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HlBaiW THIOCEACY; 
 
 A SMALL TREATISE 
 
 INTENDED FOR 
 
 SABBATH SCHOOLS 
 
 CHRISTIAN FAMILIES. 
 
 J. COGSWELL, D. D. 
 
 "Neto^Bvunstoicfe: 
 PRESS OF J. TERHUNE. 
 
 1848. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 There is, perhaps, no subject contained in the volume of 
 revelation, which is, at the same time, both so important 
 and so imperfectly understood, by a large proportion of 
 Christians, as the Theocracy of the* Hebrews. Very brief 
 are the notices to be found of this form of government in the 
 works of the most learned American divines. Their atten- 
 tion has hitherto been almost exclusively directed to the 
 doctrines or duties of Christianity. The consequence has 
 been, that the four last books of the pentateuch have been 
 too much neglected, as uninteresting to those, who live 
 under the present dispensation. The works of distinguish- 
 ed foreign writers, are too voluminous to be of general use 
 in our churches, and many of them contain opinions man- 
 ifestly erroneous and of dangerous tendency. 
 
 A small treaties on the Hebrew Theocracy, suited to the 
 wants of Christian families and Bible classes, appears to be 
 needed. No work of the kind, it is believed, has ever 
 been published in this country. 
 
 It is not the intention of the author of this work, to quote 
 largely from the writings of others. Much space is some- 
 times occupied with the refutation of erroneous opinions, 
 never before known to the reader. This may be done, not 
 so much to benefit the reader, as to give reputation to the 
 writer. A plain scripture view of the Hebrew Theocracy 
 in its connexions is all that will be attempted. If it con- 
 tribute to make any part of the volume of revelation in- 
 teresting and instructive, which has been too nmch ne- 
 glected, the object of the author will be attained. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 General view of the Hebrew Theocracy, - - page 5 
 
 Ahrahamic Covenant, 9 
 
 Renewal of Covenant at Mount Sinai, - - 20 
 
 Moral Law, --- 22 
 
 Ceremonial Law, 25 
 
 The Judicial Law, - - - - - - 28 
 
 Institution of Sacrifices, 30 
 
 Golden Calf, 33 
 
 The Marriage Covenant, 36 
 
 King of the Hebrews, 39 
 
 Tabernacle, 40 
 
 Theocracy of the Hebrews a representative and 
 
 hereditary Republic, .... 45 
 
 Levites, their duties and support, - - - - 49 
 
 Completion of the Hebrew Code of Laws, - - 54 
 
 Sabbath, 60 
 
 Festivals, 67 
 
 Future State, ---.,.-70 
 
 Condition of the Hebrews under the Theocracy, - 75 
 
 Slavery, - 87 
 
 Military arrangements, 89 
 
 Capital Punishment, 90 
 
 Conquest of Canaan, 96 
 
 Conclusion, ........ 102 
 
THEOCRACY OF THE HEBREWS. 
 
 The Theocracy of the Hebrews is that 
 form of government, which God gave the 
 posterity of Abraham, when they were en- 
 camped before mount Sinai, soon after their 
 miraculous dehverance from Egyptian bond- 
 age. As this is the only form of a national 
 government God himself ever gave to men, 
 we ought to understand its principles and 
 peculiarities. If we consider the character 
 and circumstances of the Hebrews, when 
 they received it, we shall be convinced that 
 it was exactly suited to their wants, and was 
 the result of infinite wisdom and benev- 
 olence. The government of the United 
 States more nearly resembles it in some of its 
 most essential features, than any other that 
 now exists or ever has existed. The prin- 
 ciples, which give peculiar excellency to our 
 
6 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 government, were not derived from any 
 merely human system, but from the holy 
 scriptures — our magna charta, which makes 
 known to us our rights and our duties. 
 Those forms of government, which have 
 been adopted by nations, ignorant of the 
 volume of revelation, have been either too 
 despotic or too radical. And the most radical 
 have been subject to perpetual changes. 
 
 That government is most perfect, which 
 secures to all its subjects the greatest degree 
 of freedom, which is consistent with the most 
 satisfactory protection of their rights, and 
 which is maintained and administered most 
 exclusively by moral motives. Of such a 
 government the true religion must be one 
 essential element in its constitution and laws. 
 The more intelligent and virtuous a nation 
 is, the less burdensome is the support of its 
 government, and the more perfect are the free- 
 dom, security, and happiness of the people. 
 
 The worship of the true God was made 
 the fundamental law of the Hebrew Theoc- 
 racy. The Hebrews, when they obtained 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 7 
 
 quiet possession of the promised landj and 
 obeyed the laws of the Theocracy, enjoyed 
 inore freedom, were better protected than 
 any other nation then on the earth. Though 
 there lias been a change of dispensation since 
 the death of Christ ; yet there has been no 
 change in God, or in the principles of his 
 government. The two dispensations corre- 
 spond with each other — the former being pre- 
 paratory to the latter, the one harmonizing 
 with the other — and both but parts of the 
 same system. Our knowledge of Christian- 
 ity must be very limited without a correct 
 understanding of the Hebrew Theocracy. 
 And our knowledge of the latter must be 
 imperfect without a knowledge of the form- 
 er. The law was a shadow of good things 
 to come, which things are now clearly re- 
 vealed. The law could not be a shadow of 
 good things to come, had not those things 
 existed in the purposes of God, which pur- 
 poses have been exactly accomplished. It is 
 interesting to the Christian to notice the per- 
 fect correspondence of the substance with 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 the shadow, and the fulfilment of the prom- 
 ises of God. 
 
 The Hebrews may be contemplated as a 
 family^ a nation^ and a church. It is the 
 more proper to view them under these differ- 
 ent aspects, because the instructions, laws, 
 and institutions, God gave them, may be 
 divided into three classes — those, which 
 pertain to their conduct as a family, those, 
 which have respect to them as a nation, and 
 those, which relate to the worship of God. 
 The Hebrews as a family, when they left 
 Egypt, were extremely ignorant of all the 
 proprieties of domestic life — their conversa- 
 tion and habits were not unlike those of 
 barbarous and pagan nations. They were 
 ignorant of the character of the true God, 
 and of the method adopted for the redemp- 
 tion of men. As they had lived among 
 idolaters, they had no doubt adopted many 
 of the opinions of those, among whom they 
 had lived. And they had no knowledge of 
 any national government, which was not 
 despotic. The most important end to be 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 9 
 
 answered by the Theocracy of the Hebrews, 
 was the permanent estabUshment of the true 
 religion in the world. This was suited to 
 soften their manners, to correct their morals, 
 and to promote their happiness. Nothing* 
 was required of them, which was not in 
 some way connected with their temporal or 
 eternal welfare. The burthensome rites of 
 the former dispensation were not intended 
 to be perpetual. When Christ had com- 
 pleted his work on the earth, and the dis- 
 pensation of the Spirit cRnmenced, the 
 burthensome rites of the former dispensation 
 ceased to be obligatory. 
 
 The Theocratic form of government was 
 given to the Hebrews in fulfilment of prom- 
 ises made to Abraham, their venerable an- 
 cestor and progenitor. It was 430 years 
 from the time, when he was called of God to 
 leave his native country, and sojourn in Ca- 
 naan, when his posterity reached mount 
 Sinai. The fulfilment of the promises of 
 God made known his purpose, when he 
 made them, and proved his veracity. 
 
10 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 The first promise of a Savior, which was 
 made to our first parents soon after their 
 apostacy, did not limit its fulfilment to any 
 branch of their family. So when Christ 
 had accomplished in the world the work as- 
 signed him, the gospel was preached to the 
 Gentiles as well as to the Jews. All family 
 and national distinctions in this particular 
 forever ceased. 
 
 Though God distinguished by his good- 
 ness the family of Abraham from all other 
 families ; he dianot exclude from heaven, any 
 disposed to worship him with a penitent heart 
 and to maintain a holy life. Indeed he made 
 the family of Abraham a light and a blessing 
 in the world. God said to him, and in thy 
 seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
 blessed, (Gen. 22. 18.) All who were dis- 
 posed to embrace the true religion, might 
 enjoy equal religious privileges with the 
 family of Abraham. 
 
 It was on account of the ignorance, the 
 idolatry, and wickedness, which prevailed 
 in the world, that God separated one family 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 11 
 
 from all others— made revelations to it of his 
 holy character and his purposes of grace. 
 The family of Abraham may be compared 
 to a living fountain, from which flow streams, 
 fertilizing and refreshing the dry and thirsty 
 portions of the earth. Many of his family — 
 some among them kings and prophets, were 
 the worshippers of the true God. By them 
 the revelations God made of his purposes 
 of grace were carefully preserved. 
 
 Terrible as were the effects of the deluge, 
 the descendants of Noah, when they were 
 numerous, became corrupt, lost sight of the 
 design of the institution of sacrifices, and 
 changed the glory of the incorruptible God 
 into an image made like to corruptible man, 
 and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and 
 creeping things. Why God did not more 
 fully reveal himself to them, and pour out 
 his spirit upon them we know not. It has 
 been his pleasure to make a gradual revela- 
 tion of his gracious purposes to the children 
 of men, and also to give them an opportunity 
 to be convinced of their inability to discover 
 
12 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 any way of salvation. Even now there are 
 some, who, trusting in their own wisdom, 
 prefer the light of reason to the clear light of 
 revelation The history of the world affords 
 abundant proofs of the insufficiency of hu- 
 man reason and the necessity of revelation. 
 In all countries not favored with the scrip- 
 tures, thepeople are ignorant of the character 
 of the true God — idolaters, immoral, and 
 extremely wicked. 
 
 Abram was living in Mesopotamia among 
 idolaters, and was seventy-five years of 
 age, when God called him to be a saint, 
 and to be a light in the world. Now the 
 Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy 
 country, and from thy kindred, and from 
 thy father's house, unto a land that I will 
 show thee : and I will make of thee a great 
 nation, and I will bless thee, and I will make 
 thy name great ; and thou shall be a blessing : 
 and 1 will bless them that bless thee, and 
 curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall 
 all the families of the earth be blessed. (Gen. 
 12. 1 — 3.) Greatly as God distinguished 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 13 
 
 by his goodness Abraham and his family, 
 all that he did for them was intended to ben- 
 efit mankind. Christ the promised seed, 
 hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, 
 being made a curse for us, said the apostle, 
 that the. blessing of Abraham might come on 
 the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. (Gala- 
 tians 3. 13, 14. 
 
 The Lord appeared unto Abraham, when 
 he was in Canaan, and said, Unto thy seed 
 will I give this land. This promise was 
 several times repeated. And the Lord said 
 unto Abram after Lot was separated from 
 him, Lift up now thine eyes, look from the 
 place where thou art, northward and south- 
 ward, and eastward and westward ; for all 
 the land which thou seest, to thee will I give 
 it and to thy seed forever. And 1 will make 
 thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a 
 man can number the dust of the earth, then 
 shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, and 
 walk through the land, in the length of it, 
 and in the breadth of it, for I will give it un- 
 to thee. (Gen. 13. 14-17.) 
 
14 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 Now it cannot be supposed that God in- 
 tended to give, or, that Abram expected his 
 family to enjoy, possession of the land prom- 
 ised him, till his posterity were sufficiently 
 numerous to occupy it. 
 
 After a sojourn of 215 years in the land 
 of Canaan, the family of Abraham consisted 
 of but seventy souls. But in 215 years 
 more they numbered 600, 000 men of war, 
 over twenty years of age. They were prob- 
 ably not much less numerous than the Amer- 
 ican colonies, when their struggle for free- 
 dom and independence commenced. 
 
 It was the will of God that the Hebrews 
 should for a season be oppressed, that they 
 might be willing to leave the country, where 
 they were born, and to seek a distant home. 
 Powerful motives were necessary to induce 
 them forever to leave a well cultivated coun- 
 try, and to commence a journey with their 
 families and their flocks to a land, of which 
 their knowledge was very limited. Had not 
 our puritan fathers been cruelly persecuted, 
 they would not have left their native coun- 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 15 
 
 try and friends, crossed a wide and tempest- 
 uous ocean, and planted churches among 
 savages in a howling wilderness. In the 
 one case deliverance from physical evils, in 
 the other liberty of conscience, was sought. 
 Much more excellent and noble were the 
 motives, whichinfluenced our puritan fathers 
 than those, which influenced the Hebrews. 
 
 When the Hebrews left Egypt, it does not 
 appear that there was but one learned man 
 among them. Moses, we are informed, was 
 learned in all the wisdom of Egypt. He en- 
 joyed all the advantages for an education, 
 which royalty could afford. But when our 
 ancestors made their escape from their op- 
 pressors, they were a holy people, many of 
 whom were well educated. Though our 
 freedom and independence were not obtain- 
 ed by miracles ; we have abundant reason 
 to admire the covenant faithfulness of God.* 
 The Hebrews, when they left Egypt, need- 
 
 * God has been plensed to make these United States, as 
 well as the posterity of Abraham, a model nation, to which 
 the oppressed in Europe are now looking with intense in- 
 terest. 
 
16 HEBKEW THEOCRACY. 
 
 ed some one to lead them and to teach them 
 every thing, important for them to know, 
 and of which they were almost totally igno- 
 rant. By a series of miracles God supported, 
 and protected them. He directed them to a 
 place which had long been prepared for 
 them, where they were not disturbed by 
 other nations, and where they could in the 
 most favorable circumstances receive his 
 messages.* They had become sufficiently 
 numerous to occupy the land promised to the 
 patriarchs and their posterity. But they 
 were [unfit for self-government — and were 
 ignorant of any form of government, which 
 could secure to all freedom, protection and 
 happiness. Without a well arranged and 
 well balanced government, they were not 
 prepared to enter the land of promise. Had 
 they marched directly to Canaan after their 
 
 * A late traveller, Miner K. Kellogg, more fortunate 
 than Dr. Robinson, has discovered a plain directly in front 
 of mount Sinai of sufficient extent for the encampment of 
 the tribes of Israel, with low hills surrounding it, aflbrding 
 herbage for numerous flocks and herds. — Literary World 
 Feb. 19, 1848. 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 17 
 
 escape from Egypt, which, on account of the 
 distance, they might have done in a few days, 
 without adopting any form of government 
 and proper code of laws, they would have 
 been more miserable than they were in 
 Egypt. 
 
 God, who knew what they needed, detain- 
 ed them on their way to the land of promise, 
 for the purpose of giving them the best form 
 of government and code of laws they were 
 capable of receiving. When they arrived at 
 mount Sinai, they were distinguished from 
 all other people by the rite of circumcision 
 and the institution of the Passover. That 
 the rite of circumcision was of divine origin 
 hardly admits of a doubt. It could never 
 have been suggested by the light of nature, 
 and would never have been observed had 
 not God required it. This was a rite, which 
 of all others corrupt heathen nations would 
 be least disposed, without strong reasons, to 
 practice in imitation of the Hebrews. It was 
 a sign or emblem, by which the Hebrews 
 were taught the necessity of the mortifica- 
 
18 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 tion of sinful lusts and the circumcision of 
 the heart. It was unknown till the time of 
 Abraham. It was a rite applicable only to 
 males, probably to intimate that the Messiah 
 must be a male.* The Passover commem- 
 orated an event, which no other nation could 
 commemorate. It was observed but once, 
 and circumcision not once in the wilder- 
 ness. 
 
 It must not be forgotten that the Hebrews 
 were the family of Abraham, to whom God 
 had been revealing himself more and more 
 perfectly for 430 years. It was his will that 
 they should know his character, and have 
 abundant proofs of his faithfulness, before 
 they deliberately engaged to do all he might 
 require of them. They were, therefore, pre- 
 pared to act understandingly and freely, and 
 
 * Some lenrned men have expressed the opinion, witJiout 
 the least authority, that Abraham derived his knowledge 
 of the rite of circumcision from the Egyptians. But the 
 Bible is the only book which gives us any account of the 
 customs, practised at so early a period. Cirucmcision 
 was designed to distinguish the family of Abraham from 
 all other families. 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 19 
 
 to make their choice, whether to worship 
 and serve the true God, who had done such 
 great things for them, or the gods of the sur- 
 rounding nations. 
 
RENEWAL OF COVENANT, 
 
 The renewal of the covenant, which God 
 estabhshed with the patriarch Abraham, was 
 preparatory to the transactions which fol- 
 lowed. 
 
 We have an account of this transaction in 
 the 19th chapter of Exodus. In the third 
 month, when the children of Israel were gone 
 forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day 
 came they into the wilderness of Sinai. And 
 Moses went up unto God and the Lord call- 
 ed unto him out of the mountain, saying, 
 Thus shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob 
 and tell the children of Israel : Ye have seen 
 what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I 
 bare you on eagles' wings and brought you 
 unto myself. Now, therefore, if ye will 
 obey my voice indeed, and keep my cove- 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 21 
 
 nant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure 
 unto me above all people ; for all the earth 
 is mine : and ye shall be unto me a kingdom 
 of priests, and a holy nation. These are the 
 words, which thou shalt speak unto the 
 children of Isra'el. And Moses came, and 
 called for the elders of the people, and laid 
 before their fcices all these words which the 
 Lord commanded him. 
 
 And all the people answered and said, all 
 that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And 
 Moses returned the words of the people unto 
 the Lord. 
 
 Thus the covenant made with Abraham, 
 when he was a sojourner in the land of 
 Carfaan, was solemnly renewed, and received 
 the approbation of his posterity, when a great 
 people, whom God was about to make a free 
 and an independent nation. This covenant, 
 of which Christ is the surety, is the founda- 
 tion of the Theocracy and is one of its essen- 
 tial elements. All the preliminary arrange- 
 ments being completed, God commanded 
 Moses to sanctify the people that they might 
 
22 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 be ready for the third day. And be ready, 
 God said, against the third day, for the third 
 day the Lord will come down in the sight of 
 the people upon mount Sinai. 
 
 The terrific displays God made of his 
 power, and the revelations he made of his 
 holiness, when he came down upon mount 
 Sinai, wereXe designed to prepare the He- 
 brews to receive his holy law from his own 
 month. The law he gave them was the 
 moral law, the law of the ten commandments. 
 This is the law of nature and the covenant of 
 works. Such solemnity attended the giving 
 of the law, as to make the impression on the 
 mind of every one, that it was the law of 
 God. 
 
 The moral law is the law of all mankind, 
 written in their hearts, their conscience also 
 bearing witness, and their thoughts the 
 meanwhile accusing, or else excusing one 
 another. This law is discoverable from the 
 light of nature, and is the foundation and 
 standard of moral virtue, and the rule of all 
 just government. It was not a new law, 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 23 
 
 when delivered by God to the Hebrews. It 
 was the law of onr first parents and of all 
 that had lived before the Hebrews came to 
 monnt Sinai, and is now, and ever will be, 
 the law of all the nations and families of the 
 earth. Bnt there never had been, probably 
 any verbal, certainly any written pnblication 
 of it, before this time. There never had 
 been a man qualified to give a consistent and 
 satisfactory interpretation of the law of na- 
 ture, in any well understood language. It 
 was a proof of the wisdom and goodness of 
 God to give to his covenant people, the He- 
 brews, a verbal or a written interpretation of 
 the law of nature. The Hebrews were so 
 enlightened and their consciences were so 
 awakened, when they Hstened to the publica- 
 tion of the moral law, from the mouth of 
 God himself, that they could but approve 
 it, though it condemned their conduct. 
 
 Here we can but notice the wisdom and 
 holiness of God, in grivinof to the Hebrews 
 from his own mouth, the moral law, and 
 also in giving it to them written with his own 
 
24 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 hand on tables of stone, before he gave to 
 them tlie ceremonial law. Their approba- 
 tion of the moral law, which is a covenant 
 of works, was a solemn renewal of it, and 
 an acknowledjjement of their oblioration to 
 do all that it required of them. But, when 
 their minds were so enlightened as to have 
 a proper view of its extent and spirituality ; 
 their consciences must have condemned them 
 for their numerous transgressions, and con- 
 vinced them of the impossibility of being 
 justified by their works. They were greatly 
 terrified and were prepared to receive all the 
 rites of the ceremonial law without murmur- 
 ing. Men under deep conviction are wilhng 
 to do any thing required of them to obtain 
 relief. Burthensome as the ceremonial law 
 was, the burden was light compared with 
 that which idolaters imposed on themselves. 
 The types pointed to Christ the only Savior of 
 lost men — the emblems taught them spiritual 
 truth — the application of water in various 
 forms taught them the necessity of internal 
 holiness. 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. '25 
 
 The object of the ceremonial huv was to 
 teach the Hebrews by things visible and well 
 known, the method God had devised and 
 adopted for the redemption of men. This 
 was a mode of instruction best adapted to the 
 understanding of so ignorant and gross a peo- 
 ple. The illustrations of spiritual truths, 
 employed by Christ and all the sacred wri- 
 ters were taken from objects and scenes well 
 known to the many. The Hebrews were in 
 a state of minority, like little children, and 
 could not bear the clear light, which now 
 shines on the Christian church. Like Naa- 
 man, the Syrian, they were willing to do 
 some orreat thinar to obtain the favor of God. 
 It is the simplicity of the gospel and its in- 
 stitutions, which now offends maiiy, who 
 bear the Christian name. The Hebrews 
 were required to attend to those things by 
 which they might learn the way of salva- 
 tion — but after all they could not be accepted 
 unless voluntary in the worship of God. 
 
 The more perfectly we understand the 
 ceremonial law, the more we shall admire 
 
26 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 the wisdom and benevolence of God man- 
 ifested in all its parts. The Hebrews were 
 not prepared for a spiritual dispensation. 
 Wl:en they said to Moses, Speak thou with 
 us and we will hear ; but let not God. speak 
 with us lest we die ; they felt the need of some 
 one to stand between them and God— some 
 visible person, from whom they could re- 
 ceive the messages of God, and some one, 
 by whom they could make known their 
 wants to God. When Moses had been the 
 second time long with God in the mount 
 the people could not behold him, till his face 
 was covered with a veil. If Christians see 
 spiritual things through a glass darkly ; much 
 more obscure must have been the views of 
 good men under the former dispensation. 
 The latter felt the need of a mediator and 
 intercessor, of wliom Moses was himself a 
 type. Without such a person they felt -that 
 they must perish. They were convinced 
 that they must look out of themselves for 
 help. It was sufficient for them to know 
 that God would accept their services ; if 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 2i 
 
 faithfully performed in obedience to his com- 
 mands, with penitent and humble trust in 
 him. Christianity embraces the moral law, 
 the covenant with Abraham, and the things 
 signified by the types and emblems of the 
 ceremonial law. 
 
THE JUDICIAL LAW 
 
 The Judicial, or National Law was not 
 given immediately by God himself, as he 
 gave the Hebrews the moral law. God spake 
 to Moses, and he communicated the messages 
 he received to the people. The moral and 
 judicial laws were published at the same 
 time, and being united constituted the nation- 
 al covenant. The people were required to 
 make an altar of earth, to be used while they 
 were before mount Sinai, and which could 
 not be removed from place'to place, like that 
 afterward made, to accompany the taberna- 
 cle. The 21, 22 and 23 chapters of Exodus 
 contain the national law. 
 
 The fulfilment of the promises of this 
 covenant was intimately connected with 
 their obedience to its requisitions. Their 
 imperfect obedience was accepted on account 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 29 
 
 of the merits of the surety promised to the 
 patriarch Ahraham. 
 
 And Moses came and told the people all 
 the words of the Lord and all the judg- 
 ments : and all the people answered with 
 one voice and said. All the words lohich 
 the Lord hath said loill we do. Thus the 
 national covenant was confirmed by the vol- 
 untary act of the Hebrew nation. 
 
 And Moses wrote all the words of the 
 Lord, and rose up early in the morning and 
 builded an altar under the hill, and twelve 
 pillars, according to the twelve tribes of 
 Israel. And he sent young men of the child- 
 ren of Israel, which offered burnt-oiferings 
 and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto 
 the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood 
 and put it in basins ; and half of the blood 
 he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the 
 book of the covenant, and read in the audi- 
 ence of the people : and they said, all that 
 the Lord hath said will we do, and he obedi- 
 ent. And Moses took the blood, which he 
 had saved in basins and sprinkled it on the 
 
30 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 people, and said behold the blood of the 
 covenant, which the Lord hath made with 
 you concerning all these things. Thus the 
 national covenant was sealed with blood — 
 the blood sprinkled on the altar and on the 
 people.— Ex. 24. 3-9. The blood by which 
 the national covenant was sealed was typical 
 of the blood of Christ. The mercy of God, 
 exercised through the mediation of Christ, 
 was one of the elements in this covenant, 
 otherwise no act of the imperfect obedience 
 of the Hebrews could have been accepted. 
 Pefect obedience was not the condition, on 
 which the fulfilment of the promises made 
 to them depended. Those, who were spirit- 
 ually enlightened, could not but see that 
 their very best performances, were not the 
 foundation of their justification in the sight 
 of God, who demands perfect holiness of all 
 men. Abraham and all the pious of his pos- 
 terity were justified by faith. 
 
 The patriarch was well acquainted with 
 the institution of sacrifices. He could not 
 have expected to please God by oflTermg 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 31 
 
 sacrifices, unless he had understood the 
 design of the institution, and beHeved it to 
 be of divine appointment. Nothing can be 
 more unreasonable than to suppose it was of 
 human origin. No one could have known 
 except by revelation that God had a Son, 
 much less that he would become incarnate, 
 and consent by his obedience and death to 
 make an atonement for apostate man. The 
 light of nature gives no such information. 
 The moral law contains no intimation of the 
 forgiving love of God. Who could have 
 known without a revelation, that God would 
 pardon any transgressor of his law? And, 
 without a revelation, who could have 
 thought that the slaughter of innocent an- 
 imals, when offered in sacrifice would be 
 approved of God? To slay innocent an- 
 imals — the creatures of God, and to burn 
 them upon an altar, without authority from 
 him to do so, must have been highly offen- 
 sive to him. The sacrifice Abel offered, the 
 scriptures inform us was accepted because 
 offered by faith. But his faith must have 
 
32 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 had an object, of which he could have had 
 no knowledge without a revelation. When 
 he slew the animal he offered in sacrifice, 
 he confessed by the act that he deserved 
 death, and must depend on such a substitute 
 as God was pleased to appoint. The skins 
 with which God clothed Adam and Eve 
 were emblematical of that perfect righteous- 
 ness, by which all vitally united to Christ 
 are protected from the future consequences 
 of sin, and made joint heirs with him to an 
 incorruptible inheritance. It is the right- 
 eousness of Christ imputed to believers, 
 which is the foundation of their justification. 
 
THE GOLDEN CALF. 
 
 From the fulfilment of the promises of the 
 national covenant, which God made to the 
 Hebrews, it is manifest that he intended to 
 become their king, to dwell in the midst of 
 them, and for their protection and support, 
 to accompany them to the land of Canaan. 
 That they might become acquainted with 
 the different departments of his govern- 
 ment — the kind of building in which he 
 would choose to dwell — and that they might 
 have the moral law written on tables of stone ; 
 he called Mos'^s up into the mount, where 
 he remained forty days and forty nights. 
 While there, God showed him the pattern 
 of the tabernacle which the Hebrews were 
 required to erect for his habitation — he gave 
 him an account of all the materials, of which 
 it was to be built— and also of all the parts 
 
34 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 of the religions worship to be performed in 
 it. And when the people saw that Moses 
 delayed to come down out of the mount — 
 they became discontented — and the people 
 gathered themselves together unto Aaron, 
 and said unto him. Up, make us gods, which 
 shall go before us ; for as for this Moses, the 
 man that brought us up out of the land 
 of Egypt, we know not what has become of 
 him. This act of rebellion was known to 
 God and greatly offended him. And Moses' 
 anger waxed hot when it was known to him, 
 and [he cast the tables of stone out of his 
 hands, on which God had written with his 
 own hand the moral law, and brake them 
 beneath the mount. To manifest his hatred 
 of sin and to exhibit his consistency of 
 character, God said to the Levites, who ap- 
 peared on his side — Put every man his sword 
 by his side, and go in and out from gate to 
 gate throughout the camp and slay every 
 man his brother, and every man his com- 
 panion and every man his neighbor. And 
 the children of Israel did according to the 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 35 
 
 word of Moses : and there fell of the people 
 that day about three thousand men. — Ex- 
 odus 32. 27. 
 
 When God had made a most affecting rev- 
 elation of his hatred of sin, the sin of idolatry, 
 and his determination to punish it, when 
 committed by his covenant people ; he was 
 pleased also to make a revelation of his for- 
 giving love.* — Ex. 34. 6, 7. 
 
 Moses being again called into the mount, 
 by the command of God, hewed out two 
 tables of stone, the former being broken, and 
 
 * Here we cannot but notice, how little dependence can 
 be placed on the resolutions and promises made, when 
 large numbers are assembled and are greatly excited, as 
 they have been many times in protracted meetings. When 
 the Hebrews stood before mount Sinai, and answered, All 
 that the Lord hath said we will do, they appeared to man- 
 ifest unreserved submission to his will. Again, when they 
 had received the judicial law — they said. All that the Lord 
 hath said will we do and be obedient. This engagement 
 was sealed with blood. Within forty days from this time 
 they had made a calf, and were worshipping it, which 
 proved that their hearts were not right in the sight of God. 
 They could worship him with their lips when their hearts 
 are far from him. 
 
36 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 God wrote his law upon them. They were 
 placed in the tabernacle when it was finish- 
 ed and kept for a long time. God on this 
 occasion drew closer the ties, which bound 
 him to the Hebrews. The covenant he 
 made with them was a marriage covenant 
 and he declared himself to be a jealous God* 
 Ex. 34. 10-14. The connexion between 
 husband and wife, is the most tender and 
 affectionate that exists among men. So 
 ought men to love their wives as their own 
 bodies, he that loveth his wife loveth him- 
 self. For this cause shall a man leave his 
 father and mother and cleave to his wife, and 
 they two shall be one flesh. — Eph. 5. 28-31. 
 For thy Maker is thine husband, the Lord 
 of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer the 
 holy one of Israel, the God of the whole 
 earth shall he be called. — Is. 54. 5. The 
 connexion between God and his people be- 
 came the most intimate, which is known 
 among men. Here it may be observed some 
 have thought that alphabetical writing was 
 not known, till the law was written on the 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 37 
 
 tables of stone. But, as God gave his law 
 from his mouth in language the Hebrews 
 understood ; so no doubt some of them had 
 such a knowledge of alphabetical writing, 
 as to be able to read the written law. A re- 
 cord of the tribes and the families of the He- 
 brews was probably kept by genealogists in 
 Egypt. Moses was required to write in a 
 book for a memorial an account of the battle 
 with Amalek, fought on their way to Sinai. 
 Ex. 17. 14. Why might not the Hebrews 
 acquire a knowledge of alphabetical writing 
 as well as other nations — and why not as 
 well before they came to mount Sinai as 
 afterwards. It is highly probable that the 
 author of the book of Job was acquainted 
 with alphabetical writing, and, as it contains 
 no notice of the passage of the Hebrews 
 through the Red Sea, that it was written be- 
 fore that event. Laws would be useless if 
 not published in a language understood by 
 those required to obey them. Moses was com- 
 manded to write the judicial law in a book, 
 
38 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 and to read it to the people. When did he 
 learn to write? 
 
 Many are too mncli inclined to overlook 
 the providence of God, and the secret sug- 
 gestions of his spirit in those discoveries and 
 inventions, which have been productive of 
 great good, and have been subservient to the 
 accomplishment of his purposes. They are 
 more disposed to honor the instruments God 
 employs, than him, who is the fountain of 
 knowledge and wisdom. And they are 
 more ready to honor human reason than the 
 teaching of the Spirit of God. 
 
KING OF THE HEBREWS. 
 
 Though by the national covenant God 
 became the King of the Hebrews, yet he did 
 not cease to sustain the relation of Father. 
 He continued to treat them as his children. 
 They were his chosen, his peculiar people, 
 his portion. By the marriage covenant God 
 became the husband of the Hebrews, and 
 dwelt with them, supported them and sus- 
 tained a nearer relation to them than a king 
 sustains to his subjects, or a parent to his 
 children. 
 
 It was an unspeakable favor to have the 
 greatest and most excellent of all beings 
 dwell in the midst of his people, to whom 
 they could on all occasions have free access, 
 and with whom they could daily commune. 
 Whenever they looked toward the taber- 
 
40 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 nacle they saw the dwelling place of their 
 Heavenly Father, their king, and their hus- 
 band, and were reminded of the duties they 
 owed him. 
 
 Though the tabernacle, built according to 
 the pattern showed to Moses on the mount, 
 was very splendid and costly;* yet it was a 
 national edifice, intended for the habitation 
 of a Great King. No one was compelled to 
 contribute for its erection. The people gave 
 willingly, and more than was needed. 
 
 Such inquiries as the following may be 
 suggested to the mind of some, when reading 
 the scripture account of the tabernacle. 
 Why was such a splendid and costly house 
 built for the dwelling place of the most high 
 God, the Creator of heaven and earth ? Can 
 God be pleased with earthly grandeur? Can 
 that God, whom the heaven of heavens can- 
 not contain, dwell in a house made by men ? 
 Is not heaven his throne and the earth his 
 footstool ? Is not the universe his proper 
 dwelling place? Does he not fill immensity? 
 
 * It cost, it is calculated, more than $1, 000, 000. 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 41 
 
 It may be answered, it was not the beauty 
 of the tabernacle that pleased God, the King 
 of the Hebrews. But he was pleased with 
 the proofs his people gave of their disposi- 
 tion to honor liim. It was of great import- 
 ance, that the impression should be made on 
 the minds of the young, that the king whom 
 they were required to obey, and the God 
 whom they were required to worship, was 
 one whom their fathers higlily esteemed and 
 delighted to honor. It was an age when 
 spiritual things were taught by things visible. 
 It has been customary in all ages for great na- 
 tions to erect elegant and expensive buildings 
 for the habitation of their sovereicrns. The 
 law of association has a powerful influence. 
 When the Hebrews looked toward the tabern- 
 acle or temple, the dwelling place of their 
 sovereign, their thoughts of him were honor- 
 able. It was no doubt the desire of the He- 
 brews that the palace of their sovereign should 
 not be inferior to that of any other sovereign. 
 Their support, protection, influence, peace 
 and happiness depended on the treatment 
 
42 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 their sovereign received from them. But 
 what was proper and even necessary under 
 the former dispensation, when instruction 
 was communicated by visible emblems, is 
 not proper now — under a spiritual dispensa- 
 tion. The simplicity of the truths of Christi- 
 anity is one of their excellencies. They 
 that worship God, who is a spirit, in spirit 
 and truth, are accepted of him. 
 
 Though the univeri>e is the dwelling place 
 of God, yet he has ever dwelt in a peculiar 
 sense in the midst of his people. Under the 
 former dispensation the holy of holies was 
 the place of his abode, where he was always 
 to be found, when his special assistance was 
 needed. Under this dispensation his people 
 are the temple in which he dwells. For 
 thus saith the iiigh and lofty One that inhab- 
 iteth eternity, whose name is Holy ; I dwell 
 in the high and holy place, with him also 
 that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to re- 
 vive the spirit of the humble, and to revive 
 the heart of the contrite ones. Is. hi \ 15. 
 What ! said the apostle to the church at 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 43 
 
 Corinth, Know ye not that your body is the 
 temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in yon, 
 which ye have of God, and ye are not your 
 own, IjCoY. 6 : 19. Corresponding with the 
 splendor of the house built for the dwelling 
 place of the God and king of the Hebrews, 
 was the apparel of the high priest, his high- 
 est officer and prime minister. It was high- 
 ly proper for those who honored God, to 
 honor him, who stood nearest to him, re- 
 ceived his messao^es and delivered them to 
 his people. The beautiful and costly gar- 
 ments of the high priest, were emblematical 
 of the excellence of his office, and the im- 
 portance of the duties he was required to 
 perform. The garments the other priests 
 were required to put on were decent but not 
 expensive. 
 
 Aaron and his sons as well as the tabern- 
 acle were consecrated before the worship of 
 God commenced in the sanctuary. When 
 the preparations were completed the glory of 
 the liOrd filled the tabernacle. 
 
 Though God did in a peculiar sense and 
 
44 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 by a visible token dwell among the Hebrews, 
 and answer difficult questions proposed to 
 him by the high priest ; yet he does now 
 dwell by his spirit in every christian nation, 
 and answer their inquiries, when by humili- 
 ation and prayer they ask for the way they 
 ought to pursue. It is true they hear no 
 voice, but their duty is made plain. He 
 dwells more especially in his church — walk- 
 ing in the midst of the golden candlesticks. 
 And more especially still God dwells with 
 the most devout and humble. He reveals 
 himself to his people according to their neces- 
 sities. When he revives his work he ap- 
 pears in his glory. Then his people have 
 the most satisfactory proof of his special 
 presence. Then they hear God speaking to 
 them, almost forgetful of the instrument em- 
 ployed. Sinners pricked in their hearts are 
 more deeply and permanently affected than 
 were the Hebrews, when they stood before 
 mount Sinai and answered — all that the 
 Lord hath said will we do. 
 
 The Theocracy of the Hebrews was a re- 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 45 
 
 ligioiis, hereditary, representative republic ; 
 or as some learned men* maintain a democ- 
 racy. The church and state were united. 
 This union was necessary under the former 
 dispensation. Tlie civil power was required 
 to enforce the strict observance of the burden- 
 some rites of the ceremonial law. Had not 
 the civil power been united with the ecclesi- 
 astical, the Hebrews would have in a short 
 time been deprived of the only means, by 
 which a knowledge of the true God and of 
 the nature of his worship would have been 
 retained, and succeeding generations would 
 have become idolaters. It was a proof of 
 the benevolence of God, the king of the He- 
 brews, to enforce by pains and penalties the 
 observance of those rites, by which alone 
 they could know their duty and the way of 
 salvation. So far as regarded the feelings 
 of their heart, there was no compulsion ; 
 but they were perfectly free. The former 
 dispensation was a necessary preparation to 
 the latter and to the firm establishment of 
 
 *Michaelis and Lowman. 
 
46 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 Christianity in the world. The two dispen- 
 sations are but parts of the same whole — 
 exactly answering to each other. 
 
 The offices of the priests were hereditary. 
 This was a wise arrangement. As the 
 worship of God corresponded with the re- 
 quisitions of the ceremonial law, evidence 
 of spiritual renovation was not made an es- 
 sential qnalification for the office of a priest. 
 External defects rendered the sons of Aaron 
 unfit for the sacred office. Had not the office 
 of priest been hereditary, his election would 
 have occasioned endless and bloody disputes. 
 If they could prove their descent from Aaron, 
 they could prove their right to the office. 
 The family of Levi was the only family from 
 generation to generation permitted to minis- 
 ter in holy things. Their cities and sup- 
 port as well as duties were the same from 
 generation to generation. 
 
 The principle of representation was in 
 various ways recognized in the Hebrew 
 code. The messages of God were delivered 
 to Moses, while he was living, and com- 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 47 
 
 municated by him to the elders of the people, 
 and by them to the whole congregation. 
 The Levites represented the whole nation 
 and acted for all the tribes — the priests rep- 
 resented the Levites — and the high priest the 
 ordinary priests. The princes acted for the 
 tribes over which their influence specially 
 extended ; but it does not appear that they 
 received any compensation for their services. 
 And in the best days of their nation their 
 services were not onerous. 
 
 The Theocracy was as democratic as it 
 could be consistently with the protection of 
 the rights of every one. The most perfect 
 democracy is that which secures to every 
 citizen the free exercise of his rights. But 
 no one can enjoy the free exercise of his 
 rights, if the more powerful are not made to 
 submit to good and wholesome laws. And 
 that government is least burthensome which 
 is administered by moral motives. So gross 
 were the Hebrews, when they left Egypt, 
 that God wisely connected with their obedi- 
 ence and disobedience temporal rewards and 
 
48 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 punishments. When obedient they were 
 prospered and their enemies fell before them. 
 They had visible proofs of the advantages of 
 obedience and of the folly as well as guilt of 
 disobedience. When obedient they were 
 more highly favored than any other nation. 
 Of this they had visible evidence. And what 
 nation on the earth manifests so general a 
 respect as this for the true religion? And 
 what nation is so prosperous, intelligent and 
 happy? 
 
 The code of laws God gave the Hebrews 
 was perfect — needed no addition or altera- 
 tion. Their form of government and code 
 of laws they approved, and they were just 
 such as they would have chosen, had they 
 acted for themselves with a proper regard to 
 their highest interest and happiness. In this 
 sense their government may be considered 
 as democratic. God who knew what was 
 best for them, and who sustained a near re- 
 lation to every one, took their pkce. His 
 act by their approbation was their act. As 
 their laws were all from God, so they all had, 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 49 
 
 more or less of a religious character. He 
 thought more of their salvation than of their 
 temporal happiness. The most devoted 
 christian now sees God in every event, and 
 acknowledges him in all his ways. It is 
 morally wrong to disobey any jnst civil law, 
 any enactment by proper authority, which 
 is not contrary to the Divine law. 
 
 The administration of the Hebrew gov- 
 ernment depended very much on the Levites. 
 Their duties were numerous. In addition 
 to the assistance they were required to render 
 to the priests, they were the instructors of 
 the people and the interpreters of the laws. 
 They were required to read the laws once 
 in seven years to the people, when asssem- 
 bled at the feast of tabernacles. The Levites 
 were the learned class. They were the 
 lawyers — the judges, the physicians, the 
 chronologers, the genealogists, the astron- 
 omers, the geographers — had the charge of 
 the weights and measures — the tithes — and 
 the money paid into the sanctuary. In the 
 
50 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 military operations the priests were required 
 to address and encourage the people. 
 
 The Levites were inferior to the priests, 
 and the priests to tlie high priest, who was 
 permitted to enter the holy of holies but once 
 a yeir. The higli priest was permitted with 
 profouiid reverence to present to God diffi- 
 cult questions, which he himself could not 
 answer. The answers God gave prevented 
 all controversy. What disputes would be 
 prevented in the christian church, and what 
 expense would be saved, could every diffi- 
 cult question be decided by an infallible 
 judge! The law which God gave the He- 
 brews contained all the information they 
 needed for the proper regulation of their 
 conduct. They were free from the expense 
 of legislation. It was the will of God that 
 the Levites should be well supported. The 
 faithful performance of the duties all the 
 tribes owed to God, depended very much on 
 the fidelity of the Levites. And their influ- 
 ence was in some degree dependent on their 
 apparent responsibility. A fearful respon- 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACr. 51 
 
 sibility rested on them. And it was of great 
 importance that their influence should be felt. 
 
 The LeviteSj including the priests, were 
 the only persons the other tribes were taxed 
 to support. Their support, though liberal, 
 was but moderate, if we consider the many 
 and important duties they had to perform, 
 and the responsibility resting upon them. 
 
 The wisdom ai d benevolence of God 
 were manifested in his appointment, for the 
 administration of his government and the 
 direction of the affairs of his people, men 
 of mature years, educated from their earliest 
 years for their employment. The best of 
 their life from thirty to fifty years of age, 
 was devoted to the service of God. They 
 were not allowed to officiate till properly 
 qualified, nor after they experienced the in- 
 firmities of age. Forty-eight cities with 
 their suburbs, were given to the Levites. 
 Of these, thirteen were given to the priests, 
 and six were cities of refuge. As there was 
 but one place where God was publicly wor- 
 shiped, the cities o{ the priests were near 
 
52 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 too^ether. Three of the cities of refiio^e were 
 on one side of the river of Jordan and three 
 on the other, that they might be accessible 
 to all, who might have occasion to flee to 
 them. 
 
 The cities of the Levites were so situated 
 in different parts of the country, that they 
 could without inconvenience visit all the 
 tribes and discharge their various duties. 
 
 Our pilgrim fathers judged correctly, who 
 thought men of piety, if otherwise qualified, 
 would be the most upright and faithful 
 magistrates. They made the scriptures, the 
 teachings of heavenly wisdom, their guide. 
 The following is the scripture direction. 
 Thou shalt provide out of the people able 
 men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating 
 covetousncbs, and place such over them to 
 be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hund- 
 reds, and rulers of tens. Ex. 18: 21. Un- 
 der the Theocracy the civil power was sub- 
 ordinate to the ecclesiastical. The time will 
 doubtless come, when the scriptures will be 
 the supreme law of all nations, and none 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 53 
 
 but men who fear God, will be magistrates. 
 The officers appointed by the suggestion of 
 Jethro to assist Moses were continued proba- 
 bly but a short time. And the seventy 
 chosen and instructed by the teachings of 
 the Holy Spirit to assist him were not proba- 
 bly continued after, if until his death. 
 Neither Moses nor Joshua had any successor 
 in his particular office. Their offices were 
 different. 
 
THE COMPLETION OF THE HEBREW 
 CODE OF LAWS. 
 
 After the worship of God commenced in 
 the tabernacle, and before the Hebrews left 
 mount Sinai and commenced their journey, 
 God completed their code of laws. This is 
 a remarkable fact which deserves particular 
 notice. In less than one year God gave to 
 the Hebrews a perfect code of laws, which 
 needed no addition or modification. The 
 Hebrews needed no legislative assemblies to 
 make more laws, or to repeal or alter any of 
 those given. God as judge was the inter- 
 preter of the laws he had given to his people. 
 His laws were suited to all the varieties of 
 their condition. The first table of the moral 
 law, — the law of the ten commandments, 
 had respect to the worship of God, the king 
 of the Hebrews. 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 55 
 
 Transgression of the laws of this table 
 was punishable with death. As God was 
 the king of the Hebrews, idolatry was high 
 treason, a crime punishable in every nation 
 with death. Tn pagan nations we find that 
 contempt of the gods they worshiped was 
 punishable with great severity. The three 
 friends of the prophet Daniel were thrown 
 into a fiery furnace, heated seven times hotter 
 than usual, because they refused to worship 
 the golden image the king of Babylon had 
 set up. In papal countries to treat with con- 
 tempt the objects worshiped, is to be exposed 
 to punishment worse than death. The per- 
 manent establishment of the true religion 
 among the Hebrews, who had lived among 
 idolaters, and who were surrounded by them, 
 was of great importance to them, to the 
 world, ar.d to all succeeding generations. 
 It was necessary that the punishment should 
 be as visible as the crime. For so ignorant 
 and gross a people as the Hebrews, no other 
 punishment would have given them a proper 
 
56 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 view of the holiness of God, and of the evil 
 of the sin of idokitry. 
 
 The only visible token God gave them of 
 his presence was unlike any of the human 
 race, or any creature, whether animate or 
 inanimate. Idolatry, which was a rejection 
 of the true God and open opposition to him, 
 was destructive of the souls and morals of 
 the people. It was enticing, because it allow- 
 ed and even encouraged the most licentious 
 andicorrupt practices. We find a great variety 
 of particular laws, which prohibited practices, 
 some of them harmless in themselves, but to 
 which idolaters attached a superstitious im- 
 portance. Pagan as well as papal nations 
 depended much on their works for justifica- 
 tion. Men in all nations have felt the need 
 of some religion, and have been willing to 
 work, if they could receive credit for their 
 works. In reference to a custom of idolaters, 
 which they thought meritorious, God said to 
 the Hebrews, ye shall not cut yourselves, 
 nor make any baldness between your eyes ; 
 ye shall not print any marks in your flesh ; 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 57 
 
 for ye are a holy people nnto the Lord. 
 As the heathen were accustomed to worship 
 in groves, where every abomination could 
 be practised, the Hebrews were not allowed 
 to plant groves near the altar of God. Thou 
 shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk, 
 was a prohibition — which had reference to 
 the following practice. The heathen when 
 they had gathered in their fruits, we are in- 
 formed, were accustomed to do this, and 
 with magical rites sprinkled it on their gar- 
 dens to make them friutful. Because honey 
 and leavened bread were offered to infernal 
 gods and dbad heroes, God would not allow 
 the Hebrews to use them at his altar. Be- 
 cause men in the worship of Venus appeared 
 in the dress of women, and women in the 
 worship of Mars were arrayed in the war- 
 like; garb of men, the following prohibition 
 was added to the Hebrew code. The woman 
 shall not wear that which pertaineth to a 
 man, nor shall a man put on a woman's 
 garment : for all who do so are abomination 
 to the Lord thy God. 
 
58 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 Very many are the commands and pro- 
 hibitionSj which may appear to us at this 
 present day unimportant and unworthy of 
 the notice of so great a Legislator as Jehovah 
 himself. But his government extends to all 
 the little circumstances of our life, which 
 can have any influence on our conduct. 
 Not a sparrow falleth to the ground without 
 him, and the very hairs of our head are all 
 numbered. God directed the Hebrews how 
 to build their houses, that none might be in- 
 jured by falling from the roof. He gave 
 them many directions respecting the cultiva- 
 tion of their ground, that they might not 
 adopt any of the superstitious practices of 
 the heathen. It was the will of God to keep 
 the Hebrews as separate from their pagan 
 neighbors as possible. All those commands 
 and prohibitions, which appear to us so un- 
 important, are so many proofs of the omnis- 
 cience of God and of his abounding love of 
 his people. Those portions of the Hebrew 
 law, which receive from many but a passing 
 notice, when made subjects of meditation. 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 59 
 
 appear to be exceedingly interesting. The 
 watchful eye of the God of the Hebrews — 
 their Father, their Husband and their King, 
 was upon every action any of them perform- 
 ed — and upon every proof of an intimation 
 to observe any of the rites or customs of 
 idolaters, to which they attached a supersti- 
 tious importance. Not one of the minute 
 directions God gave the Hebrews was useless. 
 This is manifest to every one who considers 
 their ignorance and the innumerable super- 
 stitious rites and practices of idolaters. Many 
 commands and prohibitions have respect to 
 moral purity in families, which it is not nec- 
 essary to mention. They now receive atten- 
 tion from virtuous parents, who derived their 
 knowledge originally from the scriptures. 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 The law of the Sabbath is a law of our 
 nature. The rest of the Sabbath is as essen- 
 tial to our health as the rest of the night. 
 This has been shown by medical men. 
 Without necessary sleep, as with it, no man 
 can accomplish as much and enjoy as good 
 health for any considerable length of time. 
 And no man or beast can perform as much 
 without resting one day in seven, as with 
 the benefit of this rest. The man who puts 
 forth his whole strength for ten or twelve 
 hours, feels the need of the rest of the night. 
 This prepares him for the labor of the suc- 
 ceeding day. During six days of labor there 
 is a gradual exhaustion of strength, and the 
 rest of one day in seven is necessary to sup- 
 ply the wants of nature. The human sys- 
 tem may be compared to curious pieces of 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 61 
 
 mechanism, one of which requires daily to 
 be wound up, another once in seven days. 
 The law of the Sabbath extends to other 
 animals as well as to men. The main- 
 tenance of the worship of the true God, and 
 the cultivation of moral virtue, depend on 
 the observance of the law of the Sabbath. 
 Abolish the Sabbath and the evil passions of 
 men can be restrained only by physical force. 
 And without the observance of a particular 
 day, the worshipers of the true God must 
 be exposed to perpetual interruptions, and 
 men of business themselves must be subject 
 to inconvenience. The appointment of one 
 day in seven^was made by him, who created 
 man, and had a perfect knowledge of his 
 nature and constitution. No manna fell on 
 the Sabbath for the Hebrews when in the 
 wilderness, and they were not allowed to 
 gather it on that day. 
 
 The inquiry has often been made, how 
 were the Hebrews employed when they en- 
 tered the land of promise on the weekly 
 Sabbath ? Did they repair to the cities of the 
 
62 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 Levites for instruction ? Tiiis they could not 
 do constantly on account of the distance of 
 many families from them. Did the Levites 
 on the Sabbath leave their cities and hold 
 meetings in all parts of the land ? They were 
 not required to do this, nor were the people 
 required to assemble in any one place but 
 three times a year. The public worship of 
 God was where the ark was, and was con- 
 ducted by the priests, who only had authority 
 for the performance of this service. It seems 
 then to follow, as the sabbath was a day of 
 rest, and a day on which the Hebrews were 
 not allowed to do any work — either them- 
 selves or their cattle — that family instruction 
 and worship were their employment. It 
 was made the duty of parents to instruct 
 and command their children on the Sabbath. 
 As there was but one book of the law, to 
 which no additions were made from year to 
 year; and as this was the only book they 
 had to read, or to remember, parents could 
 without difRcnlty learn their own duty, and 
 teach their children their duty. Children 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 63 
 
 probably, were taught to read on the Fab- 
 bath, that they might be able to read the 
 law. The Levites, when they entered the 
 land of promise, must have been very desir- 
 ous of making the people acquainted with 
 the law of God. It is supposed that they 
 were a pious generation. They, probably, 
 furnished the people with the copies of the 
 scriptures they then had. Whether every 
 family, or only every city, received a copy 
 we know not. But in the faithful discharge 
 of their duty the Levites must have felt 
 much as christians now do, who are interest- 
 ed in the circulation of the whole volume of 
 revelation. How could parents obey the 
 commands of God respecting their children, 
 unless furnished with the means of knowinor 
 his will? It certainly was the duty of the 
 Levites to make known the law of God as 
 extensively as possible. The successful dis- 
 charge of their duty depended on this. And 
 on their fidelity depended the peace, pros- 
 perity and happiness of the nation. 
 
 The rest of the Sabbath was an emblem 
 
64 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 of that rest which remaineth for the people 
 of God. The rest of the Sabbath gives 
 quietude to the mind, perplexed with the 
 cares of the world, and directs the thoughts 
 upward to God. 
 
 The law of the Sabbath is a national law ; 
 the token of a national covenant between 
 God and all nations, which worship him. 
 When the Hebrews carefully observed the 
 Sabbath, they could with confidence look 
 to God for the fulfilment of the promises of 
 his covenant. 
 
 As nations are composed of individuals, 
 and as all men are required to observe one 
 day in seven as a day of rest ; so nations are 
 under obligations to devote one day in seven 
 to worship God. Profanation of the Sabbath 
 was under the Theocracy punishable with 
 death. Every one that defileth it, saith the 
 Lord, shall be put to death. For more than 
 one hundred years our Puritan fathers were 
 strict in the observance of the Sabbath. 
 Even now, the habits they established, are 
 in a good degree maintained. To them we 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 65 
 
 are indebted for our knowledge of our rights 
 and our free institutions. From them have 
 gone forth to all parts of our country, friends 
 of the Sabbath and of free institutions. We 
 have reason to rejoice that christians feel 
 their obligation strictly to observe this holy 
 day. 
 
 Under the Theocracy every seventh year 
 was a sabbath of rest. The ground was not 
 cultivated that year. It was a release from 
 debts and from servitude. And if ye shall 
 say, What shall we eat the seventh year? 
 Behold, we shall not sow] nor gather in our 
 increase. Then I will command my bless, 
 ing upon you in the sixth yem\ and it shall 
 bring forth fruit for three years and ye shall 
 sow the eighth year ; and eat yet of old fruit 
 until the ninth year; until her fruits come 
 in ye shall eat of the old store. Leviticus 
 25: 20-22. 
 
 The year of Jubilee was a year of rest and 
 freedom, and a lively emblem of that rest 
 which remaineth for the people of God. 
 
 It is manifest that God had great regard 
 
66 HEBKEW THEOCRACY. 
 
 for the law of the Sabbath from the frequent 
 repetition of it, and from the punishment of 
 those, who violated it. Christianity has not 
 repealed this law, but has added additional 
 reasons for the careful observance of it. 
 The day has been changed to commemorate 
 the resting of the Son of God from his work 
 on earth. The resting of God from the work 
 of creation is not to be forgotten ; but the 
 work of redemption is greater, and gives us 
 the most glorious view of his perfections and 
 purposes. 
 
FESTIVALS. 
 
 There were three great rehgious festivals, 
 which all the males were required yearly to 
 attend at the sanctuary. They commemo- 
 rated great events— the first, the protection of 
 the Hebrews when the first born of Egypt 
 were slain— the second, the giving of the 
 law at mount Sinai— the third, the dwelling 
 of the Hebrews in tents in the wilderness. 
 At first view, the command of God requiring 
 all the males to be present at the sanctuary 
 three times a year may appear to be un- 
 reasonable. But the ends to be answered 
 were of great importance to the nation. The 
 whole nation was interested in the events 
 commemorated. These great national festi- 
 vals were suited to keep the nation united 
 under the same government and in the 
 worship of the only living and true God. 
 
68 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 Their prosperity, peace, security and happi- 
 ness depended on their wnion. Their meet- 
 ing together three times a year made them ac- 
 quainted with the condition of all the tribes, 
 and promoted friendly intercourse. The 
 influence of such large meetings is always 
 powerful — in some respects in proportion to 
 the number assembled. The orreater the 
 number assembled for amusement, the great- 
 er is the joy experienced or anticipated. As 
 few of the Hebrews, probably, could read, 
 and as they had but few books ; the informa- 
 tion obtained at these meetings was of great 
 value. That the Hebrews might attend 
 these great meetings with cheerfulness, they 
 were made attractive by being made festivals. 
 The most important and chief subject of 
 their meditations, when engaged in the 
 worship of God on the Sabbath, and on 
 every Sabbath, was the atonement typified 
 by all the bloody sacrifices. This should be 
 the great subject of our meditations, when 
 engaged in the worship of God under the 
 present dispensation. This was the view of 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 69 
 
 the subject, entertained by the great apostle 
 of the Gentiles, as is evident from the follow- 
 ing passages. For the Jews require a sign, 
 and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we 
 preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a 
 stumbhng-block, and unto the Greeks fool- 
 ishness. For I determined not to know any 
 thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him 
 crucified. 1 Cor. 1: 22, 23, and 2: 2. 
 
 Here it may be observed the first doctrines 
 taught little children, when they witnessed 
 the slaughter and sacrifices of innocent 
 animals, were doctrines of grace. They 
 were taught that they entered the world un- 
 der the curse of the broken law, and could 
 be justified only through faith in him, whom 
 the sacrifices typified. The slaughter of 
 innocent animals, and the burning of their 
 flesh upon the altar, must have made deep 
 impressions on the minds of the young — 
 even very young children. To the inquiries, 
 which it was natural for them to make, their 
 parents could give proper answers, which 
 the Spirit of God, did no doubt in many in- 
 
70 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 Stances sanctify and make effectual to the 
 salvation of parents and children. 
 
 The opinion has been expressed by some 
 learned men that the law of Moses was with- 
 out the sanction, derived from a considera- 
 tion of the rewards and punishments of a 
 future state. But it is manifest from the 
 epistle to the Hebrews that the patriarchs 
 had correct views of a future state. Heb. 
 11 : 9-lG. Job, who lived, probably, before 
 the Hebrews left Egypt, expressed his belief 
 in a future state, and he seemed to have no 
 doubt respecting the subject. For 1 know, 
 he said, that my Redeemer liveth, and that 
 he shall stand at the latter day upon the 
 earth. And though after my skin, worms 
 destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see 
 God. Job 19 : 25, 26. It can hardly be 
 supposed that the pious were ignorant of the 
 doctrine of a future state, before the establish- 
 ment of the Hebrew Theocracy. So far as 
 history gives us any information, we find 
 that all nations had a belief in a future state, 
 though the views of pagans were incorrect, 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 71 
 
 and in their tendency pernicious. There 
 seems to be no reason to doubt that the doc- 
 trine of a future state was universally admit- 
 ted from the earliest ages. A sense of ac- 
 countability is common to all men — and the 
 belief is common to all reflecting men, who 
 are not influenced by false theories, that the 
 unequal distribution of rewards and punish- 
 ments in this world, will, under a just govern- 
 ment, be followed in a future state by a just 
 distribution. The moral law, by which the 
 Hebrews obtained a knowledge of sin, taught 
 them the necessity of a substitute in order to 
 their justification and final salvation. The 
 ceremonial law kept constantly before their 
 mind the method adopted for their forgive- 
 ness and reconciliation to the character of 
 God. The appearance of angels and the 
 token of the presence of the invisible God 
 were proofs of the existence of another 
 world. 
 
 The Hebrews were a gross people, who 
 were influenced very much by visible objects. 
 Temporal rewards were so many pledges 
 
"72 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 and visible proofs of the faithfulness of God, 
 and pledges of the fulfilment of the promises 
 ofjaeaven to all truly pious. So the punish- 
 ments for disobedience were proofs of the 
 truth of God, and of the certainty of the just 
 punishment of the wicked in a future state. 
 Do we not find under the present dispensa- 
 tion that the ways of wisdom are ways of 
 pleasantness — that righteousness exalteth a 
 nation, and that sin is a reproach to any 
 people? It is as really manifest now as it 
 was under the former dispensation, that the 
 blessing of God attends those, who fear 
 and worship him, and that great temporal 
 evils are the portion of immoral and wicked 
 communities. The land of Canaan was 
 an emblem and pledge of heaven, and the 
 journey of the Hebrews through the wilder- 
 ness a representation of their pilgrimage 
 on the earth. They were taught the doc- 
 trine of a future state in the same way in 
 which they were taught all spiritual truths. 
 Had they not believed in the doctrine of a 
 future state, of what value would have been 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 73 
 
 a future Messiah to those, who died before 
 his advent? Was not a future Messiah the 
 object of their faith ? Was it not the object 
 of Abel's faith ? Abraliam beheved God and 
 it was accounted to him for righteousness. 
 
 The whole Hebrew economy directed the 
 thoughts of its subjects to a future Messiah 
 and a future state. The thought of annihila- 
 tion or of ceasing to be at death, is so dread- 
 ful, and there is such a desire of continued 
 existence ; that every intimation from God 
 of a future state must have been embraced 
 and retained with unusual tenacity. The 
 shortness and frailty of human life in the 
 time of the patriarchs and afterward, in con- 
 nexion with the Mosaic code, must have 
 convinced the Hebrews that there is a future 
 rest for the people of God, and a reward for 
 the faithful — and also punishment for those, 
 who either conceal their crimes from men, 
 or who do not receive in this world that 
 punishment they deserve. The moral law 
 itself must have led to this conclusion. 
 How could the Hebrews have had any satis- 
 
74 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 factory knowledge of the justice and truth 
 of Godj m view of the imperfect execution 
 of his laws in this world, without a belief in 
 a future state? 
 
 Promised rewards and threatened punish- 
 ments are not always received in this world. 
 How then can there be proof of the veracity 
 of God, if there be not a future state? Did 
 the patriarchs or their descendants, who died 
 before the Hebrews obtained possession of 
 the promised land, receive the blessings 
 promised? How can we understand the fol- 
 lowing passage, applicable to the posterity 
 of Abraham, as well as to himself, for several 
 generations? And he gave him none inherit- 
 ance in it, no not so much as to set his foot 
 on ; yet he promised that he would give it 
 to him for a possession, and to liis seed after 
 him, when as yet he had no child. Acts 7 : 5. 
 
 Those who deny that the doctrine of a 
 future state was taught by the Mosaic code, 
 though they have made a great display of 
 learning, seem to have taken only a very 
 superficial view of the subject. They over- 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 75 
 
 look the fact, that the doctrine of a future 
 state was well known before the law was 
 given by Moses, and that this doctrine was 
 taught by types and emblems in the Hebrew 
 ritual. Had not the Hebrews understood 
 that their religion pointed to a future state, 
 it would have appeared to them of but little 
 value. The whole system was preparatory 
 to a future state. Death was the con- 
 sequence of sin. The pardon of sin and 
 justification restored penitent transgressors 
 to life. But as temporal death was the lot 
 of the righteous as well as of the wicked, the 
 former expected life beyond the grave. 
 
 The civil and 'political condition of the 
 Hebrews under the Theocracy. 
 
 When God had made known to the priests 
 and Levites their various duties, and had 
 made ample provision for their support; the 
 rest of the land was given to the remaining 
 tribes, which received their portions by lot. 
 When these tribes had received their por- 
 tions, the families of which the^^ consisted 
 
76 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 received also by lot their portions. As God 
 sustained the same relation to them all, it 
 was his pleasure to treat them all alike. The 
 division by lot was considered the most sat- 
 isfactory method, where all had equal claims 
 to that which was to be divided. The He- 
 brews, by this division, became a nation of 
 independent yeomen ; every family had land 
 sufficient, by proper cultivation, for their 
 support and free from debt. It was unalien- 
 able. It was given to the family, including 
 successive generations. Whatever any fam- 
 ily did to increase the value of their inherit- 
 ance was for their own benefit. Had all 
 things been in common, those most disposed 
 to labor, would have been unwilling to work 
 for the idle. Besides, the idle are usually 
 vicious and troublesome members of society. 
 In all those countries, in which the lands 
 are owned by the few, and the many are 
 tenants or slaves, we find the former living 
 in extravagance and luxury— despotic and 
 oppressive, and the latter poor, unwilling to 
 labor, except to escape the lash, or to pre- 
 
HEBKEW THEOCRACY. 77 
 
 vent starvation. The most industrious and 
 virtuous people are tliose, who are the own- 
 ers of the land they cultivate. And the more 
 equally property is divided, the more diffi- 
 cult it is for any ambitious person to oppress 
 the people. The condition of the free states 
 of this country, more nearly resembles than 
 that of any other states of the earth, the con- 
 dition of the Hebrews when first settled in 
 Canaan. It was the will of God to preserve 
 among the tribes and families 'of Israel as 
 great a degree of equality as could be con- 
 sistent with his wise purpose of government. 
 He know some, by sickness and various 
 calamities, which they could not foresee nor 
 prevent, would become poor and need the 
 aid of their more favored neighbors. God 
 permitted such cases to occur no doubt, to 
 try the feelings of the people. Knowing 
 that the rich are disposed to take advantage 
 of the necessitous, he made it their duty to 
 relieve the distressed, and forbade them to 
 receive usury for motiey lent. And if thy 
 brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay 
 
78 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 with thee; then thon shalt relieve him, yea, 
 though he be a stranger, or a sojourner, that 
 he may live with thee. Take thou no usury 
 of him, nor increase; but fear thy God; 
 that thy brother may live with thee. Thou 
 shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor 
 lend him thy victuals for increase. Lev. 25: 
 35-37. No doubt God so ordered the course 
 of his providence, as to favor some, and to 
 disappoint the hopes of oihers — that the feel- 
 ings of the former might be tried by the 
 wants of the latter. He gave to some more 
 than they needed, that they might give to 
 the suffering. It is now the duty of the rich 
 to assist the poor, and to relieve the suffer- 
 ing. The more eminent any are for piety; 
 the more disposed they are to do it. As the 
 Hebrews were not a commercial nation, the 
 money of the more favored, if not lent, was 
 unemployed. They lost nothing by not re- 
 ceiving usury. Besides their prosperity re- 
 sulted rather from the providence of God, 
 than from their labor and good management : 
 and to the same providence might be traced 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 79 
 
 the calamities, by which others were made 
 poor. The poor, if obliged to pay interest 
 for the money borrowed, would have found 
 it hardly possible ever to pay their debts. 
 Being discouraged, they would not have 
 attempted it. That God had particular 
 regard for the poor is manifest from the 
 repetition and variety of the laws, by which 
 the rich were required to relieve them. If 
 there be among you a poor man of one of 
 thy brethren within any of thy gates, in thy 
 land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, 
 thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut 
 thy hand from thy poor brother. But thou 
 shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and 
 shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in 
 that which he wanteth. Thou shalt surely 
 give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved 
 when thou givest unto him: because that 
 for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless 
 thee in all thy works, and in all that thou 
 puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall 
 never cease out of the land : Therefore I 
 command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thy 
 
80 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 hand wide nntothy brother, to thy poor, and 
 to thy needy in thy land. Dent. 15: 7-11. 
 Those who employed laborers, were requir- 
 ed to pay them at the close of the day. 
 The wages of him that is hired shall not 
 abide with thee all night until the morning. 
 Lev. 19 : 13. Every seventh year, those 
 who conld not discharge their debts, were 
 released. And the poor were allowed to 
 gather on the seventh year the productions 
 of the earth, not then cultivated. They 
 were allowed the gleanings of the field and 
 of the vintage. In addition to all these 
 benevolent provisions for the poor, if any by 
 sickness or any other calamity had been 
 obliged to sell his inheritance, it was by the 
 law of the Jubilee restored to him the fiftieth 
 year. It was the will of God that the faults 
 or calamities of parents, should not deprive 
 their children of the inheritance intended 
 for the latter, as well as the former. In this 
 country provision is made for the poor by 
 law. Besides the legal provision made for 
 them much is done by voluntary contribu- 
 tions. 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 81 
 
 Various other laws manifest the kind 
 feelings of the Hebrew Legislator. The fol- 
 lowing may be mentioned: Ye shall not 
 afflict any widow or fatherless child. Ex. 
 22 : 22. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor 
 put a stumbling block before the blind, but 
 shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord. Lev. 
 19 : 14. He that stealeth a man and selleth 
 him, or if he be found in his hand, h-e shall 
 surely be put to death. Ex. 21 : 16. This 
 doubtless has reference to the sale of a He- 
 brew. The Hebrews were required to keep 
 with care whatever was committed to them 
 in trust — if any one dig a pit, he must cover 
 it up lest any one should fall into it, if 
 any man had an ox used to push and endan- 
 ger the life of any one, the owner was re- 
 quired to keep him in a secure place. If 
 any one was injured by the carelessness or 
 negligence of his neighbor, the neighbor was 
 required to repair the injury. The thief 
 was required to restore five oxen for an ox, 
 and four sheep for a sheep stolen. Herds 
 and flocks were the chief property of the 
 Hebrews, who were an agricultural nation. 
 
82 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 There is one case worthy of particular 
 notice. If thou at all take thy neighbor's 
 raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto 
 him by that the sun goetli down. For that 
 is his covering only; it is his raiment for 
 his skin : wherein shall he sleep? And it 
 shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, 
 that 1 will hear, for I am gracious. Ex. 22: 
 26, 27. 
 
SLAVERY 
 
 That God permitted slavery to exist un- 
 der the Hebrew Theocracy is abundantly 
 evident from the scriptures. But not any 
 of the. Hebrews were slaves in the same 
 sense, as those purchased of heathen nations. 
 And those who purchased slaves of their 
 pagan neighbors, were required to treat them 
 with kindness. Those Hebrews, who sold 
 themselves to discharge a debt, were free the 
 seventh year, when debts were not exacted. 
 They were like men among us, hired for a 
 year or several years, to pay a debt, or for 
 stipulated wages. And if thy brother that 
 dwelleth by thee be waxen poor and be sold 
 unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to 
 serve as a bond servant, but as an hired 
 servant; as a sojourner he shall be with thee 
 and shall serve thee unto the year of Jubilee. 
 
84 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, 
 but shalt fear the Lord. And if thy brother, 
 a Hebrew man, or Hebrew woman, be sold 
 unto thee, and serve six years, then in the 
 seventh year thou shalt let him go free from 
 thee. And when thou sendest him out free 
 from thee, thou shalt not let him go away 
 empty. Thou shalt furnish him liberally 
 out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out 
 of thy wine press : of that wherewith the Lord 
 thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give 
 unto him. And also unto thy maid servants 
 thou shalt do likewise. Deut. 15 : 12-14. 
 
 The Hebrews were permitted to purchase 
 slaves of their pagan neighbors. It was a 
 kindness to those who were ofl^ered for sale, 
 to be bought by Hebrew masters, who were 
 not allowed to abuse them. Conquerors 
 claimed the right to put to death, or to sell for 
 slaves those whom they had made captives. 
 Those they did not want themselves and 
 could not sell, they probably put to death. 
 To purchase them and to grant them relig- 
 ious privileges were most benevolent acts. 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 85 
 
 Some of our most philanthropic christians 
 have been besonght by slaves to purchase 
 them, offering to serve them for life rather 
 than'be under the power of unfeeling masters. 
 But the reasons have not been so urgent as 
 tliose which influenced the Hebrews to pur- 
 chase captives, who would have been put to 
 death, or been treated with indescribable 
 cruelty in pagan nations. For the Hebrews 
 to purchase slaves of the heathen was to 
 save them from death, or from cruel bondage 
 and to ofive tliem a knowledo:e of the true 
 God. Slaves were entitled to their true 
 liberty, if treated, with harshness and cruelty. 
 x'Vnd if a man smite the eye of his servant, 
 or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he 
 shall let him go free for his eye's sake. And 
 if he smite out his servant's tooth, or his 
 maid-servant's tooth ; he shall let him go free 
 for his tooth's sake. Ex. 21 : 20, 27. The 
 cruel treatment of slaves entitled them to 
 their freedom, and made their masters liable 
 to punishment. 
 
 It has been observed that the Hebrews 
 
86 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 were not allowed to make slaves of any of 
 their brethren ; because they were all the pecu- 
 liar covenant people of God. For the same 
 reason, as the middle wall of partition be- 
 tween them and all other nations is now 
 broken down, the laws by which the He- 
 brews were governed should be extended to 
 all nations. God has given no right to the 
 Christian church to buy or sell slaves. Tn 
 those peculiar cases, where Christians from 
 the most benevolent motives purchase slaves; 
 the latter should not be considered property, 
 but rather as brethren ransomed and obliged 
 to pay by their labor, only what has been 
 paid for them. 
 
 Christianity, wherever it has been estab- 
 lished, tends to diminish by moral motives 
 the evils, which exist in the world, and in 
 various ways lo promote human happiness. 
 It does not allow of violent and compulsory 
 measures. It teaches us that all men by 
 nature sustain the same relation to God, 
 and by birth are free. Its tendency is to 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 87 
 
 raise all men and women to their proper 
 rank in the commnnity. 
 
 When God delivered the Hebrews from 
 Egyptian bondage, he did not lead them 
 directly to the land of promise, which, on 
 account of the distance they might have 
 reached in a few days. They were ex- 
 tremely ignorant and nnfit for self-govern- 
 ment. Moses was for 40 years their teacher. 
 They were obh'ged to be subject to severe 
 discipline before they could, and were will- 
 ing, to obey the laws of the Theocracy. 
 Had they gone directly from the land of 
 Egypt, or from mount Sinai to Canaan, and 
 been established in that country without 
 the instructions they received in the wilder- 
 ness ; they would have been involved in 
 perpetual wars, and would have been less 
 happy than in bondage under a regular 
 though arbitrary government. The judg- 
 ments with which God visited his chosen 
 people in the wilderness, were the most de- 
 cisive proofs of their intractible dispositions. 
 
88 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 and of their unfitness for the peaceable en- 
 joyment of the promised land. ISone but 
 Caleb and Joshua of the men over twenty 
 years of age, who came out of Egypt, not 
 even Moses and Aaron, were permitted to 
 enter Canaan. 
 
MILITARY ARRANGEMENTS, 
 
 It was the will of God that his people 
 should have no intercourse with corrupt 
 and idolatrous nations. That they might 
 not be corrupted it was his pleasure that they 
 should be neither a commercial, nor a war. 
 like nation. He allowed of no standing 
 army, which would have been burthensome, 
 and ruinous to the morals of the people. 
 But he made it the duty of every man to 
 unite with the rest in the defence of the na- 
 tion, when invaded in any part. The per- 
 son who had just married a wife, built a new 
 house, or planted a vineyard, was excused 
 for one year. They had a well regulated 
 militia consisting of six hundred thousand 
 when they entered the land of promise, able 
 to overcome all opposed to them. As soon 
 as an alarm was given they voluntarily, at 
 
 9 
 
90 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 their own expense, met their enemies. The 
 wars of the nations of Europe and their 
 standing armies, have loaded them with 
 heavy debts they are unable to pay, multi- 
 plied widows and orphans, and filled their 
 hospitals with the sick and the maimed. 
 Few would be disposed to become soldiers, 
 if they had to support themselves. The 
 Hebrews were protected by a special prov- 
 idence, when absent from home, attending 
 the great annual festivals. 
 
 By the Mosaic law capital crimes were 
 very summarily punished. This caused the 
 government to be respected, and the laws to 
 be obeyed. Because sentence against an 
 evil work is not executed speedily, therefore 
 the heart of the sons of men is fully set in 
 them to do evil. Ecles. 8: 11. "j'he more 
 distinguished any man is for moral virtue or 
 holiness, the greater is his abhorrence of 
 capital offences, and the less is he disposed 
 to delay the proper punishment of them. 
 Had the punishment of capital offences been 
 delayed under the Theocracy, the impres- 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 91 
 
 sion would have been made on the commu- 
 nity, that they were not viewed with very 
 great abhorrence. It is the duty of rulers to 
 manifest in the clearest light their hatred of 
 capital offences. As they view crimes so 
 the people will view them. And their feel- 
 ings can be fully expressed only by the ex- 
 ecution of the laws violated. 
 
 The duty of rulers does not depend on the 
 consequences of their acts ; for they cannot 
 know what they will be till after their duty 
 is performed. 
 
 It is an old saying, duty is ours, events are 
 the Lord's. 
 
 The punishment of old offenders seldom 
 reforms them. The delay of punishment 
 diminishes its influence on the community. 
 God has taught us what punishment the 
 murderer ought to suffer. Whoso killelh 
 any person, the murderer shall be put to 
 death by the mouth of witne.^ses; but one 
 witness shall not testify against any person 
 to cause him to die. Moreover ye shall take 
 no satisfaction for the life of a murderer. 
 
92 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 which is guilty of death ; but he shall surely 
 be put to death.— Numb. 35 : 30, 31. The 
 scriptures are very explicit on this subject. 
 The command of God is many times repeat- 
 ed, and the language is too simple to be mis- 
 understood. 
 
 The laws were severe against false wit- 
 nesses. Any man proved to be a false wit- 
 ness was made to suffer the same punishment 
 to which the person accused was liable, if 
 condemned by his false testimony. — Deut. 
 19: 16-19. This afforded great security to 
 the innocent. Now as we are clearly taught 
 that the murderer ought to suffer death — and 
 as this is a requisition of the law of nature, 
 which has never been repealed or modified, 
 what right has man to change the penally? 
 Is he wiser than God — a better friend of his 
 fellow-creatures than God their Creator? 
 The Hebrews had no prisons or dungeons. 
 They were not allowed to make use of 
 tortures or any cruel modes of punishment. 
 The murderer was stoned or thrust through 
 with the sword. The suffering was of short 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 93 
 
 duration. It was the will of God that the 
 murderer should be punished with death, 
 and that those who executed the law should 
 do it with seriousness and with tenderness 
 of feeling. * 
 
 There is no time when the law, which 
 requires the murderer to be put to death, 
 can so well be executed as soon after the 
 perpetration of the dreadful deed. Then he 
 has the liveliest sense of his guilt — is least 
 disposed to excuse himself, and the commu- 
 nity most loudly calls for his punishment. 
 It appears to be the fact that those most op- 
 posed to the execution of the cold-blooded 
 murderer, have been most pleased with the 
 slaughter of the Mexicans, and most disposed 
 to justify it. They are not opposed to the 
 death penalty, when it is viewed at a dis- 
 tance, and from which they feel secure. 
 But the consciousness that they have hatred 
 in their hearts, which may sometime lead 
 them to commit murder, makes them anxious 
 for the abolition of the proper penalty. The 
 murderer who kills his neighbor, made in 
 
94 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 the image of God, would, if he had the pow- 
 er, murder God himself. The advocates of 
 the abolition of capital punishment have the 
 spirit of those, who said to Pilate, Release 
 Barabbas and crucify Jesus. They had 
 more sympathy for a murderer thau for the 
 Son of God. 
 
 Ample provision was made for such as 
 were chargeable with justifiable homicide. 
 Six cities of refuge were prepared for them 
 to which they could make their escape — have 
 a fair trial — and be legally acquitted. Till 
 these cities were established, the man who 
 had unintentionally killed his neighbor, was 
 liable to be put to death by the avenger of 
 blood, the near relative of the person killed. 
 
 Capital punishments are less numerous 
 in this country than in most other coun- 
 tries — and less numerous than under the 
 Hebrew Theocracy. Idolatry under the 
 Theocracy, which was high treason, was 
 punished with death. Visible idolatry does 
 not exist among us. Great energy was ne- 
 cessarily manifested in the establishment of 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 96 
 
 the true religion, and a free government 
 among the Hebrews, when they left Egypt, 
 where they had been grievously oppressed 
 and trodden under foot by cruel masters ; 
 and where they had always lived among 
 idolaters and the grossly immoral. 
 
 One object of capital punishment under 
 the former dispensation was to make known 
 the nature and magnitude of the offense. 
 The consequences had nothing to do with 
 the obligation of magistrates or judges.* It 
 should be the inquiry of every ruler, what does 
 God require of me? Rom 13: Has he any 
 where expressed his will.? Am I account- 
 able to him and to the people over whom 
 my authority extends? With respect to 
 murder the mind of God has been fully made 
 known. The law, by which rulers are re- 
 quired to execute murderers, is not ceremo- 
 nial, but it extends to all mankind, and has 
 
 *The end of punishment is not the good of the individ- 
 ual or the benefit of society, though both those ends may 
 be secured. We must do what is right and what God re- 
 quires of us ; whatever may be the consequences. 
 
96 HEBREW THEOCRACY, 
 
 ever been approved by the most intelligent 
 and virtuous of men. Adultery was punish- 
 able with death under the former dispensa- 
 tion. And what injured husband or wife 
 does not approve this law? Tt does not ap- 
 pear that any were put to death for stealing 
 or for any fraudulent transaction affecting 
 property. It was however, lawful to kill a 
 robber breaking into a house in the night. 
 Such persons are supposed to be murderers. 
 Many most distressing facts prove that the 
 suspicion is not without foundation. If a 
 man be found breaking up, and be smitten 
 that he die, if the sun be not risen upon him, 
 there shall no blood be shed for him. — Ex. 
 22: 1,2. 
 
 One of the common objections to the 
 Hebrew Theocracy has reference to the con- 
 quest of Canaan. Had the seven devoted 
 nations been destroyed by a deluge as were 
 the inhabitants of the old world, or by a 
 shower of fire and brimstone as were the in- 
 habitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, or by an 
 earthquake as were Korah and his company, 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 97 
 
 no one would probably dare accuse God of 
 injustice. Had tliey been destroyed by some 
 mighty conqueror, as Nebuchadnezzar, Gen- 
 gis Khan, or Julius Caesar, the instrument 
 would have been condemned, and the prov- 
 idence of God would ha'/e been overlooked. 
 
 With respect to the Hebrews, it may be 
 observed, they were very unwilling to fight 
 against the devoted nations. In eleven days 
 after they left mount ^inai they reached 
 Kadesh Barnea, near the south of the prom- 
 ised land: but because they were unwilling 
 to go forward and take possession of it by 
 force, according to the command of God, 
 they were severely punished, being kept in 
 the wilderness thirty-nine years, till all the 
 six hundred thousand men of war, except 
 Caleb and Joshua, perished. 
 
 In destroying the seven devoted nations 
 the Hebrews acted in obedience to the ex- 
 press command of God. They only per- 
 formed their duty. The nations destroyed 
 were idolaters, and in their practice were ex- 
 ceedingly corrupt. It was of great import- 
 
98 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 ance to the world that the true God should 
 be distinguished from all false gods. Had 
 the gods of the Canaanites been able to pro- 
 tect them, they would not have left their 
 votaries to perish, when they most needed 
 help. 
 
 It was perfectly just for the true God to 
 dispossess the seven devoted nations of their 
 country, and give it to his chosen people 
 who delighted to worship him. The gener- 
 ation that entered the land of promise, it is 
 believed, were distinguished from any that 
 preceded them for their piety. The com- 
 plete destruction of the seven devoted nations 
 and their idols, was designed to remove 
 from the Hebrews every temptation to depart 
 from the worship of the true God. The 
 wisdom of God strikingly appears in destroy- 
 ing the seven idolatrous and corrupt na- 
 tions, rather by the instrumentality of the 
 Hebrews, than by any calamity, not effected 
 by human agency. Nothing could give the 
 Hebrews a greater abhorrence of idolatry 
 and a more affecting view of God's hatred 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 99 
 
 of it and determination to punish it, than to 
 be obliged, by the command of God, them- 
 selves to destroy the devoted nations. The 
 miracles God wrought in aid of the Hebrews 
 convinced all the tribes that they]were doing 
 his will. They were taught what they must 
 expect, if they became idolaters. 
 
 With respect to other surrounding nations, 
 concerning which God gave the Hebrews 
 directions ; if they accepted the offer of 
 peace, the Hebrews were not allowed to fight 
 against them. But if they refused and were 
 disposed to commence battle with the He- 
 brews, the latter were required to slay all 
 the males and preserve the females. The 
 consequence was that there was a great ac- 
 cession of females to the Hebrew nation. It 
 was, probably, customary and had been for 
 conquerors to slay the males and to spare the 
 females. This superabundance of females, 
 produced by victories of one nation or tribe 
 over another, occasioned, probably, the cus- 
 toms of poligamy. In the case of the He- 
 brews, who were desirous of increasing their 
 
100 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 number, that they might strengthen their 
 nation, the children of the females, that were 
 married to Hebrew husbands, were consid- 
 ered Hebrews. But it was not lawful for 
 the daughters of Israel to marry pagans. 
 The nation would have in this way sustain- 
 ed a loss. The husband gave character to 
 his family. — Deut. 20 : The children born 
 of Hebrew fathers were Hebrews — and the 
 males were circumcised. As God had a 
 right to command the Hebrews to kill the 
 males of those nations that made war with 
 them, so he had a right to give them the 
 females for wives — and one of his promises 
 was of a numerous seed. 
 
 The circumstances, in which God per- 
 mitted polygamy among the Hebrews, were 
 in some respects not unhke the circumstan- 
 ces, in which he allowed them to elect a 
 king. Though he reproved them for their 
 departure from him, yet the state of the 
 tribes at the time seemed to demand some 
 mighty leader, who could unite and com- 
 mand the forces of the nation. 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 101 
 
 Many other subjects might be noticed. 
 But this would make the treatise of the 
 author larger than he intended, and it was 
 not his intention to give the history of the 
 Hebrews after they were once established in 
 the land of promise ; but only the principal 
 features of their government, as it came 
 from God. 
 
 10 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 It was the will of God that the Theocracy 
 of the Hebrews should continue in force till 
 the advent of the promised Messiah, and till 
 by his obedience and death he completed a 
 righteousness, sufficient in value, for the 
 whole human race. The law which he 
 obeyed, and whose penalty he suffered as our 
 substitute is the moral law. In this law 
 there is no intimation of the forgiving love 
 of God. By the deeds of this law there 
 shall no flesh be justified. The ceremonial 
 law, which made known to the Hebrews the 
 only way of salvation, had particular refer- 
 ence, to the moral law, and also to the promise 
 made to Abraham, that in his seed all the 
 families of the earth should be blessed. 
 Now because the ceremonial law ceased to 
 be necessary after the death of Christ, it by 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 103 
 
 no means follows that the moral law, or the 
 Abrahamic covenant ceased to be obligatory. 
 Think not, said Christ to his disciples, that 
 I am come to destroy the law or the proph- 
 ets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 
 For verily I say unto you, till heaven and 
 earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall in no 
 wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. — 
 Mat. 5 : 18, 19. Do we then make void the 
 law through faith, said the apostle.? God 
 forbid : yea, we establish the law — Rom. 3: 
 31. And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abra- 
 ham's seed, and heirs according to the prom- 
 ise. — Gal. 3: 29. It is abundantly evident 
 from the New Testament, that there has 
 been no essential change since the advent of 
 Christ, either in the moral law, or in the 
 covenant with Abraham. They were both 
 in full force before the Hebrews were' at 
 mount Sinai. To enable the Hebrews the 
 better to understand them was one object of 
 tfje ceremonial law. The moral law holds 
 an important place in the constitution of the 
 United States— and in the constitution and 
 
104 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 code of laws of every particular state. That 
 part of the national code of the Hebrews, 
 which had respect to the rites they were re- 
 quired to observe, was repealed, when the 
 rites were rendered useless by the coming 
 of Christ and the accomplishment of his 
 work. This effected a great change in the 
 government, by which they were delivered 
 from a burden, which they had borne for a 
 longtime; and with the light which burst 
 on them, when the dispensation of the Spirit 
 commenced, they might, had they not for- 
 feited the favor of God, have been a free and 
 an independent republic. 
 
 When they had performed the service 
 assigned them, and for which they had been 
 abundantly rewarded by the peculiar priv- 
 ileges they had enjoyed, the promised Mes- 
 siah appeared, not to be the Savior of a par- 
 ticular nation but of the world. Though 
 the offer of life was first made to the Hebrews, 
 even after they had crucified the Son of 
 God; yet the terms of salvation were made 
 the same for all mankind. This was the 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. lOo 
 
 fulfilment of the promise made to Abraham, 
 that in his seed all the families of the earth 
 should be blessed. The continued fulfil- 
 ment of a promise does not destroy its force. 
 When the Hebrew ritual and the laws con- 
 nected with it ceased to be observed by the 
 church of God ; what do we see remaining? 
 The moral law remains and is enforced by 
 additional motives. Many families are add- 
 ed to the visible kingdom of Christ, who 
 was the promised seed of the patriarch 
 Abraham. Gentiles were admitted to equal 
 privileges with the Jews. 
 
 What changes were wrought, it may be 
 asked, in those pious families which had 
 belonged to the Hebrew church by the new 
 dispensation ? They had been justified by 
 faith, and they could not be justified in any 
 other way after Christ was crucified. The 
 essentials of the character of a saint have 
 been the same in every age. The moral 
 law has ever been essentially the same in 
 every nation, though the first day, which 
 commemorates the resting of Christ from his 
 
106 HEBREW THEOCRACY. 
 
 work has been substituted for tlie seventh 
 day of the week, because the work of re- 
 demption is more glorious than the work of 
 creation. When Christ was crucified the 
 sacrifices, which pointed to his suffering and 
 death, were no longer necessary. The clear 
 light of the gospel changed that mode of in- 
 struction, which was adopted under the 
 former dispensation, to assist the Hebrews 
 in their minority to understand spiritual 
 thinsfs. The thing-s which had been taught 
 by types and emblems were the realities, re- 
 vealed under the new dispensation. The 
 abuse of them led many to depend on their 
 works for justification. But so simple are 
 the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's 
 supper, that merely the observance of them 
 can hardly encourage any to rest on such a 
 slender foundation his hope of salvation. 
 Had there been no enlargement of privileges 
 under the present dispensation ; we should 
 conclude that infant males only ought to be 
 baptized. But the tendency of cliristianity 
 is to elevate females to a higher rank, than 
 
HEBREW THEOCRACY. 107 
 
 they enjoyed under the former dispensation— 
 and the ordinance of baptism is as proper 
 for females as for males. For the promise 
 is unto you and to your children, said the 
 apostle Peter, when he exhorted his Jewish 
 brethren to repent and be baptised— and to 
 all that are afar off, (to parents and children) 
 even as many as the Lord our God shall 
 call.— Acts 2 : 39. 
 
 There is'neither Jew nor Greek, said the 
 apostle Paul, there is neither bond nor free, 
 there is neither male nor female ; for ye are 
 all one (on the same level) in Christ. And 
 if ye be Christ's, then ye are Abraham's 
 seed, and heirs according to the promise. — 
 Gal. 3: 28,29. 
 
 FINIS.