Pages 1 to 336, Man and Woman in the Assembly, and Other Ministry, 1933 - 1936. (Volume 205). One address and one reading are omitted as they are published elsewhere in the New Series Volumes.
Galatians 6:10; Genesis 14:14; Genesis 15:1 - 4; Genesis 21:8 - 11; Genesis 24:2 - 4
I thought we might look at the household of faith. It contemplates that faith will be in those in it. The next step to the household of faith is the household of God, and that leads to the assembly.
One feature of the household idea is stewardship. In Genesis 24:2 Abraham speaks "to his servant, the eldest of his house, who ruled over all that he had".
Then training in the house is to be noticed. Genesis 14:14 says: "And Abram heard that his brother was taken captive; and he led out his trained servants, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen". How ill-trained we are in service and the things of God! The household idea is attractive; it should appeal to all believers. Control is there; training is there; influence is there. In Galatians the household of faith is referred to in addressing lawless christians.
An emergency arises in connection with Lot. A brother is taken north about two hundred miles. How are we going to meet it? You need your whole household to set that brother right, and it is a trained household. The number is three hundred and eighteen, not round numbers; every one is necessary. An untrained person would be in the way. The apostle sent a trained servant to Corinth in the person of Timothy. He had been "shewn" certain things at Corinth; in 1 Corinthians 5 it was a matter of report.
The first element of training in a house is to be seen in the children. Influence is there in the father and mother. Love and affection must be there too.
Abram's allies were 'masters of covenant' (see J.N.D.'s note b to Genesis 14:13). Apollos was a good ally, but Timothy was a trained servant.
The "all" of Galatians 6:10 means all. "So then, as we have occasion, let us do good towards all". This enlarges us in our outlook. We must not look at the nations as a mass of conglomerate lawlessness; God has them in control.
What is faith? Is it light? It is more than light. Light comes by the eye, faith comes by hearing. Fundamentally faith is a gift. It is more substantive than light. See what marked those in Hebrews 11.
Chapter 15 brings in the thought of the seed, for the household of faith must be "wholly a right seed" (Jeremiah 2:21). Abram says, "I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus;" as if to say, 'he is all right, but what is he to me?' Abram is discriminative; he must have "wholly a right seed" with right antecedents, right father, right mother. A wife must be a sister, not a half-sister. Esau married two of the daughters of the land. Ishmael had a good father but a poor mother. Mongrels are objectionable in the house of God. Look at Rome, Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterians, and so on -- the mothers are not right and the product cannot be right. The wholly right seed is Christ. Those of the right seed are of faith, and if they have the right mother they will apprehend the assembly.
In verse 9, the heifer comes first, then a she-goat, each mature. It is the feminine side in maturity. It means that Abram must go through things spiritually. He begins the four hundred years of suffering. It must be so, for it cannot be figured out in any other way; actually the children of Israel were in Egypt a little over two hundred years. So now
Abram begins to feel things -- the birds of prey come down on the carcases. These represent the powers of Satan. Then the horror of great darkness suggests that Christ entered into everything on the cross.
Genesis 26:1 - 4; Genesis 27:6 - 14; Genesis 28:1 - 5
J.T. We might look at the history of Isaac. It is an important question how those of the household of faith are to move in famine conditions. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob each had to do with famine conditions. Isaac is expressly charged not to go down to Egypt (Genesis 26:2).
Ques. Did Abraham suffer from going down?
J.T. It incurs evil consequences. Jehovah forestalls the evil in the case of Isaac. A direct word is given. Faith should teach us how to move in all conditions, but a direct word aids and encourages us. Isaac is told to "sojourn in this land", but he had also been told to "dwell in the land that I shall tell thee of". "This land" represents a present known land, a present known position in the testimony, but what is to be told keeps us in dependence. The sojourning is connected with "this land;" the dwelling with what is to come. It is like Ephesians 3:18. Paul had been at Ephesus three years, but the letter is something additional, and then there is something beyond that, "in order that ye may be fully able to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height; and to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge; that ye may be filled even to all the fulness of God". There is always more land to be possessed.
Ques. What is going down to Egypt?
J.T. It is turning to the world for support, the world in Egyptian character, that is in a moral sense, not geographical or governmental. Government is handed over to the gentiles, but the heavens still rule. As the Lord told Pilate: "Thou hadst
no authority whatever against me if it were not given to thee from above" (John 19:11). And again, "The powers that be are ordained of God" (Romans 13:1).
Ques. What about "Love not the world, nor the things in the world" (1 John 2:15)?
J.T. That refers to the world in a moral way. It also says that "God so loved the world". The word for "world" there, kosmos, means 'ordered' or 'ornament'. That is, as ordered in the divine mind, God loved it. It is not 'He loves it', but "He loved it". It was made by Him.
Taking out citizenship papers, or joining labour unions, is like going down to Egypt. I am asserting my rights if I take out citizenship papers.
Ques. Suppose the taking out of papers is made obligatory by the government?
J.T. If the government wants to make you take an oath to bear arms, that you cannot do. But I would have no difficulty if the government came to me and said, 'You are living here, you earn your livelihood here, we are going to make you a citizen'. I thank God for that, but I cannot take an oath. Paul had certain advantages in being free born, but it is worthy of note that the saints never helped him in Jerusalem although he went to serve them. It was his nephew who helped him. Paul appealed to his citizenship, but it is low ground. Isaac did not become a Philistine, but remained a heavenly man in the land. Abimelech brings Ahuzzath his friend and Phichol the captain of his host to Isaac (Genesis 26:26). That is, he would overawe Isaac. One represents the military, the other the social, side, but Isaac overcomes them both, and that in peace. He makes no concession. He overcomes evil with good, and it says (verse 32), "And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well that they had dug, and said to him, We have found water". Isaac had been seen
(verse 23) going up to Beer-sheba, not going down to Egypt.
I do not look on the president or a king as in the wicked one. It is important to understand that we should obey what he directs which does not interfere with right principles. If it goes beyond right principles we must call a halt. The president is ordered of God; so are kings, and what should we do without them?
There is much suffering amongst us because we are not intelligent. We are inclined to be righteous overmuch, and this we are told not to be. We should see all things clearly, not all persons, but all things.
Ques. What is your opinion about government aid being received by those in fellowship?
J.T. Many say it is equivalent to going to the world, but I do not think so. We have public hospitals, public schools, roads, and so on; who provides these? We pay taxes, too. It is not private aid, it is government aid.
Ques. Should we first take advantage of government aid? We should be humbled if we do not take care of our own.
J.T. The conscience has to be taken into account in receiving government aid, but one is very thankful for a friendly government. Then again, it might not be principle, but pride, which refuses aid from the government.
Ques. What about Isaac going to Abimelech?
J.T. At this stage the Philistines had not reached their final position of enmity. Abraham and Isaac are both on terms with them. But it was a dangerous position and failure later came about. But Isaac was in the land; he was not in Egypt. God would not have appeared to him in Egypt. He was fortified from going there by a direct word from God, just as current ministry should fortify us lest we fail as Abraham did. The Philistine attitude is tentative here. God would not force things. Isaac is greater
than they are, and God will hold things in abeyance with them until the time of David. As we have noted before, the day Isaac overcomes the two elements represented in the captain of the host and the friend, that same day they found water. Then we have the city idea in chapter 26: 33. It was not so with Abraham. It says in Genesis 21:31, "Therefore he called that place Beer-sheba", but in chapter 26, "therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day". Isaac has reached spiritually a point of order and government by making room for the Spirit, and that in peace. There is order in the household of Abram, but here it is government in a city. In Genesis 28:10, Beer-sheba is the starting point of Jacob. It is a point reached in the household of faith which stands.
We might now look at the subject of weaning. Hannah is said to have weaned Samuel, but here the mother's name is left out. It says: "And the child grew, and was weaned" (Genesis 21:8). Weaning is a fixed principle; it goes with growth and refers to believers in a christian household. Mary had not weaned the Lord spiritually, for when He was in the temple at the age of twelve, she says: "Child, why hast thou dealt thus with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee distressed" (Luke 2:48). The fixed principle was not there. The idea in weaning is that my child is cast upon God and I impress that upon him. A wife may maintain the principle when the husband fails. Abraham failed. "The thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son" (Genesis 21:11) -- that is, the casting out of Ishmael. It enhances the importance of having "a sister as wife" (1 Corinthians 9:5). In connection with this casting out it is remarkable that the Holy Spirit quotes her very words in Galatians 4:30. If the principle of weaning is not followed, we carry our children into the meeting, and in times of difficulty they follow blindly the lead we give, whether we are
right or wrong. It must follow. Abraham here is governed by natural feelings.
Rem. Barnabas could not have weaned John Mark.
J.T. In Genesis 27:6 - 17 Rebecca was governed by divine communications. What Jehovah had said to her in chapter 25: 23 underlies her actions in these verses. She loves Jacob. She has her mind on the right man. She can even say, "On me be thy curse, my son!" Rebecca represents discrimination; she loves the spiritually lovable man. He was not an athlete; not a man of the field. She loves him before it says God loved him.
Genesis 29:1 - 20; Genesis 37:3 - 10; Genesis 48:8 - 22
J.T. Today we might look at spiritual development as brought out in Jacob. Spiritual development is a great feature in the household of faith. It is reserved by the Spirit to be brought out in Jacob and his house. It is in the house where contrariety dominates for a long time. In Abraham's house that element is cast out; in Jacob's house it is overcome. Overcoming calls for patience with our brethren.
Joseph represents the spiritual side, and there is contrariety to the extent of hatred towards him; but love triumphs. None is lost. What we have had before us enters into this -- the trained servants, and going even to near Damascus for a brother. We cannot afford to lose a brother.
Ques. How do you view Laban in chapter 29?
J.T. He is a relative. I suggested this chapter so that we might see how we may secure our relatives. All the christians in the systems are our relatives. This chapter shows us how to reach them.
J.T. It is worthy of note that Jacob starts out from Beer-sheba under orders, and that in this connection the house of God comes to light (chapter 28: 17). Then in the light of the house of God chapter 29 comes before us. Note the stress laid on the relationship: "And it came to pass when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep of Laban his mother's brother" (verse 10). Thus a good way to reach our relatives in the denominations is to claim them as our brethren.
Then the next point in securing them is to serve them. It says, verse 14: "And he abode with him a month's time"; that is minister to them and they will then recognise their obligations to you. During this month Rachel was Jacob's cousin and Laban his uncle only.
Ques. What is the force of the month's time?
J.T. You do not force things in approaching your relatives in the denominations. We too often make them shy by condemning right away. They think we are pulling down, and we should build up. I do not think we should bring in the assembly or fellowship immediately. Of course you hold the assembly and fellowship in your mind, but there is a whole month -- something fresh can be brought out each of the thirty days. Paul at Ephesus is a good example of what I mean. He finds certain disciples and discerns that they lack the fruit of the Spirit. So he inquires: "Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye had believed? And they said to him, We did not even hear if the Holy Spirit was come. And he said, To what then were ye baptised? And they said, to the baptism of John. And Paul said, John indeed baptised with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him that was coming after him, that is, on Jesus. And when they heard that, they were baptised to the name of the Lord Jesus". Then Paul reasoned and persuaded concerning the kingdom of God, then separated the disciples and reasoned daily in the school of Tyrannus.
Ques. What does the stone at the well's mouth represent?
J.T. It is representative of the denominations. The sheep are there, the well is there, but there is no water flowing. The flocks are really not watered in the denominations. It is worthy of note that Jacob does not do anything until he sees Rachel. She corresponds with himself.
Ques. Will you say a word about verse 5?
J.T. It means that christians are known. They are known even in denominations. They are the preserving element there, and you may be sure they are known and marked. "They said, He is well; and behold, there comes Rachel his daughter with the sheep" (verse 6). That is, the evidence is there with her.
Ques. Is that the reason our meetings do not grow more -- we are not sufficiently interested in our relatives in denominations?
J.T. In going into a district you should look around for your relatives. Jacob does. It is the first thing he does. And then he sees something cognate with that -- the well, flocks of sheep, Rachel. One hundred years ago this thing went on; they looked and they found them. The early brethren claimed their relatives and showed their love for them, and they were blessed in doing it.
Feelings must enter into it. It says (verse 11), "And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept". He kissed her as a cousin. The idea of a well occurs frequently through this book, beginning with Hagar. The Holy Spirit is in christendom, but the stone must be rolled away. It is a good idea to invite our relatives to the fellowship meetings.
Every name in Jacob's family has a meaning. Each represents some circumstance of the child's birth. Every christian has a name, too. It is what is potential. In Jacob's house we see what God can do despite adverse conditions; He will bring out the spiritual line. The thought of the numeral twelve runs through the Scriptures. It is seen in the heavenly city; it means nothing is lost. It is flexible, it can be manipulated; it may be divided by six, four, three, two, and by itself. God can work out every intricate problem with that numeral. Every question will be solved in the kingdom.
Now we come to chapter 37. Joseph here represents the Lord Himself. His brethren could not greet Him with friendliness. What had Joseph done? Nothing, only it says that Israel loved him. If a man is persecuted he will prosper.
Joseph has a dream, and then another, showing that there is no subtraction but addition. Those who hate him are brethren, yet not one is to be lost. The dreams are the test and they bring out the flesh in the brethren; how humbling! and yet in Acts 7 they are called patriarchs.
It says in verse 11, "His father kept the saying". Mary the mother of Jesus "kept all these things in her mind, pondering them in her heart". She was not against Him.
The first dream represents the resurrection of Christ; the second His ascension. There is a suggestion of Christ in Joseph from his birth. Jacob moves after the birth of Joseph. God will always develop conditions for spirituality to become manifested.
In chapter 48 we have the supreme expression of spirituality in Jacob. Every one of his sons is blessed despite apostasy. Yet he does not spare them. The divine thought is to be maintained despite adverse conditions. Even Dan is blessed.
It says in verse 8: "And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me here". They are not mere relatives, as with Rachel, but "my sons". And then Jacob kisses and embraces them. Embracing means power, not only affection. Paul embraced Eutychus. Joseph's bringing them out from his knees would show that they are objects of affection with their father.
Jacob is superior to Joseph in this chapter. This is the only recorded time of failure in Joseph. It comes out in the superior spirituality of Jacob. He was claiming them, and the father would intrude, as
if to say, 'they belong to me'. Joseph overlooks the patriarchal side. It says (verse 17) "It was evil in his eyes", and this is a most serious thing. We are tested in the presence of superior spirituality. Joseph had never met a greater than he -- think of all his power and authority in Egypt -- yet he resorts to an act of violence. "He took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head". Jacob's hand was the hand of God. Here we are in the presence of the two greatest men on the earth, and Joseph is on the line of nature. God will not brook any interference, so that despite Jacob's natural vision being gone he is acutely sensitive spiritually.
Ques. Would Ephraim suggest the thought that there is something beyond the twelve? You have the twelve apostles, but then Paul is brought in.
J.T. Very good. Isaac likewise fails in his vision. Amos speaks of the high places of Isaac (Amos 7:9). It means being on heavenly ground and yet wanting in the features proper to it; but in Jacob we have a failing man who rises to a high note -- the highest peak in the range of the book. His name is changed; he has been emptied from vessel to vessel.
Ques. What does chapter 48: 22 mean?
J.T. It is the first-born's portion, I think. It is a spiritual allusion, meaning something taken in conflict and given to the first-born, a double portion. It no doubt alludes to what Christ has as First-born.
Exodus 2:1 - 11; Exodus 6:14 - 27
I thought we might go on to Exodus, carrying forward our subject of the household of faith, and see that it is presented more from a ministerial or levitical standpoint in this book. Levites typify the saints as all first-born ones; or as heavenly, as in the book of Joshua; or as ministers or servants -- as in Exodus. They are not a class today. All christians are priests and all are levites. They are here viewed as in service in testimony.
It is worthy of note that in chapter 6: 14 it says: "These are the heads of their fathers' houses", and so on, until you reach Levi; then Levi is pursued to Phinehas in verse 25, and nothing more is said about the tribes, but Moses and Aaron are brought in. That is, the service of the Levites is now emphasised.
As to the ministerial side of the household of faith, Levi includes the priesthood. Joshua 3:3 speaks of "the priests the Levites". But priesthood is more distinctive than leviteship. The priesthood is brought down to five persons: Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. They represent quality because of their fewness. There were twenty-two thousand Levites, six hundred thousand men of war, but only five priests.
It is important to note the character of the seed from Exodus 2:1. It must be a wholly right seed for the household of faith. The parents are both of Levi. What a wonderful union! This is to be a real family; family feelings exist. Aaron is said to be "the Levite". He represents the whole idea.
In chapter 1: 22 it says: "Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, but every daughter ye shall save
alive". Pharaoh's daughter is not a hostile person; she is different from her father, and nullifies his edict, and we find Jochebed looking after this child as another's. Pharaoh's daughter did not get her compassion from her father; God had prepared her, and we must be able to recognise everything that is different from the world. She is divinely prepared for this service to Moses, indeed she was his saviour.
As to levitical service, sometimes a brother makes money and says, I will retire and serve the saints. But the Levites were numbered from one month. It is a question of beginning early. There is no short cut to levitical service. Each man used of God has a history with God from his beginning. Think how far upstream God went in the preparation of Paul as a vessel, and Timothy "from a child" had "known the sacred letters".
There is no mention of Aaron and Miriam by name until they are old. Miriam is probably ninety years old when she is mentioned in Exodus 15. Both of these had secret history with God. Moses represents the official side; he is a type of Christ, the Mediator. He also represents authority -- the authority of God, which makes way for priesthood, whereas Aaron represents the sympathy and compassions of the Christ. Aaron's family is mentioned, but very little is spoken of Moses' family. Aaron, like the Lord Jesus, has "gracious words". Aaron's speaking turns the children of Israel to look towards the wilderness. "And Moses spoke to Aaron, Say to all the assembly of the children of Israel, Come near into the presence of Jehovah; for he has heard your murmurings. And it came to pass, when Aaron spoke to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, that they turned toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud" (Exodus 16:9, 10). The sympathetic touches of Christ would turn you toward the wilderness and the glory appears.
Then Aaron marries in Judah. This represents the purpose of God with priestly state. Judah brings in royalty -- "a royal priesthood".
The growth of Moses in a ministerial connection is to be noted. In Exodus 2:10 it says, "And when the child was grown;" but in verse 11, "And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their burdens". The Levite is a burden bearer, especially in Numbers. He is seen as carrying things. One thinks of Christ who bore our burdens. How many burdens there are at the present moment to be carried, what need of levites! But Moses does not bear them yet; that is to come later. He sees the two brothers fighting. That is a sorrow -- not a burden. In Galatia they were biting and devouring one another. These two were not ready for adjustment. Moses asks: "Why art thou smiting thy neighbour?" The man is not only a brother, but a neighbour. Your neighbour is one whom you should certainly not smite; you are to love your neighbour. Moses' levitical instinct leads him to smite the Egyptian, but the one who did wrong in fighting with his brother is depriving himself of a great minister who could help him. How often we do this!
Then it says, "Moses fled from before Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian. And he sat by the well". He had learned his lesson now. The smiting of Egyptians does not make a minister but sitting by the well does. Think of Moses as he made his journey from Egypt to Midian; it is a long distance. Every step of that distance taught him a lesson. He must have said to himself, 'I cannot deliver my brethren by smiting the Egyptians one by one; it would take me all my life'. He learns that it is "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts". Notice it is the well. Now Moses is truly on levitical lines. The idea of the well in Exodus and Numbers
helps us. Many depend on other things in service. The idea in a well is fresh resources coming up all the time. Then seven women come to draw water. What will he do now? He does not kill them; he protects them against the shepherds who drove them away. He supports the weak and does the work. He has gained knowledge by reflection. His instincts work out now; he was not told what to do. It is greater to know what to do than to be told. In Numbers 4 the Levites are apportioned their duties.
Another thing to be noted is that Reuel's daughters do not appreciate Moses; they tell their father, "An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds". A levite must be prepared for this -- to serve and get no thanks. Paul says: "Now I shall most gladly spend and be utterly spent for your souls, if even in abundantly loving you I should be less loved" (2 Corinthians 12:15). But Reuel has better thoughts than his daughters, showing that God cares for all Levites. Reuel is with God. God will never leave the Levites uncared for. Verse 21 says, "And Moses consented to remain with the man". It would almost appear that it was against his will. Paul says, "But if against my will" (1 Corinthians 9:17). A Levite is not self-willed; he happily accepts the will of Another. Moses does not stay for Zipporah; he remains "with the man". Think of Moses, the gentleman, the prince, with Reuel. Reuel is a Midianite and Moses is truly a great man. But this young man must now submit to obscurity. He is to be a shepherd. This is rough work for a nobleman, for a man trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. But how beautifully he accepts his circumstances. He does not look for a better place; he does not ask for wages. Everything comes from Reuel's side. Moses asks for nothing; he even accepts Zipporah, for it says: "He gave Moses Zipporah his daughter". Then, in chapter 3 it says, "And Moses tended the flock of Jethro his
father-in-law, the priest of Midian". They are his father-in-law's sheep; he has nothing. But God reveals Himself to him. What compensation! The Levite does not make his own path. The well is his resignation to the will of God. So that when his first son is born, Moses called his name Gershom. He accepts his circumstances; he is away from home.
The next thing to notice is that "he led the flock behind the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God -- to Horeb". He led them in the right direction, to the mountain of God. Notice it is the flock. No true minister will say, 'my flock'. It is Jethro's flock. Then there is the thorn-bush. It represents Moses' own littleness and nothingness, as well as Israel's, and it is not consumed. We must remember that "also our God is a consuming fire". He is many other things, which we know in grace, but He is, also, a consuming fire. This appearance reminds one of the three in Daniel. There was nothing to burn with them; and one "like a son of God" stands with them. There is no disparity -- how wonderful!
Moses is not careless. He took notice not only of the bush but that it was not consumed. Then the voice came to him, "Moses, Moses". The repetition of the name means distinction. Then he is told to loose his sandals from off his feet, for he was standing on holy ground. The sandals refer to personal dignity. In Luke 15 they are put on the feet of the younger brother. It is the dignity that God gives you in His house.
Exodus 4:27 - 31; Ephesians 2:18 - 22; Isaiah 56:1 - 8
The levitical feature of the household of faith becomes the link with the household of God, and this leads to worship. Exodus 4:31 says, "And when they heard that Jehovah had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped".
Levi is marked by saying to his father and mother, "I see him not" (Deuteronomy 33:9). He took the Lord's side in a crisis. He was not governed by natural feelings or affections. Levi marks the side that links on with God. In Ephesians 2:18 it says, "For through him we have both access by one Spirit to the Father". This is priestly privilege. "So then ye are no longer strangers and foreigners, but ye are fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the household of God". The link thus is in the levitical element. Isaiah 56 shows how it is maintained practically by those who keep the covenant.
Ques. Was Moses' reticence in approaching the children of Israel (chapter 4) modesty or reserve?
J.T. It is a very serious thing to resist God. Moses protests he cannot speak and God mentions Aaron. If he cannot undertake it alone God is not taken by surprise: He has Aaron in readiness. It says, "And Moses said to Jehovah, Ah Lord! I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant, for I am slow of speech", or 'heavy of mouth', "and of a slow tongue. And Jehovah said to him, Who gave man a mouth? or who maketh dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? have not I, Jehovah? And now go, and I will be with thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, Ah Lord! send, I pray thee, by the
hand of him whom thou wilt send. Then the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well" (Exodus 4:10 - 14). Aaron represents resources known in secret history. However distinguished a servant may be he must remember that God can get along without him, and that He can do it without impoverishing anything. Jehovah does not push Aaron. He merely says, "Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother?" Moses would imply an aspersion on God, as if He did not know. Later on he blames God (Numbers 11), so that the seventy are given, but there is no more power, it is distributed. It is only as Moses protests that God brings on Aaron. It brings out what is in our hearts -- that we are not slow to cast aspersions on God. The sequel shows what a speaker Moses became. In Deuteronomy 31:30 it says, "And Moses spoke in the ears of the whole congregation of Israel the words of this song, until their conclusion". There is nothing in this song to indicate that he is slow of speech and of a slow tongue. Paul says, "I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision". It is a serious thing to resist when God is urging. Mary did not resist in Luke 1:38; she said, "Be it to me according to thy word". It is solemn to reflect that Moses never got back the power he lost in Numbers 11.
In connection with service, we must take account of the way the Lord indicates our movements. According to Matthew, you go to Galilee for your material for a sermon. But in Luke you get it at "that hour;" it comes down. Matthew suggests that things are to be strenuous. You not only preach, but make disciples of all the nations. This requires what is strenuous on your part, and patience too, but as you apply yourself Christ is sure to meet you. But the scripture in Luke reads: "Do ye remain in the city till ye be clothed with power from
on high". That is, you do not move. This is what I find. You go and get your thought from the Lord, but when you stand up to minister what you have slips away from you ofttimes, and you depend on what comes in as you are on your feet. As it says in Acts 2:4, "As the Spirit gave to them to speak forth".
Ques. Will you say something of Aaron, who comes into evidence at this point?
J.T. Well, he is "thy brother". "Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother?" A brother is born for adversity. Aaron is there for a crisis; and he is "the Levite". Jehovah is the first to use the word, and Aaron the first to be so regarded. Jehovah says, "I know that he can speak well". God had heard him speaking many times, no doubt in prayer, for the first speaking of a man to God should be the speaking of prayer, as it says of Paul, "Behold, he is praying".
Aaron is eighty-three here, and he kisses Moses. What a felicitous meeting! God would bring the brethren together. Notice that each moves; Aaron moves, and Moses moves, and they meet at the mount of God, where there are infinite resources. We never love people we do not respect. In Romans 16, which begins with the commendation of Phoebe, the word "salute" occurs over twenty times. A salutation is a token of respect. Paul had never been in Rome up to this time, so far as we know, but he generally says something good of those saluted.
Ques. How does the "holy kiss" work out today?
J.T. We take it up in the spirit of it. Our intercourse is on holy lines. The holy kiss goes beyond feet-washing. There is no thought of any brother whom we cannot greet with a holy kiss. They had coteries at Corinth, yet Paul in his first epistle says, "Salute one another with a holy kiss" (1 Corinthians 16:20). It is a kiss in contrast with the kiss of Judas; it is normal christianity.
Ques. What is the force of the mountain of God in Exodus 4:27?
J.T. It is a place of divine resources; as in Genesis 22:14 "On the mount of Jehovah will be provided".
Ques. What is the import of verses 24 and 25?
J.T. It means there must be the rigid refusal of the flesh in levitical service, in the family. God's anger against Moses goes even so far as slaying him. God can brook nothing in us which is inconsistent with Himself.
Verses 27 and 28 give a beautiful picture of unity in those in the lead in service, and this is most important. "And Jehovah said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah who had sent him, and all the signs that he had commanded him". It means that if you have something from the Lord, give it to the saints, and you will get more. He gave him "all the words" and "all the signs;" nothing is kept back. If we keep things back we will not have the confidence of our brethren. We must be transparent. The signs were given in verses 2 - 8 of this chapter. How solemn to think of the power of Satan; and of what is possible in the breast -- what I am capable of. Yet the one is displaced by the power of God, and the leprosy is replaced by purity. It represents God's power to deal with both Satan and sin.
In verses 29 - 31 it says, "And Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the children of Israel; and Aaron spoke all the words that Jehovah had spoken to Moses, and did the signs before the eyes of the people. And the people believed. And when they heard that Jehovah had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped". That was
just as God intended. The seal of any levitical service is that it brings about worship in the saints.
The link in worship leads to the house of God. It says in Exodus 15:1, "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to Jehovah", and in verse 20, "And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the tambour in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambours and with dances". This is the line on which we enter from the household of faith into the household of God pleasingly. We are there as those who know how to be there and serve there. The view in Exodus is that all sons should be free to serve God in the house intelligently. "Let my son go, that he may serve me" (Exodus 4:23). This in chapter 4: 31 is anticipative. They are not yet out of the land of bondage, with burdens well nigh crushing them and still unremoved, and yet they worship. What powerful levitical service!
The scripture read in Ephesians 2 links on with Exodus. It is priestly. "For through him we have both access by one Spirit to the Father". We are brought in as priests by Christ Himself. All three divine Persons are active in verse 18. The "both" means Jew and gentile.
Ques. What is the difference between 'house' and 'household'?
J.T. The household brings God in actively; it is more than the house. He is there familywise. This is an advance on the household of faith; we are brought into God's household. Divine Persons are active in the sphere in which we are. We could not be here today, with any profit, on any other principle. The household of God indicates finality although it is provisional down here. It is not an eternal thought, but involves all there is for us.
Ques. What is the idea of fellow-citizens?
J.T. It is a national thought; we belong to heaven. It is the priestly element which qualifies us
for access to God. Many are in the household of faith; they attend readings, preachings, and so on, but the household of God requires a heart and nearness.
Now we come to Isaiah 56:1, 2. "Thus saith Jehovah: Keep ye judgment and do righteousness; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth fast to it; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil". It is not here the Levite, but the "man" and the "son of man", and it is in connection with keeping the covenant. Are we upright enough to keep the covenant of God? There is an obligation attaching to us. The sabbath is mentioned first in Exodus 16:23. "This is what Jehovah has said: To-morrow is the rest, the holy sabbath, of Jehovah". It is mentioned also in Exodus 31, attached to the building of the tabernacle, where God says He was refreshed when He had finished His work. The sabbath is the great thought of Israel. If you add up the time in connection with sabbath keeping for the people, lands, cattle, and so on, you will find that almost one-third of their time was taken up in this manner. The fear is that God does not get much out of His people; other things and other interests occupy so much of our time.
God's covenant with Abraham was not dual; but with Israel His covenant was dual. They said, "All that Jehovah has said will we do". It was thus ratified. Our committal is in the Supper. It corresponds with the sabbath. It is a challenge if we mean what we are doing. The 'if' is on our side. So God says, "Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth fast to it; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. And let not the son of the alien, that hath joined himself to Jehovah, speak saying, Jehovah hath entirely separated me
from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree; for thus saith Jehovah: Unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast to my covenant, even unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the alien, that join themselves to Jehovah, to minister unto him and to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast to my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. The Lord Jehovah, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith; Yet will I gather others to him, with those of his that are gathered". How wonderful it is, and it all hinges on our acceptance of our responsibility. There is a striking relation between the Lord's supper and the sabbath. Does everyone understand that it is a committal, and a committal that God holds us to? The privileges of the house are committed to us on that ground. The sabbath is the sign of the first covenant, and, taking fifty years as a basis, it will be found from the passages in Leviticus which concern sabbath-keeping that about one-third of the year was taken up in this way. One is not to be distracted, but to be for God, in sabbath conditions. For us it is the first day of the week, not the last day. You do not begin the Lord's day by physical rest merely but by spiritual restfulness. And I would put the question to each, Do fifty-two breakings of bread dominate your whole year? The Lord's supper should dominate the whole week. It is disgraceful that one should come to the Lord's supper and never be seen during the rest of the week.
The Lord's supper is at the entrance of the tent of meeting; by the Spirit we enter. I may eat it and not approach, for the approach is by the Spirit. God is inside, so to say.
In Exodus 31 there is the thought of refreshment to God. How delighted He was as He contemplated all these things! -- the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the mercy-seat and all the utensils of the tent -- all speaking of Christ!
Ques. What is keeping judgment in Isaiah 56:1?
J.T. We need this verse for our care meetings. There is so much sluggishness. In matters relative to the saints in a local gathering, we want to do justice. Our care meetings must be characterised by keeping judgment and doing righteousness. There is no moral housekeeping without a care meeting. There is no salvation as spoken of in verse 1 if things are allowed to drag.
Ques. Is that why there are still many meetings without sufficient spiritual energy to have a Bible reading on Lord's day afternoon?
J.T. I think the most auspicious time for a reading is on the Lord's day. It is like the hill country in Luke. It was not meaningless that God chose that terrain on which are located Jerusalem, Hebron and Bethlehem. The average height is 2,700 feet, and Hebron is 3,000 feet above sea level. I think the Lord is helping us in regard of our sluggishness.
Rem. We should not be sluggish. We will have a thousand years to rest, as it says, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God".
Numbers 2:1 - 9; Acts 2:14 - 16; Genesis 33:1 - 7
I am thinking of what God presents in approach to men, and the order in which He presents it. This necessarily involves His will in regard to that which He presents, and it is what is available as under His hand. As thus under His hand, it is pliable, capable of being distributed according to His will, capable of manipulation in that skilful and loving hand of His. This applies to every one of those whom He has secured through the gospel, so that no one has a choice; all is being worked out according to the sovereign and wise will of God.
For instance, a man having a legion of demons comes out of the city in nakedness. The Lord casts out the demons and the man is found sitting, clothed and sensible, at the feet of Jesus. That is what meets the eye of those who come out to see him. They request the Lord to depart from them, and the man wishes to go with Him. I might say it is what I would wish too. I would not only wish to be in His company always, but I have no desire to stay where He is refused, and where, moreover, I would be alone, surrounded by haters of Christ. But despite this, you are to stay. There is no meeting there, no believers as companions, but you are to stay. "Return to thine house and relate how great things God has done for thee" (Luke 8:39). Someone says, Well, this man will perish! No support, no sympathy, a lone man in a place marked as one of ten cities, Decapolis. But no, "Return to thine house". The Lord makes no mistakes. It is on this principle that the testimony is extended. The position of each is to be determined by the Lord; He will
take care of the consequences. This man occupied an outpost in the field; to move away would be to disarrange the Lord's ordering, to defeat it. Then there is the case of the eunuch. It says that he went on his way rejoicing; there is not a word about going back. So that, dear brethren, if the Lord has located us here or there, our wisdom is to accept His disposition, which is according to His perfect knowledge of us. To leave or to move elsewhere because of poverty is contrary to His purpose and casts aspersion on His wisdom.
The Lord makes disposition of His forces even in the garden. How touching this is! He moves to a certain point with the eleven, then further on with the three, and then He Himself goes a stone's cast beyond. All is done in the ordering of perfect wisdom, despite all that He was about to endure. It is thus quite evident that our movements must depend on His.
In connection with the first scripture I read, I would call your attention to the disposition of what God has in His hand at the outset. Here it is typical of the public position at Pentecost. It is not a broken state of things. Christianity started not with broken things but in perfection, and our scripture in Numbers 2 teaches us what this is. It is governed by the numeral twelve. God has long been working with this number. It dates back to the days of Jacob in Genesis 29 and 30. God has had all this under His eye in the centuries that have elapsed since the tribes left Egypt, since they suffered under Pharaoh and came out victoriously. And now they are under God's hand. Each individual is seen pitching by his father's house. It is a family matter, and the whole is divided into four sections of three tribes each. It is not a broken front, but a united one as under His hand. There are Judah and his two toward the sun-rising, Reuben and his two southward, Ephraim
and his two on the west, and Dan and his two in the north, all surrounding the dwelling-place of God. The Levites are in a more intimate position, as in the midst of the camps (Numbers 2:17). Moses and Aaron and his sons are seen at the door of the tent of meeting, keeping the charge, and Jehovah is inside, so to say.
Now I wish to point out that the position occupied by the tribes outside corresponds to the position inside, that is, as they are seen on the breastplate of Aaron. They are there in four rows of three, on the breastplate of the high priest. How far christianity has departed from this! How beautiful to see God dwelling in the midst of an ordered camp whereas today we see every man doing that which is right in his own eyes! That is the outside position. And then to realise that on the inside each has a place in the heart of Christ which corresponds to his position as surrounding the tabernacle. How secure each one is, as having a place inside on the heart of the High Priest.
Suppose one of the camp of Judah were to arise at night and look out. What does he see? He sees a pillar of fire over the tabernacle. How restful he must be at such a sight! And then God looks out, and what does He see? Each tribe in his appointed place, and how restful He is! It is beautiful. God rests in that love. He rests in the evidence of His love in us as each abides in his place. Well, that is the position in the wilderness, and it determines our position now.
I have read from Acts 2 because I believe that passage governs active ministry. We see Peter here standing up with the eleven. One may say, Why cannot I go out and preach when I like and where I like? But Peter did not; he stood up with the eleven. There was more in those eleven for God than in all others in the universe. No angel in heaven could compare with those men. They had been with Jesus all the time that He "came in and went out
among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day that he was taken up from us". They had thus got all the benefit of the Lord's discipline, all His corrections, all His rebukes. He had said to Peter and his brother, "I will make you fishers of men". God made His angels spirits, but not for a special work. Here is one made for a special work. A master may make rough work, or he may make a refined vessel as He did Peter.
One feature seen in the apostles is that they knew what to do without being told. Peter stands up with the eleven, and lifts up his voice, and speaks to the Jews. The twelve here set forth the great principle governing ministry. It is a question of God's ordering. Peter had many converts that day, but they did not confine their questions to Peter. Christianity was never meant to be a one-man affair. It recognises one Man in heaven, even Christ our Head, but never one man down here. What we recognise is every God-given gift.
What I have specially before me is in Genesis, as in keeping with what the Lord has stressed during this conference, that is, the reconciliation of brethren. It is a great feature of latter-day ministry; indeed gospel addresses, as well as the ministry of the Lord's servants in general, are addressed to those already in relation with God, and He does not seem to bless much outside of that. So that ministry today must have in view the recovery of brethren. I hope to show from this passage how that ministry may be carried on successfully.
Genesis 32 and 33 are taken up with an offended brother. How many there are! Estranged for one reason or another. Here in Genesis the breach is twenty years old. And now Jacob is coming back from Padan after twenty years of estrangement from his brother. At Padan he probably thought of his wives and his flocks and so on, but not of his
estranged brother. And now he has to meet Esau. We too will have to meet our estranged brother, if not now, then later. We shall all meet up there.
So Jacob sends a message to Esau. He says, "Thus shall ye speak to my lord, to Esau: Thy servant Jacob speaks thus -- With Laban have I sojourned and tarried until now; and I have oxen, and asses, sheep, and bondmen, and bondwomen; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favour in thine eyes". Listen to how he speaks to an offended brother! Is that going to gain Esau? 'I have got wealth now; I am a man of importance; I am different now, Esau!' Will that gain him? No! It will create jealousy and envy. It is like telling your estranged brother, 'I am getting on in the truth now; I have many converts; we never had better meetings, and so on'. That will not help. The messengers return to Jacob, and what do they say? Has Jacob found favour in his lord's eyes as he wished? The answer is, "He also is coming to meet thee, and four hundred men with him". Jacob understood perfectly; this is not love, it is war; they may be soldiers. "Then Jacob was greatly afraid, and was distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the sheep and the cattle and the camels, into two troops". What a sorry state between two brothers! But now he has recourse to God. He tells God he is afraid of his brother. "And he lodged there that night". The next day he sets apart droves of cattle. What are they for? They are gifts for his brother. That thought came to him in the night. I suppose the Lord Jesus said many times, "It is more blessed to give than to receive". And then he sends the droves on, one after the other, and he remains there another night. "And the gift went over before him; and he himself lodged that night in the camp". But that night he says, as it were, Maybe the gifts will not appease Esau! So he arose
and disposed of his family, his two wives, his maid-servants, and his sons, and led them over the ford of the Jabbok, and over the river. "And Jacob remained alone". What a moment! But it is not long, for God has His eye on him. Then God says, as it were, I see your concern, Jacob; it is not Esau, is a question between your soul and Me. Dear brethren, it is this every time. This must be settled, "and a man wrestled with him until the rising of the dawn". With Esau he thought he could settle things at a distance, but that will never do. Estranged brethren are not reconciled at a distance. Jacob had thought of the face of Esau, but he gets a good look into the face of God. And God says, as it were, I see, Jacob, you are really seeking to be reconciled to your brother. Now I will let you overcome Me; if you can overcome Me, you can overcome Esau. So Jacob acquires power with God. "And he said, Let me go, for the dawn ariseth. And he said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. And he said to him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall not henceforth be called Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast wrestled with God, and with men, and hast prevailed".
He sees God face to face. The face of God is the face of Jesus now, and it is not beyond us. Then God says, as it were, You cannot meet Esau on natural lines; you must be crippled. So He touches the joint of Jacob's thigh and dislocates it. Then Jacob passes over Peniel as the sun rises, limping on his hip. And he lifts up his eyes and looks, and behold, Esau is coming with four hundred men. What a sight meets Esau's eyes! What a change in Jacob. These changes are necessary, dear brethren. Paul tells the Corinthians that "We all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
There is no change in Esau until he sees the change in Jacob.
Then Jacob begins to set out his family. "And he distributed the children to Leah, and to Rachel, and to the two maidservants: and he put the maidservants and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindmost". He is full of the family thought. How much better one can love in a household setting than in an office at a desk, for instance. It is a question of environment. And now Jacob begins to discriminate, because room must be made for Christ. So that as the family draw near to Esau, the order of verse 2 is reversed from Rachel and Joseph to Joseph and Rachel (verse 7), meaning that Christ is coming into evidence as seen in Joseph. He takes precedence over his mother now, and that settles the matter.
See Jacob limping along. He has passed on before them all. Esau would be saying, What has happened? You are not as you used to be; you are changed. Yes! Crippling has had its effect. Esau is still the brother, though we cannot carry that too far because of subsequent history.
Now the family bows. Christ has a place there; room has been made for Him, and He takes precedence Himself.
I feel the great mission of the moment is to seek out our brethren, not on their terms but on the Lord's. He is about to secure us all for Himself, by archangel's voice and trump of God. But before that time He wishes to recover all of us now, to holy, happy fellowship in the Spirit. May the Lord bless the word!
Ruth 3:15: 4: 1; Acts 9:6, 10 - 12; 2 Samuel 15:24 - 37
I have in mind, dear brethren, to occupy you with the idea of a city as presented in Scripture, hoping to suggest something applicable, and perhaps distinctive, so that the divine thought may be better understood and carried into effect by us in these days of small things in which we are. But however small the things may be that are current, no divine thought is to be small to us, or allowed to lapse; all is to be held in a living way. You will remember when the Lord in the book of Revelation had spoken and shown Himself to John, that, as John fell at His feet as one dead, the Lord touched him, saying, "I am ... the living One" (Revelation 1:17). That is what He was, that is what He would be, what He had shown Himself to be as He arose from the dead. According to Luke's account He had shown Himself unto them living (Acts 1:3), and He had not ceased to be that. Whatever decay had taken place in the assembly -- and, alas, decay had set in -- there would be no change in Christ. He was still the living One, and He touched John, which is a suggestion of what is needful in remnant times, the touch of the living One. He laid His right hand upon John, meaning that not only was He living, but His strength remained and was available, so that John should carry out his service accordingly. He was to carry it out not only as a mere seer -- although he was that, and was to write the things that he had seen, and the things that are and the things that should be afterwards -- but the spirit of life was to enter into his writing. John makes much of writing. The fourth gospel is his, as we know, the great theme being life; and his first epistle also deals with life, and so throughout his earlier writings, they are all in
relation to life. It is as if the Lord were to say, 'There must be no flagging; the ministry must go on in a living way; whatever the state of the saints, the state of the minister must be that he is living;' and we know by reading those wonderful chapters in the Apocalypse what vigour and life there is in the writer, and how he appeals in relation to the water of life. What a volume, too, there is! There is no slackening of the thought in relation to the river that flows out from the throne of God, clear as crystal, "the river of water of life", fructifying all that is around.
So the Lord would encourage us in regard of every thought of God; nothing should be dormant among us, although we may be at times at a loss to know how to make the thoughts living; but things are only living practically as they are held by the Spirit in our hearts and minds. We may be at a loss at times to make every thought practically living; but as we wait on the Lord He supports us so that no thought should be dormant, or dead; and certainly not the thought of a city. That is to go forward. We all know how it comes in in Revelation; we are never tired of referring to the marvellous presentation of it in chapter 21. How stimulating it is! and how it should reflect backwards so as to stimulate us in our day in regard of the divine thought; for certainly the presentation of it there is in order that we might see that it has not lapsed in the mind of God. It is one of the great thoughts of God, presented from the outset of faith, and looked for by faith.
I read from Ruth to show how the thought of the city appears there in what I might call the creating of royalty; for the city thought necessarily attaches to royalty. There is "The city of the great King" (Matthew 5:35); that is the idea; and what we get here in Boaz gives us the clue to what there was in Bethlehem, this great Bethlehemite, Boaz, the
mighty man of wealth, the sure type of Christ, as Ruth came into his view expressing her claim. The Lord loves to have His people coming forward and asserting their claims, their relation to Him. If there are those here who have not done it, nothing will please the Lord better than that you should come forward and assert your claim before Him. As a believer you have a claim upon Him; He has placed Himself in such a position as to suggest that to us, not only in becoming Man, but in His manner and in His ways. He is in truth a Man, with all the sympathies of a Man, ready to acknowledge every claim put forth, and to meet it. The grace of Boaz encourages Ruth, and as governed by the wise instruction of her mother-in-law she pursues a certain course which involves a claim on Boaz, which claim he owns at once. The Lord will never put you off. Nothing pleases Him better, I am bold to say, than that His people should come forward in the assertion of any claim they may think they have on Him. He has placed Himself in relation to us to incite such a thought in our hearts, that we have a claim on Him. As becoming Man He stands related to us, not in any merely human way, for His humanity is unique; it is not like ours. It is altogether of its own kind, but nevertheless real humanity, so that He is within the range of all men, but especially now of those who, as believers, may have some little thought of the assembly -- of their having part in it.
So that Boaz accepted the suggestion of Ruth at once, and that is why I called attention when reading the scripture to the changed pronoun, pointing out that it ought to be 'he', instead of 'she' as in the Authorised Version. The meaning is plain enough, that while it is true that she also went into the city, the point is that he went into the city. That is, her claim suggested to him a great matter, not only her matter, but a great matter, that is, the question of
redemption. We do well to go over the ground of redemption, and if there be any claim put forward on the Lord as our Redeemer, the One who has a right (for it is a question of right) the Lord will go over the whole ground with us. There is constant need that the Lord should go over the whole ground of one phase of the truth after another, and every time He does it we get something distinctive. It is no question of one meeting being better than another, but is there anything distinctive? Is there anything that is needed? Is there anything that the Lord has called attention to? If there be something that we have been neglecting, or have not perceived, then there is profit, definite gain as we go over the matter. And so Boaz went into the city as if making it a great matter. It may be a small matter in our eyes, but it is not so in the Lord's, for everything must stand in relation to the whole scheme or system of truth. If He is to meet the obligation put upon Him, so to speak, He must go into the city, the great centre where all things are resolved, where the light and the authority and the administration are carried out. He goes into the city. Sure enough, Naomi had suggested this to Ruth. After she had told her mother-in-law what had occurred Naomi said that the man would not rest until he saw the matter through; neither will the Lord rest. He proceeds at once, but He proceeds according to His own methods, which are always best. We had better, having suggested what is needed, leave matters with Him, and He will take our little affairs and bring them into His great affairs, and He will work them out in relation to His great affairs. So that Boaz goes into the city and sits in the gate, the gate being, of course, a place of publicity. It was a public place, but it was the place where things happened. How great a thing it is, beloved brethren, to be where divine things are happening, where they are likely to
happen, and where they do happen! Many of us miss much because we do not frequent the place of divine happenings. Others get the gain of them, and we miss it because of our slothfulness. As has often been remarked, Anna did not miss anything; she was in the place of divine happenings. "There was a man in Jerusalem", we are told in Luke 2:25, meaning that that was his place. He was a spiritual man and at the very centre of things, and Anna came in when the great happening was proceeding; she did not miss anything. We never can tell in the assembly, when the saints are together, what may happen, what the Lord may do or say; hence how imperative it is to be there in the place of happenings, and especially royal happenings.
So Boaz sat in the gate and took up this matter. You are all conversant, no doubt, with the teaching of the history given in chapters 1 and 2, not only with the things that happened, but with what was required to meet the position. The obligation put on Boaz was carried out not only as in the city, but in relation to Israel. The way of doing things is called attention to, that is, the allusion is to the spiritual way of doing things: "This was the custom in ... Israel" (Ruth 4:7). I have no doubt, dear brethren, that the answer to all this in chapters 3 and 4 may be worked out in the gospels in relation first to Israel and then to the assembly. They both were in view in the closing moments of the Lord's life when He sent His disciples into the city to prepare the passover. It was a great matter. We do well to ponder the facts presented, as to what came into the Lord's mind, as I might say, the passover speaking of His relation to Israel which He was now foregoing, for He would not again partake of the fruit of the vine until He should drink it in a new way in the kingdom of His Father. But there was that before His eyes which was becoming everything to Him, that is, the
assembly; and hence the deliberation with which everything was done, especially as recorded in Luke's gospel. It is really the Lord going to the city, literally, of course, Jerusalem, but more than that; He had already around Him an order of things, and had already inaugurated the system where henceforth all these thoughts, and the light of God, and the administration of God, should issue. We should bear all this in mind in pondering the records of the institution of the Lord's supper. The Lord impresses us with His carefulness (not that He was not always careful) that there should be preparation, and that there should be no cause for misunderstanding afterwards. The taking on of the right of redemption, and the obligation, and all that went with redemption -- that is, in relation to Israel and the assembly, now that the assembly was coming into view -- made it imperative that the disciples should realise what was taking place, that there should be no mistake, but that it should be perfectly clear what was in the Lord's mind. So as in the case of Boaz who went and sat in the gate, the Lord acted with the greatest deliberation. There was no question yet of the assembly as in Corinth, for there is no evidence of any sisters being present. It was a question of testimony, a question of Israel's custom; it was a question of everything being carried out according to God, and that the Lord's rights in redemption should be indisputable, that no question should be raised as to them; and to this end He was ready to accept humiliation. Doubtless the drawing off of the shoe as in the case of Boaz implies that the Lord had to accept humiliation, which He did, and went into the dust of death in order to establish His redemptive rights in relation to whomsoever they applied, and especially to ourselves now.
I would speak, dear brethren, of the royal aspect of the city, how the germ of it was there in the upper
room; and so as the Lord went up to heaven, as you will remember in Acts 1, the disciples returned from the mount of Olives to the city and went to the upper room; and we are told who were there. We are not left in any doubt as to the ability of those present to maintain the city thought. The names of the eleven apostles and others are given, guaranteeing without a doubt that the true city of God was already there, and that things were being carried out according to the Lord's mind concerning them in His absence.
Now, what I have said about the Lord's supper and what was in the upper room in Jerusalem requires careful consideration so that we might see how the thought of the city was there, and how it worked out in the succeeding chapters in Acts. But it waned, and it has continued to wane until well-nigh lost; although a little revival has taken place as depicted typically in the days of Nehemiah. We cannot, however, but be sensible of its smallness; and in Acts 9 we see how the Lord would check or repair whatever damage had accrued through carelessness. It is not Jerusalem now, nor are the apostles there, but the Lord had in His mind that the city in the true sense of the word should exist. That, dear brethren, is where special attention is needed, because the Lord has left us here so that we might help our brethren, and be ready to serve them. That is to say, the particular business of those who love the Lord at the present time is to help our brethren, so many of whom need help. So the Lord has one in Acts 9 in Saul, and He directs him to go into the city. Now, it is not accidental that the word 'city' is used, for you can understand that the Lord does not simply mean that Saul was to go inside the walls; He has more than that in mind. The Lord has in His mind the great thought of the city which He has inaugurated in the twelve; and now, as it was
waning in Damascus and doubtless at Jerusalem too, He would make repairs; for it is one great feature of divine operations that the vessels engaged in the divine work should not misrepresent what is being done. Ananias was not equal to the great service needed, and I have no doubt, dear brethren, that this applies generally today, that the service of helping our brethren is but poorly carried out, and for the reason that the city is not understood in a living way. So the Lord makes repairs. He is the "Repairer of the breaches". Who can do it like Him? We can turn to Him with the greatest confidence as to all our local sorrows, and they are many, alas. Local eruptions are frequent, and there is no hope save as we can bring the Lord in; He is ready to come in. No one asked Him to do so in this case, but He actually came into Damascus Himself; He sent Saul in, but He came in too, not to set the city itself right, not to help the mayor and the aldermen to keep order (it is not the Lord who does those things but God as the sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth) but the Lord Jesus came in as occupied with the city in a spiritual way, putting matters right in that sense. Ananias was a man evidently having a certain position as a leader; he is said to be pious, having a good report of the Jews; but although there may be leaders in localities that are pious and have a very good report, they may be very remiss in regard of such a matter, and the service and urgency needed, that is, to know how to meet a brother. It is a part of the city service. So the Lord goes to Ananias; He speaks to him, calling him by name. The Lord is watching over our little gatherings in the cities, towns, villages and hamlets in which we may be, and He is concerned that the city principle should not lapse, however small and weak things are, in order that the thing should be livingly maintained. So the Lord goes to Ananias and puts him right,
and Ananias goes to Saul. The Lord even knew the name of the street where Saul was, as He knows every street in the cities, towns and villages where the saints are, and it was a street called Straight. I have no doubt that is a street the Lord would call attention to, for there is a, great deal of crookedness among us; not that I am accusing the brethren, but it is well to face the actual conditions today. No doubt economic conditions have been the immediate cause of the present situation, but there is a moral cause, and if we are with God we think of these things. "Our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29), and if the Lord calls attention to a street called Straight, that is what is in His mind, that things have to be straight. So Ananias goes to Saul; but how rapidly and how effectively was his administration carried out; and how rapidly this brother Saul, this elect vessel unto Christ, came to maturity and preached Jesus as the Son of God!
Now that is one side; that is the second thought I had in mind. The first great thought of the city is that brought in by the Lord in Jerusalem in view of His death, showing us that things were all there fully attested; nothing lapsed or was omitted of all that was made known in the way of testimony, and it was all furnished in the upper room in Acts 1. Then Acts 9 shows how the Lord is repairing the breaches, and seeing to it that our service in caring for the brethren should not be impaired, that the thought of the city should not lapse, but be maintained in its dignity. If we are concerned as to this we shall not be citizens according to the minds of men; indeed, the city of God is our deliverance from the cities of this world. It is a very solemn matter. It says in Revelation 16:19, "The cities of the nations fell", great as they are; but in this one all is to make room for this great thought of God which is to be treasured. The very thought of it, as it takes form
in any little way in us, is delightful to heaven, and the Lord is ever ready to repair the breaches so that things might be done according to His mind.
I want to show in the last scripture how this great thought is maintained not only in our localities, but in a general way, so that the city thought is maintained in the very presence of the apostasy. This is a great problem, and a great matter; and this scripture that deals with it is one of the most interesting sections of Scripture, certainly in this connection. Absalom had revolted, and Israel with him, and he was approaching Jerusalem, just as today the apostasy is heading up and almost engulfing everything and yet not everything, for after all -- and I say it with great triumph -- there is that here on earth, although obscure, which it cannot touch, and which means the overthrow of it all, the complete negation of the whole matter, and which will itself grow and grow till at last it will come out and fill the universe. These things of which I have been speaking and which we go on with in our localities, will be presently unveiled (they are veiled now) and they will fill the universe in the heavenly city.
I now want to show just briefly how this is seen in this remarkable type. David, as you will observe, is in rejection. He is leaving the city; that is to say, applying it today, the Lord in a moral sense is rejected; really He has no place in christendom viewed as a whole. That is the position. What He had in the first of Acts and indeed right through Acts no longer exists publicly; He is already rejected in christendom as a whole. This has gone on for centuries, and David's position is a type of the Lord's, but what he says to Zadok and then to Hushai and the sequel to that show how the victory is certain. That is, there is that here that means the overthrow of the apostate religious state of things, and what I want to say, dear brethren, is that it is a mystery
belonging to believers; I mean ourselves. We need to understand the idea of a mystery, and not to be too ready to talk of things. Of course, it is right to enlighten people as to the gospel; that can ever be presented; there is no veil connected with the presentation of the grace of God; but there is a danger in presenting other things. There is the mystery of the gospel (Ephesians 6:19); and then there is "the mystery of the kingdom of God" (Mark 4:11). The thought of mystery is a thing very little understood among us, and less practised; because if I have the thought of the mystery of the gospel, I begin to make it mysterious; I begin to show that I treasure things in my mind and ponder them in my heart, that I am not willing to tell people about all that is going on in private; for unless we keep the mystery to ourselves there is no hope of carrying out the thought of the city, and the overthrow of Absalom's system, which is already overthrown in the hearts of believers. Presently God will overthrow the whole system in keeping with what we cherish, for it says, "God has judged your judgment upon her" (Revelation 18:20). That is what He does, and no one could do it but God; "in one hour" (verse 19) will her judgment come; and she will be judged, as it says, according to our judgment. You see how great the position is. So David says to Zadok, "Carry back the ark of God into the city". That has to be viewed abstractly; that is, the Lord is taking the city, meaning that no true follower, no lover of Christ, no one who keeps His commandments, can be sectarian, can be a partisan (which involves the denial of all this); the ark must be held in relation to the whole city, the whole assembly. "Carry back the ark of God into the city". It requires faith to do it, to regard that which the ark means as the symbol of divine power in operation, to see to it that that should be held in our souls in relation to the whole assembly, in relation
to every saint of God on earth, so that we are not sectarian, but have the ark set up and held in that way in our minds.
Then, that being accomplished (for Zadok carried out the king's commandment), David "went up by the ascent of the Olives" (verse 30). It is a beautiful thought. There is the descent and the ascent; this is the ascent. We shall never know how to descend unless we know how to ascend the mount of Olives. The ascending one is the descending one. David ascended the mountain in a beautiful spirit, and worshipped on the top of it, and then Hushai comes into view, and mark the kind of man he was. He represents a great spiritual element; he is spoken of as a friend of David. What a privilege it is to be in the position of a friend in these circumstances -- David's friend! "Hushai David's friend came into the city" (verse 37), the precursor of the overthrow of Absalom. That one man, the friend of David, is the guarantee that Absalom would not prevail. What a thing it is to be a friend of Christ! and He requires friends who will be loyal to Him, and if loyal to Christ, they will be loyal to one another. So that Hushai is reminded by David that in the city was the ark, and Zadok and Abiathar and their sons; that is, there was a secret system, unknown to Absalom, set up in the very midst of the city that spelt his overthrow.
Much more could be said about this, but time is gone; but I do urge this friendship to Christ. He says, "Ye are my friends if ye practise whatever I command you" (John 15:14). It is "whatever". Let us not make our selection as to what commandments we are going to practise. It is "whatever I command you". Hushai did exactly what David commanded, and he was eminently successful. It is "whatever I command you". Are we prepared to say that it is of no importance at all, that it is a
matter not worth mentioning? Is that so? "I praise you", says Paul, "that in all things ye are mindful of me; and that as I have directed you, ye keep the directions" (1 Corinthians 11:2). It is "whatever I command you". Success lies in adhering strictly, not only to a selection of the commandments, but to whatsoever is commanded; and, moreover, as Paul says, we shall discern, if we are spiritual, that they are the Lord's commandments (1 Corinthians 14:37). Although spoken through Paul's lips, they were the Lord's commandments. As being able to discern them by their own characteristics through whomsoever the Lord's mind is disclosed, we embrace them, not only because of the person who may speak but because of the thing itself. That is indeed how the canon of Scripture began to exist; it had its own authority. It is no question of the rule of synod or church council; it is a question of what the Scriptures are themselves to those who love the Lord. And so it is "whatever I command you" -- whatever comes out today, whatever the Lord calls attention to; it carries its own weight; and lovers of Christ discern it, having moved on in that way. As in the case of Hushai they see victory after victory, the power of antichrist broken, and souls brought in, into the fellowship of God's Son, into the fellowship of His death, and into the fellowship of the Spirit.
Exodus 24:9 - 11; Exodus 25:1 - 9, 40; Numbers 15:37 - 41; Exodus 1:21
J.T. What is in view is that we might look at the heavenly side of our position. God in taking us up from the outset had this in view, laying the basis of it in our souls in His initial operations. So that in Exodus 1, the houses built for these women would have a distinctiveness that made them different. They would be different from the Egyptian houses. The principle of being different is worked out in the New Testament, the Lord Himself setting it out on the mount of transfiguration, for He became different (Luke 9:29). And in the houses of these midwives we may see a principle as to our own houses.
Then in chapter 24 we see Moses and Aaron, and Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel going up, and they see what is up there. And then in the next chapter we have the request on the part of Jehovah that they should build Him a sanctuary, which we know from the New Testament was a figure, a representation of the things in the heavens (Hebrews 9:23). So that we see set forth in type in this sanctuary what is up there; hence the injunction recorded that it should be according to the pattern shown in the mount, shown above, not simply the pattern shown, but the one shown up there.
Then in Numbers 15 the tassels were to be on the corners of their garments, attached to which was to be a lace of blue, the lace of blue also reminding us of what is above, what is heavenly brought down into our circumstances. The tassels were to be on the corners of their garments, that is to say, as we turn round in our life of responsibility down here there is a testimony to the heavenly colour, a testimony that we are different. In taking us up God began to lay
the basis of the heavenly in our souls, and we are taken up out of one place in view of another. So that the teaching is one from the beginning, and the babes in Christ are to have the same kind of teaching as the fathers and they are taught by the same persons. The apostle John taught the fathers, the young men and the little children, and the spiritual thought as to the heavenly character of our calling is to be laid in the soul from the beginning. Only a spiritual man can do that. The teaching is to be one whole, hence this thought of the houses, a very familiar thought from the beginning. As children were born to the people of Israel there were those that cared for them and by these midwives Jehovah saved them in spite of the injunction of the king. So that it says that God made them houses, and these houses would be a standing testimony to His thought for His people in an adverse world.
J.S. What disastrous results there were from Jacob stopping at Succoth and building a house there prior to getting to Bethel where you get the true idea of a house from God's house.
J.T. Yes, that is the greatest idea of a house. The houses which He made for these women bring His thought down to the level of our understanding. There is nothing said about the material out of which they were made, but there was attaching to them the idea that God made them. God teaches us by introducing suggestions and impressions as to what is in His mind, but He looks for observation on our side and moral results in us.
Rem. It says, "because they feared God".
J.T. They feared Him; that is important.
J.T-y. There is value in young life, God takes account of them, and saves the male children alive.
J.T. Any of these boys as they grew up and entered these houses would enquire who the architect was, and the women would have to say, God. God is the
Architect of the universe. So He makes the universe for a purpose, and He made the houses of these women for a purpose, and He would make them with suitable material. These young boys would never become Egyptian in their thoughts, for they would learn what is superior in a moral sense to what is Egyptian and to what is worldly. Although they were in Egypt where there were houses, the idea conveyed in one of these houses of the midwives would be different from the idea set out in the pattern of Pharaoh's house.
W.S. They moved under the hand of God, not under the hand of Pharaoh; they did not fear Pharaoh.
J.T. In the world, of course, the social world, all the ideas come down from the palace, that is the principle of the social world such as in this country. These women were detached from that, if they were ever attached to it; they were attached to another centre. They feared God and His thoughts would be in their mind to this extent, not yet to the extent that we have in chapter 5. One would not stress the thought too much; it is just an element in the education of the saints, how God teaches us morally. If He builds a house, it is to be looked at and considered as to the kind of house it is; it is sure to be different from all other houses.
Ques. Is their fearing God a move on their side and then the houses referred to God's coming in as you suggest?
J.T. Exactly, their action was to fear God and preserve the children, which is a great matter. God gives recognition to persons who watch over the young.
Ques. Is it like wisdom's house in Proverbs 9?
J.T. We have instructions about believer's houses in Deuteronomy in order that there may be no loss of life caused by want of thought, nothing that would
mislead another, nothing that would be a stumbling block to another in our houses.
Rem. While the house itself would be a testimony, the moral influence in it would likewise be a testimony.
J.T. We may be sure that there was nothing wanting in these houses to make them what was needed. God would leave nothing out, but He would not conform in any respect to the Egyptian design.
P.L. Would such houses have their windows like the ark of Noah?
J.T. By and by in the world to come when death is removed, the windows will be all round. Solomon's great house, called the house of the forest, had rows of windows affording plenty of opportunity to see out. But in the ark when death was upon all, it was a question of looking up, not looking out. As in the case of Eutychus, it was a dangerous thing to look out.
Ques. Would the houses be the place where there was light as in the houses of Israel (Exodus 10:23)?
J.T. That is the idea. Israel had light in their dwellings. The light in the home would suggest that the light was there searching them out, not simply that the light was there complacently, as you might say.
Ques. Will you please say a word as to the sapphire?
J.T. It was under the feet of Jehovah. It is a question now of God, what is under His feet and what was going to be under His feet. He was going to walk with Israel in the wilderness in a tent without any flooring. The idea morally is that every place where His feet stood in the wilderness was hallowed so that the dust of the floor of the tabernacle was used. Every spot where the tabernacle was placed was hallowed, the place of the soles of His feet, the very dust was hallowed. The houses of Israel being places of light suggest the moral side.
L.D.M. The book opens with the sons of Israel. Is it that these great moral features are to be worked out familywise?
J.T. Yes, the book opens in that definite way. The great family thought stands out at the very outset, involving the recognition of parental authority. So that the sons of Israel are specifically mentioned and you can see the spiritual import of that. Pharaoh would destroy the males but the Lord would preserve them, and these women who were used to that end are honoured.
P.L. Is it something akin to Lois, the preservation of young life?
J.T. You are speaking of the mother and grandmother of Timothy?
P.L. Yes, there was an Egyptian suggestion in his father being a Greek.
J.T. Showing how faith operates in spite of the conditions, a principle that runs through Scripture. We get running through the principle of God's activities in spite of conditions, or we may say the activities because of conditions, because faith is at work. It is seen specially in women and wives where the husbands are not very spiritual. But faith operates and they are carried through and God supports it, like He did with Rebecca. It was her faith, and the divine thought is carried through in spite of the father. Isaac wanted it otherwise. And so with these two women Paul honours, what a fine result there was in Timothy on account of faith operating, in spite of the fact that his father is said to be a Greek.
Genesis is the great patriarchal book, and Exodus is to show how the paternal thought runs through in the children, and runs through in spite of difficulties, the king of the land doing all he could to destroy the males. How is the thing to be carried through? Exodus is a book of exploits in face of difficulties.
L.D.M. "Every son that is born". God was bearing in mind the thought of continuance.
J.T. You can see that the position of these women was very difficult, but they acted notwithstanding the difficulties as not fearing the wrath of the king.
W.S. Is Moses himself the result of the faithfulness of the midwives?
J.T. His mother hid him and his sister also came into it. Then as if God would augment this He brings in Pharaoh's daughter to help, and she takes on Moses and becomes his saviour. God works with faith. When we face the difficulties, however great they may be, God will work with us and enable us to overcome them.
Ques. Is it important that the generation is being preserved?
J.T. They are called sons, which is very suggestive. "These are the names of the sons of Israel who had come into Egypt; with Jacob had they come, each with his household" (Exodus 1:1). The patriarchal thought is in Jacob, each one with his household. Each one had a household and they brought them along. That is the great thought in the beginning and Satan would overthrow that. These midwives are just persons in a difficult position and in spite of the difficulties they overcame them and God honours them.
Rem. These influences are for the preservation of life.
J.T. Yes, especially the sons. So that when Moses was grown, not simply when he was a man, but when he was grown, the idea is carried on; he has grown and become a man. Adam did not grow, there is no evidence that he grew, he was made a man. When Moses was grown he went out to see his brethren and so forth. Now he is the great product of all this.
Ques. Would the growing suggest the work of God?
J.T. That is the idea. He has grown under these circumstances and the result is perfect so far. He regarded the people of Israel as his brethren, although they were slaves. He did not look down upon them as a prince, seeing them as slaves; he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God accepting the reproach of Egypt. They were slaves, or as it is said, Hebrews, and he was ostensibly a child of the princess.
Ques. Do you regard the midwives as special features in the assembly caring for the interests of God and for the preservation of life on the line of faithful men?
J.T. I think so. It is to bring out how faith operates in difficulties, one of the greatest lessons we have to learn. We cannot hope to evade difficulties; this book is to teach us how to go through.
Ques. Would the order of Herod in Matthew's gospel be in keeping with this?
J.T. A very good comparison, Matthew is very like Exodus, it is a question of the assembly, what is being built. We have an excellent example in Joseph: he was a righteous man in a difficult situation, but he came through, God working with him. It is always the way, God works with faith in the presence of difficulties. So that the Child is preserved. The Lord Jesus is called a Child in chapter 2 of Matthew's gospel, He is taken away into Egypt and then brought back, then He is called a Son.
J.W.H. What is the principle for us today in the Lord building these houses for these women who feared Him?
J.T. To show how He provides an answer to faith, how He would mark them off, they would be marked by their houses. No one in Israel had houses like theirs, they would certainly be very special houses
and if anyone enquired of them they would say, God built those houses. I have to learn something from those houses, God has not built them merely to shelter these women. He intends to convey something in them; they are His own handiwork.
J.W.H. There would be the exclusion of every Egyptian principle.
P.L. Is this preservation of life in contrast to the Egyptians; they would preserve mummies and so on?
J.T. Yes, relic makers. You would never have heard of anyone looking for relics in these houses. They are not there; these houses do not belong to Egypt, they were brought in for a testimony. God brought in something better in these houses than would be found in the houses the Egyptians built. These houses are not ruins, and they do not belong to Egypt. They are houses that can be brought into the testimony.
Rem. "I will receive you ... and ye shall be to me for sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:17, 18).
J.T. You feel how fitting that word would be in relation to those houses, faithfulness in difficult circumstances. We shall never have anything else but difficulties, as the apostle says, "Difficult times shall be there" (2 Timothy 3:1), and they have come.
J.S. Will you say a word as to the shittim wood and the various things mentioned in chapter 25?
J.T. All the things spoken of in chapter 25 really have a spiritual beginning here. It is a question of love to God worked out in ourselves and seen in these various features. Things are carried through.
J.S. What is the thought of chapter 24 coming in before this?
J.T. To bring in the great accession of wealth. The greatest source of wealth is the covenant. In Romans righteousness is upon us but then love is in
the heart. All this material implies that it is a heart matter. Love is in the heart and God has put it there by the Spirit. That is what is meant in chapter 24. I think it is like Romans 5. In Romans 3 we have a righteousness provided that makes us suitable for God; we are before Him in righteousness, but we need wealth as well, and the Holy Spirit puts it into our hearts as seen in Romans 5. I believe that is what we get in Exodus 24, that is, the covenant, the faithfulness of the love of God towards us. God commends His love. God is so concerned that His love should be in our hearts that He commends it to us. God's love comes into our hearts, but our love towards Him is seen in Romans 8 and that is material for the tabernacle, for His dwelling.
J.S. Is that why the blood is spoken of in Exodus 24?
J.T. And then the going up to see what is up there, because we cannot be down here as a dwelling-place for God without understanding what is up there. We have the testimony of what is in heaven and we are said to be built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:22).
Rem. I was rather struck with your reference to the covenant in the light of wealth: could you say a word or two in connection with Noah's covenant in that light?
J.T. We are speaking of the new covenant now. The Lord's supper carries it through to us, it involved wealth. You do not get the princely thought so much in Exodus. When you come to 1 Chronicles the wealth is more royal, you get the princes brought in; it is another side to bring out the greatness of the persons who have access up there. Here it is more what God is Himself up there. It says, "They saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were work of transparent sapphire, and as it were the form of heaven for clearness. And on
the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: they saw God, and ate and drank".
Rem. You were speaking just now of the dust of the tabernacle.
J.T. I was alluding to the fact that there was no flooring in the tabernacle; there was in the temple. The very dust, the very wilderness itself, was the flooring. God was pleased to place His feet there. The place was hallowed. The very dust put into the water caused "the bitter water that bringeth the curse" (Numbers 5:18). Sin had to be discovered in the unfaithfulness of the woman to her husband. The dust that was on the floor of the tabernacle was taken and put into the water. The dust of that part of the tabernacle was different because of the presence of God.
J.S. Will you say a word as to the God of Israel and what was under His feet?
J.T. It is what He was accustomed to up there and alludes to His love in coming down. It was a sacrifice to God to come down and walk with them and be with them, to have the wilderness to walk in.
Ques. Do you get the thought in the incarnation, the Lord walking in this thorny world?
J.T. In Exodus the dew fell round the camp (Exodus 16:13), but in Numbers 11:9 it fell on the camp. It really refers to the people, the dew fell on the people; that is, it falls on us, the grace of heaven affects us, that we receive the manna here.
When you come to Exodus 25 the material is suggested, the kind of material that is used and the specification of the ark, the length and breadth and height. As far as I know we do not get formally the length and breadth of the tabernacle given to us. The tabernacle is to be learnt by the size of its parts; it occupies us with one whole in the various parts. The things are so valuable, they all suggest something spiritual and help us to arrive at the full thought.
With the temple you get the breadth and length and height given.
Moses was on the mount, the mountain of Jehovah. The mountain is always in view, for things are up there where they belong. In christendom things are brought down to man's level: the mountain is left out and it is a question of man's level and man's architecture. Moses was shown the pattern on the mount and he made all things according to that pattern.
Ques. What is the thought of eating and drinking in chapter 24?
J.T. They continued their life up there. God shows how considerate He is for them under these circumstances. The Lord ate and drank before the apostles to show them that He was a real Man. He only could use what we call meat and drink, the fish and the bread, in His new condition. We shall not eat fish in heaven, we shall be in a new condition. The Lord came down to the level of the apostles to show that His humanity was so real that He could eat fish. The eating and drinking here is more than that and is connected with what is above.
W.S. It says they saw God. In what state did they see God?
J.T. In some way He showed Himself to them; it is left open. Chapter 12 of Numbers shows that Moses had to do with God more than did any other man. It is inscrutable; no one can penetrate and say what it is.
Ques. Would they see God in the covenant? It is not a question of seeing Deity.
J.T. What can we say? We are taught of God. We cannot force God to say what He does not say. He says enough to teach us; we are in the presence of the inscrutable, and yet they saw something. In this chapter the Person is speaking and the people are responding. It is the covenant here, the grace side.
Ques. Does the substance of this heave offering, the gold and the silver and the other things, suggest the glory of the Lord?
J.T. They had seen the glory of the Lord, what God is, now shining for us in the face of Jesus Christ. The saints thus become the material as bringing in the features of Christ. "But we all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18). That is the material.
Ques. Does chapter 25 as coming in after the 24th indicate that God is counting that the wealth is there?
J.T. That is the idea, every man whose heart prompts him. With David it was more himself and the princes, more the royal side. Here it is every man.
Ques. Would you give us your thought as to purpose? Are these scenes on the mount connected with the purpose of God?
J.T. It is Christ, but seen in that setting above, not what He was down here, although it shone out here. It is like the mount of transfiguration -- a figure, a representation of things in the heavens. So that the pattern would denote that; man has nothing to do with it, it is outside his range.
Rem. In every feature of the tabernacle some feature of Christ would be seen.
J.T. Yes, but Christ in heaven. Paul said, "We henceforth know no one according to flesh; but if even we have known Christ according to flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer" (2 Corinthians 5:16). It is another state and condition now. That is the idea of the wealth here, the features of what is above brought in, heaven upon earth.
Ques. Would the variety of things here have any relation to the variety of ways in which the Lord is spoken of in Revelation, the number of titles accredited to Him, and the way in which He is described?
J.T. These different materials are varied features of Christ worked out in us because they come out of our hearts. "This is the heave-offering that ye shall take of them" -- gold, that is, what is for God; silver and copper, elements of redemption and judgment; blue is heavenly; purple is royal; scarlet is earthly glory; and byssus, indicating fineness and beauty; goat's hair is separation; rams' skins denote protectiveness and dyed red would mean that they are different; badgers' skins speak of the exclusion of evil; oil for the light, and so on; all these things are just varied features of Christ worked out in us.
Ques. Would they mark the local company?
J.T. If there is to be an assembly according to God we must look for these things. These features ought to enter into every local gathering; they are what God looks for. They have to be looked into to see what they mean. It is not simply so many believers, but these varied features of Christ are seen, and can only be seen by the power of the Spirit working in us.
Rem. So you would get the idea of the Christ in the heart.
J.S. Would you say that suffering comes into the purple colour? In Mark they clothed the Lord with purple.
J.T. I think when purple is alluded to it is a royal colour, but that is seen now in suffering. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him;" they inscribed on the cross, "The King of the Jews". I think scarlet is earthly glory, it is put into the fire with the hyssop. Purple is a mixture in colouring which I think would be heavenly and earthly combined, a mixture which involved suffering. It was put over the altar, "If we suffer, we shall also reign". Suffering is the answer to it now.
Ques. Will you say a word as to Nadab and Abihu and the seventy elders?
J.T. They would stand for full representation, Moses and these two and seventy of the elders.
Ques. Is there any difference between the God of Israel in chapter 24 and the God whose glory Moses asked to see in chapter 33?
J.T. They saw the God of Israel, we cannot say what they saw, we cannot define it. But the glory referred to in chapter 33 would suggest the full shining out of God, although that could not be seen until Christ became Man. He was the glory of God and we see that glory now in the face of Jesus.
Just a word as to Numbers. It is the full thought of the heavenly as seen in the saints in their circumstances here. So there are to be tassels on the corners of our garments throughout our generations, and then the injunction that we attach to the tassel of the corners a lace of blue, which I think means that as we turn round the corner, maybe on the Monday after the Lord's day, we do not lose the heavenly blue; we are not one thing on Sunday and another thing on Monday, we are heavenly on both days.
Ques. Would you say that what met Moses when he came to the bottom of the mount in Exodus 32 corresponds somewhat to what we might meet on Monday?
J.T. Well, you come into contrary scenes, something that might irritate you on Monday. You leave your house and instead of going to the meeting you go into a cold atmosphere. The idea is that you retain the heavenly spirit, it is on the corners of your garment.
Rem. So that a difference would be seen.
J.T. Yes, you do not drop down to man's level, you maintain the heavenly colour, the dignity that is proper to the saints. Then it goes on "And that ye seek not after the lusts of your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye go a whoring; that ye may
remember and do all my commandments". That is the principle, you do not lower the standard. "I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am Jehovah your God".
Rem. Things are worked out during the week, would you say, the fringe and the tassels being what is worked out?
J.T. They are on the corners, they are distinctive. Then besides these tassels you have the lace of blue, which is a fine piece of work and can be easily torn off. If you have a quarrel with a man that will all go. You retain the blue, this fineness denoted in the lace of blue.
Rem. What would govern us in our circumstances? Would what we have on the Lord's day maintain us through the week?
J.T. Yes, it is worked out in the finest lace, this fine work, it is ornamental.
Exodus 2:15; Exodus 3:1 - 6, 10 - 12; Exodus 4:1 - 7, 16, 17, 27 - 31
The book of Exodus is calculated to instruct us in regard to the ministry, and how ministry makes for the establishment of what is of God down here. Moses represents this ministry in the early statements as to him in this book. We are in days when the Lord is calling for more service, and if the service is to be effectual, the servant must be disciplined and formed in experience with God. There will then be results, as we see in the case of Moses. The sign to Moses that he was sent is stated in verse 12 of chapter 3, "Ye shall serve God upon this mountain". The mount has in view the service of God, a service not to be carried on in any independent place, but in the place appointed by God. The result is that the people as having this testimony are said to have believed, to have heard, and to have worshipped (Exodus 4:31).
We begin in this book with an active man educated by the world, but now persecuted on account of his having identified himself with the people of God. He is of no value now in the world, and as having fled from Egypt he sits by "the well". In the verse referred to in chapter 2 it is the well instead of his own efforts; he now recognises the well, the power that springs up, the Spirit, the only means of effective service for God. If service is taken up, there is discipline connected with it and Moses is now in the school of God. Moses had status when in Egypt, now he is an outcast. He is learning early and is acquiring experience and substance as the result of discipline, and typically he recognises he has no power but in the Spirit. By faith he left Egypt, we are told in Hebrews 11:27, not fearing the wrath of the king; but he feared God, and things happened according to the divine calendar. He is now sitting by the well
in humble recognition of what the well is. He could have stood in the wisdom of men, for Stephen says in Acts 7:22, that he was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, but now he has the invisible God before him. God tells Moses that all the men who sought his life are dead (chapter 4: 19), for God watches over these things, although He does not act at once. Moses had to wait forty years in Midian, a strange land, and he had his discipline there. The apostle Paul says in effect, as speaking of his discipline, 'It is against my will', for it involves suffering. If a brother renounces the flesh, the Lord soon gives him something to do. So we are told in the following verses that Moses rose and helped the daughters of the priest of Midian as they came to water their father's flock (chapter 2: 17); he was not long looking for something to do for the Lord soon opens up a door of service. The flock is not far away if you are with God. Moses was by the well, waiting by the well, a fixed position, and he has to learn that power is of God. It says of him in Deuteronomy 34:7, according to the marginal reading, that his 'moisture' was not abated; the moisture is there even to old age, suggesting the freshness and energy the Spirit gives. The Lord sitting by the well at Sychar may be referred to by way of contrast; for it is said that the Lord was weary. Service has to go on in spite of weariness; the water of this world fails, and man as such thirsts again, but the Spirit of God in the believer is to the end that he may never thirst, for the excellency of the power must be of God.
We are all conscious that we are tested by those services which are nearest to us, but Moses rises to the occasion here and helps the women. He thus represents every one of us as having received gifts, but there are also those who have been given specified gifts. It is a question of service appointed by God, and these services become effective as we are qualified
by divine teaching. Later we are told (chapter 7: 1) that Moses was to be God to Pharaoh, for he was to be representative of God. An officer in the army represents the king. Moses was not to be a god, but to represent God. "We are ambassadors therefore for Christ" Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20. Moses' commission is in chapter 3. He is to have an impression of God at the outset for it is a question of what the servant has, and he is to know that the power for everything is in the Spirit. When you come to know the Lord and He brings you out by committal, you say with Paul, "What wilt thou have me to do?" The word to him was to go into a certain city; the brethren there would lay their hands upon him and the brethren have to lay their hands on you. The impression you get is that the Lord is coming in in some way in your soul. Caleb and Joshua brought back an impression in their hearts of what was there in the land. The germ of everything in the gospel should be there, that is to say, in our hearts, but it should be seen in the person who presents it. So that it is not a question merely of what I say but of what I am.
After Midian we have Horeb -- a remarkable thing -- and Moses comes to Horeb forty years after he had sat by the well. In the meantime, he has been content to serve his father-in-law, and when things are just as you wish them naturally you are not with God. Moses, it says, was content to dwell with the man, but now God brings him to Horeb, the mount of God, where he is to get the material for the service God had in mind for him. Things began with his sitting by the well; then there are women looking after their father's flocks; then his service to his father-in-law; and now he is at Horeb where God would have him. In verse 2 God appears as the angel of Jehovah in the burning bush, and in verse 4 we are told that the Lord saw that Moses turned
aside to see; then in the next section we get the great idea, God speaking as God. It may be said on occasions that God is there because of the character of the ministry, as it says in 1 Corinthians 14:25, God is indeed amongst you, and the angel here represented God Himself. Heaven takes account of a right exercise of soul, and God waits to see how we regard matters -- Moses turned aside to see. Paul was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, and here we have a man who turns aside to see; that is a brother turning to the Lord about a matter. The bush suggests what is insignificant, for God came into humble circumstances. He was amongst them in the wilderness, yet they were not consumed. A christian who turns aside to see is a great object of interest to heaven. The Lord said, "Saul, Saul", "Samuel, Samuel". What impressions Moses may have had earlier were brought out and deepened here, for he exclaims, "Let me now turn aside and see this great sight!" What struck him was that the bush was not burned up. One may say, we had a good word, but an account of it cannot be given, for they have not turned aside to see. God now says to Moses, I will send you to Pharaoh. God is calling him now. You get an impression if you are sent out. "As the Father sent me forth, I also send you" (John 20:21). Paul said, "I went into Arabia" (Galatians 1:17), a place for him of instruction. So you can see that the mount of Jehovah is a principle, that is what Moses begins with here, for God does not send His servants at their own expense. No one need ever be short in substance, either as regards service or as to state; there is abundance of supply. Matthew is full of Galilee; it is a question of reproach. The true believer accepts that for he has his resources elsewhere. He faces the people of the world, with power representative of God, for God is the God of resurrection. Moses took off his sandals, for sandals are
status; you have none of your own. As sons we do not take off our shoes, for the Levite is truly a priest, one of the sons of Aaron. "Ye shall serve God upon this mountain" (Exodus 3:12) is a principle which, if accepted, would break up christendom. We soon have some indications that our service is effective, and from the first day onwards the great principles set out for us, in service are not surrendered, the sign being that the service is to be carried to where God would have it. "Thou hast guided them by thy strength unto the abode of thy holiness" (Exodus 15:13). In Ephesians the whole work is in view. The work of our hands must go on in the place on the mount, but we must wait for His work. Mount Zion suggests what is permanent; mount Horeb is the place of resort.
In chapter 4: 2, God calls attention to the rod in the hand of Moses. This, cast down, became a serpent and Moses fled from before it. If God in His governmental ways relinquishes any one of us, we come under the hand of the enemy. So the apostle says, "I buffet my body" (1 Corinthians 9:27). That is a word that should affect our consciences as reminding us of what we are capable of. The most spiritual is liable to give way to the flesh, so we keep our bodies in subjection, thus making way for the spirit of a brother to come into our midst. Aaron was glad in his heart to meet Moses, we are told in verse 14, glad to make room for his brother, like Peter and John. If you have more gift than another you are pretty sure to have rivals, but the brother modifies all this for a brother is greater than gift. In the mount of God there are plenty of resources. So Moses and Aaron gathered all the children of Israel, and when they had seen the signs they bowed their heads and worshipped (verse 31). Moses had the word from the Lord but he gave the word to Aaron. Words came out through Aaron; he can speak well. That is not
mere eloquence; he speaks in affection for when he met Moses he kissed him, being glad in his heart. The Lord's ear was open morning by morning and what wondrous speaking was the result. Moses was speaking in unbelief when he said he could not speak, but the word was made acceptable in the brother.
1 John 14 - 16; Genesis 27:26 - 29, 38 - 40; Genesis 36:31; Genesis 37:3; Genesis 44:33, 34; Genesis 45:1, 2 (first clause), 14, 15
The verses I read in John's epistle call attention to the brethren, and how we know that we have passed from death to life because we love them; and, moreover, that as love has been shown in that He, that is Christ, laid down His life for us, we should lay down our lives for the brethren. These verses form the basis of what I have to say. I have in mind that we should have a clear understanding of the persons referred to, those who are to be loved to the extent that we should lay down our lives for them. It is a right enquiry, Who are they? Whence are they? Where are they? Whither are they bound? If they are so important as to deserve such love, firstly, on the part of God in Christ, and, secondly, on the part of each christian, they surely deserve the most careful consideration and enquiry, so that we may be sure as to them, who they are and whence they are, what they are and where they are, whither they are bound, and what is their outlook. This epistle treats of its subjects radically, I may say, abstractly, and I have read the passages in Genesis so as to develop, by the help of the Spirit, the answer to these questions. The Lord enquired as to what men said about Him, as to who they said He was, and to this enquiry there was an answer forthcoming by revelation through Peter. But this answer was also confirmed by the teaching of Scripture, for revelation by God, whether in great or small measure, must always be in keeping with Scripture, Scripture being one whole! Every part of the divine unfolding agrees with all the other parts, and is confirmed, too, by the others; so that the announcement of
Peter that the Lord was "the Christ, the Son of the living God" was fully in keeping with Scripture. So what John alludes to here, implying a very great family or set of persons supremely great, must find confirmation in Scripture; and the book of Genesis is peculiarly calculated to answer the questions I have mentioned. Jacob represents the family viewed as the brotherhood. That is, his history as a whole, notwithstanding deviations and shortcomings, sets out the state of brotherhood according to God. Whereas Esau's history, taken as a whole, represents a state of brotherhood that is the mere profession of brotherhood, which is not according to God, although he had the place of brother, and was blessed, too, in that relation. The two lines are marked off strikingly in these two men, and by the Spirit's help I hope in the first place to delineate briefly the features of brotherhood which are not according to God.
I remarked that Esau was blessed in that relation, and I allude to Hebrews 11:20 which says, "Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come". He blessed them both. The allusion spiritually, I apprehend, is to the profession of christianity in both cases, both the blessing of Jacob, which comes first, and the blessing of Esau. It is important, I think, to the understanding of the subject to bear these brief remarks in mind. An examination and a comparison of the two blessings will reveal the accuracy of what I remark, that Isaac represents Christ as the heavenly man, and that the blessing is very profuse, and, in a certain sense, indiscriminate. It is, of course, based on professed belief, but, in result, while blessing was accorded from heaven at Pentecost on the principle of faith in those who received it, yet in due course many came into it who did not have faith, but had the position of brethren in an outward way. There are many today who are in that position; they are blessed
unquestionably, and although the accompanying evidences of the family are not there, they are nevertheless blessed. They are delivered from the darkness of heathendom; they are in the light of the revelation of God outwardly, involving "the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). This is of immense moment, and is in keeping with the profuse grace, the abundant grace, of this dispensation. All is in keeping with the wonderful patience of God, to the end that He might be known and that what He is might continue to shine here, notwithstanding the very mixed results; such results, indeed, that the genuine is almost obscured by the unreal, although the genuine exists, as I hope to show.
You will see by comparison that Jacob secured his blessing on the principle of faith, though in discreditable circumstances; but he secured the blessing, and it is marked by gift, his father saying as he drew near, and as he kissed his son, "The smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed". That is, a subjective state is indicated. There was a work, as we call it, subjectively. The smell of a blessed field alludes not to what is superficial, but to what is potentially rich, and which will bear the fruits desired; that is, the brotherhood according to God. The smell was there, which by the Spirit, as we may say, Isaac smelt; and the blessing to Jacob is on the principle of gift according to what God is. As the Lord Jesus says, "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things to be in his hand" (John 3:35). He gives not the Spirit by measure unto Him. Things are on the principle of gift, and in abundance. Then the Lord proceeds in John 4:10 to speak of "the gift of God". Things are on the principle of gift. Genesis 27:28 is the gift; then verse 29 suggests an administrative position: "Let peoples serve thee, And races bow down to thee. Be lord
over thy brethren, And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be they that curse thee, And blessed be they that bless thee". I touch on that so that we may see the contrast, as I wish to proceed to delineate briefly the false brotherhood set forth in Esau which has its counterpart, beloved, today. I am not speaking of persons as such, or unchristianising any, but it is a question of character, whether it be in a real christian, or in one who is an unbeliever. It is the same thing and it is a question as to what assumes to be the brotherhood, but is not that which is in accord with the divine thought.
What we find with the blessing of Esau is that he is said to have his dwelling "of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above". That is the simple statement of the fact that Esau would have a rich place as a dwelling, which is abundantly answered to in the position that all nominal christians have at the present time. Their dwelling is not in heathendom; it is in the very fatness of the earth, where the Spirit of God is, where the light of heaven shines from the face of Jesus, and where the Holy Spirit operates among the saints. They have that place outwardly. It is further stated: "By thy sword shalt thou live, And thou shalt serve thy brother; And it shall come to pass when thou rovest about, That thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck". This verse has also a remarkable counterpart at the present time in the general brotherhood. There was respect at the outset for divine ordering and sovereign choice represented in Jacob, so that Jacob ruled and the brotherly element according to God prevailed, but not for long. So it says, "When thou rovest about, Thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck". That is the history of christendom. Although at the outset the brotherly element according to God prevailed, in time there was a
breaking loose from divine settings and orderings, and independent movements came into evidence, suggested by the rendering, "When thou rovest about". 'Dominion', indeed, has been acquired; and so we have the vast hierarchy of christendom today, professing to be a brotherhood. It is, however, but the result of a roving about, of independency, so that the yoke of Jacob as representing the true brotherhood has been broken, and Esau prevails outwardly.
To my mind, dear brethren, these are very evident facts as entering into our own dispensation. It is true Esau is said to be blessed, -- and he was blessed; indeed it is a blessing that anyone should be in the area where the light of God shines, and the light of heaven shines; where, too, the dew of heaven comes down, and where is the fatness of the earth. That is a blessing to anyone. Then, on the other hand, we see the independency, that which is natural, showing itself. "When thou rovest about" began to show itself when men took it into their minds in the history of christianity to do as they willed, to rove about, cutting themselves loose from divine orderings and limitations, giving up, as we may say, "the commandments of the Lord", (1 Corinthians 14:37). They broke away, as it says, "Thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck;" and it continues.
As we proceed we find that Esau hated Jacob, and determined to kill him. He was appeased, for the Spirit of God makes every allowance for Edom, assuming him to be a brother right up to the time when the children of Israel were on the very borders of Canaan hundreds of years later. God is loth, dear brethren, to give up any of His people, even though their profession may not be deep. He maintained the brotherhood of Esau as valid. I want you to note that point, the length of time the brotherhood is valid in the mind of God. It was valid in Esau's case right up to the period when Israel was about to enter
Canaan. Deuteronomy makes a particular provision for the validity of Esau's brotherhood; and I speak thus so that everybody here may understand that there is nothing arbitrary about God. In everything He is marked by patience and the utmost consideration. So that anyone present here who may be in the position of a brother, and who may have failed in the spirit of a brother, is to be encouraged to see that God recognises the validity of your brotherhood, until you renounce it, until you show by some overt act that you are not at all a brother, that, indeed, you are devoid of the spirit of a brother. So Esau is recognised; in Deuteronomy, he is even allowed a part in the congregation of the Lord. Deuteronomy 23:7 enjoins that an Edomite is to be respected, "for he is thy brother". Every provision is made for him: Israel is not to molest his territory, or to interfere with him; he is to pass by him peaceably, which he did. But when you come to the prophets, when the history is lengthened out, dear brethren, the sad fact comes to light that Esau in truth never was a brother. That is to say, the unbrotherly element was there, and though God bore with him for centuries and recognised his validity, giving him every opportunity to recover himself, the time came when God began to use by his prophets the severest terms, the severest denunciations with regard to Edom. A whole prophet's book, Obadiah, is devoted to the judgment of Edom, so great a place has the unbrotherly element in the divine mind. The Spirit of God speaks about his unrelenting hatred of his brother, his "perpetual hatred" (Ezekiel 35:5), and it became an abomination to God. Now you understand, dear brethren, that I am not speaking of any person or persons, but I am speaking of the thing that is so delineated in Scripture, beginning at such a source as this, a source indeed which outwardly found a place in the blessing of God, until it should so
culminate, until we are told by the last prophet in the Bible, that is Malachi, that God loved Jacob and hated Esau. We are not told that until then. The patience of God is seen in that, before He would pronounce upon the element that was abominable to Him, He waited until the last prophet, Malachi, and then He says, "I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau" (Malachi 1:2, 3). He might have said it in Genesis 27, for He knew full well what was there; but God awaits developments before He announces His judgments. He is slow to anger, and gives abundant opportunity for recovery, beloved; as the Lord Jesus says, "I gave her space to repent" (Revelation 2:21). Edom committed itself finally to perpetual hatred, and is to be blotted out for ever. So we see it working out in the Herods of the New Testament, who were Edomites; and we read of one of them in Acts 12, that he was eaten of worms, after having put to death James, the brother of John, and having been minded to put Peter to death also. That is a very sorrowful arraignment, dear brethren, but I am simply giving you the teaching of Scripture with regard to Edom, and as to the bearing of God's thought of the repudiation of the false brotherhood.
We see from chapter 36 how this element represented in the Edomite brotherhood, moved. We have, indeed, the dukes of Edom given there; they are mentioned simply as an item, as necessary to the history of the testimony: "These are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned a king over the children of Israel". That is the idea: "I will be king" (1 Kings 1:5). That element cannot wait. Whether it is in a christian or not, if it is found among the brethren, the people of God, that element must be king. It will not defer the idea of reigning if it can prevent it. That element was found at Corinth, as you will remember; they reigned as kings, but Paul says, "Reigned without
us" (1 Corinthians 4:8); that is, they reigned before the true brethren reigned. The true brotherhood according to God is not in a hurry to reign; they accept the time of suffering first. "If we suffer, we shall also reign" (2 Timothy 2:12). There is no such thought as that with Edom; it is a question of reigning. So it says, "These ... reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned a king over ... Israel". There is a great point for us in this, dear brethren. One knows it is in one's own heart; if one's natural aspirations are not kept in the place of self-judgment there will be a desire to rule, to take a leading place, to be dominant, to be first. That is what is meant. Esau could not wait; he must be king; he must have his dukes and his kings before any king reigned in Israel. The king who is to reign in Israel is to wait for hundreds of years. The thought is deferred, and Israel waits until its David arrives -- in truth, until Christ arrives, for He is the King. That is the idea. It is not the one who says, "I will be king". No, it is the one who is humbly taking care of his father's sheep, without any aspirations, who in love tends the flock -- that is the one, the king after God's own heart. But Esau could not wait. So one has to challenge one's own heart as to whether one is aspiring to dominance among the people of God, or whether one is content to suffer, and not to reign without Paul -- indeed, it would be reigning without Christ in a sense, because He is still rejected in this world. He is still the Outcast in this world; but who that loves Him would desire to be anything else but an outcast in keeping with His position, awaiting the time of reigning? as the apostle says, "I would to God ye did reign" meaning to reign in the true sense -- "that we also might reign with you;" for there will be reigning, thank God! We are made not only priests, but kings too, which means that we are to reign. But, in the meantime, the answer to that is suffering. The royal
colour is purple really, which means suffering. It is the colour which covered the altar of burnt offering (Numbers 4:13).
Now I want to bring out from Jacob the brotherhood according to God, and I go back again to his blessing. It is on the principle of gift. This same Jacob later says: "I wait for thy salvation, O Jehovah" (Genesis 49:18). There is no effort with him to have kings reigning. That is the attitude of soul, that is a feature of the brethren that they are content to wait for the divine appointments, for the unfoldings of the divine calendar. I would commend that word to you, as I have to others -- the calendar of God. Everything is there with the utmost accuracy, and all will occur with the utmost precision. It is all there, beloved; therefore there is the need of waiting; and in waiting we show one of the great features of the brethren according to God. So that there is potentiality in this man: his smell is as "the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed". The crop has not yet come, but it is coming; it is there potentially.
So that we get the thing concisely in Genesis (for Genesis presents the subject in its completeness); and the next point I would touch is in chapter 37, the verse I read coming in after the announcement of Edom's kings, the long list of dukes corresponding with human pride and glory. Jacob is still a shepherd, and the Spirit of God begins to give us his generations: "These are the generations of Jacob;" and the first one is Joseph. Why Joseph? Why not Reuben? Well, beloved, it is a question of what I am speaking of, it is a question of bringing out the brother; for God is much more concerned about the brother than He is about the king; and He is looking into our hearts now, and telling us that He is looking for the brethren. It is a question of being the brother, not simply the leading brother; that is not the word. The true brother will be a leading brother,
indeed, for he is "born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:17); he throws himself into the breach and suffers; for that is the idea in leadership, as I hope to show presently in Judah. But Jacob is still a shepherd, and has his generations; but the first one is Joseph. And who is Joseph? Well, he is seventeen years of age; he is the youngest but one, and he is loved of his father. That is a great feature of a brother; he is loved of his father. The Father's eye is upon him, as it was on Jesus: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight" (Matthew 3:17). Is that only for Jesus? No one could, of course, be spoken to in that way except Jesus, but you will observe that it does not say. 'In whom is all my delight' as we sometimes cite it. The word 'all' is not there, for in truth God extends the thought to all the brethren; He finds delight in all. Of course, Jesus is unique; no one could be addressed as He; He is the Firstborn of all the brethren; but then the wide circle of the brethren surrounding Jesus is delightful to the eye of God; He finds delight in them. So we find Joseph mentioned first; and his father loved him. You say, 'Why did he love him?' Well, beloved, I will tell you why. Jacob was his father; but he was also the father of Judah, and of Reuben, and of Simeon, and of all the others; but it does not say that he loved any one of them specially. Why does it say it of Joseph? Because he was lovable. Will you deny God the principle of selection? Will you not allow that His eye appreciates what is lovable? Then the question for me is, am I lovable? Does the Father love me? He loved the Thessalonians -- young christians as they were. It says of them that they were "the assembly of Thessalonians in God the Father" (1 Thessalonians 1:1). You see what place they had, dear brethren. I believe the Thessalonians in their youthfulness and freshness as the product of Paul's labours were delightful to the
eye of the Father. They were lovable, and that is why they were "in God the Father".
That is the point I wish to make in the passage in Genesis 37, and so we get no generations of Jacob, no sons of Jacob formally given until Joseph makes himself known to his brethren; that is, until they all come in some sense under the character of the brotherhood as in Joseph. That is why I read those verses in chapters 44 and 45. I want to show from these passages how the brotherly spirit and character came to light, and how Joseph really represents Jacob in this development; for in truth what I love is myself in a way; I mean the reflection of my own feelings and ideals coming out in another. So in loving Joseph specially, Jacob is centering on that element. It is what he is, really; with all his shortcomings he is truly the brother, and hence God loved him; so that if Jacob loved Joseph, God loved Jacob: "Jacob have I loved", Jehovah says.
I want to show how this came out. Judah is now putting on brotherly characteristics; that is, he is ready to lay down his life, so to speak, for another. If I am ready to lay down my life for my brother I am certainly ready to lay down a point that is causing distress, however right my view may seem; I am ready at least to submit and wait. If I lay down that which is most to me, as it were, if I lay down my life, I will do all else that is necessary. I will not withhold any consideration for the brethren; and what comes out in Judah is this feature, among other things, that he thought of the effect of things on others. One has spoken of this as regards the Lord Himself. He thought of the effect of an occurrence on others (as in John 11). So if Benjamin does not return to Jacob, what will be the effect on Jacob? Judah is unselfish; his attitude is that of thoughtfulness for others in relation to the effect of an action on others, whether for good or evil. I cannot afford
that any action of mine should in its bearing be for the damage of the brethren; and so Judah argues with Joseph that if the lad did not go back, his father would die. We cannot afford to let that happen. I cannot afford it; the spirit of a brother in me will forbid it. "He will die" -- think of the disaster of Jacob dying! I am only speaking now as Judah; he says, "When I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us ... he will die". He says, so to speak, 'I cannot admit of it; I will lay down my life!' That is the principle, laying down one's life for Benjamin and for Jacob as the brother. Now Joseph says, 'Let every man go out from me, and I will make myself known to them'. Now the brethren have come to light; that is, Jacob has come to light, for he is the source of all this. Now it is taking form in a practical way. Here is one brother ready to lay down his life instead of little Benjamin; for that is what he was, the least among them. It is true he was an overcomer, but that is not the way he is reckoned in this connection; he is called "the lad", reminding us of the weak brother "for whom Christ has died" (Romans 14:15). We cannot afford to cause him to suffer. We have to consider the effect of our actions on others.
When that came to light it says that "Joseph could not control himself;" that is, the thing is there, the thing that originated and had its source in God through Jacob is now there manifestly, in the royal tribe, too, in Judah. It is practically there in a concrete way, in a man who is ready to become a slave so that the others should not suffer, so that Benjamin should not suffer, nor Jacob; Judah is ready to lay down his life. Joseph could not control himself; he must make himself known to them, for the brethren have come to light. In answer to the enquiry: 'Whence are they? Who are they? Where are they?', here
they are, showing themselves. It is useless merely to talk about being brethren; it is a question of these qualities. If I am to find the brethren, I am to find them by these qualities, not by mere profession. Who are they? Whence are they? What are they? Where are they? This is the way you find out. Here they are in Judah, and all is taken account of in the light of Judah; so that Joseph could not control himself, and it says, "No man stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brethren". That is, he is owning them now, and if he does so, it is on account of these qualities. I own them; I am glad to be one of them; I am glad to be with them, for God is with them, and they are going through; their destiny is eternal, and they are worth dying for. So Joseph "fell on his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept on his neck. And he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them; and after that his brethren talked with him" (verse 15). That is to say the history brings out who the brethren are; and now they are set free to talk with Joseph; every bit of distance is gone, so that they are in liberty in his presence to talk with him. I think, dear brethren, that you have here a suggestion of another trait of the brethren; they are free in the assembly, like the two men with the Lord on the mount of transfiguration (according to Luke's presentation of it); they talked with Him; they appeared in glory, talking with Jesus. They had liberty in heaven. It is the liberty of sons that we have in His presence, and thus we are able to talk with Him, and that in heaven, as the mount of transfiguration shows.
2 Corinthians 4:7 - 18; 2 Corinthians 5:1 - 9
J.T. It is wholesome to keep before us the phase of the truth presented in this passage. Most of us present are getting on in years. Let us see to it that the younger ones may observe that our persuasion is not in vain, that christianity is real, that our faith is not in vain, so that they may thus be encouraged to proceed. These verses indicate the mind of the speaker: "And having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I have believed, therefore have I spoken; we also believe, therefore also we speak" (verse 13). The path is to get brighter and brighter. It is assuring. The older ones should become examples to the younger.
C.A.C. How would you connect this with "the ministry of the Spirit" and that of "the new covenant"?
J.T. This passage develops out of chapter 3. "Therefore, having this ministry" (chapter 4: 1). It is a ministry "of the Spirit" which subsists in glory (chapter 3: 8), "of righteousness", which abounds in glory (verse 9), and is viewed as "the surpassing glory" (verse 10). The ministry of the new covenant is glorious! The glory is in the face of Jesus! "But we all, looking on the glory of the Lord, with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit" (verse 18). "Therefore, having this ministry ... so that the radiancy of the glad tidings of the glory of the Christ, who is the image of God ... the God ... who has shone in our hearts for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels" (chapter 4: 1 - 7). "This ministry ... this treasure", is not the link in that?
C.A.C. Would the effect be to produce spiritual brightness and radiancy in the saints, and prepare us for the exercises connected with the earthen vessel?
J.T. It contains the treasure. As we grow older the light stands by us, so that we are able to speak of the "momentary and light affliction" which "works for us in surpassing measure an eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen; for the things that are seen are for a time, but those that are not seen eternal" (verses 17, 18). As to the "earthen vessels", as we advance in years we feel their fragility more and more, peg after peg of the "tabernacle house" is taken down. It makes us sober. "For indeed in this we groan" (chapter 5: 2). But we are assured in soul of "our house which is from heaven". Nothing tests one more than the possibility of dissolution, as to whether one is in faith in the power of God, "We walk by faith" (verse 7); it is one of the greatest tests of faith. Are we anticipating it with jubilation, and in the sense of victory? That is the vein which runs through here.
J.R. Peter speaks of "the putting off of my tabernacle ... as also our Lord Jesus Christ has manifested to me" (2 Peter 1:14), and then of "the excellent glory" (verse 17).
J.T. He speaks of "knowing" it -- he knew that the Lord would not come first. He speaks of it with calmness and assurance. The vessel is "earthen", that is fragile. At any moment it might break. Spiritual energy is needed to "walk by faith".
Ques. What about "the judgment-seat of the Christ"?
J.T. We anticipate it, so that it is no surprise when it comes.
Ques. Would you say that the Lord might come in our lifetime?
J.T. I am encouraged to ask Him to come sometimes, on account of the conditions that prevail among the saints and because of the dangers of scattering. I would prefer the Lord to come rather than that the saints should be scattered. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20) is the thought.
C.A.C. I once asked J.B.S. if he thought that the Lord would come in his lifetime. He answered, 'I think not. I think He would have told me'. It affected me very much as indicating his conscious personal touch with the Lord.
J.T. Sorrowful possibilities confront the assembly, the drift in so many quarters and the dangers of scattering. The Lord has been very good to us for the past twenty-seven years, holding us together. It is right to consider soberly what may be the danger that lies ahead. We should feel for others and not merely say, like Hezekiah, "There shall be peace ... in my days" (2 Kings 20:19).
C.A.C. It is the balance to the abundant, positive ministry which we enjoy and which leads us away from the conditions assailing the testimony in a public way.
J.T. The Lord is preserving us now, to some extent, by allowing local eruptions only, but if the enemy should succeed in co-ordinating these evils, danger confronts us. I should prefer the Lord's coming. He would have us to feel things. One cannot help feeling things.
C.A.C. You would encourage us to take account of it in our prayers?
J.T. There is a readiness with us to be easily carried away. We should calculate soberly and invoke the Lord as to the possibilities we see. 2 Chronicles 34:26 - 28 helps. Josiah was cut off at a bright moment and there was no one to come in to recover things.
C.A.C. He lost his spiritual perception at the very end (2 Chronicles 35:20 - 25).
Ques. Should what has been formed within shine its brightest at the close of one's life?
J.T. It should! These verses lead in an outlook of victory. As elder brothers and sisters are luminous it is an encouraging example to younger ones.
F.I. Is there the thought of not having a will of our own in the word 'earthen'?
J.T. The vessel is subservient, under the Lord's hand.
F.I. The apostle Paul was thus.
J.T. And to Peter the Lord said: "When thou shalt be old ... another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou dost not desire" (John 21:18). Age helps us to subjection and dependence.
F.P. "Many shall be purified, and be made white, and be refined" (Daniel 12:10).
J.T. More and more dependent. With young men it is largely a question of using their minds. That is not enough; they may be fleshly and not spiritual. But as we grow older the will recedes and there is more dependence. 'What can I do?' one cries, in this fragile state of things. If He does not help, what can you do? Yet "we have this treasure". We are thus trustworthy from His point of view. "My grace suffices thee; for my power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of the Christ may dwell upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9). That is what the elder brethren come to and they are thus richer.
Ques. Is "this treasure" (chapter 4: 7) connected with "this very thing" (chapter 5: 5)?
J.T. God has wrought us for it and has "given to us the earnest of the Spirit" in the meantime. As your natural energy is coming to nothing, you are consciously greater than the body you have now.
C.A.C. Will you say what your thought is as to "Always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus" (chapter 4: 10)?
J.T. It contemplates the fact that the Lord had His dying in view. It was the Lord's attitude of mind in view of the cross. The believer is thinking of the dying of Jesus; it puts us into correspondence with Him. He had taken a body in order to terminate his life. It was especially before Him from the transfiguration onwards. "The dying of Jesus" dignifies the weakening of our bodies.
C.A.C. His dependence had in view His going into death. He also had "the path of life" in view (Psalm 16:11).
J.T. Mary of Bethany seized the thought in anointing Him (John 12:7).
C.A.C. Moses and Elias "spoke of his departure" (Luke 9:31).
J.T. Yes, "two men ... appearing in glory, spoke of his departure which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem" -- not that He was to be murdered. Moses would be conversant, through the types, with the dying of Jesus.
C.A.C. It would give character to the very spirit of the man of God, as with Moses in Psalm 90, taking account of the frailty of human life.
J.T. "So teach us to number our days". "The days of our years", namely, seventy to eighty. But Moses himself was never a dying man from that point of view. Moses and Aaron both went up to die! They were not tottering old men! And the sacrifices were not of decrepit old creatures!
C.A.C. "Our outward man is consumed" (chapter 4: 16); that is in the service of love, rather than natural decay, in keeping with the Lord's own path.
J.T. "While we look not at the things that are seen" (verse 18). The outlook into eternity gives character to an old brother or sister. It is victory!
C.A.C. One would covet that exceedingly.
J.T. In Deuteronomy Moses was vigorous when he died: "His eye was not dim, nor his natural force
abated" (Deuteronomy 34:7). And with us decline can be warded off in dependence upon God.
C.A.C. It is exceedingly precious that it can be warded off. It is most encouraging for us, so that we should not drop down to decrepitude.
J.T. Deuteronomy was written in the eleventh month of the one hundred and twentieth year of Moses' life.
C.A.C. And John's gospel was written towards the end of his life, probably A.D. 96 - 97. John is said to have lived until he was one hundred. If so, there is no sign of spiritual weakening with him!
C.A.C. John, Peter and Paul were all retained here till old age. We read of "Paul the aged" and of Peter as "old". There is special comfort in that for old brothers, advancing in years.
J.T. Let us go out in freshness! As knowing the possibilities, let us pray to God to be kept from them.
Ques. Is not victory the thought in 1 Corinthians 15?
J.T. It is intended to imbue your soul with victory. "Behold, I tell you a mystery" (verse 51).
J.B. "They are still vigorous in old age" (Psalm 92:14).
Rem. Moses was given a song at the end of his life (Deuteronomy 32).
J.T. That was written to order (Deuteronomy 31:19). In Deuteronomy 33 we have "the blessing" and in chapter 34 a vigorous outlook. In Deuteronomy 32:2 he says: "My doctrine shall drop as rain, My speech flow down as dew", that is fresh, not given fifty years before! Jacob stands out in Hebrews 11:21: "By faith Jacob when dying blessed each of the sons of Joseph", showing what discernment he had, "and worshipped on the top of his staff". In prayer do not let me lapse.
C.A.C. David could pray: "Now also, when I am old and grey-headed, O God, forsake me not, until I have proclaimed thine arm unto this generation" (Psalm 71:18).
J.T. God helps us against decrepitude.
Rem. In 2 Corinthians 1:9 the apostle says: "We ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves".
J.T. He sees that God is helping him. It is a marvel that the christian can go through so much, as in chapter 4, verses 8 and 9. Then verses 10 to 13 give us the outcome in himself. That is how the matter stands. We are delivered, but God is helping us in the discipline. It is the attitude of mind: "that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh". There is spiritual energy instead of falling into the grave in decrepitude. God will help you that the life of Jesus may be there.
Ques. Of Ephraim it is said, "Yea, grey hairs are here and there upon him, and he knoweth it not" (Hosea 7:9). Is that the losing of spiritual power?
J.T. Want of discernment, too. Gray hairs mean spiritual decay in that sense. In another sense they are honourable, in God's service (see Proverbs 16:31). "We know" (chapter 5: 1). The knowledge that we have stands by us. "Eternal" is a remarkable word.
F.I. Does the character of the vessel affect the ministry of the prophets?
J.T. There is what a man is as a vessel, for God prepares him. God has in mind what He would bring out in him. The prophets were all different. Certain ministry requires magnanimity. God will prepare and qualify a man for that. Each vessel has its own capacity. Another is needed with accuracy of mind or with physical capability, according to what God requires. A rightly regulated mind is needed for insistence on the order of the service of God. There is a variety of vessels. The vessels are fitted and educated to be with God in what He is
doing. The thought of what is eternal buoys you up in view of dissolution. "While we look not at the things that are seen".
J.T. Paul could say 'We', but he speaks as a christian.
Ques. What is meant by: "He that has wrought us for this very thing" (verse 5)?
J.T. The full thought of the heavenly body is in mind. It is what we shall be over against what we are here. We shall have "a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15:44), agreeing with the thought here of being "clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life". You come out of the grave thus. 2 Corinthians 5 is the heavenly side. The passage works up to our heavenly place and to "new creation". 1 Corinthians 15 is the truth of the matter in relation to resurrection. 2 Corinthians 5 is the heavenly side, "our house which is from heaven", "what is mortal ... swallowed up by life". Identity is seen more in 1 Corinthians 15. This (2 Corinthians 5) is on a higher level. The apostle speaks of what he knows from his own experience (including that of anyone like him) as over against the groaning connected with the present tabernacle.
Colossians 1:19 - 22; Ephesians 5:25 - 27
My subject, dear brethren, is presentation, our being presented by God to Himself, and our being presented as the assembly by Christ to Himself. The truth involved is exalted, and it should be so regarded. The Lord would encourage us to look into these exalted features of the truth; they are for us, they are for our perfecting. As we draw near to the end of our wonderful dispensation, the idea of perfecting is in place and, I may say, in prominence, for nothing imperfect will enter heaven. Hence we find the apostle Paul speaking much of the perfecting of the saints. In this epistle to the Colossians he speaks of presenting every man perfect in Christ Jesus. In the epistle to the Ephesians he speaks of gifts given by Christ, ascended on high, as for the perfecting of the saints. So that we can see from these words of the great workman, Paul, that the finished product from skilled hands is what is in order, what God has in His mind, at the present time; and the idea of presentation fills out this thought. Perfection has presentation in mind.
The idea of presentation is best learned from the Lord Himself. After He rose from the dead He presented Himself to His disciples; it is said that He "presented himself living", (Acts 1:3). That, of course, is not the only thought attaching to Jesus, beloved brethren, the thought of His deity is always present. But in view of the formation of the assembly, it was important that those who should form it, and indeed who should have something to do with the inauguration of it, should see Him living. Not only the simple fact of His being alive from among the dead, but that He should be seen according to His own skill in presentation of Himself. It was not simply that He was there as risen (we are told elsewhere
that He came and stood in the midst), but that, in the beginning of the Acts, He presented Himself living, as if to call attention to the great thought of life in Himself. It was the life that God had in mind for men, dear brethren. He is said indeed, personally, to be "the eternal life, which was with the Father, and has been manifested to us" (1 John 1:2). That is a greater thought, it involves His Person more, although as Man, that eternal life which was with the Father seen and heard and handled and contemplated. "Which was with the Father" alludes to what He was as Man with God, whether before His death or after. But He had in mind, in the presentation of Himself to His disciples, to call attention to the life, to a risen Man, a Man in a new condition, He being the first to have it; so that He presented Himself. It was a matter of His own thought, whatever the attitude may have been, it was to impress them with that, with Himself as alive. He assembled with them too, which is an additional thought, so as to carry the idea into the assembly which was to be a living state of things, ordered but living.
Then in keeping with this thought, Peter, in Acts 9, presents Tabitha, who had died, living. She was a worthy person, but she died; the point is not simply that she died, in the ordinary sense, but that death should come in on such a one as that. One who was so highly esteemed for her works' sake, that is works of a kind, the making of garments; these were exhibits that her admirers presented to Peter, clothes for needy people. I need not say that there is no life in them, nor did the garments she made require death as a preliminary. The first garments made did require death; God made garments out of skins, but there is no evidence that Dorcas was occupied in making clothes of that kind. Yet the exhibits were what she had made -- "body-coats and
garments", just ordinary garments. Death came in on that work. The idea is that that is not the thing in the assembly. God is moving out; Peter is visiting all quarters; Paul is already on the scene; scattered saints are preaching Christ; converts are coming on; making garments is not the thought, more than that is needed, so that death came in on that. There was the dead body and there were the exhibits, no suggestion of life. But Peter prayed, having put all the weepers out, the people that were so occupied with Dorcas. He had learnt from Jesus; for that is the idea, dear brethren, learning from Jesus -- Jesus had done the same thing. We must learn everything from Christ, even the environment for service; we must learn how to serve in proper environment, to learn to shut out all that militates against the Spirit. Peter had learnt that; he put them all out, and he kneeled down and prayed. That is an action that is within the range of everyone, to kneel down and pray; he had learnt that from Christ too. He learnt, not only how to speak, but what attitude to assume in certain circumstances, not that we should be attitudinarians, but, at the same time we should be right in any circumstances. Some needs are great and require excessive exercise, and kneeling down denotes that the matter on hand is serious. I have no doubt that solution of difficulties would come about if we took them to heart in this way more. But he turned to the body; the Lord had done that too, He turned to living bodies; He turned to the woman in Simon's house; she was a living woman, she loved Him; that is the idea of life. Let there be no pretence to divine life aside from love; love is the expression of it. The Lord looked toward her. He turned toward her. Peter turned to Dorcas; she was still dead, but she opened her eyes and sat up and, we are told, "having given her his hand, he raised her up, and ... presented her living" (verse 41). The Lord had done
a similar thing; He had done it in regard of Himself. The most perfect presentation of life was in Christ, but especially as He presented Himself. It was an act of skill, as I might say, in deference, too, to the great persons to whom He had come: He presented Himself. How one would love to see the Lord deliberately doing that, some attitude by which He would convey the thought of life in Himself. It is that which is to fill the universe, that life.
Well now, as I said, we get the thought of presentation in that way, and it is comforting, speaking of this, that Jude, so as to assure our hearts, says, in a beautiful doxology (another thing, dear brethren, that is to be noted in the apostolic writings, the fervency and the depth of feeling that marked these men) "To him that is able to keep you without stumbling ..." (there is always that danger, so in Colossians 1:23 the 'if' comes in in verse 23) "and to set you" [or present you] "with exultation blameless before his glory". Think of the brilliancy of that light, the shining out of the glory, beloved! God is able to keep us, to set us up there, "God our Saviour" to whom he ascribes "glory, majesty, might, and authority, from before the whole age, and now, and to all the ages. Amen" (Jude 24, 25). What great thoughts encircle what I am speaking of, dear brethren, being set up, or presented, in the presence of the glory by God Himself. He is able to do it; He is able to keep us from stumbling so as to do it. That is what He is aiming at, to keep us from stumbling, for the danger is great; and you may be sure that if God is aiming at great things, Satan is all the more aiming to defeat Him, so we are to be warned, but God is able to keep us.
Now in Colossians we have perhaps the greatest thought in this respect. Colossians is what may be called a tentative epistle; it is not final for we are not yet in Canaan, and hence the 'if', but everything needed is brought in to induce a forward movement.
There is no standing still until we are seated in the heavenlies, dear brethren, that is Ephesians. Colossians contemplates that, though we are still here, we are very near heaven, in the confines of Canaan, in fact passing over the Jordan. It is an epistle to meditate on, to take account of the surroundings, the group of great things that are presented there, so that we might go over. The point is to go over, not to retrograde. The enemy is seen in this epistle as set to prevent our entrance, and hence the stress of the apostle to promote movement forward without faltering. So we have "the circumcision of the Christ" (chapter 2: 11), one of the greatest thoughts, the putting off of the body of the flesh in the circumcision of the Christ. We take that on as educated, as instructed, in what the flesh is and that it is put off judicially in the circumcision of the Christ -- the body of the flesh. Then we read that we are "buried with him in baptism, in which ye have been also raised with him through faith of the working of God who raised him from among the dead" (verse 12). A great display of power is brought into our vision, the operation of God who raised Him. The greatest expression of power is in the resurrection of Christ, and that is for our faith. And then, quickened with Him, which is a real present thing by the Spirit in our affections. It is most precious to contemplate the thought, dear brethren, that we are quickened together with Christ, that is, made to live in our minds and affections, made to live with Christ. 'With' is a great characteristic word in Colossians -- "with Christ".
Now the verses read in chapter 1 are among the greatest in the epistle. As you will all know, the reference is not to the Father, but to the Deity, the Godhead: "the fulness" is of the Godhead. The Authorised Version has "the Father" (verse 19) but it is not there in the original; the point is "the fulness", without saying what the fulness is; all the
fulness dwelt in Christ. The word 'bodily' is not here; it is in chapter 2; here it is literally, 'in Him all the fulness was pleased to dwell'. We have "of the Godhead" added in chapter 2, but not formally mentioned in the original here. What does the word 'fulness' mean? What can it mean but the fulness of God? We are educated into that, just as we are into the word 'greatness' in Hebrews 8"the greatness in the heavens". What is that greatness but the greatness of God? It is really to emphasise the thought that the fulness is there, all the fulness is there in Christ. So what is stated is that the 'fulness [of the Godhead] reconciles all things to Itself'. (I am quoting now from the better translation by J.N.D., probably known to all of us; if not, it should be, for it is one of the greatest treasures that has come down to us). The Godhead Itself is occupied in reconciling. Elsewhere we are told: "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19). Now, what I would remark, dear brethren, is this, that what Scripture presents to us, sin having come in, is that God never surrenders His majesty in Deity. The establishment of government in Eden, in "the Cherubim, and the flame of the flashing sword" (Genesis 3:24), is the testimony to the intactness (if I may use that word, speaking reverently) of the Deity. There is no change in that respect; let none of us think that there can be! The Deity is maintained in all Its majesty and absoluteness. But then God, at the same time, is making clothes, dear brethren! There are the cherubim and the flame of the flashing sword at the gate, as it were, of Eden, but in putting them there, God is not without feeling. If you look at this translation I have alluded to, you will note He speaks with feeling, as much as to say, 'Oh, what will happen if man lives for ever in his sins!' God recoiled from the thought: it must not be. There is feeling, so He has recourse to His
government; it is inexorable, there it stands; there can be no variation from that sword. But He is making clothes, that blessed God humbled Himself, dear brethren, to make clothes, to make clothes for them who are shut out of Eden by His government. Is that not touching? Well, there are the two lines that run down, wholly seen in Jesus -- God come down, not only to make clothes for man, but in Jesus, to die. "It is Christ who has died" (Romans 8:34), but the One who died has His part in Deity, never loses it, never surrenders it; but He died, hence the Deity here has a means by which to reconcile all things to Itself. What a triumph that is! How God is brought down, dear brethren, comes down, to be beside us, to serve us in manhood and die. Of course you cannot say that God died -- that would be wrong -- yet the One who died was God. He could say, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). We must never surrender that thought. But He has become flesh, "The Word became flesh", we are told (John 1:14). He took a condition that He could lay down. (It is no imaginary thing, it is no sham, beloved friends; it is real). He was perfect in it, feeling as a man, feeling pain, feeling sorrow, weeping -- all these things are food for our souls -- and in Him God had a means of reconciling all things to Himself, or "to itself", as the passage should read. And then, not only all things, but persons too, not all persons, but persons, for all persons are not reconciled -- that is a solemn fact. "All things" allude to the universe, to that which God intended for the display of Himself. But then persons are reconciled; that is, "you" ourselves. "You ... has it reconciled in the body of his flesh through death; to present you holy and unblamable and irreproachable before it". It is an unrebuking gaze; God can look on us with infinite complacency through the work of Jesus. He has it in mind, He presents us Himself to Himself, in
perfect consistency with Himself, with His gaze, with His sight. Now this is a very great fact and should powerfully act upon us, as to what God has in His mind, the perfecting of the saints. How it induces holiness! how it induces unblamableness! If He has in His mind holiness, then holiness is my business; if He has in His mind unblamableness, then unblamableness is my business as before Him. He has given me the means of it, the Holy Spirit in me and other accompanying things -- ministry, fellowship, prayers, and so on, all have in view that the saints should be holy, "Be ye holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). We are to be unblamable, irreproachable, not only in the sight of the brethren, but in the sight of God; that is what He has in His mind. What a tribute to the work of Christ, for it is "in the body of his flesh through death", as it says.
Well, now, the other thought is in Ephesians. There it is a question of the assembly; and, in approaching this subject, those of us who love Jesus are drawn to His side. When here He looked for sympathy in suffering, but He found none (Psalm 69:20) as He approached the cross. Now He looks for sympathy in His joys and He finds sympathisers. Luke 15 shows how the Lord, the Spirit, and the Father, have joy and have those who share it sympathetically. And I would say here, dear brethren, speaking very carefully and reverently, that the life of divine Persons in revelation is very largely made up in what They find in the saints. They live in Themselves, of course, abstractly. They live before and beyond creation. There is really no need to say that God is independent of all creation: but He is pleased to come in, and, if He is pleased to say that wisdom was by Him in the creation and that her "delights were with the sons of men" (Proverbs 8:31) we must take notice of that. If Jesus says to the saints that are on the earth and to the excellent
"In them is all my delight" (Psalm 16:3), we must take note of that. If God says that the saints are His inheritance, we must take note of that -- He means it! We must understand what He came out for. There is what He is in His inscrutable infinitude -- He dwells in light unapproachable -- but He has come into circumstances involving humiliation so as to bring about something. He is pleased to intimate that He is seeking conditions in relation to men, that, as it were, He lives in those relations. How wonderful that is! -- it is to me, dear brethren. The saints are so essential to God! And so the father of the prodigal says: "It was right to make merry and rejoice". Why should we be merry? Because of the returning one, the son who was dead and is alive again, who was lost and is found, with the best robe on him -- remember that! -- with the shoes on his feet and the ring on his hand. He is representative of the repenting sinner. The Father's delight is in him. In the words said to the elder brother, "It was right to make merry and rejoice". He defends the position. Let no one question it, for God will defend the position, He thinks so much of the saints.
And so the Lord in this passage, so often quoted, "loved the assembly". "Christ also loved the assembly" -- it is in the past. He loves it, of course, and He will love it, but He loved it, and He "delivered himself up for it, in order that he might sanctify it, purifying it by the washing of water by the word" -- that is how the sanctification is apparent. But the point is to sanctify it so that He "might present the assembly to himself glorious", present it to Himself.
We were speaking today of Isaac, in Genesis 24, and let me remind you, dear brethren, that the servant's name is not given, nor is it a mere domestic, as in an earlier chapter, it is the eldest servant in Abraham's house; he is a man of importance. That
is the point in regard to the servant in Genesis 24. But when Rebecca asks about Isaac, he says, "That is my master!" -- not 'my master's son', though Abraham was still alive. It is a tribute to Jesus, He is equal with God. If Abraham is master to the servant, so is Isaac master. That is how Scripture speaks. Let us not allow our minds to work in these things; let us follow the Scripture. So here, if He presents the assembly to Himself, that is His deity; no one but a divine Person could do that. Adam did not present Eve to himself (although he was indeed a type of Christ), God presented her to Adam. But the Father does not bring the assembly to Christ here, Christ presents her to Himself. "He is thy Lord", as is said in Psalm 45, "and worship thou him". So we get these informal statements that testify to His personal glory; the Scriptures are full of them, so that we are built up in them; we breathe them, as it were; in the household of faith we breathe the testimony to the glory of Jesus. No impartial person can read Scripture without arriving, as I may say, informally in his soul, at the deity of Christ. It is seen there from the very outset. Of course, one might go further and say that the Jehovah Elohim who brought Eve to Adam was Jesus; the Jehovah that made the earth is Jesus -- "He was in the world, and the world had its being through him" (John 1:10). And so here, in this informal way, He "loved the assembly, and has delivered himself up for it, in order that he might sanctify it, purifying it by the washing of water by the word, that he might present the assembly to himself glorious, having no spot, or wrinkle, or any of such things". Now that is the other side of this great subject, dear brethren. The Lord is engaged in it now constantly, this washing of water is the means of it, but the great thought in His mind is sanctification. He prayed about this to His Father, and He is now engaged in sanctifying us, purifying
us "by the washing of water by the word;" that is to say, the ministry of the word, as in the power of the Spirit, is intended to purify our souls, to purify us as He is pure -- that is the standard. There must be correspondence with Him, and the ministry of the word in the power of the Spirit has that in mind. The 'word' is to be noted, it brings out the mind of God and the mind of Christ, it acts on our minds so that we come to value what is more excellent. That is a sanctifying idea; if I grasp something more excellent, I am correspondingly purified, I am correspondingly sanctified, and that is what is going on. What is going on, as I have been remarking, is the perfecting of the saints in view of this presentation, so that there should be nothing unfinished, nothing imperfect. The Lord said to His Father, "I have finished the work ..." but He had said earlier, "My food is that I should do the will of him that has sent me, and I should finish his work" (John 4:34). He set out there the idea of a skilled workman -- another thought that should be before us. Unskilled labour may bring in raw material indeed, but skill is required for perfection -- that is what you see in Jesus, correspondingly in Paul and in all the apostles -- holy, skilled labour. It is seen in Exodus, too, in Bezaleel and others -- what remarkable skill is seen in the building of the tabernacle! That is what is going on, dear brethren, and the Lord would call us into it. He has need of skilled labour -- of unskilled, too, for we are all to be working -- but the need is for skilled labour that every man should be presented perfect in Christ. So in the grand presentation there will be nothing at all to cause distress, everything will be in keeping with Christ: "that he might present the assembly to himself glorious, having no spot, or wrinkle, or any of such things".
May God use these thoughts, dear brethren, for our blessing.
Acts 8 - 24; Acts 16:13 - 18
J.T. These scriptures are read with a view to the consideration of assembly material and incidentally that we might also see something of the skilled workmanship that is needed both in the procuring of the material and in its formation.
We were noticing recently, some of us, how unskilled workmanship may acquire greater outward results than the skilled workmanship.
C.A.C. That is most important and helpful for us.
J.T. After Stephen's death many who were scattered abroad carried the glad tidings as far as Antioch, with great outward results, but more skilled workmanship had to follow to make the results suitable for the divine purpose. Philip had great results at Samaria, but Peter and John came down to perfect the work. Philip did not perfect it; and the others went into Antioch and preached to the Greeks so that a great number believed and turned to the Lord. But Barnabas had to come, and Saul of Tarsus had to come, to perfect the work and make it suitable for the divine purpose. Then we find too, that in the work of the greatest workman, the most skilled, that is Paul, there were very few outward results from his early preaching. His work, according to chapter 11, too, after he was brought to Antioch, was to perfect the work of others. For a whole year he and Barnabas toiled to teach them in the assembly. They taught a large crowd, we are told, in the assembly. It does not say they were used to convert them -- they taught them.
Ques. Is it your thought that that might obtain today?
J.T. It is obtaining. Those that are least skilled seem to get the most results outwardly, but the great concern is that divine ends should be reached, and for that we need skilled workmen.
J.T. Well, there are two. The first, as to the immediate need, is to have material for the assembly here, brothers and sisters who understand the assembly, who know how to function and support the testimony in divine power. The second and ultimate end is that we should fit in with the divine counsel. God has His own number chosen before the foundation of the world and He is seeking these, so that it comes out in Paul. On his first great missionary journey he and Barnabas went down to Cyprus and traversed the whole island and did not get anyone save Elymas, and he was an opposer, and the man that God had in His mind to secure, that is the deputy of the island. And then in Acts 13:48 those that were ordained to eternal life believed; meaning that that side comes out with skilled workmen. They are not thinking of the results as reflecting themselves, accrediting themselves, but as answering to the divine counsels, a notable thing to be mentioned in regard to the greatest workman: and I believe that these remarks have a peculiar application today because of the apparent results by unskilled people, persons who hardly know the assembly at all.
C.A.C. Did you think that that was what we should have specially in view now, the development of things according to the whole counsel of God?
J.T. I believe that is what God is aiming at. At the beginning of the revival, of course, there were great public results, but that phase came to an end in the great division; and since that division what has been prominent is the assembly and the house, and that is more and more stressed by the Spirit, I think. The Lord is calling for skilled workmen so that
the saints might be perfected, that there might be something answering to His mind in the end.
Rem. So the Lord spoke of finishing the work which was given Him to do.
J.T. Quite so. His was to do the will of God and to finish. John's ministry would stress that -- what is finished, and so it is said in Acts 14:26, "and thence they sailed away to Antioch;" that is, attention is called to the workmen, that they are workmen who had gone the full limit of what is required. They fulfilled their mission, and what marks the chapter is the setting up of assemblies, and leaders selected in each assembly, so that the mind of God is answered to in each locality, the assemblies standing up on their own feet.
Ques. Would that be the course of things when the apostle went on his two or three tours to see how they did? He was used of God, the first time to lay the foundation and the second time to perfect the work.
J.T. That is right. So that you find in the beginning of this second journey in chapter 15 Paul passed through Syria and Cilicia. It is further stated that "the assemblies therefore were confirmed in the faith, and increased in number every day".
Rem. So that confirmation and increase was the evidence of good workmanship.
J.T. That is the way the matter stands. I think the Spirit of God has written this carefully to call attention to the workmanship, material and the results, how the assemblies were set up on their own feet severally with leaders in each. That is what I think we might see in these two cases, a certain man in Lystra, and Lydia, the kind of material for local gatherings. The first as to spiritual formation, the man at Lystra had never walked and he represents the gentiles that had never walked or pleased God. The material is taken up entirely as in itself. He could
never be of any service as he was. Now he walks. It says: "He sprang up and walked". That is the kind of material that will be available in a local company. I believe Lystra is mentioned later to remind us of this, as having an assembly and leaders appointed there. Then Lydia is the kind of material that will also be needed in the local assembly. She is a business woman, indicative of the source or kind of people that are drawn upon, business people, whether brothers or sisters. She is qualified in that God opened her ear to attend. There can be no assembly conditions without that, without persons whose hearts are opened. Paul is the great assembly minister, the wise architect, and unless we attend to what he says in our locality we shall not answer to the mind of God in the assembly locally.
Ques. Is Paul's ministry very important?
J.T. Yes, it is important, that is the point. Those who turn aside from the path in independence as a rule do not pay attention to it; they do not observe it in its true character.
Ques. What would answer to this walking at the present time?
J.T. It is the way you move about in any given locality, how you should walk. I think it refers to the saints' movements in our localities. A business woman might be known in a universal way, travelling overseas. Phoebe too, another business woman, apparently travelled to Rome. Such a journey is a tax on a christian as to whether he has ability to maintain things. Travelling on the ocean, for instance, is very taxing to christians as to their spiritual power and whether they can keep aloof from the spirit of the world.
Rem. The man in chapter 14 heard Paul speaking.
J.T. I think he represents the work of God. He heard Paul speaking and Paul discerned in him that he had faith, faith for what is so needed. Lydia is
more a type of one whom the Lord could affect. The Lord opened her heart. It is more differential in her case. She is a woman of potential quality. She is a business woman who had come from another city and she was a seller of purple and one who worshipped, meaning that she was a proselyte. She attended the synagogue, but she attended the prayer meeting also. Her business seemed to help. It did not hinder. No legitimate business should hinder. Indeed the business becomes an occasion of the truth shining out, that I can be a heavenly person and sell real estate or dry goods or whatever it may be. Lydia was a seller of purple -- that would be dyes. Her business was to sell them. These dyes may be used to embellish the world but that was not her business; she sold them.
Ques. Is what you are suggesting as a work of God in contrast to what the Lord says to Sardis: "I have not found thy works complete"?
J.T. That is a good suggestion, because the Lord is laying it open, to look into the state of the saints. The Lord alludes to finding, meaning that he had looked into it: "I have not found". The great principle of examination of work is in Exodus, where the material is furnished by the people and then it is put into use and the work brought to Moses and Moses passes it and blesses them. That is what the Lord does. He had not found the work in Sardis perfect. There was much being done but it was not perfect. I suppose all the great religious evangelism in the last century would be included, great activity with apparent results, but the Lord says, "I have not found".
R.W.S. Is it not suggestive that in each scripture read where material is secured and perfected extreme suffering is contemplated?
J.T. The character of the enemy's attack against the ministers should also be noted; it involves suffering.
F.I. These two instances show much energy and activity; is it greater than what is seen as a result of the apostles' doctrine and fellowship in Acts 2?
J.T. I think Acts 2 is intended by God to stand by itself. There is very little said as to regulation. They are told to be baptised but there is very little said as to regulation and the imposition of assembly principles. I think that God intended the movement at Pentecost to stand out as an evidence of his own direct work.
The description given is very striking in the end of the chapter, but the regulations that belong to Paul's ministry are not there. I think it is intended to stand out as evidence of the immediate results of the Spirit in volume. It awaited Paul to work out what God had in his mind, that is, companies of saints set up throughout the world.
Psalm 107:1 -- -8, 35, 36; Zechariah 14:10, 11 (first clause)
This psalm is the beginning of the last book of Psalms, and significantly calls for praise. The book has praise in view, as might be expected, it being the last book of the Psalms, the whole book having God in mind, all things being for Him, and above all, the intelligent praises of His people. So that we have here a call to men, "Give ye thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good; for his loving-kindness endureth for ever". What enters into the psalm most significantly, and what I wish to speak of, is the idea of "a city of habitation". The idea of a habitation, that is, a place of dwelling, whether in the country or in the city, is pronounced in the Scriptures. The earth was made, not in vain, but to be inhabited, and it will be. The Lord Jesus is said to be set over "the habitable world which is to come" (Hebrews 2:5). The city will be there, both the heavenly and the earthly; but the earth too will be a scene inhabited according to God. It is exhilarating to contemplate an earth, inhabited according to God, all knowing Him; as it is said, "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9). There will be a complete reversal of the present state of things where the very opposite, that is, ignorance of God, prevails. Men, it says, "did not think good to have God in their knowledge" (Romans 1:28); and that is how the matter stands; even where He has been known, the knowledge of Him is being systematically eliminated. How great will be the change, dear brethren, when the knowledge of God shall prevail with all the accompanying results here. That is what will mark the coming world, the world to come; many other things too as the result of it, but the
great thought is the knowledge of God, and His praise, as the result of that. This book has the full result in mind. Now, for the moment, the world is a wilderness to the christian, to faith, and that is what the psalm contemplates; it contemplates too the gathering of God's people, it contemplates them feelingly as wandering, and then as gathered and led. "They found no city of habitation", we are told, until God took a hand in gathering and in leading.
Now these facts apply at the present time. In the history of public christianity, it came about that the people of God found themselves in circumstances such as described in these early verses; they found no city of habitation. The great city spoken of in the book of the Revelation called Babylon existed indeed, but that is not a city of habitation such as God has in mind. Indeed in the prophets it is itself described as a wilderness, as a desert, meaning that there is no refreshment in it for the people of God. There was no city of habitation for hundreds of years in the history of public christianity. But God has taken a hand in matters, dear brethren, and the principle of gathering has ensued and the principle of leadership, and these facts have culminated in what many of the people of God are enjoying at this very time, "a city of habitation". It is said, "They found no city of habitation", but God "led them forth by a right way, that they might go to a city of habitation". Most of us here, thank God, have been thus led. Some may not have been; if not, it is your opportunity to fall under divine leadership, and that will mean that you will go to a city of habitation. "That they might go to a city of habitation;" most of us understand! God has intervened wonderfully during a century now, and, in referring to a century, one is thankful to be able to testify to the continuance of the movement, and, we might say, a certain enlivenment in it, so that the idea of a city of habitation is
becoming more and more prominent in the minds of the brethren. The enemy attacked very soon and beclouded the position; the early movement became beclouded almost immediately; an evil root was sown. As of old, as the Lord sowed the good seed, the enemy sowed tares, so an evil root was sown, and soon bore fruit. But the position through it became clarified, and the idea of a city of habitation has been kept in view, thank God, ever since, and I believe will be kept in view until the end. The heavenly city having come into view, not only in the Scriptures, but in a spiritual way, the saints will be kept moving on until they reach that blessed city, truly "a city of habitation".
Now I want to show before passing on to Zechariah (for I wish particularly to speak of Zechariah) that, alongside of the divine movement and leadership, God, as the end of the psalm shows, creates an environment out of which the idea of a city of habitation springs. That is to say, in verse 35 we read, "He maketh the wilderness into a pool of water, and the dry land into water-springs;" that is what God does. This passage corresponds with Exodus, and I bring it forward now, as just stressing what God does, what God will do, what God is indeed doing out of consideration for His people who instinctively seek a city of habitation; He creates an environment. In Exodus as the people came into the wilderness they found springs; for us these refer to the activities of the Spirit for the environment of a city of habitation is spiritual activities. The geographical environment may be simple but not so the spiritual side; the geographical is nothing more than a wilderness, however fine the houses, however attractive the gardens. Suburban dwellings have these thoughts in mind, but they never cease to be a wilderness; if they do in our estimation, they become deadening to us. If we hold them as a wilderness it is safe to be in them,
but not otherwise. As holding them as a wilderness, we may look for some spiritual movement that will intimate that there should be a city of habitation; and that, dear brethren, is what spiritual instinct will look for, a spiritual movement. The wilderness, as it says here, is turned "into a pool of water, and the dry land into water-springs;" that is an act of God. No water supply according to man can answer to this; it is an act of God by His Spirit. How great is the fact that the Holy Spirit is here and in the household of christians! As the arid conditions in the world and the earth are accepted, there is room for the Spirit, and there will be the pools of water. Water, that is to say, that is available; and springs, fresh energy of the Spirit, and hence you find in this setting the city of habitation. "There he maketh the hungry to dwell, and they establish a city of habitation".
I mention all these things because they are apropos at the moment to the increase of saints. Thank God for them, for every one! Before you can have Zion, there must be the dwellings of Jacob, and the dwellings of Jacob are not houses and gardens, needful as these may be. Living in these things, beloved, today does not characterise the dwellings of Jacob. The dwellings of Jacob lead to Zion. Any dwelling that does not lead to Zion, that does not point to Zion, is not a dwelling of Jacob; it points in the other direction, it points to a bigger house, it points to a larger garden, and they point to the world; it is it! The dwellings of Jacob point to Zion, they stand in relation to Zion. As the Israel of God of old were set round the divine dwelling, set in relation to it, so it is today that the dwellings of the saints are set in relation to the assembly; or they are not dwellings of Jacob. It is very remarkable that these thoughts appear in relation to the apostle Paul, the great minister of the assembly.
The household of Lydia would suggest Zion to the apostle, it would point to Zion, it would point to the assembly; there would be nothing in it inconsistent with the heavenly thought, for the assembly is the reflection here of what is in heaven. It must be so; the material for it must be from those who are heavenly, and the households of the saints will comport with that. Hence you will find the pools of water in the wilderness and the springs, and the hungry fed so that they establish a city of habitation. One has remarked, dear brethren, on the increase of gatherings; but there are what are called the environments of Jerusalem, we must have these; if there be the environments, then why not Jerusalem? That is God's thought. God loves Zion; "Here will I dwell", He says, "for I have desired it" (Psalm 132:14). He loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Why not minister to Him? Why should His desires be deferred? Why should I be building my ceiled house and His house lie desolate? I am not here for His pleasure, for His will, save as I think of Zion. So that the environment is created. God does it; it is His act; and God, in this sense, is available to us, and He gives us the pools of water in the wilderness and the water-springs.
Now that leads me to the verse in Zechariah, where from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem, you have the environment brought in. It is said that "All the land ... shall be turned as the Arabah;" that is to say, I apprehend, a change from unproductive conditions, from uninhabitable conditions, into habitable conditions. It is an act of God. Now God is acting; He is ready to act; if we have Zion in our minds He is with us. Zion, that is to say, the assembly or Jerusalem, may be a great abstract thought; it is indeed primarily according to Nehemiah 7:4, "The city was large and great; but the people in it were few", meaning that it is a great abstract thought; but for the
concrete you must have people. So that God creates the environment such as will invite people; in that there will be these conditions I have spoken of. But we must not rest in these; we must not rest simply in the pools of water and the springs, blessed as they are, but we must think of God. We are not here after His thought save as we are thinking of Him, and what He has here on earth now. Now, after this allusion to what is south of the city, it goes on to say, "And Jerusalem shall be lifted up, and shall dwell in her own place". She has a place; if there be any thought, dear brethren, of the extension of Jerusalem, we must not overlook the place, it is not any place; I am not now speaking geographically, it is "her own place", she has a place. Just as in Ezra the altar had its place, its base, so Jerusalem has her place. We sometimes have to seek out sites for our meeting rooms, a very necessary thing, but we have to bear in mind this idea of place, that is in God's thoughts, "her own place", not any place. Jerusalem is to be inhabited in her place; that is, God is having to say to this matter. It is not that we are to have another meeting in our town, it is not increase from that point of view; it is God saying, 'I have to do with this matter; Jerusalem has a place in My mind, and she is to be inhabited in that place'. How this casts us upon God, and how God loves to be relied upon in such matters! How He would move with us! How quickly the end would be reached!
Well now, dear brethren (I am speaking as I hope, spiritually, but very practically) the principles are in relation to place, "From Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate". Now if we are looking for a site, we must look for Benjamin's gate (you will understand I am not speaking geographically, I am speaking spiritually) and then the first gate. I do not know anything that would be more interesting spiritually than to find Benjamin's gate. When
Nehemiah started to build the wall, the gates were all there, their names were distinguishable. This seems another feature to what we have in Nehemiah, and one that enters into the present time, dear brethren, and I wonder, in our exercise about meetings, whether we have ever looked for Benjamin's gate. And then, the first gate, "From Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate". One might say much about Benjamin, his history no doubt is known to most of us, but what you get at his birth no doubt is what is in the mind of God. He was the last son of Jacob, the twelfth; that is, you have in Benjamin the idea of finish, that this matter is to be mutual: you must have the twelfth and there must be mutuality in the thing. This is a matter for all. When Joseph was born Rachel said, "Jehovah will add to me another son" (Genesis 30:24), that was what her thought was; but God's thought was that another son would be the twelfth. Rachel's counsels are one thing, God's counsels are another; in this case they synchronise and Jacob promptly says, 'I will go to Canaan now' and return to my father's house. How spiritual that was, for addition is to be in Canaan, if it is to be spiritual, it is not to be in Padan-Aram. Alas, the additions he acquired there in Padan were simply cows and sheep, different cattle; these are not the additions, beloved, that God had in mind at all. There was to be a twelfth son, and that means that we have mutuality. (That word 'mutuality' has become hackneyed, I am afraid, but yet there is hardly another to take its place). But it is not simply that we agree to do certain things; it is the agreement of love, the manipulation of love; that is what is in mind in Benjamin. He was born in Canaan, the only son of Jacob who was born in Canaan; Joseph was born in Padan, but his birth meant that Jacob would move out of Padan, out of the world. The twelfth son was born in Canaan;
suitably so, for that is the country God has in mind; there can be no assembly, dear brethren, without that. Every assembly should have in mind the full thought of God; it is an addition, but it is an addition in Canaan; it is the full thought of God, not any addition to us; Rachel says, "to me", but God says, 'for Me'! Benjamin is the twelfth son, he is the son of his father's right hand, the son of his mother's sorrow; no doubt the sorrow should enter into it for we can have no assembly according to God without that, without the mother's side. She bore him with sorrow, as indeed did Jabez's mother, and he became enlarged; enlargement is in that connection. But there is, on the other hand, the power of God, of God's right hand. He is the son of the father's right hand. Who is that? That is Christ. A new meeting must be a place for Christ, and for what Christ is doing. As Peter says, in view of new meetings without number, to Aeneas, "Rise up, and make thy couch for thyself" (Acts 9:34), and he says, "Jesus, the Christ, heals thee;" it is the Christ, the Son of God's right hand, the One who does things, He does everything. "Jesus, the Christ", says Peter, "heals thee", not 'will heal thee;' it is what He is doing. Let us take that in; it is what He is doing.
Well now, the other thought is, from that gate to "the place of the first gate". If there be power, if there be support, if there be the twelfth son, let there be also first principles; the primary thoughts of God must enter into all this. We shall soon have Zion, we shall soon have a city of habitation, dear brethren, under these circumstances, and that is what God is aiming at. And then it further says in this remarkable verse, "Unto the corner-gate", that is the next thing. There will be some corner to be turned as soon as we get a new meeting, and that corner always requires strength or you will have a collapse; something will come up; it is very remarkable
how many things come up in local companies, and the Lord will say, 'Well now, what are you going to do with this?' It seems insurmountable, and, unless there be love, which never fails, it will be insurmountable, and there will be a collapse. So it is "From Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner-gate". The corner-gate is the testing-gate as to how much strength we have, how much love there is. Will it stand the stress of a special strain? For that is what a corner signifies in this sense. And then you will observe finally, "From the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses". The tower of Hananeel I read to mean the gospel testimony; that is the next thing. If we can stand the strain of a tested love, then we must think of the dispensation; the dispensation of God stands, it is in faith, and it is the dispensation of grace. It began in Jerusalem: the saints were talking about Simon, how the Lord Jesus had appeared to him (Luke 24:34). It was a question of the grace of God. That is what Hananeel means, according to the scholars; I have no doubt the name means that. Why should we be hidden away? We are hidden away, in one sense, we do not want to be conspicuous; Colossians keeps us hidden, but grace will bring us out. Why not? We have wonderful things to say to people, why not say them? "Proclaim the word;" says Paul in a dark day, "be urgent in season and out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2). "Proclaim the word;" I think that is the tower of Hananeel. The assembly is "the pillar and base of the truth", it supports the gospel, and that is the next thing; and the final thing is "the king's winepresses". Notice these points, for I believe it is in this sense that we get the place where the building is to be; Benjamin's gate, the first gate, the corner-gate, and then the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses. That is to say, the Lord is looking for something; if the king has winepresses
he intends to have wine. Thus you find with Nehemiah, who attended on the king, and so with the cup-bearer of Pharaoh; all these thoughts apply spiritually, dear brethren. Surely the king is to have something. How is it to come? It is by pressure. These are no joyous matters; there is no attraction for the flesh at all in the king's winepresses; it is a question of pressure, it is in truth Gethsemane. The King Himself was in Gethsemane; the Lord knows about the pressure; but what is the pressure for? That which makes God glad, the wine that gladdens the heart of God; that is the end. And so, as I said, we can readily find the place if we follow those lines; and the end will be more for God. That is the great question really as to how what the King looks for is to be promoted; what God seeks, how is that to be promoted? He looks for the most. We have in John 15 an instance; if there be fruit, then more fruit, and there is no limit, God never stops, more and more. Well, I only refer to that to confirm what I am saying that the king's winepresses imply in any meeting that there is to be something for Christ through pressure, and that is how the matter stands, and will stand, if God is to be with us until the end.
Luke 10:20 - 24; Luke 15:22
J.T. These scriptures speak of the value of the saints in the divine eyes; indeed Luke would make much of this side, the saints viewed as the result of the gospel; he leaves us with them in this book as "praising and blessing God". They are seen as essential to what God had in mind. This section, coming in after the transfiguration, views us more as pertaining to heaven. Chapter 9 speaks about the transfiguration and the Lord taking certain up to the mount, and the passage says, "Two men talked with him ... appearing in glory" (verses 30, 31), and the chapter further speaks of His being received up: "When the days of his receiving up were fulfilled" (verse 51). What transpired on the mount implied that, in being received up, He should not be there alone. The disciples were not equal to the position, but there were two there who were equal to it. They appeared in glory, and were in liberty speaking with the Lord as transfigured; because we have to bear in mind that it is as He is now that we are to know Him. We are to know Him and to be like Him. When we shall see Him we shall be like Him; and that implies that we shall be at liberty there and equal to holy converse with the Lord in His present glorified condition. These intervening chapters to the 15th have, I think, in mind the heavenly side of our position, what goes on in heaven, so that the Lord says here, "Rejoice not, that the spirits are subjected to you, but rejoice that your names are written in the heavens". And then, in chapter 15 we have, as we have often noted, the three Persons of the Deity calling for sympathy in this very connection, calling for joyous sympathy.
The shepherd says, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep". The Spirit is seen under the type of the woman who found the lost piece of silver, and says, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost". Then the father, typifying God the Father Himself, entering deliberately into merry-making on account of the prodigal returned. So that these passages all point to what the saints are to God, or, as we may say, to the divine Persons; they are all brought into it. Luke, in his further treatise, pursues this thought as to the interventions of heaven, the light from heaven, and the vessel, the sheet, coming down from heaven and drawn up again. It is an amplifying of the same thought, the saints being heavenly, that indeed heaven is intended for them, that without them there would be a blank. That was what I was thinking of, that the saints might come into accord with heaven as to who the saints are, and how all this now takes form in the assembly pending our translation.
Eu.R. Names "written in the heavens".
J.T. Yes. The book is full of holy jubilance, beginning with such persons as Elizabeth and Mary, Zacharias, Simeon and Anna. They are occupied more with Christ as the occasion of the joy, but in these later chapters the saints come into view as also essential to God, so that divine Persons themselves are jubilant over the saints.
Rem. "It was right to make merry;" who did that?
J.T. I take it to be the Father, and the servants are included in that. The whole scene is jubilant in merry-making on account of this return. The bondmen, of course, are not hired servants as the prodigal had thought; he had thought of hired servants, but there are none. The nearer we get to God the less the thought of hired servants appears. God has bondmen, but that means they are like Christ, they are
there in love. It would take a good few to make a dance (using the figure), the number is left open; the dance was in the house.
-- .S. Was their names being "written in the heavens" something much greater than the spirits subject on earth?
J.T. That is what the Lord points out, I think. He says, "I beheld Satan as lightning falling out of heaven" (verse 18). That was much greater than anything they could speak of, the clearance of heaven; the Lord intimated there that the place designed for them would be cleared of Satan and that their names were there.
Ques. So would the first rejoicing here be the great fact of God having secured through Christ that which would supersede Satan?
J.T. That is how it stands. It says, "In the same hour", meaning that this earlier remark of the Lord's entered into this rejoicing spirit, "in the same hour". The very suggestion of their names written in heaven became the occasion of joy to Him. We are told He "rejoiced in spirit".
Eu.R. And then He wants the disciples to rejoice in that fact. Do we need to ask ourselves as to whether we have taken account of ourselves in this way as citizens of the heavenly city?
J.T. Well, I think we ought to begin to see what we are as first of all coming together in assembly. 1 Corinthians has in mind who we are, "called saints", it says (chapter 1: 2); that we are no less than saints by calling; like Abraham, we are called. We have no saints by calling earlier than that. There were saints, of course, who valued what was there, such as Abel and Enoch; but in Abraham we have a call. So that we are on a higher level; we are called out, and then called into something, into the fellowship of God's Son; and in chapter 12 we are anointed, like
Abraham too: "Touch not mine anointed ones" (Psalm 105:15). "So also is the Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12) means that the saints are anointed, hence the interest that heaven has in us as we move toward the assembly; as we leave our houses in view of the assembly, what there is for heaven, even before we sit down. The very walk of the saints, the footsteps of the flock, are delightful to the Lord. Then, in sitting down together, nothing is common. Even the court of the tabernacle is anointed. Whatever is done is under the anointing, nothing is common in what is done, whether it be the announcement of names, or information, or the box, everything takes on that character in the minds of intelligent persons. It is an anointed scene, and heaven so regards it, and we ought to awake in ourselves to the dignity of that even in the wilderness, for that is the point in the tabernacle, it was anointed in the wilderness (the temple was not anointed), everything is hallowed.
Eu.R. So, as we sit down, should that great thought, "the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven" (Hebrews 12:23) be before us?
J.T. Well, quite so, we go on to that, "registered in heaven". The anointing is to dignify us here, I think, and it enters into our intelligence, how we understand, how we look at things. Paul would speak of it as "being enlightened in the eyes of your heart", but John, in his epistle, would say that it implies our intelligence as well.
C.G. Is not this a very remarkable way in which the Lord addressed the Father, "I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and the earth", speaking here as a Man?
J.T. Well, I think He gives us a lead here. The two men were speaking with Him on the mount; now He is speaking with the disciples and viewing them as having status in heaven, and having spoken of that, it says, "In the same hour", as if the thought
was in His mind; it was not, as it were, just immediate, but in the hour, the thought was in His mind. This thing is taking effect and it is an important matter, and Luke links on with His remark about their names being written in heaven, what follows in the Lord's own spirit. He said to them that they should rejoice, but in that hour, He rejoiced in spirit and turns to the Father about it. He had spoken to them, but it would look as if there was continuance of the thought; it was taking hold in the hour, the idea of the prevalence of a thought, and how the Lord takes it up and speaks to the Father. He does not speak of their names being written in heaven to the Father, but He speaks to the Father of what He had done to these same persons.
Eu.R. Would the intelligence that we receive by the anointing enter into the thought of "revealed them to babes" here?
J.T. I think so. I think the anointing is that which marks us off, as gathering together, apart from current religion around us. There is no such thing as anointing attached to any of these denominational services; it is all man's order and device.
Eu.R. "God has revealed to us by his Spirit" (1 Corinthians 2:10). Would that fill out this dispensation, that these things have come to light, and the believer, as having the Spirit, has the capacity to take them in and respond to them? Would that enter into it?
J.T. Quite so, even in the initial speaking in the assembly the anointing appears, but these things that are revealed and which the Lord speaks of here are, I think, the heavenly side of our position; He connects them with the Father.
Eu.R. In referring to Abraham, have you in mind what came out in Paul's ministry as being more special than the ministry of the twelve?
J.T. Yes, and I think the anointing, while not spoken of in this passage, ought to be kept before us
as regards the assembly, for some are apt to think that certain things are common, whereas the whole tabernacle is anointed, nothing is common.
Ques. Would it be out of place to ask about the seventy?
J.T. Well, they are the ones that are sent out before Him into every city and place where He intended to come; that would allude to local assembly conditions. These seventy would promote conditions in every city and place to which the Lord was to come, principally in sons of peace. This section we have before us now is to enhance that, and bring the heavenly side into the local setting. So that the Lord returns to the local setting in the end of this chapter, in a certain village and in a certain woman's house. Mary is at His feet; that is, she represents the side of intelligence, of taking in His mind. Then, in the next chapter, He was praying in a certain place and the disciples wanted to be taught how to pray. I think those verses we have read are the heavenly side, between the two thoughts: the seventy being sent out, and the Lord coming back to the idea of a locality, in a certain place. The heavenly side must enter into the local setting.
Eu.R. Both Romans and 1 Corinthians begin with "called saints", or "saints by calling".
-- .G. Did it add character in that way to the local assembly?
J.T. I think so. I think we have to see, not only that we are gathered according to Corinthians, but that we are heavenly. How can we have conditions for divine Persons here, aside from apprehending Their circumstances up there?
Ques. Would that give that buoyancy you alluded to this morning, the jubilance that enables us to rise?
J.T. I think it does if you lay hold of the heavenly part. That is what the Lord points to, "Rejoice that
your names are written in the heavens". It not only means our complete deliverance from earthly influences, but that we have come under the influence of the heavenly side, we are partakers of the heavenly calling.
Rem. And rise above the adverse circumstances.
Ques. Have you in mind that we have relations in the wilderness while heavenly in character?
J.T. Yes. The position in the wilderness in our several localities is to take colour from the heavenly; so, before you have any word of the tabernacle being built in Exodus, the saints go up and see the God of Israel; they see what His circumstances were. That is the principle.
Eu.R. How do we arrive at that individually now? As having a place in the local assembly and calling on the Lord in a place, how do we get a glimpse of what is in heaven and persons there in relation one to another?
J.T. Well, according to Exodus, it is a matter of education. Chapter 24 begins with the divine thought that they should go up. The mind of God is a great matter; we are to get that, what His mind is for us. His mind is that they should go up, Moses and Aaron and seventy of the elders of Israel; that is, persons qualified to witness to what is there.
Eu.R. So Mary is taking that in here; is that your suggestion?
J.T. Quite. Three went up in chapter 9, and they saw the glory.
Ques. Do you mean that, as having taken account of God in those heavenly circumstances, we would have a better idea of what is suitable to Him down here?
J.T. That is the exact point in Exodus 24, and indeed it is here in Luke 9 in the transfiguration; they saw what was there, and not only that, but these two men in heavenly dress.
Rem. So what you are speaking of now supposes we have entered into what is set forth in the transfiguration.
J.T. That is the idea, and Mary is in keeping with what was said on the mount: "This is my beloved Son: hear him", she is hearing Him. And that comes into the assembly, so that we should know what the mind of heaven is. How can we have it save as we hear what the Lord says?
Ques. Is it remarkable that this was spoken to the seventy, and there were seventy elders went up in Exodus 24?
J.T. It is remarkable; what the Lord says is not to the twelve here, but to the seventy.
Ques. Would a company in the gain of it work out, as in 1 Corinthians 14, the prophetic word amongst them? Would that be in a company in a like position to those here who appreciated these things and were in the joy of them, and God was known there?
J.T. Yes, there is the thought of revelation in 1 Corinthians 14:30, "If there be a revelation to another sitting there;" it is the same idea, that the saints are kept going and are heavenly through the things revealed.
Ques. In speaking of the seventy and the twelve, have you anything further in your mind?
J.T. I think it is well to keep in mind Exodus 24, as corresponding with the ninth chapter of this book. There were two men there speaking with the Lord; that is, they saw a state of things in heaven; that in heaven there are men perfectly free in speaking to the great Person, the Lord Jesus. He is transfigured; it is not simply what He was down here, it is what He is up there, and that they are great enough to converse with Him as He is up there. Well, that leads up to what we have here. Then He is about to be received up; we are told in the same chapter that the time
of "his receiving up" had come. Then, in view of all that, He sends out these seventy persons to every city and place which He intended to visit; meaning that He had in mind coming to localities and finding conditions suitable to Him. Well, that is the suggestion, but then there is this heavenly side intervening; these very seventy persons have their names written in heaven; that is an additional thought. And then, in the end of the chapter, a certain village, and a certain woman receiving Him, and then another one sitting at His feet and listening to Him; what does she represent? She is in accord with what is said on the mount, she is getting all the good therein. He is free to unfold the mind of God; to speak to her, and everything He said she would absorb. What would Mary of Bethany be in the assembly? Luke does not tell us but John does; John gives the full result, what she was in the assembly, as it were, in chapter 12. Then chapter 11 of this book says the Lord is praying in a certain place. Well, what did the disciples see when they saw the Lord praying? They had never seen a man praying like that. The high priest in the temple would not pray like that. No doubt this man had prayed himself, but he saw there was something more, so he says, "Lord, teach us to pray", not 'me', but "us;" he has one mind, the local company.
Ques. Do you think the Lord, in visiting this particular place, found something that was delightful to Him, but He found something that needed adjustment, and prayer would be necessary in connection with that?
J.T. That would be the inference. You can understand it. Supposing the Lord, in the days of His flesh, came to Worcester, or Malvern, or Evesham, and found certain conditions that were not right, what would He do? As a dependent Man, He would pray, and that is what we should do. He prayed in such a way. There is Martha; well, she received
Him into her house; that is commendable. I suppose the most deranged meeting on earth walking in the light we have, would receive the Lord; but then, what are the conditions? What does He find? Martha received Him, it says expressly, into her house; but He would have been more comfortable outside her house. She began to complain, even about the Lord Himself. Well, what will He do but pray? Who can set this right but God? He prayed, and in praying, the disciples saw there was something that they had not been accustomed to see.
Ques. Would that be where they contemplated His glory?
J.T. Morally speaking it would be.
Ques. Would you see the result of that prayer, in John 12, that things have been adjusted?
J.T. It is just as well to see that, that John supports Paul's line; Luke does not give us results. John does; he gives us much more about Martha and Mary than Luke; in fact Luke only mentions them here. I think Luke is the public condition of things and John brings the same thing out in spite of failure.
Eu.R. When He prays His prayer would take its character from "I praise thee, Father".
J.T. Yes. If you heard the Lord say, "Father", and heard Him praying, and heard what He said, how wonderful! The Lord immediately said, "Father" when He prayed, so that He would bring them into accord with Himself; that is the point, I think; He would say "Father", and they were to say "Father".
Ques. Would the prayer meeting in that way take character from what you are bringing before us, having in view that we should enter into those heavenly circumstances?
J.T. Yes. We ought to bear in mind that the prayer meeting is not only for the expression of our
needs. Every meeting ought to make room for God to have part in it, to have pleasure in it. It is like the offering of the evening oblation, that there is something like Christ there. Every meeting of the saints ought to afford something for God.
C.G. In verse 22 the Lord seems to go on to the Father and speak of the revelation of the Father; is that in connection with what you are speaking of, preparedness for that, and what God would give?
J.T. Yes, that is the next thing. In that hour He had spoken to His disciples and told them why they should rejoice, not because of power in their ministry, but because of their place in heaven. Then His own spirit is affected, so that He says to the Father, "I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that thou hast hid these things from wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes: yea, Father, for thus has it been well-pleasing in thy sight". He is speaking to His Father of what His Father had done for the disciples, showing what a place they had in His mind; and it is evidently at a considerable time afterwards.
Eu.R. Is the thought of divine pleasure one of the great features of Luke's gospel?
J.T. I think so; that thought of "good pleasure in men" runs through the gospel; but "on earth peace" (Luke 2:14) is given up in the latter part of the gospel. It is replaced by "peace in heaven" as we get it in Luke 19:38. So the divine thoughts are transferred from earth to heaven, and these chapters (10 and 11), following on the transfiguration, have in mind what is to be in localities throughout the world, that there is to be something like heaven in them.
Eu.R. So Paul's ministry takes its shape in the light of the Son of God in heaven; every assembly on earth is set up in the light of that.HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH LEADING TO THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD AND HIS SERVICE (2)
HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH LEADING TO THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD AND HIS SERVICE (3)
HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH LEADING TO THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD AND HIS SERVICE (4)
HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH LEADING TO THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD AND HIS SERVICE (5)
GOD'S ORDERING AND THE RECONCILIATION OF THE BRETHREN
THE DIVINE IDEA OF A CITY, ITS MAINTENANCE AND ITS FUNCTIONS
THE SAINTS AS HEAVENLY
THE MINISTER AND HIS TRAINING
THE BROTHERHOOD ACCORDING TO GOD
EARTHEN VESSELS
FEATURES OF DIVINE PRESENTATION
FORMATION OF ASSEMBLY MATERIAL
A CITY OF HABITATION
HEAVENLY-MINDEDNESS IN THE LOCAL POSITION