1 Chronicles 24:2

"Handfuls of Purpose,"

For All Gleaners

"But Nadab and Abihu died before their father." 1 Chronicles 24:2 .

This ought to be regarded as unnatural. What is it that interferes with the regular flow and progress of natural law? The father should die first; the eldest in the family should be first married; the richest should be the kindest; the oldest should be the wisest: yet continually are all these supposed ordinances and laws turned upside down in practical life. We should make an idol of continuity if we could reckon upon it in all forms and under all conditions. God destroys the monotony of life, and thus he animates men with various impulses, and brings some to reflection who might otherwise be heedless. Let it be known that every man shall live a certain number of days, and shall die at a well-known time; let it be known that men cannot succeed to office until this day ten years or twenty years; and life will become benumbed, and in many cases monotony will kill ambition, and put an end to healthy preparation. Instead of this, however, we live in uncertainty; the king may die tomorrow, and the next man may be wanted; the father may pass away to-night, or the eldest son may die in the morning, and the father may have to follow his firstborn to the grave. Thus God will not allow us to speculate in the future, to tell fortunes, to forecast events and destinies; he will compel us to live, so to say, from hand to mouth, a day at a time, not knowing what a day may bring forth. Even insecurity may be so sanctified as to become a blessing. We are always to take heed, to be watchful, to be on our guard; we know not at what hour the King may come; the only the thing we are certain of is that he will come; and being certain of this one fact we should strive after needful preparation. We cannot tell who will die first, but we can all be prepared for death, and the father may be able to rejoice that his son has gone home first, and the son may be able to thank God that his father has completed a beautiful and useful life.