4.) Aaron"s person, washed in pure water, and robed in the white linen garments, furnishes a lovely and impressive type of Christ entering upon the work of atonement. He is seen to be _personally_ and _characteristically_ pure and spotless. "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." (John xvii. 19.) It is peculiarly precious to be called, as it were, to gaze upon the Person of our divine Priest, in all His essential holiness.
The Holy Ghost delights in every thing that unfolds Christ to the view of His people; and wherever we behold Him, we see him to be the same spotless, perfect, glorious, precious, peerless Jesus, "the fairest among ten thousand, yea, altogether lovely." He did not need to _do_ or to _wear_ any thing in order to be pure and spotless; He needed no pure water, no fine linen; He was, intrinsically and practically, "the holy One of G.o.d." What Aaron _did_, and what he _wore_--the washing and the robing, are but the faint shadows of what Christ _is_. The law had only a "shadow," and "not the very image of good things to come." Blessed be G.o.d, we have not merely the shadow, but the eternal and divine reality--Christ Himself.
"And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house." (Ver. 5, 6.) Aaron and his house represent the Church, not indeed as the "one body," but as a priestly house. It is not the Church as we find it developed in Ephesians and Colossians, but rather as we find it in the first epistle of Peter, in the following well-known pa.s.sage: "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a _spiritual house_, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to G.o.d by Jesus Christ." (Chap. ii. 5.) So also in Hebrews--"But Christ as a Son over His own house; _whose house are we_, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." (Chap. iii. 6.) We must ever remember that there is no revelation of the mystery of the Church in the Old Testament. Types and shadows there are, but no revelation. That wondrous mystery of Jew and Gentile forming "one body," "one new man," and united to a glorified Christ in heaven, could not, as is obvious, be revealed until Christ had taken His place above. Of this mystery Paul was pre-eminently made a steward and a minister, as he tells us in Ephesians iii. 1-12, a pa.s.sage which I would commend to the prayerful attention of the Christian reader.
"And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scape-goat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord"s lot fell, and offer him for a sin-offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scape-goat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scape-goat into the wilderness." (Ver. 7-10.) In these two goats, we have the two aspects of atonement already referred to; "the Lord"s lot" fell upon one, and the people"s lot fell upon the other. In the case of the former, it was not a question of the persons or the sins which were to be forgiven, nor of G.o.d"s counsels of grace toward His elect. These things, I need hardly say, are of infinite moment; but they are not involved in the case of "the goat on which the Lord"s lot fell." This latter typifies the death of Christ as that wherein G.o.d has been perfectly glorified with respect to sin in general. This great truth is fully set forth in the remarkable expression, "the Lord"s lot." G.o.d has a peculiar portion in the death of Christ--a portion quite distinct--a portion which would hold eternally good even though no sinner were ever to be saved. In order to see the force of this, it is needful to bear in mind how G.o.d has been dishonored in this world. His truth has been despised; His authority has been contemned; His majesty has been slighted; His law has been broken; His claims have been disregarded; His name has been blasphemed; His character has been traduced.
Now, the death of Christ has made provision for all this. It has perfectly glorified G.o.d in the very place where all these things have been done; it has perfectly vindicated the majesty, the truth, the holiness, the character of G.o.d; it has divinely met all the claims of His throne; it has atoned for _sin_; it has furnished a divine remedy for all the mischief which sin introduced into the universe; it affords a ground on which the blessed G.o.d can act in grace, mercy, and forbearance toward all; it furnishes a warrant for the eternal expulsion and perdition of the prince of this world; it forms the imperishable foundation of G.o.d"s moral government. In virtue of the cross, G.o.d can act according to His own sovereignty; He can display the matchless glories of His character and the adorable attributes of His nature. He might, in the exercise of inflexible justice, have consigned the human family to the lake of fire, together with the devil and his angels; but in that case, where would be His love, His grace, His mercy, His kindness, His long-suffering, His compa.s.sion, His patience, His perfect goodness?
Then on the other hand, had these precious attributes been exercised in the absence of atonement, where were the justice, the truth, the majesty, the holiness, the righteousness, the governmental claims, yea, the entire moral glory of G.o.d? How could "mercy and truth meet together"? or "righteousness and peace kiss each other"? how could "truth spring out of the earth"? or "righteousness look down from heaven"? Impossible. Naught save the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ could have fully glorified G.o.d; but that has glorified Him. It has reflected the full glory of the divine character as it never could have been reflected amid the brightest splendors of an unfallen creation. By means of that atonement, in prospect and retrospect, G.o.d has been exercising forbearance toward this world for well-nigh six thousand years. In virtue of that atonement, the most wicked, daring, and blasphemous of the sons of men "live, move, and have their being;"
eat, drink, and sleep. The very morsel which yonder open blaspheming infidel puts into his mouth, he owes to the atonement, which he knows not, but impiously ridicules; the sunbeams and showers which fertilize the fields of the atheist, reach him in virtue of the atonement of Christ; yea, the very breath which the infidel and the atheist spend in blaspheming G.o.d"s revelation, or denying His existence, they owe to the atonement of Christ. Were it not for that precious atonement, instead of blaspheming upon earth, they would be weltering in h.e.l.l.
Let not my reader misunderstand me, I speak not here of the forgiveness or salvation of persons. This is quite another thing, and stands connected, as every true Christian knows, with the confession of the name of Jesus and the hearty belief that G.o.d raised Him from the dead. (Rom. x.) This is plain enough, and fully understood; but it is in no wise involved in that aspect of the atonement which we are at present contemplating, and which is so strikingly foreshadowed by "the goat on which the Lord"s lot fell." G.o.d"s pardoning and accepting a sinner is one thing; His bearing with that man, and showering temporal blessings upon him, is quite another. Both are in virtue of the cross, but in a totally different aspect and application thereof.
Nor is this distinction by any means unimportant. Quite the opposite.
Indeed, so important is it that where it is overlooked, there must be confusion as to the full doctrine of atonement. Nor is this all. A clear understanding of G.o.d"s ways in government, whether in the past, the present, or the future, will be found involved in this profoundly interesting point. And finally, in it will be found the key wherewith to expound a number of texts in which many Christians find considerable difficulty. I shall just adduce two or three of these pa.s.sages as examples.
"Behold the Lamb of G.o.d, which taketh away the _sin_ of the world."
(John i. 29.) With this we may connect a kindred pa.s.sage in John"s first epistle, in which the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken of as "the propitiation for the whole world."[23] (Chap. ii. 2.) In both these pa.s.sages the Lord Jesus is referred to as the One who has perfectly glorified G.o.d with respect to "_sin_" and "_the world_," in their broadest acceptation. He is here seen as the great Ant.i.type of "the goat on which the Lord"s lot fell." This gives us a most precious view of the atonement of Christ, and one which is too much overlooked, or not clearly apprehended. Whenever the question of _persons_ and the forgiveness of _sins_ is raised in connection with these and kindred pa.s.sages of Scripture, the mind is sure to get involved in insuperable difficulties.
[23] The reader will observe, in the above pa.s.sage, that the words "the sins of" are introduced by the translators, and are not inspired.
The divine accuracy of the pa.s.sage is completely lost by retaining those uninspired words. The doctrine laid down is simply this: In the first clause of the verse, Christ is set forth as the propitiation for His people"s actual _sins_; but in the last clause, it is not a question of _sins_ or of _persons_ at all, but of _sin_ and the _world_ in general. In fact, the whole verse presents Christ as the Ant.i.type of the two goats, as the One who has borne His people"s sins; and also as the One who has perfectly glorified G.o.d with respect to sin in general, and made provision for dealing in grace with the world at large, and for the final deliverance and blessing of the whole creation.
So, also, with respect to all those pa.s.sages in which G.o.d"s grace to the world at large is presented. They are founded upon that special aspect of the atonement with which we are more immediately occupied.
"Go ye into _all the world_ and preach the gospel _to every creature_." (Mark xvi.)--"G.o.d so loved _the world_, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life. For G.o.d sent not His Son into the world to condemn _the world_, but that the world through Him might be saved."
(John iii. 16, 17.)--"I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for _all men_; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all G.o.dliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of G.o.d our Saviour; who will have _all men_ to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one G.o.d, and one Mediator between G.o.d and men, the Man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a _ransom for all_, to be testified in due time." (1 Tim. ii. 1-6.)--"For _the grace of G.o.d_ that bringeth salvation hath appeared to _all men_." (t.i.tus ii. 11.)--"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by _the grace of G.o.d_ should taste death _for every man_." (Heb. ii. 9.)--"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that _any_ should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter iii. 9.)
There is no need whatsoever for seeking to avoid the plain sense of the above and similar pa.s.sages. They bear a clear and unequivocal testimony to divine grace toward all, without the slightest reference to man"s responsibility on the one hand, or to G.o.d"s eternal counsels on the other. These things are just as clearly, just as fully, just as unequivocally, taught in the Word. Man is responsible and G.o.d is sovereign. All who bow to Scripture admit these things. But, at the same time, it is of the very last importance to recognize the wide aspect of the grace of G.o.d and of the cross of Christ. It glorifies G.o.d, and leaves man _wholly_ without excuse. Men argue about G.o.d"s decrees and man"s incompetency to believe without divine influence.
Their arguments prove that they do not want G.o.d; for did they only want Him, He is near enough to be found of them. The grace of G.o.d and the atonement of Christ are as wide as they could desire. "_Any_,"
"_every_," "_whosoever_," and "_all_" are G.o.d"s own words; and I should like to know who is shut out. If G.o.d sends a message of salvation to a man, He surely intends it for him; and what can be more wicked and impious than to reject G.o.d"s grace, and make Him a liar, and then give His secret decrees as a reason for so doing? It would be, in a certain sense, honest for a man to say at once, The fact is, I do not believe G.o.d"s Word, and I do not want His grace or His salvation. One could understand this; but for men to cover their hatred of G.o.d and His truth with the drapery of a false, because one-sided, theology, is the very highest character of wickedness. It is such as to make us feel, of a truth, that the devil is never more diabolical than when he appears with the Bible in his hand.
If it be true that men are prevented by G.o.d"s secret decrees and counsels from receiving the gospel, which He has commanded to be preached to them, then on what principle of righteousness will they be "punished with everlasting destruction" for not obeying that gospel?
(2 Thess. i. 6-10.) Is there a single soul throughout all the gloomy regions of the lost who blames G.o.d"s counsels for his being there? Not one. Oh, no; G.o.d has made such ample provision in the atonement of Christ, not only for the salvation of those that believe, but also for the aspect of His grace toward those that reject the gospel, that there is no excuse. It is not because a man _cannot_, but because he _will not_ believe that he "shall be punished with everlasting destruction." Never was there a more fatal mistake than for a man to ensconce himself behind G.o.d"s decrees, while deliberately and intelligently refusing G.o.d"s grace; and this is all the more dangerous because supported by the dogmas of a one-sided theology. G.o.d"s grace is free to all; and if we ask, How is this? the answer is, "Jehovah"s lot" fell upon the true Victim, in order that He might be perfectly glorified as to sin, in its widest aspect, and be free to act in grace toward all, and "preach the gospel to every creature." This grace and this preaching must have a solid basis, and that basis is found in the atonement; and though man should reject, G.o.d is glorified in the exercise of grace and in the offer of salvation, because of the oasis on which both the one and the other repose. He _is_ glorified, and He _shall be_ glorified throughout eternity"s countless ages.--"Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.
Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."... Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto Me." (John xii. 27-32.)
Thus far we have been occupied only with one special point, namely, "the goat on which the Lord"s lot fell;" and a cursory reader might suppose that the next thing in order would be the scape-goat, which gives us the other great aspect of the death of Christ, or its application to the sins of the people. But no; ere we come to that, we have the fullest confirmation of that precious line of truth which has been before us, in the fact that the blood of the slain goat, together with the blood of the bullock, was sprinkled upon and before Jehovah"s throne, in order to show that all the claims of that throne were answered in the blood of atonement, and full provision made for all the demands of G.o.d"s moral administration.
"And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself.
And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail. And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not." Here we have a most vivid and striking presentation indeed. The blood of atonement is carried in within the vail, into the holiest of all, and there sprinkled upon the throne of the G.o.d of Israel. The cloud of the divine presence was there; and in order that Aaron might appear in the immediate presence of the glory and not die, "the cloud of incense"
ascends and "covers the mercy-seat," on which the blood of atonement was to be sprinkled "seven times." The "_sweet_ incense beaten _small_" expresses the fragrance of Christ"s Person--the sweet odor of His most precious sacrifice.
"And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy-seat eastward; and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat." (Ver. 14, 15.) "Seven" is the perfect number; and in the sprinkling of the blood seven times before the mercy-seat, we learn that whatever be the application of the atonement of Christ, whether as to things, to places, or to persons, it is perfectly estimated in the divine presence. The blood which secures the salvation of the Church--the "house" of the true Aaron; the blood which secures the salvation of the "congregation" of Israel; the blood which secures the final restoration and blessedness of the whole creation--that blood has been presented before G.o.d, sprinkled and accepted according to all the perfectness, fragrance, and preciousness of Christ. In the power of that blood G.o.d can accomplish all His eternal counsels of grace. He can save the Church, and raise it into the very loftiest heights of glory and dignity, despite of all the power of sin and Satan; He can restore Israel"s scattered tribes; He can unite Judah and Ephraim; He can accomplish all the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; He can save and bless untold millions of the Gentiles; He can restore and bless the wide creation; He can allow the beams of His glory to lighten up the universe forever; He can display, in the view of angels, men, and devils, His own eternal glory--the glory of His character, the glory of His nature, the glory of His works, the glory of His government,--all this He can do, and will do; but the one solitary pedestal upon which the stupendous fabric of glory shall rest forever, is the blood of the cross--that precious blood, dear Christian reader, which has spoken peace--divine and everlasting peace--to your heart and conscience, in the presence of Infinite Holiness. The blood which is sprinkled upon the believer"s conscience has been sprinkled "seven times" before the throne of G.o.d.
The nearer we get to G.o.d, the more importance and value we find attached to the blood of Jesus. If we look at the brazen altar, we find the blood there; if we look at the brazen laver, we find the blood there; if we look at the golden altar, we find the blood there; if we look at the vail of the tabernacle, we find the blood there: but in no place do we find so much about the blood as within the vail, before Jehovah"s throne, in the immediate presence of the divine glory.
"In heaven His blood forever speaks, In G.o.d the Father"s ears."
"And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness." The same truth meets us all along. The claims of the sanctuary must be provided for. Jehovah"s courts, as well as His throne, must bear witness to the value of the blood. The tabernacle, in the midst of Israel"s uncleanness, must be fenced round about by the divine provisions of atonement. Jehovah provided, in all things, for His own glory. The priests and their priestly service, the place of worship and all therein, must stand in the power of the blood. The Holy One could not have remained for a moment in the midst of the congregation were it not for the power of the blood. It was that which left Him free to dwell and act and rule in the midst of an erring people.
"And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel." (Ver. 17.) Aaron needed to offer up sacrifice for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
He could only enter into the sanctuary in the power of the blood. We have, in verse 17, a type of the atonement of Christ in its application both to the Church and to the congregation of Israel. The Church now enters into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. (Heb. x.) As to Israel, the vail is still on their hearts. (2 Cor. iii.) They are still at a distance, although full provision has been made in the cross for their forgiveness and restoration when they shall turn to the Lord. This entire period is, properly speaking, the day of atonement. The true Aaron is gone in, with His own blood, into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of G.o.d for us. By and by He will come forth to lead the congregation of Israel into the full results of His accomplished work. Meanwhile, His house--that is to say, all true believers--is a.s.sociated with Him, having boldness to enter into the holiest, being brought nigh by the blood of Jesus.
"And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel." (Ver. 18, 19.) Thus the atoning blood was sprinkled every where, from the throne of G.o.d within the vail, to the altar which stood in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.
"It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of G.o.d for us: nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high-priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; for then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world; but now _once_ in the end of the world [at the end of every thing earthly, every thing human] hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment; so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation." (Heb. ix. 23-28.)
There is but one way into the holiest of all, and that is a blood-sprinkled way. It is vain to strive to enter by any other. Men may attempt to work themselves in, to pray themselves in, to buy themselves in, to get in by a pathway of ordinances, or it may be, of half ordinances, half Christ; but it is of no use. G.o.d speaks of _one_ way, and but one, and that way has been thrown open through the rent vail of the Saviour"s flesh. Along that way have the millions of the saved pa.s.sed, from age to age; patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints in every age, from Abel downwards, have trod that blessed way, and found thereby sure and undisputed access. The _one_ sacrifice of the cross is divinely sufficient for all. G.o.d asks no more, and He can take no less. To add aught thereto is to cast dishonor upon that with which G.o.d has declared Himself well pleased, yea, in which He is infinitely glorified: to diminish aught therefrom is to deny man"s guilt and ruin, and offer an indignity to the justice and majesty of the eternal Trinity.
"And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him _all_ the iniquities of the children of Israel, and _all_ their transgressions in _all_ their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him _all_ their iniquities unto a land not inhabited; and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness."
Here, then, we have the other grand idea attached to the death of Christ, namely, the full and final forgiveness of the people. If the death of Christ forms the foundation of the glory of G.o.d, it also forms the foundation of the perfect forgiveness of sins to all who put their trust in it. This latter, blessed be G.o.d, is but a secondary--an inferior application of the atonement, though our foolish hearts would fain regard it as the very highest possible view of the cross to see in it that which puts away all our sins. This is a mistake. G.o.d"s glory is the first thing, our salvation is the second. To maintain G.o.d"s glory was the chief--the darling object of the heart of Christ.
This object He pursued from first to last, with an undeviating purpose and unflinching fidelity. "Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again." (John x. 17.) "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and G.o.d is glorified in Him. If G.o.d be glorified in Him, G.o.d shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him." (John xiii. 31, 32.) "Listen, O isles, unto Me; and hearken, ye people from far: the Lord hath called Me from the womb; from the bowels of My mother hath He made mention of My name.
And He hath made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand hath He hid Me, and made Me a polished shaft: in His quiver hath He hid Me; and said unto Me, "Thou art My Servant, O Israel, in whom _I will be glorified_."" (Isaiah xlix. 1-3.)
Thus the glory of G.o.d was the paramount object of the Lord Jesus Christ, in life and in death. He lived and died to glorify His Father"s name. Does the Church lose aught by this? Nay. Does Israel?
Nay. Do the Gentiles? Nay. In no way could their salvation and blessedness be so perfectly provided for as by being made subsidiary to the glory of G.o.d. Hearken to the divine response to Christ, the true Israel, in the sublime pa.s.sage just quoted. "It is a light thing that Thou shouldest be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation to the ends of the earth."
And is it not a blessed thing to know that G.o.d is glorified in the putting away of our sins? We may ask, Where are our sins? Put away. By what? By that act of Christ upon the cross, in which G.o.d has been eternally glorified. Thus it is. The two goats, on the day of atonement, give the double aspect of the one act. In the one, we see G.o.d"s glory maintained; in the other, sins put away. The one is as perfect as the other. We are as perfectly forgiven as G.o.d is perfectly glorified, by the death of Christ. Was there one single point in which G.o.d was not glorified in the cross? Not one. Neither is there one single point in which we are not perfectly forgiven. I say "we;" for albeit the congregation of Israel is the primary object contemplated in the beautiful and impressive ordinance of the scape-goat, yet does it hold good, in the fullest way, with respect to every soul that believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, that he is as perfectly forgiven as G.o.d is perfectly glorified, by the atonement of the cross. How many of the sins of Israel did the scape-goat bear away? "_All._" Precious word! Not one left behind. And whither did he bear them? "Into a land not inhabited"--a land where they could never be found, because there was no one there to look for them. Could any type be more perfect?
could we possibly have a more graphic picture of Christ"s accomplished sacrifice, in its primary and secondary aspects?
Impossible. We can hang with intense admiration over such a picture, and as we gaze, exclaim, Of a truth, the pencil of the Master is here!
Reader, pause here, and say, do you know that _all_your sins are forgiven, according to the perfection of Christ"s sacrifice? If you simply _believe_ on His name, they are so,--they are all gone, and gone forever. Say not, as so many anxious souls do, "I fear I do not _realize_." There is no such word as "realize" in the entire gospel.
We are not saved by realization, but by Christ; and the way to get Christ in all His fullness and preciousness is to believe--"_only believe!_" And what will be the result? "The worshipers once purged should have no more conscience of sins." Observe this,--"No more conscience of sins." This must be the result, inasmuch as Christ"s sacrifice is perfect--so perfect, that G.o.d is glorified therein. Now, it must be obvious to you that Christ"s work does not need your realization to be added to it to make it perfect. This could not be.
We might as well say that the work of creation was not complete until Adam realized it in the garden of Eden. True, he did realize; but what did he realize? A perfect work. Thus let it be with your precious soul this moment, if it has never been so before. May you now and evermore repose, in artless simplicity, upon the One who has, by one offering, perfected forever them that are sanctified. And how are they sanctified? Is it by realization? By no means. How then? By the perfect work of Christ.
Having sought (alas! most feebly) to unfold the doctrine of this marvelous chapter, so far as G.o.d has given me light upon it, there is just one point further to which I shall merely call my reader"s attention ere I close this section. It is contained in the following quotation: "And this shall be a statute forever unto you, that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country or a stranger that sojourneth among you. For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from _all_ your sins _before the Lord_. It shall be _a Sabbath of rest_, and ye shall _afflict your souls_, by a statute forever." (Ver.
29-31.)
This shall have its full accomplishment in the saved remnant of Israel by and by, as foretold by the prophet Zechariah,--"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. _In that day_ shall there be _a great mourning_ in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.... _In that day_ there shall be a _fountain opened_ to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.... And it shall come to pa.s.s _in that day_ that the light shall not be clear [in one place] and dark [in another]; but it shall be one day, [the true and long-expected Sabbath,] which shall be known to the Lord, not day nor night; but it shall come to pa.s.s that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be _in that day_ that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And THE LORD SHALL BE KING OVER ALL THE EARTH: _in that day_ shall there be one Lord, and His name one.... _In that day_ shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD.... And _in that day_ there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts." (Zech. xii.-xiv.)
What a day that will be! No marvel that it should be so frequently and so emphatically introduced in the above glowing pa.s.sage. It will be a bright and blessed "Sabbath of rest" when the mourning remnant shall gather, in the spirit of true penitence, around the open fountain, and enter into the full and final results of the great day of atonement.
They shall "afflict their souls," no doubt; for how could they do otherwise, while fixing their repentant gaze "upon Him whom they have pierced"? But, oh, what a Sabbath they will have! Jerusalem will have a br.i.m.m.i.n.g cup of salvation, after her long and dreary night of sorrow. Her former desolations shall be forgotten, and her children, restored to their long-lost dwellings, shall take down their harps from the willows, and sing once more the sweet songs of Zion, beneath the peaceful shade of the vine and fig-tree.
Blessed be G.o.d, the time is at hand. Every setting sun brings us nearer to that blissful Sabbath. The word is, "Surely, I come quickly;" and all around seems to tell us that "the days are at hand, and the effect of every vision." May we be "sober, and watch unto prayer." May we keep ourselves unspotted from the world; and thus, in the spirit of our minds, the affections of our hearts, and the experience of our souls, be ready to meet the heavenly Bridegroom. Our place for the present is outside the camp. Thank G.o.d that it is so! It would be an unspeakable loss to be inside. The same cross which has brought us inside the vail has cast us outside the camp. Christ was cast out thither, and we are with Him there; but He has been received up into heaven, and we are with Him there. Is it not a mercy to be outside of all that which has rejected our blessed Lord and Master?
Truly so; and the more we know of Jesus, and the more we know of this present evil world, the more thankful we shall be to find our place outside of it all _with Him_.
CHAPTER XVII.
In this chapter the reader will find two special points, namely, first, that life belongs to Jehovah; and secondly, that the power of atonement is in the blood. The Lord attached peculiar importance to both these things. He would have them impressed upon every member of the congregation.
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, "Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, saying, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, and bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord, before the tabernacle of the Lord; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people." This was a most solemn matter; and we may ask what was involved in offering a sacrifice otherwise than in the manner here prescribed. It was nothing less than robbing Jehovah of His rights, and presenting to Satan that which was due to G.o.d. A man might say, Can I not offer a sacrifice in one place as well as another? The answer is, Life belongs to G.o.d, and His claim thereto must be recognized in the place which He has appointed--before the tabernacle of the Lord. That was the only meeting-place between G.o.d and man. To offer elsewhere proved that the heart did not want G.o.d.
The moral of this is plain. There is one place where G.o.d has appointed to meet the sinner, and that is the cross--the ant.i.type of the brazen altar. There and there alone has G.o.d"s claims upon the life been duly recognized. To reject this meeting-place is to bring down judgment upon one"s self--it is to trample under foot the just claims of G.o.d, and to arrogate to one"s self a right to life which all have forfeited. It is important to see this.
"And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savor unto the Lord." The blood and the fat belonged to G.o.d. The blessed Jesus fully recognized this. He surrendered His life to G.o.d, and all His hidden energies were devoted to Him likewise. He voluntarily walked to the altar and there gave up His precious life; and the fragrant odor of His intrinsic excellency ascended to the throne of G.o.d. Blessed Jesus! it is sweet, at every step of our way, to be reminded of Thee.
The second point above referred to is clearly stated in verse 11.--"For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your souls, for IT IS THE BLOOD THAT MAKETH AN ATONEMENT FOR THE SOUL." The connection between the two points is deeply interesting. When man duly takes his place as one possessing no t.i.tle whatsoever to life--when he fully recognizes G.o.d"s claims upon him, then the divine record is, "I have given you the life to make an atonement for your soul." Yes; atonement is G.o.d"s gift to man; and be it carefully noted that this atonement is in the blood, and _only_ in the blood. "It is _the blood_ that maketh an atonement for the soul." It is not the blood _and_ something else.