PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Leviticus
Frederick Meyrick [1827-1906] · 410,653 words · 472 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Leviticus — Section 181
An intense flame rose np from the altar, having first issued from the tabernacle; and all the people rejoiced because of it. "When all the people saw it, they shouted, and fell on their faces." God is a consuming fire in the way of acceptance, just as well as in the way of wrath. The psalmist gives us clear evidence of…
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II. THE TIM~ AT ~ICH THE ~LORY OF Goo APPEARS. 1. We may expect it at eventful stages m the history of his Ohu1·ch. Here at the establishment of the order of priesthood, to sanction it, to express approval of the men appointed, and to complete their consecration. The altar fire and all its future offerinas were thus…
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blood of circumcision or that of animal sacrifices, which anticipated that precious blood of Christ by which we are redeemed from " all sin." 3. But what has this to do with. 1he "eighth day" 1 (1) The eighth day remarka.bly characterizes the gospel. Since in the week there are seven days, the "eighth" day and the "…
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desening to die I Our confession of sin before God should be with deep conviction and: reality. (3) He put the blood upon the horns of the altar. 'l'hese were fronting the vail, behind which was t.he ark of the covenant and the glory of the Lord. This putting of the blood with the finger before the face of God was, as …
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I. Gon'e CALL TO me OWN PREBENCJIJ. (Vere. 5, 6.) H was at the Lord's own command that "all the congregation drew near and stood before" him. The entire scene was due to explicit Divine direction. It is God himself who calls ns to his presence. We may venture to ask why he does so, and to answer by suggesting: 1. That …
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mercy and restoration, hoping to attain it by a substitutionary sacrifice. The want is cleep and wide; how shall it be met? It was met, in the first instance, by the ritual under the Law, by- II. GoD's TE)[POl!ARY PROVISION. "The Lord commanded " Moses to say to Aaron "Go unto the altar," etc. 'l'his act of religio…
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nvi. 18, etc.). "There is forgiveness with God, that he may be feared" (Ps. cxxx. 4). ·•rhere would be no "fear," no reverence, no worship, no service of the Holy One, if for- giveness of sin were not attainable at once. That is the starting-point and condition -of human devotion. •III. THE ATTENDANT Bl'IRITUAL BTE…
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V. THAT CHRIST ALONE CAN CONFER THE PEACE WE NEED. 11 The Lord ..• give thee peace," uttered the Hebrew priest (Numb. vi. 26). " Peace I leave with you my peace I &ive un_to you,". ss;id the Lor~ _from heaven (John xiv. 27), Aaron's V:as a Au~n in_v~twn; Cbnst .~ was ~ D!vi~e ~,estowal. Aaron might hopefully invoke; Ch…
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EXPOSITION. bolioal of prayer, they lit their Cllllll8l'I CHAPTERX. from one of the fires which had been made THE DEATH 01!' NADAll AND A.Brau, THE for boiling the sacrificial fiesh, and, putting SONS 01!' AARON (vers. 1-7). The first day incense upon them, started forward, with the of Aaron's ministry had not yet c…
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HOMILETICS. Vere. l, 2.-The ainfulness of man mars the full effect of the good purposes of Gorl on the very day of the consecration of the priests. I. THE BIN OF NA.DAB AND A.nmu. Presumption. They chose their own method of returning thanks and giving praise to God, a method unsanctioned by God's com- mand, unauthori…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Counterfeit fire. Ch. x. 1-11; cf. Acts v. We have considered the consecration both of the high priest and of the minor priests, and how, entering upon their office in ei:pectation of a sign, they got it in the outflash of the "consuming fire." But sad to say, two of the minor priests so p…
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if the wrath of man does not turn to praise, it will glorify God in being restrained (Ps. l.uvi 10). v. IT IS C'LEAB THAT GoD ONLY ACCEPTS WBAT HE HIMSELF Dl'SPIRES. This is the lesson of this sad providence. We must bring back to God what he has given. Inde- pendent offerings are not acceptable. To come to him in a w…
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Vers. 1, 2.-Diso'bedienr,a swiftly punished. What a contrast between the two 1eenes ! Aaron and Moses entering the tabernacle and returnina to bless the people and to participate in the rejoicing caused by the appearance of G~d's glory and Nadab- and Abihu approaching the same sacred place only to be consumed by the…
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a mild Deity unmoved to indignation at acts unaccordant with his will is not justified; by Scripture, nor is it in harmony with the utterances of conscience or the testimony borne by the existent laws of his moral government of the world. 3. Not even the profession of desire to honour God excuses the wilful neglect of …
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the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.'' Listen to the voice from under the trees of the Garden of Gethsemane: "Father, not my will, but thine be done." Fond parents have sacrificed their children for the good of the commonwealth how much more shall they be content to leave them in the hands of God, to be dealt ~i…
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40). (2) The composition of the incense also was right; we have no intimation to the cont~ary. Under proper conditions, therefore, the incense might appropriately ascend with the" prayers of the saints" (see Luke i. 9, 10; Rev. viii. 3, 4). (3) Bull the fire was wrong. It was a fire of their own kindling: not that w…
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~b. ix. 15) thnt this forl1idden act 'Was done very soon indeed after the solemnities described in the preceding chapter (ix.). Otherwise we should have inferred that it was familiarity with sacred rites which had bred irreverent unconcern, and issued in disobedience. We seem shut up to the conclusion that these y'o…
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IT. THE ACTUALLY AND INTRINSICALLY GREAT. It is or the most serious importance that: 1. In all things, weightier and lighter, we should study to follow the will of Christ. His will is revealed in his own words, and in the acts and words of his apostles. Thence we must studiously deduce his desire concerning us. 2. We …
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Vers. 1-7.-Strange fire; and Jehovah', Judgment upon ll. Ver. 3, "Then Moses Mid unto Aaron, This is that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace." I. A GREAT OFFENCE against the holiness of God. 1. Defilement of hi…
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minister of God under the New Testament, many others when he says that, by eating see 1 Tim. iii. 2, 8; v. 23. The spiritual the flesh of the offering, the priests •• in a emotion, which, in the service of God, shows deep mystery neutralized, through the holi- itself in pouring out the feelings in "psalms ness vested i…
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HOMILETICS. Ver. 11.-Tliat pf'iests are teachers is assumed all through the Old Testament. The contrast in this respect which has been found by some between the prophets and the priests, the former 1?8ing th~ spiritual guides of the people, and the latter the organs of a dull ceremonial routine or even rude slayers …
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THOUGHT AND STEADINESS OF CONDUCT. The effects of "wine., or " strong drink,. ,are various in different men and at different stages. Carelessness, excitement, stupe- faction,-either might ensue, and bring upon the offender the wrath of God. The principle is obvious that the service of God may require abstention from e…
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Vers. 12-15.-The eating of the holy thi11gs. In the words of the last paragraph God speaks immediately to .Aaron ; here Moses resumes, addressing now ".Aaron and his sons that were lift," or who had escaped the terrible judgment in which Na.dab and Abihu were involved. He repeats his instmctions concerning- !. THE …
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Vera. 16-20.-Moses and .Aarcm an allegory. Moses may be taken as the im- personation of the Law which was given by his hand (see Luke xvi. 29; Acts xv. 21). Hence the "body of Moses," about which Michael disputed with Satan, is by some supposed. to denote the substance of the Law (Jude 9). In this view he appeared upon…
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_Vers. 8-10.-~im ~nd worship: The prohibition of the text only extends to the- pnest about to offimate in the 'Yorsh1p of _God; "w~en_ ye go into the tabernacle." It had no reference to the domestic use of wine; nor did 1t separate "strong wine n from ~red ser.ice altogether (Exod. X;l'.ix. 42; Numb. xxviii. 7). Per…
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n sense of sin, by a hope of forgiveness, by a desire to dedicate themselves unto God by a spirit of holy joy in God and of brotherly love toward their fellows. To corn~ municate all the particulars of the Law, and leave uninterpreted their spiritual significance, would have been to omit an essential part of their sacr…
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Aaron repined, or had he resented the retributive act of God, he would certainly have Binned. But this he did not. He summoned himself and his sons to continue in the service of the Lord, and only stopped at the point where overcoming sorrow laid its arresting hand upon him. God desires of us (1) the will to serve him,…
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Ilcnce we are able to cxplnin the distinc- of the che.racteristic marks only, the rule is- tion of clean nnd unclean animnls. It does to be construed strictly, As to fish and in- not rest upon a sanitary basis, though the s~ts,equally plain rules,one in each cnse, nre prohibition to eat carnivorous and other l~1d cl…
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not eoientiflo language is used here, as In 19), lapwing (ver. 19), should be substituted, Josh. x. 12, "o.e we might speak of whales ibis, great pWl!er, hoopoe. In the ease of the and their congeners aa fish, when there is no bat, we have again phenomenal language need of scientific o.ccuracy" (Clark). " All used. …
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tmime.ls, unless it hns been wetted by water to avoid uncleanness, because God is holy, being put on it, in which case the moisture and they were God's. 'l'hey were thus would oonvey the corruption into the seeds. tnught tho.t ceremonial cleanness of the Vere. 39, 40.-The loe.thsomeness of the body was a symbol of h…
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into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purg1ng all meats?) And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an e…
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The rellgiow we of nature. Ch. xi.; cf. Ps. civ., cvii.; Job xxxviii.-xli.; Matt. xiii.; 2 Sam. xxii. 34-. We pass now to the relation in which the Lord's people are to stand to animated nature. So far from treating it with indifference, they were bound to regard certain animals as clean and certain others a.s unclean,…
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" Mao passes still to-day," says M. Secretan, 1 "throngh the form of the ape, and he passes through it visibly; the embryonic evolution continues itself io the transforma- tions of the first age, the spiritual development allies itself to the corporeal evolution, it is regulated by the same laws. Just as the human body…
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We have thus inculcated, by this easy, popular division of the animals, important moral qualities to be cultivated and immoral qualities to be avoided. Animated nature, became thus a mirror for human nature. The living world around man was thus made to take up a parabolic language and promote his sanctification. IV.…
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(3) As there are varieties of clean and also of unclean animals, so are there varieties and degrees of goodness, on the one hand, and of wickedness on the other, amongst men. Still the classes are but two. The one is led by Christ, the other by Satan (Matt. xii. 30; xxv. 2, 32, 33). To which class do you belong? II. T…
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to 'apples of gold in network of sn\ter,' the meaning is that the exterior sense is good and precious a~ silve~, but the interi_or is much _more excellent as gold. An apple of gold covered with a silver network, viewed at a distance, seems to be all silver• but if by the worth and beauty of the sil~er Y?U be ~tt~cte…
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appears hopeless to expect certainly to identify them. This fact in itself ought to con- vince the Jew that the Law, in the letter, is abolished; for he cannot tell whether he has not repeatedly eaten abominable thingR, or that contact with the carcases of such has not made him unclean. As to the spirit of the Law, …
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Messenger and Dispenser of peace to the Church; but who is often grieved by the impurities of men (Matt. iii. 16). The fruit of the Spirit, is peace ; and those who exemplify it are called doves (Matt. x. 16). (2) The lark also is a clean creature, who soars high and sings gloriously in the light of the morning. How …
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could not be a type of Christ, who died voluntarily, for he had no sin of his own to doom him to die. All intercourse of Christians should be in Christ, who is our life. 2. The polluting of tliings. (1) Vessels of any sort are rendered unclean by contact with the carcase of an unclean thing. These represent human being…
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and eager to receive. enlighten_m~nt from God (Ps. cxx_xix. _23). (3) A feaiful thing to think how many live and die III the love of tnat which 1s loathsome and will only learn in retributive scenes what an abominable thing is sin.-C. ' Ver. 3.-Health a duty as well as a blessing. Undoubtedly there were moral and r…
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must shrink from and shun. So the idea of holiness, of sacred separation, of freedom from that wl1ich defiles (ver. 44), was planted within the soul, and grew in the nation; and it was ready when the time came for the great redeeming purpose of God to be revealed. There was a people well schooled in the essential idea …
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less useful, less excellent and admirable in hea.rt and life, because of the unguarded and intemperate way in which they eat and drink. We may be neither gluttons nor drunkards; yet we may lower our character and lessen our influence by ill-re"ulated appetite in eating and drinking. Profoundly true and urgently dema…
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things were and are necessary: 1. Carefulness: scrupulous regard to the known laws .(vers. 32, 34, 38). 2. Self-sacrifice: things made unclean must be broken up, disused. cast away, at whatever cost (vers. 33, 35). IV. 'l'HE REMOVAL OF THE STAIN OF BIN, "It must be put into water; . • • 80 it shall be cleansed " (ver…
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moved by every honourable impulse, we should seek to be mninly moved by the highest. and best of all. Here we have three of the highest possible motives for the best possible estate three· high reasons for holiness. ' I. Goo, IN HIS SOVEREIGNTY, COllllllANDS IT, AND IT IS oun HIGHEST DUTY TO OBEY nrn. "I am ••. yo…
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adopted-it would be the only one intelligible. Even in trivial matters God's people are to be distinguishedfrom the heathen. These distinctions were not simply arbitrary, they depended on considerations sanitary, ethical, and instinctive. Thankful for the relief the gospel affords us from the burdensome ceremonies of t…
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EXPOSITION. and some sort of offerbg was made. The amphidromia of the Greeks was a similar CHAPTER XII. lustmtion for the child, when the natne was UNCLEANNESS DERIVED FBOH OlIILDBIBTH. given, probably between the seventh and As there is a natural disgust felt for some tenth days " (Clark), kinds of food, which se…
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Ver. 6.-Generation, conception, and birth, not having anything sinful nece!sarily connected with them, the sin offering in this case is rather an intimation of original sin than an atonement for actual sin; the "sorrow" attached to childbirth being especially connected with the fall of man as a result of Eve's share in…
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Vers. 1-8.-The purification of the (Jhurck. At the commencement of his treatise on this Book of Leviticus, Cyril of Alexandria truly says, that as the Word of God came into the world arrayed in flesh, in which bodily appearance he was seen of all, while his divinity was seen only by the elect; so has the written Wor…
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,over, they will be no mort1 (see Matt. xxii. 30; 1 Cor. xv. 50; 2 Cor. v. 2-4; see also Homiletic notes on eh. ix. 1-7). (3) Hence, the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" is •another way for expressing the " circumcision of the heart," l\nd therefore it is called the "circumcision of Christ," or of Christianity (Col. ii. …
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I. LET us START WITH THE PH-v;sICAL FACT THAT NATURE HAS ASSOCIATED WITIII 'ffiLDnIRTH A SENSE ON THE MOTHER s PART OF PERSONAL UNCLEANNESS. 'l'he "issue of her blood" (ver. 7) stamps the physic3l process with defilement. No mother can avoid this sen~ ~f personal uncleanness, not even the blessed Virgin (Luke iii. 22-…
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for hwman sin. In other words, Jesus Christ was born with a liability on account or the sine of others. Having entered into the human family, having condescended to be born, he became liable for the responsibilities and debts of the human family, and the ritual so regarded him. Not only so, but our Lord had entered upo…
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Vers. 2-7.- Woman under the Law and under the gospel. Every childbirth re-echoes in the ears of woman the sentence passed upon her ancestress Eve. That such a season of rejoicing should be attended with such throes of agony speaks loudly of the curse entailed by sin. There is no earthly pleasure entirely free from i…
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EXPOSITION. malady is a pRinless spot, whtoh covers an CHAPTlm XIIL indolent ulcer. Thie ulcer may continue UNOLEANNESS DERIVED FROM LEPROSY 0B unprogressive for months or for years, 0ONTAOT WITII LEPERS AND LEPROUS TIDNGS during which the poreon affected is able to (ohs. xiii., xiv.). A third cause of uncleanness r…
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year 1880. 1 The object of the regulations of hia aona the prieata; thnt is, to the high relnting to leprosy is no more sanitary than priest or to the ordiuary priest, iind those descendiints of Auon who were disqualified of those relating to unclean meats. Like the by physical infirmities from officiating at latter t…
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ulcer underneath the white scab, there ia the llpOt be only in the upper cmticle, and to be no dele.y, e.s in the previous ce.se, but (2) there is no ble.ok hair in it. We should judgment ia to be po.seed e.t once. The have expected rather from the second con- priest she.ll pronounoe him unolee.n, e.D.d she.11 dition i…
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HOMILETICS. Vel'8. 1-44.-Leprosy III regarded as the type of sin in a more especial way than other foul and ugly things. Affections of the body often serve as means of representincr to ourselves the affections of the mind. This is witnessed to by ordinary langua(7e~ The words, "see," "perceive,"" feel," originally exp…
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siderable flow of saliva" (Trusen). "A characteristic of the disease is the horribly repulsive features of its later stages, when the face becomes shockingly disfigured, and often the separate joints of the body become mortified and drop off one by one" (Gardiner), VIII. 'l'HE BUFl!'ERmG ENTAILED BY IT AT LAST, As …
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. The dia,gnosis of sin as i1lustrated in the leprosy. Ch. xiii.; cf. 2 Kings v. ; Ps. lxxxviii. ; Matt. viii. 1--4; Luke v. 12-15. The preceding chapter brings forward sin as an inheritance through ordinary generation. No thorough sense or treatment of sin can be reached unless it is rec…
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• I loved-but those I loved are gone; Had friends-my early friends ere fled. How cheer.less feels the heart alon.i, When all its former hopes are dead I Though guy companions o'er the bowl Dispel awhile the sense of ill; Though pleasure stirs the mllddening soul, The hea.rt-the heart--is lonely still." And again…
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from Heaven upon sin (see Numb. xii. 10; 2 Kings v, 27; 2 Cbron. xxvi. 19), from which circumstance, perhaps, it had its name (npi:t), tsaraath, from (p,1), tsaro, to smite. As there is no disease whose description engages so much space in Scripture, leprosy must be regarded as e. very special type of sin. L IT IS A P…
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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.