Exodus 27:19; 38:31; 39:40.
These verses teach us a great deal.
I. God's notice of little things.—He takes time to speak about them, and bids Moses write about them. He says as much about the 'pins' in these passages as He does about the work of creation.
II. God's notice of those who carried the pins (Num. 3: 36, 37).—The pins and the cords were under the charge of the sons of Merari, and God looked on those who carried the pins—the very smallest things connected with His work. They marched through the desert—they got the same gleams from the Pillar-Cloud as those who carried the Ark or the Candlestick. It is just like our God to attend to the small things very carefully: the wing of a fly, a blade of grass. It is characteristic of His greatness that He can attend to the small things as well as to the great—while He is listening to the praises of eternity He can be thinking on those who are carrying the pins of the tabernacle. Does not this appear in what Christ says, 'Not a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father'? 'The very hairs of your head are all numbered.' What comfort there is in this! Are you ever afraid to tell God your small things, as if they were not worth while His attending to? But your great things are not any more worth attending to. This should lead us to lay our care upon Him, to trust Him better.
III. This teaches us to be contented with out lot.—The sons of Merari might say, 'Why do our brethren the Kohathites carry the Ark?' Because God said it; that is all. He that serves most is the greatest in the kingdom. He who carries the pins may get the greatest reward. You may think you are in a very small sphere. God says, 'Here is your sphere, here stand.' The poorest Israelite, serving God in his dwelling, might get as much of the divine favour as did Daniel, who was governor over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces. Do not say, 'I want to get out of the rut into another place.' If you get out of the rut of carrying pins when God put you there, you will not be blessed. Are we in the camp with God? That is the great thing. Come to the altar and lay your hand on the sacrifice, and thus claim a sinner's access to a holy God. Then God will give you your place, and, whether it be large or small, He will shine on you with the brightness of His face for ever and ever!
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Andrew Bonar (1810 - 1892)
He was a well-known pastor in Scotland with the Free Church. His brother Horatius was another well-known minister who was contemporary with Robert Murray Mchyene and others in those days. They saw a move of revival in their churches where the Spirit brought many immediate conversations in a short period of time.He is best known for his work on compiling the life of the prophet of Dundee: Robert Murray Mchyene: "Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray McCheyne." One cannot read this volume and feel the sobriety of eternity and the fear of the Lord. He also wrote a wonderful volume on Leviticus.
Andrew Alexander Bonar was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and the youngest brother of Horatius Bonar.
He studied at Edinburgh; was minister at Collace, Perthshire, 1838 - 1856 (both in the Church of Scotland and the Free Church); and of Finnieston Free Church, Glasgow, 1856 till his death.
He was identified with evangelical and revival movements and adhered to the doctrine of premillennialism. With Robert Murray McCheyne he visited Palestine in 1839 to inquire into the condition of the Jews there. During the visit of Dwight L. Moody to Britain in 1874 and 1875, Moody was warmly welcomed by Bonar, despite the latter receiving considerable criticism from other Calvinist ministers in the Free Church.
Andrew Bonar preached from the whole Bible, the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. When one of his friends remarked on his originality in finding subjects for preaching, and wondered where he got all his texts, he just lifted up his Bible. He did not ignore any part of it, but explained it all. He did not shy away from any passages that might be seen as unpopular or unpleasant. Even the first chapters of Chronicles became 'God calling the roll of mankind.' He made it come alive as a history of men and women, living in their time, as we live in ours, accountable to God.
Christ and Him crucified was at the centre of all his preaching, in all parts of the Bible. He declared 'the whole counsel of God', and was deeply aware of his responsibility as a man of God. He spent hours every day in prayer and meditation of the Scriptures, and asking for the Holy Spirit to show the truth to him, so that he might pass it on to his flock. He wrote in a letter: "Persevering prayerfulness is harder for the flesh than preaching."
Above all, he was aware that his personal holiness would be of crucial importance to his preaching, as his remark shows: "Sins of teachers are teachers of sins."