Leviticus 9:23-24 - Homilies By W. Clarkson

The manifested presence.

The fulfillment of the Divine promise ( Leviticus 9:6 ) by the manifested presence of Jehovah suggests—

I. ITS CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS . God so revealed his presence when he did visibly appear to man, that there should be no delusion in the matter. None could, none did, mistake the "glory of the Lord" for the Lord himself ( Exodus 3:2 ; Exodus 24:16 , Exodus 24:17 ; Exodus 33:9 ; 2 Chronicles 7:1 ; 1 Kings 18:38 ; Isaiah 6:1 ).

II. ITS THREEFOLD SIGNIFICANCE . It plainly intimated:

1 . God's presence in the midst of the camp.

2 . His acceptance of their sacrifice and his pleasure in his people.

3 . His approval of the Aaronic appointment, and of the way in which his service had been conducted.

This emphatically, for the time chosen was the first day on which the high priest had served at his altar.

III. ITS IMMEDIATE EFFECT ON THE MIND OF THE MULTITUDE . When "all the people saw," they were incited to

At such a vision reverence and joy mingled within them, and stirred their souls to intense spiritual emotion. A visible appearance, acting strongly on the soul through the senses, produces an immediate and powerful present effect. How deep it will descend, and how long it will last, depends on the sincerity, spirituality, fullness of the meditation, prayer, resolution, which follows the awe-inspiring spectacle. Far more depends on the wisdom with which the next hour (day) is spent, than on the excitements of the moment.

IV. ITS CHRISTIAN COUNTERPART . There is in the Christian dispensation:

1 . The temporary miraculous element. Here we have, as the counterpart, the "cloven tongues like as of fire" ( Acts 2:3 ).

2 . That which is more important is the permanent supernatural element. Here we have the Divine illumination, the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Not the "glory of the Lord" visible to the eye, but the grace of God apprehended by the understanding mind; not the outward appearance, but the inward influence and indwelling; not the symbol of the Divine presence outside the tabernacle, but the very Spirit of the living God within the temple of the human body ( 1 Corinthians 3:16 ; 1 Corinthians 6:19 ). When we go up to the house of the Lord to "behold the beauty of the Lord," to "see his glory … in the sanctuary" ( Psalms 27:1-14 and Psalms 63:1-11 ), we go up to behold no visible grandeurs, but to do that which is better far for all spiritual well-being: