The animal was to be a male unblemished, brought by the offerer of his own voluntary will, and slain by himself on the north side of the altar, after he had laid his hand upon its head to make it his own representative. The priest was then to sprinkle the blood upon the altar, and afterwards to cut up and burn the whole victim, only reserving the skin for himself. The birds were to be offered similarly, but not divided. While it is probable that the primary meaning of the burnt offering was the dedication of the offerer to the service of Jehovah, it was usually preceded by a sin offering, so that there was at once a recognition of sin and an invoking of pardon. In this way it is evident that the burnt offering pointed to Christ, who gave Himself without spot to God, on whose head all our sins were laid.-Altered from Rev. F. Johnson, D.D., of Newark, U.S. GOD'S ANSWER TO PRAYER. NUMBERS XIV. 20.-" And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word." JEHOVAH knew that Moses would intercede for the people, and that he would grant the petition of His servant. It is the purpose of God not merely to deliver His servants, but to do it in answer to prayer; hence the prayer as much as the deliverance is embraced in His plans for the future; and the two are so timed as to make their mutual relations evident.-Id. THE EFFECT OF THE SPIES' REPORT. NUMBERS Xiii. 27, 28.-" And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there." THE report presented by the spies on their return to the camp was of a twofold character. As regarded the land itself nothing could be more satisfactory. Its fertility even exceeded the report of it. The sample they brought confirmed their words. But the picture had another and less cheering side (see Num. xiii. 28), and the dreaded descendants of the traditionary giants, whose very name inspired terror, filled the people with dismay. A nation only just emancipated from a degrading slavery, which had crushed out all moral courage and patriotic feeling, and physically enfeebled them, they shrank from the prospect of having to contend with such formidable adversaries. Notwithstanding all the proofs of the divine protection they received they were utterly destitute of any real faith in God.— Canon Venables, in "Bible Educator." THE WORD "THOUGHT." MATTHEW vi. 34.-" Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." THE word "thought" is frequently used for anxiety, melancholy; hence to "take thought" is to be anxious, melancholy. Thus Bacon says, “Harris, an alderman of London, was put in trouble and dyed with thought and anguish before his business came to an end." The following examples are from Shakspere: "If he love Cæsar, all that he can do Is to himself take thought, and die for Cæsar." "And thus the native hue of resolution "Hamlet." "BIBLE WORD BOOK." Oriental Illustrations. NUMBERS XIV. 9.-" Their defence is departed from them." Value of Shade in the East.-The margin reads "shadow; but as this word has a common application which the original has not in view, perhaps "shade" would be better; but as even this is not unambiguous, perhaps the paraphrase "protecting shade" would be best of all. The force of this and other similar allusions in the Bible is in a great degree lost upon those who, under the scorching sun of the East, have not had occasion to experience that the shelter of some shady place is an enjoyment of such essential importance as to be only inferior in value and gratification to that of drink, to one who is dried up with thirst under the same circumstances. Hence, in the language of Asia, we generally find that the word “ shade or "shadow" is used as a metaphor to express defence and shelter; but it must be admitted that it is not always easy to understand where a person's own shadow, or a protecting shade for him is expressed. Both senses seem to be in use, the former implying the protection and favour he has power to bestow, and the latter the protection and favour which he enjoys. Hence, in Arabia and Persia particularly, complimentary expressions continually refer to the shadow, .. 92 ORIENTAL ILLUSTRATIONS. 66 99 66 99 66 in such phrases as, "May your shadow be continually extended; 'May your shadow never be diminished; May your shadow be extended over the heads of your well-wishers; 66 May your shadow be a continual shelter to me," &c. Sometimes the phrase runs : May the shadow of your prosperity "-" of your protection," &c. Mr. Roberts notices a similar use of the word in India, where a poor man, speaking of a rich friend, says, " He is my shadow," that is, he is my defence; "My shadow is gone," meaning, he has lost his defence; "Alas! those poor people have lost their shadow," &c. The Sultan of Turkey and the Shah of Persia are both styled "The Refuge of the World," unquestionably with a primary reference to a shadow; indeed both these monarchs lay claim to the title of "The Shadow of God" (Zil-ullah); and the idea which such a title is intended to convey will, after this explanation, be comprehended without difficulty. MATTHEW vi. 5.-" And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.” 66 Praying at the Corners of Streets.-Hypocrites signify men wearing masks as the stage-players did; seeming to be what they really were not. The practice of praying in the streets may yet be traced in different nations. "Such Turks," says Hill, as at the common hours of prayer are on the road, or unable to attend the mosques, are still obliged to execute that duty, nor are they known to fail, however employed, but pray immediately where they chance to be." When the mosque bell rings the Turk spreads his handkerchief on the ground, seats himself cross-legged upon it, and says his prayers, though in the open market, which having ended he leaps briskly up and proceeds on his business. MATTHEW Xviii. 34.-" And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him." "Tormentors."-These signify the jailers. If a person was suspected of fraud, he was put to very cruel tortures, among the Asiatics, to induce him to confess. In the punishments of China a great variety of these appear. Imprisonment is also a much greater punishment in the eastern parts of the world than here; state criminals are not only forced to submit to a very mean and scanty allowance, but are frequently loaded with clogs or yokes of heavy wood, with which they cannot either lie or sit at ease; and by frequent scourgings, and sometimes by racking, they are quickly brought to an untimely end. NUMBERS Xiii. 26.-" And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land." 66 99 Paran.—Kadesh, in the wilderness of Paran, was the farthest point which the chosen people reached in their direct road to the promised land; the exodus terminated, strictly speaking, at Kadesh, and what are technically termed the wanderings began. The wilderness, whose original name of Paran means a place of canes, is now termed by the Arabs Badiet et Tih, the wilderness of wandering, the melancholy fate of the rebellious nation having impressed it with a new name, which has adhered to it ever since. It had for its boundaries Palestine on the north, the mountain region of the Sinaitic peninsula on the south, the mountains of Edom on the east, and probably Egypt and the Mediterranean on the west. Dr. Porter says, "Paran was not strictly speaking a wilderness.' The sacred writers call it Midbar; that is, a pasture land as distinguished from an agricultural country. Its principal inhabitants were nomads, though it had a few towns and some grain-fields." Robinson found, in some parts of it, "remains of long ranges of low stone walls, which probably once served as the division of cultivated fields," and very considerable vegetation. This vegetation, however, is scant during the heat and drought of summer, so that the Israelites termed the wilderness not only "great," but "terrible" (Deut. i. 19). The Paran of Deut. i. 1 and 1 Kings xi. 18, which seems to have been a town, the Mount Paran of Deut. xxxiii. 2, and Hab, iii. 3, and the valley of Paran in the wilderness of Judah, which Josephus mentions, were probably not in any way connected with the wilderness which we have described.-Dr. Johnson, of Newark, N.J. ww www. NUMBERS X. 31.—" And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes." Jethro or Hobab.-Dr. Porter says, "Hobab, to whom these words were addressed, was intimately acquainted with the whole wilderness. As a nomad pastoral chief he knew the best pastures, and all the wells and fountains; and hence Moses was most anxious to secure his services as guide through the wide region they were about entering upon." The pillar of cloud and fire would indicate the proper position of the head-quarters of the host, but not the best grounds for detachments of shepherds and herdsmen, Illustrative Gleanings. CHRISTIAN FIDELITY. 1 CORINTHIANS XV. 58.-"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." Keep your Colours Flying.-A young Christian soldier in the army was often assaulted by his tent-mates while at prayer at night. He sought advice of his chaplain, and by his counsel omitted his usual habit. His ardent heart could not endure this. He chose rather to have prayer with persecution than peace without it, and resumed his old way. The result was that after a time all his ten or twelve tent-companions knelt in prayer with him. In reporting to his chaplain he said, "Isn't it better to keep the colours flying?" A FORGIVING SPIRIT. EPHESIANS iv. 32.-" And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." A BIG boy in a school was so abusive to the little ones that the teacher took the vote of the school whether he should be expelled. All the small boys voted to expel him except one, who was scarcely five years old; yet he knew very well that the bad boy would probably continue to abuse him. "Why, then, did you vote for him to stay ?" said the teacher. "Because if he is expelled, perhaps he will not learn any more about God, and so he will be more wicked still." "Do you forgive him, then ?" said the teacher. 66 Yes," said he; "papa and mamma and you all forgive me when I do wrong, God forgives me too, and I must do the same." FORGIVENESS OF INJURIES. LUKE xvii. 3.-"Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him." WHEN the late Rev. Dr. Bedell, of Philadelphia, was a child, one of his companions, whom he had offended by some trifle, ran into a blacksmith's shop, and seizing a shovel of hot coals, threw them down his back. As he had to run a considerable distance to his home, he was much burned, and many months passed before he was quite healed. Yet, when his father and friends prepared to have the boy punished who had so cruelly injured him, he earnestly entreated that he might be forgiven, and his friends could only satisfy him by consenting to do so. |