THE BELIEVER IN THE HOUSE OF GOD (1)
[p. 90] THE BELIEVER IN THE HOUSE OF GOD (1)
JT I thought that we could consider the subject of the house of God in connection with Jacob’s history. I have suggested this passage because it affords us the first idea of the house of God; we may be encouraged to consider it too in Exodus and in the New Testament. An important thing to notice is that the house of God is introduced in Scripture in connection with the believer as on a journey. In this chapter as also in chapter 35, Jacob is journeying, the end of his journey being at Hebron (chapter 35:27,) which represents for us the eternal purpose of God, whereas the house is temporary, and furnishes what is necessary for us in the present conditions of our journey.
FH Do you mean that, if we are intelligent as to the thought of the house of God, we can enjoy the love of God down here in the same way as it is known in heaven?
JT It is really heaven come down to earth. In Luke 2:13, where the house of God is in view, heaven is brought to the shepherds: it says, “There was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God”. The host returned to heaven, but they have brought down here heavenly surroundings and feelings, yet the visit of the angels was only a visit, and their coming down here was only temporary. Although great privileges may be afforded to us here, Luke reminds us that our goal, the end of our journey, is heaven; it is there where our names are written.
HD'AC God will never cease to dwell with us, will He?
JT The house of God is never seen in heaven. We find in Scripture the expression “My Father’s house” (John 2:16), which gives us a different thought; the house of God is amongst the people of God [p. 91] down here,
and He introduces His thoughts and His testimony.
NKM Does that mean that God dwells amongst His own in adverse circumstances?
JT In the New Testament where the house of God is also brought forward, it speaks of our conduct; there is a certain conduct which is suitable for the house of God. “I write to thee”, says Paul to Timothy, ... “that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth”, (1 Timothy 3:14,15). That shows us that it is here in connection with the testimony.
FH Is it the truth as to what God is towards us?
JT The truth in entirety: “the pillar and base of the truth”. Here in Genesis 28, it speaks of a pillar; “Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had made his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it”. Then he said, “This stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house”, the pillar means that there is a visible testimony to the truth.
FH What is the difference between the pillar and the base?
JT The base is the foundation, and the pillar that which is visible; it is what the house of God becomes in the thoughts of those who appreciate it. The first thing brought forward here which should appeal to the young, is the interest which heaven has in believers. “Jacob went out from Beer-Sheba, and went towards Haran. And he lighted on a certain place, and lodged there, because the sun had set”. Often one recognises in young people’s experiences that the sun has set; it is at that point that God gives evidence of His interest in His house. Undoubtedly this interest is expressed practically by means of God’s people. Jacob did not find much rest in his circumstances which were painful.
[p. 92] It says that he lay down in that place; he took of the stones of the place, and made his pillow of them, and then lay down in that place. His difficult circumstances then became the occasion of the manifesting of divine interest. It is just at this point that the principle of God’s house lays hold of the soul, that is, soul experiences are found there.
FH Do you mean in the circumstances in which we have placed ourselves?
JT Up to this point they are normal, but they show how little one is aware of God having to do with oneself. God could have come down in the form of an angel to help Jacob, but He had exalted thoughts for him. Although there was distance between Jacob and God, there was nevertheless a link between heaven and Jacob, insomuch that God was at the top of the ladder.
RGH God spoke to Jacob while he was asleep, because his will was not working at that time.
JT Yes, his will was not active. His position is normal in that he was journeying at the direction of his parents, and he has only a feeble link with God. That applies in a very striking way to a young believer who begins to follow the path of faith. God wanted to make him see the great thoughts that He had for him; it is marvellous to see that a ladder is placed there and that angels go from Jacob to God Himself, and that one believer is the subject of heaven’s interest. So we find that Luke’s gospel is addressed to one man, to bring him to this marvellous interest of heaven expressed in the house. It is indeed striking that not only does God speak to a young believer, but that He has great thoughts in mind for him. In chapter 14 of Luke, the house has to be filled — there will be many companions in that house — but in chapter 15 we are told who are the companions. The parable speaks of only one believer, so that God may shew out His thought concerning just one believer before Him. The prodigal therefore [p. 93] receives the robe, the ring, the sandals; the house is there and in it are music and dancing.
HD'AC God did not say to Jacob, ‘I am thy God’, but “I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac”. Then at the end of the chapter, Jacob says, “then shall Jehovah be my God”, not ‘Jehovah is my God’.
JT “A ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to the heavens. And behold, angels of God ascended and descended upon it. And behold, Jehovah stood above it”. God unfolds His greatest thoughts in His house; from the outset He lays in our souls the basis for His great thoughts: “I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham, thy father”, He is the source of all. Then He says, “and the God of Isaac”, of the one in whom everything is accomplished, of the vessel in whom all is assured. In the epistle to the Romans, a foundation is laid by the gospel for all the great thoughts of God; in this way, we are led out of this world into the great world which God has before Him.
FH The ladder on the earth connects earth to heaven.
JT Although I am small and insignificant down here, I have a way of getting up there. It says first of all that the “angels of God ascended” on the ladder, there are means of ascending, a principle fully set out in Christ who said, “If then ye see the Son of man ascending up where he was before ..”. (John 6:62). He had descended, but the truth here is that man has a way of ascending to heaven.
NKM That is why it says in verse 17, “This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven”.
JT That is the conclusion which Jacob reaches in his soul. The house of God means that God is there; but there is, too, a way of getting to heaven, it is heaven’s gate.
HD'AC [p. 94] All that God has here is His house.
FH God has a house and Christ has a body.
JT Then, too, we see here the principle of naming things. It is a good sign when a young christian can define his experience and give it a name. Jacob says, “This is none other but the house of God”. He arrives there by way of his experience. The position in which he was, was not suitable for the house, for he had “lain down”, but in spite of that God was interested in him. An unsuitable position for the young believer does not hinder God’s interest in him. His recumbent position was actually in agreement with his spiritual state at that particular moment. The Lord in the gospel brings in the principle of giving names, and the believer ought to know how to define his experience. Jesus says therefore, “who do ye say that I am?”
NKM Luke 15 gives us the house of God. Do you connect that chapter with what we have here in connection with Jacob?
JT The brother of the prodigal son came near to the house; the Jew did not want to enter into that marvellous privilege.
Rem Jacob made many difficulties about entering.
HD'AC The Jew does not like the music and the dancing and all the joys of the christian.
JT It is David who introduces music and dancing into the house.
RGH Between the time when one sets out for the house and the time when the music and the dancing are enjoyed, there are many experiences to be had.
JT Yes, indeed.
FH David’s wife despised his spirit in connection with the music and dancing; she showed the spirit of the elder son.
JT She corresponds with him exactly. Music and dancing are now found in the house; it is remarkable to see in Luke 15 that all that is occasioned by the return [p. 95] of the prodigal son. It is heaven’s interest in the believer, and one sees, too, the joy which the children of God have in the conversion or restoration of a soul who has perhaps turned aside. There was joy over a single sinner repenting. In the house, the prodigal son is not only a repenting sinner, but he is clothed with all the glory of heaven. The music and dancing began at the return of the prodigal. Young believers are often tempted to turn towards the world, but they must be made to feel the interest for them in the house of God. It is very encouraging to hear young believers give names to the results of their experiences. Verse 18 is the beginning of a new exercise: “Jacob rose early in the morning”.
PL The journey is made up of many spiritual stages.
JT “Jacob rose early in the morning”: a new day is commencing. “He took the stone that he had made his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it”. Oil refers to the intelligence of the believer, who understands that things are not on the principle of nature but of the Spirit of God (Romans 8:5); but this is not a state in the believer before chapter 8. In Genesis 35, Jacob poured a drink offering on the pillar, a drink offering followed by the oil. In this chapter the drink offering comes first in order to draw our attention to the divine pleasure. In Romans 8, we are not in flesh but in Spirit; we are conscious of being for the pleasure of God, and the anointing follows this.
PL Have we this thought in the Person of the Lord Himself? The One who is saluted from heaven as Beloved at the Jordan, is then anointed for the service of God.
JT In Luke 3:23 it speaks of “Jesus himself”, who “was beginning to be about thirty years old”. Coming out from the waters of baptism, He was praying; in this position, He was for the pleasure of heaven. He did always what was for the pleasure of heaven, but as being baptised and praying, the Spirit descended upon [p. 96] Him in a bodily form. There was nothing in Him which could grieve the Holy Spirit of God. It does not say in Luke, ‘This is my Son’, but “Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight”, (verse 22). Heaven opened upon Him as though to give Him the sense of its delight in Him.
FH Heaven’s pleasure was in Him as Man.
JT It is what He had been during the thirty years of private life; very little is told us of that holy life of the first thirty years of the Lord. Luke speaks of Him as Babe, then as Boy of twelve years old, but heaven’s gaze rested upon Him at every moment, and at the end of those thirty years, heaven expresses publicly the pleasure which it had found and was finding in Him: “Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight”. Coming back to Jacob, we are told that he called the name of that place Bethel, “but the name of that city was Luz at the first”. The young believer therefore does not allow himself to be governed by names given by this world, but he himself gives the name. It often happens that souls are converted in systems which give their own names to things, but this does not agree with Jacob’s experience, because he has to do with God.
Rem Jacob makes progress.
JT He is now in fellowship in a definite way. Through fellowship we are brought into a completely new order of things; it is the fellowship of God’s Son, the One who is over the house, and the fellowship of His death, of the Spirit, and with one another. The fellowship of God’s Son shows the dignity of the fellowship; the fellowship of His death cuts me off from this world, but in the Supper I enjoy the love of God and Christ. Then there is too the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, who searches the deep things of God. Then we have fellowship one with another.
NKM Would you say a few words on the meaning of rising early in the morning?
JT [p. 97] That shows the energy in movement. The light of the interest of God in me is the dawn of a new day, and I move in relation with such a God. In verse 20 we have, “If God will be with me, and keep me on this road that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and a garment to put on, and I come again to my father’s house in peace — then shall Jehovah be my God”. It is not very elevated ground, but all the same there is the sense of Jacob’s responsibility towards God. Believers have not much value down here until they accept their responsibility towards God.
NKM Does he move towards the light which he has received?
JT Yes, he moves forward in relation with God. You will notice that he is definitely on a journey; in verse 21 he does not say, If I get a wife, but “If ... I come again to my father’s house in peace”.
GB First of all Jacob is lying down, then he awakes from his sleep, then he rises early in the morning, and now, he is on a journey.
JT I do not think that Jacob is spoken of later as lying down.
PL The fact of lying down shows that the heart is not wholly taken up with the Lord, but he is still governed by natural desires, whereas it speaks of those who stand in the house of Jehovah, (Psalm 134:1).
JT In Jacob’s case it was normal that he was lying down, but it is no less true that this is not a suitable position for the house of God. When I say it was normal, I mean simply that the young believer feels the need of others. “The sun had set”, which shows that things were not very brilliant; it was the end of an exercise. One sees here that the evening and the morning make one day. It is in this way that spiritual history is made; Jacob speaks later of the days of the years of his sojourning.
GB The evening always precedes the morning: “there was evening and there was morning”.
JT It is very important, Mr. B., to see that the believer moves on one day after another. The evening shows that I go through exercises because of my state, the morning is that God is towards me in Christ. “It is the God who spoke that out of darkness light should shine who has shone in our hearts for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”, (2 Corinthians 4:6).
PN “At even weeping cometh for the night, and at morn there is rejoicing”,. (Psalm 30:5).
PL The night passes, the morning abides. Jacob speaks, therefore, not of his nights, but of his days when he gathered up all the divine light of his mornings.
JT It is an immense point when the soul understands God: “then shall Jehovah be my God. And this stone which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house”. There are the two things which were before him in a very definite way, God, and the house of God. Many persons have God before them, but they neglect God’s house.
H.D’A.C. How is that?
JT A believer in a human system does not recognise the house of God. Religious organisations do not at all carry the idea of God’s house; a cathedral does not give the idea of persons on a journey.
OT On the journey, there is bread to eat and a garment to put on, is that Christ Himself?
JT Luke 15 gives the excellence of the food and its abundance.
HD'AC Where are we journeying to?
JT That is a very good question, Mr. C. As we have already said, Luke develops the heavenly position; our names are written in heaven. John’s gospel develops the thought that we have the right to go to heaven.
FH “Where dwellest thou? ... Come and see”, (John 1:38,39).
[p. 99] The thought here is that we are invited to dwell in God’s house.
JT It is our temporary dwelling, for we are journeying towards the land which God has promised to give us. Jacob speaks here of returning to his father’s house, and at the end of chapter 35, Jacob comes to Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned, and Hebron represents the purpose of God.
HD'AC Why do you say that Hebron represents the purpose of God?
JT In the book of Numbers, when the spies went up to search out the land, they came to Hebron, and it says that “Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt”, (chapter 13:22). Spiritually speaking, Hebron existed before the world. Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 2:7 of “hidden wisdom which God had predetermined before the ages for our glory”. The Lord, too, refers to Moses in order to bring out this great principle of Hebron, in Luke 20:37, “in the section of the bush”. The Sadducees were denying the resurrection, angels and spirits, so the Lord brings to light a spiritual world outside of this world, and speaks of “they who are counted worthy to have part in that world, and the resurrection from among the dead ... neither can they die any more, for they are equal to angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection”, (verses 35,36). That is what Hebron sets out — a spiritual world which God had before Him before this one existed.