Schoolmaster to Christ
LEVITICUS CHAPTER 24
Schoolmaster to Christ
LEVITICUS CHAPTER 24
Scripture Reading: Leviticus 24 (KJV)
There is very much to interest the spiritual mind in this brief section. We have seen in chapter 23, the history of the dealings of God with Israel. In the chapter now before us, we have two grand ideas: the unfailing record and memorial of the twelve tribes; and the apostasy of Israel after the flesh. 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 veil 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 for ever in your generations. He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the Lord continually" (vv. 1-4).
The "pure oil" represents the grace of the Holy Spirit founded on 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 on the death of Christ, and maintained by His priesthood. 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 on 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 veil 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 on Israel, but on one God had provided to look after it.
We further 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" (vv. 5-9).
There is no mention of leaven in these loaves. We conclude that they represent, 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 view of Jehovah, whatever might be their outward aspect. The twelve tribes are always before Him. Their memorial will 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 luster through the darkest hour of the nation's moral night.
We now turn to the second point in this chapter: the apostasy of Israel after the flesh and divine judgment. "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 comp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses" (vv. 10-23).
The peculiar place assigned by the inspired penman to this narrative is striking and interesting. It is probably 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 among the Gentiles. Wrath has come on the nation. The judgments of an offended God have fallen on them. But the day is coming when the dark and heavy cloud of judgment will roll away.
"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" (Is. 12).
"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 hare 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 judgements, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 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 for ever. Amen" (Rom. 11:25-36).
Let Christians beware how they tamper with "the promises made unto the fathers." If these promises be explained away or misapplied, it weakens our moral sense of God's integrity and accuracy of Scripture as a whole. If one part may be explained away, so may another. In other words, if one passage may be vaguely interpreted, so may another; and thus it would come to pass that we would be deprived of that blessed certainty constituting the foundation of our repose regarding all the Lord has spoken.
