_And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you._ SPIRITUAL REFORMATION 1. The nature of the spiritual reformation required. It involves two things, a practical application of the Word of God: and an entire dedication to the glory of God. 2. The urgency of the spiritual reformation required.... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will curse your blessings._ BLESSINGS ABUSED BECOME A CURSE Taking into view the whole of the intelligent creation, and the extent of the duration to which it is destined, the curse of God on these who wantonly brave His love and benevolence, will be seen to be a necessary result of His goodness... [ Continue Reading ]
_That My covenant might be with Levi._ THE MINISTER OF DIVINE TRUTH I. As he always should be. 1. A man divinely called. 2. A man of profound reverence. 3. A man of moral truthfulness. 4. A man of practical devotion. 5. A man of the highest usefulness. 6. A man of the highest intelligence.... [ Continue Reading ]
_My covenant was with him of life and peace._ UNSPEAKABLE BLESSINGS The covenant which God made with Levi now belongs to all men. The benign purposes in every ancient covenant find their fulfilment and enlargement in Christ. I. The blessings here spoken of. 1. Life. Physical life is a great poss... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge._ THE PRIEST’S LIPS SHOULD KEEP KNOWLEDGE There exists a broad and general analogy between the priesthood of the Levitical, and the ministry of the evangelical dispensations, an analogy sufficiently distinct and well-defined to enable us to argue from t... [ Continue Reading ]
_I also made you contemptible._ PULPITS SINKING INTO POPULAR CONTEMPT The priesthood of Israel is referred to. No greater calamity could happen to a community than this. I. A calamity to all parties. 1. To the priests. Few things are more painful to man than social contempt. It divests a man of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Have we not all one Father?_ ONE FATHER I. God is not only the Creator, but the common Father of mankind. This relationship implies two things: a resemblance in nature; and the existence of parental sympathy; and also the obligation of filial devotion. II. This relationship is an argument why ma... [ Continue Reading ]
_And hath married the daughter of a strange god._ UNHOLY MARRIAGES The Jews were commanded to keep themselves separate from the heathen nations around them (Deuteronomy 7:2; Deuteronomy 7:4). This was necessary that they might maintain their position as custodians of a peculiar revelation, and as... [ Continue Reading ]
_The master and the scholar._ AN INTERESTING RELATIONSHIP Various renderings have been given of these words. The meaning, however, from the context is clear. The leaders of the people were causing them to err. They had committed the evil themselves of casting off their Jewish wives for heathen wom... [ Continue Reading ]
_Between thee and the wife of thy youth._ MARRIAGE I. As a social compact. “She is thy wife,” here is the peculiarity of the relation. It is the fountain of humanity in its perpetuation, and the source of its purest affections, its dearest charities, and its richest enjoyments. It is a relation of... [ Continue Reading ]
_For one covereth violence with his garment._ EVIL COVERED UP Sin indulged gathers force and violence. The oozing stream from the bursting reservoir becomes a torrent, and the torrent becomes a deluge. Lust leads to treachery, treachery to cruelty, cruelty to violence. There is a terrible momentum... [ Continue Reading ]
_Where is the God of judgment?_ A STARTLING QUESTION Times of abounding wickedness have been times of unbelief. Evil hinders the manifestation of God in the world. His laws seem to have no executive force; His righteousness is obscured; His very existence is questioned, see text. This question may... [ Continue Reading ]