THE BELIEVER SET FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE TESTIMONY - PART 1
THE BELIEVER SET FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE TESTIMONY — PART 1
Numbers 1:1-4; Numbers 1:17,18; Numbers 1:44-54.
JT The book of Numbers clearly contains the instructions intended by the Spirit to govern us as viewed externally in relation to the testimony here; whereas the book of Leviticus refers to our access to God, to our approach: Thus it is rightly set before the book of Numbers; for before we can be right outside, we must be right inside; before we can be for God publicly, we must know what it is to be with God. Hence Leviticus is taken up with man’s approach to God, and so we find that God spake to Moses “out of the tabernacle”, without saying it was in the wilderness; whereas in Numbers He spake to Moses from the tabernacle “in the wilderness;” that is the position, in the wilderness.
Ques That is a most important principle to be recognised?
JT Yes; it is a very affecting thing to be taken account of, formally, by God, as this book of Numbers teaches us. Numbering signifies that God is taking account of His people.
Ques Is that individually?
JT Yes; God formally takes account of us, and gives us our place; each one has his own place in relation to the tabernacle. First of all we are taken account of; it is very touching. Think of being taken account of by God! Many young believers have no idea that God knows them by name; and that they have a certain niche to fill for Him. No one is excluded from the numbering; every male from a certain age upwards, is numbered.
Ques What is the idea of [p. 72] the tabernacle?
JT It was a receptacle for the testimony; it was that in which the light of God found its home. The necessity for it appears when the testimony was given.
Rem We have not got it in a material form now.
JT No; “Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building”. It is not a tabernacle of material things; it is not of this creation; it is moral; and that is what we have to deal with.
As you proceed with the instruction in this book, you find the tabernacle is the great central thought; and a great deal is made of how it was to be taken down and carried. There is nothing of that in Leviticus. When it was set up, “a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle”, Exodus 40: 34. God was there, and would be approached; and He has provided all this in order that we may draw near. There is nothing to keep us away except our own will; everything is provided that we may draw near. Now Numbers opens, not with the idea of drawing near, but that we are taken account of by God, so as to be set up in relation to His testimony, we are to be men of war.
Rem It is more than merely the thought of our blessing; it is taking account of what is of God on earth.
JT Yes; the testimony could not be here without conflict; and therefore it requires to be defended; and every man able to defend it is assigned a position.
Ques How would you say we get a knowledge of the tabernacle in order to defend it?
JT Well, Paul went to Corinth, for instance, and announced the testimony of God. There is the testimony, and then there is place for it. It is [p. 73] called firstly, the tabernacle of testimony, and secondly, the tabernacle of the congregation. The tabernacle of the testimony is that in which God is set forth. Paul announced the testimony of God, and the consequence was there was a gathering; the testimony was to find a place there.
Rem It was where the light was.
JT And that has to be defended; every true believer is called upon to defend it. The military men were required to be 20 years of age; and the Levites were required to be 30. The believer, in his daily avocation, is to be ever ready to defend the truth. You must not lower your standard at any time. It may be said, ‘This is not the place for that; this is not the meeting;’ but at all times we are to be ready to defend the truth.
Ques In what way do you defend it?
JT You confess it; and then you have all that is necessary to support you, because, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved”. There is support in the Name, and you have the consciousness that the Holy Spirit is with you.
Rem It is a most important thing for a young believer to confess the name of the Lord. It may be said that your life should confess Him.
JT Scripture does not say that your life shall confess Him; it is “confess with thy mouth;” but your life is to be in accord with your mouth.
Rem There would be a distinct advance in the soul that confesses Jesus as Lord.
JT I think that in conflict you get confirmed as to how real things are. In coming into contact with the world you come under reproach for your confession, but you get confirmed of the Lord in it. In that way you acquire strength as a soldier. After you become 30, you become a Levite. This chapter,
[p. 74] and the next chapter, are military chapters; then you get the levitical chapters.
Rem There has to be the secret relationship with the Lord, in order to take this stand outside.
JT I think a person who is 20 years old in Christianity, speaking figuratively, has the Spirit; he has come to the age of manhood.
Ques I was wondering if something of the priestly side would not need to be known before this?
JT Well, Leviticus has to be known; approach should first be known, because if you do not go in, you do not know what you have to defend. It is a great thing to know what you are going to defend.
Rem A person might have the Holy Spirit, and believe in Christ risen, and yet not have gone within much.
JT Still, he has light; light comes in by the Spirit. No one can be in relationship with God unless he passes the brazen altar. The brazen altar stood between the entrance of the court and the door of the tabernacle; that part was figuratively like the space between heaven and earth. The gift of the Spirit connects us with what is within.
Rem There could not be intelligent warfare unless there was an apprehension of approach.
JT The tabernacle position typifies the heavens and the earth, and the space between is typical of the place where the Lord was “lifted up;” that is where sin was judged. The Lord says “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto me”. He was there in view of all, as it were, but then, the gift of the Spirit is beyond that, and gives you a place within.
Ques Is there any special thought in calculating the age for defence to be at 20?
JT Because at 20 you attain manhood; we call it 21; but according to God’s reckoning it is 20.
[p. 75] At the age of 30 a man is at his prime, physically; hence the Levites served from 30 to 50; but nevertheless, manhood is attained at 20. There may be certain development still required, but he is viewed as a man, and he is accepted to defend the truth so far as he has it. He is not expected to give an address to Christians, or to teach; that is to say, he is not expected to do levitical work; but he is expected to defend the truth if it is attacked.
Rem You might do that under 20.
JT You could not do it spiritually under 20. The antitype is, that a man who is justified has the Spirit. We read in Romans, that “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved”. I read in that confession that you are in your military position. You confess Him; and as confessing Him you are saved, because He supports you.
Rem And you stand by that.
JT Yes, you never lower your standard.
Rem That is the work of the Spirit, to defend.
JT It is in the power of the Spirit.
Rem He defends the light he has.
Rem It was on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, that this numbering took place.
JT Yes; it shows that they were one year and one month in the wilderness before these instructions were given. They were prepared for it.
Rem So that it is beyond the thought of relief.
JT The truth of Exodus is supposed; and the truth of Leviticus is supposed; because if you look at the dates, this comes in after Leviticus. God does not put upon us burdens we are not able to bear. He puts burdens upon us according as we are able to bear them.
[p. 76] The people in the camp had the opportunity of seeing the furniture of the tabernacle constructed; they had the opportunity of receiving all the instruction in Leviticus; and they would get help from it. Now, if you have understood it, are you prepared to defend it? Numbers calls upon us to defend what is before us.
Rem It seems to raise the question, Are you prepared to defend the testimony?
JT Yes; and God honours us by taking account of, us in that connection; so that now, instead of being a disorganised crowd, you are ordered under military direction where God is dwelling.
Ques What is the thought in the pedigree?
JT That is another important principle; but before going to that, note that Moses and Aaron are called to do the numbering; and associated with them are twelve princes, or heads of the families of Israel. That is, the book of Numbers teaches us what we call local responsibility. It is very remarkable that it should appear there, because the book of Numbers really corresponds with Corinthians, which teaches this in Christianity. Each tribe has its own representative at the numbering, so that each locality is in that way represented; whilst Moses and Aaron are over all, yet each prince represents his own locality, so to speak, his own tribe.
Rem That is to say, while there is local responsibility, as represented in the prince from each tribe, there is unity in the whole.
JT That is a great principle, I think, in first Corinthians. Catholicity does not militate against local responsibility. There is a principle that applies universally, and yet it applies locally. The apostle opens the epistle by addressing “all that in every place (that is local responsibility) call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours” (that is universal).
[p. 77] Rem And they could only carry that out according as the authority of Moses was recognised.
JT Yes; whereas the local thing is seen in the princes, each represented a tribe.
Rem Moses and Aaron had to say to all, the princes are responsible to Moses and Aaron.
JT Yes; that is how the Lord governs. Now, the early parts of Acts supposes one central assembly in Jerusalem, whereas the epistle to the Corinthians supposes a number of assemblies. Each assembly is governed by the same principles, and yet it retains its individuality as an assembly locally.
Ques Do we get the thought of local responsibility in the men abiding by their standards?
JT Yes, we do; each was to pitch by the standard of his father’s house.
Ques What would answer to the princes now? Local responsibility was set forth in them, but it was in connection with their tribe.
JT Yes; there were twelve tribes. Of course, we only have a shadow of it here, but it is remarkable, whilst it was one nation it was sub-divided into twelve tribes; and each tribe had what was peculiar to itself. So now the assembly economy has taken that form; it is assemblies; and the assembly at Corinth, for instance, had all that was necessary for the ordering of itself internally; it does not represent the complete thought, if it did the article would be affixed. It is said to them, “ye are Christ’s body”, “ye are temple of God”. If you put the article, it would imply the complete thought.
Rem So that in the broken up state of things we have to adhere to the principles.
JT And therefore the importance of coming out to principles. If you leave the religions of the day, you do not come out to people; you come out to [p. 78] principles; and therefore you can stand to principles.
Principles are eternal; they will govern the world to come.
Rem Principles seem to be almost given up now.
JT Yes, Christendom is marked by departure from principles; and they substitute expediencies for principles. They may say to you, ‘These things may have done in the apostles’ days, but not now’. The answer to that is, that they will appear in the millennium, and why not now?
Ques Is the thought of power connected with the princes?
JT Well, a prince is a man who has ability; he is not simply an anointed official; he is a ruler, or a leader in the tribe; he is that because he is morally fit; in fact, it is his moral qualification that is in view.
Rem It is said of Jacob that he prevailed with God.
JT Yes; a prince is able; he has power with God, and he has power with men. Well, that is the kind of thing that you look for in the assembly in the way of leadership.
Ques He is spiritually formed for that position I suppose it is like the angel of each assembly in Revelation?
JT It is, in the sense of representation, but the angel is scarcely a prince. I mean his moral qualities are not in view; he is held to his responsibility. In fact, it is the contrary with most of the angels addressed. The Lord says, “I have against thee”.
Rem Will you say a little as to the pedigree?
JT That is a very interesting subject. How is a man to declare his pedigree? Verse 18 reads, “And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of [p. 79] the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls”.
Ques Would that answer to the beginning of Acts?
JT Yes; this is a type to some extent of what you get there; but rather more so of Corinthians. The children of Israel did what they were commanded to do. It is a very difficult thing today to discriminate who is who; and the second epistle to Timothy formally admits it, saying, “The Lord knoweth them that are his”. What we have to do it to “depart from iniquity”. You say, ‘What about those Christians whom you leave behind?’ Well, you have to leave them with the Lord: you must prove your pedigree by separating from iniquity.
It is open for all to do likewise. “Let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity;” and therefore you prove your pedigree. In the early days of the assembly they all did that, and there was as yet no admixture with the world.
Rem In the early days of Christianity we read, “of the rest durst no man join himself to them”. There was power to deal with evil.
JT There is no way of making our pedigree clear now except by departure from iniquity; that is the test and proof that you love the Lord. Why are we separate? The true reason should be, not that these people have light and are right, but that you love the Lord. “Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity”.
Ques What is iniquity? Is it man’s will working in the things of God?
JT Quite so; it is lawlessness. You leave it; you cannot have anything to say to it.
Rem That is a principle we have to hold on to.
JT Well, it is; but Christ is the great test. The test is as to whether you name the name of the Lord. You feel the Lord has not His place with those you leave. “Surely the fear of God is not in this place”. Now, in Corinth you could not say that. The apostle says, “God is in you of a truth”. Where God still is, you can stay with a good conscience.
Ques What is the thought in the last part of the chapter?
JT One great thought is that each man was to pitch his tent by his own standard, throughout their hosts. So their pedigree is declared, and then each tribe is numbered separately, and every person in each tribe is taken account of; and then each man is to occupy his own place by “his own standard”.
We do not interfere with each other; we are all necessary to each other; we occupy assigned positions; we are close to each other, but we do not interfere with each other. Divine wisdom has put each of us where we are. It may take years to bring to light what He has in view in the position; but if you occupy it faithfully, He will honour you in it. One of the most touching things about the Lord is what we read in Zechariah, who speaks of Him as “the Branch”, and he says, “he shall grow up from his own place”. It is a great thing to grow up in your place.
Rem You were speaking last night of indefiniteness; and there is that with many of us as to where our place is.
JT I think if you occupy a divinely given place, you will reach the throne. Zechariah says, “he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne”. The throne will come in due time. We often try to get there ahead, but it will come.
Ques What is the thought in the place?
JT It is your locality, where the light comes to you. The idea is that you are now to shine where you were a sinner; where you dishonoured God, there you are to honour [p. 81] Him.
Rem Like the demoniac.
JT Yes; and like the woman of Samaria. Where she dishonoured God, there she honoured Him. The Lord said, as it were, ‘You do not need to go to Jerusalem, you will be set up here’. And so it was. One great idea of the assembly is, it is taken out of Egypt, historically. We dishonoured God; we had our part in the world, as Peter says in his epistle; now, instead of that, you do the will of Gad. Your circumstances are the same as they were before; only, instead of running riot now, you do the will of God. Your business, your house, and your relations with men, are different. Why? Because of the light you have in your soul. You have the Spirit of God. The Lord, I believe, really sends us back to our house. A good test whether a man is converted is how he treats his wife and children; then how he acts in business. That is God’s thought for you — you are changed.
Rem So, instead of running riot, you are under rule now.
JT Quite so; that is the testimony.