Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy Volume Ii Part 6

"And then"--mark the sure and solemn consequences--"the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and He _shut up the heaven_, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you." What barrenness and desolation there must be when heaven is shut up! No refreshing showers coming down, no dew-drops falling, no communication between the heaven and the earth. Alas! how often had Israel tasted the awful reality of this! "He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water-springs into dry ground; a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein."

And may we not see in the barren land and the desolate wilderness an apt and striking ill.u.s.tration of a soul out of communion through disobedience to the precious commandments of Christ? Such an one has no refreshing communications with heaven--no showers coming down--no unfoldings of the preciousness of Christ to the heart--no sweet ministrations of an ungrieved Spirit to the soul; the Bible seems a sealed book; all is dark, dreary, and desolate. Oh, there cannot be any thing more miserable in all this world than a soul in this condition. May the writer and the reader never experience it. May we bend our ears to the fervent exhortations addressed by Moses to the congregation of Israel. They are most seasonable, most healthful, most needful, in this day of cold indifferentism and positive willfulness. They set before us the divine antidote against the special evils to which the Church of G.o.d is exposed at this very hour--an hour critical and solemn beyond all human conception.

"Therefore shall ye lay up these _my words_ in _your heart_ and in _your soul_, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up; and thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thine house, and upon thy gates, that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth."

Blessed days! And oh, how ardently the large, loving heart of Moses longed that the people might enjoy many such days! And how simple the condition! Truly nothing could be simpler, nothing more precious. It was not a heavy yoke laid upon them, but the sweet privilege of treasuring up the precious commandments of the Lord their G.o.d in their hearts, and breathing the very atmosphere of His holy Word. All was to hinge upon this. All the blessings of the land of Canaan--that goodly, highly favored land, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land on which Jehovah's eyes ever rested in loving interest and tender care--all its precious fruits, all its rare privileges, were to be theirs in perpetuity, on the one simple condition of loving obedience to the word of their covenant-G.o.d.

"For if ye shall _diligently keep all_ these commandments which I command you, to do them, _to love the Lord your G.o.d, to walk in all His ways_, and _to cleave unto_ Him; then will the Lord drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves." In a word, sure and certain victory was before them, a most complete overthrow of all enemies and obstacles, a triumphal march into the promised inheritance--all secured to them on the blessed ground of affectionate and reverential obedience to the most precious statutes and judgments that had ever been addressed to the human heart--statutes and judgments every one of which was but the very voice of their most gracious Deliverer.

"Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours; from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea, shall your coast be. There shall no man be able to stand before you; for the Lord your G.o.d shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as He hath said unto you."

Here was the divine side of the question. The whole land, in its length, breadth, and fullness, lay before them; they had but to take possession of it, as the free gift of G.o.d; it was for them simply to plant the foot, in artless, appropriating faith, upon that fair inheritance which sovereign grace had bestowed upon them. All this we see made good in the book of Joshua, as we read in chapter xi.--"So Joshua took _the whole land_, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel, according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war." (Ver.

23.)[8]

[8] No doubt it was in faith that Joshua took--and could take nothing less than--the whole land; but as to actual possession, chapter xiii.

1 shows there was "yet much land to be possessed."

But alas! there was the human side of the question as well as the divine. Canaan as promised by Jehovah and made good by the faith of Joshua was one thing, and Canaan as possessed by Israel was quite another. Hence the vast difference between Joshua and Judges. In Joshua, we see the infallible faithfulness of G.o.d to His promise; in Judges, we see Israel's miserable failure from the very outset. G.o.d pledged His immutable word that not a man should be able to stand before them, and the sword of Joshua--type of the great Captain of our salvation--made good this pledge in its every jot and t.i.ttle; but the book of Judges records the melancholy fact that Israel failed to drive out the enemy--failed to take possession of the divine grant in all its royal magnificence.

What then? Is the promise of G.o.d made of none effect? Nay, verily; but the utter failure of man is made apparent. At "Gilgal," the banner of victory floated over the twelve tribes, with their invincible captain at their head: at "Bochim," the weepers had to mourn over Israel's lamentable defeat.

Have we any difficulty in understanding the difference? None whatever.

We see the two things running all through the divine Volume. Man fails to rise to the height of the divine revelation--fails to take possession of what grace bestows. This is as true in the history of the Church as it was in the history of Israel;--in the New Testament, as well as in the Old, we have Judges as well as Joshua.

Yes, reader, and in the history of each individual member of the Church we see the same thing. Where is the Christian, beneath the canopy of heaven, that lives up to the height of his spiritual privileges? where is the child of G.o.d who has not to mourn over his humiliating failure in grasping and making good practically the high and holy privileges of his calling of G.o.d? But does this make the truth of G.o.d of none effect? No; blessed forever be His holy name. His Word holds good in all its divine integrity and eternal stability.

Just as in Israel's case, the land of promise lay before them in all its fair proportions and divinely given attractions; and not only so, but they could count on the faithfulness and almighty power of G.o.d to bring them in and put them in full possession; so with us, we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ.

There is absolutely no limit to the privileges connected with our standing, and as to our actual enjoyment, it is only a question of faith taking possession of all that G.o.d's sovereign grace has made ours in Christ.

We must never forget that it is the privilege of the Christian to live at the very height of the divine revelation. There is no excuse for a shallow experience or a low walk. We have no right whatever to say that we cannot realize the fullness of our portion in Christ, that the standard is too high, the privileges are too vast, that we cannot expect to enjoy such marvelous blessings and dignities in our present imperfect state.

All this is downright unbelief, and should be so treated by every true Christian. The question is, Has the grace of G.o.d bestowed the privileges upon us? has the death of Christ made good our t.i.tle to them? and has the Holy Ghost declared them to be the proper portion of the very feeblest member of the body of Christ? If so--and Scripture declares it is so--why should we not enjoy them? There is no hindrance on the divine side. It is the desire of the heart of G.o.d that we should enter into the fullness of our portion in Christ. Hear the earnest breathing of the inspired apostle on behalf of the saints at Ephesus and of all saints.--"Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the G.o.d of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenlies, far above all princ.i.p.ality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." (Eph. i. 15-23.)

From this marvelous prayer we may learn how earnestly the Spirit of G.o.d desires that we should apprehend and enjoy the glorious privileges of the true Christian position. He would ever, by His precious and powerful ministry, keep our hearts up to the mark; but, alas! like Israel, we grieve Him by our sinful unbelief, and rob our own souls of incalculable blessing.

But, all praise to the G.o.d of all grace, the Father of glory, the G.o.d and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He will yet make good every jot and t.i.ttle of His most precious truth, both as to His earthly and heavenly people. Israel shall yet enjoy to the full all the blessings secured to them by the everlasting covenant; and the Church shall yet enter upon the perfect fruition of all that which eternal love and divine counsels have laid up for her in Christ; and not only so, but the blessed Comforter is able and willing to lead the individual believer into the present enjoyment of the hope of G.o.d's glorious calling, and the practical power of that hope, in detaching the heart from present things and separating it to G.o.d in true holiness and living devotedness.

May our hearts, beloved Christian reader, long more ardently after the full realization of all this, that thus we may live more as those who are finding their portion and their rest in a risen and glorified Christ. G.o.d, in His infinite goodness, grant it, for Jesus Christ's name and glory's sake.

The remaining verses of our chapter close the first division of the book of Deuteronomy, which, as the reader will notice, consists of a series of discourses addressed by Moses to the congregation of Israel--memorable discourses, most surely, in whatever way we view them. The closing sentences are, we need hardly say, in perfect keeping with the whole, and breathe the same deep-toned earnestness in reference to the subject of obedience--a subject which, as we have seen, formed the special burden on the heart of the beloved speaker in his affecting farewell addresses to the people.

"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;"--How pointed and solemn is this!--"a blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your G.o.d, which I command you this day; and a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your G.o.d, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other G.o.ds, which ye have not known. And it shall come to pa.s.s, when the Lord thy G.o.d hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon Mount Gerizim, and the curse upon Mount Ebal. Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh? For ye shall pa.s.s over Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your G.o.d giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein. AND YE SHALL OBSERVE TO DO ALL THE STATUTES AND JUDGMENTS WHICH I SET BEFORE YOU THIS DAY." (Ver. 26-32.)

Here we have the summing up of the whole matter. The blessing is linked on to obedience; the curse, to disobedience. Mount Gerizim stands over against Mount Ebal--fruitfulness and barrenness. We shall see, when we come to chapter xxvii, that Mount Gerizim and its blessings are entirely pa.s.sed over. The curses of Mount Ebal fall, with awful distinctness, on Israel's ear, while terrible silence reigns on Mount Gerizim. "As many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse." The blessing of Abraham can only come on those who are on the ground of faith. But more of this by and by.

CHAPTER XII.

We now enter upon a new section of our marvelous book. The discourses contained in the first eleven chapters having established the all-important principle of obedience, we now come to the practical application of the principle to the habits and ways of the people when settled in possession of the land. "These are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe to do in the land which the Lord G.o.d of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth."

It is of the utmost moral importance that the heart and conscience should be brought into their true att.i.tude in reference to divine authority, irrespective altogether of any question as to details.

These will find their due place when once the heart is taught to bow down, in complete and absolute submission, to the supreme authority of the Word of G.o.d.

Now, as we have seen in our studies on the first eleven chapters, the lawgiver labors, most earnestly and faithfully, to lead the heart of Israel into this all-essential condition. He felt, to speak after the manner of men, it was of no use entering upon practical details until the grand foundation-principle of all morality was fully established in the very deepest depths of the soul. The principle is this (let us Christians apply our hearts to it): It is man's bounden duty to bow implicitly to the authority of the Word of G.o.d. It matters not, in the smallest degree, what that Word may enjoin, or whether we can see the reason of this, that, or the other inst.i.tution. The one grand, all-important, and conclusive point is this: Has G.o.d spoken? If He has, that is quite enough. There is no room, no need, for any further question.

Until this point is fully established, or rather until the heart is brought directly under its full moral force, we are not in a condition to enter upon details. If self-will be allowed to operate, if blind reason be permitted to speak, the heart will send up its endless questionings; as each divine inst.i.tution is laid before us, some fresh difficulty will present itself as a stumbling-block in the path of simple obedience.

What! it may be said, are we not to use our reason? If not, to what end was it given? To this we have a twofold reply. In the first place, our reason is not as it was when G.o.d gave it. We have to remember that sin has come in; man is a fallen creature; his reason, his judgment, his understanding--his whole moral being is a complete wreck; and moreover, it was the neglect of the Word of G.o.d that caused all this wreck and ruin.

And then, in the second place, we must bear in mind that if reason were in a sound condition, it would prove its soundness by bowing to the Word of G.o.d. But it is not sound; it is blind, and utterly perverted; it is not to be trusted for a moment in things spiritual, divine, or heavenly.

If this simple fact were thoroughly understood, it would settle a thousand questions and remove a thousand difficulties. It is reason that makes all the infidels. The devil whispers into man's ear, "You are endowed with reason; why not use it? It was given to be used--used in every thing; you ought not to give your a.s.sent to any thing which your reason cannot grasp. It is your chartered right as a man to submit every thing to the test of your reason; it is only for a fool or an idiot to receive, in blind credulity, all that is set before him."

What is our answer to such wily and dangerous suggestions? A very simple and conclusive one; namely, this: The Word of G.o.d is above and beyond reason altogether; it is as far above reason as G.o.d is above the creature, or heaven above earth. Hence, when G.o.d speaks, all reasonings must be cast down. If it be merely man's word, man's opinion, man's judgment, then verily reason may exert its powers; or rather, to speak more correctly, we must judge what is said by the only perfect standard--the Word of G.o.d. But if reason be set to work on the Word of G.o.d, the soul must inevitably be plunged in the thick darkness of infidelity, from which the descent to the awful blackness of atheism is but too easy.

In a word, then, we have to remember--yea, to cherish in the very deepest depths of our moral being, that the only safe ground for the soul is, divinely wrought faith in the paramount authority, divine majesty, and all-sufficiency of the Word of G.o.d. This was the ground which Moses occupied in dealing with the heart and conscience of Israel. His one grand object was, to lead the people into the att.i.tude of profound, unqualified subjection to divine authority. Without this, all was useless. If every statute, every judgment, every precept, every inst.i.tution, were to be submitted to the action of human reason, then farewell to divine authority, farewell to Scripture, farewell to certainty, farewell to peace; but, on the other hand, when the soul is led by G.o.d's Spirit into the delightful att.i.tude of absolute and unquestioning submission to the authority of G.o.d's Word, then every one of His judgments, every one of His commandments, every sentence of His blessed book, is received as coming direct from Himself, and the most simple ordinance or inst.i.tution stands invested with all the importance which His authority is fitted to impart. We may not be able to understand the full meaning or exact bearing of each statute and judgment,--that is not the question; it is sufficient for us to know that it comes from G.o.d. He has spoken; this is conclusive. Till this great principle is grasped, or rather till it takes full possession of the soul, nothing is done; but when it is fully understood and submitted to, the solid foundation is laid for all true morality.

The foregoing line of thought will enable the reader to seize the connection between the chapter which now lies open before us and the preceding section of this book; and not only will it do this, but we trust it will also help him to understand the special place and bearing of the opening verses of chapter xii.

"Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their G.o.ds, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree. And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their G.o.ds, and destroy the names of them out of that place." (Ver. 2, 3.)

The land was Jehovah's; they were to hold as tenants under Him, and therefore their very first duty on entering upon possession was, to demolish every trace of the old idolatry. This was absolutely indispensable. It might, according to human reason, seem to be very intolerant to act in this way toward other people's religion. We reply, without any hesitation, Yes, it was intolerant; for how could the one only true and living G.o.d be otherwise than intolerant of all false G.o.ds and false worship? To suppose for a moment that He could permit the worship of idols in His land would be to suppose that He could deny Himself, which were simply blasphemy.

Let us not be misunderstood. It is not that G.o.d does not bear with the world, in His long-suffering mercy. It seems hardly needful to state this, with the history of well-nigh six thousand years of divine forbearance before our eyes. Blessed forever be His holy name, He has borne with the world most marvelously from the days of Noah, and He still bears with it, though stained with the guilt of crucifying His beloved Son.

All this is plain, but it leaves wholly untouched the great principle laid down in our chapter. Israel had to learn that they were about to take possession of the Lord's land, and that, as His tenants, their first and indispensable duty was, to obliterate every trace of idolatry. To them there was to be but "the one G.o.d." His name was called upon them. They were His people, and He could not permit them to have fellowship with demons. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy G.o.d; and Him _only_ shalt thou serve."

This might, in the judgment of the uncirc.u.mcised nations around, seem very intolerant, very narrow, very bigoted. They indeed might boast of their freedom, and glory in the broad platform of their worship which admitted "G.o.ds many and lords many." It might, according to their thinking, argue greater breadth of mind to let every one think for himself in matters of religion, and choose his own object of worship, and his own mode of worshiping also; or, still further, it might give evidence of a more advanced condition of civilization, greater polish and refinement, to erect, as in Rome, a Pantheon, in which all the G.o.ds of heathendom might find a place. "What did it matter about the form of a man's religion, or the object of his worship, provided he himself were sincere? All would be sure to come right in the end; the great point for all was, to attend to material progress, to help on national prosperity as the surest means of securing individual interests. Of course, it is all right for every man to have some religion, but as to the form of that religion, it is immaterial. The great question is, what you are yourself, not what your religion is."

All this, we can well conceive, would admirably suit the carnal mind, and be very popular amongst the uncirc.u.mcised nations; but as for Israel, they had to remember that one commanding sentence, "The Lord thy G.o.d is one G.o.d;" and again, "Thou shalt have none other G.o.ds before Me." This was to be their religion; the platform of their worship was to be as wide and as narrow as the one true and living G.o.d, their Creator and Redeemer. That, a.s.suredly, was broad enough for every true worshiper--every member of the circ.u.mcised a.s.sembly--all whose high and holy privilege it was to belong to the Israel of G.o.d.

They were not to concern themselves with the opinions or observations of the uncirc.u.mcised nations around. What were they worth? Not the weight of a feather. What could they know about the claims of the G.o.d of Israel upon His circ.u.mcised people? Just nothing. Were they competent to decide as to the proper breadth of Israel's platform?

Clearly not; they were wholly ignorant of the subject. Hence their thoughts, reasonings, arguments, and objections were perfectly worthless, not to be listened to for a moment. It was Israel's one, simple, bounden duty to bow down to the supreme and absolute authority of the word of G.o.d; and that word insisted upon the complete abolition of every trace of idolatry from that goodly land which they were privileged to hold as tenants under Him.

But not only was it inc.u.mbent upon Israel to abolish all the places in which the heathen had worshiped their G.o.ds,--this they were solemnly bound to do, most surely; but there was more than this. The heart might readily conceive the thought of doing away with idolatry in the various places, and setting up the altar of the true G.o.d instead,--this might seem to be the right course to adopt; but G.o.d thought differently. "Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your G.o.d. But unto the place which the Lord your G.o.d shall choose out of all your tribes to put His name there, even _unto His habitation_ shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come; and thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your t.i.thes, and heave-offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks; and _there ye shall eat before the Lord your G.o.d_; and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy G.o.d hath blessed thee."

Here a great cardinal truth is unfolded to the congregation of Israel.

They were to have one place of worship--a place chosen of G.o.d, and not of man. His habitation--the place of His presence was to be Israel's grand centre; thither they were to come with their sacrifices and their offerings, and there they were to offer their worship, and find their common joy.

Does this seem exclusive? Of course it was exclusive; how else could it be? If G.o.d was pleased to select a spot in which He would take up His abode in the midst of His redeemed people, surely they were, of necessity, shut up to that spot as their place of worship. This was divine exclusiveness, and every pious soul would delight in it. Every true lover of Jehovah would say, with all his heart, "Lord, I have loved _the habitation of Thy house_, and the place where Thine honor dwelleth;" and again, "How amiable are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living G.o.d.... Blessed are they that dwell _in Thy house_; they will be still praising Thee.... A day _in Thy courts_ is better than a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper _in the house of My G.o.d_, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." (Ps. xxvi, lx.x.xiv.)

Here was _the_ one grand and all-important point. It was the dwelling-place of Jehovah which was dear to the heart of every true Israelite. Restless self-will might desire to run hither and thither, the poor vagrant heart might long for some change, but, for the heart that loved G.o.d, any change from the place of His presence, the place where He had recorded His blessed name, could only be a change for the worse. The truly devout worshiper could find satisfaction and delight, blessing and rest, only in the place of the divine presence; and this, on the double ground,--the authority of His precious Word and the powerful attractions of His presence. Such an one could never think of going anywhere else. Whither could he go? There was but one altar, one habitation, one G.o.d,--that was the place for every right-minded, every true-hearted Israelite. To think of any other place of worship would, in his judgment, be not only a departure from the word of Jehovah, but from His holy habitation.

This great principle is largely insisted upon throughout the whole of our chapter. Moses reminds the people that from the moment they entered Jehovah's land there was to be an end to all the irregularity and self-will that had characterized them in the plains of Moab, or in the wilderness. "Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, _every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes_. For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your G.o.d giveth you. _But when ye go over Jordan_, and dwell in the land which the Lord your G.o.d giveth you to inherit, and _when He giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety_; then there shall be a place _which the Lord your G.o.d shall choose_, to cause His name to dwell _there; thither_ shall ye bring all that I command you.... Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings _in every place that thou seest_; but _in the place which the Lord shall choose_ in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee." (Ver. 4-14.)