Notes on the Book of Leviticus Part 8

The prophet Ezekiel was called, in his day, to sit down to this difficult lesson. "Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 'Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of _men_.'... And I did in the morning as I was commanded." (Ez. xxiv. 16-18.) It will be said that all this was as "a sign" to Israel. True; but it proves that in prophetic testimony, as well as in priestly worship, we must rise superior to all the claims and influences of nature and of earth.

Aaron's sons and Ezekiel's wife were cut down with a stroke, and yet neither the priest nor the prophet was to uncover his head or shed a tear.

Oh, my reader, how far have you and I progressed in this profound lesson? No doubt both reader and writer have to make the same humiliating confession. Too often, alas! we "walk as men" and "eat the bread of men"--too often are we robbed of our high priestly privileges by the workings of nature and the influences of earth. These things must be watched against. Nothing save realized priestly nearness to G.o.d can ever preserve the heart from the power of evil or maintain its spiritual tone. All believers are priests unto G.o.d, and nothing can possibly deprive them of their position as such; but though they cannot lose their position, they may grievously fail in the discharge of their functions. These things are not sufficiently distinguished.

Some there are who, while looking at the precious truth of the believer's security, forget the possibility of his failing in the discharge of his priestly functions: others, on the contrary, looking at the failure, venture to call in question the security.

Now, I desire that my reader should keep clear of both the above errors. He should be fully established in the divine doctrine of the eternal security of every member of the true priestly house; but he should also bear in mind the possibility of failure, and the constant need of watchfulness and prayer, lest he should fail. May all those who have been brought to know the hallowed elevation of priests unto G.o.d be preserved, by His heavenly grace, from every species of failure, whether it be personal defilement or the presentation of any of the varied forms of "strange fire," which abound so in the professing church.

"And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, 'Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations: and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.'" (Ver. 8-11.)

The effect of wine is to excite nature, and all natural excitement hinders that calm, well-balanced condition of soul which is essential to the proper discharge of the priestly office. So far from using any means to excite nature, we should treat it as a thing having no existence. Thus only shall we be in a moral condition to serve in the sanctuary, to form a dispa.s.sionate judgment between clean and unclean, and to expound and communicate the mind of G.o.d. It devolves upon each one to judge for himself what, in his special case, would act as "wine or strong drink."[21] The things which excite mere nature are manifold indeed--wealth, ambition, politics, the varied objects of emulation around us in the world. All these things act with exciting power upon nature, and entirely unfit us for every department of priestly service. If the heart be swollen with feelings of pride, covetousness, or emulation, it is utterly impossible that the pure air of the sanctuary can be enjoyed, or the sacred functions of priestly ministry discharged. Men speak of the versatility of genius, or a capacity to turn quickly from one thing to another; but the most versatile genius that was ever possessed could not enable a man to pa.s.s from an unhallowed arena of literary, commercial, or political compet.i.tion, into the holy retirement of the sanctuary of the divine presence; nor could it ever adjust the eye that had become dimmed by the influence of such scenes, so as to enable it to discern, with priestly accuracy, the difference "between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean." No, my reader, G.o.d's priests must keep themselves apart from "wine and strong drink." Theirs is a path of holy separation and abstraction. They are to be raised far above the influence of earthly joy as well as earthly sorrow. If they have aught to do with "strong wine," it is only that it may "be poured unto the Lord for a drink-offering, in the holy place." (Numb. xxviii. 7.) In other words, the joy of G.o.d's priests is not the joy of earth, but the joy of heaven--the joy of the sanctuary. "The joy of the Lord is their strength."

[21] Some have thought that, owing to the special place which this direction about wine occupies, Nadab and Abihu must have been under the influence of strong drink when they offered the "strange fire."

But be this as it may, we have to be thankful for a most valuable principle in reference to our conduct as spiritual priests. We are to refrain from every thing which would produce the same effect upon our spiritual man as strong drink produces upon the physical man.

It needs hardly to be remarked that the Christian should be _most jealous_ over himself as to the use of wine or strong drink. Timothy, as we know, needed an apostolic recommendation to induce him even to touch it for his health's sake. (1 Tim. v.) A beauteous proof of Timothy's habitual self-denial, and of the thoughtful love of the Spirit in the apostle. I must confess that one's moral sense is offended by seeing Christians making use of strong drink in cases where it is very manifestly not medicinal. I rarely, if ever, see a spiritual person indulge in such a thing. One trembles to see a Christian the mere slave of a habit, whatever that habit may be. It proves that he is not keeping his body in subjection.

Would that all this holy instruction were more deeply pondered by us!

We surely stand much in need of it. If our priestly responsibilities are not duly attended to, all must be deranged. When we contemplate the camp of Israel, we may observe three circles, and the innermost of these circles had its centre in the sanctuary. There was first the circle of men of war (Numb. i, ii.); then the circle of Levites round about the tabernacle (Numb. iii, iv.); and lastly, the innermost circle of priests, ministering in the holy place. Now, let it be remembered that the believer is called to move in all those circles.

He enters into conflict, as a man of war (Eph. vi. 11-17; 1 Tim. i.

18; vi. 12; 2 Tim. iv. 7.); he serves, as a Levite, in the midst of his brethren, according to his measure and sphere (Matt. xv. 14, 15; Luke xix. 12, 13.); finally, he sacrifices and worships, as a priest, in the holy place (Heb. xiii. 15, 16; 1 Pet. ii. 5, 9.). The last of these shall endure forever. And, moreover, it is as we are enabled now to move aright in that holy circle that all other relations and responsibilities are rightly discharged. Hence, every thing that incapacitates us for our priestly functions--every thing that draws us off from the centre of that innermost circle, in which it is our privilege to move--every thing, in short, that tends to derange our priestly relation, or dim our priestly vision, must, of necessity, unfit us for the service which we are called to render, and for the warfare which we are called to wage.

These are weighty considerations. Let us dwell upon them. The heart must be kept right, the conscience pure, the eye single, the spiritual vision undimmed. The soul's business in the holy place must be faithfully and diligently attended to, else we shall go all wrong.

Private communion with G.o.d must be kept up, else we shall be fruitless as servants, and defeated as men of war. It is vain for us to bustle about, and run hither and thither in what we call service, or indulge in vapid words about Christian armor and Christian warfare. If we are not keeping our priestly garments unspotted, and if we are not keeping ourselves free from all that would excite nature, we shall a.s.suredly break down. The _priest_ must keep his heart with all diligence, else the _Levite_ will fail, and the _warrior_ will be defeated.

It is, let me repeat it, the business of each one to be fully aware of what it is that to him proves to be "wine and strong drink"--what it is that produces excitement--that blunts his spiritual perception, or dims his priestly vision. It may be an auction-mart, a cattle-show, a newspaper,--it may be the merest trifle. But no matter what it is, if it tends to excite, it will disqualify us for priestly ministry; and if we are disqualified as priests, we are unfit for every thing, inasmuch as our success in every department and in every sphere must ever depend upon our cultivating a spirit of worship.

Let us, then, exercise a spirit of self-judgment--a spirit of watchfulness over our habits, our ways, and our a.s.sociations; and when we, by grace, discover aught that tends, in the smallest, degree to unfit us for the elevated exercises of the sanctuary, let us put it away from us, cost what it may. Let us not suffer ourselves to be the slaves of a habit. Communion with G.o.d should be dearer to our hearts than all beside; and just in proportion as we prize that communion, shall we watch and pray against any thing that would rob us of it--every thing that would excite, ruffle, or unhinge.[22]

[22] Some, perhaps, may think that the wording of Leviticus x. 9 affords a warrant for _occasional_ indulgence in those things which tend to excite the natural mind, inasmuch as it is said, "Do not drink wine nor strong drink ... _when_ ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation." To this we may reply that the sanctuary is not a place which the Christian is _occasionally_ to visit, but a place in which he is _habitually_ to serve and worship. It is the sphere in which he should "live, and move, and have his being." The more we live in the presence of G.o.d, the less can we bear to be out of it; and no one who knows the deep joy of being there could lightly indulge in aught that would take or keep him thence. There is not that object within the compa.s.s of earth which would, in the judgment of a spiritual mind, be an equivalent for one hour's fellowship with G.o.d.

"And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar, and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, 'Take the meat-offering that remaineth of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; for it is most holy: and ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the Lord made by fire; for so I am commanded.'" (Ver. 12, 13.)

There are few things in which we are more p.r.o.ne to fail than in the maintenance of the divine standard when human failure has set in. Like David, when the Lord made a breach upon Uzzah because of his failure in putting his hand to the ark, "he was afraid of G.o.d that day, saying, 'How shall I bring the ark of G.o.d home to me?'" (1 Chron.

xiii. 12.) It is exceedingly difficult to bow to the divine judgment and, at the same time, to hold fast the divine ground. The temptation is to lower the standard--to come down from the lofty elevation--to take human ground. We must ever carefully guard against this evil, which is all the more dangerous as wearing the garb of modesty, self-distrust, and humility. Aaron and his sons, notwithstanding all that had occurred, were to eat the meat-offering in the holy place.

They were to do so, not because all had gone on in perfect order, but "because it is thy due," and "so I am commanded." Though there had been failure, yet their place was in the tabernacle; and those who were there had certain "dues" founded upon the divine commandment.

Though man had failed ten thousand times over, the word of the Lord could not fail; and that word had secured certain privileges for all true priests, which it was their place to enjoy. Were G.o.d's priests to have nothing to eat--no priestly food, because failure had set in?

Were those that were left to be allowed to starve, because Nadab and Abihu had offered "strange fire"? This would never do. G.o.d is faithful, and He can never allow any one to be empty in His blessed presence. The prodigal may wander and squander and come to poverty, but it must ever hold good that "in my Father's house is bread enough and to spare."

"And the wave breast and the heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy due, and thy sons' due, which are _given_ out of the sacrifices of peace-offerings of the children of Israel ... by _a statute forever, as the Lord hath commanded_." (Ver. 14, 15.) What strength and stability we have here! All the members of the priestly family, "daughters" as well as "sons"--all, whatever be the measure of energy or capacity, are to feed upon "the breast" and "the shoulder"--the affections and the strength of the true Peace-offering, as raised from the dead, and presented, in resurrection, before G.o.d. This precious privilege is theirs as "given by a statute forever, as the Lord hath commanded." This makes all "sure and steadfast," come what may. Men may fail and come short, strange fire may be offered, but G.o.d's priestly family must never be deprived of the rich and gracious portion which divine love has provided and divine faithfulness secured "by a statute forever."

However, we must distinguish between those privileges which belonged to all the members of Aaron's family, "daughters" as well as "sons,"

and those which could only be enjoyed by the male portion of the family. This point has already been referred to in the notes on the offerings. There are certain blessings which are the common portion of all believers, simply as such; and there are those which demand a higher measure of spiritual attainment and priestly energy to apprehend and enjoy. Now, it is worse than vain, yea, it is impious, to set up for the enjoyment of this higher measure when we really have it not. It is one thing to hold fast the privileges which are "given"

of G.o.d, and can never be taken away, and quite another to a.s.sume a measure of spiritual capacity to which we have never attained. No doubt, we ought to desire earnestly the very highest measure of priestly communion--the most elevated order of priestly privilege; but then desiring a thing, and a.s.suming to have it, are very different.

This thought will throw light upon the closing paragraph of our chapter. "And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin-offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left, saying, 'Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin-offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and G.o.d hath given it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded.' And Aaron said unto Moses, 'Behold, this day have they offered their sin-offering and their burnt-offering before the Lord; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin-offering to-day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?' And when Moses heard that, he was content."

The "daughters" of Aaron were not permitted to eat of "the sin-offering." This high privilege belonged only to the "sons," and it was a type of the most elevated form of priestly service. To eat of the sin-offering was the expression of full identification with the offerer, and this demanded an amount of priestly capacity and energy which found its type in "the sons of Aaron." On the occasion before us, however, it is very evident that Aaron and his sons were not in a condition to rise to this high and holy ground. They ought to have been, but they were not. "Such things have befallen me," said Aaron.

This, no doubt, was to be deplored; but yet, "when Moses heard that, he was content." It is far better to be real in the confession of our failure and shortcoming, than to put forth pretensions to spiritual power which are wholly without foundation.

Thus, then, the tenth chapter of the book of Leviticus opens with positive sin and closes with negative failure. Nadab and Abihu offered "strange fire," and Eleazar and Ithamar were unable to eat the sin-offering. The former was met by divine judgment; the latter, by divine forbearance. There could be no allowance for "strange fire." It was positively flying in the face of G.o.d's plain commandment. There is obviously a wide difference between a deliberate rejection of a plain command and mere inability to rise to the height of a divine privilege. The former is open dishonor done to G.o.d; the latter is a forfeiture of one's own blessing. There should be neither the one nor the other, but the difference between the two is easily traced.

May the Lord, in His infinite grace, ever keep us abiding in the secret retirement of His holy presence, abiding in His love, and feeding upon His truth. Thus shall we be preserved from "strange fire"

and "strong drink"--from false worship of every kind and fleshly excitement in all its forms. Thus, too, shall we be enabled to carry ourselves aright in every department of priestly ministration, and to enjoy all the privileges of our priestly position. The communion of a Christian is like a sensitive plant. It is easily hurt by the rude influences of an evil world. It will expand beneath the genial action of the air of heaven, but must firmly shut itself up from the chilling breath of time and sense. Let us remember these things, and ever seek to keep close within the sacred precincts of the divine presence.

There, all is pure, safe, and happy.

Far from a world of grief and sin, With G.o.d eternally shut in.

CHAPTER XI.

The book of Leviticus may be termed "The Priest's Guide-book." This is very much its character. It is full of principles for the guidance of such as desire to live in the enjoyment of priestly nearness to G.o.d.

Had Israel gone on with Jehovah according to the grace in which He had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, they should have been to Him "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Ex. xix. 6.) This, however, they failed to do. They put themselves at a distance; they got under law and failed to keep it. Hence, Jehovah had to take up a certain tribe, and from that tribe a certain family, and from that family a certain man, and to him and to his house was granted the high privilege of drawing nigh as priests unto G.o.d.

Now, the privileges of such a position were immense; but it had its heavy responsibilities likewise. There would be the ever-recurring demand for the exercise of a discerning mind. "The priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts." (Mal. ii. 7.) The priest was not only to bear the judgment of the congregation before the Lord, but also to expound the ordinances of the Lord to the congregation. He was to be the ever-ready medium of communication between Jehovah and the a.s.sembly. He was not merely to know the mind of G.o.d for himself, but be able also to interpret that mind to the people. All this would demand, of necessity, constant watching, constant waiting, constant hanging over the page of inspiration, that he might drink in, to his very soul, all the precepts, the judgments, the statutes, the laws, the commandments, and the ordinances of the G.o.d of Israel, so as to be able to instruct the congregation in reference to "those things which ought to be done."

There was no room left for the play of fancy, the working of imagination, the introduction of man's plausible inferences, or the cunning devices of human expediency. Every thing was laid down with the divine precision and commanding authority of a "Thus saith the Lord." Minute and elaborate as was the detail of sacrifices, rites, and ceremonies, nothing was left for man's brain to originate. He was not even permitted to decide upon the kind of sacrifice to be offered upon any given occasion, nor yet as to the mode in which such sacrifice was to be presented. Jehovah took care of every thing.

Neither the congregation nor the priest had any authority whatsoever to decree, enact, or suggest so much as a single item throughout all the vast array of ordinances in the Mosaic economy. _The word of the Lord settled all_: man had _only to obey_.

This, to an obedient heart, was nothing short of an unspeakable mercy.

It is quite impossible to overestimate the privilege of being permitted to betake one's self to the oracles of G.o.d, and there find the most ample guidance as to all the details of one's faith and service day by day. All that we need is a broken will, a mortified mind, a single eye. The divine guide-book is as full as we can possibly desire: we want no more. To imagine for a moment that aught is left for man's wisdom to supply, must be regarded as a flagrant insult offered to the sacred canon. No one can read the book of Leviticus and not be struck with the extraordinary painstaking on the part of Israel's G.o.d to furnish His people with the most minute instruction upon every point connected with His service and worship.

The most cursory reader of the book might at least bear away with him this touching and interesting lesson.

And truly, if ever there was a time when this self-same lesson needed to be read out in the ears of the professing church, this is the time.

On all hands, the divine sufficiency of holy Scripture is called in question. In some cases, this is openly and deliberately done; in others, it is with less frankness hinted, insinuated, implied, and inferred. The Christian mariner is told, directly or indirectly, that the divine chart is insufficient for all the intricate details of his voyage--that such changes have taken place in the ocean of life since that chart was made that in many cases it is entirely deficient for the purposes of modern navigation. He is told that the currents, tides, coasts, strands, and sh.o.r.es of that ocean are quite different now from what they were some centuries ago, and that, as a necessary consequence, he must have recourse to the aids which modern navigation supplies, in order to make up for the deficiencies in the old chart, which is, as a matter of course, admitted to have been perfect at the time it was made.

Now, I earnestly desire that the Christian reader should be able, with clearness and decision, to meet this grievous dishonor done to the precious volume of inspiration, every line of which comes to him fresh from his Father's bosom, through the pen of G.o.d the Holy Ghost. I desire that he should meet it whether it comes before him in the shape of a bold and blasphemous statement or a learned and plausible inference. Whatever garb it wears, it owes its origin to the enemy of Christ, the enemy of the Bible, the enemy of the soul. If, indeed, the Word of G.o.d be not sufficient, then where are we? or whither shall we turn? To whom shall we betake ourselves for aid if our Father's book be in any respect defective? G.o.d says that His book can "furnish us _thoroughly_ to _all_ good works." (2 Tim. iii. 17.) Man says, No; there are many things about which the Bible is silent, which, nevertheless, we need to know. Whom am I to believe? G.o.d, or man? Our reply to any one who questions the divine sufficiency of Scripture is just this: Either you are not a "man of G.o.d," or else that for which you want a warrant is not "a good work." This is plain. No one can possibly think otherwise with his eye resting on 2 Timothy iii. 17.

Oh for a deeper sense of the fullness, majesty, and authority of the Word of G.o.d! We very much need to be braced up on this point. We want such a deep, bold, vigorous, influential, and abiding sense of the supreme authority of the divine canon, and of its absolute completeness for every age, every clime, every position, every department--personal, social, and ecclesiastical, as shall enable us to withstand every attempt of the enemy to depreciate the value of that inestimable treasure. May our hearts enter more into the spirit of those words of the Psalmist--"Thy Word is true _from the beginning_; and every one of thy righteous judgments _endureth forever_." (Psalm cxix. 160.)

The foregoing train of thought is awakened by the perusal of the eleventh chapter of the book of Leviticus. Therein we find Jehovah entering, in most marvelous detail, into a description of beasts, birds, fishes, and reptiles, and furnishing His people with various marks by which they were to know what was clean and what was unclean.

We have the summing up of the entire contents of this remarkable chapter in the two closing verses.--"This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth; _to make a difference_ between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten."

With regard to beasts, two things were essential to render them clean--they should chew the cud and divide the hoof. "Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that shall ye eat." Either of these marks would, of itself, have been wholly insufficient to const.i.tute ceremonial cleanness: the two should go together. Now, while these two marks were quite sufficient for the guidance of an Israelite as to the cleanness or uncleanness of an animal, without any reference as to why or wherefore such marks were given or what they meant, yet is the Christian permitted to inquire into the spiritual truth wrapped up in these ceremonial enactments.

What, then, are we to learn from those two features in a clean animal?

The chewing of the cud expresses the natural process of "inwardly digesting" that which one eats, while the divided hoof sets forth the character of one's outward walk. There is, as we know, an intimate connection between the two in the Christian life. The one who feeds upon the green pastures of the Word of G.o.d, and inwardly digests what he takes in--the one who is enabled to combine calm meditation with prayerful study, will, without doubt, manifest that character of outward walk which is to the praise of Him who has graciously given us His Word to form our habits and govern our ways.

It is to be feared that many who _read the Bible_ do not _digest the Word_. The two things are widely different. One may read chapter after chapter, book after book, and not digest so much as a single line. We may read the Bible as part of a dull and profitless routine, but, through lack of the ruminating powers--the digestive organs, we derive no profit whatsoever. This should be carefully looked into. The cattle that browse on the green may teach us a wholesome lesson. They first diligently gather up the refreshing pasture, and then calmly lie down to chew the cud. Striking and beautiful picture of a Christian feeding upon and inwardly digesting the precious contents of the volume of inspiration! Would that there were more of this amongst us!

Were we more accustomed to betake ourselves to the Word as the necessary pasture of our souls, we should a.s.suredly be in a more vigorous and healthy condition. Let us beware of reading the Bible as a dead form--a cold duty--a piece of religious routine.

The same caution is needful in reference to the public exposition of the Word. Let those who expound Scripture to their fellows first feed and digest for themselves,--let them read and ruminate in private, not merely for others, but for themselves. It is a poor thing for a man to be continually occupied in procuring food for other people, and he himself dying of starvation. Then, again, let those who attend upon the public ministry of the Word see that they are not doing so mechanically, as by the force of mere religious habit, but with an earnest desire to "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest" what they hear. Then will both teachers and taught be well-conditioned, the spiritual life nourished and sustained, and the true character of outward walk exhibited.

But be it remembered that the chewing of the cud must never be separated from the divided hoof. If one but partially acquainted with the priest's guide-book--unpracticed in the divine ceremonial happened to see an animal chewing the cud, he might hastily p.r.o.nounce him clean. This would have been a serious error. A more careful reference to the divine directory would at once show that he must mark the animal's _walk_--that he must note the impression made by each movement--that he must look for the result of the divided hoof.

"Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof; as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof, he is unclean unto you," etc., etc. (Ver.

4-6.)