PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Expositions of Holy Scripture: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers
Alexander Maclaren, 1826-1910 · 230,719 words · 327 reading sections
The Hallowing Of Work And Of Rest
'And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let Thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate Thee flee before Thee. 36. And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel.'--Num. x. 35, 36. The picture suggested by this text is a very striki…
761 wordsSECTION 302The Hallowing Of Work And Of Rest
In like manner, coupling these two petitions together, and taking them as unitedly covering the whole field of life in their great antitheses of work and rest, effort and accomplishment, beginning and ending, morning and evening, we may say that here is an example, to be appropriated in our own lives, of that continuou…
781 wordsSECTION 303The Hallowing Of Work And Of Rest
That applies to the great things of life, and to the little things. I begin my day's work some morning, perhaps wearied, perhaps annoyed with a multiplicity of trifles which seem too small to bring great principles to bear upon them. But do you not think there would be a strange change wrought in the petty annoyances o…
677 wordsSECTION 304The Hallowing Of Work And Of Rest
So let us take special care of our hours of repose, and be quite sure that they are so spent as that we can ask when the day's work is done, and we have come to slippered ease, in preparation for nightly rest, 'Return, O Lord, unto Thy waiting servant.' Work without God unfits for rest with Him. Rest without God unfits…
259 wordsSECTION 305Moses Despondent
'I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.' NUM. xi. 14. Detail the circumstances. The leader speaks the truth in his despondency. He is pressed with the feeling of his incapacity for his work. We may take his words here as teaching us what men need in him who is to be their guide…
655 wordsSECTION 306Afraid Of Giants
All that men need is found in Him and in Him alone. All that men have failed, and must always fail, to be, He is. Those eyes are blessed that 'see no man any more save Jesus only.' We need One who can satisfy our desires and fill our hungry souls, and Jesus speaks a promise, confirmed by the experience of all who have …
731 wordsSECTION 307Afraid Of Giants
We stand here on the edge of the Promised Land. The discussion of the true site of Kadesh need not concern us now. Wherever it was, the wanderers had the end of their desert journey within sight; one bold push forward, and their feet would tread on their inheritance. But, as is so often the case, courage oozed out at t…
672 wordsSECTION 308Afraid Of Giants
There is no need to be too hard on the people. They were a mob of slaves, whose manhood had been eaten out by four centuries of sluggish comfort, and latterly crushed by oppression. So far as we know, Abraham's midnight surprise of the Eastern kings was the solitary bit of fighting in the national history thus far; and…
662 wordsSECTION 309Afraid Of Giants
III. We have next the two reports. The explorers are received in a full assembly of the people, and begin their story with an object-lesson, producing the great grape cluster and the other spoils. But while honesty compelled the acknowledgment of the fertility of the land, cowardice slurred that over as lightly as migh…
780 wordsSECTION 310Afraid Of Giants
This headstrong rashness, as they thought it, brings up the other 'spies' once more. Notice how the gloomy views are the only ones in their second statement. There is nothing about the fertility of the land, but, instead, we have that enigmatical expression about its 'eating up its inhabitants.' No very satisfactory ex…
394 wordsSECTION 311Weighed, And Found Wanting
'And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron; and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! 3. And whe…
670 wordsSECTION 312Weighed, And Found Wanting
In the murmurs to Moses, observe the distinct and conscious apostacy from Jehovah. They recognise that God 'has brought' them there, and they slander Him by the assertion that His malignant, deliberate purpose was to kill them all, and make slaves of their wives and children. That was how they read the past, and though…
729 wordsSECTION 313Weighed, And Found Wanting
Note the credulity of unbelief. The word of Jehovah had told them that the land 'flowed with milk and honey,' and that they were sure to conquer it. They would not believe Him unless they had verification of His promises. And when they got their own fears reflected in the multiplying mirror of the spies' report, they t…
654 wordsSECTION 314Weighed, And Found Wanting
Caleb and Joshua had a different task,--to make one more attempt to hearten the people by repeating their testimony and their confidence. Tearing their dresses, in sign of mourning, they bravely ring out once more the cheery note of assured faith. They first emphatically reiterate that the land is fertile,--or, as the …
832 wordsSECTION 315Moses The Intercessor
'Pardon, I beseech Thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of Thy mercy, and as Thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.' --NUM. xiv. 19. See how in this story a divine threat is averted and a divine promise is broken, thus revealing a standing law that these in Scripture ar…
703 wordsSECTION 316Service A Gift
There is but one thing that limits the divine pardon, and that is continuous rejection of it. Whoever seeks to be pardoned _is_ pardoned. III. The manner of the divine forgiveness. He pardoned, but He also inflicted punishment, and in both He loves equally. The worst, that is the spiritual, consequences (which are t…
453 wordsSECTION 317The Waters Of Meribah
'Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. 2. And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3. And the …
909 wordsSECTION 318The Waters Of Meribah
It is a signal instance of the solemn law by which the fathers' sins are inherited by the children who prove themselves heirs to their ancestors by repeating their deeds. It is fashionable now to deny original sin, and equally fashionable to affirm 'heredity,' which is the same thing, put into scientific language. Ther…
943 wordsSECTION 319The Waters Of Meribah
III. Note the breaking down at last of the long-tried leader's patience. It is in striking contrast with the patience of God. Psalm cvi. 32, 33, describes the sin of Moses as twofold; namely, anger and speaking 'unadvisedly.' His harsh words, so unlike his pleadings on the former occasion of rebellion at Kadesh, have a…
922 wordsSECTION 320The Poison And The Antidote
Note that Moses was condemned for doing what Jesus always did, asserting his power to work miracles. What was unbelief and a sinful obtrusion of himself in God's place when the great lawgiver did it, was right and endorsed by God when the Carpenter of Nazareth did it. Why the difference? A greater than Moses is here, w…
695 wordsSECTION 321The Poison And The Antidote
The swift stroke had fallen without warning or voice to interpret it, but the people knew in their hearts whence and why it had come. Their quick recognition of its source and purpose, and their swift repentance, are to be put to their credit. It is well for us when we interpret for ourselves God's judgments, and need …
794 wordsSECTION 322The Poison And The Antidote
Our Lord has given us the deepest meaning of the brazen serpent. Taught by Him, we are to see in it a type of Himself, the significance of which could not be apprehended till Calvary had given the key. Three distinct points of parallel are suggested by His use of the incident in His conversation with Nicodemus. First, …
557 wordsSECTION 323Balaam
'He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me.'--NUM. xxii. 6. Give a general outline …
688 wordsSECTION 324An Unfulfilled Desire
Thus all sin is the overbearing of reason or the sophisticating of reason by passion. Men know the absurdity of sin, and yet men will go on sinning. 'A rogue is a roundabout fool.' All wrongdoing is a mighty blunder. It is only righteousness which is congruous with a man's reason, with a man's conscience, with a man's …
688 wordsSECTION 325An Unfulfilled Desire
I. There is surely a solemn lesson for us all here--as touching the danger of mere vague religious desires and convictions which we do not allow to determine our conduct. Balaam had evidently much knowledge. Look at these points-- _(a)_ His knowledge of the covenant-name of God. _(b)_ His knowledge of a pure moralit…
652 wordsSECTION 326An Unfulfilled Desire
Such stings of conviction come to us all, but how are they deadened? _(a)_ By simple neglect. Pay no attention to them; do not do anything in consequence, and they will gradually disappear. The voice unheard will cease to speak. Non-obedience to conscience will in the end almost throttle conscience. _(b)_ By angry re…
433 wordsSECTION 327*** End Of The Project Gutenberg Ebook Expositions Of Holy Scripture: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus And Numbers ***
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157 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.