2 CHRONICLES 4 (SUMMARY OF A READING)
2 CHRONICLES 4 (SUMMARY OF A READING)
The dimensions of the brazen altar shew that this altar was many times the size of that made by Bezaleel in the wilderness. The altar, as known by us today, is very great, for it witnesses that divine love has been expressed in a sacrificial way, and this forms the basis of all our relations with God in His house. It is expressly said by God, “I have chosen for myself this place for a house of sacrifice”, 2 Chronicles 7: 12. There is something peculiarly touching in the love of divine Persons as expressed sacrificially because it has acted towards us who have had a sinful history here. The love of God as shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit is a sacrificial love: “For we being still without strength, in the due time Christ has died for the ungodly” (Romans 5: 6), “But God commends his love to us, in that, we being still sinners, Christ has died for us” (Romans 5: 8), “He who, yea, has not spared his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him grant us all things?” (Romans 8: 32), “The Son of God, who has loved me and given himself for me” (Galatians 2: 20), “For the love of the Christ constrains us, having judged this: that one died for all, then all have died; and he died for all, that they who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who died for them and has been raised” (2 Corinthians 5: 14, 15) and “The Christ loved us and delivered himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour” (Ephesians 5: 2).
There are aspects of the love of divine Persons which are not sacrificial: for example, God’s electing love which [p. 294] chose us in Christ before the world’s foundation, and the love which gave us the place of children and sons. Then Christ chose us out of the world in His love, and called us, and He loves His own as given to Him by the Father. The Spirit in the book of Kings had in mind those aspects of divine love which are not sacrificial, for the altar is not mentioned in the description of the house there. But here in Chronicles it has its place, and is seen to be of large dimensions. In a day of recovery God would give the altar a very large place. Each kind of offering, the burnt-offering, the oblation, the peace-offering, the sin and trespass-offering, was brought to the altar, and the altar itself spoke of the capability and strength of Christ, by reason of what He was personally, to sustain the action of fire in such a way that the whole of His offering, and every part of it, yielded fragrance and glory to God. The altar is a place, too, for our sacrifices to be brought, and we shall be rich to offer if we really appreciate Him as the great Offerer, and that it is by Him that we offer.
The altar and the other things mentioned in this chapter as being made of brass had their place in the court. They have to do typically with the assembly as seen in the place of responsible witness here; that is, as seen in 1 Corinthians. The Lord’s supper has its place in that connection, and its having been restored in these last days to its place in the assembly has led to a much deeper appreciation of divine love as expressed sacrificially. The loaf and the cup speak of the love of Christ and of the love of God as expressed sacrificially, that is, in a way that involved sacrifice on the part of Christ and of God. We call to mind the One who gave His body and whose blood was poured out. His wondrous offering is past, and we now eat His supper to call Him to mind who is forever beyond all suffering. Indeed, it is evident that when in the midst of His apostles He instituted the Supper He was in spirit and [p. 295] mind beyond death. For, having all the import of the loaf and the cup before Him, He gave thanks. It was all, to His mind, accomplished. Of course, this was anticipative, like other utterances of the Lord, particularly as the end of His course drew near. The service of the Supper has its place in the court, and it is preparatory to our entering the holy place. It corresponds with the position of the altar. The more we enter into it the more offerings will there be on our part. Of course, in giving thanks for the loaf and the cup we address the Lord, for it is His supper, but every right word that is addressed to Him goes up as sweet odour to God. We are an odour of Christ to God in that part of the service. But it belongs to the court; it stands in relation to the public position in which the saints are found here as the assembly of God.
The molten sea comes next in the description and it is evident that it contemplates conditions in which there is need for purifying. The sea was for the priests to wash in and none of us can suitably take up priestly service in the house of God without washing at this sea. And God would impress us with the very large provision which He makes for purifying; “in capacity it held three thousand baths”. The whole of “the word” is available for purifying, and it is applied by the patient, persistent service of Christ, typified by the three hundred oxen which encompassed it round about, and also by the twelve oxen on which it stood, which looked north, west, south and east. The three hundred were “ten in a cubit”; they were relatively small, and suggest how Christ serves us in regard to purifying in detail. He would not have us to be careless about what seem to be small matters. Without His purifying service in detail we should be very apt to let something pass which would have a disqualifying effect in regard to priestly service in the house of God. A tender conscience and a priestly heart would not wish to be disqualified, and would ever welcome the service of “washing of water by the word”. It would seem that the priests were responsible to wash before they served. We all have a responsibility as to washing one another. It is an essential part of the service in the court, the service of Christ being extended and taken up by all His own. In view of all that is coming on this world Peter exhorts us to “be diligent to be found of him in peace; without spot and blameless”, 2 Peter 3: 14. This is incumbent on us as in the responsible pathway here, but how much more when the holy service of God is in view! The twelve oxen with their universal outlook suggest purification with respect to defilements which are widespread. We cannot look in any direction without being made aware of things which really disqualify for holy service according to God’s pleasure in His house. The Lord has shown many of His saints that no such service can be carried on where a human ordering of things prevails, where a sectarian position is maintained or where a clerical system quenches the Spirit. If believers do not purify themselves from vessels to dishonour, by separating from them, they cannot be vessels to honour in God’s house, or be qualified for His holy service. All these things call for purifying in a very extensive way, but it is requisite if the service of the house is to go on in purity, and in suitability to Him whose house it is. It is not a matter of legal requirement, but of suitability to God on the part of those who love Him. “He set the sea on the right side eastward, over against the south” suggests a very favourable position which would lead us to regard purifying as most desirable and a divine favour to be fully taken advantage of. As seeing it to be the provision of divine love our hearts should be alert to get the full benefit of it, so that we may be personally suitable for priestly service.
Then it is said of the ten lavers that “they rinsed in them what they prepared for the burnt-offering”. Not only do [p. 297] the priests need to be washed, but each offering must be rinsed. In the service of the house of God each contribution must be purified. For we can only serve or worship by the Spirit of God. Nothing fleshly, or that is of what we are naturally, can have any acceptable part in the offering service; it is an intrusion and an offence. Christ must be the substance of the offering, and the Spirit must be the power by which it is offered. It must be the personal exercise of those who offer that nothing shall go forward to the altar without being rinsed. There is no element of bondage in this; it is the only way of true liberty in the service of God. The ten lavers suggest that this is a matter which we are responsible to attend to as we serve.
The sea and the lavers stand connected with what is spoken of later as “the purification of the sanctuary”, 2 Chronicles 30: 19. We shall have no need to wash in heaven, so that the sea there is one of glass, a crystal pavement on which some stand who have no longer need of purifying. The priesthood of Christ supposes, I think, that His saints are where it is not easy to maintain holy conditions; they need His priestly grace to enable them to do so. Priesthood in the saints implies a surrounding condition which is unholy; it will not go on eternally but will merge in headship and sonship. Priests need the sea now because there are defiling influences about. It is very favourably placed, and in a sense of this we are attracted to make use of it. The washing now is particularly that we may have part with Christ, that we may be suitable to Him. It meets every intense desire of lovers of Christ.
The things seen in this chapter as made of brass have their places in the court. As we consider them I think we shall see that they have to do with moral things; that is to say, some question of good and evil is involved, of righteousness or sin. In Romans and 1 Corinthians the brass is mainly in view. The two pillars referred to in verses 12 and [p. 298] 13 appear to represent the saints as set up in testimony here, which is the aspect of the assembly as seen in 1 Corinthians. What was made prominent on each pillar was a globe covered with a network which held two hundred pomegranates. The pomegranates were held in unity by the network, and all covered the globe. Without attempting to say that it is the strict interpretation of the type one may say that the underlying truth in 1 Corinthians 12: 13 is the unity of the body, into which all saints have been baptised in the power of one Spirit. The saints are also seen as held in a certain fellowship or communion which determines their associations here; all saints are called to the fellowship of God’s Son, and are entitled to have their part in the fellowship of His blood and His body. This is a very practical reality, as may be seen by reading 1 Corinthians 10; it held the saints together as apart from any association with the idolatrous world around them. We find at the beginning that all that believed “persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers”, Acts 2: 42. They were held together in that way; none thought of breaking away from the fellowship; they would have been lawless if they had done so. In every believer sealed by the Spirit there is some fruit for God, as set forth in the pomegranates, but the fruit is never seen in its true setting until it is held in the network of the fellowship. It is essential to the testimony of God that it should appear in that setting. If saints disregard the fellowship they are really on the line of scattering and not of gathering. How could anyone who had known the happiness of walking in the fellowship ever think of breaking away from it? And yet we see this done sometimes, to the soul’s great loss, and to the Lord’s dishonour.
The pots, and the shovels, and the forks, and all their instruments would be connected with service in the court. Everything there, even to the smallest detail, is to be morally suitable. We read, “Let all things be done comelily and with order”, 1 Corinthians 14: 40. Anything out of order is unworthy of God, and it is to have no place “in all the assemblies of the saints”, 1 Corinthians 14: 33. That all these vessels of brass were made by Huram intimates that God intended to work out what is typified in these things mainly amongst the Gentiles, as it is at this day.
Huram acted under the authority of King Solomon in making the things of brass, but when the golden vessels are spoken of they are said to be made by Solomon. Certain things connected with the service of God belong to the sphere of lordship; they are matters of authority and commandment. “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. But the more advanced and spiritual part of the service stands in relation to the headship of Christ; this answers to the vessels of gold which were found in the holy place.
The one candlestick in the tabernacle was, no doubt, typical of Christ as sustaining light by the Spirit in the house of God. The ten candlesticks here would seem to refer to spiritual light being maintained on the principle of responsible service. Great spirituality is required for this; which is emphasised by the gold being spoken of as “pure” and “perfect”; and the lamps are said to burn “before the oracle”. The divine thought is that there shall be a ministry in God’s house that corresponds with the full disclosure of His mind. This necessitates continued enquiry, not only on the part of those who minister, but on the part of saints generally. We speak of temple light, and we should expect to have it as we enquire together. For what is in the Scriptures only becomes light to us as it is brought out by the Spirit. But if believers read the Scriptures with true exercise they could never be content with an unspiritual ministry. They would want to find a ministry [p. 300] that was not the product of the mind of man. But this comes as the answer to enquiry. If an individual enquires he gets light; how much more if fifty or a hundred enquire together! The coming together of saints to read the Scriptures, and to enquire in the temple, is a very important feature of God’s movements amongst His saints today.
The ten tables correspond in number with the ten candlesticks, and they carry the shewbread, which is literally, ‘bread of the presence’ (see note to Exodus 25: 30). This sets forth that spirituality enables us to view the saints as before God for His pleasure, having Christ as their life. If we think of Christ as Head we think of the body as being of Him. In Colossians the saints are not looked at as children or sons, but as the body, the assembly, for the expression of Christ under God’s eye for His pleasure. The aspect of the mystery in Colossians is that Christ is in a company of Gentile saints, the hope of glory. It is the privilege of saints to know this as a spiritual reality, and to be before God in the holy place according to the truth of it.
The number “ten” in connection with the lavers, the candlesticks and the tables seems to indicate that God would have the truth of these things to be taken up in a practical way as the fruit of responsible exercise. The most purely spiritual things are not understood, or entered into, apart from attention to Scripture, and diligent enquiry and prayer. They will not be known apart from very real exercise in the soul. It is noticeable that Paul not only ministers the word, but he prays with intense fervour, suggesting to us that prayer is the way to have the ministry made good in our souls by the working of God. But all this exercise comes in on the responsible side and the thought of this seems to be conveyed by the use of the number ‘ten’.
The golden altar is where we approach God as associated with Christ as Head. If we have been raised with Him [p. 301] and quickened together with Him this is a wholly spiritual position. As the brethren of Christ, according to John 20: 17, we are a wholly spiritual order and we are privileged to approach to present to God what is most fragrant to Him as expressive of what is in His own mind and heart. What fragrant incense there was in the wondrous prayer of John 17, and also in the prayers of Paul in Ephesians 1 and 3! The latter are models for us, true examples of spiritual altar service.
The point of transition from lordship to headship in the service of the assembly is, I think, set before us at the end of 2 Corinthians 3. The Lord is the Spirit of the new covenant, and He quickens; that is, He makes His saints to live spiritually in relation to that of which He is the Mediator. We need liberty in order to enter the spiritual realm, and we have it in having the Spirit of the Lord, the Mediator. There is liberty to turn to the Lord, and to look on His glory, and by so doing we are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory. “From glory to glory” is a truly spiritual thought; it brings us into correspondence with the Lord, and then we are ready for headship. He could not be in the place of Head to persons unlike Him. But having been transformed by looking on His glory as the Lord we are liberated to contemplate Him as Head. And this is in view of our moving with Him Godward. His Father is our Father, and His God is our God. What we say to the Father and to God, as in the consciousness of our place and relationship as the brethren of Christ, is most fragrant incense to Him. It is the bringing back to Him of the thoughts of His own love by hearts that have been divinely taught to know and appreciate and respond to them in the Spirit of sonship. All this belongs to the order of things which is purely spiritual, typified by the gold.