The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 17

ChriHI, ll,nt very serious errors, even nmong those who nre zet1lous for the "great things of God's linv," nmy nrise from the hnbit of treating the law given by MoHes curRorily nnd superficially, !la hardly necessary to us in the clearer light of the gospel. '!'hey remind us that much, which to the careless student seems utterly insignificant, mfly be found, if studied reverently ns part of a Divine revelation, and so as to discern tho underlying spirit, to be profitable to make the man of God perfect, thoroughly furnished unto nil good works. Is it not possible that mt1ny of our theological and ccclcsinstical differences might disappear, i.f the law of the Lord were more generally studied among Christians in such a spirit, nnd if its teacl,ings in lesser matters wero not set naide, na they are too often, by the feeling that they must be unsuitable for Christian thought and for the goMpel dispensation? St. Paul, we know, drew nn infor- ence a.a to the will of God in respect to the support of the ministry in Cl,rist's Chnrch from the spirit of "one of these least commandments: 11 "Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. 111 Might not the careful investigation of other commnndments and ordinances 2 of the law-if only we believed, as our Lord taught, that the spirit and animating principle of all these without exception is for all ages and circumstances to the end of time-lead to the solution of many controverted questions, and thus direct Christiani! to the fulfilment of that great intercessory prayer •of our Redeemer for all that should believe on him : " That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." 3 In the examination of the Tarah, in this introduction it will of course be impossible to do more than illustrate the princi pies of interpretation, to which ·our Lord's words point, in some of the more obvious instances. But the necessity for reverence, patience, and spiritual underatanding which his warning implies may well suggest the prayer of the Psalmist: "Open thon mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." 4 4. Besides the express teaching of the Divine Founder o.f our faith, there is ono very significant fact in the history of Christianity which of itsel.f is sufficient to prove the paramount importance, to a. complete apprehension of the principles of Christ's kingdom, of exact and definite knowledge on the subject of" the law." In ad- dition to the twelve apostle~, who were associated with Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry, and whose office it was to give testimony as eye-witnesses to those facts which are the objects of our faith and the substance of his gospel,5 and who are thus, next to Christ himself, the very foundation-stones of the Church, another apostle was subsequently raised up, and specially commissioned and endowed for an office supplementary to theirs. ; The man selected for this work was one who from his youth up had been trained in the knowledge of the Torah,, and of all the traditions of his nation. He says of himself that he had made progress in this learning above many of those of his own age; he was exceeding zealous for the law, and" touching the righteousness which is in the law," so far as its letter was concerned, he was "blameless." It moy, however, seem strange that such training should be any pre- paration for that peculiar sphere of thought and action to which the Apostlo Paul was called, namely, to expound to Jews and Gentiles those spiritual truths which, under the guidanco of the Holy Ghost, he derived from the life and death and resurrection of the Son of God in our nature. St. Paul, in fact, held somewhat the same relation to the twelve as in the Old Testament "tho prophets " held to :Hoses and "the law." But we are nble to understand the value and meaning of St. Paul's preparntion for his special work when we find that his reasonings on these spiritual 1 l Cor. _ix. 9, 10; 1 Tim. v. 18. 2 er. 1 Cor. b:. 13. 3 John xvii. 21. Ps. cx1x. 18. • Cf. in proof of this 1 Cor, xv. 1-7.  IN'l'RODUCTION TO 'rHE PENTATRUCll