Notes on the book of Exodus Part 1

Notes on the book of Exodus.

by C. H. (Charles Henry) Mackintosh.

PREFATORY NOTE

TO THE AMERICAN EDITION

As several persons in America have, without any authority whatever from me, undertaken to publish my four[1] volumes of "Notes," I deem it my duty to inform the reader that I have given full permission to Messrs. LOIZEAUX BROTHERS to publish an edition of those books in such form as they shall consider most suitable.

C. H. MACKINTOSH.

In ma.n.u.script and proof-sheets, we have been traveling over a deeply instructive and most interesting portion of the Word of G.o.d-THE BOOK OF EXODUS.

Redemption by blood occupies a prominent place therein,--it characterizes the book. G.o.d's many mercies to His redeemed, in the display of His power, the patience of His love, and the riches of His grace, flow from it. The great question of Israel's relationship to G.o.d is settled by the blood of the lamb. It changes their condition entirely. Israel within the blood-sprinkled door-posts was G.o.d's redeemed, blood-bought people.

G.o.d being holy, and Israel guilty, no happy relationship could exist between them till judgment had been accomplished. Sin must be judged.

A happy friendship once existed between G.o.d and man, on the ground of innocence; but sin having entered and snapped the link asunder, there can be no reconciliation but through the full expression of the moral judgment of G.o.d against sin. We can only have "life through death."

G.o.d is the G.o.d of holiness, and He must judge sin. In saving the sinner, He condemns his sin. The cross is the full and perfect expression of this.

Typically, this was the great question, on "the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month"; namely, _How can G.o.d exempt from judgment, and receive into His favor, those whom His holiness condemns?_ To this most solemn question, there was but one answer that would satisfy the demands of the G.o.d of holiness, and that was the _blood of the Lamb of His own providing_. "When I see the blood, I will pa.s.s over you." This settled the all-important question. It was one of life or death, of deliverance or judgment. The blood-sprinkled door-post was a perfect answer to all the claims of holiness, and to all the need of the congregation. All was settled now. G.o.d was glorified, sin judged and put away, and Israel saved through the blood of the lamb.

Blessed truth! Israel was now at peace with G.o.d, a sheltered, saved, and happy people, though still in Egypt--the land of death and judgment. G.o.d was now _pledged_ to deliver Israel,--precious type of the perfect security of all who are trusting to the blood of Christ!

They were securely and peacefully feeding on the roasted lamb, when, "at midnight, the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead" (xii. 29, 30.). "But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast; that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel." (xi. 7.)

But why, some may ask, put this difference? The Israelites were sinners as well as the Egyptians. True, on this ground there was "no difference;" but, in type, the judgment of G.o.d against sin had been expressed in the death of the unblemished lamb. The blood "on the lintel and the two side-posts" was the proof of this. It proclaimed, with a loud voice, that the lamb was slain, the ransom paid, the captive freed, justice satisfied, and the hour of Israel's deliverance fully come. _It was the blood that made the difference, and nothing else_; "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of G.o.d." (Rom.

iii. 23.)

But oh, what a difference! The one, divinely shielded from the sword of judgment; the other, defenceless and slain by it: the one, feasting on the rich provisions of grace; the other, compelled to taste the bitterness of the cup of wrath. The destroying angel entered every house, throughout all the land of Egypt, that was not sprinkled with the blood. The first-born of Pharaoh on the throne, and the first-born of the captive in the dungeon, fell together.

No rank, age, or character escaped. The day of G.o.d's long-suffering was ended, and the hour of His judgment was come. One thing alone guided the angel of death on that dark and dreadful night, and that was, WHERE THERE IS NO BLOOD, THERE IS NO SALVATION.

Dear reader, this is as true now as it was then! Where there is no blood, there is no salvation,--"without shedding of blood is no remission." Can any question be of such importance to you as this one: Am I shielded by the blood of Jesus? Oh! have you fled for refuge to the blood that was shed on Calvary? There, "Christ, our pa.s.sover, was sacrificed for us." His blood is represented as being sprinkled on "the mercy-seat above." There, G.o.d's eye ever sees the blood of our true paschal Lamb. Have you faith in that precious blood? Though deeply sensible of your guilt, can you say in truth, This is my only hiding-place: I do depend upon the blood? Then rest a.s.sured that you are perfectly safe--that you are eternally saved. You have G.o.d's own word for it--"When I see the blood, I will pa.s.s over you."--"We have redemption _through His blood_, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace."--"But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off, are made nigh _by the blood of Christ_."--"Whom G.o.d hath set forth to be a propitiation _through faith in His blood_." (Eph. i.

7; ii. 13; Rom. iii. 25.)

"Happy they who trust in Jesus, Sweet their portion is and sure."

But, on the other hand, if the blood of Jesus is neglected or despised, there can be no security, no peace, and no salvation. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" (Heb. ii. 3.) Unless the destroying angel sees the blood, he enters as the judge of sin. Every sin must be punished, either in the person of the sinner, or the sinner's subst.i.tute. This is a deeply solemn truth; but how blessed to know that "Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to G.o.d." "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of G.o.d In Him." (1 Peter iii. 18; 2 Cor. v. 21.) To neglect this divine Subst.i.tute, and the shelter which He has provided, is to expose the soul to the unrelenting judgment of G.o.d. No sin, however small, can escape judgment, either on the cross of Christ, or in the lake of fire. Oh, the priceless value of that blood which "cleanseth us from ALL sin"!--which makes us clean enough for heaven!

Redemption being now accomplished, and Israel divinely prepared, they commence their journey. But observe, in pa.s.sing, _how_ they start.

Before taking one step, every question between the conscience and G.o.d is divinely settled. They are forgiven, justified, and accepted, in His sight. Hence it is written, "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt." (Hosea xi. 1.) Blessed type of the real condition in which every true believer begins his Christian course! He may not see this blessed truth, or he may have a very feeble apprehension of it, as Israel had, but that does not alter the fact. G.o.d acts according to His own knowledge of the relationship, and the affections which belong to it. We see this in the glorious deliverance of His beloved people at the Red Sea, in the manna from heaven, the water from the flinty rock, and in the pillar of His presence, which accompanied them in all their wanderings. He ever acts according to the purposes of His love, and the value of the blood of Jesus.

Once more, dear reader, allow me to ask. Are you sure that you are under the safe shelter, the secure refuge, the blessed hiding-place, of the Redeemer's blood?

But I must now leave my reader, earnestly recommending him to pursue the journey across the wilderness in company with G.o.d and His redeemed. He will find the "Notes" most useful. They convey truth, agreeably and intelligently to the heart, the conscience, and the understanding. May many find them to be a real oasis in the desert.

The journey will prove a most profitable one if we thereby learn more of the natural unbelief of our own heart and the abiding faithfulness of G.o.d's. He never changes, blessed be His name; and the blood of the slain Lamb never loses its efficacy.

"Blest Lamb of G.o.d! Thy precious blood Shall never lose its power, Till every ransomed saint of G.o.d Be saved to sin no more."

May the Lord graciously own and use the following "Notes" for His own glory and the blessing of many souls.

_A. M._

_London_

CHAPTER I.

We now approach, by the mercy of G.o.d, the study of the Book of Exodus, of which the great prominent theme is redemption. The first five verses recall to the mind the closing scenes of the preceding book.

The favored objects of G.o.d's electing love are brought before us; and we find ourselves very speedily conducted, by the inspired penman, into the action of the book.

In our meditations on the Book of Genesis, we were led to see that the conduct of Joseph's brethren toward him was that which led to their being brought down into Egypt. This fact is to be looked at in two ways. In the first place, we can read therein a deeply solemn lesson, as taught in Israel's actings toward G.o.d; and, secondly, we have therein unfolded an encouraging lesson, as taught in G.o.d's actings toward Israel.

And, first, as to Israel's actings toward G.o.d, what can be more deeply solemn than to follow out the results of their treatment of him who stands before the spiritual mind as the marked type of the Lord Jesus Christ? They, utterly regardless of the anguish of his soul, consigned Joseph into the hands of the uncirc.u.mcised. And what was the issue, as regards them? They were carried down into Egypt, there to experience the deep and painful exercises of heart which are so graphically and touchingly presented in the closing chapters of Genesis. Nor was this all. A long and dreary season awaited their offspring in that very land in which Joseph had found a dungeon.

But then G.o.d was in all this, as well as man; and it is His prerogative to bring good out of evil. Joseph's brethren might sell him to the Ishmaelites, and the Ishmaelites might sell him to Potiphar, and Potiphar might cast him into prison; but Jehovah was above all, and He was accomplishing His own mighty ends. "The wrath of man shall praise Him." The time had not arrived in which the heirs were ready for the inheritance and the inheritance for the heirs. The brick-kilns of Egypt were to furnish a rigid school for the seed of Abraham, while as yet "the iniquity of the Amorites" was rising to a head amid the "hills and valleys" of the promised land.

All this is deeply interesting and instructive. There are "wheels within wheels" in the government of G.o.d. He makes use of an endless variety of agencies in the accomplishment of His unsearchable designs.

Potiphar's wife, Pharaoh's butler, Pharaoh's dreams, Pharaoh himself, the dungeon, the throne, the fetter, the royal signet, the famine--all are at His sovereign disposal, and all are made instrumental in the development of His stupendous counsels. The spiritual mind delights to dwell upon this,--it delights to range through the wide domain of creation and providence, and to recognize, in all, the machinery which an All-wise and an Almighty G.o.d is using for the purpose of unfolding His counsels of redeeming love. True, we may see many traces of the serpent,--many deep and well-defined footprints of the enemy of G.o.d and man,--many things which we cannot explain nor even comprehend; suffering innocence and successful wickedness may furnish an apparent basis for the infidel reasoning of the sceptic mind; but the true believer can piously repose in the a.s.surance that "the Judge of all the earth shall do right." He knows right well that--

"Blind unbelief is sure to err, And scan His ways in vain; G.o.d is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain."

Blessed be G.o.d for the consolation and encouragement flowing out of such reflections as these. We need them every hour while pa.s.sing through an evil world, in which the enemy has wrought such appalling mischief, in which the l.u.s.ts and pa.s.sions of men produce such bitter fruits, and in which the path of the true disciple presents roughnesses which mere nature could never endure. Faith knows, of a surety, that there is One behind the scenes whom the world sees not nor regards; and, in the consciousness of this, it can calmly say, "It is well," and, "It shall be well."

The above train of thought is distinctly suggested by the opening lines of our book. "G.o.d's counsel shall stand, and He will do all His pleasure." The enemy may oppose, but G.o.d will ever prove Himself to be above him; and all we need is a spirit of simple, childlike confidence and repose in the divine purpose. Unbelief will rather look at the enemy's efforts to countervail than at G.o.d's power to accomplish. It is on the latter that faith fixes its eye. Thus it obtains victory and enjoys abiding peace. It has to do with G.o.d and His infallible faithfulness. It rests not upon the ever-shifting sands of human affairs and earthly influences, but upon the immovable rock of G.o.d's eternal Word. That is faith's holy and solid resting-place. Come what may, it abides in that sanctuary of strength. "Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation." What then? Could death affect the counsels of the living G.o.d? Surely not. He only waited for the appointed moment--the due time, and then the most hostile influences were made instrumental in the development of His purposes.

"Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, 'Behold the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: come on, let us deal _wisely_ with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pa.s.s that when there falleth out any war they join also unto our enemies and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land." (Ver. 8-10.) All this is the reasoning of a heart that had never learnt to take G.o.d into its calculations. The unrenewed heart never can do so; and hence, the moment you introduce G.o.d, all its reasonings fall to the ground. Apart from, or independent of, Him, they may seem very wise; but only bring Him in, and they are proved to be perfect folly.

But why should we allow our minds to be, in any wise, influenced by reasonings and calculations which depend, for their _apparent_ truth, upon the total exclusion of G.o.d? To do so is, in principle, and according to its measure, practical atheism. In Pharaoh's case, we see that he could accurately recount the various contingencies of human affairs,--the multiplying of the people, the falling out of war, their joining with the enemy, their escape out of the land. All these circ.u.mstances he could, with uncommon sagacity, put into the scale; but it never once occurred to him that G.o.d could have anything whatever to do in the matter. Had he only thought of this, it would have upset his entire reasoning, and have written folly upon all his schemes.

Now, it is well to see that it is ever thus with the reasonings of man's sceptic mind. G.o.d is entirely shut out; yea, the truth and consistency thereof depend upon His being kept out. The death-blow to all scepticism and infidelity is the introduction of G.o.d into the scene. Till He is seen, they may strut up and down upon the stage with an amazing show of wisdom and cleverness; but the moment the eye catches even the faintest glimpse of that blessed One, they are stripped of their cloak, and disclosed in all their nakedness and deformity.

In reference to the king of Egypt, it may a.s.suredly be said, he did "greatly err," not knowing G.o.d or His changeless counsels. He knew not that, hundreds of years back, before ever he had breathed the breath of mortal life, G.o.d's word and oath--"two immutable things"--had infallibly secured the full and glorious deliverance of that very people whom he was going, in his wisdom, to crush. All this was unknown to him, and therefore all his thoughts and plans were founded upon ignorance of that grand foundation-truth of all truths, namely, that G.o.d IS. He vainly imagined that he, by his management, could prevent the increase of those concerning whom G.o.d had said, "They shall be as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-sh.o.r.e." His wise dealing, therefore, was simply madness and folly.

The wildest mistake which a man can possibly fall into is to act without taking G.o.d into his account. Sooner or later, the thought of G.o.d will force itself upon him, and then comes the awful crash of all his schemes and calculations. At best, everything that is undertaken independently of G.o.d, can last but for the present time. It cannot, by any possibility, stretch itself into eternity. All that is merely human, however solid, however brilliant, or however attractive, must fall into the cold grasp of death, and moulder in the dark, silent tomb. The clod of the valley must cover man's highest excellencies and brightest glories; mortality is engraved upon his brow, and all his schemes are evanescent. On the contrary, that which is connected with, and based upon, G.o.d, shall endure forever. "His name shall endure forever, and His memorial to all generations."

What a sad mistake, therefore, for a feeble mortal to set himself up against the eternal G.o.d,--to "rush upon the thick bosses of the shield of the Almighty"! As well might the monarch of Egypt have sought to stem, with his puny hand, the ocean's tide, as to prevent the increase of those who were the subjects of Jehovah's everlasting purpose.

Hence, although "they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens," yet, "the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew." Thus it must ever be. "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision." (Ps. ii.

4.) Eternal confusion shall be inscribed upon all the opposition of men and devils. This gives sweet rest to the heart in the midst of a scene where all is apparently so contrary to G.o.d and so contrary to faith. Were it not for the settled a.s.surance that "the wrath of man shall praise" the Lord, the spirit would often be cast down while contemplating the circ.u.mstances and influences which surround one in the world. Thank G.o.d, "we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Cor. iv.

18.) In the power of this, we may well say, "_Rest_ in the Lord, and _wait patiently for Him_: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pa.s.s." (Ps. x.x.xvii. 7.) How fully might the truth of this be seen in the case of both the oppressed and the oppressor, as set before us in our chapter! Had Israel "looked at the things that are seen," what were they? Pharaoh's wrath, stern taskmasters, afflictive burdens, rigorous service, hard bondage, mortar and brick. But, then, "the things which are not seen," what were they? G.o.d's eternal purpose, His unfailing promise, the approaching dawn of a day of salvation, the "burning lamp" of Jehovah's deliverance. Wondrous contrast! Faith alone could enter into it. Naught save that precious principle could enable any poor, oppressed Israelite to look from out the smoking furnace of Egypt, to the green fields and vine-clad mountains of the land of Canaan. Faith alone could recognize in those oppressed slaves, toiling in the brick-kilns of Egypt, the heirs of salvation, and the objects of Heaven's peculiar interest and favor.