Chapter XIX: Appendix: 757 (14)

When Moses came from the divine presence in the mount, where he had received the tables of the testimony, guilty Israel could not endure the light that glorified his countenance. How much less can transgressors look upon the Son of God when he shall appear in the glory of his Father, surrounded by all the heavenly host, to execute judgment upon the transgressors of his law and the rejecters of his atonement. Those who have disregarded the law of God and trodden under foot the blood of Christ, “the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men,” shall hide themselves “in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains,” and they shall say to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”[516] “In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, ... to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.”[517]

Then it will be seen that Satan’s rebellion against God has resulted in ruin to himself, and to all that chose to become his subjects. He has represented that great good would result from transgression; but it will be seen that “the wages of sin is death.”[518] “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.”[519] Satan, the root of every sin, and all evil-workers, who are his branches, shall be utterly cut off. An end will be made of sin, with all the woe and ruin that have resulted from it. Says the psalmist, “Thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name forever and ever. O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end.”[520]

But amid the tempest of divine judgment, the children of God will have no cause for fear. “The Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”[521] The day that brings terror and destruction to the transgressors of God’s law, will bring to the obedient, “joy unspeakable, and full of glory.” “Gather my saints together unto me,” saith the Lord, “those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness; for God is judge himself.”[522]

“Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not.”[523] “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, _the people in whose heart is my law_.” “Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, ... thou shalt no more drink it again.” “I, even I, am he that comforteth you.”[524] “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”[525]

The great plan of redemption results in fully bringing back the world into God’s favor. All that was lost by sin is restored. Not only man but the earth is redeemed, to be the eternal abode of the obedient. For six thousand years, Satan has struggled to maintain possession of the earth. Now God’s original purpose in its creation is accomplished. “The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.”[526]

“From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the Lord’s name is to be praised.”[527] “In that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.” “And Jehovah shall be king over all the earth.”[528] Says the Scripture, “Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” “All thy commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever.”[529] The sacred statutes which Satan has hated and sought to destroy, will be honored throughout a sinless universe. And “as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.”[530]

Footnote 500:

Isa. 26:9, 10.

Footnote 501:

See Appendix, Note 5.

Footnote 502:

Ps. 105:43-45.

Footnote 503:

Jer. 10:10-12, 14-16.

Footnote 504:

John 8:44.

Footnote 505:

Isa. 51:7.

Footnote 506:

Isa. 26:21.

Footnote 507:

Mal. 3:2.

Footnote 508:

Matt. 16:27.

Footnote 509:

Ps. 50:3, 4.

Footnote 510:

2 Thess. 1:7, 8.

Footnote 511:

Ps. 68:8.

Footnote 512:

Heb. 12:26; Jer. 25:30; Joel 3:16.

Footnote 513:

Rev. 6:14.

Footnote 514:

Isa. 24:20.

Footnote 515:

Isa. 13:7, 8, 11, 13; Jer. 30:6.

Footnote 516:

Rev. 6:15-17.

Footnote 517:

Isa. 2:20, 21.

Footnote 518:

Rom. 6:23.

Footnote 519:

Mal. 4:1.

Footnote 520:

Ps. 9:5, 6.

Footnote 521:

Joel 3:16.

Footnote 522:

1 Peter 1:8; Ps. 50:5, 6.

Footnote 523:

Mal. 3:18.

Footnote 524:

Isa. 51:7, 22, 12.

Footnote 525:

Isa. 54:10.

Footnote 526:

Dan. 7:18.

Footnote 527:

Ps. 113:3.

Footnote 528:

Zech. 14:9.

Footnote 529:

Ps. 119:89; 111:7, 8.

Footnote 530:

Isa. 61:11.

THE WILDERNESS-TRAINING

“He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, howling
wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the
apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over
her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on
her wings; so the Lord alone did lead him.”

THE TABERNACLE AND ITS SERVICES—30

The command was communicated to Moses while in the mount with God, “Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them;”[550] and full directions were given for the construction of the tabernacle. By their apostasy, the Israelites forfeited the blessing of the divine presence, and for the time rendered impossible the erection of a sanctuary for God among them. But after they were again taken into favor with Heaven, the great leader proceeded to execute the divine command.

Chosen men were especially endowed by God with skill and wisdom for the construction of the sacred building. God himself gave to Moses the plan of that structure, with particular directions as to its size and form, the materials to be employed, and every article of furniture which it was to contain. The holy places made with hands were to be “figures of the true,” “patterns of things in the heavens,”[551]—a miniature representation of the heavenly temple where Christ, our great high priest, after offering his life as a sacrifice, was to minister in the sinner’s behalf. God presented before Moses in the mount a view of the heavenly sanctuary, and commanded him to make all things according to the pattern shown him. All these directions were carefully recorded by Moses, who communicated them to the leaders of the people.

For the building of the sanctuary, great and expensive preparations were necessary; a large amount of the most precious and costly material was required; yet the Lord accepted only free-will offerings. “Of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering,”[552] was the divine command repeated by Moses to the congregation. Devotion to God and a spirit of sacrifice were the first requisites in preparing a dwelling-place for the Most High.

All the people responded with one accord. “They came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold; and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the Lord.”[553]

“And every man with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and rams’ skins dyed red, and seal skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass, brought the Lord’s offering; and every man with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.

“And all the women that were wise-hearted, did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, the blue, and the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom, spun the goats’ hair.

“And the rulers brought the onyx stones, and the stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; and the spice, and the oil; for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.”[554]

While the building of the sanctuary was in progress, the people, old and young,—men, women, and children,—continued to bring their offerings, until those in charge of the work found that they had enough, and even more than could be used. And Moses caused to be proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.”[555] The murmurings of the Israelites and the visitations of God’s judgments because of their sins, are recorded as a warning to after-generations. And their devotion, their zeal and liberality, are an example worthy of imitation. All who love the worship of God, and prize the blessing of his sacred presence, will manifest the same spirit of sacrifice in preparing a house where he may meet with them. They will desire to bring to the Lord an offering of the very best that they possess. A house built for God should not be left in debt, for he is thereby dishonored. An amount sufficient to accomplish the work should be freely given, that the workmen may be able to say, as did the builders of the tabernacle, “Bring no more offerings.”

The tabernacle was so constructed that it could be taken apart and borne with the Israelites in all their journeyings. It was therefore small, being not more than fifty-five feet in length, and eighteen in breadth and height. Yet it was a magnificent structure. The wood employed for the building and its furniture was that of the acacia tree, which was less subject to decay than any other to be obtained at Sinai. The walls consisted of upright boards, set in silver sockets, and held firm by pillars and connecting bars; and all were overlaid with gold, giving to the building the appearance of solid gold. The roof was formed of four sets of curtains, the innermost of “fine-twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim of cunning work;”[556] the other three respectively were of goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red, and seal skins, so arranged as to afford complete protection.

The building was divided into two apartments by a rich and beautiful curtain, or vail, suspended from gold-plated pillars; and a similar vail closed the entrance of the first apartment. These, like the inner covering, which formed the ceiling, were of the most gorgeous colors, blue, purple, and scarlet, beautifully arranged, while inwrought with threads of gold and silver were cherubim to represent the angelic host who are connected with the work of the heavenly sanctuary, and who are ministering spirits to the people of God on earth.

The sacred tent was inclosed in an open space called the court, which was surrounded by hangings, or screens, of fine linen, suspended from pillars of brass. The entrance to this inclosure was at the eastern end. It was closed by curtains of costly material and beautiful workmanship, though inferior to those of the sanctuary. The hangings of the court being only about half as high as the walls of the tabernacle, the building could be plainly seen by the people without. In the court, and nearest the entrance, stood the brazen altar of burnt-offering. Upon this altar were consumed all the sacrifices made by fire unto the Lord, and its horns were sprinkled with the atoning blood. Between the altar and the door of the tabernacle was the laver, which was also of brass, made from the mirrors that had been the free-will offering of the women of Israel. At the laver the priests were to wash their hands and their feet whenever they went into the sacred apartments, or approached the altar to offer a burnt-offering unto the Lord.

In the first apartment, or holy place, were the table of show-bread, the candlestick, or lamp-stand, and the altar of incense. The table of show-bread stood on the north. With its ornamental crown, it was overlaid with pure gold. On this table the priests were each Sabbath to place twelve cakes, arranged in two piles, and sprinkled with frankincense. The loaves that were removed, being accounted holy, were to be eaten by the priests. On the south was the seven-branched candlestick, with its seven lamps. Its branches were ornamented with exquisitely wrought flowers, resembling lilies, and the whole was made from one solid piece of gold. There being no windows in the tabernacle, the lamps were never all extinguished at one time, but shed their light by day and by night. Just before the vail separating the holy place from the most holy and the immediate presence of God, stood the golden altar of incense. Upon this altar the priest was to burn incense every morning and evening, its horns were touched with the blood of the sin-offering, and it was sprinkled with blood upon the great day of atonement. The fire upon this altar was kindled by God himself, and was sacredly cherished. Day and night the holy incense diffused its fragrance throughout the sacred apartments, and without, far around the tabernacle.

Beyond the inner vail was the holy of holies, where centered the symbolic service of atonement and intercession, and which formed the connecting link between heaven and earth. In this apartment was the ark, a chest of acacia wood, overlaid within and without with gold, and having a crown of gold about the top. It was made as a depository for the tables of stone, upon which God himself had inscribed the ten commandments. Hence it was called the ark of God’s testament, or the ark of the covenant, since the ten commandments were the basis of the covenant made between God and Israel.

The cover of the sacred chest was called the mercy-seat. This was wrought of one solid piece of gold, and was surmounted by golden cherubim, one standing on each end. One wing of each angel was stretched forth on high, while the other was folded over the body[557] in token of reverence and humility. The position of the cherubim, with their faces turned toward each other, and looking reverently downward toward the ark, represented the reverence with which the heavenly host regard the law of God, and their interest in the plan of redemption.

Above the mercy-seat was the shekinah, the manifestation of the divine presence; and from between the cherubim, God made known his will. Divine messages were sometimes communicated to the high priest by a voice from the cloud. Sometimes a light fell upon the angel at the right, to signify approval or acceptance, or a shadow or cloud rested upon the one at the left to reveal disapproval or rejection.

The law of God, enshrined within the ark, was the great rule of righteousness and judgment. That law pronounced death upon the transgressor; but, above the law was the mercy-seat, upon which the presence of God was revealed, and from which, by virtue of the atonement, pardon was granted to the repentant sinner. Thus in the work of Christ for our redemption, symbolized by the sanctuary service, “mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”[558]

No language can describe the glory of the scene presented within the sanctuary,—the gold-plated walls reflecting the light from the golden candlestick, the brilliant hues of the richly embroidered curtains with their shining angels, the table, and the altar of incense, glittering with gold; beyond the second vail the sacred ark, with its mystic cherubim, and above it the holy shekinah, the visible manifestation of Jehovah’s presence; all but a dim reflection of the glories of the temple of God in heaven, the great center of the work for man’s redemption.

A period of about half a year was occupied in the building of the tabernacle. When it was completed, Moses examined all the work of the builders, comparing it with the pattern shown him in the mount, and the directions he had received from God. “As the Lord had commanded, even so had they done it; and Moses blessed them.”[559] With eager interest the multitudes of Israel crowded around to look upon the sacred structure. While they were contemplating the scene with reverent satisfaction, the pillar of cloud floated over the sanctuary, and descending, enveloped it. “And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”[560] There was a revealing of the divine majesty, and for a time even Moses could not enter. With deep emotion, the people beheld the token that the work of their hands was accepted. There were no loud demonstrations of rejoicing. A solemn awe rested upon all. But the gladness of their hearts welled up in tears of joy, and they murmured low, earnest words of gratitude that God had condescended to abide with them.

By divine direction the tribe of Levi was set apart for the service of the sanctuary. In the earliest times every man was the priest of his own household. In the days of Abraham, the priesthood was regarded as the birthright of the eldest son. Now, instead of the first-born of all Israel, the Lord accepted the tribe of Levi for the work of the sanctuary. By this signal honor he manifested his approval of their fidelity, both in adhering to his service and in executing his judgments when Israel apostatized in the worship of the golden calf. The priesthood, however, was restricted to the family of Aaron. Aaron and his sons alone were permitted to minister before the Lord; the rest of the tribe were intrusted with the charge of the tabernacle and its furniture, and they were to attend upon the priests in their ministration, but they were not to sacrifice, to burn incense, or to see the holy things till they were covered.

In accordance with their office, a special dress was appointed for the priests. “Thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty,”[561] was the divine direction to Moses. The robe of the common priest was of white linen, and woven in one piece. It extended nearly to the feet, and was confined about the waist by a white linen girdle embroidered in blue, purple, and red. A linen turban, or miter, completed his outer costume. Moses at the burning bush was directed to put off his sandals, for the ground whereon he stood was holy. So the priests were not to enter the sanctuary with shoes upon their feet. Particles of dust cleaving to them would desecrate the holy place. They were to leave their shoes in the court before entering the sanctuary, and also to wash both their hands and their feet before ministering in the tabernacle or at the altar of burnt-offering. Thus was constantly taught the lesson that all defilement must be put away from those who would approach into the presence of God.

The garments of the high priest were of costly material and beautiful workmanship, befitting his exalted station. In addition to the linen dress of the common priest, he wore a robe of blue, also woven in one piece. Around the skirt it was ornamented with golden bells, and pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet. Outside of this was the ephod, a shorter garment of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and white. It was confined by a girdle of the same colors, beautifully wrought. The ephod was sleeveless, and on its gold-embroidered shoulder-pieces were set two onyx stones, bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Over the ephod was the breastplate, the most sacred of the priestly vestments. This was of the same material as the ephod. It was in the form of a square, measuring a span, and was suspended from the shoulders by a cord of blue from golden rings. The border was formed of a variety of precious stones, the same that form the twelve foundations of the city of God. Within the border were twelve stones set in gold, arranged in rows of four, and, like those in the shoulder-pieces, engraved with the names of the tribes. The Lord’s direction was, “Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.”[562] So Christ, the great high priest, pleading his blood before the Father in the sinner’s behalf, bears upon his heart the name of every repentant, believing soul. Says the psalmist, “I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me.”[563]

At the right and left of the breastplate were two large stones of great brilliancy. These were known as the Urim and Thummim. By them the will of God was made known through the high priest. When questions were brought for decision before the Lord, a halo of light encircling the precious stone at the right was a token of the divine consent or approval, while a cloud shadowing the stone at the left was an evidence of denial or disapprobation.

The miter of the high priest consisted of the white linen turban, having attached to it by a lace of blue, a gold plate bearing the inscription, “Holiness to Jehovah.” Everything connected with the apparel and deportment of the priests was to be such as to impress the beholder with a sense of the holiness of God, the sacredness of his worship, and the purity required of those who came into his presence.

Not only the sanctuary itself, but the ministration of the priests, was to “serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.”[564] Thus it was of great importance; and the Lord, through Moses, gave the most definite and explicit instruction concerning every point of this typical service. The ministration of the sanctuary consisted of two divisions, a daily and a yearly service. The daily service was performed at the altar of burnt-offering in the court of the tabernacle, and in the holy place; while the yearly service was in the most holy.

No mortal eye but that of the high priest was to look upon the inner apartment of the sanctuary. Only once a year could the priest enter there, and that after the most careful and solemn preparation. With trembling he went in before God, and the people in reverent silence awaited his return, their hearts uplifted in earnest prayer for the divine blessing. Before the mercy-seat the high priest made the atonement for Israel; and in the cloud of glory, God met with him. His stay here beyond the accustomed time filled them with fear, lest because of their sins or his own he had been slain by the glory of the Lord.

The daily service consisted of the morning and evening burnt-offering, the offering of sweet incense on the golden altar, and the special offerings for individual sins. And there were also offerings for sabbaths, new moons, and special feasts.

Every morning and evening a lamb of a year old was burned upon the altar, with its appropriate meat-offering, thus symbolizing the daily consecration of the nation to Jehovah, and their constant dependence upon the atoning blood of Christ. God expressly directed that every offering presented for the service of the sanctuary should be “without blemish.”[565] The priests were to examine all animals brought as a sacrifice, and were to reject every one in which a defect was discovered. Only an offering “without blemish” could be a symbol of His perfect purity who was to offer himself as “a lamb without blemish and without spot.”[566] The apostle Paul points to these sacrifices as an illustration of what the followers of Christ are to become. He says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”[567] We are to give ourselves to the service of God, and we should seek to make the offering as nearly perfect as possible. God will not be pleased with anything less than the best we can offer. Those who love him with all the heart, will desire to give him the best service of the life, and they will be constantly seeking to bring every power of their being into harmony with the laws that will promote their ability to do his will.

In the offering of incense the priest was brought more directly into the presence of God than in any other act of the daily ministration. As the inner vail of the sanctuary did not extend to the top of the building, the glory of God, which was manifested above the mercy-seat, was partially visible from the first apartment. When the priest offered incense before the Lord, he looked toward the ark; and as the cloud of incense arose, the divine glory descended upon the mercy-seat and filled the most holy place, and often so filled both apartments that the priest was obliged to retire to the door of the tabernacle. As in that typical service the priest looked by faith to the mercy-seat which he could not see, so the people of God are now to direct their prayers to Christ, their great high priest, who, unseen by human vision, is pleading in their behalf in the sanctuary above.

The incense, ascending with the prayers of Israel, represents the merits and intercession of Christ, his perfect righteousness, which through faith is imputed to his people, and which can alone make the worship of sinful beings acceptable to God. Before the vail of the most holy place, was an altar of perpetual intercession, before the holy, an altar of continual atonement. By blood and by incense, God was to be approached,—symbols pointing to the great Mediator, through whom sinners may approach Jehovah, and through whom alone mercy and salvation can be granted to the repentant, believing soul.

As the priests morning and evening entered the holy place at the time of incense, the daily sacrifice was ready to be offered upon the altar in the court without. This was a time of intense interest to the worshipers who assembled at the tabernacle. Before entering into the presence of God through the ministration of the priest, they were to engage in earnest searching of heart and confession of sin. They united in silent prayer, with their faces toward the holy place. Thus their petitions ascended with the cloud of incense, while faith laid hold upon the merits of the promised Saviour prefigured by the atoning sacrifice. The hours appointed for the morning and the evening sacrifice were regarded as sacred, and they came to be observed as the set time for worship throughout the Jewish nation. And when in later times the Jews were scattered as captives in distant lands, they still at the appointed hour turned their faces toward Jerusalem, and offered up their petitions to the God of Israel. In this custom, Christians have an example for morning and evening prayer. While God condemns a mere round of ceremonies, without the spirit of worship, he looks with great pleasure upon those who love him, bowing morning and evening to seek pardon for sins committed, and to present their requests for needed blessings.

The show-bread was kept ever before the Lord as a perpetual offering. Thus it was a part of the daily sacrifice. It was called show-bread, or “bread of the presence,” because it was ever before the face of the Lord.[568] It was an acknowledgment of man’s dependence upon God for both temporal and spiritual food, and that it is received only through the mediation of Christ. God had fed Israel in the wilderness with bread from heaven, and they were still dependent upon his bounty, both for temporal food and spiritual blessings. Both the manna and the show-bread pointed to Christ, the living bread, who is ever in the presence of God for us. He himself said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven.”[569] Frankincense was placed upon the loaves. When the bread was removed every Sabbath, to be replaced by fresh loaves, the frankincense was burned upon the altar as a memorial before God.

The most important part of the daily ministration was the service performed in behalf of individuals. The repentant sinner brought his offering to the door of the tabernacle, and placing his hand upon the victim’s head, confessed his sins, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the innocent sacrifice. By his own hand the animal was then slain, and the blood was carried by the priest into the holy place and sprinkled before the vail, behind which was the ark containing the law that the sinner had transgressed. By this ceremony the sin was, through the blood, transferred in figure to the sanctuary. In some cases the blood was not taken into the holy place;[570] but the flesh was then to be eaten by the priest, as Moses directed the sons of Aaron, saying, “God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation.”[571] Both ceremonies alike symbolized the transfer of the sin from the penitent to the sanctuary.

Such was the work that went on day by day throughout the year. The sins of Israel being thus transferred to the sanctuary, the holy places were defiled, and a special work became necessary for the removal of the sins. God commanded that an atonement be made for each of the sacred apartments, as for the altar, to “cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.”[572]

Once a year, on the great day of atonement, the priest entered the most holy place for the cleansing of the sanctuary. The work there performed, completed the yearly round of ministration.

On the day of atonement, two kids of the goats were brought to the door of the tabernacle, and lots were cast upon them, “one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scape-goat.” The goat upon which the first lot fell was to be slain as a sin-offering for the people. And the priest was to bring his blood within the vail, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat. “And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins; and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.”[573]

“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness; and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited.”[574] Not until the goat had been thus sent away, did the people regard themselves as freed from the burden of their sins. Every man was to afflict his soul while the work of atonement was going forward. All business was laid aside, and the whole congregation of Israel spent the day in solemn humiliation before God, with prayer, fasting, and deep searching of heart.

Important truths concerning the atonement were taught the people by this yearly service. In the sin-offerings presented during the year, a substitute had been accepted in the sinner’s stead; but the blood of the victim had not made full atonement for the sin. It had only provided a means by which the sin was transferred to the sanctuary. By the offering of blood, the sinner acknowledged the authority of the law, confessed the guilt of his transgression, and expressed his faith in Him who was to take away the sin of the world; but he was not entirely released from the condemnation of the law. On the day of atonement the high priest, having taken an offering for the congregation, went into the most holy place with the blood, and sprinkled it upon the mercy-seat, above the tables of the law. Thus the claims of the law, which demanded the life of the sinner, were satisfied. Then in his character of mediator the priest took the sins upon himself, and leaving the sanctuary, he bore with him the burden of Israel’s guilt. At the door of the tabernacle he laid his hands upon the head of the scape-goat, and confessed over him “all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat.” And as the goat bearing these sins was sent away, they were with him regarded as forever separated from the people. Such was the service performed “unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.”[575]

As has been stated, the earthly sanctuary was built by Moses according to the pattern shown him in the mount. It was “a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices;” its two holy places were “patterns of things in the heavens;” Christ, our great high priest, is “a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”[576] As in vision the apostle John was granted a view of the temple of God in heaven, he beheld there “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.” He saw an angel “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.”[577] Here the prophet was permitted to behold the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven; and he saw there the “seven lamps of fire” and the “golden altar” represented by the golden candlestick and the altar of incense in the sanctuary on earth. Again, “the temple of God was opened,”[578] and he looked within the inner vail, upon the holy of holies. Here he beheld “the ark of His testament,”[578] represented by the sacred chest constructed by Moses to contain the law of God.

Moses made the earthly sanctuary, “according to the fashion that he had seen.” Paul declares that “the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry,” when completed, were “the patterns of things in the heavens.”[579] And John says that he saw the sanctuary in heaven. That sanctuary, in which Jesus ministers in our behalf, is the great original, of which the sanctuary built by Moses was a copy.

The heavenly temple, the abiding-place of the King of kings, where “thousand thousands minister unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before him,”[580] that temple filled with the glory of the eternal throne, where seraphim, its shining guardians, vail their faces in adoration,—no earthly structure could represent its vastness and its glory. Yet important truths concerning the heavenly sanctuary and the great work there carried forward for man’s redemption were to be taught by the earthly sanctuary and its services.

After his ascension, our Saviour was to begin his work as our high priest. Says Paul, “Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”[581] As Christ’s ministration was to consist of two great divisions, each occupying a period of time and having a distinctive place in the heavenly sanctuary, so the typical ministration consisted of two divisions, the daily and the yearly service, and to each a department of the tabernacle was devoted.

As Christ at his ascension appeared in the presence of God to plead his blood in behalf of penitent believers, so the priest in the daily ministration sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice in the holy place in the sinner’s behalf.

The blood of Christ, while it was to release the repentant sinner from the condemnation of the law, was not to cancel the sin; it would stand on record in the sanctuary until the final atonement; so in the type the blood of the sin-offering removed the sin from the penitent, but it rested in the sanctuary until the day of atonement.

In the great day of final award, the dead are to be “judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”[582] Then by virtue of the atoning blood of Christ, the sins of all the truly penitent will be blotted from the books of heaven. Thus the sanctuary will be freed, or cleansed, from the record of sin. In the type, this great work of atonement, or blotting out of sins, was represented by the services of the day of atonement,—the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary, which was accomplished by the removal, by virtue of the blood of the sin-offering, of the sins by which it had been polluted.

As in the final atonement the sins of the truly penitent are to be blotted from the records of heaven, no more to be remembered or come into mind, so in the type they were borne away into the wilderness, forever separated from the congregation.

Since Satan is the originator of sin, the direct instigator of all the sins that caused the death of the Son of God, justice demands that Satan shall suffer the final punishment. Christ’s work for the redemption of men and the purification of the universe from sin, will be closed by the removal of sin from the heavenly sanctuary and the placing of these sins upon Satan, who will bear the final penalty. So in the typical service, the yearly round of ministration closed with the purification of the sanctuary, and the confessing of the sins on the head of the scape-goat.

Thus in the ministration of the tabernacle, and of the temple that afterward took its place, the people were taught each day the great truths relative to Christ’s death and ministration, and once each year their minds were carried forward to the closing events of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, the final purification of the universe from sin and sinners.

Footnote 550:

Ex. 25:8.

Footnote 551:

Heb. 9:24, 23.

Footnote 552:

Ex. 25:2.

Footnote 553:

Ex. 35:21, 22.

Footnote 554:

Ex. 35:23-28, Rev. Ver.

Footnote 555:

Ex. 36:6.

Footnote 556:

Ex. 26:1.

Footnote 557:

See Eze. 1:11.

Footnote 558:

Ps. 85:10.

Footnote 559:

Ex. 39:43.

Footnote 560:

Ex. 40:34.

Footnote 561:

Ex. 28:2.

Footnote 562:

Ex. 28:29.

Footnote 563:

Ps. 40:17.

Footnote 564:

Heb. 8:5.

Footnote 565:

Ex. 12:5.

Footnote 566:

1 Peter 1:19.

Footnote 567:

Rom. 12:1.

Footnote 568:

Ex. 25:30.

Footnote 569:

John 6:48-51.

Footnote 570:

See Appendix, Note 9.

Footnote 571:

Lev. 10:17.

Footnote 572:

Lev. 16:19.

Footnote 573:

Lev. 16:16.

Footnote 574:

Lev. 16:21, 22.

Footnote 575:

Heb. 8:5.

Footnote 576:

Heb. 9:9, 23; 8:2.

Footnote 577:

Rev. 4:5; 8:3.

Footnote 578:

Rev. 11:19.

Footnote 579:

Acts 7:44; Heb. 9:21, 23.

Footnote 580:

Dan. 7:10.

Footnote 581:

Heb. 9:24.

Footnote 582:

Rev. 20:12.

THE SIN OF NADAB AND ABIHU-31

After the dedication of the tabernacle, the priests were consecrated to their sacred office. These services occupied seven days, each marked by special ceremonies. On the eighth day they entered upon their ministration. Assisted by his sons, Aaron offered the sacrifices that God required, and he lifted up his hands and blessed the people. All had been done as God commanded, and he accepted the sacrifice, and revealed his glory in a remarkable manner; fire came from the Lord, and consumed the offering upon the altar. The people looked upon this wonderful manifestation of divine power, with awe and intense interest. They saw in it a token of God’s glory and favor, and they raised a universal shout of praise and adoration, and fell on their faces as if in the immediate presence of Jehovah.

But soon afterward a sudden and terrible calamity fell upon the family of the high priest. At the hour of worship, as the prayers and praise of the people were ascending to God, two of the sons of Aaron took each his censer, and burned fragrant incense thereon, to rise as a sweet odor before the Lord. But they transgressed his command by the use of “strange fire.” For burning the incense they took common instead of the sacred fire which God himself had kindled, and which he had commanded to be used for this purpose. For this sin, a fire went out from the Lord and devoured them in the sight of the people.

Next to Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu had stood highest in Israel. They had been especially honored by the Lord, having been permitted with the seventy elders to behold his glory in the mount. But their transgression was not therefore to be excused or lightly regarded. All this rendered their sin more grievous. Because men have received great light, because they have, like the princes of Israel, ascended to the mount, and been privileged to have communion with God, and to dwell in the light of his glory, let them not flatter themselves that they can afterward sin with impunity; that because they have been thus honored, God will not be strict to punish their iniquity. This is a fatal deception. The great light and privileges bestowed, require returns of virtue and holiness corresponding to the light given. Anything short of this, God cannot accept. Great blessings or privileges should never lull to security or carelessness. They should never give license to sin, or cause the recipients to feel that God will not be exact with them. All the advantages which God has given, are his means to throw ardor into the spirit, zeal into effort, and vigor into the carrying out of his holy will.

Nadab and Abihu had not in their youth been trained to habits of self-control. The father’s yielding disposition, his lack of firmness for right, had led him to neglect the discipline of his children. His sons had been permitted to follow inclination. Habits of self-indulgence, long cherished, obtained a hold upon them which even the responsibility of the most sacred office had not power to break. They had not been taught to respect the authority of their father, and they did not realize the necessity of exact obedience to the requirements of God. Aaron’s mistaken indulgence of his sons, prepared them to become the subjects of the divine judgments.

God designed to teach the people that they must approach him with reverence and awe, and in his own appointed manner. He cannot accept partial obedience. It was not enough that in this solemn season of worship _nearly_ everything was done as he had directed. God has pronounced a curse upon those who depart from his commandments, and put no difference between common and holy things. He declares by the prophet: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness!... Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight; ... which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!... They have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.”[590] Let no one deceive himself with the belief that a part of God’s commandments are non-essential, or that he will accept a substitute for that which he has required. Said the prophet Jeremiah, “Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?”[591] God has placed in his word no command which men may obey or disobey at will and not suffer the consequences. If men choose any other path than that of strict obedience, they will find that “the end thereof are the ways of death.”[592]

“Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes, lest ye die; ... for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.”[593] The great leader reminded his brother of the words of God, “I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified.”[593] Aaron was silent. The death of his sons, cut down without warning, in so terrible a sin,—a sin which he now saw to be the result of his own neglect of duty,—wrung the father’s heart with anguish, but he gave his feelings no expression. By no manifestation of grief must he seem to sympathize with sin. The congregation must not be led to murmur against God.

The Lord would teach his people to acknowledge the justice of his corrections, that others may fear. There were those in Israel whom the warning of this terrible judgment might save from presuming upon God’s forbearance until they too should seal their own destiny. The divine rebuke is upon that false sympathy for the sinner which endeavors to excuse his sin. It is the effect of sin to deaden the moral perceptions, so that the wrong-doer does not realize the enormity of transgression; and without the convicting power of the Holy Spirit he remains in partial blindness to his sin. It is the duty of Christ’s servants to show these erring ones their peril. Those who destroy the effect of the warning, by blinding the eyes of sinners to the real character and results of sin, often flatter themselves that they thus give evidence of their charity; but they are working directly to oppose and hinder the work of God’s Holy Spirit; they are lulling the sinner to rest on the brink of destruction; they are making themselves partakers in his guilt, and incurring a fearful responsibility for his impenitence. Many, many, have gone down to ruin as the result of this false and deceptive sympathy.

Nadab and Abihu would never have committed that fatal sin, had they not first become partially intoxicated by the free use of wine. They understood that the most careful and solemn preparation was necessary before presenting themselves in the sanctuary where the divine presence was manifested; but by intemperance they were disqualified for their holy office. Their minds became confused, and their moral perceptions dulled, so that they could not discern the difference between the sacred and the common. To Aaron and his surviving sons was given the warning: “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.”[594] The use of spirituous liquors has the effect to weaken the body, confuse the mind, and debase the morals. It prevents men from realizing the sacredness of holy things or the binding force of God’s requirements. All who occupied positions of sacred responsibility were to be men of strict temperance, that their minds might be clear to discriminate between right and wrong, that they might possess firmness of principle, and wisdom to administer justice and to show mercy.

The same obligation rests upon every follower of Christ. The apostle Peter declares, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people.”[595] We are required by God to preserve every power in the best possible condition, that we may render acceptable service to our Creator. When intoxicants are used, the same effects will follow as in the case of those priests of Israel. The conscience will lose its sensibility to sin, and a process of hardening to iniquity will most certainly take place, till the common and the sacred will lose all difference of significance. How can we then meet the standard of the divine requirements? “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”[596] To the church of Christ in all ages is addressed the solemn and fearful warning, “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”[596]

Footnote 590:

Isa. 5:20-24.

Footnote 591:

Lam. 3:37.

Footnote 592:

Prov. 14:12.

Footnote 593:

Lev. 10:6, 7, 3.

Footnote 594:

Lev. 10:9-11.

Footnote 595:

1 Peter 2:9.

Footnote 596:

1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 10:31; 3:17.

THE LAW AND THE COVENANTS—32

Adam and Eve, at their creation, had a knowledge of the law of God; they were acquainted with its claims upon them; its precepts were written upon their hearts. When man fell by transgression, the law was not changed, but a remedial system was established to bring him back to obedience. The promise of a Saviour was given, and sacrificial offerings pointing forward to the death of Christ as the great sin-offering were established. But had the law of God never been transgressed, there would have been no death, and no need of a Saviour; consequently there would have been no need of sacrifices.

Adam taught his descendants the law of God, and it was handed down from father to son through successive generations. But notwithstanding the gracious provision for man’s redemption, there were few who accepted it and rendered obedience. By transgression the world became so vile that it was necessary to cleanse it by the flood from its corruption. The law was preserved by Noah and his family, and Noah taught his descendants the ten commandments. As men again departed from God, the Lord chose Abraham, of whom he declared, “Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”[600] To him was given the rite of circumcision, which was a sign that those who received it were devoted to the service of God,—a pledge that they would remain separate from idolatry, and would obey the law of God. The failure of Abraham’s descendants to keep this pledge, as shown in their disposition to form alliances with the heathen and adopt their practices, was the cause of their sojourn and bondage in Egypt. But in their intercourse with idolaters, and their forced submission to the Egyptians, the divine precepts became still further corrupted with the vile and cruel teachings of heathenism. Therefore when the Lord brought them forth from Egypt, he came down upon Sinai, enshrouded in glory and surrounded by his angels, and in awful majesty spoke his law in the hearing of all the people.

He did not even then trust his precepts to the memory of a people who were prone to forget his requirements, but wrote them upon tables of stone. He would remove from Israel all possibility of mingling heathen traditions with his holy precepts, or of confounding his requirements with human ordinances or customs. But he did not stop with giving them the precepts of the decalogue. The people had shown themselves so easily led astray, that he would leave no door of temptation unguarded. Moses was commanded to write, as God should bid him, judgments and laws giving minute instruction as to what was required. These directions relating to the duty of the people to God, to one another, and to the stranger, were only the principles of the ten commandments amplified and given in a specific manner, that none need err. They were designed to guard the sacredness of the ten precepts engraved on the tables of stone.

If man had kept the law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity for the ordinance of circumcision. And if the descendants of Abraham had kept the covenant, of which circumcision was a sign, they would never have been seduced into idolatry, nor would it have been necessary for them to suffer a life of bondage in Egypt; they would have kept God’s law in mind, and there would have been no necessity for it to be proclaimed from Sinai, or engraved upon the tables of stone. And had the people practiced the principles of the ten commandments, there would have been no need of the additional directions given to Moses.