Schoolmaster to Christ
DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 3

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 3 (KJV)

"Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. And the Lord said unto me, Fear Him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto Him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. So the Lord our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan and all his people; and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many. And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon, king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city. But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves" (vv. 1-7).

The divine instructions to Og, king of Bashan, were similar to those given to Sihon the Amorite in the preceding chapter. In order to understand both, we must look at them purely in the light of God’s government, a subject little understood, though of deep interest and practical importance. We must accurately distinguish between grace and government. When contemplating God in government, we see Him displaying His power in the way of righteousness, punishing evil doers; pouring out vengeance on His enemies; overthrowing empires; upturning thrones; destroying cities, sweeping away nations, tribes and peoples. We find Him commanding His people to slay men, women and little children with the edge of the sword; set fire to their houses and turn their cities into desolate heaps.

Again, we hear Him addressing the prophet Ezekiel with remarkable words: "Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus; every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled; yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord God" (Ezek. 29:18-20).

This is a wonderful passage of Scripture; setting before us a subject that runs throughout the volume of Old Testament Scripture – a subject demanding profound and reverent attention. Whether we turn to the five books of Moses, the historical books, the Psalms or the prophets, we find the inspiring Spirit giving us minute details of God's actions in government. We have the deluge in the days of Noah, when, with the exception of eight persons, all inhabitants of the earth were destroyed by an act of Divine government. Men, women, children, cattle, fowl and creeping things were swept away – buried beneath the billows and waves of God's righteous judgment.

Then, in the days of Lot, the cities of the plain with all inhabitants, men, women and children, consigned to destruction; overthrown by the hand of Almighty God. Those guilty cities, "Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

Inspired history also reveals the seven nations of Canaan, where men, women, and children were placed in the hands of Israel for unsparing judgment; nothing that breathed was to be left alive.

We can say with confidence that it would take another section of lessons in order to refer to all the passages of Holy Scripture revealing the solemn actions of God's government. It is suffice to say that the line of evidence runs from Genesis to Revelation, beginning with the deluge and ending with the burning up of the present system of things.

So the question is, "Are we competent to understand these ways of God in government?" Is it any part of our business to sit in judgment on them? Are we capable of unraveling the profound and awful mysteries of God's Providence? Can we (are we called on to) account for helpless babes involved in the judgment of their guilty parents? Impious infidelity may sneer at these things; morbid sentimentality may stumble over them; but the true believer, the pious Christian, the reverent student of Holy Scripture will meet them all with this simple but solid question, "Will not the judge of all the earth do right?"

Be assured; this is the best way (perhaps the only way) to meet such questions. If man is to sit in judgment on the actions of God in government; if he can take on himself to decide what is and what is not worthy of God, then we have lost the true sense of God. This is exactly what the devil is aiming at. He wants to lead the heart away from God. To this end he leads men to reason, question and speculate in a region that lies as far beyond their ken as heaven is above the earth. Can we comprehend God?

We comprehend Him not,
Yet earth and heaven tell,
God sits as Sovereign on the throne
And ruleth all things well.

It is absurd and impious for puny mortals to dare question the counsels, enactments and ways of the Almighty Creator – All-wise Governor of the universe. Sooner or later all who do so discover their terrible mistake. All questioners and cavilers should give heed to the pungent question of the inspired apostle in Romans 9. "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the Potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"

How simple; how forcible; and how unanswerable is God's method of meeting all the hows and whys, of infidel reason. If the potter has power over the lump of clay that he holds in his hand – a fact none would think of disputing – how much more has the Creator power over all things, including but not limited to power over the creatures His hand has formed. Men may reason and argue why God permitted sin to enter; why He did not annihilate Satan and his angels; why He allowed the serpent to tempt Eve; why He did not stop her from eating the forbidden fruit. In short, the hows and whys are endless; but the answer is one, "Who art thou, O man, that repliest against God?" How ridiculous – a poor worm of earth attempting to sit in judgment on the unsearchable judgments and ways of Eternal God. What blind and presumptuous folly – a creature whose understanding is darkened by sin; who is totally incapable of forming a correct judgment about anything divine, heavenly or eternal, attempting to decide how God should act in any given case. It is to be feared that those who now argue against the truth of God with apparent cleverness, will find out their fatal mistake too late to correct it.

For those who, though far from being on common ground with the infidel, are nevertheless troubled with doubts and misgivings about some of God's ways in government and eternal punishment, we earnestly recommend them to study and drink in the spirit of that lovely little Psalm 131: "Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child."¹

Then, when the heart has taken in this exquisite breathing, it may profitable turn to the words of the inspired apostle, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10).

No doubt, the philosopher, scholar, profound thinker would contemptuously smile at such a childish way of dealing with such great questions. But in the judgment of devout disciples of Christ this is a small matter. The same inspired apostle makes short work of this world's wisdom and learning. He says, "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vai" (1 Cor. 3).

And again, "It is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (1 Cor. 1:19-21).

Here lies the moral secret of the whole matter. Man has to find out that he is simply a fool; and that all worldly wisdom is foolishness. This is a humbling but wholesome truth. Humbling, because it puts man in his right place; wholesome because it brings in the wisdom of God. In this age, we hear a lot about science, philosophy and learning – "Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"

Do we fully take in the meaning of these words? We should fear that they are so little understood; so little thought of or discussed. Sadly, there are few today who seek to persuade us that science has gone far beyond the Bible.² If it has gone beyond the Bible then it has not gone in the direction of God, Christ, heaven, holiness, peace. No, it has gone in the opposite direction. And where must it end? We tremble at the thought – the blackness of eternal darkness.

"The world by wisdom knew not God." What did the philosophy of Greece do for its disciples? It made them the ignorant worshippers of "AN UNKNOWN GOD." The very inscription on that altar published their ignorance. Should we not also inquire if philosophy has done better for the Lord's church than it did for Greece? Has it communicated knowledge of the true God? Who can say, "Yes?" Sadly, there are many baptized believers in our age who know no more of the true God than those philosophers who encountered Paul in the city of Athens.

The fact is, everyone who truly knows God is the privileged possessor of eternal life. So, in John 17 our Lord Jesus Christ declares in the most distinct manner: "This is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." This is precious to every soul that has this knowledge. To know God is to have life – life eternal.

But how can we know God? Where can we find Him? Can science and philosophy tell us? Have they ever told anyone? Have they ever guided any wanderer into this way of life and peace? No – "The world by wisdom knew not God." The conflicting schools of ancient philosophy could only plunge the human mind into darkness and hopeless bewilderment; and the conflicting schools of modern philosophy are no better. They give no certainty, no safe anchorage, or no solid ground of confidence to the benighted soul. In any age or of any nation, barren speculation, torturing doubt, wild and baseless theory is all that human philosophy has to offer to the earnest inquirer after truth.

Then how are we to know God? If such a stupendous result hangs on this knowledge; if to know God is life eternal, and Jesus says it is, then how is He to be known? "No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (Jn. 1:18).

Here we have a divinely simple and sure answer. Jesus reveals God to the soul, He reveals the Father to the heart. We are not sent to creation to learn who God is, though we see His power, wisdom and goodness there. We are not sent to the Law to learn who God is, though we see His justice there. We are not sent to providence to learn who God is, though we see the profound mysteries of His government there. No; if we want to know who and what God is we are to look in the face of the only-begotten Son of God Who dwelt in His bosom before the worlds; Who was His eternal delight, the object of His affections, the center of His counsels – Jesus Christ reveals God to the soul. We cannot have the slightest idea of what God is apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. "In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." "God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ."

Nothing can exceed the power and blessedness of all this – no darkness here; no uncertainty. "The darkness is past, and the true light now shineth." Yes, it shines in the face of Jesus Christ. By faith, we can gaze on that blessed One; we can trace His marvelous path on the earth; see Him going about doing good, and healing those oppressed of the devil. We can mark His looks, words, works, and ways. We can see Him healing the sick, cleansing the leper, opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping deaf ears, causing the lame to walk, the maimed to be whole, raising the dead, drying the widows tears, feeding the hungry, binding up broken hearts, meeting every form of human need, soothing human sorrow, hushing human fears. We see Him doing all these things in such a style, and with such touching grace and sweetness that it surely made each one feel that it was the deep delight of His loving heart to minister in such a way.

In all this, He was revealing God to man, so that if we want to know what God is we simply look at Jesus. When Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us," the prompt reply was, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake."

Here is rest for the heart; to know the true God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent – this is life eternal. We know Him as our own God and Father and Christ as our own personal, loving Lord and Savior. We delight in Him, walk with Him, lean on Him, trust in Him, cling to Him, draw from Him, find all our living springs in Him; rejoice in Him all day long; find our meat and drink in doing His blessed will, furthering His cause and promoting His glory.

We are thoroughly persuaded that seeking a deeper acquaintance with God in Christ and walking closer to Him is desperately needed in this day of unrest and unreality; of lukewarmness and indifference. We seek a higher standard of personal devotedness, more real purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord, and follow Him. There is much in this age that discourages and hinders spiritual growth. In the days of Nehemiah, the language of the men of Judah may with some measure of appropriateness and force be applied to our times, "The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish." But, thank God, the remedy now, as then, is found in this soul-stirring sentence, "Remember the Lord."

We now return to Deuteronomy 3. In the remainder, and in the ears of the congregation, the lawgiver rehearses the story of their dealings with the two kings of the Amorites, together with facts connected with the inheritance of the two and a half tribes on the wilderness side of Jordan. Regarding the latter subject, it is interesting to notice that he raises no question pertaining to the right or wrong of them choosing their possession short of the land of promise. Indeed, from the narrative given here, it could not be known that the two and a half tribes had expressed any wish in the matter. Again, the Book of Deuteronomy is far from being a mere repetition of its predecessors.

Here are the words: "And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites, And the rest of Gilead and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh, all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants . . . And I gave Gilead unto Machir. And unto the Reubenites, and unto the Gadites, I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon, half the valley, and the border, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon . . . And I commanded you at that time, saying, the Lord your God hath given you this land to possess it [not a word about their having asked it]" (emphasis added). "Ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war. But your wives and your little ones, and your cattle (for I know that ye have much cattle), shall abide in your cities which I have given you; until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the Lord your God hath given them beyond. Jordan; and then shall ye return every man unto his possession which I have given you."

In our study of the Book of Numbers, we dwelt on certain facts connected with the settlement of the two and a half tribes, proving that in choosing their inheritance anywhere short of the other side of Jordan they were below the mark of the Israel of God. But in the passage just quoted, there is no allusion to this side of the question; because Moses' object is to set before the whole congregation the exceeding goodness, loving-kindness and faithfulness of God, not only in bringing them through all the difficulties and dangers of the wilderness, but also in giving them victories over the Amorites and putting them in possession of attractive regions so suited to them. In all this he is laying down the solid basis of Jehovah's claim on their hearty obedience to His commandments. In such a rehearsal, we can see and appreciate the moral beauty of overlooking the question regarding whether Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh were wrong in stopping short of the land of promise. To a devout Christian, it is striking proof not only of the touching and exquisite grace of God, but also of the divine perfectness of Scripture.

No doubt, every true believer enters on the study of Scripture with full and deep conviction that every part of it is from God. Christians reverently believe that from the opening of Genesis to the close of Revelation there is not a single flaw, hitch, or discrepancy, not one; all is as perfect as its divine Author.

As a whole, the cordial belief in the divine perfectness of Scripture can never lessen our appreciation of the evidences that come out in detail; no, it exceedingly enhances it. For example, in the passage now before us it is beautiful to mark the absence of all reference to the failure of the two and a half tribes in choosing their inheritance, seeing that any such reference would be foreign to the object of Moses, the lawgiver, and to the scope of the book. It should be the joy of our hearts to trace such infinite perfections, such exquisite and inimitable touches. Not only should this be so, but we are persuaded that the more the moral glories of this book dawns on our souls; the more its living and exhaustless depths are unfolded to our hearts, the more we will be convinced of the folly of infidel assaults on it; as well as the feebleness and gratuitousness of many well-meaning Christian efforts to prove that it does not contradict itself. Thank God, His Word does not stand in need of human apologists. It speaks for itself, and carries its own powerful evidences; so that we can say of it what the apostle says of the Gospel: "If it be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Each day we are more and more convinced that the most effective method of answering all infidel attacks on the Bible is to cherish a more profound faith in its divine power and authority, to use it as those who are thoroughly persuaded of its truth and preciousness. The Spirit of God alone can enable anyone to believe in the plenary inspiration of Holy Scripture. Human arguments may silence gainsayers; but they cannot read the heart; they cannot bring the genial rays of God's revelation to bear down in living, saving power on the soul. This is Divine work; and until it is done, all the evidences and arguments in the world will leave the soul in the moral darkness of unbelief. But when it is done, there is no need of human testimony in defense of the Bible. External evidences, however interesting and valuable (and they are both) cannot add a single jot or tittle to the glory of that peerless Revelation that bears the clear impress of its divine Author on every page, every paragraph, and every sentence. As every ray of the sun speaks of the Hand that made it, so every sentence of the Bible speaks of the Heart that inspired it. But a blind man cannot see the sunlight; neither can an unconverted soul see the force and beauty of Holy Scripture. The eye must be anointed with heavenly eye-salve, before the infinite perfections of the God's Holy Word can be discerned or appreciated.

It is the ever deepening sense of all this that has led us to the determination not to occupy time referencing specific attacks made by rationalistic writers on this portion of the Word of God. We leave such to other and more abler hands. What we do desire is that we may feed at peace on green pastures that the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls has graciously thrown open to us; that as we pass along we may help one another see more and more of the moral glory lying before us – thus to build each other up on our most holy faith. This will be far more grateful work than replying to men who, in all their puny efforts to find flaws in Holy Scripture, only prove that they understand neither what they say, nor what they affirm. If men want to abide in the dark vaults and tunnels of a dreary infidelity and there find fault with the sun or deny that it shines at all, let it be ours to bask in the light and help others do the same.

We now briefly dwell on the remaining verses of this chapter.

And first, Moses rehearses his charge to Joshua in the ears of the people. "And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord our God hath done unto these two kings: so shall the Lord do unto all the kingdoms whither thou passest. Ye shall not fear them: for the Lord your God he shall fight for you" (vv. 21, 22).

The remembrance of the Lord's dealings with us in the past should strengthen our confidence to go on. The One Who had given His people such a victory over the Amorites, Who had destroyed such a formidable foe as Og, king of Bashan, and given into their hands all the land of the giants – what could He not do for them? They could hardly expect to encounter in all the land of Canaan any enemy more powerful than Og, whose bedstead was of such enormous dimensions that it called for the special notice of Moses. But what was Og in the presence of his Almighty Creator? Dwarfs and giants are all alike to Him. Keeping God always before our eyes causes difficulties to vanish. If He covers the eyes we can see nothing else – this is the true secret of peace and the real power of progress. "Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord your God hath done." As He has done, so He will do. He has delivered; He does deliver; and He will deliver. Past, present, and future are all marked by God's deliverance.

Do we have a difficulty? Is there any pressure on us? Are we anticipating with nervous apprehension some formidable evil? Is our heart trembling at the thought of it? Perhaps we are like one who has come to the far end, like the apostle Paul in Asia, "Pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life." If so, a word of encouragement is needed. It is our deep desire to strengthen hands in God; to encourage the heart to trust Him for all that is before us. "Fear not;" only believe and obey the Lord. He never fails a truly trusting heart. We simply need to make use of the resources treasured up for us in Him. Just put all surroundings, fears, and anxieties into His hands, and leave them there.

Yes; leave them there. It is of little use to put our difficulties, our necessities into His hands and then take them back. We often do this. When in pressure, in need, in some deep trial, we go to God in prayer; we cast our burden on Him, and seem to get relief. But; no sooner have we risen from our knees than we begin to again look at the difficulty, ponder the trial, dwell on the sorrowful circumstances, until we are again at our wits' end.

This will never do. It sadly dishonors God, and of course leaves us unrelieved and unhappy. He wants our minds free from care; our conscience free from guilt. His Word to us is, "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." And what then? "The peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep [or garrison] your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus" (emphasis added).

So it was that Moses, that beloved man of God and honored servant of Christ, sought to encourage his fellow laborer and successor, Joshua. "Ye shall not fear them; for the Lord your God he shall fight for you." So also the apostle Paul encouraged his beloved fellow servant Timothy to trust in the living God; to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; to lean with unshaken confidence on God's sure foundation; to commit himself with unquestioning assurance to the authority, teaching and guidance of Holy Scriptures. In this way, he would be armed and furnished to give himself with holy diligence and true spiritual courage to the work to which he was called. In these days of increasing difficulty, we can encourage one another to cling in simple faith to that Word forever settled in heaven; to have it hidden in the heart as a living power and authority in the soul, something that will sustain us though heart and flesh should fail, and though we do not have the countenance or support of a human being.

"All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you" (1 Pet. 1:24, 25).

What precious words, what comfort and consolation; what stability and rest; what strength, victory and moral elevation. It is not within the compass of human language to set forth the preciousness of the Word of God or to adequately define the comfort of knowing that the same Word that is settled forever in heaven and that will endure throughout the countless ages of eternity is that which has reached our hearts in the glad tidings of the Gospel – imparting eternal life; giving us peace and rest in the finished work of Christ. Thinking of this makes our every breath shout hallelujah. So it will, by-and-by, forever be – all homage to His peerless Name, to His adorable Person.

The closing verses of chapter three present a touching passage between Moses and his Lord; a passage in keeping with the character of the entire book of Deuteronomy: "And I besought the Lord at that time, saying, O Lord God, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand; for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works and according to thy might? I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. But the Lord was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the Lord said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter. Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see" (vv. 23-28).

It is affecting to find this eminent servant of God urging a request that could not be granted. He longed to see that good land beyond Jordan. The portion chosen by the two and a half tribes could not satisfy his heart. He desired to plant his foot on the proper inheritance of the Israel of God. But it was not to be. He had spoken unadvisedly with his lips at the waters of Meribah; and, by the solemn and irreversible enactment of God's government, he was prohibited from crossing the Jordan.

The beloved servant of Christ meekly rehearses all this in the ears of the people. He does not hide the Lord's refusal of his request. True, he did remind them that it was because of them – something morally needful for them to hear. Still, in an unreserved manner, he tells them that Jehovah was upset with him; that He refused to hear him; that He refused to allow him to cross the Jordan – calling on him to resign his office and appoint a successor.

It is edifying to hear all this from the lips of Moses himself. It teaches a fine lesson, if we are willing to learn it. Some of us find it difficult to confess doing or saying anything wrong; difficult to confess before our brethren that we have missed the Lord's mind in a particular case. We are careful to protect our reputation; we are touchy and tenacious. And yet, with strange inconsistency, we admit or seem to admit in general terms that we are feeble, erring creatures; and that if left to ourselves there is nothing too bad for us to say or do. But it is one thing to make a humiliating general confession, and altogether another to own up to the fact that in some particular case we have made a gross mistake. This latter is a confession few of us have grace enough to make. Some of us have great difficulty admitting that we have ever done any wrong.

Not so with Moses. Notwithstanding his elevated position as the called, trusted, honored, and beloved servant of Jehovah, the leader of the congregation whose rod had made the land of Egypt to tremble, he was not ashamed to stand before the whole assembly and confess his mistake, owning up to the fact that he had said what he should not, and that he had earnestly urged a request Jehovah could not grant.

Does this lower our estimation of Moses? No, the reverse; it immensely raises him. It is morally lovely to hear his confession; to see how meekly he bows his head to the governmental dealings of God; to mark the unselfishness of his action toward the man who was to succeed him in his high office. There was not a trace of jealousy or envy; no exhibition of mortified pride. With beautiful self-emptiness, he steps down from the elevated position, throws his mantle over the shoulders of the successor, encouraging him to discharge the duties of that high office with holy fidelity.

"He that humbleth himself shall be exalted" – how true in Moses' case. He humbled himself under the mighty hand of God. He accepted the holy discipline imposed on him by God's government. He uttered not one murmuring word at the refusal of his request. He bows to it all, and hence in due time he was exalted. If government kept him out of Canaan, grace conducted him to Pisgah's top. From there, in company with his Lord, he was permitted to see that good land in all its fair proportions – see it not as inherited by Israel but as given of God.

The serious student will do well to deeply ponder the subject of grace and government. It is truly a weighty and practical theme, one largely illustrated in Scripture though little understood among us. It may be hard to understand that one as beloved as Moses would be refused entrance into the Promised Land. But in this we see the solemn action of God's government, and we must bow our heads and worship. It was not merely that in his official capacity as representative of the legal system, Moses could not bring Israel into the land. This is true; but it is not all. Moses spoke unadvisedly. In the presence of the congregation, He and his brother Aaron failed to glorify God; and for this cause, "The Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them." And, again, we read, "The Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, Aaron shall be gathered unto his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor; and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there."

All this is most solemn. Here we have the two leading men in the congregation, the very men whom God had used with mighty signs and wonders to bring His people out of the land of Egypt – "that Moses and Aaron" – men highly honored by God; and yet refused entrance into Canaan. And for what? – "because ye rebelled against my word."

Let these words sink into the heart. It is a terrible thing to rebel against the Word of God; and the more elevated the position of those who do rebel, the more serious it is, and the more solemn and quickly must be God's judgment. "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry."

These are weighty words, and we should ponder them deeply. They were uttered in the ears of Saul, when he had failed to obey the Word of the Lord; and thus we have examples of a prophet, a priest and a king – all judged under the government of God for an act of disobedience. The prophet and priest were refused entrance into the land of Canaan, and the king was deprived of his throne simply because they disobeyed the Word of the Lord.

Let us always remember this. In our fancied wisdom we might deem all this overly severe. But in all such matters this is the grand question: "Are we competent judges?" Let us beware how we presume to sit in judgment on the enactments of God's government. Adam was driven out of paradise; Aaron was stripped of his priestly robes; Moses was sternly refused entrance into Canaan; and Saul was deprived of his kingdom; and all for what? Was it for what men would call a grave moral offence, some scandalous sin? No; in each case it was for neglecting the Word of the Lord. This is eternally serious and spiritually important to keep in mind, especially in this day of human willfulness in which men undertake to set up their own opinions, to think and judge and act for themselves. Men proudly put the question, "Do we not have the right to think for ourselves?" We reply, most certainly not. We have a right to obey. To obey what? Not the commandments of men; not the authority of the so-called church, organized religious institutions; not the decrees of general councils; in a word, not any human authority, call it what you please; but simply the Word of the living God, the testimony of the Holy Spirit, the voice of Holy Scripture. It is this that justly claims our implicit, unhesitating, unquestioning obedience. To this we are to bow down our whole moral being. We are not to reason; we are not to speculate; we are not to weigh consequences; we have nothing to do with results; we are not to say "Why?" or "Wherefore?" It is ours to obey, and leave all the rest in the hands of our Master. What has a servant to do with consequences? What business does he have reasoning out results? The essence of a servant is to do what he is told, regardless of all other considerations. Had Adam remembered this, he would not have been turned out of Eden. Had Moses and Aaron remembered it, they might have crossed the Jordan; had Saul remembered it, he would not have been deprived of his throne. And so, as we pass along the stream of human history, we see this weighty principle illustrated over and over again; and we may rest assured, it is a principle of abiding and universal importance.

And, further, we should never attempt to weaken this great principle by any reasoning grounded on God's foreknowledge of all that was to happen and all that man would do in the course of time. Men do reason in this way, but it is a fatal mistake. What has God's foreknowledge to do with man's responsibility? Is man responsible or not? This is the real question. If he is, then, nothing must be allowed to interfere with this responsibility. Man is called to obey the plain Word of God. In no wise is he responsible to know anything about God's secret purposes and counsels. Man's responsibility rests on what is revealed, not on what is secret. For example, when he was set in the Garden of Eden and forbidden to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, what did Adam know about God's eternal plans and purposes? Was his transgression in any way modified by the fact that from that transgression God took occasion to display in the view of all created intelligences His glorious scheme of redemption through the blood of the Lamb? Clearly not; he received a plain commandment; and only by that commandment should his conduct have been governed. He disobeyed and was driven out of paradise into a world that for thousands of years has exhibited the terrible consequences of one single act of disobedience – the act of taking the forbidden fruit.

Blessed be God, it is true that grace has come into this sin-stricken world and has reaped a harvest that could never have been reaped in the fields of an unfallen creation. But man was judged for his transgression. He was driven out by the hand of God in government; and by an enactment of that government, he has been compelled to eat bread by the sweat of his brow – "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

Here we have the condensed statement of the principle that runs through the Word, and is illustrated throughout the history of God's government. It demands our gravest consideration; though little understood. We allow our minds to fall under the influence of one-sided, false ideas of grace, the effect of which is most pernicious. Grace is one thing, and government is another. They must never be confounded. We would earnestly impress on the heart of serious students of God's Holy Word the weighty fact that the most magnificent display of God's sovereign grace can never interfere with the solemn enactments of His government.

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