Notes on the book of Exodus Part 16

No one quality ever displaced or interfered with another; all was "tempered together, pure and holy," and emitted an odor so fragrant that none but G.o.d could appreciate it.

"And thou shalt beat some of it _very small_, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy." There is uncommon depth and power in the expression "very small." It teaches us that every little movement in the life of Christ, every minute circ.u.mstance, every act, every word, every look, every feature, every trait, every lineament, emits an odor produced by an equal proportion--"a like weight" of all the divine graces that compose His character. The smaller the perfume was beaten, the more its rare and exquisite temper was manifested.

"And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof; it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people." This fragrant perfume was designed exclusively for Jehovah. Its place was "before the testimony." There is that in Jesus which only G.o.d could appreciate.

True, every believing heart can draw nigh to His matchless Person, and more than satisfy its deepest and most intense longings; still, after all G.o.d's redeemed have drunk to the utmost of their capacity, after angels have gazed on the peerless glories of the Man Christ Jesus as earnestly as their vision is capable of,--after all, there will be that in Him which G.o.d alone can fathom and enjoy. No human or angelic eye could duly trace the exquisitely minute parts of that holy perfume "beaten very small," nor could earth afford a proper sphere in which to emit its divine and heavenly odor.

Thus, then, we have, in our rapid sketch, reached the close of a clearly marked division of our book. We began at "the ark of the covenant," and traveled out to "the altar of bra.s.s;" we returned from "the altar of bra.s.s," and have come to the "holy perfume;" and, oh, what a journey is this, if only it be traveled, not in company with the false and flickering light of human imagination, but by the infallible lamp of the Holy Ghost! What a journey, if only it be traveled, not amid the shadows of a by-gone dispensation, but amid the personal glories and powerful attractions of the Son which are there portrayed! If my reader has so traveled it, he will find his affections more drawn to Christ than ever; he will have a loftier conception of His glory, His beauty, His preciousness, His excellency, His ability to heal a wounded conscience and satisfy a longing heart; he will have his eyes more thoroughly closed to all earth's attractions, and his ears closed to all earth's pretensions and promises;--in one word, he will be prepared to utter a deeper and more fervent Amen to the words of the inspired apostle when he says, "IF ANY MAN LOVE NOT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA MARAN-ATHA."[16] (1 Cor. xvi. 22.)

[16] It is interesting to note the position of this most solemn and startling denunciation. It occurs at the close of a long epistle in the progress of which the apostle had to rebuke some of the grossest practical evils and doctrinal errors. How solemn, therefore, how full of meaning the fact, that when he comes to p.r.o.nounce his anathema, it is not hurled at those who had introduced those errors and evils, but at the man who loves not the Lord Jesus Christ! Why is this? Is it because the Spirit of G.o.d makes little of errors and evils? Surely not: the entire epistle unfolds His thoughts as to these. But the truth is, when the heart is filled with love to the Lord Jesus Christ, there is an effectual safeguard against all manner of false doctrine and evil practice. If a man does not love Christ, there is no accounting for the notions he may adopt, or the course he may pursue.

Hence the form and the position of the apostolic anathema.

CHAPTER x.x.xI.

The opening of this brief chapter records the divine call and the divine qualification of "Bezaleel and Aholiab" to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'See, _I have called_ by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and _I have filled_ him with the spirit of G.o.d, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.... And I, behold, _I have given_ with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted _I have put_ wisdom, that they may make all that _I have commanded_." Whether for "the work of the tabernacle" of old, or "the work of the ministry" now, there should be the divine selection, the divine call, the divine qualification, the divine appointment, and all must be done according to the divine commandment. Man could not select, call, qualify, or appoint to do the work of the tabernacle; neither can he to do the work of the ministry.

Furthermore, no man could presume to appoint himself to do the work of the tabernacle; neither can he to do the work of the ministry. It was, it is, it must be, wholly and absolutely divine. Men may run as sent of their fellow, or men may run of themselves; but let it be remembered that all who run without being sent of G.o.d shall one day or other be covered with shame and confusion of face. Such is the plain and wholesome doctrine suggested by the words, "I have called," "I have filled," "I have given," "I have put," "I have commanded." The words of the Baptist must ever hold good--"A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven." (John iii. 27.) He can therefore have but little room to boast of himself, and just as little to be jealous of his fellow.

There is a profitable lesson to be learnt from a comparison of this chapter with Genesis iv. "Tubal-cain was an instructor of every artificer in bra.s.s and iron." The descendants of Cain were endowed with unhallowed skill to make a cursed and groaning earth a delectable spot, without the presence of G.o.d: "Bezaleel and Aholiab," on the contrary, were endowed with divine skill to beautify a sanctuary which was to be hallowed and blessed by the presence and glory of the G.o.d of Israel.

Reader, let me ask you just to pause and put this solemn question to your conscience,--Whether am I devoting whatever of skill or energy I possess to the interests of the Church which is G.o.d's dwelling-place, or to beautify an unG.o.dly, Christless world? Say not in thine heart, I am not divinely called or divinely qualified for the work of the ministry. Remember that though all Israel were not Bezaleels or Aholiabs, yet all could serve the interests of the sanctuary. There was an open door for all to communicate. Thus it is now. Each one has a place to occupy, a ministry to fulfill, a responsibility to discharge; and you and I are at this moment either promoting the interests of the house of G.o.d--the body of Christ--the Church, or helping on the G.o.dless schemes of a world yet stained with the blood of Christ and the blood of all His martyred saints. Oh, let us deeply ponder this, as in the presence of the great Searcher of hearts, whom none can deceive--to whom all are known.

Our chapter closes with a special reference to the inst.i.tution of the Sabbath. It was referred to in chapter xvi, in connection with the manna; it was distinctly enjoined in chapter xx, when the people were formally put under law; and here we have it again, in connection with the setting up of the tabernacle. Whenever the nation of Israel is presented in some special position, or recognized as a people in special responsibility, then the Sabbath is introduced. And let my reader carefully note both the day and the mode in which it was to be observed, and also the object for which it was inst.i.tuted in Israel.

"Ye shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy unto you: _every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death_; for whosoever doeth _any work_ therein, that soul shall be _cut off_ from among his people. Six days may work be done; but _in the seventh_ is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth _any work_ in the Sabbath day, _he shall surely be put to death_." This is as explicit and absolute as any thing can be. It fixes "the seventh day" and none other; and it positively forbids, on pain of death, all manner of work. There can be no avoiding the plain sense of this. And be it remembered that there is not so much as a single line of Scripture to prove that the Sabbath has been changed, or the strict principles of its observance in the smallest degree relaxed. If there be any Scripture proof, let my reader look it out for his own satisfaction.

Now, let us inquire if indeed professing Christians do keep G.o.d's Sabbath on the day and after the manner which He commanded. It were idle to lose time in proving that they do not. Well, what are the consequences of a single breach of the Sabbath? "_Cut off_"--"_put to death_."

But, it will be said, we "are not under law, but under grace." Blessed be G.o.d for the sweet a.s.surance! Were we under law, there is not one throughout the wide range of Christendom who should not long since have fallen beneath the stone of judgment, even upon the one solitary point of the Sabbath. But, if we are under grace, what is the day which belongs to us? a.s.suredly, "the first day of the week"--"the Lord's day." This is the Church's day--the resurrection day of Jesus, who, having spent the Sabbath in the tomb, rose triumphant over all the powers of darkness; thus leading His people out of the old creation, and all that pertains thereto, into the new creation, of which He is the Head, and of which the first day of the week is the apt expression.

This distinction is worthy of the serious attention of the reader. Let him examine it prayerfully in the light of Scripture. There may be nothing and there may be a great deal in a mere name. In the present instance, there is a great deal more involved in the distinction between "the Sabbath" and "the Lord's day" than many Christians seem to be aware of. It is very evident that the first day of the week gets a place in the Word of G.o.d which no other day gets. No other day is ever called by that majestic and elevated t.i.tle, "The Lord's day."

Some, I am aware, deny that Rev. i. 10 refers to the first day of the week; but I feel most fully a.s.sured that sound criticism and sound exegesis do both warrant--yea, demand the application of that pa.s.sage, not to the day of Christ's advent in glory, but to the day of His resurrection from the dead.

But most a.s.suredly, the Lord's day is never once called the Sabbath.

So far from this, the two days are again and again spoken of in their proper distinctness. Hence, therefore, my reader will have to keep clear of two extremes. In the first place, he will have to avoid the legalism which one finds so much linked with the term "Sabbath;" and, in the second place, he will need to bear a very decided testimony against every attempt to dishonor the Lord's day, or lower it to the level of an ordinary day. The believer is delivered, most completely, from the observance of "days, and months, and times, and years."

a.s.sociation with a risen Christ has taken him clean out of all such superst.i.tious observances. But, while this is most blessedly true, we see that "the first day of the week" has a place a.s.signed to it in the New Testament which no other has. Let the Christian give it that place. It is a sweet and happy privilege, not a grievous yoke.

s.p.a.ce forbids my further entrance upon this interesting subject. It has been gone into elsewhere, as already intimated, in the earlier pages of this volume. I shall close these remarks by pointing out, in one or two particulars, the contrast between "the Sabbath" and "the Lord's day."

1. The Sabbath was the _seventh_ day; the Lord's day is the _first_.

2. The Sabbath was a _test_ of Israel's condition; the Lord's day is the _proof_ of the Church's acceptance, on wholly unconditional grounds.

S. The Sabbath belonged to the old creation; the Lord's day belongs to the new.

4. The Sabbath was a day of _bodily_ rest for the Jew; the Lord's day is a day of _spiritual_ rest for the Christian.

5. If the Jew worked on the Sabbath, he was to be put to _death_: if the Christian does not work on the Lord's day, he gives little proof of _life_;--that is to say, if he does not work for the benefit of the souls of men, the extension of Christ's glory, and the spread of His truth. In point of fact, the devoted Christian who possesses any gift is generally more fatigued on the evening of the Lord's day than on any other in the week, for how can he rest while souls are perishing around him?

6. The Jew was _commanded_ by the _law_ to abide in his tent; the Christian is _led_ by the spirit of the _gospel_ to go forth, whether it be to attend the public a.s.sembly or to minister to the souls of perishing sinners.

The Lord enable us, beloved reader, to rest more artlessly _in_, and labor more vigorously _for_, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! We should _rest_ in the spirit of a _child_, and _labor_ with the energy of a _man_.

CHAPTER x.x.xII.

We have now to contemplate something very different from that which has. .h.i.therto engaged our attention. "The patterns of things in the heavens" has been before us--Christ in His glorious Person, gracious offices, and perfect work, as set forth in the tabernacle and all its mystic furniture. We have been, in spirit, on the mount, hearkening to G.o.d's own words--the sweet utterances of Heaven's thoughts, affections, and counsels, of which Jesus is "the Alpha and Omega--the beginning and the ending--the first and the last."

Now, however, we are called down to earth, to behold the melancholy wreck which man makes of every thing to which he puts his hand. "And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, 'Up, make us G.o.ds, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.'" What degradation is here! _Make us G.o.ds!_ They were abandoning Jehovah, and placing themselves under the conduct of manufactured G.o.ds--G.o.ds of man's making. Dark clouds and heavy mists had gathered round the mount. They grew weary of waiting for the absent one, and of hanging on an unseen but real arm. They imagined that a G.o.d formed by "graving tool" was better than Jehovah,--that a calf which they could _see_ was better than the invisible, yet every-where-present, G.o.d,--a visible counterfeit, than an invisible reality.

Alas! alas! it has ever been thus in man's history. The human heart loves something that can be seen; it loves that which meets and gratifies the senses. It is only faith that can "endure as seeing Him who is invisible." Hence, in every age, men have been forward to set up and lean upon human imitations of divine realities. Thus it is we see the counterfeits of corrupt religion multiplied before our eyes.

Those things which we know, upon the authority of G.o.d's Word, to be divine and heavenly realities, the professing Church has transformed into human and earthly imitations. Having become weary of hanging upon an invisible arm, of trusting in an invisible sacrifice, of having recourse to an invisible Priest, of committing herself to the guidance of an invisible Head, she has set about "making" these things; and thus, from age to age, she has been busily at work, with "graving tool" in hand, graving and fashioning one thing after another, until we can at length recognize as little similarity between much that we see around us and what we _read_ in the Word, as between "a molten calf" and the G.o.d of Israel.

"_Make us G.o.ds!_" What a thought! Man called upon to make G.o.ds, and people willing to put their trust in such! My reader, let us look within, and look around, and see if we cannot detect something of all this. We read, in 1 Cor. x., in reference to Israel's history, that "all these things happened unto them for ensamples [or types]; and they are written _for our admonition_, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (ver. 11.). Let us, then, seek to profit by the "admonition." Let us remember that although we may not just form and bow down before "a molten calf," yet that Israel's sin is a "type" of something into which we are in danger of falling. Whenever we turn away in heart from leaning exclusively upon G.o.d Himself, whether in the matter of salvation or the necessities of the path, we are, in principle, saying, "Up, make us G.o.ds." It is needless to say we are not, in ourselves, a whit better than Aaron or the children of Israel; and if they acknowledge a calf instead of Jehovah, we are in danger of acting on the same principle, and manifesting the same spirit. Our only safeguard is to be much in the presence of G.o.d. Moses knew that the "molten calf" was not Jehovah, and therefore he did not acknowledge it. But when we get out of the divine presence, there is no accounting for the gross errors and evils into which we may be betrayed.

We are called to live by faith; we can see nothing with the eye of sense. Jesus is gone up on high, and we are told to wait patiently for His appearing. G.o.d's word, carried home to the heart in the energy of the Holy Ghost, is the ground of confidence in all things--temporal and spiritual, present and future. He tells us of Christ's completed sacrifice; we, by grace, believe, and commit our souls to the efficacy thereof, and know we shall never be confounded. He tells us of a great High-Priest, pa.s.sed into the heavens--Jesus, the Son of G.o.d, whose intercession is all-prevailing; we, by grace, believe, and confidingly lean upon His ability, and know we shall be saved to the uttermost. He tells us of the living Head to whom we are linked, in the power of resurrection life, and from whom we can never be severed by any influence, angelic, human, or diabolical; we, by grace, believe, and cling to that blessed Head in simple faith, and know we shall never perish. He tells us of the glorious appearing of the Son from heaven; we, through grace, believe, and seek to prove the purifying and elevating power of "that blessed hope," and know we shall not be disappointed. He tells us of "an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us, who are kept by the power of G.o.d," for entrance thereinto in due time; we, through grace, believe, and know we shall never be confounded. He tells us the hairs of our head are all numbered, and that we shall never want any good thing; we, through grace, believe, and enjoy a sweetly tranquilized heart.

Thus it is, or, at least, thus our G.o.d would have it. But then the enemy is ever active in seeking to make us cast away these divine realities, take up the "graving tool" of unbelief, and "make G.o.ds" for ourselves. Let us watch against him, pray against him, believe against him, testify against him, act against him: thus he shall be confounded, G.o.d glorified, and we ourselves abundantly blessed.

As to Israel, in the chapter before us, their rejection of G.o.d was most complete. "And Aaron said unto them, 'Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.'... And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf; and they said, '_These be thy G.o.ds_, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, 'To-morrow is _a feast unto the Lord_.'" This was entirely setting aside G.o.d, and putting a calf in His stead. When they could say that a calf had brought them up out of Egypt, they had evidently abandoned all idea of the presence and character of the true G.o.d. How "_quickly_" they must "have turned aside out of the way," to have made such a gross and terrible mistake! And Aaron, the brother and yoke-fellow of Moses, led them on in this; and, with a calf before him, he could say, "To-morrow is a feast unto Jehovah"! How sad! How deeply humbling! G.o.d was displaced by an idol. A thing "graven by art and man's device" was set in the place of "the Lord of all the earth."

All this involved, on Israel's part, a deliberate abandonment of their connection with Jehovah. They had given Him up; and, accordingly, we find Him, as it were, taking them on their own ground. "And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them.... I have seen this people, it is a stiff-necked people: now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of _thee_ a great nation.'" Here was an open door for Moses; and here he displays uncommon grace, and similarity of spirit to that Prophet whom the Lord was to raise up like unto him. He refuses to be or to have any thing without the people. He pleads with G.o.d on the ground of His own glory, and puts the people back upon Him in these touching words, "Lord, why doth Thy wrath wax hot against _Thy people_, which _Thou_ hast brought up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and say, For mischief did He bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from Thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against _Thy_ people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou swarest by Thine own self, and saidst unto them, 'I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.'" This was powerful pleading. The glory of G.o.d, the vindication of His holy name, the accomplishment of His oath,--these are the grounds on which Moses entreats the Lord to turn from His fierce wrath. He could not find in Israel's conduct or character any plea or ground to go upon; he found it all in G.o.d Himself.

The Lord hath said unto Moses, "_Thy_ people which _thou_ broughtest up;" but Moses replies to the Lord, "_Thy_ people which _Thou_ hast brought up." They were the Lord's people notwithstanding all; and His name, His glory, His oath, were all involved in their destiny. The moment the Lord links Himself with a people, His character is involved, and faith will ever look at Him upon this solid ground.

Moses loses sight of himself entirely His whole soul is engrossed with thoughts of the Lord's glory and the Lord's people. Blessed servant! How few like him! And yet when we contemplate him in all this scene, we perceive how infinitely he is below the blessed Master. He came down from the mount, and when he saw the calf and the dancing, his "anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and break them beneath the mount." The covenant was broken, and the memorials thereof shattered to pieces; and then, having executed judgment in righteous indignation, he "said unto the people, 'Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; _peradventure_ I shall make an atonement for your sin.'"

How different is this from what we see in Christ! He came down from the bosom of the Father, not with the tables in His hands, but with the law in His heart. He came down, not to be made acquainted with the condition of the people, but with a perfect knowledge of what that condition was. Moreover, instead of destroying the memorials of the covenant and executing judgment, He magnified the law and made it honorable, and bore the judgment of His people, in His own blessed Person, on the cross; and, having done all, He went back to heaven, not with a "_peradventure_ I shall make an atonement for your sin,"

but to lay upon the throne of the Majesty in the highest the imperishable memorials of an atonement already accomplished. This makes a vast and truly glorious difference. Thank G.o.d, we need not anxiously gaze after our Mediator, to know if haply He shall accomplish redemption for us, and reconcile offended Justice. No; He has done it all. His presence on high declares that the whole work is finished. He could stand upon the confines of this world, ready to take His departure, and, in all the calmness of a conscious Victor (though He had yet to encounter the darkest scene of all), say, "I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do." (John xvii.) Blessed Saviour! we may well adore Thee, and well exult in the place of dignity and glory in which eternal justice has set Thee. The highest place in heaven belongs to Thee; and Thy saints only wait for the time when "every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of G.o.d the Father." May that time speedily arrive!

At the close of this chapter, Jehovah a.s.serts His rights, in moral government, in the following words: "Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book. Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, Mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless, in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them." This is G.o.d _in government_, not G.o.d _in the gospel_. Here He speaks of blotting out _the sinner_; in the gospel He is seen blotting out _sin_. A wide difference!

The people are to be sent forward, under the mediatorship of Moses, by the hand of an angel. This was very unlike the condition of things which obtained from Egypt to Sinai. They had forfeited all claim on the ground of law, and hence it only remained for G.o.d to fall back upon His own sovereignty and say, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."

CHAPTERS x.x.xIII. & x.x.xIV.

Jehovah refuses to accompany Israel to the land of promise.--"I will not go up in the midst of thee, (for thou art a stiff-necked people,) lest I consume thee in the way." At the opening of this book, when the people were in the furnace of Egypt, the Lord could say, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows." But now He has to say, "I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people." An afflicted people is an object of grace; but a stiff-necked people must be humbled. The cry of oppressed Israel had been answered by the exhibition of grace; but the song of idolatrous Israel must be answered by the voice of stern rebuke.

"Ye are a stiff-necked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee." It is only when we are really stripped of all nature's ornaments that G.o.d can deal with us. A naked sinner can be clothed; but a sinner decked with ornaments must be stripped. This is always true. We must be stripped of all that pertains to self ere we can be clothed with that which pertains to G.o.d.

"And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount h.o.r.eb." There they stood, beneath that memorable mount, their feasting and singing changed into bitter lamentations, their ornaments gone, the tables of testimony in fragments. Such was their condition, and Moses at once proceeds to act according to it. He could no longer own the people in their corporate character. The a.s.sembly had become entirely defiled, having set up an idol of their own making in the place of G.o.d--a calf instead of Jehovah. "And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it _without the camp_, afar off from the camp, and called it 'The tabernacle of the congregation.'" Thus the camp was disowned as the place of the divine presence. G.o.d was not, could not, be there. He had been displaced by a human invention. A new gathering-point was therefore set up. "And it came to pa.s.s, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp."