Hormah
Table of Contents
Hormah: No. 1
Sad indeed is the history of unbelief in Numb. 14 The Lord had spoken to Moses saying, " Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel." " Which I give" surely should have been enough for faith. In chapter 8 we have the searching of the land. " And they returned from searching the land after forty days." The report they gave was that the land was good. " Surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it:" for they had brought a first ripe cluster of grapes, and of the pomegranates, and of the figs. But to unbelief there was the dreadful uncertainty of being able to take possession. There are immediately to unbelief insurmountable difficulties: walled cities, and children of giants. And this only leads to bringing an evil report of the land.
Very striking is the contrast of the faith of the two, and the unbelief of the ten. Unbelief reasons on what toe can do, and therefore says, “We be not able to go up against this people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land," &c. Faith, on the other hand, looked beyond all difficulties. Joshua and Caleb were delighted with the place, into which God had promised to bring them. They said, " Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." How sad! the unbelief of the ten took hold of the whole congregation. This uncertainty brings sore misery. If once it takes possession of the soul, you cannot stand still; at once in heart the effect is to go back to the world. Thus Israel reasoned in their sin, and misery, and wept all night. Rebellion then rises up in the heart against Moses and against Aaron: really it is against Jehovah. This is always the case, and hence Satan is ever seeking to rob the soul of the certainty of taking possession of the heavenlies. He whispers, You must not be too sure, there are many difficulties; you may never get there after all; you are not able to overcome and get possession. They are ready to give all up—redemption, everything. They reason that it is better to go back to Egypt, yea, to die there; or die in the wilderness. Thus Satan says, You had far better give up all profession of faith than be in this state. 'Yes,' they say, ' it is better to return into Egypt. Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.'
How different the language of faith that rests in God! " The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for their defense is departed from them; and the Lord is with us: fear them not." Every one is a precious word of faith. The natural heart of man hates this divine certainty of faith. " But all the congregation bade stone them with stones." All this is full of instruction to us, not merely as to our final departure to be with the Lord. But it is full of deep instruction to those who have not yet understood what it is to be in that new place across the Jordan, in possession, with our heavenly Joshua, though also in conflict there with those whom we find there before us.
To keep however to the simple lesson, unbelief says, ' We are not able to do it.' Faith looks solely to the Lord. " If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us." And again, "The Lord is with us; fear them not." He had been for them in deliverance from Egypt. He is now with them to bring them into the land. He delighteth in us: it is enough.
Deeply instructive would every verse be in this chapter. But we wish to call special attention to the end. Through unbelief and rebellion they had to wander forty years in the wilderness. How often this is the case; many a Christian has to wander for years in the wilderness, learning its painful lessons, instead of entering and enjoying the fruit of the land. It may be on his death-bed he practically crosses the Jordan and learns what it is to be in the new, and the old forever passed away. (2 Cor. 5:17, 18.)
It is just the lesson of the words of God to Noah over again: " The end of all flesh is come before me.” Yes, let us not forget death must be written upon all flesh. " Even those men, that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord." But quite another kind of fruit of the flesh of man appears now. It is not at all now unbelief that says, ‘All is lost, we will give up and go back into Egypt.' Oh no! It is rather the religious determined activity of the flesh. It is like man in this day, whilst, refusing the goodness of God; refusing possession of eternal life in the wholly new creation in Christ, on the principle of pure unmerited grace or favor of God, because He delighteth in us; yet a determination to go up and take possession by early sacraments and ordinances.
" And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised: for we have sinned." There is a strange combination of self-will and confession. It is the principle of seeking holiness in the flesh in whatever way. It is seeking to get possession by renewed effort at improvement of the flesh, though confessing failure hitherto. It is lip confession, for if it were heart confession, we should be afraid to take a step in self-will. Yes, man will rise early to climb this mountain. He tries hard to attain to death and resurrection by human effort, though he has refused it as the gift of grace. Is not this the state of Christendom, fast giving up the goodness of God? But more than this, is there a soul that has not to learn the lesson of Hormah? They had refused to go up and take possession because the Lord delighted in them; and now they are determined they will go up and take it. They are solemnly warned by Moses that it is transgression: they shall not prosper: " the Lord is not among you." They were about not only to meet the temptations of the wilderness, but also the power of the Canaanites who were in the land. And the Lord was not with them, because they were turned away from the Lord. Thus they placed themselves in the greatest danger.
Is it not so with us in this day? If we refuse the gift of God in grace, and seek to get possession by the improvement of the old man, the flesh, whether by the sacramental system of men, or even by what are called evangelical doctrines, we have turned away from the Lord and He cannot be with us. In such case how can we meet the hour of sudden temptation? How can we meet the power or wiles of the enemy, the wicked spirits that inhabit as yet the heavenlies? (Eph. 6)
The fact is, in such a conflict we are sure to be discomfited. " But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp." How little do men think that their pious efforts to improve the flesh are but presumption! And what was the result? " Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in the hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah." If we compare chapter 21:3 and Judg. 1:17, we see the meaning of the word Hormah is " utter destruction/é Thus Israel were smitten, and discomfited even unto utter destruction. How complete then is the lesson of utter destruction to the flesh! Not only the sin, and unbelief and rebellion in refusing the land as the gift in grace; but when they rise early in the morning and presume to go up and take possession, they find they have no good in them, no power to overcome, nay, they are overcome, and that utterly; from the top of the mountain of presumption, they sink to the lowest possible state of discomfiture.
Have we learned this lesson, that every effort in the flesh to attain to that which the land typified -the new place of complete deliverance—ends only in deepest failure? Oh, the lesson of Hormah I utter destruction to all religious pretension! Can we not only confess our sins? for they did that; but have we learned the utter ruin and helplessness of the flesh? " For I know that in me [that is in my flesh] dwelleth no good thing." We may presume, we may determine; but in the moment of sudden attack, to be smitten, discomfited to utter destruction of all hope of amendment in the flesh. This is surely a most important lesson, as almost every one hopes for some improvement of the flesh, in one way or other.
Well, does God propose to improve the flesh? No, the scene closes upon it just here, as utter destruction, without a ray of hope in itself. And a new scene opens up, a new Person in whom is centered all the purposes of God. Just as in Rom. 7, when we have reached the bottom, " Ο wretched man that I am!" the scene there closes, and the new scene is Christ. So here in Numb. 15 What a change! What a contrast! how precious are God’s thoughts of Christ. It would lengthen out our little paper too long to enter on this bright display of grace. That we will reserve, if the Lord will, for our next. We will therefore close with a few remarks in review.
" So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." They did not believe the report of faith. They looked at themselves; and measured the walls and giants by themselves. They did not see the whole thing was, and must be, of God. Entering in was not the same as deliverance from Egypt. They did not take hold by faith, that it was God's delight to bring them in. It is not then simply the question of our redemption from sin, and all the claims of justice, but entering in and taking possession of the new creation as risen with Christ; oneness with Him in resurrection; dead with Him; risen with Him. (See Col. 2; 3)
Well, they had not faith, nay, they utterly refused this new place (the land) as the gift of God. Then their first impulse was to return back to Egypt, in open rebellion. One of those two places must attract us, either the new creation or the old. We cannot remain stationary. Then in the same fleshly unbelief they presume in self-will to go up and take possession, which ends in terrible breakdown. But mark, breakdown of the flesh there must be, and forty years' lessons of the wilderness after this. Various are the ways in which we have sought to improve, or take possession by the flesh. Have we really accepted the truth, " The end of all flesh is come before me"? Have we sought to climb that mountain only to reach Hormah? Have we reached Hormah? Have we arrived at the end of all hope for the old man; all hope of amendment or restoration of the first man? There could not be a more hopeless picture of Israel than Hormah. The redeemed people of the Lord smitten to destruction before their enemies! What a sight! Let us beware, unbelief and presumption must lead in every case to similar results. Oh, wondrous grace to shine out just at this lowest possible point in Israel's history, and in ours!
Hormah: No. 2
We have seen Israel smitten and discomfited even unto utter destruction—the end of all hope of taking possession in the energy of the flesh. Is all over? Has God failed to keep His promise? They have failed utterly. But now God speaks unto Moses, saying, " Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land of your habitations which I give unto you." What a glorious contrast is the word of God to all man's failure. Yes, after all this failure, He will bring His people into the land, as He says, " which I give unto you." They are not only thus carried by faith beyond all the failure and the travail of the wilderness to the land; but mark the blessed object now presented to the eye of faith in these figures of things to come.
That object is Christ, under these various types of His Person and work. On Him the eye can rest with supreme delight, for there all is divinely perfect. " It will be noticed that the burnt-offering is the chief thought in these verses; but that offering was accompanied in each case by a meat offering and a drink-offering. We shall also see these increase as we grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord.
The first and great thought, then, is the burnt offering. This also is the first in God's order in the book of Leviticus. The other extreme is where God reached us, even the sin offering. There, on the cross, the Holy One became identified with us, was made sin for us. The hands of Aaron were laid on the sin offering, and it became identified with, yea, the substitute for, the people's sins.
But now look at that burnt-offering. The offerer "shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him, to make atonement for him." (Lev. 1:4.) Thus are we seen to be identified with Christ in all the sweet-savor offerings of His Person and work.
Thus, in our chapter, when the flesh has failed, when we have learned Hormah to be utter destruction, God now throws aside the veil, and reveals His purpose, that we shall be identified with Christ, accepted in Him, in all the perfections and sweet savor of His blessed work. What a vision of grace is this to our souls! Now, accompanying this revelation of the purpose of God, we have the meat offering-Christ, the Incarnate Son. Here, not only has God His portion, but all the sons of Aaron had their portion, one as much as another. The beloved Son was ever well-pleasing in His sight—full of grace and truth.
There is an increase in quantity progressively in each of the three cases before us: the one lamb; the one ram; and the one bullock. But it is the same—the meat offering, the oil, and the wine. This is most important, thus, if we begin with the feeblest apprehension of Christ in His incarnation- for the manhood of Christ, during His life, is the sweet savor of the meat offering—-however feeble the apprehension, it must be the true Christ. There was the repeated command that there must be no leaven in or with the meat offering. (Lev. 2:4, 5, 11.) All was a sweet savor unto the Lord. Leaven, as a type of fallen humanity, would have utterly unfitted it to be offered to Jehovah.
Thus we learn that those who teach that Christ took our fallen nature in incarnation, have no true Christ at all, and no true atonement. Fallen human nature is sinful human nature; and if sinful, or with the leaven of sin in it, He could have been no Savior, but would have needed to save Himself. To say Jesus took fallen human nature is thus the most soul-destroying doctrine ever propounded. Every type that points to the Holy One carefully excludes leaven, the type of evil, and fallen human nature is evil to the core. No, the more the fire tried the meat offering, the sweeter the savor.
In the New Testament He is ever " The Holy One and the Just." The voice from heaven had been heard, saying, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." In Him was no leaven, no fallen humanity, no sin. Had not the angel announced to Mary, " That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."
Let us worship Him, the Holy, Incarnate Son of God. Let it be remembered, the hand of identification was never laid on the meat offering. Until He died He must remain alone. But Jesus must be that pure, unleavened meat offering-pure and holy in His human nature, or He could not have been the spotless burnt offering; for in the burnt-offering the whole victim must be wholly burnt, and go up a sweet-savor offering. Thus, as there is death in it, there is also perfect identification—the hand was laid on the head. We are as fully identified with Christ in all the sweet savor of His Person and work, as He became identified with us in sin and judgment on the cross.
Oh, wondrous purpose of the God of all grace, thus to reveal Christ to us, and our place of everlasting acceptance in Him, when we have learned the discomfiture of the flesh, even to utter destruction. With the one lamb, then, before us, the meat offering was to be " a tenth deal of flour, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of oil." That is three pints. " And the fourth part of an hin [or three pints] of wine for a drink-offering." Or for a ram, the increase in the meat offering is two tenth deals of flour, and four pints of oil, and four pints of wine. How beautiful the increase. Then, if the burnt offering is a bullock, it is "a meat-offering of three tenth deals of flour, mingled with half an hin [or six pints] of oil. And thou shalt bring for a drink-offering half an hin of wine [or six pints], for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord."
What is the measure? What think ye of Christ? Have we entered into the sweet savor that He is to God, and the sweet savor we are to God in Him? That, beyond all our failure, the purpose of God, who chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, was to bring us into oneness with His Son, " that we should be holy, and without blame, before him in love." Oh, the glory of His grace after Hormah!
The burnt-offering teaches us that this is through His death: as it is said, " In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable, and unreprovable, in his sight." Now, just in proportion as we apprehend, by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, Christ as the Holy One who has glorified God, and, if we may so speak, has satisfied the heart of God, who gave His beloved Son for this purpose, in that measure will be our joy in God, for the wine is the emblem of our joy.
Just as the burnt-offering increases in value, the one lamb, the one ram, the one bullock, so, as we grow in grace, the sweet-savor offering of Christ, in which we are presented to God, accepted in Him, is increased in value to our souls. Thus we enjoy more and more of the Spirit's teaching, and as we feed on Christ, the bread of life, we see more and more how He was in His manhood the Holy, Holy One without leaven, and in His own holy Person, anointed with the Holy Ghost, the fine flour mingled with oil. Thus, also, our joy in Him is increased.
How is it with you, beloved reader? Is it what answers to the three, four, or six pints of wine? Can you say you have one of these measures of joy in Christ, having learned the lesson of Hormah, the utter destruction of all—yea, even religious -flesh? One of old could say, " For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Phil, iii.) Yes, the context shows it was religious flesh the apostle referred to. But when all that was of the religion of the flesh, all that was of self, was but as dung in his sight, the glory of the Person set forth in these types was ever before his eyes. He says, “Yea, doubtless, and I count all things as loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” Yes, Hormah was written on Saul of Tarsus, the devoted Hebrew, and Christ was revealed to Paul, the dependent apostle. All was lost in the old man, but far more was gained in the new man. u That I may know him." Yes, as we know Him, what answers to the wine ever increases—perhaps six pints here, and then twelve, the full hin, up there with Him forever.
Perhaps you reply, I am a stranger to much you say. I believe in Jesus, and I scarcely know yet what I believe. I am only just awakened to come to Jesus. Welcome, stranger: in this very chapter the stranger is welcome to all these typified privileges: "And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord: as ye do, so shall he do." (Numb. 20:14-16.) Oh, stranger, have you learned in any measure the utter destruction of all hopes and efforts in the flesh? Are you smitten? What, did you hope to go up, and take possession of holiness, in the flesh, and found only utter destruction of every such hope? Oh, how God delights to set before you the sweet savor of Christ, both in His holy humanity, and in His atoning death. Welcome, then, every stranger, to Christ. Oh, do you thirst? Then come unto Him, and drink.
Come unto Him, come in faith: He will give you what answers to the three pints, four pints, six pints Of wine, according to your appreciation of Him down here in the wilderness; and then soon to enter His presence with fullness of joy—yes, joy unspeakable, and full of glory.
It is a most striking lesson, then, this history of Hormah, whether we look at Israel, the church, or the individual. What is the present state of Israel? Hormah, utter destruction, failure, and scattering. Soon, very soon, every promise shall be made good to them in Christ, their Messiah. If we look at the present state of the church, what utter failure, even unto Hormah: but how soon the true church shall be presented glorious, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. And so, as to the individual believer: have we arrived at Hormah, the utter end of self? then all is Christ. May it be so, and the wine shall increase with every increased knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord.
C. S.
" Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."