Deuteronomy 15
THE YEAR OF RELEASE FOR THE BENEFIT OF
DEBTORS AND
THE
EMANCIPATION OF HEBREW SLAVES.
To the prescription of a tithe for the needy there is added
a regulation for the behalf of
debtors. The Israelites were not only to help the poor, but they
were to refrain from
what would be a hardship and oppression to them. Debtors, consequently, were
not
to
be deprived of the benefit of the sabbatical year, for at the close of each
seventh year
there was to be a release. This does not imply that the debt was
to be remitted, but
only that the debtor was not then to be pressed for payment. As during the
sabbatical
year the land lay uncultivated, and the debtor consequently would earn
nothing, it was
reasonable that he should not then be pressed for payment. A law that
every seventh
year debts should be remitted, would have frustrated itself, for on such
conditions no
one
would lend, and so there would be no debtors. This is an addition to the law
of
the Sabbath year (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:2-7).
1 “At the
end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.” Release.
The word thus rendered (שְׁמִטָּה, from שָׁמַט, to leave, to let lie fallow) occurs only
here and in v. 2; in Exodus 23:11 the cognate verb is used, and from this the
word is
best explained. The debt was to be left in the hands of the debtor, as the
land was to
be
let lie or left untilled for that year.
2 “And this
is the manner of the release: Every creditor” - literally, master of
the
loan of his hand, equivalent to owner of
what his hand has lent to another.
Compare the expression “the
debt of every hand” in Nehemiah 10:31;
(Authorized
Version, “the
exaction of every debt”) - “that
lendeth ought
unto his neighbor” –
here, fellow-Israelite -
“shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor,”
-
literally, press or urge his neighbor, i.e. to
pay – “or of his brother; because
it is
called the LORD’s
release.” - rather, a
release for Jehovah is proclaimed;
the
sabbatical year, like the year of jubilee, was proclaimed, and it was for Jehovah,
in
His honor, and in accordance with His ordinance.
3 “Of a
foreigner” - a stranger of another nation, having
no internal social relation
to
claims on their benevolence (גֵּר). Of such they might exact a debt, without regard
to
the
year of release. This rule breathes no hatred of foreigners, but simply allows
the
Israelites the right of every creditor to demand his debts
and enforce the demand
Upon foreigners, even in the sabbatical
year. There was no severity in this,
because
foreigners could get their ordinary income in the seventh year as
well as in any other -
“thou mayest exact it again: but
that which is thine with thy brother thine
hand shall release;”
4 “Save
when there shall be no poor among you;” - rather, only
that there shall be no poor among you; this ordinance is not intended
to
prevent creditors seeking the payment of their just debts, but only to
prevent there being poor in the land. The reason assigned is that
the Lord
would greatly bless them in the land which He had given them, so
that the
creditor would be no loser by refraining from exacting his debt
from his
brother in the seventh year -“for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the
land which the LORD thy God giveth
thee for
an inheritance to possess it:”
5 “Only if
thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to
observe to do all these commandments which I
command thee this day.”
This blessing, though promised and certified, should come
only if they
were careful
to observe and do all that God commanded them.
6 For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as He promised
thee: and thou
shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt
reign over many nations, but they shall not
reign over thee.” The for at the
beginning this verse connects this with v. 4 - thou shalt lend - The verb in Kal
signifies to borrow on a pledge; in Hiph. to lend on a pledge, as here; it is a
denominative from the Hebrew noun signifying pledge.
Divine Checks on Human Greed (vs. 1-6)
In this paragraph the institution of the sabbatical year is
presupposed (Exodus
23:9-13; Leviticus 25:2-7). During this year the land was
to rest, and it would
doubtless be conducive to after-fruitfulness to give the soil this
respite, by letting
it
lie fallow every seventh year, for at this time the effect of the rotation of
crops
was
unknown. We by no
means affirm that such was the only reason for the
appointment; yet nothing hinders us from regarding it as a reason. In that year
there was to be a general remission of debts. To all appearance, there would,
however, be one social danger arising from so peculiar an
arrangement. Human
nature, as regards capacity, aptitude, tact, kindness, hardness,
etc., would differ
as
greatly among Hebrews as among any other peoples. There would be the wise
manager, and the man who knew not how to manage at all. There
would
be
some easily “taken in,” and
others watching for an opportunity of
enriching themselves at another’s expense. And among the harder men,
the
thought would naturally arise, “Well, if I must not work to
increase my
gains that year, I will at least secure all that I ought to
have, by collecting
all
debts due to me, and this I will do with rigor.” Now,
here comes in this
law mercifully guarding the weak against the rapacity of the strong,
compelling men, at least outwardly, to show some regard for those who
are
somewhat behindhand in the race for life, and preventing the more
successful ones from so exacting from poorer men as to reduce them to
helpless dependence upon others. The following points may be noted.
o
The sabbatical year is
here assumed, ut supra.
o
This year debts were
to be remitted, — not cancelled,
but pressure for
payment was to be postponed.
o
Thus there was to be
an enforced pause in the accumulation
of wealth.
o
The sentiment of
kindliness and forbearance as well as of
justice in business life, was thus taught.
o
At the same time,
there is a safeguard against the Hebrews
being trifled with by foreigners by a misuse of this law.
A foreigner (one who was so
in all respects) might incur a
debt in the sixth year, thinking that, as a Hebrew could not
press for it the next year, he should have a long respite;
while, as he was not bound by the Hebrews’ Law, he
could press for debts due to him! This would have been
unequal. Hence God guards Israel against such
inequality, and says, as a foreigner is not under this law so
far as debts due to him are concerned, so neither is he
included in it with regard to debts incurred by him; and
the release is not intended to operate where its
operation cannot be equal all round.
o
Moreover, there is in
this law no encouragement to
mendicancy, but rather such a check on pressure by the
rich, and such an inculcation of regard for the poor, that
beggary may be a thing unknown among them.
The word “beggar” does not
occur once in the Mosaic
institutes. Surely in all this there is abundance of material for
teaching from a Christian point of view. The formal institution
here referred to has passed away. But, if we follow out the
formula already laid down, that forms change, but
principles never, — we cannot
be at a loss for an exposition
of the ethical teaching which this paragraph suggests for all
time. (In fact, the Mosaic legislation given by God would
have gone a long way towards eliminating poverty!” – CY
– 2012) The spirit of this law is the same as
that of the
weekly Sabbath. Both have a beneficent tendency, limiting
the rights and checking the sense of property:
§
the one puts in God’s
claims on time,
§
the other on the land.
The land shall keep a
Sabbath unto the Lord. “The land
is mine.” Let us, then, study the Divine checks on human
greed, as they are
shown to us in the teaching of the New
Testament.
OWN. This is far wider and deeper than any
analogous statement of
Moses. For while Israel had been
redeemed out of Egypt, so that God said,
“I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee,”
(Isaiah 43:3),
we must all feel how infinitely short that comes of the
tender pathos in
I Corinthians 6:19-20; I Peter
1:18-19. The phrase, “Ye are not your
own,”
must needs cover the whole ground of all that we are and have.
As
“redemption” was the
appeal at the basis of
THE CASE OF GOD’S
PEOPLE NOW!
LIVING FOR OTHERS. We are expected to have “the
same mind”
Which was also
in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:1-8).
Note the argument
involved in II Corinthians 8:7, 9; also that in Romans 14:7. See the purpose
of Christ’s redeeming work, as stated in Titus 2:14; and also
the law of the
Christian life in Galatians
6:1-10. In these passages there is so much of duty
indicated with regard to others, that though little of minute detail
is now
specified, yet Christian men cannot go far wrong if their lives are
regulated
thereby (I Corinthians 10:24).
VERY STERN AND STRONG. (See Luke 12:13-21.) At every stage of that
paragraph there is some new and startling light in which the evil of
covetousness
is seen.
Ø
It cherishes a totally mistaken view of life (v.15).
Ø
It is perilous (v.20).
Hence:
Ø
It is foolish (vs. 20-21).
Strong checks these! Far stronger than
Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5.) It is idolatry. It
is giving to creature
objects the regard which is due only to God. He would have us “in His
light see light,” and regard the greed of gain as an abominable thing.
Ephesians 4:28. The observance
of this precept would prevent the
social evil arising from covetousness on the one hand, and would
create the
good accruing from benevolence on the other. “Let him labor in
order that
he may have the wherewith to give!” How truly sublime! It is
like the
benevolence of God.
THE RICH, with the giving
of which he is charged. (I Timothy 6:17-19.)
Thus the Christian code is by no
means less comprehensive than the
Mosaic. On the contrary, it is far more so. It is equally
stringent in allowing
no one to think of his property as his own.
mind be free from the love of money (ἀφιλάργυρος - aphilarguros –
not fond of money).”
Why? “Because Himself
hath said, I will
in no wise
fail thee, neither
will I in any wise forsake thee” –
(Hebrews 13:5;
(see
also II Peter 1:4). We are permitted, in
Christ, to call God “ours,”
to find in His love our joy, in His
wisdom and strength our stay, in His wealth
our supply. Hence WE OUGHT TO BE
LIFTED UP ABOVE ANY
CONSUMING CARE and to be loyally obedient to God’s will in the
sanctified use of all that we have (Matthew 6:33). Let any one set
side by
side the Mosaic regulations in the paragraph we have just been
considering,
with the seven considerations adduced from New Testament
teaching. Let him
compare them with one another. And, if we mistake not, he will
find more than
ample material on the height, the breadth, the depth, and the
length of
Christian ethics, as covering the entire ground of the relations of man to
man and of man to God, and as requiring no less exactitude in detail
through less detail being specified. It is said (and we fear it is
said truly)
that the great hindrance to God’s work in the world is that the
Christian
name does not carry with it Christian morality. Ah! if it did, how luminous
would such morality appear! Let but the above considerations be
universally acted out, on all sides, and:
o
no more strife between capital and labor would ever be known.
o
The rich would neither
oppress, nor despise, nor neglect the poor;
o
the poor would no longer be jealous of the rich.
Both would recognize their
mutual relation to and need of each other. While,
with universal righteousness and kindness, mendicancy would be
a thing
unknown. And never, never, till there is a new
principle of love infused
through the various classes of society, will such a consummation
be
attained! Still, however sad our hearts may be as we consider how
far we
are off from the mutual regard between owner and laborer which
even
Moses enjoined, let each of us feel his personal responsibility for
fidelity to the Divine Law. Only as this is
felt and discharged by each,
can it be felt and discharged by all. The Lord make
us and all men to
abound in good will, and may the supreme benevolence which has its source
in heaven flow o’er the world as a pure river of water of life!
The reference to the release in vs. 7-11, leads to a
prescription regarding readiness
to
lend to the poor. They were not to harden their
hearts against their poorer brethren,
nor
were they, in the prospect of the year of release, to refuse to lend them what
was
necessary for their uses, but, on the contrary,
were to open their heart and their
hand to them according to their need, lest the poor should appeal against them to
God, and sin should lie upon them.
7 “If
there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any
of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy
God giveth thee, thou
shalt not harden thine
heart,” - literally, make strong, so as to suppress
natural compassion and sympathy - “nor shut thine hand from thy poor
brother:”
8 “But
thou shalt open thine hand
wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him
sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.” - literally, the sufficiency of
his
need which he needeth, i.e. whatever
he might need to meet his requirements.
9 “Beware
that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart,” - literally, a thing in
thy heart worthlessness, i.e.
a thing which is worthless and unworthy. The word
used is belial (בְּלִיַּעַל),),
which does not denote that which is wicked so much as that
which is worthless. Thus, “a
man of Belial” is a worthless fellow — not necessarily
a
wicked man (compare 13:13) -
“saying, The seventh year, the year of release,
is at hand; and thine
eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him
nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin
unto thee.”
i.e. entail guilt upon thee, and so expose thee to the Divine
displeasure.
10 “Thou shalt surely give him, and thine
heart shall not be grieved” - literally,
shall not become evil, i.e.
shall not entertain a grudge. They were to give, not
grudgingly or of necessity, merely through dread of God’s
displeasure, but cheerfully
and spontaneously “for God loveth a cheerful
giver” – (II Corinthians 9:7). For
this God would bless them in all their works, so that they should not only
be no losers,
but
should be gainers, by their generosity -“when thou givest unto him: because
that for this thing the LORD thy God shall
bless thee in all thy works, and in
all that thou puttest thine hand unto.”
11 ‘For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I
command
thee, saying, Thou shalt
open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor,
and to thy needy, in thy land.” They were to
open their hand wide to their
poorer brethren, for there should always be such in the land. This statement
is not
inconsistent with that in v. 4, for there it is the prevention of
poverty by not dealing
harshly with the poor that is spoken of; here it is the
continuance of occasion for the
relief of the poor that is referred to.
The Duty of Kindness to the Poor (vs. 7-11)
There seems to be at first sight a discrepancy between the
phrase in v. 4 and that in v.11.
The former is, “Save
when there shall be no poor among you;” the latter, “The poor
shall never cease out
of the land.” The phrase in v. 4 is equivalent to, “Simply,
that there be no poor
among you,” i.e. this or
that was an appointment in
order that the number of the poor might be reduced to a
minimum, and that
those who were poor might not become abjectly so. But no such external law
could
ever
prevent some from falling back in the race. As long as men’s
constitutions,
capacities, and characters were widely different, so would their
measure of
success be. A leveling of
circumstances could be brought about only through a leveling
of
men.
Such genial enactments as the one in vs. 1-6 might prevent
beggary, but would not do
away with poverty. “The poor shall
never cease out of the land.” This
phrase is
not
to be regarded as indicating a Divine appointment that it should he so, but as a
Divine declaration that it would be so. As long as men are what they are, and the
varied features of temperament and ability continue as they are, so long will there be
abundant scope for THE EXERCISE OF SYMPATHY AND KINDLY HELP!
The points noticeable in this paragraph are five.
be presented by their poorer brethren (v. 11).
delight. The word for, yea, even
the conception of, a beggar, as we now
understand it, is entirely absent from the Mosaic statutes. Honest and
diligent work is supposed to be universal; though it might not be
uniformly skilful or successful. (Genesis 3:17-19)
violation of the spirit of the Law (v. 9).
be heard.
or of haughty coldness.
This section we will deal with as an inculcation of social
duty. We need not ask
whether, in our New Testament standard, kindness to the poor is
enjoined? That is
understood. Our one query is this:
THE DUTY OF KINDNESS TO THE POOR PUT AND ENFORCED?
Ø
That duty which Moses
enjoined as the leader and legislator of
Jehovah’s people, our Lord
Jesus Christ set on the ground of His own
sovereign right, and enforced by His
own example. In that wondrous
chapter of John’s Gospel, the thirteenth, we are told that, when
our
Savior had washed His
disciples’ feet, He told them that He had given
them an example that they should do as He had done to them, and
also
said, “Ye call me
Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
If I then, your
Lord and Master , have washed your feet; ye
Also ought to wash
one another’s feet” (John 13:14). We cannot
suppose that this one act of kindness and condescension
was merely
meant to be literally
followed. It must have been a kind of representative
deed, in which our Lord virtually said, “In whatever way you may comfort
or soothe a worn and weary brother by ministering to his
wants, do not
shrink from doing it, even though it may involve many a lowly,
self-
sacrificing act.” Surely this covers
the ground indicated
in this paragraph,
and includes the duty of giving to the poor and helping the needy,
whatsoever their need may be.
Ø
Our Lord regards the
poor and needy as His poor: all, generally,
because He died for them; some, especially, because He lives in
them.
Hence, whoever would act
towards them so as to show them the
power and glory of a living Savior’s sympathy, must let the poor
feel
through him the warm touch of a tender Savior’s love. Our Lord
said
in His intercessory prayer, “As
thou hast sent me into the world,
even so have I also sent them into the world” (John 17:18). Thus
believers are to act in the world in the name and on the behalf
of our Lord Jesus Christ, as the friends and benefactors of
men.
Ø
Our Lord reckons a
kindness shown to men for His sake, as if it were
done to Him (Matthew 25:34-40).
Even in the Old Testament we get
a thought akin to this (Isaiah 63:9). But in the New
Testament the truth
is more clearly defined (Acts 9:4, where it is presented to
us in
connection with the reverse of kindness). Christ
and His people are
one; and a kindness done to men, out of love to Him,
is done to Him.
Ø
Of so much importance
is this kindness to the poor for Christ’s sake to
be reckoned by us, that we are to watch for and seize
opportunities of
doing “good unto all men,
specially to them that are of the
household of faith” (Galatians 6:10); yea, so laboring, we are even
to support the weak (I Thessalonians 5:14); recalling those priceless
words which an apostle was mercifully led to save from the peril
of unrecorded sayings, “It
is more blessed to give than to receive”
(Acts
20:35).
Whenever and wherever there is
presented to us a case
of genuine need, there is an opportunity for honoring our Savior
which we must not suffer to pass by unimproved.
Ø
There are New
Testament warnings against the neglect of the poor,
which are not only not less severe than any in the Old
Testaments —
they are even more so. We may arrange them in three classes,
giving
one example under each:
v
I John 3:17: If a man
can knowingly neglect the poor, God’s
love is not in his heart. Where love dwells in the heart, there
will
be corresponding words on the tongue, and corresponding
blessings in the hand.
v
James 2:5-9; 5:1-4:
The Apostle James declares that to neglect
or despise the poor is sin against God; and that the cries of
oppressed poverty will be heard in heaven.
v
Matthew 25:31-46: Our
Lord has explicitly told us that in the
Day of judgment,
the one test which will be applied to men,
and by which their destiny will be decided, will be that of
kindness to the poor for His sake!
Where that has been, penitence and faith
have wrought out in love. Where that
has not
been, there has been no love, and, consequently, neither faith nor penitent
obedience.
It is not necessary to be openly wicked and profane, in
order to incur rejection by the
Great Judge at last. There may have been not a single vice
which shocked society or
violated outward propriety. Be it so. Even then the absence of the
activities of love
will be a man’s ruin. He who has not lived to save his brother will not
himself be
saved. A piety that is known only by negatives will be disowned
by our sovereign Lord;
while genuine, active, unselfish love, though it may have had
but a limited sphere for
service, oft shedding a tear that it could do no more, will meet
with the holy Master’s
loving recognition, and will receive His gracious reward!
From injunctions regarding the treatment of the poor and of
debtors the transition IN
Vs. 12-18 is easy to the law concerning slaves,
inasmuch as it was through the stress
of
poverty that any became such from among
their brethren. The law, as here laid down,
is
the same as that in Exodus 21:2-6, somewhat expanded; the most important
addition
being that the slave is
not only to go free after six years of service, but is
to be
furnished by his master with
the means of setting up a home for himself. The six
years
here specified are not to be
confounded with the years ending at the sabbatical
year; they are any six years during
which the individual has been in bondage.
12 “And if
thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto
thee, and serve thee six years; then in the
seventh year thou shalt let him go
free from thee.
13 And when thou sendest
him out free from thee, thou shalt
not let him go away empty: 14 Thou shalt furnish
him liberally” - literally, shalt
lay on his neck, i.e.
thou shalt load him. The meaning is well expressed in
the
Authorized Version. This is the new prescription added to the earlier law - “out of thy
flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy
winepress: of that wherewith the
LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto Him.”
15 “And
thou shalt remember that thou wast
a bondman in the
and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore
I command thee this thing
to day.”
Compliance is enforced by the
consideration that the Israelites
had been
themselves bondmen in
(compare ch.
5:15; 10:19; 16:12; 24:18, 22; Exodus 22:21;
23:9; Leviticus 19:34).
As God had dealt by them, so it behooved them to deal by others in
like condition and
need.
16 “And it
shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he
loveth thee and thine
house, because he is well with thee; 17 Then
thou shalt take
an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto
the door, and he shall be thy servant
for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.” It might happen,
however, that the slave chose rather to remain with his master than to be
manumitted,
and
in that case he was not to be forced to go free, which would be a hardship to him,
but
was to be, by a formal process of nailing his ear to the door of his
master’s house,
constituted his slave for life (compare Exodus 21:5-6). This was not a
painful
operation, especially as the servant’s ear was probably already
pierced for a
ring; nor does any infamy appear to have been attached to the bearing of
this badge of perpetual servitude. There is no mention here, as in Exodus,
of
the matter being referred to the judges; and this has led some to suppose
that, by the time this later prescription was given, the earlier usage had
passed away; but it is more natural to suppose that this usage
was so
regular and well known that it was needless formally to announce
it.
18 “It
shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him
away free
from thee; for he hath been worth a double
hired servant to thee, in
serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall
bless thee in
all that thou doest.” Where a slave
determined to have his freedom, the
master was to set him free without grudge; for he hath been worth a double
hired servant to thee,
in serving thee six years; literally, double the hire of a
hireling he hath served thee six years, i.e. he hath saved to thee as much
again as it would have cost thee to pay a hired laborer to do
the same
amount of work.
THE
SANCTIFICATION OF THE FIRSTBORN OF CATTLE (vs. 19-23)
19 “All
the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt
sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of
thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy
sheep. 20 Thou
shalt eat it before
the LORD thy God year by year in the place
which the LORD shall choose,
thou and thy household. 21 And if
there be any blemish therein, as if it be
lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the
LORD thy God. 22 Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the
clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck,
and as the hart. 23 Only thou
shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water."
In ch.12:6, 17 and in 14:23, reference is made to
sacrificial meals, and to the
appropriation of the firstlings of the herds and flocks thereto; Moses
here
reverts to this, and gives a fuller exposition of it. It is
enjoined that, as all the
firstborn were to be sanctified to the Lord (Exodus 13:2-13), they
were not to
work with the firstborn of their cattle, either by yoking the bullock to the
plough or wagon or by shearing the sheep: these belonged to God,
and
were not to be put to any vulgar uses of men; year by year they were to be
brought to the sanctuary, offered as sacrifices, and eaten before
the Lord.
If any of the firstborn animals were blind, or lame,
or in
any way blemished,
SUCH WERE NOT TO BE OFFERED TO THE LORD but might be used
as
food in their ordinary places of residence (compare Leviticus 22:19-20).
Sacrifices to be Without Blemish (v. 21)
A reference to passages in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus,
and Numbers,
will show the frequency with which the injunction here contained was
insisted upon, and the importance attached to it. Sacrifices offered to
God
MUST BE WITHOUT BLEMISH!
It taught two things in the region of law,
and
also two things in the sphere of grace.
Under the Law:
o
That in the eye of the
All-pure One, every moral flaw or defect was an
offence, and therefore could not be accepted by Him.
o
That as man was guilty
before God, he could not, on the reckoning of
bare law, be well-pleasing in the eyes of a righteous Being, to
whom all evil
was an abomination.
Under grace:
o
That a flawless
sacrifice was to be selected and offered to God by, and
in the name, and on the behalf of, the guilty one.
o
That such flawless
sacrifice, if offered in sincerity and penitence of spirit,
would be accepted on his behalf. Now, we are not left to
interpret the type
as best we may, nor are we called on to offer the symbolic
sacrifice. The
antitype has come. The reality is ours. And an inspired
interpretation of
ancient rites is given us by apostles and prophets of our Lord and
Savior
(Hebrews 9:14; I Peter
1:18-19; Ephesians 5:27; II Peter 3:14;
Jude 1:24; Revelation
14:5). With such teaching before us, we can see
a six-fold significance in our text.
language which ought never to be mistaken, “the least speck of sin
is an
offence to God;” and guilty man cannot, on the ground of his own
right,
have any standing-ground for an instant before Him. It is said
that in the
later days of the Jewish economy, when the offerer
brought his sacrifice,
the slaughterer (who was other than the priest) took a
two-edged knife and
ran it from the nape of the neck down the spine, laying it
bare. Not
infrequently this would disclose a dark spot: this was a blemish; the
animal
was unfit for sacrifice, and had to be cast away. Hence the
allusion in
Hebrews 4:12,
which, so understood, has in it marvelous power. For
this blemish did not appear on the surface, it came not out to
the light till
the spinal marrow was exposed to view. Hence, see Hebrews
4:13,
especially the marvelous phrase, πάντα δὲ γυμνὰ
καὶ τετραχηλισμένα –
panta de gumna kai tetrachaelismena
– all yet naked and having been
bared - Every creature is “opened”
unto the eyes of Him with whom is our
account. And though exterior conduct may be such as to commend
itself to
the eye of man, yet in the “marrow” of one’s being there may
be a sin
which is an offence to God. May be? There is. There are sins
upon sins,
and there is sinfulness, which is the root and ground of all.
And hence it
must be the case that sinful man has no right, on the ground of his own
merits, to expect acceptance before God.
sacrifice chosen, without blemish, which was to be presented by and
on
behalf of the offerer (John 1:29). God
has provided a Lamb for a burnt
offering, and for a sin offering too (Genesis 22:8, 13; Isaiah
53:6;
II Corinthians 5:21). Suffice it here to say that this offering had
the dignity
of a Divine Sacrifice, the appropriateness of a human one,
and the
“sweet-smelling savor” of A PERFECTLY PURE ONE! Besides which
it had all the spontaneity of a voluntary offering, and all
the generosity of a
noble self-surrender for the sake of others; in making which the
Redeemer was
satisfied. And this offering which INFINITE
LOVE HAS MADE, loving
faith may take and call its own; and abandoning all pretence to a
standing-ground in native right, it may find an everlastingly firm one in
sovereign grace!
be offered with confession of sin (see Leviticus 16:21). All
the several
ordinances which were spread over different sacrificial services in
find their varied significances grouped in one, in the attitude of the sinner
before the cross of his Savior. While
we accept the Divine Sacrifice for
sin, penitential confession over sin should ever mark us (see
Psalm 51.).
When we bring our offerings to
the Lord, no defect should be knowingly
tolerated by us. Grace gives no warrant to laxity, and true
penitence will be
scrupulously intolerant of it (Psalm 66:18). The freeness of pardon to
the penitent involves no modification of ethical stringency,
for the fact is,
wherever there is any known tolerance of ill, to that extent
penitence does
not exist. God puts away sin
by forgiving it, only as we put it away by
repenting of it and casting it off.
just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (I
Peter 3:18). And
where a man, sorry for sin, intolerant of the evil in his
nature, struggling against
it, and pleading with God to uproot it, casts himself before
God in this genuine
uprightness of soul, none of the imperfections over which he mourns
shall
prevent the Divine acceptance of such an offering, presented, as it will be,
IN THE NAME OF
THE SPOTLESS SON OF GOD! The virtue of
His spotless
sacrifice ensures the acceptance of
ours. Every true and
sincere penitent is, on this ground of free grace and dying love,
as well-pleasing
to God and as near to His heart as the purest angel before
the eternal throne.
The offering to God of a broken and
a contrite heart is one which He cannot
and will not despise (Psalm 51:17).
sacrifices of ours, offered in penitence, faith, and love, are still
but
imperfect. And the holiest souls are most alive to such
imperfection, and
most sorrowful over it. Hence
it should be no small joy to find in the Word
of God precisely the same
expressions used to express the future purity
of believers that are employed to indicate the perfection of the
Redeemer’s
sacrifice. As the one Great Sacrifice was “without
blemish
and without spot,” so all those who are themselves living sacrifices to
God, shall be “without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Ephesians
5:27). He who received them at first on the ground of His own
purity,
shall create in them a spotlessness like His own. They shall be
“without
fault” before the throne of God Revelation
14:5). And He
who
died for them shall then present them as His own! Have we not here
(in
conclusion) a remarkable illustration of what the Apostle Paul so often
speaks of as THE RIGHTEOUSNESS
OF GOD! Each one
of these six steps is a fresh aspect of it:
Ø
The first shows the righteousness of God in taking cognizance of sin;
Ø
the second, the righteousness of God in offering a spotless sacrifice
for sin;
Ø
the third, the righteousness of God in requiring penitential
acknowledgment of sin;
Ø
the fourth, the righteousness of God in demanding intolerance of sin;
Ø
the fifth, the righteousness of God in accepting our consecration in
the name of a SINLESS
ONE only when we penitently put away sin;
Ø
the sixth, the righteousness of God in ensuring that those who are
living sacrifices to Him shall ultimately be perfectly freed from
all sin!
Thus from beginning to end “grace reigns through righteousness, unto
eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:21).
“Now unto
Him
that is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before
the presence of his
glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God
our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now
and ever. Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25)
The First for God (vs. 19-23)
As GOD IS SUPREME so His claim to recognition and obedience must have
consideration prior to all other claims. Such priority is His
indefeasible right; SUCH
PRIORITY BEST SUBSERVES THE INTERESTS OF MEN! The first day
of
the week He claims and hallows; the firstfruits of
the soil He claims for religious
offering; the first place in our affections He asks as His due; the
firstborn, both of man
and
of beast, He marks as His own. This is His royalty.
GOD. It is
acknowledged on every side that LIFE CAN ONLY
SPRING
FROM LIFE! No
arrangements of material atoms — no processes of
chemical change with which men are acquainted — can produce life. It is a
force unique in itself, and can only rationally
be traced to THE CREATIVE
POWER OF A
PERSONAL GOD! The potency to reproduce life, which
God has placed in all the
species, “whose seed is in itself, after his kind”
(Genesis 1:11-12; 21; 24-25, 28), is
as clearly a demonstration of His creative
energy as if He manifestly and alone created each individual
being. We cannot
escape from the conclusion that HE IS
THE SOLE LIFE-GIVER! “I kill,”
saith God, “and
I make alive.” (ch. 32:29)
OF THE FULLEST RIGHTS OF GOD. HE HAS A RIGHTFUL
PROPRIETORSHIP IN
ALL LIFE! But He allows to
man, as His liege
vassal, dominion over the inferior races of His creatures (Psalm
8:3-9).
Acknowledgment of man’s
subjection must, however, be made; tribute must
be paid to the Heavenly King. This arrangement is an act of
combined justice
and kindness. For man’s highest good, he must be kept in perpetual
remembrance of his dependence and his obligation. If the springs
of gratitude in man’s nature should dry up, his loss would be
immeasurable.
Every memorial we have of God is
a gospel.
This devotement of the
firstlings to God was no real loss: it was every way
a blessing. It cherished in them a feeling of filial
dependence. It took them
up to the temple, year by year, and so brought them into close contact
with eternal things. It
served to link religion with the commonest
affairs of daily
life. It
taught them that God found a pleasure in their
enjoyments, and that His commandments were promotive
of real
delight. Thus the acts of Jehovah’s worship were not identified with
fasting and austerity, but with eating and drinking in the sacred temple.
The pleasure was all the greater because it was
social. In the banquet
and festivity the whole household partook.
this demand of the firstborn was designed for spiritual
instruction.
However great God’s care for
our bodily life appears, His desire for our
souls’ well-being is immeasurably greater. By such visible
and
impressive methods God sought to teach the Jews that perfection of
nature
was God’s design, and that such perfection would alone find a
place in His
heavenly temple. The best feelings
and aspirations of our nature yearn
after perfection. He has set “ETERNITY” in our hearts (Ecclesiastes
3:11)
Nothing less will satisfy the mind of God; nothing less will
satisfy us. “Then shall I be
satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness.”
(Psalm 17:15)
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