Numbers 14:24

“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”

The fewness of those who shall finally be saved is strongly declared in the Holy Scriptures; yet those who venture to suggest such an idea, are deemed uncharitable in the extreme. But it is not owing to a lack of mercy in God that any perish; it is utterly their own fault. God delights to bless his faithful and obedient people; but the unbelieving and disobedient he will eternally condemn. The numbers that are found in either of these classes make no difference with respect to him; if there were only one or two ungodly, they alone should perish, and all others should be saved; but if a whole nation be ungodly, and only one or two of them be observant of the divine commands, those individuals alone shall find acceptance with him, and all the rest shall meet with their deserved doom.

None but Noah and his family escaped the deluge; none but Lot and his daughters were delivered from the judgments which came upon Sodom and Gomorrah; thus, in the passage before us, we are told that Caleb alone, together with Joshua, was permitted to enter into the promised land, because they alone had followed the Lord fully.

To elucidate this record, and to bring it home to our own hearts, we shall show,

I. When we may be said to follow the Lord fully.

The whole nation of Israel might be considered as followers of the Lord, because they had given up themselves to him as his redeemed people, and depended on him for guidance and protection. In the same manner the whole body of Christians may be called followers of Christ, because they profess to have been redeemed by him from the far sorer bondage of sin and death, and because they look to him, in profession at least:

to guide them by his Spirit,

to keep them by his grace, and

to bring them in safety to the heavenly Canaan.

But as the great body of the Jewish nation deceived themselves to their ruin, so, it is to be feared, the greater part of the Christian world will ultimately be disappointed of their hopes. To follow the Lord will be to but little purpose, unless we follow him fully. Now this implies:

1. That we follow him with unreserved cheerfulness.

The Israelites at large were pleased with God’s service no longer than while their inclinations were gratified to the full. As soon as ever they were called to exercise any self-denial, or to suffer a little for his sake—they began to murmur, and were sorry that they had taken his yoke upon them. Especially when they heard the report of the spies respecting the power of their enemies, they proposed to cast off God’s yoke altogether, and to return to their former masters in Egypt.

But Caleb “had another spirit with him;” he considered himself as altogether at God’s disposal, and cheerfully obeyed him, as well in circumstances of difficulty and danger, as in the ways that were more pleasing to flesh and blood.

Now this disposition characterizes every faithful follower of Christ. It is not for us to choose our own way, but to follow the directions of our Divine Master. No commandment of his must be esteemed grievous; nothing must be called “a hard saying;” but we must cheerfully conform ourselves to every part of his revealed will, and account his service to be perfect freedom.

2. That we follow him with undaunted resolution.

Caleb had seen with his own eyes what difficulties he should have to encounter in subduing the land of Canaan; yet was he not in the least dismayed. Yes, his whole nation were so offended with his fidelity to God, that they gave orders that he should be stoned to death. But nothing could intimidate him; he knew the will of God, and he was determined to execute it at all events.

Thus the Christian whose heart is right with God, is not deterred by any difficulties from proceeding in the path of duty. He knows that the world will be against him; and he often finds his greatest enemies to be those of his own household; yet he determines to go forward, and to obey God rather than man. Like the Hebrew youths, if he beholds a furnace prepared for his destruction, he will still hold fast his integrity, and submit to death itself rather than violate his duty to his God.

3. That we follow him with unshaken trust.

The report of the spies was doubtless very discouraging. The people whom they had seen were of most gigantic stature; the cities in which they dwelt, were walled up to Heaven; and it is probable that there was a dreadful pestilence at that time ravaging “the land, and swallowing up the inhabitants thereof.” But Caleb had the promise of Jehovah to rest upon; and therefore he knew that he could not fail of success; yes, he was assured that, however numerous or mighty his enemies were, they should be “bread for the Lord’s people,” and be as easily crushed and devoured by them as a piece of bread.

In this also the faithful follower of Christ will resemble Caleb; he knows that Omnipotence is engaged in his behalf; and he rests securely on the Word of God. If his corruptions were yet stronger than they are, and the world, with the confederate hosts of Hell, were tenfold more powerful, he would not fear, “he knows in whom he has believed,” and is persuaded that “He who has promised is able also to perform.”

The character of those who follow the Lord fully, being thus delineated, we shall proceed to notice,

II. The blessedness of those who follow the Lord fully.

Here also the history of Caleb will serve as our guide. The text informs us, that he received,

1. The approbation of his God.

God confessed him before all Israel as “his servant.” What an honor was this, to be thus distinguished by Jehovah himself! And shall not every faithful servant of Jehovah be thus distinguished? Shall he not have an inward witness of the Spirit testifying of his adoption into God’s family, and enabling him with confidence to cry, Abba, Father! Will not God “shed abroad his love in the hearts” of his people, and “seal them with the Holy Spirit of promise, as the pledge of their eternal inheritance?” And though no authentic declaration shall be made to others respecting his state—yet shall his very enemies be constrained to reverence him in their hearts, even though, like Herod, they should persecute him unto death.

2. The completion of all his wishes.

Doubtless Caleb earnestly desired an inheritance in the land of Canaan; and the very mountain on which his feet had trodden was assigned to him as his portion by God’s express appointment. But he surely looked beyond an earthly inheritance; nor can we doubt but that he is distinguished in the Canaan above, as much as he was in the earthly Canaan.

And what does the faithful Christian desire? What is the great object of his ambition, but to inherit that good land which the Lord his God has promised him? And shall he come short of it? Will not God preserve him unto his heavenly kingdom? Yes; neither men nor devils shall deprive him of his inheritance; that very land which by faith he has so often viewed and trodden, shall be given to him; and “all the seed of Caleb” and of Abraham shall have it for their everlasting portion.

Behold, Christian, where Caleb now is, you shall shortly be; whatever difficulties may obstruct your way, or whatever length of time may intervene, the period shall arrive, when He whom you serve shall say unto you, “Come, you who are blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!”

Address,

1. Those who have never set themselves to follow the Lord at all.

Think not that the Christian name will avail you, while you are destitute of the Christian spirit. Nor imagine that you will be screened from divine vengeance by the number of those who are in your condition; for there were but two out of all who had grown to man’s estate, that were allowed to enter into the promised land; all the rest were excluded from it, that they might be an example unto us, and might show us what we are to expect, if we give not up ourselves to the service of Christ.

Let me then entreat you all to become followers of Christ, “not in word only, but in deed and in truth.”

Look to him, that you may experience the full benefits of his redemption.

Trust in his sin-atoning blood to cleanse you from your sins.

Rely on his Spirit to guide you in his ways.

Depend on his grace to subdue all your enemies before you.

But if you still persist in your rebellion against him, know for a certainty that you shall never see that good land which you profess to expect as your eternal inheritance.

2. Those who follow the Lord partially.

A profession of religion may in a variety of ways conduce to the good of society, but it will never save the soul. We must follow the Lord fully, if we would find favor with him in the eternal world. It is no small matter to be Christians indeed. What Caleb was under the Law, we must be under the Gospel. The reason of Caleb’s acceptance is marked repeatedly, in the strongest terms, Joshua 14:8-9; Joshua 14:14. The reason too of the rejection of the others is marked in similar language, and with equal plainness, Numbers 32:10-11. And the example of those who perished is set before us by Jude, on purpose that the professors of godliness may be admonished by it Jude verse 5. O let the admonition sink deep into our hearts! Let us all be stirred up to diligence, that we may be found “Israelites indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

3. Those who, like Caleb, are following the Lord fully.

Fear not singularity in so good a cause. If you are singular in following the Lord fully, the fault is not yours, but theirs who presume to violate the divine commands. Go on then, though the whole universe should be against you. If God acknowledges you as his servant, you need not regard the censures or the threats of men. You are embarked in a good cause; you serve a good Master; you run for a good prize. The land of promise is before you. Press forward for the attainment of it, “Be faithful unto death, and God will give you a crown of life!”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 14:18-24

“‘The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’ In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.” The LORD replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times– not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”

Little does the world think how much they are indebted to the saints. They are:

the cluster, for the sake of which the vineyard of the Lord is spared, Isaiah 65:8;

the elect, for whose sake the days of vengeance have been often shortened, Matthew 24:22;

the little remnant, without which the whole world would long since have been made as Sodom and Gomorrah, Isaiah 1:9.

In the passage before us we have this very matter exhibited in a striking point of view. The whole people of Israel were in a state of rebellion against God; and God was meditating their utter extermination. But Moses lifts up his heart in prayer for them; and, by his importunate intercession, averts the judgments which were ready to burst upon them.

Let us consider,

I. The prayer which Moses offered.

This did not relate to the eternal salvation of the people, except incidentally and by remote consequence; it had respect only to the threatening which God had denounced against the people. Having reason to fear that God would “smite them all with a pestilence, and disinherit them” utterly, verse 11, 12, Moses entreated God to spare them, and urged such arguments as he judged most suitable to the occasion. These pleas of his deserve an attentive consideration.

1. He pressed upon God a regard for his own honor.

“What will the Egyptians and the Canaanites say? Will they not ascribe the destruction of this people to a lack of power in you to accomplish your projected plans, verse 13-16. O let them not have such cause for triumph! Let them not have so specious an occasion to blaspheme your name!”

This was an argument of great weight. He had used it successfully on a former occasion, Exodus 32:12; and God himself had acknowledged its force, Deuteronomy 32:26-27. See also Ezekiel 20:9; Ezekiel 20:14; Ezekiel 20:22; Ezekiel 20:44. This therefore is a plea which we should use; we should use it with God, as an inducement to him to keep us, Psalm 5:8; Jeremiah 14:21; and we should use it with ourselves, as an incentive to vigilance and circumspection, 1 Timothy 6:1. We should be exceeding tender for God’s honor; and, when tempted to the commission of any sin, we should think, How will the Philistines rejoice, and the uncircumcised triumph? 2 Samuel 1:20. How will they “blaspheme that sacred name by which I am called, James 2:7.” O that I may “never thus give occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully, 1 Timothy 5:14.”

2. He pressed upon God a conformity to his own perfections.

Did you not, O my God, when proclaiming your name to me, represent yourself as “long-suffering, and of great mercy, and as forgiving iniquity and transgression, though you would not clear the guilty, verses 17, 18 which refers to Exodus 34:6-7.” Let it now be seen that this is indeed your character. I do not ask that you should “leave them altogether unpunished; but only that you should not make a full end of them. That clause, “by no means clearing the guilty,” may, both in Exodus 34:7 and in this place, be rendered “clearing, I will not clear,” that is not make desolate. The word “guilty” is not in the original. In that sense it will be exactly parallel with Jeremiah 30:11. But the sense affixed to it in the translation is probably the right one, though the other is better suited to the purpose for which it is here adduced, as you have threatened.”

Here, methinks, is a plea, which, almost above all others, it befits us to urge in all our supplications at the throne of grace. The character of God, as a God of infinite mercy—is that which encourages our addresses to him. When every other ground of hope fails, this is still firm. If only we do not “limit the Holy One of Israel,” we can never be at a loss for “arguments with which to fill our mouths” at the throne of grace. O let us study well the representations which God has given of himself, and especially that to which Moses referred; then, even in our lowest state of guilt or misery, we shall never despair of obtaining mercy at his hands.

3.He pressed upon God a consistency with his own conduct.

“You have forgiven this people from Egypt even until now; and will you abandon them at last? O let it not be so; pardon, I beseech you—yet again and again their iniquity, according unto the greatness of your unbounded mercy, verse 19.”

This plea, if used with men, would have had no weight; it would have operated rather to prevent the repetition of mercies which had been so abused. But, with God, it avails much; and in our minds too, it is a most encouraging consideration. We may look back and see how God has borne with all our frowardness from our youth up to the present moment; and may take occasion from his past forbearance to supplicate the continuance of it, “Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies, and your loving-kindnesses; for they have been ever of old, Psalm 25:6.” Yes; we should “account the long-suffering of God to be salvation, 2 Peter 3:15,” and the goodness he has already exercised towards us as a motive and encouragement to repentance, Romans 2:4.

Such was the prayer of Moses, a prayer peculiarly excellent, because it was a holy pleading with God. Let us now proceed to consider,

II. The answer which Moses obtained.

“I have forgiven them,” says God, “according to your word. You have entreated me to spare them; and I will spare them; but, I swear by my own life, that the whole of my conduct on this occasion shall be such, as shall procure me honor to the remotest ends of the earth, and to the latest period of time. Every one of my perfections shall be now displayed; now will I exhibit before my people such rays of my glory, as shall illumine the benighted heathen, and fill the whole earth with wonder.”

Now then, my brethren, let us contemplate this subject with holy awe; let us beg of God to take away the veil from our hearts, that we may see wherein this glory of his consists. Let us behold,

1. God’s condescension in hearing prayer.

Here was a whole nation involved in actual rebellion against God; and one single individual betakes himself to prayer. What, it may be said, can a single individual do? Read the answer of God, and see. He replies, not, “I will pardon,” but, “I have pardoned;” “the very moment you lifted up your voice, my hands were tied, and I could no longer persist in my resolution to destroy them. Compare Daniel 9:20-21; Daniel 9:23. I have pardoned according to your word, and to the full extent of your petitions.”

O, who after this will ever doubt the efficacy of prayer? If God answered so speedily the prayer of one on behalf of a rebellious nation, what will he not do for those who supplicate mercy for themselves? Will he ever cast out their prayer? No! Let the whole universe know, that he is “a God that hears prayer,” and that not even the vilest of the human race shall “ever seek his face in vain.”

2. God’s mercy in forbearing vengeance.

Consider the mercies which that nation had experienced, and the extent of that wickedness which they now committed; consider that they cast the most bitter reflections on God himself, and actually appointed a captain to lead them back to Egypt, Nehemiah 9:17; and were proceeding to murder those who exhorted them to obedience. Could it be supposed that such people should be spared, spared too after God had said he would instantly cut them off? Whom then will he not spare? Who, while on praying-ground, can be considered as beyond the reach of mercy?

Let us not despair of any; nor let any despair of themselves; He is the same God as ever, “slow to anger, and of great kindness, and ready to turn from the evil” which he has thought to inflict upon us, the very moment that he can do it in consistency with his own perfections.

3. God’s justice in punishing sin.

Though he forbore to destroy the nation at large, he executed immediate vengeance on those who were the leaders and instigators of the rebellion, verse 36, 37. Nor were the people themselves left unpunished. They had expressed a wish that they had died in the wilderness; now God gave them their wish; and declared that not one of those who had rebelled against him should ever see the promised land. Forty days had been spent in searching the land of Canaan; and forty years were they condemned to bear their iniquities, until their carcasses would be consumed in the wilderness.

What a solemn lesson does this give to the ungodly world! Who must not tremble for fear of his judgments? Who does not see that it is vain to hope for impunity on account of the number of those who tread the paths of wickedness? The question is often confidently put by sinners: Do you think that God will condemn so many? We answer, If you would know what God will do, look at what he has done; inquire, how many of those who came out of Egypt ever were admitted into the land of Canaan; and when you have learned that, you will know how God will proceed in the day of judgment, See 1 Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 3:17-19; Hebrews 4:1; Jude verse 5. Let all the world hear this, and tremble; for “truly there is a God that judges in the earth!”

4. God’s goodness in rewarding virtue.

Two of the spies were faithful to their God, and behold how God interposed for them! The congregation was just going to stone them, and God instantly displayed his glory in such a manner as to horrify the hearts of their enemies. To them also he bore testimony, that they had “followed him fully;” and he promised them, that though every other man throughout all the tribes should die in the wilderness, they should go into the promised land, and enjoy the inheritance reserved for them, verse 24, 30.

Do any of the human race wish to ascertain whether their works shall be rewarded? Let them look to this history; let them here see how God will protect his people; and how assuredly those who serve him in time, shall dwell with him in eternity. Surely none who hear these records will ever be afraid of being singular, or of bearing persecution for righteousness’ sake. No! From henceforth every soul should be emboldened to “confess Christ before men,” and to “cleave unto him with full purpose of heart.”

5. God’s faithfulness in fulfilling his word.

Here was a strong temptation to rescind his promises; and indeed, because of the appearance of so doing, God says, “You shall know my breach of promise verse 34.” But the promise was not made to that people, that they at all events should inherit the land of Canaan; it was made to Abraham, that his seed should inherit it; and, both on this and a former occasion, when God threatened to destroy the present generation, he offered to raise up a nation from the loins of Moses, and to give the promised land to them, verse 12 with Exodus 32:10.

God fulfilled his word in every point; and Joshua appealed to the whole nation of Israel for the truth of this, Joshua 23:14; just as did Solomon many hundred years after him 1 Kings 8:56. None therefore need to be afraid of trusting in God; for “he is not a man that he should lie, or the son of man that he should repent, Numbers 23:19.” Let the whole world be assured, that they may safely rely on him; that “not one jot or tittle of his word shall ever fail;” that “faithful is He who has promised;” and that “what he has promised he is able also to perform.” Be it known therefore, I say, “that those who trust in him shall not be ashamed or confounded world without end! Isaiah 45:17.”

6. God’s power to accomplish his own sovereign will and pleasure.

The people had expressed their fears that their little ones would fall a prey to the warlike inhabitants of Canaan. Now, says God, “those very children, who you said would be a prey, even them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised, verse 31.” As weak as you judge them to be, I will give them the victory; and not an enemy shall be able to stand before them.

Hear this, you drooping, doubting Christians! Let the whole world hear it; yes, let it never be forgotten, that “God ordains strength in babes and sucklings;” that “his strength is perfected in their weakness;” and that through him the weakest of us shall be “more than conquerors.” Who is weaker than Paul in his own apprehension? “I have not,” says he, “a sufficiency even to think a good thought;” yet who is stronger in reality? “I can do all things,” says he, “through Christ who strengthens me, Philippians 4:13.” Let the weak then say, “I am strong, Job 3:10;” “let the feeble be as David, and the house of David be as the angel of the Lord, Zechariah 12:8.”

APPLICATION.

Behold now this glory of the Lord! see how it shines throughout this mysterious dispensation! See:

his condescension in hearing prayer,

his mercy in forbearing vengeance,

his justice in punishing sin,

his goodness in rewarding virtue,

his faithfulness in fulfilling his word, and

his power to execute his sovereign will and pleasure!

Let the whole earth contemplate it; let all transmit the knowledge of it to those around them; and assist in spreading it to the remotest heathen; let all expect the time when this view of God shall be universal through the world—and all shall give him the glory of his immutable perfections.

And, while we view the glory of God in his past works, let us remember what will be the final outcome of all his dispensations. His glory will hereafter shine in still brighter splendor. When his answers to the prayers of all his people shall be known, how marvelous will his condescension and grace appear! When the sins of the whole world shall be made manifest, how shall we be filled with wonder at his long-suffering and forbearance! How tremendous will his justice and severity be found, when millions of impenitent sinners are cast headlong into the bottomless abyss!

And when his obedient people shall be exalted to thrones of glory, how will his goodness and mercy be admired and adored! Then also will his truth and faithfulness be seen in the exact completion of every promise he has ever given; and his power and might be gratefully acknowledged by all whom he has redeemed, sanctified, and saved!

This then is certain, that in every human being he will be glorified. But the question is, How will he be glorified in me? will it be in my salvation, or condemnation? In answering this question aright we are all deeply interested; nor will it be difficult to answer it, provided we inquire what our real character is. Do we resemble the unbelieving and rebellious Israelites, or those believing spies who “followed the Lord fully?” Vast was the difference between them, and consequently the discrimination will be easy. The Lord grant that we may “so judge ourselves now, that we may not be judged of the Lord” in that solemn day!

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 14:6-9

“Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

When actions originate in an evil principle, however deceitful they are, the motives from whence they proceed cannot long be hidden; a thousand things in the course of tune will arise to elicit truth, and to discover the principles which we hoped to conceal.

The proposal of sending spies to search out the land, appears, from the first verse of the preceding chapter, to have been first made by God; but in fact it arose from the Israelites themselves; the whole body of the people took a lively interest in it, and came, by their representatives at least, to request that Moses would accede to it. Moses, taking it as a symptom of their readiness to go and possess the land, was highly delighted with it, Deuteronomy 1:22-23; and consulted God respecting it. God, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, and seeing that their faith in him needed to have it confirmed by further testimony, consented; just as the Baptist did to his disciples, when they wanted to ascertain whether Jesus were the Christ, Matthew 11:2-3; he bore with their weakness, and permitted them to seek conviction in their own way. But when the spies “brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched,” the people instantly betrayed their unbelieving fears, and drew from Caleb and Joshua the remonstrance which we have just read.

That we may have a full view of the subject, we shall consider,

I. The remonstrance itself.

Let us examine,

1. The occasion of the remonstrance.

The spies who were sent, were twelve in number, one from every tribe. Of these, no less than ten agreed in representing the land as unconquerable. The inhabitants, they said, were giants, in comparison with whom they themselves were but “as grasshoppers; and they dwelt in “walled cities” that were impregnable. They represented too the climate as so unhealthy, that “the land ate up its inhabitants, Numbers 13:28; Numbers 13:31-33.” (God had, according to his promise, sent either hornets, or some kind of plague, to destroy the people before them, Exodus 23:28; and this they turned into a ground of discouragement!) The goodness of the land indeed they could not deny; because they had brought such a sample of its fruits, as was a clear poof of its luxuriant fertility, Numbers 13:23. On hearing the report, the congregation gave way to utter despondency; they “wept the whole night;” they wished they had “died either in Egypt, or in the wilderness;” they complained that God had brought them there on purpose to destroy them; they declared it would be better for them at once to return to Egypt; (this is not mentioned by Moses; but it is asserted by Nehemiah; Nehemiah 9:17,) and they actually appointed a captain over them, to lead them there.

What “madness is there in the heart of man! Ecclesiastes 9:3.” Who would conceive it possible, that that whole nation should so soon forget all their past deliverances, and form so strange a resolution as that of returning to Egypt? This was an expedient more impracticable in its nature than the conquest of Canaan, and more dreadful in its consequences than death itself upon the field of battle. Could they expect God to follow them with miraculous supplies of bread and water; or their state in Egypt to be better than before? Yet such is the effect of discontent:

it magnifies every difficulty;

it undervalues every enjoyment;

and it rushes upon evils greater than those which it attempts to shun.

2. The manner of the remonstrance.

The boldness of Joshua and Caleb, in opposing all their colleagues together with the whole congregation of Israel, was truly commendable. That it was at no little risk they ventured to remonstrate, is evident from the effect; for no sooner had they spoken, than all the people threatened to stone them; and would undoubtedly have carried their threat into immediate execution, if God himself had not interposed, by a signal manifestation of his glory, to restrain them, verse 10. But they would have accounted themselves happy to suffer martyrdom in such a cause.

This is the very courage which we also should possess. We should be witnesses for God in a degenerate world. We should never be deterred from testifying against sin, either by the number or authority of our opponents. If even we stood alone, as Elijah did, it would befit us to maintain the truth with steadfastness, and to venture life itself in the service of our Lord.

Supposing these remonstrants not to be intimidated, we might expect them to be filled with indignation at the wickedness of the people, and to give vent to their feelings in terms of severity and reproach. But behold, they are penetrated with grief; and “rend their clothes” for anguish of heart; and in their whole address they exhibit a beautiful specimen of “the meekness of wisdom.”

O that there were in all of us such a heart! that we could weep over sinners, instead of being angry with them; and that we could “in meekness instruct them that oppose themselves,” bearing with their frowardness, and pitying their perverseness! This union of fortitude and compassion is the very thing which we should labor to acquire, and which alone can fit us for reproving with effect.

3. The matter of the remonstrance.

Nothing could be more judicious than this address. The people had lost sight of God; and their faithful leaders set God before them. They acknowledge the existence of the difficulties; but they deny the inference deduced from it. True, say they:

the people are mighty; but our God is mightier;

their fortifications are strong; but not so strong that they can withstand God;

the inhabitants fight only with an arm of flesh; we with the arm of the living God! What then have we to fear?

They, however numerous or powerful, are only as “bread for us,” and shall be devoured by us as easily as the food we eat. We have nothing to do but to trust in God; and we are as sure of victory, as if all our enemies were already slain. Let us go up then; not to conquer the land, but “to possess it;” the food is prepared for us; and we have nothing to do but to go up and eat it. Compare Numbers 13:30 with the text.

How encouraging was this! how calculated to carry conviction to their hearts! not one word to irritate, but everything to convince and comfort them! This is the true pattern for reproof; as it should never savor of our own spirit, so it should never touch on painful topics but with care and tenderness; every syllable should breathe love.

It is a proverb in France, that ‘Flies are not caught with vinegar:’ and we shall do well to remember, that it is the sweet alone which renders the sour palatable. Faithful indeed we must be, and so faithful as oftentimes to give offence; but we must take care that the offence arise, not from any needless severity on our part, but from the force of truth itself.

Having noticed the remonstrance, it will be proper to consider,

II. The use we should make of it.

In the Epistle to the Hebrews (chapters 3 and 4) the Apostle traces the correspondence between the events we are considering and the duties of Christians in all ages. He shows that Canaan represented the rest which remains for us; and he cautions us against falling short of it through unbelief, as that people did. Hence it is evident that the address delivered to them by Joshua and Caleb may with great propriety be made to us; at least, we may take occasion from it:

1. To excite your desires.

Justly did these remonstrants, who themselves “had searched the land,” declare it to be good, “an exceeding good land.” Are there not those among us, who by faith have searched the heavenly land, and already tasted its delicious fruits? Is not the sealing influence of the Spirit said to be “the pledge of our inheritance, Ephesians 1:13-14.” And may we not from the first-fruits of the Spirit which we have already received, Romans 8:23, judge in a measure what the harvest shall be? May we not at least take upon us to affirm that Heaven is a good, an exceeding good land? Yes, truly, “it flows with milk and honey;” yet while it affords abundance to all, it never gluts.

How can that land be otherwise than good, which was:

prepared by God the Father from the foundation of the world,

purchased for us on the cross by the blood of his dear Son,

and secured to us by the gift of the Holy Spirit, whose office it is to fit us for it, and to preserve us to it, 2 Timothy 4:18. How can that be otherwise than good, which is emphatically called “Emmanuel’s land, Isaiah 8:8,” as being the place where our adorable Savior displays the full radiance of his glory, and communicates to every one, according to the measure of his capacity, all the fullness of his richest blessings? In whatever view we contemplate it, we cannot but see, that it is worthy of our utmost exertions, and will amply repay all that we can do, or suffer, in the attainment of it.

2. To animate your hopes.

Unbelief will say to us exactly what the people said to each other on this occasion, “Were it not better for us to return to Egypt? Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt.” “When we were in the world, we enjoyed its pleasures, which now we have exchanged for pain and trouble. When we turned our backs upon the world, we imagined that we should experience nothing but ease and happiness under the protection of our God; but, behold, here are constant difficulties and trials to be encountered, and such too as we can never surmount. It would have been better therefore to return to our former state, and to leave events to God, who is too merciful to exclude any of his creatures from his heavenly kingdom.”

But, beloved, why should any of you be discouraged by your trials and conflicts? Have you not God on your side, who is able to make you “more than conquerors over all your enemies?” “If God be for you, who can be against you, Romans 8:31; Romans 8:37.” Multiply the number and power of your enemies a thousand-fold, and you need not fear them. Only, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, Ephesians 6:10;” and know, that, though you are but as a worm, you shall, through, his almighty aid, be enabled to “thresh the mountains! Isaiah 41:14-15.”

3. To direct your exertions.

One caution did Joshua and Caleb give to Israel; which also we would recommend to your attention; it is, to guard against an unbelieving and disobedient spirit, “Only do not rebel against the Lord.” You have nothing to fear but sin. Nothing, but sin, can by any means hurt you. As for men and devils, so far from prevailing against you, they are only “bread for you,” and shall, by the very efforts which they use to destroy you, be made subservient to your spiritual welfare. But sin is a deadly evil; that will provoke your God to depart from you. Sin may cause him to “swear in his wrath, that you shall never enter into his rest, Hebrews 3:11.” O put away from you that deadly evil! Especially put away unbelief; it is “by an evil heart of unbelief that you will be tempted to depart from the living God, Hebrews 3:12.” Pray therefore to God to “increase your faith, Luke 17:5.”

Guard also against a murmuring spirit. If the Lord brings you into difficulties, it is only for the magnifying of his own grace in your deliverance. It is not your place to be indulging solicitude about events. God “would have you without worry, 1 Corinthians 7:32; Philippians 4:6. 1 Peter 5:7;” he bids you “do not worry about anything;” but to “cast all your care on him.” Duty is yours; outcomes are his. “Only therefore let your conduct be as it befits the Gospel of Christ, Philippians 1:27.” and your success is sure; for your God has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 14:4-5

“And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there.”

That the journeying of the Israelites in the wilderness is typical of our journey towards the heavenly Canaan is so generally known among you, that I need not insist upon it.

The Israelites had now arrived at the borders of Canaan; and they sent spies, one from every tribe, to search out the land. They all agreed respecting the fertility of the country; but ten of the spies represented the attempt to conquer it as altogether hopeless. This report discouraged the whole congregation; who bitterly bewailed their disappointment, cast severe reflections on Jehovah himself as having deceived and betrayed them, and proposed to make a captain over them and to return to Egypt.

Let us consider the circumstances here recorded; and,

I. The proposal made by the people.

The report given by the spies was very unfavorable; the cities were represented as impregnable, being “walled up to Heaven;” and the people of such a gigantic stature, that the Israelites were no more than as grasshoppers before them. The climate, too, was represented as so unhealthy, that “the land ate up the inhabitants thereof, Numbers 13:31-33.” Hence the people were led to “despise the land” as unworthy of their pursuit, Psalm 106:24, and to despair of attaining it against such formidable enemies; yes, they impiously wished that they had died in Egypt, when the Egyptian first-born were slain; or in the wilderness, when God sent a plague among the people for worshiping the golden calf.

Under the influence of their unbelieving fears, they proposed to make a captain over them, and to return to Egypt, from whence they had come out. They judged this to be so wise a measure, that no one could doubt of its expediency, “Is it not better for us to return into Egypt? verse 3.”

And are we not likely to hear of similar proposals at this time? You profess now to have dedicated yourselves to Almighty God, and to be bent on the attainment of the heavenly Canaan. But are you prepared to encounter the discouragements which you will meet with in the way? You have promised, before God, to renounce:

the devil and all his works,

the pomps and vanities of this wicked world,

and all the sinful lusts of the flesh.

But are you girt for the warfare, and ready to go forth in the strength of Christ, against these mighty foes?

What reports, alas! will you hear! The mortality among the Canaanites, which the spies represented as arising from the climate, was no other than that occasioned by the hornets, which God, according to his promise, had sent, to weaken the people of the land, and thereby to facilitate the entrance of Israel into it. Compare Exodus 23:28; Deuteronomy 7:20; Joshua 24:12; yet was that made an additional ground for desisting from the enterprise.

In like manner, the very exercises of mind, whereby God weakens the corruptions of his people’s hearts, and ensures to them a final victory over all their enemies—are urged, by ignorant and unbelieving men, as reasons for declining all attempts to secure the heavenly inheritance; and you will hear repentance itself decried as melancholy, and denounced as little better than a prelude to insanity. In addition to such obstacles from without, (for I confine myself to those which arise from report only, without noticing any from actual opposition,) will not your own hearts suggest, that to overcome such potent enemies, as the world, the flesh, and the devil, will be impossible, especially for people so circumstanced, as you?

The result of such misrepresentations and misconceptions is but too likely to appear among you at no distant period. You will not in a formal manner actually appoint a captain over you, because every one can act for himself, without any combination with others; but that many of you will be like-minded, in relation to this matter, is greatly to be feared; and that you will even justify the measure as wise, saying, “Is it not better that we go back again to the world?”

But let us turn our attention to,

II. The effect of that proposal on God’s faithful servants.

“Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of Israel;” filled, no doubt, with grief and shame at so foolish and impious a proposal. What prospect could they have of succeeding in such an enterprise? Could they suppose that God would go before them; and cause the manna and the water to attend them in their retrograde motions, as he had done when moving according to his will? If not, without any enemy whatever, or any special judgment inflicted on them, they must all die of hunger and thirst in a few days. Or, supposing them to get back to Egypt, what would be their reception there? Would not the rigors of their bondage be increased by their vindictive oppressors to the utmost extent of human endurance? Granting that all their fears respecting the Canaanites were well founded, what could they suffer worse by manfully contending with them, than they would infallibly bring upon themselves by attempting to return to Egypt?

But the impiety of the proposal was, if possible, still greater than the folly of it.

What a contempt of the promised inheritance did it argue, when they did not deem it to be worth a manly contest!

What a distrust of God, too, who had already shown himself so mighty to save, and had engaged that not one of their enemies should be able to stand before them!

What base ingratitude, also, did this express, when they could so soon forget all the wonders that God had wrought for them, and all the benefits he had conferred upon them!

We do not wonder that Moses and Aaron, who were able to form a just estimate of their conduct, were so deeply affected with it.

And shall not we also fall on our faces with grief and shame, my dear friends, if we see you forgetting the vows that are upon you, and turning back again, and abandoning those glorious prospects which have just opened upon you? For, what can you gain by going back to the world? Suppose that you gain all that the world can give. What is it? What satisfaction can it all afford? How long will you retain it? Or, supposing you could retain it ever so long, would it repay you for the loss of Heaven?

To what a state, too, will your defection reduce you! Of all the men who came out of Egypt, not so much as one was allowed to enter the promised land, except Caleb and Joshua, who continued faithful in the midst of this general apostasy. A fearful type and pledge of the doom that awaits you! Numbers 26:64-65 with Jude verse 5 and 1 Corinthians 10:11. Hear what God says on this subject, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, “If any man draws back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him, Hebrews 10:38.” Ah! know of a certainty, that all who draw back, “draw back unto eternal perdition, Hebrews 10:39;” and “if, after you have escaped the corruptions of the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you are again entangled therein and overcome, your latter end will be worse than your beginning; for it would have been better that you had never known the way of righteousness at all, than, after you have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto you, 2 Peter 2:20-21.”

You have all doubtless heard of Lot’s wife, who, though brought out of Sodom, was turned into a pillar of salt, because she looked back towards the city, when she should have thought of nothing but of pressing onward to the destined place of refuge. Ah! “Remember Lot’s wife! Luke 17:32,” as our blessed Lord has warned you. For “if you only look back, after having put your hand to the plough, you are not fit for the kingdom of God! Luke 9:61-62.” How can your ministers, who have watched over you, contemplate such an outcome of their labors, and not weep and mourn before God on your behalf? Jeremiah 13:16-17. I beg you, beloved, let not this be the recompense of all the pains we have bestowed on you; let us not have the grief of seeing that the very privileges you have enjoyed have only fitted you, like Capernaum of old, for a deeper and heavier condemnation; but let us have joy over you, in beholding your spiritual advancement; and let us have the sweet and blessed hope of having you for “our joy and crown of rejoicing to all eternity!”

Be not afraid of any enemies; for God is with you, “if he is with you, who can be against you?” Read the exhortation of Caleb and Joshua to their unbelieving brethren, and apply it to your own souls verse 7-9; and, instead of listening to the ruinous suggestions of unbelief, Hebrews 3:18, “be followers of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Let me, in conclusion, address myself to the elder part of this audience. You must not forget, that the subject equally concerns you. For you also must “endure unto the end, if ever you would be saved;” and it is only “by a patient continuance in well-doing, that you can attain to glory and honor and immortality.”

But that which I would particularly impress on your minds at this time, is the vast importance of your watching over the young people who have now consecrated themselves unto the Lord. Set them a good example yourselves; and do all you can to induce them to follow it. Take the part that Caleb and Joshua took on this occasion; strengthen their hands; encourage their hearts; tell them what a gracious and powerful and faithful God they have to help them in every time of need. Speak to them of “the land that flows with milk and honey.” Invite them to taste of “the grapes of Eshcol,” which you have taken thence. Watch over the very “lambs of the flock, and carry them in your bosom.” So shall all of us, ministers and people, rejoice together, and “have an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 12:8-10

“Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them. When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam–leprous, like snow.”

When men are angry, we may often, and with reason, doubt, whether there is any just occasion for their displeasure; but when we see Almighty God expressing indignation, we may always ask with confidence, “Is there not a cause?”

It is no slight degree of anger which God manifests in the passage before us. And what could be the reason? We are told that “Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married, verse 1.” But this seems only to have been, if not a fictitious, at least a secondary, reason. (It must be strange indeed if they now began to be displeased with a thing which they knew to have been done many years ago, and which had never, in that instance, been disapproved by God.) The true reason, I apprehend, was that they were offended at his not having consulted them about the seventy people whom he had selected to bear a part of his burden with him; and it is possible enough that they might ascribe this to his wife’s influence. They thought, that, as God had spoken by them as well as by Moses himself, compare verse 2 with Micah 6:4, Moses should have treated them with more respect. (This is precisely the way in which many, yes and good people too, are prone to act. If overlooked in any instance wherein they think they had a right to be consulted, they forget all the distinguishing honors which they already enjoy, and become querulous on account of the supposed slight which is cast upon them.) Of this complaint Moses took no notice; but meekly passed it over in silence. Herein he shows how unreasonable murmurers and complainers should be treated. Would to God we were more like him in this particular! If querulous objections be met by passionate answers, contentions soon arise The common history of quarrels is, that they begin like those of the ambitious disciples, and proceed like those of the jealous tribes, Matthew 20:21; Matthew 20:24; 2 Samuel 19:43; whereas silence, or “a soft answer, would turn away wrath.”

But the less anxious we are to vindicate our own character, the more readily and effectually will God interpose for us. “He heard,” though Moses was as one that heard not; and he immediately summoned the offenders before him, in their presence vindicated the character of his servant Moses, and smote Miriam with a leprosy; and though, at the request of Moses, he restored her to health—yet he ordered her to be put out of the camp for seven days; and thus exposed to shame the people, who, through the pride of their hearts, had arrogated to themselves an honor which belonged not to them.

On account of the importance of these subordinate circumstances, we have dwelt upon them somewhat longer than usual. But it is not our intention to enlarge any more on them; we wish rather to turn your attention to the great and leading points contained in the words of our text. In them, God expostulates with Aaron and Miriam for presuming to speak against Moses. Now Moses sustained a variety of characters; in reference to which the words before us may be differently understood.

As he was a civil magistrate, they show God’s anger against those who resist the magistracy.

As he was a teacher of God’s Word, they show how God is offended with a neglect of his faithful ministers.

And, as he was a representative of our great Lawgiver and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, they show what indignation God will exercise against those who either openly reject, or secretly despise, his only dear Son.

First then we shall consider them as expressing God’s displeasure against those,

I. Who oppose the civil magistrate.

Magistrates are appointed of God to bear a portion of his authority; and they are invested with it, that they may be a terror to evil-doers, and a protection to the good. To these we are to be subject, not reluctantly through fear of their displeasure, but willingly, and for conscience sake; and “if we will resist them, we shall receive punishment, Romans 13:1-5.” Both temporal and eternal judgments must be expected by us if we rebel against the constituted authorities. Nor is it of open and avowed rebellion only that we speak, but of murmuring and complaining against them without just and great occasion. This was the fault of Aaron and Miriam, “they were not afraid to speak against” the person whom God had ordained to be his leader. Persons of this class are invariably represented by God himself as enemies to him. “Presumptuous are they, says he, and self-willed, and are not afraid to speak evil of dignities, 2 Peter 2:10.” They take liberties with earthly potentates, which the first archangel dared not to take with Satan himself, Jude verse 8, 9. It would be well if religious people were sufficiently on their guard respecting this.

We have seen, during the French Revolution, great multitudes even of them drawn after Satan; and the supporters of civil government traduced by every opprobrious epithet; and though the generality of these deluded people have seen their error—yet the necessity for cautioning you on this head has not ceased. That the rights of people are very different in different countries, is certain; and that rulers may so conduct themselves, as totally to destroy the compact between them and their subjects, is also certain. But it is no less certain, that religious people, above all, should be “the quiet in the land,” and should ever conform to that solemn injunction, “You shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people, Acts 23:5.”

II. Who disregard the ministers of the Gospel.

Those who minister in holy things are ambassadors from God, and speak to the people “in Christ’s stead, 2 Corinthians 5:20.” Their word, as far as it accords with the inspired volume, is “to be received, not as the word of men, but as the Word of God himself, 1 Thessalonians 2:13;” and whatever, in the name and by the authority of God, they bid you to observe—that you are bound to observe and do, Matthew 23:2-3. It is true, that ministers are “not lords over God’s heritage, 1 Peter 5:3,” neither have they any “dominion over your faith, 2 Corinthians 1:24.” Yet it is also true, that in things pertaining to God they are invested with a divine authority; they “are over you in the Lord, 1 Thessalonians 5:12;” they “have the rule over you, and you are to obey them, and submit yourselves, Hebrews 13:17;” and if, while “they labor in the word and doctrine, they rule well, they are to be counted worthy of double honor, 1 Timothy 5:17.”

What shall we say then to those who despise the ministers of God, and that too in proportion to their fidelity? This we must say, that “in despising us, they despise both Christ, and the Father who sent him, Luke 10:16;” and their opposition to such ministers is felt by God as opposition to himself, Zechariah 2:8; such opposition too as will meet with a dreadful recompense in the day of judgment, Matthew 18:6. What Moses had said and done, was by the direction and authority of God; and it was at the peril of the greatest people of the land to contradict and oppose him.

III. Who neglect the Lord Jesus Christ.

Moses, as the head of the Church and people of God, certainly prefigured the Lord Jesus Christ. The very eulogies here passed on Moses by God himself, are such as of necessity lead our minds to Christ.

Was Moses a prophet far superior to all others? verse 6, 7. Just so, Christ is that Prophet of whom Moses was only a shadow, and whom all are commanded to hear at the peril of their souls, Acts 3:22-23.

Was Moses faithful in all God’s house as a servant? verse 7. Christ is that Son who presides over his own house, Hebrews 3:2-6.

Was Moses the meekest of all men upon the face of the earth? verse 3. Christ is he whose unparalleled meekness is our great encouragement to learn of him, Matthew 11:29.

In reference to Christ therefore, the expostulation in our text has tenfold weight. O, who must not be afraid to speak against him, or to entertain so much as a thought contrary to his honor?

Here then we have not to address the unbelievers; for they may well be classed under the former head—those who openly reject Christ, cannot even in profession obey his ministers.

But many who are partial to faithful ministers, are yet far from being conformed to the mind of Christ. Many who are in high repute in the Church of Christ, have yet their unsubdued lusts, which rise in allowed hostility against their Lord and Savior. The murmurs of Aaron and Miriam were not public; but “The Lord heard them.” And so these vile affections may not be known by others; but God sees them; and he will, if we continue to harbor them, be “a swift witness against us”.

With what solemn authority did he summon Aaron and Miriam before him, verse 4, 5. But with a more solemn voice will he call us forth to judgment. With what indignation did he, after reproving their iniquity, “depart verse 9;” and will he not depart from such professors here; yes, and bid them to depart from him forever! Did he expose their sin to all? Did he inflict a most disgraceful punishment? Did he order Miriam to be excluded from the camp of Israel, verse 10, 14. Who does not here see the shame and misery of those, who, under a cloak of religion, have harbored any secret lusts? Were Aaron and Miriam, the most distinguished characters in the whole kingdom, dealt with thus? Who then among us has not reason to fear and tremble? “Be wise now therefore, O kings, be instructed, you judges of the earth. O kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish from the way! Psalm 2:10-12.”

Behold, the sin of these two professors delayed the progress of all the hosts of Israel for seven days, Numbers 22:15. Armed hosts, or intervening seas, could not retard them; but sin, that evil and accursed thing, did what all the powers of earth and Hell could not have done.

O professor, think how many may be retarded in their progress towards Heaven by one sin of yours; yes perhaps may be turned out of the way, and ruined forever! Remember what our Lord has said, “Woe unto the world because of offences! But woe, most of all, unto him, by whom the offence comes.” It is on this account that God enjoined all his people to “bear in mind what he had done to Miriam by the way, after that they were come forth out of Egypt, Deuteronomy 24:9.” May the Lord grant that none of us may ever lose sight of it! May we remember what an evil and bitter thing it is to lose in any degree the fear and love of God! Jeremiah 2:19.

ADDRESS.

To those who have sinned in any of the foregoing particulars, we would particularly recommend, that, like Aaron, they confess their sin humbly, and without delay, verse 11. Yes, entreat that very Savior whose authority you have despised, to intercede for you. Seek a saving interest in him; implore forgiveness for his sake; so will God “pardon your offences, though he may take vengeance of your inventions, verse 13, 14.” “Turn with sincere sorrow from your transgressions; so that your iniquity shall not be your ruin.” Leprous as you are, you shall yet be healed; and, deserving as you are to be expelled from the camp of Israel, you shall yet be received into it, and, through the tender mercy of your God, shall proceed in comfort to the promised land.

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 11:27-29

“A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!”

Experience proves that eminent situations are attended with manifold anxieties; and that rulers, though envied by their subjects, often feel a weight of care which is burdensome in the extreme. Moses was supported in his office by God himself, who confirmed his authority by many signal and miraculous interpositions; yet even he complained, “I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me, verse 14.”

To relieve him from the burden, God promised that he would pour out his Spirit upon seventy elders, whom Moses should select, and would qualify them for taking a share in the government. Two of the people nominated, (being deterred, it would seem, by a sense of their own insufficiency for the office,) stayed in the camp, instead of going up with the others to the tabernacle at the time appointed. God however did not on this account withhold his Spirit from them, but gave the Spirit to them in the same manner as to the others; in consequence of which they began to prophesy in the camp.

This innovation excited the jealousy of Joshua; who, fearing lest it should weaken the authority of Moses, instantly informed him of it, and desired him to forbid any further exercise of their gifts; but Moses saw through the hidden motives by which Joshua was actuated, and checked the evil which had risen in his heart.

Let us consider,

I. The principle which Joshua he indulged.

Doubtless, thought that he was acting under a good impression, and that his zeal was of the purest kind; but Moses traces his conduct to a principle of envy, which needed to be mortified and suppressed.

1. Envy is a common principle.

Few are conscious of it in themselves; but all see the operation of it in their neighbors. There is not any evil in the heart of man more universally prevalent than envy! “It is not in vain that the Scripture says, The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy, James 4:5.” We may see in Cain, in Joseph’s brethren, in Saul, and in all the rulers of the Jewish Church, that this disposition is natural to man, 1 John 3:12; Acts 7:9; 1 Samuel 18:9; Matthew 27:18. Infants at the bosom have been seen to feel envy’s malignant influence, when another has been permitted to participate what they have deemed their exclusive right. There is no age, no situation, exempt from envy! Even those who possess the most, as well as those who are wholly destitute, are open to its assaults.

2. Envy is an active principle.

Whatever is an object of desire, is also an object of envy; for envy is nothing but a regret that another should possess that which we ourselves would wish to enjoy. Usually indeed the things which people most envy, are such as are proper to their own age or condition in life; and such as they think themselves in some measure entitled to.

Those in whom beauty or strength is highly valued, look not with delight on one who is reckoned to surpass them; nor do those who desire fame on account of mental qualifications, love to acknowledge the intellectual superiority of others. All are happy to hear their rivals depreciated, and themselves preferred. Nor is it respecting natural endowments only that this principle exerts itself; it shows itself no less in reference to acquired distinctions, of whatever kind. Riches and honors are among the objects which most powerfully excite this corrupt feeling; and it is difficult for any one to behold the more rapid advancement of his rival, and not to feel in himself some workings of this malignant disposition.

But this principle operates even where personal considerations appear very feeble and remote. The exaltation of a party, for instance, will call envy forth in those who belong to an opposite party. There scarcely ever is a popular election, but the partisans of rival candidates are open to its assaults, as much as the principals themselves.

Parties in the Church are no less agitated by this corroding passion, insomuch that they will endeavor to outstrip each other in things to which they have no real inclination, in order by any means to gain an ascendency for their own side. In the days of the Apostles, “some preached Christ out of envy and strife;” and there is but too much reason to fear, that many also in this day have no better motive for their benevolent and religious exertions, than the strengthening and increasing of a party in the Church.

3. Envy is a deep-rooted principle.

One would suppose that true religion should presently and entirely extirpate this principle; but it is not so easily rooted out. We find it working in people who profess to have a zeal for God, 1 Corinthians 3:1-4; yes, in people also of whose piety we cannot doubt. The disciples of John were alarmed for the honor of their master, when they heard that Jesus had more disciples than he, John 3:26; and the Apostles themselves forbade a person to persist in the work of casting out devils, because he did not attach himself to them, Mark 9:38. This was the very spirit by which Joshua was actuated; he was afraid lest the honor and influence of Moses should be weakened by others rising into popularity around him. Of course, envy is not willfully indulged by any who truly fear God; but it is so rooted in the heart, that all have need to be on their guard against it.

The hatefulness of such a principle may be seen by,

II. The reproof which Joshua met with.

Moses appears truly as a man of God. Behold, in his answer to Joshua,

1. Moses’ fidelity.

Moses had a peculiar regard for Joshua; but that did not cause him to overlook his faults, much less to countenance him in what was wrong. Young men in general are apt to be led away by their feelings, and not to be sufficiently aware of their own corruptions. This was the case with Joshua; and Moses, like a father, watched over him with care, and reproved him with tenderness. Moses pointed out to him the principle by which he was actuated, and that higher principle by which he ought rather to be governed.

It would be well if all religious people were equally on their guard, to check, rather than encourage, the growth of evil. If a person is of our party, and more especially if he is our friend, we are ready to receive his reports, without very strict inquiry, and to accede to his proposals, without sufficient care. Hence one person in a society sometimes diffuses throughout the whole a spirit of strife and contention, when, if the erroneousness of his views had been pointed out at first, the peace of the whole body might have been preserved. Great attention therefore do we recommend to all in this particular. More especially would we remind professing Christians of their duty, “Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt, Leviticus 19:17.” We should not be contented with a vague suggestion. We should dread the incursion of an evil principle in the Church, as much as we do the introduction of fire in a place filled with combustibles. We should ever remember, that “a little leaven will soon leaven the whole lump!”

2. Moses’ zeal.

The glory of God was that which was uppermost in the mind of Moses; and if that might but be advanced, he was quite indifferent whether his own honor were eclipsed or not. He well knew, that these two men “could have nothing except it were given them from above. This was John’s answer; Mark 9:39; and that if God had conferred on them the gift of prophecy, he would overrule the exercise of it for his own glory. Instead therefore of wishing to repress it in them, he would have been glad if every person in the camp had possessed it.

What a noble spirit was this! How worthy of universal imitation! It was precisely thus that Paul rejoiced, when “Christ was preached in contention.” He knew the motives of the preachers to be bad; but he knew that God would render their ministrations subservient to the increase of the Redeemer’s kingdom; and therefore, however their conduct might affect his influence, he did, and would, rejoice, Philippians 1:15-18.

Thus, beloved, should we be glad to see the Redeemer’s interests advanced, whoever be the instruments, and whatever be the means. This consideration should be paramount to every other; and we should say, with John, “Let me, and my party, decrease, so that Christ and his kingdom may but increase! John 3:30.”

3. Moses’ love.

Moses had no desire to engross or monopolize the gifts of God. As Paul said to his bitterest persecutors, “I would to God that all who hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds, Acts 26:29,” so did Moses wish all the people of Israel to have the Spirit of the Lord imparted to them, as he himself had. The more they were benefitted, the more would his happiness be increased. This is that very disposition which Paul himself exercised, 1 Corinthians 4:9, and which he inculcates on us, when he says, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others, Philippians 2:4.” In fact, this is that principle, which, more than any other, counteracts the baneful influence of envy, “Charity does not envy! 1 Corinthians 13:4.” Let universal love reign in our hearts, and, instead of envying any of our brethren, we shall be willing rather to “lay down our lives for them, 1 John 3:16.”

To improve this subject, we would recommend to you two things:

1. Examine well your own principles.

Do not hastily conclude that your principles are right, even though you do not know that they are wrong; but search and try your ways, and maintain a godly jealousy over your own hearts. The Apostles themselves, on more occasions than one, “knew not what spirit they were of.”

Who among us does not see the blindness of others in relation to their principles? Pride, and ostentation, and vanity, and envy, and malice, and a thousand other evils—are visible enough to others, when the people influenced by them give themselves credit for very different motives. Doubtless, at times, this is the case with all of us. If indeed envy becomes in any respect a governing principle in our hearts, our religion is altogether vain, James 3:14-16. Let us therefore watch our own spirits, and be thankful to any friend, who, like Moses, will “point out to us a more excellent way, 1 Corinthians 12:31.”

2. Take diligent heed to the Word of God.

The Word of God, if duly attended to, would correct every bad principle in us. It is a two-edged sword, that lays open the inmost recesses of the heart, Hebrews 4:12. To that Peter directs us, as the means of subduing envy, and every other evil propensity, 1 Peter 2:1-3. By the Word the Apostles themselves were sanctified; and by that also must we be made clean, John 15:3; John 17:17. Meditate then on the Word day and night; and let it be your earnest prayer, that it may dwell richly in you in all wisdom; and that, being cast into the mold of the Gospel, you may be “changed into the divine image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 11:23

The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”

In reading the history of the Israelites, we cannot fail of being struck with the wonderful display of God’s patience and forbearance towards them. No displays of love and mercy on his part would satisfy them. They were always murmuring, and wishing that they had never come out of Egypt at all. It was a small matter in their eyes that they were supplied with manna from the clouds from day to day; they must have flesh to eat; and so intense was their desire after that gratification, that they actually wept before God, whole families of them, throughout the camp, saying, “Give us meat, that we may eat! verse 10, 13, 18.” Nor was Moses himself blameless in this matter; for though he did not in the least participate with them in their inordinate desire for meat, he questioned God’s power to give them meat; and it was this unbelief of his which brought forth from Jehovah the reproof which we have just read, and which will be the subject of our present discourse.

In this reproof we see:

I. The evil of unbelief.

Unbelief is the most common of all evils.

Unbelief pervades the whole human race. It is found in the godly, no less than in the ungodly.

Even Abraham, the father of the faithful, was by no means free from it. Repeatedly did he make his wife deny her relation to him as a wife, and to call herself his sister, lest people, captivated with her beauty, should kill him for the sake of obtaining an undisturbed possession of her; thus betraying his fears, that God was either not able to protect him, or not sufficiently interested in his welfare to watch over him.

And Moses, on the occasion before us, was evidently under the power of unbelief. Some, indeed, would understand his reply to God as a mere question, and a desire to be informed whether the flesh which he would give should be that of beasts or fish; but then the answer would have corresponded with it, and would merely have informed him that it was not the flesh of beasts or of fishes that he would supply in such abundance, but the flesh of birds.

But Moses’ question was evidently founded on the magnitude of the supply which God had promised. He had declared, that the whole people of Israel, not less than two million in number, should be supplied with it, “not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but even a whole month, until it should come out at their nostrils, and be loathsome unto them, verse 19, 20.” To that, Moses in a way of unbelief, asks, How, when the fighting men alone amounted to six hundred thousand men, should they all be so fed as “to suffice them,” (twice is that idea suggested,) and that “for the space of a whole month?”

God’s answer to him clearly shows, that it was unbelief that was here reproved, “Is the Lord’s hand waxed short?” You have seen how easily I brought frogs and locusts upon the land of Egypt; and am I less able to supply meat of any kind that I may see good? “You shall see now (presently) whether my word shall come to pass, or not.”

When we see people so eminent for the grace of faith as Abraham and Moses—yet giving way to unbelief, we need scarcely adduce any further proof of the universal prevalence of this evil. It exists, indeed, in very different degrees in men, being in some only occasional, while in others it is the entire habit of their minds; but there is not a man under the whole heavens who has not reason to mourn over the workings of this corruption, when he is brought into circumstances to call it forth. From other evils many people may be accounted nearly free; but this works equally in men of every class, and every age.

Unbelief is also the most deceitful of all evils.

No one will avow a doubt of God’s power to effect whatever he shall please; his pretext will be, that he cannot conceive how God should condescend to show such extraordinary favor to one so insignificant and worthless as himself. But God himself never puts this construction upon it; he always regards it as a denial of his perfections, and resents it in that view.

We have a remarkable instance of this in Ahaz. God told him, by the prophet, to “ask a sign of him, either in the depth or in the height above.” But Ahaz, wishing to hide his unbelief, pretended that this was too great an honor for him, and that therefore he could not presume to ask any such thing, “Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.”

But was this excuse admitted on God’s part? No; He viewed the evil as it really was, and not as it was glossed over by this self-deluded monarch; and therefore, with just indignation, he replied, by his prophet, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Isaiah 7:10-13.”

So, whatever we may imagine, a lack of entire confidence in God, whatever be the circumstances under which we are placed, will appear in its true colors before God, and be condemned by him as unbelief.

It is, moreover, the most offensive of all evils.

There is no grace so highly honored of God, as faith; nor any evil so reprobated by him, as unbelief. Other evils are acts of rebellion against his authority; but unbelief rises against every one of his perfections. It doubts his wisdom, his power, his goodness, his love, his mercy; yes, it questions even his veracity; and reduces the infinite Jehovah to a level with his own creatures; insomuch that Balaam, when checking the vain hopes of the king of Moab, could find no language more appropriate than this, “God is not a man, that he should lie; or the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and shall he not do it? Has he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Numbers 23:19.”

What an indignity he considers it, is plain from his very answer to Moses, “Is the hand of the Lord waxed short? You shall see whether my word shall come to pass or not.” This is no slight rebuke; it is similar to that which he gave to Sarah, when she doubted whether she should ever bear to Abraham the promised child, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I bear a child, when I am so old? Is anything too hard for the Lord Genesis, 18:12-13.”

How Zachariah was reproved for his unbelief in the temple, you well know, Luke 1:20.

And among all the provocations which the Israelites committed in the wilderness, this was the one which God laid most to heart, “How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Yes, they turned back, and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel; they remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy, Psalm 78:40-42.”

Finally, unbelief is the most fatal of all evils.

Other evils, if we come to God in the exercise of faith, may be forgiven; but this evil, while it is yet dominant in the soul, precludes a possibility of forgiveness; because it keeps us from God, to whom we ought to come; and puts away from us that mercy which he offers to bestow. The whole adult population of Israel perished in the wilderness. What was it that prevented their entrance into Canaan? We are told, “They could not enter in because of unbelief, Hebrews 3:18.”

And what is it which, under the Gospel also, is the great damning sin? it is this, “Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature; he who believes and is baptized, shall be saved; and he who believes not, shall be damned, Mark 16:15-16.”

While the answer of God to Moses reproves this evil, it points out to us,

II. The proper antidote to unbelief.

To prevent unbelief from ever gaining an ascendant over us, we should,

1. Reflect on God’s power as already exercised.

Had Moses only called to mind the wonders which God had already wrought for his people, he would not have “staggered at the promise” that was now given. Nor shall we doubt the certainty of any promise whatever, if we bear in remembrance what God has already done. It is for this end that God himself refers us to all his wonders of creation, providence, and redemption.

Of Creation, he speaks thus, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Have you not known? have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? his understanding is infinite! Isaiah 40:27-28.”

Just so, in reference to his Providence, “Why, when I came, was there no man; when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand so shortened that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke, I dry up the sea; I make the rivers a wilderness; their fish smells, because there is no water, and dies for thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and make sackcloth their covering, Isaiah 50:2-3.”

So also respecting Redemption, Paul expressly tells us that God’s particular design, in converting and saving him, was, to show to all future generations his power to save, and to cut off all occasion for despondency from the whole world, “For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first (in me, the chief of sinners) God might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting! 1 Timothy 1:16.”

It is in this view that the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures is of such infinite benefit to the soul; for when we see what God has already done, it is almost impossible to doubt his power to effect whatever in his mercy he has promised to us.

2. Reflect on his veracity, as unalterably pledged.

When did God ever violate his engagements? His word has been pledged for many things; and has been questioned by mankind; but when did he abstain from fulfilling it? He said to our first parents in Paradise, “In the day that you eat of the forbidden tree, you shall die.” No, says the tempter, “You shall not surely die.” But whose word proved true? Satan’s or the Lord’s?

Again, to the antediluvians, God said that he would destroy by water every living creature, except what was be contained in the ark. During the building of the ark, the scoffers were lavish enough of contempt. But did God’s Word fail, either in relation to those who were to be saved, or to those who were doomed to perish?

The destruction of Sodom, the captivities of Israel and Judah, the sending of the Messiah, the establishment of the Redeemer’s kingdom in the world, furnished plenty of matter for doubt, before they were accomplished; but they all came to pass in their season, according to the Word of God.

For the captives who were restored to Judea from Babylon, it was said, “that if they would continue there, and be obedient to the king of Babylon, they would be preserved in peace and safety; but that if, through fear of the king of Babylon, they should flee to Egypt for safety, they should all perish, Jeremiah 44:12-14.” And, when they would not be persuaded to remain there, but would go to sojourn in Egypt, the Lord sent this word to them, “All the remnant of Judah that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose word shall stand, theirs or mine! Jeremiah 44:26-28.”

But, that we may depart as little as possible from our text, let us see the outcome of the prediction before us. God sent a wind; and brought such a number of quails, that they fell round about the tents of Israel, and filled the whole country for the space of one hundred and twenty miles in circuit, above a yard deep; so that the whole people occupied about six-and-thirty hours in collecting them; every one, even of those who gathered the least, collecting as much as eighty bushels for his own use, verse 31, 32.

Now it was seen “whether God could fulfill his word or not.” It was seen, too, whether they had reason to repent of their inordinate desires or not; for “while the flesh was yet in their mouths, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and smote them with a very great plague, verse 33 with Psalm 78:26-31.”

The truth is, that “it is easier for Heaven and earth to pass away, than for one jot or tittle of God’s Word to fail! Luke 16:17.” “He cannot lie,” Titus 1:2; he cannot deny himself, 2 Timothy 2:13.” He could as soon cease to exist, as he could falsify his word in any one particular. And, if we could only bear this in remembrance, we should never give way to unbelief, or doubt the accomplishment of anything which the Lord God has spoken.

ADDRESS.

1. Those who doubt the fulfillment of God’s promises.

Who among us is not conscious of great defects in this particular? Who, in trying circumstances, has not found it difficult to cast all his care on God, as caring for him; and has not rather been ready to say with David, “I shall one day perish by the hands of Saul!” Who, while he has professed to call God his Father, has been able habitually to walk before him with the same confidence that a child places in his earthly father?

Yet this is our duty; and it is a shame to us that we find the performance of it so difficult. But let us remember what a God we have to do with; how “merciful and gracious; and how abundant in goodness and truth;” and let us “never stagger at any of his promises through unbelief; but be strong in faith, giving glory to God.” And if, according to the views of sense, there is no hope, “let us against hope believe in hope;” and rest assured, that “whatever God has promised, he is both able and willing to perform!”

Those who question the execution of his threatenings.

Men will dissuade us from regarding, as we ought, the sacred oracles; and will venture to place their own word in opposition to God’s. Your own heart, too, will be apt to suggest, “I shall have peace, even though I walk after the imagination of my own evil heart! Deuteronomy 29:19-20.” But what God said to Moses, he says to us, “You shall know whether my word shall come to pass unto you or not, Ezekiel 24:14.”

Go on; listen to your carnal advisers; let them tell you that there is no need to give yourselves up to God; and that you may be the servants both of God and Mammon at the same time.

Go on; and take their word in preference to God’s; and wait to see whose word shall stand—theirs or his. But remember, that if, unhappily for you, God’s Word shall take place, and that threatening be executed—there will be no room left for repentance; your state will be fixed, and that forever. Choose you, then, whom you will believe, and whom you will serve; and, if you be truly wise, shut your ears against the assurances of an ungodly world, and say, in reference to them all, “Let God be true, and every man a liar! Romans 3:4.”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 11:10-13

“Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. He asked the LORD, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!'”

Truly humiliating are the views which the Scripture gives us of human instability. Who would have thought that the zeal which all the princes of Israel manifested in furnishing the tabernacle, Numbers 7, should so soon vanish? The first journey which they have to perform, fills them all with discontent; it being continued three days without intermission, all complain of the length of the way. Some are signally punished by the Lord, being struck dead by fire; but the survivors, neither awed by the judgments inflicted on others, nor won by the mercy shown to themselves, soon murmur again for lack of variety in their food. At this, Moses is deeply grieved, and God is greatly offended. That the different circumstances may come easily under our review, we shall notice in succession,

I. The sin of Israel.

They were discontented with the food which God had given them.

They wanted flesh to eat, that they might gratify their palates; and were so vexed for lack of it as to “weep in all their tents.” To excuse these inordinate desires, they complained that they were emaciated by subsisting only on such insipid food as God had provided for them, verse 6. They adversely compared their state in Egypt with their present state; omitting all which they had suffered there, and magnifying the comforts which they had there enjoyed. Thus they misrepresented both their past and present condition, that they might the better conceal their ingratitude, and justify their complaints.

This was nothing less than a contempt of God himself, verse 20. “You have despised the Lord,” etc.

What had not God done for them? What more could he have done? He had brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and had overwhelmed their enemies in the Red Sea; he had been their Guide and Protector in all their way; he had given them bread from Heaven, and water out of the rock; he had revealed unto them his will, and taken them into a peculiar relation to himself above all the people upon the face of the earth. And yet, all that he had done was accounted as nothing, because they wanted flesh to eat. Is it possible to conceive a greater contempt of God than this?

Such a sin is discontent, in whoever it is found.

There are many things in this world which a discontented mind will pant after or murmur over. But the indulging of such a disposition is rebellion against the Sovereign Disposer of all events; yes, it is an utter contempt of him. What! is it not sufficient to have:

God for our Father,

Christ for our Savior,

the Spirit for our Comforter,

and Heaven for our everlasting inheritance,

but must we murmur and complain because all temporal circumstances are not exactly to our mind?

What does any temporal need or loss signify, when we have such unsearchable riches secured to us? In comparison with such spiritual blessings, the greatest of earthly comforts is no more than the dust upon the balance.

But this, alas! we are too apt to forget! We are ready, like the Israelites, to overlook all the mercies we enjoy, through an excessive regret of something lost, or an inordinate desire of something unpossessed.

When we reflect on the exceeding baseness of this conduct, we shall not wonder at,

II. The grief of Moses.

We cannot altogether approve of the manner in which Moses expressed his sorrow.

He not only complained to God, but in reality complained of God himself. God had appointed him to lead that people to the land of Canaan. This should have been considered by him as a singular honor; but he complained of it as a burden. Not that he would ever have complained of it, if the people had walked worthy of their high calling; but when they were dissatisfied and rebellious, it seemed to him as if all his labor had been in vain. Had he been their natural father, he would have thought it reasonable enough that he should take the oversight of them; but when he had no other relation to them than that which was common to all, he deemed it a hardship to have so great a charge committed to him; and he begged that God would release him from it by taking away his life. Alas! what is human nature when it comes to be severely tried!

But from this we learn some very important lessons.

We learn what the ministerial office is.

God says to a minister, “Take this people,” and, “as a nursing father carried his nursing child” through the wilderness, where there were no other means for its conveyance, so do you “carry them in your bosom,” bearing with all their frowardness, attending to all their needs, administering to all their necessities, and seeking your happiness in their welfare.” O! what a charge is this! and what grace do they need who have to sustain and execute it! O that all of us resembled Paul, 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8.

We learn also what a minister’s heaviest affliction is.

If his people are obedient to their God, great as his difficulties are, he is willing to bear them; his people are “his joy and crown of rejoicing;” “he lives, when they stand fast in the Lord;” “he has no greater joy than to see his children walk in truth.” But when they decline from the ways of God, when they are dissatisfied with his ministrations, and begin to despise the bread of life because it is plain and unmixed with anything suited to a carnal appetite—then he is grieved, and wounded in his inmost soul; then life itself becomes a burden to him, and he is ready to wish for death to put an end to his sorrows.

We remember how Paul was grieved by the worldliness and sensuality of some, and by the heretical conduct of others; he could not speak of them without tears, Philippians 3:18-19; and he was always like a woman in travail, by reason of his anxiety for their welfare, Galatians 4:19. “The care of all the churches” was a heavier burden to him than all his own perils and dangers, whether by sea or land. “None were weak, but he was weak also;” nor were any offended and turned aside, but “he burned” with an ardent desire to restore them. O that every minister were thus wrapped up in the good of the people committed to his care! “His afflictions might abound; but his consolations should abound” also.

That which so deeply afflicted Moses, excited, in a very high degree,

III. The displeasure of God.

It is instructive to observe in what manner God manifested his displeasure.

He granted their wishes, and sent them such abundance of quail, that for many miles round their camp they lay above a yard thick upon the ground. The people with great avidity began to gather them up. For two whole days and a night did they occupy themselves in this work; so he who gathered least among them, gathered ten homers, or eighty bushels. Now they began to revel upon the spoil; but while the flesh was in their mouths, even before it was chewed, God smote them with a very great plague, whereof many thousands of them died, verses 32-33 with Psalm 78:17-31; How strongly did God mark their sin in their punishment!

But we are peculiarly interested in the end for which he thus displayed his indignation.

He expressly tells us, that it was for our sakes, and to make them examples unto us, 1 Corinthians 10:6; 1 Corinthians 10:10-11. He designed to teach us “not to lust after evil things, as they lusted.” O that we could learn that lesson, and take warning by them!

We are ready to think it a light matter to be murmuring and dissatisfied with what we have, and to be longing for what we have not; but God has shown us that he does not account it light; he deems it a contempt of him and of the rich mercies he has given unto us; and as such, he will sooner or later visit it with fiery indignation.

Allow you then, brethren, a word of exhortation.

1. Guard against the contagion of bad example.

It was “the mixed multitude” who first began to murmur, verse 4. They were Egyptians, who accompanied the Israelites; and from them the dissatisfaction spread through all the tents of Israel. Thus did Judas infect all the disciples, Compare Matthew 26:7-9 with John 12:4-6. Thus shall we ever find it in the Church, “a little leaven is sufficient to leaven the whole lump.” If there is any one of a carnal, worldly, querulous and contentious spirit, be sure to let him have no influence over your mind. Reject his counsels as poison; and follow none any further than they follow Christ.

2. Cultivate a contented spirit.

“Be contented with such things as you have.” It is better to have little with a devout spirit, than abundance, and “leanness of soul.” God showed that it was not from any lack of power that he did not feed them every day with flesh; but because he knew that it would be productive of no good to their souls. Think not that it is from any lack of love or power that he allows you to be tried in a variety of ways. He could easily carry you on without any trials, and give you all that the most carnal heart could desire. But trials are the fruits of his love; he desires to instruct you in every part of your duty; that you may “know both how to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” “Learn then in everything to be content,” and to say from your hearts in all things, “Not my will, but may your will be done.”

3. Expect from God all that is truly good for you.

Moses himself staggered at the promise, when God said, that all the people should feed on flesh for a whole month, verse 21, 22; but God said to him, “Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? You shall see now whether my word shall come to pass unto you or not, verse 23.” His promises to us also are “exceeding great and precious,” both in relation to our bodies and our souls; Let us never presume to “limit the Holy One of Israel,” as though anything which he has promised, were either too great, or too good, for him to give. The trials which he sends us, are often sent on purpose that we may see the exceeding riches of his grace in our deliverance. For temporal things, let us depend entirely on his good providence; and for spiritual things, on his all-sufficient grace. In Christ Jesus there is a fullness of all that we can need; and “out of his fullness we may all receive” from day to day.

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 10:35-36

Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Rise up, O LORD! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.” Whenever it came to rest, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel.”

Patriotism, according to the general acceptance of the term, consists in such a partial regard for our native land, as would advance the interests of one’s own country at the expense of all others, and trample upon the most sacred rights of justice for the attainment of its ends. In this view, it is no better than a specious cloak for cruelty and oppression; but, when freed from selfishness and injustice, patriotism is a good principle, and nearly allied to religion itself.

Such was the patriotism of Moses; he wished well to his own country, and sought to promote its best interests. That he sought to occupy the territory of others, is true; but his right to their land was founded on the grant of Jehovah himself, the great Proprietor of Heaven and earth; and his desire to possess it originated, not in a thirst for dominion, but in a persuasion that the possession of it was combined with spiritual blessings, and would tend as much to the advancement of God’s honor as of Israel’s good. He wished ill to none, any further than as they were enemies of Almighty God; it was their opposition to him which he prayed to be rendered ineffectual. All his desire was, that Israel might be happy in their God, and in the ultimate possession of those privileges which God, in his sovereign mercy, had destined them to enjoy. This was the one object for which he prayed, whenever the ark removed, and whenever it became stationary. And from this prayer of his we may learn, what we also should do,

I. In times of trial.

It is not to be expected that we should pass through this wilderness without meeting with manifold trials along our way. The Church of old had much to contend with; and so must every individual that advances towards the heavenly Canaan. But our help is in God; and to Him we must look,

1. In earnest prayer.

Prayer is the appointed means of obtaining support from above; and it shall prevail when urged with fervent importunity. The uplifted hands of Moses prevailed against Amalek more than Joshua’s sword; nor can we doubt but that, in all their journeys, the Israelites owed much of their safety to his continual intercession. Without prayer the whole Christian armor would leave him open to the assaults of his enemies; but, with it, he is altogether invincible!

2. In humble trust.

However numerous or powerful our enemies may be, we must remember, that “He who dwells on high is mightier.” “If God is for us, none can with any effect be against us.” With His help “a worm shall thresh the mountains!” It is manifest that Moses never doubted for a moment the all-sufficiency of Jehovah; nor should we; but, like David in the most perilous circumstances, we should banish all unbelieving fears with this thought, “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in Heaven!”

3. In confident expectation.

Moses did not pray as to an unknown God, but as to a God whom by experience he knew to be “abundant in goodness and truth.” Thus we should have our expectations raised; we should ask in faith, persuaded and assured that “God will do more for us than we can either ask or think!” If we were “not straitened in ourselves,” we should not find ourselves straitened in our God.

Similar to this should be our conduct,

II. In seasons of rest.

There were even in the apostolic age some seasons when “the Churches had rest.” Just so, there are times of comparative rest which the saints experience in every age. But these are pregnant with danger to the soul no less than times of trial. At those seasons we are apt to relax our vigilance, and to be “settled on our lees.” It befits us therefore, then more especially, to seek the presence of our God:

1. We must seek God’s presence as our only safeguard.

Moses never deemed himself secure but under the divine protection. Hence he was as anxious to have God present with his people in their resting-places, as in their removals. We too, though apparently in peace, must remember, that “the roaring lion which seeks to devour us” never rests; he is ever going about, and ready to “take advantage of us” to our ruin. In God, and in him alone, is our safety.

If He guides us, we shall not err.

If He upholds us, we shall not fall.

If He is a wall of fire round about us, we may bid defiance to all the assaults of earth and Hell.

2. We must seek God’s presence as our supreme happiness.

At no time should we allow ourselves to rest in created enjoyments; they are then only conducive to real happiness, when we can enjoy God in them. All, without him, is but “as the crackling of thorns under a pot.” To have his presence in the ordinances, and in prayer, and in our own hearts—this is life, this is peace, this is “joy that is unspeakable and full of glory!” This therefore we should covet beyond all created good; and every moment that we are bereft of this, we should consider as lost to all the great ends and purposes of life.

ADDRESS.

1. To those who are ignorant of God.

Do not despise the idea of communion with God; there is a time coming, when you yourselves will wish for it. A dying man is a pitiable object indeed, without the divine presence. But if we seek it not now, what reason have we to expect it in a dying hour?

2. To those who indulge unbelieving fears respecting him.

How greatly do you dishonor the God of Israel! See how he attended his people of old, going before them in their journeys, and abiding with them in their resting-places; and is he not the same God still? O blush and be ashamed, that ever you have limited his power and grace. Only live near to him in the exercise of faith and prayer, and you cannot but be happy in time and in eternity.

3. To those who enjoy his presence.

Be, like Moses, true patriots. Consider “the many thousands of Israel,” and let them ever have a remembrance in your prayers. Seek for them, as well as for yourselves—God’s blessing and protection. To be intercessors for the Church is an employment worthy the attention of the highest potentates; at the same time “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man,” however low he is in the scale of society, “avails much.” And they who bring down blessings on the Church by prayer, shall be sure to have no small portion of them resting on their own souls!

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

Numbers 10:29

“Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place about which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.”

I. The invitation.

Where was Moses going? To the land of Canaan. There was not a child in all the camp of Israel, who did not know whence he had been brought, and where he was bending his course

This is really the state of God’s Israel now. They are all sensible that they have been brought out of bondage to sin and Satan; and there is not one among them who does not consider himself as a pilgrim here, and is not daily pressing forward to the heavenly Canaan as his rest, his portion, his inheritance.

Are you not solemnly pledging yourselves to renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh, etc. etc. etc. This then is the very thing which the journeying of the Israelites in the wilderness shadowed forth, and which all God’s Israel at this very time are doing.

We say then to you, yes, to every one of you in particular, “Come with us.” Though you be young, like Hobab, come with us; yes, though your father Jethro has gone back, “come you with us”

II. The arguments.

Hobab, it should seem, was the son of Jethro, who is here called Raguel, and in another place Reuel, Exodus 2:18. He was the brother of Zipporah, whom Moses had married in the land of Midian. Both Jethro, and his son Hobab, had accompanied Moses for a season; but Jethro had left him some time since, Exodus 18:27; and Hobab also now proposed to leave him, and “to go back to his own country and kindred.” But Moses besought him not to go, but to proceed with Israel to the promised land; assuring him, that, though a Midianite, he should participate in all the blessings which God designed for Israel. On finding that this consideration was not sufficient to influence his mind, Moses urged the services which Hobab might render to Israel in their journey through the wilderness; for though God had undertaken to guide Israel through the wilderness, and to provide for and protect them in the way—yet there were many local circumstances which Hobab was acquainted with, by the communication of which, from time to time, he might render very essential services to Moses and to all Israel.

Whether Moses prevailed with Hobab to alter his determination, does not certainly appear. But it seems rather that he did succeed, because we find the descendants of Hobab actually settled in Canaan, and dwelling in the midst of the tribe of Judah, not indeed as blended with them, but as a distinct people, Judges 1:16; Judges 4:11; Judges 4:17.

This however is of no importance to us. It is the invitation only that we are concerned about; and we hope that, when the arguments with which it is enforced are duly considered, the success with us shall not be doubtful, whatever it might be with him. There is a land of promise towards which the true Israel are yet journeying, under the conduct of our great Lawgiver, the Lord Jesus Christ; and in their name is the invitation addressed to all of us , “Come with us; and we will do you good.”

But, that we may have clearer views of this matter, let us distinctly consider,

III. The invitation.

That the journey of Israel in the wilderness was altogether typical of our journey heaven-ward, is well known. When therefore, in the name of all Israel, we say to every individual among us, “Come with us,” we must be understood to say:

1. Set your faces in good earnest towards the promised land.

There is “a land of which God has said, I will give it to you.” And it is a good land, “a land flowing with milk and honey;” a land “where you shall eat bread without scarceness;” and enjoy “a rest” from all enemies, and from all labors, for evermore, Hebrews 4:9; 1 Peter 1:4.

Towards that land all the Israel of God are journeying; they consider this world as a wilderness, in which they are pilgrims and sojourners; and the object of every step which they take in it is to advance nearer to their desired home. Let every one of us join himself to them.

Let us estimate aright the inheritance prepared for us.

Let us lose no further time in commencing our journey towards it.

Let us engage in the pursuit of it with all the ardor that the object requires.

And let us “fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into it, any of us should even seem to come short of it, Hebrews 4:1.”

2. Let nothing be allowed to hinder you in your progress there.

Hobab was solicited to postpone all regard for his family and country, for the attainment of the promised land. And such is our duty also. Our blessed Lord has said, “He who loves father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me.” “If any man comes to me, and hates not his father and mother, yes, and his own life also (in comparison with me), he cannot be my disciple.” “He who will save his life, shall lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake, shall find it, Matthew 10:37-39; Luke 14:26.”

There will be difficulties and obstructions which we must meet with; but we must meet them manfully; and, whatever be the cross that lies in our way, we must take it up, yes, and glory in it, and rejoice that we are counted worthy to bear it for His sake! For what is the favor of man, in comparison with the favor of God; or the preservation of earthly interests, in comparison with a heavenly inheritance? “What would it profit us if we gained the whole world, if at the same time we lost our own souls? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Nor let this sacrifice appear great; it is no other than was made by Abraham, Genesis 12:1-4, and Moses, Hebrews 11:24-26, and the Apostles of our Lord, Mark 10:28, and all the primitive Christians, Acts 4:32; nay, it is made daily even for the sake of a connection with an earthly object, Ephesians 5:31; much more therefore may it be made for a union with Christ; who offers himself to us only on these express terms, “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear; forget also your own people and your father’s house; so shall the King have pleasure in your beauty; for he is your Lord, worship him, Psalm 45:10-11.”

3. Proceed steadily until you are in possession of it.

Hobab had abode with Moses some considerable time; but at last he grew weary of the way, and determined to return. It must not be thus with us. We must not run well for a season only, but unto the end, if we would obtain the prize. We must “never be weary of well-doing,” or “look back after having put our hand to the plough;” but “by patient continuance in well-doing must seek for glory and honor and immortality.” “If any one of us turns back,” says God, “my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” “It were even better for us never to have known the way of righteousness, than, after having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to us.” It is “he alone who endures unto the end, that shall ever finally be saved.”

4. Do not object that those who give this invitation are a mere company.

Whose fault is it, if they are a mere company? Is it theirs who are going heaven-ward; or those who will not advance a step towards it? Are those who “enter in at the strait gate, and walk in the narrow way that leads unto life,” to be blamed, because the great mass of mankind prefer “the broad road that leads to destruction?”

But if they must be called a mere company, let me tell you what company it is; it consists of such as Moses summoned to his aid, “Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me, Exodus 32:26.” Yes, they are those who are “on the Lord’s side;” and if that be a fault, let them bear it. But who is at the head of that company? When we know that it is the Lord Jesus Christ himself, John 8:23; John 17:16, and that “the whole world besides lies under the dominion of the wicked one, John 17:14; John 15:18-20; 1 John 5:19,” we need not be ashamed.

If this objection has any force, it had the same force against the Israelites who had come out of Egypt; (for they were but a mere company, in comparison with those whom they had left behind,) yes, against the Apostles and the primitive Christians it lay with still greater force; for they were, especially at first, as nothing in comparison with their opponents. If those who invite us to join them be but “a little flock,” still they are the flock to whom exclusively “the kingdom of Heaven shall be given, Luke 12:32;” and therefore we would urge you all to join them without delay.

To give yet further weight to the invitation, I will call your attention to,

IV. The arguments with which it is enforced.

Two considerations Moses proposed to Hobab; first, the benefit that would accrue to himself; and next, the benefit which he would confer on Israel. Similar considerations also may fitly be proposed to us. Consider then, if you accept the invitation:

1. What benefit will accrue to yourselves.

Truly, “God has spoken good respecting Israel.” He calls them his children, his first-born, his peculiar treasure above all the people upon the face of the earth. And whatever can conduce to their present and eternal happiness, he promises them in the richest abundance. Both in their way, and in their end, they shall be truly blessed.

What a catalogue of blessings is assigned to them in the space of a few verses, Exodus 6:6-8. yet they relate to this world only, and are but faint shadows of the blessings which God will pour out upon their souls. As for the glory prepared for them in a better world, what tongue can utter it? What heart can conceive it? The very throne of God is not too exalted for them to sit on; nor the kingdom of God too rich for them to possess.

Now then to all who comply with the invitation given them, we do not hesitate to say, as Moses did, “It shall be, if you go with us, yes, it shall be, that what goodness the Lord shall do unto us, the same will we do unto you, verse 32.” You shall partake of every blessing which God’s most favored people enjoy.

Does he go before them in the pillar and the cloud?

Does he feed them with manna, and cause the waters from the rock to follow them in all their way?

Does he protect them from every enemy?

Does he carry them as on eagles’ wings?

Does he forgive their sins, and “heal their backslidings, and love them freely?”

Is “he as the dew to them,” causing them to “grow as the lily, and to spread forth their roots as Lebanon?”

Does “he love them to the end,” and “never leave them until he has fulfilled to them all that he has promised?”

All this shall be yours, if you will come with us. “You shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.” You may exhaust all the powers of language in asking, and it shall all be done; you may even stretch your imagination to the utmost bounds that human intellect can reach, and all that also shall be done, and more than all, yes, “exceeding abundantly above all that you can either ask or think.”

And shall not this induce you to accept the invitation? Go to all others that solicit your company, and see what they can do for you. Can they ensure to you even the least of all the blessings of grace or glory? No; they are all broken cisterns, that can hold no water, and can present to you nothing but the dregs of sensual enjoyment. Whereas with us is “the fountain of living water,” of which whoever drinks shall live forever.

2. What benefit you will confer on others.

Every one that gives himself up wholly to the Lord, strengthens the hands and encourages the hearts of God’s chosen people. Death is from time to time thinning the ranks of the Lord’s armies; and if they were not recruited by voluntary enlistment, they would speedily disappear. But all who accept the invitation become soldiers of Christ, and engage to fight manfully the Lord’s battles. All such people also are “witnesses for God” among an atheistic and rebellious people, whom they practically “condemn,” as “Noah condemned the world” by constructing the ark in the midst of them, Hebrews 11:7. As lights too in a dark world, they are of great service; for they “hold forth the word of life” to those who would not otherwise behold it; and are “epistles of Christ, known and read” by thousands, who, but for such instructors, would remain forever ignorant of his will.

If any one be disposed to ask: What good can so weak an individual as I do? I answer, “If under any circumstances whatever any individual could be justified in offering such an objection, it would have been Hobab.

First, because Israel were altogether under the divine guidance, protection, and support; and therefore could not be supposed to need anything.

Next, because he was a Midianite, and therefore incapable, as might be thought, of adding anything to Moses and the Israelites. But to him Moses said, “You may be to us in the stead of eyes, verse 31.”

The truth is, that no one can foresee of what use he may be to the Church of God. Had Peter, when employed in fishing, been told what services he should render to the Jewish nation, or Paul what wonders he should effect in behalf of the Gentile world, how little would they have conceived that such weak instruments should ever accomplish so great a work! The same may be said of others in later times; and so far is the weakness of the instrument from affording any just ground for discouragement, that God has expressly “committed the Gospel treasure to earthen vessels, on purpose that the excellence of the power may the more clearly appear to be of God;” and it still is, as it has ever been, his delight to “ordain strength in the mouth of babes and sucklings.”

Think then, you who have tasted anything of redeeming love, is it possible that you may be useful in promoting the designs, and in advancing the glory of your Lord and Savior—and will you not do it? Shall any earthly interests or attachments prevail with you to put your light under a bushel, when, by allowing it to shine forth, you might aid others in their way to Heaven? O! requite not thus your heavenly Benefactor, but join yourselves to his people without delay, and live henceforth altogether for Him who lived and died for you.

ADDRESS.

1. To those who have never yet contemplated the invitation given them.

Our blessed Lord, both in the Old and New Testament, says, “Look unto me,” “come unto me,” “follow me.” But yet, as strange as it may appear, we for the most part consider these invitations no more than a mere empty sound; or, if we regard them at all, we satisfy ourselves with vain excuses for refusing them. But, if we wonder at Hobab for proposing to go back, after all that he had seen and heard—then what shall be said of us, if we resist all the gracious invitations of the Gospel, after all that we have seen and heard in the New Testament? He was a Midianite by birth and by profession too, whereas we name the name of Christ, and profess ourselves to be his followers. Let us remember, that the invitation, rejected once, may be lost forever; and that the Master of the feast, when he hears your vain excuses, may send his invitations to others, and decree that you “shall never taste of his supper.”

2. To those who having once accepted it, and are disposed to turn back.

Many such we read of in the Scriptures; and many such we behold among ourselves. But, if any who are here present are halting, we would ask them, “To whom will you go?” Where, but in Christ Jesus, will you find the words of eternal life! John 6:67-68. You have not forgotten Lot’s wife, or the judgments that overtook her for only looking back to the city whence she had escaped; nor can you reasonably doubt but that they who turn back, “turn back unto perdition! Hebrews 10:39.”

I charge you then: Be steadfast; and harbor not so much as a thought of “returning with the dog to his vomit, and with the sow that was washed to the wallowing in the mire.” “If, after you have once escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you are again entangled therein and overcome, your last end will be worse with you than your beginning, 2 Peter 2:20.” Do not, like Orpah, kiss, and part; but, like Ruth, be steadfast in cleaving to the Lord, Ruth 1:14; Ruth 1:17. Be faithful unto death, and God will give you a crown of life!”

3. To those who, having given themselves up to Christ, are cleaving to him with full purpose of heart.

You have doubtless met with some trials in your way, and been called to make some sacrifices; for where was there ever a true follower of Christ who had not his cross to bear? Then I will ask you, Have you ever had cause to regret any sacrifice you made for him? He has said, that “if any man leaves father and mother, and house and lands, for His sake and the Gospel’s, he shall receive a hundred-fold more in this life; and in the world to come, eternal life! Mark 10:29-30.” Is not this true? Have you not found it to be so by actual experience? Go on, “strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.” Only, with Caleb, “follow the Lord fully,” and you shall with him assuredly obtain a blessed portion in the promised land. “Faithful is He who has called you; who also will do it!”

Charles Simeon (1759-1836)