PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 1
George Rawlinson [1812-1902] · 322,442 words · 351 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 1 — Section 121
hack on the "lrnavy " Moses, and followed the lead of the brilliant but perhaps shallow Aaron, who could make molten images under the very shadow of Sinai, the mount of God, ere reverberating thunders had died away in the desolation of the desert. 4. The e.ssence qf his exc1tse. The defect was to the mind of Moses f…
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me11ns, "you have my leave-I do not oppose time, and repeated so frequently in cha. , ii.- your going." xiv., has given offence to many. Men, it is Ver. 19.-And the Lord se.id unto Moses so.id, harden their own hearts against God; God in Millian, Go, return. It would seem that does not actively interfere to harden the…
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permission to do· &S he pleased. But Moses read his duty' differently. Ho had been recei,ed among the Midianites with great kindness,.had been given a home and a wife, and probably enrolled formally as an adopted member of the tribe or nation. Though Reuel, the bead of the tribe at the time of his coming, had ceased…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 18---21.-The return. Weeks, perhaps months, intervened between the reve- lation at the bush and Moses' actual departure from Mid.ian. Time was given for allowing the first agitation of his spirit to subside, for enabling him to take the just measure of the task: entrusted to him, for…
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Yer. 21.-Ha1'<lening. God communicates a.new with Moses, f6rtifying his resolution to appear before Pharaoh, putting words into his mouth, and warning him of the effect his message would produce. He was not to fail to do e.ll his wonders before Pharaoh, though the only effect would be to harden the monarch's heart-t…
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was to refrain from oppressing his son, and if he did not he would be smitten in his own firstborn. (1) As men treat God's children so will Goel treat them. He notes, nnd he will rewarcl, kinclnesses clone to his sons, and be will avenge their wrongs. (2) God's children may safely leave the avenging of their wrongs to …
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would be 5ayi.ng very earnestly in his heart, "Oh that I only knew myself to be safe in this matter." Remember the terror with which, after so long a time, Jacob approached his injured brother Esau. Certainly Jacob had the bitter consciousness of wrong-doing to heighten his fears, but Moses would have equally the con…
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fact thnt Phnraoh's heart was hardened is stated five times. 3. Generally, until after the fifth plague, Pharaoh hardens his own heart; then, and only then, save in Ex. vii. 13, God is said to harden Pharaoh's heart. 4. The fact seems to be that at first l'haro.oh sinfully hardened his own heart, and then God permissiv…
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:ircumcision ought to have taken place ; but (Knobel, Kalisch, Rosenmilller, Canon Cook); Zipporah had a repugnance to the r.ite, and but the words seem mote approprinte to a deferred it, Moses weakly consenting to the miraculous appearance, like that of the o.n~el to Belaa.m (Num. xxii. SI). Still, it is qmte ille…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers.19-29.-" My times are in Thy hand." Moses thought himself fit for his work at forty-eager to undertake it before the years increased; G-Jd waits until his self- confidence has abated, and then, at eighty, gives him his commission. I. 'l'HE GREAT COMMISSION. His errand is to Pharaoh, …
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Yem. 24-27.-Jnterpretation of providence. Thla mysterious pusage in the life of Moees 1111ggests various reflections. 'fhe facts are few. Moses, probably in deference to Zipporah's abhorrence of the rite, had neglected the circumcision of his child. This, ln BO eminent a .!ervant of God, was a sin which could not be wi…
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made as if he would kill him. The very obscurities of this strange incident help to mako it more impressive and admonitory. Consider- !. WllAT THERE MAY BE IN THE NARRATIVE TO THROW LIGHT ON TITE CAUSE OF THE OMISSION. It cwnnot have been that Moses was completely ignorant of Gor.Cs rer1ufrement. Had not God recall…
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HOMILETICS. Ver. 27.-God does t1,0t stint his help when he visits man. It might have seemed that God had now done enough to set on foot the deliverance of his people. He had appeared to Moses, overcome his reluctance to be leader, given him the power of working some great miracles, and allowed him to devolve a portion…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 29--31.-Tlie blming on obedience. Moses and Aaron, on their return to Egypt in company, carried out exactly the Divine directions, doing neither less nor more. They summoned the ciders as commanded (eh. iii 16); they delivered God's message to them (ib.); they wrought the signs which they had been to…
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of valom: Such was the temper of the king Neither will I let I1rael go, i.e. " nr,r even, if before whom we believe that Moees and Aaron he were, would I consent to such a request 1111 appeared. There would be no difficulty in this from him." The Pharaohs 1188ll1Iled to b8 themselves gods, on a par with the national a…
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god. If we are right in supposing him to be Menephthah, he was the son of a king who had set up bis own image to be worshipped side by side with those of Ammon, Phthah, e.nd Horns, three of the greatest Egyptian deities. He viewed the demand made of him as preposterous, and had probably not the slightest belief in t…
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II. OnDERB FROM THE KING, "The very same day I " Such is the restlessness of the tyrnnt-spirit. The orders were addressed to the "drivers," Egyptians, and to the "clerks" of'ibe works, Hebrews. Note the large employment of" clerks," as evidenced by the monuments. '!'be appointment of these "clerks" would contribute muc…
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prince of this world; no doubt as-to·the strength ·or the~latter-is it. possible for his 11poil~ to be wrested from him? The strong man armed hM thus far kept his pa.lace (Luke xi. 21), and his goods (cf. Rev. xviii. 13) have been in peace, so far 11.S outward a.i~turbe.nce is concerned, Now comes one who claims to …
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must bavo been stro.ngely mingled, as, after forty years of exile, he trod the familiar pavements, and looked upon the olcl splendours. But the narrative, absorbed in ite mightier theme, has no word to spare for the emotions of a Moses. 'l'he lo:.g contest between Pharnoh and Jehovah is on the eve of its commencement, …
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(2 These. ii. 4)-not e.n uncommon phe.se of pride. But the presumptuously wicked will do well to remember that, if Pharaoh thus exalted himself, it was to hie own destruction. His very pride was a challenge to Jehovah to destroy him.--J. 0. Yers. 1-5. - GorI's demand and Pharaoh's answer. - I. THE DEMAND. 1. Its mo…
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mindedness; what then is to be done, if upon tbe very first approach of reli!tlon we pooh-pooh it as more superstition, folly, and delusion? 2. This was a question to vJhich Moses could have given a very effective and alarming answer if only he had been allowed opportunity. Moses, fresh from the revelations and sanctit…
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EXPOSITION. Vers. fl-9.-Rulers are not always content keeping the tale of the bricks, and seeing that •imply to refuse inconvenient demands. Some- they reached the proper amount. Literally, times they set to work with mnch ingenuity the word shoterim means " scribes," o.nd is so rendered in most passages. and worl…
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HOMILETICS. Vera. 6-9.-Thc picture of a tyrant-crafty, energetic, and unsparing. Scripture contains abundant portraitures, not only of good, but also of bad men, the Holy Spirit seeming to be as desirous of arousing our indignation against vice as our sympathy with virtue. Portraits are given us, as more effectual tha…
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HOMILIES BY V.ARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 4--10.-Increased cruelty. View Pharaoh's conduct as illustrative- I. OF THE VIEW WHICH A WORLDLY MAN TAKES OF RELIGION. "Ye are idle" (vor. 8). This ·way of putting the matter was partly a pretext---a tyrant's excuse for adding to b~rd~ns alr_eady sufficiently heavy ; but it had …
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poverty 11nd helplessness-to the diffusion of intelligence among the masses. Hence, in slave-holding countries, the laws against teaching slaves to read, etc. The slave- holder cannot afford to encourage the spread of intelligence, of anything which wili enablo his slave to realise his manhood, But tyranny of this kind…
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EXPOSITION. Vers.10-14.-The command of Pha.ra.oh had Thns saith :Pharaoh. The exact words of gone forth-no straw was to be provided for the J'harao1! (ver. 7) are not repeated, but modi- fied, according to men's ordinlll'J' practice in Israelites, they were themselves to gather straw. similar cases. The t.askmaste…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 10-15.-Bricks without straw. Tyrants seldom lack subordinates, as cruel as themselves, to execute their hateful mandates. Not only are these subordinates gene- rally ready to curry favour with their lord by executing his orders with punctilious rigour, but, when they get to know that…
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EXPOSITION. Vcrs. 15-19.-Smnrting under the sense probably here alluded to. To Pharaoh. Seo of injustice, the Israelite officers "came the "Introductory paragraph " at the begin- ancl cried to Pharaoh" (ver. 15), supposing ning of the chapter, where it has been noticed that complainants had free access to the pre- th…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Y ers. 15-20.-Unheeded expostulation. Pha.raoh's treatment of the officers of th8' children of Israel, when they appeared before him to expostulate with him on his cruelty, betrays his consciousness of the injustice of his cause. I. AN UNJUST CAUSE BETRAYS ITSELF-L By refusal to listen …
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~on~dence, it~d confir!Din~ him in his bo~st of superiority to ,Jehovah, was a further step m l11s hartlemng-a npenmg for destruct10n. 3. Is a fresh call for God to interfere on behalf of the oppreBBed. This new wrong, i~stead of lea<l!ng the Israelites to despair, should only have lent fresh vehemence to their prayers…
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t.o shut out interference from any other qua.rter. Help in God, sure and sufficient help, but help only in God, was one of the great lessons which all these painful years were meant to teach Israel. Pharaoh had unmistakable power of the human, despotic, might- me.kes-right-sort over Israel. As the inquisitor by an easy…
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HOMILETICS. • Ver. 21.-The servants of God liable to reproach from friends no less than enemies. Moses and .Aaron had borne the reproaches and scoffs of Pharaoh (vers. 4--8) without flinching. It was natural that an enemy should revile them. Pharaoh might tax them with idleness and insincerity in religion, if he pleas…
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God he.d taken up their cause, their tlials and soITowe were at an end; but in enter• taining so comfortable a hope, they found they were deceived. The first step on the road to the promised deliverance had plunged them into a worse plight than ever, 'l'hey had almost felt the breath of liberty on their cheeks, when…
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but how much lies beyond which is involved in the hiding of his power I (Hab. iii. 4.) Our walking must be "by faith," not " by sight" (2 Cor. v. 7).-J. 0. Vore. 19-21.-Thoughtless smilers of a lrrother in adversity. This whole chapter particularly abounds in illustrations of human ignorance and error. We have seen in…
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that still greater pleasures lie beyond. Israel had no right to make any assumptions whatever as to the first consequences of Moses' visit to Pharaoh. The true and only 11afe position for Israel to take up was this : "Here are these signs; they are signs that Jehovah has sent Moses, and is with him; let us accept the…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 1.-Now shalt thou see. There WII.! encouragement in the very word "Now." Vers. 1-8.-The expostulation of Moses Moses' complaint was, that God delayed his did not offend God. God gave him, in reply coming, would not show himself, was "slaclc to it, a most gracious series of promises and c…
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I not known unto them. The explanation of of their bondage ; they ,hould be brought out ; thi!; pRSS&ge is by no means easy. God him- they ,houle be redeemed and deliYered by his self, according to Gen. xv. 7. reYealed himself mighty ann 1tnd mirnculoUB intervention. He, t.o Abraham as Jehovah before declaring bis J…
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b:, faith, sight shoulcl bo vouchsafed to him. "Now shalt thou see," etc. Hnman infirmity is so gre1it, man's faith is so weak, the best are so liable to accesses of d.istruRt and despondency, th£1t, if God were extreme to mark what is in this way done amiss fow indeed would be those who could "abide it." Therefore, in…
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y(lur fathers." The knowledg~ of God by t~s ne.~e in the present passe.ee has obvious reference to a knowledge derived from manifestation of the attributes implied in the meaning of the name. I. "JEHOVAH" IN oo~"TRAST WITH "EL-SHADDAI" (ver. 3). 1. El-Shaddai means 11.s translated, "God Almighty." It denotes in God…
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mornl prepo.rntion, We ho.vo now to view in it a situation providentially J_,repnrcd with the design of o.ffo;cling the '.ullest possible scope f?r the display of th~ truth, grace, power, o.nd o.ll-embracmg sovereignty of the great Bemg who was revealing himself in Israel's history. 3. God revealed as Jehovah (vers. 6-…
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ju~tify himself. How oasy it is for e. me.n, even though fully persuaded of God's exist.ence, to have utterly erroneous thoughts of his purposes and of his ways of working. E,·idently it will need a gradual process---and not without temporary retrogressions-in Nder to lift Moses above such conceptions of deity as he…
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with 1111 Hs promises yesterday, be sure that to-day he is doing something to carry that covenant out. lf, yesterday, he expressed compassion for the oppressed, and wrath with the oppressor, be sure that he has not relapsed into cold indifference to-day. The 8e capricious sympathies a.re reserved for men and women who …
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character, or aspC'ct. of character, <lcnotcd by the tiUe, Jehovl\h would seem to have been a title of Go<l before the time ;if Moses; but to him, au<l to the Israelites through him, was first revealed that aspect of the Divine character which explained and justified the title. Notice- I. O:r,.: MAY KNOW Goo "'lTHO…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 11, vi. 13.-The new commission. And Moses spoke so, etc.: Exod. vi. 9. I. THE AUDACITY OF FAITH. Describe the treatment of Moses and Aaron. They acted under Divine direction, did their very best, but just because everything did not go well instantly, and that through the frowardness …
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distinctness, formality, and solemnity. Note-There may have been an lntcrvai of months between the cry and these annoll.Ilcements. Note also, that this is not a second account of the rcYelation of the Burning Dush. The true explanation of the likeness between the two ~evelations _is, _that Moses having fallen into a…
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Phamoh could not hinder, so the people could neither help nor hinder. When they were yet without strength, utterly without strength, in due time God intervened to deliver them. I. 'fbere is thus suggested to us bow :we should keep in mind ONE GREAT CAUBB oF HINDRANCE To THE GosPEL. A message like that of the Gospel of…
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TO DEAu IMMEDIATELY WITH ALL THIB ANGUISH,AND BONDAGE OF MEN, There is a plausible ergument-----<>ne very frequently urged, and alas I very easily deceiving-that the Gospel of Christ does nothing immediately for the social improvement of the world. What is more common than the cry, when some hideous blot and ulcer o…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 9-14, 28-30.-Shakenfaith, and an unshaken purpose. In these verses Wtt have- . I. A PAINFUL RESULT OF AFFLICTIVE PROVIDENCE. The children of Israel, bard- driven by their taskmasters, and sunk in misery, were so stupefied with sorrow, as to have no longer any heart for their cheerin…
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Absorbed in "the sorrow of the world," they have no ear for spiritual comfort, 11.nd almost i;purn it as a mockery. 2. At the prosped of having to go again before Pharaoh. Having feiled with the people, how should he hope to prevail with Pharaoh, emboldened ns that monarch would be with the suooess of a previous ref…
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ungodly" (Ilorn. v, G). There was the want of will as well as of power to do anythinu of ourselves. God has interposed, and done all for us.-J. 0. '"' Ver. 10-chap. vii. 7.-The uncircumcised lips. I. "UNCIRCUMCISED LIPS." En7u-ire ,vliat the significance of this stranga expression may be, as coming from Mose,~. It can…
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secure his acceptance "';th Pharaoh or with any other sinful or rebellious man. It is rather to secure his acceptance with God, and especially his full enjoyment of all that comes through this acceptance. III. JEHOVAH POTh'TS OUT THE WAY IN WHICH PHARAOH SIIALJ, DE !;:FFF.CTUALLY DROUGHT TO SUBMISSION. 1. In the si…
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EXPOSITION. Vera. 13-27.-At this point the narrative of Shaul, on the other hand, increaBed and is interrupted The author, or (it may be) multiplied (1 Chr. iv. 25--27). the final compiler-perhaps J oshue,-thought Ver. 16.-The sons of Levi. The same three sons ere given in Gen. xlvi. 11; Num. it desirable to insert h…
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remarks of Keil and Delit.zsch, 'Biblical Com- time "prince of the tribe of Judah" (Num mentary,' vol. i. p. 470, E. T.; and compare ii. 8). Nadab and Abihu. On their fate, see Kurt.z.' Hist.oryofOld Covenant,' vol. ii. p.144, Lev. x. I, 2. Eleuar became high-priest a.nd Cook, in 'Speaker's Commentary,' vol. i. upou…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 14-28.-The genealogy of Moses and Aaron. Beside its direct interest as setting in an exact light the descent and relationship of the two principal figures in the succeeding history-Moses, the Lawgiver of Israel, and Aaron, the head of the priesthood -this genealogical register presen…
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spring from Judah or Joseph-the Rons of Jacob who fell 'heirs to the birthright for• fcited by the sin of Ren hen (1 Chron. v. 1, 2). The genoalogy stops, as havina attained its end, before it gets their length. (<l) He sprang from Levi-I\ tribe ~ri!tlnally united with Simeon under n curse (Gen. xlix. 7)-yet not fro…
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women in tho world have come from pious homes. (See numcrons illustrations of this in Dr. Norman MacLeod's 'Home School.') The Ch11rch historian, Neander, ha~ noticed in how many cases" pious mothers" had to do with the planting of the seerls 0 f Christianity in tho souls of those who aftenvard8 produced great effects …
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1, 2.-God assigns to each man his intellectual grad,e. Three different intel- lectual grades are here set before us-that of the thinker, that of the expounder, a.n.:t that of the mere recipient. Pharaoh, notwithstanding his exalted earthly rank, occupie,a the lowest position. He is to hang on the …
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-8.-A god to Pharaoh. Moses was in the trying position of being sent out anew upon a mission in which hitherto he had not had the slightest particle of success. His discouragement was natural. Pharaoh, on a previous occasion, had repulsed him. He had lost the ear even of his own peo…
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Ho does this in righteousness. "God, having permitted evil to exist, musE thereafter of necessity permit it also to run its whole cour~e in the way of showing itself to bo what it really is, as that which aims at the defeat of the Divine purpose, and tho consequent dissoluUon of the universe." This involves hardening. …
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wid~d u,orks (Col. i. 21), they may have "the understanding darkened" and bo " alienated from the life of· God through the ignorance that is in them beca:ise of the blindness ( marg. h9:rdness) of their hearts," and being ''. past feeling" m~y give "them- selves over unto lasc1nousness, to work all uncleanness with …
1,095 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.