Holy Bible

Sin-offering... for their ignorance. Numbers 15:25 Pardon of unknown sins through Christ 1. Because of our ignorance we are not fully aware of our sins of ignorance. Yet they are many, in the form both of commission and omission. We may be doing in all sincerity, as a service to God, that which He has not commanded and can never accept. 2. The Lord knows these sins of ignorance every one. This may well alarm us, since in justice He will require these trespasses at our hand; but, again, faith spies comfort in this fact, for the Lord will see to it that stains unseen by us shall yet be washed away. He sees the sin that He may cease to see it by casting it behind His back. 3. Our great comfort is that Jesus, the true Priest, has made atonement for all the congregation of Israel. That atonement secures the pardon of unknown sins. His precious blood cleanses us from all sin. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) The soul that doeth aught presumptuously. Numbers 15:30, 31 The definition and danger of presumptuous sins H. Melvill, B. D. I. THE DEFINITION. We take, first, the case of an individual who sins against the positive remonstrances of his conscience; and we say that he sins presumptuously. We have all, at one time or another, withstood the clearest and most decisive suggestions of conscience. We have all proved the power of inclination, when it has come up in a pleasing shape, to bear down a consciousness of what is right, whether by an invention of some ingenious subterfuge, or by some weapons of unblushing hardihood. We could give no better definition of conscience than that it is evidently the vicegerent of Deity. And what then is presumption? Where shall it be found, if we describe not as presumptuous the conduct of the man who walks one way whilst the voice of the internal monitor summons him to walk another? Let us advance to other instances. The guilt of a sin is in a great degree to be estimated by the strength of the temptation which solicits its performance. But if you take the generality of men, you will find they scarcely need any temptation at all to induce them to sin. They may be said to give the devil no trouble, but to strike their colours without firing a shot: a breath of air will make them swerve from allegiance. There must be presumption, and that too of an enormity not easily measured, in conduct which is marked on one side with such contempt of God that men will obey His despisers even without strong inducement; and on the other, such neglect of the soul, that they surrender it without requiring anything in exchange. Now let us glance at the third sort of presumptuous sins. If I wantonly expose myself to temptation, then, though I may afterwards struggle hard before I yield, I shall sin presumptuously. It were better to see Christians — especially young ones — so distrustful of themselves that they might pass for timid, than so overweening of their own strength as to thrust themselves into danger. Take a still more general case — where a man goes on sinning, calculating either that it will be time enough by and by to repent, or that God will prove at last too merciful to execute His threatenings — most assuredly that man sins presumptuously. If he reckon on uncovenanted mercies, what is this but presumption? II. BUT WHEREIN, YOU WILL NOW ASK, LIES THE PECULIAR GUILT AND DANGER OF PRESUMPTUOUS SINS? Why should David pray so earnestly to be kept from them? Why should our text be so emphatic in its condemnation? We will just take in succession several cases of presumptuous sins, and endeavour to answer the question in each. If, in the first place, it be sinning presumptuously to sin against conscience and conviction, there must be special guilt when a man does a thing in spite of the warnings of the delegate of God; he strips himself of every excuse of ignorance or inadvertence; and hence a special guilt. But conscience also will grow less sensitive, in proportion as it be less heeded. If, again, it be sinning presumptuously to sin on slight temptation, surely there must be peculiar guilt, inasmuch as there must be a readiness, nay, even an eagerness, to fail in spiritual matters. He is indeed guilty who is flung in wrestling with a giant, forasmuch as God is ready to give strength in proportion to the opponent; but what shall we say of him who is flung in wrestling with a dwarf? Then is there not peculiar danger and peculiar guilt in sinning on slight temptation, inasmuch as a man grows confirmed in habits of sin? For the moment sin becomes habitual, the breaking loose from it becomes miraculous. If you take our third class of presumptuous sins — sins, the result of temptation that we have ourselves sought, or at least not avoided, who sees not the guilt, who perceives not the danger? Christ would not throw Himself from the pinnacle of the temple, because it was unlawful to tempt the Lord. Yet we do that from which the Mediator indignantly recoiled, when we enter into scenes, or mingle with companies which we know likely to minister incentives to passions, or oppose hindrances to piety. Such is the guilt: and the danger is that of growing familiar with vice after having been vanquished by it. Mixed with the world, let the world once seduce you, and the world will appear to you not half so formidable as before, and not half so pernicious. Thus sinning presumptuously, through presumptuously exposing yourselves, you will be more and more inclined to continue the exposure, and the presumption, as it were, will propagate itself; and your danger will be that of growing apathy: issuing, at last, in total apostacy. Again, there is one other class. If I continue sinning in the vain hope that there will be time hereafter for repentance, or because I calculate that God will be too merciful to punish, I incur a special guilt, inasmuch as I trifle with the Almighty, or mock the Almighty; and I run a special risk as I deal with possibilities as though they were certainties, or stake on a minute chance the results of a long hereafter. So that, surveying successively the several descriptions of presumptuous sins, we bring out in each case the same result; and we are forced to pronounce that he who sins presumptuously — whether the presumption consist in withstanding conscience, or in yielding to slight temptation, or in seeking peril, or in reckoning on future repentance or future mercy — he who sins presumptuously, deserves, and may expect to have it said of him, "The soul that reproacheth the Lord, shall be out off from among His people." ( H. Melvill, B. D. ) Presumption J. Burns, D. D. I. WHAT PRESUMPTION INCLUDES. It signifies — 1. Boldness in evil. Sinning without fear. Hardihood, recklessness. 2. Arrogance in evil. Setting ourselves up against God. Pride of heart and spirit and tongue ( Psalm 73:6 ; Psalm 9:2 ; Acts 2:18 ). 3. Irreverence towards God. All profanity. As in the case of Pharaoh, "Who is the Lord?" &c. 4. Confidence of escape from the threatenings of God. Not dreading nor caring for consequences, &c. II. THE CHIEF CAUSES OF PRESUMPTION. 1. Spiritual ignorance. Ignorance of self and God. It is the offspring of darkness. 2. Recklessness and inconsideration. 3. Confirmed unbelief, giving no credit to the Word. 4. Hardness of heart. This is both a cause and a result. III. THE TERRIBLE RESULTS OF PRESUMPTUOUSNESS. 1. God, defied, will vindicate His authority. He cannot let it pass. His majesty and law concerned, &c. 2. Threatening despised, He will terribly execute. Not one jot fail. There may be delay, longsuffering, but the execution of vengeance is certain. 3. Mercy despised will involve in fearful retribution. Hear God ( Proverbs 1:24 ; Psalm 2:4 , &c.). The instances of this, how numerous. The old world, Pharaoh, Sodom, &c., nations of Canaan, Jerusalem (see Luke 19:41-44 ).Application — 1. How needful is consideration. 2. Repentance, how imperative. 3. To seek mercy. The gospel publishes it in Christ, and offers it to every sinner. ( J. Burns, D. D. ) Sins dangerous and deadly D. Lloyd. I. THAT THERE ARE DEGREES IN SIN. People sometimes say, as an excuse for their sin, that as they have gone wrong they might as wall suffer for much as for little. No! it is false. With every sin the man gets worse; sinfulness increases. Sins of ignorance through trifling may grow to be those of presumption. II. THAT WHILE ALL SINS ARE DANGEROUS, SOME ARE DEADLY. The text shows that all sin is dangerous by the fact that an atonement had to be made for sins of ignorance; none could be forgiven without. While ignorance may excuse, nothing can justify any sin. 1. That God is merciful. He sent His Son to die that He might put away sin, and restore us unto Himself. 2. That there is a limit to His mercy. What cost Him so much He will let no one despise. ( D. Lloyd. ) Progress of presumption R. South, D. D. Presumption never stops in its first attempt. If Caesar comes once to pass the Rubicon, he will be sure to march farther on, even till he enters the very bowels of Rome, and break open the Capitol itself. He that wades so far as to wet and foul himself, cares not how much he trashes farther. ( R. South, D. D. ) Presumption punished — A young man who had inherited an estate from an uncle was exhorted to seek Christ, and said that he would do so as soon as he had paid off the debts which encumbered the estate. "Young man," said the pastor, "beware: you may never see that day: whilst you are gaining the world you may lose your soul." The young heir said, "I'll run the risk." He went into the woods and was engaged in felling a tree, when a falling limb caused his instant death within a few hours of his bold presumption. A man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath . Numbers 15:32-36 Gathering sticks on the Sabbath J. N. Norton, D. D. An Oriental legend tells us that, while Solomon was once on his way to visit the Queen of Sheba, he came to a valley in which dwelt a peculiar tribe of monkeys. Upon asking about their history, be was informed that they were the descendants of a colony of Jews, who settling in that region years before, had, by habitual neglect of the Sabbath, gradually degenerated to the condition of brutes. The story is, of course, a mere fable, but the moral is worth remembering. The ceremonial part of the Sabbath is done away, so that greater liberty is allowed to us than was given to the Jews. Works of necessity and mercy take precedence even of the regularly appointed duties of the day ( Hosea 6:6 ). The moral part is, however, as strongly in force as ever. To have the mind exercised on spiritual subjects, and occupied in advancing the interests of our souls, is an imperative duty. To be guilty of a wilful profanation of the Lord's day is — I. AN UNREASONABLE SIN. A young man, well off in the world, and an elderly man of business, were riding in a railway carriage together, between London and a country town, when the question of Sunday amusements came up. "I maintain that Sunday ought to be a general holiday," said the younger, in a tone which betokened assurance and presumption, "and the people ought not to be kept out of such places as the Zoological Gardens and the Crystal Palace grounds. I would have Sunday used for recreation." "Recreation!" answered the elder, gravely, "yes, that is the very word. The Sabbath is meant for recreation, and if people were recreated, they would want very little of the so-called recreation which they now make so much of." The conversation on that subject dropped. II. A PRESUMPTUOUS SIN. The man who was so signally punished, for merely gathering a few sticks on the Sabbath, might have argued that he could only be charged with a very small breach of the Divine law, and that the bundle of faggots was really necessary for his comfort. Such flimsy excuses would be of no avail. His conduct was a decided act of rebellion against God, and he was, in fact, accusing Him with being a hard master, who did not deserve to be obeyed. Those who believe in taking God at His word, cannot doubt that any wilful neglect of His commandments is always followed, sooner or later, by loss! A thrifty merchant remarked to his physician, "Had it not been for the rest which I have enjoyed on the Lord's Day, I should long ago have been a maniac!" Many are the instances of those who have dug their own graves, because they had no Sundays. ( J. N. Norton, D. D. ) Obedience tested in the little J. Parker, D. D. This incident has often been quoted as an instance of extreme and intolerable severity, and has been cited against those whose reading of the Scriptures leads them to propose to keep the Sabbath day. The mocker has found quite a little treasure here. The poor man was gathering sticks on the Sabbath day, and he had to forfeit his life for the violation of the law. Had the text read — And a certain man was found in the wilderness openly blaspheming God, and he was stoned to death — we should have had some sense of rest and harmony in the mind : the balance would seem to be complete. But that is the very sophism that is ruining us. We do not see the reality of the case. We think of huge sins; there are none. We think of little sins; there are none. It is the spot that is ruin; it is the one little thing that spoils the universe. Obedience can only be tested by so-called little things. Where one man is called to be a hero on some great scale, ten thousand men are called to be courteous, gentle, patient; where one has the opportunity of being great on the battle-field of a death-bed, all have opportunity of being good in hopefulness, charity, forgiveness, and every grace that belongs to the Cross of Christ; where one has the opportunity of joining a great procession, ten thousand have the opportunity of assisting the aged, helping the blind, speaking a word for the speechless, and putting a donation into the hand of honest poverty. Let us realise the truth of the doctrine that we are not called upon to display our obedience upon a gigantic scale within the theatre of the universe and under the observation of angels — but to go out into the field and work with bent back and willing hands and glad hearts, doing life's simple duty under Heaven's inspiration and encouragement. The man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath day might have been quite a great man on festival occasions when all Israel had to be dressed in its best; he might have been one of the foremost of the show. You discover what men are by their secret deeds, by what they do when they suppose nobody is looking, by what they are about when they are suddenly pounced upon. ( J. Parker, D. D. ) The Sabbath-breaker and his doom W. Jones. I. THE SIN. 1. The transgression of a moral law, which was enforced by the most solemn commands and by the severest penalty. 2. The transgression of this law wilfully. II. THE ARREST. The offender was seized in the act of transgression, and taken before the judicial authorities. III. THE CONSULTATION. The direction of the Lord is sought as to the mode by which the sentence of death is to be executed upon him. IV. THE SENTENCE. This was determined by the Lord. The transgressor must be put to death ( Exodus 31:14, 15 ); he must be put to death by stoning (ver. 35). V. THE EXECUTION. "And all the congregation brought him without," &c. (ver. 36). The people were the executioners. This would increase the force of the warning which the event gave to the nation.Conclusion: 1. The moral element in the law of the Sabbath is of perpetual obligation. We still rest for body and mind; we still need worship for the spirit. 2. The neglecters of religious duties and privileges will do well to take warning. If any man fails to observe religiously the Lord's day, he does so at his own loss and peril. ( W. Jones. ) Punishment of Sabbath-breaking C. Ness. 1. The perpetration of one particular presumptuous sin, together with its circumstances, as what, where, when, and how. The fact was seemingly but a small matter, namely, gathering a few sticks, &c., and possibly he might pretend some necessity or conveniency to himself thereby, &c., but because really it was done with an high hand, in contempt of God and His law, and a profaning of His holy Sabbath. 2. The punishment for this perpetrated fact of profaning the Sabbath, wherein — (1) The sinner is apprehended. (2) Accused. (3) Imprisoned, because it was not yet known what sentence to pass upon him.For though the matter of the fact was twice doomed with death ( Exodus 31:14 ; Exodus 35:2 ), yet was it not declared what manner of death such a sinner should die. Therefore God is consulted about this, who expressly declareth it (ver. 35). Besides, though the law be in the rigour of it a killing letter, yet might it admit of some favourable construction from necessity, &c., which might make the offender capable of pardon. So Moses did not rashly doom him; nor ought magistrates be hasty in matters of life and death, as in other cases of an inferior nature. They ought to be wary: God and His Word ought to be consulted.(4) He was condemned, God Himself passing the sentence that he should be stoned (ver. 35). This was the heaviest of all the four kinds of death that malefactors suffered in Israel for capital crimes — some were sentenced to be strangled, others to be slain with the sword, some to be burned, and others to be stoned; the two last were undoubtedly the most painful (because longer in dying), and therefore inflicted upon the grossest offenders. Though in man's judgment this might seem too severe a sentence for such a seeming small offence, yet in God's judgment it is not a light offence to profane the Sabbath by doing needless works upon that holy day. We may well suppose that this sinner (by the connection of ver. 30 with this relation) sinned presumptuously and with public scandal.(5) He was executed accordingly, being carried without the camp, which was a circumstance aggravating the punishment, being a kind of reproach, as the apostle noteth ( Hebrews 13:11-13 ). This was done to the blasphemer before ( Leviticus 24:14 ). This severity doth likewise farther signify the eternal death of such as do not keep the Sabbath of Christ, entering into the rest of God by faith, and ceasing from their own works as God did from His ( Hebrews 4:1-11 ), finding rest for the soul in Christ ( Matthew 11:28 ). ( C. Ness. ) Put upon the fringe... a ribband of blue. Numbers 15:38-40 The law of the fringe and ribband Provision had been just now made by the law for the pardon of sins of ignorance and infirmity, now here is an expedient provided for the preventing of such sins. They are ordered to make fringes upon the borders of their garments, which were to be memorandums to them of their duty, that they might not sin through forgetfulness. 1. The sign appointed is a fringe of silk, or thread, or worsted, or the garment itself ravelled at the bottom, and a blue ribband bound on the top of it to keep it tight (ver. 38). The Jews being a peculiar people, they were thus distinguished from their neighbours in their dress, as well as in their diet; and taught by such little instances of singularity, not to be conformed to the way of the heathen in greater things. Thus likewise they proclaimed themselves Jews wherever they were, as those that were not ashamed of God and His law. 2. The intention of it was to remind them that they were a peculiar people. They were not appointed for the trimming and adorning of their clothes, but to "stir up their pure minds by way of remembrance" ( 2 Peter 3:1 ). That they might look upon the fringe, and remember the commandments. Many look upon their ornaments to feed their pride, but they must look upon these ornaments to awaken their consciences to a sense of their duty, that their religion might constantly beset them, and they might carry it about with them, as they did their clothes, wherever they went. It was intended particularly to be a preservation from idolatry, That ye "seek not after your own heart," and your own eyes, in your religious worship. Yet it may extend also to the whole conversation; for nothing is more contrary to God's honour and our own true interest than to walk in the way of our heart, and in the sight of our eyes; for the imagination of the heart is evil, and so is the lust of the eyes. ( Matthew Henry, D. D. . ) The ribband of blue J. Bayley, Ph. D. The chief use of clothing is defence against the chills and variations of the weather; two subordinate uses are for the promotion of beauty, and for distinction of office. We can be at no loss to perceive that there are mental uses corresponding to the above which require for the soul spiritual clothing. The soul has its summer and its winter, and all the varieties of a mental year. There are seasons of hopefulness and brilliancy in which we have all the elasticity and promise of spring; there are states of peaceful warmth, of continued serene happiness; "the soul's calm sunshine and the heartfelt joy" which bespeak the spirit's summer; but there are likewise periods of decreasing warmth, of incipient depressions, and coolnesses to what has formerly yielded the highest pleasure; until at length we arrive at states of painful cold, the joylessness, the hopelessness, and the sadness, which ate the characteristics of the winter of the soul. In this wintry state storms of distressing fears and darkening doubts will rush upon the soul. Strong delusions that we may believe a lie, will, like fierce tempests, howl about us. Thrice happy are they who remember that the Divine Word will be a blessing in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, in summer and in winter; but they should also bear in mind, that to be a protection in all seasons the Divine mercy has provided us with spiritual clothing. The doctrines of religion, when intelligently adopted and adapted to our particular states, serve this important purpose. And when those doctrines are, as they ought to be, full, comprehensive, and complete, applying themselves to all the departments of human affection, thought, and life, they make a complete dress. We are, then, to speak to the Israelites who are typified by those of our text, the spiritual Israelites; and say first that they clothe themselves with genuine doctrines of Divine truth, with the garments of salvation, and next, that they especially make them fringes in the borders of their garments. After we have meditated upon the doctrines of religion, and seen their fitness to our own states of mind and heart, thus clothed ourselves in them, the next part of our duty is to bring them into life. Many there are who put on religion as a dress for the head, and even also for the breast, but do not bring it down to the feet. But we are to make a border for our garments, and the border must be a fringe. The distinctive feature of a fringe is, that the material of which it is composed is divided into small portions firmly united at the upper part, but hanging with separate forms of beauty at the lower. The idea suggested by this is, that religion must be employed in all the small affairs of daily life as well as on great occasions; the lowest part of our spiritual dress must be a fringe. We are, however, not only commanded to have a fringe to our garments, but to have upon the fringe a ribband of blue. And this leads us to consider the correspondence of colours. Natural colours, we know, originate in natural light. They are the separation of the beauties which are bound up in the sunbeam, and their reflection to the human eye. There is a trinity of fundamental colours, red, blue, and yellow. From the blending of these in varied proportions all others are made. Red, the colour of fire, is the symbol of the truths of love, the fire of the soul. Blue, the colour of the azure depths of the sky, is symbolic of the deep things of the Spirit of God, on which faith delights to gaze. Yellow is the hue of truth which applies to outward life, and in combination with blue it makes green, which corresponds to truth in the letter of the Word, made simple to the common eye of mankind. Blue gives a sense of clearness and depth, in which it surpasses all other hues. Blue, then, is the colour which represents the spirit of the Holy Word, the depths of heavenly wisdom. There is, however, cold blue, as it has more of white in it, and warm blue, as it derives a certain hue from red. There has also been some difficulty in determining the exact shade meant by Techeleth, the Hebrew name for this colour. But from a full consideration of this subject we are satisfied it was the name for blue tinged with red, from violet to purple. And this very strikingly brings out the Divine lesson by correspondence. While the blue indicates that in our demeanour in life we should be correct, in harmony with the spirit of truth, the red hue indicates that all our truth ought to be softened and warmed by love. "Speak the truth in love," said the apostle, and to remind them of this duty God commanded the ribband of warm blue to be worn upon the fringe of their garments by the sons of Israel. It is religion in life that is observed by and is attractive to good men. When it not only enlightens the head and rules the heart, but comes down to the skirt of the garment, infusing justice, kindness, and courtesy in every act and word, then it has an eloquence which will inspire many a well-disposed heart to say, "We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. Let your good works and your good words so shine before men, that they may glorify your Father who is in heaven." ( J. Bayley, Ph. D. ) The ordinance of the fringes W. Jones. I. THE PRONENESS OF MAN TO FORGET THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD. This tendency arises from — 1. The sinfulness of human nature. 2. The worldly spirit which so largely prevails in human society. II. THE ARRANGEMENTS WHICH GOD HAS MADE TO REMIND MAN OF HIS COMMANDMENTS. 1. The means which God employs to remind us of His commandments.(1) The Bible. In this He not only reveals His will concerning us, but illustrates and enforces it in various ways so that we might not forget it.(2) The Holy Spirit. He influences our spirits; speaks in us by means of conscience, &c.(3) Holy examples. In these the will of God is "drawn out in living characters."(4) Warning examples of the evil consequences of overlooking His commands. These witness to us that it is perilous to forget the Divine will, and admonish us against doing so. 2. The design of God in reminding us of His commandments. "That ye wander not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring; that ye may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God." Recollection of the will of God must be followed by obedience to that will, or it will be worse than useless. III. THE GROUNDS UPON WHICH GOD REQUIRES FROM US THIS RECOLLECTION OF AND OBEDIENCE TO HIS COMMANDS. 1. His personal relation to us. 2. His gracious doings for us. ( W. Jones. ) Remembrancers H. W. Beecher. How wonderful is what we call association! I hang some thought upon an object, and say, "Whenever I come hither, ring for me as a bell of joy"; and upon another I fasten an experience, saying to it, "Toll to me of sadness"; and to another, "Give forth some bold, inspiring strain"; and to another, "Speak to me always of hope." And, thereafter, each thing, true to its nature, whether it be tree, or place, or rock, or house, or that which is therein, never forgets its lesson. Yea, and when we forget, they make us to remember, singing to us the notes which we had taught them. Thus the heart, though it may not dismember itself, to give a soul to the material world, has yet a power half to create in physical things a soul in each for itself. So its life is written out, and it keeps a journal upon trees, upon hills, upon the face of heaven. Is it not for this, then, that in turn God has used every object in nature, every event in life, every function of society, every affection and endearment of human love, yea, and things that are not, the very silences of the world, and memories that are but disembodied events, to represent to us by association His nature and affections? Thus the heaven and the earth do speak of God, and the great natural world is but another Bible, which clasps and binds the written one; for nature and grace are one. Grace is the heart of the flower, and nature but its surrounding petals. ( H. W. Beecher. ) Association H. W. Beecher. Thus a house becomes sacred. Every room has a thousand memories. Every door and window is clustered with associations. And when, after long years, we go back to the house of our infancy, faces look out upon us, and an invisible multitude stand in gate and portal to welcome us, and we hear airy voices speaking again the old words of our childhood. ( H. W. Beecher. ) I am the Lord your God. Numbers 15:41 Everlasting relationship J. Irons. Can anything be more blessed to God's people than the assurance of the everlasting relationship existing between Himself and them? This everlasting relationship is a hiding-place, refuge, and defence in this desert land; a safe retreat, where the soul may obtain repose, satisfaction, in trying moments. I. TO SAY THAT ETERNAL RELATIONSHIP LEADS TO LICENTIOUSNESS, AND INDUCES A DISREGARD TO ALL MORAL AND SOCIAL DUTIES, IS THE SAME AS TO SAY, THAT TO BRING ANY INDIVIDUAL INTO THE CLEAR, BRIGHT LIGHT OF THE SUN WILL CAUSE A PEBBLE TO BECOME A STUMBLING-BLOCK UNTO HIM. Here is a threefold assertion of relationship in my text, which relationship now is but rarely understood, still less enjoyed, and often reviled. But, now, notice the nature of this relationship. It is a relationship of a father, a Brother, a Comforter, a Guide, a Preceptor. It is a relationship of King and subject, Parent and child, Husband and wife, Friend and friend. II. THE DELIVERANCE EFFECTED AS A PROOF OF THIS RELATIONSHIP. The proof is that He brought His people out of Egypt. "Oh!" says one timid soul, "but I do not belong to Him. I do not think the Lord speaks to me." Well, I do not desire you to make the assertion, unless God has brought you from Egypt. But mock not His love, deny not His grace, insult not His Spirit by questioning the relationship if He has rescued you from the bondage of sin, Satan, and self, the world, and the devil. He has delivered you on purpose to be your God, openly and avowedly. III. THE CLAIM OF GOD IS UPON US, FOR DEVOTEDNESS TO HIS GLORY AND ACTIVITY IN HIS CAUSE. He has brought you out for His own use; and He has a right to all the ardour of your spirit, all the activity of your life, all the affections of your soul. Remember, you are not your own, but bought with a price; therefore glorify God with your body and spirit, which are His. Oh! what ties bind us to devotedness to His name — ties of blood, ties of love, ties of grace. As a King, He created me His subject; as a Deliverer, He brought me to liberty; as my God, He allied me to Himself in everlasting relationship. And if all these ties fail to produce the effect of consecration of heart, and soul, and life to Him, I have one more tie left — namely, the constraint of love. ( J. Irons. ).

Benson Commentary Numbers 15:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Numbers 15:1-2 . When the following laws were delivered, is uncertain. But it would seem, from Numbers 15:23 , to have been toward the end of their peregrinations, and not long before their settlement in Canaan, consequently at a time when part of that mutinous generation, mentioned in the former chapter, were cut off by death. If this remark be just, these laws were enjoined only to the children of the murmurers, who had not forfeited a right to the inheritance in the promised land, as their fathers had done. Le Clerc, however, is of opinion that the laws here recorded were delivered before the rebellion recorded in the former chapter. Numbers 15:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you, Numbers 15:3 And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the LORD, of the herd, or of the flock: Numbers 15:3 . An offering made by fire — This is a general expression for those offerings which were in whole or in part burned upon the altar. A sacrifice in performing a vow — Namely, peace-offerings, which are often called sacrifices, in general, as Exodus 18:12 , and Leviticus 17:5 ; Leviticus 17:8 . See the nature of them explained, Leviticus 3:1 ; Leviticus 7:11 . Numbers 15:4 Then shall he that offereth his offering unto the LORD bring a meat offering of a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of oil. Numbers 15:4-5 . Bring a meat-offering — Sacrifices, being of the nature of spiritual feasts, were each of them to have ???? , mincha, a meat or meal- offering, and drink-offering, as an appendage annexed to them, consisting of flour, oil, and wine, in the proportion following: for as wine and oil are the most excellent liquors which the earth, through Divine Providence, produces for the use of mankind, God would have them to be offered to him in all sacrifices, that men might be continually put in mind of him from whom they received these blessings, and might openly acknowledge their great benefactor. Numbers 15:5 And the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering shalt thou prepare with the burnt offering or sacrifice, for one lamb. Numbers 15:6 Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat offering two tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an hin of oil. Numbers 15:7 And for a drink offering thou shalt offer the third part of an hin of wine, for a sweet savour unto the LORD. Numbers 15:8 And when thou preparest a bullock for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice in performing a vow, or peace offerings unto the LORD: Numbers 15:9 Then shall he bring with a bullock a meat offering of three tenth deals of flour mingled with half an hin of oil. Numbers 15:10 And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. Numbers 15:11 Thus shall it be done for one bullock, or for one ram, or for a lamb, or a kid. Numbers 15:12 According to the number that ye shall prepare, so shall ye do to every one according to their number. Numbers 15:13 All that are born of the country shall do these things after this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. Numbers 15:14 And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; as ye do, so he shall do. Numbers 15:14 . If a stranger sojourn with you — It is plain this is to be understood of such strangers as had renounced idolatry and become proselytes to the worship of the true God. And if strangers, who were intermixed with the Jews, and resided in their country, had not been obliged to conform to the same ceremonies of public worship with the Jews, their example might, by degrees, have produced a change in, and corruption of, that form of worship which God himself had instituted. Numbers 15:15 One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you , an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are , so shall the stranger be before the LORD. Numbers 15:15 . So shall the stranger be before the Lord — As to the worship of God; his sacrifices shall be offered in the same manner, and accepted by God upon the same terms, as yours; which was a presage of the future calling of the Gentiles. And this is added by way of caution, to show that strangers were not upon this pretence to partake of their civil privileges. Numbers 15:16 One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you. Numbers 15:17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Numbers 15:18 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you, Numbers 15:19 Then it shall be, that, when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an heave offering unto the LORD. Numbers 15:19-20 . When ye eat — When you are about to eat it; for before they eat it, they were to offer this offering to God. The bread of the land — That is, the bread-corn. The threshing-floor — That is, of the corn in the threshing-floor, when you have gathered in your corn. Numbers 15:20 Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering: as ye do the heave offering of the threshingfloor, so shall ye heave it. Numbers 15:21 Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD an heave offering in your generations. Numbers 15:22 And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the LORD hath spoken unto Moses, Numbers 15:22 . Have erred, and not observed all these commandments — If the whole body of the people be guilty of any neglect of the public ceremonies of religion, or of any deviation from any of the rites instituted concerning the outward service of God, (for of these only Moses seems here to speak,) which might happen involuntarily, and through ignorance, then the following method is prescribed to expiate the sin of such omissions or deviations upon their being known. It may be observed, however, that this plea of ignorance could not be admitted except in cases that were liable to obscurity. The law in Leviticus 4:13 , which appears partly similar to this, probably speaks of some positive miscarriage, or the doing what ought not to have been done; whereas this speaks of an omission of something which ought to have been done. Numbers 15:23 Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses , and henceforward among your generations; Numbers 15:24 Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. Numbers 15:25 And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance: Numbers 15:25 . It shall be forgiven, for it is ignorance — Proceeding from some mistake, and not from contempt of God and his laws; for then the guilty person was to be utterly cut off. Numbers 15:26 And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance. Numbers 15:27 And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. Numbers 15:28 And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. Numbers 15:29 Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. Numbers 15:30 But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Numbers 15:30 . The soul that doeth aught presumptuously — Hebrew, With a high hand, or, with violence. It is meant to express the action or conduct of a man who knowingly and wilfully broke the law, and when admonished, despised the admonition, and set the law at naught. Maimonides and other rabbis think this law is to be restrained to sins of idolatry, which certainly are most properly a reproaching of Jehovah, and a despising of his word, and therefore were commanded, in the law of Moses, to be punished with greater severity than other crimes, as being high treason against their state, subversive of the essential form of their government, and an implicit rejecting of Jehovah for their God and King, and yielding their allegiance to the idols of the nations. The same reproacheth the Lord — He sets God at defiance, and exposeth him to contempt, as if he were unable to punish transgressors. But every wilful sin is, in the nature of things, a reproach or dishonour to the Lord, Romans 2:23 . It is saying, in effect, that his commandments are not wise, just, and good, and that we know better what is fit for ourselves than he can judge for us. But acts of idolatry, or whatever tended to favour it, whether in a Jew or proselyte, were especially reproachful to God, for the reasons just mentioned. That soul shall be cut off — Here this phrase signifies put to death, though in many other places it seems to denote only exclusion from the privileges of the Jewish community. Persons sinning thus presumptuously could have no benefit by the expiatory sacrifices of the law, for they blasphemed the Lawgiver, and disowned the authority of the law. Thus, ( Hebrews 10:29 ,) He that despised Moses’s law died without mercy, under two or three witnesses. Numbers 15:31 Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him. Numbers 15:32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. Numbers 15:32 . A man gathered sticks on the sabbath day — This seems to be mentioned here as an instance of sinning presumptuously; and accordingly it is so understood by the Jews. The law of the sabbath was plain and positive, and this transgression of it must therefore have been a known and wilful sin. And from the connection of this verse with the former it may be justly inferred that this man had sinned with a high hand, despising the word of the Lord, and the authority of his law. Numbers 15:33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. Numbers 15:33-34 . To all the congregation — That is, to the rulers of the congregation. They (Moses and Aaron, and the other rulers) put him in ward — Till the will of the Lord concerning him should be declared. What should be done — That is, in what manner, or by what kind of death he was to die, which, therefore, God here particularly determines: otherwise it was known in general that sabbath-breakers were to be put to death. Numbers 15:34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. Numbers 15:35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. Numbers 15:35 . The man shall surely be put to death — One reason why the breach of the sabbath was punished with such severity by the Jewish law is, that it was an implicit denying of God to be the Creator of the world. For the sabbath being a sign, ( Exodus 31:13 ,) whereby the worshippers of the one true God, who created the world, were distinguished from the idolatrous nations, who believed the world was eternal, and who worshipped the sun, moon, and stars, and a multitude of nominal gods, the violation of this institution implied or led to a defection from the true religion to polytheism and idolatry. Numbers 15:36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses. Numbers 15:37 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Numbers 15:38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: Numbers 15:38 . Fringes — These were certain threads, or ends, standing out a little farther than the rest of their garments, left there for this use. In the borders — That is, in the four borders or quarters, as it is, Deuteronomy 22:12 . Of their garments — Of their upper garments. This was practised by the Pharisees in Christ’s time, who are noted for making their borders larger than ordinary. A riband — To make it more obvious to the sight, and consequently more serviceable to the use here mentioned. Of blue — Or, purple. Numbers 15:39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: Numbers 15:39 . That ye may remember — As circumcision in their persons, so this ornament in their garb was designed as a badge to distinguish them from all other nations; so that as often as they looked upon this mark, they might be put in mind of their being the worshippers of the true God, a holy people, and bound to the service of their Maker by peculiar laws and obligations. That ye seek not — Or, inquire not, for other rules and ways of serving me than I have prescribed you. Your own heart and eyes — Neither after the devices of your own hearts, as Nadab and Abihu did when they offered strange fire; nor after the examples of others which your eyes see, as you did when you were set upon worshipping a calf after the manner of Egypt. Numbers 15:40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. Numbers 15:40 . That ye may remember — They were not to mistake the wearing of these fringes or borderings, as if they had real sanctity or religion in themselves, but to consider them as helps to their memories, and means of awakening them to a sense of their special relation to God, as the only object of their worship, their Governor and Judge. But although this, and many other memorial signs among the Jews, seem to have been admirably fitted to keep up in their minds the remembrance of their duty, and one would have imagined that, with such helps, they could scarce ever have omitted the practice of it; yet their example proves to us that all methods are insufficient to affect thoroughly the hearts of men, till God, according to his promise, to be fulfilled especially under the New Testament dispensation, write his laws on their hearts by his Holy Spirit, Jeremiah 31:31 , and Ezekiel 36:26 . This we should look for, and seek with all our hearts. When this is obtained, and not before, we shall be holy unto God, as Israel were here exhorted to be, that is, purged from sin, and sincerely devoted to God in soul and body. Numbers 15:41 I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . 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Expositor's Bible Commentary Numbers 15:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, OFFERINGS: SABBATH-KEEPING: DRESS Numbers 15:1-41 THE enactments of this chapter regarding meal offerings and drink offerings, the heave offerings of the first dough, and the atonement for unwitting errors belong to the cultus of Canaan. Nothing generic distinguishes the first and third of these statutes from some that were presumably to be observed in the desert; but the note is explicit, "When ye be come into the land of your habitations which I give unto you," "When ye be come into the land whither I bring you." The whole chapter, with its instance of presumptuous sin introduced by the clause, "And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness," marking a return to that time, and its commandment regarding the fringes or tassels of blue to be attached to the dress as remembrances of obligations, may appear at first sight without any reference either to what has preceded or what follows. The compilers, however, have a definite purpose in view. The presumption of Korah and his company, and of Dathan and Abiram, is in contrast to the unwitting faults for which atonement is provided, and it comes under the category of what is "done with a high hand"-a form of blasphemy which is to be punished with death. The case of the Sabbath-breaker is an instance of this unpardonable sin, and sends its light on to the incidents that follow. Even the memorial fringes or tassels, and the prophetic sentences that accompany the command to wear them, seem to be forewarnings of the doom of sacrilegious men. 1. MEAL AND DRINK OFFERINGS The statute regarding offerings "to make a sweet savour unto Jehovah" is specially occupied with prescribing the proportion of flour and oil and wine to be presented along with the animal brought for a burnt offering or sacrifice. Any one separating himself in terms of a vow, or desiring to express gratitude for some Divine favour, or again on the occasion of a sacred festival when he had special cause of rejoicing before God, might bring a lamb, a ram, or an ox as his oblation; and the meal and drink offerings were to vary with the value of the animal brought for sacrifice. The law does not demand the same offering of every person under similar circumstances. According to Mhi means or his gratitude he may give. But deciding first as to his burnt or slain offering, he must add to it, for a lamb, the tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil, and also a quarter of a hin of wine. For a bullock, the quantities were to be three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, with half a hin of oil, and, as a drink offering, half a hin of wine. The provision is a singular one, based on some sense of what was becoming which we cannot pretend to revive. But it points to a rule which the Apostle Paul may have recognised in this and other Jewish statutes as belonging to universal morality: "Take thought for things honourable in the sight of all men." To make a show of generosity by giving a bullock, while the flour and oil and wine were withheld, was not seemly. Neither is it seemly for a Christian to be lavish in his gifts to the Church, but withhold the meal offering and drink offering he owes to the poor. Throughout the whole range of use and expenditure, personal and of the family, a proportion is to be found which it is one of the Christian arts to determine, one of the Christian duties to observe. And nothing is right unless all is right. The penny saved here takes away the sweet savour of the pound given there. No man is in this to be a law to himself. Public justice and Divine are to be satisfied. The presence or absence of oil in an oblation marked its character. The sin offering and the jealousy offering were without oil. The "oil of joy" {Isa 61:3} accompanied festal and peace offerings. All ordinances prescribing the oblation of wine and oil necessarily belonged to the cultus of Canaan, for in the wilderness neither of these elements of the sacrifice could be always had. The idea underlying the peace offerings, with their accompanying meal and drink offerings, was unquestionably that of feasting with Jehovah, enjoying His bounty at His table. Acknowledgment was made that the cattle on the hills were His, that it was He who gave the harvest, the vintage, and the fruit of the olive-grove. Confession of man’s indebtedness to Jehovah as Lord of nature was interwoven with the whole sacrificial system. In connection with this ordinance of meal and drink offerings, and that of atonement for unintentional failures in duty ( Numbers 15:22 ff.), it is very carefully enacted that the law shall be the same for the "homeborn" and the "stranger." "For the assembly there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger that sojourneth with you, a statute for ever throughout your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord." The design is to secure religious unity, and by means of it gradually to incorporate with israel all dwellers in the land. While certain ordinances were intended to make Israel a holy nation separated and consecrated to Jehovah, this admission of strangers to the privileges of the covenant has another design. In the Book of Deuteronomy {Deu 7:2} a statute occurs that entirely excludes from citizenship and incorporation all Canaanites, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Hivites, Girgashites, and Perizzites. There was to be no intermarriage with them, no toleration of them, lest they led Israel away into idolatry. The statute is enforced by the words, "For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth." With this emphatic assertion of the severance of the Hebrews from other races the strain of Numbers, as well as Exodus and Leviticus, generally agrees. When we endeavour to harmonise with it the admission of strangers to the right and joy of sacrificial festivals, we at once meet the difficulty that no other races were, fitter to be received into religious confraternity than those of Canaan. Neither Babylonians, Syrians, Phoenicians, nor Philistines were free from the taint of idolatry; and however degrading the rites of the Canaanites were, some of the other nations followed practices quite as revolting. We know that for a long period of Israel’s history strangers were, according to the statute presently under consideration, admitted to the fellowship of religion, as well as to high office in the state. "We have only to study the Book of Joshua to discover that the Israelites, like the Saxons in Britain, destroyed the cities and not the population of the country, and that the number of cities actually overthrown was not very large. We have only to turn to the list of the ‘mighty men’ of David to learn how many of them were foreigners, Hittites, Ammonites, Zobahites, and even Philistines of Gath. {2Sa 15:18; 2Sa 16:10} . Nor must it be forgotten that David himself was partly a Moabite by descent." In accordance with this large tolerance we might be disposed to include among the "strangers" admitted to privilege men belonging to races that inhabited Canaan before the conquest. Even Deuteronomy seems in one passage to exclude none but Ammonites and Moabites; and the covenant law of Exodus 23:1-33 , commands generous treatment of the stranger. In contrast to the "homeborn," strangers may appear to mean those only who had come from other countries. and chosen to identify themselves with the faith and fortunes of Israel; still this passage attempts no such definition, and on the whole we must allow that the Mosaic law in regulating the political and social position of resident non-Israelites showed "a spirit of great liberality." They had, of course, to conform to many laws-those, for instance, of marriage, and those which forbade the eating of blood and the flesh of animals not properly slaughtered. If uncircumcised, they could not keep the Passover; but being circumcised, they had equal rights with the Hebrews. The purpose evidently was to make an open way to the benefits of Israel’s government and religion. The heave offering of the first dough is placed ( Numbers 15:20 ) side by side with the heave offering of the threshing-floor of the first sheaves. In Leviticus {Lev 23:17} a harvest oblation is ordered-two wave-loaves of fine flour baken with leaven. Here the heave offering of a cake made from the first dough is not accompanied with sacrifices of animals, but is of a simple kind, mainly a tribute to the priests. The Deuteronomic statute regarding firstfruits, which were to be put in a basket and set down before the altar, prescribed a formula of dedication beginning, "An Aramean ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt": and the offering of these firstfruits was to be an occasion of joy-"Thou shalt rejoice in all the good which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee and unto thine house, thou and the Levite, and the stranger that is in the midst of thee." There can be no question that the most developed statute regarding these harvest offerings is that given in Leviticus, where the exact time for the presentation of the loaves is fixed, the fiftieth day after the Sabbath, from the day when the sheaf was brought. The feast accompanying the offering of the loaves came to be known as that of Pentecost. Passing now to the law of atonement for unintentional omissions of duty, we notice that the introductory sentences ( Numbers 15:22-23 ) have a peculiar retrospective cast. They seem to point back to the time when the Lord gave commandment by the hand of Moses. It would appear that in course of years discovery was made that portions of the law were neglected, and the provisions of this statute were to relieve the nation and individuals of accumulating defilement. "When ye shall err, and not observe all these commandments which the Lord hath spoken unto Moses, even all that the Lord hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the Lord gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations; then it shall be, if it be done unwittingly, without the knowledge of the congregation"-so runs the preamble. A series of statutes in Leviticus 4:1-35 contemplates offences of a like kind, when something has been done which the Lord commanded not to be done. The enactment of Numbers appears to point to a "complete falling away of the congregation from the whole of the law," an unconscious apostasy. Maimonides understands the provision as relating to guilt incurred by the people in adopting customs and usages of the heathen that seemed to be reconcilable with the law of Jehovah, though they really led to contempt and neglect of His commandments. For the nation as a whole, under these circumstances, atonement was to be made by the burnt offering of a young bullock with its meal offering and drink offering, and the sin offering of a he-goat. In this purgation all strangers resident with Israel are specially included. When any person discovered that he had neglected a precept, he was to offer a she-goat of the first year for a sin offering. The Israelite and the stranger alike had in this way access to the sanctuary. But in contrast to unintentional omission of duty was set deliberate neglect of it. For this there was no atonement. Whether the high-handed transgressor was homeborn or a stranger, he was to be utterly cut off as a blasphemer; his iniquity rested upon him. The distinction is morally sound; and the punishment of the rebel against authority-apparently nothing less than death, or perhaps, if he has fled the land, out-lawry-is such as the theocratic idea obviously required. It was Jehovah Himself who was defied. A man who, as it were, shook his fist in rebellion against God had no right to live in His world, under the protection of His beneficent laws. The distinction between unwitting neglect and open rejection runs through the whole range of duty, natural, Hebrew, Christian. What a man knows to be right he has before him as a Divine law of moral conduct. By the highest obligations, under which he lies to the Lord of conscience, to his fellowmen, and to himself, he is bound to obey. Judaism added the authority of revelation-the Mosaic law, the prophetic word. Christianity still further adds the authority of the word spoken by the Son of God, and the obligation imposed by His death as the manifestation of eternal love. In proportion as the Divine will is made clear, and the law enforced by revelation and grace, the sin of rejection becomes greater and more blasphemous. But, on the other hand, the unwitting transgressor, be he heathen or imperfectly instructed Christian, has under the new covenant, in which mercy and justice go hand in hand, no less consideration than the Hebrew who unintentionally erred. There is no law that cuts him off from his people. Wide as this principle may reach, it must be that according to which men are judged. Many, knowing the invisible things of God "through the things that are made," are without excuse. They "hold down the truth in unrighteousness"; they are high-handed transgressors. But others who have no knowledge of the Divine law, and break it unwittingly, have their atonement: God provides it. Nor are we to impeach Divine Providence by judging before the time. It may be asked, Why, since defiant rejection of Christian law is more blasphemous than high-handed breach of the old Hebrew law, the providence of God does not punish it? If any one with Christ and His cross in view is guilty of injustice, or of hatred which is murder, does he not prove himself unworthy to live in God’s world? And why, then, does he not suffer at once the doom of his rebellion? The theory of some stern moralists has been that human government should administer the justice of Heaven and cut off the unbeliever. In many a notable case this has been done, and has caused a righteous horror which continues to be felt. But although men cannot safely undertake the punishment of such offenders, why does not God? Christ boldly stated that here and now this is not the method of the Divine government, but that men enjoy the Father’s mercy even when they are unjust, unthankful, and evil. Yet He spoke of judgment universal-judgment and retribution that shall not miss a single sinner, a single secret sin. And His view of the theocracy clearly is that meanwhile God by mercy to the defiant desires to train men in mercy, by forbearance towards the unthankful and evil commends to us like patience and endurance. Transgressors are to have their full opportunity of repentance, to which the very goodness of God calls them. But justice which delays is not unobservant. Though He who reigns moves slowly to His end, He will not fail to reach it. "He hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness." As for human law, its sphere is fixed. Society must protect itself against crime, and is to do so in the name of God, in conformity with the eternal principles of righteousness. The Hebrew temper may seem to have carried this principle into a range that was perilous to enter, as in the instance immediately to be considered; yet the protection of society was even then the immediate motive, not vain jealousy for the honour of God. For ourselves, we have a duty which must be done without assumption or hypocrisy. The various subjects of thought suggested here should be followed out. For us, they are complicated on the social as well as the religious side by certain theories that are in vogue. The duty of civil government, for example, is on one side extended beyond its proper range by the attempt to give it authority in the domain of religious truth; on the other hand it is unduly restricted by toleration of what is against the well-being of society. The Christian moralist has much to ponder in relation to popular opinions and the trend of modern legislation. 2. THE SABBATH-BREAKER If the actual sequence of events is followed in the narrative of Numbers, it must have been after the condemnation of the adult Israelites that judgment of the man who was found infringing the Sabbath law had to be executed; and some who were themselves under reprobation took part in convicting and punishing this offender. There is a difficulty here which on high moral grounds it is impossible to explain away. Disaffection and revolt had brought on the mass of the people the sentence of destruction; and this had only been exchanged on Moses’ intercession for the forty years of wandering. Should not sins that were visited with this penalty have excluded all who were guilty of them from any judicial act? But the same objection would, if admitted, prevent all of us from taking part in the execution of law. Neither the judge nor the jury, neither those who legislate nor those who administer law, are free from moral fault. The whole system dealing with crime has this defect; and Israel in the wilderness was as much entitled as modern society to take in hand the correction of offenders, the maintenance of public well-being. The law which had been broken was one specially connected with duty to God. Sabbath-keeping might indeed seem to belong to worship rather than to social morality. The seventh day was the Sabbath of Jehovah. It was to be kept holy to Him, made a delight for His sake. The statute regarding it belonged to the first table of the Decalogue. Still, the commandment had a social as well as a religious side. In good will to men Jehovah required the day to be kept holy to Him. Had one and another like this offender been allowed to set aside the fourth commandment, the interests of the whole congregation would soon have suffered. It was for the good of the race, physically as well as intellectually and spiritually, the Sabbath was to be kept. Those who guarded the sanctity of the Sabbath were guarding not the honour of God alone, though they may have thought that the chief merit of their watchfulness, but the interests of the people, a precious heritage of the nation. It is not necessary to maintain that judgment was given by Moses solely on the ground that the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath was an offender against the public well-being. The thought of Jehovah’s "jealousy" was constantly kept before the mind of Israel, for by that idea, better than any other, beneficent legislation was supported in a rude age; and judgment no doubt rested mainly on this. Yet the interference of the people and their share in the execution of punishment are to be justified by the undoubted fact that Israel could not afford to let the Sabbath be lost. Even those who were to a great extent earthly could perceive this. And if the punishment seems disproportionate, we must remember that it was the presumptuous temper of the man rather than his actual fault that was judged criminal. St. James said, no doubt from this point of view, "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is become guilty of all." The criminal act was that of breaking down, with daring hand, the safeguard of social and religious prosperity. And there is a sense in which without Pharisaism those who are concerned for the public well-being may still insist on the strict enforcement of the laws that guard the day of rest. Though all days are alike sacred to spiritually minded persons, yet bodily health and mental soundness are bound-up more than men in general know with the Sabbatic interval between labour and labour. The Puritanism often scoffed at is far more philanthropic than the humanitarianism, so-called, which derides it. And when any one enforces the duty of Sabbath-keeping by insisting on God’s claim to the seventh day, his belief is no superstition. Convict him first of advocating what is against the good of men, irrational, absurd, before venturing to call him superstitious. If what is advanced as a claim of God can be proved to be really for the good of men, it is a virtue to insist that for God’s sake as well as the sake of men it should be rendered. There were persons in our Lord’s time who made Sabbath-keeping a superstition. Against them He testifieth. But it is in His name. who was the great Friend of men the Sabbath law is now insisted on; and the day of rest has all the higher sanction that it commemorates His resurrection from the dead, His promise of that new life which relief from labour enables us to pursue. The institution of the Sabbath and the scrupulous observance of it were, for Israel, and are still for all believers in Divine religion, most important means of maintaining unity in the faith. Now that many causes interfere with the simultaneous exhibition of regard for other symbols of Christian belief, the day of rest and worship gives a universal opportunity which it would be fatal to neglect. It has the advantage of beginning to claim men on the ground where religion first appeals to them, that of God’s care for their temporal well-being. Those with whom religious feeling is quite elementary must see that a boon of incalculable value is offered in this recurring refreshment to the wearied body and strained mind. And with progress in religious culture the benefit of the day of rest is found to advance. The opportunities of worship, of religious meditation and service, which it brings, will be esteemed as the value of Christian fellowship, the importance of Christian knowledge, and the duty of Christian endeavour are successively understood. On all these grounds the Sabbath, or Lord’s Day, is for modern religion, as for that of the old covenant, a great declaration, a means of unity and development which the spiritual will earnestly uphold. Let it fail, and distinction between religious and nonreligious will be without a sign. No doubt the reality is more by far than the symbol. Yet fellowship, for which in many cases the Sabbath alone gives opportunity, is far more than a symbol: and unity requires an outward manifestation. Nothing could be more perilous to the religious life of our people than the tendency, shown by many who profess Christianity and sanctioned by some of its teachers, to make the Sabbath a day of self-pleasing, of mere individualism, and incoherent secularity. 3. THE MEMORIAL TASSELS The unique sumptuary law with which the chapter closes may be regarded as a sequence of the Sabbath-breaker’s conviction. That Israelites might never be without a reminder of their duty, and of the Divine laws they were scrupulously to observe, these tassels with a band of blue were to be constantly worn. It appears to us singular that men should be expected to pay heed to such mementoes as these. We are apt to say, If the laws of God were not in their hearts, the zizith would scarcely make them more attentive; and if they had the laws in their hearts, they would need no memorials of obligation. But the ornament was something more than a reminder of duty. It was a badge of honour, and became more so as the Israelites understood their high position among the peoples. The zizith would be like an order, a mark of rank; or like the uniform of his regiment, which to the good soldier recalls its history. The Hebrew would have to live up to his duty as signified by these attachments of his dress. And Israelites were to be distinguished by the zizith from those who were of other races, not under law to Jehovah. Every man who wore this badge would be able to count on the sympathy of every other Israelite. The symbol became a means of rousing the esprit of the nation, and binding it together in a zealous fraternity. The nature of the badge appears to us peculiar; but the value of it cannot be denied. The modern peoples, far as they have travelled from the old ways of the Hebrews, retain the use of symbolic dress, the liking for ornaments, by which a man’s life may be known. The name zizith is derived from a word meaning blossom. The tassel was formed of twisted threads bound by a cord or ribbon of blue to the garment. It was the blossom of the robe, so to speak, hanging by a blue stem. The ornament is again mentioned in Deuteronomy 22:12 , where it has another name, gedilim , enlargements. With extraordinary pride the Jews of our own time still wear the talith , which is a fantastical development of the zizith of Numbers. "The rabbins observe that each string consisted of eight threads, which, with the number of knots and the numerical value of the letters in the word, make 613, which, according to them, is the exact number of the precepts in the law." The Pharisees in Christ’s time enlarged their phylacteries, displaying superfluously the proofs of their Hebrew orthodoxy and zeal. It is the danger of all symbols. In the youth of a people they have meaning; they express fact, they give honour. The Israelite, wearing his, felt himself reminded, put on his honour, not to go about "according to his own heart and his own eyes by which he used to go a-whoring." But afterwards the zeal became that of pride, the symbol a mere amulet or a token of self-sufficiency. The Jew of today is partly kept separate by his talith , and because he wears it, feels himself in touch with the fathers and heroes and prophets of his people. But he also feels, what is not always good, his remoteness from heathen and Christian "dogs." And Christian symbols, the few sanctioned by Scripture, the others that have crept into use in the course of history, bring with their use a similar danger. In many cases they are signs of privilege rather than memorials of duty. They minister to pride, rather than stimulate zeal in the service of God and men. The crucifix itself, with consummate superstition, is worn and kissed as a talisman. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.