The earth opens and swallows A. M. cir. 2533. CHAP. XVI. An. Exod. Isr. among this congregation, that y consume them in a cir. 20. moment. I may them and their households. B. C. cir. 1471. An. Exod. Isr. çir. 20. 21 Separate yourselves from all men, or if they be visited A. M. cir. 2533. 22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? 23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. 27 So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. 31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these, words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them and they perished from among the congregation : 34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. 35 And there m came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed n the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. 36 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the 29 If these men die the common death of priest, that he take up the censers out of the * Ver. 45; see Gen. xix. 17, 22; Jer. li. 6; Acts i, 40; Rev. xviii. 4. Ver. 45; Exod. xxxii. 10; xxxiii. 5. Ver. 45; chap. xiv. 5.a Chap. xxvii. 16; Job xii. 10; Ecclus. xii. 7; Isa. lvii. 16; Zech. xii. 1; Heb. xii. 9.- b Gen. xix. 12, 14; Isa lii. 11; 2 Cor. vi 17; Rev. xviii. 4. Exod. iii. 12; Deut. xviii. 22; Zech. ii. 9, 10; iv. 9; John v. 36. Chap. xxiv. 13; Jer. xxiii. 16; Ezek. xiii. 17; John v. 30; vi. 38. of salvation which is not of his own appointment. Man is ever supposing that he can mend his Maker's work, or that he can make one of his own that will do in its place. Verse 22. O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh] qwa bab nninn nb El Elohey haruchoth lechol basar. This address sufficiently proves that these holy men believed that man is a being compounded of flesh and spirit, and that these principles are perfectly distinct. Either the materiality of the human soul is a human fable, or, if it be a true doctrine, these men did not pray under the influence of the Divine Spirit. In chap. xxvii. 16 there is a similar form of expression : Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh. And in Job xii. 10: In whose hand is the soul (D nephesh) of all living; and the spirit (ruach) of all flesh of man: Are not these decisive proofs that the Old Testament teaches that there is an immortal spirit in man? "But does not 1 ruach signify wind or breath?" Sometimes it does, but certainly not here; for how absurd would it be to say, O God, the God of the breaths of all flesh! 15; Isa. x. 3; Jer. v. 9. e Heb. as every man dieth. Exod. xx. 5; xxxii. 34; Job xxxv. - Heb. create a creature; Isa. xlv. 7. xxvi. 10; xxvii. 3; Deut. xi. 6; Psa. cvi. 17.h Job xxxi. 3; Isa. xxviii. 21. Ver. 33; Psa. Iv. 15.- Chap. See ver. 17; Psa. cvi. 18. Ver. 17. chap. xxvi. 1; 1 Chron. vi. 22, 37.7.- Lev. x. 2; chap. xi.1; sheolah, sheol, signifies And they go down quick into the pit] a proof, among many others, that here a chasm or pit of the earth, and not the place called hell; for it would be absurd to suppose that their houses had gone to hell; and it would be wicked to imagine that their little innocent children had gone thither, though God was pleased to destroy their lives with those of their iniquitous fathers. Verse 33. They, and all that appertained to them] Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all that appertained to their respective families, went down into the pit caused by this supernatural earthquake; while the fire from the Lord consumed the 250 men that bare censers. Thus there were two distinct punishments, the pil and the fire, for the two divisions of these rebels. Verse 37. The censers are hallowed.] p kadeshu, are consecrated, i. e., to the service of God, though in this instance improperly employed. -38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: 9 and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel. -39 And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar: 40 To be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses. 41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.` 4.2 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud • See Lev. xxvii. 28. Prov. xx. 2; Hab. ii. 10.9 Chap. xvii. 10; xxvi. 10; Ezek. xiv. 8.————r Chap. iii. 10 2 Chron. xxvi. 18. Chap. xiv. 2; Psa. cvi. 25. t Verse 41. On the morrow all the congregation murmured] It is very likely that the people persuaded themselves that Moses and Aaron had used some cunning in this business, and that the earthquake and fire were artificial; else, had they discerned the hand of God in this punishment, could they have dared the anger of the Lord in the very face of justice? a great many are destroyed. covered it, and "the glory of the LORD appeared.. A. M. cir. 2533. B. C. cir. 1471: An. Exod. Isr. eir. 20. 43 And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. 44 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 45 Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. W 46 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: * for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. 47 And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. 48. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. 49 Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed. Exod. xl. 34.-" Ver: 19; chap. xx. 6. Ver. 21, 24. Ver. 22; chap. xx. 6. Lev. x. 6; chap. i. 53; viii. 19; xi. 33; xviii. 5; 1 Chron. xxvii. 24; Psa. cvi. 29. Deity, so that a guilty people, who deserved nothing but destruction, should be spared; how much more effectual may we expect the great atonement to be which was made by the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom Aaron was only the type! The sacrifices of living animals pointed out the death of Christ on the cross; the incense, his intercession. Through his death sal Verse 46. The plague is begun.] God now pun-vation is purchased for the world; by his intercession ished them by a secret blast, so as to put the matter the offending children of men are spared. Hence St. beyond all dispute; his hand, and his alone, was seen, Paul, Rom. v. 10, says: If, while we were enemies, not only in the plague, but in the manner in which the we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, mortality was arrested, It was necessary that this much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved should be done in this way, that the whole congrega-THROUGH HIS LIFE, i. e., by the prevalence of his tion might see that those men who had perished were not the people of the Lord; and that GOD, not Moses and Aaron, had destroyed them. Verse 48. He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague, &c.] What the plague was we know not, but it seems to have begun at one part of the camp, and to have proceeded regularly onward; and Aaron went to the quarter where it was then prevailing, and stood with his atonement where it was now making its ravages, and the plague was stayed; but not before 14,700 had fallen victims to it, ver. 49. IF Aaron the high priest, with his censer and incense, could disarm the wrath of an insulted, angry continual intercession. 2 Cor. v. 18, 19: "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." By the awful transactions recorded in this chapter, we may see how jealous God is of the sole right of appointing the way and means of salvation. Had any priesthood, and any kind of service, no matter how solemn and sincere, been equally available in the sight of Divine justice and mercy, God would not have resented in so awful a manner the attempts of Korah and The twelve chiefs of the tribes are commanded to take their rods, and to write the name of each tribe upon the rod that belonged to its representative; but the name of Aaron is to be written on the rod of the tribe of Levi, 1-3: The rods are to be laid up before the Lord, who promises that the man's rod whom he shall choose for priest shall blossom, 4, 5. The rods are produced and laid up before the tabernacle, 6, 7. Aaron's rod alone buds, blossoms, and bears fruit, 8, 9. It is laid up before the testimony as a token of the manner in which God had disposed of the priesthood, 10, 11. The people are greatly terrified, and are apprehensive of being destroyed, 12, 13. A. M. cir. 2533. B. C. cir. 1471. An. Exod. Isr. cir. 20. AND the LORD spake unto 'Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod. 3 And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. 4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, a where I will meet with you. b 5 And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the 'murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you. с B. C. cir. 1471. An. Exod. Isr. cir. 20. 6 And Moses spake unto the A. M. cir. 2533. children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. 7 And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. 8. And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. 9 And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. 10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring a Exodus xxv. 22; xxix. 42, 43; xxx. 36.- - Chapter xvi. 5. d Hebrew a rod for one prince, a rod for one prince.c.Chap. xvi. 11, NOTES ON CHAP. XVII. Verse 2. And take of every one of them a rod] matteh, the staff or sceptre, which the prince or chief of each tribe bore, and which was the sign of office or royalty among almost all the people of the earth. Verse 5. The man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom] It was necessary that something farther should be done to quiet the minds of the people, and for ever to settle the dispute, in what tribe the priesthood should be fixed. God therefore took the method described in the text, and it had the desired effect; the Aaronical priesthood was never after disputed. Verse 8. The rod of Aaron-was budded, &c.]. That is, on the same rod or staff were found buds, blossoms, and ripe fruit. This fact was so unquestionably miraculous, as to decide the business for ever; and probably this was intended to show that in the priesthood, represented by that of Aaron, the beginning, middle, and end of every good work must be found. The buds of good desires, the blossoms of holy resolutions, and promising professions, and the ripe fruit of faith, love, xxxviii. 21, Num. xviii. 2; Acts vii. 44. Le Exod. and obedience, all spring from the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. It has been thought by some that Aaron's staff (and perhaps the staves of all the tribes) was made out of the amygdala communis, or common almond tree. In a favourable soil and climate it grows to twenty feet in height, is one of the most noble, flourishing trees in nature: its flowers are of a delicate red, and it puts them forth early in March, having be gun to bud in January. It has its name p shaked from shakad, to awake, because it buds and flowers sooner than most other trees. And it is very likely that the staves of office, borne by the chiefs of all the tribes, were made of this tree; merely to signify that watchfulness and assiduous care which the chiefs should take of the persons committed, in the course of the Divine providence, to their keeping. Every thing in this miracle is so far beyond the power of nature, that no doubt could remain on the minds of the people, or the envious chiefs, of the Divine appointment of Aaron, and of the especial interference of God in this case. To see a piece of wood, Aaron s rod is laid up. NUMBERS. The people are greatly afraid. f Aaron's rod again before the tes- 12 And the children of Israel h shalt quite take away their murmurings from perish. me, that they die not. A. M. eir. 2533. An. Exod. Isr. cir. 20. 13 k Whosoever cometh any thing near unto 11 And Moses did so as the LORD com- the tabernacle of the LORD shall die; shall manded him, so did he. we be consumed with dying? 1 Heb. ix. 4 - Chap. xvi. 38- h Heb. children of rebellion. long cut off from the parent stock, without bark or moisture remaining, laid up in a dry place for a single night, with others in the same circumstances,-to see such a piece of wood resume and evince the perfection of vegetative life, budding, blossoming, and bringing forth ripe fruit at the same time, must be such a demonstration of the peculiar interference of God, as to silence every doubt and satisfy every scruple. It is worthy of remark that a sceptre, or staff of office, resuming its vegetative life, was considered an absolute impossibility among the ancients; and as they were accustomed to swear by their sceptres, this eircumstance was added to establish and confirm the oath. A remarkable instance of this we have in HOMER, Iliad, lib. i., ver. 233, &c., where Achilles, in his rage against Agamemnon, thus speaks : Αλλ' εκ τοι ερέω, και επι μεγαν όρκον ομούμαι· ὁ δε τοι μεγας έσσεται όρκος. But hearken: I shall swear a solemn oath : i Ver. 5.- En., lib. xii., ver. 206-12. Even as this royal scEPTRE (for he bore DRYDEN, When the circumstance of the rod or sceptre being used anciently in this way, and the absolute impossibility of its revivescence so strongly appealed to, is considered, it appears to have been a very proper instrument for the present occasion, for the change that passed on it must be acknowledged as an immediate and incontestable miracle... Verse 12. Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.] aya gavaenu signifies not so much to die simply, as to feel an extreme difficulty of breathing, which, pro Nor boughs bring forth, as once; which, having left ducing suffocation, ends at last in death. See the folly Its parent on the mountain top, what time The woodman's axe lopp'd off its foliage green, VIRGIL represents King Latinus swearing in the and extravagance of this sinful people. At first, every person might come near to God, for all, they thought, were sufficiently holy, and every way qualified to minister in holy things. Now, no one, in their apprehension, can come near to the tabernaele without bẹing consumed, ver. 13. In both cases they were wrong; some there were who might approach, others there were who might not. God had put the difference. His decision should have been final with them; but sinners are ever running into extremes. CHAPTER XVIII. The priests are to bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, 1. The Levites, to minister to the priests, and have charge of the tabernacle, 2-4. The priests alone to have the charge of the sanctuary, &c., no stranger to come nigh on pain of death, 5-7. The portion allowed for their maintenance, 8. They shall have every meat-offering; and they shall eat them in the holy place, 9, 10: The wave-offerings, 11. The firstfruits of the oil, wine, and wheat, and whatever is first ripe, and every devoted thing, 12–14; also, all the first-born of men `and beasts, 15–18; and heave-offerings, 19, The priests shall have no inheritancé, 20. The Levites shall have no inheritance, but shall have the tenth of the produce in Israel, 21-24, of which they are to give a tenth to the priests, taken from the best parts, 25-30. 672 The office, charge, and emoluments CHAP. XVIII. A. M. cir. 2533. B. C. cir. 1471. An. Exod. Isr. cir. 20. AND of the priests and Levites. r B. C. cir. 1471. cir. 20. ND the LORD said unto Aaron, | heave-offerings of all the hallowed A. M. cir. 2533. aThou and thy sons, and thy things of the children of Israel; An. Exod. Isr. father's house with thee, shall unto thee have I given them by bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity an ordinance for ever. of your priesthood. 2 And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and 4 minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. g 3 And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die. 4 And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: i and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you. 5 And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel. 6 And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. п 7 Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for every thing of the altar, and within the veil; and ye shall serve I have given your priest's office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. 34. 8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine a Chap. xvii. 13. —b Exod. xxviii. 38.c See Gen. XXIX. Chap. iii. 6, 7.- Chap. iii. 10.- Chap. iii. 25, 31, 36. Chap. xvi. 40.- Chap. iv. 15.- Chap. iii. 10. * Exodus xxvii. 21; xxx. 7; Leviticus xxiv. 3; chap. viii. 2. 1 Chap. xvi. 46.- Chap. iii. 12, 45.- Chap. ii. 9; viii. 19.0 Ver. 5; chap. iii. 10.- -P Heb. ix. 3, 6.- Lev. vi. 16, 18, 26; vii. 6, 32; chap. v. 9.- Exod. xxix. 29; xl. 13, 15. Lev. ii. 2, 3; x. 12, 13.- - Lev. iv. 22, 27; vi. 25, 26. m NOTES ON CHAP. XVIII. Verse 1. Thou and thy sons-shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, &c.] That is, They must be answerable for its legal pollutions, and must make the necessary atonements and expiations. By this they must feel that though they had got a high and important office confirmed to them by a miraculous interference, yet it was a place of the highest responsibiliLy; and that they must not be high-minded, but fear. Verse 2. Thy brethren also of the tribe of Levimay be joined unto thee] There is a fine paronomasia, cr play upon words, in the original. Levi comes ( 44 ) VOL. I. 9 This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire every oblation of theirs, every meat-offering of theirs, and every * sinoffering of theirs, and every " trespass-offering of theirs, whieh they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons. 10 In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it it shall be holy unto thee. W 11 And this is thine; the heave-offering of their gift, with all the wave-offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it. e d 14 Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine. 15 Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless g the first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem. " Lev. v. 1; vii. 7; x. 12; xiv. 13.- Lev. vi. 16, 18, 26, 29; vii. 6.- Exod. xxix. 27, 28; Lev. vij. 30, 34.- Lev. x. 14; Deut. xviii. 3.- -y Lev. xxii. 2, 3, 1F, 12, 13.- Exod. xxiii. 19; Deut. xviii. 4; Neh. x. 35, 36. a Heb. fat; ver. 29. Exod. xxii. 29, Exol. xxii. 29; xxiii. 19; xxxiv. 26; Lev. ii. 14; chap. xv. 19; Deut. xxvi. 2.- d Ver. 11.- -e Lev. xxvii. 28. Exod. xiii. 2; xxii. 29; Lev. xxii. 26; chap. iii. 13. * Exod. xiii. 13; xxxiv. 20. from the root lavah, to join to, couple, associate : hence Moses says, the Levites, 1 yillavu, shall be joined, or associated with the priests; they shall conjointly perform the whole of the sacred office, but the priests shall be principal, the Levites only their associates or assistants. For an explanation of many parts of this chapter, see the notes on several of the passages referred to in the margin. Verse 15. The first-born of man-and the firstling of unclean beasts] Thus vain man is ranked with the beasts that perish; and with the worst kinds of them too, those deemed unclean. 673 |