There is very much to interest the spiritual mind in this brief
section. We have seen in chapter xxiii. the history of the dealings of
God with Israel, from the offering up of the true paschal Lamb, until
the rest and glory of the millennial kingdom. In the chapter now
before us, we have two grand ideas, namely, first, the unfailing
record and memorial of the twelve tribes, maintained before God by the
power of the Spirit and the efficacy of Christ's priesthood; and
secondly, the apostacy of Israel after the flesh, and divine judgment
executed thereon. It is the clear apprehension of the former that will
enable us to contemplate the latter.
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Command the children of
Israel, that they bring unto thee _pure_ oil olive, _beaten_ for the
light, to cause the lamps to burn _continually_. Without the vail of
the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron
order it _from the evening unto the morning_, before the Lord
_continually;_ it shall be a statute forever in your generations. He
shall order the lamps upon the _pure_ candlestick before the Lord
_continually_.'" (Ver. 1-4.) The "pure oil" represents the grace of
the Holy Spirit, founded upon the work of Christ, as exhibited by the
candlestick of "beaten gold." The "olive" was _pressed_ to yield the
"oil," and the gold was "_beaten_" to form the candlestick. In other
words, the grace and light of the Spirit are founded upon the death of
Christ, and maintained in clearness and power by the priesthood of
Christ. The golden lamp diffused its light throughout the precincts of
the sanctuary during the dreary hours of night, when darkness brooded
over the nation and all were wrapped in slumber. In all this we have a
vivid presentation of God's faithfulness to His people whatever might
be their outward condition. Darkness and slumber might settle down
upon them, but the lamp was to burn "continually." The high-priest was
responsible to keep the steady light of testimony burning during the
tedious hours of the night. "Without the vail of the testimony, in the
tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening
unto the morning, before the Lord continually." The maintenance of
this light was not left dependent upon Israel: God had provided one
whose office it was to look after it and order it continually.
But further, we read, "And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve
cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt
set them in two rows, six in a row, upon the _pure_ table before the
Lord. And thou shalt put _pure_ frankincense upon each row, that it
may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto
the Lord. Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord
_continually_, being taken from the children of Israel by an
everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they
shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the
offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute." (Ver.
5-9.) There is no mention of leaven in these loaves. They represent, I
doubt not, Christ in immediate connection with "the twelve tribes of
Israel." They were laid up in the sanctuary before the Lord, on the
pure table, for seven days, after which they became the food of Aaron
and his sons, furnishing another striking figure of Israel's condition
in the view of Jehovah, whatever might be their outward aspect. The
twelve tribes are ever before Him. Their memorial can never perish.
They are ranged in divine order in the sanctuary, covered with the
fragrant incense of Christ, and reflected from the pure table whereon
they rest beneath the bright beams of that golden lamp which shines
with undimmed lustre through the darkest hour of the nation's moral
night.
Now, it is well to see that we are not sacrificing sound judgment or
divine truth on the altar of fancy, when we venture to interpret,
after such a fashion, the mystic furniture of the sanctuary. We are
taught in Hebrews ix. that all these things were "the patterns of
things in the heavens;" and again, in Hebrews x. 1, that they were "a
shadow of good things to come." We are therefore warranted in
believing that there are "things in the heavens" answering to the
"patterns"--that there is a substance answering to the "shadow." In a
word, we are warranted in believing that there is that "in the
heavens" which answers to "the seven lamps," "the pure table," and the
"twelve loaves." This is not human imagination, but divine truth, on
which faith has fed in all ages. What was the meaning of Elijah's
altar of "twelve stones" on the top of Carmel? It was nothing else
than the expression of his faith in that truth of which the "twelve
loaves" were "the pattern" or "the shadow." He believed in the
unbroken unity of the nation, maintained before God in the eternal
stability of the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whatever
might be the external condition of the nation. Man might look in vain
for the manifested unity of the twelve tribes; but faith could always
look within the hallowed inclosure of the sanctuary, and there see the
twelve loaves, covered with pure frankincense, ranged in divine order
on the pure table; and even though all without were wrapped in
midnight's gloomy shades, yet could faith discern, by the light of
the _seven_ golden lamps, the same grand truth foreshadowed, namely,
the indissoluble unity of Israel's twelve tribes.
Thus it was then, and thus it is now. The night is dark and gloomy.
There is not, in all this lower world, so much as a single ray by
which the human eye can trace the unity of Israel's tribes. They are
scattered among the nations, and lost to man's vision; but their
memorial is before the Lord. Faith owns this, because it knows that
"all the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus." It sees in
the upper sanctuary, by the Spirit's perfect light, the twelve tribes
faithfully memorialized. Hearken to the following noble accents of
faith: "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made
of God unto our fathers: unto which promise our _twelve tribes_,
instantly serving God night and day [νυκτα και ημεραν], hope to
come." (Acts xxvi. 6, 7.) Now, if King Agrippa had asked Paul, Where
are the twelve tribes? could he have shown them to him? No. But why
not? Was it because they were not to be seen? No; but because Agrippa
had not eyes to see them. The twelve tribes lay far beyond the range
of Agrippa's vision. It needed the eye of faith and the gracious light
of the Spirit of God to be able to discern the twelve loaves, ordered
upon the pure table in the sanctuary of God. There they were, and Paul
saw them there, though the moment in which he gave utterance to his
sublime conviction was as dark as it well could be. Faith is not
governed by appearances. It takes its stand upon the lofty rock of
God's eternal Word, and, in all the calmness and certainty of that
holy elevation, feeds upon the immutable word of Him who cannot lie.
Unbelief may stupidly stare about and ask, Where are the twelve
tribes? or how can they be found and restored? It is impossible to
give an answer. Not because there is no answer to be given, but
because unbelief is utterly incapable of rising to the elevated point
from which the answer can be seen. Faith is as sure that the memorial
of the twelve tribes of Israel is before the eye of Israel's God, as
it is that the twelve loaves were laid on the golden table every
Sabbath day. But who can convince the skeptic or the infidel of this?
who can secure credence for such a truth from those who are governed,
in all things, by reason or sense, and know nothing of what it is to
hope against hope? Faith finds divine certainties and eternal
realities in the midst of a scene where reason and sense can find
nothing. Oh for a more profound faith! May we grasp, with more intense
earnestness, every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord,
and feed upon it in all the artless simplicity of a little child.
We shall now turn to the second point in our chapter, namely, the
apostacy of Israel after the flesh, and the divine judgment thereon.
"And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian,
went out among the children of Israel: and this son of an Israelitish
woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp: and the
Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed.
And they brought him unto Moses; ... and they put him in ward, that
the mind of the Lord might be showed them. And the Lord spake unto
Moses, saying, 'Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and
let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the
congregation stone him.'... And Moses spake to the children of Israel,
that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and
stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the Lord
commanded Moses." (Ver. 10-23.)
The peculiar place assigned by the inspired penman to this narrative
is striking and interesting. I have no doubt whatever but that it is
designed to give us the opposite side of the picture presented in the
opening verses of the chapter. Israel after the flesh has grievously
failed, and sinned against Jehovah; the name of the Lord has been
blasphemed amongst the Gentiles; wrath has come upon the nation; the
judgments of an offended God have fallen upon them; but the day is
coming when the dark and heavy cloud of judgment shall roll away, and
then shall the twelve tribes, in their unbroken unity, stand forth
before all the nations as the amazing monument of Jehovah's
faithfulness and loving-kindness. "And in that day thou shalt say, O
Lord, I will praise Thee; though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger
is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength
and my song, He also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall
ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye
say, Praise the Lord, call upon His name, declare His doings among the
people, make mention that His name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for
he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out
and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of
Israel in the midst of thee." (Isa. xii.) "For I would not, brethren,
that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in
your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until
the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be
saved: as it is written, 'There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer,
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is My covenant
unto them, when I shall take away their sins.' As concerning the
gospel, they are enemies for your sakes; but as touching the election,
they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of
God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed
God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief; even so have
these also now not believed in your mercy, that they also may obtain
mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have
mercy upon all. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways
past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who
hath been His counselor? or who hath first given to Him, and it shall
be recompensed to him again? For of Him and through Him and to Him are
all things; to whom be glory forever. Amen." (Rom. xi. 25-36.)
Passages might be multiplied to prove that though Israel is suffering
the divine judgment because of sin, yet "the gifts and calling of God
are without repentance"--that though the blasphemer is being stoned
without the camp, the twelve loaves are undisturbed within the
sanctuary. "The voices of the prophets" declare, and the voices of
apostles re-echo the glorious truth that "all Israel shall be saved;"
not because they have not sinned, but because "the gifts and calling
of God are without repentance." Let Christians beware how they tamper
with "the promises made unto the fathers." If these promises be
explained away or misapplied, it must necessarily weaken our moral
sense of the divine integrity and accuracy of Scripture as a whole. If
one part may be explained away, so may another; if one passage may be
vaguely interpreted, so may another; and thus it would come to pass
that we should be deprived of all that blessed certainty which
constitutes the foundation of our repose in reference to all that the
Lord hath spoken. But more of this as we dwell upon the remaining
chapters of our book.