_Now the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel._ REUBEN’S RIGHTS TRANSFERRED TO JOSEPH This incident is worth dwelling upon, only because it elucidates a special phase of the Divine government. God is not bound by arbitrary laws. Primogeniture can be changed in the court of heaven. Conduct is th... [ Continue Reading ]
_And of him came the Chief Ruler._ THE CHIEF RULER I read of “the rulers of the darkness of this world”; “the rulers of synagogues”; the rulers that “set themselves against the Lord and against His Anointed”; but none of them are “Chief.” Christ is the “Chief Ruler.” I. His appointment to office... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they were helped against them._ HELPED We are like William of Orange, with a few followers and an empty purse, making war against the master of half the world with the mines of Peru for a treasury. But like William, too, when questioned concerning our resources, we can reply, “Before we took... [ Continue Reading ]
_Because the war was of God._ GOD’S WAR When a man fights against himself, in his lusts, passions, and unauthorised aspirations, he fights a war approved of God, and if he fights that war in the name of God he shall be none other than a victor at the close. When a man fights for the poor, the oppr... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they transgressed against the God of their fathers._ THE TRANSGRESSIONS OF THE PEOPLE I. If we turn to the Book of Kings we shall be surprised to find how the fatal sin of Israel was often of an intellectual kind, as distinguished from the baser iniquities which corrupt and overthrow the soul... [ Continue Reading ]