Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
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Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
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And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
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And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying:
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 2:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and…
Num 2:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Ver. 1. And the Lord spake.] He being the Lord of these hosts of Israel, {Exo 12:41} gives order for the marshalling of them in such good array, and all comely equipage, as made them as a city that is compact together; both "beautiful as the moon, and terrible as an army with banners." {Psa 122:3 Son 6:10} This Balaam beheld with admiration. {Num 24:5-6}
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 Henry 1710 · Public Domain Here is the general appointment given both for their…
Here is the general appointment given both for their orderly encampment where they rested and their orderly march when they moved. Some order, it is possible, they had observed hitherto; they came out of Egypt in rank and file (Exo 13:18), but now they were put into a better model. 1. They all dwelt in tents, and when they marched carried all their tents along with them, for they found no city to dwell in, Psa 107:4. This represents to us our state in this world. It is a movable state (we are here today and gone tomorrow); and it is a military state: is not our life a warfare? We do but pitch our tents in this world, and have in it no continuing city. Let us, therefore, while we are pitching in this world, be pressing through it. 2. Those of a tribe were to pitch together, every man by his own standard. Note, It is the will of God that mutual love and affection, converse and communion, should be kept up among relations. Those that are of kin to each other should, as much as they can, be acquainted with each other; and the bonds of nature should be improved for the strengthening of the bonds of Christian communion. 3. Every one must know his place and keep in it; they were not allowed to fix where they pleased, nor to remove when they pleased, but God quarters them, with a charge to abide in their quarters. Note, It is God that appoints us the bounds of our habitation, and to him we must refer ourselves. He shall choose our inheritance for us (Psa 47:4), and in his choice we must acquiesce, and not love to flit, nor be as the bird that wanders from her nest. 4. Every tribe had its standard, flag, or ensign, and it should seem every family had some particular ensign of their father's house, which was carried as with us the colours of each troop or company in a regiment are. These were of use for the distinction of tribes and families, and the gathering and keeping of them together, in allusion to which the preaching of the gospel is said to lift up an ensign, to which the Gentiles shall seek, and by which they shall pitch, Isa 11:10, Isa 11:12. Note, God is the God of order, and not of confusion. These standards made this mighty army seem more beautiful to its friends and more formidable to its enemies. The church of Christ is said to be as terrible as an army with banners, Sol 6:10. It is uncertain how these standards were distinguished: some conjecture that the standard of each tribe was of the same colour with the precious stone in which the name of that tribe was written in the high priest's ephod, and that this was all the difference. Many of the modern Jews think there was some coat of arms painted in each standard, which had reference to the blessing of that tribe by Jacob. Judah bore a lion, Dan a serpent, Naphtali a hind, Benjamin a wolf, etc. Some of them say the four principal standards were, Judah a lion, Reuben a man, Joseph an ox, and Dan an eagle, making the appearances in Ezekiel's vision to allude it. Others say the name of each tribe was written in its standard. Whatever it was, no doubt it gave a certain direction. 5. They were to pitch about the tabernacle, which was to be in the midst of them, as the tent of pavilion of a general in the centre of an army. They must encamp round the tabernacle, (1.) That it might be equally a comfort and joy to them all, as it was a token of God's gracious presence with them. Psa 46:5, God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. Their camp had reason to be hearty, when thus they had God in the heart of them. To have bread from heaven every day round about their camp, and fire from heaven, with other tokens of God's favour, in the midst of their camp, was abundantly sufficient to answer that question, Is the Lord among us, or is he not? Happy art thou, O Israel! It is probable that the doors of all their tents were made to look towards the tabernacle from all sides, for every Israelite should have his eyes always towards the Lord; therefore they worshipped at the tent-door. The tabernacle was in the midst of the camp, that it might be near to them; for it is a very desirable thing to have the solemn administrations of holy ordinances near us and within our reach. The kingdom of God is among you. (2.) That they might be a guard and defence upon the tabernacle and the Levites on every side. No invader could come near God's tabernacle without first penetrating the thickest of their squadrons. Note, If God undertake the protection of our comforts, we ought in our places to undertake the protection of his institutions, and stand up in defence of his honour, and interest, and ministers. 6. Yet they were to pitch afar off, in reverence to the sanctuary, that it might not seem crowded and thrust up among them, and that the common business of the camp might be no annoyance to it. They were also taught to keep their distance, lest too much familiarity should breed contempt. It is supposed (from Jos 3:4) that the distance between the nearest part of the camp and the tabernacle (or perhaps between them and the camp of the Levites, who pitched near the tabernacle) was 2000 cubits, that is, 1000 yards, little more than half a measured mile with us; but the outer parts of the camp must needs be much further off. Some compute that the extent of their camp could be no less than twelve miles square; for it was like a movable city, with streets and lanes, in which perhaps the manna fell, as well as on the outside of the camp, that they might have it at their doors. In the Christian church we read of a throne (as in the tabernacle there was a mercy-seat) which is called a glorious high throne from the beginning (Jer 17:12), and that throne surrounded by spiritual Israelites, twenty-four elders, double to the number of the tribes, clothed in white raiment (Rev 4:4), and the banner over them is Love; but we are not ordered, as they were, to pitch afar off; no, we are invited to draw near, and come boldly. The saints of the Most High are said to be round about him, Psa 76:11. God by his grace keep us close to him!
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the Lord spake unto Moses, and unto Aaron,....…
And the Lord spake unto Moses, and unto Aaron,.... Very probably after the number of the children of Israel was taken, of which in the preceding chapter, and when the congregation of Israel with the tabernacle were about to set forward on their journey; and therefore directions are here given for their orderly and regular proceeding in it, in what form and manner they should both encamp and march:
saying: as follows.
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 Orders concerning the camp,
Orders concerning the camp,
1. A general order, ver. 1, 2.
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2. Particular directions for posting each of the tribes, in four squadrons. In the vanguard, on the east, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, ver. 3-9. In the right wing, southward, Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, ver. 10-16. The tabernacle in the midst, ver. 17. In the rear, westward, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, ver. 18-24. In the left wing, northward, Daniel, Asher, and Naphtali, ver. 25-31. The conclusion of the appointment, ver. 32-34.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Moses commanded to teach the Israelites how they are…
CHAPTER II
Moses commanded to teach the Israelites how they are to pitch
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their tents, and erect the ensigns of their fathers' houses,
1, 2.
Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, on the EAST, amounting to
186,400 men, 3-9.
Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, on the SOUTH, with 151,450
men, 10-16.
The Levites to be in the midst of the camp, 17.
Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, on the WEST, with
108,100 men, 18-24.
Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, on the NORTH, with 157,600
men, 25-31.
The sum total of the whole, 603,550 men, 32.
But the Levites are not included, 33.
The people do as the Lord commands them, 34.
NOTES ON CHAP. II
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain The Order for the Camp and for the March
The Order for the Camp and for the March
Num_2:1-34
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1And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 1 2Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their 2father’s house: 3far off about the 4tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.
53And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch 6throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be 7captain of the children of Judah. 4And his host, and those that were 8numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred. 5And those that do pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be fcaptain of the children of Issachar. 6And his host, and those that were xnumbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred. 7Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be fcaptain of the children of Zebulun. 8And his host, and those that were xnumbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred. 9All that were xnumbered 9in the camp of Judah were a hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, ethroughout their armies: these shall first set forth.
10On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben eaccording to their armies: and the fcaptain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur. 11And his host, and those that were xnumbered thereof, were forty and six 12thousand and five hundred. And those 10which pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the fcaptain of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 13And his host, and those that were xnumbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred. 1114Then the tribe of Gad: and the fcaptain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of 12Reuel. 15And his host, and those that were xnumbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty. 16All that were xnumbered in the camp of Reuben were a hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, ethroughout their armies: and they shall set forth 13in the second rank.
17mThen the ctabernacle of the congregation shall set forward 14with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the 15camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.
18On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim eaccording to their armies: and the fcaptain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud. 19And his host, and those that were xnumbered of them, were forty thousand 20and five hundred. And 16by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the fcaptain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 21And his host, and those that were xnumbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. m22Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the fcaptain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni. 23And his host, and those that were xnumbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. 24All that were xnumbered of the camp of Ephraim were a hundred thousand and eight thousand and a hundred, ethroughout their armies: and they shall 17go forward in the third rank.
25The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side eby their armies: and the fcaptain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26And his host, and those that were xnumbered of them, were threescore and two thousand 27and seven hundred. And those hthat encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the fcaptain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the Son of Ocran. 28And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
m29Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the fcaptain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan. 30And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. 31All they that were xnumbered in the camp of Dan were a hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred: they shall go hindmost 18with their standards.
32These are those which were xnumbered of the children of Israel by bthe house of their fathers: all those that were xnumbered of the camps ethroughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. 33But the Levites were not xnumbered among the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses. 34And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to bthe house of their fathers.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[Num_2:2. מנֶּגֻד סָבִיב. The A. V. gives מנגד the false rendering, “far off,” suggested, perhaps, by Jos_3:4, but corrects it in the marg reading. It has its common meaning here of confronting, thus used in a hostile sense, Jos_5:13. The double term means “fronting and surrounding.” Thus all faced the common centre. The notion of distance is unexpressed, yet necessarily suggested by the magnitude of the bodies to be located. Comp. Psa_38:12 (11), where the notion of distance is suggested by the “stroke” of adversity, though not expressed by מנגד, and then, in the following clause, is expressed by מֵרָחֹק.
Num_2:3. קֵדְמָה מִזְרָחָה. Comp. Num_34:15; Jos_19:12; Exo_37:13. The apparent redundancy seems to be for the purpose of expressing direction and excluding the notion of distance: comp. Eze_45:17. מִקֶּדֶם and קֵדְמָה are used for the remote east.
Num_2:5. יִשָּׁשכָר. This singular orthography is in order to conform to the current pronunciation of the name, which dropped the second s. All authorities invariably give the consonants as here. See Fuerst and Smith’s Bib. Dict. sub. voc.
Num_2:18. יָמָּה—“westward,” or more exactly “seaward.” This is one of the expressions that opponents to the genuineness of the Pentateuch have seized on, alleging that it betrays a writer actually in Palestine. But in fact it only shows that the writer used a language whose idiom was indigenous to the region east of the Mediterranean sea. And this and similar traits are corroborative proof that the people had their ancestry and language from the East. See Macdonald, Introd. to Pentateuch, I. 268.—Tr.]
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Num_2:1 sqq. (a) The order of encampment.—The twelve Tribes are divided into four corps, which encamp about the centre of the Levitical sanctuary, and that in the order of East, South, West, and North. The four leading tribes are Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan. To Judah, the first leader-tribe, with its camp in the East, are joined Issachar and Zebulun, who also were song of Leah; a very strong chief force at the Tan of the army. To the south was the camp of Reuben in conjunction with the tribes of Simeon and Gad. It should be noted in this connection, that the tribe of Simeon at this time numbered many more warriors than Reuben. On the west Ephraim was encamped, at the head of Manasseh and Benjamin. Here then all the children of Rachel are united. To the north Asher and Naphtali are encamped under the leadership of the tribe of Dan. Here with Dan the adopted son of Rachel, are associated his brother Naphtali and his half-brother Asher.
(b) The order of march.—This was determined by the order of encampment. In front of the camp of the Levites and of the tabernacle marched six tribes, first the corps of Judah, next the corps of Reuben. The march was covered by the six tribes in the divisions of Ephraim and Dan. [See below.—Tr.]
“דֶּגֶל, ‘standard, banner, flag,’ denotes the larger military ensign which each of the corps composed of three tribes had, and which at the same time was the banner of that tribe that headed the division; then, in a more extended signification, the army as united under one banner, similar to σημεία, vexillum, and the old German Fæhnlein, etc. According to rabbinical tradition, the banner of Judah bore the image of a lion; that of Reuben the picture of a man or of a human head; that of Ephraim the image of an ox; that of Dan the emblem of an eagle; so that on these four standards the four creatures which are united in the cherubic figures given by Ezekiel, are said to have been represented” (Keil, p. 200). A more minute rabbinical account of the colors of the flags, according to Jerome Prado, is given in a note by Keil, p. 200 [Eng. Tr., Vol. I. 17]. Judah is therefore the champion of his brethren according to Gen_49:10. Yet we must understand the position of Ephraim in covering the march, not as subordinate, but as a sort of parallel one. The name Reuel, Num_2:14, is the error of a copyist for Deuel As they encamp so shall they set forward, Num_2:17; therefore, with Levi in the midst of the tribes, every man on his own side by their standards, i. e., upon the side where he was encamped; not as it is generally translated: each at his place, since יָד, ‘hand,’ does indeed signify latus, ‘side,’ but not place” (Keil).
It would certainly have been a very difficult and frequently impracticable order of march, if the three divisions, Reuben on the one side, Dan on the other, and Levi with the Tabernacle in the middle, had been compelled to march abreast. Moreover it says very emphatically that Judah and Reuben precede the Tabernacle (Num_2:17)—consequently the like would obtain as to the marching order of the succeeding corps, Ephraim and Dan. As to the more common meaning of יָד see Genesis.
Besides the military camp we must distinguish two particular camps—the camp of the pure congregation, composed of women and children, and the encampment of the levitically unclean on the outside of the camp. The children of the Levites appear to have been in the camp from their youth up; probably also in time of peace the families dwelt with their defenders. A distinction between the warriors and the people is indicated in Num_20:1.
[It appears from Num_10:17, that on the march the position of the Tabernacle and the attendant Gershonites and Merarites was immediately after the division of three tribes headed by Judah. Then followed Reuben’s division. After that, and in the middle of the line, the Kohathites with the sacred things. Then came the division under Ephraim, followed by that of Dan, which brought up the rear. The only reason assigned for the position of Tent of Meeting next after Judah’s division, is that it might be set up by the time the sacred things that were to be put into it (Num_10:21) should arrive at camp.
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The foregoing plan represents the arrangement of the encampment as gathered from chaps. 2, 3. Such is the ideal disposition. The actual disposition of the multitudes, even when order was maintained, must often have presented only an imperfect approach to it, owing to topographical irregularities.—Tr.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
[See under Numbers 1.
“The ideal form of the encampment was reproduced in the square court with which the Temple was eventually surrounded, and in the vision of the heavenly city as seen by Eze_48:20; and by St. John, Rev_21:16; comp. Rev_20:9. Thus the camp of God’s earthly people was divinely ordered, so as to set forth the completeness of His Church; and to illustrate by its whole arrangement, which was determined by the Tabernacle in the centre, both the dependence of all on God, and the access which all enjoyed to God.” The Bible Comm. in loc.
In the plains of Moab, and in the immediate prospect of conquering the promised land, the ideal plan of the encampment might be conformed to. Perhaps such was the sight that greeted Balaam’s eyes and made him exclaim: “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,” Num_24:5. “Thus the gospel-church, called the camp of saints, ought to be compact according to the Scripture model, every one knowing and keeping his place, and then all that wish well to the church rejoice, beholding their order, Col_2:5.” M. Henry.
The comments of M. Henry on this chapter are in his best vein of happy suggestion. The following thoughts are reproduced from him.
Those of a tribe were to pitch together. Note, it is the will of God that mutual love and affection, converse and communion should be kept up among relations. The bonds of nature should be improved for the strengthening of the bonds of Christian communion.
Every one must know his place and keep it. Note, it is God that appoints us the bounds of our habitation, and to Him we must refer ourselves. God is the God of order and not of confusion. The standards made this mighty army seem more beautiful to its friends, and more formidable to its enemies. The Church of Christ is said to be terrible as an army with banners, Son_6:10.
The Tabernacle and sacred things were in the middle of the camp and of the line of march. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved, Psa_46:5. Their camp had reason to be hearty when thus they had God in the heart of them. Note, if God undertake the protection of our comforts, we ought in our plans to undertake the protection of His institutions, and stand up in the defence of His honor, and interest and ministers.
Every tribe had a captain, a prince, or commander-in-chief, whom God Himself had nominated, the same that had been appointed to number them (Num_1:5). Our being all the children of one Adam is so far from justifying the levellers and taking away the distinction of place and honor, that even among the children of the same Abraham, the same Jacob, the same Judah, God Himself appointed that one should be captain of all the rest. There are powers ordained of God, and those to whom honor and fear are due, and must be paid.
Some observe the significancy of the names of these princes, at least in general, and how much God was in the thoughts of those that gave them their names, for most of them have El, God, at one end or other of their names. (See above, Introd., § 6). By which it appears that the Israelites in Egypt did not quite forget the name of their God, but when they wanted other memorials, preserved the rememblance of it in the names of their children, and therefore comforted themselves in their affliction.
Nahshon is reckoned among the ancestors of Christ (Mat_1:4). So that when he went before them, Christ Himself went before them in effect, as their Leader.—Tr.]
HOMILETICAL HINTS
The regulation of the host. The camp of God’s army. The sacredness of number. The sanctifying and the distribution of the number. Arithmetic and geometry, and book-keeping and mensuration brought into the service of the Holy One. The tribes of the army of God, and their significance for the organization of the church, of the state, especially with reference to its means of defence. The standards. The significance of the Tabernacle in the midst of the camp. Jehovah as King and Commander-in-Chief in the midst of His warriors. So Christ is the Captain of salvation. The New Testament army of God: the Apostolic spirit in twelvefold gifts and forms. The Church of God in relation to war in the world. The war of light (of self-defence for right of conscience and freedom) and the war of darkness.
Footnotes:
[1]The children of Israel shall pitch every man by his, etc.
[2]their father’s-houses.
[3]Heb. over against.
[4]Tent of meeting.
[5]And those that camp eastward, toward the rising, etc.
[6]according to their hosts.
[7]prince.
[8]mustered.
[9]of.
[10]that do pitch next unto.
[11]And.
[12]Deuel.
[13]second.
[14]comma, omit with.
[15]camps.
[16]next to.
[17]set forth third.
[18]by.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 1. The Lord spake unto Moses… Aaron — We…
ORDER OF ENCAMPMENT.
1. The Lord spake unto Moses… Aaron — We are not to suppose that Jehovah utters all the words of this chapter. Divine commands relating to the order seem to alternate with human statements of the numbers. This should be borne in mind by the reader. Jehovah relieved Moses of the delicate duty of establishing the order of the camp, and of making distinctions among his brethren by giving some the post of honour. He did what all generals claim as their prerogative, deeming it necessary to their success. He selected his own division, and subordinate commanders, and assigned each battalion its post in camp and on the march. We see no reason why Aaron should be addressed with Moses in this chapter, and Moses alone in the first. The reverse of this would have been natural, inasmuch as duties are enjoined on the Levites in the first chapter, but none in the second.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain Numbers 1 - 2
Numbers 1 - 2
We now enter upon the study of the fourth grand division of the Pentateuch, or five books of Moses; and we shall find the leading characteristic of this book quite as strongly marked as that of any of the three books which have already engaged our attention. In the Book of Genesis, after the record of creation, the deluge, and the Babel dispersion, we have God’s election of the seed of Abraham. In the book of Exodus, we have redemption. Leviticus gives us priestly worship and communion. In Numbers we have the walk and warfare of the wilderness. Such are the prominent subjects of these most precious sections of inspiration, while, as might be expected, many other points of deepest interest are collaterally introduced. the Lord, in His great mercy, has led us through the study of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus; and we can reckon on Him, with confidence, to conduct as through the Book of Numbers. May His Spirit lead the thoughts, and guide the pen, so that not a sentence may be committed to writing that is not in strict accordance with His holy mind! May every page and every paragraph bear the stamp of His approval, and be, at once, conducive to His glory, and the permanent profit of the reader!
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"And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel; thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies." Num. 1: 1-3.
Here we find ourselves, at once, "in the wilderness, where those only are to be taken account of who are "able to go forth to war." This is strongly marked. In the book of Genesis the seed of Israel were in the loins of their father Abraham. In the Book of Exodus they were in the brick-kilns of Egypt. In Leviticus they were gathered round the tabernacle of the congregation. In Numbers they are seen in the wilderness. Then, again, in full keeping with the above, and in confirmation thereof, in Genesis we hearken to the call of God in election; in Exodus we gaze upon the blood of the Lamb in redemption; in Leviticus we are almost entirely occupied with the worship, and service of the sanctuary. But no sooner have we opened the book of Numbers than we read of men of war, of armies, of standards, of camps, and trumpets sounding alarm.
All this is highly characteristic, and marks off the book on which we are now entering as one of special interest, value, and importance to the Christian. Each book of the Bible, each section of the inspired canon, has its own distinct place and object. Each has its own niche assigned to it by its divine Author. We must not entertain, for a moment, the thought of instituting any comparison in point of intrinsic value, interest, and importance. all is divine, and therefore perfect. The Christian reader fully and heartily believes this. He reverently sets his seal to the truth of the plenary inspiration of holy scripture - of all scripture, and of the Pentateuch amongst the rest; nor is he to be moved, one hairs breadth, from this by the bold and impious attacks of infidels, ancient, medieval, or modern. Infidels and rationalists may traffic in their unhallowed reasonings. They may exhibit their enmity against the book and its author; but the pious "Christian rests, not withstanding all, in the simple and happy belief that "All scripture is given by inspiration God."
But while we must utterly reject the idea of any comparison as to authority and value, we may, with, much profit, compare the contents, design, and scope of the various books of the Bible. And the more profoundly we meditate upon these, the more forcibly shall we be struck with the exquisite beauty, infinite wisdom, and wonderful precision of the volume a whole, and of each distinct division the thereof. The inspired writer never swerves from the direct object of the book, whatever that object may be. You will never find anything in any one book of the Bible which is not in the most perfect harmony with the main design of that book;. To prove and illustrate this statement would lead us through the entire canon of holy scripture, and hence we shall not attempt it. The intelligent Christian does not need the proof, however much he might be interested in the illustration. He takes his stand upon the great fact that the book, as a whole, and in all its parts, is from God; and His heart reposes in the conclusion, that in that whole, and in each of those parts, there is not a jot or a tittle which is not in every way worthy of the divine Author.
Hear the following words from the pen of one who expresses himself as "deeply convinced of the divine inspiration of the scriptures, given to us of God, and confirmed in this conviction by daily and growing discoveries of their fullness, depth, and perfectness, ever more sensible, through grace, of the admirable perfection of the parts, and the wonderful connection of the whole." "The scriptures," says this writer, "have a living source, and living power has pervaded their composition: hence their infiniteness of bearing, and the impossibility of separating any one part from the whole, because one God is the living centre from which all flows; one Christ the living centre round which all its truth circles, and to which it refers, though in various glory; and one Spirit the divine sap which carries its power from its source in God to the minutest branches of the all-uniting truth, testifying of the glory, the grace, and the truth of Him whom God sets forth as the object, and centre, and head of all that is in connection with Himself, of Him who is, withal, God over all, blessed for evermore. .....The more - beginning from the utmost leaves and branches of this revelation of the mind of God, by which we have been reached when far from Him - we have traced it up towards its centre, and thence looked down again towards its extent and diversity, the more we learn its infiniteness, and our own feebleness of apprehension. We learn, blessed be God, this, that the love which is its source is found in unmingled perfectness and fullest display of those manifestations of it which have reached us even in our ruined state. The same perfect God of love is in it all. But the unfoldings of divine wisdom in the counsels in which God has displayed Himself remain ever to us a subject of research, in which every new discovery, by increasing our spiritual intelligence, makes the infiniteness of the whole, and the way in which it surpasses all our thoughts, only more and more clear to us."
It is truly refreshing to transcribe such lines from the pen of one who has been a profound student of scripture for forty years. They are of unspeakable value, of a moment when so many are ready to cast a slight upon the sacred volume. Not that we are, in any wise, dependent upon human testimony in forming our conclusions as to the divine origin of the Bible, inasmuch as these conclusions rest upon a foundation furnished by the Bible itself. God’s word, as well as His work, speaks for itself; it carries its own credentials with it; it speaks to the heart; it reaches down to the great moral roots of our being; it penetrates the very innermost chambers of the soul; it shows us what we are; it speaks to us as no other book can speak; and, as the woman of Sychar argued that Jesus must be the Christ because He told her all things that ever she did, so may we say in reference to the Bible, It tells us all that ever we did, is not this the word of God? No doubt it is only by the Spirit’s teaching that we can discern and appreciate the evidence and credentials with which holy scripture presents itself before us; but still it does speak for itself, and needs not human testimony to make it of value to the soul. We should no more think of having our faith in the Bible established upon man’s testimony in its favour than we should think of having it shaken by his testimony against it.
It is of the very last possible importance, at all times, but more especially at a moment like the present, to have the heart and mind established in the sound truth of the divine authority of holy scripture - its plenary inspiration - its all-sufficiency for all purposes, for all people, at all times. There are two hostile influences abroad, namely, infidelity, on the one hand, and superstition, on the other. The former denies that God has spoken to us in His word. The latter admits that He has spoken, but it denies that we can understand what He says, save by the interpretation of the Church.
Now, while there are very many who recoil with horror from the impiety and audacity of infidelity, they do not see that superstition, just as completely, deprives them of the scriptures. For wherein, let us ask, lies the difference between denying that God has spoken, and denying that we can understand what He says? In either case: are we not deprived of the word of God? Unquestionably. If God cannot make me understand what He says - if He cannot give me the assurance that it is He Himself who speaks, I am, in no wise, better off than if He had not spoken at all. If God’s word is not sufficient, without human interpretation, then it cannot be God’s word at all. That which is insufficient is not God’s word. We must admit either of two things, namely, that God has not spoken at all, or if He has spoken, His word is perfect. There is no neutral ground in reference to this question. Has God given us a revelation? Infidelity says, "No." superstition says, "Yes, but you cannot understand it without human authority." Thus are we, in the one case as well as in the other, deprived of the priceless treasure of God’s own precious word; and thus, too, infidelity and superstition, though apparently so unlike, meet in the one point of depriving us of a divine revelation. But, blessed be God, He has given us a revelation. He has spoken, and His word is able to teach the heart and the understanding also. God is able to give the certainty that it is He who speaks, and we do not want any human authority to intervene. We do not want a poor rush-light to enable us to see that the sun is shining. The beams of that glorious Luminary are quite enough without any such miserable addition. All we want is to stand in the sunshine and we shall be convinced that the sun shines. If we retire into a vault or into a tunnel, we shall not feel his influence; and just so is it with regard to scripture, if we place ourselves beneath the chilling and darkening influences of superstition or infidelity, we shall not experience the genial and enlightening power of that divine revelation.
Having said thus much as to the divine volume as a whole, we shall now proceed to consider the contents of the section which lies open before us. In Numbers 1 we have the declaration of the pedigree;" and in Numbers 2, the recognition of the "standard." "And Moses and Aaron took these men which are expressed by their names: and they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers; according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls. as the Lord commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai." Num. 1: 17-19.
Has this any voice for us? Does it convey any great spiritual lesson to our understanding? assuredly it does. In the first place, it suggests this important question to the reader, "Can I declare my pedigree?" It is greatly to be feared there are hundreds, if not thousands, of professing Christians who are wholly incompetent to do so. They cannot say with clearness and decision, "Now are we the sons of God." (1 John 3: 2) "We are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." " And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3: 26, 29) " For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.....The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the sons of God." Rom. 8: 14, 16.
This is the Christian’s "pedigree," and it is his privilege to be able to "declare" it. He is born from above - born again - born of water and the spirit, i.e., by the word and by the Holy Ghost. (Compare, diligently, John 3: 5; James 1: 18; 1 Peter 1: 23; Eph. 5: 26) The believer traces his pedigree directly up to a risen Christ in glory. This is Christian genealogy. So far as our natural pedigree is concerned, if we trace it up to its source, and then declare it honestly, we must see and admit that we are sprung from a ruined stock. Ours is a fallen family. Our fortunes are gone; our very blood attainted; we are irrecoverably ruined; we can never regain our original position; our former status and the inheritance which belonged to it are irretrievably lost. A man may be able to trace his genealogical line throughout a race Of nobles, of princes, or of kings; but is he is finally to "declare his pedigree," he cannot stop short of a fallen, ruined, outcast head. We must get to the source of a thing to know what it really is. It is thus God looks at and judges of things, and we must think with Him if we would think aright. His judgement of men and things must be dominant for ever. Man’s judgement is only ephemeral, it lasts but for a day; and hence, according to faith’s estimate, the estimate of sound sense, "It is a small thing to be judged of man’s day." (1 Cor. 4: 3) Oh! how small! Would that we felt more deeply how small a thing it is to be judged of man’s judgement, or, as the margin reads it, of man’s day! Would that we walked, habitually, in the real sense of the smallness thereof! It would impart a calm elevation and a holy dignity which would lift us above the influence of the scene through which we are passing. what is rank in this life? What importance can attach to a pedigree which, if honestly traced, and faithfully declared, is derived from a ruined stock? A man can only be proud of his birth when he stops short of his real Origin: as born in sin and shapen in iniquity." Such is man’s origin - such his birth. Who can think of being proud of such a birth, of such an origin? Who but one whose mind the god of this world hath blinded?
But how different with the Christian! His pedigree is heavenly. His "genealogical tree strikes its roots into the soil of the new creation. Death can never break the line, inasmuch as it is formed in resurrection. We cannot be too simple as to this. It is of the utmost importance that the reader should be thoroughly clear on this foundation point. We can easily see from this first chapter of Numbers, how, essential it was that every member of the congregation of Israel should be able to declare his pedigree Uncertainty, on this point, would have proved disastrous; it would have produced hopeless confusion. We can hardly imagine an Israelite, when called to declare his pedigree, expressing himself in the doubtful manner adopted by many Christians now-a-days. We cannot conceive his saying, well, I am not quite sure. Sometimes I cherish the hope that I am of the stock of Israel, but at other times, I am full of fear that I do not belong to the congregation Of the Lord at all. I am all in uncertainty and darkness. Can we conceive of such language. Assuredly not. Much less could we imagine anyone maintaining the monstrous notion that no one could possibly be sure as to whether he was a true Israelite or not until the day of judgement.
All such ideas and reasonings - all such doubts, fears, and questions, we may rest assured, were foreign to the mind of the Israelite. Every member of the congregation was called to declare his pedigree, ere taking his place in the ranks as a man of war. Each one was able to say, like Saul of Tarsus, "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel," &c. All was settled and clear, and necessarily so if there was to be any real entrance upon the walk and warfare of the wilderness.
Now, may we not legitimately ask, "If a Jew could be certain as to his pedigree, why may not a Christian be certain as to his? Reader, weigh this question, and if you are one of that large class of persons who are never able to arrive at the blessed certainty of their heavenly lineage, their spiritual birth, pause, we beseech you, and let us reason with you on this momentous point. It may be you are disposed to ask, "How can I be sure that I am, really and truly, a child of God, a member of Christ, born of the word and Spirit of God? I would give worlds, were they mine, to be certain as to this most weighty question."
Well, then, we would earnestly desire to help you in this matter. Indeed one special object before us in penning these "Notes" is to assist anxious souls, by answering, as the Lord may enable us, their questions, solving their difficulties, and removing the stumbling-blocks out of their way.
And, first of all, let as point out one special feature which belongs to all the children of God, without exception. It is a very simple, but a very blessed feature. If we do not possess it, in some degree, it is most certain we are not of the heavenly race; but if we do possess it, it is just as certain that we are, and we may, therefore, without any difficulty or reserve, "declare our pedigree." now what is this feature? What is this great family characteristic? Our Lord Jesus Christ supplies the answer. He tells as that "Wisdom is justified of all her children." (Luke 7: 35; Matt. 11: 19) all the children of Wisdom, from the days of Abel down to the present moment, have been marked by this great family trait. There is not so much as a single exception. All God’s children - all the sons of Wisdom have always exhibited, in some degree, this moral feature - they have justified God. Let the reader consider this. It may be he finds it hard to understand what is meant by justifying God; but a passage or two of holy scripture will, we trust, make it quite plain. We read in Luke 7 that "all the people that heard Jesus, and the publicans, justified God, being baptised with the baptism of John. But, the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptised of him." (ver. 29, 30) Here we have the two generations brought, as it were, face to face. The publicans justified God and condemned themselves. The Pharisees justified themselves and judged God. The former submitted to the baptism of John - the baptism of repentance. The latter refused that baptism - refused to repent - refused to humble and to judge themselves.
Here we have the two great classes into which the whole human family has been divided, from the days of Abel and Cain down to the present day; and here, too, we have the simplest possible test by which to try our "pedigree." Have we taken the place of self-condemnation? Have we bowed in true repentance before God? This is to justify God. The two things go together - yea, they are one and the same. The man who condemns himself justifies God; and the man who justifies God condemns himself. On the other hand, the man who justifies himself judges God; and the man who judges God justifies himself.
Thus it stands in every case. And be it observed that the very moment we take the ground of repentance and self judgement, God takes the ground of a Justifier. God always justifies those who condemn themselves. All His children justify Him, and He justifies all His children. The moment David said, "I have sinned against the Lord," the answer was, "the Lord hath put away thy sin." Divine forgiveness follows, with the most intense rapidity, human confession.
Hence it follows that nothing can be more foolish than for any one to justify himself, inasmuch as God must be justified in His sayings, and overcome when He is judged. (Comp. Psalm 51: 4; Rom. 3: 4) God must have the upper hand in the end, and then all self justification shall be seen in its true light. The wisest thing therefore is to condemn ourselves. This is what all the children of wisdom do. Nothing is more characteristic of the true members of wisdom’s family then the habit and spirit of self-judgement. Whereas, on the other hand, nothing so marks all those who are not of this family as a spirit of self-vindication.
These things are worthy of our most earnest attention. Nature will blame anything and everything, any one and every one but itself. But where grace is at work, there is ever a readiness to judge self, and take the lowly place. This is the true secret of blessing and peace. All God’s children have stood on this blessed ground, exhibited this lovely moral trait, and reached this grand result. we cannot find so much as a single exception in the entire history of Wisdom’s happy family; and we may safely say, that if the reader has been led, in truth and reality, to own himself lost - to condemn himself - to take the place of true repentance-then is he, in very deed, one of the children of Wisdom, and he may therefore, with boldness and decision, "declare his pedigree."
We would urge this point at the outset. It is impossible for any one to recognise and rally round the proper "standard" unless he can declare his "pedigree." In short, it is impossible to take up a true position in the wilderness so long as there is any uncertainty as to this great question. How could an Israelite of old have taken his place in the assembly - how could he have stood in the ranks - how could he expect to make any progress through the wilderness, if he could not distinctly declare his pedigree? Impossible. Just so is it with Christians now. Progress in wilderness life - success in spiritual warfare, is out of the question if there be any uncertainty as to the spiritual pedigree. We must be able to say, "we know that we have passed from death unto life" - "We know that we are of God" - "We believe and are sure, ere there can be any real advance in the life and walk of a Christian.
Reader, say, can you declare your pedigree? Is this a thoroughly settled point with you? Are you clear as to this in the very depths of your soul? When you are all alone with God, is it a perfectly settled question between you and Him? Search and see. Make sure work of it. Do not slur the matter over. Build not upon mere profession. Say not "I am a member of such a church; I receive the Lord’s supper; I hold such and such doctrines; I have been religiously brought up I live a moral life; I have done nobody any harm; I read the Bible and say my prayers; I have family worship in my house; I give largely in the cause of philanthropy and religion." All this may be perfectly true of you, and yet you may not have a single pulse of divine life, a single ray of divine light. Not one of these things, not all of them put together, could be accepted as a declaration of spiritual pedigree. There must be the witness of the spirit that you are a child of God, and this witness always accompanies simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. "He that believeth in the Son of God hath the witness in himself." (1 John 5: 10) It is not, by any means, a question of looking into your own heart for evidences. It is not a building upon frames, feelings, and experiences. Nothing of the sort. It is a childlike faith in Christ. It is having eternal life in the Son of God. It is the imperishable record of the Holy Ghost. It is taking God at His word. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement (krisin), but is passed from death unto life." John 5: 24.
This is the true way to declare your pedigree; and be assured of it, you must be able to declare it ere you can "go forth to war." We do not mean to say you cannot be saved without this. God forbid we should say any such thing. We believe there are hundreds of the true Spiritual Israel who are not able to declare their pedigree. But we ask, Are such able to go forth to war? Are they vigorous military men? Far from it. They cannot even know what true conflict is; on the contrary, persons of this class mistake their doubts and fears, their dark and cloudy seasons , for true Christian conflict This is a most serious mistake; but alas! a very common one. We continually find a, low, dark, legal condition of soul defended on the ground of Christian conflict, whereas, according to the New Testament, true Christian conflict or warfare is carried on in a region were doubts and fears are unknown. It is when we stand in the clear daylight of God’s full salvation-salvation in a risen Christ - that we really enter upon the warfare proper to us as Christians. Are we to suppose, for a moment, that our legal struggles, our culpable unbelief, our refusal to submit to the righteousness of God, our questionings and reasonings, can be viewed as Christian conflict? By no means. All these things must be regarded as conflict with God; whereas Christian conflict is carried on with Satan. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places." Eph. 6: 12.
This is Christian conflict. But can such conflict be waged by those who are continually doubting whether they are Christians or not? We do not believe it. Could we imagine an Israelite in conflict with Amalek in the wilderness, or with the Canaanites in the land of promise, while yet unable to "declare his pedigree" or recognise his "standard?" The thing is inconceivable. No, no; every member of the congregation, who was able to go forth to war was perfectly clear and settled as to those two points. Indeed he could not go forth if he were not so.
And, while on the important subject of Christian conflict, it may be well to call the reader’s attention to the three portions of New Testament scripture in which we have three distinct characters of conflict presented, namely, Romans 7: 7-24; Galatians v. 17; Ephesians 6: 10-17. If the reader will just turn, for a moment, to the above scriptures, we shall seek to point out the true character of each.
In Romans 7: 7-24 we have the struggle of a soul quickened but not emancipated - a regenerated soul under the law. The proof that we have before us, here, a quickened soul is found in such utterances as these, "That which I do, I allow not" - "to will is present with me" - "I delight in the law of God after the inward man." None but a regenerated soul could speak thus. The disallowance of the wrong, the will to do right, the inward delight in the law of God - all these are the distinct marks of the new life - the precious fruits of regeneration. No unconverted person could truthfully use such language
But, on the other hand, the proofs that we have before us, in this scripture, a soul not fully emancipated, not in the joy of known deliverance, not in the full consciousness of victory, not in the assured possession of spiritual power - the plain proofs of all this we have in such utterances as the following, "I am carnal, sold under sin" - "what I would that do I not; but what I hate that do I" - "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?" Now, we know that a Christian is not "carnal," but spiritual; he is not "sold under sin," but redeemed from its power; he is not a "wretched man" sighing for deliverance, but a happy man who knows himself delivered. He is not an impotent slave, unable to do the right thing, and ever compelled to do the wrong; he is a free man! endowed with power in the Holy Ghost, and able to say, "I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me." Philippians 4.
We cannot here attempt to enter upon a full exposition of this most important scripture; we merely offer a suggestion or two which may help the reader to seize its scope and import. We are fully aware that many Christians differ widely as to the interpretation of this chapter. Some deny that it presents the exercises of a quickened soul; others maintain that it sets forth the experiences proper to a Christian. We cannot accept either conclusion. We believe it exhibits to our view the exercises of a truly regenerated soul, but of a soul not set free by the knowledge of its union with a risen Christ, and the power of the Holy Ghost. Hundreds of Christians are actually in the seventh of Romans but their proper place is in the eighth. They are, as to their experience, under the law. They do not know themselves as sealed by the Holy Ghost. They are not in possession of full victory in a risen and glorified Christ. They have doubts and fears, and are ever disposed to cry out "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver we? But is not a Christian delivered? Is he not saved? Is he not accepted in the Beloved? Is he not sealed by that Holy Spirit of promise? Is he not united to Christ? Ought he not to know and enjoy, and to confess all this? Unquestionably. Well then he is no longer, as to his standing, in the seventh of Romans. It is his privilege to sing the song of victory at heaven’s side of the empty tomb of Jesus, and to walk in the holy liberty wherewith Christ makes His people free. The seventh of Romans is not liberty at all, but bondage, except indeed at the very close, where the soul is able to say, "I thank God." No doubt, it may be a very wholesome exercise to pass through all that is here detailed for us with such marvellous vividness and power; and, furthermore, we must declare that we should vastly prefer being honestly in the seventh of Romans to being falsely in the eighth. But all this leaves wholly untouched the question as to the proper application of this profoundly interesting passage of scripture.
We shall now glance, for a moment, at the conflict in Galatians 5: 17 we shall quote the passage. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.* This passage is often quoted to account for continual defeat, whereas it really contains the secret of perpetual victory. In verse 16 we read, "This I say, then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." This makes it all so clear. The presence of the Holy Ghost secures power. We are assured that God is stronger than the flesh, and therefore, where He is in conflict the triumph is secured. And be it carefully noted that Galatians 5: 17 does not speak of the conflict between the Two natures, the old and the new, but between the Holy Ghost and the flesh. This is the reason why it is added, "In order that ye may not do the things that ye would." If the Holy Ghost were not dwelling in us, we should be sure to fulfil the lust of the flesh; but, inasmuch as He is in us to carry on the warfare, we are no longer obliged to do wrong, but blessedly enabled to do right.
{*We ought, perhaps, to inform the reader that many able scholars render the last clause of Galatians 5: 17 thus, "In order that we may not do the things that we would." We assuredly believe this rendering.. to be in full keeping with the spirit of the context; though we are, each day, more convinced of the unrivalled excellence of our precious English Bible.}
Now this precisely marks the point of difference between Romans 7: 14, 15 and Galatians 5.17. In the former we have the new nature, but not the power of the indwelling Spirit. In the latter, we have not only the new nature, but also the power of the Holy Ghost. we must ever bear in mind that the new nature in a believer is dependent. It is dependent upon the Spirit for power, and upon the word for guidance. But, clearly, where God The Holy Ghost is, there must be power. He may be grieved and hindered; but Galatians 5: 16 distinctly teaches that if we walk in the Spirit, we shall have sure and constant victory over the flesh. Hence, therefore, it would be a very serious mistake indeed to quote Galatians 5: 17 as a reason for a low and carnal walk. Its teaching is designed to produce the direct opposite.
And now one word on Ephesians 6: 10-17. where we have the conflict between the Christian and wicked spirits in heavenly places. The Church belongs to heaven, and should ever maintain a heavenly walk and conversation. It should be our constant aim to make good our heavenly standing - to plant the foot firmly upon our heavenly inheritance, and keep it there. This the devil seeks to hinder, in every possible way, and hence the conflict; hence too "the whole armour of God," by which alone we can stand against our powerful spiritual foe.
It is not our purpose to dwell upon the armour, as we here merely called the reader’s attention to the above three scriptures in order that he may have the subject of conflict, in all its phases, fully before his mind, in connection with the opening lines of the Book of Numbers. Nothing can be more interesting; nor can we possibly over estimate the importance of being clear as to the real nature and ground of Christian conflict. If we go forth to war without knowing what the war is about, and in a state of uncertainty as to whether our "pedigree" is all right, we Shall not make much headway against the enemy,
But, as has been already remarked, there was another thing quite as necessary for the man of war as the clear declaration of his pedigree, and that was the distinct recognition of his standard. The two things were essential for the walk and warfare of the wilderness. Moreover, they were inseparable. If a man did not know his pedigree, he could not recognise his standard, and thus all would have been plunged in hopeless confusion. In place of keeping rank, and making steady progress, they would have been in each other’s way, and treading one upon another. Each had to know his post and keep it - to know his standard and abide by it. Thus they moved on together; thus progress was made, work done. and warfare carried on. The Benjaminite had his post, and the Ephraimite had his, and neither was to interfere with, or cross the path of, the other. Thus with all the tribes, throughout the camp of the Israel of God. Each had his pedigree, and each had his post; and neither the one nor the other was according to their own thoughts; all was of God. He gave the pedigree, and He assigned the standard. Nor was there any need of comparing one with another, or any ground of jealousy one of another; each had his place to fill, and his work to do, and there was work enough and room enough for all. There was the greatest possible variety, and yet the most perfect unity. "Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house." "and the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers." (Num. 2: 2, 34)
Thus, in the camp of old, as well as in the Church now, we learn that "God is not the author of confusion." Nothing could be more exquisitely arranged than the four camps, of three tribes each, forming a perfect square, each side of the square exhibiting its own specific standard. "Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house: over against the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch." The God of the armies of Israel knew how to marshal His hosts. It would be a great mistake to suppose that God’s warriors were not ordered according to the most perfect system of military tactics. We may plume ourselves upon our progress in arts and sciences, and we may fancy that the host of Israel presented a spectacle of rude disorder and wild confusion, compared with what may be seen in modern times. But this would be an empty conceit. We may rest assured that the camp of Israel was ordered and furnished in the most perfect manner, for the simplest and most conclusive of all reasons, namely, that it was ordered and furnished by the hand of God. Grant us but this, that God has done anything, and we argue, with the most perfect confidence, that it has been perfectly done.
This in a very simple, but a very blessed principle. Of course it would not satisfy an infidel or a sceptic; what would? It is the province and prerogative of a sceptic to doubt everything, to believe nothing. He measures everything by his own standard, and rejects whatever he cannot reconcile with his own notions. He lays down, with marvellous coolness, his own premises, and then proceeds to draw his own conclusions. But if the premises are false, the conclusions must be false likewise. And there is this invariable feature attaching to the premises of all sceptics, rationalists, and infidels, they always leave out God; and hence all their conclusion’s must be fatally false. On the other hand, the humble believer starts with this great first principle, that God Is; and not only that He is, but that He has to do with His creatures; that He interests Himself in, and occupies Himself about, the affairs of men.
What consolation for the Christian! But infidelity will not allow this at all. To bring God in is to upset all the reasonings of the sceptic, for they are based upon the thorough exclusion of God.
However, we are not now writing in order to meet infidels, but the edification of believers, and it is sometimes well to call attention to the thorough rottenness of the whole system of infidelity; and surely in no way can this be more clearly or forcibly shown than by the fact that it rests entirely upon the exclusion of God. Let this fact be seized, and the whole system crumbles into dust at our feet. If we believe that God is, then, assuredly, everything must be wicked in relation to Him. We must look at all from His point of view. Nor is this all. If we believe that God is, then we must see that man cannot judge Him. God must be the judge of right or wrong, of what is and what is not worthy of Himself. So also in reference to God’s word. If it be true that God is, and that He has spoken to us, He has given us a revelation, then, assuredly, that revelation is not to be judged by man’s reason. It is above and beyond any such tribunal. Only think of measuring God’s word by the rules of human arithmetic! and yet this is precisely what has been done in our own day, with this blessed Book of Numbers with which we are now engaged, and with which we shall proceed, leaving infidelity and its arithmetic aside.
We feel it very needful, in our notes and reflections on this book, as well as on every other book, to remember two things, namely, first, the book; and secondly, the soul: the book and its contents the soul and its necessities. There is a danger of becoming so occupied with the former as to forget the latter. And, on the other hand, there is the danger of becoming so wholly engrossed with the latter as to forget the former. Both must be attended to. And we may say that what constitutes an efficient ministry, whether written or oral, is the proper adjustment of these two things. There are some ministers who study the word very diligently, and, it may be, very profoundly. They are well versed in biblical knowledge; they have drunk; deeply at the fountain of inspiration. All this is of the utmost importance, and of the very highest value. A ministry without this will be barren indeed. If a man does not study his Bible diligently and prayerfully, he will have little to give to his readers or his hearers; at least little worth their having. Those who minister in the word must dig for themselves, and "dig deep."
But then the soul must be considered - its condition anticipated, and its necessities met. If this be lost sight of, the ministry will lack point, pungency, and power. It will be inefficient and unfruitful. In short, the two things must be combined and properly adjusted. A man who merely studies the book will be unpractical, a man who merely studies the soul will be unfurnished. A man who duly studies both will be a good minister of Jesus Christ.
Now, we desire, in our measure, to be this to the reader; and hence as we travel, in his company, through the marvellous book which lies open before us, we would not only seek to point out its moral beauties, and unfold its holy lessons, but we would also feel it to be our bounden duty to put an occasional question to him or her, as to how far those lessons are being learnt, and those beauties appreciated. We trust the reader will not object to this, and hence, ere we close this our first section, we would ask him a question or two thereon.
And first, then, dear friend, art thou clear and settled as to thy "pedigree?" Is it a settled thing that thou art on the Lord’s side? Do not, we beseech thee, leave this grand question unsettled. We have asked it before, and we ask it again. Dost thou know - canst thou declare thy spiritual pedigree? It is the first thing for God’s warrior. It is of no use to think of entering the militant host so long as you are unsettled as to this point. We say not that a man cannot be saved without this. Far be the thought. But he cannot take rank as a man of war. He cannot do battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil, so long as he is filled with doubts and fears as to whether he belongs to the true spiritual stock. If there is to be any progress, if there is to be that decision, so essential to a spiritual warrior, we must be able to say, "We know that we have passed from death unto life" - "We know that we are of God."
This is the proper language of a man of war. Not one of that mighty host that mustered "over against the tabernacle of the congregation" would have understood such a thing as a single doubt, or shadow of a doubt as to his own very pedigree. Doubtless, he would have smiled, had any one raised a question on the subject. Each one of the six hundred thousand knew well whence he had sprung, and, therefore, where he was to take his stand. And just so with God’s militant host now. Each member thereof will need to possess the most unclouded confidence as to his relationship, else he will not be able to stand in the battle.
And then as to the "standard." What is it? Is it a doctrine? Nay. Is it a theological system? Nay. Is it an ecclesiastical polity? Nay. Is it a system of ordinances, rites, or ceremonies. Nothing of the sort, God’s warriors do not fight under any such banner. What is the standard of God’s militant host? Let us hear and remember. It is Christ. This is the only standard of God and the only standard of that warrior band which musters in this wilderness world, to wage war with the hosts of evil, and fight the battles of the Lord. Christ is the standard for everything. To have any other would only unfit us for that spiritual conflict to which we are called. What have we, as Christians, to do with contending for any system of theology church organisation? Of what account, is our estimation, are ordinances, ceremonies, or ritualistic observances? are we going to fight under such banners as these? God forbid! Our theology is the Bible. Our church organisation is the one God, formed by the presence of the Holy Ghost, and united to the living and exalted Head in the heavens. To contend for anything less than these is entirely below the mark of a true spiritual warrior.
Alas! alas! that so many who profess to belong to the Church of God should so forget their proper standard, and be found fighting under another banner. we may rest assured it super-induces weakness, falsifies the testimony, and hinders progress. If we would stand in the day of battle, we must acknowledge no standard whatsoever but Christ and His word - the living Word, and the written word. Here lies our security in the face of all our spiritual foes. The more closely we adhere to Christ and to Him alone the stronger and safer we shall be. To have Him as a perfect covering for our eyes - to keep close to Him - fast by His side, this is our grand moral safeguard. "The Children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard throughout their hosts."
Oh! that thus it may be throughout all the host of the Church of God! May all be laid aside for Christ! may He be enough for our hearts. As we trace our "pedigree" up to Him, may His name be inscribed on the "standard" round which we encamp in this wilderness, through which we are passing home to our eternal rest above! Reader, see to it, we beseech thee, that there be not one jot or tittle inscribed on thy banner save Jesus Christ - that name which is above every name, and which shall yet be exalted for ever throughout the wide universe of God.
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain THE ENCAMPING OF THE TRIBES (chapter 2).
THE ENCAMPING OF THE TRIBES (chapter 2).
The Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron. Probably when they had finished the census, and brought the results into the tabernacle.
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The camp of the Saints.
We have here, spiritually, the Church of God in its order and its beauty and its balanced proportion of parts; resting inwardly upon, and ranged outwardly around, the abiding presence of the Almighty, and thus prepared either to abide in harmony and safety, or to set forward without confusion and without fear. Consider, therefore, on a broad view of this chapter
I THAT THE ONE AND ONLY CENTRE OF THE WHOLE CAMP, of all its symmetry and all its order, WAS THE TABERNACLE OF GOD. About this were arranged in the inner lines of encampment the priests and Levites, in the outer lines the rest of Israel; the tent of the Presence was, as it were, the jewel of priceless worth, of which the camps of Levi formed the inner case, the other camps the outer casket. Even so the whole Church of God, in its broadest extent, is centered upon and drawn up about the spiritual presence of God in Christ, according to that which is written: "I will dwell in them, and walk in them." Whether for rest or for progress, for safety or success, all depends exclusively upon, all can be measured only with reference to, that Presence in the midst of her. She is herself, in the truest sense, the living shrine, the spiritual casket, which encloses and enfolds this Divine jewel. About this Presence against" it, full in view of it, looking straight towards it, albeit separated yet by an uncrossed interval all the tribes of God are drawn up, all of them near, all equally near, save that those are nearest who are specially devoted to the waiting upon that Presence.
II That as the glory and beauty of the encampment depended as to its internal symmetry upon the presence of God in the midst of it, so IT DEPENDED AS TO ITS OUTWARD PERFECTION UPON THE ORDERLY ARRANGEMENT AND HARMONY OF ITS PARTS, Every tribe and every family had its place, knew its place, kept its place, mutually supporting and supported by all the others. Even so God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, in all the Churches of the saints. Conflicting aims, rivalries, counter-workings, cannot be in the Divine ideal. Towards them that are without, in the face of the difficulties and hostilities of the Church"s earthly pilgrimage, an absolute discipline, a perfect oneness of purpose, a universal walking by the same rule and minding the same thing, is an essential part of the truth as it is in Jesus. (Joh_17:21, 22 1Co_1:10 Php_2:2 3:16)
III That this perfect order and discipline was not attained by ignoring or effacing the natural divisions and distinctions of the people, and by making of each individual an isolated unit before God; but, on the contrary, BY RECOGNIZING AND UTILIZING HUMAN DIVISIONS. "Every man shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father"s house." Even so within the common life of the Church of Christ there is room and use for many strong and lasting divergencies of Christian character and cast of thought due to national or social or educational distinctions. Variety embraced m unity is the law of the Spirit. There is a true sense in which all Christian truth and virtue are the proper heritage of each Christian soul, which each ought to possess; but there is also a true sense in which the Christian virtues, and even the complemental truths of the Christian faith, are rather distributed among the various portions of the Church than equally spread over all, or perfectly combined in any one. If we would have a true conception of the full beauty and power of Christianity, we must embrace in one view all the ages of faith, we must have respect unto east and west and north and south alike. If our own sympathies are chiefly with one or other, there will be the more reason to give heed that we do not overlook the excellence most remote from our own. Dan and Simeon, whatever might be said or feared of them, had their place in the camp of God as well as Judah and Ephraim.
Consider, again, on a closer inspection of the camp
1. That it lay foursquare in twelve great divisions, with the tabernacle in the center. And this arrangement is clearly of spiritual import, because it is carefully preserved in the prophetic visions of Ezekiel and St. John. The heavenly city, which is the camp of the saints, lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth. (Rev_20:9 Rev_21:16) And this seems to denote the absolute and unbroken equality, and the equal development in every direction, of the heavenly state, wherein it contrasts so strongly with the strange inequality and the one-sided character of all earthly good. The Church should lie foursquare because she should show an equal front, and have attained a like extension in every direction, in whatsoever way regarded. And notice here that the superior perfection of the gospel is shown herein, that the holy city not only lieth as a perfect square, but standeth as a perfect cube, length and the breadth and the height of it are equal", (Rev_21:16) an impossibility bordering on the grotesque, in order to emphasize the entire absence of anything one-sided, unequal, or imperfect. Again, the holy city, like the camp of Israel, is laid out with careful respect unto the number twelve, because this is the full and perfect number of the tribes, and intimates that the Church is of all, and for all, who can in any wise be reckoned as the people of God.
2. That the foursquare arrangement of the camp was ideal and could only be approximately realized in the wilderness through the evil necessity of things: the camps could not be pitched across rugged mountains or precipitous ravines, such as constantly lay in their way. Even so the ideal picture of the Church drawn in the New Testament has never been adequately realized, nor perhaps can be, amidst the confusions and contradictions of time. Her harmony and symmetry are grievously marred for want of room, and through the impracticable nature of men and circumstances. Nevertheless, the Divine ideal lives before her eyes and within her heart, and it is the unchanging hope of every faithful soul to behold it realized, sooner or later, in the good providence of God. In the mean time, when outward regularity was impossible, the one thing for each tribe to do was to pitch as near to the tabernacle, on its own side, as possible. Even so the practical wisdom and duty of every Church is to abide as near to God as it can according to the truth and order it has received; the nearer to God, the closer to one another.
3. That, among the tribes, Judah held the van, and his standard led the way, on which was borne aloft "the lion of the tribe of Judah." Even so Christ concerning whom "it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda" (Heb_7:14) must always go before us in the way, and all the hosts of light must follow after him.
4. That Dan at this time was very large in numbers, and held an honourable place, and was a standard-bearer; yet afterwards he dwindled, and left the place given him by Providence, and sought another for himself, and fell into idolatry, and was struck out at last from the list of the Israel of God. Even so it happens that some particular Church or some individual at one time shall stand high, and be a leader, and hold a place of command, yet afterwards shall swerve from the right way, and fall into some idolatry, and be cast out as evil at the last. But it is not necessary to seek to discover wickedness in the first estate because it is in the last; as in Dan it is not possible to find any cause of wrath while he walked with the others in the wilderness; and even Judas must have been sincere at first, and was not discerned from the other eleven.
5. That at this time the children of Leah were all together, and that this union was apparently made sure for ever by their dwelling side by side in Canaan. Yet when the great division came, Ephraim and Manasseh went one way, Benjamin the other. Even so it often happens that those who have grown up together as brethren in the common enjoyment of spiritual blessings and practice of religious duties, are thereafter widely separated by some great sifting, and take opposite sides on some fundamental question.
HOMILIES BY W. BINNIE Chapter 2. The master at Sinai.
The children of Israel in the wilderness were a divinely-framed figure or parable of the Church of Christ. Devout readers of the story of the long march from Egypt to Canaan have always been haunted with such an irrepressible feeling of this figurative and spiritual intention, that traces of it are apparent in the familiar speech of all the Christian nations. Christians everywhere speak of redemption from bondage, the wilderness of this world, the wilderness journey, the heavenly manna, the "Rock of ages cleft for me," the land of promise, Pisgah views of the better land, the dark Jordan, the promised inheritance. The muster at Sinai is a chapter in the long parable; a chapter as replete as any with instruction regarding the Church of God.
I THE CHURCH IS AN ARMY. The enumeration at Sinai was not an ordinary census. It took note only of such as were fit to bear arms. These opening chapters of Numbers are a muster-roll. The Church in this world is the Church militant. Christ is a Man of war. (Psa_45:3-5) Every true follower of Christ is called to be a soldier, and to fight a good fight. There is no place in Christ"s host either for neutrals or non-combatants. (Mat_12:30)
II THE CHURCH IS AN ARMY ON THE MARCH.
1. Not settled in permanent quarters. The wilderness was not a place to build cities in or to plant vineyards. As little is the world a continuing city to Christ"s saints. Compare "this tabernacle," 2Co_5:1 2Pe_1:14. We are passing travelers here.
2. Marching to an appointed place. In some sense all men believers and unbelievers alike are on the march. Compare the Anglo-Saxon prince"s comparison of human life to the flight of the bird out of the dark night, through the lighted hall, and out by the opposite door into the darkness again. God"s people are not only passers-by, but "strangers" here, who have in view a country beyond. Their back is toward Egypt, their face toward Canaan, and they are on the move from the one to the other. "We nightly pitch our moving tent A day"s march nearer home.
III THE CHURCH IS AN ARMY WITH BANNERS. Not a mob, but a marshaled host.
Observe the order prescribed in this chapter for the encampment and for the march. This idea of the Church has often been abused to the support of ecclesiastical systems for which there is no warrant in the New Testament. The sort of organized unity proper to the Hebrew Church cannot be transferred to the Church Catholic. Still the idea is true and valuable. God is a God of order, and not of confusion. We believe in the communion of saints. Christians are not to fight every one for his own hand, or march every one by himself. It is a good and pleasant thing for brethren to come together and keep together.
IV THE CHURCH IS AN ARMY OF WHICH GOD KEEPS A PERFECT ROLL. A good general would like to know, and Christ does know, every one of his men by name, and they are written in his book. When a soul is born again born in Zion the Lord registers the fact; (Psa_87:6) and lye continually remembers the person"s name. "I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me.
V THE CHURCH IS AN ARMY WHICH HAS THE LORD FOR ITS EVER-PRESENT LEADER AND COMMANDER. The ark of the covenant led the van on the march, and rested in the midst of the congregation when it encamped. "Go ye into all the world; ... and, lo, I am with you alway. B.
HOMILIES BY E.S. PROUT Vers. 1, 2. God"s tabernacle in the midst of Israel"s tents.
I AS THE SOURCE OF ORDER. Israel formed an armed encampment, not a mob. The place of each tribe was assigned by God, and thus was not a matter of caprice or partiality on the part of Moses (verse 34). They were grouped according to their tribes and families. A post in the rearguard was as honourable as one in the van, because a matter of Divine appointment. Yet all "afar off," as a sign of the reverence due to their God. Apply this truth to the tribes, i.e., the visible Churches and denominations of the Israel of God. This may be illustrated from apostolic days, or from modern Church history. Each has a position, historical, geographical, social, assigned by the providence of God. Each tribe had some peculiarities, (cf. Ge 49) as each section of the Church has. And as there were, no doubt, reasons for the position allotted to every family, so the God of "order" and "peace" (1Co 14) designed that every Church should fill its appointed place ("by its own standard," etc.), and, as part of the militant host, stand in orderly relations to himself and to the brotherhood. The same truth extends to individuals, the bounds of their habitation and the sphere of their service having been fixed by God.
II AS A CENTER OF ATTRACTION. The doors of the tents probably faced the tabernacle. It was a center of attraction
1. For guidance, through the high priest, and Moses, and the symbolic cloud. (cf. Psa_25:4, Psa_25:5, Psa_25:9, Psa_25:15)
2. For pardon, through sacrifice. And God himself is the only hope of a sinful Church. (Jer_14:7-9 2Co_5:18, 2Co_5:19)
3. For purity, through the restraining and elevating influence of a holy God ever present in their midst. (cf. Deu_23:14 with 2Co_6:16-18; 2Co_7:1)
III AS A PLEDGE OF SAFETY, both when encamped (verse 2) or on the march (verse 17). So "God is in the midst" "of the tabernacles of the Most High," the homes of his people. (cf. Deu_4:7, and Rom_8:31) He is in our midst as "a lion" to terrify our foes, (Hos_11:10; see Act_5:17, Act_5:42) as a fire to enlighten and to protect, (Isa_4:5) as "a man of war" to fight for us. (Isa_49:25, 26 Num_23:21) This presence of God in our midst should inspire
(1) confidence, (Deu_33:29)
(2) reverence, (Psa_89:7)
(3) joy, (Psa_118:15) and should prepare us for the fulfillment of the promise in Rev_21:3-7. P.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG Chapter 2. The discipline of God"s army.
As the first chapter discovers the size of God"s army, so the second discovers the discipline of it. Number is nothing without order and discipline. A handful of cavalry can scatter a mob. Discipline also prevents rivalries. If those about our Lord, in spite of all his teaching, asked, "Who shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" then we may be sure there were many ambitious souls asking in the wilderness, "Who shall be greatest in Israel?" The discipline set before us in this chapter was particularly related to the tabernacle. In this connection the discipline may be regarded as intended to secure three things.
I REVERENCE FOR THE SANCTUARY. They were to pitch the camp far off about the tabernacle. There was plenty of a superstitious and idolatrous spirit among the Israelites, but the reverence was wanting that comes from intelligent appreciation. But for a special injunction to the contrary, they would very likely have crowded round the tabernacle, as feeling nothing peculiar about the ark. This lesson of reverence had to be sharply taught again and again, e.g., to the Philistines and the men of Bethshemesh (1Sa 5 and 1Sa 6), and to Uzzah. (2Sa 6) The fear of God is not only the beginning of wisdom, but also of security and spiritual conquests. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The Israelites carried about with them something as awful as the mount that burned with fire. So in the Church of Christ there should be a deep habitual reverence for the Almighty. The death of Ananias and Sapphira is a lesson for all ages as to the danger of forgetting that God is strict to mark iniquity. Confidence is necessary, but in our boldest approaches there must be the deepest humility. If we waged our spiritual warfare with real reverence for the great Trinity above, there would be more success.
II DEFENSE OF THE SANCTUARY. It was in the midst, alike in resting and in marching. Travelers in savage countries circle themselves with fire at night, to keep off the wild beasts. So the circling tribes were to be a defense to the tabernacle. The company of Judah marched in front, and Dan brought up the rear. Judah went from honour to honour among the tribes, until the honour culminated in the inn at Bethlehem. Reuben, though the eldest, was not put first. "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel." He could do something, leaning on Judah; not last, yet not competent to be first. But exactly all the reasons why the tribes were arranged thus, and not otherwise, we cannot tell. Jehovah had the sovereign disposal of the matter; not therefore arbitrary, or without cause. A commander does not give reasons for his strategy, though some of them may be afterwards discoverable. God has given his people to defend the sanctuary still, to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints; against the paganism of the old world, and all sorts of corruption in Christendom itself; against the pride of science transgressing its borders. We have to fight for an open Bible, free to every one caring to read it; a full Bible, its truths not minimized or attenuated to suit the fancies of men; a pure Bible, interpreted in its own light, and not confused with the distortions of later traditions. The Scriptures are our tabernacle, and we must defend them as something solemnly put in our charge.
III PROTECTION FROM THE SANCTUARY. That which we defend protects us. Peter, before the Council, asserted and acted his right to preach the gospel. "We must obey God rather than men." Defending what was committed to his charge, he also was defended when God delivered him from Herod"s prison. The unfaithful are the insecure. When we are searching the Bible to defend it against the attacks of its enemies, we are multiplying comforts and defenses for our own souls. How many looking for arguments have also found balm and security! The Lord would have Israel to understand that it was not because they were 600, 000, but because he was their Leader, they were strong. Let our protection come from God. Protections of human device are like the experiments in modern naval construction. A defense may be announced perfect, but some new weapon will make it worthless. The shield of faith alone will quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, Compare 1Co 14 with this chapter, as showing the need both for order and discipline. Y.
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 Pitch by his own standard.
Num_2:1-2
Pitch by his own standard.
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The marshalling of Israel, and its lessons
I. They all dwelt in tents; and when they marched carried all their tents along with them (Psa_107:4). This represents to us our state in this world.
1. It is a movable state; here to-day and gone to-morrow.
2. It is a military state; is not our life a warfare?
II. Those of a tribe were to pitch together, every man by his own standard. It is the will of God that mutual love and affection, conerse and communion, should be kept up among relations. Those that are of kin to each other should, as much as they can, be acquainted with each other, and the bonds of nature should be improved for the strengthening of the bends of Christian communion.
III. Every one must know his place, and keep in it. They were not allowed to fix where they pleased, nor to remove when they pleased; but God quarters them, with a charge to abide in their quarters. It is God that appoints us the bounds of our habitation, and to Him we must refer ourselves (Psa_47:4); and in His choice we must acquiesce, and not love to flit, nor be as the bird that wanders from her nest.
IV. Every tribe had its standard, flag, or ensign, and it should seem every family had some particular ensign of their fathers house, which were carried, as with us the colours of each company in a regiment are. These were of use for the distinction of tribes and families, and the gathering and keeping of them together; in allusion to which the preaching of the gospel is said to lift up an ensign, to which the Gentiles shall seek, and by which they shall pitch (Isa_11:10; Isa_11:12). God is the God of order, and not of confusion. These standards made this mighty army seem more beautiful to its friends, and more formidable to its enemies. The Church of Christ is said to be as terrible as an army with banners (Son_6:10).
V. They were to pitch about the tabernacle, which was to be in the midst of them, as the tent or pavilion of a general in the centre of an army. They must encamp round the tabernacle--
1. That it might be equally a comfort and joy to them all, as it was a token of Gods gracious presence with them (Psa_46:5). The tabernacle was in the midst of the camp, that it might be near to them; for it is a very desirable thing to have the solemn administration of holy ordinances near us, and within our reach. The kingdom of God is among you.
2. That they might be a guard and defence upon the tabernacle and the Levites on every side. No invader could come near Gods tabernacle, but he must first penetrate the thickest of their squadrons. If God undertake the protection of our comforts, we ought in our places to undertake the protection of His institutions, and stand up in defence of His honour, and interest, and ministers.
VI. Yet they were to pitch afar off, in reverence to the sanctuary, that it might not seem crowded and thrust up among them; and that the common business of the camp might be no annoyance to it. They were also taught to keep their distance, lest too much familiarity should breed contempt. But we are not ordered, as they were, to pitch afar off; no, we are invited to draw near, and come boldly. The saints of the Most High are said to be round about Him (Psa_76:12). God by His grace keeps us close to Him. (Matthew Henry, D. D.)
Israel typical of the Christian Church: -
I. The one israel.
1. Their real oneness of descent. The children of Abraham.
2. Their original condition. All bondsmen.
3. Their Divine deliverance. Brought out of Egypt, &c.
4. In one Divine covenant. Promises, &c.
5. Journeying to the one inheritance.
6. Under one command.
See how this all applies to the Church of the Saviour. All the children of God by faith, all heirs, all pilgrims, all of one covenant, one Saviour, &c.
essentially one; one in Christ Jesus.
II. The various tribes.
1. Their different names. Necessary for distinction--recognition.
2. Their different positions in the camp. See next chapter. East side, Num_2:3; south side, Num_2:10; west, Num_2:18; north, Num_2:25.
3. The various tribes were in one general accord and union. All one religious confederacy, absolutely one, worship one, &c.; in perils one, in warfare one, in prospects one.
III. The special directions to the different tribes.
1. Each tribe had their own standard or banner to distinguish it from the rest. No order without.
2. Each man was to be by his own standard. Not a wanderer; not a visitor to all; but his own fixed, legitimate position.
3. Thus the duties of every tribe would be regarded and fulfilled.
4. Thus the interests of all would be sustained.
IV. Spiritual lessons.
1. We see now the denominational tribes in the kingdom of Christ. Christians of different conditions, education, training, leaders, &c.
2. Christians have a special interest in their own camp.
3. To devote themselves to these is the first duty and privilege. Just as families are constituted, so churches.
4. All the various denominational camps constitute the one Church of the Saviour. Only one Israel, one body, one army, &c. For particular purposes, every man by his own camp; for general purposes, all acting in conjunction and harmony. (J. Burns, D. D.)
The marshalling of the people: -
I. Order.
1. God Himself delights in order.
2. The importance of order is recognised in human affairs.
3. This order was probably divinely institated as a means to peace and unity.
II. Variety. Each camp had its own characteristic standard. And each tribe and each fathers house had its own distinctive ensign. Monotony is not a mark of divinity. Variety characterises the works of God, Countries differ in their climates, conformations, productions, &c. The features of landscapes differ. Trees, flowers, faces, minds differ. With one spirit there may be many forms.
III. Unity. All the tribes were gathered about the tabernacle of the congregation, as around a common centre. They had different standards, but constituted one nation.
1. The dependence of all on God. All the tribes looked to Him for support, provision, protection, direction, &c.
2. The access of all to God. The tabernacle was the sign of the presence of God with them.
3. The reverence of all towards God. They were to pitch over against the tabernacle. Probably the tribes were two thousand cubits from it. Cf. Jos_3:4. They were thus to encamp around the sacred place, that no stranger might draw near to it; and the Levites were to encamp near the tabernacle on every side, that the people themselves might not draw too near to it, but might be taught to regard it with respect and reverence.
IV. Security. The tabernacle of God in the midst of the camp was a guarantee of their safety. His presence in their midst would tend to--
1. Quell their fears. He had wrought marvellous things on their behalf in the past: He was ever doing great things for them. Then why should they quail before any danger or enemy?
2. Inspire their confidence and courage. It should have given to them the assurance of victory in conflict, &c. (Num_10:35-36). Distance from God is weakness and peril to His Church.
Nearness to Him is safety and power. Living in vital union with Him all-conquering might is ours. Conclusion--
1. Learn sincerely and heartily to recognise as members of the Christian Israel all who have the Christian spirit, however widely they may differ from us in forms and opinions.
2. Think less of our isms and more of Christs Church; less of theological and ecclesiastical systems, and more of Christs gospel; less of human authority and patronage, and more of the Lord Jesus Christ. (W. Jones.)
Why God assigns to every tribe his place and order:
The causes of this dealing of God toward His people are three: one in respect of Himself, another in respect of Israel, the third in regard of the enemies of them both, of God and His people.
1. The cause respecting God is, that they and all other might see what a wise God they serve. If they, professing the knowledge and service of the true God, had wandered up and down in the wild and waste wilderness, in such troops of men, in a confused manner, not knowing who should go before, nor regarding who should follow after, the name of God would have been dishonoured, His wisdom impaired, and His glory diminished. He leaveth them not to themselves, but assigneth to each tribe his proper mansion, to take away from them all confusion, and to cut off all matter of contention. For except He had established as by a law the order that should be observed among them, and thereby decided all questions that might arise touching priority, many hurly-burlies and heart-burnings would be entertained, and part-takings would be nourished; which being kindled at the first as a little spark of fire, would afterwards break out into such a flame as would spread further, and in the end hardly be quenched.
2. They are mustered and marshalled into an exact and exquisite order, to dismay and terrify their enemies, as also to confirm and encourage their own hearts. Great is the force of unity, peace, and concord. One man serveth to strengthen and establish another, like many staves bound together in one. Many sticks or staves joined in one bundle are not easily broken; but sever them and pull them asunder, they are soon broken with little strength. Thus the case standeth in all societies, whether it be in the Church or Commonwealth, or in the private family. If our hearts be thoroughly united one to another, we need not fear what man can do unto us; but if we be at war between ourselves, we lie open to our enemies to work us indignity whatsoever. (W. Attersoll.)
Gods delight in order: -
1. God is the God of order, not of confusion. As He hath order in Himself, so He commandeth and commendeth an order to be used of us.
2. All wise men will order their affairs with wisdom and discretion, and will dispose of them with seemliness and comeliness. An expert captain that goeth against his enemies will keep his soldiers in good array, whether he march or retire. If he fly out of the field out of order one is ready to overthrow another, and all are left to the mercy of his adversary.
3. The Church is not a confused multitude shuffled together, where no man knoweth his place or his office, and one encroacheth upon another; but it is the house of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth. Now in a house well ordered is to be seen the master as the ruler, and the family subject to his government, every one employing his proper gifts, and no man usurping the place and calling of another. If this be to be seen in our private houses, how much more must we conceive this of the Church of God, which is the house that He hath builded, the mountain of the Lord which He hath prepared, and the peculiar people which He hath chosen?
Uses:
1. Learn from hence to acknowledge an exquisite order in all Gods words and works above and beneath, in heaven and on earth.
2. This reproveth such as know no order, but bring in all confusion and disorder in Church or commonwealth; these have nothing to do with God, but are the children of the devil, that hath transformed them into his image and likeness. For from whence are seditions and confusions but from our own lusts, enflamed and kindled from his furnace?
3. Seeing God requireth orderly observation of His ordinances, we learn this duty, that we must be careful to observe it and practise it with a due regard of His commandment. This is the general rule that the apostle commendeth unto us (1Co_14:1-40). (W. Attersoll.)
Divine appointments:
The camp of Judah was to set forth first, the camp of Reuben was to set forth in the second rank, the camp of Ephraim was to go forward in the third rank, the camp of Dan was to go hindmost with their standards. Judah first, Reuben second, Ephraim third; these terms are arithmetical and may be accepted without murmuring; but the next term is more than arithmetical--the camp of Dan hindmost. That seems to be a word of inferiority and of rebuke. Had the numbers been--first, second, third, fourth, the arithmetic would have been complete; but to be hindmost is to be further behind than to be merely fourth; it is to have the position marked so broadly as almost to amount to a brand of tribal degradation. Faith in the Divine appointment could alone secure religious contentment under such circumstances. This is as necessary to-day, in view of the distribution of men, with their various gifts and their endlessly varied vocations. What is the astronomical force that so whirls society around an invisible centre as to sink the mountains into plains and lift up the valleys to a common level? Order is but another word for purpose, or another word for mind. This mechanism was not self-invented or self-regulated; behind this military table of position and movement is the God of the whole universe. It requires the whole Trinity to sustain the tiny insect that trembles out its little life in the dying sunbeam; even that frail heart does not throb by having some small portion of the Divine energy detached to attend to its affairs. Dan was to go hindmost. The hindmost position has its advantages. It is a rule in the higher criticism that a critic on looking at a picture shall first look for its beauties. We ought, surely, to look so upon the picture of Providence, the map of human life, the marvellous academy of society. The greater the statesman, the greater the responsibility he has to sustain; the greater the genius, the more poignant its occasional agonies; the more sensitive the nature, the more is every wound felt, the more is every concussion regarded with fear. The foremost soldiers will be in battle first; we who are hindmost may have only to shout the hosanna of victory. This age is the hindmost in procession of time; is it therefore the inferior age? The nineteenth century comes after all the eighteen; but it therefore comes on the firmer ground, with the larger civilisation, with the ampler library, with the more extended resources; it comes with a thousand-handed ability because it is the hindmost of the days. Take this view of all circumstances, and life will become a joy where it has long been a pain; our very disqualifications in one direction may become qualifications in another. In the Old Testament and in the New Testament there was some regard to specialty of gift, to definiteness of position; having lost that regard we have lost power. You do not say the clock is an excellent timekeeper, but no use at all as a musical instrument. You do not take up a trumpet and say, a finer instrument was never made to call men to feast or to battle, but it is utterly useless if you want it to tell you the time of day. Every man in his own place, in his sphere. The great question is not in what regiment we are, but rather, are we in the army of Christ--whether with Judah first, with Reuben second, with Ephraim third, or with Dan the hindmost tribe? To be in the army is the great consideration. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Satisfied with ones own position:
Many would do well to learn the lesson taught in an old parable. I dont know, said the turnstile one day, in a reflective mood, I dont know that I ought to have thought so ill of my lot, and to have fretted over it as I have done. Tis true a turnstile has plenty of worry, as I have truly proved; worry and whirl all the day long I Nobody will ever pass without giving a turnstile a swing round; and whoever returns, ten to one but he gives the turnstile a whirling twist the other way! Indeed, I have said that I wouldnt wish to any one, whether friend or foe, the life of a poor turnstile. No. But then, as that old wheel of the waggon said yesterday, mines a pleasant life and a favoured lot compared with his. If I have to turn round, he has the same; and whilst he has the burden of the cart, there is beside the weight of the load it carries pressing on him, and I have no encumbrances. So, on the whole, perhaps Id better try and be satisfied; that is, as satisfied as I can afford to be, with so many turns about as must in my situation naturally come to my lot. (Biblical Museum.)
The camp: -
1. The tents. They stand to-day; to-morrow sees the cords relaxed, the fastenings removed, and a vacant place. My soul, from Israels tents you learn how fleeting is lifes day! Press then the question, When I go hence, is an abiding mansion mine?
2. The order. Let Israels camp be now more closely scanned. What perfect regularity appears! Rule draws each line. Our God delights in order. Is it not so in every Christian heart? When Jesus takes the throne, wise rule prevails. Disturbing lusts lie down. Is it not so in Christian life? There is no tangled labyrinth of plans--no misspent diligence--no toll without a purpose.
3. The position. All these tents share one grand privilege. They all have common focus. As the planets circle the sun, so these surround the sanctuary. God is the centre. They form the wide circumference. And from each door one sight--the holy tent--is visible. God in Christ Jesus is the centre, the heart, the life, the strength, the shield, the joy of His believing flock.
4. The standard. A standard floats above each tribe. Beneath the well-known sign they rest, and by its side they march. Believers have an ensign too. The banner over them is Jesus love (Solomon Son_2:4). The standard is a pledge of safety. Beneath it there is sweet repose. Beside it there is misery. (Dean Law.)
The most prominent banner:
It is narrated that when, in the time of the Crusades, the lion-hearted Richard I. of England, the Emperor of Austria, and the King of France were jointly waging war against the valiant heathen, Saladin, a jealousy sprang up in the camp between England and Austria, and one morning the British banner was found lying in the dust on St. Georges Mount--a distinguished point on which it had long waved--and the banner of Austria was planted in its stead; impetuous Richard, who was confined to his tent through severe illness, no sooner heard of it than he strode forth alone, and before the assembled hosts hurled Austrias ensign to the ground, and caused the lion once more to take the prominence, remarking, Your banners may be arranged around mine, but must never take its place. So may it be in our preaching. Let the Lion of the tribe of Judah alone have the prominence. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
God the centre:
For more than fifty centuries men watched the starlit sky, noted the changes of the planets, and endeavoured to discover the laws which governed their movements; they took careful observations, made elaborate calculations, and yet the law of the harmony of the heavens remained a mystery. The stars were still supposed to follow fantastic circles which no rule of science could explain: their orbits formed a labyrinth of which the most learned failed to find the clue. One day a man of genius said, The sun, and not the earth, is the centre from which the worlds must be regarded. At once the harmony appeared; planets and their satellites moved in regular orbits; the system of the universe was revealed. God is the sun and the true centre of the spiritual world; only in the light in which He dwells can the destinies of man be truly read. (Eugene Bersier.)
Effectiveness of unity:
Pliny writes of a stone in the island of Scyros, that if it be whole, though a large and heavy one, it swims above water, but being broken it sinks. So long as the Church keeps together nothing can sink it. A thousand grains of powder, or a thousand barrels scattered, a grain in a place, and fired at intervals, would burn, it is true, but would produce no concussion. Placed together in effective position they would lift up a mountain and cast it into the sea. Even so the whole Church, filled with faith and the Holy Ghost, will remove every mountain and usher in the jubilee of the redemption.
Lessons from our national banner
When the Union Jack flies to the breeze the meaning is that what is under it is British property, and is a sort of challenge to touch that property. Every country had a flag. In old times very little did for a flag. One great nation had simply a wisp of straw on a pole, and another power in the East had but a blacksmiths apron. The Union Jack was their flag, and its composition was very simple. It was not made at all; like all the best things in this world, it grew. At first, in the thirteenth century, there was nothing but a single cross-one straight horizontal line and another perpendicular line. That was the cross of St. George, and it was introduced by Richard of the Lion-heart on his return from the Crusades. When away fighting in Palestine he came to know about St. George, whom he installed as his patron saint, took for his battle cry, and emblazoned on his flag. When England and Scotland were united under James I. of England, that monarch added the Scottish cross, and called the flag the Union Jack. That was his own name, as he usually signed it in the French way, Jacques. Two centuries later the Irish flag was placed on the top of the other two. The Union Jack was thus made up of three crosses, each being laid on the top of the other as each country came into the Union. These were the emblems of St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick--the patron saints of the three countries. First, there was St. George. George originally meant a cultivated piece of ground, and parents in thus christening their children meant to say, Would that God would make this little boy a garden of God! They could desire nothing better than to be gardens of God. They must be gardens--they must allow themselves to be sown in--and they had to in their choice either to produce good or evil. Every good thought was a good seed. Now let us think a little about St. Andrew. There never was a live apostle in Scotland, but some one thought the bones of St. Andrew would do the Scots some good. So they were brought to St. Andrews, and that was the beginning of what was at one time the greatest city in Scotland. Andrew meant manly. Why was the object of the Brigade said to be the promotion of true manliness? Was it not as opposed to false manliness? Every one despised those who tried to be men before their time. Little was known about St. Patrick. He was carried away captive from Scotland to Ireland when a boy, and after obtaining his liberty he so pitied the people of Ireland that he went back to try and do them good. It was well for them to remember St. Patrick. Now, what did the flag teach them? It was a union--a Union Jack. It had been the strength of the British army all through, and it was owing to it that the English, Scotch, and Irish had fought side by side and helped one another. What they had to learn was the strength of union. The Cross led to victory. The Cross meant death to Christ, and the death of Christ meant that One came from heaven to die for them that they might be Gods children. Under which flag would they determine to serve? Under that of Christ, which led to happiness, or under that which assuredly would lead to misery and ruin? The greatest disgrace that could befall a man was the forsaking of his own flag to serve under another. To act thus was to be a traitor to his king. It was the worst thing possible not to yield themselves to Christ. Let them not try to serve Christ and some one else. Let them make up their minds and resolve that they would henceforth fight for what was good and do what was good. (Prof. Marcus Dods, D. D. , Sermon to Boys Brigade.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain In this chapter we have the order of the…
THE MARSHALLING OF THE PEOPLE
(Num_2:1-2)
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In this chapter we have the order of the twelve tribes in the camp and on the march. And in these verses we have the general directions which the Lord gave unto Moses for marshalling the tribes. Keil and Del.: “The twelve tribes were to encamp each one by his standard, by the signs of their fathers’ houses, opposite to the tabernacle (at some distance) round about, and, according to the more precise directions given afterwards, in such order that on every side of the tabernacle three tribes were encamped side by side and united under one banner, so that the twelve tribes formed four large camps or divisions of an army. Between these camps and the court surrounding the tabernacle, the three leading mishpachoth (i.e., families or clans) of the Levites were to be encamped on three sides, and Moses and Aaron with the sons of Aaron (i.e., the priests) upon the fourth, i.e., the front or eastern side, before the entrance (Num_3:21-38) דֶּנֶל, a standard, banner, or flag, denotes primarily the larger field sign, possessed by every division composed of three tribes, which was also the banner of the tribe at the head of each division; and secondarily, in a derivative signification, it denotes the army united under one standard, like σημεία, or vexillum. It is used thus, for example, in Num_2:17; Num_2:31; Num_2:34, and in combination with מַחֲנֶה in Num_2:3; Num_2:10; Num_2:18; Num_2:25, where ‘standard of the camp of Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan’ signifies the hosts of the tribes arranged under these banners. אֹתת, the signs (ensigns) were the smaller flags or banners which were carried at the heads of the different tribes and subdivisions of the tribes (the fathers’ houses). Neither the Mosaic law, nor the Old Testament generally, gives us any intimation as to the form or character of the standard (degel). According to rabbinical tradition, the standard of Judah bore the figure of a lion, that of Reuben the likeness of a man, or of a man’s head, that of Ephraim the figure of an ox, and that of Dan the figure of an eagle; so that the four living creatures united in the cherubic forms described by Ezekiel were represented upon these four standards.”
In these verses we have four homiletic points.
I. Order.
The Lord here gives directions to Moses concerning the order that was to be observed amongst them. The great importance of a clear and well understood arrangement amongst so large a number of men will be obvious upon the slightest consideration. But notice:—
1. God Himself delights in order. This is clearly manifest in His works,—in the rising and setting of the sun and moon, in the sublime march of the stars, in the ebbing and flowing of the tides, in the regular succession of the seasons. Even comets, those apparently erratic wanderers in space, are not erratic; but move with perfect precision both as regards space and time.
2. The importance of order is recognised in human affairs. In the Christian Church, in national government, in military affairs, in the family and home, and in the individual life, order is of the utmost importance, and is fraught with the greatest advantages. “Order,” says Southey, “is the sanity of the mind, the health of the body, the peace of the city, the security of the state. As the beams to a house, as the bones to the microcosm of man, so is order to all things.” “Let all things,” says St. Paul, “be done decently, and in order.”
3. This order was probably Divinely instituted as a means to peace and unity. It is probable that if God had not determined the order which should be observed among them, there would have been strife and contention for priority and precedence. Thus the tribe of Reuben might have claimed the pre-eminence as a birth-right, and refused to fall in with the arrangement by which Judah held the post of honour and headed the march. While Judah might have refused to concede the position to Reuben, because of their own vast numerical superiority. Again, the tribe of Simeon, for the same reason, might have refused to occupy a position subordinate to that of Reuben; for the former tribe numbered 59,300, while the latter only 46,500. Other causes of dissatisfaction and dispute would also, probably, have been discovered. And the issue would have been strife, divisions, and we know not what evils. But the Lord prevents this by himself determining the arrangement of the tribes. Order is ever conducive to peace and unity. Let us cultivate order. (a)
II. Variety.
There were different standards. Each camp had its own characteristic standard. And each tribe and each father’s house had its own distinctive ensign. Their order was not monotonous. Monotony is not a mark of divinity. Variety characterises the works of God. Countries differ in their climates, conformations, productions, etc. The features of landscapes differ. “Star differeth from star.” Trees, flowers, faces, minds differ. Hence it seems reasonable that we should find different ensigns in the Church of Christ. With one spirit there may be many forms. With unity of the inner life there may be great variety of outward development. There are many denominations in the Christian Church because there are differences of mind, temperament, degrees of education and culture, etc., in those who compose the Church. This variety is promotive of health, activity, usefulness, (b)
III. Unity.
All the tribes were gathered “about the tabernacle of the congregation,” as around a common centre. They had different standards and ensigns, but constituted one nation. Their position in relation to the tabernacle illustrates—
1. The dependence of all on God. All the tribes looked to Him for support, provision, protection, direction, etc.
2. The access of all to God. The tabernacle was the sign of the presence of God with them. It was in their midst; not very far from any of them. All of them in the appointed way might approach Him in worship. Through Christ we both (Jews and Gentiles) “have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (See Eph_2:18-22.)
3. The reverence of all towards God. They were to pitch “over against the tabernacle.” Probably the tribes were 2,000 cubits distant from it. Compare Jos_3:4. They were thus to encamp around the sacred place, that no stranger might draw near to it; and the Levites were to encamp near the tabernacle on every side, that the people themselves might not draw too near to it, but might be taught to regard it with respect and reverence. “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him.” Now, all Christians are one in their relation to the Lord Jesus Christ. All depend upon God as revealed in Him; all approach unto God through Him; all reverence God in Him. The various denominations of Christians constitute the one Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the centre of unity. As Christians draw nearer to Him they will draw nearer to each other; not in uniformity, but in increasing nearness to Jesus Christ will the increase of true unity be found. “Uniformity is the creation of man; unity is the inspiration of God. The first can be made by a mask; the latter must be created or imparted by the Spirit of God. Uniformity is compatible with death; unity is inseparable from real and conscious life. Uniformity is the churchyard; unity is the church itself of the living God. All may be uniform, yet all may be dead; none can have real, inner, spiritual, vital unity, without having that truth which God inspires, and that life of which Christ is the Giver.”
IV. Security.
The tabernacle of God in the midst of the camp was a guarantee of their safety. We may apply to them the words of one of their poets of a subsequent age: “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved,” etc.
His presence in their midst would tend to—
1. Quell their fears. He had wrought marvellous things on their behalf in the past; He was ever doing great things for them. Then why should they quail before any danger or enemy?
2. Inspire their confidence and courage. It should have given to them the assurance of victory in conflict, etc. This seems to have been the idea of Moses: “When the ark set forward, Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee before Thee.” Distance from God is weakness and peril to His Church. Nearness to Him is safety and power. Living in vital union with Him all-conquering might is ours.
Conclusion—
1. Let us learn sincerely and heartily to recognise as members of the Christian Israel all who have the Christian spirit, however widely they may differ from us in forms and opinions.
2. Let us think less of our isms, and more of Christ’s Church; less of theological and ecclesiastical systems, and more of Christ’s Gospel; less of human authority and patronage, and more of the Lord Jesus Christ.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) Order is Heaven’s first law—a glorious law,
Seen in those pure and beauteous isles of light
That come and go, as circling months fulfil
Their high behest. Nor less on earth discern’d,
‘Mid rocks snow-clad, or wastes of herbless sand,
Throughout all climes, beneath all varying skies,
Fixing for e’en the smallest flower that blooms
Its place of growth.
Milton.
(b) Let us go down and stand by the beach of the great, irregular sea, and count whether the thunder of it is not out of time. One—two—here comes a well-formed wave at last, trembling a little at the top, but, on the whole, orderly. So, crash among the shingle, and up as far as this grey pebble; now stand by and watch! Another! Ah, careless wave! why couldn’t you have kept your crest on? It is all gone away into spray, striking up against the cliffs there. I thought as much—missed the mark by a couple of feet! Another! How now, impatient one! couldn’t you have waited till your friend’s reflux was done with, instead of rolling yourself up with it in that unseemly manner? You go for nothing. A fourth, and a goodly one at last. What think we of yonder slow rise and crystalline hollow, without a flaw? Steady, good wave; not so fast, not so fast: Where are you coming to? By our architectural word, this is too bad; two yards over the mark, and ever so much of you in our face besides; and a wave which we had some hope of, behind there, broken all to pieces out at sea, and laying a great white table-cloth of foam all the way to the shore, as if the marine gods were to dine off it! Alas! for these unhappy arrow-shots of Nature; she will never hit her mark with those unruly waves of hers, nor get one of them into the ideal shape, if we wait for her a thousand years.… But the sea was meant to be irregular! Yes, and were not also the leaves and the blades of grass; and, in a sort, as far as may be without mark of sin, even the countenance of man? Or would it be pleasanter and better to have us all alike, and numbered on our foreheads, that we might be known one from the other?—Ruskin.
The sun comes forth. And first I perceive the chick-weed blossoming, almost inconspicuous. It is born again of the sun, and shows the sun’s power. Just beyond there is a clump of violets. They are born again out of death into life by the power of the sun. Further on are bulbs of various kinds. And each developes in its own way. One has one style of leaf or bloom, and another another. And they multiply as the sun grows warmer, till the woods and fields swarm with myriads of growths, some purple, some red, some white, some blue, some green, all shades, and combinations, and forms being represented. They are all born of the sun, and brought into their life and power; and yet they are widely different in their structure and appearance. Would you reduce them all to one, and have nothing but daisies, nothing but tulips, or nothing but violets? Are not God’s abundant riches in this, that when He creates life from death in so many ways there are presented such variations of beauty and amiableness? So it is with the truths of the Gospel. God does not make those truths the same to any two minds. If men had the subtle power of analysis, so as to seize just what they feel, and put their feelings exactly into words, I believe it would be found that no two persons on the face of the earth ever stated or could state, their views of a fact alike. God, that never made two faces alike; God, that never made two leaves alike; God, that makes unity with infinite diversity—He does not mean that men shall feel just alike. The amplitude of being is expressed by variations of being, that go back to essential unity, and take hold of a common root. And the attempt to bring the glowing and fervid Orientals, the staid and practical Occidentals, the mediæval minds, the artist minds, the sombre and unirradiating natures, and the light and pay natures, all to one statement of speculative truth, is as wild and preposterous as the boy’s race after the rainbow. It cannot be done.—H. W. Beecher.
MAN IN RELATION TO ORDER, HOME, AND GOD
(Num_2:2)
Let us inquire what God would teach by this.
I. The importance of Order in everything.
God here insists upon method in all their movements. Each was to be in his own place. He was thus teaching His people, and, through them, the world. The sojourn in the wilderness was their school-time; hence we have so much of it. In the lessons God taught them we find principles that are to guide us. God loves order in everything: He is not the author of confusion. Satan brought discord into the world. There was not a jarring note in the universe till sin came into existence. God loves order. You can see this in all His works; there is no confusion or waste in anything; nothing is neglected or left out; nothing can be improved upon. In all there is completeness and harmony. God is our pattern in this. The highest art is the best copying of nature. So in human life, the noblest, the highest is the one that follows most closely in the footprints of God. To live well is of vast importance to us, and it is impossible with disorder and confusion. In business, if there is no method, failure must be the result. In the home life, if there is no order, there must be misery. So order is essential to success in the religious life. “Let all things be done decently and in order,” said Paul. The reference is to the regularity and discipline of an army: the order is as perfect as possible; and it is this which makes all the difference between an army and a rabble. Order is the essence of beauty, strength, comfort, and usefulness.
II. The sacredness of family life.
Each was to be “with the ensign of his father’s house;” his place was to be with his family. The people had been slaves; and slavery saps the foundation of family life. God has to teach them the sacredness of the family circle. There can be no real national life unless the family life be pure and sacred. Men only live in families. The brutes dwell in herds. God has given man the family instinct; and the Bible and religion ever tend to strengthen, purify, and ennoble it. The higher a man rises in the scale of being, the deeper is his interest in his family. The more we love God, the more we love one another. Divine love sanctifies and elevates the human. God taught the people here to respect their families. Many parents seem to be anxious only to feed, clothe, and help their children for this life. Are their children brutes? Are they to perish like the beasts? Or, have they a soul? Parents, strive to make your homes abodes of peace and blessedness, centres of attraction and holy influence, so that your children may gather round the ensign, etc. God’s eye is on our family life.
III. The right way to feel and to act towards Himself.
They were to be “far off about the tabernacle.” True life is impossible apart from right esteem of God. He is the centre, the pivot of all true life. As amongst this people, so in His Church, God is the attracting power, etc. He is in the midst to rule, protect, and guide. As there is no circle without a centre, so the Church falls to pieces unless God he in the midst. Love to Him brings His people together, and binds them together. The earth is made of particles: gravitation, as it attracts each particle to itself, binds them together so as to form the earth. Thus God attracting each soul to Himself, binds them together as a Church. We are to turn around Him as the planets around the sun, receiving our light, our beauty, our influence from Him.
“Truth is dual.” The above is only half the truth; the other half is involved in the expression, “far off.” In nature there are two great forces at work—the centripetal and the centrifugal. If either of these were to fail, the earth would be wrecked. In religion we have two similar forces. God must attract us; He is the centre of our soul. But we must also keep our distance; we must be “far off.” There is no religion without reverence. God is great and holy. The people were to be “far off” as well as “about the tabernacle.” Divine things are to be treated with respect and handled with reverence. There is no true religion without awe; no true love without fear. While we lovingly trust God as our Father, let us give Him the respect due to His name.
Learn.
1. The deep interest God takes in His people. He wants them to be the very best possible—to be perfect.
2. How religion affects the whole of man and His life. It teaches us how to act in all things. There is nothing above or beneath its notice that affects us. It is then our best Friend. If it is not yours, seek it without delay.—David Lloyd.
THE CAMP
(Num_2:2)
When Balaam looks down upon the outstretched camp of Israel, his very soul expands. It must break forth into praise. The beauty captivates. The order charms. (See Num_24:5-9.) Let as, too, view this favoured camp.
I. The Tents.
Not splendid palaces; poor tents. They are the pilgrim-dwellings of a pilgrim-troop—the short-lived homes of short-lived sojourners. Reminds of mortal state. These frames have one original—the dust. Is it not folly, then, to pamper and admire the flesh? At best these bodies are a tent. How soon they crumble! The tents must fall; but when? Perchance this very hour. Is he not then the fool of fools, who boasts him of to-morrow’s dawn? Learn how fleeting is life’s day. When I go hence, is an abiding mansion mine? Flesh is a mean abode. This thought commends the grace of Jesus. He scorned not to assume it. No man was ever man more thoroughly than Jesus. He thus descended that He might bear the curse. He sought a lowly tent to do a godlike work. But soon the degradation passed. The cross was triumph’s car. Manhood now shines in Him arrayed in light of Deity. And all, whom faith makes one with Him, shall soon behold and share this lustre. Weakness and frailty shall put on unfading freshness.
II. The Order.
Let Israel’s camp be now more closely scanned. What perfect regularity appears! Arrangement is complete, etc. Our God delights in order. Where He presides, confusion vanishes. Is it not so in every Christian’s heart? When Jesus takes the throne, wise rule prevails, disturbing lusts lie down, etc. Is it not so in Christian life? Each duty occupies its stated post. The home, the closet, the public, the world, in turn have claims, in turn are served. How different is the worldling’s day! It seems an upset hive, etc.
But in Israel’s camp each tribe has its place.… God fixes all the bounds, and all the bounds are gladly kept. The same all-ruling mind disposes now each member of Christ’s body. Each enters on the stage of life, as God is pleased to call. Each runs a pre-ordained course. Each disappears, when the allotted task is done. We see this clear arrangement throughout the Church’s history … Bow humbly before this ordering mind, then discontent will not arise; no murmurings will mourn an obscure lot, a grievous burden, a lengthened pilgrimage, or an early grave.
III. The Position.
“About the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.” As the planets circle the sun, so these surround the sanctuary. God is the centre; they form the wide circumference.
Is there no meaning here? God in Christ Jesus is the centre, the heart, the life, the strength, the shield, the joy of His believing flock.
Is there no warning here? Let Christians ponder this Camp’s plan when called to fix their dwellings upon earth. When weighing the advantages of place, the foremost thought should be, Is God known here? Are His pure truths here clearly taught? Was Lot a gainer, when his eye only coveted the fertile plains? Can fairer fields, or sweeter prospects, make amends for a cold blank within? Can air-salubrity repay for inward sickness and a spiritual decline?
IV. The Standard.
A standard floats above each tribe. Beneath the well-known sign they rest, and by its side they march. Believers have an ensign too. The banner over them is Jesu’s love. (Son_2:4.) The standard is a pledge of safety. Mighty foes hate and assail, plot and rage, etc.; but they must fail. Beneath it there is sweet repose. The weary spirit and the worn-out flesh can often watch no more. But as is the vineyard of the Lord, so is His camp. “I the Lord do keep it,” etc. (Isa_27:3.)
Beside it there is victory. Many have fought beneath the Gospel-banner, and all have triumphed. They who go boldly forward, looking unto Jesus, assuredly prevail. (2Co_2:14.) Happy camp, where Jesus is salvation’s Captain; His cross, salvation’s ensign; His heaven, salvation’s rest!
Believer, glory in your standard, and be steadfast. Cling constantly to Christ. Let every company, moment, place, witness your firm resolves. Wave now and ever the glorious ensign—“Christ is all.” Thus dwell within the camp, and you will reign upon the throne.—Henry Law, D.D.
ASPECTS OF HONOUR
(Num_2:3-9)
“It seems to us,” says Dr. Cumming, “an uninteresting and unprofitable exercise to read the list of the tribes and their names, the camps and their numbers, the captains and their names, who together composed the mighty host that took their exodus from Egypt, through the desert, to the land of Canaan; but surely it was important in the circumstances in which they were placed that each and all should be recorded—it was important with reference to the separate and distinct maintenance of the tribes—that the promise of the Messiah from a specific tribe might be vindicated and established in the fulness of the times. In the next place, this mighty crowd, numbering six hundred thousand men, able to bear arms—and that must have amounted, with camp followers, to nearly two millions—a vast population in the desert—must of necessity be reduced to some order of regiments or companies, in order that authority might be exercised where it was needed; that the means of defence might be had recourse to most speedily and effectually where they were required; and that each loving his own company, each individual loving by preference his own tribe best, might yet, as a tribe mingled with the rest, have that wider feeling, which recognised an Israelite under whatever standard he was, in the great army of which they formed a part. For these and other reasons, God commanded Moses and Aaron to make the arrangements here specified; and what God saw useful to command, it cannot have been useless to record, and it may not be altogether unprofitable to read. We must not think that the chapter that does not personally benefit us spiritually is therefore of no use. It is possible for true Christians often to be somewhat selfish, and to think that that cannot be useful which does not benefit the individual, or that that cannot play a part important in the whole which does not produce a deep, a spiritual, and profitable impression upon each. We must learn to look wider, to extend our horizon, and to learn that there are parts in the Bible which may not bring personal instruction to us, but which nevertheless may have a force in relation to the whole book that vindicates it from the assaults of the sceptic; sets out its great truths in bolder relief and in clearer light; and even those parts which we cannot see or comprehend the use, the place, and the necessity of now, if we can only exercise a little patience we shall know, and understand, and see the usefulness of more clearly hereafter. There are many parts in this globe that we cannot understand the end of; we cannot see the use perhaps of so much water; we cannot see the necessity of those large wasted and blasted deserts. But yet I have no doubt they have a use, and are subserving a purpose; and we must not deny that God made this or made that because we cannot see the purpose that it subserves in the great economy of the universe. I believe that with the exception of what sin has done, there is not a star in the sky, however tiny it looks to us, that is not necessary to the balance of the universe; and that if one star were to fall from its socket, or one orb to be shattered in its march, a shock might be felt that would influence injuriously at least the whole solar system. And it may be that in this blessed Book, which is God’s inspired Book, some of those dull and dry passages, as they must appear to us personally, are probably subserving great and ultimate purposes, which we may not see now, but shall see hereafter.”
Our text gives us the account of the composition of the first camp, which was situated on the east side, toward the rising of the sun. This post of honour was conferred upon Judah. To him was given the first standard. With him were Issachar and Zebulun. These three tribes were descended from the three younger sons of Leah; and their union under one standard was, therefore, an appropriate arrangement. To each tribe a captain was appointed; these captains being the “princes of the tribes of their fathers,” who assisted Moses and Aaron in the numbering. Here, then, are differences of rank ordered by God. One tribe has the most distinguished position of all. Three other tribes are placed each at the head of a camp; and in each tribe one person was appointed by God as captain, or prince, or commander-in-chief. Leaders and rulers are essential to society. “To have neither superiors nor inferiors would be to breathe a stifling atmosphere of mediocrity. Natural leadership is the soul of common action.” Inasmuch as the most distinguished place was assigned to the tribe of Judah we take as our subject: Aspects of Honour.
We see here—
I. Honour wisely conferred.
The tribe of Judah was the must numerous and powerful of all the tribes. This was a good reason for placing it in the most prominent and illustrious position. Honours of title and place are not always wisely conferred. They are sometimes bestowed upon those who are neither distinguished in their abilities, exalted in their character, nor exemplary in their conduct. This is a sad perversion of things. (a) But the truest and highest honours are those of character and conduct, and these are attainable through the grace of God unto all men.
“Trust me, Clara Vere de Vere,
From you blue heavens above us bent,
The grand old gardener and his wife
Smile at the claims of long descent.
Howe’er it be, it seems to me,
’Tis only noble to be good.
Kind hearts are more than coronets,
And simple faith than Norman blood.”
Tennyson
The honour of being children of the Most High, “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,” of being made “kings and priests unto God,” of sharing in the spirit and service of Christ, we may all attain through Him. But in these honours there are differences of degree. There are some to whom will be given “an abundant entrance,” while others will “be saved yet so as by fire.”
II. Honour in relation with duty and responsibility.
The tribe of Judah in being appointed to the place of honour in the Israelitish host had also the place of peril. Being at the head of the camp, if there were dangers to be met or foes to be encountered, they must first enter the lists against them. In their case rank and risk, distinction and duty, were united. The places of distinction should ever be for those who render the most and best service. And the highest places in both the Church and the State involve gravest responsibilities and most arduous duties. He who treads the path of duty faithfully and bravely will find in due time that it leads to the most unfading honours. (See notes and illustrations on ch. Num_1:4-16.) (b)
III. Honour as connected with parental influence.
Judah was the first of the sons of Jacob who was blessed by the venerable patriarch “when he was a-dying.” Reuben, Simeon, and Levi were censured by him. The parental blessing in the case of Judah has not been in vain. And in the honour now put upon the tribe the influence of that blessing is still further manifest (see Gen_49:8-12). It is in the power of every parent instrumentally to bless his children. By wise teaching, holy example, and believing prayer, parents may confer the greatest advantages on their off-spring, and aid them to reach the highest honours. Let parents seek thus to bless their children. (c)
Let the children of godly parents appreciate their privileges in this respect. (d)
IV. Honour as related to future greatness.
The dying patriarch had predicted that Judah should be the ruling tribe; he promised to Judah a kingdom and sovereignty. Many years have since passed away; and still Judah has neither lawgiver nor sceptre. But here are two things to encourage faith in the patriarchal prediction—viz., the numerical superiority of the tribe, and the post of honour assigned to it. Ages more were to pass away before the prediction was fulfilled; but the honour now conferred on the tribe would encourage faith in its predicted destiny. Its natural tendency would be to stimulate them to—
1. Believe in their destiny.
2. Work for their destiny.
3. Wait for their destiny.
In like manner let every blessing which we receive from God be to us a pledge of our full and final salvation. Let every privilege conferred upon us increase our assurance of the splendid honours which await us hereafter. “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,” etc. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My Throne,” etc. “Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be,” etc.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) Let none presume
To wear an undeserved dignity.
O, that estates, degrees, and offices,
Were not derived corruptly! and that clear honour
Were purchased by the merit of the wearer!
How many then should cover, that stand bare!
How many be commanded, that command!
How much low peasantry would then be gleaned
From the true seed of honour! and how much honour
Pick’d from the chaff and ruin of the times,
To be new varnish’d!—Shakespeare.
“The Merchant of Venice,” ii. 8.
(b) Not once or twice in our rough island-story
The path of duty was the way to glory:
He that walks it, only thirsting
For the right, and learns to deaden
Love of self, before his journey closes,
He shall find the stubborn thistle bursting
Into glossy purples, which outredden
All voluptuous garden roses.
Not once or twice in our fair island-story
The path of duty was the way to glory:
He, that ever following her commands,
On with toil of heart and knees and hands,
Thro’ the long gorge to the far light has won
His path upward and prevail’d,
Shall find the toppling crags of duty scaled
Are close upon the shining table-lands
To which our God Himself is moon and sun.
Tennyson.
(c) The voice of parents is the voice of gods,
For to their children they are Heaven’s lieutenants,
Made fathers not for common uses merely
Of procreation (beasts and birds would be
As noble then as we are); but to steer
The wanton freight of youth through storms and dangers,
Which with full sails they bear upon, and straighten
The mortal line of life they bend so often.
For these are we made fathers, and for these
May challenge duty on our children’s part.
Obedience is the sacrifice of angels,
Whose form you carry.
Shakespeare.
Mr. Irving, in his “Life of Washington,” brings to the knowledge of the public, we believe for the first time, a beautiful incident in the religious training of the youthful George when left to the sole care of his widowod mother. Of her general course, Mr. Irving remarks, with fine discrimination: “Endowed with plain, direct good sense, thorough conscientiousness, and prompt decision, she governed her family strictly, but kindly, exacting deference while she inspired affection. George, being her eldest son, was thought to be her favourite, yet she never gave him undue preference, and the implicit deference exacted from him in childhood continued to be habitually observed by him to the day of her death. He inherited from her a high temper and a spirit of command, but her early precepts and example taught him to restrain and govern that temper, and to square his conduct on the exact principles of equity and justice.” No Maternal Association has ever devised a better principle to be observed in training children than this of Mary Washington—“exacting deference while she inspired affection.” How rarely do we see these two essential elements in family government justly combined in either parent! From thin general view Mr. Irving passes to the following incident: “Tradition gives an interesting picture of the widow with her little flock gathered round her, as was her daily wont, reading to them lessons of religion and morality out of some standard work. Her favourite volume was Sir Matthew Hale’s ‘Contemplations, Moral and Divine.’ The admirable maxima therein contained, for outward action as well as self-government, sank deep into the mind of George, and doubtless had a great influence in forming his character. They certainly were exemplified in his conduct through life. This mother’s manual, bearing his mother’s name, Mary Washington, written with her own hand, was ever preserved by him with filial care, and may still be seen in the archives of Mount Vernon. A precious document! Let those who wish to know the moral foundation of his character consult its pages.” Would that the minds and hearts of all our youth might be trained after such a model!—New York Independent.
(d) Hold fast to home influences and remembrances; and recollect that he who tries to shame you out of a father’s and a mother’s fear, and out of obedience to them, tries to steal the most precious treasure you have. He that is trying to destroy the influence of your parents upon you is trying to take from you the most faithful love you ever knew. You shall lie down in the grave when you shall have traversed forty or eighty years of life, without having found another friend who has borne as much for you, or done as much for you, as your father or your mother.—H. W. Beecher.
THE MERCY OF GOD IN RELATION TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN
(Num_2:10-16)
We have here the account of the composition of the second camp. Its place was south of the tabernacle. At its head was placed the tribe of Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob and Leah, and with it were associated the tribe of Simeon, the second son of Leah, and that of Gad, the eldest son of Leah’s handmaid, Zilpah.
Reuel, in Num_2:14, is doubtless an error of some copyist, and should be Deuel, as in Num_1:14. Several MSS. and Versions read Deuel in this place.
In this section we have—
I. An example of the continuance of the consequences of sin.
How is it that Reuben, being the first-born, does not take the first place? Why was Judah, the fourth son, preferred before him? Because Reuben had been guilty of the most shocking incest. (See Gen_35:22; Gen_49:4; 1Ch_5:1.) He sinned grievously, and now his posterity suffer loss thereby. Sin when it is done is not done with. It lives in its results in the person of the sinner, and in the persons of others who are related to the sinner. Sin may be repented of, confessed, forgiven; and yet many of its consequences may remain, and that for many generations. (a)
1. The Sacred Scriptures declare this. (See Exo_20:5; Lev_26:39; Lam_5:7; Luk_11:49-51.)
2. The connexion between one generation and another necessitates this. The consequences of the vices of parents are transmitted to their offspring.
3. Our social relationships necessitate this. We are ever exerting an influence upon others, and being influenced by others. One corrupt character corrupts others. One holy character tends to purify and exalt others.
4. The facts of human life attest this. The drunkard may forsake his drunkenness, may seek and obtain the Divine forgiveness, may lead a new life, yet many of the results of his sinful indulgences will remain in himself, and if he be a parent will be transmitted to his children. The spendthrift may abandon his reckless courses; but it requires many years, perhaps more than one generation, to repair the shattered fortunes and restore the family estate to its ancient prosperity. Man may turn to God late in life, may be pardoned, accepted, saved; but he cannot recover the years spent in the service of sin, or undo the evil which he has wrought. The guilt is taken away; but the loss, and much more than the loss, remains. God is just. His laws are immutable. They cannot be set at nought, or disregarded, without incurring stern and certain penalties. Let these solemn facts restrain us from sin. Let parents especially lay them to heart; and for the sake of their offspring, let them eschew evil, and cultivate virtue. “Parents bequeath not to your children’s lot The shame that from them no device can take, The blemish that will never be forgot.”
II. An example of the exercise of the Divine mercy in mitigating the consequences of sin.
Notwithstanding the horrible sin of Reuben, he was not altogether cut off from his father’s house. Though he forfeited his birthright he was not exiled from the family. His posterity was not cast out of the chosen people. His tribe was not degraded to the lowest rank among the tribes, but placed in an inferior position to that of Judah only. “So then,” says Attersoll, “albeit he was punished justly, he was punished gently. Thus God dealeth evermore. He correcteth both moderately and mercifully; and as the physician allayeth the bitterness of the potion with some sweetness, so God assuageth the greatness of His punishment with some mildness and favour that He mingleth with it.” We have illustrations of this in the case of Miriam (ch. 12) and that of David (2Sa_24:10-16) (Comp. Psa_89:30-33; Isa_54:7-8; Lam_3:31-33.) In further elucidation and confirmation of our position, let the following points be noted:—
1. God delighteth not in judgment, but in mercy. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy,” etc. (Psa_103:8-11.) Mark the tenderness of His appeal to His faithless and rebellious people, “Why will ye be stricken any more?” (Isa_1:5.) “He delighteth in mercy.” (b)
2. He is our Father, and deals with us as a Father. He is not simply our Creator, Sustainer, and Sovereign, but our Father. When He punishes, He does so as a Father. “Consider in thine heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee” (comp. 2Sa_7:14-15).
3. In His dealings with us He duly considers our weakness, our exposedness to temptation, etc. Our temperament, tendencies, temptations, trials, etc., are all known to Him. In His judgments all these things are taken into consideration. He never judges harshly. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him: for He knoweth our frame,” etc. (Psa_103:13-18)
His mercy is ever in exercise mitigating the severity of the consequences of sin, and tempering the sternness of the woes of life.
Conclusion:
1. Let the mercy of God deter us from sin. Shall we be so base as to sin against so much kindness?
2. Let the mercy of God encourage our confidence in Him. In sorrow let us seek Him; for he pities, etc. In guilt let us seek Him; for He forgives, etc.
3. Let this example of the mercy of God lead us to be patient under life’s trials. Like those of Reuben, our trials are not so severe as we have deserved, and they are tempered by the rich mercy of God. He is ever evolving good out of them, making them by His grace the occasion of strength and blessing to us.
4. Let this example of the mercy of God encourage the wicked to forsake sin and seek salvation. “Let the wicked forsake his way,” etc (Isa_55:6-7.)
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) If sin were mortal, then thirty years would swing the world over into the millenium; we should bury it with the next generation. But it is not mortal. It is not barren, but prolific; it propagates itself; it has paternal functions, and sends its children out in swarms to possess the earth. I wish you all to understand that whatever evil you are tolerating in your lives, will live after you are gone; you will pass away, but this shall not pass away. One immortality you will take with you at death; another you will leave behind. It shall stand above your grave when the mound is fashioned and the mourners depart; and shake itself as a strong man rejoiceth in his strength, and go forth as one of the forces of the world. It will be impersonal; it will have no name; it will show no face; and yet it will be you, your worse half unchecked, unrestrained by the good that was once mated with it, and that kept it within bounds. It is in the moral and spiritual as it is in the material world. It is said that one cannot stir the air with a sound so soft and slight that it will ever cease to be a sound. The words we speak, whether of love or hate, whether pure or vile, start pulsations in the air that will never cease to throb. You cannot open your lips and start a motion in the atmosphere, which shall not, like a wave on a shoreless sea, whose forces are within itself and adequate, roll on and on for ever. An oath once spoken sounds for ever in the universe as an oath; it is an explosion whose reverberations can never die. They roll around all continents; they crash against the sides of all mountains; they beat discordantly in and upon the atmosphere of all worlds; the devils hear them, and rejoice; the holy, and fly in dismay. And, at the Judgment, why may we not suppose that these sounds shall all come back to us—the good in soothing music, and the evil in torturing discord, and every man shall be judged according to the word of his mouth? Indeed, it seems to me that everything in man that is of the mind and soul is immortal.—W. H. H. Murray.
(b) Man having destroyed that which God delighted in, the beauty of his soul, fell into an evil portion, and, being seized on by the Divine justice, grew miserable, and condemned to an incurable sorrow.
In the midst of these sadnesses God remembered His own creature, and pitied it; and, by His mercy, rescued him from the hands of His power, and the sword of His justice, and the guilt of His punishment, and the disorder of his sin, and placed him in that order of good things where he ought to have stood. It was mercy that preserved the noblest of God’s creatures here below; he who stood condemned and undone under all the other attributes of God, was saved and rescued by His mercy; that it may be evident that God’s mercy is above all His works, and above all ours, greater than the creation, and greater than our sins. As is His majesty, so is His mercy, that is, without measures and without rules, sitting in heaven and filling all the world, calling for a duty that He may give a blessing, making man that He may save him, punishing him that He may preserve him. And God’s justice bowed down to His mercy, and all His power passed into mercy, and His omniscience converted into care and watchfulness, into providence and observation for man’s avail; and heaven gave its influence for man, and rained showers for our food and drink; and the attributes and acts of God sat at the foot of mercy, and all that mercy descended upon the head of man.… For, ever since the fall of Adam, who, like an unfortunate man, spent all that a wretched man could need, or a happy man could have, our life is repentance, and forgiveness is all our portion; and though angels were objects of God’s bounty, yet man only is, in proper speaking, the object of His mercy; and the mercy which dwelt in an infinite circle became confined to a little ring, and dwelt here below; and here shall dwell below, till it hath carried all God’s portion up to heaven, where it shall reign and glory upon our crowned heads for ever and ever!… I must tell concerning God’s mercy as we do concerning God Himself, that He is that great fountain of which we all drink, and the great rock of which we all eat, and on which we all dwell, and under whose shadow we are all refreshed. God’s mercy is all this; and we can only draw the great lines of it, and reckon the constellations of our hemisphere, instead of telling the number of the stars; we only can reckon what we feel and what we live by; and though there be, in every one of these lines of life, enough to engage us for ever to do God service, and to give Him praises, yet it is certain there are very many mercies of God on us, and toward us, and concerning us, which we neither feel, nor see, nor understand as yet; but yet we are blessed by them, and are preserved and secure, and we shall then know them, when we come to give God thanks in the festivities of an eternal Sabbath.—Jeremy Taylor.
THE TABERNACLE IN THE MIDST OF THE HOST
(Num_2:17)
We have spoken of two of the standards, and two other remain to be spoken of. In this verse, Moses interlaceth the placing and situation of the tabernacle, which was so environed with the Levites, and they flanked and fortified with the whole host, that it remained in the midst, in a place of the greatest safety, fittest for access in regard of the people, and hardest for access in regard of their enemies.
I. The Reasons for placing the Tabernacle after this manner.
1. God doth hereby admonish them, that they should always have Him before their eyes, lest they should forget His worship or offend Him with their sins (comp. Lev_26:11-12).
2. He had respect indifferently unto all the tribes. If any others had pitched their tents farther than from the Tabernacle, they would have quarrelled and complained that they had been contemned and despised.
3. The Levites were hereby put in mind of their duty, and therefore are lodged about it.
II. The Uses of placing the Tabernacle after this manner.
1. It assureth us that God will ever be in the midst of us, and settle His rest and residence among us (comp. Lev_26:11-12; Eze_27:27). We must know how God is said to dwell among us. Difference between His general presence and His special presence. His general presence is in all places; His special presence is in His Church. His general presence is of His power; His special presence is of His grace and favour. There is a common manner of God’s being everywhere, and in all things, by His essence: there is a special way of God’s being present, as that which is loved is present in him that loveth (comp. Joh_14:23).
(1) God is joined unto us in the person of His own only Son Emmanuel—i.e., God with us. We are made members of His body (see Mat_28:20).
(2). We have with Him the preaching of the Gospel, whereby God is, as it were, brought down to reside and remain among us.
(3) We have the promise of His presence and the seals thereof in His Sacraments, whereby we are at one with Him, and He with us (see Gal_3:27; Joh_6:54-56; 1Co_10:16-17).
(4) When we come together in the Church to call upon His name, He is near unto us, and most familiar with us (see Mat_18:20).
(5) He dwelleth among us whensoever He preserveth us from evil, and delivereth us from our enemies.… Let us take heed to walk in fear before Him, etc. (see Deu_6:12-15; 2Co_6:16-18). We ought to walk always as in God’s presence, and to consider evermore that His eye is upon us.
2. It serveth to teach us to what end God hath instituted Civil States and Commonwealths in this world—to wit, to be stays and props to the Church, that the people of God may assemble together in peace and quietness.
(1) Let all persons, princes, and people, high and low, do good to the Church of God, and employ their best endeavours to promote the glory of God and the safety of the Church (see Psa_122:6-7; Psa_132:1-5).
(2) It is the duty of all persons to assemble together to hear His word.… If we would dwell with God, let us repair to His house; if we would see Him, we shall see Him there; if we would hear Him, we shall hear Him there; if we would know Him, we shall know Him there, for His face is to be seen there, His voice is to be heard there. His presence is to be found there (see Psa_27:4; Psa_42:1; Psa_84:2).
(3) Let us not stand in fear of any enemies, as if they would bear and beat down the Church before them; neither let us forsake our mother, for fear of troubles that may come upon her.… The Church is set in a safe place; they shall not be able to hurt it: it hath a safe Keeper, that neither slumbereth nor sleepeth; they shall not be able to destroy it: the gates of hell and the power of the devil are set against it, but they shall never have victory over it (see Deu_7:21-22).
3. It serveth to conclude the full and final happiness of the faithful, which is begun in this life, but shall be consummated in the end of this world. Then will God dwell with us, and we shall dwell with Him; then we shall be admitted into His presence, and never be cast out; then no evil shall touch us, or come near us, and no good thing shall be wanting unto us that we can desire (see Rev_21:3-4; 2Pe_3:13; Rev_7:15-17; Rev_21:22-27).—W. Attersoll.
THE CAMP OF EPHRAIM, AND ITS SUGGESTIONS
(Num_2:18-24)
In these verses we have an account of the third camp, which was posted to the west of the Tabernacle. It consisted of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, all descendants of Rachel. Looking at this camp homiletically we discover in it—
I. An illustration of the Divine Sovereignty.
Ephraim and Manasseh were sons of Joseph by his wife Asenath. Though Manasseh was the elder, yet Ephraim was placed at the head of this camp. “The first indication we have of the ascendancy of Ephraim over Manasseh is in the blessing of the children by Jacob (Genesis 48). The intention of Joseph was evidently that the right hand of Jacob should convey the ampler blessing to the head of Manasseh, his first-born, and he had so arranged the young men. But the result was otherwise ordained.”
Jacob persisted in setting Ephraim before Manasseh. “God chose from the beginning,” says Bishop Patrick, “in several instances, to prefer the younger before the elder, as Abel before Cain; Shem before Japheth; Isaac before Ishmael; Jacob before Esau; Judah and Joseph before Reuben; and here Ephraim before Manasseh; and Moses before Aaron; and David, the youngest of all, before his elder brethren—to show that the Divine benefits were not limited to the order of nature, but dispensed freely, according to God’s most wise goodness.” God bestows all His gifts freely, according to His own good pleasure, both when He will, and where He will, and to whom He will. Our salvation from beginning to end is owing to His sovereign favour. We have nothing of our own. “For who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?” etc. God is debtor to no man. We have no claim upon His bounty. If He should withhold His blessing from any of us, we should have no just ground of complaint against Him. We, however, do well ever to bear in mind that His is the sovereignty of a Being of infinite wisdom, righteousness, and love. It is the sovereignty of GOD, the Supremely Good, (a) Though we know not the reasons of many of His decisions and doings, yet we know that in them all He is actuated by motives and seeks the accomplishment of ends which are worthy of Himself. Let us then, like the Hebrew poets, rejoice in God’s sovereignty, and celebrate it in reverent and hearty songs.
II. An illustration of the sacredness of family ties
These three tribes which constitute this camp were all descended from Rachel, and were the whole of her descendants. We may fairly conclude that this was one reason, and a chief one, why they were grouped together. To the eye of God family ties are sacred things. Jesus our Lord “was subject unto” His parents. On the cross, amidst His own fierce agonies of both body and soul, He was mindful of His mother, spake to her and committed her to the care of His beloved disciple. The ties of kinship are of the closest, tenderest, strongest, holiest nature; and should be so regarded. In our families let us cultivate mutual forbearance, and helpfulness, and holy love; “for without hearts there is no home.” Let us make our houses homes; the scenes of confidence, peace, affection, and worship. “It is just as possible to keep a calm house as a clean house, a cheerful house, an orderly house, as a furnished house, if the heads set themselves to do so. Where is the difficulty of consulting each other’s weakness, as well as each other’s wants; each other’s tempers, as well as each other’s health; each other’s comfort, as well as each other’s character? Oh! it is by leaving the peace at home to chance, instead of pursuing it by system, that so many houses are unhappy.” (b)
III. An illustration of the Divine regard for the weak.
This was the least numerous of the four great divisions, and therefore by direction of God it was appointed to that position in which there was the last danger. Tenderly God cares for the feeble. “He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” “A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench.” What a rich fund of comfort and encouragement there is here—
1. For those who are physically afflicted.
2. For those whose faith is feeble.
3. For those who are sorely tried
He is acquainted with us altogether; and in our great need He will bestow upon us the tenderest care and the richest grace, (c)
Conclusion:
Let us unfalteringly trust in God. Let us rejoice in the sovereignty of so wise and kind a Being.
“He everywhere hath sway,
And all things serve His might,
His every act pure blessing is;
His path unsullied light.
Leave to His sovereign sway,
To choose and to command:
So shalt thou wondering own His way,
How wise, how strong His hand!
Thou comprehend’st Him not:
Yet earth and heaven tell
God sits as Sovereign on the throne;
He ruleth all things well.
Thou seest our weakness, Lord,
Our hearts are known to Thee;
O lift Thou up the sinking hand,
Confirm the feeble knee.
Let us in life and death,
Boldly Thy truth declare;
And publish with our latest breath,
Thy love and guardian care.”
P. Gerhard.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) The sovereignty of God naturally ariseth from the relation of all things to Himself as their entire Creator, and their natural and inseparable dependence upon Him in regard of their being and well-being. The fast cause of everything hath an unquestionable dominion of propriety in it upon the score of justice. By the law of nations, the first finder of a country is esteemed the rightful possessor and lord of that country, and the first inventor of an art hath a right of exercising it. If a man hath a just claim of dominion over that thing whose materials were not of his framing, but from only the addition of a new figure from his skill; as a limner over his picture, the cloth whereof he never made, nor the colours wherewith he draws it were never endued by him with their distinct qualities, but only he applies them by his art to compose such a figure; much more hath God a rightful claim of dominion over His creatures, whose entire being, both in matter and form, and every particle of their excellency, was breathed out by the word of His mouth. He did not only give the matter a form, but bestowed upon the matter itself a being; it was formed by none to His hand, as the matter is on which an artist works. He had the being of all things in His own power, and it was at His choice whether He would impart it or no; there can be no juster and stronger ground of a claim than this. A man hath a right to a piece of brass or gold by his purchase, but when by his engraving he hath formed it into an excellent statue, there results an increase of his right upon the account of his artifice. God’s creation of the matter of man gave Him a right over man; but His creation of him in so eminent an excellency, with reason to guide him, a clear eye of understanding to discern light from darkness, and truth from falsehood, a freedom of will to act accordingly, and an original righteousness as the varnish and beauty of all; here is the strongest foundation for a claim of authority over man, and the strongest obligation on man for subjection to God.—Charnocke.
(b) Families are not isolated individuals, but the descendants of their fathers, and therefore essentially members one of another; God himself being the Father of all the families of the universe. What can be more interesting than to contemplate the intelligent universe, as consisting of endlessly multiplied bonds of fatherhood and childhood; and all these held in the strong unity of one Divine Fatherhood and one Divine Sonship?
Family relationship is therefore a very sacred thing. Its root being not in the creation, but in God. And though we shall not find on earth any development worthy of its holy root, nevertheless, the flower which fills the world with choicest fragrance is family affection. It is capable of becoming most heavenly, since the Eternal Father is Himself the spring of parental, as His Eternal Son is of filial love. Therefore, also, family affections are capable of ceaseless cultivation. There is nothing to hinder family love from becoming evermore deeper, stronger, and lovelier. If it be so strong and so precious among fallen creatures, what must it be among the perfect? If family life on the earth gives rise, as it often does, to a very paradise of courtesies and tender sanctities, what must family life be in the immediate Presence, and under the direct influence, of the Infinite Father and His Only Begotten Son? Christian parents and their children should know therefore, that in their families they have not a little world, but a little heaven to cultivate.
What a solace to our hearts is the assurance, that we shall never cease to be members of a family! The perfection of the great heavenly household is that it is a Household of households. We are born into a family, we grow up in a family, we die in a family, and after death, we shall not simply go into the great heaven, but to our own family, in our Father’s House. “Abraham gave up the ghost, and was gathered to his people.” “Thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace,” God had said to him. All in heaven will not know us, but our own people will know us. We shall go to them.—J. Pulsford.
(c) “A bruised reed I will not break.” Is there anything that grows so high, carrying up so little strength of stem, as the reed that rises twenty or thirty feet in the air, and has a stalk not larger than my finger? Now, a beast striking through the thicket, eager, with his unquenched thirst, for the cooling draught, strikes against a joint of the slender reed, shattering it so that it has but just strength to boar its own weight. So weak is it, that if there be so much wind as to lift one of its leaves, or to bend it in the least degree in either direction, it must surely break. But God says, “My gentleness is such that when I go down among men whose condition is like that of a bruised reed, I will do nothing to complete their overthrow, but will deal with them in such a way that they shall gather strength till I have sent forth judgment unto victory.”
“And smoking flax I will not quench.” If the flame is just dying out in a lamp it is not in danger of being suddenly extinguished, for the old warmth in the wick seems for a time to nourish and sustain it; but immediately after the wick is lighted, and before any warmth is communicated to it, the least movement is sufficient to extinguish it. Now God says, “Wherever there is a spark of grace lighted in the soul, if it flickers so that the least breath of the person who carries it, or the least motion of his hand is in danger of putting it out, I will deal so gently with him as not to quench that spark. I will treat it with such infinite tenderness that it shall grow into a flame which shall burn on for ever.” And these are the symbols by which God measures His wonderful gentleness.—H. W. Beecher.
THE CAMP OF DAN: ASPECTS OF DIVINE SERVICE
(Num_2:25-31)
This is the fourth great division which encamped north of the tabernacle, and brought up the rear on the march. The powerful tribe of Dan was placed at the head of it, and with it the remaining tribes, Asher and Naphtali. Dan was the fifth son of Jacob, and the first of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid. Asher was the eighth son of Jacob, and the second of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid. Naphtali was own brother to Dan, being the sixth son of Jacob, and the second of Bilhah. The composition and station of this camp suggest certain homiletic points concerning the Divine service.
I. Persons of every kind and degree of faculty may find employment in the Divine service.
Each of the tribes had its position and duties in one of the four great divisions, or in the interior near to the tabernacle. Whatever its number or its peculiar characteristics, every one had its allotted place and work. It would appear that Judah was strong and courageous, while Dan was secret and subtle (see Gen_49:8-12; Gen_49:17); yet for Dan, as well as for Judah, there is a place in the great army of Israel. In the great work of God amongst men there is room for workers of every kind and degree of ability. And God lays claim to the services of every one. There is work suited to every one, as St. Paul clearly shows in 1 Corinthians 12. Eloquence, scholarship, teaching power, courage, patience, tact, administrative ability, aptitude for the details of business, etc., may each find its appropriate sphere in the great work and warfare of the Church of Jesus Christ. Even the patient sufferer has a place in His service.
“The; also serve who only stand and wait.”
Let this serve as—
1. An encouragement to the feeble.
2. A rebuke to the slothful. (a)
II. It is essential that even the lowest position in the Divine service should be faithfully filled.
It may appear to some that the place allotted to the camp of Dan was an inferior and obscure one. “They shall go hindmost with their standards.” But it was essential that some of the tribes should occupy this position, and discharge its duties. There must be a rearguard as well as a vanguard. In building the temple the services of the hewers of wood are as indispensable as those of the skilled workmen. The blower of the organ-bellows is as necessary to secure its grand aid in worship as the accomplished musician.
“Small service is true service while it lasts;
Of friends, however humble, scorn not one:
The daisy, by the shadow that it casts,
Protects the ling ring dewdrop from the sun.”
Wordsworth.
Moreover, great achievements are impossible apart from faithful attention to the details of the enterprise. The strength of the whole chain is not greater than that of its weakest link. The efficiency of the entire body is affected by the condition of its obscurist and feeblest member. Faithfulness in littles is imperatively demanded as a condition of success in all true and noble work. (b)
III. Even the lowest position in the Divine service is one of privilege and honour.
If the position of Dan and the two associated tribes be regarded as the lowest in the great host, yet it was a distinguished and advantageous position. They were as truly a part of the people chosen of God as those in the first camp. The privileges which those of the other camps enjoyed, they enjoyed also. The promises and prospects which encouraged the others, encouraged them also. The Lord was their God, etc. The feeblest and obscurist member of God’s spiritual Israel occupies a place and sustains relationships of highest honour and richest privilege. “We are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God,” etc. In calling us to any work, even the most menial, in His service, God confers upon us the most exalted distinction. It is a call to co-operation with Himself, etc. “We are workers together with Christ.”
“Our Master all the work hath done
He asks of us to-day;
Sharing His service every one,
Share too His sonship may:
Lord, I would serve and be a son,
Dismiss me not, I pray.”
T. T. Lynch.
IV. Seemingly obscure positions in the Divine service are in many instances positions of great importance and responsibility.
It was so in this case. There was danger of attack in the rear. With the exception of the camp of Judah, which led the way, the camp of Dan was in a position which required the greatest strength. And, being numerically interior only to Judah, the wisdom of its appointment to that position is obvious. Though their position was “hindmost,” yet in importance it was second only to that of the camp of Judah. An illustration of spiritual work. The services of the quiet and comparatively obscure scholar, thinker, and writer are, at the very least, quite as important as those of the popular preacher. The wise and faithful pastor, who is almost unknown beyond his own sphere of service, is doing as worthy and as needful a work as the evangelist whose fame is world-wide. The quiet members of the Church, who are influential in the family and in the prayer meetings, are perhaps more necessary to the existence and prosperity of the Church than the men who are prominent in committees and on public platforms. (c)
Conclusion:
1. Have we any place in the spiritual Israel?
2. Are we endeavouring faithfully to discharge its duties?
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) The feeblest power may be beneficially exerted. Are there any who are flittering themselves that if they possessed gigantic talents they would employ them on behalf of human freedom and human progress? I pronounce such self-consolation a deadly error. Man’s business is to employ the talents with which Almighty Wisdom has endowed him, and by their employment to multiply them. Deposit the acorn in a cabinet, and time will turn it to corruption; but plant that acorn where the light and the dew of heaven can exert upon it their fructifying influence, and time will develope the majestic oak. So with talents; bury them in disuse, and they will become morally pestilential; but give them free and beneficent exercise, and they will breathe new life into the social constitution. Young man! employ thy one talent diligently, and thou shalt be promoted to the rulership of larger empire: wait not for time that may never advene; sigh not for golden opportunities and felicitous coincidences; the true man makes every opportunity golden by turning it to a golden use, and the robust soul conquers the infelicties of unpropitious circumstances. That will be a glorious day in human history on which all Christians, the feeblest and mightiest, will be working for the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom;—the orator swaying the multitude, the writer sending forth his richly laden page, the widow giving her two mites, and the child of poverty bestowing “a cup of cold water.” When the whole Church is at work the kingdom of darkness will be shaken to its centre.—J. Parker, D.D.
(b) Napoleon was the most effective man in modern times—some will say of all times. The secret of his character was, that while his plans were more vast, more various, and, of course, more difficult than those of other men, he had the talent, at the same time, to fill them up with perfect promptness and precision, in every particular of execution. His vast and daring plans would have been visionary in any other man: but with him every vision flew out of his brain a chariot of iron, because it was filled up, in all the particulars of execution, to be a solid and compact framework in every part. His armies were together only one great engine of desolation, of which he was the head or brain. Numbers, spaces, times, were all distinct in his eye. The wheeling of every legion, however remote, was mentally present to him. The tramp of every foot sounded in his ear. The numbers were always supplied, the spaces passed over, the times met, and so the work was done.… There must be detail in every great work. It is an element of effectiveness, which no reach of plan, no enthusiasm of purpose, can dispense with. Thus, if a man conceives the idea of becoming eminent in learning, but cannot toil through the million of little drudgeries necessary to carry him on, his learning will be soon told. Or, if a man undertakes to become rich, but despises the small and gradual advances by which wealth is ordinarily accumulated, his expectations will, of course, be the sum of his riches. Accurate and careful detail, the minding of common occasions and small things, combined with general scope and vigour, is the secret of all the efficiency and success in the world.—H. Bushnell, D.D.
(c) Slight services may be invaluable services. What can be a more trivial image than “a cup of cold water?” Less trivial, unquestionably, in the hot East than in our well-watered England; but a trivial image even there. And yet I have read of cases in which a cup of water would have fetched more than its weight in gold. Look into the despairing eyes of that boat-load of ship-wrecked sailors, tossing hour after hour on the ocean in the heat of the sun: the briny water glancing and flashing all around them as if in mockery, and not a drop anywhere of that which might slake their wild human thirst. What would not those men give for a draught of fresh water a-piece? Look at the caravan in the desert, when the last camel, “the ship of the desert.” lies stranded and doomed upon the sand; when no hope remains to the travellers of reaching in time the spot where the cool palm trees draw their life from the hidden spring. How much of his rich merchandize would not that dying trader be content to part with in exchange for “a cup of cold water?” Or traverse the battle-field when the fight is ended, and one poor wounded soldier, whose courage had carried him too far has been overlooked. The sun goes down, the stars appear, but dewy night fails to alleviate the burning thirst which always follows gun-shot wounds. Yet if some comrade shall venture out to look for the wounded man, shall find him groaning under the silent stars, and shall bring him, though it were from the nearest puddle, the draught he craves, they two shall know for ever what a blessing there may be in “a cup of cold water.” And have we not all heard of the generous Sidney, as he was borne dying from the field of Zutphen, how he had just put the cup to his lips, when a poor fellow was carried by, who looked as he went at the richer Sidney’s draught with the longing eyes of despair,—and how the dying rich man withdrew his lips before he drank, and gave the cup to the dying poor man with the words, “Thy necessity is yet greater than mine!” Beside the noble Sidney’s name is that simple story still inscribed upon the immortal page. Of such and of so great a value may even “a cup of cold water” be. And I often think of HIM who sat once by Jacob’s well in the heat of the day, asking for a drink of water from the Samaritan woman. He accepted all the conditions of human weakness and human want. He knew by experience, even whilst he used this image to indicate the slight nature of such an offering as this, what a precious offering it might really be, and that it might be employed, and that without exaggeration, to denote all the difference between life and death.—J. G. Pigg, B.A.
CONTENTMENT AND OBEDIENCE
(Num_2:32-34)
These verses present to us two topics on which we may reflect with profit.
I. Contentment with the Divine appointment.
We have seen that God in His infinite and sovereign wisdom allotted to each tribe its place and duty as it pleased Him. And it appears from the text that each tribe freely accepted the Divine appointment, and fell into its allotted position. There is not even a hint that any one of the tribes was guilty of any murmuring against the arrangements. This is the more remarkable when we take into account how prone the people were to complain and fret upon the very slightest pretext. Let us learn to be content cheerfully to occupy the position, and diligently to do the work allotted to us by God. “My times are in Thy hand.” “He shall choose our inheritance for us.” “Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel.” The most cogent reasons urge us to be content with the appointments of God concerning us.
1. We are incompetent to determine our own place and duty. This will at once appear if we consider—
(1). Our ignorance. How ignorant we are (a) of ourselves. Possibilities of both good and evil are latent within us which only God knows. If the determination of our lot were with us, we might choose such an one as would tend to kill any germs of truth and goodness which are within us, and to stimulate the germs of evil into awfully rapid and ruinous development. God alone is thoroughly acquainted with us. How ignorant we are (b) of the future. The particular character and circumstances of the coming minute are veiled from us. The choice which now seems wise and good, amid the altered circumstances and conditions of the morrow, may appear foolish and evil. To God only is the entire future clearly visible. Our incompetence to determine our own lot will appear further if we consider—
(2) Our proneness to self-indulgence. In choosing for ourselves, we should select the pleasant rather than the painful, the sweet rather than the bitter. And yet for us the bitter may be the more wholesome, and the painful may be indispensable to our well-being. We are incapable of choosing our own place and work.
2. We have ample grounds for confidence in the determinations of God for us. We discover these in—
(1) His knowledge. He knows all things. He knows the whole future perfectly. He knows us individually and thoroughly (see Psa_139:1-4).
(2) His wisdom. “Wisdom and might are His: He giveth wisdom unto the wise,” etc.; “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” etc.; “The only wise God.”
(3) His kindness. He is as gracious as He is wise. “God is love” (see Psa_145:8-9). Surely, in considerations like these we have most powerful reasons for contentment with the place and work to which we are appointed by God. (a) These considerations should—
First—Silence our murmurings because of our particular circumstances and condition.
Second—Deter us from seeking to alter our condition and circumstances by any unrighteous or unworthy methods. (b)
II. Obedience to the Divine commands.
The obedience of Israel upon this occasion seems to have been most exemplary, “And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards,” etc. Without murmuring or disputing, without abatement or omission, they did as they were directed. Their obedience was prompt and complete. Let us note this to their credit, and as an example to us. Entire obedience is required of us also.
1. All God’s commands are binding, because they are all right. He requires of us nothing but what is just and true. We cannot break the least of His commandments without sin. “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”
2. All God’s commands are benevolent. “In keeping of them there is great reward.” Obedience is blessed as well as binding. (c)
Conclusion:
Let us seek Divine aid that we may render full and hearty obedience to all the commands of God.
“O let Thy sacred will
All Thy delight in me fulfil!
Let me not think an action mine own way,
But as Thy love shall sway,
Resigning up the rudder to Thy skill.”
Geo. Herbert.
ILLUSTRATIONS
(a) There are two forms of discontent: one laborious, the other indolent and complaining. We respect the man of laborious desire, but let us not suppose that his restlessness is peace, or his ambition mockness. It is because of the special connection of meekness with contentment that it is promised that the meek shall “inherit the earth.” Neither covetous men, nor the grave, can inherit anything; they can but consume. Only contentment can possess. The most helpful and sacred work, therefore, which can at present be done for humanity, is to teach people (chiefly by example, as all best teaching must be done) not how to “better themselves,” but how to “satisfy themselves.” It is the curse of every evil nation and evil creature to ear, and not be satisfied. The words of blessing are, that they shall eat and be satisfied. And as there is only one kind of water which quenches all thirst, so there is only one kind of bread which satisfies all hunger, the bread of justice or righteousness; which hungering after, men shall always be filled, that being the bread of Heaven; but hungering after the bread, or wages, of unrighteousness, shall not be filled, that being the bread of Sodom. And, in order to teach men how to be satisfied, it is necessary fully to understand the art and joy of humble life,—this, at present, of all arts or sciences being the one most needing study. Humble life,—that is to say, proposing to itself no future exaltation, but only a sweet continuance; not excluding the idea of foresight, but wholly of fore-sorrow, and taking no troublous thought of coming days: so, also, not excluding the idea of providence, or provision, but wholly of accumulation; the life of domestic affection and domestic peace, full of sensitiveness to all elements of costless and kind pleasure;—therefore, chiefly to the loveliness of the natural world.—J. Ruskin.
(b) But that Thou art my wisdom, Lord,
And both mine eyes are Thine,
My mind would be extremely stirr’d
For missing my design.
Were it not better to bestow
Some place and power on me?
Then should Thy praises with me grow,
And share in my degree.
But when I thus dispute and grieve,
I do resume my sight;
And pilf’ring what I once did give,
Disseize Thee of Thy right.
How know I, if Thou should’st me raise,
That I should then raise Thee?
Perhaps great places and Thy praise
Do not so well agree.
Wherefore unto my gift I stand;
I will no more advise:
Only do Thou lend me a hand
Since Thou hast both mine eyes.
Geo. Herbert.
(c) That principle to which Polity owes its stability, Life its happiness, Faith its acceptance, and Creation its continuance, is Obedience.… How false is the conception, how frantic the pursuit, of that treacherous phantom which men call Liberty! most treacherous, indeed, of all phantoms; for the feeblest ray of reason might surely show us, that not only its attainment, but its being, was impossible. There is no such thing in the universe. There can never be. The stars have it not; the earth has it not; the sea has it not; and we men have the mockery and semblance of it only for our heaviest punishment.… If there be any one principle more widely than another confessed by every utterance, or more sternly than another imprinted on every atom of the visible creation, that principle is not Liberty, but Law.
The enthusiast would reply that by Liberty he meant the Law of Liberty. Then why use the single and misunderstood word? If by liberty you mean chastisement of the passions, discipline of the intellect, subjection of the will; if you mean the fear of inflicting, the shame of committing, a wrong; if you mean respect for all who are in authority, and consideration for all who are in dependence; veneration for the good, mercy to the evil, sympathy to the weak; if you mean watchfulness over all thoughts, temperance in all pleasures, and perseverance in all toils; if you mean, in a word, that Service which is defined in the liturgy of the English Church to be perfect Freedom, why do you name that by the same word by which the luxurious mean licence, and the reckless mean change; by which the rogue means rapine, and the fool equality, by which the proud mean anarchy, and the malignant mean violence? Call it by any name rather than this, but its best and truest is Obedience. Obedience is, indeed, founded on a kind of freedom, else it would become mere subjugation, but that freedom is only granted that obedience may be more perfect; and thus, while a measure of licence is necessary to exhibit the individual energy of things, the fairness and pleasantness and perfection of them all consist in their Restraint. Compare a river that has burst its banks with one that is bound by them, and the clouds that are scattered over the face of the whole heaven, with those that are marshalled into ranks and orders by its winds. So that though restraint, utter and unrelaxing, can never be comely, this is not because it is in itself an evil, but only because, when too great, it overpowers the nature of the thing restrained, and so counteracts the other laws of which that nature is itself composed.—J. Ruskin.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain The Disposition of the Tribes in the Camp and…
The Disposition of the Tribes in the Camp and on the March
The camp is in the form of a hollow square, each side of which is occupied by three tribes. On the E., the position of honour (cp. Num_3:38), is Judah, with whom are associated Issachar and Zebulun; on the S. is Reuben, with Simeon and Gad; on the W. is Ephraim, with Manasseh and Benjamin; on the N. is Dan, with Asher and Naphtali. In this arrangement regard seems to have been paid to family relationship. The priests and Levites form an inner square surrounding the tabernacle, which occupies the centre of the camp.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain 2. The Camp Put in Order
2. The Camp Put in Order
CHAPTER 2
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1. The command (Num 2:1-2)
2. The east-side: Judah, Issachar and Zebulun (Num 2:3-9)
3. The south-side: Reuben, Simeon and Gad (Num 2:10-16)
4. The position of the Levites (Num 2:17)
5. The west-side: Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin (Num 2:18-24)
6. The north-side: Dan, Asher and Naphtali (Num 2:25-34)
The camp is now divinely arranged and put in order. Nothing was left to themselves. Jehovah spoke and gave the instructions, how every man of the children of Israel was to pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house over against, round about the tabernacle. The tabernacle where Jehovah dwelt was in the midst. Around this center the tribes were grouped in four camps, an east side, a south side, west side and north side, three tribes on each side. Rabbinical tradition adds many interesting details which may be true. According to this tradition each had its own standard with the crests of its ancestors. On the east, above the tent of Nahshon, there shone a standard of green, because it was on an emerald (the green stone) that the name of Judah was engraved upon the breastplate of the high priest. Upon this standard was a lion, according to the words of Jacob, “Judah is a lion’s whelp.” Towards the south, above the tent of Elizur, the son of Reuben, there floated a red standard, the color of the Sardius, the stone upon which Reuben’s name was written. Upon his standard was a human head, because Reuben was the head of the family. And Reuben means, as we saw in Exodus, “Behold a son,” typical of Him who became the Son of man. On the west, above the tent of Elishama, the son of Ephraim, there was a golden flag on which was the head of a calf, because it was through the vision of the calves or oxen that Joseph had predicted and provided for the famine in Egypt; and hence Moses, when blessing the tribe of Joseph (Deu 33:17) said, “his glory is that of the first-born of a bull.” Towards the north, above the tent of Ahiezer, the son of Dan, there floated a motley standard of red and white, like the jasper, in which the name of Dan was engraven upon the breastplate. In his standard was an eagle, the great foe of serpents, because Jacob had compared Dan to a serpent; but Ahiezer had substituted the eagle, the destroyer of serpents, as he shrank from carrying an adder upon his flag. This, we remind our readers, is Jewish tradition, and very interesting.
A little diagram will bring the camp more vividly before us.
The Lord, we repeat, arranged the camp, with Judah facing towards the sunrise; this indicates the promised goal and also reminds us of the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, the coming of the Lord, when the wanderings of His people will end. And Jehovah was in the midst of His people to guide and protect them, to supply their needs. He is still the same. His New Testament people are also put in order by Him, and He is in the midst. However, there are not different standards around which His people gather, but there is only One, which is Christ. We do not think it profitable to enter into some of the rationalistic objections made in connection with this camp and its enormous number of occupants. They say, among other things, that such a mass of people could not possibly have lived for any length of time in the peninsula of Sinai, inasmuch as the natural produce of the desert could not have sustained them. But they forget that the book of Numbers does not say they lived upon what the desert yielded, but that they were miraculously sustained. These objections, whether they come from a vile French infidel or a cultured, higher critic, are the offspring of an unbelieving heart.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Order of the Tribes in the Camp and…
The Order of the Tribes in the Camp and on the March.
v. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
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v. 2. Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, flag, or banner, with the ensign of their father’s house. There were four of such large banners, one each for the four leading tribes, Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan, each of which had two other tribes on its side of the Tabernacle. Far off about the Tabernacle of the Congregation shall they pitch, that is, at some distance, and yet near enough to make their relation to the Sanctuary prominent.
v. 3. And on the east side, toward the rising of the sun, shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies; and Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, shall be captain of the children of Judah.
v. 4. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, the army of Judah alone, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
v. 5. And those that do pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar; and Nethaneel, the son of Zuar, shall be captain of the children of Issachar.
v. 6. And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
v. 7. Then the tribe of Zebulun; and Eliab, the son of Helon, shall be captain of the children of Zebulun.
v. 8. And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
v. 9. All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth, as the vanguard and the first division of the mighty army of the Lord, the position of Judah as the champion of his brethren thus being brought out, Gen 49:8-9.
v. 10. On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies; and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur, the son of Shedeur.
v. 11. And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
v. 12. And those which pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon; and the captain of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai.
v. 13. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
v. 14. Then the tribe of Gad; and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph, the son of Beuel.
v. 15. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty.
v. 16. All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben, in the entire division under the leadership of Elizur, were an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they shall set forth in the second rank.
v. 17. Then the Tabernacle of the Congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp, in the center of the entire encampment; as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards, that is, every man of the entire congregation on the side of the camp where he pitched his tent, in the neighborhood of the banner under which he marched.
v. 18. On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies; and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama, the son of Ammihud.
v. 19. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred.
v. 20. And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur.
v. 21. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
v. 22. Then the tribe of Benjamin; and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan, the son of Gideoni.
v. 23. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
v. 24. All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim, the entire division under the leadership of Elishama, were an hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third rank, immediately behind the Levites.
v. 25. The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies; and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai.
v. 26. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
v. 27. And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher; and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel, the son of Ocran.
v. 28. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
v. 29. Then the tribe of Naphtali; and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira, the son of Enan.
v. 30. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.
v. 31. All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan, under the leadership of Ahiezer, were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their standards, bring up the rear and shield the people from attacks from behind.
v. 32. These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers; all those that were numbered of the camps, the sections of the large camp, throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty, Num 1:46.
v. 33. But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses.
v. 34. And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses; so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers. To get a complete picture of the encampment of the Israelites, one must imagine a small rectangle representing the Tabernacle. On the right, that is, on the east, of this was the place of Moses, Aaron, and the priests, and beyond them that of the armies under the leadership of Judah; below, on the south, were the 8,000 Kohathites, and beyond them the divisions under the leadership of Reuben; to the left, on the west, were the 7,500 Gershonites, and beyond them the divisions under the leadership of Ephraim; and above, on the north, were the 6,200 Merarites, and beyond them the divisions under the leadership of Dan. As this entire great host moved forward under the guidance of the Angel of the Lord in the cloud, so the army of believers in the New Testament moves forward under the leadership of Christ.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 around his standard
around his standard
The "standards" were four larger groups that the tribes were divided into. Each standard was commanded to camp together. The standards was represented by a banner.
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with the banners of their fathers' houses
Each extended family also had a banner under with the camp, which was within the area designated for their standard.
banners
A banner is a large flag.
translationWords
Yahweh
Moses
Aaron
Israel
tent of meeting
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 2:1-34 Israel’s camps were to be organized by tribal…
2:1-34 Israel’s camps were to be organized by tribal groupings. This arrangement may have reflected concerns for social status, access to water, and security for the Tabernacle, which represented the Lord’s presence. The Egyptian army from approximately this same era camped in a similar defensive formation to protect the sacred objects that accompanied their field campaigns.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.