PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Notes on the Book of Leviticus
Mackintosh, Charles Henry, 1820-1896 · 108,622 words · 161 reading sections
Part 61
And now, ere turning from this fundamental point which has been occupying us, I would desire to make an earnest and a most solemn appeal to my reader's heart and conscience. Let me ask you, dear friend, have you been led to repose on this holy and happy foundation? Do you know that the question of your sin has been for…
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[16] The epistle to the Ephesians furnishes the most elevated view of the Church's place above, and gives it to us, not merely as to the title, but also as to the mode. The title is assuredly the blood; but the mode is thus stated: "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we w…
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He is a despised Christ--a rejected Christ--a Christ outside the camp. Oh, then, dear Christian reader, let us go forth to Him, bearing His reproach. Let us not bask in the sunshine of this world's favor, seeing it crucified, and still hates with an unmitigated hatred, the beloved One to whom we owe our present and ete…
313 wordsSECTION 64CHAPTER V. 14-VI. 7
These verses contain the doctrine of the trespass-offering, of which there were two distinct kinds, namely, trespass against _God_, and trespass against _man_. "If a soul commit a trespass, and sin _through ignorance_, in the holy things of the Lord, then shall he bring for his trespass unto the Lord a ram without blem…
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"And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest; and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering, and it shall be forgiven him." (Chap. v. 16.) In the addition of "the fifth part," as here …
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Thus, whether we think of the injured or the injurer, in any given case, we are equally struck with the glorious triumphs of redemption, and the mighty practical results which flow from that gospel which fills the soul with the happy assurance that "all trespasses" are "forgiven," and that the root from whence those tr…
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Nothing can be more dishonoring to the pure grace of the gospel than the supposition that a man may belong to God while his conduct and character exhibit not the fair traces of practical holiness. "Known unto God are all His works," no doubt; but He has given us, in His holy Word, those evidences by which we can discer…
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Again, when it was a question of trespass "in the holy things of the Lord," the unblemished sacrifice was first introduced; and afterward, "the principal" and "the fifth." This order was reversed when it was a question of the common affairs of life. (Comp. chap. v. 15, 16 with chap. vi. 4-7.) The reason of this is equa…
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There is far more involved in the divine order prescribed in the trespass-offering than might at first sight appear. The claims which arise out of our human relations must not be disregarded; they must ever get their proper place in the heart. This is distinctly taught in the trespass-offering. When an Israelite had, b…
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In none of the offerings is Christ's personal holiness more strikingly presented than in the sin-offering. "Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin-offering: In the place where the burnt-offering is killed shall the sin-offering be killed before the Lord: _it is most holy_.... Whatsoever sh…
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We shall here close our meditations upon one of the richest sections in the whole canon of inspiration. It is but little we have been enabled to glean from it. We have hardly penetrated below the surface of an exhaustless mine. If, however, the reader has, for the first time, been led to view the offerings as so many v…
108 wordsSECTION 72CHAPTERS VIII. & IX.
Having considered the doctrine of sacrifice, as unfolded in the first seven chapters of this book, we now approach the subject of priesthood. The two subjects are intimately connected. The sinner needs a _sacrifice_; the believer needs a _priest_. We have both the one and the other in Christ, who, having offered Himsel…
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Heaven, not earth, is the sphere of Christ's priestly ministry; and on that sphere He entered when He had offered Himself without spot to God. He never appeared as a priest in the temple below. He ofttimes went up to the temple to teach, but never to sacrifice or burn incense. There never was any one ordained of God to…
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"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin-offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; and gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.' And Moses did as the…
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Now, my reader should ponder both these aspects of the believer, in order that he may see, not only what a highly exalted and privileged place he occupies with Christ on high, but also what ample provision there is for him in reference to his every need and weakness here below. This distinction might further be develop…
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Reader, pause, and, in the presence of the Searcher of hearts, ask yourself this plain, pointed question: Am I sanctioning by my presence, or adopting in my practice, any departure from, or neglect of, the Word of God? Make this a solemn, personal matter before the Lord. Be assured of it, it is of the very deepest mome…
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Let us now consider the second point presented in our section, namely, the efficacy of the blood. This is unfolded with great fullness, and put forward in great prominence. Whether we contemplate the doctrine of sacrifice or the doctrine of priesthood, we find the shedding of blood gets the same important place. "And h…
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This truth of the distinctness and yet oneness of the Head and members leads us naturally to our third and last point, namely, the power of the Spirit. We may remark how much takes place between the anointing of Aaron and the anointing of his sons with him. The blood is shed, the fat consumed on the altar, and the brea…
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"And Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, 'Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it. And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire. …
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What, now, we may legitimately inquire, remains to be done? Simply that the top-stone should be brought forth with shoutings of victory and hymns of praise. "And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and _the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people_. …
301 wordsSECTION 81CHAPTER X.
The page of human history has ever been a sadly blotted one. It is a record of failure from first to last. Amid all the delights of Eden, man hearkened to the tempter's lie (Gen. iii.); when preserved from judgment by the hand of electing love, and introduced into a restored earth, he was guilty of the sin of intempera…
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"And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord." How deeply solemn! Jehovah was dwelling in the midst of His people, to govern, to judge, and to act, according to the claims of His nature. At the close of chapter ix, we read, "And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and…
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All this is as plain as it is encouraging; but it leaves wholly untouched the question of the human will, and its impious workings in connection with the service and worship of God. All such workings must inevitably call down, sooner or later, the solemn judgment of a righteous God, who cannot suffer His claims to be t…
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There is something unusually arresting and impressive in the way in which Aaron received the heavy stroke of divine judgment.--"_Aaron held his peace._" It was a solemn scene. His two sons struck dead at his side--smitten down by the fire of divine judgment.[20] He had but just seen them clothed in their garments of gl…
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But let not any upright, though timid, heart be discouraged or alarmed. It is too often the case that those who really ought to be alarmed take no heed, while those for whom the Spirit of grace would only design a word of comfort and encouragement apply to themselves in a wrong way the startling warnings of holy Script…
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Oh, my reader, how far have you and I progressed in this profound lesson? No doubt both reader and writer have to make the same humiliating confession. Too often, alas! we "walk as men" and "eat the bread of men"--too often are we robbed of our high priestly privileges by the workings of nature and the influences of ea…
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It needs hardly to be remarked that the Christian should be _most jealous_ over himself as to the use of wine or strong drink. Timothy, as we know, needed an apostolic recommendation to induce him even to touch it for his health's sake. (1 Tim. v.) A beauteous proof of Timothy's habitual self-denial, and of the thought…
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[22] Some, perhaps, may think that the wording of Leviticus x. 9 affords a warrant for _occasional_ indulgence in those things which tend to excite the natural mind, inasmuch as it is said, "Do not drink wine nor strong drink ... _when_ ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation." To this we may reply that the sanct…
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However, we must distinguish between those privileges which belonged to all the members of Aaron's family, "daughters" as well as "sons," and those which could only be enjoyed by the male portion of the family. This point has already been referred to in the notes on the offerings. There are certain blessings which are …
781 wordsSECTION 90CHAPTER XI.
The book of Leviticus may be termed "The Priest's Guide-book." This is very much its character. It is full of principles for the guidance of such as desire to live in the enjoyment of priestly nearness to God. Had Israel gone on with Jehovah according to the grace in which He had brought them up out of the land of Egyp…
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Now, I earnestly desire that the Christian reader should be able, with clearness and decision, to meet this grievous dishonor done to the precious volume of inspiration, every line of which comes to him fresh from his Father's bosom, through the pen of God the Holy Ghost. I desire that he should meet it whether it come…
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It is to be feared that many who _read the Bible_ do not _digest the Word_. The two things are widely different. One may read chapter after chapter, book after book, and not digest so much as a single line. We may read the Bible as part of a dull and profitless routine, but, through lack of the ruminating powers--the d…
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We are here forcibly reminded of a solemn passage in the first epistle of John, in which the apostle furnishes us with the two marks whereby we may know those that are of God.--"In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever _doeth not righteousness_ is not of God, neither he that _l…
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From verse 13 to verse 24 of our chapter, we have the law with respect to birds. All of the carnivorous kind, that is, all that fed on flesh, were unclean; the omnivorous, or those who could eat any thing, were unclean; all those which though furnished with power to soar into the heavens would nevertheless grovel upon …
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It is well to see that the personal holiness of God's people--their entire separation from all manner of uncleanness, flows out of their relationship to Him. It is not upon the principle of "Stand by thyself: I am holier than thou;" but simply this: "God is holy," and therefore all who are brought into association with…
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This was a noble lesson for a Jew to learn; it was a divine lesson, before the light of which the shadows of the old economy must pass away. The hand of sovereign grace has thrown open the door of the kingdom, but not to admit aught that is unclean. This could not be. Nothing unclean can enter heaven. But then, a clove…
349 wordsSECTION 97CHAPTER XII.
This brief section reads out to us, after its own peculiar fashion, the double lesson of "man's ruin and God's remedy." But though the fashion is peculiar, the lesson is most distinct and impressive. It is, at once, deeply humbling and divinely comforting. The effect of all Scripture, when interpreted to one's own soul…
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"And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for a burnt-offering and the other for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean." Nothing but blood-shedding could impart cleanness. The cross is the only remedy for man…
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But there is another invaluable lesson furnished by this twelfth chapter of Leviticus. We not only read herein the grace of God to the poor, but, by comparing its closing verse with Luke ii. 24, we learn the amazing depth to which God stooped in order to manifest that grace. The Lord Jesus Christ--God manifest in the f…
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Of all the functions which, according to the Mosaic ritual, the priest had to discharge, none demanded more patient attention or more strict adherence to the divine guide-book than the discernment and proper treatment of leprosy. This fact must be obvious to every one who studies, with any measure of care, the very ext…
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But then, mark the care, the vigilance, the perfect patience, inculcated upon the priest, lest aught that was not leprosy might be treated as such, or lest aught that really was leprosy might be suffered to escape. Many things might appear "in the skin"--the place of manifestation--"like the plague of leprosy," which, …
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Reader, behold, in the poor, solitary leper, a vivid type of one in whom sin is working. This is really what it means. It is not, as we shall see presently, a helpless, ruined, guilty, convicted sinner, whose guilt and misery have come thoroughly out, and who is, therefore, a fit subject for the love of God and the blo…
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Thus is it, in every case, with the sinner. God is "of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon iniquity" (Hab. i. 13.); and yet the moment a sinner takes his true place, as one thoroughly lost, guilty, and undone--as one in whom there is not so much as a single point on which the eye of Infinite Holiness c…
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No doubt it is a very happy thing to realize, to feel, and to experience; but if we put these things in the place of Christ, we shall neither have them nor the Christ that yields them. If I am occupied with Christ, I shall realize; but if I put my realization in place of Christ, I shall have neither the one nor the oth…
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There is a rich mine of practical instruction in all this. We must look well to the position which we occupy, the circumstances in which we stand, the habits we adopt, the character we wear. There is special need of watchfulness. Every suspicious symptom and trait must be sedulously guarded, lest it should prove, in th…
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But there was far more to be accomplished than the mission and incarnation of the Son. It would have availed the leper but little indeed had the priest merely gone forth from the camp and looked upon his low and forlorn condition. Blood-shedding was essentially necessary ere leprosy could be removed. The death of a spo…
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We could hardly have a more perfect type of the resurrection of Christ than that presented in "the living bird let loose into the open field." It was not let go until after the death of its companion; for the two birds typify one Christ in two stages of His blessed work, namely, death and resurrection. Ten thousand bir…
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"And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the bird loose into the open field." The more deeply we ponder over the contents of chapter xiii, the more clearly we shall see how utterly impossible it was for the leper to do aught toward…
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There are perhaps few things which disclose the deep-seated legality of our hearts more strikingly than this oft-raised question of realization. We _will_ have in something of self, and thus so sadly mar our peace and liberty in Christ. It is mainly because of this that I dwell at such length upon the beautiful ordinan…
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I speak according to the doctrine of the type; and I feel it to be of importance to apprehend the truth unfolded therein. It is too often overlooked. There are many who own the blood of Christ as the alone ground of pardon, and the Word of God as that whereby alone their habits, ways, and associations are to be cleanse…
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"And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat-offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, bef…
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It is deeply interesting to see that "the oil" was put "upon the blood of the trespass-offering." The blood of Christ is the divine basis of the operations of the Holy Ghost. The blood and the oil go together. As sinners, we could know nothing of the latter save on the ground of the former. The oil could not have been …
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Here closes the record of the Lord's dealings with the leprous man; and, oh, what a marvelous record it is! what an unfolding of the exceeding hatefulness of sin, the grace and holiness of God, the preciousness of Christ's Person, and the efficacy of His work! Nothing can be more interesting than to mark the footprints…
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From verse 21 to 32 we have "the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing." This refers to the sacrifices of "the eighth day," and not to the "two birds alive and clean." These latter could not be dispensed with in any case, because they set forth…
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"And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after that he hath scraped the house, and after that it is plastered; then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean. And…
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This chapter treats of a variety of ceremonial uncleannesses of a much less serious nature than leprosy. This latter would seem to be presented as the expression of the deep-seated energy of nature's evil; whereas chapter xv. details a number of things which are merely unavoidable infirmities, but which, as being in an…
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Do you ask, What am I to learn from such a section of Scripture? what is its application to me? In the first place, let me ask, do you not admit that it was written for your learning? This, I imagine, you will not question, seeing the inspired apostle so expressly declares that "_whatsoever_ things were written aforeti…
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Thus we can gather up the most valuable points from this fifteenth chapter of Leviticus. We learn, in a very striking manner, the intense holiness of the divine presence. Not a soil, not a stain, not a speck, can be tolerated for a moment in that thrice-hallowed region. "Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel fr…
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This chapter unfolds some of the weightiest principles of truth which can possibly engage the renewed mind. It presents the doctrine of atonement with uncommon fullness and power. In short, we must rank the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus amongst the most precious and important sections of inspiration, if indeed it be a…
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"He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and he shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on." (Ver. 4.) Aaron's person, washed in pure water, a…
831 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.