In 1 Sam. 9 we have the hidden counsel and purpose of God choosing Saul in secret, who is a type of the religious system of the Jews invested with political power. He receives authority by the displacement of Samuel, who represents the spiritual power, manifested in the law and the prophets, rejected of man but owned of God, and continuing to be so secretly even when Saul—the politico-religious system—is outwardly acknowledged and under responsibility.
Now we know that the Jewish religious system did not come into the possession of political power until after the prophets had ceased to prophesy and the canon of Old Testament scripture was closed; and that though then in due time brought into manifestation and power, it was the law and the prophets which prophesied unto John the Baptist and which in truth stood for God as His witness. So we find in the whole history before us that (though Saul is brought into place and power in 1 Sam. 9 in the secret counsel of God; second, in chapter 10 in manifestation before the people; third, in chapter 11 in acknowledged possession upon proof of power; fourth, in chapter xii. in full investiture and responsibility; yet) through it all it is Samuel who stands before God and by reason of whose intercession it is that God's blessing rests upon the king and people. And when in pride and blindness of heart. Saul—the fleshly thing—ventures to intrude into God's presence on his own footing, and that with a burnt-offering and a peace-offering in chapter 13 usurping the place of Samuel—the spiritual thing—he is at once rejected as unfit for God, and another chosen in his place after God's own heart, who could occupy the place of both Samuel and Soul as prophet, priest, and king.
If we look at the account of Saul's parentage, we shall see that the Spirit of God has marked him out as a type of the fleshly religious system (chap. 9:1), Kish son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bechorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjamite. This when translated runs thus—a snaring son of the “strong one,” son of “bundle,” son of the firstborn, son of the “re-created,” son of the right hand. Now if we turn to Gen. 5, which gives a prophecy of the outward worship of the God from first to last we find the same order: Lamech, “strong one,” type of the mystery of iniquity, the most perfect development of fleshly religion, son of Methuselah, “man of darts,” type of the lawless one, the most perfect development of human will in the powers of government; son of Enoch, “dedicated,” type of the church, the assembly of those firstborn—the firstborn from among the dead, who following Him ascended up above all heavens, the Son at the right hand of God.
When Samuel anoints Saul to be captain, he gives him every needed provision for his altered condition, laying one responsibility upon him in which if he failed it would be fatal. When God placed man in Eden, He made him responsible for one thing equivalent to abiding before His face. (Gen. 3:8-108And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. (Genesis 3:8‑10).) When He was dealing with Saul He made him responsible for one thing equivalent to keeping out of His presence; and in both cases failure was the result, Adam went out and Saul rushed in. Since Cain the flesh has always thus brought upon itself the curse of God: see the men of Sodom; Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; Jeroboam, Azariah, &c. And in the account which Samuel gives in chapter 10:18, 19, of God's dealings with the fleshly nation Israel, and the result, we have a resume of God's dealings with the fleshly king Saul, and the result. He had delivered their hand from making the pots—from all servile labor; He had brought them into a pleasant land, satisfying their mouth with good things; He had saved them and ruled them, had been Himself their King in their midst by His Spirit in His prophets and priests; and now they had rejected Him their God, saying, “Set a king over us.”
So Saul was brought out of his anxiety about the asses into the knowledge that his father was sorrowing for him. (Chaps. 9:20, 10:2.) A full and satisfying portion was given him both from God and man (chaps. 9:24, 10:4); and the Spirit of God came upon him in power, so that he prophesied in the company of the prophets; but in result he as they rejected the Lord in rejecting the word, and therefore was himself rejected. (1 Sam. 13:13; 15:2613And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. (1 Samuel 13:13)
26And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. (1 Samuel 15:26).) He is thus an exact type of the fleshly politico-religious system—delivered out of Babylon into their own land, with at least a sufficient portion of blessing; with the power of the Spirit of prophecy upon them. But the end of all was that they rejected the Word manifest in the flesh and were therefore rejected of the Lord.
Though we find that Saul is manifested as king before the people at the end of chapter 10, yet Samuel remains in power as the servant of God until the people are stirred in heart to receive Saul by his courageous deliverance of Jabesh-Gilead from the hand of Nahash the Ammonite. So we find that, though the former rule was never established after the return of the Jews from Babylon, yet as to its spirit and power it still continued in the persons of Zerubbabel and Joshua—the prince and the priest—of Ezra and Nehemiah and onward, though ever more and more brought under completer subjugation by foreign powers—Greece, Egypt, Syria, until at length God raised up a temporal deliverer, such as they had sighed and groaned for, in the person of the Maccabean princes upon the occasion of the intolerable ignominy and tyranny brought upon them by Antiochus Epiphanes; who for three and a half years deprived them of all civil and religious liberty, suspended the daily sacrifice, profaned the temple, prohibited the worship of God—the observance of His law, and destroyed every copy of the sacred books that he could find.
In the Maccabean dynasty there were united as an outward thing the functions of priest and king, and so remained until the usurpation of Herod. This was to be the character of the new order of government which God was about to set up in a man after His own heart, but which must first be manifested as a thing in the flesh to prove the weakness of the flesh, and the instability of everything founded on it. Of the circumstances above mentioned we find an exact antitype in the transactions between Nahash the Ammonite and the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead. The words “Jabesh-Gilead” signify a “dry heap of witness.” This is a most accurate description of the state of the people or worship and government of the Jews—the witness for God truly, but dry and lifeless. Against Jabesh-Gilead comes Nahash the Ammonite, and encamps against it. Nahash is a striking type of Antiochus, and indeed of Antichrist to come, not only oppressing the people of God, but bating and setting himself above God Himself. This was plainly so with Antiochus as just noted, and as to Nahash, whose name means the “serpent born of incest,” we see that it was not so much his desire to slay the men of Jabesh as to lay a reproach upon Israel (1 Sam. 11:22And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. (1 Samuel 11:2)); and that by, putting out their right eyes. And nothing could more aptly describe what the temple and the law were to the Jews than the right eye, and also that it was the only means the Jew had of seeing the light. And just as it was at this time of imminent peril, Saul comes forward for the honor of the Lord, and delivers Jabesh, is made king before the Lord in Gilgal, and rejoices greatly with all the men of Israel. So also the Maccabeans encourage the people to stand up for the law and the name of Jehovah, deliver Jerusalem, re-consecrate the temple; and having already taken the place of king one assumes in addition the Office of high priest, celebrating the renewal of the worship of God and the deliverance of their country by a yearly feast and the commencement of a new epoch.
In chapter 13 we find that the time of testing and trial comes upon Saul, and he proves reprobate. First the flesh appropriates the honor due only to the Spirit; for Jonathan (that is “the one whom the Lord has given” —for such is the meaning of His name) smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and all Israel heard say that Saul—the one “asked for” by the people—had done it, for he blew a trumpet and said, “Let the Hebrews hear.” But though by these means he gets all the people to follow after him trembling, he has no power to oppose the enemy who pitch in his strongholds, and he is driven back to Gil-gal, the last place of strength which remained to him in the land. His appropriation to himself of the honor which belonged to Jonathan having failed to inspire the people with confidence in him, he next ventures to bring God upon the scene as his supporter, and to pretend to fellowship with a power from Him, making the things of God a cloak for his worldly policy.
In his reply to Samuel (chap. 13:11, 12) God never enters into his thoughts; it was how to keep the people together and to repulse the enemy—the fleshly eye upon the things which are seen. He wants to make the people trust in him, not in God. Therefore he does not offer a sin-offering, which would have been to take the place of humiliation and weakness—a place befitting him: but he offers a burnt-offering, thereby claiming acceptance and blessing—the place of honor and power—done for the sake of appearance, busied about himself, his people, Samuel, the enemy, anything but God. Samuel's answer is that of the spiritual man with God. His heart, his mind, his eye, are all upon God; he measures all things in His presence. For him the Lord is the beginning and the end. “Thou hast not kept the commandments of the Lord thy God.... the Lord would have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever, but now thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.” This occurred at the close of Saul's reign, but how the Spirit of God links up the fact of disobedience which filled up the measure of transgression with the command given him in view of his kingly responsibility, before he entered upon it! (1 Sam. 10:88And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do. (1 Samuel 10:8).) “Thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal, and lo I will come down unto thee to offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry till I come to thee and show thee what thou shalt do.” God would have preserved the earthly kingdom and the natural man as king of it, if nature and flesh had kept the place which He had appointed it, namely, out of His presence, approaching Him only through a mediator. But when the flesh takes the place of the Spirit, the man, that of the mediator, and presumes as one that has a standing before God to offer burnt-offerings and to sacrifice peace-offerings, it then comes into a place of judgment and is condemned and rejected forever.
That Samuel's special place, appointed him of the Lord, was that of intercessor we find in Jer. 15:11Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. (Jeremiah 15:1), expressly intimated at the outset of his ministry (1 Sam. 3:21; 4:121And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. (1 Samuel 3:21)
1And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. (1 Samuel 4:1)); for the Holy Spirit testifies that the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord, and the word of Samuel came to all Israel. He was the mediator of a covenant and kingdom which was to pass away (see 1 Sam. 12:18, 25; 13:13, 1418So Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. (1 Samuel 12:18)
25But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king. (1 Samuel 12:25)
13And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 14But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. (1 Samuel 13:13‑14) and Heb. 12:18, 2818For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, (Hebrews 12:18)
28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: (Hebrews 12:28)); but he was also the voice which cried concerning a new and better covenant and a kingdom which could not be moved, wherein God may be served acceptably though He be a consuming fire (Heb. 12:28, 2928Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28‑29)). In this latter aspect of his work he is an exact type of John the Baptist. In Shiloh Samuel's work is a type of the Holy Spirit's in the law and the prophets, for from thence by him the word of the Lord came to all Israel, and the prophets spoke by the Spirit of Christ of the Shiloh to come (Gen. 44:1010And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. (Genesis 44:10)), of the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow (1 Peter 1:1010Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: (1 Peter 1:10)). In Gilgal his work and ministry are typical of John the Baptist's who preached the baptism of repentance for remission of sins, and was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord and make His paths straight. (See Sam. 11:14, 15; ch. 12.)
Chapter 13. The events of this chapter, looked at prophetically, are very striking. Saul's strength lay in Michmash, that is “hidden treasure,” and Bethel, that is “house of God;"“ while Jonathan's strength lay in Gibeah of Benjamin, “son of my right hand.” So we find that the fleshly Jewish system put all their confidence as an outward thing, in the law-hid treasure—(Psa. 119:1111Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11) and 14), and the temple of God (Matt. 26:6161And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. (Matthew 26:61); Mark 14:5858We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. (Mark 14:58)) (compare Acts 6:11, 1311Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. (Acts 6:11)
13And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: (Acts 6:13) and 14:) while all the hope of the faithful remnant was in the One that was to come (Matt. 11:33And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? (Matthew 11:3)), the One that was to redeem Israel (Luke 1:5454He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; (Luke 1:54) and 68, 75; 2:25, 32, 38). This hope as the end of that age drew near became bright and the means of much spiritual power in the heart of the Jew that looked for redemption: the power of the world and the flesh—the Philistine—being cast out. The fleshly system then took up the same hope in a fleshly way, but altogether without power, the result being that a greater door is opened for the intrusion of the flesh into the things of God, and the people are scattered as sheep without a shepherd; till, at length, the fleshly thing, from motives of worldly policy and love of power, despairing of help from God and seeing with dismay the advancing tide of opposing powers which had reached the word itself—for the Sadducees denied the inspiration of all the scripture except the books of Moses, denying even them in fact (Matt. 22:29, 3329Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. (Matthew 22:29)
33And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. (Matthew 22:33))—forced itself to take the place which could only be occupied by the spiritual thing that was to come, namely, the right and title to God's favor and salvation on the ground of its own sanctity and righteousness, and this the orthodox Jew claimed on the grout d of circumcision (Gilgal—Josh. 5:99And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day. (Joshua 5:9); Acts 15:1, 51And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. (Acts 15:1)
5But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. (Acts 15:5)). For nothing else remained to them: the house of God had become a house of vanity (Matt. 23:3838Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. (Matthew 23:38))Beth-even (1 Sam. 13:55And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven. (1 Samuel 13:5)); and Bethel, 1 Sam. 13:22Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. (1 Samuel 13:2), Michmash. As for the word the Sadducees denied it and the Pharisees despoiled it (Matt. 15:1, 201Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, (Matthew 15:1)
20These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. (Matthew 15:20)): see Matt. 23:4, 54For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, (Matthew 23:4‑5) and 18, 28, in which chapter there is a divine description of the state of things as seen by God. But when at length the spiritual man came and the whole nation went out to meet him (Matt. 3:5, 65Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. (Matthew 3:5‑6) and 1 Sam. 13:1010And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. (1 Samuel 13:10)) to be before God in repentance and the putting away of sins, there was nothing left for him but to denounce woe, judgment, and rejection upon the existing system, in consequence of the position taken by the rulers (Matt. 3:9, 10; 11:16, 249And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (Matthew 3:9‑10)
16But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, (Matthew 11:16)
24But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. (Matthew 11:24); Mark 11:3131And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? (Mark 11:31)) who came not to the baptism of John as a body, though many individuals among them did, and to declare the bringing in of a new kingdom and a new captain (Matt. 3:11, 1211I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:11‑12), Matt. 21:18, 4518Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. (Matthew 21:18)
45And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. (Matthew 21:45), Luke 12:18, 3618And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. (Luke 12:18)
36And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. (Luke 12:36)), leaving circumcision (1 Sam. 13:1515And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men. (1 Samuel 13:15)) or Gilgal, as a ground of hope for God's salvation, and looking for the, One that should come for deliverance (Gibeah of Benjamin), Matt. 3:9, 129And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (Matthew 3:9)
12Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:12).,
In 1 Sam. 14 the fleshly thing, judged of God but in His long-suffering not yet cast out, is seen filling up the measure of its iniquity by seeking to slay and cast out the only living power that was in it at a time when that power had been most gloriously manifested. (Saul) had gathered around it everything that could help to keep it together—political power—(all the men of war, ver. 2)—and spiritual power outwardly—(the Lord's priest in Shiloh), while Jesus, the man of faith, born under the law, servant of the circumcision (Jonathan, that is “whom the Lord has given,” son of Saul), has none with Him but the Holy Spirit (his armor bearer); yet the one is powerless for any good while the other passes from the rock of glory (Bozez “shining,” ver. 4) to the sharp rock of tribulation (Seneh “a thorn bush “) Ex. 3:1, 181Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. (Exodus 3:1)
18And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. (Exodus 3:18), from the mount (Gibeah) to the hidden treasure, the kingdom of the heavens, the church (Michmash), Matthew 13:4444Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. (Matthew 13:44).
The world (Philistines) gave a sign to Jesus that the Lord had delivered them into His hand (1 Sam. 14:6, 126And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. (1 Samuel 14:6)
12And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armorbearer, Come up after me: for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. (1 Samuel 14:12)) by their prince the adversary, the devil, for when Jesus was manifested (John 1:3131And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. (John 1:31)) then the tempter urged Him to “come up and he would show him a thing,” first to the, edge of the temple and then to a very high mountain but only that he might if possible cast Him down. (Matt. 4:1-111Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. (Matthew 4:1‑11).)
When Jesus gives a sign to that generation, it is the sign of Jonah, showing that when it should be God's, time and God's will He would go down to the very lowest place, even into the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:4040For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)). He goes up to the work which had been given Him to do in the posture of humility, taking a servant's form (the likeness of sinful flesh), taking His place among the grovelers of the earth, the meek One lowly in heart (1 Sam. 14:1313And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armorbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armorbearer slew after him. (1 Samuel 14:13)); and at the outset He utterly sweeps away the falsities which the spirit of evil had heaped upon the law and the commandments, perfectly developing the divine mind in them (Matt. 5:17, 27, 33, 38, 4317Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (Matthew 5:17)
27Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: (Matthew 5:27)
33Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: (Matthew 5:33)
38Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: (Matthew 5:38)
43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. (Matthew 5:43)), so as to be no longer a yoke “unable to be borne” (Acts 15:1010Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? (Acts 15:10) Sam. 14:14); and the crowds are astonished at His doctrine (ver. 15), for He taught with authority, and His fame went out through the whole of Syria, for He preached the. glad tidings of the kingdom, and healed every disease and every sickness among the people, scattering on every hand by His word, touch, and presence, every ill, moral, spiritual, and physical, that oppressed the people (ver. 17). And though in it all He was ostensibly the servant of the circumcision, yet in fact it was by a power altogether outside the Jewish system as one that had gone out from it, still the politico-religious system was in authority, owned of God and under responsibility to Him (ver. 18, compare Matt. 8:44And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. (Matthew 8:4)), so that it had a connection with the deliverance which was wrought (ver. 19), which Jesus acknowledged; for when He had cleansed the man from that disease which was held up by the law as a picture, of complete pollution through a multitude of sins, He says, “Go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses enjoined for a witness to them.” a (Ver. 15, “the host:” compare Matt. 8:1-41When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. (Matthew 8:1‑4).)
Again, when He chases away by a word the Paralysis from the centurion's servant (ver. 15, “the field"), it is shown to be in connection with the promise to Israel which is made good though the sons of the kingdom be cast out (Matt. 8:5, 185And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, (Matthew 8:5)
18Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. (Matthew 8:18)), proving that those who considered themselves the sons of the kingdom were really enemies and intruders. So also driving out with a touch the fever which had prostrated Peter's mother-in-law, casting out the spirits with a work and healing all that were ill (ver. 16, “all the people"), it is as Shepherd of the sheep, about to be stricken in fulfillment of prophecy made to the Lord's people the sheep of His pasture. (Psalm 100:33Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (Psalm 100:3); Isa. 53:66All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6); Matt. 8:14-1714And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. 15And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. 16When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: 17That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. (Matthew 8:14‑17).) Yet when the representatives of the Jewish system reckon Him as one of themselves and seek in a fleshly way to connect themselves with Him, He shows that He is not to be reckoned among them but has gone out from them, and that if they are to be numbered as His it must be by a perfect separation from everything else. (Compare 1 Sam. 14:16, 1816And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another. (1 Samuel 14:16)
18And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. (1 Samuel 14:18) with Matt. 8:18, 22; 10:34, 4018Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. (Matthew 8:18)
22But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. (Matthew 8:22)
34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34)
40He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. (Matthew 10:40).)
The Lord goes on to prove His power and authority from God by bringing into subjection, not oily the moral world and its action in man, as we have seen all bodily disease is the result of moral disease, but also the powers of the material universe in their action on man and the world of spirits in power over man. (Matt. 8:23-3423And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 24And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. 25And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. 26And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! 28And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 30And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 31So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 33And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 34And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. (Matthew 8:23‑34); 1 Sam. 14:1616And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another. (1 Samuel 14:16).) In each case the powers that would oppose perish by their own swords—fall by their own counsel. For no sooner does the spirit of self-righteousness (the bringing in of something good, or the putting away of something evil, Matt. 8:20-2220And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 21And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. (Matthew 8:20‑22)) intrude itself upon the Lord's notice than its very exhibition is the occasion of its destruction. So again, when the rising against Him of the winds and the sea is brought under His notice, He rebukes them, and there is a great calm. (Matt. 8:23-2723And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. 24And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. 25And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. 26And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. 27But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! (Matthew 8:23‑27).) And when two men possessed by demons come out of the tombs to meet Him and exclaim against Him, the Lord permits the demons to have their own way, and the result is, that they go down into the abyss. (1 Sam. 14:2020And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. (1 Samuel 14:20).)
(To be continued if the Lord will)