The Pulpit Commentary — Leviticus — Section 206

n sense of sin, by a hope of forgiveness, by a desire to dedicate themselves unto God by a spirit of holy joy in God and of brotherly love toward their fellows. To corn~ municate all the particulars of the Law, and leave uninterpreted their spiritual significance, would have been to omit an essential part of their sacred duty as religious instructors of the nation. We may be reminded of- III. THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN lllINlSTBY. The privile"e of those who 0 minister for Christ is also twofold: 1. To lead souls with them to God; to sucrcrest those thoughts and words through which the worshippers may address themselv~ to him and make their own personal, direct appeal to him. 2. To instruct in Christia:i. truth. And this instruction is to combine two things: it is (1) to make known the will of God as stated in the sacred Scriptures; (2) to impress that will on the conscience of the congregation. The Christian minister seeks to enlighten and to enforce. Then he must leave those whom he serves, to act; they must then "bear their own burden." Thus we come to- IV. THE DUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN CONGREGATION, That is, to avail themselves of the work of the minister. 1. To follow him spiritually and sympathetically to the tluone of grace and, with him, draw nigh to God in prayer. 2. To seek to understand the mind of God as it is stated and explained. 3. To apply to themselves and their own need the exhortations which are given.-C. Vera. 12-20.-The spirit of obedience. The words of Moses appear to have followed closely upon the incidents described in the opening verses of the chapter. Thns viewed, they show- I. THAT THE BIN OF SOME MUST NOT INTERFERE WITH THE SERVICE OF OTHERS. (Ver. 12.) Consternation or resentment might have led Aaron and" his sons that were left" to leave the remainder of their sacred duties undischarged. This must not be. The sin of the two sons must not interrupt the service of the Most High. His worship must not cease because two men have erred. Men often plead the inconsistencies and. transgressions of others as an excuse for their own shortcoming. They decline to worship God, or to sit down to the table of the Lord, or to work in the vineyard of the Great Husbandman because of their resentment against the wrong-doing of their fellows. 'fhis may satisfy themselves, but it will have no weight at all in the balance& of the Divine Judge. II. THAT THE BIN OF SOME NEED NOT INTERFERE WITH THE PRIVILEGE OF OTHERS. (Ver. 14.) The whole congregation were to" bewail the burning which the Lord had kindled" (ver. 6). But they were, nevertheless, to "eat in a clean place of the sacrifices of peace offerings." The saddest things need not interpose to prevent our enjoyment of the sacred privileges with which God has provided us. III. THAT REBPONBmLE IIIEN MAY WELL DE VIGILANT IN ALL MATTERS PERTAINING TO THE SERVICE OF Go1>. (Vers. 16-18.) Moses "diligently sought" the goat which should not have been burnt, but eaten. He showed a holy solicitude to conform to the exact requirements of "the Law of the Lord," and a commenduble concern when he thought he discovered a slight departure therefrom. In Christ Jesus we are not bound by any minute commandments like those which regulated the temple service of the Jews. But there is room enough in the Church of Christ for holy vigila.nce on the part of those who are "over others in the Lord." '!'hey should watch keenly to observe and to correct the slightest departure from the spirit of the Muster; from the spirit (1) of reverence, or (2) of earnestness, or (3) of humility, or (4) of charity. IV. THAT THE SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE IS EVERYTHING IN THE SIGHT OF Gon. 'fhere il!I something profoundly touching in the excuse (var. 19) which Aaron urged. His sons who "were left" had, spite of their bereavement and their fraternnl sorrow, "offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord;" they had laid great restraint upon their feelings; they had striven to render the service required of them. And when "such things had befallen him;" when Aaron "held his peace," indeed, but" his sorrow was stirred ; " when hie parental heart was bleeding,-would the eating of the flesh of t-he goat in such a "day of desperate grief" have been an acceptable service in the sight of the Lord? Would an act in which there must have been so large a measure of con- straint have been in accordance with the will of God? Moses wns content with Aaron's plea; he felt that it was sound. We may infer th11t ho was right in accepting it. Had I68 THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. [ CH, X. 8-20,