The closing lines of chapter xvii. furnish a remarkable illustration of how quickly the human mind passes from one extreme to another.—“The children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, ‘Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the Lord shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?’” In the preceding chapter, we see bold presumption in the very presence of the majesty of Jehovah, where there should have been profound humility. Here, in the presence of divine grace and its provisions, we observe legal fear and distrust. Thus it is ever. Mere nature neither understands holiness nor grace. At one moment we hearken to such accents as these: “_All_ the congregation are holy;” and the next moment, the word is, “Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.” The carnal mind presumes where it ought to retire; it distrusts where it ought to confide. However, all this becomes the occasion, through the goodness of God, of unfolding to us, in a very full and blessed manner, the holy responsibilities, as well as the precious privileges, of the priesthood. How gracious it is—how like our God, to turn His people’s mistakes into an occasion of furnishing deeper instruction as to His ways! It is His prerogative, blessed be His name, to bring good out of evil—to make the eater yield meat, and the strong, sweetness. Thus “the gainsaying of Core” gives occasion for the copious volume of instruction furnished by Aaron’s rod, and the closing lines of chapter xvii. call forth an elaborate statement of the functions of Aaron’s priesthood. To this latter we shall now proceed to direct the reader’s attention. * * * * *