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of the priests. Therefore, the priest must be right, or all would be wrong. Any evil among the priests would is sue in weakness in war and unfitness for service on the part of the Levites. The prohibition was given in order that a difference be made between the holy and the common, the clean and the unclean, and also that proper teaching should be given to the people concerning these points. God must be wholly sanctified in those who would draw nigh to Him, and strohg drink confuses man’s will with God’s will. Not only the priests but King Lem uel also was given the same warning, fin Unusual Opportunity FOR CHRISTIAN PRINTERS—Due to the fact that .some of the key men in our printing de partment are'now in .the service of our Country, there is a real opportunity for Christian printers . over draft age to become associated with this nationally known concern which exists solely for the purpose of making.Christ ,known through the printed page. FAITHFUL, WORDS PUBLISHING COMPANY 21tfi'So. Jefferson .Aye.. . St. Louis 4, Missouri "To Know Him and to Make Him Known” PLAN NOW FOR Columbia Bible College Columbia, South Carolina Undergraduate courses leading to degree of B.A. in Biblical Education; graduate courses leading to degrees o f M.A. in Biblical Edu cation and Th.M. For information write to D r. R o b e r t C . M cQ u ilk in , P re s id e n t H A V E Y O U L O S T A L O V E D O N E ? “ Great Questions’* answers the BIG-QUESTIONS concerning the Great Beyond!- Is the future life REAL? Is the Resurrection Body A REAL BODY? Shall we know our loved ones in the future life? etc. This blessed booklet Is of vital importance to you, if you’ve been separated from one who was dear to you. Postpaid only 5 cents. Free cata logue of 200 Christian Books for every purpose. Gospel A rt Shoppe* Dept. 52, Rowan, Iowa =READ THEBEST= IN CHRISTIAN LITERATURE Send for our catalog of publications, and receive free booklet, also. WESTERN BOOK & TRACT CO., Inc. Dr. H, A. Ironside, President 1719 Franklin St. Oakland, .12, Calif.
lest the law be forgotten and judg ment be perverted. (Prov. 31: 4, 5). Priests, kings, princes, all those in places of authority, are to be pro tected by abstinence. The key to these passages is found in the word “lest ye die,” and “lest” the law be forgotten and justice fail. III. T h e P rom ise for A bstinence (Lk. 1:13-16) The angel, speaking to John’s fa ther, promised much for John the Baptist. He would be, great in the sight of the Lord. This'- is true great ness, whatever a man may be in the sight of men. It is greatness that en-' dures forever. John was to drink neither wine nor strong drink; that is, he was to be a Nazarite (cf. Num. 6; Judg. 13)1 His pleasure would be of a different sort than anything provided by the world. Thus, outwardly, his ^separation unto God would be manifest He was- to be filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth, and this speaks of his in ward separation unto God. This en duing gave him power for his testi mony. Nothing else can take the place of the Holy Spirit’s control of the individual. Learning, culture, the world’s wisdom or wealth—all are useless without the filling of the Holy Spirit, which sets the possessor of it free from all else to serve the Lord alone. John’s testimony was whdlly within and to the nation of Israel. He was the last of the Old Testament proph ets, greater than any before him. He turned many to the Lord their God when he announced the coming and presence of Jesus Christ as the One who would take away the sin of the world, and would baptize with the Holy Spirit (cf. John 1«29; Matt. 3:11). The greatest thing>ever said of any man was said of John the Baptist when the Holy Spirit declared that “John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man [Jesus Christ] were true” (John 10:41). Ab stinence from strong drink and 'con secration to the service of God made John' the Baptist greater than any born of women (cf. Matt. 11:11).
Points and Problems 1. "And Nadab and Abihu . . . of fered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not" (Lev. 10:1). Precisely what N a d a b and Abihu did may not be perfectly clear. Some, say that they lighted their in cense at some place other than at the fire of the - great altar. Others say that they offered’ their incense at a time not commanded in the order of worship previously prescribed. Still others suppose that they rashly Had gone within the veil into the presence of the Shekinah glory, to offer their incense there. However it may have been, the basic content of their sin is clearly expressed in the words, they offered fire which the Lord had not commanded them. They offered It “either in a way not commanded, or at a time .not commanded, or in a place not commanded; or, perhaps, in each and all of these ways” (Kellogg). We have here a tragic illustration of substituting man-made methods of worship for the plainly revealed method laid down in God’s Word. 2. "And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them" (v. 2). This judgment may seem severe, and yet'the serious nature of tlje sin war ranted it. Their sin was not a per sonal matter fcimply. It was a public act. It took place at the sanctuary where all the people were assembled. These men were priests, the spiritual leaders of the nation. If the spring is polluted, how can the stream be kept from pollution? Therefore such judg ment was an act of mercy, for the spiritual benefit of that and future generations. It is not necessary to suppose that this judgment was of an eternal nature. God sometimes brings judgment to His own people for the welfare of His cause. In 1 Corinthians 11:30-32 we fire told that among the Christians of Corinth some were sick and some were even dead as a result of their unholy conduct at the Lord’s table. The judgment of \Nadab and Abihu was of this nature, a temporal death as an object lesson on the aw fulness of departing from God’s way. 3. "Do not drink wine nor strong drink" (v. 9). The position of this prohibition just following the incident of Nadab and Abihu suggests strongly the possibility that strong drink may have been responsible for the tragic faildre of these men. One thing is sure: intoxicating drink is responsible for millions of failures. It should have no place' in the lives of God’s followers. There ought to be a dis tinct “ difference” (v. 10) b e t w e.e n them and the “unholy” of the world. Golden Text Illustration J udges 13:4 During a Chicago convention, one of the delegates, a young business man
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