SIGNS IN ISRAEL
[p. 370] SIGNS IN ISRAEL
Isaiah 8:18; Zechariah 3:8 - 10; Ezekiel 24:15 - 27
JT These scriptures speak of signs. They contemplate the saints or the disciples as signs, as the children which God has given to Christ, as priests, and thirdly in Ezekiel, as servants. Ezekiel was to be a sign as unselfish. His wife died, and he was not to weep nor to mourn for her, although she was the delight of his eyes. It says in verse 24: “Thus Ezekiel shall be unto you a sign”.
It will be observed that in Isaiah 8 the Lord says: “Behold, I and the children that Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion”. Thus the Lord Jesus is seen as a father, the disciples being given to Him as children. This is in view of Jehovah hiding His face from the house of Jacob, as we see in verse 17. It is clear that the disciples were to be like Him, like Christ, to be witnesses in this way — signs and wonders in Israel. They are seen together: “I and the children that Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel”.
The New Testament records instances of the Lord taking up this attitude with the disciples. A notable one is in John 13:33 - 35: “Children, yet a little while I am with you ... A new commandment I give to you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all know that ye are disciples of mine, if ye have love amongst yourselves”. The same recognition of the disciples by the Lord is seen in John 21:5: “Children, have ye anything to eat?”. This chapter contemplates the saints as somewhat out of the way, but not too far off to disqualify them from this precious relation with Christ. It is a chapter of partial departure and [p. 371] of complete recovery. It is to be feared that many are somewhat in the position of these disciples as seen in the earlier verses. There are Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathaniel, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples — a party, as we may call them, not exactly against the truth, but still turned away from the right path for the moment. The party is headed by Peter and Thomas, whose recent histories showed a state that needed to be judged thoroughly. Peter had denied the Lord, and had been restored in measure, but not completely. Thomas had been absent from the great occasion of the Lord’s presence amongst the saints after His resurrection, and it would appear that he had not wholly judged his neglect. The others are evidently led by these two. So it is, if one is diverted in any way, he is apt to influence others; he may not mean to oppose the Lord or His people, but still he tends to divert others. The state of the disciples here is not sufficiently bad to disqualify them from this precious relation of children. Thus we have the term applied to the saints as having love amongst themselves; at least, the Lord contemplates them as having in due time love amongst themselves. As we have love amongst ourselves we are characteristically His children, and signs and wonders in Israel; and this is a characteristic that belongs properly to every local company.
Rem The passages which we have read seem to show that we have two sorts of signs, one in a collective setting, a company, and the other in an individual setting.
JT Yes; any of them would be a wonder and a sign too, for the disciples were not known; they were not understood. As we walk in the light of our calling, taking on the character of Christ, we are not understood. “For this reason the world knows us not, because it knew him not” (1 John 3:1).
[p. 372] Ques Have we this thought in Simeon’s prophecy in Luke, “a sign spoken against”?
JT Quite so. If we are known in this town as others are, there is nothing distinctive about us.
Rem The Lord uses the words ‘sons’ and ‘daughters’ in the gospel.
JT Yes, wherever the family appellation is used, it corresponds with what we are saying. For instance, the woman in Luke 8 fell down and told all the truth, and the Lord calls her “daughter” — different from any ordinary woman.
Ques What is the difference between children and sons being brought to glory? (Hebrews 2:10).
JT We have in John, of course, the “children of God” — those born of Him — as well as those addressed, as we have been remarking, by the Lord as “children”. John never calls us sons, save once in Revelation 21:7. Sons are of God; they are more developed in Paul’s line of the truth. They refer, of course, to the same persons. Sons belong to heaven. Children are representative of God on earth; so that in chapter 1 the children of God are recognised as those who receive Christ, who are born “not of blood nor of flesh’s will nor of man’s will, but of God”. They are marked as receiving Christ and as believing on His name. John contemplates them as scattered abroad in chapter 11; that is very important at the present time, because many of our brethren, the children of God, are scattered abroad, and Christ is said to have died in order to gather them together into one. What is in mind is the saints viewed as given to Christ by God, and how He and they are for signs and for wonders.
Ques Could you say that Peter at the end of John’s gospel is not characteristically like the Lord, because the Lord is spoken of as the sent One, and Peter says, “I go”?
JT That is a very good reference. Peter said, “I go a fishing”. You might say there is not any harm in that. But he was not sent a fishing then; he had been called from that occupation to become a fisher of men.
Ques Do we in this passage touch on our subject this morning? By the sign which the Lord performs He brings Peter to recognise that he is naked.
JT Yes, like Saul; but he had a covering and soon put it on, showing he was not far away. He was restorable, and thoroughly reinstated in the service in which he had been put by the Lord at the beginning, as an apostle. But it might be said: What harm is there in fishing? So it is that brothers and sisters often go as far as they can, so as not to be excluded from fellowship. They take on marriage links not in the Lord. I think the deflection here covers that sort of thing. “I go” — it is their will, not God’s will, nor the Lord’s will. The secret of this failure is seen in the fact, as our brother remarked, that “I go a fishing” whereas the Lord was sent, and the whole principle of christianity is being sent.
Rem It is a contrast to what Peter had heard from the Lord: “As the Father has commanded me, thus I do. Rise up, let us go hence” (John 14:31).
JT So in the case of the blind man in John 9; what governed his whole position was that he was sent. That man would never argue that a thing was right, unless it were according to the Lord’s will. The brethren universally are harassed with this attitude of the persons entering into relations that are not “in the Lord”. They argue: What harm is there? But is it “in the Lord”?
Ques Would it be right to say that John, although having gone fishing with Peter, yet being more spiritual, was a means for the recovery of Peter?
JT Yes; he says, “It is the Lord”. That brings up the whole question as to what we are going on with; are we doing everything “in the Lord”?
Rem The result of doing my own will produces nothing whatever; “that night” they “took nothing”.
JT Night, nakedness and nothing! What disaster, if the Lord had not come in! But He did come in, for they had not ceased being children.
Rem In 1 Samuel 15:23 Samuel says to Saul: “Rebellion is as the sin of divination, and selfwill is as iniquity and idolatry”.
JT Saul attempted to say that he had done everything right, but he had spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, and he had also spared the king of Amalek, when he had been told to destroy all.
Ques How do you view the association you speak of, namely, that we are the children, and we are signs and wonders?
JT We are applying it to the present time. The point being made now is concerning brothers and sisters going as far away as possible, yet with the hope of keeping themselves in the fellowship.
Ques Would you say what you consider to be a marriage “in the Lord”?
JT Where both are submissive to the Lord, and taking the Lord into the matter; both in fellowship, in a word.
Ques Do you make anything of disparity of age?
JT Who can tell how far that can go? There is no scripture that I know of, fixing the relation between the respective ages of persons who marry. Of course, there is the question of which is suitable: “love ... does not behave in an unseemly manner” (1 Corinthians 13:5).
Ques Does the prophetic word give us definite instructions as to what is “in the Lord”?
JT That is what it would stress; it is a question of obedience.
Rem The law and the prophets go together.
JT The law is the expression of the rights of God. The prophets would present the patience of God, and would through their ministry maintain the rights of God, and would, if necessary, bring back the people to the law.
Ques If we have not the prophetic word, might it be that we are guilty because we have missed the instructions which it gives?
JT Yes. A low state of things in a meeting may be largely because there is no prophetic ministry.
To return to this matter of marriage, latitude is allowed, both as to age, family relationships, and other things. But one principle must control, and that is: “in the Lord”, “only in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39).
Rem A son of Levi and a daughter of Levi were Moses’ parents.
JT That is one of the best illustrations you can get of marriage in the Lord, that is, in considering Levi as representing the testimony, which is justified by his subsequent place in the service of God.
Rem It is undoubtedly good to be able to say “in the Lord” as to all the circumstances which we are called upon to face.
JT We cannot be in any circumstance that is not “in the Lord”, that is, in the sense that His authority is owned in it.
Rem I think we may link what we are having with what we saw this morning: “If any one thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognise the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord’s commandment” (1 Corinthians 14:37).
JT Our second scripture contemplates priesthood. “Hear now, Joshua the high priest, thou and [p. 376] thy fellows that sit before thee — for they are men of portent” (meaning, men to be observed as signs, or types) “for behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch”. These scriptures, being in the prophets, bear on the subject we dealt with this morning. We are now in the presence of what relates to the service of God in remnant times. In this paragraph the Lord is foreshadowed as the High Priest, and then as the Branch; so that the sign here would refer to the service of God in which we are privileged to be engaged, especially on the first day of the week. The previous verse says: “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts; and I will give thee a place to walk among these that stand by”. Now the end of verse 5 says: “the Angel of Jehovah stood by”. It is a question of what God is doing and of those who are standing by. Those who love Him stand by His work. We shall get a place among those that stand by.
Ques Does that refer to the heavenly place that the saints have in the present dispensation?
JT Exactly. We are standing by, if we are in the light of the mind of God. God is carrying on a great work, and He would have us interested enough to stand by. But there is more than that: there is the High Priest and those who are standing before Him — His companions.
Rem John, standing by the cross of Jesus, was privileged to receive Mary to his own home as his mother, involving all the precious impressions that she had gathered in her own soul.
JT The women also were standing by the cross of Jesus — a beautiful touch!
Ques Could it be said that “Jehovah of hosts” indicates the power of which we have spoken?
JT Quite so — “Jehovah of hosts”, in verses 9 and 10. The idea appears perhaps more in remnant times or days of small things than elsewhere. Hence Elisha asked the Lord to open the eyes of the young man to see the hosts. God would assure us in the things we are going on with at the present time, according to His will, that all His power is with us.
Rem Horses and chariots of iron driven by men of flesh could not penetrate chariots of fire.
JT “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them” (Psalm 68:17).
Ques Have we an illustration of the power of the Lord on our side, when Joshua is before Jericho, and lifting up his eyes he sees an angel who is the captain of Jehovah’s army?
JT Quite so. I believe these verses in Zechariah point by the Spirit to our own times, the High Priest and His companions who sit before Him. The position here does not suggest great activity, but it suggests intelligence and certainty — sitting. We have to admit the great want of spiritual energy, whether it be in the gospel or the service of God; but, while admitting this, we must not be drawn away by human activity. We are on sure ground, and hence we are restful in the service in which we are engaged. Then the Spirit proceeds immediately to the Branch, saying: “I will bring forth my servant the Branch”. Current activity is largely dependent on human organisation and human provision, whereas Christ is brought in as the Branch, which means One who is wholly dependent on another. Then we have the idea of a stone, as it says: “For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua — upon one stone are seven eyes”. We have, therefore, the idea of permanency in the stone, and discernment in the seven eyes. Thus our position is as clear as noon, and as solid as “the earth which he hath founded for ever” (Psalm 78:69). So we are restful, and God says: “I will remove the iniquity of this land in one day”. God will make a short work of it, but in the meantime those who are holding the position are signs, men of portent. The point is how restful we can be, the light of the assembly having come in. In a moment God will clear away the iniquity. It is mounting up on every hand — apostasy and other wickedness — but God will deal with it in a short time.
The third scripture refers to a servant, a person actively engaged in service, especially a prophet. In these circumstances the servant has to be different from other men; he has to deny natural feelings so as to be a sign; he must refuse natural feelings, so as to be a sign in a spiritual sense. His wife had just died, and, of course, in such circumstances an ordinary man would show grief. God says to him: “I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke; yet thou shalt not mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy turban upon thee, and put thy sandals upon thy feet, and cover not the beard, and eat not the bread of men”. Ezekiel goes on to say: “And I spoke unto the people in the morning; and at even my wife died. And I did in the morning as I was commanded”. It is a remarkable denial of natural feelings because of divine requirements. So it says in verse 24: “Thus Ezekiel shall be unto you a sign”. People would inquire: Why are you like this? The answer is: the word of God requires it.
Ques Does this apply to the prophet of our own day?
JT He will hardly be one unless he is entirely subject to the will of God.
[p. 379] Ques Have we a sign of this kind in the man born blind of John 9? He was there that the works of God might be manifested in him.
JT Quite so.
Ques Can we see in Ezekiel’s sign that the service of God must not be interrupted by personal trials? In the morning he spoke.
JT What exercises he must have had! But he is ready for the severe discipline for the sake of the testimony. He said: “And I spoke unto the people in the morning; and at even my wife died. And I did in the morning as I was commanded” (verse 18); and again in verse 20 he spoke the word of Jehovah to the people. How pleasing he must have been to Jehovah at this time!
Rem That would show that a prophet must not permit purely natural feelings to hinder the service of God.
JT He must deny himself and take up his cross daily, says the Lord.
Rem “For this reason the world knows us not, because it knew him not”. Would that bear on us as signs?
JT Quite so. The psalmist said: “I have been as a wonder unto many” (Psalm 71:7).
Ques Do we see all this in the spirit of Paul, especially in his words to the Corinthians? In the second epistle, speaking of his sufferings, he says, “... so great a death”.
JT A natural man would think Paul was a fool to take such a course, but he was a sign. He says: “We are fools for Christ’s sake” (1 Corinthians 4:10).
Ques Would it be just to think that in a meeting where the door is not open for prophetic ministry, the Lord may afflict a brother or sister in that meeting in order to speak to those there by means of a [p. 380] sign?
JT Quite so. Because of bad behaviour in the assembly, many at Corinth were weak and sickly and many slept.
Rem The little child laid in a manger was the sign for Israel.
JT Yes; that “Christ the Lord” was found in such circumstances, was a most solemn and exercising fact.
Ques Does all this correspond with Luke 14 where, in order to be a disciple, everything has to be given up for Christ?
JT This word is addressed to the crowds (verse 25). The Lord did not want partisans; He only wanted those who were true disciples, who corresponded with Him in their character and position.