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Leviticus
Chapter Six
Leviticus 6
Chapter Contents
Concerning trespasses against our neighbour. (1-7)
Concerning the burnt-offering. (8-13) Concerning the meat-offering. (14-23)
Concerning the sin-offering. (24-30)
Commentary on Leviticus 6:1-7
Though all the instances relate to our neighbour, yet it
is called a trespass against the Lord. Though the person injured be mean, and
even despicable, yet the injury reflects upon that God who has made the command
of loving our neighbour next to that of loving himself. Human laws make a
difference as to punishments; but all methods of doing wrong to others, are
alike violations of the Divine law, even keeping what is found, when the owner
can be discovered. Frauds are generally accompanied with lies, often with false
oaths. If the offender would escape the vengeance of God, he must make ample
restitution, according to his power, and seek forgiveness by faith in that one
Offering which taketh away the sin of the world. The trespasses here mentioned,
still are trespasses against the law of Christ, which insists as much upon
justice and truth, as the law of nature, or the law of Moses.
Commentary on Leviticus 6:8-13
The daily sacrifice of a lamb is chiefly referred to. The
priest must take care of the fire upon the altar. The first fire upon the altar
came from heaven, 24; by keeping that up continually, all their
sacrifices might be said to be consumed with the fire from heaven, in token of
God's acceptance. Thus should the fire of our holy affections, the exercise of
our faith and love, of prayer and praise, be without ceasing.
Commentary on Leviticus 6:14-23
The law of the burnt-offerings put upon the priests a
great deal of care and work; the flesh was wholly burnt, and the priests had
nothing but the skin. But most of the meat-offering was their own. It is God's
will that his ministers should be provided with what is needful.
Commentary on Leviticus 6:24-30
The blood of the sin-offering was to be washed out of the
clothes on which it should happen to be sprinkled, which signified the regard
we ought to have to the blood of Christ, not counting it a common thing. The
vessel in which the flesh of the sin-offering was boiled must be broken, if it
were an earthen one; but if a brazen one, well washed. This showed that the
defilement was not wholly taken away by the offering; but the blood of Christ thoroughly
cleanses from all sin. All these rules set forth the polluting nature of sin,
and the removal of guilt from the sinner to the sacrifice. Behold and wonder at
Christ's love, in that he was content to be made a sin-offering for us, and so
to procure our pardon for continual sins and failings. He that knew no sin was
made sin (that is, a sin-offering) for us, 2 Corinthians 5:21. Hence we have pardon, and
not only pardon, but power also, against sin, Romans 8:3.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Leviticus》
Leviticus 6
Verse 2
[2] If a
soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in
that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken
away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;
If a soul sin —
This sin, though directly committed against man, is emphatically said to be
done against the Lord, not only in general, for so every sin against man is
also against the Lord, but in a special sense, because this was a violation of
human society, whereof God is the author, and president, and defender: and
because it was a secret sin, of which God alone was the witness and judge: and
because God's name was abused in it by perjury.
To keep — In
trust.
Or in fellowship —
Heb. Or in putting of the hand: that is, commerce or fellowship in trading,
which is very usual when one man puts any thing into another's hand, not to
keep it, but to improve it for the common benefit of them both, in which cases
of partnership it is easy for one to deceive the other, and therefore provision
is made against it. And this is called a putting of the hand, because such
agreements used to be confirmed by giving or joining their hands together.
By violence —
Secretly; for he seems to speak here of such sins as could not be proved by
witness.
Or hath deceived —
Got any thing from him by calumny, or fraud, or circumvention; so the word signifies.
Verse 3
[3] Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth
falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein:
Swear falsely —
His oath being required, seeing there was no other way of discovery left.
Verse 4
[4] Then
it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that
which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or
that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found,
Is guilty — This
guilt being manifested by his voluntary confession upon remorse, whereby he
reapeth this benefit, that he only restores the principal with the addition of
a fifth part; whereas if he were convicted of his fault, he was to pay double, Exodus 22:9.
Verse 5
[5] Or
all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the
principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to
whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.
In the day — It
must not be delayed, but restitution to man must accompany repentance towards
God. Wherever wrong has been done, restitution must be made, and till it is
made to the utmost of our power we cannot look for forgiveness; for the keeping
of what is unjustly got, avows the taking: And both together make but one
continued act of unrighteousness.
Verse 9
[9] Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering:
It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto
the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.
And the Lord spake —
Hitherto he hath prescribed the sacrifices themselves; now he comes to the
manner of them.
The burnt-offering —
The daily one, which Exodus 29:38; Numbers 28:3, as the following words shew. This
was to be so managed and laid on piece after piece, that the fire might be
constantly maintained by it. The morning burnt-offerings were to be kept
burning all the day from morning to night also; but he mentions not that,
because there was such a constant succession of sacrifices in the day-time that
there needed no law for feeding and keeping in the fire then; the only danger
was for the night, when other sacrifices were not offered, but only the evening
burnt-offering, which if it had been consumed quickly, as the morning
burnt-offering was, there had been danger of the going out of that fire, which
they were commanded diligently and constantly to keep in.
Verse 10
[10] And
the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put
upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the
burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.
The ashes which the fire hath consumed — That is, the wood consumed into ashes.
Verse 11
[11] And
he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the
ashes without the camp unto a clean place.
Other garments —
Because this was no sacred, but a common work.
A clean place —
Where no dung or filth was laid. The priest himself was to do all this. God's
servants must think nothing below them but sin.
Verse 12
[12] And
the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and
the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in
order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.
It shall not be put out — The fire coming down from heaven, was to be perpetually preserved, and
not suffered to go out, partly that there might be no occasion or temptation to
offer strange fire; and partly to teach them whence they were to expect the acceptance
of all their sacrifices, even from the divine mercy, signified by the fire that
came down from heaven which was an usual token of God's favourable acceptance.
Every morning —
Though the evening also be doubtless intended, yet the morning is only mentioned,
because then the altar was cleansed, and the ashes taken away, and a new fire
made.
Thereon —
Upon the burnt-offering, which thereby would be sooner consumed, that the way
might be made for other sacrifices.
Verse 13
[13] The
fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
Thus should we keep the fire of holy love
ever burning in our hearts.
Verse 14
[14] And
this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before
the LORD, before the altar.
Of the meal-offering — Of that which was offered alone, and that by any of the people, not by
the priest, for then it must have been all burnt. This law before delivered, is
here repeated for the sake of some additions made to it.
Verse 16
[16] And
the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall
it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the
congregation they shall eat it.
His sons —
The males only might eat these, because they were most holy things; whereas the
daughters of Aaron might eat other holy things.
In the court — In
some special room appointed for that purpose. The reason why this was to be
eaten only by holy persons, and that in an holy place, is given Leviticus 6:17, because it is most holy.
Verse 17
[17] It
shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of
my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the
trespass offering.
It — That part which
remains to the priest; for the part offered to God seems not to have been baked
at all.
Verse 18
[18] All
the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute
for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire:
every one that toucheth them shall be holy.
Every one —
That is, none should touch, or eat them, but consecrated persons, priests, or
their sons.
Verse 20
[20] This
is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the LORD
in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a
meat offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night.
When he is anointed —
For high-priest for he only of all the priests was to be anointed in future
ages. This law of his consecration was delivered before, and is here repeated
because of some additions made to it.
Perpetual —
Whensoever any of them shall be so anointed.
At night —
Or, in the evening; the one to be annexed to the morning-sacrifice, the other
to the evening-sacrifice, over and besides that meal-offering which every day
was to be added to the daily morning and evening sacrifices.
Verse 21
[21] In a
pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baken, thou shalt bring it in:
and the baken pieces of the meat offering shalt thou offer for a sweet savour
unto the LORD.
Thou —
Who art so anointed and consecrated.
Verse 23
[23] For
every meat offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be
eaten.
It shall not be eaten — No part of it shall be eaten by the priest, as it was when the offering
was for the people. The reason of the difference is, partly because when he
offered it for the people, he was to have some recompence for his pains; partly
to signify the imperfection of the Levitical priest, who could not bear their
own iniquity; for the priest's eating part of the people's sacrifices did
signify his typical bearing of the people's iniquity; and partly to teach the
priests and ministers of God, that it is their duty to serve God with
singleness of heart, and to be content with God's honour though they have no
present advantage by it.
Verse 26
[26] The
priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be
eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.
For sin —
For the sins of the rulers, or of the people, or any of them, but not for the
sins of the priests; for then its blood was brought into the tabernacle, and
therefore it might not be eaten.
Verse 27
[27]
Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is
sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon
it was sprinkled in the holy place.
Upon any garment —
Upon the priest's garment; for it was he only that sprinkled it, and in so
doing he might easily sprinkle his garments.
In the holy place —
Partly out of reverence to the blood of sacrifices, which hereby was kept from
a profane or common touch; and partly that such garments might be decent, and
fit for sacred administrations.
Verse 28
[28] But
the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in
a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water.
Broken —
Because being full of pores, the liquor in which it was sodden might easily
sink into it, whereby it was ceremonially holy, and therefore was broken, lest
afterwards it should be abused to common uses.
Rinsed —
And not broken, as being of considerable value, which therefore God would not
have unnecessarily wasted. And this being of a more solid substance than an
earthen vessel, was not so apt to drink in the moisture.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on
Leviticus》
06 Chapter 6
Verses 2-7
Bring his trespass-offering.
Christ the true Trespass-offering
In Christ Jesus, the true Trespass-offering, God has provided an
offering after His own estimation. “Restitution,” “compensation,” and
“expiation”--all are found in Him. When He gave His life a ransom for many, the
fullest satisfaction was made to God and man. Both had been trespassed against,
and both could now say, “I am satisfied. I have all back and more.” As God and
man had shared in the wrong inflicted by the trespass of the latter, so there
is this blessed community, so to speak, in the offering by which the wrong is
put away. God is glorified in “Christ crucified.” A crucified Christ is our
glory. “Christ is God’s,” and God’s Christ is ours. Such is the wondrous
mystery of grace displayed in the aspect of redemption furnished by the
trespass-offering. Well may we exclaim with the apostle, “Oh, the depth of the
riches, &c., both of the wisdom and knowledge of God--how unsearchable are
His judgments, and His works past finding out,”--how comforting is the
assurance that one day we shall know these things as we cannot know them now. (F.
H. White.)
Social sins and their Godward aspect
I can conceive no law more beautiful, more impartial, more
fitted to do the highest good, than the very first requirement with which this
chapter begins: “If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord.” But
mark what constitutes a trespass against the Lord. It consists in “lying to his
neighbour,” or in that which was delivered to him to keep, or in fellowship, or
in taking anything away from his neighbour by violence. Now, in doing so, he
commits a trespass against the Lord: the injury is done against his neighbour,
but in its rebound it is sin against God. Every deed of injustice, whether it
break the last six commandments or the first four, is sin against God--if it be
one of the last six commandments of the law, it has in it two aspects: one
aspect towards man, or injury done to man--a neighbour; and its aspect towards
God, or sin committed against Him. We never sin against each other--we do
injury to each other--but, when we do so, we sin always against God. And hence
the distinction is so important--especially in these days when errors are
abroad--that the person against whom the thing is done can forgive in the thing
which relates to him: if I steal, or if I injure or wound the neighbour, he from
whom I plunder can forgive me the injury, because he is injured and the owner;
but the sin that underlies the injury, reaching to God, God alone can forgive.
See, too, how very comprehensive the law is--“shall sin in that which was
delivered him to keep.” Are you made a trustee?--is property deposited with
you?--are you a banker?--has some client left his money in your hands? Then it
is your duty to be faithful; it is your duty to remember that the least breach
of that trust is injury against your neighbour and sin against your God. “Or in
fellowship”--that is, as we call it in modern days, “in partnership.” Are you a
partner in a house of business? You are bound to look to your co-partner’s
interests as if they were your own; and your co-partner is bound to look to
your interests just as if they were his. “Or in a thing taken away by violence,
or hath deceived his neighbour,” such a one commits sin. “Or hath found that
which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely.” Among the
Romans, it was always regarded as theft to appropriate anything you found upon
the streets, whether you could find the owner of it or not: and this law here
says--from which that was evidently a reflection that if you find anything of
which you cannot find the owner, or if you find anything and know the owner,
and either conceal it, or deny it, or swear falsely concerning it, all that is
sin against God. “Then it shall be, because he hath sinned and is guilty, that
he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath
deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he
found, or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it
in the principal”--that is, the sum itself--“and shall add” not as an
atonement, but as what may be fairly due--“the fifth part more thereto, and
give it unto him to whom it appertaineth.” And then, not only was he to do so,
but he was also to do it at the time of his confession and his
trespass-offering made by the priest. The sin was forgiven through the
trespass-offering as a type of Christ’s atonement; the injury against the
brother was rectified by returning the principal, and a fifth of the principal
added to it, and receiving from that brother he had injured his forgiveness. (J.
Cumming, D. D.)
All sins are against God
When a man defrauds you in weight he sins against you, not against
the scales, which are only the instruments of determining true and false
weight. When men sin it is against God, and not against His law, which is but
the indicator of right and wrong. You care little for sins against God’s law.
Now, every sin that you commit is personal to God, and not merely an infraction
of His law. It is casting javelins and arrows of base desire into His loving bosom.
I think no truth can be discovered which would be so powerful upon the moral
sense of men as that which should disclose to them that sinning is always a
personal offence against a personal God. (H. W. Beecher.)
Refusing to deceive
A young man came to a gentleman one day with a case of conscience.
He was corresponding clerk in a flourishing house of business. His employers
had begun to direct him to write letters to customers containing statements
which he and they knew to be false. He had objected, and they said: “We are
responsible for these statements; it is nothing to you whether they are true or
false.” I said to him, “Did they sign the letters, or ask you to write them in
your own name?” As soon as the question left my lips I saw that if there were a
difference both would be wrong, and I hastened to tell him so he said, “I have
to sign them with my name, per Messrs. Blank.” I said, “Your case is clear; you
must decline to do it.” He said, “Then I shall be dismissed”; and, after a
pause, “I have a wife and family.” I replied, “My dear friend, this is a trial
of faith and principle; you must do right, and trust to God to take care of you
and your family.” I met him some days after. “Well Mr.
,” I said, “how are you getting on?” He replied, “I am still in my
situation; I had an interview with the partners, and told them I could not
write letters I knew to be untrue. They were very angry, and I expected to
receive notice, but I have not received it yet.” Months passed, and he remained
in his situation. After a while he called upon me, and I saw in his face that something had
happened. “Well, Mr.--,” I said, “have you had your dismissal?” “No,” he said,
“I have not,” and smiled.
“What then?” “A very confidential post in their service, with a higher salary, has
fallen vacant, and they have put me into it.” On second thoughts these
unprincipled men had come to the conclusion that a clerk who would not deceive
a customer would not deceive them, and was too valuable to be lost.
Fruits of deceit
There is an old story of a Frenchman who persuaded some Missouri
Indians to exchange fur for gunpowder, representing that they could obtain a
fine crop by sowing it. The Indians prepared a field, and sowed the powder, and
set a guard to watch it. As it did not come up they saw that they had been
deceived. Some time after the partner of the deceiver visited these Indians
with a large stock of goods for the purpose of trade. The Indians each took
such things as pleased him, till all were gone. The Frenchman went to the head
chief and demanded redress. The chief assured him that full justice should be
done as soon as the harvest of gunpowder should be gathered. This was poor
consolation for his loss, but such a rebuke as his partner’s perfidy deserved.
(S. S. Chronicle.)
A boy’s temptation resisted
For two years had sailor Ben been off on the sea. Now his ship
touched the shore, and his heart was full of joy. When he said good-bye to his
mother he was a wild, careless boy; but in the rough days and stormy nights on
the water he had learned not only to love his mother better, but to love and
serve the God she loved. So he longed to go to her and tell her of this joy.
Once on shore he hurried to buy a gift for her; a silver purse with long silver
fringe, and into it he counted twenty gold dollars. “I’ll make your heart glad
in more ways than one, mother,” he said, as he snapped the clasp and bounded
over the rocks to the ship, for this was to be his last night on board for many
months. In his haste his foot slipped, and he fell heavily, bruising his head,
spraining his wrist, and the precious purse was flung out of his hands down out
of sight to the rocks below. Poor Ben! Never thinking of his bruises he climbed
down, searching for his treasure till the night closed about him, then slowly
with an aching heart he went back to his ship. But there was a boy whose name
was Aleck, and who early every morning swung himself down among the rocks to
hunt for the eggs the sea-birds leave in their nests. The next morning he
caught sight of something he never saw before in any nest, and eagerly grasped
it. It is Ben’s silver purse! No more eggs for Aleck to-day; but with his
treasure safe in his pocket he climbs up the rope to show his riches to his
mother. Up on the rocks he meets sailor Ben, with limping gait and anxious
face, searching for his purse. “My boy, I’ll give you the brightest gold dollar
you ever put your eyes on if you’ll find the purse I lost here last night. It
was for my old mother. It will break my heart to go home without it!” For a
minute there was a battle fierce and terrible in Aleck’s heart. Was not the
purse his? He had found it. His mother needed the gold as much as Ben’s
mother; but would she ever touch it if she knew he had kept it from its
rightful owner? No, he knew what she would bid him do, and laying the purse in
Ben’s hands he gained the victory, the battle was over. And so while Ben was
rattling along in the coach, happy to pour into his mother’s lap the gold he
had saved for her, in the little cottage among the trees, Aleck was telling his
mother the story of his temptation. “Better an honest heart, my boy, than all
the gold and silver in the land.” (Christian Age.)
Harm done by trespass
I. The injury
wrought by trespass.
1. Trespass defined. Actual wrong and robbery.
2. Trespass conditioned. Might be wrought “in ignorance.”
3. Trespass weighed. By the Word of God.
4. Trespass recognised (Leviticus 6:4).
II. The reparation
made for trespass.
1. Trespass atoned.
2. Trespass compensated.
There was in Christ’s obedience an excess of merit presented to
God, passing beyond man’s demerit. And in Christian devotedness and ministry
there are blessings brought to men by man far more sacred, tender, consolatory,
and helpful, which more than outweigh all the injury done to men by man. (W.
H. Jellie.)
Lessons
1.Of careful attention to be given unto the Word of God (Leviticus 6:1).
2. To restore things that are lost (Leviticus 6:4).
3. Not to make a schism in the Church (Leviticus 6:16).
4. That in the morning we should first think of God, and give Him
praise.
5. The merciful man shall obtain mercy by his prayers. (A. Willet,
D. D.)
That which was delivered
him to keep.--
Depositing property
I. A neighbourly
convenience.
1. How helpful a neighbour may become.
2. How grand is this confidence in another.
3. How mutually dependent we are one upon another.
4. How honourable we should be in all transactions.
5. How jealously we should strive to merit implicit trust.
II. A hazardous
transaction.
1. Man’s reliableness is sorely discredited by continuous breaches of
faith.
2. Treasure becomes often a serious anxiety to its possessor.
3. No security can be guaranteed in any earthly confidence.
III. A doubtful
alternative. There was another method adopted, when a man was about to journey,
if he could not trust his
neighbour: he would conceal his treasures underground.
IV. A spiritual
analogy. This committing treasure to a neighbour suggests Paul’s imagery of the
soul committed to Christ (2 Timothy 1:12, see also verses 14,
and 1 Timothy 6:20).
1. Christ is faithful to our trust.
2. We cannot safely risk our souls in other keeping. (W. H.
Jellie.)
Custody of treasure
To deposit valuable property with a neighbour was, and still is, a
common practice in the East where no responsible establishments exist for the
reception of private treasure. Hence, when a man went on a journey, he
concealed his precious things underground. This was connected with the danger
of forgetting the spot where they were hidden, when search and digging had to
be resorted to. This not only accounts for the fact that treasure is called in
Hebrew by a name which denotes “hidden,” or things which men are in the habit
of hiding underground, but explains such allusions as “hidden riches of secret
places” (Isaiah 45:3), “and searchest for her as
for hid treasure” (Proverbs 2:4), “dig for it more than for
hid treasure” (Job 3:21). To avoid this danger, men
entrusted their treasure to the custody of a neighbour. It is to this practice
that the text refers, and it is from this practice that the apostle took the
expression in 2 Timothy 1:12; see also verse 14,
and 1 Timothy 6:20). (C. D. Ginsburg,
LL.D.)
Found that which was
lost.--
Restoration of lost property
Nauhaught was an Indian deacon of a native Christian Church in
America. He was a poor, hard-working trapper, with a sick wife and child. One
night he dreamed that an angel came to him and dropped in his hand “a fair,
broad gold piece, in the name of God.” When he rose that morning he went out
into the wilderness to examine his traps; but neither beast nor bird had been
caught in the toils, and poor Nauhaught grieved sorely over his misfortunes as
he thought of the bare home and the needs of his sick wife, While praying
that God would send the angel of his dream to help him in his dire distress,
his feet touched something hard amid the grass, and there lay a purse filled with gold.
So,
then, the dream was true,
The
angel brought one broad piece only;
Should
he take all these?
He was sorely
tempted to conceal and appropriate his prize. The thing was so easy. No one
need know he had found the purse, and all the wants of his needy family could be at
once supplied. But his conscience stirred within him like the voice of God:--
Nauhaught,
be a man.
Starve,
if need be, but while you live, look out
From
honest eyes on all men unashamed.
So the Indian deacon, mindful of the Divine voice, walked bravely
back to the hamlet, asking, as he went, if any one had lost anything that day.
“I,” said a voice, “ten gold pieces in a silken purse.” On which Nauhaught at
once gave up the purse, and walked away, as poor as ever in pocket, but far
richer and stronger in soul through the conflict, in which right had won the
victory. The sea captain to whom the lost property had been restored, however,
called him back, and begged him to accept a tithe of the prize he had found.
This was one gold piece. He took it, and recognising here the very fulfilment
of his dream, he gave God thanks. The people told him afterwards who this
seaman was, and holy well known all around the coast. He answered, with a wise
smile--to himself: “I saw the angel, where they saw a man.”
He shall restore it.--
Restitution
To wrong man is to dishonour God. To lie to a neighbour, or to
deceive him, is to “commit a trespass against the Lord.” Yet how little is this
thought of! Few regard in any such light as this the ten thousand little
injustices and over-exactions of which men, in many of the conditions of life,
are guilty towards others. But no such acts are overlooked by God. He is as
observant of your conduct towards your fellow-men as towards Himself. God
requires restitution to be made to Himself when defrauded or wronged by men in
the sins which they commit. We therefore read (Leviticus 5:15-16). God is wronged by
every sin of man. On every such occasion there is withheld from Him what is His
due. And yet He will have tits claims met. But by whom is the fulfilment to be
made? Not by the sinner himself. He is insolvent, and cannot satisfy the first
and easiest demand of his Great Creditor. But what he himself is powerless to
do can be done to
the full by his Divine Substitute. Yes, Man--the Man Christ Jesus, makes awards
for harm which those for whom He acts have done. He restores the principal, and
with it gives the addition which God requires. He fulfils all righteousness, and
yields to God a greater glory and pleasure by the obedience He renders and the
character He exemplifies than would have been rendered by mankind at large,
even had they never known sin. The restitution on which I wish specially to fix
attention is that which has to be made to defrauded and injured man. It is
impossible to keep one’s eyes and ears open to what is going on in the worlds
of politics, commerce, and social life, and not feel that there is nothing that
more needs to be urged and performed than restitution. The extent to which
overreaching, undue exaction, and unjust dealing are practised is almost beyond
what words can express. This was very wonderfully disclosed by the results of
some sermons on Restitution, which the late Dr. Finney, of America, delivered
in this country some years ago. Moneys were sent to him, varying in sums from
one shilling to a hundred pounds, with the names and addresses of the persons
to whom they were to be delivered, and to whom they were due. So convicted and
miserable were the persons who thus acted in the remembrance of the
dishonesties of which they had been guilty, that they could find no relief
until restitution according to the Divine command had been made. But that was
not all, nor the worst. They could not gain the ear of the Most High (Matthew 5:23-24). God is a God of truth,
and cannot give countenance to falsehood: of justice, and cannot even seemingly
make any compromise with dishonesty and oppression. He cannot give heed to the
prayer of the injurer of his brethren, nor fill with good the heart and hand of
the dishonest. They are “the upright,” says David, whom He allows to “dwell in
His presence” (Psalms 140:13), to whom He does good, and
who are His delight. Men of an opposite character yield Him no pleasure, and
are debarred from the privileges of His people. But let the necessary
reparation be made, and the required restitution be rendered, and yours will be
the privilege of those whom the Lord accepts and honours. Standing right with
men, in the matter under consideration, you will have rightness of relationship
to the God of justice and truth. It is thus first restitution, then
reconciliation. The condition on which God admits the wrongdoer to the place of
privilege in His presence, is the restoration of what he has by false means
taken from another. In the ease of defrauding God, it is first sacrifice, then
restitution; in the case of wronging man, it is first restitution, then
sacrifice. And yet it is only when the sin which the wrong-doing implies is
forgiven that the wrong-doing itself is repaired. It is accordingly only when
the man who has injured his neighbour is convicted of the evil done, and sees
it in the all-revealing light of the Divine presence, that he repairs to the
injured with “the principal” and “the fifth part” in his hand. You may more
than satisfy the man that has been wronged; but that will not satisfy God. Sin
can be answered for only by the Cross; and the defilement it leaves behind on
the soul can only be removed by the blood of cleansing. But bring to God the
sacrifice of expiation, and offer to Him His Christ as your plea for the
acceptance you require and wish, and you render to Him, in full, the
restitution which He demands. (James Fleming, D. D.)
Restitution
An extensive hardware merchant in one of the Fulton Street
prayer-meetings in New York appealed to his brother merchants to have the same
religion for “down-town” as they had for “up-town “; for the week-day as for
the Sabbath; for the counting-house as for the communion-table. After the
meeting a manufacturer with whom he had dealt largely accosted him. “You did
not know,” said he, “that I was at the meeting and heard your remarks. I have
for the last five years been in the habit of charging you more for goods than
other purchasers. I want you to take your books and charge back to me so much
per cent on every bill of goods you have had of me for the five past years.” A
few days later the same hardware merchant had occasion to acknowledge the payment
of a debt of several hundred dollars which had been due for twenty-eight years
from a man who could as easily have paid it twenty-four years before. (Family
Treasury.)
Reparation by restitution
Another way of being rid of guilt is by making handsome reparation
to the injured party--a handsome, genuine recognition and reparation, such as
Jacob made to Esau, or David to Bathsheba, or Zacchaeus to the widows and
orphans of Judea. It is a step out of sin towards the God of truth and honesty,
and towards Jesus Christ. Your agonies over cases of conscience and want of
peace may lie there--that you have never made reparation. Oh, we know about it.
God is not mocked. You cannot have the peace of conscience of a saint while
living in dishonesty. You’ll sleep better, and enjoy your food bettor, and the
air of June will be round you in mid-January the day you make reparation. That
will slacken the bonds of conscience, though it will not take them off it is a
sweet thing to do, though desperately hard to begin. I know it because I’ve
done it--there are people here to whom I’ve made reparation, and I’m going to
make more. The faith of some is scandalised by seeing you come to the
prayer-meeting, he or she knowing what reparation you have made. Go and say, “I
have not only to pay thee for the past, but here are arrears of interest.” Try
it; it will make you twenty years younger. There is no more mischievous
doctrine than the Antinomianism which makes men blink at common honesty and
cover up falsehood with Evangelicalism. God will not do it. The minister may
come and pronounce a benediction on your sophistries, but it will not do. I am
dwelling long on this, though not a moment too much for some men here. Make
reparation. (A. Whyte.)
Confession and restitution
We may here relate an incident from the life of a disciple of
Jesus Christ who had been richly blessed. When he was a student he was absorbed
in the things of this world, but soon afterwards yielded to the Spirit of God,
and was led to his Redeemer. He became, in reality, another man. But, as often
happens, the friends and acquaintances of his “jolly student days” could not
understand the change, and the only conclusion they could come to was that
“N--had turned hypocrite.” Now it happened that N--had, while he was a student,
taken away from one of his friends a paper-knife, which the owner set great
store by. When, after his conversion to a new life, his eye happened one day to
fall on the knife, his conscience smote him for his sin in taking it. The
Spirit of God gave him no rest, urging him to take back the knife to its true
owner, and acknowledge his sin. “Oh,” said the man to us, “that was a hard step
to take! I was willing enough to part with the knife, and would have given up a
thousand knives, but I trembled when I thought--’ he regards you already as a
hypocrite, and what will he think now?’ Bat I went to him and confessed with
trembling lips, and--what happened? He took my hand, with tears in his eyes,
and said, ‘Now I see that there is something genuine in your conversion. I
respect you now, and would gladly be as you are.’” (Otto Funcke.)
Verse 8-9
The law of the burnt-offering.
The law of the burnt-offering
The Holy One speaks again from the Holy Place. He now tells some
of the more awful thoughts of His soul. His words reveal views of sin and
righteousness that appear overwhelmingly awful to men. His eternal justice,
flaming forth against all iniquity, is declared to Israel in the fire of the
altar. This fire is never to be extinguished; “for every one of His righteous
judgments endureth for ever” (Psalms 119:160). It burns all night
long--an emblem of the sleeplessness of hell, where “they have no rest, day nor
night”--and of the ever-watchful eye of righteousness that looks down on this
earth. Perhaps it was intended to exhibit two things:
1. “The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever,”
&c. (Revelation 14:10, compared with verse
18). The whole camp saw this fire burning in the open court all night long. “So
shall you perish,” might an Israelitish father say to his children, taking them
to his tent door, and pointing them, in the gloom and silence of night, to the
altar, “So shall you perish, and be for ever in the flames, unless you repent!
“
2. It exhibited, also, the way of escape. See, there is a victim on
the altar, on which these flames feed! Here is Christ in our room. His
suffering, seen and accepted by the Father, was held forth continually to the
faith of Israel, night and day. And upon that type, the pledge and token of the
real sacrifice, did the eye of the Father delight to rest night and day. It
pleased Him well to see His justice and His love thus met together there. And
the man of Israel, who understood the type, slept in peace, sustained by this
truth which the struggling rays from the altar gleamed into his tent. (A. A.
Bonar.)
Verses 10-12
The priest shall put on his linen garment.
Sacred attire
I. In holy attire
they serve at the altar.
1. Suggestive of the essential holiness of Christ.
2. Symbolic of their derived purity and righteousness.
3. Indicative of the spirit of service.
II. In altered
garments they bear the ashes from the sanctuary.
1. The changed tone of feeling in the ministrant.
2. The altered scenes which a Christian frequents. (W. H. Jellie.)
The priest’s garments
The linen garment is the type of purity, as we see in the Book of Revelation 19:8. The priest is the emblem
of the Redeemer in his perfect purity coming to the work of atonement. The word
for garment means a suit of clothes. It takes in the linen breeches, as well as
all the other parts of the priest’s dress. His whole suit is to be the garb of
purity. It is not glory; these ale not the “golden garments.” It is holy
humanity; it is Jesus in humiliation, but without one stain of sin. There is a
special reason for the direction as to the linen breeches. It is meant to
denote the completeness of the purity that clothes him; it clothes him to his
very skin, and “covers the flesh of his nakedness” (Exodus 28:42). It was not only our
unrighteousness and our corrupt nature that Jesus was free from, but also from
that other part of our original sin which consists in the imputed guilt of
Adam. Tile linen breeches that “covered the nakedness” of the priest, lead us
back at once to our first parents’ sin, when they were naked and ashamed in the
garden, after the Fall. Here we see this sin also covered. (A. A. Bonar.)
Take up the ashes.
“He shall take up the ashes which the fire has consumed”
By the figure which grammarians call ellipsis, or breviloquence,
“ashes” is used for the material out of which ashes came, as Isaiah 47:2, speaks of grinding “meal”
(Ainsworth). The wood was underneath the burnt-offering. This being done, the
ashes were to be placed by themselves, for a little time, “beside the altar.”
All eyes would thus see them and take notice of them, before they were carried
out into a clean place. Probably there were two reasons for this action.
1. The fire was thus kept clear and bright, the ashes being removed.
God thereby taught them that He was not careless as to this matter, but
required that the type of His justice should be kept full and unobscured.
2. The ashes were shown for the purpose of making it manifest that
the flame had not spared the victim, but had turned it into ashes. It was not a
mere threatening when the angels foretold that Sodom and Gomorrah were to be
destroyed for their sin; their doom (2 Peter 2:6) is declared to have
come on them, “turning them to ashes.” So here, all that was threatened is
fulfilled. There the ashes lie; any eye may see them. The vengeance has been
accomplished! The sacrifice is turned into ashes! Justice has found its object!
The Lord’s arrows are not pointless; He performs all His threatenings, for He
is holy. “O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto Thee? or to Thy
faithfulness round about Thee?” (A. A. Bonar.)
Burn wood on it every
morning, and lay the burnt-offering in order upon it.--
The daily sacrifice
By no Levitical rite or service was Christ, as “the Lamb of God,”
more perfectly typified, than by the daily sacrifice. It significantly
prefigured Him in His death, the satisfaction He yielded to the Father, and His
intercession in behalf of men. It is Christ, then, that we have here; and--
I. In the
perfectness of his character. The lamb was without spot; and He was without
blemish. And this is what
He needed to be. And yet He was more. He was marked not only for the absence of
all defect, but for the presence of every excellence. He was absolutely and
universally perfect. This was the case with the affections He cherished, the
dispositions He cultivated, and the virtues He practised. Only what is perfect
can satisfy an infinitely perfect God. All, therefore, that is defective and
unholy is forbidden a place on His altar. God’s requirement extends to what is
internal as well as to what is external. He demands “truth in the inward parts”
as well as integrity in the outward life. The demand was fully met by Jesus.
But what God required in the offering, He required also in those for whom it
was presented. Only as we are personally what God requires, in righteousness of
walk before Him, can we occupy the position to which we are invited, appreciate
and enjoy the blessings of salvation, and fulfil the purposes of our high
calling. But we may be that; provision for our being so has been made.
Strengthened, therefore, with might by the Spirit in the inner man, there is no
duty that we may not fulfil, and no appropriation of offered blessing that we
may not make. Bus God not only strengthens for service; He Himself works in us,
and for us, and by us--leading us to will and to do according to His good
pleasure.
II. We have Christ
here in his completeness of dedication to the father and to men. The lambs
were, with the exception of the skin, wholly consumed by the fire; and Christ
gave Himself to God for us. The primary object of His incarnation and mission
to earth was--to glorify the Father. The path might be rugged, but leading to
the glory of the Father, He cheerfully trod it; the Cross might be ignominious,
but ensuring the glory of the Father, He gave Himself up to it. He made of
Himself a whole burnt-offering to God. But it was a twofold gift He made of Himself
when He laid Himself upon the altar. “He gave Himself for us an offering and a
sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour (Ephesians 5:2). He loved me, and gave
Himself for me.” One of the purposes for which He became our substitute,
delivered us from the dominion of evil, and endued us with Divine strength,
was, that we might walk in His steps, and, in our measure, yield ourselves to
God as He did. But is this being done? It is on record that, during the late
civil war in America, and when victory was swaying from side to side, that
commissioners from the Confederate States sought and obtained an interview with
President Lincoln, with the view of trying to effect an arrangement for the
independence of the territory they represented. They knew the
tender-heartedness of Mr. Lincoln, and appealed to him to stay the effusion of
blood which, at the moment, was flowing in torrents. They were willing to for
go several of the States for which they had hitherto fought, if he would
consent to the remainder being independent. They pleaded with him for hours,
and made use of the strongest arguments and considerations they could adduce to
gain their object. When they had finished, the president, who had patiently
listened to all that had been said, raised his hand, and then bringing it down
with emphasis on the map which lay before him, replied, “Gentlemen, this
Government must have the whole.” And so God says, regarding the inner kingdom
of every human heart. He will allow no partition or division there. The whole
is His by right, and He will suffer no one to share with Him the throne He has
erected for His own occupancy.
III. By the daily
burnt-offering we are minded of Christ’s acceptableness to the father. The lamb
was an offering of a sweet savour unto God, in which He had delight, and from
which He derived satisfaction. And He was ever pleased with Christ. But is this
remembered as it should be? Christ is much more thought of as providing for
men’s necessities than for God’s requirements; as appeasing justice than as
giving delight to Him from whom He came; as ministering peace to the troubled
than as satisfying the Father’s heart. But what Christ was to God, believers
are intended to be, in their measure, also. Is this now, to any extent, the
case? Has God satisfaction in all who call themselves by the name of His Son?
Has He joy in that which you lay upon His altar, in the services that you
fulfil, and in the measure of resemblance which you bear to His Beloved? Then
Christ is brought before us here in the position He ever occupies on our
behalf. A lamb was always before God, and Christ ever liveth to make
intercession for us. Now, where Christ is in reference to the Father He ought
to be in reference to all who bear His name. Only as this is the case, as He is ever before
you, occupying the vision of your faith, filling the sphere of your life, and
engaging your feelings and thoughts, will you become assimilated to His
likeness and meet for His presence and glory above. (James Fleming, D. D.)
Verse 13
The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar.
Divine fire humanly maintained
I. Divine
endowments committed to the control of men. As in the instances of that “fire,”
supernaturally originated on that altar, and then left in man’s hands, so
with--
1. Pure sympathies implanted within man.
2. Revelation in the Scriptures.
3. Quickened life in the regenerated soul.
4. Spiritual endowments to the believer.
5. Sacred affections in the Christian heart.
6. Holy enthusiasm firing an earnest nature. From God they come: but
man has them in his hands.
II. Divine
endowments entrusted to the preservation of men. The priests had to keep that
“fire” alive, or it would expire.
1. Having received the gifts of God we are responsible for their
maintenance.
2. How solemn the priestly office, which all are called to perform:
feeding the Divine “fire” in our souls continually!
III. Divine
endowments requiring the co-operative watchfulness of men. The priest’s eye
would need to be often turned to the altar fire: “every morning” it needed
care.
1. A watchful life is imperative if we would maintain godliness
within.
2. Neglect will allow the extinction of the Divinest gift. Only
neglect--
IV. Divine
endowments enduring only where actively maintained. That fire did expire! At
the destruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar.
1. May the Divine life m a soul go out?
2. May the Christian’s “first love” become extinct?
3. May the holy aspirations of a child of God droop?
4. May all sacred ardour, in prayer, in consecration, die away?
“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” “See that ye
make your calling and election sure.” (W. H. Jellie.)
The fire upon the altar
“The fire shall ever be burning.” I take the words as typical of
our common life, and its common duties and opportunities. It is only a shallow
mind that can think without being awed of the privilege or the responsibility
which belongs to us as custodians of a light that may be dimned or desecrated
in our keeping, but cannot die; so much stronger is it and more enduring than
ourselves. Yet the words suggest, too, that if our life be as the fire, it must
be as the fire in its intensity and purity. It is not worth having if it is
dull and cold and heartless, if it is not enkindled with zeal and generosity.
I. The fire of
enthusiasm. It was said of Sir Walter Raleigh, “He can toil terribly”; and I
think, if the great souls of the past could speak to you in tones that would
command your interest, they would say that whatever good they did upon earth
was achieved at the cost of strong resolve and strenuous effort.
II. The fire of
indignation. It is not enough, right as it is, to love what is good. We must
hate, we must spurn the evil. The wicked are always a discredited minority; and
if the good had only the courage
of their opinions, the wicked would never have the courage of theirs.
III. The fire of
personal sanctity. The flame which consumes the dross of the world must itself
be bright and beautiful. It must be “a burning and a shining light.” Yes, and
it must be “ever burning”; it must “never go out.” It was the law of the Vestal
Virgins in old time that night and day they should watch with sleepless care
the everlasting fire upon the altar of the goddess. No calamity that could
happen to the State was so terrible as if through their fault that fire should
become extinct. But there was one essential condition of their watching: they
must themselves be chaste; should any one of them break the Divine law of
chastity, it was death for her and for him who made her break it. And oh! let
us resolve that “the fire shall ever be burning upon the altar” of this school,
which is so dear to us. Let it be bright, fierce, and lambent. Let it burn away
the selfishness which lies at the heart of so many an one who knows it not. (J.
E. C. Welldon, M. A.)
Habitual piety
I. Piety must be
habitual to prove that it is real.
1. Whatever is chief in the heart will be ever showing itself in the
life.
2. We shall thus surely and thus only verify and carry out the
Scripture descriptions of godliness.
II. Piety must be
habitual in order to be progressive.
1. The attainment of holy character is by degrees.
2. These advances can only be attained by constant well-doing.
III. Piety must be
habitual in order to be useful.
1. If there be inconsistency or fitfulness, a painful sense of
insincerity will he felt by those to whom the truth may be addressed.
2. With habitual piety, how much greater weight, pathos, and
earnestness will there be.
3. An unconscious yet speaking power is in such godliness.
IV. Habitual piety
gives dignity and elevation to the whole of life. It was a noble testimony that
the son of J. A. James bore of his father: “I never found in him anything
inconsistent or unworthy.” What a wreath to lay on that honoured tomb!
Conclusion: See to it that the fire be ever burning. What Christian workers
should we have then-lips touched with a live coal, because the heart is glowing
with the sacred flame. What Churches should we have then--not formal and
languishing, but strong in godliness and increasing in numbers. What households
should we have then-where the younger members would prove their appreciation of
devout sincerity and the attractiveness of lofty example. Individual influence
would be benign as that of the Australian tree which destroys infection, and
breathes health around; and the whole spiritual scene would be beautiful and
fragrant, as “a field that the Lord hath blessed.” Cherish the sacred fire, if
it is within. As the Parsees with the precious sandalwood keep alive the
ever-burning flame in their temples, so with precious passages of Divine truth
and prayer seek to keep alive and vigorous the name of love. (G. McMichael,
B. A.)
The altar fire a symbol of regenerating grace
1. In its source or origin.
2. In its tendency.
3. In its nature and properties.
4. In its permanency.
5. In its perpetuity.
Lesson: Be diligent in the use of the means of grace--
1. Prayer: secret, family, social.
2. Study of Bible.
3. Meditation.
4. Attendance on the ordinances. (G. F. Love.)
Fuel for heart flames
“I’ll master it,” said the axe, and the blows fell heavily on the
iron; but every blow made his edge more blunt, till he ceased to strike. “Leave
it to me,” said the saw, and with relentless teeth he worked backward and
forward on its surface until they were all worn down or broken; then he fell
aside. “Ha! ha!” said the hammer, “I knew you would not succeed; I’ll show you
the way.” But at his first stroke off flew his head, and the iron remained as
before. “Shall I try?” said a flame of fire. They all despised the flame, but
he curled gently round the solid bar, and embraced it, and never left it,
until, under his irresistible influence, it was so melted as to take the form
of any mould you please. If hard hearts are to be won for Jesus, they must be
melted, not hammered. No power has been found so effective as love for taking
self-trust and self-righteousness out of men.
I. Let us seek to
fan the flame. Of the Baptist our Lord said, “he was a burning and a shining
light.” Blessed eulogy! may it be earned by each one of us. “Burning and
shining”--our very ideal of a minister; a hot heart with a clear head;
impetuosity and prudence blended; zeal and knowledge linked in holy wedlock.
The motto on David Brainerd’s banner, and the prayer in his heart, ever was,
“Oh, that I were a flaming fire in the service of my God.” We have as our model
Him who could say, “The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up”; and while we profess to be
His followers, we dare not rest satisfied with the “icy torpor” and “decorous
coldness” which are, alas! the usual temperature of too many professors. We do
not wish to be for ever praying for the smouldering embers to be blown into a
flame, for we covet a steady furnace heat, and no mere fitful zeal, which, like
the fire from the horse’s hoof, dies in the moment of its birth. Most of us
know the sad experience of preaching with the fire burning only amid grey
ashes. We cannot expect much blessing while this is the case. If the gospel is
to have a mighty effect upon the congregation, it must pass through the fire of
an intense spiritual life in the preacher; and this life we feel we must have.
And what a boon will it be to us also! What purifying force there is in
consuming zeal and passionate love of souls I How it burns up all unworthy and
selfish motives! This holy fire has also an educating force; by it the soul is
transfigured, and made to enjoy a grand outlook. It awakens the intellect as
nothing else can; it quickens the sensibilities of inferior minds, and makes
them capable of achievements which, without it, they would never have dreamed
of. John Howard had no commanding intellect, but what he had was illuminated
with Divine light, and thus his name became immortal. Thomas Chalmers had
always an intellect so commanding as to grasp a planet in its span; but it
needed the grace of God to so illuminate the mind of Chalmers that he could
write his astronomical discourses, and grasp, not a planet merely, but myriads
of worlds as a boy handles his marbles, and move “like a strong swimmer in a
stormy sea.” Divine fire in the soul kindles a light in the intellect, elevates
every natural faculty, and makes it a handmaid to the Spirit of God; it burns
every bond that Lies the tongue, and makes men orators who else were dumb.
This, too, will give us the most attractive characters. It is said that the
slopes of a volcano supply soil so fruitful that the richest vines flourish
best upon them; when the heart is full of holy fire the life is sure to be
adorned with the rich graces of the Spirit, productive of that fruit which
glorifies our Father in heaven. And yet to have the heart throb with a might
pulse of love--to have a holy passion thrilling and burning in every artery and
vein will, in all probability, involve much trial. Every cherished idol of the
heart must submit to the action of this fire. It will consume all that is
consumable. Upon sin in the soul it will have no mercy. It will probably
involve, too, the scorn of some whose friendship we fain would cultivate.
II. Let us now
gather a few materials to feed it. Scientific men are asking, “What is to be
the fuel for coming ages?” “What will our great-great-great-grandchildren sit
around instead of our household fire?” One authority suggests as a source of
heat, when coal is exhausted, the beating of the tidal wave on the shore.
Happily the Christian Church need not trouble herself with any conjectures as to
the fuel which is to feed her fires. The light and love invested in the
covenant of graces ages back will never be exhausted until every elect soul
glows with love to God, and every redeemed wanderer is lighted back to his
Father’s home. Does not even Nature speak to us upon this mailer of earnestness
in our Master’s work? The sun is earnest: in his path he never lingers, in his
course he never halts: the stars never falter in their race, never swerve from
their round; the Sea is constant in its ebb and flow, unchanging in eternal
change. All Nature says, “The King’s business requires haste”; and the man who
is not in earnest when about “the King’s business” is out of gear with the
universe, and is a blot in the creation of God. Our age speaks to us, we live
in the cumulated light of succeeding ages. Our age, too, is telling upon ages
yet to be--nay, upon eternity itself. Is there not inspiration, too, in the
memory of our early vows? If we would be full of Divine energy, let us labour
after a strong sense of the love of God in Christ. All the love of eternity
meets here as in a focus, and if we only seek full and deep communion with it
our lives will not lack the holy fire. There is one other thought which ought
ever to arouse our spirits and inspire our hearts with zeal and courage in our
holy warfare. We are on the winning side. Victory is surely ours. (W.
Williams.)
The fire upon the altar
The term “fire” in Scripture language is commonly employed to
express the judgment, f God upon sin (Hebrews 12:29; Psalms 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12., &c.);
and accordingly, when the Jewish worshipper (the veil being off his heart)
contemplated the altar’s heaven-kindled flame, and bore in mind the Divine
edict for its preservation, he was given to understand that the judgment of God
was held in abeyance, that the Divine arrangements for turning aside that
judgment from the contrite sinner though revealed to hope, were not consummated
in fact, and, that as the fire, day by day, swallowed victim after victim, and
burned still as fierce as ever, that victim had not yet been laid thereon whose
blood should quench in mercy the fire maintained in justice. Well--“God is the
Lord who hath showed us light; bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns
of the altar”--the victim has been found and accepted; “He was led as a sheep
to the slaughter”; His blood is “shed for many for the remission of sins,” and
the fire is gone out--God Himself hath “put it out”: “for by one offering He
hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified,” and, “through the offering
of the body of Christ once for all,” mercy and truth, righteousness and peace
have met together, and like the wings of the mystic cherubim, they shadow the
mercy-seat of God--the throne of Divine grace. Well, the fire is “gone
out”--God Himself hath “put it out,” but in so doing He hath kindled another.
Accordingly, when the fire of Divine justice died away in the offering up of
Christ, the flame of Divine love shot upwards upon the altar-hearts of the
Lord’s redeemed; it was and is kindled from above, for love begets love, and
“we love Him because He first loved us.” This is the heavenly fire which
kindles upon the altar of the heart, the sacrifice of the affections; it is the
fruit of satisfied justice; it is the movement of Divine mercy, besprinkling
the soul with the all-awakening, all-cleansing blood of Jesus, producing a
responsive movement of the soul to God, by the drawings of the Spirit of grace,
and lighting up a flame in its Divinely occupied recesses, not to be
extinguished by the deepest waters of trial. “It shall never go out.”
1. In time of trial and affliction it shall not go out; for “in the
time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His
Tabernacle shall He hide me.”
2. In seasons of spiritual depression it shall not go out; “O my God,
my soul is cast down within me,” &c.
3. In the hour of temptation it shall not go out; “for God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but
will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to
bear it.”
4. When life, too, is waning, and the night of death is setting in,
and the blighting chill is paralysing the frame as it enters the deep and dark
river, it shall not go out; for “love is strong as death”; and “many waters
cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.” (H. Hardy, M. A.)
The continual burnt-offering
This ordinance reminds us that Christ, as our Burnt-offering, continually
offers Himself to God in self-consecration in our behalf. Very significant
it is that the burnt-offering stands in contrast in this respect with the
sin-offering. We never read of a continual sin-offering; even the great annual
sin-offering of the Day of Atonement, which, like the daily burnt-offering, had
reference to the nation at large, was soon finished, and once for all. And it
was so with reason; for in the nature of the case, our Lord’s offering of
Himself for sin as an expiatory sacrifice was not and could not be a continuous
act. But with His presentation of Himself unto God in full consecration of His
person as our
Burnt-offering it is different. Throughout the days of His humiliation, this
self-offering of Himself to God continued; nor, indeed, can we say it has yet
ceased, or ever can cease. For still, as the High Priest of the heavenly Sanctuary,
He continually offers Himself as our Burnt-offering in constantly renewed and
constantly continued devotement of Himself to the Father to do His will. (S.
H. Kellogg, D. D.)
The continual burning
Suppose the sin should cease, would the fire then be put out?
Certainly not. The fire has a double significance; it is not there only to
consume the sacrifice, it is there to express the continual aspiration of the
soul. The fire still burns. There is an unquenchable fire in heaven. Aspiration
is the highest expression of character. That is the permanent quantity in the
text. Fire ascends; it speechlessly says, “This is not my home; I must travel,
I must fly, I must return; the sun calls me, and I must obey.” A character
without aspiration cannot live healthily and exercise a vital and ennobling
influence. When religion becomes mere controversy, it has lost veneration; and
whatever or whoever loses veneration slips away from the centre of things, and
falls evermore into thickening darkness. There is a philosophy in this
conception as well as a theology. To aspire is to grow. “The fire shall ever be
burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” Then there are two things in
the text--“fire” and “altar.” We may have an altar, but no fire. That is the
deadly possibility; that is the fatal reality. The world is not dying for want
of a creed, but for want of faith. We are not in need of more prayers,
we are in need of more prayerfulness. If the little knowledge we have--how
small it is the wisest men know best of all--were turned to right use, fire in
its happiest influences would soon begin to be detected by surrounding
neighbours and by unknown observers. Of what avail is it that we have filled
the grate with
fuel if we have not applied the flame? Does the unlighted fuel warm the
chamber? No more does the unsanctified knowledge help to redeem and save
society. We need the fire as well as the altar. What is needed now is a fire
that will burn the altar itself--turn the marble and porphyry and granite and
hewn soft-stone all into fuel that shall go up in a common oblation to the
waiting heavens. We may have fire and no altar, as well as have an altar and no
fire. This is also a mistake. We ought to have religious places and Christian
observances, locality with special meaning, resting-places with Heaven’s
welcome written upon their portals. There is a deadly sophism lurking in the
supposition that men can have the fire without the altar, and are independent
of institutions, churches, families, places, Bibles, and all that is known by
Christian arrangement for common worship. We are not meant to be solitary
worshippers. When a man says he can read the Bible at home, I deny it. He can
partially read it there, he can see some of its meaning there; but society is
one, as well as is the individual, in some degrees and in some relations. There
is a religion of fellowship as well as of solitude. Forsake not the assembling
of yourselves together: there is a touch that helps life to gather itself up
into its full force; there is a contagion which makes the heart feel strong in
masonry. When a man says he can pray at home, I deny it--except in the sense
that he can there partially pray. He can transact part of the commerce which
ought to be going on continually between heaven and earth, earth and heaven;
but there is a common prayer--the family cry, the congregational intercession,
the sense that we are praying for one another in common petition at the throne
of grace. It is not enough to kindle a fire: we must renew it. “The fire shall
ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” Did not some men burn
once who are cold now? Have not some men allowed the holy flame to perish? and
is not their life now like a deserted altar laden with cold white ashes? Once
they sang sweetly, prayed with eagerness of expectation, worked with both hands
diligently, were always open to Christian appeal, focalised their lives in one
poignant inquiry--Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? I know of no drearier
spectacle than to see a man who still bears the Christian name on the altar of
whose heart the fire has gone out. That is a possibility. Lost enthusiasm means
lost faith; lost passion means lost conviction. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Use of means
That fire on the altar was lighted originally from heaven; it was
lighted, it is supposed, from the bright glory that was in the cloud, and
ultimately dwelt in the Tabernacle between the cherubim; but while lighted from
heaven it was kept burning by human appliances. God never dispenses with means;
He gives grace, and expects us to use means. So that text that many pervert,
“My grace is sufficient for you,” some people practically read as if it were,
“My grace is a substitute for you.” Now it is not so; it is sufficient for you,
but it never will be a substitute for you. God does not canonise indolence. He
lights the spark that is in the heart from heaven, and He expects that, by
prayer, by reading, by thought, you will keep it constantly burning. (J.
Gumming, D. D.)
Conscientious performance of holy duties
Be conscientious in the performance of holy duties. A fire which
for awhile shoots up to heaven will faint both in its heat and brightness
without fresh supplies of nourishing matter. Bring fresh wood to the altar
morning and evening, as the priests were bound, for the nourishment of the holy
fire. God in all His promises supposes the use of means. When He promised
Hezekiah his life for fifteen years, it cannot be supposed that he should live
without eating and exercise. It is both our sin and misery to neglect the
means. Therefore let a holy and humble spirit breathe in all our acts of
worship. If we once become listless to duty we shall quickly become lifeless in
it. If we languish in our duties we shall not long be lively in our graces. (S.
Charnock.)
The perpetual fire
So careful is God of this continual burning, that, if you mark, it
is reported over and over (see Leviticus 6:9; Leviticus 6:12). To this end, the
priest’s care was to feed it with wood, and see to it day and night, and with no other
fire might either sacrifice, or incense, be burned and offered to God. This
fire was carefully kept upon the altar to the captivity of Babylon, and
afterward found again of Nehemiah 2:1-20., 2 Maccabees 1:18-19. Of like from
hence might grow that great honour and regard, which the heathens had fire in,
whereof we read often. The Athenians in their Prytaneo, trod at Delphos, and at
Rome, of those Vestal Virgins continual fire was kept, and of many it was
worshipped as a God. The Persians called it Orismada, that is, holy fire; and
in public pomp they used to carry it before kings with great solemnity. What
might be the reason why God appointed this ceremony of continual fire upon the
altar, and how may we profit by it?
1. First, there was figured by it the death of Christ from the beginning of the
world; namely, that He was the Lamb slain from the beginning for mankind, and by this shadow they were led to
believe that although as yet Christ was not come in the flesh, nevertheless the
fruit of His death belonged to them, as well as to those that should live when
He came, or was come; for this fire was continual and went not out, no more did
the fruit of His passion fail to any true believer, even from the beginning.
But they were saved by believing that He should come, as we are now, by
believing that He is come.
2. Also this fire came from heaven (Leviticus 9:24), and so should Christ in
the time appointed. This fire was ever in, and never went out, and so is God
ever ready to accept our sacrifices and appointed duties, ever ready to hear us
and forgive us, but we are slow and dull, and come not to Him as we ought.
3. No other fire might be used but this, and so they were taught to
keep to God’s ordinances, and to fly from all inventions of their own heads.
For ever it was true, and ever will be true, “In vain do men worship Me,
teaching for doctrines men’s precepts.” Our devices, seem they never so wise,
so fit, so holy and excellent, they are strange fire, not that fire that came
from heaven, not that fire that God will be pleased withal or endure. This fire
coming first from heaven, and thus preserved, still preached unto them by
figure, that as well did their sacrifices and services duly performed according
to the law please God, as that did when first God sent His fire from heaven to
consume it, in token of approbation, which surely was a great comfort to their
consciences and a mighty prop to fainting, fearing weak faith.
4. This fire thus maintained and kept with all care, and “not
suffered ever to go out,” taught them, and still may teach us, to be careful to
keep in the fire of God’s holy Spirit, that it never die, nor go out within us.
The fire is kept in by honest life, as by wood, by true sighs of unfeigned
repentance, as by breath or blowing, and by meek humility, as by soft ashes.
Oh, that we may have care to keep it in l what should I say? This continued
fire taught then, and, though it be now gone and abrogated, may still teach us
now, to be careful to keep in, amongst us, the fire of God’s Word, the true
preaching of His truth, to the salvation of our souls.
5. For the fire hath these properties--it shineth and giveth light,
it heateth, it consumeth, it trieth: so the preaching of the gospel. “Thy Word
is a lantern unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” St. Peter calleth it “a
candle in a dark place,” and many Scriptures teach the shining light of it. The
heat in like sort: “Did not our hearts burn within us, whilst He talked with
us, and opened the Scriptures? The fire kindled, and I spake with my tongue,”
saith the Psalm; and as fire it pleased the Holy Spirit to appear at Pentecost,
to show this fruit of effect of the Word preached by their mouths, it heateth
the heart to all good life, and maketh us “zealous of good works.” The dross of
our corruption by degrees it washeth, the stubble of our fancies it “burneth up
and consumeth,” so that we abhor the sins we have been pleased with, and hate
the remembrance of evil passed.
6. Lastly, it trieth doctrine, and severeth truth from error; it
trieth men, and discovereth hypocrites. All worthy motives to make us careful
to preserve this fire perpetually amongst us whilst we live, and in a holy zeal
to provide for it also when we are dead. So shall we live being dead; nay, so
shall we assuredly never die, but with immortal souls, and never-dying tongues,
praise His name that liveth for ever, and will have us with Him. (Bp.
Babington.)
A fire easily perpetuated
At Kildare a memorial fire was kept up in honour of St.
Bridget for seven hundred years, and extinguished in the thirteenth century by
order of an Archbishop of Dublin. It is easier to keep up the outward fires of
superstition than the Divine fire on the altar of the heart.
The constancy of religion
David Livingstone, who did so much toward opening up the dark
continent of Africa, told the following story. When he was a boy, a faithful
Christian man called him to his death-bed and said, “My son, make religion the
everyday business of your life, and not a thing of fits and starts.”
Livingstone’s life shows that he followed the advice to the day of his death,
even to his last hour, which was spent on his knees in prayer to Him to whom he
had so often gone for comfort.
Keeping the fire burning
In Florence good housewives use cakes of vine-refuse to keep the
fire in when they are away from home. These cakes cannot yield much heat or
create a blaze, but they feed sufficient fire to save lighting it again. Do not
many obscure, untalented, but quietly sincere believers answer just this
purpose in our churches? In dull and dead times they preserve “the things which
remain and are ready to die”; they detain the heavenly flame, which else would
quite depart, and though the best they can do is but to smoulder in sorrow at
the declension of the times, yet they are not to he despised. When, in happier
days, the fire of piety shall burn with renewed energy, we shall be grateful to
those who were as the ashes on the hearth, and kept the dying flame alive.
Need for constant piety
Some Christians are like those toys they import from France, which
have sand in them; the sand runs down, and some little invention turns and
works them as long as the sand is running, but when the sand is all out it
stops. So on Sunday morning these people are just turned right, and the sand
runs, and they work all the Sunday; but the sand runs down by Sunday night, and
then they stand still, or else go on with the world’s work just as they did
before. Oh! this will never do! There must be a living principle; something
that shall be a mainspring within; a wheel that cannot help running on, and
that does not depend upon external resources.
Rekindling the spiritual fire
Epiphanius maketh mention of those that travel by the deserts of
Syria, where are nothing but miserable marshes and sands, destitute of all
commodities, nothing to be had for love or money; if it so happen that their
fire go out by the way then they light it again at the heat of the sun, by the
means of a burning-glass or some other device that they have. And thus in the
wilderness of this world, if any man have suffered the sparks of Divine grace
to die in him, the fire of zeal to go out in his heart, there is no means under
the sun to enliven those dead sparks, to kindle that extinguished fire again,
but at the Sun of Righteousness, that Fountain of Light, Christ Jesus. (J.
Spencer.)
Constant light
Many hypocrites are like comets, that appear for awhile with a
mighty blaze, but are very unsteady and irregular in their motion; their blaze
soon disappears, and they appear but once in a great while. But true saints are
like fixed stars, which, though they rise and set, and are often clouded, yet
are steadfast in
their orb, and shine with a constant light. (Pres. Edwards.)
A constantly burning lamp
Any man or woman, however obscure, whose life is clean, whose
words are true, whose intention
is to help God in His world, kindles a light which never goes out.
──《The Biblical Illustrator》