The Pulpit Commentary — Numbers — Section 285

gi,ven,, yet .Edom luzd tMm, lllrong a1nJ, ,:,otent, in us heart. It is not always e11.t1y 'fJH!1"e or decent ro avow reaeone for action; bes@e which, Edom felt that promptitude in action was required. Moses had sent a message which called up all the past, not only what he wished called up, but many things he would rather not have brought to mind. The name of Esau's brother Wl!.tl Jacob as well as Israel, and both names were connected with disturbing recollections to the Edomites. "Thou knowest " sai~ :Moses. But his way of presenting the facts, and th~t al.on?, could not be co~- fidmgly accepted by Edom. A great deal of ugly and d1squ1etmg news must have filtered through with respect to this great host of fighting men. The great difficulty Moses had in keeping them in order was probably not unknown to surrounding peoples. Thus the Edomites would feel in their hearts that the pledges of Moses were but as broken reeds to rely on. How could he be responsible for the orderliness and honesty of such II host, a host with such a suspicious history? The world bas ever had its instinctive fears of the Church. It hears of certain promises and prophecies, and interprets these against its own present security. Herod, trembling for his throne, slllys the infants of Bethlehem to make sure of it. The world, loving it.s own and thinking there is nothin~ like it, ignorantly supposes that its possessions must stand esteemed by the Church In the same way, Edom, in its suspicious spirit, looked on Israel much as the Jews in Thessalonica on Paul and Silas: "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also." The Church says, u I am thy friend, 0 world, thy brother; I will not harm thee;" but the world thinks it well to be on the safe side, ani give no chance of harm, if it can prevent it. 3. The refusal of Edom emphasises the pec1diar destiny of Israel. Moses said that Israel wanted nothing of all Edom's treasures. Its treasures were elsewhere, and it pressed onward to possess them. Nevertheless, the treasures of Edom would not have been without temptation, and Edom, unconsciously, spares Israel a trial of its steadfast- ness. The true people of God have reason to be thankful even for the intolerance of the world. The delays and toils of circuitous roads, where mountains and hills are not yet bronght low, nor the crooked made straight, and the rough ways smooth, may have more advantages than in the midst of present discomforts we dream of. The temporal prosperity of its members has not been the boon to the Church that many think. The great boon is to have God continually impressing on our minds that this is not our home. "I gave our brethren a solemn caution not to love the world, neither the things of the world. This will be their grand danger. As they a.re industrious and frngal, they must needs increase in goods. This aRpears already in London, Bristol, and most other trading towns. Those who are m business have increased in substance seven-fold, some of them twenty, yea, a hundred-fold. What need then have these of the strongest warnings, lest they be entangled therein and perish I " ('Wesley's Journal,' ill. 139).-Y. Vera. 22-29.-The cuath of Aaron. The chapter, beginning with the death of the sister, closes with the death of the brother, and Moses, in the midst of many official anxieties, is further smitten with great personal bereavement. But not a word of his feeling appears. This is a history of the children of Israel, and the death of Aaron is recorded here not because of Aaron the man, but because of Aaron the priest. The whole eolemn event, peculiarly dignified in the transaction of it, is peculiarly dignified also in the record of it. He wl10 had been specially holy to God during his life passes away in circumstances accordant with the dignity o.nd holiness of his office. I. HIS DEATH, NEVEBTBELESB, JS A PENAL ONE. All the holiness of the office cannot obliterate, it cannot even condone, the sin of the man. Great as his privi- leges had been, and great as the power shown when he stood successfully betwe!n the living and the dead, the difference between him and his brethren was onl;y: m ojfice, not in nature. The people were to be imi;>ressed with the fact _that the .pnest was not only a. great chosen mediator, but a smful brother. He died, not m the ~cluaion and privacy of a tent but upon the mountain, in sight of all the congrega- tion. His part in the sin of Meribah, subordinate as that part seemed, could not be passed over. The sin of omission is as serious as the sin of commission. God hud spoken the command in the ears of both the brothers, and what Moses failed to OH. XX. 1-29.] THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. 269