The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 4 · Section 18 – Section 20
SECT. XVIII.
GOd now promiſes that he will ſend the Lord Chriſt, the Angel of the Covenant, (a)Mal. 3.1.the Lord of Angels,(b)Heb. 1.3. in the Cloudy Pillar, to guide and lead them to the promiſed Land, but charges them to obey his Voice, and to take heed of provoking him, for He will not pardon(c)1 Chron. 10.9. The Iſraelites in the Wilderneſs tempted him, and ſo were juſty deſtroyed by him. their Tranſgreſſions, if they perſiſt in them without Repentance. And they ſhould be very careful of offending Him; For (ſays God) my Name is in Him, (d)Joh. 10.38. My Father is in me and I in Him.that is, He is of the ſame Nature and Eſſence, of the ſame Authority and Power with my Self, being my Eternal Son, and with that Nature He hath my Name Jehovah, Jer. 33.6. And further to encourage them to Obedience, He tells them, That if they would obey his Voice, He would be an Enemy to their Enemies, and an Adverſary to their Adverſaries, and would afflict thoſe that did afflict them. And this glorious Angel ſhould go before them, and by an outſtretched Arm deſtroy thoſe Nations of the Amorites, Hittites, and Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebuſites, and ſhould bring them into the poſſeſſion of their Land. But when they came to enjoy that good Land, they muſt be eſpecially careful not to bow down to their Idols, nor Worſhip them, nor to imitate the Idolatry of that Heatheniſh people,(e)Lev. 18.3.25. but contrariwiſe, with deteſtation, to overthrow and break down their Images, Lev. 7. And if they were careful to worſhip the Lord their God, and Him only, then He would bleſs their bread and their water, and their food to them, ſo that it ſhould nouriſh them, and would give them health, and keep evil Diſeaſes from them, and would make them very fruitful, and preſerve their Women, and Cattel, from miſcarrying, and abortive Births, and would prolong their life, ſo that they ſhould fill up the number of their days, which by the courſe of Nature they might live. And He would ſtrike their Enemies with ſuch terrour and fear, that they ſhould turn their backs upon them, and fly when they came to Encounter them. And he would ſend Hornets (f)De his agitur, Deut. 7.20. ubi Veſpa eos in angulos pellit ibi que latentes ſodicat, quod de terrore animi dici non poteſt. Non dubito veros ſniſſe Crabrones & hanc plagam ſimilem ei Aegyptiacae, Exod. 8.21. Impletum hoc quamvis ſcriptum non meminit quo loco, aut tempore factum. Numerantur hic tantum tres gentes, quia hae ſolum videntur hoc incommodum ſenſiſſe. Rivet. Maſius.before them to expel the Canaanites out of the Land, viz. Great Venemous Flies *See Joſh. 24.12.that ſhould ſting them to death. So that thoſe of their Enemies that ſhould endeavour to hide themſelves from them, and think thereby to eſcape, ſhould be deſtroyed by theſe Hornets, ſee Deut. 7.20. But He tells them, He would not drive out theſe Heatheniſh Nations all in one year, leſt the Land ſhould grow to a Wilderneſs, if it ſhould be all at once diſpeopled, and the wild Beaſts in the ſolitary places would increaſe, which would be a great annoyance to them. But he would drive out the Heathen Nations by degrees till Iſrael were increaſed, and become enow to fill the Land. And that they might know how large a Poſſeſſion he deſigned for them, he tells them the bounds of it ſhould be theſe. The Eaſt bound ſhould be the Red-Sea; not that that Sea ſhould bound all the Eaſt ſide of it, but becauſe the Eaſt ſide of the Land of Canaan ſhould reach to ſome part of the Red-Sea. The Weſt bound ſhould be the Sea of the Philiſtins, or the great Ocean, the Mediterranean-Sea. The South border ſhould be the Deſert towards Egypt, which was the Wilderneſs of Shur or Paran. The North bound ſhould be the River Euphrates, (g)But of this larger extent of land, the Iſraelites, by reaſon of their ſins, were not poſſeſſed, except for a ſhort time under David and Solomon. See 2 Sam. 8.10. 1 Kings 4.21. 2 Chron. 9.26.which extendeth towards the North. Laſtly, He chargeth them to make no Covenant with theſe Heatheniſh Nations, nor to yield to Worſhip their Idols, nor to permit them to dwell in the Land, leſt, if they lived among them, they might infect them with their Idolatry, which would be a great Snare to them, and a cauſe of their fall and ruine.
Exod. 23. from verſ. 20. to the end.
SECT. XIX.
GOd having Himſelf given to the Children of Iſrael his Moral Law, (which is expreſly call'd a Covenant, Deut. 4.13.) and Moſes having received theſe other Commandments and Ordinances from the Lord, and having written them in a Book, He propoſed them unto the People, and they readily conſented to them, ſaying, All the words that the Lord hath ſaid we will do. Hereupon the next Morning he roſe early, and built an Altar (ſee Exod. 20.24, 25.) at the foot of the Mount, to repreſent God, and He ſet up twelve Pillars, according to the twelve (h)V. 4. Duodecem] adnumerato Levi. Ne que enim ante Numb. 1.10. in Tribus diſtincta binas erat Joſephi proſapia. Anonym.Tribes, to repreſent the People. Then he appointed twelve young (i)Young men do not always ſignifie men young in years, but men fit for Service or Miniſtry to the Elders. Theſe were ſome of the Firſt-born, and were chief Aſſiſtants to the Father of the Family in offering Sacrifice, and when their Fathers were dead, ſucceeded in their Office.men of the Firſt-born (whom the Lord had conſecrated to Himſelf as Miniſters of holy things before the Levetes, who came in the place of the Firſt-born, [Numb. 3.41.] were ſet apart for the Prieſtly Function,) to offer Burnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings of Oxen, Calves and Goats [Heb. 9.19.] unto the Lord; which they did accordingly. Then he took half the bloud of theſe Sacrifices and put it into Baſons, and the other half he ſprinkled on the Altar, and ſo alſo on the Book (which it ſeems was laid on the Altar) making uſe of a Sprinkler (k)See more of this in the Apoſtolical Hiſtory, page 382. & 383. Becauſe it was an uſual thing in all their legal Expiations to uſe Hyſſop and Wooll to ſprinkle with. The Apoſtle received this from the uſual cuſtom of the legal Rites, as being himſelf trained and brought up under the Law. To this cuſtom of uſing Hyſſop the Pſalmiſt alludeth, Pſal. 51.7. Purge me with Hyſſop, and I ſhall be clean, &c.made of Scarlet wooll, and a bunch of Hyſſop, Heb. 9.19. (the legal ſprinklings being uſually ſo performed, Levit. 14.6, 7. though Moſes here mentions not all theſe particulars,) and there was Water alſo (as it ſeems) intermingled with the bloud, becauſe otherwiſe the bloud growing cold would have been thick, and ſo unfit to be ſprinkled. By all which was ſignified and ſealed God's Favour and Grace to the People if they would be obedient. Then reading again to them the Book of the Covenant (that is, the Book containing thoſe Laws before mentioned, which they had covenanted to obſerve,) and they promiſing a ſecond time Obedience thereunto, He took the other half of the bloud and ſprinkled it on the People; that is, either on the twelve Pillars repreſenting the twelve Tribes, or on the Elders as repreſenting the reſt, or on all the people promiſcuouſly that in circuitu ſtood about him, ſaying, Behold the bloud of the Covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all theſe words, and things contained in this Book; As if he ſhould have ſaid, This bloud is a ſign of the Covenant between God and You, and a Seal to confirm it, and a Ceremony whereby it is eſtabliſhed. The ſprinkling of this bloud upon you may alſo ſignifie that the tranſgreſſion of the Covenant cannot be purged but by the bloud of the Meſſiah.
Exod. 24. from 3. to 9.
SECT. XX.
THe Lord having commanded Moſes, after he had delivered theſe Ordinances to the people, to come up again into the Mount, and to bring Aaron with Nadab and Abihu (his two eldeſt Sons) and the 70 Elders(l)They had when they were in Egypt certain Elders in every Tribe which were the principal men among them. And it ſeems God appointed that theſe 70 ſhould come up with Aaron and his Sons into the Mount. And theſe were choſen now as Witneſſes, that they might by the ſight of Gods preſence be confirmed in the Covenant lately made with them, and might confirm the reſt therein. And afterwards at Kibroth Hattavab 70 were choſen for helpers to Moſes in his Government. And 'tis thought God appointed 70 rather than any other number, as a Memorial of the 70 Souls that went down into Egypt, and conſequently of God's great bleſſing in bringing them within a few years to ſo great a multitude. along with him, They accordingly came up into the Mount, that is, a little way up, and there, as they were commanded, worſhipped at a diſtance, and afar off from the top of the Mount. And they ſaw ſome illuſtrious Signs of God's glorious preſence,(m)Not that the Lord ſhewed Himſelf in any humane ſhape, Deut. 4.15. For never man ſaw God, nor can ſee him, 1 Tim. 6.16 Forma ipſius Dei nulla deſcribitur, ſed baſis in qua ſtabat. Calvin. and at the lower part of that brightneſs there was a clear ſhining blew pavement, as it were of Saphir, and like to the Skie when it is clear. And though theſe Nobles and Elders ſaw the Glory of God in theſe extraordinary ſigns of his Preſence, yet it pleaſed the Lord that they received no hurt thereby, but returning again unto the people, did there feaſt together with them on their Peace-Offerings, *Burnt-Offerings were wholely conſumed, but of the Peace-Offerings part was reſerved, that they did afterwards feaſt upon.rejoycing in the goodneſs of God to them, and the honour he had done them. But Moſes with his Servant and deſigned Succeſſor Joſhua (n)Joſhua was not before mentioned, verſ. 1. perhaps becauſe he was Moſes's Miniſter and conſtant attendant, therefore it was not neceſſary he ſhould be expreſſed by name.abide there ſtill, having advanced to to the higher part of the Mount, but yet not ſo high as the Cloud. Moſes, before he aſcended, gave order to the Elders to tarry there below, and to expect his and Joſhua's return, and that Aaron and Hur in his abſence ſhould determine the Affairs of the people. Moſes waited ſix days (o)Ut animum ſex diebus ab omni cogitatione & ſorde terrenâ ſerenaret, & praepararet ad colloquium Dei Janſ.more on the top of the Mountain (which the Cloud now covered, and the ſigns of God's glorious Preſence appeared upon it) that his mind in that time might be prepared for Converſe with the great God; and on the Seventh day God called him up into the Cloud, and the ſight of the Glory of the Lord on the top of the Mount was like devouring Fire in the eyes of the Children of Iſrael. And there God ſpake with Him, and he continued there forty days(p)The like number of days Elias faſted, 1 Kings 19.8. and our Saviour when he was to enter upon the Miniſtry of the Goſpel, Matth. 4.2. God could have diſpatched Moſes ſooner, but this ſtay was to give the greater Authority to his Law. Some think that the ſix days that Moſes waited are to be reckon'd into the 40. Sic Uſſerius & alii. and forty nights without eating or drinking any thing, Deut. 9.9. And ſo his Condition was a ſhadow of the life of the glorified Saints in Heaven. During which time he was employed in beholding the Glory of God's Preſence, and in receiving Inſtructions from him about all things that concerned his people, and in viewing the Pattern of the Tabernacle, and all things belonging thereunto, which was ſhewn him in the Mount. Joſhua, as it ſeems, ſtayed all this while upon the Mount, though below the Cloud,) waiting for Moſes, and ſuſtaining himſelf as 'tis probable with the Manna that fell from Heaven, and the water of the Brook mentioned Deut. 9.21. that deſcended out of the Mount. For there Moſes found him when he came down from God, neither did he know what the Iſraelites had done in the Camp, as appears from Exod. 32.17.
Exod. 24. verſ. 1, 2. and from 9. to the end.