PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Numbers
Rayner Winterbotham [1842-1924] · 425,969 words · 472 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Numbers — Section 181
the giants, the multitudes of people. They added, moreover, this, That the land at.a up the inhabitants-a statement which probably refers to the circumstance (a remarkable one it is) that Palestine had been the meeting-place and battle-ground of many nations, where one nation had exterminated another. 2. The mi'Tlhrity…
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cultivation of it, Observe the climate and the people themselves, if they be a strong, 11ta!wart race, and numerous. Do they live peacefully among themselves or in strongholds ? " There was not .a sentence in these instructions but thre~ some doubt on the wisdom, power, and :faithfulnel!II of Jehovah. When God sends…
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. before Moses." Thie intimates the excitement and turbulence of their feeling. Th1J ,chnnces nre thnt a good dee.I of disparagement of Canaan had come to their ears, losing nothing as it passed from one tongue to another. Notice the temporary -effacement, e.e it were, of Moses. It is Caleb who here takes the lead. …
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people refused to enter the land, The Lord took them at their word, and deolared that they should not enter. I. We see in this A SIGNAL INSTANCE OF A SORT OF FAILURE THAT IS NOT UN- COMMON, " There is a tide in the affairs of men Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their lif…
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Abrnham in Gen. xviii. It ie a.n intercession for Sodom. It would seem that, while prayer of every kind ie made welcome in heaven, a. peculiarly gracious welcome ie prepared for the prayers in which the petitioner forgets himself for the time, in the ardour of hie desire for the good of others. It is in connection w…
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and transgre!!sion ? Into this name I will now run. In this name I take refuge.. Rem~mber t_hy woi:d _on w~icb thou .~ast caused. me to hope. Let thy name be now manifested in forgwmg th111 people. --There 1s no encouragement in prayer to be· compared with that which is got from the study of God's promises. "He both sa…
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'the favour of God, though it could not annu] his fa_ithfulness. 3. Confidence in God. "Neither fear ye the people." To fear them was to distrust God (Isa. viii. 13, 14; Heh. xiii. 6, &c.). II. TBB 0EBTAIN BUCCEBB OJ' THOSE WHO ENJOY THE HELP OJ' Goo. Caleb and Joshua express their confidence in various ways; e./. …
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Rion of feeling, but not a repentance of heart (et 1 Sam. xv. SO). Whl\t wae im• possible yesterday is practicable to-day (ver. 40). But they go without the prayer of Moses (~b. x. 85) or the presen~e of God (ver. 44). T~e mountt:in pass is impreg• nable. It 1s too 11\te. The offer 1s lost to that generation. Their …
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Certain it ie the.t they could never have found their way eo far themselves. But their preeent etrait wae none of hie bringing. It had come through unbelief, cowardice, and lying. Men have low, mieerable viewe of what is good for them- selves1 and the end is blasphemous language with reepect to the all-loving, all-wise…
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Ver. 6.-.A mute appeal. I. THERE COMES A TIME WHEN ALL EXPOSTULATION WITH MEN 1s VAIN, at aU events the expostulation of certain people. Moses felt no word he could say would be of the slightest use. In vain you throw the pearls of truth and soberness before the swinish multitude, and it is the humbling testimony of…
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unutterable folly of drawing back from certain and inestimable blessings when they lay within their reach. Therefore they accompanied their speech with an action that indicated the distress and laceration of their hearts. Truth may do such things naturally in the very vehemence and consistency of its onset. We do not r…
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-end. He had been engaged, as it were, in a solemn experiment with the liberated Israelites, and the experiment was now complete. No further knowledge could be ,gained, and no .c~ange in th~ direction of trust and obedience could be hoped for, from longer waiting. To wa1t, therefore, was only to waste time and 11imu…
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alone in the dork. And now God seems to suggest that possibly the sud of Mosu may pr_ove of a better sort. Thus we hove in the propositions of this verse what we moy coll alternative suggestions. They show what things might, conceivably, and 11ot unjustly, have happened at this critical tnming-point.-Y. Vera. 13-19.-.…
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wked, and all that in the light of his former "ords (vers. 11, 12), he could give. But what did it come to? Nominally, it might be called & pardon; ID reality it came to no more than & reprieve.. It did not put Israel where it was before. It was a boon eo far as it is a boon to & man condemned to die when he is told…
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Ver. 24.-Tlie promise to Caleb. God grants the prayer of Moses for the people, and makes clear how small a boon it is by notifying at the same time their necessary e:11:clusion from Canaan. The smallness of the boon compBred with the greatness of the lose ie still further shown when he goes on to make the promise to…
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says, "This one thing I do; " wherever he finds the loving hearti the giving hlllld the bridled tongue, he is not slow to give approval. When the heart is fully set towards him, without division and without compulsion, he recognises such a state m the most emphatic language. Hence, in spite of great biota faithfully…
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bring even the youngest of them to be n man of sixty, and thus, though the wear- ing away might be velJ' ~adu11l, yet it would be none the less certain. The rule ie made more express and rigorous by the very exceptions in Caleb and Joshua. IV. THOUGH THEY THEMSELVES WERE DOOMED, CLEAR INDICATION IS GIVEN TO THEM THAT …
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they would have submitted at once to the -decision of God and hie direction for their present need (ver. 25). A mind filled with the sense of sin is filled also with the Bense of ~od's authority.. It is so impressed with its ~wn s!n and God's righteous- ness, that its first thoug·ht 1s how to end the dreadful alienatio…
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PRELIMINARY NOTE TO CHAPTERS XV.-XIX. A great break in the story of Israel occurs here. Perhaps in the whole history of the theocracy, from Abraham downwards, there is no such entire submergence of the chosen people to be noted. After the rebellion at Kadesh they disappear from view, -and they only reappear at Kade…
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when there was no natural supply (see on 1 Cor. x. 4). He provided them also with raiment and shoes, so that they had the " food 1md clothing" which are the actual necessaries of life. 2. Josh. v. 4--8. It may seem strange that no children were circumcised between Egypt and Canaan, considering the extreme importanc…
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EXPOSITION. are amongst the simplest and most universal CHAPTER XV. of offerings to the unseen powers. For one VARIOUB LAWS OP' SACRIFICE (vers.1-31). lamb. ~1~• lamb or kid. Ver. 1.-The Lord apake unto lloaea. It Ver. 6.-0r for a ram. The meat e.nd must have been during the years of wander• drink offer.ngs were t…
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Ver. 20._-A cake of the first of your 27), and of tho parallel provisions in Levit. .tough. ntrJ}l, only used here and in the iv. 2, 13, points clearly to the neglect of Rny two passages which refer to this enactment one of the Divine commandments. One (Neh. x. 37; Ezek. xliv. SO). It probably yoUI1g bul!ook for a b~…
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observance of them is concerned ; it is certain, therefore, that they have an abiding spiritual fulfilment in the law of Christ. Consider, therefore- !. THAT THE TWO FIRST OF THOSE LAWS WERE DESIGNED FOR THE ISRAELITES WIJE~ THEY CAME INTO THE LAND OF THEIR HABITATION; they do not contemplate the period of wandering i…
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tribute of our industry and zeal dedicated to God should bear a full proportion to our faith and joy in the atonement of ,::Jhrist, and should still increase with the increase of these. Nothing is more painful tiia.n the entire disproportion often visible between a man's earn.est nnd lively desir~ to appropriate .by…
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11:, 26; 1 John v. 16 b.), It is certain that (e. g.) one deliberate lie spoken deliber- cately, nnd of mnlice aforethought, m11y do more fasting inJury to a soul, as far as we can judge, thnn a whole life of reckless, thoughtless, heedless vice. Compare the -case of the Pharisees i(Mark iii. 30) with that of the harlo…
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ftO hoJ?l (vers. 30, 31). The reference, no doubt, is, in the first instance, to deliberate- violations of the Mosaic constitution-the refusal to accept ciroumcision or celebrate- the Passover, or observe the Sabbatic rest. For such offences no sacrifice was pro- • vided. The person forfeit;ed his place in the coven…
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bo forgiven," &c. (Matt. xii. 82 ; 1 John v. 16). 8. The difficulty of exactly deciding, either under the law or the goepel, what sins are beyond the power of expiation, and expoee us to be "cut off," adds to their danger, All sins are like, poisons, fotnl if remedies are not applied. But if some are certainly fatal, a…
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free-will offerings, but here is one connected with such a. frequent a.nd necessary act as the eating of bread. There are occasions for free-will offerings when evident mercies and peculiar gains prompt to something special in the way of acknowledg- ment; but men are only too prone to forget the common and dally mer…
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does not cease to be evil because done in ignorance. Whatever is commanded ought to be done, and if omitted there is lose somewhere in God's universe because of the omission. We must not plead ignorance of the commandment, for the reason of that ignorance lies with man, and not with God. It may not lie with the particu…
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HOMILETICS. Vere. 32 - 36. - The SalJbath of God. We have here a record which is both valuable in itself as revealing the mind of God, and also valuable indirectly as revealing the mind of man. The perversity of human nature, and the extreme subtleness of superstitic-n, are remarkably exemplified in the popular tre…
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HOMILIES .BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 30-36.-The doom of the presumptuous illustrated by that of the Sabbath- brealcer. Disobedience to the commands of God is ranged under two classes. First, that which has just been considered, disobedience through ignorance; secondly, disobedience from presumption, a bold, conscious…
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w:iio ~an deny that coni;inued unbelief in the face of pressing requirements fo, 111.ith 1s a presumptuous em ? Who can deny that where love and unselfish service- are ke~t back f:om ~od and_ men th~re is presumptuo~s sin? Such sine persisted in, agam,t all hg:ht, mstruc!1on, wammg, and appe~l, will end in a cutting…
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theii inability to keep the law of Gori are separated in hie eight from those who eon- temn that law, far as the enst is from the west. Be it ours to feel with David, "rivers of waters run down my eyes, because they keep not thy law" (Pe. cxiL 136), and not as the fool who says in his heart, There is no God (Pa. !iii. …
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EXPOSITION. THE LJ.W OJI' TASSELS (vers. 37 - 41). and the method m which they were knotted Ver. 38.-Bi.d them that they JDAke them together, so as to set forth the whole 111,w with fringes. M1'¥, probably tassels. It seems all its several comma.ndments. The later to signify something ftower-like and bright, Jews, how…
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HOMILETICS. Vere. 87-41.-A distinguishing mark of the faithful. In the ordinance of the tassels we have at once the height and depth of the oltt dispensation-the most trivial -0f outward observances married to the deepest truths and greatest blessings of true religion. Spiritually we are to see here the distinctive…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 37-41.-The me and abuse of memorials. This law is one of the many illustrations of the minute particulars prescribed by the laws of Moses. We find other illustrations in precepts respecting ploughing (Deut. xxii. 10), sowing (Deut, xxii. 9), reaping (Levit. xxiii. 22), threshing (…
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,remembered. There is no moment when it does not stand before us in all its spiritu- ,ality, and its searching for inward conformity. Nor can we pretend that our hearts .are any better, any more in sympathy with God, than those in Israel of old. The :tiuman heart under Christ needs to be provided for just as much as un…
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11in. The holier they became in outward compliances, the more would they feel their pollution and their s~paration of heart from God. If any one ever knew the value of the fringes, we should judg·e it to have been David, yet read Ps. cxix. I and notice how he there gathers up his earnest longings for conformity with…
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VINDICATION OF THE AARONIO PRIESTHOOD (CHS XVI., xvn.). EXPOSITION. whole narrative, like the construction of the CHAPTER XVI. opening verses, is very confused, and leaves THE OAINSAYINO OF KORAH (vera.1-40}. on the mind the impression that it hlls been Ver. 1.-Now Xore.h . . took men. M1P altered, not very skilful…
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ites and their fate; and if, further, that en- gint, "'"Y"X,iro, /3011:\ih:, representAtives of largement was so unskilfully me.de as to the _host in the great council (cf. eh. i. 16 ; leave considerable confusion in the narrative, XXVl. 9), wherein does that affect either its truth or Ver. 3.-The:y 111.thered thema…
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verse : C,i;IP, here, and M'7V, before. The guilty. It is possible enough that behind ·former seems to be used in the more solemn him was a considerable body of public sense, but they are for the most part indis- opinion among the Levites more or less tinguishable, and certainly cannot b~ assigned decidedly supportin…
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duplication of the verb in the inf. abs., Ver. 21.-That I may oonsu.me them in a, .,~~::,-c1. moment. Literally, "and I will consume Ver. 14.-llloreover thou hut not brought them," The same thing must Le said of us. According to the promises (they meant this as of eh. xiv. 11, 12, to say) by which he had induced th…
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,.,1,,,rn/11, and l1naru,r,j of the Septua~nt, counted exclusive of Korab himself. On the- and to cur "oversight," or "visitation" whole, while it is certain that the narrative- (Gorman, lwimsuch'lllll{J, Thus it may mean is very obscure, and the question very doubt- practically the providence of God for good, ful, it …
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HOMILETICS. Y~rs. _1-40.-:f.'he tr1.U and only Pnestlwod. It is quite clear that the homiletic .application of this passage turns upon a question whicb ia strongly controverted-a question which it is alike impossible (save at the cost of honesty and truth) to ahirk or to take for granted one way or the other. That …
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moat deeply hie own prieetly calling in Ierael, would most devoutly give thanks for the eeporo.tion of the tribe of Levi and family of Aaron, because he would feel that no one benefited eo much by that separation as himself; far from standing between him nnd the God of Ierael, it enabled him to draw nigh to God in a mu…
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for themselves, and the deeper line of application will be followed. Consider, therefore- !. THAT KORAB'. ON ONE SIDE, DATHAN AND AnmA\I ON THII: OTHER HAD HARDLY ANY• THING IN COMMON EXCEPT DISLIKE TO TBE RULE OF MOSES, TBE MEDIATOll. 011' ISRAEL AND 1mm rN JESHURUN (Deut. xxxiii. 5). His dislike was ecclesiastica…
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morrow the Lord will show who are his," "for the day shall declare it" (1 Cor. iii. 13), and" it shall be revealed by fire," aa it was with Korah'a company. Woe unto them who cannot abide, whether personally or aa to their work, the test of fire. Our God is still, as then, a consuming fire (Heh. xii. 29), and that f…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vera. 1-3.-Korah's rebellion. 1. The ringleader and hi-a poli,cy. Of all l~e seditious movements which embittered the heart of Moses and wrought trouble m Israel during the forty years' wanderings, the rebellion of Korab was by far the most formidable. The anxious tone of the narrative bet…
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Vers. 4--.35.-Korah's rebellum,. 2. Bow the rebelli?n was encountered and put down,. Moses was the meekest of men. There were circumstances of aggravation in the rebellion of Korah which would have exhausted the meekness of most men but they failed to break down that of Moses. The much-enduring patience of th~ serv…
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,sinned against the clearer light. Yet the factR seem to show that the Reubenites were the more aggravated sinners, or at least that their families took part more entirely in their sin. Thie at least is certain, that while the families of the Reubenite rebels perished with them, the family of Korah survived. Centuri…
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were murniurlng the plague was breaking out in the camp. Ho,v shall it be stayed ? Let Aaron show hi1_nself ~ true P:iest by mo.~in~ atonement.for the people. There is no time for presentmg a sm of!'enng. Let him mstead fill his censer with coals from- the altar of sacrifice, and run in between the living and the dead,…
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Ver. 22.-" Tlte God of the BF.rits of aJ,l flesh." This name of God reminds ns of some of the relations in which God stands to us his creatures, who are immortal spirits in mortal flesh, We select three, e.nd speak of him- I. As PROPRIETOR. "He jormeth the spirit of man within him" (Zech. xii. 1). The verb used is app…
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Vers. 1--3.-The rebellion of Korah. Tlie conspirators and tlteir pretext. Here is now the sin of Miriam and Aaron (eh. xii.) on a larg·er scale. Aaron who had been inveigled into troubling Moses, is now joined with Moses in suffering from the pride and envy of others. I: THE co~srIRATOR_S. They were men of po~iti a…
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le.ngue.ge or conduct of his own. He we.a in e. humbler way like Jesus before his enemies. When Jesus spoke of his relation to the Fe.ther, his complete dependence on the Father's will, and obedience to it, and of himself e.s the sole revealer of the Father, these enemies sneered fmd three.tened; nnd no reply was effec…
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their grasp, was to trample down Moses and Aaron and take their place, " What is Aar~n, th~t ye mnr,:nu: again~t him?" An earthen vessel is a very common, cheap, fragile thrng._ If 1t 1s no!lnng 1!1ore than a1;1 earthen vessel, then you may in a moment, unhmdered, dash it to pieces. But if God, to show the excellency o…
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II. MosEs' INDIGNANT PllOTEBT. He does not address the slanderers, for where would have been the use? He·me.kes e. direct appeal to God: "Respect not their -offering,'' Probably they were going to set up some sort of altar in their own tents, since they refused to come to the te.bemacle ; only to find out, e.s Cain did…
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but, like truly humble nnd holy men, they were occupied with intense pity for the- great mult!tude suddenly exposed to the full wrath of God. Was there any in thBt great multitude who would thus have thought of them 1 Their position towards God and men comes out in something like its completeness. If Moses had much …
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EXPOSITION. THE PLAGUE BEGUN AND AVERTED (vers. tabernacle on the day of atonement (Levit. 41-50). Ver. 41.-Ye have killed the xvi.). Whether Moses received any intimation people of the Lord. They had in truth that the wrath might be thus averted, or forfeited their own lives, and Moses and whether it was the darin…
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HOMILETICS. Vel'8. 41-l>O. -The pri_e,stly <lt<YMment. We see in this section the priesthood of the anointed at once exercised and vindicated in the fullest and highest sense by shielding from wrath and death those who were appointed to die on account of sin. The spiritual .meaning so far and so plainly eclipses th…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 41-50.-The pri,esthood still f1trther honoured and e.tabluhed. I. Trrz PEOPLE REMAIN UlllCHANUED IN HEART. They had been terrified for the moment, and fled to what they thought a safe distance, but by the morrow all their audacity has returned. It would seem as if men soon become ac…
986 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.