March 7, 1897
The Apostasy of Israel. - No. 5.
(Sunday Evening, March 7, 1897.)
IN the lesson the other evening I stated that I had never seen
until lately a copy of the ten commandments published by Seventh-day
Adventists, outside of the Bible, that was as God spoke them. I am glad that
the time has come when Seventh-day Adventists can have a copy of God's law as
God gave it. I am glad that Brother Howe has gotten out copies of the law of
God, as God gave it. And now let us not
leave ourselves open any longer to the same charge as others, of leaving out
part of the law of God, when we go before the people.
You can see plainly enough that the man who first gave out that
copy of the law of God that nearly everybody else uses, was an Egyptian. It
says, "I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage." But he said to himself, That does not apply
to me, nor to anybody living nowadays; for we have never been brought out of
Egypt. That was only for the Jews. He therefore left it out and printed the
rest of the law, and thus presented to the world a mutilated copy of the law
which the Lord himself gave. He thus caused it to appear that the only document
that the Lord ever spoke from heaven began without telling who was the author
of it, without even introducing him, but began just in a blunt, indefinite way
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." The question might well at
once arise, Who in the world are you? Who is it that is talking? Well, when the
law is taken as it was given, God tells who it is that is talking. "I am
the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of bondage." That is who it is that is talking; you shall have no
other gods before me, "who am able to redeem from the bondage of
Egypt."
Another thought just here is important: When the law is printed
without the introduction that the Lord himself spoke, as it usually is on
charts and cards, it is found necessary to place at the head of it the words,
"The Law of God." This shows that men realize the necessity that
there shall be some sort of certificate as to whose law it is, and who it is
that speaks these commandments. And, seeing this necessity, men put at the head
of the law of God their certificate that
it is the law of God.
But if they would only print the law as the Lord gave it, they
would have the Lord's own certificate that it is the law of God, and that it is
he himself who speaks these commandments. He says: "I am the Lord thy God,
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me," etc. And when men can have the
Lord's own certificate that it is his law, surely there will be no need of any
man's certificate that it is the law of God.
And is not the Lord's certificate this is his law, better than the
certificate of any man or of all men together? And when men leave out the
Lord's own certificate that this is his law, and put their own certificate
there, could there be any clearer case of men putting themselves in the place
of God? O, let us put away this highhanded, bungling work; and let us take the
holy law as its holy Author spoke it and wrote it! "I am the Lord thy God
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage." Amen. Let it be so.
Having there all that the Lord spoke, the law of God then presents
to the world both the Redeemer and the Creator. It then tells all men that he
who is the Author of that law, that he who calls man to its observance, is both
Redeemer and Creator. This is shown by the law itself. And when they leave out
the part that reveals the Redeemer, it is no wonder that they are willing and
ready to leave out the part that reveals the Creator of man. Satan always
wanted to get rid of the law, and to hide from men its importance. He started
with having the Redeemer left out of it; and now he ends with having the
Creator left out of it. But the Lord wants us to know that it is he who
delivered us from Egypt, so we shall be able to see both the Redeemer and the
Creator in the law which he gave for man.
Another thing. When you and I can see, and do see, that Israel,
when they went into the land, did not go at all into the land that the Lord
intended for them, but missed it altogether, we can see how it was a
disappointment to Moses not to go there. Now when it appears, as it does to
some people, that Israel went into the land the Lord had prepared for them, and
that that was exactly where the Lord wanted to take them, and then see that
Moses died and went to heaven, they say that Moses had the best of the bargain
after all; and that it was not so much of a disappointment to take him out of
the land and take him to heaven.
But when
we understand that the Lord wanted to take him into his holy habitation, into
the place he had made for himself to dwell in, into the sanctuary that his
hands had established; then we can see how it was a disappointment even for
Moses to die and go to heaven without entering into that land. When he could
see that it was his sin that had something to do with keeping them out of the
blessed land of promise; when he could see that Israel had missed what the Lord
had for them; when he saw the glorious land, as he did from the top of Nebo,
and was obliged to contemplate the long ages of wandering, of apostasy, and of
trouble, through which the cause and people of God were to pass, and know that
he had even a little to do with causing that long course of wandering; it is
easy enough to see what a grievous disappointment it was to him not to enter
that land without dying at all-even though he was taken to heaven from the
grave.
One other
text, if any one were needed to settle the fact that Israel did not get out of
Egypt as long as they were in the wilderness, is found in the book of Joshua.
You remember the passage,-after they had crossed Jordan, then they were
circumcised,-it is written, "This day have I rolled away the reproach of
Egypt from off you." Those people, you see, who left Egypt, never got out
of Egypt till they had crossed Jordan; for not until then was the reproach of
Egypt taken away. Then they were all converted men. That whole nation crossed
Jordan by faith. It was a nation that believed God, and there was not a
dissenting voice nor a doubting thought,-then they were out of Egypt. Thus you
see that it is perfectly evident that spiritual Egypt is the literal Egypt of
the Bible.
Now we
turn to the text for to-night. This is Num. 23: 9. I begin to read with the
seventh verse. It is Balaam as he is prophesying for Balak, king of Moab.
And he
took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from
Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come,
defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy,
whom the Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and
from the hills I behold him: LO, THE PEOPLE SHALL DWELL ALONE, AND SHALL NOT BE
RECKONED AMONG THE NATIONS.
This text
is spoken to us here to-night. This is present truth. This was God's expressed
will concerning his people when they were on the border of the land to which he
wanted to take them when he had called them out of the land of Egypt. They had
wandered in the wilderness forty years, and now had come to the border of the
land. And this is his will concerning them, that they should dwell alone, and
not be reckoned among the nations.
The
fundamental reason for that, or one of the reasons, we would better say, you
will get hold of by turning to the seventh chapter of Acts. Stephen was
speaking that day, and told that the Lord brought the people out of Egypt, out
of the land of bondage with wonders and signs, and in the thirty-seventh and
thirty eighth verses you have these words; in the thirty-eighth verse is the
particular passage:-
This is
that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord
your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
This is he, that was in the church in
the wilderness.
Then what
was Israel in the wilderness?-The church. What was it to be when they had
crossed the river and had entered the land?-The church. What was that saying
but that there should be a separation between church and state?-just as, when
he brought Abraham out of that country, the Lord taught the world separation
between church and state, and just as he showed by Abraham that separation of
church and state must begin in the heart of the individual.
If I am not separated in my heart from the state, there will be a
union of church and state wherever I am. And so, even though I do not hold
office in the state, or run for office there, I will be a politician in the
church; and I will run for office there, and wire-pull there. So that if a man
is not in heart separated from the state, and yet belongs to the church, he
would better take part in the politics of the world and be a politician there,
than to run his politics into the church.
So when the Lord called Abraham, he said, first of all, "Get
thee out of thy country." And now that Abraham has increased and become
the church, and that church is about to enter the special service of the Lord
before the nations, he declares that that church should not be reckoned among
the nations; they should dwell alone. You can see how the Lord wanted the
people to hold to that, because he knew what the nations were; and he knew how
the nations had reached that condition. He wanted his church to dwell alone, to
have no ruler but himself, no law but his law, no legislation of any kind but
the Lord's word, no government but the Lord's.
God intended, when he brought them into the land, to be the head
of the church. Jesus Christ was the head of the church, of course, just as
really as he is now. You know from the lessons we have studied, how the people
got into kingship, monarchy, and so on; it was by departing from him, by
failing to recognize God as their only Ruler, his law as the only law. They
became idolators, and so lost the government of God over themselves, and the
power of his law upon them; and having separated from God, there had to be a
government among them to satisfy the ambition of those who wanted to rule their
fellows, and to protect them from themselves in their savagery, because of
having departed from God.
But the Lord separated Israel from all people and governments,
unto himself. The Lord started Israel now just where he started Abraham, to be
separated from the kings and rulers all around them, from all sorts of earthly
government round about them. He wanted his people to dwell alone, and not to be
such as could be reckoned among any of the nations, so that when the nations
looked on them, they should see that Israel could not be reckoned as of their
kind.
He wanted Israel to stand before the world so distinctly-and this
would make them distinct from all other nations-that all the nations looking
upon them would say, That is singular; that is not the kind of government ours
is. They have no king; each one just seems to get along without any ruler. And
they would begin to inquire into that; they would say, What is the cause of
this? How is it you get along without all this paraphernalia of a king, and
armies, and taxes, and all these things that we have to endure? The answer
would be, Why, God is our king. And it doesn't take nearly such an expense to
run his government as it does yours; for we don't have any such troubles as you
have. Yes; we have no taxes, and he is so good that we love to give to him everything
we have, to support and spread abroad the blessings of his government.
And when
his people should tell the heathen that, the heathen would say, Surely this
nation is a wise and understanding people; and what nation on the earth is so
great, that hath judgments so wise, so good, as all this law? And what nation
has God so nigh unto them as the Lord thy God is, in all things that we call
upon him for? That is what the Lord intended. And he said, Israel "shall
dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations." He intended to
teach all the world a separation of church and state, not only in the church,
but among the nations, as respects the states, and also as respects the church
itself.
Just look
here at the scripture, and you will see that. Deuteronomy 4. A few verses tell
the whole that I have sketched. Beginning with the first verse, reading to the
eighth:-
Now
therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I
teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land
which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word
which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it that ye may keep
the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen
what the Lord did because of Baal-peor: for all the men that followed
Baal-peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did
cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day. Behold, I
have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me,
that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore
and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the
nations; which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation
is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath
God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon
him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so
righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Then was
there any place for the making of any kind of law or legislation among
Israel?-"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall
ye diminish aught from it." They were to do just that. Their laws were all
made for them. Their legislation was all completed, and was perfect; and as
long as they had that, they needed no other, and just as soon as it came about
that they needed another, that was evidence itself that they had forsaken
God.
So long as
they needed any kind of legislation, of themselves, among themselves, that was
evidence that they had forsaken God, that his law was not enough for them any
more, and that his government was not sufficient for them any more. That is
precisely the way it is with all the rest of the heathen. That is the way with
all the nations. That is how they became heathen. And you know that Israel went
over that very same course. They forgot God and went into idolatry, and then
said, We must have a king, so that we may be like all the nations. But do not
forget that they had to reject God before they could have a king; and in
rejecting God, that they might be like the nations, like the heathen, that is
what the literal thought is,-in rejecting God that they might be like the
nations, they became like the nations that rejected God. You know this by all
the following history.
It is
perfectly plain, therefore, that it is not God's will, it is not for the
interests of his people, that they shall be like the nations. It is not the
will of God, it is not for the good of the people, that they shall have any
kind of government like the nations that are around about them. You know these
did not arise from following God, but they arose from apostasy. From all this,
it is perfectly plain that God did not intend that his people should set up a
government of themselves among themselves.
The Lord did not intend that they should set up a government like
the nations around them. When he says, "Ye shall not add unto the word
which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it," you can see
that he thus shut them off from any law-making of any kind, from any shadow of
legislation of any sort, and thus prohibited them from ever setting up any form
of government among themselves.
And from this it is perfectly clear that when they found the need
of any sort of government among themselves, in which they must have laws and
rulers other than God, that of itself was proof positive that they had
forgotten God; that they had gone away from him; that his government was not
enough; that his power was not upon them to hold them, and so they must make
and establish some form of government of their own, to protect themselves from
themselves.
Thus you see that it was not according to the Lord's will that his
people, dwelling alone, should have a
government of their own among themselves. It was not his will that they should
dwell among the nations, and have a government like the nations; because when
they should undertake to make a government of their own to govern themselves
among themselves, that would be just like the governments of the nations,
because they were all human, and humanity is all alike. So when Israel did
undertake to set up a government to govern themselves, it was like these around
them, and it could not be anything else. It was heathenish.
And it always will be heathenish wherever it is attempted.
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither
shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord
your God which I command you." God intends that his commandments, his law,
his government, shall be enough for his people. And it is enough for his people. That is settled. It always will be
enough for his people. But it is not enough for those who do not have it; it is
not enough for those who separate from God and from his law and government. His
government is not enough for them, then, because they do not have it; and then
if they make one of their own, it is just like that of the heathen.
Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-peor: for
all the men that followed Baal-peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from
among you. But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of
you this day. Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the
Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to
possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your
understanding in the sight of the nations.
"This is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of
the nations." Not simply in my sight; but do this, and all the nations, the heathen, will say you are
wise. The nations, the heathen, will say you have good sense.
Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord
my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess
it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding
in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say,
Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is
there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all
things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath
statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you
this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou
forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy
heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb.
Do not forget what you have seen and heard, but especially do not
forget what you heard when you stood before Horeb that day. What did they
hear?-O, the law of God; the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus they
heard that day; a voice from heaven proclaimed redemption and creation, that
men should sin not. But Israel forgot God, and became idolatrous, and said,
Make us a king; make us a king, like all the nations. But of that time, while
they were undefiled, the Lord said afterward (Ps. 81: 13-16):-
Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in
my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against
their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto
him: but their time should have endured forever. He should have fed them also
with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have
satisfied thee.
No comments:
Post a Comment