THE so-called orthodox ministers and churches, though generally in favor of the Blair bill and kindred measures, are not wholly united in support of such legislation. Some there are who, while themselves Sunday-keepers, see the injustice of forcing its observance upon others, and recognize in the Blair bill a long step toward a union of Church and State in this country. Rev. M. D. Shutter, pastor of the Church of the Redeemer, Minneapolis, takes this view of the Blair bill. In a sermon preached in that city March 24, and published in the Tribune of the 25th, he said:—
“I am opposed to this measure because any attempt to promote by legislation the observance of any day as a day of religious worship is no part of the function of the State. . . . For the State to proceed upon the basis that such a thing is demanded by the law of God, is to establish the principle that the State has a right to determine what are the laws of God. The Sabbath is in debate even among Christians. The action contemplated in the Blair bill makes the State a partner in a religious controversy, and forces it to a decision against one set of claimants and in favor of the other. Its decision must then be enforced, and this is persecution. The principle itself is the one that lies at the bottom of a union of Church and State. Let Christian people translate the truths and doctrines of Christianity into their lives and not into the statutes. Conversions are not produced by law. We had a trial of the very thing to which this bill would lead, in the early days of this country, when each colony was dominated by a religious sect. We have gotten away from that condition. Let us take no backward steps!”
This is sound, and no man can show it to be otherwise. Some suppose that we oppose Sunday legislation simply because Sunday is not the Bible Sabbath. That is not the ground of our opposition. We would oppose just as strongly a bill to enforce the keeping of the Bible Sabbath, for the principle is the same whether the thing to be enforced be in accordance with the Scriptures or not. To legislate upon religious questions is to empower the courts to decide such questions as they do other questions of law and fact, and to enforce their decision by penalties, and that is persecution, whether the decision be scripturally correct or not. C. P. B.
NOTES.
By M. C. W.
THE altar of incense was two cubits, or three feet, high, and one and one-half feet square on the top. It was made of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, with a crown of gold round about the top, with horns, which were doubtless projections from the corners. What the shape of these horns was we are not informed. This altar stood in the holy place, opposite the entrance, and just before the vail which formed the door to the most holy place. Upon it was burned the holy incense, compounded by divine command (Ex. 30:34-38), none of which was to be used for any other purpose than that directed by the Lord.
THE altar of incense was really the altar of prayer. As the smoke of the sacrifices was ascending, as the sweet perfume of the cloud of incense arose, having been offered by the priests, the people were praying without that this token of their faith might be accepted in the sight of God, and that their sins might be forgiven through that great Sacrifice, typified by the lambs then offered.
THE incense symbolized that which makes the prayers of the people of God acceptable to him. The incense ascended with the prayers. "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand." Rev. 8:3, 4.
IT doubtless refers to God's grace which through his Holy Spirit perfects the prayers of his people. How can the prayers of poor, weak, foolish men be acceptable to God. Man's greatest eloquence, man's highest praise, are unworthy tributes to the Maker of the heavens and the earth; their petitions are unwise, poor, and imperfect. But if those prayers come from a sincere heart, they are accepted of God through grace. If he who offers them is humble, penitent, sincere, believing, God will not cast him off. God's Spirit will make the prayer effectual. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Rom. 8:26, 27.
THUS to the prayers of the saints is added the grace of God and the supplication of his Spirit, the Lord furnishing that which makes them effectual, and yet graciously accepting all as the prayers of his people. Rev. 5:8. Such prayers are offered in "the spirit of grace and of supplication." They ascend before God as a sweet-smelling savor, well pleasing and acceptable.
ONLY the priests (Aaron and his descendants) were to burn incense upon the altar. Ex. 30:7. Not even royalty could disregard the command of God, as King Uzziah proved by his rash act. 2 Chron. 26:16-21. See also Num. 16:35, 40. And only the incense compounded under the direction of the Lord could be used. "Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat-offering; neither shall ye pour drink-offering thereon." Ex. 30:9.
IT may then be said that Nadab and Abihu did not disobey the Lord, as there is no evidence that they used any other than the sacred incense, and the injunction as to what should be offered on the altar says nothing about fire. It forbids "strange incense," but not "strange fire."
BUT a little consideration will show that these priests not only transgressed the above command-ment, but another also. When the first offerings were made by Aaron and his sons, "there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fat." Lev. 9:24. This fire kindled upon the altar by the Lord should ever be kept burning; it should "never go out." Lev. 6:13. From this fire, divinely kindled, were to be taken the coals upon which the compound of sweet spices should be placed. Lev. 16:12; Num. 16:46. This fire was sacred fire.
"And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not." Lev. 10:1. That is, they took common fire, and, burning upon it the holy compound of spices, they also offered strange incense before the Lord. The perfume of the incense was the product of the mixture of the holy and the profane. It was strange fire with holy incense, and both together made "strange incense," an abomination unto the Lord. The command prescribed just the fire that should be used, and thus it precluded any other.
WHAT led Nadab and Abihu to this indifference regarding the holy and profane, can be learned by the record which follows. In the third verse we read: "Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified." This means that God would have all those who represent him or come near to him regard him as he is, holy, separate, and above all. His commands must be explicitly obeyed. Man is not to sit in judgment upon them, nor to class with his holy institutions those common to man, or originating in man. The sin of these priests was very great. Their actions unrebuked would have caused all Israel to sin. They were especially near to God, and the people would reason that if these priests could carelessly disregard God's command, certainly they (the people) could do so. The swift judgment of God was but a vindication of his holiness, and an act of justice to his people. Aaron must so regard it. Neither he nor his sons were to mourn the fate of the rebellious priests, lest their action should seem to excuse or condone the sin.
THEN follows another commandment from the Lord, which, from its connection with the occasion, indicates that the secret of Nadab and Abihu's sin lay in the transgression of the principle covered by the commandment. "And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations; and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses." Lev. 10:8-11. Nadab and Abihu were drunken. The finer sensibilities of the mind, the nicer discrimination of the moral faculties, had been blunted, or benumbed by the use of wine.
NOTHING so hardens the heart and stupefies the finer sensibilities of human nature as indulgence of appetite. It feeds the lower passions, but brings leanness to the soul. Ps. 106:14, 15. None are so indifferent to the feelings, wants, and woes of others as are the intemperate, or those given to appetite. And this is not only true as regards alcoholic drinks, but it is true in a greater or less degree as regards opium, tobacco, and other opiates and narcotics, as well as overindulgence in food. Gluttony is classed with drunkenness in the Scriptures (Prov. 23:20, 21): "Be not among wine-bibbers: among riotous eaters of flesh; for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty."
DANIEL and his fellows, whom God blessed greatly, would not partake of the wine and highly-seasoned food of the royal table, but used the simple diet of pulse and water. Dan. 1:8, 12. God blessed them greatly, and their wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the east. Verse 20. John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Lord's Anointed, was to drink neither wine nor strong drink, in order that he might fitly perform his exalted mission, discerning between the clean and the unclean.
GOD gives special warning to his people in the last days upon this very point: "The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying." Rom. 13:12, 13. "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." Luke 21:34, 35. That people in whose mouth is "found no guile," who are "without fault before the throne of God" (Rev. 14:5), certainly need to discern above all others the difference between the clean and the unclean, the sacred and the common, in order that they may render to God the glory and worship due to him. Rev. 14:6.
Those who do not heed these warnings, like Nadab and Abihu of old, will put no difference between the holy and the profane, neither will they show "difference between the unclean and the clean," and will hide their eyes from the Sabbath of the Lord, and God will be profaned among them. Eze. 22:26. In doing this, men make the commands of the Lord a matter of expediency and fancy. If they say that it does not matter whether we keep the seventh day or the first, one is as good as another, they make no difference between the holy and common; they say to the thief, It is no harm to steal; they say to the adulterer, God is not particular; and thus they become partakers with thieves and adulterers. Ps. 50:16-22.
NADAB and Abihu were both men who doubtless pleased the people. They evidently were not given to rebuking sin. They probably talked of the love of God, and the people made them idols. But God regards sin, whether it is revealed in all its hideous wickedness, or whether it is cloaked in urbanity, flattery, or careless indifference. Sin is the same. The only safe position is that in which every moral sense is alive and trained to discern between good and evil, holy and profane, clean and unclean, that we may not excuse sin under a generous cloak, or pleasant outward garb. A tender conscience is one of the most blessed of constant companions.
UNBELIEF AND ITS PUNISHMENT.
(Lesson 19, May 11, 1889.)
1. How far did the Israelites travel after they left Sinai before they encamped again?
"And they departed from the mount of the Lord three days' journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting-place for them." Num. 10:33.
2. How were they guided in selecting a place to camp?—Ib.
3. What did Moses say when the ark set forward?
"And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee." Verse 35.
4. What did he say when it rested?
"And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel." Verse 36.
5. When the people again complained, what followed?
"And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp." Num. 11:1.
6. What does the psalmist say was the reason they were punished? Ps. 78:20-22.
7. What made this murmuring inexcusable? Verses 23, 24.
8. Is it any less excusable if God's people complain now?
"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness." Lam. 3:22, 23.
9. In the instance under consideration, how were the people saved?
"And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched." Num. 11:2.
10. What was proved by that?
"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16.
11. Did this lesson prove sufficient to keep the people from murmuring? Num. 11:4-6.
12. When Moses heard their murmurings, how did he feel? Verses 11, 14.
13. What provision did the Lord make to lighten his burden? Verses 16, 17.
14. What did he say the people should have? Verse 18.
15. How abundantly did he say they should be supplied? Verses 19, 20.
16. What did Moses say of this great promise? Verses 21, 22.
17. What did the Lord reply to his implied doubt? Verse 23.250
18. How was the promise fulfilled? Verse 31; Ps. 78:27-29.
19. How did the people manifest their greed, and their distrust in God? Num. 11:32; Ps. 78:30, 31.
20. What was the result?
"And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague." Num. 11:33.
21. Did this cause the rest of the people to believe God?
"For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works." Ps. 78:32.
NOTE.
By Milton C. Wilcox
The rendering in our common version, which makes the quail to have been piled up "two cubits high upon the face of the earth," is uncalled for and unwarranted. The Revised Version gives the proper sense and rendering, by putting it, "about two cubits above the face of the earth." The Vulgate has it, "And they flew in the air, about two cubits above the earth." This is a very free translation, nevertheless it exactly expresses the sense of the original. The quails flew about breast high, and so were easily killed. Many readers of this will recall flights of pigeons in such numbers as to darken the sun, and when they flew so low as to be easily knocked down with clubs. In the case under consideration, the quails were brought miraculously, and were doubtless in miraculous numbers; but the Bible, rightly translated, gives no countenance to the absurdity of either living or dead birds being piled up three feet high for a space of two days' journey in diameter.
The children of Israel remained at Horeb for nearly or quite a year, and there they celebrated the first passover after departing from Egypt. Num. 9:1-14. They certainly did not depart from Horeb till as late as the latter part of the second month of the second year. During this time, Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, remained with them, ever learning new lessons of God's wondrous power, glory, and love. He was a man of excellent spirit, through whom God could give wise counsel.
That Jethro feared God is evident from his acknowledgment of the Lord in Ex. 18:11: "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods; for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them." His knowledge of the true God, received from his ancestor Abraham, had evidently become somewhat dimmed by association with surrounding idolatrous tribes; but God in his providence brought him into connection with his people that Jethro's knowledge might be increased, and his faith confirmed; and that he might be a faithful priest unto his people.
The matter of dividing Israel and appointing judges over the different divisions was first advised by Jethro. The wisdom of the man is indicated by the character of the judges he would have appointed, —"able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness;" and his reverence for God is shown in his desire to have this advice in harmony with God's will, —"If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so." Ex. 18:21, 23. And Moses, meek above all men, willingly accepts the advice.
Moses invites his brother-in-law to go with them as a guide, not to go before them and direct them in their journeys, for this was done by the pillar of cloud; but evidently to impart to the Israelites a knowledge of the country through which they traveled. What things they could do for themselves, the Lord required them to do.
The burden of Moses was still further divided by the council of seventy. As with the judges, these men were not elected by the people, but appointed by the Lord through Moses. Upon these seventy, God placed his Spirit. Moses was a true servant of God. It was not honor that he sought. He was willing that God's Spirit should be placed upon others as upon himself. Joshua became jealous for Moses, but the reply of the man of God revealed the unselfishness of his character: "Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them." See Num. 11:16, 17, 24-30.
It has been said that it is better for one man to educate ten men to work than for the one man to do ten men's work. It is a sign of envy or jealousy for man to desire to limit or check the advancement of others. He does not do it to relieve them from burdens, but he fears that it will detract from his own honor or position. Of course, it may be true that the individuals may not be fitted for advance positions; it may not be for the honor of God's cause that they be given responsible places. In that case, their advancement ought to be opposed. But it is well to be careful lest envy be the root of opposition instead of the glory of God. Joshua envied for Moses' sake; Moses rejoiced in the multiplied power for the Lord's sake.
There seems to have been two giving of quails. The first was when the children of Israel came into the Wilderness of Sin. Ex. 16. At that time, the quails were given before the manna. The quails came at evening, the manna fell the next morning. Verses 8, 12-14. But the giving of quails referred to in our lesson, mentioned in Num. 11, was a year after the first giving, and after the mixed multitude had become weary of the manna. The first giving is alluded to in Ps. 105:40; the second in Ps. 78:26-31 and 106:14, 15.
This mixed multitude were doubtless an amalgamation of Egyptian and Israelitish blood, who left Egypt through fear. They "fell a lusting" for the fish, and "the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic." Some of these strong pungent plants were regarded sacred, and were used in the licentious idolatrous feasts where they stimulated appetite and over indulgence, and excited the baser passions. These murmurers were continually looking back and desiring the things left behind. The promised land of milk and honey was eclipsed by the fancied hardships and the lusts of their hearts. They doubted God's promises of the land just before, they doubted his power to supply food for their present need; therefore God "gave them their request; but sent leanness of soul." Ps. 106:15.
He who starts in the Christian life and is continually looking back and longing for the things left behind, is doing just what Israel did in looking back to Egypt. He will, if wise, take such feelings as an indication that his heart is not perfect; he is double-minded, and therefore unstable in all his ways. He lacks faith in God, and consecration to his service. He prizes earth more than Heaven, temporal things more than eternal. Lot's wife looked back; "remember Lot's wife." She looked back with longing for her home in the wicked city of Sodom. Said Jesus, "No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62. "Looking" indicates interest in that toward which the eyes are directed. It shows a divided heart to seem to be doing one thing while absorbed in another. The only direction to look is unto Jesus (Heb. 12:2); the anxiety should be for eternal life, not the food and drink which perishes. Matt. 6:31-34. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Some other way may bring earthly prosperity, but it will always result in leanness of soul. M. C. W.
THE temple at Jerusalem was accounted as one of the wonders of the world. In it was the perfection of architectural beauty. The massive stones with which its superstructure was constructed were of such size as to almost baffle the imagination; some of them, according to Josephus, were sixty and seventy feet in length, eight and ten feet in width, and seven and eight feet in thickness. The main temple was surrounded with numerous buildings, courts, porches, colonnades, supported with beautiful pillars, and ornamented with magnificent gates and archways. Moreover, it had been adorned with precious stones and gifts (Luke 21:5); its magnificent dome was overlaid with pure gold, so that it is said that travelers, approaching it when the sun was shining upon it, saw in it, as it were, a great mountain of burning gold. No wonder the disciples marveled, and were saddened at the thought of desolation coming to that (their) magnificent and almost worshiped temple. To their surprised and grieved inquiry, Jesus makes answer something like this: "You call my attention to these buildings and great stones; to its glory and beauty. You think its destruction will baffle man, that its desolation would be sacrilege; yet I now tell you plainly, that the time is rapidly drawing nigh when there shall not be one stone left upon another." Thus did Jesus foretell and pronounce the destruction of the temple. They did not comprehend the deep significance of the awful doom of the beautiful temple, but its destruction is full of meaning to us as well as to them.
DESPITE its divine origin, it was no longer God's house. A little before Jesus had spoken of it as "My Father's house." They had forgotten the Father, corrupted his worship in it, and turned it into a den of thieves; now, as he leaves it for the last time, he speaks of it as "your house." "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." When any institution or ordinance which God has ordained is perverted and abused, it ceases to be his, and is doomed to destruction. Twice already had the temple been destroyed, but their cup of iniquity was not full; the people were permitted to return and rebuild it. Now their iniquity was finished. In that very temple, the Lord of the temple would shortly be condemned to death. The greater than the temple, to whom it pointed, was rejected; the temple would, therefore, be destroyed. The ordinances of ceremonial worship were of old turned into mere instruments of selfishness and hypocrisy. God refused to own them, and spoke of them with contempt as being theirs, and not his. "Your country is desolate;" "your sacrifices" are purposeless; "your new moons and feasts" are loathsome to my soul. Isa. 1. Thus does God speak of perverted ordinances. He will not own them as his, though he instituted them. The churches of Asia, when they ceased to represent him and do his work, were swept away, their candlestick as well as their light withdrawn. So it shall be with the false and worldly professor. "If any man defile the temple of the Holy Ghost, him will God destroy." The destruction of the temple is the judgment of all perverted ordinances.
THE talk concerning the destruction of the temple led on to the consideration of that further and more awful desolation that was coming upon the whole world. The two events spoken of—the destruction of the temple, and his second coming and the end of the world—were blended together, as prophecy and fulfillment. The whole prophecy was telescopic; beginning with the destruction of Jerusalem, it would be drawn out at last until the full length of it would be reached at the end of the age of which he spake. There was to be an evolution of events, beginning with this nearer one and ending with that more distant one. The destruction of Jerusalem was but a miniature fulfillment of the grand prophecy of the destruction of the world. The appalling circumstances attending the first would be but a preface to the yet more appalling events attending the last. What he said to his present disciples concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and their demeanor in view of that event, he says to his disciples in all ages concerning their attitude and behavior in view of the end of the world. The careful student will not have difficulty in disentangling this purposely ambiguous prophecy. It was a part of the wisdom and love of Jesus to throw over this whole subject a kind of vail, that we might be stimulated to study it the more eagerly. The first part of the prophecy, concerning the temple, has been fulfilled; the second part, concerning his coming and the end of the world, awaits fulfillment, and we are admonished to watch, in view of its imminence. Consider the substance of his instructions.
"TAKE heed, lest any man deceive you." During the interim of time before the actual destruction of the temple and city, many attempts would be made to deceive the disciples. False Christs would appear and deceive many. Their faith in him and his teachings would be assailed, and some would apostatize. This was actually true. It is true still, in reference to the greater and still pending event. Heresies of all kinds, false doctrine, denial of Jesus, and careless and sometimes almost wicked explaining away of the plain statements of the Scripture, will appear and be put forth. Scoffers will arise and inquire, with derision, "Where is the promise of his coming?" In his name—that is, building on his name—false teachers will deny almost everything which the Scripture teaches,—his Godhead, his real humanity, the significance of his incarnation, his cross, and his resurrection. Events similar to those predicted as being signs of his coming, and having some resemblance to them, will be pointed out as embodying all the fulfillment we need expect. So plausible will it all be, that those who are not on their guard will be deceived.
JESUS did not tell them the exact time of the destruction of the temple; so neither would he tell them the exact time of his coming. They were not to be deceived by appearances. The end was not yet, though when it would be he did not tell them. It was hidden among the unrevealed secrets of the Father. Acts 1:8; Matt. 24:36. His appearing was certain as a matter of fact, but uncertain, so far as our knowledge is concerned, as to the time.
THE signs of his coming were to be many, but they must be carefully studied, and hasty conclusions must not be formed. First, there must be wars. There have been many of these, and yet the final251conflict of nations has not come; the universal rising of nation against nation to hurl themselves against each other, has not yet taken place, though several times in the history of the world since then it has seemed as though that period had arrived. It will yet come.
Earthquakes.—There have been earthquakes, some of them appalling in their magnitude, and yet the grand and awful catastrophe which will take place has not yet shaken this world to its foundations, though even now the smoldering fires may be gathering beneath to precipitate that tragedy upon the inhabitants of the world.
Famines.—There have been famines that have swept away millions, and yet the great and final starvation has not come.
Troubles.—Social disorders, political complications, have been in the world since then, and are even now rife among the people and in cabinets. These are all portents, but not complete fulfillments.
Persecutions.—There have been awful persecutions; almost, if not entirely, every detail of the prophesied persecutions has been realized by God's faithful servants; yet the era of frightful persecution, which will yet break upon the people of God under the reign of the great antichrist, has not begun, though there are not wanting signs of its approach. The long lull in the world's opposition to the church is ominous. The church is sleeping in the delusion that the world, the flesh, and the devil have become reconciled to Christ and his gospel. Is it not rather that the church has accepted the world's patronage and fallen away from the high place of separation and testimony, having bought peace or taken a bribe, and fallen asleep under the power of her arch-enemy? Is there not danger that Christ will come and find a part, at least, of his church asleep?
OUR Lord closes this part of his discourse (verse 13) with this word of encouragement: "But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." In view of all these things, and the certainty of our Lord's second coming, let us take the lessons of this great discourse to heart. The fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the temple is the guarantee of the fulfillment of the larger prophecy concerning the end of the world. As the faithful ones in Jerusalem escaped from the desolations, so shall we, if faithful, escape the great tribulation which shall come upon the whole earth.
—Abridged from notes by Geo. F. Pentecost, D. D., in Bible Studies.