Schoolmaster to Christ
NUMBERS CHAPTER 7
Schoolmaster to Christ
NUMBERS CHAPTER 7
Scripture Reading: Numbers 7 (KJV)
This is the longest section in the Book of Numbers. It contains a detailed statement of the names of the twelve princes of the congregation, and of their respective offerings on the occasion of the setting up of the tabernacle.
"It came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them, that the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered. And they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox; and they brought them before the tabernacle. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. And Moses took: the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service, and four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none; because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders" (vv. 1-9).
When meditating on Numbers 3 & 4, we noticed that the sons of Kohath were privileged to carry the most precious instruments and furniture in the sanctuary. Hence they did not receive any of the princes' offering. It was their high and holy service to bear on their shoulders – not to make use of wagons or oxen. The more closely we examine those things that were committed to the custody and charge of the Kohathites, the more we will see that in type they set forth the deeper and fuller manifestations of God in Christ. On the contrary, the Gershonites and Merarites had to do with more external things. Their work was rougher and more exposed. Therefore, they were furnished with needed help that the liberality of the princes placed at their disposal. The Kohathite did not want the aid of a wagon or an ox in his elevated service. His own shoulder was to bear the precious mystic burden.
"And the princes offered for dedicating of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their offering before the altar. And the Lord said unto Moses, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedicating of the altar."
In reading over this unusually long chapter, an unspiritual student might feel disposed to ask why so much space in an inspired document is occupied with what might be given in the compass of a dozen lines. If a man were giving an account of the transaction of those twelve days, he would, in all probability, have briefly summed it all up in one statement, telling us that each of the twelve princes offered such and such things.
But that would not have suited God's mind. God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways. Nothing could satisfy Him but the fullest and most detailed account of each man's name; the tribe he represented; and the offering he made to the sanctuary of God. Hence this long chapter of eighty-nine verses. Each name shines in its own distinctness. Each offering is minutely described and duly estimated. The names and offerings are not huddled promiscuously together. This would not be like our God; He can only act like Himself in whatever He does; and He can only speak like Himself in whatever He says. Man may pass hastily or carelessly over gifts and offerings; but God never can, never does, and never will. He delights to record every act of service, every loving gift. He never forgets the smallest thing; and not only does He not forget it Himself, but He takes special pains that untold millions will read the record. How little did those twelve princes imagine that their names and offerings were to be handed down from age to age to be read by countless generations. Yet so it was, for God would have it so. He will enter into what might seem to us tedious detail, yea, if you please, what man might deem tautology, rather than omit a single name of any of His servants or a single item of their work.
Thus, in the chapter before us, "each prince" gets his own appointed day for the presenting of his offering and his own allotted space on the eternal page of inspiration – in which God the Holy Spirit inscribed the most complete record of his gifts.
This is divine. The seventh chapter of Numbers is one of those specimen pages from the book of eternity on which the finger of God has engraved the names of His servants, and the record of their work. The twenty-third of second Samuel and the sixteenth of Romans are two similar pages. In the former, we have the names and the deeds of David's worthies; in the latter, the names and deeds of Paul's friends at Rome. In both we have an illustration of what, no doubt, is true of all the saints of God and the servants of Christ, from first to last. Each one has his own special place on the roll – each one his place in the Master's heart; and all will come out by and by. Among David's mighty men, we have "the first three"; "the three"; and "the thirty." Not one of "the thirty" ever attained a place among "the three;" nor did one of "the three" ever reach to "the first three."
Every act is faithfully set down; and the substance and style most accurately put before us. We have the name of the man, what he did, and how he did it. All is recorded with sedulous care and minuteness, by the unerring and impartial pen of the Holy Spirit.
The same is true when we turn to that remarkable sample page furnished in Romans 16. We learn about Phebe; what she was; what she did; and the solid basis on which to rest her claim on the sympathy and succor of the assembly at Rome. Then we have Priscilla and Aquila; the wife put first; and how they laid down their own necks for the life of the apostle, earning his thanks and that of the Gentile churches. Next we have "the well beloved Epaenetus;" and "Mary who bestowed," not merely labor, but "much labour" on the apostle. It would not have expressed the mind of the Spirit or the heart of Christ merely to say that Epaenetus was "beloved," or that Mary had bestowed "labour." No; the little adjuncts "well" and "much" were necessary in order to set forth the exact status of each.
But we must not enlarge, so we will merely call attention to verse 12. Why does not the inspired penman place "Tryphena, Tryphosa," and "the beloved Persis" under one head? Why does he not assign them one and the same position? The reason is beautiful. Because he could only say of the two former that they had "laboured in the Lord," whereas the latter was due the addition that she had "laboured much in the Lord." Can anything be more discriminating? It is "the three"; the first three"; and "the thirty" over again. There is no promiscuous jumbling of names and services together; no haste; and no inaccuracy. We are told what each one was, and what each did. Each one gets a personal place, receiving personal praise.
And let us be quick to observe that this is a specimen page from the book of eternity. How solemn; and yet, how encouraging. There is not a single act of service rendered to our Lord that will not be set down in His book; and not only the substance of the act, but also its style, for God appreciates style as well as action – He loves a cheerful giver and a cheerful worker, because that is precisely what He is Himself. His heart was grateful to see the tide of liberality flowing around His sanctuary from representatives of the twelve tribes. His heart was grateful to mark the actions of David's worthies, in the day of his rejection. His heart was grateful to trace the devoted path of the Priscillas, the Aquilas, and the Phebes of a later date. And, we may add, in this day of so much lukewarmness and vapid profession, His heart is grateful to behold a true-hearted lover of Christ and a devoted worker in His vineyard.
May God's Spirit stir up our hearts to more thorough devotedness. May the love of Christ constrain us more and more to not live unto ourselves, but unto Him who loved us and washed us from our scarlet sins in His most precious blood, and made us all that we are or ever hope to be.
