PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Notes on the book of Numbers
Mackintosh, Charles Henry, 1820-1896 · 131,881 words · 179 reading sections
Part 1
NOTES _on the book of_ NUMBERS by C. H. MACKINTOSH _“So He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.”_ LOIZEAUX BROTHERS _New York_…
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LOIZEAUX BROTHERS, INC., PUBLISHERS _A Nonprofit Organization, Devoted to the Lord’s Work and to the Spread of His Truth_ 19 WEST 21ST STREET, NEW YORK 10, N. Y.…
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_Page._…
2 wordsSECTION 4PREFATORY NOTE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION
As several persons in America have, without any authority whatever from me, undertaken to publish my four[1] volumes of “Notes,” I deem it my duty to inform the reader that I have given full permission to Messrs. LOIZEAUX BROTHERS to publish an edition of those books in such form as they shall consider most suitable.…
56 wordsSECTION 5C. H. MACKINTOSH.
_6 West Park Terrace, Scarborough, May 1st, 1879._…
9 wordsSECTION 6PREFACE
Having read the proof-sheets of the following “NOTES ON NUMBERS,” I am prepared, so far, to write a preface. It is with no view of praising the book that I do so, but to show my fellowship with the well-known author in all his labors. The book will speak for itself, and the reader must judge. After twelve years of joi…
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There were upwards of six hundred thousand men above the age of twenty, besides the Levites and women and children, probably more than two millions altogether. But Jehovah gathered them all around Himself, as a father would gather his children, and covered them with the skirts of His cloud, both by night and by day.—“H…
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_London, Dec. 1, 1869_…
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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 del…
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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 perfec…
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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 ei…
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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 iii. 5; Jas. i. 18; 1 Pet. i. 23; Eph. v. 26.) The believer traces his pedigree directly up to a ri…
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And first of all, let us 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 …
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We would urge this point at the outset. It is impossible for any one to recognize and rally around 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 …
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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 vii. 7-24; Galatians v. 17; Ephesians vi. 10-17. If the reader will just turn for a mo…
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We shall now glance for a moment at the conflict in Galatians v. 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.”[2] This passage is often quoted to account for contin…
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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 s…
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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 unpr…
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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” around which we encamp in this wilderness, through which we are passing home to our eternal rest above…
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What a marvelous spectacle was the camp of Israel in that waste howling wilderness! What a spectacle to angels, to men, and to devils! God’s eye ever rested upon it. His presence was there. He dwelt in the midst of His militant people. It was there He found His habitation. He did not, He could not, find His abode amid …
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Thus it is that faith settles the question. God was in the midst of His people. He was there in all the fullness of His grace and mercy—there in His perfect knowledge of His people’s wants, and of the difficulties of their path—there in His almighty power and boundless resources, to meet these difficulties and supply t…
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Such is the Church of God in the world—a separated, dependent, defenseless thing, wholly cast upon the living God. It is calculated to give great vividness, force, and clearness to our thoughts about the Church to view it as the antitype of the camp in the desert; and that it is in no wise fanciful or far-fetched to vi…
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And, reader, remember, this was a type. A type of what? A type of something that has been in existence for over eighteen centuries; is in existence still; and shall be in existence until the moment that our Lord Christ rises from His present position and descends into the air. In one word, a type of the Church of God i…
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But how is this body organized? By the Holy Ghost, as it is written, “By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” (1 Cor. xii. 13.) How is it maintained? By its living Head, through the Spirit, and by the Word, as it is written, “No man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the L…
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Here, we are persuaded, lies the true secret of power and blessing. Do we deny the ruin? How could we? Alas! alas! it stands forth as a fact too palpable and glaring to admit of denial. Do we seek to deny our share in the ruin—our folly and sin? Would to God we felt it more deeply! But shall we add to our sin by denyin…
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But why the Levites? Why was this tribe specially marked off from all the others, and set apart for so holy and elevated a service? Was there any special sanctity or goodness about them to account for their being so distinguished? Not by nature, certainly, nor yet by practice, as we may see by the following words: “Sim…
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Here we have, in type, the only divine principle of cleansing. It is the application of death to nature and all its habits: it is the Word of God brought to bear upon the heart and conscience, in a living way. Nothing can be more expressive than the double action presented in the above passage. Moses was to sprinkle wa…
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But ere proceeding to examine particularly the work and service of the Levites, we must look for a moment at a scene in Exodus xxxii, in which they act a very prominent and a very remarkable part. We allude, as the reader will at once perceive, to the golden calf. During the absence of Moses, the people so completely l…
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In a word, then, the question for the camp of Israel in the day of the golden calf, and the question for the Church in this day of human will, is this: “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Momentous question! It is not, Who is on the side of religiousness, philanthropy, or moral reform? There may be a large amount of any or al…
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It might have appeared unwarrantably harsh and severe in Levi not to have seen his parents, or known or acknowledged his brethren. But God’s claims are paramount, and our Lord Christ hath declared these solemn words, “If any man come to Me, and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and siste…
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After the ceremonial acts of “washing” and “shaving” already referred to, we read, “Then let them [_i. e._, the Levites] take a young bullock with his meat-offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin-offering. And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of …
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The Levites were a separated people—God’s special possession. They took the place of all the first-born in Israel—of those who were saved from the sword of the destroyer by the blood of the lamb. They were, typically, a dead and risen people, set apart to God, and by Him presented as a gift to Aaron the high-priest, to…
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It is most needful for all who would be true Levites, proper workmen, intelligent servants, to weigh, with all seriousness, this point. Levite service was to be regulated by the appointment of the priest. There was no more room for the exercise of self-will in the service of the Levites than there was in the position o…
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All this finds a very vivid illustration in the inspired record concerning the service of the three distinct classes of the Levites, which we shall now proceed to quote at length for the reader. There is nothing, after all, to be compared with the veritable language of holy Scripture. “And the Lord spake unto Moses in…
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All this was clear and distinct. Gershon had nothing to do with the boards and pins, and Merari had nothing to do with the curtains or the coverings. And yet they were very intimately connected, as they were mutually dependent. “The boards and sockets” would not do without “the curtains,” and the curtains would not do …
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But, besides the moral worth attaching always to the act of doing what we are told to do, there was also a special dignity belonging to the work of a Merarite, even though that work was merely attending to a few “pins” or “sockets.” Every thing connected with the tabernacle was of the very deepest interest and highest …
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It was this that enabled the Gershonite in the wilderness to look after those rough, unattractive-looking “badger-skins,” and that enabled the Merarite to look after these apparently insignificant “pins.” Yes, and it is this which will enable the Christian now to address himself to that special line of service to which…
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“And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, ‘Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. Th…
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The coverings of the golden candlestick and of the golden altar were identical, namely, first, the heavenly covering, and then the external badgers’ skin. In the candlestick we see our Lord Christ in connection with the work of the Holy Ghost in light and testimony. The golden altar shows us Christ and the preciousness…
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But further, has the reader noticed that in the entire of this marvelous passage to which we have been calling his particular attention there is no mention of a certain piece of furniture which we know, from Exodus xxx. and other scriptures, occupied a very important place in the tabernacle: We allude to the brazen lav…
759 wordsSECTION 41CHAPTER V.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ‘Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, _in the midst whereof I …
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Now, what, we ask, would have been God’s rejoinder to such a reply? If the reader will just turn for an instant to Joshua vii, he will find as solemn an answer as could well be given. Let him draw near and carefully inspect that “great heap of stones” in the valley of Achor. Let him read the inscription thereon. What i…
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This is most distinct. We are not to judge those “without,” but we are to judge those “within.” That is, those who take the ground of being Christians—of being members of God’s assembly—all such come within the range of judgment. The very moment a man enters the assembly, he takes his place in that sphere where discipl…
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Nor are we confined to one solitary passage of Scripture on this subject; though had we but one, it were amply sufficient. But we have more than one. Hearken to the following: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the bo…
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But it may be that the reader feels disposed to put some such questions as the following: How is it possible to find a pure, a perfect church? Is there not—will there not—must there not be some evil in every assembly, in spite of the most intense pastoral vigilance and corporate faithfulness? How, then, can this high s…
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The doctrine of the trespass-offering has been considered in our “Notes on Leviticus,” chapter v; and to that we must refer our reader, as we do not mean to occupy his time or our own in going into any points which have been already considered. We shall merely notice here the very important questions of confession and …
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Reader, let us, with holy vigilance, watch against all this; let us seek to cultivate a tender conscience. It will demand from us what it demanded from Paul, namely, “exercise.” But it is blessed exercise, and it will yield most precious fruits. Do not suppose that there is aught that savors of the legal in this exerci…
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What a mercy, then, to have had such a perfect mode of settling all suspected cases! Suspicion is the death-blow to all loving intimacy, and God would not have it in the midst of His congregation. He would not only have His people collectively to judge evil, and individually to judge themselves; but where there was eve…
102 wordsSECTION 49CHAPTER VI.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord; he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of stro…
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Christian reader, let us deeply ponder this first grand feature of the Nazarite character. It is important we should faithfully examine ourselves in the light of it. It is a very grave question indeed how far we, as Christians, are really entering into the meaning and power of this intense separation from all the excit…
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Here again, be it remarked, the question is not as to the right and wrong of the case. As a general rule, it was right for a man to shave his locks; but it was not right, nay, it was altogether wrong, for a Nazarite to do so. This made all the difference. It was quite right for an ordinary man to shave and drink wine; …
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We behold in the person of the Nazarite a type of one who sets out in some special path of devotedness or consecration to Christ. The power of continuance in this path consists in secret communion with God; so that if the communion be interrupted, the power is gone. This renders the subject peculiarly solemn. There is …
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What, then, it may be asked, is to be done? The scripture before us supplies the answer.—“And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration, then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day shall he shave it. And on the eighth day he shall bring two tu…
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May God, in His infinite mercy, keep us from falling. May we have grace to watch more jealously against every thing, no matter what, that might defile the head of our consecration. It is a serious thing to get out of communion, and a most perilous thing to attempt to go on in the Lord’s service with a defiled conscienc…
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We shall, in closing this section, quote, at length, for the reader, the statements of “the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; and he shall offer his offering unto the Lord, one he lamb of the first year without bl…
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It may seem, to some of our readers, a strong statement to assert that there is nothing about the Church, properly so called, throughout the prophets, or indeed in the Old Testament; but a statement or two from the inspired pen of St. Paul will settle the whole question for any one who is really willing to submit to th…
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The reader will observe that we here reach the close of a very distinct section of our book. The camp is duly arranged; every warrior is set in his proper place (chap. i, ii.); every workman is set to his proper work (chap. iii, iv.); the congregation is purified from defilement (chap. v.); provision is made for the hi…
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Reader, let us remember that “_all_ [not merely some of] the promises of God are yea and Amen in Christ Jesus;” and while we rejoice in the application of this precious statement to ourselves, let us not seek to deny its application to others. We most fully believe that the children of Israel shall yet enjoy the full t…
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This is the very longest section in the entire book of Numbers. It contains a detailed statement of the names of the twelve princes of the congregation, and of their respective offerings on the occasion of the setting up of the tabernacle. “It came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had …
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This is divine. And may we not say that this seventh chapter of Numbers is one of those specimen-pages from the book of eternity, on which the finger of God has engraved the names of His servants, and the record of their work? We believe it is; and if the reader will turn to the twenty-third of second Samuel, and the s…
769 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.