Numbers 3:1-32 These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in mount Sinai.… I. THAT THE CHURCH IS ENGAGED IN REPAIRING MORAL RUIN. "And next unto them repaired Meremoth" (ver. 4). Jerusalem was once a strong and beautiful city; now it is in ruins. Society has not always been a ruin. Man has not always been a wreck. 1. The desolation was extensive. The entire city was waste; not a wall or gate remained intact. And man's entire intellectual and moral nature is laid waste by sin; he has no unfallen faculty. 2. The desolation was varied. The sheep gate, the doors, the beams, the locks had all been destroyed; and so all the manifold capabilities of man have been injured by sin. 3. The desolation was pitiable. It was sad to see Jerusalem in ruins; but much more so to see the ruin of the human soul. 4. The desolation was visible. Travellers saw the ruined city; the fallen condition of man is evident to all. II. THE METHOD WHICH THE CHURCH SHOULD PURSUE IN ITS WORK OF MORAL REPARATION. 1. There must be good official leadership. "Then Eliashib the high priest rose up" (ver. 1). 2. There must be a wise use of individual talent. "Goldsmiths," "apothecaries" (ver. 8). 3. There must be pursued a common purpose through a variety of tasks. 4. There must be a recognition of the power of the domestic affections (ver. 29). 5. There must be a strict attention to the minute detail of the work. "And set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof" (ver. 6). 6. There are always those in the Church who refuse to aid in its enterprise. - E. Parallel Verses KJV: These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spake with Moses in mount Sinai. |
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