Notes on the Book of Leviticus Part 7

Oh that all this were more solemnly considered, in this day of tradition and expediency! I would, in earnest affection, and in the deep sense of personal responsibility to my reader, exhort him to give diligent heed to the importance of close--I had almost said severe--adherence and reverent subjection to the Word of G.o.d. Let him try every thing by that standard, and reject all that comes not up to it,--let him weigh every thing in that balance, and cast aside all that is not full weight,--let him measure every thing by that rule, and refuse all deviation. If I could only be the means of awakening one soul to a proper sense of the place which belongs to the Word of G.o.d, I should feel I had not written my book for naught or in vain.

Reader, pause, and, in the presence of the Searcher of hearts, ask yourself this plain, pointed question: Am I sanctioning by my presence, or adopting in my practice, any departure from, or neglect of, the Word of G.o.d? Make this a solemn, personal matter before the Lord. Be a.s.sured of it, it is of the very deepest moment--the very last importance. If you find that you have been in any wise connected with, or involved in, aught that wears not the distinct stamp of divine sanction, reject it at once and forever. Yes, reject it, though arrayed in the imposing vestments of antiquity, accredited by the voice of tradition, and putting forward the almost irresistible plea of expediency. If you cannot say, in reference to every thing with which you stand connected, "This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded," then away with it unhesitatingly, away with it forever.

Remember these words, "As He hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do." Yes, remember the "as" and the "so;" see that you are connecting them in your ways and a.s.sociations, and let them never be separated.

"So Aaron and his sons did _all things which the Lord commanded_ by the hand of Moses." (Chap. viii. 36.) "And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fat; which, when all the people saw, they shouted and fell on their faces." (Chap. ix. 23, 24.) Here we have an "eighth day" scene--a scene of resurrection-glory. Aaron, having offered the sacrifice, lifted up his hands in priestly benediction upon the people; and then Moses and Aaron retire into the tabernacle, and disappear, while the whole a.s.sembly is seen in waiting outside. Finally, Moses and Aaron, representing Christ in His double character as Priest and King, come forth, and bless the people; the glory appears in all its splendor, the fire consumes the sacrifice, and the entire congregation falls prostrate in wors.h.i.+p before the presence of the Lord of all the earth.

Now, all this was literally enacted at the consecration of Aaron and his sons; and, moreover, all this was the result of strict adherence to the Word of Jehovah. But ere I turn from this branch of the subject, let me remind the reader that all that these chapters contain is but "a shadow of good things to come." This, indeed, holds good in reference to the entire Mosaic economy. (Heb. x. 1.) Aaron and his sons together represent Christ and His priestly house; Aaron alone represents Christ in His sacrificial and intercessory functions; Moses and Aaron together represent Christ as King and Priest; "the eighth day" represents the day of resurrection-glory, when the congregation of Israel shall see the Messiah, seated as a Royal Priest upon His throne, and when the glory of Jehovah shall fill the whole earth, as the waters cover the sea. These sublime truths are largely unfolded in the Word, they glitter like gems of celestial brilliancy all along the inspired page; but lest they should, to any reader, wear the suspicious aspect of novelty, I shall refer him to the following direct Scripture proofs; viz., Num. xiv. 21; Isaiah ix. 6, 7; xi.; xxv. 6-12; x.x.xii. 1, 2; x.x.xv.; x.x.xvii. 31, 32; xl. 1-5; liv.; lix.

16-21; lx.-lxvi.; _pa.s.sim_, Jer. xxiii. 5-8; x.x.x. 10-24; x.x.xiii. 6-22; Ezek. xlviii. 35; Dan. vii. 13, 14; Hos. xiv. 4-9; Zeph. iii. 14-20; Zech. iii. 8-10; vi. 12, 13; xiv.

Let us now consider the second point presented in our section, namely, the efficacy of the blood. This is unfolded with great fullness, and put forward in great prominence. Whether we contemplate the doctrine of sacrifice or the doctrine of priesthood, we find the shedding of blood gets the same important place. "And he brought the bullock for the sin-offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin-offering. And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it." (Chap. viii. 14, 15.) "And he brought the ram for the burnt-offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about." (Ver. 18, 19.) "And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about." (Ver. 22-24.)

The import of the various sacrifices has been, in some degree, developed in the opening chapters of this volume; but the pa.s.sages just quoted serve to show the prominent place which the blood occupies in the consecration of the priests. A blood-stained _ear_ was needed to hearken to the divine communications, a blood-stained _hand_ was needed to execute the services of the sanctuary, and a blood-stained _foot_ was needed to tread the courts of the Lord's house. All this is perfect in its way. The shedding of blood was the grand foundation of all sacrifice for sin, and it stood connected with all the vessels of the ministry and with all the functions of the priesthood. Throughout the entire range of Levitical service, we observe the value, the efficacy, the power, and the wide application of the blood. "Almost all things are by the law purged with blood." (Heb. ix. 22.) Christ has entered, by His own blood, into heaven itself. He appears on the throne of the Majesty in the heavens in the value of all that He has accomplished on the cross. His presence on the throne attests the worth and acceptableness of His atoning blood. He is there _for us_.

Blessed a.s.surance! He ever liveth. He never changeth; and we are in Him, and as He is. He presents us to the Father in His own eternal perfectness; and the Father delights in us as thus presented, even as He delights in the One who presents us. This identification is typically set forth in "Aaron and his sons" laying their hands upon the head of each of the sacrifices. They all stood before G.o.d in the value of the same sacrifice. Whether it were the "bullock for the sin-offering," "the ram for the burnt-offering," or "the ram of consecration," they jointly laid their hands on all. True, Aaron alone was anointed before the blood was shed,--he was clad in his robes of office and anointed with the holy oil before ever his sons were clothed or anointed. The reason of this is obvious. Aaron, when spoken of by himself, typifies Christ in His own peerless excellency and dignity; and, as we know, Christ appeared in all His own personal worth and was anointed by the Holy Ghost previous to the accomplishment of His atoning work. In all things He has the pre-eminence. (Col. i.) Still, there is the fullest identification afterwards between Aaron and his sons, as there is the fullest identification between Christ and His people. "The Sanctifier and the sanctified are all of one." (Heb. ii.) The personal distinctness enhances the value of the mystic oneness.

This truth of the distinctness and yet oneness of the Head and members leads us naturally to our third and last point, namely, the power of the Spirit. We may remark how much takes place between the anointing of Aaron and the anointing of his sons with him. The blood is shed, the fat consumed on the altar, and the breast waved before the Lord.

In other words, the Sacrifice is perfected, the sweet odor thereof ascends to G.o.d, and the One who offered it ascends in the power of resurrection, and takes His place on high. All this comes in between the anointing of the Head and the anointing of the members. Let us quote and compare the pa.s.sages. First, as to Aaron alone, we read, "And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him; also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim. And he put the mitre upon his head; and upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the Lord commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him." (Chap.

viii. 7-12.)

Here we have Aaron presented alone. The anointing oil is poured upon his head, and that, too, in immediate connection with the anointing of all the vessels of the tabernacle. The whole a.s.sembly was permitted to behold the high-priest clothed in his official robes, mitred and anointed; and not only so, but as each garment was put on--as each act was performed--as each ceremony was enacted, it was seen to be immediately founded upon the authority of the Word. There was nothing vague, nothing arbitrary, nothing imaginative: all was divinely stable. The need of the congregation was fully met, and met in such a way as that it could be said, "This is the thing which Jehovah commanded to be done."

Now, in Aaron anointed alone, previous to the shedding of the blood, we have a type of Christ, who, until He offered Himself upon the cross, stood entirely alone. There could be no union between Him and His people save on the ground of death and resurrection. This all-important truth has already been referred to, and, in some measure, developed in connection with the subject of sacrifice; but it adds force and interest to it to see it so distinctly presented in connection with the question of priesthood. Without shedding of blood there was no remission--the sacrifice was not completed. So, also, without shedding of blood Aaron and his sons could not be anointed together. Let the reader note this fact; let him be a.s.sured of it, it is worthy of his deepest attention. We must ever beware of pa.s.sing lightly over any circ.u.mstance in the Levitical economy. Every thing has its own specific voice and meaning; and the One who designed and developed the order can expound to the heart and understanding what that order means.

"And Moses took of the anointing _oil_, and of the _blood_ which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments _with him_; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons'

garments _with him_." (Chap. viii. 30.) Why were not Aaron's sons anointed with him at verse 12? Simply because the blood had not been shed. When "the blood" and "the oil" could be connected together, then Aaron and his sons could be "anointed" and "sanctified" together, but not until then. "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." (John xvii. 19.) The reader who could lightly pa.s.s over so marked a circ.u.mstance, or say it meant nothing, has yet to learn to value aright the types of the Old Testament scriptures--"the shadows of good things to come;" and, on the other hand, the one who admits that it does mean something, but yet refuses to inquire and understand what that something is, is doing serious damage to his own soul, and manifesting but little interest in the precious oracles of G.o.d.

"And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, 'Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it. And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire. And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end; for seven days shall He consecrate you. As He hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you. Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the Lord, that ye die not; for so I am commanded.'" (Ver. 31-35.) These verses furnish a fine type of Christ and His people feeding together upon the results of accomplished atonement. Aaron and his sons, having been anointed together on the ground of the shed blood, are here presented to our view as shut in within the precincts of the tabernacle during "seven days." A striking figure of the present position of Christ and His members during the entire of this dispensation--shut in with G.o.d, and waiting for the manifestation of the glory. Blessed position! Blessed portion! Blessed hope! To be a.s.sociated with Christ, shut in with G.o.d, waiting for the day of glory, and, while waiting for the glory, feeding upon the riches of divine grace, in the power of holiness, are blessings of the most precious nature--privileges of the very highest order. Oh, for a capacity to take them in, a heart to enjoy them, a deeper sense of their magnitude! May our hearts be withdrawn from all that pertains to this present evil world, so that we may feed upon the contents of "the basket of consecrations," which is our proper food as priests in the sanctuary of G.o.d.

"And it came to pa.s.s _on the eighth day_, that Moses called Aaron, and his sons, and _the elders of Israel_. And he said unto Aaron, 'Take thee a young calf for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering, without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. And unto _the children of Israel_ thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin-offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt-offering; also a bullock and a ram for peace-offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord; and a meat-offering mingled with oil; for TO-DAY THE LORD WILL APPEAR UNTO YOU.'" (Chap.

ix. 1-4.)

The "seven days" being over, during which Aaron and his sons were shut in in the retirement of the tabernacle, the whole congregation is now introduced, and the glory of Jehovah unfolds itself. This gives great completeness to the whole scene. The shadows of good things to come are here pa.s.sing before us, in their divine order. The "eighth day" is a shadow of that bright millennial morning which is about to dawn upon this earth, when the congregation of Israel shall behold the true Priest coming forth from the sanctuary, where He is now hidden from the eyes of men, and with Him a company of priests--the companions of His retirement, and the happy partic.i.p.ators of His manifested glory.

In short, nothing, as a type or shadow, could be more complete. In the first place, Aaron and his sons washed with water--a type of Christ and His people, as viewed in G.o.d's eternal decree, sanctified together in purpose. (Chap. viii. 6.) Then we have the mode and order in which this purpose was to be carried out. Aaron, in solitude, is robed and anointed--a type of Christ as sanctified and sent into the world, and anointed by the Holy Ghost. (Ver. 7-12; comp. Luke iii. 21, 22; John x. 36; xii. 24.) Then we have the presentation and acceptance of the sacrifice, in virtue of which Aaron and his sons were anointed and sanctified _together_ (ver. 14-29.)--a type of the cross, in its application to those who now const.i.tute Christ's priestly household, who are united to Him, anointed with Him, hidden with Him, and expecting with Him "the eighth day," when He with them shall be manifested in all the brightness of that glory which belongs to Him in the eternal purpose of G.o.d. (John xiv. 19; Acts ii. 33; xix. 1-7; Col.

iii. 1-4.) Finally, we have Israel brought into the full enjoyment of the results of accomplished atonement. They are gathered before the Lord; "and Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin-offering, and the burnt-offering, and peace-offerings." (See chap. ix. 1-22.)

What, now, we may legitimately inquire, remains to be done? Simply that the top-stone should be brought forth with shoutings of victory and hymns of praise. "And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and _the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people_. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, THEY SHOUTED, AND FELL ON THEIR FACES." (Ver. 23, 24.) This was the shout of victory--the prostration of wors.h.i.+p. All was complete. The sacrifice, the robed and mitred priest, the priestly family a.s.sociated with their head, the priestly benediction, the appearance of the king and priest; in short, nothing was lacking, and therefore the divine glory appeared, and the whole a.s.sembly fell prostrate in adoring wors.h.i.+p. It is altogether a truly magnificent scene--a marvelously beautiful shadow of good things to come. And be it remembered, that all which is here shadowed forth will ere long be fully actualized. Our great High-Priest has pa.s.sed into the heavens, in the full value and power of accomplished atonement. He is hidden there now, and with Him all the members of His priestly family; but when the "seven days" have run their course, and "the eighth day" casts its beams upon the earth, then shall the remnant of Israel--a repentant and an expectant people--hail, with a shout of victory, the manifested presence of the Royal Priest; and in immediate a.s.sociation with Him shall be seen a company of wors.h.i.+pers, occupying the most exalted position. These are "the good things to come"--things, surely, well worth waiting for--things worthy of G.o.d to give--things in which He shall be eternally glorified, and His people eternally blessed.

CHAPTER X.

The page of human history has ever been a sadly blotted one. It is a record of failure from first to last. Amid all the delights of Eden, man hearkened to the tempter's lie (Gen. iii.); when preserved from judgment by the hand of electing love, and introduced into a restored earth, he was guilty of the sin of intemperance (Gen. ix.); when conducted, by Jehovah's outstretched arm, into the land of Canaan, he "forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth" (Judges ii. 13.); when placed at the very summit of earthly power and glory, with untold wealth at his feet, and all the resources of the world at his command, he gave his heart to the uncirc.u.mcised stranger. (1 Kings xi.) No sooner had the blessings of the gospel been promulgated than it became needful for the Holy Ghost to prophesy concerning "grievous wolves," "apostacy," and all manner of failure. (Acts xx. 29; 1 Tim.

iv. 1-3; 2 Tim. iii. 1-5; 2 Pet. ii.; Jude.) And, to crown all, we have the prophetic record of human apostacy from amid all the splendors of millennial glory. (Rev. xx. 7-10.)

Thus, man spoils every thing. Place him in a position of highest dignity, and he will degrade himself; endow him with the most ample privileges, and he will abuse them; scatter blessings around him in richest profusion, and he will prove ungrateful, place him in the midst of the most impressive inst.i.tutions, and he will corrupt them.

Such is man! Such is nature in its fairest forms and under the most favorable circ.u.mstances!

Hence, therefore, we are in a measure prepared for the words with which our chapter opens--"And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not." What a contrast to the scene with which our last section closed! There, all was done "as the Lord commanded," and the result was, manifested glory; here, something is done "which the Lord commanded them not," and the result is, judgment. Hardly had the echo of the shout of victory died away ere the elements of a spurious wors.h.i.+p were prepared,--hardly had the divine position been a.s.sumed ere it was deliberately abandoned, through neglect of the divine commandment. No sooner were those priests inaugurated than they grievously failed in the discharge of their priestly functions.

And in what did their failure consist? Were they spurious priests?

were they mere pretenders? By no means. They were genuine sons of Aaron--true members of the priestly family--duly appointed priests.

Their vessels of ministry, and their priestly garments too, would seem to have been all right. What, then, was their sin? Did they stain the curtains of the tabernacle with human blood? or pollute the sacred precincts with some crime which shocks the moral sense? We have no proof of their having done so. Their sin was this: "They offered strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not." Here was their sin. They departed in their wors.h.i.+p from the plain word of Jehovah, who had fully and plainly instructed them as to the mode of their wors.h.i.+p. We have already alluded to the divine fullness and sufficiency of the word of the Lord, in reference to every branch of priestly service. There was no room left for man to introduce what he might deem desirable or expedient. "This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded" was quite sufficient. It made all very plain and very simple. Nothing was needed on man's part save a spirit of implicit obedience to the divine command. But herein they failed. Man has always proved himself ill-disposed to walk in the narrow path of strict adherence to the plain word of G.o.d. The bypath has ever seemed to present resistless charms to the poor human heart. "Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." (Prov. ix. 17.) Such is the enemy's language; but the lowly, obedient heart knows full well that the path of subjection to the Word of G.o.d is the only one that leads to "waters" that are really "sweet," or to "bread" that can be rightly called "pleasant." Nadab and Abihu might have deemed one kind of "fire" as good as another, but it was not their province to decide as to that. They should have acted according to the word of the Lord; but instead of this, they took their own way and reaped the awful fruits thereof. "He knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of h.e.l.l."

"And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." How deeply solemn! Jehovah was dwelling in the midst of His people, to govern, to judge, and to act, according to the claims of His nature. At the close of chapter ix, we read, "And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fat." This was Jehovah's acceptance of a true sacrifice; but in chapter x, it is His judgment upon erring priests.

It is a double action of the same fire. The burnt-offering went up as a sweet odor: the "strange fire" was rejected as an abomination. The Lord was glorified in the former; but it would have been a dishonor to accept the latter. Divine grace accepted and delighted in that which was a type of Christ's most precious sacrifice: divine holiness rejected that which was the fruit of man's corrupt will--a will never more hideous and abominable than when active in the things of G.o.d.

"Then Moses said unto Aaron, 'This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" The dignity and glory of the entire economy depended upon the strict maintenance of Jehovah's righteous claims. If these were to be trifled with, all was forfeited. If man were permitted to defile the sanctuary of the divine presence by "strange fire," there was an end to every thing. Nothing could be permitted to ascend from the priestly censer but the pure fire, kindled from off the altar of G.o.d, and fed by the "pure incense beaten small." Beauteous type of true saintly wors.h.i.+p, of which the Father is the object, Christ the material, and the Holy Ghost the power. Man must not be allowed to introduce his devices into the wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d.

All his efforts can only issue in the presentation of "strange fire"--unhallowed incense--false wors.h.i.+p. His very best attempts are an absolute abomination in the sight of G.o.d.

I speak not here of the honest struggles of earnest spirits searching after peace with G.o.d,--of the sincere efforts of upright, though unenlightened, consciences to attain to a knowledge of the forgiveness of sins by works of law or the ordinances of symtematic religion; all such will doubtless issue, through the exceeding goodness of G.o.d, in the clear light of a known and an enjoyed salvation. They prove very clearly that peace is earnestly sought; though, at the same time, they prove just as clearly that peace has not yet been found. There never yet was one who honestly followed the faintest glimmerings of light which fell upon his understanding who did not, in due time, receive more. "To him that hath shall more be given." And again, "The path of the just is as the s.h.i.+ning light, which s.h.i.+neth more and more unto the perfect day."

All this is as plain as it is encouraging; but it leaves wholly untouched the question of the human will, and its impious workings in connection with the service and wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d. All such workings must inevitably call down, sooner or later, the solemn judgment of a righteous G.o.d, who cannot suffer His claims to be trifled with. "I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified." Men will be dealt with according to their profession. If men are honestly seeking, they will a.s.suredly find; but when men approach as wors.h.i.+pers, they are no longer to be regarded as seekers, but as those who profess to have found; and then, if their priestly censer smokes with unhallowed fire--if they offer unto G.o.d the elements of a spurious wors.h.i.+p--if they profess to tread His courts, unwashed, unsanctified, unsubdued--if they place on His altar the workings of their own corrupt will, what must be the result?

Judgment! Yes, sooner or later, judgment must come. It may linger, but it will come. It could not be otherwise. And not only must judgment come at last, but there is, in every case, the immediate rejection on the part of Heaven of all wors.h.i.+p which has not the Father for its object, Christ for its material, and the Holy Ghost for its power.

G.o.d's holiness is as quick to reject all "strange fire" as His grace is ready to accept the faintest, feeblest breathings of a true heart.

He must pour out His righteous judgment upon all false wors.h.i.+p, though He will never "quench the smoking flax nor break the bruised reed."

The thought of this is most solemnizing, when one calls to mind the thousands of censers smoking with strange fire throughout the wide domain of christendom. May the Lord, in His rich grace, add to the number of true wors.h.i.+pers, who wors.h.i.+p the Father in spirit and in truth. (John iv.) It is infinitely happier to think of the true wors.h.i.+p ascending from honest hearts to the throne of G.o.d, than to contemplate, even for a moment, the spurious wors.h.i.+p on which the divine judgments must ere long be poured out. Every one who knows, through grace, the pardon of his sins through the atoning blood of Jesus, can wors.h.i.+p the Father in spirit and in truth. He knows the proper ground, the proper object, the proper t.i.tle, the proper capacity of wors.h.i.+p. These things can only be known in a divine way.

They do not belong to nature or to earth. They are spiritual and heavenly. Very much of that which pa.s.ses among men for the wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d is but "strange fire" after all. There is neither the pure fire nor the pure incense, and therefore Heaven accepts it not; and albeit the divine judgment is not seen to fall upon those who present such wors.h.i.+p as it fell upon Nadab and Abihu of old, this is only because "G.o.d is in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespa.s.ses unto them." It is not because the wors.h.i.+p is acceptable to G.o.d, but because G.o.d is gracious. The time, however, is rapidly approaching when the strange fire will be quenched forever--when the throne of G.o.d shall no longer be insulted by clouds of impure incense ascending from unpurged wors.h.i.+pers--when all that is spurious shall be abolished, and the whole universe shall be as one vast and magnificent temple, in which the one true G.o.d--Father, Son, and Holy Ghost--shall be wors.h.i.+ped throughout the everlasting ages.

"Grateful incense this, ascending Ever to the Father's throne; Every knee to Jesus bending, All the mind in heaven is one.

All the Father's counsels claiming Equal honors to the Son, All the Son's effulgence beaming Makes the Father's glory known.

By the Spirit all pervading, Hosts unnumbered round the Lamb, Crowned with light and joy unfading, Hail Him as the great 'I AM.'"

For this the redeemed are waiting; and, blessed be G.o.d, it is but a little while when all their longing desires shall be fully met, and met forever--yea, met after such a fas.h.i.+on as to elicit from each and all the touching confession of Sheba's queen that "the half was not told me." May the Lord hasten the happy time!

We must now return to our solemn chapter, and, lingering a little longer over it, endeavor to gather up and bear away with us some of its salutary teaching; for truly salutary it is, in an age like the present, when there is so much "strange fire" abroad.

There is something unusually arresting and impressive in the way in which Aaron received the heavy stroke of divine judgment.--"_Aaron held his peace._" It was a solemn scene. His two sons struck dead at his side--smitten down by the fire of divine judgment.[20] He had but just seen them clothed in their garments of glory and beauty--washed, robed, and anointed. They had stood with him before the Lord to be inaugurated into the priestly office; they had offered, in company with him, the appointed sacrifices; they had seen the beams of the divine glory darting from the shekinah; they had seen the fire of Jehovah fall upon the sacrifice and consume it; they had heard the shout of triumph issuing from an a.s.sembly of adoring wors.h.i.+pers;--all this had but recently pa.s.sed before him; and now, alas! his two sons lie at his side in the grasp of death. The fire of the Lord, which so recently fed upon an acceptable sacrifice, had now fallen in judgment upon them, and what could he say? Nothing. "Aaron held his peace." "I was dumb and opened not my mouth, because Thou didst it." It was the hand of G.o.d; and although it might, in the judgment of flesh and blood, seem to be a very heavy hand, yet he had only to bow his head in silent awe and reverent acquiescence. "_I_ was dumb ... because _Thou_ didst it." This was the suited att.i.tude in the presence of the divine visitation. Aaron doubtless felt that the very pillars of his house were shaken by the thunder of divine judgment, and he could only stand in silent amazement in the midst of the soul-subduing scene. A father bereaved of his two sons, and in such a manner, and under such circ.u.mstances, was no ordinary case. It furnished a deeply impressive commentary upon the words of the Psalmist, "G.o.d is greatly to be feared in the a.s.sembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him." (Psalm lx.x.xix.) "Who would not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name?" May we learn to walk softly in the divine presence--to tread Jehovah's courts with unshod foot and reverent spirit. May our priestly censer ever bear upon it the one material--the beaten incense of Christ's manifold perfections, and may the power of the Spirit kindle up the hallowed flame. All else is not only worthless, but vile. Every thing that springs from nature's energy, every thing produced by the actings of the human will--the most fragrant incense of man's devising--the most intense ardor of natural devotion, will all issue in "strange fire," and evoke the solemn judgment of the Lord G.o.d Almighty. Oh for a thoroughly truthful heart and wors.h.i.+ping spirit, in the presence of our G.o.d and Father, continually!

[20] Lest any reader should be troubled with a difficulty in reference to the souls of Nadab and Abihu, I would say that no such question ought ever to be raised. In such cases as Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus x, Korah and his company in Numbers xvi, the whole congregation, Joshua and Caleb excepted, whose carcases fell in the wilderness (Numb. xiv. and Heb. iii.), Achan and his family (Josh. vii.), Ananias and Sapphira (Acts v.), those who were judged for abuses at the Lord's table (1 Cor. xi.),--in all such cases, the question of the soul's salvation is never raised. We are simply called to see in them the solemn actings of G.o.d in government in the midst of His people. This relieves the mind from all difficulty. Jehovah dwelt, of old, between the cherubim, to judge His people in every thing; and G.o.d the Holy Ghost dwells now in the Church, to order and govern according to the perfection of His presence. He was so really and personally present that Ananias and Sapphira could lie to Him, and He could execute judgment upon them. It was as positive and as immediate an exhibition of His actings in government as we have in the matter of Nadab and Abihu, or Achan, or any other.

This is a great truth to get hold of. G.o.d is not only _for_ His people, but _with_ them, and _in_ them. He is to be counted upon for every thing, whether it be great or small. He is present to comfort and help. He is there to chasten and judge; He is there "for exigence of every hour." He is sufficient. Let faith count upon Him. "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I." (Matt. xviii.

20.) And, a.s.suredly, where He is, we want no more.

But let not any upright, though timid, heart be discouraged or alarmed. It is too often the case that those who really ought to be alarmed take no heed, while those for whom the Spirit of grace would only design a word of comfort and encouragement apply to themselves in a wrong way the startling warnings of holy Scripture. No doubt, the meek and contrite heart that trembles at the word of the Lord is in a safe condition; but then we should remember that a father warns his child, not because he does not regard him as his child, but because he does, and one of the happiest proofs of the relations.h.i.+p is the disposition to receive and profit by the warning. The parental voice, even though its tone be that of solemn admonition, will reach the child's heart, but certainly not to raise in that heart a question as to its relations.h.i.+p with the one who speaks. If a son were to question his sons.h.i.+p whenever his father warns, it would be a poor affair indeed. The judgment which had just fallen upon Aaron's house did not make him doubt that he was really a priest; it merely had the effect of teaching him how to conduct himself in that high and holy position.

"And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, 'Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled.

And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.' And they did according to the word of Moses."

Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar were to remain unmoved in their elevated place--their holy dignity--their position of priestly sanct.i.ty.

Neither the failure nor yet the judgment consequent thereon was to be allowed to interfere with those who wore the priestly robes and were anointed with "the oil of the Lord." That holy oil had placed them in a sacred inclosure, where the influences of sin, of death, and of judgment could not reach them. Those who were outside, who were at a distance from the sanctuary, who were not in the position of priests, they might "bewail the burning;" but as for Aaron and his sons, they were to go on in the discharge of their hallowed functions as though nothing had happened. Priests in the sanctuary were not to bewail, but to wors.h.i.+p--they were not to weep, as in the presence of death, but to bow their anointed heads in the presence of the divine visitation.

"The fire of the Lord" might act, and do its solemn work of judgment; but to a priest it mattered not what that "fire" had come to do--whether to express the divine approval by consuming a sacrifice, or the divine displeasure by consuming the offerers of "strange fire"--he had but to wors.h.i.+p. That "fire" was a well-known manifestation of the divine presence in Israel of old, and whether it acted in "mercy or in judgment," the business of all true priests was to wors.h.i.+p. "I will sing of mercy and of judgment; unto Thee, O Lord, will I sing."

There is a deep and holy lesson for the soul in all this. Those who are brought nigh to G.o.d, in the power of the blood, and by the anointing of the Holy Ghost, must move in a sphere beyond the range of nature's influences. Priestly nearness to G.o.d gives the soul such an insight into all His ways, such a sense of the rightness of all His dispensations, that one is enabled to wors.h.i.+p in His presence, even though the stroke of His hand has removed from us the object of tender affection. It may be asked, Are we to be Stoics? I ask, Were Aaron and his sons Stoics? Nay, they were priests. Did they not feel as men?

Yes; but they wors.h.i.+ped as priests. This is profound. It opens up a region of thought, feeling, and experience in which nature can never move--a region of which, with all its boasted refinement and sentimentality, nature knows absolutely nothing. We must tread the sanctuary of G.o.d in true priestly energy, in order to enter into the depth, meaning, and power of such holy mysteries.