The Messiah in Moses and the Prophets Part 4

In the future misery and desolation of the people they will say, "Are not these evils come upon us because our G.o.d is not among us?" Deut.

x.x.xi. 17.

When the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan to Jericho, Joshua, referring to the miracle by which they were to pa.s.s over dry-shod, says, "Hereby ye shall know that the living G.o.d is among you."

Moses is directed to exclude lepers, "that they defile not the camp in the midst of which I dwell." Numb. v. 3.

"The sons of G.o.d came to present themselves _before_ Jehovah; and Satan came also amongst them." Job i. 6. The context shows that a local personal presence is intended.

"G.o.d is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved." Ps. xlvi. 5.

"Great is the Holy One in the midst of thee." Isa. xii. 6. "I am G.o.d and not man, the Holy One in the midst of thee." Hosea xi. 9. "Thou, O Jehovah, art in the midst of us; leave us not." Jer. xiv. 9.

Joel, predicting the millennium, says, ii. 27, "Ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your G.o.d, and none else."

See Zeph. iii. 15-17: "The King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more. The Lord thy G.o.d in the midst of thee is mighty." And Zech. ii. 5, x. 11, and viii. 3: "For I, saith Jehovah, will be the glory in the midst of her. Lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith Jehovah. And many nations, &c. Thus saith Jehovah, I am _returned_ unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called, A city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, The holy mountain."

Jesus himself stood in the midst, &c. Luke xxiv. 36, John, &c. In the midst of the seven candlesticks. Rev. i. 13; ii. 1. In the midst of the throne stood a Lamb. Rev. v. 6.

The angel Jehovah appeared in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. Exod. iii. 2. Jehovah spake out of the midst of the fire. Deut.

iv. 12.

"Jehovah said unto Moses, Lo, _I come_ to thee in a thick cloud, that the people may _hear_ when I speak with thee. Be ready, ... for the third day Jehovah will _come down_ in the _sight_ of all the people upon mount Sinai.... And on the third day, in the morning, there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount.... And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to _meet with the Elohim_; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because Jehovah _descended_ upon it in fire....

And ... Moses spake, and (_the_) Elohim answered him by a voice. And Jehovah _came down_ upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount; and Jehovah called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up....

And Elohim spake, saying, I am Jehovah, thy Elohe.... Thou shalt have no other Elohim before me." Exod. xix., xx.

If the acts here attributed to Moses are literally described, so also are those of Jehovah. If Moses literally went up to the top of the mount, the narrative no less plainly avers that Jehovah came down to the top of Sinai. He came down visibly--in the sight of the people; was personally and locally present.

On another occasion, chap. xxiv., he said unto Moses, "_Come up unto Jehovah_, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders, and worship ye _afar off_; and Moses alone shall _come near Jehovah_, but they _shall not come nigh_.... Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and they _saw the Elohe of Israel_, and there was under _his feet_ as it were a paved work....

They _saw (the) Elohim_, and did eat and drink."

No terms could well express more distinctly a personal appearance, in the form seen by Abraham and others. His person was manifest to their senses. They ate and drank in his presence, who in the same form partook of a repast with the patriarch, and walked and conversed with him as one human person does with another.

"Jehovah called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.... And Moses went into the midst of the cloud." Exod. xxvi. 16, 18. The cloud then was such that Moses could subsist in and be enveloped by it.

"And Jehovah said, I will _appear_ in the cloud upon the mercy-seat."

Levit. xvi. 2. In this and similar instances a local personal appearance is evidently intended. No such phraseology would be suited to indicate the omnipresence, or merely the spiritual presence of Jehovah. See Deut.

x.x.xi. 15.

"And the cloud of Jehovah was upon them by day when they went out of the camp. And it came to pa.s.s when the ark set forward that Moses said, _Rise up_, Jehovah, and let thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, _Return_, O Jehovah, unto the many thousands of Israel." Numb. x. 35, 36.

On these occasions the cloud visibly rose above the tabernacle, and advanced before the children of Israel; and again descended and rested on the tabernacle. The address of Moses seems unintelligible, unless Jehovah was personally present.

"And Jehovah _came down_ in the pillar of the cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle.... And he said, With Moses will _I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently_; ... and _the similitude of Jehovah shall he behold_." Numb. xii. Surely a local personal presence is here intended.

"At the door of the tabernacle _before_ Jehovah, I will meet you, to speak there unto thee; and there I will meet with the children of Israel; and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory; and I will _dwell among_ the children of Israel, and will be their Elohim. And they shall know that I am Jehovah their Elohe, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt that I may _dwell among them_." Exod. xxix. 42-46.

"Defile not the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I Jehovah dwell among the children of Israel." Numb. x.x.xv. 34. "I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. In all the places wherein I have walked with the children of Israel," &c. 2 Sam. vii., and 1 Chron. xvii.

So of the phrases, "dwelleth between the cherubim," "sitteth between the cherubim," and the like, which imply the local personal presence of Jehovah.

The local presence and agency of the Messenger Jehovah, as Captain of his hosts, and dictator to Joshua of all the steps taken by him in the conquest and destruction of the Canaanites, is clearly indicated throughout the book of Joshua.

Joshua had, for forty years in the wilderness, as minister to Moses, been familiar with the personal presence, the agency, the miraculous power, and the voice of the Messenger, in the tabernacle, in the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, on mount Sinai, and on many peculiar and special occasions.

His name properly signifies _Saviour_. The Hebrew word Jehoshua is equivalent to the Greek name Jesus, or Saviour.

On the occurrence of the war with Amalek, shortly after the pa.s.sage of the Red Sea, Joshua was appointed by Moses to command the army of the Israelites. He led out the chosen men of war, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur took their station on a neighboring hill, where Moses held up the rod of G.o.d, as a token that all the success under Joshua, in the destruction of the Amalekites, was owing to the superior power of Jehovah exerted specially on the occasion. When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

The battle being ended by the discomfiture of Amalek and his people, Jehovah said unto Moses, "Write this for a memorial, and rehea.r.s.e it in the ears of Joshua, That I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi," _i. e._, the Lord my banner. Exod. xvii.

Thus the supremacy and leadership of Jehovah was fully acknowledged. It was his war, executed under the lieutenancy of Joshua, in accordance with the specific directions given to Moses, and in the exercise of faith in the will of Jehovah, as indicated by tokens of his appointment.

On the occasion of the giving of the tables of stone, Joshua accompanied Moses, as his minister, into the mount of G.o.d. There they tarried forty days, while "the sight of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel." The directions concerning the construction of the tabernacle were given on that occasion. Exod. xxiv. When they descended from the mount, Joshua seems first to have heard the shouting of the people before the molten image they had made. Exod. x.x.xii.

In the progress of the events which succeeded this defection, the cloudy pillar--the Shekina--descended from Sinai, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and Jehovah talked with Moses. "And Jehovah spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And Moses turned again into the camp, but his minister Joshua departed not out of the tabernacle." He, therefore, doubtless heard and saw the same as Moses.

Ibid. x.x.xiii.

He was one of those sent to examine and report concerning the land of Canaan, Numb. xiii.; on which occasion, Moses changed his name from Oshea to Jehoshua. Ten of those sent were unfaithful. The joint report of Joshua and Caleb was true and faithful. The ten were destroyed by a plague; the two were protected and preserved. Ibid. xiv.

Joshua was specially set apart as the successor of Moses, and consecrated by the laying on of Moses' hands, in the presence of the high priest and the congregation. Numb. xxvii. He, with the high priest, was appointed to divide the land. Ibid. x.x.xiv. When Moses was forbidden to enter the good land, he was notified that his minister Joshua would lead the children of Israel thither, and commanded to encourage him.

Deut. i. 38. This he did, Deut. iii., and more emphatically, chap.

x.x.xi., when in the presence of all Israel he encouraged him, and cited the predictions concerning his causing the people to inherit the land; adding, "And Jehovah, he it is that doth go _before thee_; he will be _with thee_; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee; fear not, neither be dismayed."

On the death of Moses, we read that "Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him; and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as Jehovah commanded Moses." Deut. x.x.xiv.

Notwithstanding all this training, discipline, and intimate fellowship with Moses for forty years, and the premonitions, designations and predictions of him, as leader of Israel in place of Moses; yet such was the sacredness and specialty of the relation in which he was to officiate, that Jehovah spake unto Joshua, charged him with the duties he was to perform, and promised him victory and complete success, in case of his fidelity. "As I was with Moses, so _I will be with thee_. I will not fail nor forsake thee. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy G.o.d _is with thee_ whithersoever thou goest." Josh. i.

Joshua was to act only upon the authority expressly delegated to him, and in the strictest subordination to the directions previously given to Moses, and those which Jehovah now and from time to time announced to him. The circ.u.mstances, like those which attended Moses at the commencement and throughout his official life, required an a.s.sured and unwavering faith in the declared purposes, the promises, the presence and power of Jehovah the Elohe of Israel, the king, preserver, teacher, and guide of his people.

There was, no doubt, a degree of mysteriousness connected with the personal and local manifestations of Jehovah, which rendered an unwavering faith constantly requisite. The minds of men, no less at that than at other periods, were most readily and strongly affected by visible and familiar objects. The chief incitements to idolatry were visible, and such as were supposed to be easily comprehended. The fears of men, founded in their consciousness of guilt and ignorance, had reference naturally to things invisible and mysterious. The conscious depravity, corruption, blindness and ill-desert of men, in contrast with the perfect holiness, righteousness, impartiality, and other perfections of Jehovah, could not but excite their natural inclination to exclude him from their thoughts, instead of loving and confiding in him, and realizing his presence by faith.

Whether for these or other reasons, a strong, constant, unwavering faith in the person and the perfections, prerogatives and works of Jehovah, was not uniformly exhibited even by the patriarchs and prophets of the ancient dispensation. That dispensation was specially characterized as one of outward and visible manifestations, miraculous interpositions, and audible revelations; yet in the most signal instances of strong faith as occasioning it, some special and overpowering manifestation of Jehovah was vouchsafed. Thus Abraham, on the occasion of entering into and ratifying the covenant concerning the everlasting inheritance of the promised land by his posterity, through Christ as his Seed; the Shekina visibly appeared, pa.s.sed between the pieces of the sacrifice, and probably consumed them. And again, prior to the destruction of Sodom, when that event was revealed, and the earlier promises were renewed to him, Jehovah appeared in the form of man, and conversed and walked with him.

CHAPTER IX.

Narrative concerning Job.

In the narrative concerning Job, who is supposed to have lived in the age preceding that of Abraham, we read, chapter i., that he from time to time offered burnt offerings continually; and that "there was a day when the sons of (the) Elohim came to present themselves before Jehovah, and Satan came also among them. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?--And Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah." A statement in the same words is made in relation to another day, chapter ii.; from which pa.s.sages it appears that Job, as priest of his family, offered typical sacrifices according to the custom of that age; and that there was a place to which the true worshippers came to present themselves before Jehovah--a place doubtless of customary resort for worship, and, from the a.n.a.logy of the patriarchal history, of visible manifestation.

They came there to present themselves before Jehovah, implying that he was personally and locally present; which is also strongly implied in the statement, on both occasions, that Satan went forth from _the presence_ of Jehovah. That adversary and accuser of the sons of Elohim was literally present, and it is not perceived how he could be said to go forth from the spiritual presence of Jehovah. It is probable that he was not visible to the worshippers, and that neither the words addressed to him, nor his replies, were audible to them. But those words proceeded from Him from whose presence he went forth.

However this may be, it is evident from subsequent pa.s.sages that Job had clear apprehensions of the person and office of the Redeemer, and recognized him as Jehovah in the administration of providence. To that official person he doubtless refers under the designation _Shadai_, translated Almighty, which he employs more than thirty times; which appears from Exod. vi. to have been familiar to the patriarchs, and which, from a comparison of pa.s.sages from the Old and New Testaments, signified the same divine Person as Melach Jehovah. In one instance only he employs the term Adonai as a Divine designation--namely, in the pa.s.sage concerning Wisdom, chap. xxviii.: "Elohim understandeth the way thereof. When he made a decree for the rain, then did he see it. And unto man he said, Behold the fear of Adonai, that is wisdom." In chapter xix. he refers to the same Person under an official designation of frequent occurrence. "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and ... in my flesh shall I see Eloah." The word _Goel_, translated _Redeemer_, is employed with the same reference in the following among other pa.s.sages. "Melach the Messenger, which _redeemed_ me from all evil." Gen. xlviii. "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Jehovah, my strength and my _Redeemer_." Ps. xix. "And they remembered that Elohim was their rock, and El, their _Redeemer_." Ps.

lxxviii. "Thus saith Jehovah your _Redeemer_, and the Holy One of Israel." Isa. xliii. 14. "Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his _Redeemer_, Jehovah Zebaoth." Ibid. xliv. 6. "Thus saith Jehovah thy _Redeemer_, and he that formed thee, I am Jehovah that maketh all things, that stretcheth forth the heavens alone," &c. Isa. xliv. 24.

"All flesh shall know that I Jehovah am thy Saviour, and thy _Redeemer_, the Mighty One of Jacob." Isa. xlix. 26.

The original word, as a verb, signifies to redeem, to ransom; and as a noun, a kinsman, blood relation, one having a right, or to whom it pertained, to redeem; redeemer, kinsman-redeemer. Hence, when employed as in the pa.s.sages above cited, it includes a reference to the complex person of Christ, and to Eloah in human nature, as spoken of prospectively by Job.

At the close of his appointed trial, when the integrity of Job had been vindicated, and the imputations and predictions of the adversary confuted, a different and more glorious manifestation of Jehovah was made to him, a manifestation adapted and designed--like that to Ezekiel, chap. i., in the likeness of _a man_ on a throne in the midst of fire and cloud, moving as in a whirlwind, and like that to Isaiah, chap. vi., and that to the disciples on the holy mount--to impart to him new and more exalted apprehensions of the perfections, prerogatives, and works of Jehovah; to fit the humbled and penitent beholder for the gifts and honors he was to receive, the duties he was to perform, and the conspicuous station he was to occupy as one whose righteousness had been publicly tried and divinely attested. "Jehovah answered Job out of _the whirlwind_, and said, Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?" &c.; adding a prolonged detail of his works of creation and providence, and contrasting the ignorance and nothingness of man with the operations of his wisdom and power. Job answered: "Behold, I am vile, what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth." He confesses his sinfulness, the ignorance and errors which had marked his replies to his friends, and adds: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee.