OBS. 2.-In reference to the event with which the ass is connected, we are obliged, by Num. 22: 28, and 2 Pet. 2: 15, 16, to acknowledge a miraculous operation of God, of which the animal is the subject, and by which it was made the means of witnessing, rebukingly, against Balaam's self-delusion, in a manner that was humiliating to himself. It is, however, worthy of observation, that the words of the ass do not rise above the animal sphere; they are strictly confined to the region of animal perception or sensation. The miracle consists merely in the fact that, by a divine influence or operation, the natural expression of animal sensation is made to acquire a modulation which gives it the character of the articulate sounds of human language. It is difficult to decide whether this modulation occurred already in the mouth of the ass, or in the ear of Balaam only; the decision, perhaps, depends on the answer to the question, whether Balak's messengers were present or absent. If they were present, the modulation of the voice occurred in the ear of Balaam, and the miracle resembles, in some of its features, the occurrences described in John 12: 28; Acts 9: 7, compared with Acts 22 : 9, and Acts 2: 12, 13; if they were absent, that interpretation claims the preference, according to which the modulated words proceeded from the mouth of the animal. 3. Num. ch. 23-25.-Balak conducts the magian to the high places of Baal, that he might thence see the whole camp of Israel. But Balaam pronounces blessings in place of the curses which are expected. Balak, astonished and displeased, leads him to the top of Pisgah, and, when the words of blessing are repeated, brings him, at last, to the top of Peor. All his efforts are fruitless; the spirit of prophecy pronounces only clearer and mightier words of blessing; the seer's glance at length extends so far, that he sees the "Star come out of Jacob, and the Sceptre rise out of Israel, which shall smite and destroy" the hostile heathen (that is, David, and his archetype, Christ). Notwithstanding, Balaam craftily advised the Moabites and Midianites to entice Israel to practise idolatrous rites; this plan was so successful, that a plague which the Lord sent destroyed 24,000 of the people. When the Israelites afterwards avenged themselves on the Midianites, they slew Balaam also (ch. 31: 8). $57. The Last Days of Moses. - Deut. ch. 1, &c. After Moses had repeated the Law in the hearing of the people, and impressed it upon their minds, he added a statement of the divine blessings and curses; he consecrated Joshua as his successor, and assigned the east-Jordanic territory to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, whose numerous flocks gave them special claims to this fertile pasture-land. He spake the words of his last song (ch. 32), and gave his parting blessing to the twelve tribes. (ch. 33.) After these things, he ascended the mountain of Nebo, whence the Lord showed him the promised land, which he was permitted to see, but not to enter. There Moses died, when he was a hundred and twenty years old, and the Lord buried him, but no man ever saw his grave. OBS.—The promise in Deut. 18: 18, 19, is peculiarly important: “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren," said the Lord to Moses, “like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” Now, a prophet like unto Moses, must necessarily, like him, be a redeemer of the people, a founder and an executor of a new covenant with God: and, since a new covenant is, by implication, better than the one which preceded it, it follows that the prophet, who is like unto Moses, is thus really a greater than he is. Hence, this prophecy applied, in its fulness, to no prophet of the old covenant, as the Scriptures also expressly testify: "There arose not a prophet since, in Israel, like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." (Deut. 34: 10.) It is in Christ alone, the executor of the new covenant, the Redeemer of all men, that this promise is perfectly and finally fulfilled. Here, then, we perceive that, after a typical redeemer and saviour of his people had appeared in Moses (see ? 35. Obs. 2), the first conception of a personal Messiah was formed, which afterwards attained entire clearness and certainty in the age of king David. (2 76. 1.) § 58. The Pentateuch. 1. The only source whence historical materials have so far been derived, is the Pentateuch, that is, the five books of Moses, called in Hebrew torah, or, the Law. The second, third and fourth books form the principal part, for it is the main object of the Pentateuch to describe those wonderful deeds and revelations of God, by which Israel was prepared and consecrated as the chosen people, the first-born of Jehovah; it consequently relates the history of the establishment and sealing of the Old Covenant, or the history of the age of Moses. In an Israelitic point of view, the first book was important chiefly as an historical introduction, intended to set forth the connection and successive steps apparent in the divine mode of educating man and imparting a revelation to him, beginning with the creation of man, and continued till the eventful period of the giving of the Law had been reached. And as the first book forms an historical connection with the antecedent period, so the fifth book forms, prophetically, a bond of union with the whole period that follows. OBS.-The first book is called Genesis (that is, generation, origin, or production). It not only describes the origin of the people of Israel, but also relates the history of the creation of the world and of man. It assumes, at the beginning, already, a position that is opposed to heathenism, by teaching that a personal and almighty God, who is also the only God, created all from nothing (? 9. OBS. 1), and, in describing the progress of the work of creation, it assigns to man his appropriate place in the scale of creation, and exhibits his true destination. ( 10.) The history of the Fall lies at the foundation of the whole history of redemption, explains the calling of Abraham, and the establishment of the covenant on Sinai, and also furnishes a key to the whole sacrificial worship of the Law. (8 48.) It then proceeds to describe the manner in which the chosen people was separated, in the beginning, from others, established and continually sustained. (¿ 23.)—The second book, Exodus (that is, departure), describes the Departure from Egypt, the establishment of the covenant on Sinai, and the completion of the sanctuary; it also relates the history of the people during their abode in Sinai.-The third book, Leviticus (the book of the priests), receives that name from the nature of its contents, which explain the position, privileges, duties and offices of the priests and Levites. The book of Numbers begins with an account of the numbering of the people, and, besides the description of various occasional laws, relates the history of their journeyings in the wilderness.-The fifth book, Deuteronomy (that is, the second law, or the repetition of the law), contains the last addresses of Moses to the people; he repeats the law, impresses it upon their minds, and introduces certain modifications of it required by their entrance into the holy land, which was soon to take place, and which would occasion changes in their circumstances. He concludes with a statement of divine blessings and threatenings, which were designed for future generations; this book is, consequently, prophetic in its nature. The history of the last days of Moses closes the whole collection. 2. But the Pentateuch is not simply the source of history for that period of time only, at the expiration of which (the death of Moses) it terminates; on the contrary, the narratives, revelations, promises and laws which it contains, are also the true basis, or constitute the living, teeming germ and beginning of the history of the future. It is the original source of religious life and faith in the old covenant. Its historical portions furnish evidence to future generations of the power and grace of their God, and are a pledge that these will continue to be manifested, and will, hereafter, appear in their highest perfection and glory; the lives of their ancestors, whose faith, whose hopes, and whose patient expectation, together with their virtues and errors, are portrayed, furnish them with animated images and warnings suited to their own condition. The laws of the Pentateuch constitute a permanent and divinely-appointed rule for their worship, and their public and private life, while its promises are the living germ which is unfolded during the labors of the later prophets, and ultimately becomes a vigorous tree, with widely-spreading branches. OBS. 1.—It might be reasonably expected (for the omission would be unaccountable) that Moses himself would record, for the benefit of future generations, the glorious deeds and revelations of God, by which Israel was appointed and qualified to be the chosen people, and the bearer or vehicle sustaining the divine development of salvation. His education, which gave him access to all the wisdom of the Egyptians, was an external qualification for this work, which none of his Hebrew cotemporaries possessed. It was his hand which : God had employed in performing those wonders, and his mouth by which God had pronounced those revelations. On whom, then, did the duty more appropriately devolve than on himself, to preserve for posterity the memory of these events? It was, evidently, a subject of vital consequence in his eyes, that succeeding generations should possess a faithful, complete and authentic account of all those divine facts and revelations, laws and promises, by which Israel acquired the position which it occupied, and by the faithful preservation and observance of which alone, Israel could see its glorious prospects realized; it was obvious to Moses that these advantages could not be secured, unless the whole account were committed to writing. Now, that those books of the Scriptures which contain this account, and bear the name of Moses, were, as a whole, really composed by him, they declare themselves by their general contents, which continually indicate that the author was cotemporaneous with the events recorded; moreover, these books contain numerous express declarations that Moses, usually by special divine commands, had written the several parts and the whole. (Exod. 17: 14; 24: 4,7; 34:27, 28; Num. 33 2; Deut. 1:5; 4: 8; 17: 18; 27: 26; 28: 58; 29: 19, 20; 30: 10; 31: 9-12.) The existence of these books after the age of Moses, is proved by numerous references to them in the historical statements and the declarations of the other older books of the sacred volume, and when they are mentioned, Moses is named as the author. (e. g. Josh. 1: 7, 8; 23: 6; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6; Ezra 7:6; Dan. 9: 11.) This is the declaration of the oldest tradition from Joshua to Ezra, and, in a similar manner, from Ezra to Christ, without any exception disturbing the unanimity of its reference of the Pentateuch to Moses as the author. It is only in comparatively recent times that the genuineness of the Pentateuch has been questioned; but the objections, which have been collected with great labor, betray the doctrinal character of the source in which they originate; for if Moses is really the author of the Pentateuch, no alternative remains, except either to accuse him of falsehood and fraud, or to acknowledge the literal truth of the miracles and prophecies which are prejudged to be impossible. The opponents of the Pentateuch were not prepared to adopt either course, and, consequently resorted to criticism, for the purpose of relieving themselves from embarrassment. When a doctrinal antipathy of this nature disappears, it carries with it nearly all the doubts which were entertained respecting the genuineness of these books; and, on the other hand, the acknowledgment of the history in the Old Testament as embodying a direct and divine mode of educating and training men |