Separation And Service; Or, Thoughts On Numbers VI, VII.

J. HUDSON TAYLOR.

London MORGAN &amp; SCOTT, 12, Paternoster Buildings , E.C. CHINA INLAND MISSION, Newington Green , N. PRINTED BY WOODFALL AND KINDER, LONG ACRE LONDON...

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INTRODUCTORY.

For many years these chapters had no special interest to me; but I have never ceased to be thankful that I was early led to read the Word of God in regular course: it was through this habit that these chapters first became specially precious to me. I was travelling on a missionary tour in the province of Cheh-kiang , and had to pass the night in a very wicked town. All the inns were dreadful places; and the people seemed to have their consciences seared, and their hearts sealed against the Truth

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THE INSTITUTION OF THE ORDER OF NAZARITES.

The first twenty-one verses of Numb. vi. give us an account of the institution and ordinances of the order of Nazarites. And let us note at the outset that this institution, like every other good and perfect gift, came from above; that God Himself gave this privilege—unasked—to His people; thereby showing His desire that "whosoever will" of His people may be brought into closest relationship to Himself. It was very gracious of God to permit His people to become Nazarites. Israel might have been

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IMPLICIT OBEDIENCE: verses 3, 4.

"He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk." The first thing that we note is, that as the obedience of Adam was tested in the Garden by the prohibition of one tree—a tree pleasant to look upon, and good for food—so was the obedien

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ENTIRE CONSECRATION: verse 5.

"All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord , he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow." We have already seen that God tested the obedience of the Nazarite in the matter of food: pleasing God was rather to be chosen than the most tempting cluster of grapes. But in the foregoing words we find that his obedience is further tested, and this in a way whi

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HOLINESS TO THE LORD: verses 6-8.

"All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die; because the consecration of his God is upon his head. All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord ." Here we have a most solemn and important prohibition—to refrain from all uncleanness caused by contact with death. Death is the wages of sin: the consecrated one was alike to keep a

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UNWITTING DEFILEMENT: verses 9-12.

"If any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the priest shall offer the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his hea

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THE HEINOUSNESS OF SIN.

The teaching here, and that of offerings for sins of ignorance, is much needed in this day, when there is a dangerous tendency in some quarters to regard sin as misfortune, and not as guilt. The awful character of sin is shown to mankind by its consequences . Man's heart is so darkened by the Fall, and by personal sinfulness, that otherwise he would regard sin as a very small matter. But when we think of all the pain that men and women have endured since the Creation, of all the miseries of whic

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CLEANSING ONLY THROUGH SACRIFICE.

Let us not lose sight of the fact that the accidental death of any one near the Nazarite—that the thoughtless putting forth of the hand even—might violate his vow of consecration as truly, if not as guiltily, as an act of deliberate transgression; in either case all the previous time was lost, and the period of consecration had to be recommenced after his cleansing. And that cleansing could only be brought about through sacrifice; the sin-offering must die ; the burnt-offering must die ; without

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ACCEPTANCE ONLY IN CHRIST: verses 13-15.

"And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; And he shall offer his offering unto the Lord , one he-lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt-offering, and one ewe-lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin-offering, and one ram without blemish for peace-offerings, and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread ano

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THE PRESENTATION OF THE NAZARITE.

Let us now look into the law of the Nazarite when the days of his separation were fulfilled. The first thing that strikes our notice is, "He shall be brought," not, he shall come. Why is this? and why is it that the law is so explicit as to every detail of ritual and service, scarcely leaving any room for voluntary action?—we say scarcely , because in the twenty-first verse there is one little clause, "Beside that that his hand shall get," which does leave room for additional tokens of gratitude

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THE LAW OF THE OFFERINGS.

When we come to the offerings enumerated in v. 14, we notice that they are mentioned in the almost invariable order of enumeration —first the burnt-offering, then the sin-offering, and lastly the peace offering; but when in v. 16 we come to the offering up of the sacrifices, we notice that as always the sin-offering is the first to be offered . It is somewhat remarkable that the actual order of offering, and the order of enumeration should not correspond; and it is likewise noteworthy that the s

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THE BURNT-OFFERING.

To return to the order of enumeration: the burnt-offering is always mentioned first, because it is the highest in character, and gave most pleasure to God . It was wholly the Lord's ; no part of it was eaten by the priest who offered it, nor by the offerer who presented it, it was all and only for God's satisfaction. When Noah offered his burnt-offering, the Lord smelled a sweet savour, and blessed him and his posterity. When Abraham in purpose offered up his son Isaac, God said, "By myself have

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THE SIN-OFFERING AND THE PEACE-OFFERING.

The sin-offering, as its name indicates, recognized the offerer as guilty and defiled, but obtaining forgiveness and cleansing through the death of the victim in his stead. We see Christ as our sin-offering in Isa. liii. 4-10. But guilt removed still leaves the believer needing the imputed righteousness of Christ , and acceptance before God , which are the aspects of Christ's death foreshadowed, as we have seen by the burnt-offering. Lastly, the peace-offering—part of which was consumed on the a

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WHY IS IT FOUND HERE?

And the reply is twofold. There is the Divine side. Flowing from God's heart of love first came the privilege of Nazarite consecration; and then, by the act of consecration, His loving heart is so gladdened that it further overflows in these rich benedictions. Looking, on the other hand, at the human side, we may learn that the soul which is fully consecrated always receives the blessing of God . Where that blessing is not enjoyed, there is always something unreal or defective in the consecratio

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THE REAL MEANING OF BLESSING?

We frequently use the word so vaguely as to lose much of its preciousness, and to overlook the primary meaning in some of its secondary significations. For instance, we use it frequently as a synonym of praise, and in speaking of blessing God , we think of praising Him. But blessing does not merely mean praise, for God blesses us. Again, sometimes we use it for some gracious gift, as when we speak of the blessing of peace or of plenty. But blessing does not only signify gift, for when we bless G

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THE THREE-FOLD BENEDICTION: verses 24-26.

"The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: "The LORD make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: "The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. " We have dwelt upon the meaning of blessing—the moving of the heart towards an object of affection and complacency, and noticed that this is naturally accompanied by gift or ascription, as the case may be. When love overflows, loving words, loving embraces, or loving gifts instinctively follow. In the light of the fuller revel

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THE BLESSING OF THE FATHER.

Considered as a father's blessing could anything be more appropriate than "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee"? Is not this just what every loving father seeks to do—to bless and keep his children? He does not find it an unwelcome task, but his greatest delight. Offer to relieve him of the responsibility and to adopt his child, and see what his reply will be! Nor may we confine ourselves to paternal love in thinking of this subject; but rather take it as parental love, embracing also the love of

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THE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY.

The second clause of the blessing is the blessing of the Son , which is not less full and appropriate. Through eternal ages the Son of God , He became, in the fulness of time, the Son of Man. The Brightness of His Father's glory, the Sun of Righteousness, He came to manifest, as well as to speak of, the Father's love. He became the Light of the world, as well as the Lamb of God ; but in each aspect doing the will, as well as the work of God , He thus revealed the wondrous love and grace of the F

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THE BLESSING OF THE SON AND BRIDEGROOM.

Jehovah, the Son, make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto Thee. The first clause of the three-fold blessing told of the going out of the heart of the invisible Father ; now, when we come to the blessing of the Son , we read, "The Lord make his face shine upon thee," or, in other words, make visibly manifest His favour towards thee. The Son of God is the Kinsman who has the right to redeem, the Friend who sticketh closer than a brother, the One who has come, not only to be the Light o

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THE LORD, THE SPIRIT.

We have considered the bountiful overflow of the Father's love; and our hearts have burned within us as we dwelt upon and felt the glow of the love of the Son . Now, as we think of the blessing of the Lord , the Spirit , may He reveal Himself to us through these holy Words, which were written by His inspiration and which can never be fully understood and enjoyed save by His own illumination. The Bible is a supernatural book, a divine revelation: the Holy Spirit is the supernatural, the divine Gu

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THE BLESSING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

"Jehovah, the Spirit, lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." The blessing of the Spirit is essential to the completeness of the benediction. We are struck, however, with the similarity of this blessing to that which precedes it; nor is the similarity surprising. For, as the Son came to reveal the Father , so the Spirit has come to reveal the Son . Christ was a true Comforter ; but His personal work on earth being finished, He ascended on high to minister for His people as their

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HIS COUNTENANCE.

"Lift up His countenance upon thee." We have already dwelt on the significance of the face or countenance (the same original word) as revealing the emotions of the heart. We see from these words that it is the purpose of God that the presence and the love of the Spirit should be made known to those in whom He dwells. When He lifts up His countenance upon us, we walk in conscious security and freedom; but if the Spirit be grieved, the light of His countenance is hidden from us, and we walk in dar

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THE PEACE OF THE SPIRIT.

The Lord Jesus , when on earth, said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." But here it is the Spirit who is spoken of as bestowing peace: why is this? Because the Spirit of God makes real things real to us , and enables us practically to enjoy the blessings procured for us by the death and resurrection and priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus . Many a believer to whom Christ has left

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SEALING WITH THE NAME OF GOD: verse 27.

"And they shall put My Name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them." With these words this wonderful chapter closes, and the great object of God in bestowing His blessing upon His people is revealed: "They shall put My Name upon the children of Israel," or, in other words, shall cause them not only to become the people of God , but also to become manifestly such. In olden time names were not meaningless, but were descriptive of character or relationship. The various names of God are

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Princely Service. Numb. vii.

We learned from Numbers vi, God's requirements of those who desire to take the privileged position of separation to Himself. We found also in the conclusion of the same chapter the overflow of God's love in the rich and comprehensive blessing which so appropriately follows, and forms the connecting link between Nazarite separation and the princely service set forth in Chap. vii,—one of the longest in the Bible, and one full of repetition. We now propose to consider more fully why this service of

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SERVICE THE CONSTRAINT OF LOVE.

Is it not that just as separation to God issues in blessing, so does blessing from God constrain to service, and especially to the highest form of service, that which is most God -like, that of Giving ? God so loved the world that He gave ; Christ so loved the Church that He gave ; the Holy Spirit so loves the Church that He gives ; and redeemed ones, created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works, when led by the Spirit , first give themselves unto God , and then delight in such other free-will o

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GOD'S DELIGHT IN LOVE-GIFTS.

Is it not in order to reveal the heart of God ? to show His delight in the loving offerings of His servants? The record is not tedious to Him; and it becomes marvellously interesting to us, when we get the key, and are brought into sympathy with the heart of Him who finds infinite satisfaction in each gift, of each one of His children, which is the outcome of gratitude and love. In the days of our Lord's life on earth, when the shadow of the cross was already upon Him, one only amongst all His f

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FREE-WILL OFFERINGS: verses 1, 2.

"And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it ... and all the vessels thereof, ... that the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, ... offered." When the Lord gave the plan of the tabernacle and of the vessels, He likewise gave to the people willing hearts to offer, and skill to execute. There was no need to press them; the workers and contributors were those whose heart stirred them up, and whose spirit was ma

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GLADSOME ACCEPTANCE: verses 3-5.

"And they brought their offering before the Lord , six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; ... and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shall give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service." It is interesting to note that the first offerings recorded were for the purpose of assisting in the moving of the tabernacle; it was not God's purpose that it should be stationary. Nor is God's

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ACCORDING TO HIS SERVICE: verses 5-9.

"Thou shall give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service, and four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none; because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they

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THE DEDICATORY OFFERINGS: verses 10, 11.

"And the princes offered for dedicating of the altar in the day that it was anointed.... And the Lord said unto Moses, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedicating of the altar." The offerings recorded in the early verses of this chapter were given in connection with the setting up of the Tabernacle, and had reference to its transportation. But the offerings now to be considered had reference to the altar, and the sacrifices to be offered thereon. Their number, the

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THE DISPLAY OF THE GIFTS.

The twelve princes, the representatives of the Israel of God , brought their offerings before the altar, and would have left them there: they were all exactly alike, and the gifts might have been speedily accepted, and briefly recorded, if recorded at all. But the Lord said unto Moses, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day,—or, literally, one prince a day , a sentence which is expressed twice in the Original, showing God's regard for order and method in all things which concern

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THE PERSON OF THE OFFERER. verses 12-17.

"And he that offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah:" etc. As we read of the offerings of the twelve princes, we note that, valuable as they manifestly are, the offerer whose love prompted the gifts, is made more prominent in the inspired Record. The person of each offerer is brought before us, both as an individual, and in his relationship to the tribe of which he is the representative, before any enumeration is made of his gifts; and when the

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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ALTAR.

In this glad summing up of the great aggregate value of the offerings, we not only get a further view of the Divine complacency in the love-gifts of His people, and in the persons of the offerers, but the object of the offerings is also brought into special prominence. As the list of each prince's offerings was preceded and followed by reference to the person of the offerer, so the list of totals is preceded and followed by the thought, This was the dedication of the altar in the day when it was

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