The Pedigree Declared
C. H. Mackintosh. Numbers 1:4-16 And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.… "Can I declare my pedigree?" It is greatly to be feared there are hundreds, if not thousands, of professing Christians who are wholly incompetent to do so. They cannot say with clearness and decision, "Now are we the sons of God" (1 John 3:2). "Ye are all the children of God," &c. "And if ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed," &c. (Galatians 3:26, 29). "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God," &c. (Romans 8:14, 16). This is the Christian's "pedigree," and it is his privilege to be able to "declare" it (cf. John 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23; Ephesians 5:26). The believer traces his pedigree directly up to a risen Christ in glory. His genealogical tree strikes its roots into the soil of the new creation. Death can never break the line, inasmuch as it is formed in resurrection. We can easily see, from this chapter, how essential it was that every member of the congregation of Israel should be able to declare his pedigree. Uncertainty on this point would have proved disastrous; it would have produced hopeless confusion. We can hardly imagine an Israelite, when called to declare his pedigree, expressing himself in the doubtful manner adopted by many Christians nowadays. We cannot conceive his saying, "Well, I am not quite sure. Sometimes I cherish the hope that I am of the stock of Israel; but at other times I am full of fear that I do not belong to the congregation of the Lord at all. I am all in uncertainty and darkness." Much less could we imagine any one maintaining the monstrous notion that no one could possibly be sure as to whether he was a true Israelite or not until the day of judgment. Now, may we not legitimately ask, "If a Jew could be certain as to his pedigree, why may not a Christian be certain as to his?" We would urge this point at the outset. It is impossible for any one to recognise and rally round the proper "standard" unless he can declare his "pedigree." Progress in wilderness life — success in spiritual warfare, is out of the question if there be any uncertainty as to the spiritual pedigree. We must be able to say, "We know that we have passed from death unto life," "We believe and are sure," ere there can be any real advance in the life and walk of a Christian. We do not mean to say you cannot be saved without this. God forbid we should say any such thing. But we ask, Are such able to go forth to war? They cannot even know what true conflict is; on the contrary, persons of this class mistake their doubts and fears, their dark and cloudy seasons, for true Christian conflict. It is when we stand in the clear daylight of God's full salvation — salvation in a risen Christ — that we really enter upon the warfare proper to us as Christians. (C. H. Mackintosh.) Parallel Verses KJV: And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers. WEB: With you there shall be a man of every tribe; everyone head of his fathers' house.