The Pulpit Commentary — Deuteronomy — Section 254

estate. It is his, if he will. He may divest himself of it; ho may creep into a corner and abdicate his kin!!:dom, as most men do, but he is entitled to the world by his con- stitution. In proportion to the energy of liis thought and will, he takes up tho world unt-0 himself." What a richness of thought is thus afforded to the thoughtful soul I Ill. THAT WITTCH DIED OF ITSELF WAS ALSO EXCLUDED FROM THE DIE'r OF JBRAEL, In such a case there was no guarantee that the blood had been properly drained from the carcase, and that the atoning element had been solemnly eliminated from it. In fact, in such cases there is not the sacrifice of life which we have seen to obtain in the normal sustenance of the world. God's people consequently must avoid all contact with death, and keep themselves pure unto him. And this arrangement surely symbo- lized that watchfulness over our contact with the world, which should characterir.e all professors of religion. We must "keep our garments unspotted from the world," we must even in certain critical times" let the dead bury their dead," and deny ourselves that intercourse with the spiritually dead which otherwise might be most proper. IV. A KID WAS NOT TO BE SEETHED IN HIS MOTHER'S MILK. A quotation from an old ,nit.er will best impro,e this commandment. "'l'bis is not the meaning of the com- mand, Content yourselves to eat the kid, but take heed that ye eat not the dam also; neither is this the meaning of it, Ye shall not eat flesh with milk, as the Cbaldee paraphrast paraphrasetb it; neither is this the meaning of it, Take heed that ye seethe not the kid in the mother's milk, as the superstitious Je,vs expound it at this day; they will not seethe flesh and milk in one p-0t, neither will they cut both flesh and cheese with one knife; and amongst the precepts which they have written of things lawful to be eaten, they forbid the eating of flesh and milk together; but the meaning of the place seemeth to be this, Ye shall not eat of e. kid as of a lamb (for so the LXX. translate it) so long as it sucketb the dam, for all this time it is as it were but milk; they might sacrifice it when it was but eight days old, but not to eat of it so long as it was sucking (1 Sam. vii. 9). ' Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered.'" 1 '!'his would consequently form a ceremonial appendix to the sixth commandment, and would teach that abstinence from the semblance of cruelty which should characterize the people of the Lord. In accepting of God's bounty in the matter of flesh, care should•be taken that no unnatural cruelty should be practised or encouraged, The sanctified ones are thus taught to keep themselves separate from the world, to regard nature as a great parable for tbe soul, and to conduct themselves in that con- siderate spirit which should characterize the disciples of Jesus.-R. M. E. ~ Vers. 22-29.-Sysiematic provision for fellowship with God. From the arrange- ments about ordinary diet, we pass now to the minute directions about "eating before God.'' .A tithe of the corn, the wine, and the oil, together with the firstlings of their flocks and herds, must be devoted to the purposes of fellow~bip. It is clear from this, then, that God designed a systematic storing of the tenth part of the Jewish income for the purposes of religion. If the Jew resided far from the tabernacle, then be was to sell the tithe, and turning it into money, be was to go up with this to the central altar, and there invest in whatever bis soul desired, and partake of it all before God. In this the Levite was to have bis share. Over and above all this, every third year there was to be a second tithe devoted to the delectation of the poor. Now, we learn from these arrangements- !. THAT FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD IS TlIE CUOWN OF TRUE RELIGION. .A feast with God, he taking the best portions, bis priests the next best, an~ tb~ offerer joyful ~ver the remainder of the sacrifice, constituted the glory of the Jewish ntual. All the SID offer- ings, burnt offerings, and meat offerings were valueless if not crowned by the peace offering and its feast of fellowship. No wonder our Lord makes out fellowship to be the substance of eternal life, when in his•prayer be says, "And this is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou bast sent" (John xvii. 8). If we are not led up into this acquaintanceship, our religion is a name aud not a reality. II. THE FELLOWSHIP 18 WELL WORTH .ANY EXPENSE IT J,l.AY INVOLVE. While it is, of oourse, true that.God's blessings are gratuitous," without money and witbout.llrice," it WeelDN on' The Caremonial Le.w,' p. 187. tin. x\v. 1-29.J 'l'HE BOOK OF DlWTERONOMY. 249