Vers. 41-46.-Forced back! In the preceding paragraph we had an illustration of unbelief in doubting the promise of God, and of the effect of that unbelief in exclud- ing from the promised rest. Here we have an illustration of a like unbelief working in precisely the opposite direction; as Israel feared to go up uotwithstanding the promise of God, so now we find them resolving to go up in spite of the prohibition of God, "acting," us an expositor remarks, "in contempt of the thre_atening, as they had before acted in contempt of the promise, as if governed by a spirit of contradic~ tion." The points in the history which should be noted arc these. 1. As the men of that generation (two only excepted) were debarred from entering Canaan, they have to wander in the desert for forty years. 2. 'l'hey rebel against this Divine arrangement, though we, who at this distance 0f time "see the end of the Lord," can perceive how much mercy there was in it. 3. There was a short way to Canaan, thro,ugh a hill country, which to human judgment would seem preferable to a" march far wandering round." 4. In this route enemies would surely assail-Amorites, Amalekites, etc. 5. Israel made light of these difficulties. 6. God forbade their going up. Moses forbade them. The ark was not moved from its place in the camp. 7. The people were resolved to go up, defiantly, insolently (Gcsenius, sub verb.). 8. They paid dearly for their presumption. They were forced back. 9. They griel'ed and wept over their disappointment. 10. Such weeping God does not regard. "Tears of discontent must be wept over again." As they had before found out the folly of distrusting God's strength, so now they had to bewail the uselessness of presuming on their own! \Ve cannot be wrong in continuing to follow the apostolic teaching in regarding the Canaan of Israel's hope as a type of tl,c higher "rest" which" remaineth for the people of God" (cf. Heb. iv. 1). L THE LAW OF OLD IS IN FODGE STILL, THAT THE UNDELIEVING SHALL NOT ENTER INTO REST. This is the teaching, under varit-d form~, of no small part of the Old Testament and of the New. We may inquire, if we will, into the philosophy of this; and in doing so, we shall find but little di fliculty in seeing the essential impossibility of one who doubts God finding rest anywhere. Doubt is uarest. Dut whether or no one can discern the deep reason of it, there stands the word, with its awful bar, "Ile- that belie,-cth not is condemned already." ll. 1T IS A DREARY OUTLOOK FOR THE ONDELIEVEB, To wander on, and to be moving towards some destiny or other, but yet to have no prospect of rest at the end of the journey, is it not dreary? We do not deny that men may, as they say, resign them- selves to the inevitable. And we even admit that men may so far control themselves, a.~, with stoical unfeeliogness, to take "a leap in the dark." But not a.II this .can blind us~. the misery of those who move on under the ban, "'l'he unbeliever shall not see fCBt. . , • Ill. THE SillE UNBELIEF WHICH DOUBTS THE PBOHl8E ALSO DESPISES TBE THill!:ATEN• ell. t. 1D-4G.] 'rlrn nooK (JI•' DEUTERONOMY. 23
nm. Jloth promise and threatening como from ono and the same Gori; hence whoever 1\oubts him will bo as likely to question one as the other. And it is very, very easy for unbelief to urge plausible argnments or questionings concerning the threatenings; e.g. "Has God said that 1" "God will not bo so severe;" "God cannot mean me;" "'Who can tell whether tho judgment day will ever come?" etc. IV. 'l'ms UNDELIEF MAY MAKE A DESPERATE EFFORT TO PROVE TIIE TIIREATF:XIXlJ NULL AND VOID. "Wo WILL go up!" How much does this remind us of what onr Saviour says in his Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matt. vii. 22) ! As if unbelief would carry its daring up to the very judgment Heat (see also Matt. xxv. 10-12; Luke xiii. 24-2G). • V. AN ATTEMP'l' TO ENTER TIIE REST JN A WAY CONTRARY TO GoD's worm, WILL DE FORCED HELPLESSLY DACK. Israel was disastrously repulsed, and found it" hard to kick acrainst the pricks." •u Woo unto him that striveth with bis Maker!" "Hath any h~rdened himself against God, and prospered?" (see continuation of New Testament passages referred to above), Man can do many wonderful things, but there arc fi_ve things he never can do : He cannot evade the sentence of God; he cannot postpone 1t; he cannot nullify it; he cannot modify it; he cannot impeach it. "\Ve are sure thai the (/iu,aJwp.a) sentence of God is according to truth." VI. THE WEEPING OF DISAPPOINTMENT WILL BE UNAVAILn-G. "ye returned and wept before .the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken ta.your voice, nor give ear unto you." It will be of no use whatever trying to entet· Canaan if the sentence bas finally gone forth against us, "Ye shall not see my rest;" nor will it avail to try to enter by any other than God's own appointed way; nor will the murmuring, or wailing, or anashina of teeth at all alter the matter. There may be as much unbelief in tears ~sin trifling. By no other means than implicit faith in and unswerving loyalty to God in Christ, can we find rest for our souls either here or hereafter. Oh that sinful men would" hear the voice of Jesus say,"" Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy Liden, and I will. give .you rest" I Apart from Christ, our souls must wander in dry places, seeking rest and finding none.
HOMILIES BY VAIUOUS AUTHORS.