Passover, the observance of it was imperative. Lest the supplementary
feast should be made an excuse for failure to keep the fourteenth
day of the first month, it is enacted (ix. 13) that he who wilfully
neglects shall be "cut off from his people." For strangers who
sojourn among the Israelites provision is made that if they wish
to keep the feast they may do so under the regulations applied to
the Hebrews; these, of course, including the indispensable rite of
circumcision, which had to precede any observance of a feast in
honour of God. Noticeable are the terms with which this statute
concludes: "Ye shall have one statute, both for the stranger and for
him that is born in the land." The settlement in Canaan is assumed.
Regarding the Passover in the wilderness, difficulties have been
raised on the ground that a sufficient number of lambs, males of
the first year, could scarcely have been provided, and that the
sacrificing of the lambs by Aaron and his two sons within the
prescribed time would have been impossible. The second point of
difficulty disappears if this Passover was, as we have seen reason
to believe, a family festival like that observed on the occasion
of the exodus. Again, the number of yearling male lambs required
would depend on the number who partook of the feast. Calculations
made on the basis that one lamb sufficed for about fifteen, and that
men alone ate the Passover, leave the matter in apparent doubt.
Some fifty thousand lambs would still be needed. Keeping by the
enumeration of the Israelites given in the muster-roll of Numbers,
some writers explain that the desert tribes might supply large
numbers of lambs, and that kids also were available. The difficulty,
however, remains, and it is one of those which point to the
conclusion that the numbers given have somehow been increased in the
transcription of the ancient records century after century.
The case of certain men who could not partake of the Passover in
the first month, because they were unclean through the dead, was
brought before Moses and Aaron. The men felt it to be a great loss
of privilege, especially as the march was about to begin, and they
might not have another opportunity of observing the feast. Who indeed
could tell whether in the first conflict it might not be his lot
to fall by the sword? "We are unclean by the _nephesh_ of a man,"
they said: "wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer the
oblation of the Lord in its appointed season among the children of
Israel?" The result of the appeal was the new law providing that two
disabilities, and two only, should be acknowledged. The supplementary
Passover of the second month was appointed for those unclean by the
dead, and those on a journey who found themselves too far off to
reach in time the precincts of the sanctuary. Those unclean would be
in a month presumably free from defilement; those on a journey would
probably have returned. The concession is a note of the gracious
reasonableness that in many ways distinguished the Hebrew religion;
and the Passover observances of Jews at the present day are based on
the conviction that what is practicable is accepted by God, though
statute and form cannot be kept.
The question presents itself, why keeping of the Passover should be
necessary to covenant union with Jehovah. And the reply bears on
Christian duty with regard to the analogous sacrament of the Lord's
Supper, for it rests on the historical sanction and continuity of
faith. If God was to be trusted as a Saviour by the Hebrew, certain
facts in the nation's history had to be known, believed, and kept
in clear remembrance; otherwise no reality could be found in the
covenant. And under the new covenant the same holds good. The
historical fact of Christ's crucifixion must be kept in view, and
constantly revived by the Lord's Supper. In either case redemption is
the main idea presented by the commemorative ordinance. The Hebrew
festival is not to be held on the anniversary of the giving of the
law; it recalls the great deliverance connected with the death of
the first-born in Egypt. So the Christian festival points to the
deliverance of humanity through the death of Christ.
Remarkable is the congruity between the view of the law presented by
Paul and the fact that the great commemorative feast of Hebraism is
attached, not to the legislation of Sinai, but to the rescue from
Egyptian bondage. The law kept the Hebrew nation in ward (Gal. iii.
23); "it was added because of transgressions, till the seed should
come to whom the promise had been made" (Gal. iii. 19); it "came in
beside, that the trespass might abound" (Rom. v. 20). The Hebrews were
not required to commemorate that ordinance which laid on them a heavy
burden and was found, as time went on, to be "unto death" (Rom. vii.
10). And, in like manner, the feast of Christianity does not recall
the nativity of our Lord, nor that agony in the garden which showed
Him in the depths of human sorrow, but that triumphant act of His soul
which carried Him, and humanity with Him, through the shadow of death
into the free life of spiritual energy and peace. The Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper is the commemoration of a victory by which we are
enfranchised. Partaking of it in faith, we realise our rescue from the
Egypt of slavery and fear, our unity with Christ and with one another
as "an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for
God's own possession." The wilderness journey lies before us still; but
in liberty we press on as the ransomed of the Lord.
Mr. Morley has said, not without reason, that "the modern argument in
favour of the supernatural origin of the Christian religion, drawn
from its suitableness to our needs and its Divine response to our
aspirations," is insufficient to prove it the absolute religion. "The
argument," he says, "can never carry us beyond the relativity of
religious truth."[5] Christians may not assume that "their aspirations
are the absolute measure of those of humanity in every stage." To
dispense with faith in the historical facts of the life of Christ, His
claims, and the significance of His cross, to leave these in the haze
of the past as doubtful, incapable of satisfactory proof, and to rest
all on the subjective experience which any one may reckon sufficient,
is to obliterate the covenant and destroy the unity of the Church.
Hence, as the Hebrews had their Passover, and the observance of it
gave them coherence as a people and as a religious body, so we have
the Supper. No local centre, indeed, is appointed at which alone our
symbolic feast can be observed. Wherever a few renew their covenant
with God in proclaiming the Lord's death till He come, there the souls
of the faithful are nourished and inspired through fellowship with Him
who brought spiritual life and liberty to our world.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] Ruskin, "Seven Lamps of Architecture."
[4] For chap. viii. 5-26 see p. 39.
[5] "Voltaire," by John Morley, ed. 1891, pp. 254, 255.
VII
_THE CLOUD AND THE MARCH_
1. THE GUIDING CLOUD
NUMBERS ix. 15-23
The pillar of cloud, the ensign of Jehovah's royalty among the
Hebrews, and for us one of the most ancient symbols of His grace,
is first mentioned in the account of the departure from Egypt.
"Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them
the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light." At
the passage of the Red Sea this murky cloud removed and came between
the host of Israel and their pursuers. In the morning watch "Jehovah
looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire
and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians." On that
occasion it followed or represented "the angel of God." There is
nowhere any attempt to give a complete account of the symbol. We read
of its glory filling the inner shrine and even the holy place. At
other times it only hovers above the western end of the tabernacle,
marking the situation of the ark. Now and again it moves from that
position, and covers the door of the tent of meeting into which Moses
has entered. The targums use the term _Shechinah_ to indicate what
it was conceived to be--a luminous cloud, the visible manifestation
of the Divine presence; and Philo speaks of the fiery appearance of
the Deity shining forth from a cloud. But these are glosses on the
original descriptions and cannot be altogether harmonised. In one
passage only (Isa. iv. 5) do we find a reference which appears to
throw any light on the real nature of the symbol. Evidently recalling
it, the prophet says, "Jehovah will create over the whole habitation
of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day,
and the shining of a flaming fire by night." To him the cloud is
one of smoke rising from a fire which at night sends up tongues of
flame; and the reflection of the bright fire on the overhanging cloud
resembles a canopy of glory.
Ewald's view is that the smoke of the altar which went up in a thick
column, visible at a great distance by day, ruddy with flame by
night, was the origin of the conception. There are various objections
to this theory, which the author of it himself finds difficult to
reconcile with many of the statements. At the same time the pillar
of cloud does not need to be thought of as in any respect a more
Divine symbol than others which were associated with the tabernacle.
Certainly the ark of the covenant which Bezaleel made according to
the instructions of Moses was, far beyond anything else, the sacred
centre around which the whole of the worship gathered, the mysterious
emblem of Jehovah's character, the guarantee of His presence with
Israel. It was from the space above the mercy-seat, as we have seen,
that the Voice proceeded, not from the pillar of cloud. The sanctity
of the ark was so great that it was never exposed to the view of the
people, nor even of the Levites who were set apart to carry it. The
cloud, on the other hand, was seen by all, and had its principal
function in showing where the ark was in the camp or on the march.
Now assuming, in harmony with the reference in Isaiah, that the cloud
was one of smoke, some may be disposed to think that, like the ark of
the covenant, the holiest symbol of all, this was produced by human
intervention, yet in a way not incompatible with its sacredness,
its mystery, and value as a sign of Jehovah's presence. Where Moses
was as leader, lawgiver, prophet, mediator, there God was for this
people: what Moses did in the spirit of Divine zeal and wisdom was
done for Israel by God. Through his inspiration the ritual and its
elaborate symbolism had their origin. And is it not possible that after
the manner of the emblem of Jehovah which appeared in the desert of
Horeb the fire and cloud were now realised? While some may adopt this
explanation, others again will steadily believe that the appearance and
movements of the cloud were quite apart from human device or agency.
Scarcely any difficulty greater than that connected with the pillar of
cloud presents itself to thoughtful modern readers of the Pentateuch.
The traditional view, apparently involved in the narrative, is that
in this cloud and in this alone Jehovah revealed Himself in the
interval between His appearance to Jacob and, long afterwards, to
Joshua in angelic form. Many will maintain that unless the cloud was
of supernatural origin the whole relation of the Israelites to their
Divine King must fall into shadow. Was not this one of the miracles
which made Hebrew history different in kind from that of every other
nation? Is it not one of the revelations of the Unseen God on which we
must build if we are to have sure faith in the Old Testament economy,
and indeed in Christianity itself, as of superhuman revelation? If
we are not to interpret literally what is said in Exodus--"The Lord
went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way;
and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light"--shall we not
practically abandon the whole Divine element in the history of Israel's
deliverance and education? Thus the difficulty stands.
Yet, it may be argued, since we have now the revelation of God in the
human life of Christ and the gospel of salvation through the ministry
of men, what need is there to doubt that, for the guidance of a
people from place to place in the wilderness, the wisdom, foresight,
and faithfulness of an inspired man were the appointed means? It is
admitted that in many things Moses acted for Jehovah, that his mind
received in idea, and his intellectual skill expressed in verbal
form, the laws and statutes which were to maintain Israel's relation
to God as a covenant people. We follow our Lord Himself in saying
that Moses gave Israel the law. But the legislation of the Decalogue
was far more of the nature of a disclosure of God, and had far higher
aims and issues than could be involved in the guidance through the
desert. The law was for the spiritual nature of the Hebrews. It
brought them into relation with God as just, pure, true, the sole
source of moral life and progress. As the nucleus of the covenant it
was symbolic in a sense that fire could never be. It may be asked,
then, What need is there to doubt that Moses had his part in this
symbol which has so long appeared, more than the other, important as
a nexus between heaven and earth? To interpret the words "whenever
the cloud was taken up from over the tent," as meaning that it was
self-moved, would imply that Moses, though he is called the leader,
did not lead but was led like the rest. And this would reduce his
office to a point to which no prophet's work is reduced throughout
the entire Old Testament. Was he unable to direct the march from
Moseroth to Bene-jaakan? An inspired man, on whom, according to the
will of God, lay the whole responsibility for Israel's national
development, was he unable to determine when the pastures in one
region were exhausted and others had to be sought? Then indeed the
mediation of his genius would be so minimised that our whole idea
of him must be changed. Especially would we have to set aside that
prediction applied to Christ: "A prophet shall the Lord raise up unto
you, from your brethren, like unto me."
And further, it may be said, the pillar of cloud and fire retains
the whole of its value as a symbol when the intervention of Moses is
admitted; and this may be proved by the analogy of other emblems.
Almost parallel to the cloud, for instance, is the serpent of brass,
which became a sign of Jehovah's healing power, and conveyed new
life to those who looked towards it in faith. The fact that this
rude image of a serpent was made by human hands did not in the least
impair its value as an instrument of deliverance, and the efficacy of
that particular symbol was selected by Christ as an illustration of
His own redeeming energy which was to be gained through the cross:
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of man be lifted up." For certain occasions and needs of a people
one symbol avails; in other circumstances there must be other signs.
The smoke-cloud was not enough when the serpents terrified the host.
Elijah in this same desert saw a flashing fire; but Jehovah was not
in the fire. Natural symbols, however impressive, do not avail by
themselves; and when God by His prophet says, "This cloud, this fire,
symbolise My presence," and the people believe, is it not sufficient?
The Divine Friend is assuredly there. The symbol is not God; it
represents a fact, impresses a fact which altogether apart from the
symbol would still hold good.
In the course of the passage (ix. 17-23) the manner of the guidance
given by means of the cloud is carefully detailed. Sometimes the
tribes remained encamped for many days, sometimes only from evening
to morning. "Whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that
the cloud tarried on the tabernacle, abiding thereon, the children of
Israel remained encamped, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up,
they journeyed." Here is emphasised the authority which lay in "the
commandment of the Lord _by the hand of Moses_" (ver. 23). For Israel,
as for every nation that is not lost in the desert of the centuries,
and every society that is not on the way to confusion, there must be
wise guidance and cordial submission thereto. We are not, however,
saved now, as the Israelites were, by a great movement of society,
or even of the Church. Individually we must see the signal of the
Divine will, and march where it points the way. And in a sense there
are no rests of many days. Each morning the cloud moves forward; each
morning we must strike our tents. Our march is in the way of thought,
of moral and spiritual progress; and if we live in any real sense, we
shall press on along that way. The indication of duty, the guidance
in thought which we are to follow, impose a Divine obligation none
the less that they are communicated through the instrumentality of
men. For every group of travellers, associated in worship, duty,
and aim, there is some spiritual authority pointing the direction
to be followed. As individuals we have our separate calling, our
responsibility to Christ, with which nothing is to interfere. But the
unity of Christians in the faith and work of the kingdom of God must be
kept; and for this one like Moses is needed, or at least a consensus of
judgment, a clear expression of the corporate wisdom. The standard must
be carried forward, and where it moves on to quiet pasturage or grim
conflict the faithful are to advance.
"Ye armies of the living God,
His sacramental host,
Where hallowed footsteps never trod
Take your appointed post.
"Follow the cross; the ark of peace
Accompany your path."
Thus, we may say, the general direction runs; and in the changing
circumstances of the Church submission is given by its members to
those who hold command at once from the Lord Himself and from His
people. But in the details of duty each must follow the guidance of a
cloud that marks his own path to his own eye.
2. THE SILVER TRUMPETS
NUMBERS x. 1-10
An air of antique simplicity is felt in the legislation regarding
the two trumpets of silver, yet we are not in any way hindered from
connecting the statute with the idea of claiming human art for
Divine service. Instrumental music was of course rudimentary in the
wilderness; but, such as it was, Jehovah was to control the use
of it through the priests; and the developed idea is found in the
account of the dedication of the temple of Solomon, as recorded in
2 Chron. v., where we are told that besides the Levites, who had
cymbals, psalteries, and harps, a hundred and twenty priests sounding
with trumpets took part in the music.
There is no need to question the early use of these instruments;
nevertheless, the legislation in our passage assumes the settlement
in Canaan, and times when defensive war became necessary and the
observance of the sacred feasts fell into a fixed order. The statute
is instructive as to the meaning of the formula "The Lord spake unto
Moses," and not less as to the gradual accretion of particulars
around an ancient nucleus. We cannot set aside the sincere record,
though it may seem to make Jehovah speak on matters of small
importance. But interpretation must spring from a right understanding
of the purpose suggested to the mind of Moses. Uses found for the
trumpets in the course of years are simply extensions of the germinal
idea of reserving for sacred use those instruments and the art
they represented. It was well that whatever fear or exhilaration
the sounding of them caused should be controlled by those who were
responsible to God for the moral inspiration of the people.
According to the statute, the two trumpets, which were of very simple
make, and capable of only a few notes, had their use first in calling
assemblies. A long peal blown on one trumpet summoned the princes
who were the heads of the thousands of Israel: a long peal on both
trumpets called the whole congregation to the "tent of meeting."
There were occasions when these assemblies were required not for
deliberation, but to hear in detail the instructions and orders
of the leader. At other times the convocations were for prayer or
thanksgiving; or, again, the people had to hear solemn reproofs and
sentences of punishment. We may imagine that with varying sound,
joyful or mournful, the trumpets were made to convey some indication
of the purpose for which the assembly was called.
A sacred obligation lay on the Israelites to obey the summons, whether
for joy or sorrow. They heard in the trumpet-blast the very voice of
God. And upon us, bound to His service by a more solemn and gracious
covenant, rests an obligation even more commanding. The unity of the
tribes of Israel, and their fellowship in the obedience and worship
of Jehovah, could never be of half so much importance as the unity of
Christians in declaring their faith and fulfilling their vocation. To
come together at the call of recurring opportunity, that we may confess
Christ and hear His word anew, is essential to our spiritual life.
Those who hear the call should know its urgency and promptly respond,
lest in the midst of the holiest light there come to be a shadow of
deep darkness, the midnight gloom of paganism and death.
Again, in the wilderness, the trumpets gave the signal for striking
the camp and setting out on a new stage of the journey. Blown sharply
by way of alarm, the peals conveyed now to one, now to another part of
the host the order to advance. The movement of the pillar of cloud, we
may assume, could not be seen everywhere, and this was another means of
direction, not only of a general kind, but with some detail.
Taking vv. 5, 6, along with the passage beginning at ver. 14, we have
an ideal picture of the order of movement. One peal, sharply rung out
from the trumpets, would signify that the eastern camp, embracing
the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, should advance. Then the
tabernacle was to be taken down, and the Levites of the families of
Gershon and Merari were to set forward with the various parts of
the tent and its enclosure. Next two alarms gave the signal to the
southern camp, that of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad. The Levites of the
family of Kohath followed, bearing the ark, the altar of incense,
the great altar, the table of shewbread, and other furniture of the
sanctuary. The third and fourth camps, of which Ephraim and Benjamin
were the heads, brought up the rear. In these movements the trumpets
would be of much use. But it is quite clear that the real difficulty
was not to set the divisions in motion each at a fit time. The camps
were not composed only of men under military discipline. The women
and children, the old and feeble, had to be cared for. The flocks and
herds also had to be kept in hand. We cannot suppose that there was
any orderly procession; rather was each camp a straggling multitude,
with its own delays and interruptions.
And so it is in the case of every social and religious movement.
Clear enough may be the command to advance, the trumpet of
Providence, the clarion of the Gospel. But men and women are
undisciplined in obedience and faith. They have many burdens of a
personal kind to bear, many private differences and quarrels. How
very seldom can the great Leader find prompt response to His will,
though the terms of it are distinctly conveyed and the demand is
urgent! God makes a plan for us, opens our way, shows us our need,
proclaims the fit hours; but our unbelief and fear and incapacity
impede the march. Nevertheless, through the grace of His providence,
as Israel slowly made its way across the desert and reached Canaan at
last, the Church moves, and will continue to move, towards the holy
future, the millennial age.
Turning now to the uses of the silver trumpets after the settlement
in Canaan, there is first that connected with war. The people
are presumed to be living peaceably in their country; but some
neighbouring power has attacked them. The sounding of the trumpets
then is to be of the nature of a prayer to the Divine Protector of
the nation. The cry of the dependent tribes will be gathered up, as
it were, into the shrill blast which carries the alarm to the throne
of the Lord of Hosts. To the army and to the nation assurance is
given that the old promise of Jehovah's favour remains in force, and
that the promise, claimed by the priests according to the covenant,
will be fulfilled. And this will make the trumpet-blast exhilarating,
a presage of victory. The claim and hope of the nation rise
heavenward. The men of war stand together in faith, and put to flight
the armies of the aliens.