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SERVICE IN THE ASSEMBLY

JT I was thinking of service in the assembly as seen in Ephesians, the vessel of divine glory. That begins now; as the apostle says, “to [God] be glory in the assembly” (chapter 3:21). Ephesians contemplates that it is continually there. I thought that the Lord would help us to see, in these passages, a little of how service on our side flows out of the manifestation of God and of His glory to us.

The actual service in the assembly, as far as one has observed in the gatherings, is somewhat irregular, and wanting in the intelligence proper to it. The section from which we read in Exodus is between the showing of the pattern of the tabernacle, etc., to Moses and the actual structure itself. It comes in between these parts including also the account of the great breakdown in Israel. The breakdown in chapter 32 leads to the character of Christ — typically, and in some degree substantially — coming out more fully in Moses. He is directed here to hew for himself; “Hew for thyself two tables of stone like the first”. It is left to him. So that he is the mediator on our side, and in a more pronounced way than on the first occasion of his ascent to the mount. We might begin with that, so as to have a little thought of the order of man that goes up.

WH Do you mean he would set forth Christ in that way?

JT Yes; but I think he also sets forth the kind of man in which we are before God, having acquired through the great sorrow that had occurred, an increased likeness to Christ. From the outset there were certain features, but ^[p. 345] they were not so accentuated as here, for, in the previous chapter it is said, “Jehovah spoke with Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend”. That precedes, and what follows in chapter 33 brings out the desire of Moses to see the glory. All this shows the kind of man that was there.

JH Does this kind of man become subjective in the saints, so that we may be suitable to the assembly?

JT Yes; it makes way for that. Moses is to be hid in the rock, according to chapter 33, as Jehovah’s glory passes by; which alludes typically to the position “in Christ”. It is the desire to see the glory that indicates what Moses represents as typifying the believer, but what comes out generally in chapters 32 and 33 makes Moses more fully than before a type of Christ as mediator.

FRB Would you say what was in your mind in drawing attention to “for thyself”?

JT That it was wholly on his side. Whilst the covenant is from God’s side, the material for the ‘writing’ is on ours. The man in whom God had confidence; and the tables would be as his production, and God would take them and write on them. That is, God had confidence that the two tables would be equal to the two He had already written. So, it says (verse 28), “he wrote on the tables the words of the covenant, the ten words”.

FRB Would that bring out the glory of the mediator?

JT Well, I think it brings the mediator into greater evidence as to what he was. The Mediator is “the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5), not simply Christ Jesus; we have to keep that in view. So that in hewing out for himself it is the man that is in evidence.

PP Do friendship and confidence go together?

JT Friendship precedes confidence. Moses acquired a great place with God. He acquired great moral power with the people, but then that is the outcome of the place with God which he acquired through the breakdown.

^[p. 346] So that God spoke to him as one would speak to his friend. “Hew for thyself” would indicate what the saints are abstractly as in the Lord’s hands — what we are as His production.

JH It would cost Moses exercise: “Hew for thyself”. He would go through pressure to prepare the stones.

JT As this thought enters into the experience of the saints it involves intelligence. We would know what was required — dimensions, etc.

WCG Moses was distinguished from all others here. No other man was to be seen on the mount with him.

JT It is different from the first ascent, because evidently he had Joshua with him then. Now it is to be this man alone, so that he stands out. We have the idea of “the man” associated with Moses; “the man Moses”.

JH As understanding this, we would be on his side?

JT Yes. Of course, the new covenant comes in here in type — the love of God being in our hearts, there is power through which we come in with Christ. John 12 would show how thoroughly those at Bethany were in accord with Christ. They made Him a supper. It was a feast marked by quiet dignity. There is not a word said by anybody, except when Judas breaks the silence, and the Lord corrects that; it is a matter for correction. It is a scene of great spiritual power. So that we do not need to keep speaking; on the contrary, it is the ability to keep silence that often indicates spiritual power. Judas complains; and the Lord rebukes him to justify the worshipper, Mary. This is an important point.

RMcB The writing goes on in silence?

JT Well, what marks the assembly proper is not necessarily what is spoken. I do not say there is not speaking, because there is, but underlying the speaking there is ability for silence.

FI Making the supper for Him — are you viewing that as corresponding with “Hew for thyself two tables of stone”?

JT Yes, in the sense of confidence. The Lord did not give any directions, made no comments, no criticisms. There is no speaking at all.

JH When you speak of service in the assembly, do you mean when the people of God are come together “in assembly”?

JT Yes. When we come together in assembly our intelligence and spirituality are tested.

Ques Is that service Godward?

JT I am thinking of that entirely. But I thought of dwelling for a little on what transpires here, for whilst God has confidence in Moses in the hewing of the stones, He gives him directions; for the assembly must be under directions.

WW It says, Jehovah commanded him to go up the mountain.

JT Yes. He says also to him, “be ready for the morning”. If we had this before us on the first day of the week, we would have better meetings. “Be ready for the morning”, it says in verse 2, “and go up in the morning to mount Sinai, and stand there before me on the top of the mountain”. It is a very great occasion. Moses needed this instruction.

WW He is found at the top of the mountain.

JT He goes to the highest point.

HCL Are you setting Moses forth as the pattern for us to come to?

JT Christ takes us — prefigured in the stones — up, and as there we know how to act in the presence of the glory. John 12 corresponds. Those at Bethany were equal to the presence of the Lord.

EMcK Would that be indicative of the mount of Olives in the sense of praise and worship?

JT Quite. The mount of Olives, I think, alludes to what is spiritual. But we do well to take note of these instructions. Whilst confidence underlies assembly service, we also come under divine directions. It is said ^[p. 348] that the law perfected nothing. There was nothing perfected in the Old Testament days; but a feature of christianity is perfection, and what underlies perfection is the relation and sense of sonship. “For it became him ... in bringing many sons to glory, to make perfect the leader of their salvation through sufferings”, (Hebrews 2:10). We have the idea of perfection there.

WCG Do you think the verse in 1 John 2:5 is on that line: “whoever keeps his word, in him verily the love of God is perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him”? Are not these persons brought to the top?

JT Very good. There can be no elevation according to God without that.

PP Referring to the Supper, do you think when the brethren come together we should be ready?

JT Think of the magnitude of the assembly! The Supper is provisional, but that into which we are introduced by the Supper is eternal. “To him be glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of ages”, (Ephesians 3:21).

The two tables necessarily enter into the Corinthian epistles; the question of the will of God — the kind of man in which that is set out — so that the body of Christ is involved. The spirit of the two tables would be 1 Corinthians 11.

JHC It says, “Jehovah came down ... and stood beside him there”. Is this the answer?

JT Yes. We are to have the full height of the divine thought before us; the top of the mount. You go up as in accord with the two tables. The two tables are the prominent thing first of all; the idea is of that in which the will of God is maintained here; material capable of taking divine impressions.

JH It is a poor thing to go up apart from this?

JT Yes. The mediator takes us up.

FI At the top of the mount you “apprehend with all the saints the breadth and length and depth and height”, (Ephesians 3:^[p. 349] 18).

JT Yes. You get the idea of height here, and yet it is not all the way up, because Jehovah comes down to us. I mean to say, we never come into the realm of Deity; we are not equal to that. It is said of Jesus that He has “ascended up above all the heavens”, (Ephesians 4:10). That is beyond us. It is beyond the created sphere. The top of the mount, I think, is symbolical of the height of the created sphere, and Jehovah comes down there; He comes into that. We do not go out of the created sphere, but God, being outside of it, comes into it.

Rem The first two tables were shattered beneath the mountain.

JT Yes; typically that sets out the whole position under the first covenant.

HB-t Why two tables? Why would one not do?

JT I think it is the idea of testimony; one could be made as large as two, but God is pleased to write on one and then on another. In many instances throughout Scripture, “two” signifies adequate testimony; as the Lord says, “the testimony of two”, (John 8:17).

WCG Would the “fleshy tables of the heart” in 2 Corinthians 3:3 correspond?

JT That is what I was thinking. It is like the mediator bringing in what God could write on; so that it is the saints, as was remarked.

HB-n Why is Moses told to stand there? “Stand there before me on the top of the mountain”.

JT Well, it is the appointed place in which man is to stand before God.

WH It requires spiritual energy to go up — spiritual desire. Is that what you refer to?

JT Quite so. There is every evidence that that was in Moses. He wanted to see the glory. He would not lose any opportunity for this. It will be noted that the energy here is in the mediator; the saints are seen only abstractly in the tables, as was remarked.

FWW Do you suggest that what is seen in Moses is ^[p. 350] the attitude of heart we should come together in on Lord’s day morning?

JT Yes. “Be ready for the morning”. Keep in mind that it is not simply the breaking of bread: that is introductory, as a memorial. What we have in mind is more eternal. Of course the love that is presented in the Supper is eternal too, but the thing itself is necessarily for time. The assembly is for eternity.

RMcB You would be prepared to be moved by the Supper, would you not?

JT There is that in it that tends to set us free, so that we should move with the Head, but we should always keep before us the assembly viewed as in Canaan. The first day of the week is the day of the assembly.

HB-t Would “the morning” here suggest the beginning of a new day?

JT It would. It involves, also, that there is freshness and vigour. You get it several times in Exodus, and usually there is special instruction attached to it.

PH So that it says, “Moses rose up early”.

JT Verse 3 says, “let no man go up with thee, neither shall any man be seen on all the mountain; neither shall sheep and oxen feed in front of that mountain. And he hewed two tables of stone like the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone”. That is how he stands there. We have to keep our eye on the two tables of stone, they suggest, as we have said, the kind of man in which the will of God was down here, and therefore qualified to go up: but there is to be no man or beast near; that is to say, the scene is to be apart altogether from the natural.

JH When you spoke of the created sphere, you meant what is spiritual; the spiritual order of things?

JT Yes. The heavens and the earth are the created sphere; that in which God intends to set out His thoughts,

^[p. 351] and is setting them out. But there is what is beyond that. Jesus went beyond all heavens; involving what is evidently uncreated.

WSS The prayer in Ephesians, suggests that the power to go up was there; the power that was in Christ when He raised Him up. Is it the thought that the power is available, and we are to use it?

JT That is right. The first chapter is the exceeding greatness of God’s power towards us, the power in which He wrought in Christ; but in chapter 3 it is the Father’s Spirit working in us, strengthening us in the inner man. It is what operates in the inner man, that enables us to go up.

JPG Does this require our being in condition to ascend God’s holy hill?

JT Of course it is the mediator here, the saints are seen abstractly — in the tables; but practically those who ascend must have “clean hands”. The moral requirements are seen in Psalm 15 and Psalm 24.

FWW In the gospels the disciples were taken up; here Moses goes up with the tables.

JT There is correspondence. Here there is nothing of what is natural — no man and no cattle were to be on the mountain. Oftentimes we bring the man and the cattle with us; that is to say, the natural, or the things that attach to the natural. Of course Moses was a man, but when men and cattle are connected in this way, natural relations are in view.

JB “They saw no man ... save Jesus only with themselves”, (Mark 9:8).

PP Natural personality is no good in the assembly.

JT No good at all. The first book of Corinthians puts the natural man out. The natural had got in there and clogged the service of God.

EG Would the sheep and the cattle be the support of that man?

JT Yes, the things in which he lives. Something like “household stuff”. (Compare Nehemiah 13:4 - 9.)

^[p. 352] FW Do you not think that the man and the sheep and cattle are often brought along with us?

JT I do, indeed.

FI Moses was to “stand there” before Jehovah. If the sheep and cattle are brought up, you do not stand.

JT They would divert your mind — we are not before God suitably if these natural things fill our minds or have any place there.

Ques “Henceforth know we no man after the flesh”, (2 Corinthians 5:16). Would that be standing on the top of the mountain?

JT That is the idea. You are clear of them. The two and a half tribes spoke of how much cattle they had. That type of believer would be apt to think more of the grass on the side of the mountain, than the glory of God which passed before Moses.

WW If the passover had been kept, and all the opportunities for sacrificing taken advantage of, there would have been less cattle, they would have been sacrificed.

JT Just so.

EG “Seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting on the right hand of God”, (Colossians 3:1).

JT The sheep and the cattle, and the man that looks after them, are on the earth; the cattle are legitimate belongings in their place, but they cannot be brought on to spiritual ground.

GFC Is the principle expressed in the reference to Lazarus in John 12:1: “Where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead”?

JT That is just it. There is correspondence with Christ at Bethany.

Our chapter says, “Jehovah came down”. To get the link with John 12, we have to get the glory itself. The glory shone — “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it”, (John 11:4). What shone at Bethany was the glory ^[p. 353] of God, and the glory of the Son of God, because the Father is brought into it. He lifts up His eyes on high to His Father. That is, He was occupied with the high things, and with His Father on high: the glory would shine and radiate thence. “But I knew that thou always hearest me; but on account of the crowd who stand around I have said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And having said this, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth”, (John 11:41 - 43). There you get divine Persons occupied in taking a man out of death, and the glory shone. It is the Father and the Son acting. You see the moral elevation in the Lord’s look. That corresponds with Jehovah coming down, as it says, “Jehovah came down in the cloud, and stood beside him there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah”. The mediator goes to the top, and Jehovah comes down.

GFC The Lord came down, as it were, to Bethany.

JT Yes. The position was that they all had seen the glory — Lazarus had been raised. Mary and Martha were present too when the Lord “lifted up his eyes on high”. Their service would bear character from what they had experienced. We have to follow the Lord’s movements, not only what He says, but also what He does, to understand headship. If He lifts up His eyes on high, He means to convey the idea of high things to us. It is the Father He is speaking to.

LM What is setting our minds on things above? What are the things above?

JT You get a list of things in Hebrews 12:22 - 24 “mount Zion ... the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem; ... myriads of angels, the universal gathering; ... the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven; ... God, judge of all; ... the spirits of just men made perfect; ... Jesus, mediator of a new covenant; and ... the blood of sprinkling”. That is an array of glory we have come to, and corresponds pretty much with the “things above”. It is not simply “things in heaven”, but,

^[p. 354] the things above. We have to distinguish between the idea of what is above, and what is in heaven. “Above” has a moral thought in it.

FI As Head, does He bring His influence to bear upon that which is already prepared?

JT That is right. That is what John 12 brings out. I think it is well for us to take note of the silence; not that heaven is a place of silence, far otherwise; but silence is an important element in the assembly; to know how to be quiet, not in a listless way, not as a member of a congregation, but to be quiet in spiritual power: that enters into the assembly. Here Jehovah came down, “and stood beside him there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah. And Jehovah passed by before his face”. I think that is very wonderful. It somewhat depicts what is in the assembly; how God comes in — in conditions according to His mind, and stands beside us there.

JHC Moses “bowed his head ... and worshipped”.

JT I think that synchronises with what we have in John 12. The glory shone in John 11, and now the Lord comes in; He “came to Bethany”; it is where Lazarus was, the dead Lazarus whom He raised. “There therefore they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those at table with him”; and then we have Mary’s action of worship. It is a scene of spiritual power, in which Christ is supreme, and in which, we may say, He is worshipped. It is well to bear in mind that Moses sometimes typifies the believer, though generally he is a type of Christ.

FWW While we have the thought of the Supper in connection with this, would you say that the atmosphere of it should be found in all our comings together during the week?

JT Well, I think that is right; it will be especially so on Lord’s day afternoon. The Lord’s day is the most auspicious day for meetings. The atmosphere is better on the Lord’s day than any other. That is obvious. John 12 ^[p. 355] is a scripture that we constantly turn to; it never wears out, it is so full. And what strikes me, too, is the spiritual power seen in silence — silence that makes everything of Christ.

Ques I suppose you would say that is true worship?

JT Well, I think it is the power in which there is intelligent worship, because Mary is the special feature; but that special feature comes in where you have this environment. This is the environment that yields such worship as Mary can give. Had she brought it out in different surroundings it might not have filled the house, because the house really means the saints, and in this sense it may be there is no space to fill.

FWW In that way, do you think, there should be a carry-over of the odour?

JT Yes. If the house be filled — that is, if all the saints are filled — they are sure to carry it with them; and so it affects meetings that follow.

JH So your thought is that we should reach this place and stand there; Jehovah appears, and makes His name known. We reach the assembly.

JT Well, there is an analogy.

WCG Do you suggest that the “tables” are the work of God in the soul?

JT Yes, in the sense of which we are speaking. It is the kind of man that does the will of God. “Hew for thyself”. We are on the side of Christ as the Mediator; He brings us up.

WCG We appropriate the Mediator, and the mind of God is in Him.

JT So that the tables are essential to the scene; they are the particular things that he was to bring up. In Deuteronomy he is told to make an ark of wood, but here it is the tables, so that I think it is more the writing material that is in view, rather than Christ Himself as the ark. It is what God can write on. What is illustrated is the elevation of the assembly, and that in its members,

^[p. 356] it comes down here in testimony according to the divine impressions received.

Ques Does the lack of power which you speak of lead to utterances such as Peter’s in Matthew 17?

JT Just so; he did not know what to say. But at Bethany they did not say anything; not that they did not know what to say if speaking were needed. The one who broke the silence was a wicked man, alas! It is a most sorrowful consideration that he was there, but it only brings out that it is the assembly as it is de facto down here which is in view.

JH You speak about our being down here in testimony. What about John 20? Is that a further thought?

JT Well, we have not got as far as that. What we might finish with today is this great sphere of spiritual power as seen in silence, and yet Christ is supreme in it. “There they made him a supper”. All is done by them; this does not go as far as chapter 20. In chapter 20 He is active as in the midst. In chapter 12 He only speaks to protect the worshipper.

FW Is this more how we assemble ourselves together, than what happens when we do?

JT It is more the power in which we are together in assembly.

FI Each member of that company had already been under His hand in adjustment.

JT Yes; Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. He came to Bethany, where Lazarus was. And the question of time is important; it is not a set religious time; the assembly is not governed by current religious custom. It is six days before something else which is a fixed Jewish feast — the passover. It comes before; and it is in connection with a risen man, the dead man that He raised.

PP Is worship the result of wonder? (Compare Judges 13:19,20).

JT Well, here it says that “Moses made haste, and bowed his head to the earth and worshipped”. He made ^[p. 357] haste to do that in the presence of the glory. The scene at Bethany somewhat corresponds. “Then took Mary a pound of ointment” — her action was in excess, because it was no part of the supper; it went beyond the supper: the scene in which she was, enabled her to do this. The occasion had arrived, it was before the time she intended to do it; she intended to do it later on — at His burial.

HEF She was “ready for the morning”.

JT Quite so. She took advantage of the opportunity. The scene was equal to it. That is what I think is meant: she intended to do it later, but this opportunity offered and she seized it. Ability to take advantage of opportunities marks those who are spiritual.

FI Is that why you lay emphasis on the fact that it was not a set time.

JT She had a set time in her mind; that is, the day of His burial; but she did it before. I think it shows the latitude there is in the spiritual realm; it is not governed by times or seasons; it is a question of what is spiritually suitable.

FI It is really what comes as a result of Christ being Head, with us; the movements that He produces.

JT Quite so. Whilst, as we were remarking, we are not told that He said anything, you may depend that much had passed that drew out this from Mary. She might not have another opportunity. As far as we know, she did not. But the Lord regarded it according to what was in her mind.

WG It says, “As often as ye eat this bread” (1 Corinthians 11:26) — there is no set time.

JT Just so; there is no set time governing the assembly viewed spiritually. Luke mentions the day (Acts 20) and the hour (Luke 22), but he is referring to the public position. But even here the spiritual touch appears, for the Lord gave no direction as to time, but simply, “this do in remembrance of me”. In Acts 20 it says, “And the first day of the week, we being assembled to break bread” — not that they were told to do it, but they acted spiritually. And the first day of the week is the most auspicious time for it. The day enhances the Lord’s supper.

ECR Why does it say, “six days”?

JT Well, I think to show that where spirituality exists there is readiness. Had it been seven, there would have been the suggestion of completeness of preparation.

DMcG Would the odour of the ointment be a preservative in regard to the breaking of the silence? What I thought was, that the one who broke the silence had no apprehension of the odour. It was spiritual.

JT It is very humbling that Judas is the one to break the silence. It is always the flesh that breaks in on the holy, spiritual silence that marks the assembly, where every whit speaks glory! Every whit says glory! (See Psalm 29). It takes great power to take part in audible suitability there.

HB-t ‘Till, blest fruit of deep devotion, Voice by voice, in silence fails’.

WCG How is spirituality brought about?

JT The history of Bethany helps. Luke gives us the initial idea of Bethany. It says that the Lord came to a certain village, and a certain woman received Him into her house; and she was cumbered about much serving. She was not gaining spirituality in that. Then you find in spiritual education that there is some person that the Lord would call attention to. He has worked beforehand in that person, so that there is a concrete example of what is in His mind. Hence, it says that Mary sat at His feet and was listening to His word, and she is persecuted by a sister: “Lord, dost thou not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” That is, Martha is really persecuting the Lord as well as Mary: “Dost thou not care?” That is the beginning of Bethany — “this” is the end of it.

^[p. 359] It shows what God can bring out of a state of things such as Luke describes (chapter 10:38 - 42). So that now we have no persecution by Martha; on the contrary, she is serving happily. It is Judas who is the persecutor.

HCL Why is it the preparation for His burial that Mary is occupied with?

JT I think it brings out her spiritual intelligence. She knew He was going to die. I think she saw He was on His way, and she anointed His feet: His own feet were carrying Him, and she anointed them.

FW-n Was it at His feet she learned the dignity of silence?

JT No doubt. Mary had learned silence; she had learned how to listen to His word. Those feet had a great place with her.

Rem She had kept His word.

JT Quite so. She represents the intelligence of the occasion. Lazarus represents the dignity of the occasion; he “was one of them that sat at the table with him”.

RDH There is no box mentioned here; just a pound of ointment.

JT I think that would mean it was well kept by her; it was kept from contamination without a box; an alabaster box is that by which the contents are kept pure. I think it is a tribute to her own person. Spiritually she had the pound in herself; she loved “our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption”, (Ephesians 6:24). “All that is within me”, says the psalmist, (Psalm 103:1). Let us look into what is within us, and see if it is clear of corruption.

EG “A meek and quiet spirit”, (1 Peter 3:4).

JT Exactly. But can you call on all that is within you to worship God? It challenges us as to the purity of our thoughts, whether the water has been effective?

PP Is it a question of our ability to appraise and maintain in ourselves for Christ that which is truly valuable — in contrast to Judas?

JT Quite so. Mary knew the value of the ointment ^[p. 360] and used it accordingly. It was not too precious for Him. The Lord also knew the value of it. Judas valued it — I would not take his valuation!

WSS Mary’s worship goes on in spite of Judas.

JT Yes, showing the great power that was present. In heaven everything will accentuate praise, but now there is opposition, and the service seen here shows that the worship of God may proceed notwithstanding this. God takes account of that fact, of the adverse conditions that we are exposed to, and yet His worship goes on. We are to be able to worship in spite of low conditions; one person may have power to rise above such conditions and lead the saints in worship. That is what Mary does here.

GM That would be a sure evidence that you had been “on top of the mountain”.

JT Yes, it would. Another thing comes out — Lazarus is a witness without speaking. People believe on Jesus because of him. He is not said to speak. That goes with what we are saying. It is the effect of spiritual power in the person.

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