PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Numbers
Watson, Robert A. (Robert Alexander) · 122,879 words · 175 reading sections
Old Testament Volumes
The Expositor's Bible Edited by W. Robertson Nicoll, D.D., LL.D. [Illustration] _Edited by_ W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, D.D., LL.D. _New and Cheaper Edition. Printed from original plates Complete in every detail. Uniform with this volume_ Price 50 cents per volume. (If by mail add 10 cents postage) GENESIS. By Rev. P…
308 wordsSECTION 2Ii
ST. MATTHEW. By Rev. J. Monro Gibson, D.D. ST. MARK. By Very Rev. G. A. Chadwick, D.D., Dean of Armagh. ST. LUKE. By Rev. Henry Burton. GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN. In 2 vols. Vol. I., Chapters I.-XI.; Vol. II., Chapters XII.-XXI. By Rev. Prof. Marcus Dods, D.D. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. In 2 vols. By Rev. Prof. G. T. Stok…
258 wordsSECTION 3Xxiii
PRIESTS AND LEVITES 29 1. The Priesthood: ch. iii. 1-10 2. The First-born: ch. iii. 11-13, 40-51 3. Levitical Service: chs. iii. 14-39, iv DEFILEMENT AND PURGATION 46 1. Exclusion from the Camp: ch. v. 1-4 2. Atonement for Trespass: ch. v. 5-10 3. The Water of Jealousy: ch. v. 11-31 NAZIRITISM: THE BLESSING OF …
264 wordsSECTION 4_Introductory_
WAR AND SETTLEMENT 365 1. The War with Midian: ch. xxxi 2. Settlement: ch. xxxii THE WAY AND THE LOT 382 Chs. xxxiii., xxxiv THE CITIES OF REFUGE 396 Chs. xxxv., xxxvi To summon from the past and reproduce with any detail the story of Israel's life in the desert is now impossible. The outlines alone remain, seve…
842 wordsSECTION 5_Introductory_
In respect of content, one point shows likeness between the Greek drama and our book--the vague conception of death. It is not an extinction of life, but the human being goes on into an existence of which there is no definite idea. What remains has no reckoning, no object. The recoil of the Hebrew is not indeed piteous…
706 wordsSECTION 6_Introductory_
Moses is not the priest of the people: the priesthood comes in as a ministering body, necessary for religious ends and ideas, but never governing, never even interpreting. It is singular from this point of view that the so-called Priests' Code should be attributed confidently to a caste ambitious of ruling or practical…
709 wordsSECTION 7_Introductory_
In the following way the religious worth and therefore the inspiration of the ceremonial law may be found. The primitive notion that Jehovah was the exclusive property of Israel, the pledged patron of the nation, tended to impair the sense of His moral purity. An ignorant people inclined to many forms of immorality cou…
782 wordsSECTION 8_Introductory_
By far the greater part of Numbers refers to the second year after the exodus from Egypt, and to what took place in the fortieth year, after the departure from Kadesh. Regarding the intermediate time we are told little but that the camp was shifted from one place to another in the wilderness. Why the missing details ha…
766 wordsSECTION 9_Introductory_
It has been said that "the inspired condition would seem to be one which produces a generous indifference to pedantic accuracy in matters of fact, and a supreme absorbing concern about the moral and religious significance of facts." If the former part of this statement were true, the historical books of the Bible, and,…
759 wordsSECTION 10_Introductory_
* * * * * Recurring now, for a little, to the spirit of the Book of Numbers, we find in the ethical passages its highest note and power as an inspired writing. The standard of judgment is not by any means that of Christianity. It belongs to an age when moral ideas had often to be enforced with indifference to human li…
517 wordsSECTION 111. The Mustering
NUMBERS i. 1-46 From the place of high spiritual knowledge, where through the revelation of God in covenant and law Israel has been constituted His nation and His Church, the tribes must now march with due order and dignity. The sense of a Divine calling and of responsibility to the Highest will react on the whole arr…
825 wordsSECTION 121. The Mustering
True, the position of the Church among us is not of the kind which the Mosaic law gave to the priesthood in Israel. Tithes are gathered, not from those only who are numbered within the Church and acknowledge obligation, but also from those outside, and always by another authority than that of Divine commandment. In thi…
764 wordsSECTION 131. The Mustering
The age of service fixed for the men of the tribes may yield suggestions for our time. It is not of warlike service we have to think, but of that which depends on spiritual influence and intellectual power. And we may ask whether the limits on one side and the other have any parallel for us. Young men and women, having…
546 wordsSECTION 142. The Tribe Of Levi
NUMBERS i. 47-54 The tribe of Levi is not numbered with the rest. No warlike service, no half-shekel for the sanctuary, is to be exacted from the Levite. His contribution to the general good is to be of another kind. Pitching their tents about the tabernacle, the men of this tribe are to guard the sanctuary from carel…
545 wordsSECTION 153. The Camp
NUMBERS ii The second chapter is devoted to the arrangement of the camp and the position of the various tribes on the march. The front is eastward, and Judah has the post of honour in the van; at its head Nahshon son of Amminadab. Issachar and Zebulun, closely associated with Judah in the genealogy as descended from L…
572 wordsSECTION 161. The Priesthood
NUMBERS iii. 1-10 In the opening verse of this chapter, which relates to the designation of the priesthood, Moses is named, for once, after his brother. According to the genealogy of Exod. vi., Aaron was the elder; and this may have led to the selection of his as the priestly house--which again would give him priority…
793 wordsSECTION 171. The Priesthood
The surviving sons of Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar, were anointed and "consecrated to minister in the priest's office." The form of designation is indicated by the expression, "whose hand he filled to exercise priesthood." This has been explained as referring to a portion of the ceremony described in Lev. viii. 26 f. "An…
894 wordsSECTION 181. The Priesthood
The tribe of Levi is, according to ver. 6 ff., appointed to minister to Aaron, and to keep his charge and that of the congregation before the "tent of meeting," to do the service of the tabernacle. For all the necessary work connected with the sanctuary the Levites are "wholly given unto Aaron on behalf of the children…
333 wordsSECTION 192. The First-Born
NUMBERS iii. 11-13, 40-51 These two passages supplement each other and may be taken together. Jehovah claims the first-born in Israel. He hallowed them unto Himself on the day when He smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt. They are now numbered from a month old and upward. But instead of their being appointed …
825 wordsSECTION 202. The First-Born
A passage in Exodus (xiii. 11 f.) must not be overlooked in connection with that presently under consideration. The enactment there is to the effect that when Israel is brought into the land of the Canaanites every first-born of beasts shall be set apart unto the Lord, the firstling of an ass shall be redeemed with a l…
784 wordsSECTION 212. The First-Born
Such is the account of the symbolic cleansing and the representative ministry of the Levites; and we see both a parallel and a contrast to what is demanded now for the Christian life of obedience and devotion to God. Purification there must be from all defilement of flesh and spirit. With the change which takes place w…
266 wordsSECTION 223. Levitical Service
NUMBERS iii. 14-39; iv The sacred service of the Levites is described in detail. There are three divisions, the Gershonites, the Kohathites, the Merarites. The Gershonites, from a month old and upward, number 7,500; the Kohathites, 8,600; the Merarites, 6,200. Eleazar, son of Aaron, is prince of the princes of the Lev…
715 wordsSECTION 233. Levitical Service
The Gershonites had as their charge the screens and curtains of the tabernacle, or most holy place, and the tent of meeting or holy place, also the curtains of the court of the tabernacle. The boards, bars, pillars, and sockets of the tabernacle and of the court were to be entrusted to the Merarites. In the whole care…
410 wordsSECTION 24_Defilement And Purgation_
[1] "Religion of the Semites," p. 445. NUMBERS v The separation of Israel as a people belonging to Jehovah proceeded on ideas of holiness which excluded from privilege many of the Hebrews themselves. The law did not ordain that in cases of defilement there might be immediate purification by washing or sacrifice. So f…
696 wordsSECTION 251. Exclusion From The Camp
NUMBERS v. 1-4 The rigidness of the law which excluded lepers from the camp and afterwards from the cities had its necessity in the presumed nature of their disease. Leprosy was regarded as contagious, and practically incurable by any medical appliances, requiring to be kept in check by strenuous measures. Care for th…
731 wordsSECTION 261. Exclusion From The Camp
Now is the law to be charged with creating a class of social pariahs? Is there any reason for saying that in some way the legislation should have expressed pity rather than the rigour which appears in the passage before us and other enactments regarding leprosy? It would be easy to bring arguments which would seem to p…
689 wordsSECTION 271. Exclusion From The Camp
A singular point in the statute regarding uncleanness "by the dead" is that the word נֶפֶשׁ (_nephesh_) stands apparently for the dead body. Of this some other explanation is needed than the free transference of meanings in Hebrew. Here and elsewhere in the Book of Numbers (vi. 11; ix. 6, 7, 10; xix. 13), as well as in…
600 wordsSECTION 282. Atonement For Trespass
NUMBERS v. 5-10 The enactment of this passage refers to the sin of theft or any other breach of the eighth commandment which involved trespass not only against man, but also against God--"When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit to do a trespass against the Lord, and that soul be guilty; then shall the…
375 wordsSECTION 293. The Water Of Jealousy
NUMBERS v. 11-31 The long and remarkable statute regarding the water of jealousy seems to have been interposed to prevent, by means of an ordeal, that cruel practice of peremptory divorce which had been in vogue at some period among the Hebrews. The position given to woman by the old customs must have been exceedingly…
615 wordsSECTION 30_Naziritism: The Blessing Of Aaron_
NUMBERS vi 1. The custom of Naziritism, which tended to form a semi-religious caste, is obscure in its origin. The cases of Samson and Samuel imply that before birth some were bound in terms of this vow by their parents. In the passage before us nothing whatever is said as to the reasons which the law recognised for t…
668 wordsSECTION 31_Naziritism: The Blessing Of Aaron_
On the other hand, the pledge of the total abstainer, like the vow of the Nazirite, carries with it a certain moral danger. One who, having come voluntarily under such a pledge, allows himself to break it, suffers a serious loss of spiritual power. The abstainer, like the Nazirite, is his own witness, his own judge. Bu…
766 wordsSECTION 32_Naziritism: The Blessing Of Aaron_
The final ceremonies included burning of the hair, which was carefully removed at the door of the tent of meeting. It was to be consumed in the fire under the peace offering, the idea being that the obligation of the vow and perhaps its sanctity had been identified with the flowing locks. The last rite of all was simil…
952 wordsSECTION 33_Naziritism: The Blessing Of Aaron_
Generally speaking the whole system of purification enjoined by the ceremonial law, the constant succession of cleansings and sacrifices, must have appeared to be arbitrary. But it would be a mistake to suppose that there was no esoteric meaning, no purpose beyond that of keeping up the sense of religious duty and the …
817 wordsSECTION 34_Naziritism: The Blessing Of Aaron_
For the Hebrew people that shining of the face of God became spiritual and potent for salvation less through the law, the priesthood, and the ritual, than through psalm and prophecy. Of the revelation of the law Paul says, "The ministration of death written and engraven on stones came with glory, so that the children o…
789 wordsSECTION 351. The Offerings Of The Princes
[2] "Concerning the Holy Baptism," chap. i. NUMBERS vii The opening verses of the chapter seem to imply that immediately after the erection of the tabernacle the gifts of the princes were brought by way of thank offering. The note of time, "on the day that Moses had made an end of setting up the tabernacle," appears …
972 wordsSECTION 361. The Offerings Of The Princes
But the liberality of the leaders of the tribes, and of all who in the times of the old covenant gave freely to the support of religion, stands before us to-day as a noble example. In greater gratitude for a purer faith, a larger hope, we should be more generous. Devoting ourselves first as living sacrifices, holy and …
474 wordsSECTION 372. The Candelabrum
NUMBERS viii. 1-4 The seven-branched candlestick with its lamps stood in the outer chamber of the tabernacle into which the priests had frequently to go. When the curtain at the entrance of the tent was drawn aside during the day there was abundance of light in the Holy Place, and then the lamps were not required. It …
857 wordsSECTION 382. The Candelabrum
Must we say that with the Father, Christ also, who once lived on earth, is in the inner chamber which our gaze cannot penetrate? Even so. A thick curtain is interposed between the earthly and the heavenly. Yet while by the light which shines in his own soul the seeker after God regards the outer chamber--its altar, its…
689 wordsSECTION 392. The Candelabrum
True, the world had its philosophy and poetry, using, often with no little power, the themes of natural religion. In the outer chamber of the temple the light of nature gleamed on the altar, on the shewbread, on the veil. But interpretation failed, faith in the unseen was mixed with dreams, no real knowledge was gained…
280 wordsSECTION 403. The Passover
NUMBERS ix. 1-14[4] The day fixed by statute for the feast which commemorated the deliverance from Egypt was the fourteenth of the first month--the year beginning with the month of the exodus. Chap. ix. opens by reiterating this statute, already recorded in Exod. xii. and Lev. xxiii., and proceeds to narrate the obser…
815 wordsSECTION 413. The Passover
The question presents itself, why keeping of the Passover should be necessary to covenant union with Jehovah. And the reply bears on Christian duty with regard to the analogous sacrament of the Lord's Supper, for it rests on the historical sanction and continuity of faith. If God was to be trusted as a Saviour by the H…
635 wordsSECTION 421. The Guiding Cloud
[3] Ruskin, "Seven Lamps of Architecture." [4] For chap. viii. 5-26 see p. 39. [5] "Voltaire," by John Morley, ed. 1891, pp. 254, 255. NUMBERS ix. 15-23 The pillar of cloud, the ensign of Jehovah's royalty among the Hebrews, and for us one of the most ancient symbols of His grace, is first mentioned in the account …
734 wordsSECTION 431. The Guiding Cloud
Scarcely any difficulty greater than that connected with the pillar of cloud presents itself to thoughtful modern readers of the Pentateuch. The traditional view, apparently involved in the narrative, is that in this cloud and in this alone Jehovah revealed Himself in the interval between His appearance to Jacob and, l…
838 wordsSECTION 441. The Guiding Cloud
In the course of the passage (ix. 17-23) the manner of the guidance given by means of the cloud is carefully detailed. Sometimes the tribes remained encamped for many days, sometimes only from evening to morning. "Whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried on the tabernacle, abiding thereon…
437 wordsSECTION 452. The Silver Trumpets
NUMBERS x. 1-10 An air of antique simplicity is felt in the legislation regarding the two trumpets of silver, yet we are not in any way hindered from connecting the statute with the idea of claiming human art for Divine service. Instrumental music was of course rudimentary in the wilderness; but, such as it was, Jehov…
869 wordsSECTION 462. The Silver Trumpets
And so it is in the case of every social and religious movement. Clear enough may be the command to advance, the trumpet of Providence, the clarion of the Gospel. But men and women are undisciplined in obedience and faith. They have many burdens of a personal kind to bear, many private differences and quarrels. How ver…
727 wordsSECTION 472. The Silver Trumpets
Once more; in the days of gladness and solemn feasting the trumpets were to be blown over the burnt offerings and peace offerings. The joy of the Passover, the hope of the new-moon festival, especially in the beginning of the seventh month, were to be sent up to heaven with the sound of these instruments, not as if Jeh…
272 wordsSECTION 483. The Order Of March
NUMBERS x. 11-28 The difficulties connected with the order of march prescribed in this passage have been often and fully rehearsed. According to the enumeration given in chap. ii., the van of the host formed by the division of Judah, men, women, and children, must have reached some six hundred thousand at least. The s…
607 wordsSECTION 49_Hobab The Kenite_
NUMBERS x. 29-36 The Kenites, an Arab tribe belonging to the region of Midian, and sometimes called Midianites, sometimes Amalekites, were already in close and friendly relation with Israel. Moses, when he went first to Midian, had married a daughter of their chief Jethro, and, as we learn from Exod. xviii., this patr…
854 wordsSECTION 50_Hobab The Kenite_
Now these Kenites may be taken as representing a class, in the present day to a certain extent attracted, even fascinated, by the Church, who standing irresolute are appealed to in terms like those addressed by Moses to Hobab. They feel a certain charm, for in the wide organisation and vast activity of the Christian Ch…
766 wordsSECTION 51_Hobab The Kenite_
The first invitation given to Hobab was set aside. "Nay," he said, "I will not go; but I will depart to my own land and to my kindred." The old ties of country and people were strong for him. The true Arab loves his country passionately. The desert is his home, the mountains are his friends. His hard life is a life of …
723 wordsSECTION 52_Hobab The Kenite_
We are here introduced to another phase of the relation between the Church and those who do not altogether accept its creed, or acknowledge its mission to be supernatural, Divine. Confessing unwillingness to receive the Christian system as a whole, perhaps openly expressing doubts of the miraculous, for example, many i…
866 wordsSECTION 53_Hobab The Kenite_
In modern alliances with the Church a danger is involved, sufficiently apparent to all who regard the state of religion. History is full of instances in which, to one company of helpers and another, too much has been conceded; and the march of spiritual Christianity is still greatly impeded by the same thing. Money con…
815 wordsSECTION 54_Hobab The Kenite_
Through the wilderness Israel went, not knowing from what quarter the sudden raid of a desert people might be made. Swiftly, silently, as if springing out of the very sand, the Arab raiders might bear down upon the travellers. They were assured of the guardianship of Him whose eye never slumbered, when they kept His wa…
265 wordsSECTION 55_The Strain Of The Desert Journey_
NUMBERS xi The narrative has accompanied the march of Israel but a short way from the mount of God to some spot marked for an encampment by the ark of the covenant, and already complaining has to be told of, and the swift judgment of those who complained. The Israelites have made a reservation in their covenant with G…
726 wordsSECTION 56_The Strain Of The Desert Journey_
It was a common belief in our Lord's time that the manna, falling from heaven, very food of the angels, had been so satisfying, so delicious, that no people could have been more favoured than those who ate of it. When Christ spoke of the meat which endureth unto eternal life, the thought of His hearers immediately turn…
774 wordsSECTION 57_The Strain Of The Desert Journey_
What is wrong with many lives is that they have no strain in them as of a desert journey towards a heavenly Canaan, the realisation of spiritual life. Adventure, when it is undertaken, is often for the sake of getting fish and melons and cucumbers by-and-by in greater abundance and of better kinds. Many live hardly jus…
786 wordsSECTION 58_The Strain Of The Desert Journey_
For one thing Moses exaggerated his own responsibility. He asked of God: "Why hast Thou evil entreated Thy servant? Why dost Thou lay the burden of all this people upon me? Am I their father? Am I to carry the whole multitude as a father carries his young child in his bosom?" These are ignorant words, foolish words. Mo…
685 wordsSECTION 59_The Strain Of The Desert Journey_
The narrative represents God as dealing graciously with his erring servant. Help was provided for him by the appointment of seventy elders, who were to share the task of guiding and controlling the tribes. These seventy were to have a portion of the leader's spirit--zeal and enthusiasm like his own. Their influence in …
797 wordsSECTION 60_The Strain Of The Desert Journey_
But while in a sense there is restriction of the spiritual influence, in another sense there is no restraint. The Divine afflatus is not confined to those who have gathered at the tabernacle. It is not place or occasion that makes the prophets; it is the Spirit, the power from on high entering into life; and out in the…
791 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.