But we must proceed with our chapter.
At verse 26, we have a point of deepest interest in connection with the history of the divine dealings with Israel. "I said I would scatter them into corners, _I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men._" And why did He not? The answer to this question presents a truth of infinite value and importance to Israel--a truth which lies at the very foundation of all their future blessing. No doubt, so far as they are concerned, they deserved to have their remembrance blotted out from among men; but G.o.d has His own thoughts and counsels and purposes respecting them; and not only so, but He takes account of the thoughts and actings of the nations in reference to His people. This comes out with singular force and beauty at verse 27. He condescends to give us His reasons for not obliterating every trace of the sinful and rebellious people--and oh, what a touching reason it is!--"_Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy_, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this."
Can aught be more affecting than the grace that breathes in these words? G.o.d will not permit the nations to behave themselves strangely toward His poor erring people. He will use them as His rod of discipline, but the moment they attempt, in the indulgence of their own bitter animosity, to exceed their appointed limit, He will break the rod in pieces, and make it manifest to all that He Himself is dealing with His beloved though erring people, for their ultimate blessing and His glory.
This is a truth of unspeakable preciousness. It is the fixed purpose of Jehovah to teach all the nations of the earth that Israel has a special place in His heart, and a destined place of pre-eminence on the earth. This is beyond all question. The pages of the prophets furnish a body of evidence perfectly unanswerable on the point. If nations forget or oppose, so much the worse for them. It is utterly vain for them to attempt to countervail the divine purpose, for they may rest a.s.sured that the G.o.d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will confound every scheme formed against the people of His choice. Men may think, in their pride and folly, that their hand is high, but they will have to learn that G.o.d"s hand is higher still.
But our s.p.a.ce does not admit of our dwelling upon this deeply interesting subject; we must allow the reader to pursue it for himself, in the light of holy Scripture. He will find it a most profitable and refreshing study. Most gladly would we accompany him through the precious pages of the prophetic scriptures, but we must just now confine ourselves to the magnificent song which is in itself a remarkable epitome of the entire teaching on the point--a brief but comprehensive and impressive history of G.o.d"s ways with Israel and Israel"s ways with G.o.d, from first to last--a history strikingly ill.u.s.trative of the great principles of grace, law, government, and glory.
At verse 29, we have a very touching appeal. "O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would _consider their latter end_! How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up? For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges."--There is, there can be, but the one Rock, blessed throughout all ages be His glorious name!--"For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their cl.u.s.ters are bitter; their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps."
Terrible picture of a people"s moral condition drawn by a master-hand!
Such is the divine estimate of the real state of all those whose rock was not as the Rock of Israel. But a day of vengeance will come. It is delayed in long-suffering mercy, but it _will_ come as sure as there is a G.o.d on the throne of heaven. A day is coming when all those nations which have dealt proudly with Israel shall have to answer at the bar of the Son of Man for their conduct, hear His solemn sentence, and meet His unsparing wrath.
"Is not this laid up in store with Me, and _sealed_ _up among My treasures_? To Me belongeth vengeance and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. For the Lord shall judge [vindicate, defend, or avenge] His people, and _repent Himself for His servants_, when He seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up or left." Precious grace for Israel by and by--for each, for all, _now_, who feel and own their need.
"And He shall say, Where are their G.o.ds, their rock in whom they trusted; which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink-offerings? let them rise up and help you and be your protection. See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no G.o.d with Me; I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal;"--wound in governmental wrath, and heal in pardoning grace; all homage to His great and holy name, throughout the everlasting ages!--"neither is there airy that can deliver out of My hand. For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say "I live forever.""--Glory be to G.o.d in the highest!
Let all created intelligences adore His matchless name!--"If I whet My glittering sword, and Mine hand take hold on judgment,"--as it most a.s.suredly will--"I will render vengeance to Mine enemies, and will reward them that hate Me"--whoever and wherever they are. Tremendous sentence for all whom it may concern, for all haters of G.o.d--all lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of G.o.d!--"I will make Mine arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, _from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy_."
Here we reach the end of the heavy record of judgment, wrath, and vengeance so briefly presented in this song of Moses, but so largely unfolded throughout the prophetic scriptures. The reader can refer, with much interest and profit, to Ezekiel x.x.xviii. and x.x.xix, where we have the judgment of Gog and Magog, the great northern foe who is to come up, at the end, against the land of Israel, and there meet his ignominious fall and utter destruction.
He may also turn to Joel iii, which opens with words of balm and consolation for the Israel of the future.--"For behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted My land." Thus he will see how perfectly the voices of the prophets harmonize with the song of Moses, and how fully, how clearly, and how unanswerably, in both the one and the other, does the Holy Ghost set forth and establish the grand truth of Israel"s future restoration, supremacy, and glory.
And then, how truly delightful is the closing note of our song! how magnificently it places the top-stone upon the whole superstructure!
All the hostile nations are judged, under whatever style or t.i.tle they appear upon the scene, whether it be Gog and Magog, the a.s.syrian, or the king of the north--all the foes of Israel shall be confounded and consigned to everlasting perdition, and then this sweet note falls upon the ear,--"REJOICE, O YE NATIONS, WITH HIS PEOPLE; FOR HE WILL AVENGE THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS, AND WILL RENDER VENGEANCE TO HIS ADVERSARIES, AND WILL BE MERCIFUL UNTO HIS LAND AND TO HIS PEOPLE."
Here ends this marvelous song, one of the very finest, fullest, and most forcible utterances in the whole volume of G.o.d. It begins and ends with G.o.d, and takes in, in its comprehensive range, the history of His earthly people Israel--past, present, and future. It shows us the ordering of the nations in direct reference to the divine purpose as to the seed of Abraham. It unfolds the final judgment of all those nations that have acted or shall yet act in opposition to the chosen seed; and then, when Israel is fully restored and blessed, according to the covenant made with their fathers, the saved nations are summoned to rejoice with them.
How glorious is all this! What a splendid circle of truth is presented to the vision of our souls in the thirty-second chapter of Deuteronomy! Well may it be said, "G.o.d is _the_ Rock, His work is perfect." Here the heart can rest, in holy tranquillity, come what may. Every thing may go to pieces in man"s hand, all that is merely human may and must issue in hopeless wreck and ruin, but "the Rock"
shall stand forever, and every "work" of the divine Hand shall shine in everlasting perfection to the glory of G.o.d and the perfect blessing of His people.
Such, then, is the song of Moses; such its scope, range, and application. The intelligent reader does not need to be told that the Church of G.o.d, the body of Christ, the mystery of which the blessed apostle Paul was made the minister, finds no place in this song. When Moses wrote this song, the mystery of the Church lay hid in the bosom of G.o.d. If we do not see this, we are wholly incompetent to interpret, or even to understand, the holy Scriptures. To a simple mind, taught exclusively by Scripture, it is as clear as a sunbeam that the song of Moses has for its thesis the government of G.o.d, in connection with Israel and the nations; for its sphere, the earth; and for its centre, the land of Canaan.
"And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel; and he said unto them, "_Set your hearts unto all the words_ which I testify among you this day, which _ye shall command your children to observe to do_, _all the words of this law_. For it is not a vain thing for you, because _it is your life_; and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it."" (Ver. 44-47.)
Thus, from first to last, through every section of this precious book of Deuteronomy, we find Moses, that beloved and most honored servant of G.o.d, urging upon the people the solemn duty of implicit, unqualified, hearty obedience to the Word of G.o.d. In this lay the precious secret of life, peace, progress, prosperity--all. They had nothing else to do but _obey_. Blessed business! happy, holy duty! May it be ours, beloved reader, in this day of conflict and confusion, in the which man"s will is so fearfully dominant. The world and the so-called church are rushing on together, with appalling rapidity, along the dark pathway of self-will--a pathway which must end in the blackness of darkness forever. Let us bear this in mind, and earnestly seek to tread the narrow path of simple obedience to all the precious commandments of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thus shall our hearts be kept in sweet peace; and although we may seem, to the men of this world, and even to professing Christians, to be odd and narrow-minded, let us not be moved the breadth of a hair from the path indicated by the Word of G.o.d. May the word of Christ dwell in us richly, and the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, _until the end_.
It is very remarkable, and indeed eminently impressive, to find our chapter closing with another reference to Jehovah"s governmental dealing with His beloved servant Moses. "And the Lord spake unto Moses _that self-same day_"--the very day in which he uttered his song in the ears of the people--"saying, "Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession; and die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in Mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people; because ye trespa.s.sed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because ye sanctified Me not in the midst of the children of Israel. Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; _but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel_."" (Ver. 48-52.)
How solemn and soul-subduing is the government of G.o.d! Surely it ought to make the heart tremble at the very thought of disobedience. If such an eminent servant as Moses was judged for speaking unadvisedly with his lips, what will be the end of those who live from day to day, week to week, month to month, and year to year in deliberate and habitual neglect of the plainest commandments of G.o.d, and positive self-willed rejection of His authority?
Oh, for a lowly mind, a broken and contrite heart! This is what G.o.d looks for and delights in; it is with such He can make His blessed abode. "To this man will I look, even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word." G.o.d, in His infinite goodness, grant much of this sweet spirit to each of His beloved children, for Jesus Christ"s sake.
CHAPTER x.x.xIII
"And this is the blessing wherewith Moses, the man of G.o.d, blessed the children of Israel before his death."
It is full of interest and comfort to find that the last words of the lawgiver were words of unmingled blessing. We have dwelt upon his various discourses--those solemn, searching, and deeply affecting homilies addressed to the congregation of Israel; we have meditated upon that marvelous song, with its mingled notes of grace and government: but we are now called to hearken to words of most precious benediction, words of sweetest comfort and consolation, words flowing from the very heart of the G.o.d of Israel and giving His own loving thoughts respecting them, and His onlook into their glorious future.
The reader will doubtless notice a marked difference between the last words of Moses as recorded in Deuteronomy x.x.xiii. and the last words of Jacob as given in Genesis xlix. It is needless to say that both are given by the same pen--both divinely inspired, and hence, although they differ, they do not and cannot clash; there is, there can be, no discrepancy between two sections of the volume of G.o.d. This is a cardinal truth, a vital and fundamental principle with every devout Christian, every true believer--a truth to be tenaciously grasped and faithfully confessed, in the face of all the ignorant and insolent a.s.saults of infidelity.
We are not, of course, going to enter upon an elaborate comparison of the two chapters; this would be impossible just now, on various grounds. We are obliged to be as concise and brief as possible. But there is one grand point of difference, which can be seized at a glance. Jacob gives the history of the actings of his sons--some of them, alas! most sad and humiliating: Moses, on the contrary, presents the actings of divine grace, whether in them or toward them. This will at once account for the difference. The evil actings of Reuben, of Simeon, and of Levi are recorded by Jacob, but entirely omitted by Moses. Is this discrepancy? Nay, but divine harmony. Jacob views his sons in their personal history; Moses views them in their covenant-relationship with Jehovah. Jacob gives us human failure, infirmity, and sin: Moses gives us divine faithfulness, goodness, and loving-kindness. Jacob gives us human actings, and judgment thereon: Moses gives us divine counsels, and unmingled blessing flowing out of them. Thanks and praise to our G.o.d, His counsels and His blessings and His glory are above and beyond all human failure, sin, and folly. He will ultimately have it all His own way, and that forever; then, Israel and the nations shall be fully blessed, and shall rejoice together in the abundant goodness of G.o.d, and celebrate His praise from sh.o.r.e to sh.o.r.e, and from the river to the ends of the earth.
We shall now do little more than quote for the reader the various blessings of the tribes. They are full of most precious instruction, and do not call for much in the way of exposition.
"And he said, "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints [holy ones]; from His right hand went a fiery law for them.
Yea, _He loved the people_;"--precious, unfailing source of all their future blessing!--"_all His saints are in Thy hand_;"--true secret of their perfect security!--"and they sat down at _Thy feet_;"--the only safe and proper att.i.tude for them, for us, for each, for all!--"every one shall receive of Thy words."--Blessed boon! precious treasure!
Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord is more precious, by far, than thousands of gold and silver; sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb.--"Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together. Let Reuben live and not die, and let not his men be few.""
We have nothing here about Reuben"s instability, nothing about his sin. Grace is in the ascendant; blessings are flowing in rich abundance from the loving heart of the One who delights to bless and to surround Himself with hearts filled to overflowing with the sense of His goodness.
"And this is the blessing of Judah; and he said, "Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people; let his hands be sufficient for him; and be Thou a help to him from his enemies.""
Judah is the royal line. "Our Lord sprang out of Judah," thus ill.u.s.trating, in a truly marvelous manner, how divine grace rises, in its majesty, above human sin, and triumphs gloriously over circ.u.mstances which reveal man"s utter weakness. "Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar"! Who but the Holy Spirit could have penned these words? How plainly they declare that G.o.d"s thoughts are not as our thoughts! What human hand would have introduced Thamar into the genealogical line of our adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Not one. The stamp of divinity is strikingly impressed on Matthew i. 3, as it is upon every clause of the holy volume from beginning to end. The Lord be praised that it is so!
"Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father"s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion"s whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his a.s.s"s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes; his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk." (Gen. xlix. 8-12.)
"And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?" And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, "Weep not: behold, _the Lion of the tribe of Juda_, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof." And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood _a Lamb_, as it had been _slain_, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of G.o.d sent forth into all the earth."
How highly favored is the tribe of Judah! Surely, to be in the genealogical line from which our Lord sprang is a high honor, and yet we know--for our Lord Himself has told us--that it is far higher, far more blessed, to hear the Word of G.o.d and keep it. To do the will of G.o.d, to treasure up in our hearts His precious commandments, brings us morally nearer to Christ than even the fact of being of His kindred according to the flesh. (Matt. xii. 46-50.)
"And of Levi he said, "Let Thy Thummin and Thy Urim [lights and perfections] be with Thy holy one, whom Thou didst prove at Ma.s.sah, and with whom Thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; _who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him_; _neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew_ his own children; _for they have observed Thy word and kept Thy covenant_. They shall teach Jacob Thy judgments, and Israel Thy law; they shall put incense before Thee, and whole burnt-sacrifice upon Thine altar. Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again."" (Ver. 8-11.)
The reader will notice the fact that Simeon is left out here, though so intimately a.s.sociated with Levi in Genesis xlix. "Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their a.s.sembly, mine honor, be not thou united; for _in their anger they slew a man_, and _in their self-will_ they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel."
Now, when we compare Genesis xlix, with Deuteronomy x.x.xiii, we observe two things, namely, human responsibility on the one hand, and divine sovereignty on the other. Moreover, we see nature and its actings; grace and its fruits. Jacob looks at Simeon and Levi linked together in nature, and displaying nature"s tempers and ways. So far as they were concerned, they both alike deserved the curse; but in Levi, we see the glorious triumphs of sovereign grace. It was grace which enabled Levi, in the days of the golden calf, to gird on the sword and stand for the glory of the G.o.d of Israel. "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Who is on the Lord"s side? let him come unto me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, "Thus saith the Lord G.o.d of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor." And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. For Moses had said, "Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day."" (Ex. x.x.xii. 26-29.)
Where was Simeon on this occasion? He was with Levi in the day of nature"s self-will, fierce anger, and cruel wrath; why not in the day of bold decision for Jehovah? He was ready to go with his brother to avenge a family insult, why not to vindicate the honor of G.o.d, insulted as it was by the idolatrous act of the whole congregation?
Will any one say he was not responsible? Let such an one beware how he raises such a question. The call of Moses was addressed to the whole congregation; Levi alone responded, and he got the blessing. He stood for G.o.d in a dark and evil day, and for this he was honored with the priesthood--the very highest dignity that could be conferred upon him. The call was addressed to Simeon as well as to Levi, but Simeon did not respond. Is there any difficulty here? To a mere theologian there may be, but to a devout Christian there is none. G.o.d is sovereign. He does as He pleases, and gives none account of any of His matters. If any one feels disposed to ask, Why is Simeon omitted in Deuteronomy x.x.xiii? The simple and conclusive answer is, "O man, who art thou that repliest against G.o.d?" In Simeon, we see nature"s actings judged; in Levi, we see the fruits of grace rewarded; in both, we see G.o.d"s truth vindicated and His name glorified. Thus it ever has been, thus it is, and thus it shall be. Man is responsible: G.o.d is sovereign. Are we called upon to reconcile these two propositions?
Nay; we are called to believe them. They are reconciled already, inasmuch as they appear side by side on the page of inspiration. This is enough for every pious mind; and as for cavilers, they will get their definitive answer by and by.[27]
[27] For further remarks on the tribe of Levi, the reader is referred to "Notes on the Book of Exodus," chapter x.x.xii; "Notes on the Book of Numbers," chapter iii, iv, and viii; also a pamphlet, first published in the year 1846, ent.i.tled, "The History of the Tribe of Levi Considered." All these can be had from Loizeaux Brothers.
"And of Benjamin ["the son of my right hand"] he said, "The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders.""
Blessed place for Benjamin! blessed place for each beloved child of G.o.d! How precious is the thought of dwelling in safety in the divine presence, in conscious nearness to the true and faithful Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, day and night abiding under the covert of His sheltering wings!
"How blest are they who still abide, Close sheltered by Thy watchful side!
Who life and strength from Thee receive, And with Thee move and in Thee live."
Reader, seek to know more and more the reality and blessedness of Benjamin"s place and portion. Be not satisfied with any thing short of the enjoyed presence of Christ, the abiding sense of relationship and nearness to Him. Be a.s.sured of it, it is your happy privilege. Let nothing rob you of it. Keep ever near the Shepherd"s side, reposing in His love, lying down in the green pastures and beside the still waters. The Lord grant that the writer and the reader may prove the deep blessedness of this, in this day of hollow profession and empty talk. May we know the unspeakable preciousness of deep, personal intimacy with Himself. This is the special need of the day in which our lot is cast--a day of so much intellectual traffic in truth, but of so little heart-knowledge and true appreciation of Christ.
"And of Joseph he said, "Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof, and for the good-will of Him that dwelt in the bush; let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns; with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth; and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Mana.s.seh.""
Joseph is a very remarkable type of Christ. We have dwelt upon his history in our studies on the book of Genesis. The reader will notice the emphatic way in which Moses speaks of the fact of his having been separated from his brethren. He was rejected and cast into the pit. He pa.s.sed, in figure, through the deep waters of death, and thus reached the place of dignity and glory. He was raised from the dungeon to be ruler over the land of Egypt, and the preserver and sustainer of his brethren. The iron entered into his soul, and he was made to taste the bitterness of the place of death ere he entered the sphere of glory.