
 temples to the tiny scarabaei, which all bear the name of 
 the greatest king of those times." This was a sample of 
 the Eighteenth dynasty ; and yet it was not till the 
 
12 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 Nineteenth and the days of the great Pharaoh of Israel's 
 oppression, that Egypt attained the full zenith of her 
 power and magnificence, which coincided also with a 
 culminating period in letters and in art. 
 
 What a memorable four hundred years ! Yet it is 
 passed over in silence in the sacred records. Why ? Be- 
 cause it had so little of God in it. Mere worldly glory 
 finds no place in the Divine records. It may be " graven 
 with an iron pen, and with lead in the rock for ever"; 
 but it has no place in the book of remembrance which is 
 kept for the eye of God, and of the holy ones who in- 
 habit eternity. A brief notice at the beginning ; a briefer 
 notice at the end ; that is all we have in the Divine rec- 
 ord concerning the four hundred years which Israel spent 
 amid the surpassing glories of the ancient empire of 
 Egypt. And what do these notices tell us of the effect 
 on Israel of their long and close contact with the world's 
 /^ greatest magnificence ? Simply this : they entered Egypt 
 as princes ; before they left it they were slaves. The 
 great country of the South was meant for a school ; it 
 has proved a prison. '' The land of Egypt " has become 
 '' the house of bondage." And that notwithstanding the 
 fact that they prospered greatly at the first: "the chil- 
 dren of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, 
 and multiplied and waxed exceeding mighty ; and the 
 land was filled with them." Notwithstanding the fact, 
 did we say? Quite probably for this very reason. In 
 their prosperity they forgot God, and as a consequence 
 fell an easy prey to the tyranny of the oppressor. It is 
 no uncommon experience for a man, as well as a nation, 
 to be a prince before he prospers and a slave after it. 
 
Israel in Egypt. 13 
 
 Communion with God in the solitude of old Canaan 
 made Israel a prince (Gen. xxxii. 28), conformity to the 
 world amid the splendours of Egypt made Israel a slave. 
 " He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." 
 
 We have spoken of the truly apostolical succession of 
 Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Israel, Christ. Side by side was 
 another succession of a kind not at all apostolical : Sodom, 
 Egypt, Babylon, Rome. Sodom was a type of the world's 
 evil in the early patriarchal times. In the early national 
 times, Egypt, and in the later times, Babylon, was the 
 great representative of the World as distinguished from 
 the people of God. In the Saviour's time it was the 
 vast Empire of Rome. This succession is hinted at in 
 certain parts of the Apocalypse, as for instance in Rev. 
 ii. 8, where Jerusalem is " spiritually called Sodom and 
 Egypt." Sodom is associated in our minds with wicked- 
 ness only, though no doubt it was a great place in its 
 day ; but Egypt stands out before us as a fuller and 
 more adequate type of the world, with her glory as well 
 as her shame. And from Israel's relation to Egypt we 
 may learn two great lessons, one of counsel, the other of 
 warning : one of counsel how to use the world, the other 
 of warning against abusing it. From God's purpose in 
 regard to Israel let us learn that just as Egypt was neces- 
 sary as a school for His chosen people, so the world 
 ought to be a school for us. We are not to despise its 
 greatness. No word of contempt for Egypt's greatness 
 is found in the sacred records. The nation was intended 
 to learn, and did acquire, many useful arts which were of 
 much service to them afterwards in the Land of Promise. 
 Moses, the chosen of God, was learned in all the wisdom 
 
14 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 of the Egyptians, and was thereby quahfied for the great 
 work for which he was called. In these examples we 
 may see how to use this world, making it a school to 
 prepare us for our inheritance and the work the Lord 
 may have for us there to do. On the other hand, let us 
 beware of so yielding to the seductions of this evil world 
 as to lose our hold of God, and His covenant, and so in- 
 cur the certainty of forfeiting our eternal birthright and 
 becoming the world's slaves, helping perhaps to rear its 
 mighty monuments, with the prospect possibly of hav- 
 ing our names engraved in stone among the ruins of 
 some buried city, but without the prospect of having 
 them written *' among the living in Jerusalem," the eter- 
 nal City of God. Earth's great ones belong to the dead 
 past ; but Heaven's great ones have their portion in a 
 glorious future. 
 
 Sodom, Thebes, Babylon, Rome, LONDON ! Yes, the 
 time is coming when even London's wealth and grandeur 
 shall be a thing of the past, as certainly and as impres- 
 sively as that of Thebes is to-day ; the time is coming 
 when our railroads and telegraphs shall be as " over- 
 worn " as are 
 
 " Those temples, palaces, and piles stupendous, 
 Of which the very ruins are tremendous." 
 
 And even our Stephensons and Brunels will take their 
 places with the architects of the Pyramids and the engi- 
 neers of Lake Moeris. Do we rejoice in the scientific 
 greatness of modern times? But was there not science 
 at least as deep, embodied in that vast miracle of stone 
 which perplexes the wits of Astronomers Royal, and 
 
Israel in Egypt. 15 
 
 leads even distinguished mathematicians to see in it a 
 miracle indeed, a veritable revelation of scientific truth 
 from Heaven ? Yet even the great Pyramid was not 
 too great to die. It is not railroads and telegraphs and 
 modern improvements that are of true and lasting con- 
 sequence. It is the soul and its training for the life to 
 come in the Land of Promise. Unquestionably mighty 
 London is in the line of succession from old Babylon 
 and older Thebes and Memphis. But, blessed be God, 
 it is in another line of succession. England's greatness, 
 unlike that of old Egypt, is founded on the Bible and on 
 Christ. Therein lies the hope of the nation for the fut- 
 ure. And therein lies the hope of each of us. Let us 
 use our world of England and of London, as not abusing 
 it ; never forgetting that the fashion of it passeth away, 
 and making sure that we have our portion in the great 
 Eternity, with Him who shall guide us by His counsel, 
 and at last receive us to His glory. 
 
II. 
 
 THE WAY OUT. 
 EXODUS II.-IV. 
 
 NOW that Egypt, intended for a school of training, 
 has become a house of bondage, a way out of it 
 must be found, unless God's promise is to fail. But 
 where shall it be found ? To human view it was im- 
 possible. Even the great independent nations of the 
 North were no match for the mighty Rameses and 
 what chance would the poor slaves in the brick-kilns 
 have against his power? And the monarch of Egypt 
 was as strong at home as he was abroad. The nation 
 was intoxicated with the glory of his victories ; and to 
 oppose his will was to brave the entire force of two em- 
 pires united under one resistless head. There seemed 
 no way out. 
 
 But God found a way out. He always can, however 
 strongly barred the prison doors may be — ay, though the 
 prison be a sepulchre with a great stone rolled to the 
 door of it, sealed with a Roman seal, and watched by a 
 Roman guard. 
 
 God could have found many ways out of Egypt. He 
 
 was not by any means limited in His resources. He 
 
 might have led His people out by a much shorter and 
 
 easier way fhan that which He chose; and the story of 
 
 (i6) 
 
The Way Out. 17 
 
 the Exodus might have been as short and simple as the 
 story of the Resurrection. And if the only object in 
 view had been the deliverance of the people from Egypt, 
 a single stroke — short, sharp, and effectual, like that 
 with which He smote the Assyrians, who in later times 
 came down like a wolf on His fold — would have finished 
 the work and set His people free. But, in the first place, 
 God is never prodigal of wonders ; it is only when 
 natural means are insufficient that the supernatural is 
 introduced. And then, besides, He had important 
 lessons to teach His people which required time for pre- 
 sentation and impression ; and He had important les- 
 sons for us. Above all He chose a way out of Egypt 
 which should be a most instructive and impressive pic- 
 ture to all generations of the only way out of the bon- 
 dage of sin. The Old Testament is full of pictures of 
 salvation ; but this is the largest and grandest of them 
 all. It is the first that meets us as we enter the great 
 national gallery, after leaving the life-like pictures of the 
 grand old patriarchs. And it stands alone like the 
 Madonna at Dresden, as the picture of the gallery, the 
 Old Testament picture of salvation. 
 
 Sometimes a picture is more impressive than the 
 reality. Have you not often stood in admiration and 
 enjoyment before a picture of some scene which would 
 not have attracted your attention at all if you had seen 
 the reality instead of the mere representation of it? 
 And in the same way it often comes to pass that the 
 pictures of salvation in the Old Testament are more im- 
 pressive than the salvation itself as presented in the 
 New. " When Israel was a child," the great salvation 
 
1 8 ■ The Mosaic Era. 
 
 was presented in pictorial form ; and pictorial teaching 
 is good, not for children only, but for grown-up people 
 too. These things were " written for our learning " 
 also; and just as by looking at a good picture many 
 beauties are brought out which we could not have dis- 
 covered for ourselves without the revelation which came 
 from the artist's mind and the light reflected from his 
 eye, so by looking at the Exodus picture of the great 
 salvation we may learn some things which even a careful 
 study of Matthew or of John would fail to disclose, or, 
 at all events, so deeply to impress. 
 
 By ^' the way out " we do not mean the whole story 
 of the Exodus, which will occupy us for some time to 
 come; but only those preparations which were made 
 before the first summons was addressed to mighty 
 Pharaoh : " Let My people go." In the ordinary 
 course of God's working nothing is done suddenly ; 
 and that which appears to be sudden, is the result of 
 a long course of preparation that has been quietly going 
 on. Now, as we look at these chapters before us 
 (Exod. ii., iii., iv.) we can see a twofold preparation in 
 the providence of God for the great deliverance which 
 w^as in course of time to be wrought : (i) a Deliverer pre- 
 pared for the people, and, (2) the people prepared for 
 deliverance. Let us look at each of these in their 
 order, without attempting, however, to enter into details, 
 w^hich it would be vain to do, as these chapters are so 
 rich and full that almost every clause might make a 
 sermon. 
 
 L A Deliverer prepared for the people according to 
 the Divine method : ''A man shall be as an hiding-place 
 
The Way Out. 19 
 
 from the wind, and a covert from the tempest." The 
 man whom God now chooses is Moses, one of the grand- 
 est men, as all acknowledge, that ever walked upon this 
 earth. We have his birth and education in chapter ii., 
 his call and commission in chapter iii., and in chapter iv. 
 credentials and qualifications. 
 
 In the story of his infancy, — how simple, how natural, 
 how life-like, how manifestly transparent and truthful, 
 with a striking absence of all those miraculous accom- 
 paniments with which fable is wont to encircle the in- 
 fancy of its heroes — in that story we have a striking 
 illustration of how God " makes the wrath of man to 
 praise Him." He uses Pharaoh's edict of extermination 
 against the Hebrew children as His letter of introduc- 
 tion to the court of Pharaoh and the universities of 
 Egypt for that Hebrew child who is to be Israel's cham- 
 pion, who shall open for His people a way out of their 
 galling bondage. It reminds us of that cruel cross, 
 which represented the wrath of men who with wicked 
 hands attempted to destroy the Saviour of the world, 
 but which ever since has been *' the power of God and 
 the wisdom of God " unto salvation. 
 
 The education of Moses covers eighty years : forty 
 in Egypt, forty in the land of Midian. From this it 
 follows that his birth must have taken place about the 
 beginning of the reign of Rameses the Great ; and it 
 becomes exceedingly interesting to contrast the mag- 
 nificent career of the world's hero with the quiet prep- 
 aration of God's hero, and reflect how God makes 
 use of *^ the weak things of the world to confound the 
 things that are mighty." The great Egyptian monarch 
 
20 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 is now nothing more than "the shadow of a mighty 
 name " ; the poor Hebrew child has a mightier influence 
 in the great world of this nineteenth century than he 
 had even on that awful night when he wrested from the 
 relaxing grasp of Rameses* son the victims of his father's 
 tyranny. 
 
 Forty years in Egypt, during which he was trained 
 " in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," — showing the 
 value of a thorough education in letters and art, science 
 and philosophy, and all that the wisdom of the world 
 can give us, provided only we keep all in subordination 
 to the great aim of serving our generation according to 
 the will of God. This Moses evidently did. " By 
 faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be 
 called the son of Pharaoh's daughter ; choosing rather 
 to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy 
 the pleasures of sin for a season ; esteeming the reproach 
 of Christ* greater riches than the treasures in Egypt." 
 It is impossible to do justice even in imagination to the 
 heroism of this faith. The court of Pharaoh was as 
 great in those days as the court of England is now, and 
 relatively to the rest of the world, much greater ; the 
 Hebrews were of no more consideration than so many 
 gypsies would be among us. Imagine then, if you can, 
 what it must have been for one brought up amid all the 
 splendours of the court, deliberately to prefer the reproach 
 of that despised people whom even the common Egyp- 
 tians spoke of as " lepers " ! 
 
 It is most worthy of notice that there is not a hint 
 
 * See Appendix : Israel and Christ. 
 
The Way Out. . 21 
 
 of faith or of heroism in the narrative before us. We 
 are told, indeed, that he did identify himself with the 
 oppressed people ; but it is told in such a way as to 
 bring out the weakness of Moses rather than his strength 
 (see chap. ii. 1 1-14). What does this mean ? It means 
 most undoubtedly that Moses himself is the author of 
 the story as we have it in Exodus. If it had been 
 written by another hand, and in a later age, as many 
 now-a-days are trying to make out, it would have been 
 at least appreciative and almost certainly highly lauda-* 
 tory, as in the pages of Josephus, for example ; whereas, 
 in the plain unvarnished narrative before us, there is a 
 conspicuous absence of everything of the kind, while 
 every weakness is honestly, faithfully recorded. Evi- 
 dently Moses was a most modest man, as all truly great 
 men are. And herein, no doubt, is found the solution 
 of those difficulties which some discover in comparing 
 the accounts in Exodus with certain references in the 
 New Testament, which they are pleased to call contra- 
 dictions, whereas they are only those variations which 
 we always expect to find between what a great man, 
 with modesty proportioned to his greatness, will say of 
 himself, and what another will say of him. Take even 
 that which seems most serious of all, where in Exodus 
 we are told he " feared," and in Hebrews he is spoken 
 of as " not fearing the wrath of the king." Can you 
 doubt that, in the former case, Moses is speaking of a 
 moment of weakness when his heart did fail him, 
 whereas in Hebrews, it is the general character of the 
 man, in which undaunted courage was a large and 
 almost constant element, which is referred to? The 
 
22 . The Mosaic h.RA. 
 
 grandeur of the sacrifice which Moses made appears 
 all the greater that he himself says nothing about it. 
 Many a small man has never done talking about the 
 small sacrifices he makes ; but he is a great man indeed, 
 who can sacrifice everything and say nothing. 
 
 The forty years in Egypt were followed by another 
 forty years in the solitude of the desert. Egypt was a 
 good place for a course in arts ; but it was no place for 
 theology. The rocks of the desert make a far better 
 •Divinity hall than the temples of Heliopolis. To be- 
 come truly acquainted with God, a man must be much 
 alone. We are sometimes apt to be impatient of the 
 time which is spent in the inactivity of solitary com- 
 munings ; but think of these forty years, and learn the 
 value that God puts on solitary communion and medita- 
 tion as a preparation for great and glorious service. We 
 must be much alone with God, if we would have genuine 
 power and command lasting success in the work He has 
 for us to do. It was evidently a time of trial as well as of 
 solitary communing. It must have been. Think of that 
 mighty spirit, already all on fire, as is evident from his en- 
 counter with the Egyptian, tamed down hy forty years of 
 waiting ! The sorrow of his spirit appears in the name 
 he gives his son, born to him in the desert : " he called 
 his name Gershom : for he said, I have been a stranger 
 in a strange land." As Egypt was the scene of the trial 
 of his faith^ it was in Midian that patience had her per- 
 fect work. 
 
 And now that he is fully trained, he is ready to be 
 called and commissioned. A voice from out of a bush 
 in the desert, burning, but unconsumed, is the means 
 
The Way Out. 23 
 
 employed. We need not dwell on so familiar a symbol, 
 setting forth as it does the affliction of the people of 
 God as a purifying but not destroying process, and at the 
 same time manifesting the presence of the glory of God 
 under the old familiar appearance, which had first 
 greeted the eye of fallen man at the gates of the garden. 
 Without going into details, let me only ask you to notice 
 the two main thoughts in the revelation here made to 
 Moses. 
 
 The first is the sinfulness of man in relation to the 
 Divine holiness : " draw not nigh hither ; put off thy 
 shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou 
 
 standest is holy ground And Moses hid his face ; 
 
 for he was afraid to look upon God " (chap. iii. 5, 6). I 
 The great truth taught is this, and it sounds on more 
 and more solemnly all through the Mosaic era: ^ ^' with- 
 out Holiness no man can see the Lord." 
 
 The other is the love of God in its relation to hu- 
 man sorrow, oh, how beautifully and tenderly expressed : 
 " I have surely seen (it looks as if I had not, but I have 
 surely seen) the affliction of My people which are in 
 Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their task- 
 masters ; for I know their sorrows ; and I am come down 
 to deliver them " (ver. 7, 8). What Moses sees is the 
 appearance of devouring fire ; but what he hears is the 
 blessed Gospel. We need the comfort of the word ad- 
 dressed to the ear of faith, to explain the mysteries of 
 Nature and Providence which lie open before the eye of 
 
 * This is the first time the word " holy " occurs in the Bible. It 
 is not found in Genesis. 
 
24 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 observation. " Behind a frowning Providence " God 
 often " hides a smiling face " ; but we should never have 
 known it, had it not been for the revelation or unveiling 
 of Himself which He has given us in His Word. The 
 fire we often dread so much is but a manifestation of 
 the Divine holiness, while to him that hath ears to hear, 
 there will come from out the heart of it " a still small 
 voice," telling most tenderly of a heavenly Father's 
 love. 
 
 Surely now Moses, after so long waiting and such 
 thorough training, will be eager to enter at once upon 
 his great life work. But no. The eagerness of immatu- 
 rity has gone. While all unprepared he was ready to 
 dash in. But now that his preparation is complete, he 
 shrinks back from a task which seems too great for his 
 feeble powers. How true to nature, and how full of in- 
 struction. We need not stop to draw out the obvious 
 lesson, nor can we follow in detail the interesting account 
 of the successive difficulties which Moses raised, and the 
 way in which God met them all, dealing most gently 
 and kindly with His servant when his hesitation was 
 due to a proper modesty and distrust of his own powers, 
 and with a faithful but tempered severity when his re- 
 luctance was the result of unbelief and distrust of the 
 Divine power and promise. When Moses says (ver. ii): 
 '' who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh ? " God an- 
 swers, " certainly I will be with thee," and in mercy gives 
 him a token that it was no conditional commission with 
 which he was entrusted, like that of Jonah afterwards to 
 Nineveh, but one which was absolutely fixed and certain, 
 " When thou hast brought forth the people out of 
 
The Way Out. 25 
 
 Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain " (ver. 12). 
 When he asks (ver. 13) "what shall I say?" God gives 
 him a name* to proclaim and a message to deliver more 
 rich and full of promise and of hope than ever before 
 had greeted human ears. When he interposes the diffi- 
 culty (iv. i) that the people will not hearken to his 
 voice, God gives him a series of signs to be his creden- 
 tials. When again (ver. 10) he pleads that he is slow of 
 speech, how striking the answer, with a gentle tone of 
 reproof in it, and yet so tenderly considerate of His 
 servant's infirmity : " And the Lord said unto him. Who 
 hath made man's mouth ? or who maketh the dumb, or 
 deaf, or the seeing, or the blind ? have not I the Lord ? 
 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and 
 teach thee what thou shalt say." But when the gentle 
 reproof has failed of its purpose, and the servant still 
 shrinks back from the appointed task (ver. 13), then the 
 Lord is angry, and while the difficulty is met, it is met 
 in such a way as to limit by just so much the honor 
 which had been in all its fulness intended for Moses 
 alone, and to prepare also no little sorrow in the future, 
 because now the tongue the great leader has to use is 
 one far less consecrated than his own. After this there 
 still remained one difficulty, not like these others in the 
 mind of Moses, but in his family, where that important 
 rite which symbolized the covenant of the old patriarchal 
 times had been neglected. This explains the episode in 
 verses 24-26. And now that the lions are all out of the 
 way, Moses is ready to go. 
 
 * See Appendix : on the name Jehovah. 
 
26 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 But before we leave the subject of the preparation of 
 the DeHverer, let us look at those miraculous credentials 
 by which he was accredited to the people, as set forth 
 in the beginning of chapter iv. It is quite evident in 
 the first place that signs were needed on this occasion. 
 The experience of Moses before, when he stood forth as 
 the champion of his oppressed brethren, made it evident 
 that something more than a mere verbal claim was nec- 
 essary to secure the confidence and allegiance of the 
 people. And the more we look at the signs which were 
 appointed for the purpose, the more appropriate we see 
 them to be. It is freely confessed that to a superficial 
 observer they have an inferior look, quite unlike the beau- 
 tiful and truth-like miracles recorded of Our Lord in the 
 Gospels. But when we take a deeper view, and con- 
 sider their relation to the symbolic language of Egypt 
 and to the forms and modes of thought with which the 
 children of Israel were most familiar, we can see how 
 exceedingly natural and significant they were. 
 
 Remember what were the three chief sources of dis- 
 couragement in prospect of the great enterprize. They 
 were first, the weakness of Moses himself as matched 
 against the mighty Pharaoh ; next, the weakness of the 
 people in their degraded and despised estate ; and thirdly, 
 the greatness of the mighty empire of Egypt. A sign 
 was given to quiet the apprehensions of Moses and the 
 people in relation to each of these three sources of dis- 
 couragement. 
 
 First, Moses felt himself, and was reckoned by the 
 people, so weak, that it seemed presumption to quit his 
 shepherd life and go before Pharaoh. It was like laying 
 
The Way Out. 
 
 27 
 
 down a shepherd's staff and taking up a serpent. ^^ And 
 so, as a sign, Moses is told to cast down his staff, and it 
 becomes a serpent. The sign allows that it is a danger- 
 ous work he must now take up. But when he takes it 
 up, lo, it becomes again a rod in his hand ! It will come 
 as easy to him, after all, as his quiet shepherd life. It 
 will be no fanged serpent that he has in his grasp, but 
 *' the rod of God," f harmless to himself, mighty against 
 the foe. 
 
 Next there was the low estate of the people, a 
 community of lepers, as it were, for so they were called 
 in derision by the Egyptians ; and treated like lepers, 
 they felt like lepers too, a usual consequence of long 
 continued degradation. To meet this sad discourage- 
 ment a second sign was given. Moses's hand becomes 
 leprous as snow. Thus, as before, the difficulty is ac- 
 knowledged. But, as before, it is triumphantly met : 
 *' Put thy hand into thy bosom again " ; and when he 
 plucked it out, it was turned again as his other flesh. 
 God is able to make the leper clean, to change a horde 
 of slaves into a host of heroes. 
 
 These signs were supposed to be sufficient ; but if they 
 still should hesitate at the thought of the terrible might 
 of Egypt, a third sign is given : water from the Nile is 
 changed into blood — which meant in symbol (for the 
 Nile was the life, and strength, and glory, and source of 
 all the greatness of Egypt, and accordingly was wor- 
 shipped as the great god of Egypt) that Jehovah can in 
 
 * The serpent was an emblem of royalty in Egypt, 
 t See Exod. xvii. 9. 
 
28 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 a moment, if He will, turn the life of Egypt into death, 
 its glory into shame. Could you think of any series of 
 signs more appropriate to the occasion, or more fitted to 
 accomplish the gracious purpose for which they were 
 given ? 
 
 And here we cannot but remember how the Lord 
 Jesus comes to us, first with His cross, which, with all 
 its natural repulsiveness, becomes the rod of God in 
 His hand, the very " power of God unto salvation " ; 
 then with His grace, which can take the leprous heart 
 and make it pure again. This is all we need : His 
 cross for pardon, His Spirit of grace for cleansing. 
 But if we refuse to hearken to the first sign and to the 
 second, there is a third in reserve. For those who 
 turn from His cross, and refuse to receive His Spirit, 
 there remaineth only " a certain fearful looking for of 
 judgment.'* 
 
 H. And now having followed the course by which the 
 great Deliverer v/as prepared by birth and training, by 
 call and commission, by credential and qualification, let 
 us look at the other side, and inquire how the people 
 were prepared for deliverance. This is a very simple 
 matter and need not detain us long. In these chapters 
 there is a great deal about the Deliverer, and very little 
 about the people. Two lines cover it all ; one in the 
 23d verse of the second chapter : " the children of Israel 
 sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried " ; and 
 one in the 31st verse of the fourth chapter: " the people 
 believed : and when they heard that the Lord had visited 
 the children of Israel, and that He had looked upon 
 their affliction, then they bowed their heads and wor- 
 
The Way Out. 29 
 
 shipped." In the first of these two passages we see the 
 people brought to a sense of their bondage and their 
 need, and constrained to cry for mercy. In the second 
 we find them exercising faith, showing humiHty, and 
 surrendering themselves to the Divine guidance. That 
 is all that is needed. The people are ripe for deliverance 
 now. 
 
 And it is all that is needed for the great salvation of 
 which the Exodus was a type. Let us not imagine we 
 need to go through a long course of preparation so as to 
 be ready for salvation. No forty years' training either 
 in Egypt or in Midian is needed for this. We have sim- 
 ply first to realize our need, and cry for mercy : 
 
 " All the fitness he requireth 
 Is to feel our need of Him : " 
 
 and then to receive the mercy freely offered, which we 
 do by believing, bowing our heads in submission, and 
 worshipping Him with the homage of the heart and de- 
 votion of the life. That is the whole of salvation so far 
 as the people are concerned. 
 
 All things are now ready. There was indeed a long 
 course of preparation for the coming of the Saviour. 
 The foundations were slowly laid in the course of the 
 ages until in the fulness of the time God sent His Son, 
 the great Deliverer from the bondage of sin. Like 
 Moses, He cam.e after long centuries of waiting for the 
 promise which was given of old to Abraham ; like Moses, 
 He proves, though a king's son, to be one of ourselves, 
 *' flesh of our flesh," " not ashamed to call us brethren " ; 
 like Moses, He was indebted to Egypt for safety from 
 
30 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 perils of His infancy; like Moses, He was rejected by 
 His own when He espoused their cause/^ and like 
 Moses, He comes to us with the rod of His power and 
 the sceptre of His grace, to call us out of the Egypt of 
 sin and sorrow into "a land flowing with milk and 
 honey." " I am the Way," He says ; the way out of 
 the bondage of sin, the way into the liberty of the chil- 
 dren of God. 
 
 * See Acts vii. 35-51. 
 
III. 
 
 • PHARAOH SUBDUED. 
 
 EXODUS V.-XI. (XIV.) 
 
 THE way out has been prepared ; the going out re- 
 mains, the Exodus proper. The account of it is 
 long, extending from the fifth chapter to the end of the 
 fourteenth, for we can scarcely say that the Exodus was 
 complete till the children of Israel had passed through 
 the Red Sea. And here it is interesting to compare the 
 Genesis with the Exodus. The great work of creation 
 is disposed of in a single chapter — how easily. The 
 work covered long ages, but there was no obstacle in the 
 way, and accordingly, " He spake, and it was done ; He 
 commanded, and it stood fast." But the work of the 
 Exodus is not so easily accomplished. It is the work, 
 not of ages, but only of a few months; but it can not 
 be disposed of in a few sentences. In this work God 
 has to do, not with matter, which He can mould as He 
 will, and fashion by His word into forms of beauty and 
 wonder, nor with life in its lower forms, which omnipo- 
 tence can so easily control ; but with the human will, 
 whose princely freedom and responsibility is His own 
 gift, not to be lightly recalled. He could by a single 
 word have crushed out all opposition even of the mighty 
 monarch of Egypt ; but He forbears to exercise this 
 
 (31) 
 
32 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 power of external constraint, and chooses rather to deal 
 with His intelligent creatures in accordance with the 
 nature He has given them. Hence the long controversy 
 with Pharaoh which lies before us. 
 
 Besides this, we must bear in mind the varied pur- 
 poses which God had in view ; for as we had occasion to 
 remark before. He had other objects to accomplish be- 
 sides the mere setting of Israel free. Some of these are 
 referred to in the course of the narrative. First, there 
 is the revelation of Himself as Jehovah (read especially 
 that very instructive passage, Exod. vi. i-8). The name, 
 indeed, had been known as a mere name from the begin- 
 ning, but the import of the name had not been re- 
 vealed ; there had been no manifestation of its tender 
 and blessed significance.^ God had made Himself 
 known to the patriarchs as Father and Friend, Protector 
 and Guide, but not till now did He reveal Himself as 
 Redeemer and Saviour. The covenant had been made 
 with Abraham, but it had remained simply a covenant 
 of promise. " These all died in faith, not having re- 
 ceived the promises, but having seen them afar off." 
 But now God shows Himself as the covenant-keeping 
 God, faithfully fulfilling the promise He has made, mani- 
 festing for the first time the wonders of redeeming love. 
 
 The humiliation of Egypt was another object in view, 
 as may be seen by referring to chapter ix. i6, 17, and 
 chapter xii. 12. How signally this was accomplished, 
 especially the executing of judgment against the gods 
 of Egypt, and proclaiming the name of the redeeming 
 
 See Appendix : on the name Jehovah. 
 
Pharaoh Subdued. 33 
 
 God of Israel as high above them all, will be seen when 
 we come to the series of plagues. A third purpose, viz., 
 the education of Israel, is referred to in chapter x. 2, 
 where the Lord says to Moses : " I show these My signs 
 .... that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and 
 of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt." 
 Finally, there is the instruction of the ages to come, as 
 the Apostle Paul shows so strikingly in his Epistle to 
 the Corinthians (i Cor. x. i-ii). Thus we see that there 
 were reasons of many kinds, why God did not over- 
 power Pharaoh in a moment, as He could so easily have 
 done, but chose rather to bring about the liberation of 
 His people by the much slower, but more instructive 
 and impressive method recorded in the chapters before 
 us. 
 
 There are two main things to be studied in the story 
 of the Exodus: I. How God subdued Pharaoh. II. 
 How God saved Israel. The former is set forth in chap- 
 ters v.-xi., the latter in chapters xii., xiii., while the cul- 
 mination of both is presented in all its grandeur in 
 chapter xiv. The former is the subject of the present 
 lecture. 
 
 But before we look at the details of the long conflict 
 with Pharaoh, let us glance at the spiritual significance 
 of it all. Pharaoh is God's enemy, Israel God's people. 
 We all of us have our Israel side, for are we not in the 
 image of God ? And we all of us have our Pharaoh 
 side, for are we not all sinners? And by nature, alas, 
 the Pharaoh side has the upper hand, and keeps the 
 Israel side in bondage, until our Redeemer God, by the 
 power of His sovereign grace, subdues our sins and sets 
 
34 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 our spirits free. Let us remember then, as we learn how 
 God subdued Pharaoh, that we are looking at a picture 
 of God subduing sin in human hearts, that He may lib- 
 erate the higher nature which it had enslaved. We have 
 in it all a type of the great work of emancipation under- 
 taken by Him who came " to preach deliverance to the 
 captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are 
 bound." 
 
 The conflict begins with the simple demand, " Let My 
 people go, that they may hold a feast unto Me, in the 
 wilderness " (chap. v. i). The demand was most moder- 
 ate and most reasonable. No occasion was given to 
 Pharaoh to harden his heart. We cannot suppose in- 
 deed that even if he had granted this reasonable request, 
 nothing more would have been asked. But there can be 
 no doubt that if he had showed a disposition to yield to 
 the claims of the God of Israel, the ultimate liberation 
 of the people would have been brought about in a way 
 that would have entailed no suffering or distress on him 
 (see chap. vii. 4). Had he yielded, he would no doubt 
 have brought blessing to himself and to Egypt, rather 
 than otherwise. But he did not. He scornfully replied, 
 " Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice, to let 
 Israel go ? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel 
 go." The result was that matters became worse instead 
 of better (chap. v. 4-19), the people murmured against 
 Moses (ver. 20, 21), and Moses himself was sadly dis- 
 couraged (ver. 22, 23). 
 
 And here we have a beautiful illustration of how 
 '' God knoweth our frame, and remembereth that we are 
 dust." Instead of showing any displeasure with the 
 
Pharaoh Subdued. 35 
 
 people, and especially with Moses, who might have re- 
 membered the strong words of assurance he had so lately- 
 heard at the burning bush, the Lord draws tenderly near, 
 and without a single word of reproach, renews His 
 gracious promise in still stronger and fuller terms (vi. i-' 
 8), and sends it as a message of cheer to His afflicted 
 people. Yet still the people were uncomforted ; " they 
 hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for 
 cruel bondage " (ver. 9). And still Moses was far from 
 being reassured (ver. 12, 30). We see at once how true 
 to nature all this is. It is not so easy to find consolation 
 even in the richest promises, when the waves and billows 
 are rolling over us. There are those who have had grace 
 to show themselves strong in faith even when the fur- 
 nace has been seven times heated ; and it is a noble wit- 
 ness for God, when His people can honor him in this 
 way. Let us by all means aim at it when our day of 
 trial shall come. But if we fall short, as many have done 
 and still will do, let it be a comfort to think how God 
 bore with His people's faintheartedness, and did not 
 allow their want of confidence in Him to be a barrier to 
 His abounding grace. " O give thanks unto the Lord, 
 for He is good : for His mercy endureth for ever. Let 
 the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath re- 
 deemed from the hand of the enemy" (Ps. cvii. i, 2). 
 
 The demand was made a second time with an accom- 
 panying sign, a simple sign given for the purpose of con- 
 vincing Ph-^raoh that it was indeed God who summoned 
 him to yield. He had said, " I know not the Lord," but 
 now that excuse was taken from him by the miraculous 
 token which Moses was commanded to display in his 
 
36 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 presence. And though the magicians came to his res- 
 cue, he must have known that it was a mere evasion, for 
 Pharaoh could not well have been ignorant of their de- 
 vices ; and, besides, they were utterly discomfited in the 
 presence of the two Hebrew commissioners, for " Aaron's 
 rod swallowed up their rods" (vii. 12). But still the 
 heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he refused to let 
 the people go. 
 
 The demand is made a third time ; and as the simple 
 sign has failed, the plague signs begin. Let us pause a 
 moment here to note how God deals with those who op- 
 pose His will. He comes first with a word, a simple 
 word of counsel and warning ; and blessed are those who 
 listen to Him as soon as He intimates His will in this 
 quiet and pleasant way. But if His word is unheeded. 
 He will approach with a sign ; some combination of cir- 
 cumstances, perhaps, which makes the demand impres- 
 sive, and plainly suggests the thought — " it is the Lord 
 that is speaking; it is His Spirit that is striving with 
 me." But if the sign is also unheeded, what remains? 
 How else can He call attention to His neglected word 
 than by sending forth His plagues? When words fail, 
 and signs fail. He must come to blows. " He does not 
 afflict willingly," but we often by our want of heed com- 
 pel Him to afRict. Let us see to it that none of us pro- 
 voke the Lord to anger as Pharaoh did. 
 
 It is needless to attempt to deny the miraculous nat- 
 ure of the plagues of Egypt. It is true that most of 
 them have a natural basis in the familiar phenomena of 
 Egypt ; but then it must not be forgotten that they 
 came at the word of Moses, and went at the word of 
 
Pharaoh Subdued. 37 
 
 Moses, one after another, and at the word of Moses 
 would spare the land of Goshen, where Israel lived. 
 And these and other wonders in the book are so inter- 
 woven with the rest of the narrative, that it is impos- 
 sible to discredit the one without destroying the other. 
 And why should there be such hesitation to admit the 
 supernatural on an occasion when it was so plainly need- 
 ed ? When we consider the long reaches of time cover- 
 ed in the Bible history, it is only at long intervals that 
 miracles are introduced ; and when we look closely, we 
 find that the occasions when they are introduced are 
 just the very occasions when we should naturally expect 
 such manifestations. Enough has been said about the 
 importance of the Exodus and of the Mosaic era as a 
 whole, to justify the expectation that God would give 
 some signal tokens of His presence and His power at 
 that epoch ; and when we find our expectations justi- 
 fied in the narrative, it should be a help and not a hin- 
 drance to our faith. And not only is it natural that 
 miracles should be wrought at this particular time, but 
 the miracles which are recorded are found, when closely 
 examined, to be just those that were needed to accom- 
 plish the varied purposes which Jehovah had in view. 
 We have had occasion to note this in regard to the three 
 signs which vv^ere given to Moses as his credentials to the 
 people, and one of which was used in the presence of 
 Pharaoh before recourse was had to the plague-signs, 
 which are now under consideration. It is no less con- 
 spicuous in the plague-signs themselves. And here we 
 can see how much better it was that the plagues 
 should come in the shape of natural phenomena of 
 
38 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 the land of Egypt, rather than in some quite unfa- 
 miUar form. 
 
 In the first place this would serve to show that it was 
 no momentary external power which the God of the 
 Hebrews had obtained over Egypt, just as a foreign 
 king might, by the use of foreign resources, gain a tem- 
 porary advantage ; but that He had control of the forces 
 which were in the land itself, and therefore had an abid- 
 ing power which no length of resistance could weaken or 
 defy. Thus He showed Himself to be " Lord in the 
 midst of the land," as it is put in chapter viii. 22. How 
 strikingly and completely this was done will appear when 
 we consider that the pride and glory of Egypt, as well 
 as its common pests, were used as instruments of the 
 plagues. The majestic Nile, source of Egypt's great- 
 ness ;. the transparent atmosphere, so serene and lovely 
 under the splendours of an Egyptian sun — on these God 
 laid His mighty hand, turning the water into blood, and 
 spreading a pall of darkness over all the sky. And then 
 the frogs, the flies, the locusts, with which the people 
 were all so painfully and frequently familiar — lo, they 
 came, they went ; they multiplied, diminished, disap- 
 peared, at the bidding of Jehovah, God of Israel. Thus 
 impressively did He demonstrate that He was " Lord in 
 the midst of the land." 
 
 We have still another point of view in Exodus xii. 12, 
 already referred to : '^ Against all the gods of Egypt will 
 I execute judgment." The worship of the Nile-god, and 
 of the Sun-god, their scarabaei and their sacred bulls, and 
 some of their most valued rites and superstitions, were 
 brought into contempt by the several plagues which the 
 
Pharaoh Subdued. 39 
 
 Lord made use of to humble Egypt, and execute judg- 
 ment against its gods. The effect on the mind of the 
 on-looker is strikingly exhibited in the words of the 
 Midianite Jethro (xviii. 11): "Now I know that the 
 Lord is greater than all gods : for in the thing wherein 
 they dealt proudly He ivas above tJiem.'' Is it not evi- 
 dent, then, that it was much more instructive and im- 
 pressive for God to lay His hand on those natural phe- 
 nomena which had been ascribed by the Egyptians to 
 the agency of their own gods, than if He had visited 
 them with some unheard-of catastrophe? 
 
 Once more, we have in this feature of the plagues an 
 indication of the genuineness of the history. If the au- 
 thor of Exodus had set himself to invent miracles, they 
 would, in all probability, have been unearthly, unnatural, 
 and fantastic ; but when we find them so intimately re- 
 lated to the known phenomena of Egypt, and so admi- 
 rably chosen for the purpose of accomplishing those de- 
 signs which are contemplated in the whole transaction, 
 have we not a strong corroboration of their genuineness 
 and truth ? 
 
 It is interesting also to look at the plagues as a pro- 
 gressive series. Look first at the ascending series in 
 nature, beginning with the water turned into blood, and 
 the frogs coming out of it on the earth ; then the gnats 
 and flies in the lower atmosphere, and afterwards the lo- 
 custs in the upper air ; after which the sun is reached, 
 and darkness is over all the land ; while the scries ends 
 with an arrest upon life itself, the life of the firstborn of 
 man, creation's crown. Or, looking at the series as rep- 
 resenting the overthrow of the Egyptian deities, we rise 
 
40 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 from the Nile-god below to the Sun-god above, with all 
 kinds of intermediate deities between. Or again, we may 
 view the series as one of increasing severity throughout 
 the successive gradations of discomfort, loss, personal 
 suffering, death. Or finally, we may look at it as ad- 
 vancing from the less to the greater, beginning with 
 that lower field in which the magicians were able to per- 
 form similar wonders with their enchantments ; then ris- 
 ing to a plane where they could not even profess to fol- 
 low (viii. 19), and ending by those marvellous " divisions '* 
 between Egypt and Israel (ver. 2^), which culminated on 
 that eventful night when the destroying angel passed by 
 the houses of the people of the Lord ; so that each suc- 
 cessive plague rendered more conspicuous the resistless 
 might and exhaustless resources against His enemies and 
 for His people, of Jehovah God of Israel. 
 
 So much for the thrice repeated demand, first with a 
 simple word, then v/ith a simple sign, and lastly with a 
 series of plague-signs increasing in severity, till the 
 haughty monarch of Egypt was forced to yield. But 
 we must not miss the instruction v/hich is conveyed in 
 the way in which Pharaoh bore himself under these suc- 
 cessive visitations. We have seen that he paid no at- 
 tention to the word, and none to the sign. He had of 
 course to pay attention to the plagues. Let us see in 
 what fashion he did so. 
 
 The first plague seems only to have made him sullen, 
 and more obstinate than ever(vii. 23). The next brings 
 him to his knees with a prayer and a promise (viii. 8); 
 but, when at his request the plague is removed, he takes 
 back his word, and is as rebellious as before (ver. 15), and 
 
Pharaoh Subdued. 41 
 
 carries the same spirit throughout the third plague. The 
 fourth plague apparently brings him to his senses, for he 
 sends for Moses and Aaron, and says (ver. 25): *'Go ye, 
 sacrifice to your God." But it proves only to be a promise, 
 for he has no intention yet to let them go the three days' 
 journey into the wilderness to sacrifice there. He allows 
 them to sacrifice, but it must be " in the landy The 
 compromise is not accepted (ver. 26, 27). He then pro- 
 poses another: " I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice 
 to the Lord your God in the wilderness ; only ye shall 
 not go very far away." A third compromise is attempt- 
 ed later on (x. 8) : " Go, serve the Lord your God : but 
 who are they that shall go ? " "" Your little ones shall 
 not go" (ver. 10, 11). And when this is utterly rejected, 
 a fourth is proposed (ver. 24) : '' Go ye, serve the Lord ; 
 let your little ones also go with you ; only let your flocks 
 and your herds be stayed." But e\'en this last will not 
 avail. The stern answer of Moses is : " Our cattle also 
 shall go with us ; there shall not an hoof be left behind." 
 Still further on he seems to make an unconditional sur- 
 render (xii. 31, 32) ; but it is only a forced surrender; it 
 is not genuine. His heart is not in it, as is proved by 
 his subsequent conduct (xiv. 8) in pursuing the children 
 of Israel after they had gone. The result is that, after 
 such long forbearance, and so many reprieves, the long 
 suspended judgment must fall ; and Pharaoh and his 
 host are drowned in the Red Sea. 
 
 Time would fail to gather the weighty lessons in all 
 this ; and indeed they stand out with such startling dis- 
 tinctness that it is scarcely necessary to call attention 
 to them. Have not many of us resisted God very much 
 
42 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 as Pharaoh did, at some part or other of the long con- 
 troversy? And have there not been at all times too 
 many who have followed Pharaoh all the way through, 
 and shared his terrible fate in the end ? We have 
 already spoken of the danger of that trifling with God, 
 which appeared in the earlier stages ; let us now inter- 
 pose a word of warning against those attempts at com- 
 promise which were characteristic of the middle stages. 
 Are not these compromises of Pharaoh just the kind of 
 compromises the sinner is most apt to make when he is 
 summoned to come out and be separate? He is ready 
 to say, " Why should I come ? May I not sacrifice to 
 God in the land ? Religion is a good thing, a most ex- 
 cellent thing ; but may I not have it and the world too ? " 
 No, it will not do. We must come out and be separate. 
 It will not merely do to graft a religious life on the old 
 life. It will not do to leave the old as it was, and only 
 add on some Bible reading and praying and church at- 
 tendance. There must be a radical and thorough 
 change. '' Verily I say unto you : ye must be born 
 again." No compromise : no sacrificing to God in the 
 land. 
 
 Then the next temptation will be to make a second 
 compromise, somewhat in this manner : " I will come 
 out, but I will not go very far away ; I w ill hang on the 
 borders of my old worldliness and sin." This is what 
 many do ; but it is at a fearful risk, for they are in con- 
 stant danger of relapse. The fate of the stony-ground 
 hearers is all too common. 
 
 Further on in a man's history comes the danger of 
 the third compromise : " the grown-up ones may go ; 
 
Pharaoh Subdued. 43 
 
 but the little ones must stay." It is a sad thing to 
 think how many there are in these days, who though 
 themselves brought up under the best of religious in- 
 fluence, with regular family worship at home, and every- 
 thing fitted to lead them in the right way, and though 
 still retaining their old associations and church connec- 
 tions, are not nearly so careful to train their children for 
 the Lord. They have family worship irregularly or not 
 at all. They do not teach their children, as their fathers 
 and mothers taught them ; or pray with them as they 
 were prayed with. Let no such compromise be known 
 amongst us. Let us be as thoroughly in earnest as 
 Israel was, to have our children with us in sacrificing to 
 the Lord our God. 
 
 The fourth compromise is a very common one indeed : 
 " Take your little ones with you ; but leave your prop- 
 erty behind." There are some people who are willing 
 that conversion should reach everything else, provided it 
 let the purse alone. If you come to the Lord, you 
 must come property and all ; and let it, as well as your- 
 self, be His. Take warning by the fate of the young 
 man, who '' went away sorrowful, because he had great 
 possessions." There should not be an hoof left behind. 
 
 So much for the middle stage and its lessons. A 
 word now on the last stage. Its solemn lesson is this : 
 " He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, 
 shall be suddenly cut off, and that without remedy." 
 Need we delay over the supposed difficulty of God hard- 
 ening Pharaoh's heart ? Remember that it is just as 
 often put the other way, that Pharaoh hardened his own 
 heart. The two things are really identical ; and the 
 
44 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 explanation, we believe, is to be found in this, that 
 Pharaoh, by his conduct, put himself under the operation 
 of the invariable law, according to which a man's heart 
 becomes harder, the longer he resists Divine mercy and 
 grace. Inasmuch as Pharaoh himself resisted, he hard- 
 ened his own heart. Inasmuch as the law, under whose 
 operation he brought himself, was God's law, God hard- 
 ened his heart. It is the same process viewed from its 
 two sides. And the fact that there is such a law of 
 hardening to which every one subjects himself who re- 
 sists the grace of God, should impress us all most deeply 
 with the danger of resisting the Spirit of God. It is a 
 great mistake to suppose that God singled out Pharaoh, 
 or that He ever singles out any one and says, " I will 
 harden his heart " ; and then proceeds to do it. The 
 supposition is monstrous. But the solemn truth is this, 
 that by the operation of that well-known law, according 
 to which the soul becomes less and less susceptible to 
 impressions which have been resisted, God hardens the 
 heart of every man and woman that does not yield to 
 Him. Think how many men have hardened themselves 
 in dishonesty, by first using for a little time a small sum 
 of money not their own, which prepared them by-and-by 
 for using a larger sum, fully intending to replace it, and 
 so it went on, the hardening process going on all the 
 while, till it ended in the most shameless robbery, and 
 brought final ruin and disgrace. How many men, again, 
 are " gospel hardened," as it is fitly called. They have 
 so often listened to the appeals of the gospel without 
 yielding to them, that their hearts have become as " hard 
 as the nether millstone," and the most earnest appeals 
 
Pharaoh Subdued. 45 
 
 have not the sHghtest effect. Pharaoh's case is not at all 
 pecuHar. It is typical of thousands in every generation. 
 God dealt most tenderly with him, with the utmost long- 
 suffering and forbearance, through scorn and evasion, 
 through defiance, through sham prayers and sham prom- 
 ises, sham repentance, and sham submission ; but all in 
 vain, his heart grew harder and harder all the time, till 
 he was swallowed up in the angry waters of the Red 
 Sea. Who ever had more chances of escape? Yet 
 what was the end ? Had he only regarded the voice 
 which came so gently at the first, or the harmless sign, 
 all had been well ; or had he but recognised '^ the finger 
 of God " as the magicians did (viii. 13), he would have 
 had nothing to fear from His '^ outstretched arm." 
 
 Wherever there is sin, there must be destruction in 
 the end. Destruction either for the sinner or for the 
 sin. The wages of sin is Deaths necessarily ; and the 
 only question is, shall it be death to the sin, or death to 
 the sinner ? The sin and the sinner cannot both live. 
 One or other must die. God takes no pleasure in the de- 
 struction of the sinner, and therefore it is that He seeks 
 to destroy the sin. Had Pharaoh allowed his sin to 
 perish under the hand of God, he himself would have 
 been saved. But clinging to his sin, he perished in it. 
 Either sin in us must be destroyed now ; or the time is 
 coming when we shall be destroyed in it. As we said 
 in the beginning, we have our Pharaoh side and our 
 Israel side. Which side will you hold by? If we hold 
 by the Pharaoh side of rebellion against God, we must 
 "all likewise perish." But if we hold by the Israel side, 
 if we cling to the covenant which makes us God's chil- 
 
46 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 dren, then, though the old man be crucified, and buried 
 as under the Red Sea waves, the new man will emerge 
 on the farther shore, with a song of praise on his lips, 
 and the march to the Land of Promise before him. 
 But this leads us into the second great division of our 
 subject, which will be considered in the next lecture : 
 How God saved Israel. 
 
IV. 
 
 ISRAEL SAVED. 
 
 EXODUS XII.-XIV. 
 
 THE tenth plague seemed thoroughly to subdue 
 the obdurate heart of Pharaoh. He attempted 
 no more compromises. He came by night and be- 
 sought Israel to go, taking their children and their 
 cattle with them, and even went so far as to sue for 
 mercy himself (xii. 32). 
 
 And yet the Exodus is by no means complete. 
 There must be something done for Israel as well as 
 against Pharaoh. Israel must be saved as well as 
 Pharaoh subdued. These two processes, the subduing 
 of Pharaoh and the saving of Israel, are not sharply 
 separated in time. They go on in parallel lines. But 
 it is quite easy, and I think we shall find it advanta- 
 geous, to separate them in thought. And accordingly, 
 having in our last lecture followed the course of 
 Pharaoh to his complete overthrow in the waters of the 
 Red Sea, we now return to follow the course of Israel 
 along the way of salvation which the Lord prepared for 
 them. We have already (Lecture 11.) witnessed the 
 preparatory stages of the process by which Israel is 
 saved ; we come now to the great salvation itself, as set 
 forth so strikingly in the chapters before us (xii.-xiv.) 
 
 The more recent plagues had fallen upon Egypt alone. 
 
 (47) 
 
48 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 The children of Israel were saved from them. But 
 though the fact of salvation was obvious, the way of 
 salvation had not yet been indicated. But now that 
 the last and heaviest plague is about to fall, not only 
 will Israel be saved from it, but the ground on which 
 salvation is bestowed will be made plain. Not only the 
 difference between Egypt and Israel, but the reason of 
 the difference, is signalized in the history of the tenth 
 plague. This will appear as we proceed. 
 
 A sentence of death is hanging over Egypt — over 
 every home in it. But Israel is in Egypt still. Why 
 not then over the homes of Israel too ? Were they so 
 much better than the Egyptians ? Surely not. Beyond 
 all doubt there could have been found amongst the 
 Egyptians many whose character was superior to that 
 of the average Israelite, and certainly the children of 
 Israel would have among them a sufficient number of 
 poor enough specimens of humanity. If the test had 
 been one of character, it is quite certain that the line 
 would not have run so as to range all Egypt on the one 
 side, and all Israel on the other. No one can suppose 
 that all the real worth and excellence were on the side 
 of the latter, and all the meanness and wickedness on 
 the side of the former. In fact, the children of Israel 
 had shared only too deeply in the sins of Egypt, and 
 accordingly if they are to be saved, it must be on some 
 other ground than their own merits. On what ground, 
 then ? If we read the twelfth chapter we shall see that 
 pains were taken to show them that it must be on the 
 ground of an Atonement^ provided by God and accepted 
 by themselves. 
 
Israel Saved. 49 
 
 " Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, 
 In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them 
 every man a lamb .... Vv^ithout blemish .... and 
 shall kill it ... . and they shall take of the blood and 
 strike It on the two side posts, and on the upper door 
 posts of the houses ; . . . . and when I see the blood, 
 I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon 
 you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt " 
 (ver. 3-13). Here we have a sacrifice appointed by God 
 as the condition of their salvation, the underlying idea 
 being that of redemption, as we find by reference to 
 Exodus xlii. 13: " Ever}^ firstling of an ass thou shalt 
 redeem with a lamb ; and if thou wilt not redeem it, 
 then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of 
 man among thy children shalt thou redeem. ""'^ 
 
 The associations here, which at first seem unnatural, 
 are quite suggestive. The ass was an unclean animal, 
 and therefore unfit to be offered In sacrifice to the Lord. 
 So it must be redeemed by offering a lamb, a clean ani- 
 mal, in Its place. Such was the mode of redemption, 
 the clean for the unclean — failing which, the animal's 
 neck was to be broken. And then immediately follow- 
 ing, " all the firstborn of man shalt thou redeem." 
 
 When the lamb was offered, then it expressed the 
 
 * It is important to remember that the firstborn represented 
 the family, so that judgment of the firstborn stood for judgment 
 upon all, and the redemption of the firstborn stood for the re- 
 demption of all ; and further, inasmuch as Israel was the first- 
 born among nations, the redemption of Israel represented the 
 redemption of all nations, which was to be brought about in the 
 fulness of the time. 
 
50 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 idea that the offerer deserved himself to die, but that 
 he was redeemed from the death which was his due by 
 the substitution of the lamb. Does not this throw some 
 light on what at first seemed an unreasonable and unac- 
 countable regulation ? 
 
 Observe further, that no one could present the pre- 
 scribed offering, sincerely, without penitential feelings 
 in his heart. It amounted to a confession of sin and 
 unworthiness. And besides penitence, faith also Vv^as 
 involved, together with the obedience which always fol- 
 lows true faith. The children of Israel " bowed the 
 head and worshipped,'' and " went away, and did as the 
 Lord had commanded " (ver. 27, 28). It was indeed a 
 searching trial of their faith. There was abundant room 
 for scepticism. '^ How can it do any good," one might 
 say, " to kill a lamb and sprinkle its blood on the 
 door ? " And another might say, " Where is the neces- 
 sity for any such performance ? Is not Pharaoh willing 
 to let us go ? Is not his power effectually broken by 
 the plagues ? Let us march out ourselves, and never 
 mind the killing of the lamb." 
 
 If the thing had happened in these days of fashion- 
 able scepticism, this would, no doubt, have been the 
 way in which large numbers would have responded to 
 the Divine directions. The wise ones would have scoffed 
 at the others as ignorant and superstitious people, who 
 had not sense enough to see that it was honest and 
 good lives, and not the sacrifice of a lamb, that would 
 commend them to God. And the consequence would 
 have been that all these exceedingly rational people 
 would have had a visit from the destroying angel on 
 
Israel Saved. 51 
 
 that terrible night. As it was, the children of Israel 
 gave no harbour to such sceptical questionings ; they 
 believed, obeyed, and were saved. 
 
 Possibly, some of them were not quite free from 
 superstition in the observance of the rite. They may 
 have imagined that there was some magical virtue in the 
 blood of the lamb ; and it is quite possible that some of 
 them might have added certain Egyptian incantations 
 or '' enchantments " to make sure work of it. Very foolish, 
 no doubt ; but not necessarily fatal. If they did what 
 they were commanded, they were safe, even though they 
 may have done many other things that were quite un- 
 necessary. And even so it no doubt v/ill be in the case 
 of multitudes of our Ritualistic and Romanist brethren, 
 who really believe that the Lord Jesus died for their 
 sins, and trust in His atoning blood, and faithfully try to 
 follow His steps by leading good, devout, and true lives. 
 They may go through performances which are worse 
 than useless. They may pray to the Virgin Mary and 
 to all the saints, and do many other vain and foolish 
 things ; and though all this is much to be deplored, who 
 will deny that the Lord accepts them ? Far, far better, 
 be in the position of the most superstitious ritualist, who 
 really tries to know and do the Lord's will, than of the 
 cold conceited sceptic, who doubts everything and does 
 nothing ! 
 
 But while there seems to be no place among the chil- 
 dren for the cold conceited sceptic, there is room enough 
 for the honest doubter whose heart is in the right place. 
 It is altogether likely that there would be many of the 
 children of Israel who were perplexed by the directions 
 
52 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 given them that day. If the way of deliverance had 
 been one which an intelligent man could see through — 
 if they could only have understood it and comprehended 
 how it was calculated to accomplish the end in view, it 
 v/ould have been so satisfactory. But being unable to 
 see through it, they have grave doubts about the whole 
 thing. Nevertheless, as obedient children, not waiting 
 to understand it all, but willing to leave it in the dark 
 till God Himself will cast light upon it, they do as they 
 are commanded, kill the lamb and sprinkle the blood. 
 The faith of such as these, though weak and clouded 
 over with dark doubts, was yet sufficient to lead them to 
 obey the word of the Lord. And that was enough. 
 
 We have seen that the idea of redemption underlies 
 the sacrifice, and that the bringing of it implied peni- 
 tence, faith, and obedience on the part of the offerer ; 
 and so far we can discern some reason in what at first 
 appears unreasonable. But there was much more in it 
 than this, as was manifest when at last the full light of 
 the New Testament v/as cast back upon it. There was 
 a typical prophecy in it, pointing forward to something 
 far better, away in the dim future, the real atonement, 
 of which it was a mere shadow. In this paschal lamb, 
 indeed, we have the chief Old Testament type of Christ, 
 the divinely appointed sacrifice. Again and again in this 
 Book of Exodus, xxili. i8 for example, this paschal sac- 
 rifice is spoken of as the sacrifice of God (**37)/ sacrifice "), 
 which is fully explained, when John the Baptist, point- 
 ing to the approaching Saviour, says, " Behold tJic Lamb 
 of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." The 
 lamb of the Passover was really nothing In itself. It 
 
Israel Saved. 53 
 
 was the occasion of the development of suitable feelingb^ 
 in the hearts of the people, and the means of testing and 
 proving the believing and obedient ones in Israel. But 
 in itself it was but a picture, a picture of the coming 
 Saviour. And herein we see why a lamb was chosen : 
 " He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep 
 before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His 
 mouth" (Isa. liii. 7), — why it must be ^^witJioiit blemish,'' 
 to typify Him who was " holy, harmless, undefiled, and 
 separate from sinners " (Heb. vii. 26), and needed no 
 atonement for Himself, — why it was kept four days alive 
 before it was slain, the four days, " a day for a year " 
 (Ezek. iv. 6), perhaps representing the life of Christ be- 
 fore His death from the time when He was set apart by 
 baptism for His work, — above all, why the Lamb must be 
 slain (Rev. xiii. 8) ; and it is especially interesting to re- 
 member that "Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us" 
 at that very Passover time, probably at the very hour 
 for the offering of the paschal sacrifice, ''between the 
 two evenings." 
 
 There are other matters of detail ; but our plan admits 
 only of our taking up the broad features. As for the 
 Passover feast, it will come up for consideration along 
 with the other feasts when we reach the Book of Levit- 
 icus. Meantime, we only call attention to the pre-emi- 
 nent place it held in the Jewish calendar, as indicated by 
 the way in which it is referred to in the passage before 
 us, e. £•., '' it is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover " (ver. 
 27) ; " it is a night to be much observed unto the Lord 
 for bringing them out from the land of Egypt : this is 
 that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children 
 
54 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 of Israel in their generations " (ver. 42). Correspond- 
 ingly in the New Testament, we find that the interest of 
 the history concentrates in that night of the Lord, when 
 '' Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us." Much is 
 said of His wonderful life, but still more of His aton- 
 ing death. The same prominence is given to the great 
 sacrifice in the apostolic teaching, which is characteris- 
 tically summed up by the great apostle of the Gentiles, 
 as the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 
 
 There are still difficulties to the human understanding 
 in the doctrine of the atonement. But it is important 
 to remember that it is not necessary in order to our sal- 
 vation that v/e should have an adequate theory of the 
 atonement, any more than it was for the children of 
 Israel to know all the typical relations of their sacrifice 
 in order to be saved by it. On the other hand, there 
 will be much less excuse for us, if we stumble at '• the 
 offence of the cross," than there would have been for 
 the children of Israel to slight the sacrifice of the Pass- 
 over. We have history and experience to appeal to, 
 vvhich they had not. It is emphatically '' a tried stone " 
 that God has laid in Zion as the foundation of our hopes 
 for eternity ; and as we think of generation after genera- 
 tion of storm-tossed souls that have found a needed 
 refuge there, scepticism may well be silent, as faith lifts 
 up her voice and sings : — 
 
 " Rock of ages cleft for me, 
 Let me hide myself in Thee." 
 
 With the atonement comes the Nciu Life. " This 
 month shall be unto you the beginning of months, it 
 
Israel Saved. 55 
 
 shall be the first month of the year to you " (vcr. 2). The 
 same thought is still more strikingly suggested by a 
 comparison of the 42d and 51st verses. After the night 
 of the atoning sacrifice, comes the first day of the new 
 life. *' This month shall be unto you the beginning of 
 months." What does this mean ? It means that all that 
 had gone betore must be counted out. All the months, 
 the years of slavery, let them be forgotten. It is the 
 same still in the experience of the saved. The years we 
 spent before we turned to the Lord, are not worth count- 
 ing ; the best that can happen to them is to be buried 
 out of sight. O ye who have not yet accepted the atone- 
 ment and entered on the new life of liberty and obedi- 
 ence, you are wasting your time, you are spending strength 
 for nought, you are living years that shall be counted 
 out from God's Book of Life. 
 
 The new life is nourished on the lamb that has been 
 slain. It was on the strength of that food, that the chil- 
 dren of Israel set out on their journey to the Land of 
 Promise. So in the New Testament, " I am the Bread 
 of Life," says Christ the Lamb of God, " he that eateth 
 Me, the same shall live by Me." 
 
 " And thus shall ye eat it ; with your loins girded, your 
 shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand ; and ye 
 shall eat it in haste " (ver. 1 1). The time is coming for 
 sitting under the vine and fig tree, when the Land of 
 Promise is reached ; but while yet on the way, though 
 there is food convenient, there is no time for continuous 
 feasting. We may not yet build tabernacles on the moun- 
 tain, we must go down to the plain and work. 
 
 Considerable stress is laid both here (ver. 35, 36) and 
 
56 ' The Mosaic Era. 
 
 in other places (Gen. xv. 14; Exod. iii. 21, 22) on tlie fact 
 that in going they took not a little of the wealth of 
 Egypt with them. An unfortunate translation has 
 caused much unnecessary difficulty at this point. I refer 
 to the use of the words "borrowed " and "lent," as if it 
 were a case of dishonesty. The former word is used 
 hundreds of times in its ordinary signification of " asked " 
 or " demanded " ; and why it should be translated " bor- 
 rowed " here is a mystery. As to the other word, it 
 never means " to lend." It is what is called the Hiphil 
 or causative tense of the same word " to ask " ; literally, 
 it is " caused them to ask," and the idea is, as expressed 
 fully in another place, that the Egyptians not only urged 
 them to go, but entreated them to take these things with 
 them. The Egyptians not only wanted to be rid of their 
 troublesome guests, but wished to gain favour with them, 
 and with the dread Power who had sent such terrible 
 plagues ; and so they pressed these things upon them. 
 Accordingly the children of Israel went out with a large 
 quantity of the wealth of Egypt in a portable form. 
 The wickedness, the vanities, the follies of Egypt must 
 be left behind ; but some of its treasures are portable, 
 and quite compatible even with a wilderness journey. 
 
 Notice in passing, the mixed multitude that went 
 along with them from Egypt (ver. 38). We have here 
 one of those illustrations, of which there are so many 
 throughout the Scriptures, of the universality of God's 
 mercy. Even at this time, of comparative exclu- 
 siveness, none were kept out who wanted to come in. 
 Subsequent events proved that this mixed multitude 
 was no desirable addition to the hosts of Israel, but no 
 
Israel Saved. 57 
 
 means seem to have been taken to keep any of them 
 back. Then, as now, the Lord was willing to accept a 
 mixed multitude, provided only they are united in desire 
 and determination to leave Egypt and sin, and follow on 
 to Canaan. The multitude will no longer be " mixed," 
 when they have reached the New Jerusalem. They will 
 be thoroughly homogeneous then, with one heart and 
 one mind and one song, and all clothed in the same 
 "■ fine linen, white and clean, which is the righteousness 
 of the Saints." 
 
 And even now there is a certain homogeneity reached, 
 by the change which has passed upon all who together have 
 entered on the new life, as is indicated by the new name 
 given to them all in common, in the 41st verse. ''And 
 it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty 
 years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the 
 hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt." 
 The slaves of Egypt before, they are '' the hosts of the 
 Lord " now. 
 
 A twofold experience marks the beginning of the new 
 life. First, a new and blessed consciousness of the Di- 
 vine presence and guidance. "The Lord went before 
 them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them by the 
 way ; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light ; 
 to go by day, and night : He took not away the pillar of 
 the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from be- 
 fore the people" (xiii. 21, 22). We may not even enter 
 on the wealth of meaning here. Enough to have point- 
 ed out the place it occupies in the story of Israel's sal- 
 vation. 
 
 The other experience is the result of this, and is re- 
 s'' 
 
58 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 corded in the 14th chapter. The Lord led His people 
 in such a way that they were confronted once more with 
 their old enemy ; and under such circumstances that 
 there seemed no way of escape. But the Lord Himself 
 made a way. " Moses said unto the people, Fear ye 
 not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which 
 He will show you to-day ; for the Egyptians, whom ye 
 have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more forever" 
 (ver. 13). The result we know. The power of the old 
 enemy was completely broken. Thus too, in the begin- 
 ning of the Christian life, there often comes a testing 
 time, when the old enemy, out of whose bondage we 
 seemed to have been delivered, pursues and overtakes, 
 and tries to bring us into his power again. But if the 
 Lord be with us, we need not fear. " There hath no 
 temptation taken you, but such as is common to man : 
 but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempt- 
 ed above that ye are able, but will with the temptation 
 also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear 
 it." God will make a way of escape as He did for His 
 people at the Red Sea. Only " be strong in the Lord, 
 and in the power of His might." For it is written, " the 
 Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace " 
 (ver. 14). 
 
 ^' Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the 
 Lord." And as you continue waiting on the Lord, you 
 will presently hear a voice, like that which came to Moses 
 of old, '' Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go 
 forward" (ver. 15); and though the angry sea be right 
 in front, you need not fear to go, for He will make a 
 way for you. ^' Thy way is in the sea, Thy path in the 
 
Israel Saved. 59 
 
 mighty waters, and Thy footsteps are not known," yet 
 '' Thou leddest Thy people hke a flock by the hand of 
 Moses and Aaron." And presently we shall find that 
 the power of our old enemy is completely broken, and 
 we are safe. 
 
 The Exodus is now complete, Pharaoh is not only 
 subdued, but destroyed, and Israel is saved. " Thus the 
 Lord saved Israel that day" (ver. 30), and on the further 
 shore they sang with glad and grateful hearts the first 
 Song of Salvation (chap, xv.) 
 
 It may be well now to gather into one view the vari- 
 ous stages of the process by which Israel was saved. We 
 shall thus have a most useful analysis of the soul's ex- 
 perience in its Exodus from the bondage of sin. The 
 question is sometimes discussed as to whether conver- 
 sion is sudden or gradual ; and the answer must neces- 
 sarily turn chiefly on a definition of terms. But while 
 in a certain logical sense conversion must be sudden, in- 
 asmuch as it means turning to the Lord, and surely 
 there must be a point of time when a man first turns 
 from his sin to his Saviour ; yet in its ordinary accepta- 
 tion, conversion is really a complex experience, having 
 in it distinctly marked stages, which may come in such 
 rapid succession that the whole process may be accom- 
 plished in a single day, or a single hour, but which may 
 be separated from each other by intervals of some length,, 
 as in the case of the children of Israel. The clearly- 
 marked separation of the different stages in the history 
 of Israel's salvation from Egyptian bondage makes it 
 especially valuable for the purpose of that analysis which 
 we shall now endeavour to present. 
 
6o The Mosaic Era. 
 
 Looking back then over the experience of the people 
 during the lengthened history of the Exodus, we dis- 
 cover the following stages. First, we found them " sig/i- 
 ing and crying^' (ii. 23), next ^^ believing and zvorsJiipping'' 
 (iv. 31), though the believing of this stage is shown 
 by the subsequent history to be very different, not in 
 kind, but in degree, from the believing which is spoken 
 of in the last verse of the 14th chapter, where the origi- 
 nally feeble spark of faith had been developed into full as- 
 surance. Subsequently PharaoJi s grasp is loosened by 
 the successive shocks of the plagues recorded in chapters 
 v.-xi. ; next v/e see them sJieltered by the blood of the 
 lamb (xii. 1-30) ; thereafter setting out to Canaan (31-5 1) ; 
 then, after being ^' baptized 7tnto Moses in the cloud and in 
 the sea " (xiv.), we find them singing on the farther shore 
 (xv.) Seven stages: from the ''sighing and ciying" at 
 the beginning to the singing for joy at the end. " Blessed 
 are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." 
 
 "Thus the Lord saved Israel"; and thus He 
 v/ill save you, who are still in bondage. Only ciy to the 
 Lord, and continue waiting on Him, and in course of 
 time — it may be much shorter than in the case of Israel, 
 there is no reason why it should not be this very day, 
 this very hour — He will fill your. heart with heavenly 
 music, and your tongue with joyful praise. And you 
 will join the long ranks of those who can take up the 
 words of the Psalmist, and say, '' I waited patiently for 
 the Lord, and He inclined unto me and heard my cry; 
 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the 
 miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established 
 my goings ; and He put a new song in my mouth, even 
 praise unto our God." 
 
THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 EXODUS XV.-XVIII. 
 
 THE history of Israel In the wilderness really covers 
 the space of forty years, and fills all that remains 
 of the five books of Moses. But it so happens that in 
 the experience of the first two months before Sinai was 
 reached, there is so much varied instruction, that by the 
 study of these chapters alone we may obtain a quite 
 comprehensive view of the lessons of the wilderness. 
 And here again we have a series of seven.* In our last 
 lecture we found seven stages in the process by which 
 Israel was saved, ending in the song which they sung on 
 the further shore of the Red Sea. The last of that 
 series is the first of the next. Where Exodus experi- 
 ence ends, Wilderness experience begins. 
 
 I. Our plan will not allow us to dwell upon tJic Song^ 
 however tempting as a historical memorial, as a literary 
 treasure, and as a repository of spiritual truth. We 
 shall only call attention to its most characteristic and 
 outstanding feature, the entire absence of self-glorifica- 
 
 * Three stages, mentioned in Numbers xxxiii. where the itinerary 
 is given, viz., the camp by the Red Sea (ver. lo), Uophkah and 
 Alush (ver. 12, 13), are omitted in the Exodus record, probably 
 because nothing worthy of note happened at these places. 
 
 (5i) 
 
62 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 tion or mere national exultation. From the beginning 
 to the end it celebrates the praises of Jehovah, the Re- 
 deemer of Israel. In the British Museum there is an 
 ancient papyrus with a copy of the celebrated poem of 
 Pentaur, ^' the Homer of Egypt," who flourished in 
 the reign of Rameses II., and was therefore a contem- 
 porary of Moses. The poem commemorates the great 
 victory of Rameses over the Khita. It is exceedingly 
 interesting to compare the manner in which the Egyptian 
 poet celebrates the Egyptian victory over the Semitic 
 Khita, with that in which the Hebrew poet celebrates 
 the victory of his branch of the Semites over the hosts 
 of Pharaoh. There is considerable similarity in style 
 between the one poem and the other, just enough to 
 indicate that they belong to the same period ; but, how 
 different in substance. The one is full of man and his 
 praises ; the other makes nothing of man (not even 
 Moses himself is once mentioned in it) and everything 
 of God. "Sing unto the Lord, for HE hath triumphed 
 gloriously : the horse and his rider hath He thrown into 
 the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He is 
 become my salvation ; He is my God, and I will pre- 
 pare Him a habitation ; my father's God, and I will 
 exalt Him." 
 
 Such is the strain of the Hebrew epic. Whereas in 
 the Egyptian epic it is the praises of Pharaoh that are 
 sung throughout ; and Avhen the god of Egypt is referred 
 to, it is in some such fashion as this: " I (Pharaoh) have 
 built for thee propylaea and wonderful works of stone, I 
 have raised to thee masts for all times, I have conveyed, 
 the obelisks for thee from the island of Elephantine. It 
 
The Wilderness. 63 
 
 was I who had brought for thee the everlasting stone, 
 who caused the ships to go for thee on the sea, to bring 
 thee the productions of foreign nations. Where has it 
 been told that such a thing was done at any other time? 
 Let him be put to shame who rejects thy commands, but 
 good be to him who acknowledges thee, O Amon ! " * 
 Worldly religiousness makes much of what man will do 
 for God ; the true religion makes everything of what 
 God does for man. '' He that glorieth, let him glory in 
 the Lord." There is no better sign of genuine conver- 
 sion, of having crossed the Red Sea and left Egypt be- 
 hind, than to cease speaking and even thinking of self, 
 and begin thinking ever and speaking much of the good- 
 ness and glory of the Lord. 
 
 IL It was a glorious song; but alas ! it did not last. 
 In three days its jubilant notes have died away, and 
 miserable murmurings have taken its place, for the chil- 
 dren of Israel are at Marah now (ver. 22-26), smarting 
 under the disappointment at the bitter taste of the 
 waters there. In Deuteronomy viii. 2, 3, v/e get an in- 
 sight into the Divine purpose in this and similar deal- 
 ings with His people : " Thou shalt remember all the 
 way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years 
 in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to 
 know luhat zvas in thine hearty whether thou wouldest 
 keep His commandments, or no. And He humbled 
 thee, and suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with 
 manna .... that He might make thee know that man 
 doth not live by bread only, but by every word that 
 
 * " Brugsch," vol. ii., p. 56. 
 
64 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man 
 live." 
 
 Briefly, there were two great objects which God had 
 in view ; first to show the people themselves, and next 
 to show them Himself. Neither of these lessons can be 
 taught at a sitting. It is only by degrees that we learn 
 how poor and weak and helpless we are ; and how great 
 and loving and helpful God is ; and so we need not 
 wonder that, with a people so slow to learn, the lesson 
 should extend over forty years. But though it takes a 
 long time to teach it practically, we can see it very 
 readily in a picture ; and it is painted there in characters 
 quite large and striking, on this Marah page of Israel's 
 history. What had become of that splendid faith in 
 God which found expression in the Red Sea song? Why 
 did it never occur to these people that He who had 
 opened a way through the sea, could very easily provide 
 for them in the desert ? Probably if the combination 
 of circumstances had been exactly the same as before, 
 their hearts would not have failed them. But when are 
 combinations of circumstances exactly the same ? And 
 when the new combination arises, the old faith is apt to 
 fail. 
 
 The truth is, that while faith is very easy after a great 
 deliverance, it is exceeding hard before it. It is veiy 
 easy to sing a song of joy on the eastern shore of the 
 Red Sea. On the western shore it was different, and 
 three days after, it will be as difficult as ever on the 
 shore of Marah. Does not this show what was in 
 Israel's heart : and docs it not also show what is in 
 ours ? When our hearts are filled with gratitude to God 
 
The Wilderness. 05 
 
 at a time when there is nothing to try us, let us not 
 build too much upon it as an evidence of Christian 
 character, for it may not be so certain after all whether 
 it is God or self we are in love with. The test will be 
 when sorrow comes, when you are thirsty, and, stooping 
 down to drink, you find the waters bitter — ^then, if you 
 can still praise God, and trust His love and power, you 
 prove yourself a disciple indeed. But with many, the 
 time of trial is a time of humiliating disclosures of weak- 
 ness and faithlessness, as it was in the case of Israel so 
 lately triumphant, but whose very first trouble was too 
 much for them. 
 
 But God does not leave His people thus. Having 
 taught them the sad lesson of what they are, He pres- 
 ently comforts them by showing them what He is. As 
 soon as they cried to Him, He found (how easily) a way 
 to make the bitter waters sweet, and thus made Himself 
 known as Jehovah the Healer (ver. 26). He had already 
 fully revealed Himself as Jehovah the Saviour, their 
 great Deliverer from Egyptian bondage. His work as 
 the healer of His people follows next in order. " Bless 
 Jehovah, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 
 who forgiveth all thine iniquities ; who healeth all thy 
 diseases." 
 
 He acts the part of the Physician, first in sending the 
 affliction, in leading His people to Marah. It is the sur- 
 gery by which the deep sore is exposed. And then, 
 more especially, in healing the bitter waters and the dis- 
 appointed hearts. 
 
 The Marah " statute and ordinance " deserves atten- 
 tion as we pass (ver. 26). It is the first trace of Law in 
 
66 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 God's dealing v/ith His people. Up to this time it has 
 been all Gospel. They have had simply to " stand still, 
 and see the salvation of the Lord." Not a word has 
 been said to them about " doing that which is right in 
 His sight," and ''keeping His statutes," till now. Thus 
 we find that the order of the New Testament is also the 
 order of the Old. It is not, " obey and be saved " ; but 
 ''be saved and obey." It is not, " obey in order that 
 you may be saved," but " obey because you have 
 been saved." There had been certain acts of obedience,, 
 of course ; but these were all in the way of accepting a 
 salvation already provided, as for instance when they 
 killed the lamb and sprinkled the blood, which was sim- 
 ply their acceptance of the atonement provided by the 
 Lord ; or again, when at the word of the Lord they 
 walked through the sea; but up till this time there is not 
 a single intimation of good deeds as a condition of bless- 
 ing. God did not give them His law in Egypt and tell 
 them if they kept it He would bring them out. No : 
 He first brings them out, and then says, " Keep My 
 lav\\" 
 
 The promise which is appended is very precious : " If 
 thou wilt diligently hearken, etc., I vv^ill put none of these 
 diseases upon thee which I have brought upon the 
 Egyptians : for I am the Lord that healeth thee." What 
 kind of diseases had he brought on the Egyptians? 
 Plagues. The Lord has no plagues for His people who 
 walk in His ways. Afflictions He has — they are part of 
 the covenant of His grace (Ps. Ixxxix. 30-33). But 
 plagues He has none. Calamities, none. " There shall 
 no evil befall him." "All things work together for 
 
The Wilderness. 6/ 
 
 good to them that love God." " All the paths of the 
 Lord are mercy and truth to them that keep His cove- 
 nant and His testimonies." Whatever He does is in the 
 way of healing, never of plague : " I will put none of 
 these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the 
 Egyptians ; for I am Jehovah f/iat hcalcth thcd' 
 
 HI. A short distance from Marah was Ellni, with its 
 shade, its refreshment, its rest ; its twelve wells of waters, 
 and threescore and ten palm trees. Is there ever a 
 Marah without an Elim near it, if only we follow on in 
 the way the Lord marks out for us through the wilder- 
 ness ? The notice of Elim occupies less than four lines, 
 while there are as many verses in the record of Marah, 
 and a whole chapter following about the Wilderness of 
 Sin ; and we are apt to draw the hasty inference that the 
 bitter experiences were the rule, and the delightful ones 
 the exception. And so it often seems in the chequered 
 life of the tried disciple of the Lord. But look again. 
 The bitter time at Marah was quite short, though it oc- 
 cupies a great deal of space in the history. These four 
 verses tell the story probably of as many hours or less. 
 But the four lines about Elim are the story of three 
 weeks, during which '' they encamped there by the 
 waters." 
 
 We are very apt to put the varied scene of our ex- 
 perience in false perspective. We put our troubles in 
 the foreground of the picture of life which an unhealthy 
 imagination paints. This Marah will occupy feet in the 
 front, while that Elim has only inches in the rear ; and 
 we forget that the inches of Elim represent miles, while 
 the delineation of Marah is larger than life. When 
 
68 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 troubles come, the time seems long ; when troubles have 
 gone, the time seems short ; and so, many are apt to 
 think that they are hardly dealt with, whereas if they 
 would look more carefully into the Lord's dealings with 
 them, they might find that they have far more to be 
 thankful for than to grieve over. Hours at Marah are 
 followed by weeks at Elim. 
 
 IV. Another trial follows. The Lord "suffered them 
 to hunger " in the Wilderness of Sin. Again the people 
 murmur and complain ; and again the Lord provides for 
 them abundantly (chap, xvi.) The miracle of the manna 
 here demands our attention. That it was a miracle is 
 very obvious. It has indeed a natural basis, as the 
 plagues of Egypt had ; for there is a natural product of 
 the wilderness which answers, so far as appearance goes, 
 to the description here given of the manna. But when 
 we consider, among other things, this, that the entire 
 production of the whole year would not have served the 
 children of Israel for a single day, we see how absurd it 
 is to try to explain the miracle away as a mere natural 
 phenomenon. 
 
 But w^hile the manna of the wilderness cannot explain 
 the miracle, it undoubtedly has some connection with it ; 
 the same kind of connection which there was between 
 the few small loaves which the Saviour blessed, and the 
 large supply with which He fed the thousands on the 
 hillside once and again. When these hungry multitudes 
 were before Him, He did not introduce a fresh creation, 
 and supply them with food, the like of which they had 
 never seen before. He began by asking : " How many 
 loaves have ye?" And then, taking what there was 
 
The Wilderness. 69 
 
 readiest to hand, He made use of it to supply the peo- 
 ple's wants. He followed the same course in the desert. 
 And by doing His wonders thus, in the line of nature's 
 more ordinary operations, He helped them and us to 
 understand and realize that the most ordinary operations 
 of nature are truly Divine, and have the element of 
 miracle in them for those who have eyes to see, to sec 
 beyond those second causes to the Great First Cause, 
 '^ through nature up to nature's God." To use the illus- 
 tration of Dr. Hamilton, these miracles are the true 
 ^' autograph of the Creator," only " written in a larger 
 type," that even shortsighted eyes may recognise the 
 signature. 
 
 The great lesson of the manna is that already referred 
 to in a passage quoted from Deuteronomy: '' Man doth 
 not live by bread only, but by every word that pro- 
 ceedeth out of the mouth of God." How beautifully 
 this is illustrated in the history of our Saviour's tempta- 
 tion we all know. 
 
 But there are some more specific lessons which are 
 suggested by our Lord's own teaching in relation to the 
 miracle of the manna, in the sixth chapter of John : ^' I 
 am that Bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in 
 
 the wilderness and are dead I am the living Bread 
 
 that came down from heaven" (ver. 48-51). Again in 
 Rev. ii. 17, we have the promise: ''To him that over- 
 cometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna." Thus 
 we learn, on the highest authority, to take the manna of 
 the wilderness as a symbol of the spiritual nourishment 
 which our souls need, and which is furnished in Christ 
 the Lord. Christ and His word is the food of the soul ; 
 
70 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 and when we carry this thought with us, we find many 
 lessons in the chapter before us, such as these : our 
 urgent need of this food — its coming from heaven as a 
 gift — a free gift, free as the air we breathe — in abundance 
 — quite accessible^ all round the tents (Rom. x. 6-9) — yet 
 needing to be gathered with diligence — gathered daily — 
 gathered early, in the morning hours, ere yet the heat 
 and the bustle of the day has begun — and used as soon 
 as gathered, not laid up in the memory as a store-house, 
 but worked into the substance of the life at once. Note 
 also the evidence from the story of the manna, that the 
 institution of the Sabbath is older than the Decalogue 
 — evidence so plain that in order to evade it, those who 
 make it a mere Jewish ordinance must sumimon to their 
 aid an ingenuity which could explain away anything. 
 
 V. The next stage is Rephidim ; and here a new trial 
 awaits the people (xvii. 1-7). There was no water to 
 drink. It is the same story over again, of the people's 
 murmurs and the Lord's mercy, and a repetition of the 
 same sad lesson about themselves and the same glad 
 lesson about God. We shall not, therefore, dwell on the 
 general teaching of the passage, but rather look at it in 
 the light which the New Testament throws back upon 
 it. In I Corinthians x. 2-4, the Apostle Paul, speaking 
 of the fathers to Vv^hom all these things happened as 
 types (ver. 11) for our instruction, says that they *' were 
 all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea ; and 
 did all eat the same spiritual meat ; and did all drink 
 the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual 
 Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." 
 In this passage the sacramental idea is quite apparent. 
 
The Wilderness. 71 
 
 As the passage of the Red Sea is associated in the 
 apostle's mind with Christian baptism, so the experience 
 of the people in the wilderness of Sin and at Rephidim 
 suggests the Lord's Supper, or rather the spiritual nour- 
 ishment and refreshment of which it was the sacra- 
 mental sign. And just as Christ had associated Himself 
 with the manna, the apostle associates Him with the 
 water at Rephidim: "that Rock was Christ." It is 
 worthy of notice that he does not say the water was 
 Christ. So, too, Christ Himself, though He said, ''I am 
 the Bread of life," never said*, " I am the Water of life." 
 Again and again He spoke of giving, but never of being, 
 the water of life. What is the reason of this ? Is it 
 not that the water Is the familiar symbol of the Holy 
 Spirit ? (See as an illustration of this, Isaiah xliv. 3, for 
 the Old Testament, and John vii. 37-39, for the New). 
 The Rock was Christ, from whom, after He had been 
 smitten on Calvary, there flowed the full and blessed 
 Pentecostal , stream, that river of salvation which has 
 ever since followed the Church in her journey through 
 the wilderness. 
 
 VI. The experience at Rephidim is followed by the 
 contest with Amalek (ver. 8-16). If the children of Israel 
 thought, as many no doubt would, that after Pharaoh 
 was drowned in the Red Sea, they had no other enemy 
 to encounter, they were greatly mistaken. There were 
 also foes of the wilderness to meet. Though we maybe 
 delivered from the bondage of sin, it does not follow that 
 our warfare is at an end. Rather does it now properly 
 begin. As long as sin reigns there is no warfare ; and 
 as for the overthrow of its power in our hearts, it is 
 
72 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 God's work rather than ours. It is ours then to stand 
 still and see the salvation of the Lord. " The Lord shall 
 fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." But as 
 soon as the bondage of sin is broken, then begins the 
 struggle against the evil that still dwells, though it no 
 longer reigns, in the heart. This is that Amalek of the 
 wilderness journey. And here the command is no longer 
 as before, to " stand still and see," but, '^ Choose us out 
 men, and go out, fight with Amalek" (ver. 9). Yet Di- 
 vine grace is as needful as ever. While the picked men 
 went down into the plain to fight, the best men went up 
 to the top of the hill to pray (ver. 10). 
 
 Thus, as ever, the Old Testament has the same doc- 
 trine as the New : '' Work out your own salvation with 
 fear and trembling ; for it is God that worketh in you to 
 will and to do of His good pleasure." The first part 
 corresponds to the fighting on the plain ; the second to 
 the praying on the hill-top. Working there must be — 
 not to provide or procure salvation, which is done al- 
 ready, done fully and thoroughly, and once for all, by 
 the shedding of the blood of the sacrificial Lamb — not 
 working for salvation, but working out salvation ; a very 
 different thing. But there must be praying as well. 
 And it would appear from the contest with Amalek that 
 the praying v/as of even more consequence than the 
 fighting. " And it came to pass, when Moses held up 
 his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down 
 his hand, Amalek prevailed." It is when the praying 
 flags that the fighting fails. 
 
 Wherefore, brethren, " be strong in the Lord, and in 
 the power of His might." " For we wrestle not against 
 
The Wilderness. 73 
 
 flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, 
 against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against 
 spiritual wickedness in high places." (See the whole 
 passage, Ephesians vi. 10-18). How appropriate the al- 
 tar motto which remains as a memorial of the conflict, 
 Jehovah-nissi (ver. 15), /. r., Jehovah my Banner; and 
 how sure the guarantee, that, protracted as the conflict 
 must be, repeated generation after generation (ver. 16), 
 till the days of the Church militant are over, the issue 
 will be the annihilation of the enemy (ver. 14), and the 
 eternal triumph of the Lord's redeemed ones. 
 
 VII. One scene more in the wilderness before the 
 grand drama of Sinai. It is tJic meeting witJi Jethro the 
 Kenite (chap, xviii.) There are friends as well as foes 
 in the desert. 
 
 A veil is drawn over the affecting domestic scene, 
 when Moses meets again his wife and children, who had 
 spent the time in Midian while he had been doing the 
 Lord's work in Egypt and by the way of the wilderness. 
 But several particulars are given of the meeting with 
 Jethro, which incidentally throw a beautiful Hght on 
 the character of Moses, and give not a little instruction 
 as to the way in which we should conduct ourselves 
 tovv'ards those who, though not against us as Amalek 
 was, are not with us, as Jethro was not with Israel. 
 Observe the humility and politeness of Moses (ver. 7) ; 
 but above all his charity. ''And Jethro (ver. 12) took a 
 burnt-offering and sacrifices for God : and Aaron came, 
 and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' 
 father-in-law before God." No close communion there. 
 Had Moses been of the same spirit as many of our 
 4 
 
74 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 modem ecclesiastics he would have said : ^' I am per- 
 fectly willing to treat you politely and kindly when I 
 meet you simply as a friend, but I cannot join hands 
 Avith you at the altar/' But Moses and Aaron were 
 men of a different spirit. And was it not a better one ? 
 
 Later on in the history (Jud. i. i6) we read: ''And 
 the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went 
 up out of the city of palm trees with the children of 
 Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth to the 
 south of Arad ; and they went and dwelt among the 
 people." Treat the Kenites kindly and charitably, and 
 by-and-by they may come to dwell among you. " Walk 
 in wisdom toward them that are without." By so doing 
 you may soon bring them in. 
 
 Consider also how Moses received the suggestions of 
 Jethro. He might have thought : "what presumption 
 in this Midianite to dictate to the ambassador of Jeho- 
 vah ! " But Moses was a man of a very different spirit. 
 In Montreal, some years ago, a certain English noble- 
 man who had been recently converted, and was preach- 
 ing the gospel to large multitudes who gathered to hear 
 him, unfortunately had his heart lifted up within him, and 
 began to speak bitterly and scornfully of the churches of 
 Christ in the city. An excellent and revered Presbyterian 
 elder approached the young nobleman in the kindest way, 
 spoke with great appreciation of the value of his work in 
 preaching the gospel, but suggested that it would be 
 better for the cause if he would cease abusing Chris- 
 tians and Christian churches, and confine himself to the 
 preaching of Christ. In reply he curled his lip in scorn, 
 and said, " I take my counsel from the Lord ! " What a 
 
The Wilderness. 75 
 
 contrast between the grand nobleman of the olden time, 
 and the small one of yesterday. Moses might with some 
 reason have claimed a monopoly of Divine counsel. God 
 had chosen him out from all other men to make known 
 His will to him ; but when Jethro, though an outsider, 
 and one who had only good common sense on his side, 
 makes his suggestion, Moses does not scorn to listen to 
 his advice, and take it too. And the event showed that 
 the Lord fully approved His servant's course. 
 
 And now, before we leave the wilderness, with its les- 
 sons of Christian experience, let us notice how each suc- 
 cessive trial brings out some new and substantial revela- 
 tion of God. Of our seven wilderness scenes four have 
 been scenes of trial. Each of them brings out in strong 
 relief some new and blessed relation which the Lord 
 holds to His people. The first, Marah, shows me Jeho- 
 vah-rophi, the Lord my Healer. The next presents 
 Him as the Bread of Life. The third sets forth the 
 Spirit of Christ as the Water of Life ; and the last tells 
 me Jehovah-nissi, the Lord is my Banner. May we not 
 welcome our sorest trials, when they have in them the 
 promise of such precious and blessed revelations of Jeho- 
 vah-Jesus ! 
 
 "All the way my Saviour leads me, 
 
 Cheers each winding path I tread ; 
 Gives me grace for eveiy trial, 
 
 Feeds me with the living bread. 
 Though my weary steps may falter. 
 
 And my soul athirst may be ; 
 Gushing from the Rock before me, 
 
 Lo, a spring of joy I see ! 
 
The Mosaic Era. 
 
 ' All the way my Saviour leads me, 
 
 Oh, the fulness of His love ; 
 Perfect rest to me is promised. 
 
 In my Father's house above ! 
 When my spirit clothed immortal, 
 
 Wings its flight to realms of day ; 
 This my song through endless ages, 
 
 Jesus led me all the way ! " 
 
VI. 
 THE SINAI REVELATION. 
 
 EXODUS XIX., XX. 
 
 JEHOVAH had said to Moses at the burning bush, 
 " When thou hast brought forth the people out of 
 Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain " (Exod. 
 iii. 12). And now the promise is about to be fulfilled, 
 for there is Israel encamped before the mount (xix. 2). 
 
 The characteristic feature of the Sinai revelation is 
 the law ; but it is important to observe that it is not 
 law as a means of salvation, but law as a sequel of sal- 
 vation. This appears very clearly in the preliminary 
 sketch which Vv^as given to Moses as soon as the people 
 had settled themselves at the base of the mountain. 
 " And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called 
 unto him out of the mountain, saying. Thus shalt thou 
 say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel : 
 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I 
 bare you on eagle's wings, and brought you unto Myself. 
 Nov/ 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. These are the words which thou shalt 
 speak unto the children of Israel." The message, you 
 
 (77) 
 
78 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 observe, begins with what the Lord had done for them, 
 and then goes on to what He expects them to do for 
 Him. '^ Ye have seen what I did"; ''Now, therefore, 
 if ye " — such is the order, the same order as in the New 
 Testament, in the Epistle to the Romans for instance, 
 where, after setting forth first the need of salvation 
 (chap, i.-iii. 20), and then the salvation freely provided 
 (chap. iii. 21-xi.), the law of Christian living is intro- 
 duced : " I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the 
 mercies of God, that ye present your bodies," etc. (chap, 
 xii. i). It is true indeed, that the law is introduced as a 
 condition of something to follow : " If ye will obey My 
 voice .... t/ieu ...."; but that something is not 
 salvation, wdiich had been bestowed unconditionally, 
 freely, before (ver. 4) ; it is the enjoyment of those 
 special blessings which " accompany and flow from " the 
 original act of salvation. Clearly, then, the law of Moses 
 was given not as a way of salvation, but as a means of 
 training those who had been already saved. If this 
 simple and evident fact were only borne in mind in the 
 reading of the Old Testament, endless perplexities and 
 confusions of thought would be avoided. 
 
 Observe, also, the kind of blessings which are prom- 
 ised. How many are there who will persist in maintain- 
 ing that the old covenant offered mere temporal blessing, 
 while it is the distinctive feature of the new to promise 
 spiritual blessing. It is true that temporal blessings were 
 included under the old covenant, just as they are under 
 the new ; and though they do hold a more prominent 
 place in the old, as was indeed to be expected, yet it is 
 a slander upon that covenant to say that these were t/ie 
 
The Sinai Revelation. 79 
 
 blessings it offered. The great blessings of the old cov- 
 enant were undoubtedly spiritual, as is manifest here : 
 " If ye will obey My voice and keep My covenant, then 
 ye shall be to me a peculiar treasure above all people " ; 
 *' and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an 
 holy nation." Nearness to God, dearness to God, holi- 
 ness — these were the characteristic blessings of the old 
 covenant. These promises are among the richest and 
 most deeply spiritual in the whole Bible ; and it is with 
 great reluctance that, yielding to the exigency of our 
 plan, we refrain from entering into the wealth of mean- 
 ing which each separate word conveys. Let me only 
 notice in leaving it, that when the Apostle Peter wishes 
 to express in the very strongest terms the highest privi- 
 leges of the children of God under the new dispensation, 
 he can do nothing better than quote these old but " ex- 
 ceeding great and precious promises " (i Pet. ii. 9). 
 
 Passing from the preliminary sketch to the full revela- 
 tion, we are met first by a new manifestation of God. 
 In Leviticus xix. 2 we read : " Ye shall be holy ; for I 
 the Lord your God am holy." Israel is now called to be 
 " a holy nation " (ver. 6) ; and in order to prepare them 
 to obey the call, God reveals Himself to them as " the 
 Holy One of Israel." It is interesting and instructive 
 to note the order of these revelations. You remember 
 (Exod. vi. 3) how the first revelation God made of Him- 
 self to His chosen ones was a revelation of fatherly care 
 and protecting power, a providential revelation of Him- 
 self, so to speak. Next came the revelation of redeem- 
 ing love, the main import of the name Jehovah, a very 
 rich and full and blessed revelation, in the course of 
 
8o The Mosaic Era. 
 
 which we see His sympathy with Israel's sorrow (Exod. 
 iii. 7) ; His promise to save them, repeated again and 
 again ; and in due time that promise magnificently ful- 
 filled in the chain of events we have rapidly surveyed, 
 during which He showed Himself their Saviour from 
 Pharaoh's bondage, their Saviour through the atone- 
 ment, their Saviour at the Red Sea ; and thereafter in 
 the desert at Marah, as Jehovah their healer, as their 
 bread and their water in their hours of hunger and thirst, 
 and as Jehovah their banner, in the hard contest with 
 their foes in the wilderness. Thus fully and beautifully 
 was the redeeming love and saving grace of God mani- 
 fested. Now comes the third revelation, as important 
 in its place as either of the others, the revelation of His 
 holiness and justice. It is the '' holy, holy, holy, Lord 
 God," who is revealed on Sinai. 
 
 Before we leave the thought of the order of these 
 revelations, let us note the importance of observing it 
 in our presentation of the truth, especially to our chil- 
 dren. Let us, in fact, learn from God's dealing with His 
 children, hov/ to deal with ours. Begin with the fatherly 
 care, go on to the redeeming love ; and then, and not till 
 then, seek to impress the holiness and justice, and the 
 terror of His avenging law. IMuch injury has often 
 been done to the tender hearts of little children by 
 beginning with Sinai, and the terrors of the law — by 
 giving them their first ideas of religion in the shape of 
 threats of Divine vengeance, if they do not obey. 
 With the hardened sinner it may be necessary to begin 
 with the terrors of the law, in the hope of showing him 
 his need of salvation from the wrath to come ; but with 
 
The Sinai Revelation. 8i 
 
 the comparatively innocent children, this course is apt 
 to be exceedingly injurious. Let them know His fatherly 
 care, His tender sympathy, His redeeming love — let 
 them know these well and thoroughly, before you alarm 
 them with the terrors of His avenging wrath. 
 
 The Divine holiness is so familiar a thought with us, 
 enters so necessarily into all our conceptions of God, 
 that it is difficult for us so realize its coming into the 
 minds of men as something entirely new. But so it was. 
 The heathen nations were destitute of the idea ; and 
 even the people of God had to be taught it for the first 
 time at the period of the Exodus. The word " holy," 
 as we have before remarked, does not occur in Genesis. 
 The first introduction of it is at the burning bush: '' Put 
 off thy shoes from off thy feet ; for the place whereon 
 thou standest is holy ground." We saw on that occa- 
 sion, the close connection between the holiness and the 
 love of God. That connection was not accidental. The 
 Biblical idea of holiness is, throughout, associated with 
 that of love and mercy f' and herein we see the appro- 
 priateness of that reference in the Red Sea song of sal- 
 vation : '' Who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness, 
 fearful in praises, doing wonders ? . . . . Thou in Thy 
 mercy hast led forth the people which Thou hast re- 
 deemed " (Exod. XV. ii-i 3). In fact, just as it is through 
 '' the apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ " that 
 a sinner is led to true repentance, so the revelation of 
 the Divine love is the path through which alone we can 
 
 * See Cremer's " Biblico-theologlcal Lexicon of New Testament 
 Greek," art. ayioc^. 
 
82 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 reach the knowledge of the Divine holiness. Hence the 
 connection of the promise of mercy with the symbol of 
 holiness at the burning bush ; and hence the postpone- 
 ment of the full revelation of the Divine holiness till 
 the consummation of Israel's redemption and the full 
 manifestation of their God's redeeming love. The in- 
 telligent reader will at once recognise, that a very Avide 
 and most inviting field is opened here ; but we can only 
 point to the open gate, and pass on. 
 
 The place was most appropriate for the revelation. I 
 shall attempt no description of the wild, desolate, rugged 
 grandeur of Sinai. Enough to say, that all the sur- 
 roundings were fitted to fill the soul with that awe which 
 one feels in presence of the sublime in nature, and to 
 produce the impression of separation from the world of 
 man, and introduction into the presence of the Almighty 
 Maker of all things. " Ye have seen," said God, " what 
 I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagle's 
 wings, and brought you unto Myself (xix. 4). And 
 then, besides, the people were specially prepared for an 
 awe-inspiring revelation, by the regulations in prospect 
 of the third day, when Jehovah should appear in sight 
 of all the people (ver. 10-19). And when the solemn 
 hour at last struck, the awe which the place itself in- 
 spired, and the reverence it had thus specially awakened 
 in the people's hearts, were reinforced by the thrilling 
 portents which attended the revelation : the thunders 
 and lightnings ; the thick cloud upon the mount, from 
 whose dark interior there sounded out " the voice of a 
 trumpet exceeding loud " ; and then the quaking of the 
 earth, as Jehovah descended in fiery grandeur upon the 
 
The Sinai Revelation. 83 
 
 mount (vor. 16-18). Could imagination possibly con- 
 ceive any circumstances more fitted to impress the senti- 
 ment of holy reverence and awe in the presence of the 
 Holy One of Israel ? 
 
 Who can estimate what the world owes to these por- 
 tents of Sinai, in the time when Israel was a child 
 (Hosea xi. i), and "heaven lay about him in his infancy." 
 We are so much occupied with that majestic law, "the 
 rugged grandeur of which towers above the greatest 
 monuments of Egypt, like Sinai itself above the pyra- 
 mids," that we forget the intrinsic value of those awful 
 manifestations, which preceded its promulgation. But 
 if we have the foundation of all ethics in the Decalogue, 
 we have also, in the portents which preceded, the foun- 
 dation of that reverence which is the soul of all true 
 ethics, of those 
 
 " High instincts, before which our mortal nature 
 Did tremble like a guilty thing surprised ! 
 
 Those shadowy recollections, 
 
 Which, be they what they may, 
 Are yet the fountain light of all our day, 
 Are yet a master light of all our seeing ; 
 
 Uphold us— cherish— and have power to make 
 Our noisy years seem moments in the being 
 Of the eternal silence : truths that wake 
 
 To perish never ! 
 Which neither listlessness, nor mad endeavour, 
 
 Nor man, nor boy. 
 Nor all that is at enmity with joy, 
 Can utterly abolish or destroy ! " * 
 
 * Wordsworth, Ode on Intimations of Immortality, Derived from 
 Recollections of Early Childhood. 
 
84 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 Our reverence for nature, and our reverence for the 
 God of nature, are both of Hebrew origin ; and Sinai is 
 their birthplace. Alas ! that there should be so much in 
 these times so utterly at enmity with human joy, as to 
 encourage the attempt to abolish and destroy these, by 
 cutting away their roots in that supernatural which is 
 their only basis. But the God of Sinai still lives ; and 
 so long as He is acknowledged, reverence will still abide 
 among men, in which, as Ruskin truly says, ^' is the chief 
 joy and power of life." 
 
 And now we come to the Law itself (chap, xx.), in the 
 forefront of which shine the Ten Words or Decalogue, 
 distinguished from the rest of the law as spoken by God 
 Himself "out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and 
 of the thick darkness," and then written on two tables 
 of stone and delivered unto Moses (Deut. v. 22). 
 
 And here again, even here, in the Ten Words, grace is 
 the foundation of all. There is a preface to the Deca- 
 logue. And what is that preface ? It is the gospel of 
 the grace of God: '' I am Jehovah thy God, which have 
 brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house 
 of bondage." One of the Rabbinical questions on this 
 preface used to be : " Why did not Jehovah rather pro- 
 claim Himself as Lord of heaven and earth?" It is 
 easy for us now, in the light of the New Testament, to 
 answer the question which perplexed the Rabbis. It is 
 not tlie greatness, but the goodness of God, and specially 
 His redeeming love, that leads men to repentance (Rom. 
 ii. 4), that inclines their hearts to obey all the words of 
 this law. 
 
 Another general feature which distinguishes this law 
 
The Sinai Revelation. 85 
 
 from all heathen codes of morality, is its reference of 
 everything to God. '' I am Jehovah thy God," is the 
 foundation of it all. (See also Lev. xix. 2, 18). Josephus 
 J discriminates correctly when he remarks, that whereas 
 I the heathen moralists made religion a part of virtue, 
 ' Moses makes virtue a part of religion. "' The only foun- 
 dation for true humanity is sound divinity. The only 
 perennial fountain of love to man is love to God, in 
 whose image he is made. 
 
 The brevity, simplicity, and comprehensiveness of the 
 Decalogue have often been remarked ; its symmetrical 
 arrangement too, with its two tables, of duty to God, 
 and duty to man, while the fifth commandment forms 
 the connecting link between, the relation of fatherhood 
 and motherhood being the nearest earthly image of our 
 common relation to our Father in Heaven. Then, the 
 first table begins with the honouring of God in the heart, 
 and proceeds through words to deeds ; while the second 
 table begins with conduct, forbidding the injury of our 
 neighbour in person, in family, in property, and then pro- 
 ceeds through words to the thoughts of the heart again. 
 Objections have been made to the prevailing negative 
 form, especially of the second table, to which the best 
 answer seems to me to be the challenge : ^' Write you 
 out a positive Decalogue, and see if you can improve on 
 the old." Men have had more than thirty centuries to 
 try it ; but they have not succeeded yet ! Besides, the 
 negative form of the Decalogue appropriately confronts 
 the positive tendency of man to sin ; and on the other 
 
 Against Apion," ii. 17. 
 
86 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 hand the true positive is found in the abounding grace 
 of God. Let any redeemed soul honestly take this 
 negative of the law, and faithfully keep it, and the Sun 
 of righteousness will certainly print off its positive on 
 the tablet of the heart, according to the promise in Exo- 
 dus xix. 5, 6. 
 
 Many have found a difficulty in the reason appended 
 to the second commandment ; but it must be remem- 
 bered in the first place, that the word " jealous " cannot 
 be used in the same sense exactly when applied to God, 
 as when it is applied to man. His jealousy is a holy 
 jealousy. Purge human jealousy of all the evil connected 
 with it, and it will give us the best idea of the Divine 
 jealousy, a jealousy which is not selfish, as is usually 
 the case with men, but concerned with the highest and 
 best interests of those towards whom the emotion is felt. 
 (See 2 Cor. xi. 2). Then as to the visiting of fathers' 
 iniquities upon the children, we must bear in mind first, 
 the unquestionable fact that children do suffer for the 
 sins of their parents, and that it is of great importance 
 to bring this to bear upon men's consciences to deter 
 them from sin. Take the sin of drunkenness for in- 
 stance — how the poor children of the inebriate suffer for 
 no fault of theirs. Is it not to the credit of the Bible 
 that it does not quietly ignore, as it might so easily have 
 done, these hard facts which exist in nature and in provi- 
 dence, but boldly faces them and deals with them? But 
 it must also be remembered, that so far as Divine visita- 
 tion is concerned, it is only " unto the third and fourth 
 generation of tJicni that hate " God, so that though, as a 
 natural consequence, the children suffer for their fathers* 
 
The Sinai Revelation. 87 
 
 sins, as a penal infliction they suffer only for their own. 
 Furthermore, see how "mercy rejoices against judg- 
 ment " ; for while the judgment extends only to the third 
 and fourth generation of those that hate, the mercy 
 goes down to the thousandth generation of them that 
 love God, for that is the true interpretation of the Hebrew, 
 as is clearly seen even in the English of Deuteronomy 
 vii. 9. Lastly, let a child of any generation, even of 
 them that hate God, only repent, and he will not only 
 not be punished for the sins of his fathers, but even his 
 own sins will not be remembered at all against him. See 
 on this whole subject, Ezekiel xviii. 
 
 "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the 
 lightnings, and the mountain smoking, and heard the 
 noise of the trumpet ; and when the people saw it, they 
 removed and stood afar off" (ver. 18). The natural 
 effect of the law ; its necessary- effect when the con- 
 science is truly alive. What then ? Must they remain 
 " afar off " ? Now that God is revealed as holy, can they 
 no longer know Him as their Father and Friend ? Now 
 that He has shown how far off He is, can they no longer 
 come near? The chapters which follow, setting forth 
 the covenant, supply the answer. This we must leave 
 for separate consideration. Meantime we shall only look 
 at the few verses following. There the way of the altar 
 is pointed out. The people may come even to the " holy, 
 holy, holy. Lord God," the same who has talked with 
 them from heaven (ver, 22) ; not to any idol supposed to 
 represent Him (ver. 23), but to Himself ; only it must be 
 with sacrifice (ver. 24) ; and when they come, they have 
 this gracious promise to assure their hearts : " In all 
 
88 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 places where I record My name I will come unto thee, 
 and I will bless thee " (ver. 24). But He would have 
 them come in the simplicity of confiding faith, and not 
 with the notion so common in Egypt (of which the quo- 
 tation from the hymn of Pentaur in the last lecture may 
 serve as an illustration), that it will gain them the Di- 
 vine favour to make a costly erection in His honour 
 (ver. 25). There must be as little as possible of human 
 display in the worship of God, for what after all is it but 
 the display of nakedness (ver. 26) ; they must come, and 
 we too must come, in utter simplicity, thinking only of 
 Him who has said: ''I will come unto thee, and I will 
 bless thee." 
 
 There is a tradition current among the Jews that the 
 law was given upon Mount Sinai on the fiftieth day from 
 the date of the Exodus ; and there seems not only no 
 reason to doubt it, but every reason to accept it. Sinai 
 then was the Pentecost of the old dispensation. And 
 conversely, Pentecost is the Sinai of the new. Fifty 
 days after the slaying of the paschal lamb there was the 
 coming down of the Holy One upon the mount. Fifty 
 days after " Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us " 
 the Holy Spirit descended on the Church met together 
 on that mount of ordinances in the upper room. The 
 inner relations of the two events will be clearly discerned 
 by an examination of that passage in Jeremiah which is 
 quoted with so much effect in the Epistle to the He- 
 brews : " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I 
 will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and 
 with the house of Judah : not according to the covenant 
 which I made with their fathers in the day that I took 
 them by the hand to bring them out of the land of 
 
The Sinai Revelation. 89 
 
 Egypt ; which My covenant they brake, although I was 
 an husband unto them, saith the Lord : but this shall be 
 the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel ; 
 After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in 
 their inward parts, and write it in their hearts " (Jer. xxxi. 
 31-33). This, as we all know, is the work of the Holy 
 Ghost. On the Pentecostal day of the old covenant, Je- 
 hovah came down from heaven to reveal Himself as the 
 Holy One, and give His law to His redeemed people; 
 on the Pentecostal day of the new covenant in like man- 
 ner He descended in the person of the Holy Ghost, to 
 write His law, " not in tables of stone, but in the fleshy 
 tables of the heart " — the hearts of all who were redeem- 
 ed by the blood of the Great Sacrifice which had been 
 offered up on Calvary ; and this seems to have been in 
 the mind of the Apostle when he wrote : " The law of 
 the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from 
 the law of sin and death " (Rom. viii. 2). And just as 
 the holy law was securely kept in the ark of the covenant 
 within the holiest of all ; so has the Holy Ghost remain- 
 ed in the midst of the true Church of Christ, according 
 to the Saviour's promise. So too eveiy true believer 
 should have in his inmost heart a shrine for the Holy 
 One, who comes to dwell in us in the blessed fulness of 
 Pentecostal grace. Thus and thus only can we realize 
 the fulfilment of those '^ great and precious promises," 
 which were given of old to Israel, and of which we who 
 believe in Christ are the true heirs ; thus and thus only 
 can we prove ourselves to be '' a chosen generation, a 
 royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, to 
 sho- forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of 
 dai .ess into His marvellous light." 
 
VII. 
 THE SINAI COVENANT. 
 
 EXODUS XX. 22— XXIV. 
 
 a ^ I ^HE Sinai Revelation" is a term which maybe 
 A used with varying latitude of meaning. In its 
 widest sense it will include the laws of Leviticus, which 
 were given from the Tabernacle at the foot of the moun- 
 tain, as well as all the laws of Exodus, which were given 
 from the top of the mount. In its narrowest sense it 
 may be restricted to the revelation of the igth and 20th 
 chapters, as distinguished from the remaining laws of 
 Exodus, as well as from the whole body of the civil and 
 ceremonial law. It is in this narrowest sense that we 
 have used the term ; so that we are justified in treating 
 the Sinai covenant as a distinct subject. The distinction 
 is clearly marked in Exodus by the separation of " the 
 Ten Words " spoken by God Himself in the hearing of 
 all the people, from the communications which were 
 subsequently given through Moses. The 22d verse of 
 the 20th chapter marks the transition. The distinction 
 is still more strikingly indicated in the corresponding 
 passage in Deuteronomy, where we read (Deut. v. 22) : 
 ^' These words 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 
 (90) 
 
The Sinai Covenant. 91 
 
 no more. ' And He wrote them in two tables of stone." 
 It is true that the Decalogue formed part of the nation- 
 al covenant, as is evident both from Exodus xix. 5, and 
 Deuteronomy v. 2. But it was more, far more. The 
 national covenant was temporary, intended to last only 
 so long as the nation lasted ; while the revelation of the 
 holy Lord, and His holy law, was more than national, it 
 was catholic ; it was not temporary, but eternal. And 
 this distinction is most impressively brought out by the 
 promulgation of the Decalogue in a voice which '' shook 
 the earth " (Heb. xii. 26), as if to say, " O earth, earth, 
 earth, hear the voice of the Lord!" while the statutes 
 and judgments of the civil and ceremonial law were 
 simply delivered to Moses as the lawgiver of Israel. 
 And the same distinction is apparent in the manner of 
 recording, between the enduring tables of stone, and the 
 more perishable " book of the covenant " (Exod. xxiv. 
 7). The distinction appears also in the 50th Psalm, in a 
 very striking manner. The Psalm opens with a reference 
 to the great universal revelation of the first day : " The 
 mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken and called t/ie 
 earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down 
 thereof r Further on (ver. 5) He refers to the covenant : 
 " gather My saints together unto Me ; those that have 
 made a covenant with Me by sacrificed 
 
 " The Sinai covenant " might also be used in a wider 
 sense, as including all the transactions between God and 
 the people at Sinai ; but we are deahng with it now in a 
 narrower sense, as applied to the transaction recorded in 
 Exodus xxiv., which stands only second in importance to 
 that of the first day, when the Ten Words were spoken. 
 
92 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 But before we consider the solemn inauguration of 
 the covenant, we must glance at ^' the book of the cov- 
 enant " which was its basis. This will take us over the 
 intervening chapters. It has been a question whether 
 the book of the covenant contained the Decalogue or 
 not. I think it exceedingly likely that it did ; and 
 whether it did or not, there can be no question that it 
 was understood to rest upon the tables of stone as its 
 rock foundation. But '' the book of the covenant," as 
 distinguished from the tables of stone, begins v/ith these 
 words in the 22d verse of the 20th chapter : '' Ye have 
 seen that I have talked with you from heaven " ; and 
 extends to the close of the 23d chapter. It may be 
 divided into four parts. 
 
 The first is a general outline of the mode of worship, 
 especially guarding its purity and simplicity^ (ver. 22- 
 26). The outline was afterwards to be filled up in the 
 elaborate ritual of the Tabernacle and its services ; but 
 in the book of the covenant there were only the leading 
 principles which were to govern and guide the people 
 in their acts of worship. 
 
 The next division contains " the judgments," as they 
 are called, regulating the civil relations to each other of 
 the members of the Hebrew commonwealth (xxi. i- 
 xxiii. 9). These judgments stood related to the second 
 table of the law, just as the regulations concerning the 
 worship of the altar stood related to the first. But it 
 is a sad mistake to confound the two together, as those 
 Rabbis did who quoted '' an eye for an eye and a tooth 
 
 * See remarks on the passage in last lecture, pp. 87, 88. 
 
The Sinai Covenant. 93 
 
 for a tooth," as a justification for private revenge. The 
 duty of the state to punish criminals is one thing ; the 
 duty of forgiving enemies in private Hfe is another. 
 And the two are quite compatible. It is to be remem- 
 bered also that these " judgments," and those of the 
 same kind which afterwards were added as occasion 
 arose, are to be distinguished from the moral law, not 
 only as applying to the state rather than to the individ- 
 ual, but also as local and temporary in their nature, 
 representing not what was ideally best, but only what 
 was then practically possible in the direction of that 
 which was best. Some very superficial people criticise 
 them as if they were intended for the nineteenth cent- 
 ury ! The Decalogue was, and is, intrinsically perfect ; 
 the "judgments" were adapted to the circumstances 
 and wants of Israel at the time. And it would be a 
 good thing if reformers of modern times would always 
 remember the same wise and necessary distinction, be- 
 tween that which is ideally perfect and that which alone 
 may be practically possible. Still further it is to be re- 
 membered, that these judgments were suitable to " the 
 theocracy " of Israel ; and hence those are entirely 
 wrong who attempt to use them as precedents for gen- 
 eral legislation in the limited monarchies and republican 
 governments, and otherwise entirely altered circum- 
 stances, of modern times. If this had not been forgotten, 
 the Church of the New Testament would have been 
 saved the disgrace of many of those intolerant and per- 
 secuting laws for which support was most unjustifiably 
 sought in the political regulations of the Hebrew com- 
 monwealth. On the other hand, if we could only com- 
 
94 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 pare these " judgments " with the laws and customs of 
 the nations around, we should see by force of contrast 
 how exceedingly pure, wise, just, and humane they are ; 
 and especially where private relations are dealt with, we 
 have touches which would not shame the New Testa- 
 ment itself, however much they may in another sense 
 shame us, as for instance (Exod. xxiii. 4, 5) : " If thou 
 meet thy enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt 
 surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass 
 of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and 
 wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with 
 him." 
 
 The third division of the book of the covenant has to do 
 with matters which relate neither to worship exclusively, 
 nor to civil relations exclusively, but to both. These 
 are the Sabbath year, the Sabbath day, and the yearly 
 festivals (xxiii. 10-19). As for the Sabbath year and the 
 festivals, they will come up again in the fuller details 
 which were given from the Tabernacle and recorded in 
 Leviticus. And as for the Sabbath day, we may simply 
 remark the significance of its presence here in the book 
 of the covenant, as well as in the Decalogue, indicating 
 that while in its principle it belongs to universal and un- 
 changeable law, in its letter it formed part of that national 
 covenant which was merged in the new and better cove- 
 nant of the later age. 
 
 The closing division of the book contains those prom- 
 ises which set forth the Divine part in the covenant, — 
 promises of angelic guidance, victory, national prosperity 
 and greatness, — accompanied, however, with cautions 
 against disobedience, and against yielding to the temp- 
 
The Sinai Covenant. 95 
 
 tation of forsaking the God of Israel for the gods of 
 the other nations which should be around them (ver. 
 20-23). 
 
 Such was the book of the covenant which Moses pre- 
 pared under Divine direction ; and now (xxiv. 1,2) he 
 and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of 
 Israel are summoned into the Lord's presence as repre- 
 sentatives of the people, for the solemn act of inaugura- 
 tion, to the consideration of which we now address our- 
 selves. 
 
 The first thing Moses did was to make the people ac- 
 quainted with the contents of the book so that they 
 might know certainly what obligations they were about 
 to assume. Whatever they did, they must do intelli- 
 gently. Having secured in this way the assent of the 
 people (ver. 3), the mediator of the covenant made the 
 necessary preparations. After finishing the writing of 
 the book, he erected an altar and twelve pillars. The 
 altar represented the presence of God. The pillars 
 represented the tribes of Israel (ver. 4). It is probable 
 that the altar would be in the centre and the pillars 
 ranged round it ; and accordingly we have here the first 
 outward representation of the Church. Here we have 
 the idea of the Tabernacle, afterwards more fully de- 
 veloped in the Temple, and realized spiritually in the 
 Church of Christ, the tabernacle or temple of the New 
 Testament. The altar of sacrifice was in the centre 
 then. It is in the centre still ; for what else is the cross 
 around which we all as Christians gather, than the altar 
 of the New Testament, on which " Christ our Passover 
 was sacrificed for us." It is in that central altar that the 
 
96 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 different tribes of New Testament Christians all find 
 their unity. And it is on the ground of the sacrifice 
 which was offered there that all the promises of the 
 covenant are given, one of the last of which runs thus : 
 " Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple 
 of my God, and he shall go no more out " (Rev. iii. 12). 
 
 There was as yet no formally appointed priest in 
 Israel. Moses himself, the mediator of the covenant, 
 until special appointments were made, united in his 
 own person all the different offices. So he employed 
 young men to make the necessary preparations for offer- 
 ing sacrifice on the altar. These young men, under 
 Moses' direction, ^' offered burnt offerings and sacrificed 
 peace offerings " (ver. 5). The different kinds of offer- 
 ings will come very fully before us when we reach Levi- 
 ticus. Suffice it now to say that the burnt offerings 
 belonged more exclusively to the altar, while the peace 
 offerings were the people's. The two together repre- 
 sented the mutual relations of altar and pillars, of God 
 and His people ; the burnt offerings being the surrender 
 of the people to God, the peace offerings symbolizing 
 the bestowal of the Divine blessing upon the people. 
 
 We come now to the disposal of the blood of the 
 sacrifice, that part of the ceremony which is specially 
 referred to in the Epistle to the Hebrews (chap. ix. 
 18-20). Here we are told that the blood was sprinkled 
 on the altar and on the people. In Hebrews we are 
 told that Moses sprinkled both the book and the people. 
 Probably then the book was laid upon the altar, so that 
 both the altar itself, and the book upon it, would be 
 sprinkled with the blood. And though the people are 
 
The Sinai Covenant. 97 
 
 spoken of both here and in Hebrews, it is quite probable 
 that it was the pillars as representing the people that 
 were sprinkled ; though there may have been, in order 
 to make the meaning plainer still, a sprinkling of the 
 blood in the direction of the people themselves. 
 
 Let us now examine as carefully as we can the signifi- 
 cance of this blood sprinkling. There is first the general 
 truth taught in the Epistle to the Hebrews : " neither 
 was the first covenant dedicated without blood." Yes, 
 even in that national, temporary covenant, which had so 
 much to say about works, with blessings promised to 
 obedience and curses denounced for disobedience, that 
 covenant which many regard as wholly legal, even ^/la^ 
 covenant is founded on the grace of God as represented 
 by the altar and the sacrifice and the sprinkling of the 
 blood. Thus, throughout the Old Testament as well as 
 throughout the New, grace is ever at the foundation, 
 and works are built upon it ; the Gospel is the sub- 
 structure, law is the superstructure. But besides this 
 general truth, observe how carefully the order of the 
 service is marked. Let us look at it. First, the blood 
 is divided into two portions, one of which is set aside 
 to be used in sprinkling the people. Then Moses pro- 
 ceeds in the order following : (i) Sprinkling of the altar 
 (ver. 6) ; (2) reading the book of the covenant to the 
 people and securing their assent (ver. 7) ; (3) sprinkling 
 the people (ver. 8). The significance of this order will 
 be readily seen. As soon as the sacrifice is offered the 
 altar is sprinkled. The altar is the meeting-place be- 
 tween God and His people, as is declared in the first 
 part of the book of the covenant itself (Exod. xx. 24). 
 S 
 
98 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 But God and the sinner cannot meet except on the 
 ground of atonement, and so the altar must be sprinkled 
 with the atoning blood of the sacrifice. As soon as the 
 altar is sprinkled with the atoning blood, the people may 
 meet with God, and receive His blessing there. But 
 they too must be sprinkled with the blood. On what 
 condition ? On condition that they turn their backs 
 on their old sins, and set their faces to the keeping of 
 the holy covenant. Hence the next thing after the 
 sprinkling of the altar, and before the sprinkling of the 
 people, is to ask their solemn assent to the covenant. 
 And as soon as that assent is given, as soon as the 
 people's will is surrendered to the Lord, the blood of 
 the sacrifice is sprinkled, reconciliation is made, and the 
 covenant embraces them in its blessed bond. And now 
 we can see very clearly what was in the Apostle Peter's 
 mind when he speaks of believers as " elect according 
 to the foreknowledge of God the Father, (this carries 
 us back to the early promises before the work of redemp- 
 tion from bondage began) through sanctification of the 
 Spirit, (this leads us to think of the Pentecostal day at 
 Sinai, with its revelation of the holy Lord, and His holy 
 law) ?into obedience and sprinJding of the blood of Jesus 
 Christ'' (here we think of the ratification of the cove- 
 nant, when the sprinkling of the blood followed the 
 declaration of obedience). It will be observed, of course, 
 that the obedience is not the obedience of fact, which 
 follows the blood sprinkling, but the obedience of heart 
 and will, which must precede it. The sinner who comes 
 to be sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice may come 
 singing, 
 
The Sinai Covenant. 99 
 
 " Just as I am, without one plea, 
 But that Thy blood was shed for me " ; 
 
 but the very fact that he comes with these words on 
 his lips proves that already he has that obedience of the 
 heart and will, that saying of " I come," which is the 
 necessary antecedent even of the spnnkling of the blood 
 of Jesus Christ. When the great sacrifice was offered 
 up on Calvary, the altar was sprinkled once for all ; but 
 it is necessary that we should be sprinkled with the 
 same blood (ver. 6) that we may become the people of 
 God ; and all that is required in order to this is just the 
 assent of the heart, the surrender of the will to Him, 
 the word '' O Lamb of God, I come," which carries with 
 it the old declaration of which that altar and these pillars 
 were the witness : '^ All that the Lord hath said will we 
 do, and be obedient." 
 
 Before we leave this most suggestive service, consider 
 how significant it is that the book is laid upon the altar 
 and sprinkled with the blood. There is a sense in which 
 we are saved by works, as the Apostle James so fully 
 testifies. But what kind of works are they ? Works 
 laid upon the altar and sprinkled with blood. These 
 are the kind of works James speaks of ; very different 
 indeed from " the works of the law," which the Apostle 
 Paul proves again and again to have no justifying power. 
 Good works have their place in salvation, their necessary 
 place, for they are indispensable. But that place is on 
 the altar. And even after they are laid there, they 
 need to be sprinkled with the blood of the atoning 
 sacrifice. 
 
 And now that the transaction is complete, the results 
 
lOD The Mosaic Era. 
 
 appear : " Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and 
 Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: and they 
 saw the God of Israel " (ver. 9, 10). And not only did 
 they see Him ; they did eat and drink in His presence 
 (ver. 1 1) without fear. These " nobles of the children 
 of Israel " were evidently Israel's representatives, and 
 their feast in the sacred presence represented the sacred 
 and blessed nearness of all the people, the saints who 
 by sacrifice have made a covenant with God (Ps. 1. 5), 
 the ^' elect according to the foreknowledge of God the 
 Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedi- 
 ence and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." 
 " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God " ; 
 and, far from trembling, they shall feast in His presence, 
 ^' rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory." 
 
 There is something sublime and significant in the re- 
 strained and reverent way in which the glory of the 
 Lord is referred to. No attempt to describe the vision 
 itself, nothing which could supply even to the imagina- 
 tion the materials for the construction of any likeness of 
 the Almighty. Simply a suggestion, chaste and yet 
 glowing, of the glory " tinder His feet.'' Ah, that is all 
 the sinful eye of man can see, even under the most 
 favoured conditions here on earth. But then may we 
 not well argue that, if what is under His feet suggests 
 pavement of sapphire and heaven's clearest ethereal 
 blue — if all that is most rapturously beautiful in nature 
 be only the tinting of His footstool — what, oh what 
 shall be the glory of His face, when we '' shall see Him 
 as H^e is," and " be like Him " too ; for the time is com- 
 ing when, by the side of the " pure river of the water of 
 
The Sinai Covenant. lor 
 
 life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of 
 God and of the Lamb," they who now only serve and 
 wait upon the footstool, " shall see His face ; and His 
 name shall be in their foreheads ; and there shall be no 
 night there ! " 
 
 But a greater privilege than that of seeing God 
 upon the mountain is yet in store. To go up and see 
 God on the mountain is good ; but to have Him come 
 down and dwell with us in the plain is better. To feast 
 in the Divine presence, on a great and special occasion, 
 was a privilege indeed ; but it is better still to have the 
 Divine presence on all occasions, from day to day, from 
 hour to hour continually. And it is to prepare the way 
 for this inestimable blessing that Moses is now called up 
 alone into the immediate presence of the Lord, there to 
 abide for many days, during which he will receive the 
 Tabernacle revelation, the substance of which was this : 
 " Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell 
 among them " (xxv. 8). The great importance and in- 
 estimable value of the new revelation is betokened by 
 the glory prelude of six days which preceded it (xxiv. 
 1 6), and the length of time that was occupied in convey- 
 ing it, the whole amounting to forty days and forty nights 
 (ver. 1 8). 
 
 This new and important revelation we must leave for 
 separate study. But before we pass from the covenant 
 of which it was the consummation, let us notice the 
 three stages of privilege, as we may call them, which 
 the covenant people are permitted to enjoy, all of them 
 represented within the compass of the chapters before 
 
102 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 us. Leave Moses out of consideration for the time. 
 His position was unique. He was the mediator of the 
 covenant, and in this respect a type of Christ Himself, 
 and accordingly he is at all times admitted into the 
 closest relations with the God of Israel. But taking 
 the representatives of the people, we find them first 
 (ver. i) permitted to worship afar off, as if God were in 
 highest heaven, and they far below upon the earth. 
 That is the first stage : '' O Thou who dwellest in the 
 heavens, we lift our eyes to Thee." 
 
 At that time the sacrifice was only in contemplation. 
 But after it had been offered and the blood sprinkled on 
 the altar and on the people, the representatives of the 
 people were permitted to draw near, by ascending the 
 mount, where ''they saw the God of Israel " (ver. 9-1 1). 
 That is the second stage : " Ye who were afar off, are 
 brought nigh by the blood of Christ." 
 
 But this is not the consummation yet. The mediator 
 ascends into the mount, where a cloud of glory receives 
 him out of sight of the people below (ver. 15) ; and after 
 forty days again the heavens open, and lo, " the taber- 
 nacle of God is with men." He comes to dwell in the 
 midst of them. This is the third and best stage of all, 
 for now He comes to abide with His people for ever 
 (see John xiv. 16). 
 
 I need scarcely say that this is just the order of Chris- 
 tian experience : First "the upward glancing of the eye " 
 to heaven, the worship of the publican standing afar off, 
 crying, " God be merciful to me a sinner." Then there 
 is the approach to the altar, coming to the cross, and as 
 
The Sinai Covenant. 103 
 
 the result, conscious nearness to God and joy in His 
 presence. But the experience is not complete till from 
 the open heaven there comes the blessed Comforter to 
 make His abode in the believer's heart. Thus it is that, 
 to the earnest seeker, God reveals Himself as Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost, and at each successive stage 
 comes nearer, till the sacred union is complete. 
 
VIII. 
 THE TABERNACLE REVELATION. 
 
 EXODUS XXV.-XXXI. 
 
 THE first thing to settle in our minds is the relation 
 of this to the earlier Sinai revelation. The earlier 
 one we have called the Sinai revelation for reasons 
 already given ; but this later one belongs to Sinai also, 
 for it, too, was given from the sacred mount. And 
 though its accompaniments were not so tremendous and 
 awe-inspiring as those which attended the earlier one, they 
 w^ere sufficiently solemn to arrest and fix the attention, 
 as we saw at the close of last lecture (Exod. xxiv. i6- 
 i8). The first question before us then is, as to the rela- 
 tion of the Tabernacle to the Law. 
 
 I. The later revelation was the complement of the 
 earlier. The former taught how very far off Jehovah 
 was in His holiness ; the latter teaches how very near 
 He is ready to come in His love. Then the word of com- 
 mand was : " Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not 
 up into the mount, or touch the border of it : whoso- 
 ever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death " 
 (Exod. xix. 12). But now that the people have come to 
 the altar with the appointed sacrifice, and have promised 
 obedience, and been sprinkled with the blood of the 
 offering, the time has come for a new revelation, the 
 (104) 
 
The Tabernacle Revelation. 105 
 
 revelation of Love and Mercy. And now the word of 
 command is : " Let them prepare Me a sanctuary, that 
 I may dwell among them " (Exod. xxv. 8). Yet the 
 later revelation is not at all inconsistent with the former ; 
 for though He who formerly warned the people off, now 
 offers to come and dwell among them, the offer is made 
 in such a way as not at all to compromise His holiness : 
 " Let them make Me a sanctttary (a holy place), and I 
 will dwell among them." Thus while love is the promi- 
 nent feature of the new revelation, holiness is not lost 
 sight of ; just as in the former, while holiness was promi- 
 nent, love was by no means absent, as we found when 
 we had it before us. '* Mercy and truth meet together ; 
 righteousness and peace embrace each other " in both. 
 
 n. The latter really includes the earlier; for the 
 tables of stone are to be deposited, as we shall see, in 
 the ark of the covenant within the holy of holies, the 
 innermost shrine of the Tabernacle. Thus the Law 
 held the central position in the new revelation. And 
 not only is the holy Law its centre, but its end ; not 
 merely in a literal sense (Exod. xxxi. 18), but in this re- 
 gard, that all the sacrifices and ceremonies, symbols and 
 types of the Tabernacle service, were but the means to 
 the attainment of that '' holiness, without which no man 
 can see the Lord." Only those who are profoundly 
 ignorant of the Old Testament can represent the cere- 
 monial law as a thing of form only, savouring more of 
 superstition than of sanctity. Those who are at all in- 
 telligent in the reading of the Law cannot fail to per- 
 ceive that every part of it is directed towards the 
 supreme end of holiness, which is kept in view from tlie 
 5* 
 
io6 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 very beginning: ''If ye will obey My voice, and keep 
 My covenant, then ye shall be a ... . holy nation " 
 (Exod. xix. 5, 6). The religion of the Bible is a character 
 religion throughout. " God hath called us unto holi- 
 ness " — through form, through faith, through Moses, 
 through Christ ; but always to holiness. '' Be ye holy, 
 for I the Lord your God am holy." This is the kernel 
 of the Old Testament. It is also the core of the New. 
 
 III. The later revelation had an element of perma- 
 nence in it, which the former had not. The Lord aj?- 
 pcarcd upon Mount Sinai, but He dzvelt in the Taber- 
 nacle. The one was a solemn memory ; the other a de- 
 lightful ever-present experience. The people soon left 
 Mount Sinai ; but they carried the Tabernacle with them 
 wherever they went. Judgment is the Lord's " strange 
 work," but " He delighteth in mercy." There must be 
 conviction of sin to begin with, but the abiding charac- 
 teristic of true Christian experience is the presence of 
 the Lord consciously and happily realized. His people 
 need not remain trembling before Sinai. Only let them 
 make Him a sanctuary, and He will dwell with them, 
 and His presence will banish fear. The Comforter wili 
 " abide with you for ever." True, Sinai must not be for- 
 gotten ; the tables of stone are carried wherever the 
 sanctuary goes, but they are covered with the mercy- 
 seat ; and above, ever open to view, is the symbol of the 
 gracious loving presence of the Lord. 
 
 So much for the relation of the Tabernacle to the 
 revelation of law which it so closely follows. And now 
 let us look at the Tabernacle revelation itself. And here 
 we must of necessity restrict ourselves to its most gen- 
 
The Tabernacle Revelation. 107 
 
 era! features. To study it In detail would require a 
 course of separate lectures. It was in substance a reve- 
 lation of God's willingness to dwell with His people, and 
 of the conditions on which this great blessing could be 
 realized by them. The first condition is their willing- 
 ness to welcome Him when He comes. And accordingly 
 the first step is to give the people an opportunity of 
 showing this willingness. " Speak unto the children of 
 Israel, that they bring Me an offering: of every man 
 that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take My 
 offering .... and let them make Me a sanctuary " 
 (xxv. 1-8). The giving of the revelation shows the will- 
 ingness on God's part : the offerings of the people the 
 willingness on theirs. 
 
 And now the question comes, how can it be ? " Will 
 God in very deed dwell with man upon the earth ? " Is 
 there any way by which the Holy One can dwell in the 
 midst of an unholy people ? The elaborate details of 
 the Tabernacle and its service was the answer in symbol 
 to this great question. If the willingness of the people 
 had been all that was necessary, they might have been 
 left to construct the Tabernacle as they thought best. 
 But it is not so easy for the holy God and sinful man to 
 meet and dwell together. Obstacles must be removed, 
 a way must be opened, barriers must be thrown down. 
 Hence the necessity for constructing the Tabernacle and 
 arranging its services in such a way as to convey in the 
 language of symbol how all this is to be done. ''Ac- 
 cording to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the 
 tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments there- 
 of, even so shall ye make it " (ver. 9). 
 
io8 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 And now as we are about to enter upon the symbolism 
 of the Tabernacle, it may be well to pause a moment 
 and consider how appropriate it was that the truth should 
 be conveyed in this way, the more especially as there are 
 prevalent, even among intelligent persons, many unrea- 
 sonable objections to this form of revelation. Consider 
 first the much deeper impression made by that which is 
 addressed to the eye than by what is addressed to the ear. 
 Even a single exhibition of truth is more impressive than 
 a declaration of it ; how much more a perpetual one. 
 There was the truth vividly painted before the people's 
 eyes from day to day, from year to year, from age to 
 age. And if any one suggests that the same 'result 
 could have been obtained by the written characters of 
 ordinary language, let him ask first, how copies enough 
 could have been multiplied ; and next and more particu- 
 larly, how many of the people in these early times, and 
 in the infancy of the nation, could read and understand 
 written characters. And very little reflection will show, 
 not only that a series of pictures was much better for 
 the education of the people than a string of propositions 
 could have been, but that the pictorial method, the 
 method of symbol, was the only one which met the 
 .necessities of the case. 
 
 .Seeing then that a symbolic exhibition of the truth 
 was called for, the question arises whether the symbols 
 employed should be new or old. A moment's considera- 
 tion will decide the question ; for manifestly the more 
 familiar the symbols were to the people, the better would 
 they be adapted for conveying ideas to their minds. 
 And yet great objections have been taken on the ground 
 
The Tabernacle Revelation. 109 
 
 that the symbolic language of the Tabernacle is found 
 to be Egyptian in Its origin ! Of course it was. Had 
 not these people been in Egypt all their lives ? Where 
 else then could familiar illustrations be found than in 
 Egypt ? If new symbols had been invented, entirely 
 apart from all their old Egyptian associations, a special 
 miracle would have been necessary to enable them to 
 understand the new language. These objectors have not 
 the common sense to distinguish between ideas and the 
 language in which they are expressed, between thoughts 
 and words, between things and the signs that represent 
 them. On the same principle there should be exception 
 taken to the use of the Greek language in the New Tes- 
 tament, for is not every word in it a symbol of Greek 
 origin ? The language of the New Testament is Greek; 
 but the thoughts are far beyond anything the Greek 
 mind ever conceived ; and In the same way, though the 
 language of the Tabernacle is Egyptian, the truth con- 
 veyed by its symbolic language is far above anything 
 that ever entered the mind of old Egypt. And if 
 any one says It was unworthy of God to make use of 
 symbols that had been stained by their connection with 
 Egyptian Idolatry and wickedness, is it not manifest that 
 the same objection lies against all language ? Take the 
 p-randest sentence in the New Testament as an illustra- 
 tlon : " God Is Love." Think what abominations were 
 connected with that word Love In its Greek associa- 
 tions ; but what else could the writers of the New Testa- 
 ment do than take the old familiar though degraded 
 word, and convert it, so to speak, baptizing It in the 
 name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, so as to make 
 
no The Mosaic Era. 
 
 it a fitting symbol for the queen of all the heavenly 
 graces, and even a fitting term to designate the nature 
 of God Himself. Suppose the Apostle Paul had said : 
 " That word has been so defiled by contact with sin that 
 we cannot use it. Let us invent a new one." Who 
 would have understood the new word? He would have 
 had it all to himself. And even the Greek Oeo? itself, 
 had it not been applied to Zeus and to Dionysos, and all 
 the gods of the Greek Pantheon, some of them monsters 
 of depravity ? And yet it is the only word which can 
 be used to designate the One living and true God. 
 Why ? Simply because when language of any kind is 
 used, it must be such as the people to whom it is ad- 
 dressed can understand. And so, instead of finding any 
 difficulty in the acknowledged Egyptian origin of these 
 symbols, it is the very thing we must expect ; and herein 
 we have another evidence of the genuineness and anti- 
 quity of the Pentateuch. The close connection between 
 the symbolic language of the Tabernacle and the sym- 
 bolism of Egypt under the Pharaohs, shows that the 
 Tabernacle revelation must have been given immediately 
 after the Exodus, and could not have come through 
 more likely hands than his, "who was learned in all the 
 wisdom of the Egyptians." It is, in fact, an evidence of 
 date of the same kind as the use of Hellenistic Greek in 
 the New Testament. 
 
 Still another objection must be considered before leav- 
 ing the form of the Tabernacle revelation, the objection 
 founded on the supposed difficulty of understanding the 
 symbols. Now it is true that the Western mind needs 
 some training in order readily to understand Oriental 
 
The Tabernacle Revelation. hi 
 
 symbolism. But is this to be wondered at? Our famil- 
 iarity with the abstractions of a highly-developed lan- 
 guage, unfits us for readily comprehending the simple 
 and primitive language of signs. It is not our mother- 
 tongue : but it was theirs. For the same reason that 
 even the little children in France speak French, which 
 may excite the wonder of a very ignorant person, these 
 children of Israel would understand in a moment many 
 things which we need to investigate before we under- 
 stand. The Tabernacle revelation then was quite com- 
 prehensible to those to whom it was first addressed; and 
 it is quite comprehensible to us too, if we will only apply 
 ourselves to the study of it. The symbols used are 
 largely natural, as, for instance, the use of white for 
 purity, gold for value, etc. ; and so far as they are artifi- 
 cial, the key may be found somewhere in the Scriptures. 
 And even the oldest among us and most accustomed to 
 dealing with abstract truth, will find it of advantage to 
 study these old object lessons, these pictorial illustra- 
 tions of Divine truth, for our own instruction and edifi- 
 cation. 
 
 Inasmuch as the Tabernacle was ''the tent of meet- 
 ing"- between God and man, there were two sides of 
 truth expressed in its symbols, the Divine side and the 
 human side, the one showing with what rich liberality 
 God comes to meet man, the other showing with what 
 holy carefulness man must draw near to God. Some- 
 times the same symbol will have truth to tell on both 
 
 * This is the proper rendering, and not as in our version, " taber- 
 1 acle of the con gre gat ion." See Exod. xxix. 42, 43. 
 
112 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 sides, as, for instance, the table of shewbread, which, in 
 one aspect, represents the rich provision God makes for 
 His people in His house: and in another, the fruits of 
 righteousness which His people must present to Him. 
 But when we bear in mind that even when we give to 
 the Lord, it is always of His own we give to Him, there 
 will be no confusion in the twofold application of such 
 symbols, and our minds will readily take hold of that 
 side of the truth which is germane to the general subject 
 under consideration. 
 
 The order of the symbols is different in the chapters 
 before us from that which we find in the later part of 
 the book (xxxv.-xl.) when the Tabernacle was actually 
 made. And a careful consideration of the two arrange- 
 ments would suggest that, while the latter was the order 
 in which the work was actually done, the former is the 
 order which has greater significance in regard to the 
 truth to be unfolded. Hence the special value of the 
 chapters before us for getting a correct view of the most 
 general features of the Tabernacle revelation. To this 
 task we now address ourselves. And here we shall find 
 three leading thoughts. 
 
 The first is the central position of the Law. " They 
 shall make Me an ark, .... and shall put into it the 
 testimony" (xxv. 10-16). Why is the enshrining of the 
 law the first thing ? Is it on the ground of the law that 
 God and man are to meet ? Evidently not, for while 
 the tables of stone are to be placed in the ark, they are 
 to be covered with the mercy-seat, and tJicre it is (ver. 
 22) that the meeting between God and man must be. 
 What then is meant by the prominent place given to 
 
The Tabernacle Revelation. 113 
 
 the law ? Is it not this, that while one cannot draw 
 near to God except through mercy which forgives the 
 transgression of the law, yet he may and must come 
 with an earnest desire and purpose to keep the law. 
 He may come without any righteousness of his own, 
 but not without "hunger and thirst" after righteous- 
 ness, not without that spirit which will lead him to put 
 the law of God in the most sacred place, and surround 
 it with proofs of highest appreciation, as suggested in 
 these directions : '' Thou shalt overlay it with pure 
 gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and 
 shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about " 
 (ver 11). 
 
 Observe carefully that the tables of stone are not at 
 the threshold ; they are in the inmost shrine. If they 
 had been at the threshold, the thought would have 
 been : '' keep the law, and you will have the privilege 
 of meeting with God." But being in the inmost shrine, 
 the very last thing that one would reach who entered 
 by the door, the thought is not, " keep the law and God 
 will let you in " ; but, '' come in and God will give you 
 grace to keep the law." Grace first, goodness afterwards, 
 as always. And yet, though last in one sense, it is first 
 in another, for it is the goal towards which every step 
 of the worshipper is directed ; and the first thing a run- 
 ner must do is to fix his eye upon the goal. Thus the 
 law is the first for the eyes and the last for the feet ; the 
 first as an object of desire, the last as an object of at- 
 tainment. Even a sinner may make a gold casket and 
 a golden crown for the law (how many are there, for in- 
 stance, that can crown with their admiration the Sermon 
 
114 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 on the Mount, who are very far from keeping it) ; but if 
 he would learn to keep it perfectly, he must betake him- 
 self to the mercy-seat in the appointed way, and avail 
 himself of the rich provision which God has for him in 
 His house. 
 
 Thus we reach the second leading thought of the 
 Tabernacle revelation : the rich provision God has for 
 those who come before Him, hungering and thirsting 
 after righteousness. This is set forth very delightfully 
 in the next four items. 
 
 The first is the mercy-seat (ver. 17-21). " Mercy to 
 pardon " is the first thing. While the law is the end on 
 which the eye must be ever fixed, mercy is the path that 
 the feet must tread to reach the goal. 
 
 The next is a table on which there is a perpetual sup- 
 ply of bread (ver. 23-30). The best commentary on this 
 part of the Tabernacle revelation are our Lord's own 
 words concerning the " bread of life," with which God 
 supplies the wants of those who come to the mercy-seat, 
 who believe on His Son (John vi.) 
 
 After the table comes the lamp (ver. 31-40). After 
 life, comes light. And again, the best commentary is to 
 be found in the 8th and 9th chapters of the same Gospel, 
 where we have our Lord's own teaching concerning the 
 light provided for the world in the Father's house, of 
 which the light provided for Israel in the Tabernacle 
 was a feeble type. *' In Him was life ; and the life was 
 the light of men." 
 
 Then there is a place in the Father's house (chap. 
 xxvl.) This chapter gives directions for the Tabernacle 
 itself, Its external walls, with its curtains and divisions. 
 
The Tabernacle Revelation. 115 
 
 There are here many details of special interest, but we 
 can only refer to the general idea, which is quite appa- 
 rent. The walls were made of forty-eight standing 
 boards or pillars. Here we have the same idea as in 
 the twenty-fourth chapter, where the twelve pillars were 
 erected around a central altar, the pillars representing 
 the tribes. More than twelve are needed now to enclose 
 the entire space and make a continuous wall, but the 
 significant number is still retained by taking a convenient 
 multiple, four times twelve. Thus the very construction 
 of the Tabernacle or tent of meeting symbolized the 
 union of God and His people, and the privilege which 
 they enjoyed of being pillars in His house. It will of 
 course be at once perceived that we have only for the 
 boards of the Tabernacle to put the stones of the Tem- 
 ple, in order to trace the development of that familiar 
 image which appears so often in the New Testament in 
 forms like this : " To whom coming, as unto a living 
 stone .... ye also, as lively stones, are built up a 
 spiritual house " (i Pet. ii. 4, 5). This fourfold blessing 
 is the second of the three leading thoughts. 
 
 The third and last is the way in which the people are 
 to come when they draw near to God. They must come 
 by the way of the altar (chap, xxvii.) which is to be 
 erected in the outer court— through a /r^V.?///^^^ (xxviii.), 
 who are to be consecrated for the purpose — and with the 
 appointed sacrifices (xxix.) Here again, the details are 
 full of interest ; and the space given to this whole sub- 
 ject, covering these three long chapters, indicates its vast 
 importance ; but as we shall have it fully before us in 
 our future study, especially in the book of Leviticus, we 
 
ii6 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 do not dwell upon It now. All we notice at present is, 
 that however necessary the desire to keep the law, and 
 however free the mercy-seat with all its sacred accom- 
 paniments of blessing, there could be no approach to 
 the inner shrine without an altar, a priest, and a sacrifice 
 — all according to the Divine appointment. There must 
 be not only longing for future holiness in the people's 
 hearts, but also atonement for past sin on their behalf, 
 before the hallowed meeting can take place. But as 
 soon as the appointed priest has offered the appointed 
 sacrifice upon the appointed altar on Israel's behalf, the 
 obstacle is removed and the promise can be fulfilled 
 (xxix. 43, 46). 
 
 And yet this is not all. There is also the incense, and 
 the laver, and the holy anointing oil (xxx.) The signifi- 
 cance of these symbols is very clear. '^ Let vixy prayer 
 come before Thee as incense," — the fragrant breath of 
 the new life which has just been kindled at the altar. 
 The laver provides that wasJdng from daily stains which 
 even those need who have been already purged, by the 
 blood of the atoning sacrifice, from the guilt and con- 
 demnation of sin (see John xiii. 10 compared with Exod. 
 xxx. 19). Then the holy anointing oil, compounded of 
 its rare, costly, and fragrant ingredients, evidently repre- 
 sents the positive gi'accs of the Christian character, which 
 will exhale from the renewed life of those who have 
 come to God by the way of the altar and the laver with- 
 out, and the golden altar within. 
 
 And now do we not see how suggestive of important 
 truth is the very order in which these details were given 
 to Moses at the first ? Those who look more at the let- 
 ter than the spirit have found a difficulty in v.hat seemed 
 
The Tabernacle Revelation. 117 
 
 to them the strange arrangement, beginning first with 
 the inner apartment, then taking a portion of the furni- 
 ture of the outer apartment, then giving directions for 
 the walls and the curtains, afterwards taking the altar in 
 the court, and thereafter coming back again to the altar 
 of incense within, and once more going out to the court 
 again where the laver stood, and finishing with so small 
 a matter as the anointing oil. It seemed all confusion. 
 And so it is from the point of view of a carpenter or 
 builder. But when we look at it, not in a mechanical, 
 but in a spiritual point of view, we see a singular beauty 
 in the order, each part leading on to the next in the 
 gradual unfolding of the great truths which were in- 
 folded in the Tabernacle revelation. 
 
 And after Bezaleel, and Aholiab, and their assistants 
 have been called to the work (xxxi. 1-12), the entire 
 revelation appropriately concludes with a re-enactment of 
 the Sabbath law in a new aspect as a sign (ver. 12-17). 
 " It is a sign between Me and you throughout your 
 generations" (ver. 13). "It is a sign between Me and 
 the children of Israel for ever." And was it not so ? 
 And is not the same sign as decisive as ever ? Tell me 
 how a Christian spends the first day of the week, and I 
 will tell you what a kind of a Christian he is. If any 
 man really remembers God's day to keep it holy, he is 
 not likely to forget the need of the altar, the priest, and 
 the sacrifice, or any of the important elements of a 
 Christian life. But if you disregard the Lord's day and 
 allow its sacred opportunities to pass without improve- 
 ment, it is too evident that you are letting all these 
 things slip from you. The keeping of the Lord's day is 
 a sign between you and Him. 
 
IX. 
 
 LAPSE AND RESTORATION. 
 
 EXODUS XXXII. -XXXIX. 
 
 THE twofold revelation from Mount Sinai is now 
 completed, and nothing remains but to carry it 
 into effect ; and accordingly Moses is about to descend 
 to make the necessary preparations for receiving the 
 Holy One who has promised to come and dwell in the 
 midst of Israel. 
 
 But, alas ! instead of an expectant people, eager to 
 welcome the new revelation from the mountain top, and 
 ready to do all that is asked of them, the disappointed 
 leader finds Israel in open rebellion, gathered round a 
 golden image — worshipping a calf ! Here is an obstacle 
 that threatens to ruin all. 
 
 Some have difficulty in realizing the possibility of 
 such a lapse in so short a time. But the difficulty arises 
 chiefly from a misapprehension of the nature of the 
 offence. It was not apostasy in the most aggravated 
 sense. It was not the substitution of a calf for the God 
 of Sinai. The calf was intended, not as a substitute, but 
 as a symbol of Jehovah, as is evident from Aaron's pro- 
 clamation, ''to-morrow is a feast to the Lord'' (ver. 5). 
 The plural form in ver. 4, ''These be thy gods," is mis- 
 (118) 
 
Lapse and Restoration. 119 
 
 leading, suggesting as it does that they had abandoned 
 the one God of Israel for the many gods of the heathen. 
 It only needs to be remembered that the plural form of 
 the word is regularly applied to God, as the plural of 
 excellence (a familiar idiom of the Hebrew language), to 
 see that Aaron meant through the calf as a symbol to 
 direct the thoughts of the people to their unseen God : 
 *' This is thy God, O Israel, which brought thee out of 
 the land of Egypt." It was in fact a breach, not of the 
 first, but of the second commandment. This was bad 
 enough, especially in view of the explicitness and em- 
 phasis of the terms in which the commandment was 
 couched ; but it no longer is impossible to see how they 
 could have fallen into the sin. Egyptian influences and 
 associations must still have had a very strong hold upon 
 them ; and forty days was a long time to wait without 
 any visible sign or token. This is manifestly no excuse, 
 but it helps us to understand how the people were 
 tempted to try the virtue of the Egyptian Apis worship, 
 with which they had all been familiar from their infancy. 
 As for Aaron's part in it, it seems to be most easily ex- 
 plained on the supposition that while in his heart he 
 utterly disapproved, he had not courage to resist the 
 popular demand, and so, timidly complied. This is 
 Aaron's own account of the matter at all events (ver. 
 22), and we ought in chanty to accept it. But after all, 
 why should we be so very much astonished at the 
 iniquity and folly of the children of Israel, when we are 
 so familiar with a sin sadly prevalent among ourselves, 
 so similar to theirs that it can be plainly indicated in 
 the very words of Moses on this occasion : " Oh, this 
 
I20 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 people have sinned a great sin, and have made them a 
 God— of Gold ! " 
 
 It is worthy of remark that Josephus, the Jewish 
 historian, omits all reference to this disgraceful lapse."" 
 This proves on the one hand that, trustworthy as Jose- 
 phus is in the main, he does not hesitate to omit impor- 
 tant facts when they do not suit his purpose ; and there- 
 fore we need not at all wonder at those omissions of 
 important facts in the time of our Lord, which it did 
 not suit him to record, nor be moved by the infidel ob- 
 jections which have nothing else than these omissions to 
 rest upon. And on the other hand we have an incidental 
 confirmation of the genuineness of the Pentateuch, in that 
 we find so faithfully recorded, events that an uninspired 
 historian would have been tempted to omit or to slur over. 
 
 " And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto 
 the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, that Moses' 
 anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands 
 and brake them beneath the mount." This was evi- 
 dently no " loss of temper," but righteous indignation ; 
 and the breaking of the tables was a solemn token that 
 the covenant was broken and all its blessings forfeited. 
 The grinding dovv^n of the calf, and mixing it with the 
 water the people had to drink, showed his contempt for 
 their idol, and taught them that they must " eat of the 
 fruit of their own ways and be filled with their own de- 
 vices." And the slaying of the three thousand com- 
 pleted the lesson, by showing that loss of blessing, and 
 the punishment which sin brings with it, do not exhaust 
 
 * See Antiq., III. v. 7. 
 
Lapse and Restoration. 121 
 
 the penalty of such wickedness, but that positive inflic- 
 tion of the severest kind must follow. In all sin there 
 is great loss ; besides this, every sin brings its own pun- 
 is'iment with it ; and yet this is not all, for " the soul 
 that sinneth it must die." A solemn and most memo- 
 rable lesson for these times, in which it has become the 
 fashion to treat sin as if it were of little consequence, 
 and to commend those who ''heal the hurt of it slightly, 
 saying, ' peace, peace,' when there is no peace." 
 
 There are those who raise an outcry against what they 
 call the cruelty of this infliction. But consider first, 
 that it was a case of high-handed rebellion of an entire 
 people ; and how few great rebellions in history have 
 been quelled with so slight a loss. Consider next that 
 an opportunity was given to all to repent, by the call, 
 "who is on the Lord's side?" There was no reason, 
 save their obstinacy in sin, why anyone should continue 
 in rebellion after that call. Consider lastly, that no hurt 
 was done to those who chose to remain quietly in their 
 tents. Those who were on the Lord's side were to go 
 " from gate to gate throughout the camp," and though 
 they were not to spare any on the ground of acquaint- 
 anceship or kinship, it is very certain that only those 
 who had hardened their hearts against the Lord would 
 fall victims to the avenging sword of the Levite. 
 
 And now what is the condition of affairs ? Is there 
 
 any hope for the future? The tables are broken. The 
 
 Tabernacle revelation is set aside. And it would seem 
 
 as if the only way now of fulfilling the promise made 
 
 of old to Abraham, is to destroy the people and choose 
 
 Moses — 
 
 "Among the faithless, faithful only he," 
 
122 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 as a new head of a great nation (see ver. lo). But 
 though the people have forfeited all claim to the fulfil- 
 ment of the promise, " the mercy of the Lord endureth " 
 still, and the resources of His grace are unexhausted. 
 Moses himself steps in as mediator of the covenant, 
 and through his mediation a free pardon is obtained, 
 and the covenant renewed. The whole transaction is so 
 striking and so significant, as well as so beautifully illus- 
 trative of the exalted character of Moses, that we must 
 dwell on it a little. 
 
 In Galatians iii. 19, we read that the law ''was ordain- 
 ed of angels in tJic Jiand of a mediator T The mediatorial 
 work of Moses really began when the people in fear ex- 
 claimed, " let not God speak with us, lest we die." " Go 
 thou near and hear all that the Lord our God shall say : 
 and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall 
 speak unto thee" (Exod. xx. 19; Deut. v. 27). But it 
 reaches its culmination in the scenes recorded in the 
 chapter before us ; and accordingly this is the best time 
 to consider the subject of his mediatorship. 
 
 As we do so, it will be well to keep in mind the com- 
 parison with the Lord Jesus, as Mediator of the new 
 covenant, to which we are invited again and again in the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews (see Heb. viii. 6; iii. i, 2). In 
 the latter passage the mediatorial work is divided into 
 its two parts : " Consider the Apostle and High-Priest 
 of our profession, who was faithful, as Moses was." A 
 mediator is one who comes between God and man. He 
 may come from God to man, thus acting for God in the 
 presence of man. Or he may go from man to God, thus 
 acting for man in the presence of God. The former is 
 
Lapse and Restoration. 123 
 
 the work of the Apostle. The latter is the work of the 
 High-Priest. When Christ came from heaven to earth 
 He came as an Apostle. When He returned to His 
 Father through the gate of suffering and death, He went 
 as " the High Priest of our profession." So in the same 
 way, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai bearing 
 the message of God to the people, he was the apostle. 
 When he went into the presence of God to intercede on 
 Israel's behalf, he was the high-priest of the old cove- 
 nant. For we must remember that as yet no separate 
 appointment of a priesthood had been made. Moses 
 still united in his own person all the different offices, 
 which seems to be the meaning in the passage of the 
 Epistle we have been quoting, which speaks of Moses 
 as " faithful in all his house.'' Aaron was among the 
 sinners at this time, of whom indeed he was chief. 
 Moses was the priest, who went up to the mount on his 
 behalf and on behalf of all the people, to procure a par- 
 don for them, and a renewal of those blessings which 
 they had lost by their fall. 
 
 Now observe the different stages in his mediatorial 
 work as intercessor. His intercession begins before he 
 leaves the mount to come down among the people. 
 There, in the heavenly place, he learns of the people's 
 sin, and though a way is open to him of getting rid of 
 his troublesome charge, and securing for himself all the 
 blessings which had been intended for them, he does not 
 think of it for one moment, but pours out his heart in 
 earnest entreaty in behalf of the people, reminding the 
 Lord of His mercy to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and 
 His promise to their seed, and of the occasion for boast- 
 
134 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 ing which would be given to the Egyptians and all the 
 enemies of God and His people when they should hear 
 of their destruction in the wilderness (ver. 11-13). Ob- 
 serve that he does not offer any excuse for the people, 
 or any extenuation of their sin. Nor does he make any 
 promises on their behalf for the future. He casts him- 
 self simply on the Divine mercy and grace, and keeps 
 his eye fixed on the Divine glory. A perfect model of 
 intercession. And here it is beautiful to contrast his 
 tenderness in the presence of God with his courage and 
 uncompromising severity in presence of the people. A 
 weak man would have expressed indignation in presence 
 of the offended party, and said as little as possible in 
 presence of the offenders. But Moses, true type of the 
 great Intercessor as he was, w^as all tenderness towards 
 the people in presence of their offended Lord ; and at 
 the same time all faithfulness to his Lord in presence of 
 the offending people. The Lord Jesus came down to 
 earth with just as much tenderness in His heart, and yet 
 He could as sternly denounce the scribes and Pharisees 
 of His day, as Moses did the leaders of the apostasy, 
 when he came down from the mount where he had been 
 pleading so earnestly on their behalf. 
 
 Look now at the second stage of the intercession. 
 Having done everything that was necessary to convince 
 the people of their sin and lead them to repentance, he 
 goes back again to the mount, saying to the people : 
 '' Ye have sinned a great sin ; peradventure I shall make 
 an atonement for your sin" (ver. 30). And when he 
 goes, he shows his readiness to lay down his life for 
 them : '' Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin — ; and 
 
Lapse and Restoration. 125 
 
 if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which 
 Thou hast written." This is, we beheve, the very near- 
 est that any mortal man has ever come to the sublime 
 self-sacrifice of the High-Priest of our profession, who 
 w^ent back to His Father resolved (without the " perad- 
 venture")to make an atonement for His people's sin; 
 who not only showed His willingness to sacrifice His 
 life, but actually did sacrifice it for them.* 
 
 There is still a third stage in the intercession of Moses. 
 So far, the forgiveness and restoration are only partial. 
 The promise which had been made in the book of the 
 covenant (xxiii. 23) is renewed (xxxiii. 2) ; but the Taber- 
 nacle revelation is withdrawn. An angel is to go before 
 them. But God will not now dwell among them. This 
 explains verse 4 : " When the people heard these evil 
 tidings, they mourned." It was not, of course, that the 
 going of the angel before them was '' evil tidings," but 
 that that was all. An angel before them was good, but 
 it was a poor substitute for God in the midst of them. 
 
 What, then, does Moses do ? '' He took the tentf (to 
 
 * It will be seen from this that we do not suppose the book of life 
 t J mean the book of eternal life. We understand it rather as a re- 
 ference to the custom of keeping a register of the inhabitants of the 
 place, from which the names of those who die are removed. It is 
 his readiness to die for the people, and not to be lost for ever, that 
 we are to understand. And yet we must remember that there is no 
 necessity for settling definitely what was in the mind of Moses when 
 he used the expression. It was no matter of calculation as to how 
 much he was wiUing to suffer or to lose. He simply felt as if he would 
 suffer anything, lose all, rather than that the people should be cut off. 
 
 t Much unnecessary difficulty has been made here by the use of 
 the word " tabernacle," when manifestly the Tabernacle was not in 
 existence. But it is not the technical word for the tabernacle that is 
 
126 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 which the people had been wont to resort when they had 
 any matter to bring before him), and pitched it without 
 the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the tent 
 of meeting " (ver. 7). Had it not been for the people's 
 sin, they might have had the Tabernacle which the Lord 
 had described, made and set up in the midst of them ; 
 but now that could not be. But though the Lord can- 
 not come into the midst of them now, may it not be 
 possible to give an opportunity to those who are thor- 
 oughly repentant, of showing their repentance, by leav- 
 ing the scene of their sin and going afar off without the 
 camp to meet the Lord ? This, we believe, was the idea 
 in Moses' mind when he took this tent and called it (evi- 
 dently showing that it had not been so regarded before) 
 the tent of meeting. And accordingly we read that " it 
 came to pass that every one which sought the Lord, 
 went out unto the tent of meeting which was without 
 the camp " (ver. 7, close). The deep interest which the 
 people took is further manifested by the eagerness with 
 which their eyes followed Moses, and their reverent atti- 
 tude at the time he entered into the tent (ver. 8) ; and 
 we can well imagine what a comfort it would be to ob- 
 serve the token of approval which the Lord at once so 
 kindly gave by the descent of the cloud pillar to the 
 
 here used ; it is the common word for "tent." Therefore it seems 
 quite natural to suppose that it was the tent of head-quarters, so to 
 speak ; not Moses' own private tent, but the one to which the people 
 were wont to repair when they had any matter to transact with 
 Moses. This will explain why it is not called his tent, as if it had 
 been his place of residence, but the tent, as we would say, the office, 
 or the department, or some such phrase. 
 
Lapse and Restoration. 127 
 
 spot (ver. 9). And now, as the people stood and wor- 
 shipped (ver. 10), repentant in spirit, and hushed in rev- 
 erent awe, as in the presence of the God against whom 
 they had sinned, Moses pleads, and the Lord speaks to 
 him face to face as a man with his friend (ver. 11). No- 
 tice here, in passing, the wisdom of Moses and the mercy 
 of the Lord in shifting the scene of the conference from 
 the mount, where all was wrapped in clouds, to the tent 
 where the people could follow Moses with their eyes to 
 the tent door, and see him from time to time as he went 
 out and in. 
 
 And now, though all that passed on this most memo- 
 rable occasion is not revealed, we are told what was the 
 main burden of the prayer of Moses. It was for the 
 renewal of the Tabernacle promise, for the restoration 
 of the crowning blessing of the presence of the Lord in 
 the midst of them. And his pleading is not in vain, for 
 the Lord says : " My presence shall go with thee, and I 
 will give thee rest" (ver. 14). But let us not fail to ob- 
 serve the ground on which it is given : " The Lord said 
 unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast 
 spoken : for it/wic hast found grace in My sight, and / 
 hiozo tJiee by nainey It is for the sake of the mediator 
 that the full pardon is given, and the full blessing re- 
 stored. And so is it in the new covenant. It is because 
 the Lord Jesus has found grace in the Father's sight 
 that we are pardoned. It is because He knows Him by 
 name, that we are accepted. " There is no other name 
 given under heaven among men by which we can be 
 saved " than the name of Him who is the ''Mediator 
 between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus," of whom 
 
128 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 Moses throughout all these wonderful scenes is so in- 
 structive a type. 
 
 And now we are prepared for observing the results of 
 Moses' meditation. 
 
 First, on God's part, there is a renewal of all that had 
 been forfeited by the sin, — three things especially : the 
 Name, the Tables, the Tabernacle. The new revelation 
 of the Name has not only all the same tenderness as 
 before, coupled with holiness and inflexible justice, but 
 it now has a new emphasis on the forgiveness of sin : 
 " And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with 
 him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And 
 the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed. The 
 Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffer- 
 ing, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy 
 for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and 
 sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." The 
 Hebrew language is exhausted, as it were, in order to 
 express the riches of His grace and goodness; and yet 
 it is the same holy God as before, who was made known 
 amid the thunders and tempests of Sinai. Then " the 
 two tables of stone like unto the first " (xxxiv. 4) were 
 again made the basis of the covenant (ver. 10), while 
 new cautions are added and new restraints, so as to keep 
 them safer from temptation in the future (ver. 1 1-28), 
 And, to crown all, the people are invited to build the 
 Tabernacle according to the pattern shown to Moses on 
 the mount — not far off, where the present ^' tent of meet- 
 ing " was, but right in the centre, as originally intended 
 — not as a mere temporary provision, but that God may 
 come and dwell among them, according to His word be- 
 fore the people's sin. 
 
Lapse and Restoration. 129 
 
 Next, on Moses' part there is a peculiarly rich and 
 blessed experience. The trying ordeal through which 
 the great Leader of Israel passed on this occasion, not 
 only brought out those noble and elevated features in 
 his character which we have noticed, but begat in him a 
 yearning for higher attainments in the knowledge of God 
 than he had as yet reached. The more a good man 
 knows of God, the more he longs to know. And so it 
 was, that after all these days alone with God upon the 
 mount, after these interviews at the " tent of meeting," 
 when God spake to him " face to face as a man speaketh 
 to his friend," his spirit yearns for something higher 
 still, and he pleads : " I beseech Thee, show me Thy 
 glory" (xxxiii. 18). The prayer was gloriously answered, 
 so that the results appeared even on the face of the holy 
 man ; for " when Aaron and all the children of Israel 
 saw Moses," on his return from the place where he saw 
 all that was possible for a creature to see of the glory of 
 God, " behold the skin of his face shone " (xxxiv. 30), 
 though he himself was all unconscious of it. There is 
 much that is deeply interesting and richly instructive in 
 this experience of Moses, but our limits will not allow 
 us to dwell on it. 
 
 Finally, on the part of the people, there were abun- 
 dant tokens of thorough repentance. One of these was 
 their alacrity to set about the work of erecting the 
 Tabernacle. All was enthusiasm in the camp. Men anc^ 
 women vied v/ith each other in thoughtful and diligent 
 endeavour. Another was the abounding liberality, Sq 
 profuse was it that the receivers of the people's contri- 
 butions had more than they knew what to do with, so 
 
130 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 that the people had actually to be restrained from giv- 
 ing (xxxvi. 5-7). A rare difficulty this in church matters. 
 Would that we had more trouble of this kind on our 
 hands. And why should we not ? If the Church of 
 Christ only realized the exceeding grace of God, and of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, as these people realized the grace 
 of Jehovah and His servant Moses on this occasion, all 
 our mission treasuries would overflow, and instead of 
 ever-renewed appeals for more, the difficulty would be 
 to restrain the people from giving. Finally, there was 
 the minutest and most careful obedience to all the instruc- 
 tions which had been given for the building of the 
 Tabernacle and its furniture, so that when all the work 
 was completed, we are told that '' Moses did look upon 
 all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the Lord 
 had commanded, even so had they done it ; and Moses 
 blessed them " (xxxix. 43). There could be no better 
 signs of a restored and revived people than just these 
 three things : alacrity in the Lord's service, abounding 
 liberality, and careful and diligent obedience. 
 
 And thus we find that the disgraceful lapse of the 
 people, instead of proving, as it threatened, an insurmount- 
 able obstacle, only furnished the occasion for illustrating 
 more gloriously than ever the riches of Divine mercy 
 and goodness, for shedding greater lustre on the noble 
 character of the great mediator of the covenant, and 
 leading the people in the end nearer to God than ever 
 before. This in no degree justifies the people for their 
 sin ; but it does magnify the glorious grace and exhaust- 
 less resources of our God. And so will it be in our case, if 
 we accept of Christ as our Mediator — not only will our 
 
Lapse and Restoration. 131 
 
 sin be all forgiven and its evil consequences removed, 
 but in the end we shall be nearer to God than even if 
 we had never fallen. " O the depth of the riches both 
 of the wisdom and knowledge of God " ; and how un- 
 searchable the riches of His grace. " To God the only 
 wise, be glory through Christ Jesus, for ever. Amen." 
 
X. 
 
 THE TABERNACLE. 
 
 EXODUS XL.— LEVITICUS I. i. 
 
 WE have taken a rapid survey of the tabernacle 
 revelation, and now we are about to enter upon 
 a similar survey of the tabernacle service, as set forth in 
 the Book of Leviticus. But before we begin the exten- 
 sive subject of the Levitical ritual, it will be necessary 
 to familiarize our minds with the tabernacle as a whole, 
 and the general significance of its service. There is a 
 strong tendency at the present time to undervalue the 
 importance of the truth taught in the Mosaic ritual. 
 This is due to several causes. One is the strong reaction 
 from that license of interpretation, which led many of 
 the older writers on the tabernacle to find symbols and 
 types in every hook and tassel, pin and cord, of the 
 structure, and to attach meanings quite arbitrary, and 
 many of them exceedingly far-fetched, to every minutest 
 part of the ritual. The reaction from this license was 
 wholesome, but it has gone too far. Another is the dis- 
 position to understand by " the law," the moral, as dis- 
 tinguished from the ceremonial, part of the Mosaic 
 institutes. When the law that was given on Sinai is 
 spoken of, wc immediately think of the Ten Command^ 
 (132) 
 
The Tabernacle. 
 
 133 
 
 mcnts, which, of course, is right enough ; but it is not 
 apt to occur to us that the decalogue, though the most 
 important part, is still only a very small part of the 
 whole ; and that inasmuch as the tabernacle really car- 
 ries the decalogue in its bosom, as we have seen, the 
 tabernacle law not only exceeds the rest in bulk, but 
 stands out as the prominent feature, that in which the 
 entire revelation culminates, and by which it is carried 
 down from generation to generation. 
 
 Consider for a moment the space that is given to the 
 tabernacle in Exodus. One-third part of the entire book 
 is taken up with it ; and it occupies more than two-thirds 
 of the portion devoted to Mount Sinai. And not only 
 so, but all of Leviticus is occupied with it ; and a con- 
 siderable portion of Numbers. Consider, also, how much 
 importance is attached even to its details. First, in the 
 revelation from the Mount, how minute are the instruc- 
 tions given, coupled with the special warning, " See that 
 thou make all things according to the pattern " (Exod. 
 XXV. 9, 40, quoted in Heb. viii. 5). Next, full details are 
 again given in the account of the making of the taber- 
 nacle and all its furniture (chap, xxxv.-xxxix.) Then 
 the most important details are repeated a third time, in 
 the directions for setting up the tabernacle (xl. 1-16), 
 and still a fourth time, in the account of its actual erec- 
 tion and dedication (ver. 17-33). Surely all this goes to 
 show that it is certainly unscriptural to attach little im- 
 portance to the tabernacle and its significance. 
 
 In dealing with the tabernacle revelation, I had occa- 
 sion to make some general remarks about symbolic lan- 
 guage, showing that it was not only natural but neces- 
 
134 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 sary that language of this kind should be used, and that 
 the symbols employed must be such as the people could 
 understand, and therefore old and familiar, which, of 
 course, accounts for the Egyptian origin of many of 
 them ; and further, that, though we have difficulty some- 
 times in translating the symbols, on account of their be- 
 ing foreign to our western and modern modes of thought, 
 it does not follow that those to whom they were given 
 would have the same difficulty. 
 
 Bearing these things in mind, let us now endeavour 
 to set in as clear a light as possible the relation between 
 the symbols and the types of the tabernacle. The want 
 of clear ideas on this subject has led to much confusion 
 of thought, and has brought discredit on many an inter- 
 pretation which, though correct enough, nevertheless 
 seems arbitrary and unfounded, simply because there 
 has been a failure to show the connection of the secondary 
 and typical meaning, which seems fanciful, with the 
 primary and essential one, which no intelligent person 
 would think of questioning. 
 
 A type, as distinguished from a symbol, is prophetic. 
 It refers to something in the future which it foreshadows. 
 The symbolism of the tabernacle was significant of truth 
 which belonged to the time then present ; its types were 
 significant of truth which belonged to time then future, to 
 the times of fulfilment. By its symbols the tabernacle 
 and its services were a sermon, or rather collection of 
 sermons ; in its types, a prophecy or bundle of prophe- 
 cies. Inasmuch as we live in the times of fulfilment, 
 the typical significance of the tabernacle has the most 
 practical value for us. And for this reason, probably. 
 
The Tabernacle. 135 
 
 the most popular expositions dwell almost exclusively 
 upon the types. But the difficulty is, that the ordinary 
 reader is too apt to think these expositions exceedingly 
 fanciful ; and he is not to be blamed for so thinking, 
 when the typical meaning is all that is presented. For 
 he readily sees that without the New Testament this 
 typical significance could scarcely be apprehended, and 
 therefore he cannot think it at all probable that the 
 children of Israel saw the meaning which the modern 
 interpreters find in them. And it does seem irrational 
 to suppose that a complicated system of symbols should 
 be given to the children of Israel to be a mere dumb 
 show for centuries, and then to be understood and inter- 
 preted for the first time after the people to whom they 
 had been given were " scattered and peeled " ! 
 
 The true order is, first to ascertain what the taber- 
 nacle and its service meant to Israel, what truth it 
 taught them ; and then, inasmuch as the truth which 
 they had was the same truth in germ, which later on 
 was unfolded in the New Testament, we readily recog- 
 nise the typical relation of the earlier to the later truth. 
 For it must, of course, be remembered that the connec- 
 tion between Moses and Christ is not accidental or inci- 
 dental, but that they are related together as the bud to 
 the flower. A bud is a thing of beauty in the spring- 
 time of the year ; but it is more, it is a prophecy of the 
 flower which will blossom out in the summer. It is very 
 plain that if you had never seen a flower, the bud, while 
 yielding up its beauty to your gaze, would not have for 
 you any prophetic significance ; but after the flower had 
 appeared, then you could look back to the bud and 
 
6 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 recognise in it, not only a thing of beauty in itself, but a 
 true type of the flower that was to come. So in the 
 same way the symbols of the tabernacle had their own 
 beauty and truth and value to the people of the time ; 
 but besides this, .they were buddings forth in the early 
 spring-time, which would afterwards blossom out into the 
 lovely flowers of the " truth as it is in Jesus," when " the 
 fulness of the time " had come. And so it comes to 
 pass that we who live in the later days of the great year 
 of the Lord, are better able than the Jewish fathers 
 themselves to recognise the prophetic aspect of the old 
 and ever valuable symbols of the tabernacle. They 
 could understand the symbolic meaning more easily 
 than we, but we can understand the prophetic meaning 
 better than they. 
 
 It may be well to take an illustration in order to make 
 this as intelligible as possible. Perhaps the simplest we 
 can take is the lamb that was offered daily, morning and 
 evening, on the altar of burnt-offering in the court 
 (Exod. xxix. 38-42). This was perhaps the most famil- 
 iar feature of the whole service. As the altar stood in 
 the court, all the people could see it ; and it was always 
 to be seen. The morning lamb had scarcely disappeared 
 when the evening lamb was brought, and again the 
 evening lamb remained on the altar till the morning; 
 lamb was offered in its place, so that practically the sac- 
 rificial lamb was always there, night and day continually.. 
 Now, remember, that as the devout Israelite looked at 
 this sacrifice upon the altar, he had these words of the- 
 law to help him (many people forget that in the under- 
 standing of the symbols the Israelites had not only the- 
 
The Tabernacle. 137 
 
 words of the law, but the Levitical instruction to aid 
 them) : " This shall be a continual burnt-offering through- 
 out your generations at the door of the tent of meeting 
 before Jehovah, where I will meet you to speak there 
 unto thee " (ver. 42). He had also those very numerous 
 passages which connected the slaying of the animal with 
 his sin, and the offering of the blood upon the altar with 
 an atonement for it. How, then, could he fail to see in 
 that smoking sacrifice a most impressive sermon on the 
 exceeding sinfulness and fatal consequences of sin, on 
 the need of an atonement to take away that sin before 
 there could be a meeting between him and God ; and 
 above all, an assurance of the fact that there was for- 
 giveness for him, and a way opened by which, notwith- 
 standing his sinfulness, he might draw near to God. 
 You have only to read the Psalms to have evidence of 
 the impressiveness with which these great lessons were 
 wrought into the hearts and lives of those who were 
 Israelites indeed. Thus in this single rite there were 
 most impressively conveyed the two most cardinal 
 truths of our holy religion : the exceeding evil of sin, 
 and the good tidings that God has provided an atone- 
 ment for it, by which a way is opened up for restoration 
 to God's favour. All this belonged to the mere symbol- 
 ism of the morning and evening sacrifice. But besides 
 the sermon, there was also a prophecy there. Not 
 only was the lamb a symbol of the forgiveness of sins, 
 it was also a type of " the Lamb of God that taketh 
 away the sin of the world." 
 
 And as with the rite as a whole, so with the particular 
 features of it. Take, for instance, the continuity of the 
 
138 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 presentation : '* This shall be a continual burnt-offering." 
 The symbolic meaning of this was very plain, so that 
 every intelligent and devout Israelite would see it. It 
 Vv'as this, that forgiveness of sins was to be had not 
 merely at set times, as on the great Atonement Day, or 
 on the occasion of the special offerings of feast days, 
 but at any time, at all times. The way to God was 
 always open for the repentant sinner. The typical 
 meaning is just as evident to us, who know that it was 
 the nearest the language of symbol could come to fore- 
 shadowing the offering up of the Lamb of God '' once 
 for all." The continual efficacy of the many was a 
 prophecy of the perpetual efficacy of the one. 
 
 There is indeed evidence to show that some of the 
 more enlightened Israelites had glimpses of the pro- 
 phetic meaning in their symbols. We can easily under- 
 stand this by remembering how strongly their thoughts 
 were directed to the coming Messiah, and we can well 
 imagine that many of the things which must have 
 seemed mysterious or enigmatical in the truth as con- 
 veyed in the symbols of the tabernacle, while no doubt 
 begetting scepticism in the undevout, just as similar 
 difficulties do still, would lead truly reverent minds on- 
 wards to the coming of Him in whom all these enigmas 
 would be solved. To recur to our illustration of the 
 daily sacrifice. A scoffing Israelite might say : " What 
 nonsense, this offering of a lamb all the time, as if that 
 could make any difference ! It is enough for me to try 
 to do my duty to my family and neighbours, and pay no 
 attention to such a piece of superstition. What connec- 
 tion can there possibly be between the offering of a 
 
The Tabernacle. 
 
 139 
 
 lamb upon that altar and the pardoning of anybody's 
 sin ? " But the devout Israelite would answer : " It is 
 true I cannot fully explain the connection ; but there 
 must be something in it, for it does bring me and many 
 others near to God. Listen, for instance, to that poet 
 singing there, as if inspired : ' O the blessedness of the 
 man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is 
 covered.' Besides, have we not good evidence that God 
 did speak to our fathers on the Mount, and that this or- 
 dinance came originally from Him ? And then do not 
 the prophets tell us of a coming Saviour, the great 
 Messiah who will make all these things plain ? Does not 
 one of them say of Him : ' He is led as a lamb to the 
 slaughter'? What if the Messiah Himself be the Lamb 
 to whom all these daily sacrifices are continually point- 
 ing?" But while it is quite possible to conceive of a 
 devout Israelite of the time of Hezekiah reaching so 
 far as this in his thoughtful musing, it is important to 
 remember that it was not necessary for the faithful under 
 the old covenant to see so much, in order to obtain the 
 forgiveness of their sins. We must believe in "the 
 Lamb of God," because He has been revealed to our 
 faith. But all that was necessary for t/iem to believe 
 was the creed of the 130th Psalm, the central point of 
 which is this: ''but t/iere is forgiveness zvith Thee, that 
 Thou mayest be feared." 
 
 Let us now endeavour to present a very general sketch 
 of the significance of the tabernacle, taking as our guide 
 the account of its erection and dedication given in 
 Exodus xl. 17-38. Following the order of the passage. 
 
140 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 we shall have a threefold division of the subject : (i) 
 The tabernacle proper, verses 17-19; (2) its apartments 
 and furniture, verses 30-33 ; (3) the cloud without and 
 the glory within, verses 34-38. 
 
 A brief glance at each of these in their order. 
 
 I. TJie Tahe7'nacle proper. Recall the solemn ratifica- 
 tion of the Covenant recorded in Exodus xxiv., when 
 Moses erects an altar, and surrounds it with twelve pil- 
 lars, representing the twelve tribes. The same general 
 idea, with elaboration in detail, is found in the taber- 
 nacle. With its boards and its pillars, resting on the 
 silver '' sockets " or sills, made from the atonement 
 money of the children of Israel (Exod. xxx. 16, and 
 xxxviii. 25-27), and bound together with the golden 
 bars, it represented " the people builded together for 
 the habitation of God " ; while the glow of gold around, 
 and the gleam of colour above from the overspread 
 '' curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, 
 and scarlet, with cherubims of cunning, work " (xxvi. i), 
 told that all the enclosure was sacred ground."" 
 
 II. The divisions of the sacred enelosure, with their 
 furniture. First, the Holy of Holies (xl. 20, 21). Here 
 was the Throne of God. And what kind of throne was 
 it ? A " Mercy Seat." But what was under the Mercy 
 Seat ? " The testimony," the Holy Law in its ark of 
 gold. The throne, then, was a Throne of Graee, founded 
 on Holiness. 
 
 Here we have the two leading thoughts of God which 
 the tabernacle symbolises : His HOLINESS and His 
 
 * See Cave on the " Scriptural Doctrine of Sacrifice," p. 118. 
 
The Tabernacle. 141 
 
 Mercy. As in every revelation of Himself which God 
 has given us, " Mercy and truth meet together, right- 
 eousness and peace embrace each other." That which 
 is prominent, that which is uppermost, that which ap- 
 pears, is the mercy ; but the mercy is ever founded on 
 justice. His throne is a throne of mercy ; but in order 
 to obtain the mercy we must approach it in the way of 
 holiness. 
 
 One thing more before we leave the holy of holies : 
 the veil (ver. 21). Though God is seated on His throne 
 of grace, this is not apparent to every onlooker. A veil 
 is over it. But blessed be His name, it is only a veil. 
 It is not a closed door or an iron gate which comes be- 
 tween us and our merciful God. No ; it is a veil, which 
 may be moved aside at the fitting time. 
 
 When we reach the outer apartment, which is next 
 described (ver. 22-27), we see what provision is made for 
 entering within the veil. There, in that outer apartment, 
 is the shew-bread, literally ''bread of the presence " (ver. 
 22-26), the seven-branched candlestick, all lighted up 
 (ver. 24, 25), and the golden altar with sweet incense 
 rising from it (ver. 26, 27). The meaning of all this is 
 not difficult to see. Though the presence of the Lord 
 cannot be seen on this side of the veil, there is bread of 
 the presence for those who come into His sanctuary. 
 There is also light, not like the glory within the veil, 
 " as of the sun shining in his strength," but light as of 
 a lamp, fed perpetually with oil, the well-known symbol 
 of Divine grace. And then right in front of the curtain 
 is the golden altar, with the incense rising from it and 
 wafted within, teaching that, though there is a veil 
 
142 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 between man and God, yet by prayer we can penetrate 
 within it and reach the mercy-seat, the throne of God. 
 
 This outer apartment also is covered with a hanging 
 at the door (ver. 28), so that even the bread of the pre- 
 sence, and the Ught of the golden candlestick, and the 
 altar with its incense are closed against sinful men. But 
 again, it is not a door of wood, far less a gate of iron ; it 
 is an open door with only a hanging before it, and there 
 right by (ver. 29) is the altar of burnt-offering, with the 
 laver between. Here again the symbolism is very ap- 
 parent. The only way by which sinful men can enter 
 into the apartment, where are to be found the bread of 
 the presence, the light of the lamps, and the incense 
 altar of devotion, is by the altar of burnt-offering and 
 the laver, /. r., by atonement and by washing. 
 
 Finally, the work is finished by rearing up the court 
 round about the tabernacle and the altar (ver. 33), which 
 showed that even the altar in these days was not open 
 to all men without distinction, but only to the chosen 
 people who had been separated from the other nations 
 of the earth, and to all those who by becoming prose- 
 lytes showed their willingness to enter with the chosen 
 people within " the hanging of the court gate." 
 
 III. TJie Cloud witJioiit and the Glory witJiin : " Then 
 a cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of 
 the Lord filled the tabernacle " (ver. 34). These were 
 the symbols of the presence of the Lord, the tokens that 
 He had accepted the habitation that had been prepared 
 for Him, and had come down to dwell among His peo- 
 ple, and to guide them in all their ways (ver. 36-38). 
 The symbol visible outside was a cloud, which, however, 
 
The Tabernacle. 143 
 
 glowed with light in its interior, so that in the night it 
 had the appearance of fire. What a fitting symbol of 
 His presence who " dwells in light that is inaccessible," 
 whom dark clouds cover from the eyes of man. But 
 within, the glory of the Lord was shining so brightly 
 that even " Moses was not able to enter" (ver. 35). We 
 thus see that it is in mercy as well as in holiness that a 
 veil is spread between us and the glory of the Divine 
 presence. The cloud without served the same pur- 
 pose as the veil within. It shaded the intolerable 
 brightness of the heavenly light from eyes of men that 
 could not bear it. 
 
 So much for symbolism, all of which must have been 
 quite as apparent to the children of Israel as it is to us, 
 and even more so. And now we can only give a hint or 
 two as to the easy and natural transition from the sym- 
 bolical to the typical significance. As the symbolic 
 meaning has been unveiled, has not the typical been 
 starting into light at every point ? Have you not seen 
 Christ in it all through ? The tabernacle itself was 
 fulfilled in Christ, who '' was made flesh and dwelt 
 [lite-rally, ' tabernacled '] among us " — His human na- 
 ture being the habitation of God, and His Divine nature 
 the Glory within --He " tabernacled among us, and we 
 beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the 
 Father" (John i. 14). And the tabernacle was fulfilled 
 not only in His human body, but in " His body, the 
 Church," He Himself being the glory within it. 
 
 Then how easy is it to see in the altar of burnt-offer- 
 ing, the atonement which Christ has made for us by the 
 sacrifice of Himself, by which we enter into the holy 
 
144 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 place ; and in the altar of incense the intercession of 
 Christ, by which we enter into the holiest of all. 
 
 And the veil — how beautifully is its typical signifi- 
 cance brought out in the Epistle to the Hebrews (chap. 
 X., ver. 19, 20) : '^ Having therefore, brethren, boldness 
 to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a 
 new and living way, which He hath consecrated for 
 us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh." How 
 beautiful the thought ! The Divine glory was veiled, 
 as well as revealed, in human likeness. And as it was 
 with His human body, so is it with ^' His body, the 
 Church." As long as we continue in the flesh, the glory 
 " doth not yet appear," but as soon as this tabernacle is 
 dissolved, it w^ill be as the rending of a veil which hides 
 the Divine glory ; and then '' we shall be like Him, for 
 w^e shall see Him as He is" — not as He was when His 
 Divine glory was veiled in mortal flesh, but as He is now 
 in the heavenly radiancy, the very symbol of which was 
 so bright that even the eyes of Moses could not bear its 
 lustre. The subject is exceedingly tempting ; but we 
 may not offer more than a mere hint of it. 
 
 And now only notice, in conclusion, what a beautiful 
 close this is to the Book of Exodus, and what a contrast 
 to the Book of Genesis. It began with, ^' In the begin- 
 ning God " ; and it ended with " a coffin in Egypt." 
 This book began wdth Israel in Egypt, a poor, oppressed, 
 Avretched multitude of slaves, and it ends with God in 
 Israel, glorious enough in itself, but still more glorious 
 as a prophecy of still greater things to come, a prophecy 
 first of '' Emmanuel, God with us," and last of the second 
 coming of the same Emmanuel, when that great voice 
 
The Tabernacle. 145 
 
 shall be heard out of heaven, saying, " Behold the taber- 
 nacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, 
 and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be 
 with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away 
 all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more 
 death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be 
 any more pain : for the former things are passed away. 
 And He that sat upon the throne, said, Behold I make 
 
 all things new And there shall be no more curse : 
 
 but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it ; 
 and His servants shall serve Him : and they shall see 
 His face ; and His name shall be in their foreheads." 
 
 7 
 
XI. 
 
 RITUAL OF THE ALTAR. 
 
 LEVITICUS I.-VII. 
 
 LEVITICUS is the book of Old Testament worship. 
 In Exodus there were two grand themes : first, 
 Israel brought out of Egypt to meet with God ; and 
 then, God descending from His holy heaven to meet 
 with them (on Sinai) and to dwell with them (in the 
 Tabernacle). And now that God dwells among His 
 people, it is necessary that they should be well informed 
 as to the manner in which they may with acceptance 
 draw near to Him. Such is the object and intent of the 
 book before us. 
 
 The historical importance of the Book of Leviticus is 
 very great. One might as well expect to understand 
 the history of Greece, while remaining in ignorance of 
 philosophy and art ; — or of England, while knowing 
 nothing whatever of parliament and the constitution; 
 as to understand the history of Israel without a knowl- 
 edge of the Hebrew ritual. Think how much labour is 
 spent in the study of the classical mythology at our schools 
 and universities, not for any value there is in itself, but 
 for the light it throws upon classical literature ; and yet 
 how little do Christian people realize the importance of 
 studying the modes of worship among the Jews, in order 
 (146) 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 147 
 
 to uiiflerstand their literature, which is our Bible. And 
 besides, not only is the knowledge of the tabernacle wor- 
 ship necessary in order to understand the sacred litera- 
 ture, but it is of real value in itself; not merely of anti- 
 quarian and psychological value, like the ancient my- 
 thologies, but of present practical value, as throwing 
 light upon the New Testament and illustrating that 
 Gospel on which our hopes are founded. 
 
 This book of Leviticus, like the tabernacle itself, is 
 rough and unattractive on the outside, and may even 
 provoke the sneers of the mere passers-by ; but it is all 
 glorious within, and to those who with reverent feet en- 
 ter its portal, there will be unfolded no inconsiderable 
 amount of " the unsearchable, riches of Christ." There 
 are the rough " badgers' skins " without ; but within 
 there is the glory of gold and the beauty of " the fine 
 twined linen, with blue and purple and scarlet, and 
 cherubims cunningly wrought." 
 
 After all, the Old Testament worship was essentially 
 the same as ours. There were the same thoughts in it, 
 the same emotions, the same purposes, the same aspira- 
 tions, the same hopes. The difference was only this, 
 that while they worshipped mainly through sight-forms, 
 addressed to the eye, we worship through sound-forms, 
 addressed to the ear. Constituted as we are, a formless 
 worship is impossible. Speech is so near akin to spirit, 
 that we often forget that after all it is only form. It is 
 the inaudible emotion lying back of it, in which the wor- 
 ship essentially consists. By long familiarity the forms 
 of speech have become transparent ; and just as a glass, 
 when exceedingly clear, attracts no attention to itself, 
 
148 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 but allows it to pass through to the object on the other 
 side, so is it with the medium of speech through which 
 we are wont to convey and receive spiritual impressions. 
 But if beings far more spiritual and ethereal than we, 
 were to examine our worship as we look upon that of 
 the children of Israel, it would seem as rude and gross 
 as theirs may seem to us. We must make allowance for 
 the difference of culture, and remember at the same 
 time that if we would only familiarize ourselves with the 
 sight-forms of the Old Testament, they would become 
 more transparent to us, or rather the veil which the 
 Apostle Paul speaks of as over the eyes of so many in 
 the reading of the Old Testament (2 Cor. iii. 15, 16) 
 would be taken away, and through these forms we should 
 clearly see the beauty, grace, and glory of the Gospel in 
 Leviticus. 
 
 In the erection of the tabernacle (Exod. xl.) the order 
 was from the Holy of Holies within outwards to the 
 Court. In the directions for worship the order is re- 
 versed. Each order is appropriate in its place. In the 
 setting up of the tabernacle, the prominent thought was 
 the coming down of God to dwell with His people. 
 Hence the throne, the mercy-seat, comes first, and after, 
 in succession, the veils and barriers which guarded the 
 shrine from unhallowed intrusion. Now, the prominent 
 thought is the access of the people to God, and accord- 
 ingly the beginning is made from the court, through 
 which alone there can be access to the inner shrine. 
 
 The ritual of the Court resolves itself into the ritual 
 of " the altar of burnt-offering," for though the laver 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 149 
 
 stood also in the court, it more properly appertained to 
 the holy place, the special sphere of the priests. Only 
 the priests were allowed to use the laver ; and, standing 
 as it did at the door of the holy place, so that they might 
 wash their hands and their feet before entering the sacred 
 precincts, its connection with the court was only inci- 
 dental. The altar of burnt-offering was the centre of 
 the worship of the court. 
 
 This altar was the foundation of all the tabernacle 
 worship. The priests could not enter into the holy 
 place except on the ground of sacrifice presented on the 
 brazen altar. Nor could the high-priest on the great 
 atonement day enter the holy of holies, without having 
 first offered not only the ordinary sacrifice, but an ad- 
 ditional sin-offering on the altar in the court. Nothing 
 could be more plainly and impressively taught than the 
 truth which stands out here, that without an atoning 
 sacrifice there can be no access for guilty man into the 
 presence of the holy God. Not only was the Shekinah 
 glory within the veil impossible of access ; but the bread 
 of the presence, the light of the lamps, the privileges of 
 the altar of incense were all closed, until a sacrifice had 
 been offered upon the altar. Thus were the children of 
 Israel taught, and thus too are we taught, that the first 
 thing for the sinner to do, before he can taste the heaven- 
 ly bread, before he can see the heavenly light, before he 
 can even pray with acceptance, is to avail himself of the 
 atonement which God has provided. 
 
 The altar was the people's place of meeting with God. 
 Only the priests could enter the holy place. Only the 
 high-priest could enter the holy of holies. But the altar 
 
I50 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 was free to all. The call was addressed to every child 
 of Israel : '^ Come into His courts, and bring an offering 
 with you." The atonement which God provides is free 
 to all, without exception and without distinction. 
 
 It will be readily seen that the prominent place given 
 to the altar in the book of Leviticus and in the worship 
 of the tabernacle, guards against one of the great abuses 
 that have been usually connected with priestly authority. 
 Wherever a powerful hierarchy has established itself, 
 there has been priestly tyranny, and the order has been, 
 the people for the priests, and not the priests for the 
 people. Not so with the priesthood which the Lord ap- 
 pointed. His priesthood was for the people. The peo- 
 ple's altar came first, and was the foundation of all. 
 That which gained access to God was no secret rite 
 transacted within the veil, but an offering presented in 
 the open court in sight of all the people. 
 
 This altar of burnt-offering in the court is henceforth 
 to be the fixed place for the offering of sacrifice. Up to 
 this time an altar might be erected anywhere. Now the 
 worship must centre in the one altar. We can readily 
 see how this would tend to preserve the purity of wor- 
 ship. Where many altars are erected, the tendency is to 
 polytheism, and the restriction to the one would be a 
 valuable safeguard of the doctrine of one living and true 
 God. Besides, the altar in the court w^as so surrounded 
 by other symbols of truth, that the doctrine of sacrifice 
 was much less likely there to fall into those abuses which 
 it is extremely difficult to keep apart from it. In par- 
 ticular, the worshipper at this altar had his face always 
 directed towards that holy law, which, as we have seen, 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 151 
 
 was the cynosure of the tabernacle service, so that only 
 those who shut their eyes to what the Lord had plainly 
 placed before them, could allow sacrifices of conscience 
 to degenerate into sacrifices of superstition. 
 
 This leads us to pass from the altar to the sacrifice 
 upon it. And here we shall interpose a word upon the 
 objection which rises to the minds of majiy, as they open 
 this book of Leviticus, beginning with " The Lord called 
 unto Moses, and spake," and then proceeding with so 
 many tedious and apparently unprofitable details. Is it 
 not derogatory to the Divine dignity to conceive of His 
 personally prescribing all these minutise of ritual ? But 
 what if it were absolutely necessary, to save such a sys- 
 tem from gross abuse, that the Lord Himself should pre- 
 scribe the details of the sacrificial rites ? Consider here, 
 what is the great distinction between the sacrifices of 
 the Levitical worship, and the sacrificial rites of heathen- 
 ism. The sacrifices of the heathen have been for the most 
 part dictated by fear, and have assumed the form of an 
 appeal to the selfishness of the supposed deity, as it were 
 a bribe, the intrinsic value of the gift being the essential 
 factor in the case. The Jewish sacrifices, on the other 
 hand, were not left to man's fear, but provided by God's 
 love, and so arranged that the appeal was always to the 
 conscience of the man and to the holiness of God. Man 
 always goes astray when left to find his own way to God. 
 If access is to be had at all, God must show the way; 
 and when He shows it, it is found to be a way not of 
 selfishness, but of conscience, not of superstition, but of 
 holiness. 
 
 The first seven chapters of Leviticus are taken up 
 
152 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 with the ritual of the altar. Let us, in glancing over 
 these, look first at the general features of the sacrificial 
 worship and then at the special features of the different 
 sacrifices. 
 
 I. General features of Sacrifice, 
 
 The sacrifices were essentially sacrifices of animals, 
 slain first, and tlien offered upon the altar. For, though 
 " the meat-offering " was simply a presentation of flour 
 and frankincense, with some accompaniments, yet it 
 never stood alone, but was an adjunct of some other 
 offering, especially of the burnt-offering; so that even 
 this is no exception. The animal sacrifice, then, is that 
 in which we are to seek the true idea of the altar ritual. 
 And here there are four main elements : the presentation 
 of the animal, the killing of it, the disposition made of 
 the blood, and the burning of the remains. 
 
 First, the presentation of the animal. In this there 
 was no doubt the idea of bringing a gift to the Lord ; 
 but this conception was not at all prominent. Through- 
 out the ritual it is kept in the background, and when at 
 any time the people were in danger of falling into the 
 heathen notion of propitiating God by the value of their 
 gifts, they were reminded of their folly in words like 
 these : ^' I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he- 
 goats out of thy fields ; for every beast of the forest is 
 mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." 
 
 The animal was brought as a representative of the 
 offerer, as is indicated by the laying on of his hands, a 
 very important part of the ritual. See chap. i. verse 4 : 
 " he shall put [literally, '' lean "] his hand upon the head 
 of the burnt-offering ; and it shall be accepted for him 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 153 
 
 to make atonement for him." Besides this, there is good 
 authority for translating in verse 3 : ^' he shall offer it 
 /or his acceptance at the door of the tabernacle of the 
 congregation." But if this be disputed, and the transla- 
 tion of our version be preferred, the fourth verse is ex- 
 plicit enough, and shows plainly that the animal was 
 looked upon as the man's representative. 
 
 And now we can see the appropriateness of the choice 
 of an animal, inasmuch as in all the lower creation the 
 life of an animal is that which comes nearest to the life 
 of a man ; and the choice of the domestic animals is also 
 explained, as those with which mian is so much more 
 closely asso(iiated than with other creatures. The regu- 
 lation that only those without blemish could be offered, 
 conveys the idea that the representative of man at the 
 altar of God must be without stain. It will be seen, 
 however, that the full explanation of this was veiled 
 until the fulness of the time when the Antitype was of- 
 fered a sacrifice upon the world altar of the cross. For 
 if there had been nothing more than the mere idea of 
 representing the sinner, it would have seemed that the 
 more blemishes the better, and some feeble, crooked, 
 rickety creature would have been the best and truest 
 symbol of man in his sin and estrangement from God ; 
 but when we add to the force of the symbol the signifi- 
 cance of the type, we see how it was necessary that the 
 animal which should take the sinner's place upon the 
 altar of burnt-offering must be without blemish, in order 
 truly to represent " the Lamb of God that taketh away 
 the sin of the world." 
 
 TJie killing of the animal is readily understood as soon 
 t 
 
154 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 as we know that it was regarded as the man's representa- 
 tive. It was an acknowledgment of his guilt, guilt 
 deserving of death. And this was made still more ob- 
 vious and impressive by the practice in certain cases of 
 confession of sin on the part of the offerer as he leaned 
 his hand upon the animal's head. 
 
 At this point we encounter an objection which appears 
 very strong to modern " culture." This continual 
 slaughter strikes one with refined sensibilities as pecu- 
 liarly revolting. We do not deny it. We admit that 
 there was much connected with the ritual of the altar of 
 a revolting nature ; but why ? Do we not need to be 
 taught that sin is a revolting thing ? What can be more 
 important in the education of a human being than to 
 have his mind filled with horror against sin ; and this is 
 not to be accomplished by pictures of statuary, or any 
 kind of mere aesthetic cultivation. Greece had abundance 
 of the finest culture. There was everything to please 
 the eye in her temples and monuments ; but think of 
 the corruption in Greek hearts, think of the abomina- 
 tions of Greek society ! In the Jewish worship there 
 were plain truths plainly and even roughly taught ; and 
 what was the consequence ? A nation, as Matthew 
 Arnold so fully brings out, that stood alone among the 
 nations of the earth as a witness for righteousness and 
 purity in personal and social life. Intellectual and 
 .aesthetic culture, without the stern foundation of good 
 morals, hatred of sin and love of holiness, produces mere 
 '' whited sepulchres, beautiful without, while within they 
 are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness." It is 
 greatly to be feared that some of those, who are most 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 155 
 
 fastidious about that which appears to the senses, arc 
 least scrupulous as to that which passes in the secret of 
 the heart. Better, far better, have that which will startle 
 us without, than all rotten within. The true answer to 
 the objection which a superficially refined taste brings 
 against the barbarity of the Hebrew worship, is to be 
 found in the outcome of it, first in the Hebrew character 
 for morality and purity, in contrast with the heathen 
 nations of the time ; and next in the whole tone and 
 tenour of the Hebrew literature, which we can with all 
 appropriateness call " the holy writings'' 
 
 The third general feature is the disposition of the blood. 
 And here we are apt to fall into an error, by transferring 
 our modern ideas to the old ritual. We associate blood 
 with death. But it was not so among the Jews. They, 
 on the contrary, associated it with life. An illustration 
 of this will be seen in Leviticus xvii. 10-14, especially 
 these words, repeated again and again : " the life of the 
 flesh is in the blood." The idea of death was in the 
 killing of the animal ; and the sprinkling of the blood 
 upon the altar meant the dedication to God of a life 
 which had been reached through death. "■ Dead unto 
 sin" : such was the idea connected with the slain animal. 
 *' Alive unto God " : such was the idea connected with 
 the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar. Thus, while 
 penitence is the prominent feature of the presentation 
 and the killing, faith is prominent in the sprinkling of 
 the blood. 
 
 Remember that, when we speak of faith on the part of 
 the Hebrew worshipper, we do not mean faith in Christ 
 consciously experienced. All that it was necessary for 
 
156 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 him to believe, and probably all that the average wor- 
 shipper did believe, was that in the mercy of God, through 
 the presentation of a sacrifice upon the altar, there was 
 atonement provided for him ; and though he could not 
 explain or understand the manner of it, it was enough 
 to know the fact of it. And as a matter of fact, we know 
 that in this way many, like David, had their sins forgiven 
 and their souls cleansed, became " dead unto sin and 
 alive unto God," through the penitent and believing use 
 of God's own ordinances. 
 
 Lastly, tJic burning on the altar. Here again we are 
 apt to be misled by modern notions and associations. 
 We associate burning with torture, and some have actu- 
 ally said that the burning of the animal on the altar was 
 a symbol of the torments of hell. These ideas do not 
 come from the Bible itself. Perhaps Dante is as much 
 responsible for them as any other single authority. If 
 we take the Bible itself for our guide, we shall reach the 
 conclusion that the idea was that of dedication on the 
 part of man and acceptance on the part of God. The 
 placing on the altar was the symbol of dedication on the 
 part of man, the burning was the symbol of acceptance 
 on the part of God. The " burnt-offering " was distin- 
 guished from the rest by being wholly burnt upon the 
 altar. And the word by which it is designated comes 
 from a Hebrew root which means to go up, to ascend to 
 God. We read of its ascending to God " for a sweet 
 savour," and " for a savour of rest " ; and there is no 
 authority whatever for the truly revolting idea that even 
 a symbol of suffering was a sweet savour unto God. 
 When Elijah confronted the priests of Baal upon Mount 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 157 
 
 Carmel, how was it that the Lord testified His ac- 
 ceptance of His servant? Was it not by fire ? God's 
 acceptance of that which man has dedicated to Him 
 in sacrifice, is the idea involved in the burning on the 
 altar. 
 
 There was, however, another burning, which had a 
 different meaning. In some of the sacrifices, notably the 
 greater sin-offering, the animal was not burnt upon the 
 altar, but was carried outside the camp and consumed 
 there. But it is important to notice that the Hebrew 
 word for this burning is quite different. The word used 
 for burning upon the altar is the same word that is used 
 for the burning of incense in the holy place, with which 
 the happiest and most delightful thoughts are always 
 connected. But the word applied to the burning of the 
 sin-offering without the camp is an entirely different 
 word, meaning to burn up, to destroy ; and it may be 
 that in this burning we have a picture of the wrath of 
 God against sin, though even here there is some diffi- 
 culty from the fact that these offerings were regarded as 
 especially holy. 
 
 n. Special features of the different Sacri- 
 fices. 
 
 Five species of sacrifice were offered on the altar of 
 burnt-offering. Following the order of the first seven 
 chapters of Leviticus, these were the burnt-offering, the 
 meat-offering, the peace-offering, the sin-offering, and the 
 trespass-offering. This may be regarded as the historical 
 order. The burnt-offering comes first, because it is the* 
 old historical sacrifice, which has been offered from the 
 beginning, before the differentiation of the species. 
 
158 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 Viewed in this light, it may be regarded as comprehend- 
 ing in itself the significance of all the others ; and ac- 
 cordingly it was eminently suitable that the perpetual 
 offering — the lamb of the morning and evening sacrifice 
 — should be a burnt-offering. For these reasons then, 
 the burnt-offering occupies the foremost position in the 
 rules for the ritual of the altar. The meat-offering fol- 
 lows, because of its intimate association with the burnt- 
 offering, of which it was a special accompaniment. The 
 peace-offering comes next, as the natural result ; and be- 
 sides, there is some evidence that already, before the 
 institution in Leviticus, the peace-offering had developed 
 as a shoot from the old original burnt-offering (see Exod. 
 xxiv. 5). The sin-offering and trespass-offering were 
 entirely new, and therefore come last. They were inti- 
 mately connected with the new revelation of law, inas- 
 much as '' by the law is the knowledge of sin." 
 
 If we could devote a separate lecture to the con- 
 sideration of each of the offerings, it might be well to 
 follow the same order ; but inasmuch as we must take 
 them all in one view, it will be better to follow the order 
 which was observed when the offerings were presented 
 in series, a very good example of which we have in 
 Leviticus ix. 15-18: ''And he brought the people's 
 offering, and took the goat, which was the sin-offering 
 for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the 
 first. And he brought the bnrnt-offcring, and offered it 
 according to the manner. And he brought the meat- 
 offering, and filled his hand out of it, and burnt it upon 
 the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of the morning. He 
 slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace- 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 159 
 
 offerings^ Here we have the logical, as the other was 
 the historical order. The sin-offering (or trespass-offer- 
 ing, as the case might be) came first ; then the burnt- 
 offering with its associated meat-offering ; and finally 
 the peace-offering. This, as you see, gives us three 
 main sacrifices : the sin-offering, the burnt-offering, 
 the peace-offering. The burnt-offering occupied the 
 central position, having as its antecedent the sin-offering, 
 and as its consequent the peace-offering. We have 
 already seen what the essential significance of the burnt- 
 offering is. It is dedication on the part of man and ac- 
 ceptance on the part of God. What is the antecedent 
 of this dedication and acceptance ? It is atonement. 
 Hence the sin-offering preceded the burnt-offering. 
 What is the consequence of this dedication and accept- 
 ance? Peace with God and joy in His salvation. 
 Hence the peace-offering* followed the burnt-offering. 
 
 Let us now look at the different offerings, following 
 the order just indicated. 
 
 I. The Sin-offering i^QY. \y) The prominent idea in 
 the sin-offering is that of atonement and forgiveness. 
 It was appointed for sins of '' ignorance " (ver. 2) ; but it 
 would be a mistake to suppose that it was limited to 
 what we understand by sins of ignorance. Ignorance 
 was distinguished, not from knowledge, but from pre- 
 sumption (see Ps. xix. 12, 13). The idea was that there 
 was no atonement for a man in a hard-hearted, defiant 
 
 * It ought to be remembered that the Hebrew word {or peace had 
 a larger meaning than ours. It included welfare in the widest 
 sense, as can be seen from the customary salutation, " Peace be 
 unto thee." 
 
i6o The Mosaic Era. 
 
 state of mind. We shall see more clearly what is meant, 
 if we look at the statute which refers to the common 
 people (ver. 27, 28) : " if any one of the common people 
 sin through ignorance . ... or if Ids sin, which he had 
 sinned, come to his knozvledge!' This evidently covers 
 the case of a man who had been led astray by tempta- 
 tion, but who has now become convicted of the sin 
 which in the time of his wandering from God he was in- 
 duced to commit ; and it as certainly excludes the man 
 who still, in defiance of God's law, '' sets the stumbling- 
 block of his iniquity before his face." We see, then, 
 that the atonement was provided, not only for sins which 
 had been unconsciously committed, but also for sins, the 
 guilt of which after their commission had been borne 
 upon the sinner so strongly, as to lead him to seek an 
 atonement and forgiveness for them. And indeed there 
 seems to be in the Epistle to the Hebrews a reference 
 to this tvv^ofold application of the sin-offering, where the 
 high-priest is spoken of as one that '' can have compas- 
 sion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the ivay " 
 (Heb. v. 2). We conclude, then, that the sin-offering 
 was intended for all sins of which a man truly and 
 heartily repented, so that it could be fairly said that his 
 sin, when he committed it, appeared in a very different 
 light to him, from that in which it now appears as he 
 essays to bring his gift to the altar. 
 
 There were grades of sin-offerings ; but it is important 
 to observe that these were grades of rank and position 
 in the person, not of heinousness in the sin. A more 
 solemn expiation was necessary for a sin of the high- 
 priest (ver. 3), who represented the people at large, and 
 
Ritual of the Altar. i6i 
 
 of the whole congregation (ver. 13), than for individual 
 sins ; and the sin of a ruler (ver. 22) was regarded as 
 calling for more marked attention than that of one of 
 the common people (ver. 27). The propriety of this is 
 sufficiently apparent. 
 
 The sin-offering for the high-priest, and that for the 
 congregation were almost exactly alike, and as dis- 
 tinguished from the sin-offering for the ruler or the indi- 
 vidual member of the congregation, the former is some- 
 times spoken of as the greater sin-offering, the other 
 being considered the lesser one. In the greater sin- 
 offering (which we choose as the characteristic one), the 
 two outstanding features were the disposition of the 
 blood, and the burning of the entire body (with the ex- 
 ception of the fatty parts, which were offered on the 
 altar) outside the camp. These two parts of the ritual 
 were so arranged as to present the extremest contrast. 
 The blood was not only, as in the case of the ordinary 
 sacrifice, sprinkled upon the altar in the court ; but it was 
 carried into the holy place, and there sprinkled seven 
 times upon the veil. Remember, this was as near 
 as it was possible to go to the inner shrine, except on 
 the great atonement day, which only came once in the 
 year. Then, besides the seven times upon (or towards) 
 the veil, it was put upon the horns of the altar of incense, 
 and the rest of it poured out at the base of the altar 
 into the court. Here then we have the blood which is 
 the life, carried far in, to the very threshold of the inner 
 sanctuary. On the other hand, the body of death was 
 carried far out to ^' a clean place " without the camp, 
 and there burned and destroyed. Is not the symbolism 
 
i62 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 very instructive? "As far as the east is from the west, 
 so far hath He removed our transgressions from us." 
 Our sins, where are they ? Away, without the camp, 
 out of sight, destroyed, forgotten. Ourselves, where are 
 we? Our Hfe is now not only on the altar, but carried 
 into the holy place, there hid in the secret of His 
 presence. Or to give it in New Testament form : " we 
 are dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God " (Col. 
 iii. 3). And what is the foundation of all this ? Behold 
 the altar: at its base the blood of atonement plentifulh^ 
 poured out ; on its summit the fat of the sacrifice arising 
 with acceptance before God. 
 
 Anothei* distinctive feature of the sin-offering was 
 the limitation to one animal. In the burnt-offering and 
 the peace-offering there might be many ; but in the sin- 
 offering only one. And in this connection it is very in- 
 teresting to observe the manner in which the congrega- 
 tion of Israel is taught to identify itself with its sin- 
 offering (ver. 15): " And the elders of the congregation 
 shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before 
 the Lord." A most impressive picture ! And how much 
 of hallowed significance in its typical relations do we 
 see, in the light of that great sacrificial prophecy of 
 Isaiah, where, speaking of the coming Saviour as One 
 to be " led as a lamb to the slaughter," he says : " the 
 Lord hath made the iniquities of us all to meet on Him"! 
 (Isa. liii. 6, margin). 
 
 T/ie Trespass-offering may be considered as a variety 
 of the sin-offering. The one shades into the other, as 
 will be seen by reading the fifth chapter, verses 1-13, 
 and also by their having the same "law" : " as the sin 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 163 
 
 offering is, so is the trespass-offering : there is one law 
 for them " (Lev. vii. 7). 
 
 The distinguishing characteristic of the trespass-offer- 
 ing proper was restitution. The offences for which it 
 was offered were such as admitted of restitution, and 
 the distinction from the sin-offering cannot be better ex- 
 pressed than in the words of Cave : '' the sin and tres- 
 pass-offerings were both sacrifices for sins ; but in the 
 former the leading idea was that of atonement^ the ex- 
 piation of sin by a substituted life; in the latter the 
 leading feature was that of satisfaction^ the wiping out 
 of sin by the payment of a recompense." "'^ 
 
 It is well worthy of note that in the trespass-offering 
 for sins against God, the ritual prescribed was sacrifice 
 first, restitution following ; while in those against man 
 the order was reversed : restitution first, followed by 
 sacrifice on the altar. The appropriateness of the differ- 
 ence will be readily seen. In the former case, where the 
 sin consisted in withholding from God that which was 
 His due, it was not really God that lost anything, it was 
 the sinner. Giving to God is not regarded as a debt 
 which a man must pay, but rather as a privilege which 
 he may enjoy ; and accordingly before a man can enjoy 
 the privilege of which he has foolishly deprived himself, 
 he must come and offer his sacrifice upon the altar. 
 But when the sinner has been withholding from his 
 fellow-man that which is his due, the delinquency is re- 
 garded in the light of a debt, and he is not allowed to 
 go to the altar of God until he has paid his debt, and 
 
 * "Scriptural Doctrine of Sacrifice," p. io6. 
 
164 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 not only discharged the principal in full, but added one- 
 fifth part thereto ; and then, and not till then, may he 
 come to the place of meeting with God. We know the 
 application our Lord made of this old principle : 
 '' when thou bringest thy gift to the altar, and there re- 
 memberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, 
 leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way, first 
 be reconciled to thy brother, and tJien come and offer 
 thy gift." And it is as important now as ever it was, 
 to remember that if any of us have wronged our neigh- 
 bour, and restitution is possible, there is absolutely 
 no way of forgiveness open until restitution has been 
 made. 
 
 2. The Burnt-offering (chap, i.) We have already seen 
 that the burnt-offering, being the old historical sacrifice,, 
 included in itself all the separate ideas which were ex- 
 pressed in the different offerings ; but its distinctive fea- 
 ture was that of dedication, self-surrender, the offerer's 
 yielding of himself unto God. Hence it was entirely 
 burnt upon the altar, and yet not in one piece, but after 
 its different pieces had been carefully separated and 
 cleansed (ver. 6-9) ; and, after it had been thus prepared 
 and placed upon the altar, it ascended to heaven by fire, 
 '' a sweet savour unto the Lord " (ver. 9). We need no 
 other commentary upon this than the words of the 
 Apostle Paul in Romans xii. i : ''I beseech you there- 
 fore, brethren, by the mercies of God [he refers especially 
 to the gift of Christ as a sin-offering, which has been the 
 main subject of the previous chapters], that ye present 
 your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, 
 which is your reasonable service." There we have not 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 165 
 
 only a commentary on the old burnt-offering, but a sug- 
 gestive presentation of the difference between the old 
 one and that which is required in the new covenant. 
 ''Present your bodies" (as distinguished from the bodies 
 of bulls or of goats), '' a living sacrifice " (as distinguished 
 from the slain sacrifice of the old covenant, '' holy " 
 (there we have the significance of the separation of the 
 parts, and the cleansing of the inwards), " acceptable 
 unto God " (the sweet savour of Lev. i. 9), " which is your 
 reasonable service " (as distinguished from the symbolical 
 service of the old economy). No other exposition of the 
 symbolism of the burnt-offering is needed than these 
 striking words. 
 
 TJie Meat-offering (or rather, bread-offering, for the 
 word " meat " has changed its meaning since our trans- 
 lation was made) was an accompaniment of the burnt- 
 offering, and therefore must be looked at in its connec- 
 tion with it (Lev. ii.) It consisted in the offering of fine 
 flour (ver. i), or bread made of fine flour (ver. 4, 5, 7), 
 with oil and frankincense (ver. i), and salt (ver. 13). Its 
 symbolic meaning is quite obvious. Just as the burnt- 
 offering symbolized the dedication of the man himself to 
 God, with all his powers and faculties, the bread-offering 
 signified the dedication to God of the fruit of his 
 labours, the produce of his industry. In its fullest sense 
 it symbolized the dedication of his life-energy to God in 
 holy obedience. The close association of bread with life 
 throughout the Scriptures is quite familiar to us, and 
 perhaps our Lord had this offering in mind when He 
 said : " My meat [bread] is to do the will of him that 
 sent Me, and to finish His work" (John iv. 34). But 
 
i66 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 while in its fullest sense the bread-offering may be un- 
 derstood as symbolizing the entire new life which is the 
 result of our dedicating of ourselves to God, its most 
 obvious application is to the dedication of our substance 
 to Him, to whom we have dedicated ourselves. 
 
 The oil to be poured upon the offering has here its in- 
 variable significance of heavenly grace, and the frankin- 
 cense the devotional spirit in which the offering should 
 be presented. The salt is spoken of as " the salt of the 
 covenant of thy God" (ver. 13); and the caution never 
 to allow it to be lacking, seems to guard against the 
 danger of supposing, that our gifts to the Lord can find 
 acceptance in any other way than through the provisions 
 of the covenant which He has made with us by sacrifice 
 (Ps. 1. 5). The things prohibited are equally suggestive 
 with the things enjoined. They are leaven and honey : 
 leaven, the symbol of corruption, and honey, of a sweet- 
 ness which was in the Hebrew mind especially associated 
 with fermentation. 
 
 The disposal of the offering was also significant. Part 
 of it was to be burnt upon the altar " as a memorial " 
 (ver. 2, 6) ; the rest was set apart for use by the priests 
 (ver. 3). Inasmuch as the priests in these transactions 
 represented the people, while the altar represented God, 
 the idea of fellowship or sharing is here conveyed, as if 
 to suggest the thought that while all our energies and 
 all our substance should be consecrated to God in the 
 first place, the sum is nevertheless in the issue divided 
 between the more sacred and the more personal uses. 
 In the matter of property, for instance, the true idea is 
 not to give a portion to the Lord and to keep the rest 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 167 
 
 for ourselves, but to give all to God ; and then, with His 
 approval to expend so much on personal use, and set 
 aside so much for consumption on the altar. But while 
 the offering is to be thus divided, the frankincense is to 
 be all burnt upon the altar (ver. 2). The devotional ele- 
 ment is for God alone. You have heard, perhaps, of the 
 newspaper writer who, referring to the devotional part of 
 the service in one of the churches in Boston, spoke of his 
 having had the privilege of listening to '' the most elo- 
 quent prayer that was ever addressed to a Boston audi- 
 ence." We are too apt to forget that our prayers are 
 not for Boston audiences or London audiences, but for 
 the audience of Heaven, for the ear of God. The frank- 
 incense was all to be burnt upon the altar. 
 
 3. It remains to consider the Pcacc-offering {1.cy. iii., 
 vii. 28-34).^ As the name implies, the prominent 
 thought in these sacrifices was the blessed result of draw- 
 ing near to God in the way of His appointment. " Justi- 
 fied by faith, we have peace with God." In the sin- 
 offering there was forgiveness, in the burnt-offering 
 acceptance, in the meat-offering consecration, and now 
 in the peace-offering there is peace and joy, peace with 
 God and joy in the Holy Ghost, the supreme satisfaction 
 of the soul in that communion with God which has been 
 established through the appointed sacrifices. Here, as 
 always, there is the idea of atonement underlying all ; 
 for in these sacrifices, as well as in the others, there was 
 
 * The " laws " of the different offerings, beginning at chapter vi. 8, 
 seem to be supplementary directions to the priests. In the case of 
 the peace-offering these are of special importance. 
 
1 68 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 the killing of the animal, the laying of the hand upon 
 its head, and the sprinkling of the blood ; and not only 
 so, but the new offering had to be laid '' upon the burnt 
 sacrifice which is upon the wood that is on the fire " 
 (ver. 5), viz., the perpetual burnt-offering of the morning 
 and evening sacrifice. But though care is taken, as here- 
 tofore, to keep before the view of the worshipper his 
 entire dependence for all the blessings which he enjoys, 
 upon the atonement provided by the Lord, yet the char- 
 acteristic features are found later on, in the disposition 
 of the parts. This was the only sacrifice in which there 
 was a distribution all around, so to speak : part to the 
 altar, part to the officiating priest, part to the family of 
 the priesthood, part to the worshipper and his family, 
 and the remains, if any, given to the poor. It was essen- 
 tially a festal sacrifice, the idea of joyful communion 
 shining out in it. 
 
 The details of the distribution seem quite significant 
 also. The choicest and most inward parts belonged to 
 the altar, and were to be burned upon it, which seems to 
 indicate that our deepest emotions of gratitude and love 
 should ascend to God. Then, after the inward parts had 
 been thus removed, the best of what remained went to 
 " Aaron and his sons," after having been " waved " to 
 the Lord ; and when we remember that the priesthood 
 represented God on the one hand and the people on the 
 other, we see how strikingly the conception of commu- 
 nion was conveyed in this part of the ritual. Then, while 
 the general priesthood occupied a position of mediation 
 between God and the people, the officiating priest occu- 
 pied for the time the position of mediator between God 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 169 
 
 and the worshipper, and accordingly the best of what 
 remained, viz., the right shoulder, was assigned to him, 
 after having been " heaved " to the Lord, as the other 
 had been waved. The appropriateness of waving {i. e., 
 with a horizontal motion towards the tabernacle), in the 
 first instance, and of heaving {i. ^., with a vertical motion, 
 as if to place upon the altar) in the other, will be seen 
 when we remember that the high-priest, who was speci- 
 ally in view in the waving, had the privilege of going 
 into the most holy place, towards which the offering was 
 waved, whereas the officiating priest had for his special 
 duty simply the placing of the sacrifice upon the altar. 
 In each case the ceremony meant to convey the Divine 
 participation in the joy of the occasion. Then, if the 
 burning of the inwards upon the altar may be rightly 
 interpreted as signifying the consecration of our deepest 
 feelings to the Lord, we need not think it too fanciful to 
 find in the wave breast and heave shoulder, that were 
 given to the priests, the consecration of heart and hand 
 to the service of God in His sanctuary ; while the enjoy- 
 ment of the remainder by the worshipper showed the 
 large participation which he has in the abounding joy of 
 the occasion, a joy which may flow over so as to bless 
 those who are not so richly privileged as himself. 
 
 The caution not to allow any to remain over till the 
 morning, seems to suggest that the enjoyment of spirit- 
 ual blessings must always be kept closely associated with 
 the sacrifices on the ground of which they are enjoyed. 
 Even in our times of richest spiritual enjoyment, and 
 then perhaps especially, we have need to present the 
 prayer: "Saviour, keep me near the cross." Each time 
 
I/O The Mosaic Era. 
 
 the table Is spread for us in the presence of our enemies, 
 we must approach it by the way of the altar. 
 
 And now, is not even this hasty survey of the differ- 
 ent offerings sufficient to convince us of their exceeding 
 value as an educating power in Israel, leading the truly 
 devout amongst the people to an intense hatred of sin, 
 and thorough, hearty, and happy consecration to God ? 
 
 What a complete and orderly system of saving truth, 
 beginning with the exceeding evil of sin, and ending 
 with the surpassing joys of fellowship with God, the 
 bridge between the two being found in the successive 
 presentation of atonement (in the sin-offering), satisfac- 
 tion (in the trespass-offering), and justification as the 
 result, followed by dedication and acceptance (in the 
 burnt-offering), consecration and sanctification (in the 
 bread-offering), the climax of all being reached in the 
 sacred and heavenly joy symbolized in the peace-offer- 
 ing. Ah, verily, there was far more of true value for the 
 world in the Hebrew ritual of the altar than in all Greek 
 philosophy or classic art. There was in it, there is in it 
 still, when read not in " the letter which killeth," but 
 according to '^ the spirit which giveth life," a mighty 
 power that makes for righteousness. 
 
 III. How Christ fulfilled the Ritual of the 
 Altar. 
 
 So far, we have been considering the symbolic mean- 
 ing of the sacrifices which were offered on the altar in 
 the court, a meaning which would be more obvious to 
 the Hebrews than it can be to us. But before passing 
 from the subject, it will be necessary to consider their 
 typical meaning, the relation which they sustained, as 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 171 
 
 germs or buds, to the flower and fruit of " the truth as 
 it is in Jesus." Inasmuch as we who live in these later 
 days have in this department an advantage over those 
 who lived under the old covenant, our best plan will be 
 to shift our point of view ; so that, instead of looking 
 at the sacrifices and asking how they typified Christ, we 
 shall look at Christ and ask how He fulfilled them. 
 
 One of our Lord's earliest utterances when He entered 
 on His ministry was this : " Think not that I am come 
 to destroy the law and the prophets ; I am not come to 
 destroy, but to fulfil." And again, '' Till heaven and 
 earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass 
 from the law, till all be fulfilled." It follows, then, that 
 inasmuch as the sacrifices of the altar have passed away, 
 it must have been not by simple abrogation, but by ful- 
 filment ; and therefore we are entitled to ask how it was 
 that they were fulfilled. This inquiry would not have been 
 a very difficult one, if we had had only the life of Christ to 
 guide us ; but it is much simplified by the light thrown 
 upon the subject throughout the Epistles, and most of 
 all in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where the rela- 
 tions of the old to the new covenant are specifically 
 treated. 
 
 The locus classicus on the subject is Hebrews x. 1-14. 
 The entire passage is of great importance, but in the 
 eighth and ninth verses, especially, we have the gateway 
 into the whole territory which we wish to explore : 
 " Above when He [Christ] said. Sacrifice and offering 
 and burnt-offerings and offering for sin Thou wouldest 
 not, neither hadst pleasure therein ; which are offered 
 by the law ; then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, 
 
\j2 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 O God." These words are quoted from the fortieth 
 Psalm. They were originally the words of David, who 
 was the Lord's anointed {i.e., the Christ) of the time, 
 and in their prophetical import were fulfilled when Christ 
 came into the world : '' Wherefore when He cometJi into 
 the zvorldy He saith, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God." 
 Here Christ is represented as taking the place of the 
 Old Testament sacrifices, as He entered on the great 
 work He had to do for man upon the earth. But while 
 all the sacrifices are in prospect, that which is imme- 
 diately in view is the bnrnt-offering, which was, as we 
 have seen, the old original sacrifice from which the others 
 were offshoots. The idea, you will see, is the central 
 idea of dedication : '' Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God." 
 Here, then, we have, in that spirit of dedication with 
 which the Lord Jesus entered upon His work, laying 
 Himself as it were on the altar for us from the very out- 
 set, the fulfilment of the burnt-offering as set forth in 
 Leviticus i. And hence the appropriateness with which 
 John the Baptist, at the very outset, pointed Him out 
 in these terms, referring, we believe, chiefly to the burnt- 
 offering of the morning and evening sacrifice : ** Behold 
 the Lamb of God ! " 
 
 The burnt-offering, we have seen, was followed by a 
 meat-offering (bread-offering). The symbolical meaning 
 of this we found to be that the dedication of self was 
 followed by the consecration of all the energies to God. 
 And accordingly we find the Lord Jesus wholly devoted 
 in all His energies to the great work for which He laid 
 Himself upon the altar, so that He could say : *' My 
 meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 173 
 
 His work " (John iv. 34). And just as the memorial of 
 the bread-offering was divided between the altar, which 
 represented God, and the priests, who represented the 
 people, so we find that later on Christ speaks of Himself 
 as the "Bread of God" and "the Bread of Life," offered 
 upon the altar of God in the one character, and in the 
 other ministered to His people for their sustenance : 
 " He that eateth Me, the same shall live by Me" (John 
 vi- 33> 57)- And so, throughout the entire life of con- 
 secration which our Saviour led, a life which was first 
 offered up to God upon the altar, and besides is com- 
 municated to us that we may share in it, we have the 
 fulfilment of the bread-offering of Leviticus ii. 
 
 Later on in His ministry, the delightful thoughts of 
 the peace-offering come into prominence, viz., peace and 
 joy and blessed communion. The whole atmosphere of 
 the peace-offering is diffused throughout those sacred 
 chapters in John (xiii.-xvii.), v/here we have the record 
 of the closest communion, first of the disciples with 
 their Master, and then of the Master Himself with the 
 Father in heaven. There we have the institution of the 
 Sacred Feast which, while connected historically with 
 the Passover, is in its spirit and associations most 
 closely linked with the peace-offering, and accordingly 
 is appropriately called "the Eucharist" (chap, xiii.) 
 There we find the gracious benediction, " Peace I leave 
 with you. My peace I give unto you : not as the world 
 giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, 
 neither let it be afraid" (chap, xiv.) There, too, we 
 hear Him saying : " These things have I spoken unto 
 you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your 
 
174 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 joy might be full" (chap, xv.) There, also, He gives 
 the assurance that though there must be the pang of 
 parting from Himself, yet in a little while the Comforter 
 will come to remain with them for ever, bringing a joy 
 that shall be abiding and full (chap, xvi.) And there, 
 above all. He pours out His whole soul in prayer for 
 that unity of fellowship, which the peace-offering so 
 beautifully symbolized between the Holy Father, the 
 Priest, and the people : " that they all may be one ; as 
 Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also 
 may be one in Us " (chap, xvii.) There, there, is the ful- 
 filment of the peace-offering in Leviticus iii. 
 
 And now the time has come that tJie sin-offering must 
 be presented. He, who from the beginning has '' given 
 Himself for us, as an offering and a sacrifice to God for 
 a sweet-smelling savour" (Eph. v. 2), must now, though 
 " He knew no sin," '' become sin for us." And so, in a 
 painfully literal sense, the sacrifice is bound upon the 
 altar. Not the old altar of burnt-offering that stood in 
 the court, for that would have limited, or seemed to 
 limit, the atonement to those who had a position of 
 special privilege within the sacred precincts. 
 
 " There is a green hill far away, without the city wall, 
 Where our dear Lord was crucified, who died to save us all. " 
 
 The cross was an altar for the world. And there was 
 an additional significance in its being outside the city, as 
 is shown in that very striking passage in Hebrews xlii. 
 10-12: "We have an altar, whereof they have no right 
 to eat that serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those 
 beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 175 
 
 high- priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Where- 
 fore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with 
 His own blood, suffered without the gate." There was 
 the fulfilment of the sin-offering in Leviticus iv. And of 
 the trespass-offering too (Lev. v. vi.) ; for that precious 
 life was given as a ransom for us, " a ransom for all " 
 (i Tim. ii. 6). 
 
 In the ritual of the sin-offering, one of the regulations 
 was this : " Where the ashes are poured out, there shall 
 he be burnt " (Lev. iv. 12). And in the law of the burnt- 
 offering it was ordained that the ashes should be carried 
 v/ithout the camp to a clean place (Lev. vi. 1 1). May 
 not these have been in the mind of the Evangelist when 
 he tells us that the place where the Lord was crucified 
 was called ''the place of a skull" (John xix. 17); and 
 (after all was over), '' now in the place where He was 
 crucified there was a garden ; and in the garden a new 
 sepulchre [a place of ashes too, but a ' clean place ' not- 
 withstanding] wherein was never man yet laid. There 
 laid they Jesus." 
 
 " At length the worst is o'er, and Thou art laid 
 
 Deep in Thy darksome bed ; 
 All still and cold beneath yon dreary stone 
 
 Thy sacred form is gone ; 
 Around those lips where power and mercy hung. 
 
 The dews of death have clung ; 
 The dull earth o'er Thee, and Thy foes around. 
 Thou sleep'st a silent corse, in funeral fetters wound." 
 
 Here we part company with the typical meaning of 
 the Sacrifices. They leave the victim in the place of 
 
176 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 ashes. But though He died as our Sacrifice, He lives as 
 our great High-priest, and when we pass to the next 
 department of the ritual, we shall find Him carrying the 
 blood into the holy place for us. 
 
 Meantime we must not leave the subject of the ritual 
 of the altar, without a word in conclusion as to the ful- 
 filment of the sacrifices which is required of us. In the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews, after presenting Christ as the 
 sin-offering, these earnest, practical words are added : 
 " By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to 
 God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving 
 thanks to His name. But to do good and to communicate 
 forget not : for with such sacrifices God is well pleased " 
 (Heb. xiii. 15, 16). There is no sin-oft^ering required of 
 us now. " It is finished." " By one offering he hath 
 perfected for ever them that are sanctified." But thank- 
 offerings we should present continually, and votive offer- 
 ings, in the spirit of the ii6th Psalm. And not only so, 
 but vv^e should present ourselves as a whole burnt-offer- 
 ing. " Ye are not your own : ye are bought with a price, 
 therefore glorify God with your bodies and with your 
 spirits, which are His." 
 
 No more appropriate close to the great subject of the 
 ritual of the altar could be imagined, than that grand 
 benediction with which the subject is closed in the 
 epistle from which we have quoted so much : " Now 
 may the God of peace, that brought again from the dead 
 our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 
 through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make 
 you perfect [there is the ark, there is the law, there is the 
 
Ritual of the Altar. 177 
 
 goal of HOLINESS which must ever be full in the view 
 of the worshipper at the altar] In every good work to do 
 His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in 
 His sight, through Jesus Christ ; to Whom be glory for 
 ever and ever. Amen." 
 
XII. 
 
 RITUAL OF THE HOLY PLACE. 
 
 LEVITICUS VIII.-X. 
 
 AS the altar in the court was the place of worship 
 for the people, the first or outer apartment of the 
 Tabernacle was the place of worship for the priests. 
 None else had the right to enter within the door ; but it 
 was the duty of the priests day by day to go into the 
 Holy Place to trim and furnish the lamps of the golden 
 candlestick, and burn incense upon the golden altar; and 
 week by week to replenish the bread upon the golden 
 table. From this it follows that the subject of the priest- 
 hood belongs especially to the ritual of the Holy Place. 
 It is true that the services of the priests were necessary 
 in order to offer sacrifices upon the altar of burnt-offer- 
 ing in the court ; but these services were of an entirely 
 different order from those which were rendered in the 
 Holy Place, and accordingly it is not until after the 
 ritual of the altar is concluded that we have the account 
 of the consecration of the priests (chap. viii. ix.) 
 
 The Holy Place being a part of the Tabernacle or tent 
 
 of God, to enter it was to enter the house of God, to 
 
 hold personal communion with Him — not of the most 
 
 intimate kind, for even after the Holy Place was en- 
 
 (173) 
 
Ritual of the Huly Place. 179 
 
 tered, there was the veil drawn across the entrance to the 
 inner chamber where was the Mercy-Seat, the throne of 
 God. But though the veil still closed the entrance to 
 the Holiest of all, there was true communion with God 
 to be enjoyed in the Holy Place ; and the greatness of 
 the privilege was symbolized, first in the magnificence of 
 the apartment, with its gleaming colours and its burning 
 gold, and then in the significance of the table on which 
 was spread " the bread of the presence," of the lamp 
 with its seven lights which never went out, and of the 
 sweet incense which rose from the golden altar. 
 
 All this was for Israel, or why should it be there ? 
 And yet how could Israel enjoy it ? " Without holiness 
 no man can see the Lord." How then can Israel that is 
 unholy be allowed to enter ? The priesthood was the 
 solution of the problem. It is true that the priests were 
 not really holy, any more than the people were ; but 
 they were symbolically holy ; and thus in symbol the 
 truth was constantly kept before the eyes of all — that 
 only holy people can enter the Holy Place. 
 
 It is most important to bear in mind, in dealing with 
 the subject now before us, that the priests were the 
 representatives of the people. When the priest received 
 the sacrifice for the altar at the hand of the worshipper 
 in the court, he acted as the representative of God ; but 
 when he entered the Holy Place, it was as the repre- 
 sentative of the people. So far as the priests themselves 
 were concerned personally, they were in no better posi- 
 tion in things pertaining to God than the rest of the 
 people ; and hence it was only in their official capacity 
 as representatives of the entire congregation that they 
 
i8o The Mosaic Era. 
 
 entered the door of the Tabernacle. And accordingly 
 they dare not enter it except in certain vestments and 
 after certain ceremonies, which were all intended to in- 
 vest with a symbolic holiness those who should as repre- 
 sentatives of Israel enter the Holy Place. So that, when 
 the congregation of Israel saw a priest, clothed in white 
 robes, after offering a sacrifice on the altar and washing 
 hands and feet at the laver before the door, entering the 
 Holy Place, where were the table and the candlestick 
 and the golden altar, they were taught the precious 
 truth that there was a way open for them, through sacri- 
 fice and by washing, of entering with the white robes of 
 holiness into the presence of the Most High, there to 
 sit at His table, rejoice in His light, and worship at His 
 altar. 
 
 We are now prepared for looking intelligently at the 
 impressive service before us. " And the Lord spake 
 unto Moses, saying. Take Aaron and his sons with him 
 (i), and the garments (2), and the anointing oil (3), and 
 a bullock for the sin-offering, and two rams, and a basket 
 of unleavened bread (4) ; and gather thou all the con- 
 gregation together unto the door of the tabernacle " 
 (viii. I, 2). The congregation are to be gathered, for it 
 is as their representatives that the priests are to be set 
 apart. Their attention is directed to the door of the 
 Tabernacle, for it is for the purpose of opening that 
 door to them that the ceremonies of consecration are 
 held. 
 
 And now. In considering the services, we shall follow 
 the order indicated above in the directions given to 
 Moses, which will give us (i) the separation of Aaron 
 
Ritual of the Holy Place. i8i 
 
 and his sons, (2) their investiture, (3) their anointing, and 
 (4) the sacrifices of consecration. 
 
 I. The Separation of Aaron and his Sons. 
 
 We are already familiar with the use that has been 
 made of separation in the third age to inculcate the 
 absolute necessity of holiness in order to intercourse 
 with God. Abraham was separated from an idolatrous 
 and wicked world, to be the head of a family and a na- 
 tion that should be holy to the Lord ; and accordingly, 
 in comparison with the heathen world Israel as a whole 
 was a priesthood, as is set forth in Exodus xix. 6 : ''Ye 
 shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and a holy na- 
 tion." Observe now how the same principle is further 
 carried out. From the entire nation one tribe, the tribe 
 of Levi, is set apart to be, above all the others, holy 
 unto the Lord. From the tribe of Levi, one family, 
 that of Aaron, is set apart to be, above all the other 
 families of the tribe, holy unto the Lord. And finally, 
 from the family of Aaron a single individual, the high- 
 priest, is set apart to be, above all the other members 
 of the family, holy unto the Lord. The washing with 
 water (ver. 6) led the mind still farther in the same 
 direction. 
 
 The effect of this on the minds of the people may 
 perhaps be illustrated in this way. Suppose you wish 
 to give the idea of perfectly pure water to some person 
 who has never seen it, and you have no means of show- 
 ing him the genuine article. By taking water in different 
 degrees of impurity, and leading him to look at the dif- 
 ferent specimens, beginning with that which is most 
 impure and going on to that which is least, you will at 
 
1 82 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 all events set his mind in the direction of the conception 
 which you wish him to attain. And in the same way, 
 though there was no way open of showing Israel at this 
 time a genuine specimen of that holiness without which 
 no man can see the Lord, yet by these successive sepa- 
 rations of officially (or if you choose, artificially) holy 
 persons, the mind of Israel was set in the direction of 
 that holiness up to which the Lord was educating them. 
 It must be remembered that they had the moral law to 
 help them to translate the symbolical holiness into the 
 reality, of which it was the mere expression in language 
 addressed to the eye. 
 
 While Aaron and his sons represented Israel, they 
 typified Christ and His Church. The high-priest was 
 the type of Christ Himself, as we shall see more particu- 
 larly when we come to the investiture. The priests, the 
 sons of Aaron, typified those who, on account of their 
 relationship to Christ, are admitted into the family of 
 God, and enjoy all the privileges of His house. It is an 
 entire mistake to apply the term " priest " to the minis- 
 ters of Christ under the new covenant. There is not a 
 single passage in the New Testament to justify it, or 
 give any colour to it, while again and again we are re- 
 minded that all true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ 
 are " priests unto God." 
 
 II. The Investiture. 
 
 We use the word in its strictly etymological sense. 
 It was by the putting on of the appointed garments 
 that Aaron and his sons were invested with office. 
 The investiture of the high-priest comes first (ver. 7-9). 
 The order in which the g-arments are mentioned both 
 
Ritual of the Holy Place. 183 
 
 here and in Exodus xxix., where the directions for this 
 service are given, is the order of convenience in putting 
 them on, beginning with the inner garments and ending 
 with those that were put on last. It will probably be 
 better for us to follow the order of Exodus xxviii., which, 
 being the order of revelation, is more likely to be signifi- 
 cant ; and besides, the account there is fuller than any- 
 where else. 
 
 First in order comes the Ephod, with its ** curious 
 girdle," and the onyx stones upon its shoulder-pieces 
 (Exod. xxviii. 6-14). The ephod was the distinctive 
 priestly garment (see i Sam. ii. 28). It hung upon the 
 shoulders down to the waist, and was formed of the 
 most costly and beautiful materials, corresponding ex- 
 actly to those employed in the interior decoration of the 
 Holy Place. The girdle was made of the same materials, 
 with the same combination of colours. As garments 
 were associated in the Hebrew mind with character, and 
 the girdle with energy in work, we find in the corre- 
 spondence of both with the interior of the Holy Place, 
 a memorial of the necessity that those who enter the 
 house of the Lord must be themselves holy and beauti- 
 ful in character, and be engaged in high and holy service. 
 But the most important part of the ephod were the 
 shoulder-pieces, on which were set two onyx stones, with 
 the names of the tribes engraven on them, six on the 
 one and six on the other; and (ver. 12) "Aaron shall 
 bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders 
 for a memorial." Here we have the idea of representa- 
 tion most clearly and beautifully symbolized. The 
 shoulders, to a Hebrew mind, were the symbol of 
 
i84 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 strength ; and the idea was, that when the high-priest 
 entered the Holy Place, he did not go alone, but carried 
 with him on his strong shoulders the children of Israel, 
 whom he represented ; and the estimation in which the 
 people were held was expressed in the value of the 
 precious stones on which the names were engraved, 
 and the setting of pure gold with which they were sur- 
 rounded. 
 
 The Breastplate comes next (ver. 1 5-30), on which were 
 set in gold twelve different precious stones ; and on these 
 again were engraven the names of the twelve children of 
 Israel ; and (ver. 29) " Aaron shall bear the names of the 
 children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment tLpoi 
 his hearty when he goeth in into the holy place, for a 
 memorial before the Lord continually." Not only on 
 his shoulders, the seat of strength, but on his heart, the 
 seat of love. And just as the use of the same stone for 
 all on the shoulder-pieces symbolized the unity of the 
 people, the use of the different stones in the breast- 
 plate symbolized the diversity in unity and taught the 
 delightful truth, that not only the children as an entire 
 family, but each separate child, with all its individual 
 peculiarities, is affectionately remembered in the holy 
 and beautiful house of the Lord. 
 
 The Urim and Thummim (ver. 30) which were to be 
 '' put in the breastplate " are not described, and there- 
 fore we cannot tell with certainty what form the represen- 
 tation took. The words mean *' lights and perfection " ; 
 and inasmuch as the idea of guidance is regularly asso- 
 ciated with the Urim and Thummin, the thought seems 
 clear enough. '' Lights " will mean that heavenly guid- 
 
Ritual of the Holy Place. 185 
 
 ance which comes as a good and perfect gift from '^ the 
 Father of lights," and " perfection," the glory to which 
 the guidance leads. It is not at all unlikely, then, that 
 the Urim and Thummin was some symbolic representa- 
 tion of the Law. It was by the Law, as a heavenly 
 /zo^/it, that Israel was guided, and it was to thd.t perfec- 
 tion of holiness which is the fulfilling of the Law, that 
 their feet were to be constantly turned. The Law, as 
 " perfection," gave them the dii'cctioii in which they 
 must travel ; as " lights," it kept them from diverging to 
 the right hand or to the left, as they journeyed on from day 
 to day. " The path of the just is as the shining light 
 (the Urim) that shineth more and more unto the perfect 
 day " (the Thummin). " Thou shall guide me by Thy 
 counsel (Urim), and afterwards receive me to Thy glory " 
 (Thummin). 
 
 If we are correct in supposing that the Urim and 
 Thummin meant some symbolic representation of the 
 Law, it is quite likely that those are correct who think 
 that the twelve precious stones were arranged round the 
 Urim and Thummin, very much as the children of Israel 
 v/ere arranged in camp around the Tabernacle, the centre 
 of which we have seen was the Law deposited in the ark. 
 And inasmuch as the word '' judgment" is very fre- 
 quently used to designate the Law, we may have in this 
 a full explanation of verse 30 : '' And thou shalt put in the 
 breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim ; 
 and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in 
 before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of 
 the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord con- 
 tinnallyy 
 
1 86 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 Following the breastplate is the Robe of the ephod, 
 with its hem (ver. 31-35). This was a long robe, worn 
 under the ephod, and appearing below it. It was all of 
 blue, the heavenly colour, as was the cloth which covered 
 the ark when it was carried on the priests' shoulders in 
 sight of the people (Num. iv. 5, 6). Chief attention is 
 directed to its hem, which consisted of a fringe adorned 
 with bells and pomegranates alternately, the bells being 
 of gold, and the pomegranates of the other characteristic 
 colours of the interior of the Holy Place. The pome- 
 granate was the queen fruit of Palestine. It was large 
 and full of innumerable seeds, and was therefore the 
 best emblem of that fruitfulness which is expected of 
 those who are privileged to live in communion with God. 
 The bells are significant of joy, and of that communica- 
 tion of blessing to others which is characteristic of the 
 priestly office. It is probably to the ringing of the 
 golden bells on the hem of the high-priest's robe that 
 reference is made in such a passage as Psalm Ixxxix. 
 15: ''Blessed are the people that know the joyful 
 sound." 
 
 Lastly, the Mitre, with its plate of pure gold, on which 
 was inscribed, '' Holiness to the Lord " (ver. 36-38). In 
 the high-priest's garments, as in the Tabernacle itself, 
 the culmination of all is in " holiness to the Lord." 
 " Holiness to the Lord " was the sum of the ten com- 
 mandments graven on stone, and deposited in the ark of 
 the covenant ; and now it must also be graven in gold, 
 set in a setting of heaven's purest azure (ver. 37), and 
 displayed upon the forehead of the high-priest ; and here 
 again the representative character of Aaron is distinctly 
 
Ritual of the Holy Place. 187 
 
 brought out : '^ it shall be always on HIS forehead that 
 THEY may be accepted before the Lord " (ver. 38). 
 
 And now let me enumerate the main ideas which are 
 symbolized in the vestments of the high-priest. The 
 ephod with its girdle signified the beautiful character 
 and the exalted service which are becoming to the Holy 
 Place ; and the shoulder-pieces and the breastplate, with 
 the precious stones and the engraving on them, signified 
 that the children of Israel as a whole and each child in- 
 dividually, was borne on the strong shoulders and carried 
 in the warm heart of their representative in the presence 
 of the Lord, giving the conceptions of strength to sustain 
 and love to cherish ; the Urim and Thummim added the 
 thought of heavenly guidance along a path that " shineth 
 more and more unto the perfect day " ; the pomegran- 
 ates and bells on the blue robe of the ephod symbolized 
 heavenly fruitfulness and joy ; while the climax of all 
 was reached in the golden graving of holiness unto the 
 Lord. You see how rich was the symbolism of the 
 high-priestly vestments. 
 
 And how expressive as types of the glory and the 
 grace of our great High-Priest. The Lord Jesus needed 
 no priestly vestments ; for He had the great realities, of 
 which these were only the symbols. He really possessed 
 the lovely character which was only symbolized in the 
 ephod; and no '' curious girdle" was needed to make it 
 evident that it was a high and holy work in which He 
 was engaged. His strength to save, and His love for 
 lost sinners were so conspicuous all through His strong 
 and loving life, that onyx stones upon His shoulders or 
 precious stones upon His breast would have been super- 
 
i88 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 fluous. No symbol of Urim and Thummim was needed 
 for One who could say : " I am the Light of the world ; 
 He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but 
 shall have the light of life." Nor were bells and pome- 
 granates needful on that garment hem, the very touch- 
 ing of which, in the spirit of trembling faith, brought 
 health to a cheek that for twelve years had been pale, 
 and joy to a heart that, after every remedy had been 
 tried in vain, had bidden farewell to hope (Luke viii. 43, 
 44). And why should there be a plate of gold with 
 " holiness to the Lord " inscribed upon it, on the fore- 
 head of One who could fearlessly issue the challenge : 
 ''Which of you convinceth Me of sin? " — One who was 
 really, as the other was only symbolically, " holy, harm- 
 less, undefiled, and separate from sinners " ? Verily, in 
 a far higher sense is it true of Him than it was of Aaron, 
 that " holiness unto the Lord " is " akvays on His fore- 
 head, that zue may be accepted before the Lord.'' 
 
 Very little is said about the garments of th.^ priests 
 (ver. 40-42). The attention is concentrated on the high- 
 priest. The beauty and the glory, the strength and the 
 grace, the love and the joy, are all His. To Him we 
 must look for them all. And yet the priests have their 
 vestments, too, " for glory and for beauty " (ver. 40). 
 They were " of fine linen, clean and white," which sym- 
 bolized "the righteousness of the saints" (Rev. xix. 8). 
 It is for the sake of our great High-Priest that we are 
 accepted first (v. 38) ; but after we have been accepted, 
 and through Him have become priests to God, new gar- 
 ments are put upon us ; and a share in the glory of the 
 high-priestly work is added, which also finds its striking 
 
Ritual of the Holy Place, 189 
 
 symbol in the fact that, while the rest of the priestly 
 garments were simply white, the girdle, which as we 
 have seen was the symbol of service, was of the various 
 colours that adorned the interior of the Holy Place. 
 
 It will be very manifest from our study of this sub- 
 ject, that nothing could be more presumptuous than the 
 arrogation of the priestly office by any privileged order 
 now, and nothing more out of place than the display of 
 priestly garments. We have already remarked that 
 there is not a word in the New Testament to give 
 colour to the claim of any other priesthood than that 
 which is enjoyed by all Christians, who have now 
 through Christ been made priests unto God ; and now it 
 will be very apparent that the use of priestly garments is 
 not only unjustifiable, but must be utterly confusing and 
 misleading to those who are encouraged to attach the 
 slightest importance to such things. 
 
 The priestly garments of the Old Testament were 
 prophetic. They set forth in symbol important truths 
 concerning the person and work of the great High- 
 Priest who was to come. But now that He has come 
 and fulfilled all the types and symbols, it is manifest that 
 to revive them is only to obscure the glory of Him in 
 whom they are fulfilled. It was all very well for those 
 who had not the reality to prize the shadows ; but for 
 those who have the substance to grasp the shadows is 
 childish and foolish in the extreme. And it is all the 
 less excusable that the Apostles were so careful to warn 
 us against this very childishness. It was for this pur- 
 pose that the Epistle to the Galatians was written. They 
 were showing a tendency to go back to the old ritualism 
 
igo The Mosaic Era. 
 
 of the Law ; and it is to warn them of their danger that 
 the apostle addresses them in such earnest words as 
 these: " O fooHsh Galatians, who hath bewitched you ?" 
 " Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect 
 in the flesh ? " " How turn ye again to the weak and 
 beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in 
 bondage ? " One would almost think the words were 
 directly addressed to the ritualists of the nineteenth 
 century. And the same warnings are ever appearing in 
 other epistles, as for example in that to the Colossians : 
 *' As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, 
 so walk ye in Him : rooted and built up in Him, and 
 stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abound- 
 ing therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man 
 spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the 
 tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world and 
 not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of 
 the Godhead bodily. And j/e arc complete in Him " (ii. 
 6-10). '' Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the 
 heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High-Priest 
 of our profession, Christ Jesus " ; and as He wore no 
 priestly robes Himself, but stood forth before God and 
 man in the unspotted garments of His own perfect holi- 
 ness, so let us, putting our trust in Him, reposing our 
 confidence on those qualities and powers of His of 
 which the priestly vestments of old were but a feeble 
 prophecy, seek to be invested, not with robes which a 
 milliner can make, but with that " fine linen, clean and 
 white, which is the righteousness of the saiiits!' Thus, 
 and thus only, under the dispensation of the Spirit, can 
 Vv^e find acceptance with God. 
 
Ritual of the Holy Place. 191 
 
 III. The Anointing. 
 
 The ceremony of anointing follows the same order as 
 the investiture, viz., Aaron first (Lev. viii. 12), and his 
 sons later on (ver. 30). The meaning of the anointing 
 is unmistakable, for throughout the Scriptures oil is the 
 familiar and consistent symbol of Divine grace ; and as 
 the Holy Spirit is the fountain of Divine grace, the 
 anointing is symbolical of His gracious work (see, as an 
 example of this, Zech. iv.) The composition of "the 
 holy anointing oil" (Exod. xxx. 22-33) was such as to 
 indicate most expressively the variety and excellence of 
 the Holy Spirit's working. While, then, the separation 
 and cleansing signified putting off the old, and the in- 
 vestiture putting on the new, the anointing meant the 
 consecration of the new man by the effusion of the Holy 
 Spirit's grace. 
 
 So far the symbolic meaning. But the typical signifi- 
 cance is that which arrests the attention here. At this 
 point even the dullest mind am.ongst the ancient He- 
 brews would see a prophecy of better things to come, 
 for was not the Hope of Israel known especially as the 
 Messiah, the Anointed 0?ie F And for the same reason 
 the very slowest among modern Christians to believe 
 what Moses and the prophets taught of the coming 
 Christ, w*ill not venture to reject as fancy what the 
 anointing has to tell concerning the Anointed One, the 
 Christ of God. All the Evangelists tell us that after 
 His baptism (which signified His separation to the work 
 He had come to do, and corresponds to the washing, 
 ver. 6, in the consecration of the priests), the " Holy 
 Ghost descended and abode upon Him " ; and one of 
 
192 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 them tells us that in opening His ministry in the place 
 where He had been brought up, He introduced Himself 
 on this wise : " The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, 
 because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to 
 the poor" (Luke iv. 18). 
 
 And now we are in a position for understanding what 
 at first sight seems a strange confusion in the narrative 
 before us. Why is it that such a peculiar order is fol- 
 lowed ? We should naturally have expected that at the 
 proper stage in the ceremony, Aaron and his sons would 
 have been called up, and anointed, Aaron first of course, 
 and his sons immediately after. But no. First, Aaron 
 comes forward alone, and is anointed alone. Then there 
 is a long interval, during which the sacrifices were offered 
 on the altar, and the blood of the atoning sacrifice ap- 
 plied (Lev. viii. 24) ; and then, not till then, are Aaron's 
 sons called up, and anointed (ver. 30). Whether the in- 
 telligent Jews of the time saw any significance in this 
 peculiar arrangement we cannot tell ; but to us who 
 have the New Testament before us, there appears a 
 striking appropriateness in it all. As we have seen more 
 than once already, Aaron was the type of the great 
 High-Priest of the new covenant, and Aaron's sons of all 
 believers, who on account of their family relationship are 
 now made priests to God. And when we look at the 
 anointing respectively of the High-Priest Himself and 
 His '' children " (see Heb. ii. 13), we observe that it fol- 
 lowed exactly the order of the old ceremony of consecra- 
 tion as recorded in Leviticus viii. First, Christ Himself 
 was anointed alone, and the Spirit was given without 
 measure (John iii. 34) to Him — "poured," as it is in the 
 
Ritual of the Holy Place. 193 
 
 ceremony here (ver. 12), so as to pervade the entire per- 
 son, going down even to the skirts of the garments (Ps. 
 cxxx.) This took place, as we have seen, at His bap- 
 tism. Then a long interval elapsed, during which " the 
 Holy Spirit was not yet given" to the disciples (John 
 vii. 39). In the course of that interval Christ fulfilled all 
 the offerings, as we have seen in our study of the ritual 
 of the altar, and the blood of the atoning sacrifice was 
 sprinkled upon the disciples, evidence of which we have 
 in the fact that they were all found waiting with one ac- 
 cord in one place, ears attent, hands ready, feet willing 
 (ver. 24) ; and then the anointing came, the Holy Ghost 
 fell upon them, not without measure as in the case of 
 the Master Himself, but copiously, the difference being 
 significantly expressed in the ceremony of consecration 
 by the use of the word " sprinkling " in the anointing 
 of Aaron's sons (verse 30), while "pouring" was, as we 
 have seen, the expression used in reference to the high- 
 priest himself. 
 
 There is still another quite significant difference. In 
 the case of the high-priest, the holy anointing oil, pure 
 and simple, was used, whereas in the case of '' the sons," 
 the oil was used along with the blood which was upon 
 the altar. Jesus Christ needed no atonement for Him- 
 self. The Spirit was given to Him directly, and as it 
 were in His own right. But to those who through Him 
 were called to be sons of God, the Spirit was given on 
 the ground of the atonement which had been made for 
 them ; hence the use of the blood from the altar along 
 with the holy anointing oil. Hence also the association 
 of Aaron with the second anointing. The sons of Aaron 
 9 
 
194 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 were anointed " zvitli him!' which suggests the truth that 
 it is only by association with Christ that His disciples 
 can receive " the unction from above." Without Him, 
 nothing ; " with Him," all. 
 
 IV. The Sacrifices. 
 
 Here, again, to a superficial reader the sacrifices seem 
 complicated, if not confused ; but a very little careful 
 attention will show the orderliness and clear significance 
 of the prolonged sacrificial ceremony. It extended over 
 eight days, the length of time indicating the solemnity 
 of the occasion. During seven of these days Moses 
 acted as priest. It vrili be remembered that Moses, as 
 mediator of the old covenant, united all the different 
 offices in his own person. Up to this time he has acted 
 not only as the leader and law-giver, but also as the 
 priest, offering sacrifices and interceding for the people. 
 It is he therefore, as a matter of course, who presides in 
 the consecration of the priests. 
 
 The sacrifices of the first day are detailed in Leviticus 
 vlii. 14-29. After what has been said on the ritual of 
 the altar, no explanation Is necessary. The usual order 
 is followed, viz. : first the sin-offering, then the burnt- 
 offering, and finally the peace-offering ; only, to mark 
 the special occasion, instead of an ordinary peace-offer- 
 ing, there is a special consecration-offering, accompanied 
 with the significant ceremony of touching with its blood 
 the right ear and hand and foot of Aaron and his sons 
 (ver. 23, 24). Thus the three great stages of the first 
 day's ritual were atonement, dedication, consecration, 
 followed by the feasting which was the usual sequel of 
 the peace-offering (ver. 31, 32). Then there was a six 
 
Ritual of the Holy Place. 195 
 
 days' waiting on the Lord, during which there would ap- 
 pear to have been offered a daily sin-offering. This we 
 gather from Exodus xxix. (ver. 35-37), where there are 
 full directions given for this consecration service ; and it 
 will be seen by a comparison of the orders given in Exo- 
 dus w^th the fulfilment of them in Leviticus, that the 
 directions were followed to the minutest detail in all the 
 different ceremonies of investiture, of anointing, of con- 
 secration. This repetition of the sin-offering every day 
 gave special emphasis to the fundamental necessity of 
 atonement in order to the opening of the Holy Place to 
 the priests of God. 
 
 On the eighth day (chap, ix.) Aaron steps forward and 
 takes his place at the altar, and offers a series of sacri- 
 fices, first for himself (ver. 2-14), and then for the peo- 
 ple (ver. 15-21), the series for the people embracing all 
 the offerings, except the trespass-offering, which from, its 
 very nature would not have been appropriate at the out- 
 set. There was sin to be atoned for ; but as yet there 
 was no "trespass" for which restitution should be made. 
 The presentation of the entire series (sin-offering, burnt- 
 offering, meat-offering, peace-offering with the wave-offer- 
 ing and heave-offering) may be compared with a similar 
 transaction at the time of the ratification of the covenant 
 with Abraham, when he was directed to offer, and did offer, 
 all the different kinds of animals appropriate for sacrificial 
 purposes (Gen. xv. 9, 10). In this way the greatness of 
 the occasion was marked, and to the mind directed to 
 the great Sacrifice of the new covenant, the thought was 
 suggested that it required them all to unite their vary- 
 ing witness to give any conception of the fulness of 
 
196 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 adaptation to all the wants of sinful man which would 
 be found in that one Sacrifice. 
 
 And now that the priesthood has been separated, 
 cleansed, invested with robes of " glory and beauty," an- 
 ointed and fully consecrated, the Holy Place is opened 
 for the representatives of Israel. ''And Moses and 
 Aaron [the mediator and the priest] went into the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation " (ver. 23). Moses, as repre- 
 sentative of God, had been in before. But it was the 
 first time that Aaron had entered. It was the first time 
 the people had been represented there. For, you must 
 remember, Aaron enters with the onyx stones upon his 
 shoulders and the gems upon his breast. On his shoulder 
 and on his breast he carries with him all the tribes of 
 Israel into the Holy Place ; and there he finds on his 
 right the table with the bread of the presence upon it, 
 on his left the golden candlestick with its seven lights, 
 in front of him the golden altar with sweet incense ris- 
 ing from it before God. On his right hand, Life ; on 
 his left hand, Light ; before him. Love ; and only a veil, 
 a thin veil, between him and the Throne of God. 
 
 Well may he bless the people when he comes out 
 (ver. 22) ; and well may the glory of the Lord appear, 
 and fire fall from heaven upon the altar (ver. 23) ; for 
 now those '' who were afar off are brought nigh " by the 
 blood of atonement. Now, those who but a short time 
 before dwelt in darkness and terror and in the very 
 shadow of death (Exod. xix. 16-22), are admitted, through 
 their representative, into the house of the Lord, where 
 for darkness they have light ; for death, life ; and for 
 
Ritual of the Holy Place. 197 
 
 terror, everlasting love; and instead of "bounds" to 
 warn them off from a region, the very touching of which 
 was death (Exod. xix. 12, 13), there is a lovely veil, to 
 hide from unprepared eyes the surpassing glory of the 
 inner shrine, — a veil which is manifestly only for a time ; 
 and when it is removed, the scattered rays of truth and 
 love, which have been shining from the table and the 
 lamp and the golden altar, shall all be united into one 
 dazzling glory of Life and Light and Love for evermore. 
 
 Observe, as a practical matter, that it was only through 
 their representative priest that the Holy Place was open 
 to the people. So is it still. It is only through Christ 
 that we can draw near to God, only through Him that 
 that we can feast on the bread of life, walk in the light 
 of life, and join in those devotions which were symbol- 
 ized in the sweet incense that ascended from the golden 
 altar. But through Him we may come with all holy 
 boldness : '' having a high-priest over the house of God, 
 let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of 
 faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil con- 
 science, and our bodies washed with pure water" (Heb. 
 X. 21, 22). 
 
 And yet for this reason we must be exceedingly care- 
 ful not to " sin wilfully after that we have received the 
 knowledge of the truth " (ver. 26), for, if we do, '* there 
 remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful 
 looking for of judgment and fiery indignation." This is 
 strikingly and fearfully illustrated in the case of Nadab 
 and Abihu, recorded in chapter x. Theirs was a most 
 aggravated sin. They were the eldest sons of Aaron. 
 They had enjoyed special advantages. They had been 
 
198 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 privileged to go up with the seventy elders of Israel tc 
 the mount of God, and see something of His glory 
 (Exod. xxiv.) And yet on the very first day, as it would 
 seem, of their sacred service, they disregard the com- 
 mandment of the Lord, and offer " strange fire " upon 
 the altar. Possibly it was through strong drink that they 
 were led so flagrantly to transgress, which will account 
 for the absolute prohibition of it to the priesthood in 
 this connection (ver. 8-1 1); but if so, this was not ac- 
 cepted as any excuse. They were destroyed by " fire 
 from the Lord " (ver. 2). We are not to suppose, of 
 course, that they were necessarily excluded from mercy 
 in the world to come ; but just as in the case of Ananias 
 and Sapphira in the early days of the New Testament 
 Church, so in the beginning of the Old Testament wor- 
 ship, it was necessary to make an example of those who 
 would lightly transgress the commandments of the Lord, 
 so that all the world might learn the lesson, " Holiness 
 becometh Thine house, O Lord, for ever." A similar 
 impression is made by the scrupulous care that was 
 taken to make sure that Eleazar and Ithamar, the other 
 two sons of Aaron, had fulfilled their duty in regard to 
 the sin-offering (ver. 12-20). 
 
 But while we seek to " have grace whereby we may 
 serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear," 
 remembering that ^' our God is a consuming fire" to the 
 presumptuous sinner, let us not be at all afraid to avail 
 ourselves of our privileges as priests to God, for our 
 High-Priest is not one "that cannot be touched with a 
 feeling of our infirmities " ; and if only we come with 
 true hearts, we are sure of a welcome in the holy place 
 
Ritual of the Holy Place. 199 
 
 of communion with God. Let us, like the priests of old, 
 be found day by day in our Holy Place, feasting on the 
 bread of life, walking in the light of God, and offering 
 up continually the sweet incense of a holy devotion; 
 and, like the priests too, let us week by week renew 
 " the bread of the presence," availing ourselves of the 
 precious opportunities of replenishing the store which 
 the first day of the week affords (Lev. xxiv. 8) ; and 
 though there still is a veil between us and " the Holiest 
 of all," " whither our Forerunner has for us entered," 
 and whither so many dear ones have already gone, it is 
 only a veil ; no black funeral pall, but a thin veil, through 
 which there seem to shine the beautiful colours of 
 heaven and the forms of angels (Exod. xxvi. 31) ; and 
 presently it shall be drawn aside, and He shall appear, 
 and we also shall " appear with Him in glory" (Col. iii. 4), 
 and see — ■ 
 
 " Those angel faces smile. 
 Which we have loved long since, and lost awhile." 
 
XIII. 
 RITUAL OF THE MOST HOLY PLACE. 
 
 LEVITICUS XI.-XXII. 
 
 THE Most Holy Place was entered only once a 
 year, viz., on the great Day of Atonement ; and 
 therefore its ritual resolves itself into the ritual of that 
 day, which is given in the sixteenth chapter ; but the 
 subjects taken up in the intervening chapters are of such 
 a nature as to prepare the way for the solemnities of 
 that occasion ; while those which come after, up to the 
 twenty-second, are such as naturally and appropriately 
 follow ; and therefore we may with advantage make the 
 entire section the subject of a single lecture, the interest 
 of which will centre in the entrance of the high-priest 
 into the Most Holy Place. 
 
 Though one day only of the entire year was devoted 
 to the Holy of Holies, that one was the day of days of 
 all the year. We have already seen that the idea of 
 atonement is the foundation-thought in all the sacrifices 
 and in all the services, both in the ritual of the Altar 
 and of the Holy Place. But while in all these services 
 it has a fundamental place, yet it is so continually asso- 
 ciated with other thoughts as to render it quite possible 
 
 (2CX)) 
 
Ritual of the Most Holy Place. 201 
 
 that some of the people might fail to see its transcend- 
 ent importance ; and accordingly there was one day of 
 the year, and that the most sacred of all, when the great 
 fact of atonement was presented alone and in the most 
 solemn manner before the minds of the people ; and 
 there was one department of the ritual, and that the 
 most sacred of all, the ritual of the Holy of Holies, 
 which was so arranged that the necessity and value of 
 the atonement which God has provided for human sin 
 should stand out in solitary grandeur, like the Matter- 
 horn among Swiss mountains, before the ^ eyes of Israel 
 in the olden time, and of all God's Israel to the end of 
 the world. 
 
 It will be seen, then, that it was specially appropriate 
 that the minds of the people should be prepared for the 
 solemn services of that most sacred day by the very 
 strongest impressions of the exceeding evil of sin. To 
 produce such impressions seems to be the main object 
 of these intervening chapters (xi.-xv.) We shall find, 
 when we look into them, that attention is first directed 
 to the evil abounding around \xs, and then to the horrible 
 nature of the sin which finds a place zvithin us. 
 
 In the eleventh chapter directions are given for the 
 distinction of animals into clean and unclean : the former 
 being allowed for food, the latter absolutely forbidden, 
 and not only so, but treated as " an abomination." 
 There can be no doubt that there was a sanitary element 
 in this distinction ; but it is evident that this was not 
 the main idea ; for it is not " wholesome and unwhole- 
 some," but ''clean and uncle an T It was not simply and 
 solely a natural distinction, but also and mainly ceremo- 
 
 9* 
 
202 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 nial, one object of which undoubtedly was to help to 
 keep Israel rigidly separate from other nations, as is 
 plainly set forth in the twentieth chapter : '' Ye shall 
 therefore put difference between clean beasts and un- 
 clean .... for I the Lord am holy, and have severed 
 you from other people, that ye should be Mine " (ver. 
 25, 26). One of the great temptations which Israel had 
 to encounter, was the tendency to get into too close re- 
 lations with idolatrous nations ; and we can readily see 
 how these regulations as to diet put a barrier in the way. 
 We know how similar restrictions operate in India to 
 prevent the amalgamation of different castes ; and just 
 as it operates against the Gospel there, so did it in " the 
 times of Israel " against the progress of idolatry. The 
 connection between this distinction and the old exclu- 
 siveness of the Mosaic times is very clearly seen in the 
 vision of Peter, recorded in the book of the Acts of the 
 Apostles, where, by the command to disregard the old 
 Mosaic distinctions as to clean and unclean beasts, he 
 was given to understand that the old system of exclu- 
 isiveness rnust now pass away, or to put it in his own 
 words : '' Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for 
 a man that is a Jew to keep company or to come unto 
 one of another nation ; but God hath showed me that I 
 should not call any man common or unclean " (Acts 
 X. 28). 
 
 But we must go deeper than this in order fully to 
 !innderstand the reason of the distinction. It is true 
 that one object in view was to keep the Jews separate 
 ;from other nations ; but if this had been all, a quite 
 arbitrary distinction would have been sufficient, and 
 
Ritual of the Most Holy Place. 203 
 
 would have even served the purpose more effectually 
 than one that was founded, as this was, on nature. 
 
 There was in fact here, as everywhere else in the 
 Mosaic ritual, a symbolical significance in the distinc- 
 tion. This is very apparent from the closing verses of 
 the chapter before us, as well as many other scriptures 
 to the same effect : " 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 Jioly^ for 
 I am holy." It is in fact still another lesson on the abso- 
 lute necessity of HOLINESS. 
 
 We have seen how an Israelite could not at any mo- 
 ment of the day or night look towards the Tabernacle 
 without being reminded that '^ without holiness no man 
 can see the Lord." But that was not enough. The same 
 great lesson must be written on the face of nature, so 
 that he could not stir abroad in any direction without 
 being reminded of it. The earth, the sea, the air, were 
 all full of symbols which had been pressed into this 
 great service. Already by the Mosaic teaching concern- 
 ing the creation of all things*by God, Who looking upon 
 the work of His hands pronounced all very good, the 
 devout Israelite had learned to see in all nature around 
 him the glory and the goodness of God. But now that 
 this distinction was made, a secondary lesson was added 
 to the first, and he was taught in symbol to realize that 
 though all the works of God were good, yet such was 
 the deceitfulness of the human heart, that on all hands 
 
204 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 there was danger of being tempted to evil, and so be- 
 coming contaminated and defiled ; whence the need of 
 constant watchfulness to keep themselves " unspotted 
 from the world," and inasmuch as this in the absolute 
 sense was clearly impossible, the need of such an atone 
 ment as was provided in the service of the great Atone- 
 ment Day. In all this we are dealing simply with the 
 general symbolic meaning of the distinction ; but we 
 believe that there are also specific lessons to be learned 
 in such details as these, that amongst the unclean are 
 classed all those animals whose habits are filthy, those 
 that creep upon the earth, those that having wings are 
 yet in the habit of walking on the earth, and even noble 
 birds like the eagle, which, though emphatically a bird 
 of freedom and of soaring flight, nevertheless is found, 
 like too many of its kind among men, feeding upon 
 carrion (Matt. xxiv. 28). 
 
 From the thought of evil arottnd we are conducted in 
 the chapters which follow (xii.-xv.) to sin within. First, 
 as a hereditary taint, which seems to be the leading 
 thought of the ritual prescribed in the twelfth chapter. 
 '' I was shapen in iniquity," writes the Psalmist, " and 
 in sin did my mother conceive me." This thought, 
 however, is comparatively lightly touched, and with much 
 greater emphasis the attention is directed to the hor- 
 rible nature of sin as a loathsome and dreadful disease. 
 Those who are at all familiar with Bible thought do not 
 need to be reminded that all diseases are represented as 
 symptoms and symbols of the great disease of the soul. 
 One single example, however, may be taken, to fix it in 
 the mind. When the man sick of the palsy (Mark ii.) is 
 
Ritual of the Most Holy Place. 205 
 
 brought to the Saviour to be healed, how does He deal 
 with the case ? Does He address Himself at once to 
 the cure of the palsy ? No ; He passes it by as a mere 
 symptom, and penetrates to the central disease of the 
 soul, pronouncing these words of sovereign healing, 
 " Son, thy sms be forgiven thee." And when the by- 
 standers murmured, He gave this most significant reply: 
 "Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy. 
 Thy sins be forgiven thee ; or to say. Arise, and take 
 up thy bed and walk ? But that ye may know that 
 the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins (He 
 saith to the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee. Arise. 
 .... And immediately he arose." Does not this throw 
 light on all our Saviour's works of healing? He came 
 as " the great Physician," and He removed the outward 
 symptoms not only for the sake of relieving these dis- 
 tressed ones, but also and chiefly for the sake of making 
 it manifest to all, that He was able to deal effectually 
 with the central disease of sin. 
 
 But, while all diseases were regarded as symptoms 
 and symbols of sin, there was one disease above all others 
 that was so regarded and treated. This was the dreadful 
 disease of leprosy. It would be out of place to attempt 
 to enter into the medical questions which arise in con- 
 nection with this disease. But we must by all means 
 say a word in correction of the still popular fallacy, that 
 the stringent regulations of exclusion and non-inter- 
 course were made to avoid the danger of contagion. 
 There seems to be a general agreement now, that the 
 leprosy of Palestine was not, could not have been char- 
 acteristically contagious ; and that therefore, though 
 
2o6 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 there may have been a sanitary element in the ordi- 
 nances which appHed to it, just as there was in the dis- 
 tinction of animals into clean and unclean, yet here as 
 well as there, they were properly ceremonial observances, 
 the point and significance of which lay in the fact that 
 to the Jewish mind the leprosy was an outward image, 
 we might say tJie outward image, of sin. When we bear 
 this in mind, we can discern many important lessons 
 even in the details of the ritual for the leprosy (xiii. 
 1-46) ; and we can see a reason, besides the physical 
 analogy which has been proved by recent microscopic 
 science actually to exist, for treating the " dry rot " in 
 garments (ver. 47-49), and in houses (xiv. 33-57), under 
 the same head as leprosy on the person. Again and 
 again in this book of Leviticus is the solemn lesson 
 taught us, that sin is of such a nature as to pollute all 
 it touches, so that our very surroundings become tainted 
 by the impurity of our hearts and the iniquity of our 
 lives (see Jude, ver. 23). 
 
 The way of cleansing the leper is interesting and sig- 
 nificant (chap, xiv.) The main thoughts in the ritual 
 are, first, atonement and purification under the familiar 
 symbols of blood and water ; and then death and resur- 
 rection under the striking emblems of the two birds, one 
 killed, and the other allowed to fly away into its native 
 heaven. It requires no stretch of fancy to see in this, 
 what the Apostle John evidently saw when he wrote : 
 '■' This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus 
 Christ ; not by water only, but by water and blood." 
 His word was like the pure "running water" which had 
 so prominent a place in the cleansing of the leper (see 
 
Ritual of the Most Holy Place. 207 
 
 Eph. V. 26, 27) ; but even that word of His, so full of 
 instruction and consolation, was not enough ; He must 
 also give His life for us, fulfilling thus the type of the 
 " bird alive and clean," that was " killed in an earthen 
 vessel over the running water," so that the blood and 
 the water were mingled together (see John xix. 34) ; a 
 striking symbol of the fact that it is only when the 
 power of the Cross is felt in the heart, that the words of 
 the Saviour exert their purifying influence upon the life. 
 " If a man love Me " (says Christ; and it is the sacrifice, 
 of the Cross that moves our love), " he will keep My 
 words." And then, in the flight of the other bird 
 with the blood of the sacrifice upon its wings (ver. 6), 
 have we not a beautiful picture of the ascension of our 
 Lord, carrying with Him to the heaven whither He has 
 gone, the blood of His Sacrifice (Heb. ix. 12, 24), "there 
 to appear in the presence of God for us " ? 
 
 After all this, which the priest does for the leper, there 
 are certain things which the leper himself must do, the 
 general significance of which in the light of what has 
 been said is so apparent that we need not enter into par- 
 ticulars (ver. 8-10). And for the same reason we may 
 pass over the sacrifices and the anointing, which were 
 prescribed with a view to his restoration to the full priv- 
 ileges of the sanctuary, the leading ideas being the same 
 as those which have been already before our minds in 
 the ritual of the altar and in the anointing of the priests 
 (ver. 11-32). 
 
 In the fifteenth chapter the defilement of sin is the 
 leading thought. Here again there can be no doubt that 
 there was a sanitary element in the regulations. " Clean- 
 
2o8 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 liness is next to Godliness " is not, as some suppose, a 
 Bible sentence, but it is beyond all question a Bible sen- 
 timent. The first all-embracing law of the Mosaic econ- 
 omy is, Be holy. And the second is like unto it, Be clean : 
 clean in person, clean in garments, clean in house, clean 
 in camp, clean everywhere. Who can tell how much the 
 world owes to these " health laws of Moses " ? '' It is 
 certainly a curious thing," writes one who is an authority 
 on the subject, '^ worthy the notice of every student of 
 the progress of the human race, whether his standpoint 
 be religious or purely scientific, that the moving camp in 
 the wilderness was governed by as strict and perfect a 
 sanitary code as any sanitary commission could now de- 
 vise." But while in the Mosaic institutes we have evi- 
 dence of an enlightened regard to the necessity of clean- 
 liness in order to the health of the people, beyond even 
 that which we, after so many centuries of progress, have 
 yet reached, the purity of the soul was ever kept before 
 the mind as the main thing to be desired and secured. 
 " Our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience," was al- 
 ways the first thing; ''our bodies washed with pure 
 water," was the second (Heb. x. 22); and throughout the 
 book of the Law these two have been by God so joined 
 together, that no candid mind can put them asunder. 
 
 While this chapter is before us it may be well to refer 
 to the objections of those who cavil at certain portions 
 of Scripture because they are unfit to be read aloud in 
 the family. It is freely admitted that there are portions 
 of Scripture not at all adapted for this use. But that 
 does not prove that their presence in the canon is un- 
 called for. That plain speaking and plain dealing, such 
 
Ritual of the Most Holy Place. 209 
 
 as we find in the book of Leviticus, was necessary, is 
 amply proved by the history of the ancient world, and 
 of the modern world too. The Bible is the only book 
 that has exercised any considerable effect in keeping 
 men and women pure. There are many books, where 
 everything offensive to the ear is studiously avoided, 
 which nevertheless are very poison to the soul. In the 
 Bible, on the other hand, while there is not a little that 
 is offensive to the ear, there is absolutely nothing that is 
 poisonous to the spirit, unless the spirit has been poi- 
 soned already ; for we must remember that while "to the 
 pure all things are pure," " unto them that are defiled 
 and unbelieving is nothing pure ; but even their mind 
 and conscience is defiled." There is absolutely nothing 
 in the entire Bible that will not exert a holy and purify- 
 ing influence on those who read it in the right spirit. 
 And as a historical fact, such has been the result among 
 those who have made these Scriptures their companion 
 and counsellor. The Jews alone among the nations of 
 antiquity had even the conception of purity as we under- 
 stand it now. Consider for a moment, whence we de- 
 rive those exalted notions of purity, which are widely 
 prevalent in modern society, especially among Christian 
 people. Did we get them from the Greeks ? Even the 
 purest and the best of Greek philosophers, those who in 
 other respects have come nearest to Bible ethics, are 
 wofully behind in regard to personal purity of heart and 
 life, some of them tolerating and others approving that 
 which enlightened Christian sentiment utterly condemns. 
 Let any one fairly investigate the genesis and "evolu- 
 tion " of our modern ideas of chastity and purity, and 
 
2IO The Mosaic Era. 
 
 he will find that they are traceable chiefly to the Hebrew 
 Scriptures as their source. And so the remarkable fact 
 will present itself that to these very Scriptures, and 
 largely to those parts of them where the corrupt imagi- 
 nation of certain cavillers finds an indecency which is 
 all its own, w^e owe that very sentiment of delicacy which 
 makes it impossible for us to read them aloud in public 
 or in the family. 
 
 Now that the need of a great atonement, to purine the 
 sins even of the chosen and separated people, has been 
 made evident by the fall of Nadab and Abihu (Lev. x.), 
 and further impressed by a striking series of regulations, 
 pointing first to the danger of contamination from with- 
 out (xi.), and then to the horrible nature of sin within, 
 as a hereditary taint (xii.), as a loathsome disease (xiii., 
 xiv.), and as a source of frequent defilement (xv.), we 
 are prepared for appreciating the solemnities prescribed 
 in chapter xvi. as the ritual to be observed on 
 
 The Great Atonement Day. 
 
 On this day alone, of all the days of the year, being 
 the tenth day of the seventh month, the inner veil was 
 drawn aside, and the Holy of Holies opened for the en- 
 trance of the high-priest. Our first thought would prob- 
 ably be, that of all the days of the year this would be 
 the most joyful ; for was not the Holy of Holies a sym- 
 bol of heaven, and what could be more joyful than the 
 thought, " heaven is opened to-day " ? On the contrary, 
 it was appointed to be a day of special fasting and humil- 
 iation. Why? Because, as may very well be inferred 
 
Ritual of the Must Holy Place. 211 
 
 from the tenor of the chapters preceding, the leading 
 thought presented by the ritual for the day was not the 
 opening of heaven with all its glories, but rather the 
 solemn warning that '' there shall in no wise enter into 
 it anything that defileth." It is the old, old lesson 
 pressed home once again, and more solemnly than ever, 
 that " without holiness no man can see the Lord." It 
 will be time enough by-and-by to unfold the glories of 
 the future, to tell of the golden city with its gates of 
 pearl, its blessed company and joy unspeakable; but 
 first there must be borne deep into the soul this abiding 
 conviction, that before we are prepared even to see the 
 kingdom (John iii. 3), we must be saved from sin. 
 " Thou shalt call His name Jesus," not because He shall 
 prepare a beautiful place for His people, not because He 
 shall crown them with glory and joy, but because " He 
 shall save His people /r^?;;/ their sins T The method of 
 the Bible is not to put rewards in the foreground. It is 
 not happiness first, but holiness. And it is only after 
 holiness to the Lord has taken strong and abiding posses- 
 sion of the soul, that happiness from the Lord comes 
 down on joyous wing from out the open heaven. 
 
 Marvel not, then, that on the day on which the 
 " Holiest of all " was opened, the people were called to 
 fasting and humiliation on account of their sin, nor 
 wonder that, for the purpose of entering within the veil, 
 the high-priest was directed to put on, not his robes '' of 
 gloiy and beauty," but plain linen garments, all of white 
 (even the girdle, usually of the colours of the sanctuary 
 when all the rest were colourless, being white on this 
 occasion), so that the thought of holiness should stand 
 
212 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 before the mind's eye of the people quite alone. This 
 seems to be the intent of the nota bene of the fourth 
 verse : '' These are holy garments." Still further, the 
 festal offerings were excluded : no bread-offering, no joy- 
 offering to-day; only the sin-offering and the burnt- 
 offering, the great essentials. And even the burnt-offer- 
 ing sinks into an entirely secondary position, that the 
 attention may be concentrated from beginning to end 
 on the sin-offering, and on the great fact of atonement, 
 which gave significance to the ritual and name to the 
 day. 
 
 The high-priest must offer an atonement first for his 
 own sins, and then for the sins of the people. We shall 
 confine our attention to the latter, as the prominent and 
 characteristic feature of the day. The sin-offering for 
 the people consisted of two goats ; the number being 
 two from a necessity similar to that which required two 
 birds for the ceremony of cleansing the leper. Two birds 
 were needed on that occasion, in order that both death 
 and resurrection might be in the symbol, which would 
 have been otherwise impossible without a miracle ; and 
 here two goats are necessary, in order that both the 
 means of atonement and the result of atonement may 
 be presented in the same rite. 
 
 The one goat, determined by lot to be '' for the 
 Lord," symbolized, as we shall see, the means; the 
 other, determined by lot to be '' for the scapegoat," " 
 
 * We do not enter on the discussion of the difficult word Azazel, 
 because we believe that, after all that has been written on the sub- 
 ject, the meaning conveyed to the mind by our translation is more 
 nearly accurate than by any that could be substituted. 
 
Ritual of the Most Holy Place. 213 
 
 the effect of atonement. The former was sacrificed at 
 the altar of burnt-offering, and its blood carried within 
 the veil with the same attendant ceremonies as were pre- 
 scribed for the previous entrance, when the high-priest 
 presented the blood of the bullock as a sin-offering for 
 himself. The manner of his entrance was in keeping 
 with all that had gone before. It was with no eager 
 curiosity that the high-priest drew aside the veil, but in 
 deep reverence and humility, with downcast eyes directed 
 to the Mercy-Seat and to the floor, where the sacred 
 blood was to be sprinkled seven times, while a cloud of 
 incense rose before him to veil the dazzling lustre of the 
 Shekinah glory. The sprinkling of the Mercy-Seat and 
 of the floor in front of it, was followed by a similar use 
 of the blood in the Holy Place, and at the altar of burnt- 
 offering, " to hallow " the scene of worship and of sac- 
 rifice " from the uncleanness of the children of Israel " 
 (ver. 19), services in which we recognize the counterpart 
 of what had been so impressively taught in the preced- 
 ing chapters as to the contaminating effect of sin on all 
 it touches. 
 
 The idea is, that even after the most scrupulous care 
 had been taken all through the year, not only in the 
 avoiding of sin, but also in the atoning for it by follow- 
 ing the prescribed ritual of the altar and of the Holy 
 Place, so much of evil still remained, adhering as it were 
 to the most sacred services of the sanctuary, and accu- 
 mulating from day to day, that every year there needed 
 to be this great atonement, not only for the sins of the 
 people, but for " reconciling the holy place and the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation, and the altar " (ver. 20). So 
 
214 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 much for the goat which was determined by lot to be 
 '' for the Lord." 
 
 The other goat was to be dealt with in an entirely 
 different way : " And Aaron shall lay both his hands 
 upon the head of 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, and shall send him away by the hand 
 of a fit man into the wilderness ; and the goat shall bear 
 upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited " 
 (ver. 21,22). We have seen that the hallowing of the 
 Tabernacle from all the uncleanness of the children of 
 Israel was the aspect of atonement presented in the for- 
 mer part of the ceremonial. Now it is the hallowing of 
 the people themselves that is prominent. And inasmuch 
 as the means of atonement had been very fully exhibited 
 in the early part by the killing of the animal and the 
 sprinkling of its blood, the m.ind is now directed specially 
 to the result, viz., the removal of the iniquities of the 
 penitent and believing people far away out of sight and 
 memory, '' to a land not inhabited," where no eye could 
 ever see them, or finger point at them in scorn or re- 
 proach. The effect of this impressive ceremony will be 
 traced in such utterances as these in the poet prophets 
 of later times : " As far as the east is from the west, so 
 far hath He removed our transgressions from us " ; 
 " The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there 
 shall be none ; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not 
 be found " ; " Thou wilt cast all their sins into the 
 depths of the sea." 
 
 And now that the great atonement has been made, 
 
Ritual of the Most Holy Place. 215 
 
 the high-priest puts off the linen garments and puts on 
 his gorgeous robes, the onyx stones upon his shoulders, 
 the precious stones upon his breast again, and offers the 
 burnt-offering for himself and for the people. We have 
 seen already that the day was to be above all a day of 
 atonement, so that the sin-offering takes the place of all 
 the others, and stands out as it were alone ; but even 
 then the opportunity cannot be allowed to pass of point- 
 ing out that atonement is in order to dedication and 
 acceptance, the dedication of the people to God and the 
 acceptance of the people by God ; and this is kept before 
 the mind by the presentation of the burnt-offering by 
 the priest in his priestly attire as the representative of 
 the now " reconciled " people. 
 
 So far we have had before us simply the symbolical 
 meaning of these impressive rites. But as we have 
 looked at their symbolism, we cannot have failed to see 
 how instructively typical they are of the work of Him 
 who came to fulfil the ritual of the great Atonement 
 Day. He came, not in His robes of glory and beauty, 
 but in the plain linen garments of humanity, assumed 
 in order that He might make atonement for us in the 
 flesh. But though the garments of His humanity were 
 plain, they were white, for " He did no sin, neither was 
 guile found in His mouth." And thus attired. He ad- 
 vances to the altar; and the blood of the victim flows. 
 The awful sacrifice proceeds ; until at last, when all is 
 over, " Behold ! the veil of the temple was rent in twain 
 from the top to the bottom." " It is finished." Heaven 
 is opened now. " It was necessary that the patterns 
 of things in the heavens should be purified with these 
 
2i6 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 [the sacrifices of the great atonement day] ; but the 
 heavenly thmgs themselves with better sacrifices than 
 these" (Heb. ix. 23). ''The holy places made with 
 hands " w^ere but " figures of the true " ; but now the 
 Holy Place not made with hands, even Heaven itself, is 
 reconciled, and ready for the entrance of a redeemed 
 and purified people. 
 
 And accordingly, our great High-Priest, having laid 
 aside His plain vesture of mortal flesh, re-clothes Him- 
 self with His garments of glory and beauty, and thus 
 attired, in the fair form of His resurrection vesture, 
 bearing upon His strong and conquering shoulders the 
 weight, and in His warm and loving heart the names, 
 of all His children, He leads the way as " the Fore- 
 runner " into the holy, blessed presence of our loving 
 reconciled Father, God. 
 
 The very close connection between atonement and 
 the obedience of the daily life, is strikingly suggested 
 by the easy and natural way in which the transition is 
 made from the lofty regions of faith into which the 
 symbolism of the sixteenth chapter has elevated the 
 thoughts of the faithful, to the level ground of ordinary 
 every-day duties in the chapters which follow. We have 
 here, as it were, an answer by anticipation to the objec- 
 tion raised against the faith of the Gospel in later 
 times. One might readily conceive a danger attendant 
 upon such a service as that which we have been follow- 
 ing, culminating in the strongest assurance that all the 
 iniquities of the people have been, on the ground of an 
 atonement so easily offered and so ready to hand, re- 
 
Ritual of the Most Holy Place. 217 
 
 moved for ever out of sight— the danger of making 
 light of the necessity of daily obedience. This danger 
 is guarded against by an abrupt and peremptory return 
 to the legal enactments which immediately follow ; so 
 that Moses might have challenged criticism in much the 
 same terms as the Apostle Paul did, when he said : " Do 
 we then make void the law through faith ? Nay, rather, 
 we establish the law." The opening of heaven is of no 
 value unless it lead to the hallowing of earth. Mere 
 religiousness will never do. There are those who under 
 the influence of Divine things get into exalted and 
 ecstatic states, see glorious visions, and seem to sit for a 
 time at heaven's gate, who are nevertheless capable 
 afterwards of very mean actions. There is no counte- 
 nance in Scripture to such glaring inconsistencies. 
 When we shall have been finally purged from our selfish- 
 ness, it will be time to indulge in these transports with- 
 out anything to hold in check our holy enthusiasm. 
 But meantime matter-of-fact duty must attend very 
 closely on our loftiest exercises of faith and hope. If 
 we may " mount up with wings as eagles " at times, we 
 must even then see that we are ready to " run and not 
 be weary, and to walk and not faint," even though the 
 walking may seem to be mere plodding along a " plain 
 path." No building of tabernacles on the mount as yet 
 
 only a short stay and a quick return to the duties and 
 
 services of the plain beneath. 
 
 In the seventeenth chapter there are regulations about 
 food; in the eighteenth, regarding marriage and the 
 purity of the family relations ; in the nineteenth and 
 twentieth, sundry precepts of general morality ; and in 
 
2i8 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 the twenty-first and twenty-second, special regulations 
 for the conduct of the priests of the Lord. Here again 
 our plan forbids the investigation of details. I shall 
 therefore only make a few general remarks on the char- 
 acteristics of these regulations. 
 
 First, in regard to those passages which caution the 
 people against vices of special enormity, we must re- 
 member that they were about to be settled in dangerous 
 proximity to peoples who were thoroughly corrupted 
 by these very vices, and therefore the cautions were not 
 by any means unnecessary. Accustomed as most of us 
 are to the pure air of Christian society, in which, not- 
 withstanding all the selfishness and sin that still abound, 
 vices such as these are " not so much as named," and 
 the very possibility of them seems out of the question, 
 it is difficult for us to imagine how different was the con- 
 dition of society, before these purifying influences were 
 brought to bear on it, which issued from Mount Sinai first, 
 and afterwards from Gennesaret's shore and " the place 
 called Calvary." And when we find such warnings in the 
 book of Leviticus, we ought in the first place to feel hum- 
 bled by the thought of the fearful lengths to which sin un- 
 restrained by Divine grace will carry its wretched victim ; 
 and, in the second place, to lift up our hearts in grati- 
 tude to God, that in these latter days, though evil still 
 abounds, we* are nevertheless protected from such out- 
 rages to our moral and spiritual nature as those to which 
 even the chosen people were exposed in the ancient times. 
 
 On the other hand, it is pleasant to find in these chap- 
 ters the evidence that the Mosaic law came in many re- 
 spects nearer to the morality of the New Testament than 
 
Ritual of the Most Holy Place. 219 
 
 most people are willing to admit. For illustration, let 
 us read a few of these laws. ^' When ye reap the harvest 
 of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of 
 thy field, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy 
 vineyard ; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger. 
 I am the Lord your God " (xix. 9, 10). " Thou shalt rise 
 up before the hoary head, and honour the face of an old 
 man, and fear thy God : I am the Lord " (ver. 32) — a 
 much needed injunction still. "And if a stranger so- 
 journ with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But 
 the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as 
 one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself ; 
 for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt : I am the 
 Lord your God" (ver. 33, 34). 
 
 Finally, it is interesting to notice in these regulations, 
 and throughout the entire Law, the care which is taken 
 to keep religion and morality closely wedded and welded 
 together. " I am the Lord your God," is continually put 
 forth, not as a creed article, but as an unanswerable argu- 
 ment for strictest obedience and the most scrupulous in- 
 tegrity. The relations of privilege which the people en- 
 joyed are continually set forth as increasing their respon- 
 sibility. " To whom much is given, of them much shall 
 be required," is a principle taken for granted all through. 
 The quotations already given are sufficient illustration ; 
 but another may be added, especially as, unhappily, the 
 world has not yet outgrown the need of it. " Ye shall 
 do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in 
 weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a 
 just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have : I am the Lord 
 your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt " 
 
220 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 (ver. 35, 36). And so, too, in the closing passages of our 
 long section : " Therefore shall ye keep My command- 
 ments, and do them : I am the Lord. Neither shall ye 
 profane My holy name ; but I will be hallowed among 
 the children of Israel : I am the LORD which hallow 
 you, that brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be 
 your God : I am the LORD " (xxii. 32, 33). 
 
XIV. 
 SACRED TIMES. 
 
 LEVITICUS XXIII.-XXVII. 
 
 THE sacred times of Israel are arranged in cycles of 
 seven, the sacred number. There seem to be no 
 data in Scripture for determining on what idea the 
 sacredness of the number seven is founded. In the 
 symbolic numbers of other nations we may possibly find 
 some assistance, especially in the system of Pythagoras, 
 who on account of extensive travel, particularly in Egypt, 
 is likely to have been acquainted with the mind of the 
 ancients on the subject which lay nearest to his heart. 
 In his system, three was the symbol of the infinite, and 
 four of the finite, the Cosmos. The number seven 
 (r^ 3 + 4) represented the union of the infinite and finite, 
 of heaven and earth, of God and man. It is quite pos- 
 sible there may be some thought of this kind underlying 
 the sacredness of the number; and perhaps we have 
 some indication of it in the fact that the same combina- 
 tion of letters which is used in the Hebrew language for 
 the word seven, means also an oath, which is an appeal 
 from the finite to the infinite. But, whatever be the ex- 
 planation, the fact is evident, that seven was a sacred 
 number, and that accordingly the sacred times are ar- 
 
 (221) 
 
222 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 ranged in cycles of seven. There is first a cycle of seven 
 days, ending with the Sabbath ; then a cycle of seven 
 weeks, closing with '' the Feast of Weeks " ; a cycle of 
 seven months, culminating in the Month of Feasts ; a 
 cycle of seven years, closing with the Sabbatical Year ; 
 and a cycle of seven sevens of years, or seven weeks of 
 years, followed by the Jubilee. 
 
 I. — The Seven Days, closing with the 
 Sabbath. 
 
 We shall not dwell on this most familiar cycle of seven, 
 further than to call attention to the way in which it is 
 introduced : " Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which 
 ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are 
 My feasts. Six days shall work be done : but the seventh 
 day is the Sabbath of rest." The Sabbath, then, was a 
 /cast day. It is very common now to represent the Jew- 
 ish Sabbath as a day of bondage, of weariness and dreari- 
 ness. That many otherwise intelligent and even learned 
 people are in the habit of so characterizing it, does not 
 alter the fact that it is a mark of inexcusable ignorance 
 so to do. The Sabbath was intended to be, and to all 
 true Hebrews really was, a day of rejoicing, the choicest 
 day of all the seven. The first object was rest : " Six days 
 shalt thou do thy work, and on the seventh day thou 
 shalt rest." Is it so hard and cruel a thing to insist on 
 working people having a day's rest after six days' labour? 
 " Six days shalt thou work, and on the seventh thou shalt 
 rest ; that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the 
 stranger may be refreshed." The critics we refer to 
 often speak as if Sabbath laws were bad enough for 
 
Sacred Times. 223 
 
 those " to the manner born," but intolerable for strangers 
 with different habits who are unfortunate enough to re- 
 side among them. It all depends on the way it is look- 
 ed at ; and here is the way the law of Moses looked at 
 it : " that the stranger may be refreshed^ It is not the 
 idea of restraint that is prominent, it is rest and refresh- 
 ment. Then there is the additional idea of holiness: 
 '' remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy." There 
 are those to whom the very thought of holiness is an in- 
 tolerable burden. All we can say about them is, that 
 they are deeply to be pitied. To crown all, there is the 
 thought o{joy, which appears all through the Old Testa- 
 ment references to the Sabbath. Rest, refreshment, holi- 
 ness, joy — these are the ideas which are connected with 
 the Sabbath of the Lord (the Sabbath of the Rabbis was 
 a different thing), and yet our intelligent critics tell us — 
 and iterate and reiterate it ad nauseam — that the Sab- 
 bath of the Decalogue was a dreary bondage. 
 
 Not only so, but the entire Jewish system is often 
 represented as dull, dreary, and dolorous. On the con- 
 trary, it was characterized especially by times of feasting 
 and rejoicing. See how much there is in the law about 
 "■ the feasts of the Lord," and how little about fasting ! 
 The year was studded over with feast-days. There was 
 only one day of fasting and humiliation, viz., the great 
 Atonement Day. Later on in the history, when the 
 sins of the people had drawn down upon them Divine 
 chastisements in the shape of great national calamxities, 
 fast days were multiplied ; but in the beginning it was 
 not so. The Lord's intention was to fill the week, the 
 month, the year, with joy. It was for this purpose that 
 
224 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 all the feasts were appointed, and specially the first and 
 most frequently recurring, and therefore the most blessed 
 of all, the holy, joyous Sabbath. 
 
 II. — The Seven Weeks, beginning with the 
 Passover and closing with Pentecost. 
 
 This cycle of weeks was of yearly recurrence. It 
 began with the Passover eve, that " night to be much 
 observed unto the Lord, for bringing them out of the 
 land of Egypt ; that night to be observed of all the 
 children of Israel in their generations." As the orig- 
 inal Passover was the beginning of their national his- 
 tory, so the anniversary of it was regarded as the be- 
 ginning of the sacred year ; the month of Abib in which 
 it occurred being reckoned the first month, in accordance 
 with the regulation made at the time of the Exodus : 
 " this month shall be unto you the beginning of months ; 
 it shall be the first month of the year to you." 
 
 The feast of the Passover was, in the first place, com- 
 memorative. It celebrated the great deliverance from 
 Egyptian bondage. But, inasmuch as that deliverance 
 was itself typical of the great salvation from sin, the 
 ceremonial of the Passover feast was typical of the 
 means by which this great salvation was to be effected. 
 As we had this before us in our study of the Exodus, 
 we need not dwell on it now. The feast of the Passover, 
 occupying a day, was immediately followed by '' the 
 feast of Unleavened Bread," lasting for a week. We 
 have seen already that bread was a constant symbol of 
 life, while leaven stood for corruption ; so that the idea 
 associated with unleavened bread is that of life purified 
 
Sacred Times. 
 
 225 
 
 from evil. The seven days during which the feast lasted, 
 being a complete cycle of time, fitly represented life in 
 its entirety, which ought to be purified from all evil as 
 the result of the atoning sacrifice symbolized in the 
 Passover. The connection of ideas is very clearly 
 brought out by the Apostle Paul in his first Epistle to 
 the Corinthians (v. 7, 8) : " Purge out therefore the old 
 leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. 
 For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us : there- 
 fore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither 
 with the leaven of malice and wickedness ; but with the 
 unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." 
 
 There was one day in the week of the feast which 
 was specially signalized. It was the day following the 
 Sabbath of that week (Lev. xxiii. 1 1). On that day 
 the first sheaf of the early harvest, the barley harvest, 
 which at that season of the year was just beginning to 
 be gathered, was presented by waving to the Lord. It 
 was from this day, ''Wave-sheaf Day" we may call it, 
 that the seven weeks of Pentecost were counted. The 
 special importance of this will appear by-and-by. 
 
 The day after the seven weeks closed, being the fiftieth 
 day, was the feast of Pentecost (ver. 15, 16). This feast 
 had probably a historical basis too, the fiftieth day being 
 the anniversary of the Lord's appearing on Sinai ; but 
 if it were so, the historical reference did not appear in 
 the ritual for the day, which had regard, like the ritual 
 of the wave-sheaf day, from which the seven weeks were 
 counted, to the harvest operations. By this time the 
 wheat harvest had been gathered in, and in accordance 
 with this the characteristic ceremony of the day was the 
 10* 
 
226 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 presentation by waving to the Lord of two loaves, baked 
 from the meal of the recent harvest. It is worthy of 
 notice that, while with the w^ave sheaf of the earlier 
 feast no sin-offering was presented, and no leaven was in 
 use (it being the days of unleavened bread), the wave 
 loaves of the later feast were by express orders baked 
 with leaven (ver. 17), and their presentation to the Lord 
 was accompanied with a sin-offering (ver. 19). On the 
 significance of this we shall have something more to say 
 farther on. Meantime it is enough to notice that the 
 s/ica/\v2LS the work of God, pure and simple, offered just 
 as it grew in the field, whereas the /oaves were the result 
 of man's labour in a sense in which the other was not. 
 God's work is perfect ; man's at best is mixed with 
 evil, and needs to be atoned for. The feast of Pente- 
 cost, as we have seen, closes the cycle of the seven 
 weeks. 
 
 in. — The Seven Months, culminating in the 
 Month of Feasts. 
 
 The month of the Passover was, as we have seen, the 
 first month of the sacred year. The feast of Pentecost, 
 coming as it did at the close of the seven-week cycle, 
 occurred in the third month. But the culmination and 
 crown of the sacred year was in the seventh month (ver. 
 23-44). There were three great occasions in this month. 
 The first was the feast of Trumpets (ver. 23-25). The 
 blowing of the trumpets summoned the people to a 
 holy convocation, which ushered in the special joy of 
 the specially sacred month. But the highest joy which 
 
Sacred Times. 227 
 
 is possible to man on earth can be reached only through 
 the valley of humiliation and the pathway of penitential 
 sorrow. Hence on the tenth day of the month there 
 were the solemnities of the great Atonement Day (ver. 
 26-32), which formed the subject of our last lecture. 
 We then dwelt on the remarkable fact, which appears 
 again in the passage before us with still greater emphasis, 
 that the day on which the Holy of Holies was opened 
 was the one day of the year which was specially set 
 apart for fasting and humiliation and penitential sorrow. 
 But it is important now to notice that, after the short 
 season of humiliation was over, the crowning joy of all 
 the year was ushered in. The day of fasting, occurring 
 on the tenth, was followed by a four days' pause, to give 
 its solemn impressions time to be graven deeply on the 
 people's souls, and then, on the fifteenth day of the 
 month, the nation was summoned to the festivities and 
 rejoicings of the great feast of Tabernacles (ver. 33-44). 
 
 This feast lasted seven days, like the feast of unleav- 
 ened bread at the beginning of the year ; and the sacred 
 joy increased from day to day until '' the last day, that 
 great day of the feast," concerning which it was a com- 
 mon saying of the Rabbis that he who had not seen the 
 rejoicing of the people at that glad time, had yet to 
 learn what true joy was. As in the others, there was a 
 historical basis for the celebration. It commemorated 
 the time when, after leaving Egypt behind them, the 
 children of Israel gathered in their first camp of freedom 
 at Succoth, where they had built themselves booths or 
 leafy huts, whence the name. Hence also the use of 
 palm branches and boughs of goodly trees (ver. 40), and 
 
228 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 the dwelling in booths (ver. 42) during the celebration. 
 It is interesting to find here the roots of that familiar 
 association of ideas by which palm branches are the 
 recognized symbols of triumph. 
 
 Like the other great feasts, this one was also associ- 
 ated vvdth the labours of the husbandman. It was the 
 great harvest festival, " the harvest home " of Israel. 
 The entire produce and vintage of the year were by this 
 time gathered in ; and accordingly it was known fre- 
 quently as the feast of Ingathering. In this aspect it 
 may be regarded as prophetical of the times of consum- 
 mation, the culmination of the Sacred Year of the Lord, 
 when the *' great multitude which no man can number, 
 of all nations and people and kindred and tongues, shall 
 stand before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and 
 palms in their hands, crying with a loud voice, ' Salvation 
 to our God that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
 Lamb.' " 
 
 Before passing to the remaining cycles of seven, it 
 may be well to pause, as indeed the sacred writer pauses 
 (see chap, xxiv., which is obviously parenthetical), in 
 order to revievv^ the Sacred Year, and gather from it any 
 lessons it may contain concerning Him in whom all the 
 types and shadows of the law find their fulfilment and 
 realization. For this purpose it will be well to examine 
 the diagram opposite, which the pages following ex- 
 plain. 
 
 The sacrifice of " Christ our Passover " is already quite 
 familiar to us, only it may be well to call attention to the 
 

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230 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 striking illustration of it, which was given by our Lord 
 Himself to Andrew and Philip, on their calling His 
 attention to the desire to see Him of certain Greeks, 
 who had come " to worship at the feast," that very feast 
 of Passover which was signalized by His crucifixion. It 
 is this: '^Verily, verily, I say unto you. Except a corn 
 of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone : 
 but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit .... and I, if 
 I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto 
 Me. This He said, signifying what death He should 
 die " (John xii. 24-33). 
 
 On the day following the Sabbath, the first sheaf of 
 the early harvest was presented to the Lord. And it was 
 on that very day, the day following the Sabbath of the 
 Passover, being the first day of the week, that Christ 
 rose from the dead, and became " the jirstfruits of them 
 that sleep " (i Cor. xv. 20). 
 
 After the lapse of seven weeks from that day (you 
 remember how carefully Israel was instructed to count 
 the seven weeks from the wave-sheaf morn), on the fif- 
 tieth, or Pentecostal day, the first loaves of the harvest 
 were presented to the Lord ; and on that very day, the 
 fiftieth or Pentecostal day after His resurrection, there 
 were presented to the Lord the firstfriiits of the results 
 of His great redeeming work, when the first three thou^ 
 sand converts were gathered by the labours of the 
 Apostles (Acts ii.) And do we not now see a special 
 significance in the presence of leaven in the loaves, and 
 the accompaniment of the sin-offering in the presenta- 
 tion ? Christ Himself was the Firstfruits ; and He was 
 absolutely without taint of the leaven of sin, B,ut when 
 
Sacred Times. 231 
 
 the firstfrults of His people are presented to the Lord, 
 though their sins are forgiven, they are far from perfect 
 yet ; the leaven of evil is still there, and will show itself, 
 alas ! too soon, in the guilt of Ananias and Sapphira. 
 Still, they do belong to the spiritual harvest, and though, 
 in token of the sin that still is found among them, the 
 use of leaven and the accompaniment of the sin-offering 
 find a place in the ritual of presentation, yet imperfect 
 as they are, they are presented to the Lord and accepted 
 by Him as the firstfruits of the great harvest Vv'hich shall 
 be garnered in the fulness of the times. 
 
 The Ingathering Week, as we have seen, will find its 
 antitype in the great gathering of the reeleeineei of all na- 
 tions which shall close the Sacred Year of the Lord. 
 The days in which we live, come in between Pentecost 
 and the Ingathering. By faith we look backwards and 
 grasp the great facts of the death and resurrection of 
 our Lord (Passover Eve and Wave-sheaf Morn), and the 
 descent of the Comforter (Pentecost). In hope we look 
 forward to the coming Day of the Lord, and rejoice in 
 the anticipated glories of the great Week of Ingathering 
 which that day shall usher in. Meantime we are called 
 in the devotion of loving service to work as well as wait 
 for His coming, blowing the Gospel trumpet, and pro- 
 claiming the full Atonement which prepares the way for 
 the glorious consummation. (See Diagram). 
 
 IV. — The Seven Years, closing with the 
 Sabbatical Year. 
 
 Just as the last of every seven days was a Sabbath 
 day, so the last of every seven years was a Sabbath year, 
 
232 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 according to the law in Leviticus xxv. 1-7. During this 
 year the ordinary labours of the husbandman were sus- 
 pended (ver. 4) ; but we are not from this to infer, as 
 Tacitus does in a passing reference to the Jews of his 
 time, that the seventh year was devoted to idleness ; for 
 it must be remembered that there was no prohibition of 
 vv'ork in general, such as applied to the seventh day. 
 The rest of the seventh day was for man and beast ; the 
 rest of the seventh year was for the land : " it is a year 
 of rest unto the laucV (ver. 5). From this it follows that 
 the year would afford an opportunity for attending to 
 many necessary things which in other years might be apt 
 to be neglected on account of the pressure of work upon 
 the land itself ; just as the long months of the Canadian 
 winter are no time of idleness to the diligent farmer 
 there, though from the beginning of December to the 
 end of March the soil may be completely and thickly 
 covered with its heavy mantle of snow. The ordinance 
 of the Sabbatical year may indeed have had some refer- 
 ence to the advantages which were to be derived from 
 allowing land that is cultivated from year to year to lie 
 fallow at times ; and such rest would be all the more 
 necessary at a time when there was no system, such as- 
 prevails now, of rotation of crops. But whatever may 
 be thought as to its agricultural bearing, there is every 
 reason to suppose that, like all the rest of the ritual, the 
 Sabbath year had its symbolical meaning. What this 
 may have been will be more advantageously considered 
 after we have studied the Year of Jubilee. 
 
 The appointment of the year of rest for the land was 
 quite a severe test of the faith of Israel ; and in the ab- 
 
Sacred Times. 
 
 233 
 
 sence of evidence on the subject, It remains doubtful 
 whether they stood the test in the early years of their 
 history. It would almost seem, from some passages (es- 
 pecially 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21), that the ordinance was sys'- 
 tematically disregarded, and that this was one of the 
 reasons why the national history was so sadly unlike its 
 ideal. There is, however, evidence to show that the 
 Sabbatical year was observed after the return from the 
 Babylonish Captivity. 
 
 V. — The Seven Weeks of Years, Followed by 
 THE Jubilee. 
 
 The idea of weeks of years was quite familiar to the 
 Hebrew mind, and the more so that the Hebrew word 
 for " week " was simply a modification of the word 
 " seven." When we remember this, we can see that 
 there is nothing arbitrary in the interpretation which is 
 usually given to such passages as that in Daniel, where 
 his seventy weeks are understood to mean 490 years 
 (Dan. Ix. 24). So many weeks literally mean so many 
 sevens. Ordinarily, of course. It meant sevens of days ; 
 but there was nothing out of the way in its application 
 to sevens of years, especially as the conception of weeks 
 of years was rendered quite familiar by the mode of 
 reckoning up the years between one Jubilee and another. 
 
 The characteristic features of the Jubilee year, in ad- 
 dition to what it had in common with the Sabbatical 
 year, are set forth In the tenth verse of the chapter be- 
 fore us: "Ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim 
 liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants 
 
234 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you ; and ye shall re- 
 turn every man unto his possession, and ye shall return 
 every man unto his family." Here we have, as always, 
 the predominant notes of holiness and joy : " Ye shall 
 Jiallow the fiftieth year " ; " it shall be a jubilee'^ 
 unto you." The former is the keynote of the entire 
 Mosaic system ; the latter is the predominant strain 
 (for, as we have seen, there is very little of the minor 
 key in it) throughout ; and the notes of the Jubilee 
 were the climax of the "joyful noise " which this favour- 
 ed land was called to make unto the Lord (Ps. c. i). The 
 special occasions of jubilation in the Jubilee year are 
 also given in the verse we have just quoted : first, the 
 proclamation of " liberty throughout all the land unto 
 all the inhabitants thereof," and next an invitation to 
 " return every man unto his possession," and '' every 
 man unto his family." 
 
 Here again there is undoubtedly a political foundation 
 for the Jubilee ordinance, just as there probably was an 
 agricultural basis for the ordinance of the Sabbatical 
 year ; and a very little consideration will show that, as a 
 political regulation, it would operate to prevent the ac- 
 cumulation of wealth in the hands of the few, and tend 
 to preserve that comparative social equality which dis- 
 tinguished the community of Israel in the beginning. 
 It would, indeed, tend periodically to rectify all those 
 disorders and abuses which are apt to grow up in the 
 state, and become aggravated by the lapse of time, and 
 
 * The most probable derivation of the word "jubilee " is, by 
 onomatopoeia, from a sound expressiv^e of joy. 
 
Sacred Times. 235 
 
 would give those who had been unfortunate or incon- 
 siderate, an opportunity of beginning afresh in the 
 ancient patrimony. And all this would be accomplish- 
 ed without the slightest infringement of vested or ac- 
 quired rights, inasmuch as the law was made before the 
 land was divided, before a single transaction had been 
 entered into in reference to any part of it ; so that 
 whatever was done, was done with the full knowledge of 
 the bearing which the Jubilee law would have upon 
 the transaction, when the appointed time came round. 
 
 But while the political importance of the Jubilee is 
 sufficiently obvious, there can be no question that it had 
 a symbolical and prophetic significance as well. This 
 appears in sundry passages, notably in that passage in 
 Isaiah which our Lord read at the opening of His min- 
 istry in the synagogue at Nazareth, as recorded by Luke 
 (iv. 18, 19): ''The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, be- 
 cause He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the 
 poor ; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to 
 preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of 
 sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised ; 
 to preach tJic acceptable year of the Lordy And then 
 He began to say, '' This day is this Scripture fulfilled in 
 your ears." Thus our Lord Himself claimed that in His 
 Gospel the Year of Jubilee received its fulfilment. And 
 surely the claim was well founded. Did He not '' pro- 
 claim liberty through all the land unto all the inhabitants 
 thereof" (Lev. xxv. 10)? And not only through all the 
 land, but through all the eartJi ; and here it is important 
 to bear in mind that the Hebrew word for '' earth " and 
 for " land " is the same, so that the words in Leviticus 
 
236 The Mosaic Era.- 
 
 can, without the alteration of a single letter, be so ap- 
 plied : " Proclaim liberty through all the earth to all the 
 inhabitants thereof." " Behold the lamb of God that 
 taketh away the sin of the ivorld I " And the connection 
 Is made still closer when we remember that the Septua- 
 glnt translation of " the Jubilee " was ''the year of for- 
 giveness" ; so that, by the common use of that transla- 
 tion, the minds of the people were specially prepared 
 for finding In the forgiveness of sins which was preached 
 by Jesus Christ the fulfilment of the leading character- 
 istic of the Jubilee. And then did He not proclaim also 
 the '' return of every man unto his possession," and of 
 " every man unto his family " ? By sin every man had 
 forfeited his original birthright, and had been banished 
 from the blessed family of his Father God, and had thus 
 become a pauper and an outcast. Jesus Christ came to 
 restore us to our lost inheritance, and to the family from 
 which we had wandered. " Ye know the grace of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who, though He was rich, yet for 
 your sakes became poor, that ye through His poverty 
 might be made rich." And ye know also that '' to as 
 many as received Him, to them gave He power to be- 
 come the sons of God." And all this He did in such a 
 way as not to dim in the slightest, but rather greatly to 
 increase, the lustre of the Divine holiness. We thus see 
 that in every sense of the term, '' the acceptable year of 
 the Lord " which the Saviour preached was the fulfilling 
 of all that was symbolic and prophetic in the grand old 
 Jubilee of Israel. 
 
 If we follow carefully the series of sacred cycles of 
 
Sacred Times. 237 
 
 time, which we have briefly surveyed, we shall find first 
 a strictly Sabbatic or seventh day series culminating in 
 the Sabbatical year ; and then, growing out of it, another 
 similar series, not strictly Sabbatic, but rather an eighth 
 day series, retaining, however, the Sabbatical characteris- 
 tics, and culminating in the Jubilee. Let us look at each 
 of these in succession. 
 
 I.— The Sabbatic Series. 
 
 Here we have first a day series, six days of labour fol- 
 lowed by one of rest ; then a month series, six months 
 at the beginning of each sacred year, followed by the 
 Sabbatical month ; and finally, a year series, six years 
 of ordinary labour, and then a year of rest for the land. 
 Now, it is important to bear in mind that this arrange- 
 ment of six working periods (not necessarily days, as is 
 evident), followed by a period of rest, is rooted in the 
 six working days or periods of creation, followed by the 
 day of Divine rest (see Exod. xx. 11, and Heb. iv. 3). 
 On the other hand, there is evidence in Scripture to 
 show that the Sabbath was a type of " the rest that re- 
 maineth for the people of God " after the working time 
 of life on earth is over. What is the inference from 
 these unquestioned facts of Scripture ? Is it not fair to 
 infer that in these successive Sabbatical series, beginning 
 with the miniature series of the week of days, and en- 
 larging to the week of years, we have a symbolic pre- 
 sentation of God's plan in creation and in providence, of 
 six working periods of indefinite extent, characterized 
 by effort, struggle, trial, slow and sometimes uncertain 
 
238 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 progress, onward to a glorious end, to be realized and en- 
 joyed in a seventh period, distinguished from the six as 
 a period of rest — not the rest of inactivity, however, but 
 the rest of freedom from the efforts and struggles and 
 trials of the preceding periods? So much in general; 
 but we shall find something more special and more strik- 
 ing; when we look at the other series. 
 
 II. — The Eighth Day Series. 
 
 Those who have followed attentively these cycles of 
 sacred time, must have observed that, while seven is the 
 ever recurring number, and while the seventh of each 
 series is the Sabbath, there have also come in some very 
 significant eighths. The eighth day was of course the 
 first of a new series ; but it is not as the first of an or- 
 dinary series of seven that it is treated, but as an extra 
 day beyond the seven. As an eighth^ it was outside of 
 the Jewish cycles of seven. Was there any special rea- 
 son for these eighth day celebrations ? Let us look at 
 them and see. 
 
 The first was on the Wave-sheaf morn. Here are the 
 directions given : " The priest shall wave the sheaf be- 
 fore the Lord, to be accepted for you : on the morrow 
 after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it " (Lev. xxiii. 
 1 1). Now, compare with this the evangelist Matthew's 
 account of the resurrection, which, as we have seen, took 
 place on Wave-sheaf morn : " In the end of the Sabbat Ji^ 
 as it began to dazvn tozvards the first day of the week, 
 came Mary," etc. On the morrow after the Sabbath 
 Christ rose from the dead, " the firstfruits of them that 
 
Sacred Times. 239 
 
 sleep," accepted for them — very early in the morning, as 
 all the Evangelists are careful to state, thus beginning a 
 new year, not embraced within the compass of the old 
 Jewish sacred times, but opening out indefinitely to the 
 great spiritual harvest, of which the eighth day celebra- 
 tions were the recognized types (see John iv. 35). 
 
 The next significant eighth was Pentecost. The Sab- 
 bath of weeks had been completed, seven times seven 
 days, after which came Pentecost, not on the forty-ninth 
 day, not on the seventh of the last cycle of seven, but 
 on the eighth, the morrow following the Sabbath. And 
 here again it is manifestly outside of the sacred sevens, 
 because the cycle of seven weeks came only once a year, 
 so that the fiftieth day pointed, as It were, out into vacant 
 space. As the Wave -sheaf Day was the morrow after 
 the Sabbath at the beginning, Pentecost was the morrow 
 after the Sabbath at the end of the seven weeks. In 
 the same way, the spiritual Pentecost was the fiftieth 
 day from the Resurrection, and accordingly fell also on 
 the first day of the week. On that day, as we have seen, 
 the firstfruits of results, corresponding to the first loaves 
 from the harvest, were presented to the Lord, and being 
 given on the morrow after the Sabbath, the finger on 
 Time's dial pointed, not backwards to the years of the 
 past, but forwards to the full harvest of the future. 
 
 The third significant eighth v/as the Jubilee year. It 
 too fell, not on the forty-ninth, but on the fiftieth. If 
 convenience had ruled the choice, then undoubtedly the 
 forty-ninth would have been chosen, for it was a Sab- 
 batical year, as all the last of the successive series of 
 seven were. And indeed the obvious Inconvenience of 
 
240 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 two sacred years following in succession has made so 
 deep an impression on the minds of some interpreters, 
 that they have tried to make it appear that after all it 
 was the forty-ninth, and not the fiftieth, that was ap- 
 pointed for the Jubilee. But the language of the ordi- 
 nance is too precise to admit of any such theory. '' Thou 
 shalt number seven Sabbaths of years unto thee, seven 
 times seven years ; and the space of the seven Sabbaths 
 of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then 
 shalt thou cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on 
 the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of Atone- 
 ment shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all 
 your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year T The 
 Jubilee was evidently, then, like Pentecost and like the 
 Wave-sheaf morn, an eighth. And again, we see how 
 appropriately it was so appointed. Having its fulfilment 
 in the proclamation of the Gospel Jubilee, it belongs to 
 the future rather than to the past, not to a dispensation 
 which was destined to " wax old," and then '' vanish 
 away," but to an era of which the glorious consumma- 
 tion is only as yet dimly sketched in the apocalyptic 
 vision of the inspired Seer of Patmos. 
 
 And now, when we consider how these eighth days 
 spring out of the bosom of the cycles of seven with 
 their Sabbatic sevenths, and when we remember that 
 these eighth days had also the Sabbatical characteristics, 
 as was notably the case with the year of Jubilee (see 
 Lev. XXV. II, 12), we can see very clearly how natural 
 it was that the seventh day of the Mosaic economy 
 should, without any legislative interference, merge into 
 the eighth day, or first day of the week of the Christian 
 
Sacred Times. 241 
 
 dispensation ; and how ignorant those are of the sacred 
 times of the Hebrews, who represent it as absurd to 
 suppose that the first day of the week, or our Sunday, 
 as they call it, can have any connection with the Jewish 
 Sabbath. Not only was the change a natural one from 
 the standpoint of the early disciples, which is all that is 
 usually argued for, but the way is prepared for it in the 
 very structure of the Sabbatical cycles of ancient Israel. 
 And this becomes all the more striking, when we observe 
 that, though the feast of Tabernacles was always spoken 
 of as a seven days' feast, there was an eighth day cele- 
 bration grafted on it : " On the eightJi day shall be a holy 
 convocation unto you ; and ye shall offer an offering 
 made by fire unto the Lord : it is a solemn assembly ; 
 and ye shall do no servile work therein " (xxiii. 36). 
 This day had evidently all the characteristics of a Sab- 
 bath day ; and yet, coming in as it does after the close of 
 the last feast of the sacred year of Israel, it gives a hint 
 of the Sabbath of the coming era, which shall no longer 
 be the seventh, with a backward reference to the memo- 
 ries of the past, but the first day of the week, with a 
 forward reference to the glories of an age whose Sun 
 arose, never more to set, on the morrow after the Sab- 
 bath which followed the last Passover of the old cove- 
 nant. 
 
 The chapters which follow come with peculiar sadness 
 after the ordinance '' concerning the feasts of the Lord." 
 The feasts bespoke joy and rejoicing. Right after there 
 is a long chapter (xxvi.), the most of which is iilled with 
 dark threatenings of coming vengeance. There are rich 
 II 
 
242 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 promises in the event of obedience in the opening verses 
 of the chapter : but as we read on we are appalled by 
 the terrible threatenings. But did not the event prove 
 how necessary they were ? It was in mercy that the 
 Lord warned Israel in language so plain and stern. And 
 in the terrible earnestness which appears on the side of 
 the threatening have we not an indication that the Lord 
 foresaw the unfaithfulness of the people ? In fact, the 
 words of warning become so pointed that they pass into 
 the form of a prophecy, which was most strikingly and 
 awfully fulfilled in the subsequent history. His ordi- 
 nances concerning the feast showed what was in His 
 heart for His people. His warnings show that He knew 
 what was in their hearts towards Him. He prepared 
 joy and rejoicing for them. They wrought woe and de- 
 solation for themselves. But His mercy endureth for 
 ever : " And yet for all that, when they be in the land 
 of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will 
 I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My 
 covenant with them : for I am the Lord their God. But 
 I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their 
 ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt 
 in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God : 
 I am the Lord" (ver. 44, 45). 
 
 The last chapter of the book is taken up with direc- 
 tions for individual worship, on the details of which we 
 cannot enter ; but this general thought is suggested, that 
 though the nation as a whole may lose its covenant 
 standing, the way is always open for individuals. There 
 is much comfort in this thought, in view of such dark 
 times as those to which the prophetical part of the 
 
Sacred Times. 243 
 
 preceding chapter points. The door of mercy is never 
 shut, however dark and degenerate the times may be. 
 However wickedness may abound in the world, and 
 coldness and deadness in the Church, God will always 
 have His witnesses, and they will always have their op- 
 portunities. This word is never changed, " Whosoever 
 will, let him come." In all times religion in the last 
 resort must be an individual matter between the soul 
 and God. No man can be saved in a crowd ; but neither 
 can any man be lost in a crowd. And sometimes, when 
 the great multitude seems to carry all before it, God still 
 may have His seven thousand men, known to Him alone, 
 who have brought their individual offerings to Him, and 
 " never bowed the knee to Baal." 
 
 Remember the comfort that was given to Daniel, 
 when his spirit was ready to faint in the prospect of the 
 dark days which the prophetic vision had disclosed. 
 " Go thou thy way till the end be ; for thou shalt rest 
 and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." " Go thou 
 thy way" — in times of apostasy and darkness, it is for 
 the individual believer to leave the destinies of the 
 world and of the Church in the hands of Him who " do- 
 eth all things well," and seek only to be faithful to his 
 own duty. As for others : '' shall not the Judge of all 
 the earth do right?" And as for thee: ''thou shalt 
 rest " — there is the fulfilment of the Sabbath and all the 
 Sabbatic series — " and stand in thy lot at the end of the 
 days" — there is the fulfilment of the Jubilee and all the 
 eighth day series. 
 
 Amid all the secularities and unbelief and disobedience 
 of the times, let us seek to maintain communion with 
 
244 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 God, and bring our individual offerings, however " sin- 
 gular " they be, and we shall certainly find that " the 
 joy of the Lord is our strength," and that His thoughts 
 of love expressed in the feasts of the old covenant will 
 be fulfilled for us, — and then at the end of the days we 
 shall enter on our Sabbath of rest, and our Jubilee of 
 joy eternal. 
 
XV. 
 
 T H E C A M p. 
 
 NUMBERS I.-VI. 
 
 THE Book of Numbers, on which we now enter, is 
 the last of what are known as '' the middle books " 
 or the Pentateuch. The term is appropriate, not simply 
 because the three books to which it is applied occupy 
 numerically the middle of the entire volume of " the 
 law," but because they stand together in a closer organic 
 relation, so that the three may be regarded as a unity, 
 having a common relation to Genesis on the one side 
 and to Deuteronomy on the other. 
 
 Genesis may, as we have seen,-^ be regarded as the 
 foreground of the entire Bible, and as such its founda- 
 tion is l5roader than would have been necessary for the 
 Pentateuch alone ; but it has also its specific relations to 
 the books which more immediately follow. In Genesis 
 we have the soil, and the seed which was planted in it. 
 In the Middle Books we have the plant of grace, devel- 
 oping into the tree of righteousness. In Deuteronomy 
 we have directions for gathering the fruit which might 
 be reasonably expected to grow on so " noble " a tree.f 
 
 * See " Ages before Moses," Lect. XII. 
 t See Jeremiah ii. 21. 
 
 (245) 
 
246 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 These relations will appear more clearly when we reach 
 the last book. Meantime let us look somewhat care- 
 fully into the relations of the three middle books. 
 
 The foundation of all is laid in the Exodus proper, 
 which may be considered as ending when the children 
 of Israel arrived at the base of Sinai. The great sepa- 
 ration was then complete, as is indicated in the opening 
 words of the Sinai record : '■'■ Israel camped before the 
 Mount, and Moses went up unto God, and the Lord 
 called unto him out of the mountain, saying. Thus 
 shalt thou say to the house of Jacob and tell the chil- 
 dren of Israel : Ye have seen what I did unto the 
 Egyptians, and how I bare yoii on eagle's wings, and 
 brought you 2t7ito Myself'' The remaining part of the 
 book of Exodus (xx.-xl.) is of an entirely different char- 
 acter. It consists of a series of revelations given from 
 the top of Mount Sinai, culminating, as we have seen, 
 in the Tabernacle, with the erection and furnishing and 
 dedication of which the book closes. The character of 
 this second portion of the book of Exodus is propjietical, 
 not in the modern sense of the word, as predictive, but 
 in the Bible sense, as revealing the Divine will. As in 
 Exodus we have the prophetical, so in Leviticus we 
 have the Priestly law ; and the question is naturally 
 suggested : Is there any reason to connect the Kingly 
 idea with the book of Numbers? It may not appear at 
 first sight ; but a little consideration will make it very 
 plain. If you read through the first chapter, you wil' 
 find that the pervading thought of it is going forth to 
 war : " Take ye the sum of all the congregation of 
 Israel .... from twenty years old and upward, all 
 
The Camp. 247 
 
 that are able to go forth to zvar in Israel : thou and 
 Aaron shall number them by their armies''' {i, 2, 3). 
 The same is emphatically repeated thirteen times over, 
 once for each of the twelve tribes, and once again for 
 the whole of Israel (ver. 45). And then, at the close of 
 the chapter, there are these significant words : " And 
 the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man 
 by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, 
 throughout their hosts'' Here we have the key to the 
 book. The armies of the Lord are setting forth to 
 war, to subdue the land of promise for God and for 
 His people. 
 
 Reverting to that summary of the Mosaic economy 
 already referred to, that preliminary sketch of the dis- 
 pensation which was given to the people immediately 
 on their arrival at Mount Sinai, we find it in substance 
 this: " If ye v/ill obey My voice indeed, and keep my 
 covenant .... ye shall be unto me a kingdom of 
 priests and a holy nation (Exod. xix. 5, 6). The ^^ voice'' 
 and the ^^ covenant" we have in Exodus. In Leviticus 
 the priestly privileges of the people are set forth ; in 
 Numbers the armies of the king are mustered and sent 
 forth to establish a kingdom, the kingdom of the holy 
 nation. In Exodus we have a series of revelations 
 from " the Holy Mount " ; in Leviticus we have a series 
 from the Holy Place ; in Numbers we have the cove- 
 nanted hosts, the priestly armies of the Lord, setting 
 out to establish His kingdom in the Holy Land. In 
 Exodus the Lord comes down and speaks to the people 
 from the mountain top ; in Leviticus the people meet 
 with God in His sanctuary in the plain ; in Numbers 
 
248 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 they are called to service for Him in the field. In Exo- 
 dus the people look up and listen to the voice of God ; 
 in Leviticus they draw near, and as it were behold His 
 face ; in Numbers they go forth in His name to do His 
 will. In Exodus the relation is that of a father in 
 heaven, and his children on earth ; in Leviticus it is that 
 of sinners and their Saviour God, who tabernacles with 
 them here below ; in Numbers it is that of soldiers of 
 the Cross going forth in the power of the Spirit, to do 
 battle for the Lord. In Exodus the people are called 
 to obedience; in Leviticus, to worship; and in Num- 
 bers, to service in the field. 
 
 So much for the relations of the three books. Let 
 us now look more particularly at the book before us. 
 And here it is very important to keep in mind the dis- 
 tinction between the ideal and the actual. Numbers is 
 often spoken of as a book of the wilderness and of wil- 
 derness service. And as a matter of fact there is much 
 of the wilderness in it. But why ? Because the people 
 failed of their high calling. The idea of the book is not 
 that of wilderness wandering. It is that of the hosts of 
 the Lord marching to conquest. This is the Divine idea. 
 As we proceed we shall see how the people failed and 
 fell short, and, ceasing to be the Lord's hosts, became 
 poor wanderers in the wilderness. But we shall be very 
 far astray if we set out with that as the proper idea of 
 the book. 
 
 Remembering, then, that the idea of Numbers is the 
 marshalling of the Lord's hosts, and their victorious 
 march to Canaan, it is appropriate to ask whether here, 
 as well as in Exodus and Leviticus, we have any 
 
The Camp. 249 
 
 " shadow of good things to come " ? Undoubtedly we 
 have. Surely there is something more and better here 
 than the story of an old war. Surely there is an inter- 
 est beyond the merely historical. What then is it ? 
 What is the service which corresponds now, to that for 
 which the hosts of the Lord were marshalled at the 
 base of Sinai? It is the Missionary service, the service 
 to which the hosts of the Lord are called under the new 
 covenant. There are indeed in this most interestine 
 and instructive book very many exceedingly valuable 
 lessons for the individual believer ; but the great value 
 of the book, its application as a whole, is its instruction 
 and inspiration for the great work to which the Church 
 of the New Testament is called : the conquest of the 
 world for Christ. 
 
 When the times of Israel were over, the times of the 
 Gentiles came in. All nations took the place and inher- 
 ited the privileges of the one nation. And all lands 
 were included in the covenant, as the rightful possession 
 of the Lord and His people : " Ask of Me, and I will 
 give thee " — the land of Canaan ? No — '' the heathen for 
 thine inheritance, and the tittermost parts of the earth 
 for thy possession." Just as the privileges of the nar- 
 row Israel of the old covenant have become the privi- 
 leges of the wide Israel of the new, the whole '' Israel of 
 God " ; so the duty of the little Israel to subdue the 
 little land of Canaan has been translated now into the 
 duty of the great Israel to subdue the wide world, mak- 
 ing all its kingdoms '' the kingdom of our Lord and of 
 His Christ." And just as the natural Israel was called 
 to subdue its land in a quite natural manner, viz., by 
 
250 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 carnal weapons of warfare, the sword and the spear; 
 so the spiritual Israel on the other hand, is called to 
 subdue the world with spiritual weapons, " the sword of 
 the Spirit which is the Word of God," in fulfilment of the 
 great commission : " Go ye into all the world and preach 
 the Gospel to every creature. " The conquest of Canaan 
 by the sword was intended to be a type of the conquest 
 of the world by the Word. Has it not been a loss to 
 the Church that this thought has been so much obscured 
 by the almost invariable use of Canaan as a type of 
 Heaven? This maybe justified to a certain extent, but 
 when it is claimed as the mind of the Spirit, we cannot 
 but raise such questions as these : If Canaan be a type 
 of Heaven, who are the Canaanites in Heaven? Where 
 are the Hittites ? And what is the slaughter to be ? The 
 Jordan is a favourite, and not inappropriate, type of 
 death ; and inasmuch as Canaan lay beyond the Jordan, 
 Heaven is naturally suggested ; but to make this slight 
 analog>^ the ground of our exegesis, is to lose the main 
 purpose both of Numbers and of Joshua. The intention 
 of the book before us is not to set us looking upward 
 and forward to the heavenly rest, but to nerve us for the 
 great enterprise in which we are engaged, the great war- 
 fare to which we are called. The grand thing we have 
 to set before us is the subjugation of the world for 
 Christ ; and after we have done what we can in that 
 great warfare, then it will be time for us to think of our 
 rest. 
 
 By keeping this in mind much light is thrown upon 
 passages in this book which would be otherwise inexpli- 
 cable. Let me refer to one in particular, that remark- 
 
The Camp. 251 
 
 able passage in the fourteenth chapter, where, after the 
 people have turned away from the conquest to which 
 the Lord was leading them, being discouraged by the 
 report of the spies, and *' demoralized " by unbelief and 
 resulting cowardice, and after Moses has interceded on 
 their behalf, " the Lord said, I have pardoned according 
 to thy word, but as truly as I live, all the earth shall be 
 filled with the glory of the Lord'' (xiv. 21). Now, what 
 connection have these remarkable words with the case ? 
 Some interpreters do not attempt to show any connec- 
 tion. Others signally fail in making the attempt. And 
 there can be nothing but failure so long as the relation 
 between the conquest of Canaan and the filling of all 
 the earth with the glory of the Lord is not recognized. 
 But as soon as it is recognized, how natural and how 
 striking is the Divine declaration. The failure of the 
 people seemed to carry with it the failure of the Divine 
 purpose. But no. Though this generation had refused 
 to go and possess the land, another generation would be 
 found to do it ; and not only so, but that other and 
 much greater " far-off Divine event, to which the whole 
 creation moves," and of which the occupancy of Canaan 
 was a type, would as certainly come to pass in Its time; 
 *' as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the 
 glory of the Lord." 
 
 In the first chapter there is the numbering according 
 to their pedigrees, and in the second chapter the mar- 
 shalling according to their standards, of the hosts of 
 Israel. The appropriateness of this is so obvious that 
 we need not dwell on it. But what are we to make of 
 the third and fourth chapters ? They are fully taken up 
 
252 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 with priestly and Levitical arrangements. Are we back 
 again in the book of Leviticus ? Or is there any confu- 
 sion in the book before us ? By no means. A Httle 
 thought will make it very plain. 
 
 We are not to suppose that when a book is closed, the 
 subject is over and done with. On the contrary, what- 
 ever has been gained is carried on as a stored acquisition 
 into the next stage of the history. The voice of God 
 upon Mount Sinai ceased to speak after the revelation 
 of Exodus was closed, but the substance of what He 
 had spoken was embodied in the Tabernacle, which, as 
 we have seen, was the foundation of all that is contained 
 in the book of Leviticus. In the same way the voice of 
 God from the Tabernacle was no longer heard after the 
 Levitical ordinances were completed, but the substance 
 of it was embodied in the organized priesthood and the 
 Levitical services, which went on. And just as certainly 
 as without the Tabernacle of Exodus there would have 
 been no Leviticus, so certainly without the Levitical 
 ordinances there would have been no properly organ- 
 ized Host of the Lord. An ordinary army of so many 
 thousands strong there might have been ; but It would 
 not have been the Lord's army. The sacred character 
 and Divine relations of the host must be maintained 
 and conspicuously manifest. Hence the Importance at- 
 tached to the Levitical and priestly arrangements In the 
 order of encampment (chap. III.) and of march (chap. Iv.) 
 
 From this point of view it is exceedingly instructive 
 to take a survey of the camp of Israel. In the centre of 
 all was the Tabernacle. Ranged around it were the 
 tents of the people in two squares, a small Inner and a 
 
The Camp. 253 
 
 large outer square. The inner square was formed of 
 the tents of the Levites, the families of Kohath on the 
 south, of Gershon on the west, of Merari on the north, 
 while Moses, Aaron, and the priests were stationed at 
 the east, at the door of the Tabernacle. The outer 
 square consisted of the tents of the warriors of the 
 different tribes, three tribes on each of the four sides. 
 The Tabernacle in the centre — there is the embodiment 
 of the Sinai revelation in Exodus. The inner square of 
 the priests and Levites— there is Leviticus. The outer 
 square — there is the host of the Lord, whose setting 
 forth to war is the subject of the book of Numbers. It 
 is noteworthy in addition, that the Levites in this book 
 are reckoned amongst the warriors, as will be seen by a 
 reference to the margin, which is the literal translation 
 of iv. 23, 30, and viii. 24, 25, where the service of the 
 Levites is spoken of as the warfare which they had to 
 war. True, they were not to be engaged in actual fight- 
 ing, but the people were not allowed to forget that the 
 worship in the sanctuary was quite as essential as actual 
 service in the field to the success of the armies of Israel. 
 They were never allowed to imagine that it was a mere 
 matter of fighting, dependent on the number and effect- 
 iveness of the troops. Everything depended on the 
 sacred character of the host, and that character was 
 maintained by the inner square of the Levites and their 
 ministry in the sacred enclosure. Just as Moses, with 
 Aaron and Hur beside him to stay up his hand, was a 
 most essential part of the host that defeated Amalek 
 at Rephidim (Exod. xvii. 11, 12), so the priests, with the 
 Levites who stayed up their hands, were a most essen- 
 
254 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 tial part of the host who went forth to subdue the land 
 of promise (see also Num. iv. 3). In the same way the 
 prayers of the Church at home are essential to the suc- 
 cess of the soldiers of the Cross in the distant field. 
 While then there is a certain propriety in speaking of 
 the camp as consisting of " a nation of warriors, a tribe 
 of workers, and a family of worshippers," it is a much 
 more important truth to remember that the entire camp 
 was one, that the twelve tribes were expected to be 
 workers and worshippers as well as warriors, and that 
 the tribe of Levi and even the family of Aaron had a 
 right to be considered amongst the warriors as well as 
 those who formed the outer square in the camp, and did 
 the actual fighting in the field. 
 
 The necessity of preserving the special sacredness of 
 the camp is the thought which runs through the fifth 
 chapter. The general principle is laid down in the be- 
 ginning of it, that the camp of Israel must be kept pure 
 from all defilement : and the special case which follows, 
 and which was probably an emergent case, may be re- 
 garded as illustrating the principle. 
 
 In the sixth chapter, on the other hand, provision 
 is made for cases of special consecration. The entire 
 camp must be a consecrated camp ; the entire army a 
 consecrated army ; but, while purity and consecration 
 are needed for all the duties which appertain to the 
 Christian warfare and service, there are occasions when 
 service of peculiar difficulty, and calling for special 
 qualifications, is required ; and it is to provide for such 
 emergencies that the law of the Nazarite is promulgated. 
 The ordinary service has already been provided for in 
 
The Camp. 255 
 
 its two great departments : in the field, by the warrior 
 host (chaps, i., ii.) with their princes over them (i. 5-16) ; 
 and in the sanctuary, by the band of Levites with the 
 priests of the family of Aaron over them (iii., iv.) But 
 for extraordinary service the special consecration of the 
 Nazarite (vi.) is called into requisition. 
 
 The regulations for the camp are most appropriately 
 and beautifully closed with the priestly benediction, pro- 
 nounced by Aaron and his sons in the name of Jehovah 
 of hosts : " The Lord bless thee, and keep thee : the 
 Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious 
 unto thee : the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, 
 and give thee peace." The threefold blessing is in beau- 
 tiful harmony with the three leading thoughts which, as 
 we have seen, find expression in the three books of 
 Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, and were moreover 
 embodied in the camp of Israel with its three divisions : 
 the Tabernacle in the centre, the inner square of priests 
 and Levites, and the outer square of warriors. There 
 is first the Fatherly protecting care, as of Him who 
 came down upon Mount Sinai and made a covenant 
 with His people there : ^' The Lord bless thee and 
 keep thee." Then there is the closer access which was 
 provided for in the Levitical ordinances, implied in the 
 next benediction : " The Lord make Wis face shine upon 
 thee, and be gracious unto thee." And lastly, there is 
 the countenance which is given to the great enterprise 
 in which they were engaged, a warlike enterprise indeed, 
 but one waged for the sake of the true and lasting peace 
 which should be the ultimate result: "The Lord lift up 
 His countenance upon thee, and give ih^Q peace,'^ 
 
256 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 We do think that it is pressing the threefold blessing 
 too far to see in it an intentional and express foreshadow- 
 ing of the doctrine of "the Trinity"; but just as the 
 successive revelations which God gave His people on 
 Sinai, from the Tabernacle, and for the March, corre- 
 spond to some extent with His revelation of Himself in 
 redemption as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; so does 
 the threefold blessing, following the same line of 
 thought, conform itself to the thoughts of blessing 
 which are specially appropriate to our Redeemer God 
 in the Trinity of relations in which it has pleased Him 
 to reveal Himself to man. '' The Lord bless thee, and 
 keep thee," — is not that the Fatherly idea ? '' The Lord 
 make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto 
 thee," — does not this lead us to think of " the glory of 
 God in the face of Jesus Christ," and of '' the gracious 
 words that proceeded out of His mouth " ? " The Lord 
 lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace," 
 — does not this remind us of the special mission of the 
 Holy Ghost, the Comforter, to bring peace to the 
 troubled soul ? 
 
 But whatever we may say of the Trinity, the Unity is 
 very clearly marked : " And thou shalt put 3fy Name 
 upon the children of Israel ; and / will bless them." 
 The unity of the camp also is strikingly signified in 
 this.^ In the chapters which precede we have been 
 reading of different houses, different pedigrees, different 
 standards ; different ranks and different orders ; different 
 positions and different duties ; different degrees of con- 
 
 * So also in the use of the pronoun thee in the benediction. 
 
The Camp. 257 
 
 secration even ; but now all the differences disappear, 
 all sectional names pass out of view ; and the name of 
 Jehovah is all and upon all. " They shall put My name 
 upon them " — upon Reuben and Simeon and Levi and 
 Judah ; upon Kohath and Gershon and Merari ; upon 
 priests and Levites ; upon worker and warrior and wor- 
 shipper ; upon each of them, and all of them, they shall 
 put My Name ; " and I will bless them." And in the 
 same way we may have our different names and different 
 standards, and yet all belong to the same great army. 
 Those only who refuse to acknowledge their brethren of 
 other denominations mar the unity of the Church and 
 are guilty of schism. A Reubenite did not need to 
 renounce the tribal name of Reuben, nor a Kohathite 
 his family name of Kohath, to justify his position in the 
 army on which the One Name of the Lord was placed : 
 and in the same way we do not need to surrender our 
 distinctive names, indicative of differences of little mo- 
 ment, so long as we all gather round the Tabernacle of 
 the Lord, worshipping Him as He has revealed Himself 
 in Jesus Christ and by His Holy Spirit, and glorying 
 above all, far above all party or tribal designations in that 
 One " Name which is above every name," — JEHOVAH 
 Jesus. 
 
XVI. 
 
 THE MARCH. 
 
 NUMBERS VII.-XIV. 
 
 NOW that the camp has been carefully ordered and 
 the blessing of the Lord pronounced upon it, it is 
 time to think of setting out on the great expedition. 
 The next great subject, then, which engages our atten- 
 tion in the book of the armies of the Lord, is the prepa- 
 ration for the march. The account of it is given in 
 chapters vii.-x. lo. 
 
 First, there is a series of offerings. Even on this 
 sacred expedition "the sinews of war" cannot be dis- 
 pensed with. Before the march begins there must be, 
 not a levy, no tax, but a freewill offering — not, however, 
 as we shall see directly, for the expenses of the campaign, 
 but for the Lord's house and worship. The idea seems 
 to be that the people of their own free will should give 
 for the service of the sanctuary, while He of His ex- 
 haustless resources will take care of the service in the 
 field. Is it not the same still? He does not send His 
 people a warfare on their own charges. He first gives 
 us the privilege of bringing an offering to Him. And 
 then, whether our offering be great or small, if only it 
 (-5S) 
 
The March. 259 
 
 be according to our ability, He on His part guarantees 
 all needful provision for us. " Bring ye all the tithes 
 intt) the storehouse, that there may be meat vi mine 
 houscj and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of 
 Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven 
 and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room 
 enough to receive it." 
 
 The offerings of the princes are recorded in the seventh 
 chapter. The people of God are expected to give in pro- 
 portion to their ability ; and accordingly the princes of 
 Israel set the example. There is first a general contri- 
 bution (ver. 3-9) ; and then a separate contribution from 
 each (ver. 12-89). The remarkable thing about this rec- 
 ord is, that though each prince gave precisely the same, 
 all the details are repeated for each one, so that there ap- 
 pears at first sight to be a very needless waste of words. 
 Why was not this immense chapter of 89 verses put, as 
 it well might have been, in a few lines? But think a 
 little, and you will not consider even this a vain repe- 
 tition. In the first place, great importance was attached 
 to these acts of worship, for acts of worship they were 
 considered to be, as is evident from verse 84. This is 
 manifest from the spreading of the presentation over 
 twelve days, each prince bringing his offering on a sepa- 
 rate day. The very same reason which made it desirable 
 that the separate gifts should be brought on separate 
 days, made it proper that the record of them should be 
 kept separate, and brought as near in impressiveness as 
 possible to the original ceremony. And then, is there 
 not this encouraging lesson to be learned from it, that it 
 is not so much the gift as the giver that the Lord has in 
 
26o The Mosaic Era. 
 
 view ? What though the gift be the same, the giver is 
 different ; and therefore let him by all means have his 
 place in the Divine notice and remembrance, exactly as 
 if he had been the only man that brought it. Our gifts, 
 however small, are never lost in the multitude of offer- 
 ings. The Lord notices each one, and He rates it at its 
 proper value, not according to its intrinsic worth, but ac- 
 cording to the evidence it furnishes of the love and de- 
 votion of the giver. 
 
 It is also worthy of note that we have in this record a 
 very obvious indication of contemporaneousness with the 
 event. No later writer would have thought of making 
 such entries as these. 
 
 The offering of the people is recorded in the eighth 
 chapter. But is not that chapter all about priests and 
 Levites, priests lighting the lamps (ver. 1-4), and then 
 consecrating the Levites (ver. 5-26) ? True ; but did 
 not the tribe of Levi represent the firstborn (iii. 40-51)? 
 And were not the firstborn the people's offering to the 
 Lord? So accordingly we find it in the record : ''Thou 
 shalt set the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, 
 and offer them for an offering nnto the Lord'' fviii. 15"). 
 And the same view of the ceremony is again presented, 
 along with the explanation concerning the firstborn 
 whose place they took, in verses 15-18. It will be re- 
 membered, of course, that there was not only a surrender 
 of the whole tribe of Levi from the number of the field 
 force, but there was also the assumption of all those 
 charges which were necessaiy to maintain the entire 
 tribe, so that they might be free to do the service of the 
 Lord in the sanctuary. It was then an offering, not of 
 
The March. 261 
 
 men only, but of means, and as such fitly follows the 
 offerings of the princes. 
 
 After the presentation of the offerings comes the ob- 
 servance of the Passover (ix.) The Passover, it will be 
 remembered, was the starting point of Israel's national 
 history. It must also be the starting point of their 
 march to the land of promise. What the cross of Christ 
 is in the New Testament, the Passover was in the Old. 
 It was the most concentrated expression of the Divine 
 love, and as such supplied the strongest impulse to cour- 
 age and faithfulness in the service of the Lord. Hence 
 the importance of the Passover observance before setting 
 out on their arduous expedition. 
 
 The great majority of the people had already kept the 
 Passover on the regular day (ver. 5) ; and that was con- 
 sidered near enough to the time of setting out, which 
 was only a month later. But there were some who, on 
 account of disqualification, had not been able to join 
 with the rest in that celebration ; and it was for them 
 that a special Passover service on the fourteenth day of 
 the second month was appointed. And not only was 
 this special appointment made, but a general rule was 
 adopted in future for the benefit of those who, for no 
 fault of their own, had been deprived of the privilege at 
 the appointed season. All this goes to show the great 
 importance which was attached to this observance, es- 
 pecially as a preparation for arduous duty and difficult 
 service. And inasmuch as the Lord's Supper has come 
 in the place of the Passover, may we not learn from this 
 how thoughtless and sinful it is to make so little of the 
 sacred ordinance, as many even of Christian people do. 
 
262 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 And now that all had given to the Lord, and all had 
 partaken of the Lord's Passover, it remains only to give 
 the signal for starting. The Divine will in the matter 
 was intimated by means of the pillar of cloud and of 
 fire. No step was to be taken without this Divine token. 
 The passage in which this is set forth (ver. 15-23) is well 
 worthy of earnest consideration, especially as teaching 
 the importance of implicit and unqualified submission to 
 the Divine guidance. It was according to the command- 
 ment of the Lord they abode in their tents, and accord- 
 ing to the commandment of the Lord they journeyed. 
 If they were directed to rest by day, they did it ; if they 
 were told to journey by night, they did it. However 
 tired of travel, if the word was to set out, they obeyed. 
 However weary of waiting, if the word was to stay still, 
 they stayed. " Whether it were two days, or a month, 
 or a year,'' it was all the same. If only we would allow 
 ourselves to be so guided by the Lord, how invincible 
 should we be, how inestimable the value of our service 
 in the field. If only Israel had followed on in the spirit 
 in which they evidently began, how different would the 
 history of the book of Numbers have been. 
 
 The Divine will, as indicated by the pillar of cloud, 
 was made known to the host by the blowing of two 
 silver trumpets (x. i-io) by "the sons of Aaron, the 
 priests " (ver. 8). These trumpets were used, not only 
 to give orders for the march, but to summon the people 
 to the feasts, and for other important purposes, when it 
 was necessary that the mind of the Lord should be com- 
 municated at once to the entire congregation. In place 
 of the pillar of cloud and fire, we have the Spirit of the 
 
The March. 263 
 
 Lord ; in place of the trumpets, we have the Word of 
 the Lord. And in our service it is just as important 
 that we should be ready at the call of the Spirit given 
 through His word, as it was that the hosts of Israel 
 should be obedient to the trumpet-call in the desert. 
 
 So much for the preparations for setting out. And 
 now the trumpets sound, and the inarch begins " on the 
 twentieth day of the second month, in the second year " 
 (ver. 1 1), counting of course from the Exodus. The or- 
 der of the march is given. Judah takes the lead ; and 
 the prince who marched at the head of the leading tribe 
 was Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, ancestor of the 
 Messiah (Matt. i. 4), Who is our Leader as we advance 
 to the conquest of the world (Matt, xxviii. 20). The 
 priests and Levites with the sacred things were dis- 
 tributed in an orderly and equal manner throughout the 
 host as they marched onward, the Ark of the Lord be- 
 ing in the centre, immediately followed by the tribes of 
 Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, which explains the 
 allusion in Psalm Ixxx. 2. The Ark, however, seems 
 sometimes, perhaps only at the first, to have gone in ad- 
 vance, '' to search out a resting-place for them " (ver. 33). 
 
 The words of Moses, when the Ark set forward and 
 when it rested, are in full keeping with what we have 
 shown to be the idea of the book, as that not of a jour- 
 ney through a wilderness, but of a warlike expedition, 
 an army advancing to battle and to victory. When it 
 set forward, he said, " Rise, Lord, and let Thine enemies 
 be scattered ; and let them that hate Thee flee before 
 Thee." When it rested, he said, " Return, O Lord, unto 
 the many thousands of Israel." Warfare comes first; 
 
264 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 rest follows. Now is the day of the Church militant ; 
 but the day of the Church triumphant shall come, when 
 the Lord shall return to the " ten thousand times ten 
 thousand and thousands of thousands " of the true " Is- 
 rael of God." 
 
 So far all is well and hopeful ; but no sooner has the 
 march begun than it becomes apparent that the children 
 of Israel are but children yet. The eventful year at 
 Sinai has come and gone, with all its rich and wonderful 
 experiences and its blessed revelations ; but after all, the 
 people are much the same as they were, ere they camped 
 before the mount. The wilderness history on this side 
 Sinai is wonderfully like the history of the wilderness 
 on the other side. 
 
 For this reason I do not intend to dwell on the chap- 
 ters which follow. They are very rich, and full of valu- 
 able instruction in their details, much of it such as can 
 be obtained from no other part of Scripture so impres- 
 sively. But as our plan restricts us to the broad general 
 features, which are much the same as those we had in 
 the lecture on the wilderness, we propose now to pass 
 them by with the briefest notice. 
 
 Some think that the first sign of unbelief appeared in 
 the asking of Hobab to go wdth them, that he might be 
 to them instead of eyes (x. 31), as if the eyes of the 
 Lord were not sufficient. We are not disposed, how- 
 ever, to see anything wrong in this, not only because it 
 is Moses himself who makes the request of Hobab, but 
 also because we are again and again taught that depend- 
 ence on the Divine direction does not supersede the 
 use of natural means. 
 
The March. 265 
 
 But from the beginning of the eleventh chapter on- 
 wards, we have a series of murmurings and complain- 
 ings and consequent judgments, which delayed the host 
 on its march and disqualified it more and more for the 
 great enterprise on which it had embarked. There was 
 first the complaining at Taberah, and the disastrous fire 
 which marked the Lord's displeasure at it. Then the 
 lusting at a place which, in memory of the scene and the 
 terrible judgment which followed, was afterwards known 
 as Kibroth-hattaavah, "the graves of lust" (chap, ix.) 
 The sad history of Miriam's sedition, supported by 
 Aaron himself, who seems to have been weakly led by 
 his stronger sister, is given in the twelfth chapter, while 
 in the thirteenth we have the sending of the spies, the 
 discouraging report of the majority, and the consequent 
 unbelief and apostasy of almost the entire congregation. 
 This last manifestation of unbelief and disobedience 
 brought matters to a crisis ; and the long-deferred sen- 
 tence was passed, recalling their commission as the hosts 
 of the Lord, dooming them to a weary wandering in the 
 wilderness, and postponing till the next generation the 
 entrance of the children of Israel into the promised land. 
 
 The wanderings of the rejected generation will form 
 the subject of our next lecture. Meantime, let us look 
 at the crowning sin which sealed the fate of the promis- 
 ing army, which had been so carefully numbered and 
 marshalled at the base of Sinai. 
 
 It was the sin of unbelief. This had been the root of 
 all their evils. Everything had been done that could be 
 done to develop their faith ; and yet when the great 
 crisis comes, when the time has arrived to enter the land 
 
266 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 which the Lord has promised them, and which they are 
 to subdue for Him, they show that instead of being " a 
 kingdom of priests," a people who know that the God 
 who made heaven and earth and sea is their God, and 
 therefore nothing can withstand them when they ad- 
 vance in the power of His might, they have not the 
 courage even to make the feeblest attempt. '' Let us 
 make a captain," they said, " and let us return into 
 Egypt " (xvi. 4). And though Joshua and Caleb made 
 a noble and most courageous appeal (ver. 6-9), remind- 
 ing them that with the Lord upon their side they had 
 no cause to fear, it was worse than lost on them ; for 
 " all the congregation bade stone them with stones " 
 (ver. 10). This was the climax of their unbelief. They 
 were paralysed with fear of the sons of Anak, though 
 the Lord was with them ; they were not afraid to turn 
 against Joshua and Caleb, though they must have known 
 that in doing so they were resisting God Himself. 
 
 It seems almost incredible ; and yet when we think of 
 it, it is only too natural. It is important to remember 
 that faith is a plant of slow growth. It cannot be sud- 
 denly summoned into existence on a special emergency ; 
 and in order to its development there must be not only 
 "evidences" presented from without, but a discipline 
 going on within. We are apt to think that because so 
 many deliverances have been wrought for Israel, there- 
 fore their faith must have become very strong. We 
 forget that though God had done His part all the way 
 through, they never had done theirs. Their faith was 
 really utterly unexercised. It is not faith, to trust in 
 God a//iT Me has wrought deliverance. That was all 
 
The March. 267 
 
 they did. If they had ever learned to trust Him before 
 the deliverance came, it would have been a different 
 thing. They had had abundant opportunities for the 
 exercise of faith ; but they had let them all pass by. 
 They had contracted a habit of distrust. And instead 
 of becoming stronger in faith, they were actually getting 
 weaker ; and accordingly when the crisis came, it was 
 only what was to be expected that their courage should 
 utterly fail, simply because it had no faith to rest upon. 
 How shall we stand the test when our day of crisis 
 comes ? The answer will depend on the antecedent 
 question, how we have improved those opportunities 
 which have been previously given for the development 
 of our faith. " He that is faithful in that which is least, 
 is faithful also in much." 
 
 ''Weighed in the balances, and found wanting." After 
 all their advantages they missed the prize. The appeal 
 of Joshua and Caleb was the last opportunity ; they 
 never had another. " The glory of the Lord appeared " 
 (ver. 10), no longer to open up a way for them, but to 
 frustrate their rebellious attack on His two faithful ser- 
 vants, and to pass sentence of condemnation on the 
 entire congregation. Through the mediation of Moses, 
 the lives of the people are spared ; but they are degraded 
 from their position as the hosts of the Lord. " Because 
 all those men which have seen My glory, and My mira- 
 cles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and 
 have tempted Me now these ten times, and have not 
 hearkened to My voice, surely they shall not see the 
 land " (ver. 22). " To-morrow turn you, and get you 
 into the wilderness" (ver. 25). 
 
268 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 After it was too late, they changed their minds : " Lo, 
 we be here, and we will go up unto the place which the 
 Lord hath promised : for we have sinned." Moses 
 warned them that in doing so they would be only add- 
 ing to their guilt and ensuring defeat ; but they would 
 persist. They would not go, trusting in God ; and now 
 they will go, trusting in themselves. " Then the Amale- 
 kites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in 
 that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even 
 unto 'Hormah." 
 
 "■ So we see that they could not enter in because of 
 unbelief." '' Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being 
 left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem 
 to come short of it." 
 
XVTI. 
 THE FORTY YEARS.* 
 
 NUMBERS XV.-XIX. 
 
 a Ij^ORTY years long was I grieved with this genera- 
 J- tion." The forty years includes the whole time 
 between the Exodus and the Entrance. And certainly 
 there was no part of the time during which the Lord 
 had not occasion to be '' grieved with this generation." 
 But the time specially referred to is that of the wander- 
 ing, after the sentence had been passed excluding from 
 the land of promise the generation that came out of 
 Egypt, and before the next one had grown up to take 
 the place of their unbelieving fathers. This period cov- 
 ered thirty-seven or thirty-eight years. Two months 
 only were occupied in the journey to Sinai (Exod. xix. 
 i), ten in the giving of the Sinai revelation (Exod. xl. 
 17), and one in prescribing the ritual of Leviticus (see 
 Num. i. i), making one year and one month in all. 
 Deuteronomy begins with the eleventh month of the 
 fortieth year (Deut. i. 3) ; so that the entire book of 
 Numbers covers a space of thirty-eight years and nine 
 months. 
 
 But there is by no means a consecutive history of 
 that period in the book. Twenty days only were con- 
 
 (269) 
 
270 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 sumed before the march began (Num. x. 11); and tke 
 journey from Sinai to Kadesh could not have occupied 
 a very long time, and was probably reached in the au- 
 tumn of the same year when the grapes were ripe (xiii. 
 23). On the other hand, the twentieth chapter has for 
 its date the fifth month of the fortieth year, since it 
 records the death of Aaron, which took place at that 
 time according to the itineraiy in Numbers xxxiii. 
 (ver. 38) ; so that between the fifteenth and the twen- 
 tieth chapters there must have been a gap of about 
 thirty-eight years. And this is confirmed by the state- 
 ment in Deuteronomy ii. 14. 
 
 The first thing that strikes us is the silence of Scrip- 
 ture concerning the history of that long period. Ten 
 chapters about the doings of twenty days in the begin- 
 ning of the book ; and in the middle of it we have only 
 five about the doings of thirty-eight years ! And these 
 five chapters, as we shall find, relate only one event of 
 importance, and that one anything but creditable — an 
 event that would have been more honored in the omis- 
 sion than in the recording. Practically, then, the thirty- 
 eight years are passed over in silence. A most signifi- 
 cant silence indeed, and full of weighty and impressive 
 lessons for the prople of God in all times. We have 
 seen that the date of the Exodus was the starting-point 
 of their national history. All the years before were 
 counted out and consigned to oblivion. Only when 
 they turned their backs upon Egypt and began to fol- 
 low the Lord did they, in the proper sense, begin to 
 live. And for the same reason, when they turned their 
 backs upon Canaan, they ceased to live. They existed 
 
The Forty Years. 271 
 
 still. They made a living in the desert. But God has 
 no place in His book of remembrance for those who 
 only make a living, who are simply occupied with self- 
 preservation, and fail to do the work which He has ap- 
 pointed. 
 
 It will be remembered that on the day when they 
 came out of Egypt a new name was given to the people : 
 " And it came to pass, at the end of the four hundred 
 and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, 
 that all THE HOSTS OF THE LORD went out from 
 the land of Egypt " (Exod. xii. 40). And again, in the 
 last verse of the same chapter : " And it came to pass 
 the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children 
 of Israel out of the land of Egypt dy tJieir armies^ It 
 was on that '' selfsame day " that they began to live : 
 " This shall be to you the beginning of months." From 
 that time onward, through all their murmurings and 
 rebellions, they never entirely lost their standing as the 
 hosts of the Lord. They had followed on in the way 
 the Lord had led them from Succoth to Sinai. They 
 had, after the brief apostasy of the calf worship, faith- 
 fully followed the Divine directions in regard to the 
 Tabernacle and its worship, and the ordering of the camp. 
 From Sinai to Kadesh, though murmuring and unbe- 
 lieving still, they were nevertheless obedient in following 
 the lead of the pillar of cloud and fire; and their faces 
 were ever directed towards the goal which the Lord had 
 set before them. But now — they have refused to advance 
 and have even attempted to stone the two faithful wit- 
 nesses, through whom the Lord was addressing to them 
 His last appeal; and accordingly they can no longei be 
 
272 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 considered the hosts of the Lord. An army they have 
 ceased to be, and are only so many Bedouins of the 
 desert. Why should their doings find any longer a place 
 " in the volume of the book " ? 
 
 The same principle is no doubt followed still. It is 
 true, indeed, that the canon of Scripture has long been 
 complete, and there is no place in the Bible now for 
 even the most valiant doings of the soldiers of the 
 Cross. But God has a book of remembrance which 
 shall one day be opened ; and in it shall be found written 
 all that is worthy of memory in the doings of His 
 Church. In that record there shall no doubt be many 
 gaps like this in Numbers — years of precious time that 
 might have been full of great things done for the Lord, 
 blank, or worse than blank, with nothing in them that 
 is not discreditable. This will be the case with all 
 those years during which, as Christians or as Christian 
 Churches, we only exist, without advancing, without 
 making fresh conquests, and hastening the time when 
 "all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord " 
 (Num. xiv. 2i). He may not indeed utterly cut us off, 
 just as He spared the lives of that unbelieving genera- 
 tion. He may, and no doubt will pardon, just as He 
 pardoned them (ver. 20), if we are His people at all ; 
 but then, it will be given to others (ver. 31) to do the 
 work and enjoy the honour which we have put from 
 ourselves. Alas, even for the Christian Churches and 
 Christian people who relinquish their service in the 
 field, and content themselves with simply making a pre- 
 carious living as wanderers in the desert ! 
 
 From what has been said it is very evident that we 
 
The Forty Years. 273 
 
 may pass rapidly over these chapters. The fifteenth 
 is quite remarkable as illustrating the unchangeableness 
 of the Divine purposes, notwithstanding all the failures 
 of those who have been honoured with an appointment 
 to carry them out. When the sentence was pronounced 
 which excluded the whole generation from the land, 
 these significant words were added : " Ye shall know my 
 breach of promise." The promises of God are all " yea 
 and amen." There can be no breach of promise with 
 Him. But if those who have been appointed to carry 
 out His designs refuse the honour, there is that which 
 seems a breach of promise so far as they are concerned. 
 They are the losers. They forfeit the privilege and the 
 reward, and incur the condemnation. But the purposes 
 are carried out none the less certainly. And this is 
 strikingly suggested in the very beginning of the chapter : 
 " And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. Speak unto 
 the children of Israel, and say unto them, W/ien ye be come 
 into the land of your habitations, which I give unto 
 you," etc. He had just told them that not one of them 
 would ever set foot in it. And the very next message 
 is, " when ye be come into the land " ! " All flesh is 
 grass .... the grass withereth .... but the word of 
 the Lord endurcth for ever'' 
 
 It is possible that these directions, in view of the 
 entrance of the next generation into the land of pro- 
 mise, were given in mercy, in order to make it evident 
 that though the sentence of exclusion could not be 
 reversed, yet the Lord had " not cast away His people 
 v/hom He foreknew." It may be a sign also that a bet- 
 ter spirit had begun to manifest itself in them, a spirit 
 
274 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 which disposed them to acquiesce in the propriety of 
 their own exclusion, and to cherish the only pleasant 
 prospect that was now left them, the prospect of their 
 children enjoying what they had lost. 
 
 The following chapter gives the history of the rebel- 
 lion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. When it hap- 
 pened there is no means of telling. Quite probably it 
 was after some time had elapsed, and the people had 
 become utterly discouraged by the inactivity and hope- 
 lessness of the dreary years that were passing over 
 them. Having nothing to do, they found mischief 
 ready to their hands. The selfish ambition of the three 
 chief conspirators found material enough to work upon 
 in the inactive and discouraged multitude. 
 
 The ostensible grievance is one which seems to have 
 some foundation : '^ All the congregation are holy, every 
 one of them." That was true enough. Was not the 
 whole nation called to be " a kingdom of priests " ? No 
 one could deny it. It is often the case that party watch- 
 words are everything that can be desired ; but whether 
 the parties themselves are, is another question. There 
 will be a great principle emblazoned on the flag, and the 
 very meanest and most selfish motives in the hearts of 
 those who carry it. 
 
 Moses dealt with the alarming conspiracy with his 
 usual wisdom, and in the same lofty spirit which we 
 have seen him manifesting on similar occasions. We 
 find him first on his face before the Lord (ver. 4), and 
 then, without the slightest assertion of authority, leav- 
 ing the whole matter in dispute to the Lord's decision 
 (ver. 5), while, at the same time, he gave the leaders to 
 
The Forty Years. 275 
 
 understand that he recognized the selfish motives which 
 really inspired the rebellion (ver. 8-1 1). And then, when 
 the decision was given, and the judgment of God was 
 about to fall (ver. 21), again we find him on his face be- 
 fore the Lord, pleading with all the earnestness of his 
 mighty nature for the people whom He loved so much, 
 in spite of all their ingratitude and sin, and anon making 
 atonement for them, until the plague was stayed. 
 
 As the matter in dispute had been the right of Aaron 
 and his family to a priesthood distinct from that of the 
 entire nation, care was taken, after the excitement of 
 the conspiracy and the judgment which followed had 
 calmed down, to give such a testimony to the Divine 
 right of the Aaronic priesthood, as should set the mat- 
 ter for ever at rest. Hence the proceeding recorded in 
 the seventeenth chapter. 
 
 An objection has been taken to this chapter on the 
 ground that after the testimony which had been given 
 in the suppression of the conspiracy, and the terrible 
 judgments with which it was accompanied, there was 
 no need of further witness ; and, accordingly, some have 
 said that evidently this narrative is out of its place. 
 But a very little consideration will show how shallow 
 this objection is. There are some very important 
 respects in which the testimony given by the budding 
 of Aaron's rod was very much needed in the circum- 
 stances. 
 
 In the first place, there is that thought already sug- 
 gested, that the witness of the preceding chapter had 
 been given in a time of great excitement, and for that 
 very reason was less fitted to make a lasting impression. 
 
2/6 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 But besides, it was associated with death and judgment, 
 whereas the priesthood was appointed for Hfe and bless- 
 ing. This was beautifully symbolized in the budding 
 rod of Aaron. And accordingly we have in the witness 
 of the seventeenth chapter, not an arbitrary sign, but an 
 expressive symbol, which conveys valuable instruction 
 in relation to the characteristics of those who have a 
 right to be considered true priests of God. Apply 
 it, for example, to ourselves. We are all called to be 
 priests under the new covenant. What are our cre- 
 dentials? What title has any particular congregation, 
 of progressing Christians, for instance, to be consi- 
 dered as belonging to the Church of God, the Di- 
 vinely accepted priesthood ? '' By their fruits ye 
 shall know them." Look at these rods of the princes. 
 Do they not seem as good as Aaron's rod ? Better pro- 
 bably, if anything. They may have been more costly 
 and more attractive looking, being rods of the princes. 
 But wait awhile. Give time. After the interval has 
 passed, look at them again. The rods of the princes are 
 just as they were before. They are not broken or dam- 
 aged in any way. There they are, everything right and 
 proper about them, apparently. But look at Aaron's. 
 Behold it has " budded and brought forth buds, and 
 bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds." There is 
 life and growth and fruitfulness there. The rods of the 
 princes were dry sticks. The rod of the priest was a 
 living and fruitful branch. So, too, there are many 
 Christian people and Christian congregations that are 
 dead and dry, while others are continually sending out 
 buds and bearing fruit. The latter only have the title 
 
The Forty Years. 277 
 
 to be ranked among the genuine priesthood, or to as- 
 sume the prerogatives of the Church of God. 
 
 The chapter which follows (xviii.) is a continuation 
 of the same subject. It lays down the law in detail, 
 in regard to the question in dispute. That question 
 was settled de facto in the sixteenth, de jure in the 
 seventeenth, and now as ' a matter of law in the eight- 
 eenth chapter. There is an adjustment of the priestly 
 and Levitical duties (ver. 1-7), a setting forth of the 
 rights and privileges of the priests (ver 8-19) ; and of 
 the perquisites of the Levites, with their corresponding 
 obligations (ver. 21-32). 
 
 The ordinance of the red heifer, which is detailed in 
 the nineteenth chapter, is also closely connected with 
 the conspiracy against the priesthood. The mortality 
 in the camp had been unusually severe (see xvi. 49 ; 
 xvii. 13); and, in consequence, it must have been spe- 
 cially burdensome for those who were defiled by neces- 
 sary contact with the dead to bring the appointed sacri- 
 fices. For such persons the regulation concerning the 
 ashes of the heifer would bring great relief, affording as 
 it did a means of purification ready to hand. 
 
 But while this rite of purification was appointed to 
 meet the necessities of the emergency, it is as full as any 
 part of the ordinary ritual, of important truth concern- 
 ing the way of cleansing through the great Sacrifice of 
 the New Testament. Here, as elsewhere, we have the 
 strong sacrificial foundation with its already familiar ele- 
 ments : the choice of an animal without blemish, the kill- 
 ing, the sprinkling of the blood " before the tabernacle 
 of the congregation," the burning without the camp. 
 
278 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 The special feature of the new ordinance is, in the means 
 taken to make one sacrifice available for an indefinite 
 number of cases. This was done by the concentration, 
 so to speak, of all the elements of the sacrifice in the 
 ashes, which were to be preserved. Here we have the 
 explanation of the casting '' into the midst of the burn- 
 ing of the heifer" of " cedar wood and hyssop and scar- 
 let " (ver. 6). These represent the appliances for sprink- 
 ling : the hyssop stalk with scarlet wool wrapped round 
 it, fastened on a piece of cedar wood, which was held in 
 the hand. By the casting of these into the burning, the 
 idea of sprinkling was, as it were, perpetuated in the 
 ashes which were the residuum of the whole. These 
 ashes could of course be preserved and used for an in- 
 definite time ; and each time they were used, the ideas 
 which had, so to speak, been burnt into them, would be 
 impressed upon the minds and hearts of the devout. 
 The ashes then represented the power of a past sacrifice ; 
 and accordingly we have in this special ordinance a bet- 
 ter shadow than almost anywhere else of the blessed 
 truth of the new covenant, that the Sacrifice once made 
 never needs to be repeated ; but remains of undiminish- 
 ed efificacy to the end of time. To adapt a well-known 
 sentence of the poet, " even in its ashes live its former 
 fires." 
 
 The use of the running water with the ashes (ver. 17) 
 has the same significance as in the ritual for the cleansing 
 of the leper, which we had before us in the fourteenth 
 chapter of Leviticus. 
 
 In making application of the ordinance of the red 
 heifer to ourselves, we find it specially instructive in re- 
 
The Forty Years. 279 
 
 gard to the restoration of that communion with God, 
 which ought to be the chief joy of the Christian, and 
 which is too often broken by the contracting of stains, 
 so difficult to avoid, with sin " reigning unto death " all 
 around us. There are those who under these circum- 
 stances feel peculiarly discouraged. They have the im- 
 pression that it must be exceedingly difficult to get back 
 to their former position. They remember how long it 
 took them at first to be reconciled to God ; and they 
 think how much more difficult it must be now that the 
 evil has been allowed after the experience of God's sav- 
 ing grace. It seems a long and hard way back ; and 
 they have not courage to begin again. It is a mistake. 
 The way back again is not long and hard. There are 
 the ashes of the heifer and the running water close at 
 hand. There need be no delay, as if a nev/ animal must 
 be obtained, and brought to the priest, and killed at the 
 altar, and so forth. There is a shorter way. Look back 
 to the Sacrifice offered long ago once for all. There is 
 the running water of the Word, which has in it, as it 
 were in solution, the strong ashes of the Sacrifice. There 
 for evermore is stored the virtue of that blood which 
 " cleanseth from all sin." There need be no delay. For 
 the ashes and the water, we have the cross and the 
 Word ; and all that is wanted is the immediate use of 
 God's " perpetual statute for purifying the unclean '' ; 
 " for if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of 
 an heifer sprinklmg the unclean, sanctifieth to the purify- 
 ing of the flesh : how much more shall the blood of Christy 
 who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without 
 
28o The Mosaic Era. 
 
 spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to 
 serve the living God ? " (Heb. ix. 13, 14). 
 
 We had occasion to remark in the early part of this 
 lecture, that there was only one incident of importance 
 recorded during the thirty-eight years of wandering, viz., 
 the rebellion of Korah. But as we have seen, many 
 things have grown out of it which were of lasting value, 
 especially the mediation of Moses and the forgiving 
 mercy of God, the witness of the budding rod, and the 
 valuable ordinance of the red heifer. Thus it is that 
 God "makes the wrath of man to praise Him," and uses 
 even his most sinful outbreaks as occasions for magnify- 
 ing the glory of His grace. The forty years left nothing 
 to the credit of Israel ; but brief and scanty as its no- 
 tices are, they are full of value as part of the revelation 
 of ^' God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." 
 
XVIII. 
 THE NEW DEPARTURE. 
 
 NUMBERS XX., XXI. 
 
 THE fortieth year is now running its course. The 
 time of the curse has nearly expired. The old 
 generation has almost passed away. And now prepa- 
 rations may be begun for entering a second time on the 
 march to Canaan, where a new generation must vindi- 
 cate the claim of Israel to be indeed '' the hosts of the 
 Lord," by taking possession of the land of promise. 
 
 It was at Kadesh that the sentence had been pro- 
 nounced which doomed their fathers to these dreary 
 years of wandering. It is at Kadesh again that the 
 camp is reorganized. It seems likely that during the 
 interval there was no definite aim or object before the 
 people, so that they moved about as suited their con- 
 venience or necessities, very much as the wandering 
 tribes of the desert do still. This would lead to a re- 
 laxation of discipline and order in the camp, and more 
 or less scattering of the people. Their unity was indeed 
 to a certain extent kept up, and their marching orders 
 given as of old, probably at long intervals. So at least 
 we would infer from the itinerary in Numbers xxxiii. ; 
 but there must have been no little disorganization and 
 
 (281) 
 
282 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 dispersion, rendering it necessary that there should be a 
 reassembling of the forces. For this purpose no place 
 could be better or more appropriate than Kadesh, not 
 only because it must have been so familiar to all, but 
 also because, by making it their point of departure they 
 resumed the thread that had been broken by the unbelief 
 of their fathers. The total loss of the long interval of 
 time, moreover, is more distinctly marked by the gather- 
 ing of the people together at the old halting place. "^ 
 
 There is a striking contrast between the new departure 
 and the old. The first began with the numbering and 
 mustering of the armed men, and all the bustle, activity, 
 and energy of a youthful host setting out to victory. 
 The second seems to have a much less hopeful begin- 
 ning. The twentieth of Numbers is one of the saddest 
 ^ chapters in the book. It begins with the death of her 
 who had been the leader in the song of victory on the 
 shores of the Red Sea. It ends with the death of him 
 who had so long been the honoured representative of 
 Israel in the Holy and the Most Holy Place. And, be- 
 tween the two, we have the old story of murmuring on 
 the part of the people, and mercy on the part of God, 
 but with this sad addition, that Moses himself has a fall 
 — a fall so serious that it leads to his own, as well as 
 Aaron's, exclusion from the land of promise. 
 
 It seems a hopeless beginning indeed. But was there 
 not something hopeful in its very hopelessness? Recall 
 
 * It is not our province to discuss geographical questions, or we 
 should here deal with the dispute as to whether there are not two 
 places of the same name. The best authorities seem now to be in 
 favour of the view which is here presented. 
 
The New Departure. 283 
 
 that scene of wrestling at Peniel, when the patriarch Ja- 
 cob gained the new name of Israel. How did he gain 
 it ? By his own strength ? Nay. It was through weak- 
 ness that he was made strong. It was when his thigh 
 was out of joint, when his power as a wrestler was utter- 
 ly broken, that his hope of victory began. Power with 
 God is what is needed to secure victory ; and in order to 
 this, there must be first a realization of our own weak- 
 ness. This was Israel's experience at the Jabbok. It 
 was also the Apostle Paul's : " Most gladly therefore will 
 I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may 
 rest upon me." This will illustrate what we mean, when 
 we say that there is something hopeful in the very hope- 
 lessness of this chapter. Its great lesson is, " Cease ye 
 from man, whose breath is in his nostrils ; for wherein is 
 he to be accounted of ? " " Put not your trust in princes, 
 nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His 
 breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth ; in that very 
 day his thoughts perish." 
 
 And this prepares the way for the great lesson of the 
 next chapter, which may be expressed in the very words 
 which follow the passage just quoted from the one hun- 
 dred and forty-sixth psalm, '' Happy is he that hath the 
 God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his 
 God." This most valuable lesson is taught in three sue- - 
 cessive experiences. 
 
 First, the victory over Arad (xxi. 1-3). In the begin- 
 ning of the contest Israel had been defeated, and some 
 had been taken prisoners. This event indeed properly 
 belongs to the time of the twentieth chapter, for the 
 encounter with Arad must have taken place before the 
 
284 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 death of Aaron, as all the commentators point out ; but 
 there seems to be a double reason for reserving the 
 account of it to this place : First, the desire on the part 
 of the historian to keep together the closely related 
 events of the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, and the sen- 
 tence which excluded even Moses from the promised 
 land ; and next, the fact that inasmuch as the defeat 
 was retrieved and victory gained in the end, it belongs 
 really to that brighter side which opens up after the 
 great lesson of human weakness and mortality has been 
 sufficiently impressed. And here it is important to notice 
 that the victory was not given to Israel until after they 
 had realized how utterly unable they were to gain it for 
 themselves, and had accordingly come with vows and 
 prayers to the Lord. Then it was that " the Lord 
 hearkened unto the voice of Israel, and delivered up the 
 Canaanites ; and they utterly destroyed them." 
 
 The second experience was one of deliverance from 
 death. Here, again, there is first a time of humbling 
 disclosure : " The soul of the people was much discour- 
 aged because of the way " (ver. 4). Then came the 
 usual murmuring, for the sin of the fathers has evidently 
 descended to the children ; then the plague of serpents, 
 with dreadful stings producing fiery inflammation that 
 resulted speedily in death. Then the humble confession 
 and prayer : " We have sinned, for we have spoken 
 against the Lord, and against thee ; pray unto the 
 Lord, that He take away the serpents from us." This 
 is the turning-point — an acknowledgment of weakness, 
 sin, and need. And immediately the Lord " shows 
 His salvation in the sight of all the people." "The 
 
The New Departure. 2SS 
 
 Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and 
 set it upon a pole : and it shall come to pass, that every 
 one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." 
 
 We all know the use our Saviour made of this inci- 
 dent, treating it as a type of the great salvation which 
 He wrought out for sinful men : " 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." In the ser- 
 pent's bite, the poison of which pervades the whole 
 frame of the victim, and causes death, we recognize a 
 vivid symbol of sin. And in the remedy, too, there 
 are obvious points of analogy. In both cases it was 
 provided by God Himself. In both, the way of cure 
 had a peculiar relation to the disease. By fiery stinging 
 serpents came death ; by a serpent of brass, made in the 
 likeness of the fiery serpents, but without their sting, 
 came life. In the same way, as " by man came death," 
 so by One who was made " in the likeness of sinful 
 flesh," but without that sin which is " the sting of 
 death," — by Hrm came life eternal. In both cases, the 
 means of cure was simply looking — in the one with the 
 bodily eye ; in the other with the eye of faith. In both 
 cases the object, to which the eye must be directed, is 
 *' lifted up " — in the one case on a pole ; in the other on 
 the cross (see John xii. 32). In both, salvation is offered 
 to all without exception : " every one " (Num. xxi. 8), 
 ''any man" (ver. 9), '' whosoever " (John iii. 15). In 
 both, life was the reward of looking; death, the inevi- 
 table consequence of refusal. These points might be 
 developed, but time will only allow of their suggestion. 
 
286 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 The third experience meets the discouragement of 
 the people because of the way, which is referred to in 
 the fourth verse. No wonder they were discouraged. 
 Travellers tell us that the desert of the Arabah, through 
 which they were then passing, is the very worst part of 
 all the routes of travel through the Sinaitic peninsula, 
 the heat of the long, dry, desolate valley being intoler- 
 able. No wonder they were " discouraged because of 
 the way." When the discouragement led to murmur- 
 ing and repining, the only result was the plague of 
 fiery serpents ; but now that there has been repentance, 
 and the journey has been prosecuted in a more humble 
 and believing spirit, lo ! in the midst of the desolation 
 there appears — a well. " Then Israel sang this song " 
 (ver. 17). There is not a great deal of poetry in the 
 song. It has not the ring of the Red Sea song. There 
 was no Miriam to sing it now ; and we may well imagine 
 that even Moses had not the same poetic fire which he 
 had in his younger days. But, though there was less 
 poetry and probably less music too, there was plenty of 
 heart in it ; and therefore it has a place, and a most 
 honourable place, in the Lord's book of remembrance. 
 The dreariness of the desert would be speedily for- 
 gotten ; but who could ever forget the well and the 
 song? 
 
 And now the people are ready to do battle for the 
 Lord. They have well learned the two great lessons of 
 their own weakness and the Lord's resistless might ; 
 and accordingly they may advance even against Sihon, 
 king of the Amorites, and the mighty Og, king of 
 the giants of Bashan. The easy defeat of these two 
 
The New Departure. 287 
 
 potentates, and the occupation of their land, are re- 
 corded in the remainder of the chapter. 
 
 Before we leave this very interesting part of the book 
 of Numbers, we must call attention to some rich veins 
 of truth we have had to pass over, but which will repay 
 the diligent worker. 
 
 One is, the history of the sin and punishment of 
 Moses and Aaron. Here a difficulty presents itself. It 
 seems a very hard sentence for a very light offence. 
 Not only does the offence seem slight in itself, but 
 more especially in comparison with previous oft'ences. 
 In the case of Aaron, we cannot help thinking of the 
 golden calf and Miriam's sedition, in both of which dis- 
 creditable transactions he took a very guilty part. And 
 even in the case of Moses, does it not seem as if his 
 unbelief and impatience, as recorded in the eleventh 
 chapter of this same book (ver. 10-15), were much more 
 censurable than his conduct on this occasion ? 
 
 Looking first at the case of Moses himself, we ought 
 to remember what a critical time this was, when Israel 
 was taking a new departure ; and what special care he 
 ought to have exercised at this juncture to have his tes- 
 timony unclouded by any weakness or faithlessness. 
 The responsibility of Moses' position was great at all 
 times ; but it was perhaps greatest of all at this particular 
 time. This important element in the case must not be 
 disregarded. But besides this, we cannot but notice 
 that the impatience which he manifested at Kibroth- 
 hattaavah was in the presence of the Lord Himself, and 
 not before the people — a very different thing. There, 
 he was wrestling with God in private. Here, he is 
 
288 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 standing in the eye of all. Is there not some reference 
 to this in the very words of the sentence : " Because ye 
 believed Me not, fo sanctify Me in the eyes of the children 
 of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation 
 into the land which I have given them." 
 
 Looking next at the case of Aaron, is there not some- 
 thing in this, that whereas, on former occasions of un- 
 faithfulness, he had Moses to come as mediator between 
 him and his deserved punishment, on this occasion he 
 was deprived of his brother's powerful intercession ? 
 Here Moses cannot answer for himself, and therefore 
 cannot act as mediator for his brother. The fall of 
 Moses carries that of Aaron with it. 
 
 Besides all this, it is important to remember that we 
 can never judge of evil from the mere appearance it 
 presents to the onlooker. God has always elements in 
 view which are hid from us. Sometimes these hidden 
 facts may be of such a nature as to palliate very much 
 that which seems to us utterly inexcusable. Sometimes 
 they may be such as to make a seeming fault into a real 
 crime. We "judge according to the outward appear- 
 ance," because we can do no better ; and therefore we 
 are continually making mistakes in our judgment. 
 God always "judges righteous judgment"; for He 
 looks, not simply on the face, but into the heart of 
 things. 
 
 Another rich field for exploration is the passage 
 which tells us, in a style of simple grandeur, of the 
 death of Aaron. The old man died majestically. He 
 had many faults ; but the root of the matter was in him. 
 And when the time of crisis came, he showed that what 
 
The New Departure. 289 
 
 was deepest in his character was good and true, brave 
 and strong. Without a question or a murmur, he climbs 
 the hill, resigns his priestly garments to his son, and 
 breathes his last upon the mountain top. No death-bed 
 scene is spread before us in the simple record of his end ; 
 and yet there is something in the way it is told, that 
 suggests the happiest thoughts concerning it. " Aaron 
 shall be gathered to his people." " Gathered!' not cast 
 away. You gather that which you intend to keep. 
 Gathered ^^ to his people!' From this side, it seemed a 
 separation from his people. From the other side, from 
 the Divine and heavenly point of view, it was a gather- 
 ing to his people. The home land is there. This is the 
 place of separations. There, is the place of reunion. 
 There was mourning on earth for thirty days (xx. 29). 
 There was joy in heaven for ever. 
 
 It is quite likely that about this time Moses composed 
 that touching Psalm, which stands unrivalled as a Thana- 
 topsis, from that day to this. In speaking of the Song 
 of the Well, we remarked that Moses would not now in 
 his old age have the poetic fire of earlier days. But 
 what he may have lost in fire he has gained in pathos, 
 and grandeur, and tender practical piety. Peerless in all 
 these respects is that nineteenth Psalm, which is happily 
 so familiar that it is not necessary to quote its words. 
 Read it clause by clause, and you will see how appro- 
 priate every thought in it is to the solemn time when 
 the last men of the old generation are dying out, and 
 God is saying to the next, " Return, ye children of men." 
 
 13 
 
XIX. 
 BALAAM. 
 
 NUMBERS XXII.-XXV. 
 
 THE children of Israel are at last gathered in the 
 plains of Moab on the eastern side of the Jordan. 
 The two great enemies who had barred their progress, 
 Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, 
 have been utterly overthrown. But now Moab, which 
 up to this time has been friendly, or at least not hostile, 
 is thoroughly alarmed, and takes measures in combina- 
 tion with Midian, a neighbouring Arabian people, for the 
 destruction of Israel. These measures are quite charac- 
 teristic and natural from their point of view. The 
 Midianites were descended from Abraham, and the Mo- 
 abites from Lot ; and hence it is quite probable that 
 they had some knowledge of the remarkable history of 
 the most favoured branch of the stock of Abraham. And 
 this, coupled with what they had witnessed since the 
 Israelites entered their territory (for it was in the terri- 
 tory of Moab that the battle was fought with the king 
 of the Amorites), would give them at least a dim per- 
 ception of the truth that it was Divine, not human 
 power, which secured their dangerous rivals these great 
 triumphs. Hence the resolution to invoke what super- 
 (290) 
 
Balaam. 291 
 
 natural aid they on their side could command. This 
 they did by sending messengers to Pethor, in the far 
 east, unto Balaam, the son of Beor. 
 
 This Balaam was evidently a great prophet of the 
 time, whose fame had extended far beyond the region 
 where he lived ; and his reputed power of drawing down 
 blessings or curses from above, was so great, that the 
 confederates entertained the hope that through him 
 they could neutralize the peculiar power which was evi- 
 dently wielded by Moses, as the prophet of Jehovah, 
 God of Israel (xxii. 5-7). We have not the materials 
 for determining what title to the position of a prophet 
 Balaam had previous to this time. The probability is 
 that he was in many respects a superior man, with illu- 
 mination enough to seize and present not a little of that 
 common heritage of truth which had survived the several 
 stages of corruption ; and quite possibly he was used of 
 God for the purpose of doing good among the ignorant 
 and degraded people around him. Indeed, his subse- 
 quent utterances, unless we suppose him to have been 
 the subject of an inspiration which entirely superseded 
 the use of his own faculties — a most unlikely supposi- 
 tion — give evidence of an intimate acquaintance with 
 some of the most important parts of the Hebrew Scrip- 
 tures, so that we may without improbability regard him 
 as a worshipper of the true God in that far-off land, and 
 yet one who had by no means shaken himself free from 
 the corrupt influences around him, as is evident from 
 his subsequent career. 
 
 There are two parallel lines in the history of Balaam, 
 which, unfortunately for him, were like parallel lines in 
 
292 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 this also, that they never met, and though produced to 
 infinity, never can meet. These are his conduct and his 
 words ; how he acted and what he said. His conduct 
 was of the meanest ; his words were of the noblest that 
 ever came from mortal lips. Alas ! how often do these 
 two — noble words and ignoble conduct — run on along- 
 side each other in the life of man ; and never meet. 
 The words abide ; the man, identified not with his 
 words, which were from him, but not of him, but with 
 his conduct, which was the true expression of himself, 
 perishes for ever. 
 
 " The way of Balaam " (2 Pet. ii. 15) and the words 
 of Balaam are really two different subjects. It is with 
 the latter we have chiefly to do. But before entering 
 on these most remarkable prophecies of his a few words 
 by way of suggestion may be attempted in relation to 
 the former. 
 
 And here we might notice first, the eiitrance to the 
 way, the root of all the evil. It was his '' loving the 
 wages of unrighteousness " as the Apostle Peter puts it 
 — not unrighteousness itself, only its wages. Could he 
 have had the wages without the work, he would have 
 been better pleased. But he loved the wages more than 
 he hated the unrighteousness. The great lesson at this 
 point is that which our Lord presses so earnestly, " Take 
 heed and beware of covetousness." 
 
 Then the way itself- — the rise and progress of the 
 evil, of which covetousness was the root. How gradually 
 the downward path slopes at the outset. When the 
 temptation is first presented, he carries the matter to 
 God, as was most right and proper ; and he gets the de- 
 
Balaam. 293 
 
 cided answer : " Thou shalt not curse the people : for 
 they are blessed." This was the crisis. Had he allowed 
 the matter to end here, as he ought to have done, all 
 would have been well. But he still allows the bait to 
 keep dangling before his excited imagination ; and ac- 
 cordingly, though in form he refuses to go with the mes- 
 sengers, he yet couches his refusal in such terms, and 
 probably gives it in such tones, as to suggest a second 
 attempt with a larger bribe. And when the second 
 deputation comes, instead of dismissing them at once, he 
 parleys with the temptation, and though his words have 
 a very brave and virtuous ring in them (ver, 18), his 
 heart is set upon going still. And accordingly the Lord 
 allows him to go ; but warns him at the same time, that 
 it must be for the very opposite purpose to that for 
 which Balak wants him. He sets out, neither on the 
 one hand with the determination to oblige Balak and 
 defy the Lord, nor on the other hand to obey the Lord 
 and disregard Balak ; but in a confused kind of way 
 hoping to combine the two opposite courses, so as to 
 save himself so far as the Lord was concerned, and yet 
 get the money from the king of Moab. This explains 
 the singular experience he has by the way, and his 
 otherwise inexplicable conduct when he reaches his des- 
 tination. This double-mindedness continues till we lose 
 sight of him again, after he '' rose up, and went, and re- 
 turned to his place " (xxiv. 25). But it is gone when 
 we meet him in the last stage of his history. 
 
 This leads us to the third point : the end of the way 
 The beginning of the way was loving the wages of un- 
 rif^hteousness ; the middle of it was the seeking of them, 
 
294 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 combined with an ever-weakening attempt to keep the 
 path of righteousness while seeking the other wages ; 
 and now what is the end ? " The wages of sin "; which is 
 dcatJi. From the double-mindedness of the middle stage 
 he very rapidly passed into whole-hearted wickedness. 
 He took a prominent part in seducing the children of 
 Israel to those iniquitous practices which are referred to 
 in the twenty-fifth chapter (seexxxi. i6) ; and after doing 
 the devil's work with a singleness of purpose he had 
 never shown before, at last '' utterly perished in his own 
 corruption " (xxxi. 8). One of his wonderful sayings 
 had been : '' Let me die the death of the righteous, and 
 let my last end be like his." These, and such as these, 
 were his words ; that was the end of his way. 
 
 In passing from the personal history of Balaam to his 
 prophecies, let us notice the wisdom of God in the choice 
 of His instrument. Could you conceive of any more 
 striking way of manifesting the unalterable blessedness 
 of the people whose God is the Lord, than is here taken 
 — a blessing so great and so Divine coming from the 
 enemy's camp, from a semi-heathen and wicked prophet's 
 mouth, the marvellous issue of a conspiracy to curse be- 
 / tween two of the greatest men of the time — could you 
 conceive of any combination of circumstances more 
 encouraging to God's people, and more fitted to ex- 
 tinguish the hopes of their enemies? 
 
 Now let us look at the prophecies themselves. There 
 are four of them in all ; but the fourth is quite separate 
 from the other three, and must be left for separate con- 
 sideration. The three are the several responses of Ba- 
 laam to Balak's three solicitations, first, from " the high 
 
Balaam. 295 
 
 places of Baal," then from the top of PIsgah, and lastly 
 from the top of Peor. These three contain the blessing. 
 The fourth is more strictly prophetic, setting forth 
 what is to happen in the end of the days. It is not 
 given at Balak's solicitation ; but is, as it were, forced 
 upon his unwilling ear as a wonderful appendix to the 
 threefold benediction pronounced upon Israel. 
 
 Looking at the first of the three blessings, it is inter- 
 esting to observe the reason Balaam gives why he can- 
 not curse the people, much as Balak wishes it, and much 
 as he himself in his inmost soul desires to do it. It is 
 this : " Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be 
 reckoned among the nations " (xxiii. 9). This, as we 
 have seen, is the special characteristic of the chosen 
 people, their isolation, their separation from other 
 nations for the worship of the true God. Thus Balaam, 
 evidently inspired of God, puts in the forefront of his 
 prophecy this very principle of separation which lay at 
 the foundation of all the Divine dealings with Abraham ^Z 
 and his seed, from the time that God addressed to him 
 the call : '' Come out from thy country and kindred, and 
 I will make of thee a great nation." 
 
 The blessing closes with these remarkable words, 
 already quoted in another connection : " Let me die the 
 death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." 
 Some take this to be a mere personal wish ; but we be- 
 lieve it to be more. '' The righteous " in the original 
 is almost a proper name, being nearly identical in form 
 and in meaning with the word Jeshurun, which we find 
 in poetical language applied to Israel. When we remem- 
 ber this, we see that the form the blessing takes is very 
 
296 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 striking. This mighty man from the East not only 
 blesses when he was expected to curse, but is so carried 
 away with the magnitude of the blessing, that he longs 
 for a share in it himself ! And is it not worthy of re- 
 mark, in view of the prevalent idea that a blessed im- 
 mortality was quite foreign to the thought of the Mosaic 
 era, that the peculiar blessedness of the people whose 
 God is the Lord, is represented here, not as closing, but 
 as culminating, at death? 
 
 In the second .blessing (ver. 14-24), the leading 
 thought is the presence of the Lord as a source of con- 
 tinual blessedness, safety, and strength. " The Lord 
 his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among 
 them." This presence of the Lord ensures forgiveness 
 of sin : " He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither 
 hath he seen perverseness in Israel " ; absolute security 
 against the wiles of their enemies : '' Surely there is no 
 enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divina- 
 tion against Israel " ; and finally, victory over all, set 
 forth in imagery which recalls the language of the Shiloh 
 prophecy in Genesis, and which is at the same time 
 specially appropriate to the character of the warlike 
 book of Numbers. 
 
 The third blessing (xxiv. 1-9) is the finest of all. Its 
 central ideas are prosperity and victory. To appreciate 
 its imagery, we must remember the exceeding value of 
 water in the East, so that abundance of it is the best 
 poetical image of prosperity and national welfare — also 
 that Agag was the dynastic name of Amalekite kings, 
 and that accordingly, inasmuch as Amalek was at that 
 time '' the first of the nations " (ver. 20) with which 
 
Balaam. 297 
 
 Israel had to deal, Agag was the great representative of 
 the power of the enemies of God's people (see Exod. 
 xvii. 16). Here again we cannot but observe the promi- 
 nence of the idea of the king and the kingdom, in full 
 accord with what we have said in regard to the general 
 features of the book. 
 
 We can scarcely pass from this threefold blessing 
 without raising the question whether there is not a 
 special significance in the triple form it takes. Does it 
 not remind us of the threefold blessing pronounced 
 directly upon the camp of Israel on the occasion of their 
 first departure on the great expedition ? * Are the fol- 
 lowing circumstances quite incidental or meaningless? 
 In the first instance we are told (xxiii. 4) that God met 
 Balaam ; in the second (ver. 16) that Jehovah met him ; 
 in the third (xxiv. 2) that the Spirit of God came upon 
 him. As usual, indeed, we find the names Jehovah and 
 God interchanged throughout the narrative ; but surely 
 it is worth noticing that, in the formal statement of the 
 communication estabhshed in each case between God 
 and Balaam, He should be spoken of successively as 
 God (suggesting the Father), Jehovah (suggesting the 
 Son),t and the Spirit of God (the Holy Ghost). And are 
 not the prominent ideas in the several communications 
 quite in keeping with these distinctive names ? In the 
 first, the leading thought is that of separation, suggesting 
 God's separation of Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees, 
 and of Israel from Egypt, both of them for the purpose 
 
 * See Numbers vi. 23-27, and the close of XV. 
 t See Appendix on the name Jehovah. 
 
 13* 
 
298 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 of adoption as His children : " Come ye out from 
 among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the un- 
 clean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a Father 
 unto you." There Is the Exodus thought. In the 
 second prophecy, the prominent feature is the presence 
 
 f of Jehovah, bringing forgiveness and securing victory. 
 There Is the Leviticus idea ; which in the next age Is 
 expressed in the Incarnation, the Advent of Emmanuel, 
 " God with us." In the third prophecy we have a suc- 
 cession of thoughts all suggestive of the work of the 
 Holy Spirit in producing fertility, grozvth in beauty and 
 in fragrance, as of trees planted by the rivers of water, 
 culminating in that victory over all the nations which, as 
 we have seen, is the leading thought of the book of 
 
 ^ Numbers. Can we fail to see In those successive bene- 
 dictions " the love of God " the Father, who hath called 
 us out from an unbelieving and lost world ; " the grace of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ " the Son, who came from heaven 
 to dwell with man on earth, and at the same time to 
 finish iniquity, transgression, and sin ; and '' the commu- 
 nion of the Holy Ghost," who is poured out as water on 
 the dry ground, and by whose fertilising and life-giving 
 power the people of God grow in beauty and fragrance 
 and majesty, " as gardens by the river side, as the trees 
 of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar 
 trees beside the waters " (xxiv. 6). 
 
XX. 
 
 THE STAR AND SCEPTRE PROPHECY. 
 
 NUMBERS XXIV. 15-24. 
 
 THIS last prophecy of Balaam occupies the same 
 position in the Mosaic Era, that the Shiloh pro- 
 phecy (Gen. xlix. 8-12), holds in the Patriarchal Era.* 
 It is, as it were, an open eye, that looks out from the 
 limited range of touch to the distant fields of vision, on 
 and on till the point is reached where heaven and earth 
 seem to meet and mingle. It will not then be out of 
 harmony with the general plan of these studies, if we give 
 to this striking prophecy something more than a passing 
 notice. 
 
 We have called it the prophecy of the Star and 
 Sceptre, from that which may be regarded as ''the 
 point of sight " in the vision ; " I shall see him, but not 
 now ; I shall behold him, but not nigh : there shall come 
 a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of 
 Israel " (ver 17). The Star and the Sceptre are symbols 
 of royalty, the one of royal splendour, the other of royal 
 power. The prophecy then heralds the coming of a 
 king, who shall rise out of Israel, and is thus in mani-. 
 fest harmony with the special character of the book in 
 which it appears.f 
 
 * See " Ages before Moses," Lect. XI. t Ibid., p. 248. 
 
 (299) 
 
300 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 Who is the king ? Some say David ; and they are 
 not altogether wrong. He was '^ a star out of Jacob," 
 he was " a sceptre out of Israel " ; and he did " smite 
 the corners of Moab, and destroy the children of Sheth." 
 He did cut down his enemies under him, and build up 
 Israel's kingdom on the ruins of theirs. But this subju- 
 gation was only partial and temporary, and was very far 
 indeed from exhausting this wonderful prophecy, which 
 extends far beyond David's time, even on to the times 
 of David's Lord, the King of whom the monarch of 
 Israel was only a type. It was not till that later age 
 that " the Star of Bethlehem " appeared, whose coming 
 was so appropriately heralded by *' His star in the east " 
 which the eastern sages saw. Acquainted as these Magi 
 undoubtedly were with this oracle of one of their own 
 prophets of the olden time, no sooner did the star ap- 
 pear, than immediately they turned their faces to 
 Jerusalem, with the eager question, '* Where is He that 
 is born King of the Jews ? " 
 
 The symbol of the sceptre has already been associated 
 y^with the coming of the King in the Shiloh prophecy 
 of the earlier era. At first sight there appears a dif- 
 ficulty in the relation of the one to the other. As a 
 rule, the course of prophecy is from the general to the 
 particular ; but here the order seems to be reversed ; 
 for in Genesis the very tribe is specified, while in Num- 
 bers the prophecy is not tribal, but national. 
 
 But when we take into consideration the different 
 circumstances, we shall see very clearly the reason of 
 this. Jacob was blessing his twelve sons, and in the 
 course of benediction mentions what is special to each ; 
 
The Star and ScErxRE Prophecy. 301 
 
 and accordingly, when he comes to Judah, he assigns 
 him the pecuHar honor of the tribe from which the 
 Sceptre shall come. Balaam, on the other hand, has 
 nothing to do with the separate tribes as such. He 
 has to do with the Israelites as distinguished from the 
 Moabites and other hostile nations ; and accordingly he 
 has no occasion to single out Judah, but simply refers 
 to the fact that the coming King " shall rise out of 
 Israel." 
 
 In this connection we cannot help remarking how this 
 sceptre prophecy of Balaam confirms the view we took" 
 on that sceptre prophecy of Jacob. We then called 
 attention to the prevalent view of that prophecy, which 
 makes it mean that the sceptre will continue with 
 Judah till Shiloh comes, and then depart ; so that the 
 departing of the sceptre by the Roman conquest is 
 actually taken as the fulfilment of the prophecy ; 
 whereas, as we endeavoured then to show in full detail, 
 the idea is not that the sceptre will depart, but that it 
 will never depart. Notwithstanding the fact that be- 
 fore the coming of the great Shiloh, the Prince of Peace, 
 it will again and again seem to depart, it shall not 
 utterly pass away till He come and take it up ; and then 
 — what? Depart? Nay, verily. ''His dominion shall 
 be an everlasting dominion." It cannot depart now ; 
 for He has come '' whose right it is " (Ezek. xxi. 27), 
 and '' to Him — around His sceptre — shall the gathering 
 of the people be." 
 
 Now, it is obvious that the prophecy before us con- 
 
 Sec "Ages before Moses," Lect. X.I. 
 
302 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 firms this natural interpretation of the words of Jacob. 
 If Shiloh's coming was to be the signal for the departing 
 of the sceptre, why should Balaam speak as if it 
 were the rising of it ? This would make the one contra- 
 dict the other. But take the natural and proper mean- 
 ing of the earlier prophecy, viz., that Shiloh is to wield 
 Jacob's sceptre for ever, and that to Him, and around 
 His sceptre, shall the gathering of the nations be, — and 
 there appears at once a beautiful harmony with the 
 prophecy before us, which leaping across the dark vista 
 of ages, declares, " there shall come a Star out of Jacob, 
 and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel." 
 
 The work of the coming King is represented in 
 Balaam's prophecy as a work of destruction ; He '' shall 
 smite " ^^ and destroy " ; His enemies '' shall be wasted," 
 '' shall perish forever." Now this is certainly a very 
 partial, not to say questionable, view of the work of Him 
 who came above all to seek and to save. But it is that 
 part of His work, that aspect of His mission, which is 
 appropriate to the occasion of the prophecy, and to the 
 book in which it finds a place. It was quite a different 
 view of his work that was given in the earlier proph- 
 ecy. There He was spoken of as Shiloh, the Prince of 
 Peace, and a picture was given of the gathering around 
 His peaceful sceptre of His loyal loving subjects. And 
 this was most appropriate, as coming from the lips of 
 an aged saint, who was just entering into his rest, and 
 as addressed to one who was himself a loyal son of 
 Israel. But here, the prophecy is uttered on the occa- 
 sion of a wicked hostile attempt against the chosen peo- 
 ple. It is addressed to the prime mover in that wicked- 
 
The Star and Sceptre Prophecy. 303 
 
 ness, the leader of the armies which were marshalled in 
 defiant array against the hosts of the Lord. It was 
 uttered in full view of the seats and fastnesses of those 
 numerous and powerful enemies of the Lord's people, 
 whose countries were visible to the keen eye of — 
 
 " That seer of old, 
 Who stood on Zophim, Heaven-controlled." 
 
 Was it not in these circumstances most natural and 
 appropriate, that the aspect of the King's reign toward 
 his eiicmics should form the subject of this prophecy ? 
 
 Besides this, it is important to remember that when 
 translated into its New Testament equivalent, destruc- 
 tion by the sword becomes conversion by the Word, 
 which is '' the sword of the Spirit." " Thy people shall 
 be willing in the day of Thy power" — a prediction 
 which, you will remember, refers to New Testament 
 times, and introduces statements closely parallel to 
 those before us, that He " shall strike through kings in 
 the day of his wrath " and " wound the heads over 
 many countries" (Ps. ex. 3, 5, 6) : — 
 
 " O Thou, Most Mighty, gird 
 
 Thy sword upon Thy thigh, 
 That two-edged blade, Thy Word 
 
 By which Thy foes shall die. 
 To be new bom beneath Thine eye. 
 
 So perish all Thine enemies ! " 
 
 When looked at in this its New Testament light, the 
 difficulty naturally associated with the sanguinary strain 
 of the prophecy disappears. 
 
 This leads us to the consideration of a point of great 
 
3C'4 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 importance. The enemies named for destruction are 
 the Moabites, Edomites, Amalekites, etc. Are we to 
 suppose that these particular nations, these necessarily 
 and these only, are in the purview of the prophecy ? 
 Is there no reference, for instance, to the Philistines, 
 though they are not naimed ? And is there no reference 
 to the '^ Philistines" of modern times? Is the prophecy 
 dead and buried ? Having lived once and served its 
 purpose, has it passed away, or become at best a fossil, 
 which perchance may serve as one of the many illustra- 
 tions of the hand of God in history, as other fossils show 
 His hand in nature? Or is it really a part of that Word 
 which '' liveth and abideth for ever " ? The answer to this 
 question will bring out a very important principle in 
 the right interpretation of prophecy, which is often 
 overlooked. 
 
 ^ The best way to put the question so as to bring out 
 the principle is this : What was it which determined the 
 selection of these particular peoples, enumerated by 
 Balaam as those who were to be destroyed by the com- 
 ing king? Was it that these, and no others, were 
 actually to be destroyed ? Not at all. There are many 
 prophecies strictly parallel with this where there is no 
 such restriction. It seems evident that the names men- 
 tioned find their place in the prophecy simply because 
 
 / they were suggested by the circumstances ; because the 
 view the seer had from the top of the mountain sup- 
 plied the materials which gave form to his inspired utter- 
 ance. He extended his survey in all directions as far as 
 his eye could reach, and brought in every hostile power 
 that was at all suggested by anything he saw in the 
 
The Star and Sceptre Prophecy. 305 
 
 wide field of his vision. And what did this mean ? It 
 simply meant that all the enemies of Israel and Israel's 
 King should ultimately fall beneath His conquering sway. 
 It meant that no weapon formed against Zion should 
 prosper (Isa. liv. 17); that all kings should fall down 
 before her King, and His enemies should lick the dust 
 (Ps. Ixxii. 9, 1 1). 
 
 The principle at the foundation of this is, that the 
 prophets use language based upon facts and images of 
 the present, and therefore within the range of the knowl- 
 edge of the people to whom they spoke, to express great 
 truths of the future ; but it is putting the spirit in bond- 
 age to the letter to reject all application of the prophecy 
 beyond the mere letter. What if some of these nations 
 had passed out of existence before the coming of the 
 sceptred King of whom the prophet speaks? Would 
 the prophecy be falsified simply because that particular 
 nation was not one of those which He conquered in the 
 latter days? Not at all. That only belongs to the form 
 of the prophecy. The spirit of it is that the Star out of 
 Jacob, the Sceptre out of Israel, " He that shall have 
 dominion" (ver. 19), shall overcome all His enemies, 
 east, and west, and north, and south. And this is in full 
 harmony with what we have found to be the ultimate 
 design and grand idea of the book of Numbers. We 
 have, in fact, in this last prophecy of Balaam concerning 
 "the latter days" (ver. 14) another form of the earlier 
 assurance, " As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled 
 with the glory of the Lord," and an anticipation of many 
 that are to follow, some of which combine both forms 
 of presenting the truth ; as, for example, in the second 
 
3o6 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 Psalm : '' Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen 
 for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
 earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them in 
 pieces with a rod of iron ; thou shalt dash them in 
 pieces like a potter's vessel." 
 
 But though the literal scope of Balaam's prophecy 
 was more limited than its actual range, it was neverthe- 
 less very extensive indeed. And it is wonderful now to 
 look back upon it in the light of subsequent history. 
 There was first the destruction of the neighbouring na- 
 tions, any one of which might well seem at the time 
 more than a match for the wandering Israelites ; and 
 they were all destroyed in the victorious progress of the 
 people that were " not reckoned among the nations." 
 Then there was the great eastern wave of conquest, roll- 
 ing westward from the seer's own eastern land, which 
 was to carry away on its surges not only the Kenites 
 and other enemies of the chosen people, but the chosen 
 people themselves : '^ Nevertheless the Kenite shall be 
 wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive." 
 And more wonderful still, the great western wave of 
 conquest which centuries later rolled eastward ^' from 
 the coast of Chittim " ; /. e., from the direction of the 
 isles of the sea which first meet the eye as it travels 
 westward from Palestine toward the classic lands of 
 southern Europe, — that great western wave of conquest 
 which was to lay Assyria and all the east at the feet of 
 Greece first, and afterwards of Rome, even t/ia^ comes 
 within the range of the seer's far-seeing eye. And not 
 only so, but the overthrow of that great western power 
 
The Star and Sceptre Prophecy. 307 
 
 itself ; for he ends by saying that *' he also shall perish 
 for ever." Thus it is that first the enemies of the near 
 south and north, and then the far more formidable foe 
 of the remote east, and finally the mightiest and most 
 terrible antagonist of all, from the still more distant 
 west, fall one after another before the might of the ris- 
 ing Sceptre, and their glories pale before the rising of 
 '' the Bright and Morning Star " ; and, when the vision 
 closes, this glorious Star remains alone in view, this 
 mighty Sceptre '^ does all the world command." And 
 "on His vesture and on His thigh" is this name writ- 
 ten : " King of kings and Lord of lords ! " 
 
 Finally, what encouragement may we derive from 
 this prophecy in the work to which, as the Israel of 
 God, we are called ? It may seem at times that the dif- 
 ficulties we have to encounter, and the enemies that 
 counterwork our efforts, make the prospect very dark. 
 But are these enemies mightier than the giant empires 
 which rose in the future before the prophetic eye of Ba- 
 laam as he stood on the top of Peor? What was little 
 Israel to great Assyria, or greater Greece, or Rome the 
 mightiest of all? Yet where is Assyria now? Where 
 are the Greek and Roman empires now ? And where is 
 the Star and Sceptre 7iow ? Is not the Star brighter and 
 the Sceptre mightier than it ever was before ? And in 
 the same way shall the enemies of the truth in modern 
 times, near and far, related and unrelated, Romanism, 
 ritualism, rationalism, infidelity, intemperance, vice in all 
 its forms — go down at last before the rising Star and the 
 all-conquering Sceptre. Let us, then, take courage in 
 
3o8 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 that part of the work that is entrusted to us. Let us re- 
 member that we are most surely on the winning side. 
 And let us not be " weary in well-doing, for in due sea- 
 son we shall reap if we faint not " ; in due season we 
 shall share in the triumphs of the King. 
 
XXI. 
 
 THE SECOND MUSTER. 
 
 NUMBERS XXVL— DEUTERONOMY I. i. 
 
 WE are now rapidly approaching the close of the 
 Mosaic era. We are reminded of this by the 
 fact that one of the points from which Balaam blessed 
 the people was Mount Pisgah. The long journeyings of 
 the children of Israel are over ; the hard fighting is about 
 to begin. True, they have already conquered Sihon, 
 king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan ; but these 
 were only preliminary engagements on the border lands. 
 The great work which they are called to do is to subdue 
 the land of promise on the other side of Jordan. And 
 already that land is in sight. It was full in view of Ba- 
 laam when he pronounced his benediction on Pisgah ; 
 and in a very few weeks Moses himself will ascend the 
 same mountain to view the land, and die. 
 
 But before he passes away, there are last duties to dis- 
 charge and last words to speak. First among the duties 
 was the numbering of the people for the second time. 
 It must be remembered that of all the hosts that were 
 numbered at the base of Mount Sinai, only two persons 
 remain, Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of 
 Jephunneh. It is an entirely different army; and hence 
 
 (309) 
 
3IO The Mosaic Era. 
 
 it was most appropriate that before the Jordan was 
 crossed, and the great work of conquest began, they 
 should be mustered and marshalled as their fathers were. 
 As was to be expected, the numbers were not precisely 
 the same ; and yet the aggregate was so near the old one, 
 thiit it was practically the same force in point of num- 
 bers as that which set out from the base of Sinai nearly 
 forty years before. This second census is given in chap- 
 ter xxiv. In the following chapter an interesting decision 
 is given in regard to the rights of families represented 
 only by daughters, the effect of which was to give these 
 families equal privileges with those enjoyed by the fami- 
 lies belonging to the warrior host. 
 
 The numbering over, and this question settled, Moses 
 is informed that the day of his departure is at hand 
 (xxvii. 12-14) ; and at once, without any thought of him- 
 self, he presents an earnest prayer that the Lord may 
 provide a new shepherd for the sheep (ver. 15-17). In 
 answer to this prayer, Joshua, whose courage and faith- 
 fulness had been so conspicuous on the occacion of the 
 great defection, and who had been Moses' attendant in 
 some of the most solemn acts of his long ministry, is fit- 
 ly selected as his successor. It is worthy of notice, how- 
 ever, that the relation of the new leader to God is not so 
 intimate as had been that of Moses. He was to " stand 
 before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him 
 after the judgment of Urim before the Lord" (ver. 21), 
 which is quite in keeping with what is written in Num- 
 bers xii. 8 and in Deuteronomy xxxiv. 10. 
 
 The appropriateness of the ritual reminders in the 
 chapters v/hicli follow (xxviii.-xxx.) will be seen when 
 
The SecOxXd Muster. 311 
 
 we remember that, during* the wandering in the wilder- 
 ness, many of the ordinances of the law had, almost as a 
 matter of necessity, remained a mere letter. It is evi- 
 dent that they were framed with a view to the condition 
 of the people after they should be settled in the land ; 
 and some of them at least were of such a nature that 
 they could not be observed in the wilderness. It was 
 quite appropriate, then, that on the eve of crossing the 
 Jordan, the people should be reminded of such obliga- 
 tions, and that the opportunity should be taken also for 
 making such new appointments as the circumstances 
 called for. 
 
 The war against the Midianites, recorded in the thirty- 
 first chapter, was evidently of a special character. It 
 was laid upon Moses as a last duty before he was 
 gathered unto his people to " avenge the children of 
 Israel of the Midianites " (ver. 2), or as it is put in verse 
 3, " avenge the Lord of Midian." It was not then a 
 war of conquest, but a judicial punishment for the 
 terrible wickedness of the tribe in the matter of Beth- 
 peor. And this is the reason, no doubt, why the com- 
 mand was given to Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the 
 priest, who set out " with the holy instruments, and the 
 trumpets to blov/ in his hand " (ver. 6). 
 
 The itinerary in chapter xxxiii. is of chief value in 
 the efforts to fix the route of the Israelites ; but the 
 difficulty of identifying the places renders the task very 
 doubtful and unsatisfactory. It is specially interesting 
 in this respect, that in some small measure it supplies 
 the great gap of thirty-eight years with a few names, 
 which at all events throw a light bridge across the 
 
312 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 chasm, and suggest the comforting thought that, though 
 none of the doings of the people during these years 
 were worth recording, yet they were never entirely for- 
 saken or forgotten of the Lord. So far as the men were 
 concerned, Joshua and Caleb bridge the two generations ; 
 so far as the history is concerned, these "journeys of 
 the children of Israel," written out by Moses before his 
 death, serve the same purpose. 
 
 The concluding chapters of the book are taken up 
 with directions given through Moses, as to the distribu- 
 tion of the land. The territory on this side of Jordan 
 which had fallen into their hands through the conquest 
 of Sihon and Og, was given to Reuben, Gad, and half 
 the tribe of Manasseh, at their own solicitation ; on con- 
 dition, however, that, before they settle down, they 
 should cross over with the rest of the tribes, and take 
 their part in the great work which was to be done be- 
 yond Jordan (chap, xxxii.) The borders of the land for 
 the other nine and a half tribes are marked out in chapter 
 xxxiv., and certain princes of each tribe appointed to 
 attend to the distribution. 
 
 It had been expressly arranged that the tribe of Levi 
 should have no inheritance in the land. The service of 
 the Lord was to be their inheritance. Yet they must 
 live som.ewhere. Hence the appointment of the Leviti- 
 cal cities, forty-eight in all, with their suburbs, selected 
 from all the tribes according to their size and wealth. 
 Of these forty-eight, six were appointed for cities of 
 refuge, three on the east and three on the west of Jor- 
 dan. It is thought that the author of the Epistle to the 
 Hebrews has these cities in view when he speaks of 
 
The Second Muster. 
 
 313 
 
 Christians having '' fled for refuge to lay hold upon the 
 hope set before us " ; and there are some points of an- 
 alogy between the asylum which the man-slayer found 
 in the city of refuge that lay nearest him, and the safety 
 which the sinner finds in Christ who is always near, and 
 whose gate of mercy is ever open to those who repent 
 and seek the salvation He freely offers. 
 
 The book of Numbers seems to end abruptly with the 
 settlement of a side question, arising out of the regula- 
 tions in regard to families represented by daughters only. 
 The question indeed is of greater importance than it 
 seems, for it has in it the great principle of the inalien- 
 ability of the inheritance of all God's children. But 
 besides this, it must be remembered that there is no gap 
 between this book and the one following. The history 
 proceeds right on. In the end of Numbers we have 
 the last acts of Moses, and in the book of Deuteronomy 
 we have his last words. It seems quite appropriate, 
 then, that the book of Numbers should have no very 
 obvious climax or consummation, but should pass nat- 
 urally and easily into the one which follows, with nothing 
 more striking at its close than the words of the last 
 verse: '^ These are the commandments and the judg- 
 ments which the Lord commanded by the hand of 
 Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab 
 by Jordan near Jericho." 
 
 In this natural transition from the one book to the 
 other, we have a confirmation of the traditional view, 
 which after all the attempts that have been made in 
 recent years to replace it by another more agreeable to 
 rationalistic interpretations, remains the most natural 
 14 
 
314 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 and the best supported, that Moses himself was the au- 
 thor of both books, certain passages excepted, notably 
 that which reports his own death. But we shall reserve 
 what we have to say on this subject to the next lecture. 
 Observe only now, how natural it was that, after the 
 second numbering of the people, he should a second 
 time set before them the main features of that law 
 which he had given to the former generation that were 
 gathered at the base of Sinai. The second muster of the 
 end of Numbers prepares the way for the second law in 
 Deuteronomy. 
 
XXII. 
 THE SECOND LAW. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY I.-XXX. 
 
 IT is the eleventh month of the fortieth year. It is 
 the eleventh hour of the Mosaic Era. The great 
 Lawgiver and Leader is about to be " gathered to his 
 fathers "; yet "his eye is not dim, nor his natural force 
 abated " ; and of this he gives abundant evidence in the 
 three long and spirited addresses which he delivers to 
 the people as his parting charge. 
 
 In these addresses he urges the people, with all the 
 force of his mighty nature, to be mindful of the Lord 
 that has redeemed them, to be obedient to His law, and 
 faithful to His covenant. They are, in fact, a powerful 
 practical application of the Law which had been given on 
 Mount Sinai. Hence the name given to the book which 
 records these addresses : " Deuteronomy," the Second 
 Law. The name is misleading, if it convey the impres- 
 sion, as it does to some, that it is only a repetition of 
 what has gone before. In substance, indeed, it is the 
 same, with some alterations and modifications, called for 
 by the altered circumstances ; but its form and purpose 
 are quite different. The relation between the two may 
 
 (3T5) 
 
3i6 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 be illustrated by the difference between a report and the 
 speech of the mover of it. Both productions have 
 the same substance ; the report records, and the 
 speech illustrates, the same facts ; yet the two may 
 be, and ought to be, quite different. At the same time, 
 each is necessary and appropriate in its place. So is it 
 in regard to the Law in Exodus and that which is called 
 *' the second Law " in Deuteronomy. The former is 
 Moses' report ; the latter is his speech in urging its 
 adoption. And this accounts to a very great degree for 
 the obvious difference in style. ^^^ 
 
 This difference has been much insisted on as a reason 
 for discrediting the Mosaic authorship of Deuteronomy. 
 Yet how natural and even necessary was it that there 
 should be just such variation. When a spirited secretary 
 follows up his report with a speech to strengthen it, a 
 similar difference is always discernible. But if we were 
 to apply the reasoning of some of our critical doubters, 
 we should have to conclude, either that the secretary 
 had had some one else to write the report, or that he 
 was delivering somebody else's speech. Even if the ad- 
 dresses in Deuteronomy had been delivered immediately 
 after the giving of the Law in Sinai, we should have ex- 
 pected diversity in style ; much more when an interval 
 of nearly forty years had elapsed. 
 
 The critical questions which concern the book before 
 us lie out of the scope of these lectures. Lideed, so 
 large has the subject of the literary criticism of the Pen- 
 tateuch become, that it demands separate treatment to 
 deal with it at all satisfactorily ; and to attempt to dis- 
 pose of great questions in a few sentences here and 
 
The Second Law. 317 
 
 there, in a volume the object of which is expository and 
 practical, would be to manifest an entire want of appre- 
 ciation of the magnitude and importance of the subject. 
 But inasmuch as a reference to the peculiar style of 
 Deuteronomy has suggested the question of its author- 
 ship, it may not be out of place to make the general re- 
 mark, that while there are unquestionable difficulties in 
 the way of the time-honoured belief, these do not, when 
 properly examined, appear to be nearly so great as those 
 which are encountered on any other supposition as to 
 date or authorship. 
 
 As to difficulties arising from particular passages, they 
 have, in the first place, been greatly exaggerated ; and, 
 in the second place, it has been often forgotten that the 
 belief in the Mosaic authorship does not exclude the 
 supposition that certain passages may have been added 
 by another hand at a later date; very much in the same 
 way as when a new edition of some standard author is 
 issued, it may have, in addition to the old text, new 
 notes by the editor. And then, in regard to the greater 
 reasons that are assigned by the negative critics for de- 
 nying the Mosaic authorship, it will be found that they 
 resolve themselves into the dogmatic bias against the 
 supernatural which is common to them all. When, for 
 example, we are told that the view of the Law as given 
 in Deuteronomy could not have been the product of 
 that early age, we are not careful to contradict the state- 
 ment. We might, indeed, say that it is a very difficult 
 thing to tell certainly what could or could not be the 
 product of any particular age. But what if we assent to 
 the criticism ? What if we join with the objector, and 
 
3i8 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 say, Most certainly these wonderful addresses in Deute- 
 ronomy could not have been the product of that early 
 age? The question would still remain, as to what in- 
 ference should be drawn from this ; and here, as there, 
 the dogmatic position would determine the issue. The 
 inference of the man who has determined that everything 
 which savours of the supernatural must be carefully ex- 
 cluded, would be that, inasmuch as they could not have 
 been the product of that age, they must have been the 
 production of a later age: the inference of the man who 
 has no such prejudice to fetter his decision, would be 
 that, inasmuch as they could not have been the product 
 of the age, they may have come by "the inspiration of 
 the Almighty." 
 
 The fact is, that the great difficulty which the de- 
 structive critics have to contend with, is the necessity 
 under which they put themselves of leaving out God 
 from all their reasonings. If they would only admit His 
 presence and His freedom of action, most of their diffi- 
 culties would disappear. But they will not believe in 
 Him. It is, after all, the same fault as that which ex- 
 cluded the children of Israel from the promised land. 
 Look at their reasonings on the report of the spies. 
 They were thoroughly sound and sensible from a nat- 
 uralistic standpoint. The single vice was the leaving 
 the word and power of God entirely out of considera- 
 tion. '^ So we see that they could not enter in because 
 of unbelief." The fate of the destructive critics is very 
 similar. Rejecting God and His word, they are left to 
 wander in the dreary, profitless waste of a criticism which 
 is ever returning on its own footsteps, crossing its past 
 
The Second Law. 319 
 
 decisions, and never entering into any land that can sup- 
 port it more than a year or two at most. 
 
 The first of the three addresses occupies the first four 
 chapters of the book. It dwells on the historical facts 
 of the journey to the point which the people had now 
 reached. From a survey of the past, Moses shows them, 
 on the one hand, that all the sorrow and unprofitableness 
 of the years that have gone, since God revealed Himself 
 on Sinai, and made a covenant with their fathers there, 
 have been the result of their unbelief in Him and un- 
 faithfulness to the covenant ; and, on the other hand, 
 that their reaching their present position at all, is due to 
 the faithful dealing and merciful guidance of the Lord. 
 And on this, as a foundation, he urges, in the close of 
 the address (chap, iv.), in the most earnest and eloquent 
 language, faithfulness and obedience in the years that 
 are to come. 
 
 The second address is much the longest of the three 
 (chap, v.-xxvi.) As the first is based on the history 
 and experience of the people, this one is founded on the 
 Law, and therefore it may be considered as the Deute- 
 ronomy proper. It begins with a rehearsal of the solemn 
 transactions of the first great day at Sinai, and then pro- 
 ceeds to the exposition and application of the Law, the 
 spirit and method of which may be illustrated by the 
 quotation of a short passage in the exordium. " Hear, 
 O Israel : The Lord our God is one Lord : And thou 
 shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and 
 with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these 
 words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine 
 heart : and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy 
 
320 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in 
 thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and 
 when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And 
 thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and 
 they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou 
 shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on 
 thy gates. And it shall be, when the Lord thy God 
 shall have brought thee into the land which He sware 
 unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to 
 give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst 
 not, and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst 
 not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards 
 and olive-trees, which thou plantedst not ; when thou 
 shalt have eaten and be full ; then beware lest thou for- 
 get the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land 
 of Egypt, from the house of bondage" (chap. vi. 4-12). 
 
 One striking feature of '^ the second law " is suggested 
 by the last sentence of the above quotation : '' when the 
 Lo7'd tJiy God shall have brougJit thee into the land,'' etc. 
 This is explained by the peculiar position of Moses. 
 The legislation of which he had been the channel had 
 specially in view the ultimate settlement of the people 
 in the land. Much of it was of such a nature that it 
 could not come into operation until after the settlement. 
 Yet, on account of his failure at Kadesh-Meribah, and 
 no doubt for other wise reasons besides, the great law- 
 giver was not to b€ permitted to enter the land. That 
 this was a very great disappointment to him is evident 
 from what he tells the people in referring to it in his first 
 address (iii. 23-27). His heart was set upon the land of 
 promise ; and yet his foot could not be set in it, nor his 
 
The Second Law. 321 
 
 voice heard within its sacred boundaries. How exceed- 
 ingly natural, then, that in this address he should be 
 continually anticipating the time when they should en- 
 ter in, and that he should, as far as possible, say by an- 
 ticipation what he would have said had not the sentence 
 been pronounced which deprived him of the longed-for 
 opportunity. 
 
 And so it comes to pass that this closing book of 
 Moses has a distinctly prophetic aspect, not merely in 
 the sense in which Exodus itself is prophetical, namely, 
 as revealing the Divine will, but in the ordinary sense, 
 as carrying the mind onwards to events which are still in 
 the future. In this aspect it occupies a position in the 
 Pentateuch very much like that of Daniel in the Old 
 Testament and the Apocalypse in the New. And here 
 we can see how truly barbarous it is to sever this book 
 from the organism to which it belongs. As we have it, 
 the Pentateuch is rounded and complete ; it is a living 
 unity ; and to separate its parts is to mutilate and man- 
 gle it. In Genesis we have the soil and the seed ; in the 
 historical part of Exodus we have the stem ; in the pro- 
 phetical portion of the same book, in the priestly book 
 of Leviticus, and in the kingly book of Numbers, we 
 have the threefold development of the single stem as it 
 branches out into three main limbs, one going right up 
 from the central stem, and therefore finding a place in 
 the same book of Exodus, and the other two spreading 
 out on the right hand and on the left ; in the closing 
 book we have the blossoms and the fruit, not, however, 
 actually gathered, for it is a prophetic book, but the 
 thought and idea of that fruit in the mind of Moses, 
 
 14* 
 
322 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 who looked forward to the gathering of it after the peo- 
 pie had come into the land to which the Lord was lead- 
 ing them. 
 
 Though " the near horizon " of the entrance into the 
 land was that which Moses had immediately in view in 
 the delivery of this long address, yet at times he catches 
 a glimpse of a distant horizon, and speaks of far better 
 things to come. The most remarkable instance of this 
 is in the eighteenth chapter, where, after warning the 
 people against " hearkening to diviners," of whom there 
 would be an abundance when they came into the land, 
 he utters this remarkable prophecy : '' The Lord thy 
 God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of 
 thee, of thy brethren, like unto me ; unto Him ye shall 
 hearken ; according to all that thou desiredst of the 
 Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, say- 
 ing: Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my 
 God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I 
 die not. And the Lord said unto me : They have well 
 spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them 
 up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, 
 and I will put my words in His mouth ; and He shall 
 speak unto them all that I shall command Him " ; — a 
 prophecy which was fulfilled in a very subordinate sense 
 in the line of prophets from Samuel onwards, whom the 
 Lord raised up in Israel, but which received its final fulfil- 
 ment on that great day when, after the lapse of centuries, 
 Moses at last visited the land of promise — on that great 
 day when, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the two great 
 prophets of the old covenant " appeared in glory " with 
 the greater Prophet of the new. You remember how. 
 
The Second Law. 323 
 
 as the disciples gazed, " a bright cloud overshadowed " 
 Moses and Elias, and Jesus was left *' alone " ; and from 
 the cloud there came a voice, " This is My beloved Son, 
 in whom I am well pleased ; hear ye hiinJ' Thus glori- 
 ously is the ancient prophecy fulfilled, " The Lord thy 
 God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of 
 thee, of thy brethren, like unto Me ; tmto Him ye shall 
 hearken^ Thus does the lawgiver and prophet of the 
 ancient Israel, whose word has been supreme for centuries, 
 gracefully give way to the Lawgiver and Prophet of '' the 
 Israel of God." Thus does the mediator of the old cove- 
 nant wrap himself in the " bright cloud " of the heavenly 
 '' glory," and leave " Jesus, the Mediator of the new cove- 
 nant," '' alone," as the great Prophet of humanity. 
 
 The third address is comparatively brief (xxvii. to 
 XXX.) ; and just as the first address was founded upon the 
 revelation of God, which was manifest in all the way by 
 which He had led the people, and the second upon the 
 law as given from the Mount, so the third was based 
 upon the covenant transaction which followed the giving 
 of the Decalogue with the " statutes and judgments." 
 As the first law had been followed by a solemn ratifica- 
 tion of the covenant when the altar and the twelve pillars 
 were erected at the base of Sinai, so Moses gave direc- 
 tions for a still more solemn ratification when they should 
 come into the land. The very day they crossed the Jordan 
 they were to *'set up great stones, and plaister them 
 with plaister, and write upon them all the words of this 
 law" (xxvii. 2, 3). These stones were afterwards to be 
 '•' set up in Mount Ebal " (ver. 4), and an altar built 
 there, and burnt-offerings and peace-offerings presented. 
 
324 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 When the people were all gathered together, a series of 
 blessings and curses, — blessings for obedience, and curses 
 for disobedience, — were to be pronounced in the most 
 solemn manner, to which ''all the people must say, 
 Amen "; and in relation to this we are told : " These 
 are the words of the covenant which the Lord com- 
 manded Moses to make with the children of Israel in 
 the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made 
 with them in Horeb " (xxix. i). 
 
 In this address also the prophet's eye pierces to a 
 horizon far more distant than that which confines, in 
 the main, the field of his vision. But here it is a very 
 different scene which meets his gaze. When speaking 
 of the Law, that w^hich the Lord gave, he looks forward, 
 and his prophetic eye rests upon the great Gift which 
 God has made to His people in the future, the gift of 
 His Son to be the Prophet of humanity, and the " Me- 
 diator between God and man." But when speaking of 
 the Covenant, that which involved the people's future, 
 his eye rests upon the sad prospect of coming days of 
 unfaithfulness and disobedience ; and his solemn warn- 
 ings almost insensibly pass into the form of terrible 
 prophecies of coming woe. And yet he cannot pro- 
 nounce the judgment without speaking of the mercy 
 which there is beyond in the still more distant future. 
 " And it shall come to pass, when all these things are 
 come upon thee, .... and thou shalt call them to 
 mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God 
 hath driven thee, and shalt return unto the Lord thy 
 God, and shalt obey His voice according to all that I 
 command thee this day, thou and thy children, with 
 
The Second Law. 325 
 
 all thine heart, and with all thy soul ; that then the Lord 
 thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion 
 upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the 
 nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee " 
 (xxx. 1-3). And then follows a series of '^ exceeding 
 great and precious promises," closing with a repetition 
 of the earnest warning, and this intense protestation: 
 '* I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, 
 that I have set before you life and death, blessing and 
 cursing ; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy 
 seed may live; that thou mayest serve the Lord thy 
 God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that 
 thou mayest cleave unto Him ; for He is thy life, and 
 the length of thy days ; that thou mayest dwell in the 
 land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abra- 
 ham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them " (xxx. 19, 20). 
 
fc> 
 
 XXIII. 
 THE DYING SONG OF MOSES. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY XXXI., XXXII. 
 
 NOTHING now remains but a few parting words, 
 recorded in the chapters which follow (xxxi.- 
 xxxiii.), the most important being what may be called 
 ^' the dying song of Moses." In chapter thirty-first the 
 aged prophet announces his approaching death, adding 
 appropriate encouragements and warnings ; immediately 
 after which he receives a commission to write a son 
 and teach it to the children of Israel (ver. 19). The 
 song is given in full in the thirty-second chapter. It is 
 one of surpassing beauty and poetic power, full of 
 grandeur and sublimity. 
 
 The subject of the song is, Jehovah and His people ; 
 and the substance of it is given in verses 3-6 : " I will 
 publish the name of the Lord : ascribe ye greatness 
 unto our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect : 
 for all His ways are judgment : a God of truth and with- 
 out iniquity, just and right is He. They have corrupted 
 themselves, their spot is not the spot of His children : 
 they are a perverse and crooked generation. Do ye 
 thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is 
 (326) 
 
The Dying Song of Moses. 327 
 
 not He thy Father that hath bought thee ? hath He not 
 made thee, and estabHshed thee?" The faithfulness of 
 Jehovah, the God of truth, the Rock of salvation ; and 
 the unfaithfulness of His fickle and foolish people, — 
 such are clearly to be the main ideas of the song. In 
 the after-development there are three things very pow- 
 erfully set forth. 
 
 I. What Israel oivcs to God (ver. 7-14). Here the great 
 things which God had done for them are brought out in 
 a few bold delineations, mingling strength and pathos in 
 a marvellous degree. He shows how from the begin- 
 ning God had set His regardful eyes upon them, how He 
 had guided the history of all other nations in a manner 
 subservient to their welfare, making them and their 
 development the historic centre of the ancient world ; 
 how He had found them poor, helpless wanderers in the 
 wilderness, had formed them into a people there, — His 
 own people, whom He had fed and led and trained as a 
 tender mother might, — and at last brought into the 
 goodly land He had promised them, exalting them high 
 among the nations of the earth, and giving them all 
 things richly to enjoy. 
 
 n. How will Israel pay tJie debt? To this question 
 the prophetic song gives a sad answer. Israel will pay 
 her debt of gratitude to God by base ingratitude — be- 
 ginning with self-indulgence, and going on to neglect of 
 Jehovah and the worship of strange gods. Such is the 
 sad prophetic picture in verses 15-18. Thus Israel re- 
 quites God. And now 
 
 III. How will God requite Israel? Almost all that 
 remains of the song is taken up with the fearful answer 
 
328 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 to this question, setting forth how God takes notice of 
 it first, and is filled with indignation ; how He hides 
 His face and leaves His people to themselves and to the 
 bitter fruits of their ingratitude ; how He takes their 
 precious privileges from them, and gives them to 
 those who till then had been " no people " ; how, finally, 
 He lets loose on them all the fury of His vengeance, and 
 utterly destroys their place and nation. 
 
 All this we find realized in history. " The sin of 
 Judah," and their punishment too, have been " written 
 with a pen of iron and with the point of a diamond " 
 (Jer. xvii. i). Do you ask for the fulfilment of the first 
 part of the threatening, when God hides His face from 
 His people and leaves them to the multiplied miseries 
 and distresses which spring from their evil courses? 
 You find it all through the Old Testament history. Do 
 you ask for the fulfilment of the second part of the 
 threatening, viz., the calling in of a people that had been 
 *' no people," while t/iey were cast out with terrible 
 judgments? Is it not found in the times of the estab- 
 lishment of the new covenant, the most prominent 
 feature of which is the calling of the Gentiles ? And 
 how they w^ere provoked to jealousy by it ! The entire 
 history of the founding of the Christian Church, espe- 
 cially in the light in which it is put by the great apostle, 
 who again and again quotes the words of this song in 
 connection with the calling of the Gentiles, is a fulfil- 
 ment of these warning words of Moses : " They have 
 moved Me to jealousy with that which is not God ; 
 they have provoked Me to anger with their vanities : 
 and I will move them to jealousy with those which are 
 
The Dying Song of Moses. 329 
 
 not a people ; I will provoke them to anger with a 
 foolish nation " (Deut. xxxii. 21). And when you think 
 of the judgment that so soon after came upon the Jews, 
 ending in the disastrous destruction of Jerusalem and 
 overthrow of the Jewish state, you see that never 
 was prophecy more signally fulfilled, than was this song 
 of judgment which Moses taught the children of Israel 
 on his way to Mount Nebo to die. Is not the Word of 
 God " quick and powerful, and sharper than any two- 
 edged sword " ? Is not that a living sharpness indeed, 
 which is not dulled by the lapse of fifteen hundred 
 years ? During this long interval the witness of " Moses 
 the man of God " stands against Israel. During all this 
 time the dark cloud which rose first, ^Mike a man's 
 hand," above the mountains of Abarim, hung over the 
 chosen people. But the end came at last, and not a 
 word of the witness failed; and the long- gathering 
 storm-cloud spared not one volley of its thunder nor one 
 stroke of its forked lio^htnine. 
 
 All this is dark— very dark; but it is dark only to 
 those who " forsake God, and lightly esteem the Rock 
 of their salvation" (ver. 15). The very faithfulness of 
 God to His most terrible threatenings is an additional 
 reason why those who believe in Him should exercise 
 most unshaken confidence in Him. If He whose name 
 is Jehovah, " the God of salvation," whose nature and 
 whose name is " Love," is inflexible in the fulfilment of 
 His most terrible threatenings, how much more have we 
 reason to suppose that He will be faithful to His most 
 gracious promises ! However much, then, we mourn 
 for the unfaithfulness of the people, we who believe 
 
330 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 have every reason to exult in the faithfulness of God, 
 and, in our enthusiasm, to say with '^ Moses the man of 
 God," " He is the Rock, His work is perfect : for all His 
 ways are judgment : a God of truth and without iniquity, 
 just and right is He " (ver. 4). "He is the Rock!' Just 
 think of the light and the strength there are In this 
 thought, which is repeated again and again and again up to 
 nine times, in this dying song of Moses. What a history 
 there is in this single thought ; what a splendid relic of 
 the rocky desert ! '^ In this dying song of Moses we 
 have the original of all those noble passages in psalms 
 and hymns of believing Israelites in ancient times, and 
 believing Gentiles of all nations in these later days, 
 which represent Jehovah as '' the Rock," " the Rock of 
 Ages," '' the Rock of our Salvation." Truly there is 
 light here amid the darkness of this dying song. 
 
 Then, too, if you examine the song throughout, you 
 will find it full of evidence of the goodness and long- 
 suffering and tender mercy of the Lord. Though there 
 is inflexible justice, both in the prophecy itself and in its 
 fulfilment, yet throughout all it is evident that He speaks 
 and acts, who "delighteth not in the death of him that 
 dieth " ; who " willeth not that any should perish, but 
 that all should turn unto Him and live." Take as a 
 specimen these words, coming in the midst of most ter- 
 rible threatenings, " O that they were wise, that they 
 understood this, that they would consider their latter 
 end ! How should one chase a thousand, and two put 
 ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, 
 
 See Stanley's "Jewish Church," vol. i., p. 219. 
 
The Dying Song of Moses. 331 
 
 and the Lord had shut them up ? For their rock is not 
 as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges " 
 (ver. 29-31). And then, who can fail to perceive the 
 brightness at the close, when the seer's wonderful pro- 
 phetic eye takes within its mighty sweep not only " the 
 bringing in of the fulness of the Gentiles," but the 
 restoration of the Jews after their long dispersion? You 
 remember these noble words of "the Apostle to the 
 Gentiles," " I say, then. Have they," that is the Jews, 
 "stumbled that they should fall? God forbid; but 
 rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gen- 
 tiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall 
 of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing 
 of them the riches of the Gentiles, how much more 
 their fulness? For if the casting away of them be the 
 reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them 
 be but life from the dead?" There is the fully developed 
 doctrine ; but we have the germ of it all in the magnifi- 
 cent close of this old song : " Rejoice, O ye Gentiles, 
 with His people ; for He will avenge the blood of His 
 servants, and will render vengeance to His adversaries, 
 and will be merciful unto His land and to His people" 
 (ver. 43). Thus it is that, after all, " mercy rejoices 
 against judgment," light prevails over darkness, and 
 " death is swallowed up in victory." When we think of 
 all this, we need not wonder that Moses should open 
 this song with an exordium which, to a superficial reader, 
 seems strangely out of character with the dark and dread- 
 ful contents of it : " My doctrine shall drop as the rain, 
 my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon 
 the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass" 
 
332 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 (ver. 2). And again, when we think of the vast issues 
 which it contemplates, and the glorious results it fore- 
 shadows, we can enter into the enthusiasm of his soul 
 when he first opens his mouth to speak : '^ Give ear, O 
 ye heavens, and I will speak ; and hear, O earth, the 
 words of my mouth" (ver i). It reminds us of the enthu- 
 siastic words of ''the Apostle of the Gentiles" when 
 the same panorama passed before his mind, and he con- 
 cluded his lofty argument thus : " O the depth of the 
 riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! How 
 unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past find- 
 ing out ! For who hath known the mind of the Lord ? 
 or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first 
 given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him 
 again ? " 
 
 We have looked at this song as a witness against 
 Israel. This was doubtless its original design ; but its 
 scope is far wider. These things are " written for our 
 learning" too. This song was written for a witness 
 against all who enjoy Israel's privileges, and follow 
 Israel's sins. It has passed into a proverb that '' history 
 repeats itself " ; and we feel that this is true of the his- 
 tory which lies within the compass of this song. When 
 we take the widest compass of the song, there can, in- 
 deed, be no repetition ; for, as we have seen, it sweeps 
 forward, at the close, to the grand consummation of 
 God's Providential plan. But so far as the privileges, the 
 neglect, and the punishment of God's ancient people are 
 concerned, it is but too likely that its counterpart may 
 be found among God's modern people. 
 
 Even among the Gentiles, though all are alike wel- 
 
The Dying Song of Moses. 333 
 
 come, and exclusive privileges are now done away en- 
 tirely in Christ Jesus, there have been and are those who 
 are far in advance of others in respect to the advantages 
 they enjoy. First came the Greek and Latin races, 
 united in the mighty Roman empire. To them first, 
 among the Gentiles, the Gospel was preached ; and by 
 them first, as a nation and race, was the Gospel received. 
 Three hundred years had not passed away from the 
 death of "Jesus of Nazareth" till the faith of "that 
 same Jesus " was the established religion of the Roman 
 empire ; and not long thereafter the privileges of the 
 Gospel were within reach of almost the whole of that 
 vast population. In these times God " made His people 
 to ride on the high places of the earth " ; they had 
 " butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs," 
 and everything, in fact, that wealth could purchase. 
 These were the times when even a Roman Emperor 
 found it necessary, at the bidding of a Christian Bishop, 
 to do public penance in penitential robes, and was after- 
 wards found humbly soliciting from his spiritual superior, 
 with sighs and tears, his restoration to the communion 
 of the Church ; a request which the haughty bishop was 
 pleased to grant only after eight months' probation. 
 And though this humiliation of the great Theodosius 
 before the greater Ambrose of Milan was something ex- 
 traordinary even then ; yet the fact that such a thing was 
 possible at all, shows to what a height of power and in- 
 fluence the Christian Church of the Greek and Latin 
 races was raised in those times in the providence of God. 
 What a change from the martyr days, the days of hiding 
 in the catacombs ! Was it not as true of the Christians 
 
334 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 of the Roman empire as it was of ancient Israel, that 
 God had '* found them in a desert land," had '^ led them 
 about," had "kept them as the apple of His eye," and 
 had at last " made them ride upon the high places of 
 the earth," and given them to " eat the increase of the 
 fields"? 
 
 Well, how did the favoured people then pay their debt 
 of gratitude ? Was it not the old story over again ? 
 " Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked." They " waxed fat, 
 grew thick, were covered with fatness ; then they forsook 
 God, and lightly esteemed the Rock of their salvation." 
 They became self-indulgent, " earthly, sensual, devilish." 
 Corruption of manners and corruption of doctrine set in 
 " like a flood " ; they turned to "strange gods"; they 
 worshipped saints and relics, and bowed down to images; 
 they adored the consecrated wafer. The very light that 
 was in them became darkness, and " how great was that 
 darkness ! " 
 
 And as, before, the heritage of truth and blessing had 
 passed from the Jew to the Gentile, so now it passed 
 from the Roman to the Teuton. These Teutonic races 
 of the north had been " no people " in the eyes of the 
 empire of Rome. They had been known only as bar- 
 barians, both in the Greek and Latin tongues. Yet these 
 " no people," these " barbarians," who had fallen one by 
 one before the all-conquering might of Rome, became 
 the very people who fell heirs to the legacy of Divine 
 truth, and the great blessings which accompany its pos- 
 session. For, though the Reformation seemed for a time to 
 gain a footing among the Latin races also, it was only for 
 a time; the hold of corruption was too firm for it to last, 
 
The Dying Song of Moses. 335 
 
 and they all relapsed into the darkness from which at 
 first they had seemed ready to emerge ; while among the 
 Germanic races the light of truth continued to shine and 
 to diffuse itself over a widening area. 
 
 And now it is the Teutonic races who are in the posi- 
 tion of Israel of old, and principally those who speak 
 the English language. Who can tell what we who speak 
 the English tongue owe to Jehovah, '' the Rock of our 
 salvation " ? Where did He " find " us ? Was it not 
 " in a desert land " indeed — a very " howling wilderness " ? 
 See what the early Britons were when first they heard 
 Jehovah's name. And how has the Lord " led " them 
 since then? How tenderly did He ''bear" our fathers 
 on, teaching them by degrees the use of that liberty 
 which has grown with Britain's growth, and strengthened 
 with her strength, in — 
 
 " That land of settled government, 
 A land of just and old renown, 
 Where freedom slowly broadens down 
 From precedent to precedent." 
 
 What words could more truthfully or beautifully ex- 
 press God's dealings with us in this respect than these : 
 "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her 
 young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth 
 them on her wings ; so the Lord alone did lead them " 
 (ver. II, 12)? And how has He now " made us to ride 
 upon the high places of the earth," and given us '' the 
 increase of the fields " ? For is it not a patent fact that 
 the destinies of the world are at this moment, under 
 God, swayed by those who speak our mother tongue. 
 
33^ The Mosaic Era. 
 
 while the great mass of the world's wealth is in their 
 hands? And all this v/e owe to Him who is " Head over 
 all things." Not only our rich spiritual privileges, but 
 even our temporal greatness, our position and power and 
 wealth, in the world, we owe to Jehovah, God of Israel, 
 " the Rock of our salvation." 
 
 Well, hovv^ do we " requite the Lord " ? Is it not very 
 much in the old way? Is not wealth breeding self-indul- 
 gence and luxury ; and are not these leading us, as a 
 people, to forget God, and " lightly to esteem the Rock 
 of our salvation " ? Are there not many ''strange gods " 
 among us : Mammon, Fashion, Pleasure ? And what of 
 this sad revival of middle-age superstition ? Has not 
 the sin of Rome been written with a pen of iron, and 
 with the point of a diamond? And why this haste to 
 be partakers again of her sin, and of her plagues ? '' For 
 their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of 
 Gomorrah ; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters 
 are bitter ; their wine is the poison of dragons, and the 
 cruel venom of asps " (ver, 32). 
 
 Oh! is not this song a witness against us too? It 
 may seem strange that during all these fifteen hundred 
 years throughout which it was witnessing against them, 
 the Hebrews paid so little attention to this song ; but is 
 it not equally strange that we should give so little heed 
 to it ? God is long-suffering indeed ; and it is well that 
 He is, or where should we English-speaking people be 
 to-day? But His long-suffering has a limit, as is evident 
 from the past. '' Let us therefore fear," and let us 
 ''watch unto prayer," on behalf of ourselves and our 
 
The Dying Song of Moses. 337 
 
 brethren throughout the world, that God may pour out 
 His Spirit upon us, and give us grace to be faithful to 
 '' the Rock of our salvation," so that it may never be 
 necessary to "remove our candlestick out of its place," 
 to " take the kingdom from us, and give it to a nation 
 bringing forth the fruits thereof " 
 
 15 
 
XXIV. 
 LAST WORDS: THE END. 
 
 DEUTERONOMY XXXIII., XXXIV. 
 
 ^r'^HESE chapters form an appendix to the Penta- 
 A teuch. It is evident that Moses could not have 
 recorded his own death and the mourning which fol- 
 lowed it ; so that the last chapter must be by a later 
 hand, and it is quite possible that the one before it w^as 
 also added after the death of Moses. The last thing 
 which Moses himself records is God's command : " Get 
 thee up into this mountain .... and behold the land 
 .... and die " (xxxii. 49, 50). 
 
 The thirty-third chapter preserves " the blessing where- 
 Avith Moses the man of God blessed the children of 
 Israel before his death." Like the dying song, it is rich 
 in poetry and full of majesty. But we cannot stay to 
 point out its beauties. We cannot even take up the 
 blessings of the separate tribes, but shall only call atten- 
 tion to the last words, w^iich speak of Israel as a whole, 
 and tell in loftiest language " the blessedness of the 
 people whose God is the Lord." 
 
 These words may be regarded as the crown of the 
 Mosaic theology. The theology of the Pentateuch is 
 marvellously comprehensive and complete. We are so 
 (338) 
 
Last Words. 339 
 
 accustomed to look upon the five books of Moses as but 
 a small part of the Bible, that we often fail to realize 
 how complete a revelation it is in itself. We forget 
 sometimes that there are very many now in heaven, 
 whose whole Bible it was, who learned from it everything 
 they knew concerning God, from the first rudiments of 
 Divine knowledge up to full maturity like that of Moses 
 himself, when, full of years and of honour, he closed the 
 last volume of the Book of the Law. When we read in 
 the Psalms those glowing eulogiums on the Law of the 
 Lord, we are so accustomed to apply them (as it is right 
 and proper that we should) to the whole Bible as we 
 have it, that we forget they were spoken first, in honour 
 specially and almost exclusively of this Pentateuch, 
 which many Christians nowadays undervalue so much, 
 and which some calling themselves Christians presume 
 to reject as unworthy the credence of enlightened men 
 of the nineteenth century. 
 
 We may not attempt in these concluding words to 
 discuss the wide subject of the Mosaic theology. If wc 
 did, we should have to speak of the Unity of God, His 
 Personality, the indications of a Trinity scattered here 
 and there in greater numbers than a superficial reader is 
 aware of, but which in no case interfere at all with the 
 consistent testimony throughout to the indivisible Divine 
 Unity ; and, in a word, of the doctrine of God as " a 
 Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, 
 wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." 
 All of these doctrines, and many more of subordinate 
 importance, we should find set forth in the Scriptures 
 which have come down to us from the Mosaic era. 
 
340 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 We may, however, call special attention to the full 
 revelation of the Divine Love throughout the Pentateuch. 
 We have had occasion already to combat a prevalent 
 idea that God is revealed by Moses as a God of justice, 
 while by Jesus He is made known as a God of mercy ; 
 that wrath prevails in the Old Testament, and love in 
 the New. This is largely due to the misunderstanding 
 of ''the memorial name," Jehovah, which in the popular 
 mind has become associated with thoughts of terror, 
 whereas in the Pentateuch it is almost the synonym 
 of Love. To the intelligent and instructed reader of 
 the Old Testament, the blessed truth concerning the 
 God of Israel, that His nature and His name is Love, 
 appears on almost every page. We are apt to forget 
 that the judgments of the Old Testament came only 
 upon those who hardened their hearts in unbelief ; and 
 that they come as certainly and as severely on unbe- 
 lievers now, as they did in the times of Moses. As 
 severely, do we say ? What do these words mean : 
 " He that transgressed Moses' law died without mercy 
 under two or three witnesses : of /lozu vmcJi sorer piinisJi- 
 incnt, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath 
 trodden underfoot the Son of God ? " The only differ- 
 ence between the judgments of the Old Testament and 
 those of the New is, that the latter are more terribly 
 severe in proportion as the privileges are greater. And 
 whether in the old or in the new, the denmiciation of 
 judgment is an expression of love; for it is the warning 
 voice of affection, telling of the coming danger, and be- 
 seeching those exposed to it to '' flee from the wrath to 
 come." 
 
Last Words. 341 
 
 From the beginning of this song before us we see how 
 thoroughly " Moses the man of God " understood all this. 
 There is first a grand description of God's descent upon 
 Mount Sinai, ending with these words : " From His right 
 hand went a fiery law for them." Now notice the words 
 which follow : '' Yea, He loved the people." Many seem 
 to think that the revelation on Mount Sinai was intended 
 above all things to strike terror into the people. Moses 
 evidently does not think so. He takes it as it really 
 was, a manifestation of love. It is an eternal truth that 
 *' God is love " ; and this eternal truth was manifest, less 
 marvellously indeed, but as certainly, on Sinai as on 
 Calvary. When we think of all this, we have no reason 
 to wonder that Moses should crown his theological ut- 
 terances with words like these : '' There is none like unto 
 the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in 
 thy Help, and in His excellency on the sky. The eter- 
 nal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting 
 arms." 
 
 The glories of Sinai are still in the old man's mind 
 when he speaks of God's "riding upon the heaven, and 
 in His excellency on the sky." But observe in what 
 character the majesty of God presents itself to him. It 
 is not as a dreadful thing. Not at all : " who rideth upon 
 the heaven in tJiy JielpT Moses is a true believer. He 
 knows that even that fiery grandeur of Sinai was in His 
 people's help, and the same thought rises in his soul as 
 sprung up afterwards before the rapt spirit of the great 
 Apostle to the Gentiles, '^ If God be for us, who can be 
 against us ? " Sinai has no terrors for the aged believer, 
 whose feet are firmly planted on " the Rock of Ages," 
 
342 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 and who therefore can go singing to the mountain top 
 to die. 
 
 But is not Calvary here, as well as Sinai ? Or, at 
 least, is not He who died on Calvary before the seer's 
 eye ? When Abraham stood on Mount Moriah beside 
 the altar on which he had shown his readiness to sacri- 
 fice his all for God, his eyes were opened, so that he saw 
 the day of Christ afar off, and was glad (John viii. 56). 
 And surely Moses is no less highly favoured now that 
 he is about to go up to Mount Nebo, to make his great 
 sacrifice, to yield his life at God's command without 
 reaching the goal of his life-long anticipation. There is 
 no doubt that, however dimly, he too beheld from afar 
 the day of Christ, and rejoiced to see it. He had been 
 by the events of his time familiarized with the thought 
 of the God of Jeshurun riding upon the heavens in His 
 people's help ; but where did he get the idea of that in- 
 timate nearness, that closeness of contact, which comes 
 out in the words that follow : " The eternal God is thy 
 refuge, and underneath are the everlastmg arms " ? Even 
 the Tabernacle revelation had nothing in it to suggest a 
 thought so tender, except in so far as it foreshadowed 
 the incarnation and life on earth of the coming Saviour. 
 To ride upon the heavens in their help was a glorious 
 thing ; but to walk upon the earth, to take little children 
 in His arms, to stretch out these arms to all and say, 
 " Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, 
 and I will give you rest " — this was something far better. 
 And there is no doubt that the aged man of God felt it 
 so, as he girded himself for his strange lone journey to 
 the mountain top. Though ''his eye was not dim, nor 
 
Last Words. 343 
 
 his natural force abated " (xxxiv. 7), we may well imagine 
 that it would have been with feeble, trembling steps he 
 would have ascended the mount that day had he not 
 known that the eternal God was his refuge, and felt that 
 around him and underneath were the everlasting arms. 
 It is this conviction that enables him to leave a requiem 
 behind him, which shall echo through the ages, not in 
 wailing for the dead, but in shouts of glad praise to the 
 God of the living, the Rock of Jeshurun. 
 
 But it is scarcely doing justice to the majesty of 
 Moses' death, to represent him as thinking of himself at 
 all. It is true that he could not have manifested this 
 noble calmness and fortitude unless he had known God 
 as his own refuge, and felt that the everlasting arms were 
 underneath him. But this is so absolutely certain, so un- 
 questionable, so thoroughly taken for granted, that his 
 thoughts do not seem even to advert to it. He has been 
 so long accustomed to leave himself out of view, that 
 he can well afford to do it once more in the supreme 
 crises of his history. Two great thoughts quite fill his 
 lofty soul in its last moments. The first of them is this : 
 " There is none like unto the God of Israel " (xxxiii. 
 26) ; and the second is like unto it : '' There is none like 
 unto the Israel of God " (ver. 29). 
 
 Israel's God and God's Israel ; the Saviour and the 
 saved : are not these the two great factors of the Mosaic 
 era? We have seen^ that the great doings of God 
 " when Israel was a child " make the grandest picture 
 which the Old Testament affords us of the great salva- 
 
 * See page 17. 
 
344 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 tion. How appropriate, then, that we should find at the 
 close of these records of the times of Israel's childhood 
 so lovely a miniature, setting forth so beautifully the 
 glory of Israel's redeeming God and the blessedness of 
 His redeemed people. 
 
 How beautifully the echoes of the three books are 
 heard in the closing strain of the fourth. Looking first 
 at what is said of Israel's God, listen to Exodus : " There 
 is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon 
 the heaven in thy help, and in His excellency on the 
 sky "; immediately following which, we hear an echo of 
 Leviticus, so softened and etherealized as it were, that 
 we seem already to be in the New Testament, as the 
 tender tones fall on our ears : " The eternal God is thy 
 refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms " ; and 
 the strain appropriately ends with the warlike notes of 
 Numbers : "He shall thrust out the enemy from before 
 thee ; and shall say, Destroy them." 
 
 So, too, in speaking of the Israel of God, the strain 
 begins with the thought which lay at the foundation- of 
 the Mosaic economy, that of separation : " Israel then 
 shall dwell in safety a/o7ie " ; and after touching on the 
 same lofty conceptions as in the former stanza, with such 
 variations in the language as the change of subject from 
 the God of Israel to the Israel of God rendered neces- 
 sary, he closes again with the thought of the hosts of the 
 Lord advancing to conquer the *' high places " of their 
 enemies, through Him who was not only " the shield of 
 their help," but " the sword of their excellency " ! 
 
 * See page 2. 
 
Last Words. 345 
 
 The actual outcome of the Mosaic era fell far below 
 the Divine ideal; but it is encouraging to remember 
 that the people's failure to realize the glory and the 
 blessedness the Lord had prepared for them was simply 
 their loss. To all succeeding ages those blessed truths 
 remain " as an heritage for ever," from the Mosaic era : 
 First, " There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, 
 who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in His ex- 
 cellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and 
 underneath are the everlasting arms ; " and next, " Happy 
 art thou, O Israel : who is like unto thee, O people saved 
 by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword 
 of thy excellency ! " 
 
 " For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of ma7i as 
 the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower 
 thereof falleth away: but THE WORD OF THE LORD 
 ENDURETH FOR EVER. A7iei this is the zuord zvhich by 
 the Gospel is preached unto your 
 
 IS* 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 ON ''JEHOVAH," "ISRAEL," AND ''CHRIST." 
 
 S^Note — The author finds that in order to do justice to the impor- 
 tant subjects reserved for the Appendix, an additional volume would 
 be necessary ; and therefore, instead of attempting the formal treat- 
 ment of them, he offers some of the most important data, with a 
 mere statement of such conclusions as have the closest relation to 
 the questions in the text which suggested the investigations.] 
 
 (347) 
 
/ 
 
 I. THE NAME "JEHOVAH." 
 
 N. B. — Wherever " Lord " in our Bible is in capitals, 
 it is Jehovah in the original. 
 
 1. " Jehovah " and '* God'' are different names for the 
 same being. — (See Genesis anywhere and the Old Testa- 
 ment generally.) 
 
 2. While " God'' is the general name, expressive of the 
 relation of Deity to all His creatures (Gen. i. i), ''Jehovah " 
 is the name expressive of some special relation, as in the 
 formula, " I am Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and 
 Jacob." It is in fact the Covenant Name. Numberless 
 passages might be cited, but it may be sufficient to refer 
 to I Kings xviii. 21, and 36-39. 
 
 3. The specific idea associated with the name is not that 
 of self-existence and absolute Being, but love and mercy in 
 general and salvation in particular, holiness being always 
 present as a solemn undertone : — Exod. vi. 6-8 ; xx. 2 ; 
 xxix. 46; xxxiv. 5-7; Lev. xxvi. I, 2 {cf. Exod. xx. 2); 
 Lev. xxvi. 13, 44; Num. vi. 24-27; Deut. v. 6; xxxiii. 
 29 ; 2 Sam. xxii. ; Psalms almost anywhere, e. g. Ps. 
 xxvii. ; Prov. xviii. 10 ; the prophets almost anywhere, 
 ^. ^., Isa. xliii. 11; Jer. xxiii. 6-8. In some cases the 
 name is reduplicated, to give additional force to the 
 thought, as in Isa. xii. 2 and xxvi. 4. (See margin). 
 
 4. '' Jehovah" and the '' Angel of Jehovah" designate 
 the same person : — Gen. xvi. 7-13 ; xviii. i, 2, 22 ; xix. i ; 
 
 (349) 
 
350 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 xxviii. 13 ; xxxi. 1 1, 13 ; xxxii. 24, 30 {cf. Hosea xii. 4, 
 5); Gen. xlviii. 15, 16; Exod. iii. 2, 4, 6, (cf. Acts vii. 
 30-35); Exod. xiii. 21 ; xiv. 19; xxiii. 20, 21 ; xxxiii. 14, 
 15 {cf. Isa. Ixiii. 8, 9), and so on through the Bible, e.g. 
 Zech. iii. 
 
 5. ''Jehovah'' of the Old Testament, and ''Jesus'' of 
 the New Testament, is the same person : — 
 
 {a) A just inference from 4 {cf. John i. 18). 
 
 {b) The promise and expectation of Jehovah's coming 
 (satisfied in the advent of Christ): Gen. xHx. 18; Ps. 
 xcviii. ; Isa. xl. i-ii; xlv. 21-25 ; Jer. xxiii. 6; Mai. 
 iii. I. 
 
 {c) Numerous quotations in the New Testament, in 
 which Jesus is taken as the person spoken of in the Old 
 Testament as Jehovah, e. g. Heb. i. 10. 
 
 {d) The title " Lord " applied to Christ throughout 
 the New Testament is the very word by which Jehovah 
 is rendered in the Greek of the Septuagint {cf. the 
 force of this in such passages as Acts xvi. 31 ; Rev, xxii. 
 20, 21). 
 
 {e) Express identification in New Testament : Mark i. 
 1,2; Matt. xi. 3-6 {cf. Rev. i. 8 and xxii. 20) ; John xii. 
 41 {cf. Isa. vi.) ; i Cor. x. 9 {cf. Deut. vi. 16) ; Heb. xi. 
 26; xii. 25, 26; I Pet. i. II {cf.,e.g., Isa. Ixi.) 
 
 Conclusions from the Foregoing Argument. 
 
 I. The way is prepared for a consistent theory of the 
 origin and meaning of the name " Jehovah," in accord- 
 ance with that passage in Revelation which seems to be 
 an expansion of it, where the Saviour speaks of Himself 
 
Appendix. 351 
 
 as '' the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to 
 come " ^' (i. 8). (See also Matt. xi. 3 and John viii. 58). 
 
 II. The entire Old Testament is lighted up and 
 warmed by a Name, multiplied on almost every page, 
 which has the same sweetness ^Mn a believer's ear" as 
 the much loved name of Jesus. How differently, for 
 example, do the Psalms read ! And then it is no cold, 
 abstract idea, but the blessed fact that " God is Love," 
 which is " My Name for ever and my memorial to all 
 generations." (See Exod. iii. 15). 
 
 III. It makes conspicuously manifest the Divinity of 
 Christ. 
 
 IV. It is the key to many perplexities in the Old 
 Testament {e. g., Exod. vi. 3), and by showing a wonder- 
 
 * The tenses used in Exodus iii. 14 are what the old grammarians 
 call the future, which would give the translation : " I will be what I 
 will be " ; instead of " I am that I am," which is probably due to 
 the Septuagint, and the Alexandrian philosophy which ruled the 
 rendering of that important passage. Several of the modern ver- 
 sions have the future, Luther's, e.g., " Ich werde sein, der ich sein 
 werde " ; the Spanish of Valera, " Sere el que Sere " ; the Swedish, 
 " Jag skall wara, den jag wara skall " ; etc. And there can be 
 no doubt that the thought of the future is quite prominent in the 
 Hebrew words, of which the emphatic present, " I am that I am," is 
 so misleading a translation. Still, recent grammatical researches 
 have so modified the views of earlier grammarians in regard to the 
 Hebrew tenses as to forbid the absolute restriction, either to the 
 future on the one hand, or to the present on the other, and to favour 
 that indeterminateness in regard to time, which finds its best ex- 
 pression in the passage quoted above from the Apocalypse : " The 
 Lord which is, and which was, and which is to come." The re- 
 cent work of Driver on " The Use of The Tenses in Hebrew " 
 affords ample materials to substantiate this view of Exodus iii. 14, 
 though it seems to contain no reference to this particular passage. 
 
352 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 fill harmony far below the surface, confirms the inspira- 
 tion of the Scriptures. 
 
 V. It binds the Old and New Testaments in one har- 
 monious whole as the Revelation of God in Christ. (See 
 John i. i8 ; v. 39, etc.) 
 
 VI. By carrying the Old Testament name into the 
 New as a title of the Saviour, it gives continued expres- 
 sion to the fact that He in whom we trust, is still a 
 coming Saviour. (See especially Rev. i, 8 and xxii. 20, 
 
 21.) 
 
II. THE NAME "ISRAEL." 
 
 1. The leading thought in the name is "power with 
 God and with men " (Gen. xxxii. 28) : the former," power 
 with God," being the idea "of the priesthood ; the latter, 
 " power with men," of the kingship, or perhaps more ac- 
 curately, the kinghood, of the Bible. 
 
 2. The leading application of the name in the Old 
 Testament is to the chosen people as a whole, who were 
 called to be " a kinghood * of priests " (Exod. xix. 6). 
 
 The restricted use of it in the later times of the mon- 
 archy, as applied to the ten tribes in distinction from 
 the southern minority, though it prevailed for several 
 hundred years, and needs to be kept in mind in order to 
 an intelligent reading of the later prophets, was only 
 temporary, and finds its explanation in this, that while 
 the division lasted, the majority claimed to be tJie peo- 
 ple of God, the true " Israel." 
 
 3. The application of the personal name " Israel " to 
 
 * It is important to remember that the word " kingdom " used in 
 our version does not mean in this passage a community ruled over 
 by a king, but a kingly community. The apostle Peter, following 
 the LXX., renders it "a royal priesthood" (i Pet. ii. 9). The roy- 
 alty of kinghood referred to is of course no mere political notion, 
 but the Bible idea of moral power over men's minds and hearts, 
 such as is gained through the truth. (See John xviii. 37 and Rev. i. 
 6 ; XX. 6.) 
 
 (353) 
 
354 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 the nation, as a whole, leads us to view the national his- 
 tory, as if it were that of an individual, from the child- 
 hood of the nation, when God called His Son out of 
 Egypt (Hos. xi. i), on through the period of its adoles- 
 cence^ in the times of Joshua and the Judges, when it 
 had to battle with those outward obstacles which lie in 
 the way of a youth who has his position in the world to 
 make, up to the prime of life, which was reached in the 
 days of the early kings, especially the reign of Solomon, 
 when the nation touched its highest pinnacle of great- 
 ness ; then downward through the slow steps of decay, 
 traceable not to assaults from without, but to growing 
 weakness within, until at last, after occasional vain ef- 
 forts to renew the vigour of its youth, as in the times of 
 the Maccabees, it sinks into the grave to which it long 
 has been steadily advancing. 
 
 4. Israel is raised again from the dead under a new 
 covenant (Heb. viii. 7-13). " It is sown a natural body " 
 — " Israel according to the flesh " ; '' It is raised a spir- 
 itual body " — the Church, ''the Israel of God " (Gal. vi. 
 16), spoken of in the Epistle of Peter as *' a royal priest- 
 hood, an holy nation " (i Pet. ii. 9), and in the book of 
 Revelation claiming to have been made "kings and 
 priests unto God " (Rev. i. 6). The ideal of Israel in 
 the book of Genesis is at last realized in the Apoca- 
 lypse. 
 
III. THE TITLE "CHRIST." 
 
 1. The Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed, are Hebrew, 
 Greek, and EngHsh equivalents. The associations of 
 anointing were with health and beauty, grace and glad- 
 ness. These being " the fruit of the Spirit," the anoint- 
 ing oil was the familiar symbol of the Holy Spirit's 
 grace. 
 
 2. The term is applied in a general way to the patri- 
 archs, and to Israel as a nation, in a few passages : i 
 Chron. xvi. 22 ; Ps. Ixxxiv. 9; Ps. cv. 15 ; Hab. iii. 13. 
 
 3. In a more special sense it is applied to individuals, 
 especially priests and kings.^ The priests were anointed 
 as channels of " saving health " ; the kings as channels 
 of " righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 
 (See Rom. xiv. 17). 
 
 4. Both the nation as a whole, which was called to be 
 " a kinghood of priests," and the individual priests and 
 kings of the lines of Aaron and David, fell lamentably 
 short of the Divine idea in the anointing. Hence the 
 Anointed One, the Messiah, tJie Christ, yet to come, re- 
 mained " the Hope of Israel." 
 
 5. When tJie Christ came, He fulfilled the Divine ideal 
 
 * There is only one passage where anointing is mentioned in con- 
 nection with the prophetical office (i Kings xix. 16), whereas there 
 are hundreds which connect it with the priestly and kingly offices. 
 
 (355)^ 
 
356 * The Mosaic Era. 
 
 of the anointed or Christ kings of the Hne of David, the 
 anointed or Christ priests of the line of Aaron, and the 
 anointed or Christ nation of Israel. 
 
 6. In fulfilling the Divine idea of the anointed nation, 
 He became the Priest of the world, and the King of 
 men. In HiM all nations of the earth were blessed, 
 with health and beauty, grace and gladness. 
 
 7. Not only did He thus personally fulfil the destiny 
 of Israel as a race, but He became the Head of a new 
 spiritual family, who should through His grace collective- 
 ly fulfil the destiny of Israel. 
 
 8. Accordingly we find that in the New Testament 
 the term '' Christ " is applied not only in a personal 
 sense to Jesus of Nazareth, as the Antitype of the 
 Christ persons of the Old Testament ; but in a collective 
 sense to the Church, as the antitype of the Christ nation 
 of the Old Testament. As in the Old (see par. 2 above), 
 so in the New, the cases are rare ; but they are impor- 
 tant. By keeping this in mind, we readily see the mean- 
 ing of passages which, for want of understanding the 
 usage, have presented almost insurmountable difficulty, 
 <r.^.. Col. i. 24; Gal. iii. 16^; Heb. xi. 26. (The last 
 
 * This passage has been appealed to most confidently as an illus- 
 tration of inconsequential reasoning, quite incompatible with the 
 idea of inspiration. The apostle is supposed to be arguing from the 
 use of the singular " seed " in the words of the promise, that the 
 reference must be to a single person, viz., Christ, overlooking or 
 disregarding the fact that " seed," though singular in form, is col- 
 lective in meaning. But it requires only a knowledge of the collect- 
 ive meaning of the word " Christ," to see that the blunder is en- 
 tirely on the side of the critics. The apostle does not say " to thy 
 seed, which is Jesus," but " to thy seed, which is Christ,'' referring 
 
Appendix. 357 
 
 passage is specially remarkable, as a striking parallel to 
 those quoted in par. 2). 
 
 9. It is interesting in this connection to observe the 
 careful discrimination in the New Testament between 
 the name Jesus and the title Christ in the frequent re- 
 ferences to His body. The " body of Jesus " is invari- 
 ably used in the literal sense, meaning the human body 
 of our Lord (Matt, xxvii. 58 ; Mark xv. 43 ; Luke xxiii. 
 52; xxiv. 3; John xix. 38, 40; xx. 12; Heb. x. 10). 
 The '^ body of Christ," on the other hand, is used in re- 
 ference to ^' the Church, which is His body," in numer- 
 ous and quite familiar passages. 
 
 10. "The body of Christ," bearing the collective as 
 distinguished from the individual signification, is parallel 
 with the collective name "Israel"; and just as there 
 was an " Israel according to the flesh," and a spiritual 
 Israel, so concerning the body of Christ we may say in 
 the words of the apostle, " There is a natural body, and 
 there is a spiritual body." The spiritual body is, as we 
 have seen, the Church of the New Testament. The nat- 
 ural body may be regarded as the Church of the Old 
 Testament (see Acts vii. 38). Herein we see the ap- 
 propriateness of the application of the title " Christ " to 
 God's ancient people, and the naturalness of that refer- 
 to the whole body, as appears very clearly from what follows : " For 
 as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 
 There is neither Greek nor Jew, there is neither bond nor free, there 
 is neither male or female : for ye are all ONE in Christ Jesus." 
 There is the unity the apostle is speaking of. It is the one seed in- 
 cluding all: Greek and Jew, Barbarian, Scythian, bond and free. 
 Understood in this its manifest sense, the inference is quite legiti- 
 mate, as based on the use of a singular collective term. 
 
358 The Mosaic Era. 
 
 ence In the Epistle to the Hebrews, where Moses is re- 
 presented as "esteeming the reproach of Christ greater 
 riches than the treasures of Egypt." 
 
 1 1. The foregoing data confirm greatly the view briefly 
 suggested in the opening lecture^ as to the typical rela- 
 tion of Israel as a people to the Holy One about to come 
 in " the fulness of the times" to fulfil Israel's destiny. 
 Professor Jowett, in his " Essay on the Interpretation of 
 Scripture," says : " The time will come when educated 
 men will be no more able to believe that the words, ' Out 
 of Egypt have I called My son,' were intended by the 
 prophet to refer to the return of Joseph and Mary out 
 of Egypt, than, etc." He takes for granted that unless 
 the prophet intended an application to the coming Christ, 
 it is erroneous to make the application, as the Evangelist 
 Matthew does. But it is evident that the learned critic 
 is not " educated " enough on the subject on which he 
 pronounces so decisively. Any one can of course see 
 that the prophet refers to Israel, for he expressly says 
 so : " When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and 
 called My son out of Egypt." One does not require to 
 belong to the class of " educated men " to see so far into 
 the subject. But it does require a little education to see 
 what the Evangelist evidently saw, that the relation of 
 Israel to the coming Christ was similar to that of David 
 to Him ; and therefore, that what was said of the type 
 could be legitimately applied to the antitype. 
 
 From this point of view, also, we can see how it comes 
 to pass, that Israel as a nation and the coming Messiah 
 
 * Page 8. 
 
Appendix. 359 
 
 are blended together in those prophecies of Isaiah which, 
 on this very account, have been the subject of so much 
 controversy. It has been a great weakness in that con- 
 troversy that the positions of those who refer them to 
 Israel as a nation, and of those who refer them to the 
 Messiah, have been so generally regarded as mutually 
 exclusive. And accordingly, when the party opposed to 
 the Messianic interpretation points to such a passage as 
 Isaiah xlix. 3 : " Thou art My servant, O Israel," it is 
 dealt with as if it disproved all Messianic reference in 
 that most remarkable of all prophecies of Christ, begin- 
 ning, " Behold, My servant shall deal prudently." But 
 why should not the same principle be applied here which 
 we have found of so frequent application elsewhere ? 
 Israel was the Christ people. Why should we then find 
 difficulty, when we discover that t/ieir history, as ivcll as 
 their prophecy , foreshadowed the Ch'ist that was to eome ? * 
 
 * From the same point of view fresh hght is cast upon the enig- 
 matical utterance of Caiaphas (John xi. 49, 50), which shows that 
 there was one at least, even in those degenerate days, who dimly saw 
 some connection between the fate of the nation, and that of the " One 
 Man," whose cause was then under adjudication. 
 
"©he ^i}tQc^ before ^STio^c^. 
 
 TWELVE LECTURES ON THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 
 
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 The Mosaic era: a senes of lectures on 
 
 PnncetonJheolog,ca,Sem,nary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00039 0296