We are not, however, to suppose that the spiritual blessings with which the Church is endowed in the heavenlies with Christ are set forth under the figure of a stranger gleaning in Israel's fields. These blessings are as new to the seed of Abraham as they are to the Gentile. They are not the gleanings of Canaan, but the glories of heaven--the glories of Christ. The Church is not merely blessed _by_ Christ, but _with_ and _in_ Christ. The bride of Christ will not be sent forth to gather up, as a stranger, the sheaves and clusters in the corners of Israel's fields and from the branches of Israel's vines. No; she tastes of higher blessings, richer joys, nobler dignities, than aught that Israel ever knew. She is not to glean as a stranger on earth, but to enjoy her own wealthy and happy home in heaven, to which she belongs. This is the "better thing" which God hath, in His manifold wisdom and grace, "reserved" for her. No doubt it will be a gracious privilege for "the stranger" to be permitted to glean after Israel's harvest is reaped; but the Church's portion is incomparably higher, even to be the bride of Israel's King, the partner of His throne, the sharer of His joys, His dignities, and His glories; to be like Him and with Him forever. The eternal mansions of the Father's house on high, and not the ungleaned corners of Israel's fields below, are to be the Church's portion. May we ever bear this in mind, and live, in some small degree, worthy of such a holy and elevated destination.
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work; but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.'" (Ver. 23-25.) A new subject is introduced here by the words, "the Lord spake unto Moses," which, let me remark in passing, affords an interesting help in classifying the subjects of the entire chapter. Thus, the Sabbath, the passover, and the feast of unleavened bread are given under the first communication; the wave-sheaf, the wave-loaves, and the ungleaned corners are given under the second; after which we have a long unnoticed interval; and then comes the soul-stirring feast of trumpets, on the first day of the seventh month. This ordinance leads us on to the time, now fast approaching, when the remnant of Israel shall "blow the trumpet" for a memorial, calling to remembrance their long-lost glory, and stirring up themselves to seek the Lord.
The feast of trumpets is intimately connected with another great solemnity, namely, "the day of atonement." "_Also_ on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering make by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.... It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath." (Ver. 27-32.) Thus, after the blowing of the trumpets, an interval of eight days elapses, and then we have the day of atonement, with which these things are connected, namely, affliction of soul, atonement for sin, and rest from labor. All these things will find their due place in the experience of the Jewish remnant by and by. "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." (Jer. viii. 20.) Such will be the pathetic lament of the remnant when the Spirit of God shall have begun to touch their heart and conscience. "And they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for her first-born. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart," etc. (Zech. xii. 10-14.)
What deep mourning, what intense affliction, what genuine penitence, there will be, when, under the mighty action of the Holy Ghost, the conscience of the remnant shall recall the sins of the past--the neglect of the Sabbath, the breach of the law, the stoning of the prophets, the piercing of the Son, the resistance of the Spirit! All these things will come in array on the tablets of an enlightened and exercised conscience, and produce keen affliction of soul.
But the blood of atonement will meet all. "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness." (Zech. xiii. 1.) They will be made to feel their guilt and be afflicted, and they will also be led to see the efficacy of the blood, and find perfect peace--a Sabbath of rest unto their souls.