“This is the law of the house. On the top of the mountain the whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
Parallel Translations
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“This is the law of the house. On the top of the mountain the whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
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This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
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This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Ezekiel 43:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezekiel 40:2 In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was something like the frame of a city to the south.
- Revelation 21:27 There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
- Psalms 93:5 Your statutes stand firm. Holiness adorns your house, Yahweh, forever more.
- Ezekiel 42:20 He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, the length five hundred, and the width five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common.
- Joel 3:17 “So you will know that I am Yahweh, your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no strangers will pass through her any more.
- Zechariah 14:20-21 In that day there will be on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO YAHWEH”; and the pots in Yahweh’s house will be like the bowls before the altar. Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of Armies; and all those who sacrifice will come and take of them, and cook in them. In that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of Armies.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hebrew, law.
Hebrew, law.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Eze 43:12 This [is] the law of the house;…
Eze 43:12 This [is] the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about [shall be] most holy. Behold, this [is] the law of the house.
Ver. 12. Upon the top of the mountain.] The Church is as a city on a hill, seen far and near, {Mat 5:14} and the members of it are still ascending from one degree of grace to another, from strength to strength, till they see the face of God in Zion. {Psa 15:1 Heb 12:22-23}
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The whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy.] All the Lord’s people are so, at least in profession, first steps, honest endeavour, divine acceptation, and shall be so one day in all perfection. {Rev 21:8; Rev 21:27; Rev 22:14-15}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This is the first comprehensive rule. Holiness becomes God’s…
This is the first comprehensive rule. Holiness becomes God’s house or temple: this relative holiness referred to personal and real holiness, and required it. The whole circuit of this mountain shall be holy, but the top of it, on which the temple stands, shall be most holy, into which only holy persons and holy things shall be brought.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain This is the law of the house,.... Which follows,…
This is the law of the house,.... Which follows, the more general one, which comprehends the rest:
upon the top of the mountain; denoting the exaltation and visibility of the church of Christ in the latter day, as well as its firmness and stability; see Isa 2:2,
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the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy; all belonging to it shall be as the most holy place in the temple, sacred to the Lord; laws, ordinances, doctrines, worship, members, ministers, all holy; nothing said or done, or have a place here, but what is holy; see Zac 14:20,
this is the law of the house; the principal one, according to which are directed and governed.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The law - This is the first comprehensive rule:…
The law - This is the first comprehensive rule: holiness becomes God's house; and this relative holiness referred to personal and real holiness. The top - The whole circuit of this mountain shall be holy, but the top of it on which the temple stands, shall be most holy.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. This is the law of the house]…
Verse 12. This is the law of the house] From the top of the mountain on which it stands, to the bottom, all round about, all shall be holy; no buildings shall be erected in any part, nor place nor spot be appropriated to a common use; all shall be considered as being most holy.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Eze 43:12. This is the law of the house…
Eze 43:12. This is the law of the house — This is the first comprehensive rule; or, this is the general law respecting this temple, and all that belongs to it. Whereas formerly only the chancel, or sanctuary, was most holy, now the whole mount of the house, the whole limit thereof round about, including all the courts and all the chambers, shall be so. This signified that, in gospel times, 1st, The church should have the privilege of the holy of holies, namely, that of a near access to God. All believers have now, under the gospel, liberty to enter into the holiest, Heb 10:19, with this advantage, that whereas the Jewish high-priests entered by the virtue of the blood of bulls and goats; we enter by the virtue of the blood of Jesus, and at all times, and wherever we are, we have through him access to the Father. 2d, That the whole church should be under an indispensable obligation to press toward the perfection of holiness, as he who hath called us is holy. All must now be most holy. Holiness becomes God’s house for ever, and in gospel times more than ever. Behold, this is the law of the house! Let none expect the protection and blessings of it that will not submit to this law.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain See also Eze 47:12. This is the law of…
See also Eze 47:12. This is the law of the ordinance of the new sanctuary. After the consecration, God pronounces the “law” which is to govern the ordinances of the sanctuary (compare 1 Kings 8), first briefly repeating the general rule that the place must be kept holy to the Lord (compare Rev 21:27), and then proceeding to specific ordinances commencing with the altar.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Border. Nothing but the temple shall be on his…
Border. Nothing but the temple shall be on his mountain. It shall be wholly consecrated to the Lord. This was ill observed. The Asmonean princes erected the famous tower Antonia, at the north side. (Josephus) See ver. 8. The Jews assert that it was unlawful to spit on this ground, &c., but no such thing is specified in Josephus or in Scripture, only we find that none were to go out by the same door at which they had entered, (chap. xlvi. 9.; Calmet) except the king.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain whole . . . most holy--This superlative, which had…
whole . . . most holy--This superlative, which had been used exclusively of the holy of holies (Exo 26:34), was now to characterize the entire building. This all-pervading sanctity was to be "the law of the (whole) house," as distinguished from the Levitical law, which confined the peculiar sanctity to a single apartment of it.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. Upon the top … mountain] Add: shall it…
12. Upon the top … mountain] Add: shall it be; the whole &c.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (12) Upon the top of the mountain.—Comp. Eze_40:2. The…
(12) Upon the top of the mountain.—Comp. Eze_40:2. The command to keep and observe everything is closed, as often in similar cases, by a summary statement of the reason: for the whole surroundings of the dwelling-place of the Most High are holy.
With Eze_43:13 a new part of the vision begins, extending to the close of Ezekiel 46, describing the new ordinances of the sanctuary. This is fitly opened with a description of the altar for the sacrifices, the central act of the ancient worship.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain This is the law of the house. In this…
This is the law of the house. In this instance "the house" must not be restricted to the temple proper, consisting of the holy place and the holy of holies, but extended to the whole free space encompassing the outer court, the quadrangular area of three thousand cubits square; (Eze_42:16-20) and concerning this house as so defined, the fundamental torah, law, or regulation, is declared to be that of its complete sanctity. Ewald and Smend, as usual, unite with the LXX in connecting "upon the top of the mountain" with "house;" but expositors generally agree that the clause belong to the words that follow, Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about; and that the prophet"s thought is that the entire territory upon the mountain summit included within the above specified border, and not merely the inner sanctuary, or even that with its chambers and courts, was to be regarded as most holy, or as a holy of holies, i.e. was to be consecrated as the innermost adytum of the tabernacle and temple had been. by the indwelling of Jehovah. Smend notes that "This is the law" is the customary underwriting and superscription of the laws of the priest-code; (see Lev_6:9, 14 7:1, 37 11:46 12:7 13:59 14:54 15:32) but it need not result from this that the priest. code borrowed this expression from Ezekiel, who employs it only in this verse. The more rational hypothesis is that Ezekiel, himself a priest, made use of this formula, because acquainted with it as already existing in the so-called priest-code.
The law of the house.
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The connection to which is owing the introduction and treatment in this place of the law of the house, appears, though it is not very plain, to be this Lawlessness has been described, lawlessness, taking the form of sinfulrebellion against God, and defiance of just authority, especially in the sacred precincts of the temple, which have been diverted from spiritual worship to idolatrous rites. Lawlessness, by contrast, suggests law, and especially law as applicable to the house of God. And to the spiritual apprehension, the orderly arrangement, the symmetrical proportions of the temple, and the provision made for all proper services, all speak of the Church of Christ, which is obviously symbolized by the sanctuary beheld by the prophet in his vision.
I THE FACT OF DIVINE LAW IN THE CHURCH. With the increase of habits of observation and of accuracy, with the diminution of superstition, men have come to recognize throughout the universe the presence and operation of law. Many different opinions prevail regarding natural law; but it is recognized as a reality. No wonder that a settled conviction should have formed itself in men"s minds that "order is Heaven"s first law." It would be strange, indeed, were the Church, God"s noblest revelation of himself now on earth, exempt from what seems a condition of all God"s works. As there was a law of the house in the Jewish temple, so also is there in the Church of the redeemed, the living temple of the Spirit.
II THE RANGE OF DIVINE LAW IN THE CHURCH. Referring to the context, we observe that the prophet notes the application of law to the form, the furniture, the ordinances, the holiness, of the temple. When we come to consider the range within which law is observable in Christ"s Church, we find ourselves constrained to believe that the principles are universal and unmistakable, but that in the details there is uncertainty. Opinions differ as to the measure in which law of an explicit character governs the constitution, the ministry, the observances, etc., of the Church of Christ. Some students are disposed to look to Scripture and to primitive usage for more explicit instructions regarding Church matters than are others; and this holds good of those taking different views of what are known as ecclesiastical principles. But all are agreed that mutual love is a universal obligation, that acceptable worship must be spiritual, that efforts are to be made for the enlightenment and salvation of mankind. And such laws as these are of far more importance than many customs and regulations upon which different opinions prevail.
III THE AUTHORITY OF DIVINE LAW IN THE CHURCH. It is the authority of right, which, however it may be misunderstood and practically repudiated by any, is not denied, but is admitted by all. It is also the authority of love; the Divine Lawgiver himself declared, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
IV THE BLESSINGS OF DIVINE LAW IN THE CHURCH. These are apparent to those who consider how wretched would be the state of a Church without a law, and how little less wretched the state of a Church handed over to the control of fallible and imperfect human legislators. The past history of the Church shows that it has truly prospered just so far as the rules laid down for it by Divine authority have beer obeyed, just so far as man has been kept in abeyance, and human policy and human selfishness have been repudiated. Beside the direct blessings which have accrued to the Church itself through subjection to "the law of the house," it must be borne in mind that the world has benefited by the example which has thus been set to earthly institutions and secular rulers, that owe more than they are forward to acknowledge to those principles of authority and subjection which by the Church have been introduced into and impressed upon the world. T.
The law of the house
-universal holiness. "The law of the house, what was pre-eminently entitled to be called the law, consisted in the whole region of the temple mount being most holy. Not, as hitherto, was this characteristic to be confined to a single apartment of the temple; it was to embrace the entire circumference occupied by the symbolical institutions of the kingdom the chambers allotted to the priests, and even the courts trodden by the people, as well as the immediate dwelling-place of Jehovah. All were to have one character of sacredness, because all connected with them were to occupy a like position of felt nearness to God and equally to enjoy the privilege of access to him." For the glory of the Lord his manifested presencefilled the house; every one, therefore, in every part of the sacred precincts, stood in very close and hallowed relation to the living God, and-character must correspond with privilege. The Church of Christ is now the "house" of the Lord, and respecting its holiness we have
I ITS TWO SPIRITUAL CONSTITUENTS. These are:
1. Felt nearness to God. He only can be truly said to be holy who realizes continually how near he is to the living God, how intimate is the relationship in which he stands to him, how free is his access to him; and who, realizing this, does in truth "walk with God" and "have fellowship with the Father.
2. Separateness from sin. The holy man is he who, like the righteous and holy Father himself, "hates all manner of iniquity," puts far from him, far from his sight and from his sympathy as well as from his conversation and his conduct, everything that defiles and dishonors; he is the man who repels from his soul, and therefore banishes from his life, all falsehood and falsity, all impurity, all covetousness, all forms of dishonesty and intemperance, all irreverence and. profanity.
II ITS UNIVERSAL PREVALENCE. "The whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy." Not one particular compartment, but the whole "mountain of the Lord," Thus with the Church of Christ, holiness is to characterize:
1. All its members, whatever their position or function may be, whether they be ministers or whether they hold no official position at all. There is, indeed, a peculiar and emphatic demand made upon those who speak for Christ, that they should be holy; but any one member of the Christian household who does not realize his nearness to God and does not separate himself from sin, is not qualified to take his place there, he is not obeying "the law of the house," he is a disloyal subject, an unworthy inmate.
2. Its members in all their relationships. Not only, though markedly and unmistakably there, in all their distinctively religious engagements, but in every sphere in which they move domestic, social, literary, artistic, municipal, political. At all times and in every place the people of God are to have respect to "the law of the house," for wherever they are they are members of the household of God.
III THE SECRET OF ITS MAINTENANCE. How are we to be holy, and to maintain our sanctity in all the rush and strife, under all the burdens and provocations, in all the unwholesome atmosphere, of daily life?
1. By being much, in thought and prayer, with Jesus Christ, the holy Savior. Much of his friendship will mean much of his spirit, for we constantly grow into the likeness of him we love.
2. By receiving into our minds all we can welcome of Divine truth. (see Joh_15:3 Joh_17:17)
3. By seeking and obtaining the cleansing and renewing influences of the Holy Spirit. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain This is the law of the house.
Eze_43:12
This is the law of the house.
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The law of the house
A Church to be rightly constituted must be scriptural. It must be formed and fashioned after the pattern of the true temple--founded not on the authority of man--not on the traditions of the elders--not on the opinions of the fathers--not on the decrees of princes or of popes--not on the acts and statutes of the realm, but on prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. It follows from the very nature, institute, and objects of a Christian Church. Its nature--that is spiritual. Its institute--that is Divine. Its ends--glory to God in the advancement of the immortal interests of man. It must be the Bible--the Bible only--the Bible wholly, which must form the basis of our Church and of our creed. Laying our hand upon this volume, and recognising in it a revelation of the mind of God, we must say, This is the law of the house. Behold, this is the law of the house. That point proved, we press the obvious inference, that in Scripture we must find the warrant, and from Scripture we must plead the rule. The rites and institutes of men, however wise, expedient, or politic, will not suffice. In vain shall we teach for doctrines the commandments of men--in vain appeal to the traditions of the elders, if we cannot appeal to the law and to the prophets. In vain shall we assert the authority of the fathers, if we cannot allege the oracles of God.
I. The outer order of the sanctuary. The solemnity, reverence, decorum, requisite in everything connected with the service of the temple. Our comings to, attendance on, and goings from the house of God--even these may not be overlooked. Among the lesser sanctities, if I may use the term, they have their place and their importance, assisting, as they do, to solemnise the mind, and give to our assemblies the air and the behaviour of meetings of the saints. The Church on earth should be as though it were the miniature of that which is in heaven; and men, on coming in and looking round, struck with the sacred aspect of the scene, should be constrained to say, Surely God is in this place. This is none other than the house of God. It is the gate of heaven.
II. The ordinances of the house. By these, you will understand the appointments of the Lord the King, relative to the rites and ceremonies of our religious worship. They are of two kinds, viewed in reference to the common or the Christian world. Common they are in reference to the first; sealing they are in reference to the second. Under the former, we enumerate praise, prayer, the reading of the Word, the preaching of the Word; under the latter, we enumerate the sacraments of Baptism and the Lords Supper. Looking to the record, it is enacted and ordained, that the people praise Him--that all the people praise Him--kings of the earth, and all people--princes of the earth, and all judges--young men and maidens, old men and children--that they praise the Lord. And, finding it thus written in the law, we must enter His gates with praise, His temple with thanksgiving, and mingle all grateful and all earthly honours with the nobler strains which swell the sanctuary above. Again, looking to the record, we find it written, Ask, and ye shall receive, seek, and ye shall find. I will that men pray everywhere. O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come And acting on the letter of the law, we must around the altar of the sanctuary bow the knee of our hearts unto the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and, from this our house of prayer, send up in concert with the saints, each Sabbath day, the voice of supplication in sweet memorial before the throne of God. And thus, on reading in the law, I find it written to the same effect of all the other ordinances. Of one and all of them, it may be said that they are enacted and ordained, and ought in consequence to be acknowledged, honoured, and obeyed.
III. The laws of Christs house. These are His statutes and decrees in reference to the rule and government thereof. They may be considered either in regard to Christ, His royalties and rights as King, or to ourselves, our powers and privilege as freemen of the Lord. And first of all, it is enacted and ordained, that Christ shall be the King and Head of His own house. I look into the law and find it written, The government shall be upon His shoulders. It is His, and His alone, to order, institute, ordain--to give the law, in short, respecting everything connected with the doctrine, discipline, worship, government of His own Church. Again, it is enacted and ordained in reference to ourselves, that every man is answerable to Christ for his religious belief. I look into the record, and I find it ruled, Call no one master upon earth. One is your Master, even Christ. I look again, and find it written, Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. I look again, So, then, everyone shall give account of himself to God. On the force of these authorities, I am clear to say, this is a law of the house, that every man think for himself, judge for himself, decide for himself, in matters of religious belief. Let there be perfect liberty, fullest freedom, influence, or interference--none beyond the influence of reason, righteousness, and truth. (H. M. Brown.)
Most holy.--
Holiness
Separation is the root idea of holiness in the Old Testament, and Ezekiel insists that the separation between the holy and the profane shall be more sharp and emphatic. All the profane things are to be put farther away. Indeed, the object of the whole system of ritual that is brought forward in the concluding chapters of this book--the aim was to put all profane things outside the sphere of Jehovahs worship. As you know, this was ceremonial, ritualistic. But the deep significance of the arrangement cannot escape you--you know that all this has been fulfilled in its largest signification in Christ and in His Gospel. Christ has come, the Lord of righteousness, to bring many sons unto glory, and He will never rest until He has brought multitudes to the splendid perfection of His own spirit and example.
1. In the first place, Christianity insists upon holiness of character--most holy--the man is to be that. Christianity commences with the spirit of the man, the will, the mind, the conscience, the disposition, with the very essence of the personality. Jesus Christ begins with Marvel not that I said unto you, Ye must be born again. The first conception of holiness in character is that a man gets a clean heart, and that there is renewed within him a right spirit. Christ said, being clean within, profoundly spiritual, and righteous in mind, you go outside and work that out in all the complex relationships and multiplied responsibilities of practical and daily life. That is another splendid phase of Christian ethics. It gives us executive force and skill to carry out splendid ideas and noble patterns. I was reading the other day of a critic who had just returned from the Continent criticising one of the Spanish cathedrals. He said it was the embodiment of splendid ideas, but the ideas were everywhere poorly carried out. There was blundering in the fine lines, and the rich ornamentation was tawdry and vulgar. When I read that, it struck me that the race had failed in morals in a similar fashion. The ancients had splendid conceptions and ideas. When Jesus Christ came into the world there was the majestic morality of Sinai. When He came into the world there was the exact and masterly jurisprudence of the Roman, but everywhere great ideas were carried out poorly, fine lines were blunderingly touched, and noble maxims were reduced to triviality and vulgarity in practical life. What did Jesus Christ do? He gave the race eternal and invincible energy, by which, in practice, they could bring to pass the purest and loftiest ideals. What the law could not do--the law of the Jew, the law of the Roman--what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. And so we in Christ are first cleansed, exalted, made to catch the loveliness of our Lord, and then He sends us forth with a strange, indwelling Spirit, by which we accomplish the virtues that we see lamentably impossible to the natural man. And, mind, you are all to be holy, most holy. The conception of Ezekiel is that this is not for a few, but for all. This is the law of the house, that the whole limit thereof shall be most holy.
2. And then we come to the other point, the extended range, the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. There had been, as Ezekiel says, only a wall in Solomons temple between God and profane things, but in the new temple there was to be a larger area. Profane things were to be pushed farther back and farther back still, until they went over the brink of the world. From every quarter of the universe they should be driven. There is no fulfilment of this conception except for the whole planet, everyone in it, and of every law and every nature. The whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. What does the religion of Jesus Christ say? Make everything in Gods great world to be true, just, beautiful--commerce, art, science, government, fashion, amusements, gold, friendships. Let the natural world stand, lout bring into it great ideas, and take care that you make these ideas prevail, until science, commerce, literature, and entertainments, wealth, and government, all become as fine gold, like unto transparent glass. Dont narrow us. Let the horizon of sanctity be as wide as the horizon of nature. Let ethics grow, and civilisation grow. That is the great conception of this work. You know that a good many men object to morality; they say it is so dull, that there is no growth in morality. If you get natural science, there is growth and development; but if you come to the Ten Commandments, the only thing is going on repeating them from one generation to another; you never get any further. You might just as well object to the multiplication table. I tell you in some ways there is no advance in morality; it is quite correct. It is not by an enlarged decalogue that there is to be an expansion of ethics. I tell you another thing. There is going to be no discovery of any new principle of ethics. Addington Symonds says the future of the world depends on the method of morals. He goes on to say, this world would be put on centuries if we could discover in the field of morals some new principle like the law of gravitation discovered by Newton, and so, if there should be any ethical Newton, to discover a new principle, it would put the world on by generations. Brethren, the life of God in Jesus Christ is the constraining law in morals, as the law of gravitation is the master law in the field of nature, and there is nothing more in our opinion to be discovered. So in the principle the love of Christ constraineth us, and after that there is no new law to be discovered in the range of ethics. Where is the improvement to take place in the limit round about us? Where is it? In making the extraordinary sanctity of the few the sanctity of the mass, in bringing noble ideals to bear on the lowliest things, in making personal morality to be public morality. The time is coming when a man will put his soul into a convicts sackcloth because he cherished a sullied imagination. The time is coming when there will be no more wife beating, when a man will put himself upon the treadmill for a month for having given her an ugly look. The time is coming when a capitalist, a lady, would rather put on the cast-off garments of a leper than put on a purple that was stained by a workmans tear or blood. The time is coming when a man would rather pick his masters pocket than waste his time. There shall be such a spirit of magnanimity and charity, that a man will stand in the church porch and do penance for having in a moment of meanness given a three penny bit at the collection. Oh, you may say, that is a touch of the grotesque. I give you that, that you may remember it. Just as during the last fifty years the best thing of all is that the conscience of the race has grown, in the next fifty years the conscience of the race will continue to grow, and there shall be a code of morals, character, and etiquette more superb and delicate than any that we know today. Now, I say that is exactly the direction in which you have to work. Take your Christian conscience and perfect it by fellowship with the Great Ideal, and when you have done that take it into the world with you. Dont let any of the bad things continue. They must all go; all the bad things, however cunningly disguised, you must detest them. Precious in many ways as they seem to be to society, you must damn them. There must be no pleading for anything that is base and vile. It must go though appreciated by every age. Drop it into Gehenna. Mean that all common things shall be lifted up, that common things shall be transfigured. In visiting an art gallery the other day, I noticed that some of the greatest pictures had not a splendid thing in them. The ordinary artist, when he wants to be effective, paints a breadth of golden harvest, or he gets a kingfisher in, or he imagines some iridescent bird or other, some bird of paradise, or he paints a tree in blossom, or the captivating rainbow. But if you notice, some of the greatest painters that ever lived never touched these things. I noticed one of the pictures there. It was a railway object into it but the black earth, the cutting, a ploughed field. They got no brown earth, the red earth, but they touched it with that supreme touch that you can see the blossom in the dust, and the rainbow shine out of the cloud, and the picture without a brilliant thing in it was altogether bathed in imagination, poetry, and beauty you want to give everything in your life the transfiguring touch of righteousness. Then you dont want a few great things to make it admirable and spectacular. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Holiness, the law of Gods house
I. Let us expound the law of the house. Note the text carefully. It begins and ends with the same words: This is the law of the house: upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. These words make a frame for the statute; or a sort of hand on each side pointing to it. And what is this law of the house? Why, that everything about it is holy. All things in the church must be pure, clean, right, gracious, commendable, God-like. Observe that this law of the house is not only intense, reaching to the superlative degree of holiness, but it is most sweeping and encompassing: for we read, Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Holiness should be far-reaching, and cover the whole ground of a Christians life. He should be sanctified, spirit, soul, and body, and in all things he should bear evidence of having been set apart unto the Lord. We notice, once again, that this holiness was to be conspicuous. The church is not as a house sequestered in a valley, or hidden away in a wood, but it is as the temple, which was set upon the top of a mountain, where it could be seen from afar. The whole of that mountain was holy. We should be a peculiar people, distinguished by this as a race dwelling alone, that cannot be numbered among the nations. We might instructively divide holiness into four things, and the first would be its negative side, separation from the world. There may be morality, but there can be no holiness in a worldling. Holiness next consists very largely in consecration. The holy things of the sanctuary were holy because they were dedicated to God. You tell me of your generosity, your goodness, and your pious intentions--what of these? Are you consecrated, for if you are not consecrated to God you know nothing of holiness. But this does not complete the idea of holiness unless you add to it conformity, to the will and character of God. If we are Gods servants we must follow Gods commands: we must be ready to do as our Master bids us, because He is the Lord, and must be obeyed. I must add, however, to make up the idea of holiness, that there must be a close communion between the soul and God; for if a man could be, which is not possible, conformed to the likeness of God, and consecrated to God, yet ii he never had any communication with God, the idea of holiness would not be complete.
II. Let us examine ourselves by this law. Ask yourself questions, founded on what I have already said. Do I so live as to be separated? Is there in my business a difference between me and those with whom I trade? Are my thoughts different? Next, let each one ask, Am I consecrated? Am I living to God with my body, with my soul, with my spirit? Am I using my substance, my talents, my time, my voice, my thoughts for Gods glory? Next, ask the question, Am I living in conformity to the mind of the holy God? Am I living as Christ would have lived in my place? Then, again, do I live in communion with God? I cannot be holy and yet have a wall of division between me and God.
III. What are the bearings of this law of the house? Those bearings of the law to which I now refer are these:--If the Church of God shall be most holy, it will have as the result of it the greatest possible degree of the smile and favour of God. A holy Church has God in the midst of her. Where there is holiness God comes, and there is sure to be love, for love is of the very essence of holiness. The fruit of the Spirit is love, both to God and man. That love begets union of heart, brotherly kindness, sympathy, and affection, and these bring peace and happiness. This, of course, leads to success in all the churchs efforts, and a consequent increase. Her prayers are intense., and they bring down a blessing, for they are holy and acceptable unto God by Jesus Christ: her labours are abundant, and they secure an abundant harvest, for God will not forget her labour of love.
IV. Let us take order to secure obedience to the law of the house. I believe that Jesus is always working in His own way for the purity of every true Church. His fan is in His hand,--see it moving continually,--and He will thoroughly purge His floor. Gods melting fire is not in the world, where the dross contains no gold, but His fire is in Zion, and His furnace in Jerusalem. The Lord will judge His people. Church members are under peculiar discipline, as it is written, You only have I known of all the nations of the earth, therefore I will punish you for your iniquities. If churches are not holy they cannot be prosperous, for God afflicts those who break the law of His house. Now, cannot we give earnest heed that this law is regarded among us? Let us set to this work at once. Here is the first exercise for us: let us repent of past failures in holiness. We shall never overcome sin till we are conscious of it and ashamed of it. Having owned our error, let us next make the law of Gods house our earnest study, that we may avoid offences in the future. Let the inspired page be your standard. Never mind what your minister tells you, observe what the spirit of God tells you. When you have studied the law of the house, then next be intensely real in your endeavour to observe it. Then let us cry for a sincere and growing faith in God concerning this matter of holiness. And then, lastly, let us pray to be set on fire with an intense zeal for God. I do not believe that there is such a thing as cold holiness in the world. Get rid of zeal from the church, and you have removed one of the most purifying elements, for God intends to purge Jerusalem by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning. Oh, to be baptised into the Holy Ghost and into fire. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 the regulation
the regulation
"the instruction" or "the rule"
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the surrounding border
The word "border" probably refers to the wall that goes all the way around the temple.
most holy
"absolutely holy"
Behold!
"This is important!" Your language may have a way of indicating that the words that follow are important.
translationWords
holy
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 43:12 Absolute holiness on Israel’s part was required if…
43:12 Absolute holiness on Israel’s part was required if a holy God were to dwell in their midst forever.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.