Meribah), and, above thirty-eight years afterwards, at another place called Meribah, was exceeding sin- fula. At the latter place in particular, both Moses and Aaron, as well as the people, offended God; and were for that offence doomed to die in the wilderness, and never to enter into the promised land. Hence it might have been supposed that God would punish the tribe of Levi and the house of Aaron by with- drawing from them the peculiar honours he had conferred upon them; but as on one occasion they had signalized themselves by a very exalted act of obedience, he was pleased to record what they had done, and to make it an occasion of continuing in their line the most distinguished testimonies of his regard. This sense accords with the history; to the very terms of which the text seems specifically to refer b.
In the words before us there are two things parti- cularly to be noticed;
1. The commendation of Levi —
The act for which they were commended was truly laudable —
[When the people throughout the camp of Israel were worshipping the golden calf, Moses, filled with indignation, called the Levites to him, and bade them gird on swords and slay the ringleaders in idolatry throughout the whole camp : and this order they executed immediately, without any respect of persons whatever : they spared not either their nearest rela- tives or their dearest friends ; but slew of the people three thousand men c.
This would be thought by many to be a savage act, and to deserve censure rather than praise : but it must be remem- bered, that God was, if I may so speak, their earthly Gover- nor (they lived under a theocracy); and, that they acted in obedience to their supreme Magistrate : nor could cruelty be imputed to them any more than to any person who executes the laws amongst ourselves. They were justified in what they did, precisely as Phinehas was justified in destroying Zimri and Cozbi. The law itself required, that, if their nearest relative only enticed them to idolatry, even where there was no
a Compare Exod. xvii. 7. with Numb. xx. 10 — 13.
b Compare the language in Numb. xx. 13. with the text.
c Exod. xxxii. 25 — 29.