The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 199

to fostcl' n sense of unity in the people, to qnicken religious life, to fornish oppnrt11nitie~ of public worship. They afforded a means of strengthening the bon<l between the people nnd J ehov11h, promoted brotherly intercourse, infused warmth and gladness in t.o religio, 18 service, and were connected with a. rit,ual which taught the worshipperH solemn nnol irn- presaive lessonR. The fe11sts were :-1. The Pa.ssover-here called "the fo:ist ,>f un- lcnvcnod brend" (vers. 15-18). It commemorated the great National Deliverance (see on Ex. xii.). The use of unfenvened bread was a ca.11 to spiritual purity (1 Cor. v. 8). The blood was offered (ver. 18) as an ever-renewed atonement for sin. The "fat" of the sacrifice betokened the consecration of the best. 2. Pentecost-here called " the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours" (ver. 16). Its primary reference was agricul- tural. It was a recognition of God in the gift of the harvest. It besought hie blessing upon the labours of the field. It consecrated to him the first-fruits (ver. 19) of what he had given (two wave-loaves, Lev. xxiii. 17). In the dedication of the wave-loa"9'es, as in the weekly presentation of the shewbread in the tabernacle (eh. xxv. 30), there was further symbolised the dedication to God of the life which the bread nourished. Fitly, therefore, was this day chosen for the presentation to God of the first-fruits of his Church (Acts ii.). 3. The/east of Tabernacles-" the feast of ingathering" (ver. 16). This wa.H tile feast of the completed ha!'Vest, when the corn, the wine, and the oil, had all been gathered in. During the seven days of the feast the people dwelt in booths, in com- memoration of their wanderings in the wilderness. The dwelling in booths was a sym- bol also of their pre.ent pilgrim condition on earth, a.t1 "strangers and sojourners" (Ps. xxxix. 12). The precept in ver. 19, which seems related to this feast,-" Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk," had probably reference to some ha!'Vest super- stition. On its morel lessons, see Deut. xiv. 21.--J. 0. Vers. I-9.-Seeking the things which make for justice. The illustrations adduced in these nine verses show the various ways in which men may be tempted to injustice in judicial procedure. Those who believe themselves wronged have to appeal to their fellow men to settle the matter so far as human capacity can settle it. Hence the positions indicated in this passage. We see plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses, judges, and supporters and sympathisers, and the great aim set before all of them is the attainment of just conclusions. Men feel nothing more bitterly than unjust treatment ; and yet just treatment is one of the most difficult of all things to get. Even he who himself has been unjustly treated cannot be induced to treat others justly. Thus there are put before the individual Israelite here illustrations of all the ways in which it is possible for him either to help or to hinder justice. I. THE ISRAELITE IS CAUTIONED LEST BY YIELDING TO UNWORTHY MOTIVES, HE SHOULD IIELP OTHERS TO GAIN VICTORIES OF m'BIGHTEOUSNESS. It is only too easy to se.nd abroad an empty story which may end in the ruin of an innocent man. We may become afflicted with a spirit of partisanship which, even if it lead not to downright lying, may prompt to exaggerations and qistortions, just as valuable for the attainment of malicious purposes. He who would not deliberately fabricate a lie will nevertheless be well disposed to believe it when fabricated by another, and will then utter it for truth. We easily believe what we want to believe. It is so pleasant to be with the multitude ; to go against it requires a great deal of courage, and a deep devotion to what is just, as the paramount thing to be coD.:lidered in all judicial enquiries. Let us feel that justice is not a matter of majorities, but of great principles honestly and ably applied to particular cases, the nature of these cases being determined by evidence which has been carefully sifted and arranged so as to get at the truth. He who comes into a court of justice comes there in the simple and sufficient claims of his humanity; all considerations of popular applause, all sympathy with a poor man, merely as a poor man, are entirely out of place. We must guard against all cheap sentiment; we must be just before we are generous. Adroit appeals to the feelings of a jury are part of the stock-in-trade of a practised advocate; and witnesses themselves understand ~ow to profit by the prejudices nn<l weaknesses of sensitive minds. The poor, the sick, the maimed only too often think that they may gain by their poverty, their feebleness, their mutilation, what is not to be gained by the righteousness of t~eir cause.. Everyone, therefore, who has to do with a court of justice needs great cucumspect10n to keeF himself clear of all words ar.d actions such as might lend themselves to injustice. Tile i,:xouu,-u, 210 THE BOOK OF EXODUS. [cH. U.111. 1~-1';',