May 4

This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me. — Lev 10:3

The priests who refused to honor the Lord by doing what He had commanded, fell at the tabernacle door, struck down by their own sin.

The law of God has always a double aspect. From one side it appears bright and full of promise and blessing; from the other side it is dark and full of terrors. It is like the pillar of cloud, which led the people as they left Egypt. It was light on the side toward the Israelites, and dark towards the Egyptians.

Law obeyed gives shelter, blessing, and peace. Law disobeyed brings terror, suffering, and death. The same is true even of the gospel of Christ. To those who accept the gospel it gives everlasting life; to those who reject it, it becomes a curse, because the offering of it adds to their guilt when they have rejected it.

Every blessing that comes to use presents to us this double aspect – it will leave us either with more of God’s light shining upon us, or with deeper darkness resting over us.