THE MILITARY AND LEVITICAL POSITIONS OF THE SAINTS
[p. 66] THE MILITARY AND LEVITICAL POSITIONS OF THE SAINTS
Zechariah 6: 12, 13; Luke 4:16-27; Luke 4:42 - 44
The public position of the saints here may be described under two heads, the one military and the other levitical. Both positions are typified in the book of Numbers. I have read these scriptures in order to enlarge on these two thoughts, especially to show that the military position, viewed as it is in Numbers, initiates the order of local responsibility, whereas the levitical position is not local but general or universal. From the passages I have read I hope by the Lord’s help to show that the key-note is the Lord Himself, as indeed every truth in some way or another is exemplified in Him, for He is the pattern for us in every relationship.
Now in the book of Numbers when the males in view of military service were to be all numbered from twenty years old and above, they were enrolled according to the standard of their father’s house, and as enrolled each was to pitch by his own standard according to the ensign of his father’s house; whereas the Levites are numbered from a month old and upward, and they are not called upon to take up a position in a military sense. Their function was to look after the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness. Their directors were priests; they were to come under the supervision or direction of Aaron and Aaron’s sons, who would allot to each his duties. These levitical services rightly understood and acted upon shut out idleness and lukewarmness, for every moment of their working time is filled up and filled up profitably. There is no time to lose, dear brethren. The time is short, and God would have us employed according to these services which I have alluded to.
[p. 67] Now, what we find of the Lord is, as we see in this passage in Zechariah, that “he shall grow up from his own place;” the reference is to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Branch. He grew up in His place, that is, He never sought to alter His circumstances, and He fulfilled every obligation according to God. At the age of twelve He intimated, as having been in the temple with the doctors, that He was about His Father’s business but it is said also, that He returned to Nazareth with His parents and was subject unto them. You will notice that the word Nazareth is used. He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. Nazareth did not afford that which youth would naturally seek after. It was not a city of any repute. It was, I judge, such a place as would be a test to youthfulness, and so, dear brethren, it should be an exercise with us that as under the government of God we ought not to alter our circumstances. It may be that they do not afford the gratifications that we might seek after; other places might seem more attractive, more interesting, it may be indeed that we are sure there would be special advantages in other localities. But look! It says, “He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was in subjection to them” (Luke 2: 51), that is, to his parents. We see thus the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was remarked by one later of Nazareth, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1: 46). The answer was “Come and see”, but the remark clearly indicated that Nazareth was not a city of good repute. Well, the Lord grew up there, He grew up in His place. That is the point that I think we should lay hold of. Where He sets us in His perfect wisdom and ways, our wisdom is to abide there, to be content there, and in contentment coupled with godliness to grow up spiritually. “Piety with contentment”, we read, “is great gain” (1 Timothy 6: 6). It is said to be profitable for all things, but coupled with contentment is great gain. Now I would dwell on that point, because [p. 68] I think it is a point of the very greatest importance for us — that one should be content where one is, provided that position is divinely ordered, and if we in any way walk with God, we should have no doubt of His mind on that point. The Lord will not leave us in the dark. For my own part I would fain not be in the dark in regard of anything, nor is it necessary that we should be. There may be details that we do not understand, but in a general way there is no need that we be in the least degree puzzled. “The Lord will give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2: 7).
And so the people as having been brought out of Egypt were regulated according to their father’s house; that is, each man stood up for God where he had been brought up — in the circumstances in which he had been brought up. The young men of the tribe of Reuben would all be known to each other in a general way, and each would have to qualify spiritually in the presence of those amongst whom he had been brought up — a very great test! And so all the other tribes, each man under the eyes of his father, under the eyes of his mother, and under the eyes of all his relatives. All that involves very great exercise. There is no room for show under those circumstances, for you are too well known to put on. And so, dear brethren, the Lord exemplifies this in the most perfect manner, “For he shall grow up before him as a tender sapling, and as a root out of dry ground” (Isaiah 53: 2). There were no springs in the desert for Him, no natural springs; there was nothing there that He drew upon, and so we have to learn not to draw upon our natural resources but upon God. Every bit of sap has to come from Him. He grew up as a root out of dry ground. Think of that! He was cast upon God from the outset; all His springs were there, and so He sets forth the thought of God for every one of us.
In the history of Israel Satan appears at the outset of the wilderness position; Pharaoh said in his heart, “the wilderness has hemmed them in;” that is to say he [p. 69] reckoned that the people of God could not grow up in the wilderness. Satan met the Lord thus in the wilderness. The devil says, Now you must have bread, you must have material nourishment in the wilderness. The Lord says, No, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God”. Now all that is available for the believer. Every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God is available for the believer and available just where he is. He has not to move for it. Jehovah told Moses that Pharaoh says, “they are entangled in the land, the wilderness has hemmed them in” (Exodus 14: 3). He meant that they could not live in the wilderness.
Art thou weaned from Egypt’s pleasures?
God in secret thee shall keep,
There unfold His hidden treasures,
There His love’s exhaustless deep. (76:5)
Satan knew nothing of these. What did he know about manna? He had never heard of it before. What did Pharaoh know of manna? It was a new thing. Think of the resources that are in heaven! And so the manna falls and more than that, God had other resources, but that was the one great provision God made for His people, so that Pharaoh was utterly deceived when he thought that the people of God could not live in the wilderness. On the contrary, the wilderness was the way to the land of Canaan.
We need not dread taking up a position for God. He will not leave us, and the resources will be available for us. Wherever it be that you are located in the government of God all the resources of God are available to you, even though it be an outpost. There is no place in which He will not provide, and there are no possibilities of cutting or severing your communications. God has His own way of sending; even at the lion’s mouth. Paul could say, “I was delivered out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord shall deliver me from every wicked work” (2 Timothy 4: 17, 18). He had not the least [p. 70] dread of any consequences. He was in the position in which he had sustenance. That is the point.
Let us not think that it is an easy thing to be in the flesh. As I said, the Lord grew up in Nazareth; there was nothing there for the flesh, not that He needed it, but He is an example for us. As a matter of fact Satan does not understand Christ. The Lord Himself said: “the ruler of the world comes, and in me he has nothing” (John 14: 30). There was nothing in that blessed Man Satan could touch. Man shall not live by bread alone. Now He is the manna of our souls; the soul is nourished as we dwell on the perfect dependence of that blessed One, especially as He met Satan. “Man doth not live by bread alone, but by everything that goeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live” (Deuteronomy 8: 3).
Now do you read the Bible in that light? Heavenly men, typified of old, were marked by a tent and an altar. An altar recognises God; the tent indicates that the occupants were just strangers. So the word of God is nourishment; Peter speaks of it as the sincere milk of the word by which we grow up to salvation. The word is not only the New Testament, it is the Old as well, every word that goeth out of the mouth of God; indeed there is much more that the Holy Spirit would suggest to us. The word of God is living. We can read much between the lines, if you understand what I mean; the apostle John said, “I suppose that not even the world itself would contain the books written” (John 21: 25). There is not one thing that Christ said or did but will in some way stand. The more scriptures we read, as we carefully meditate on the things, the more nourishment we shall obtain for our souls. The apostle said to Timothy “give thyself to reading”.
The letter to the Corinthians is addressed to the church of God which is at Corinth. Mark you, it is to the assembly there in that town or city, and then it adds, “with all that in every place call on the name of [p. 71] our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours” (1 Corinthians 1: 2). There is therefore a bond for us in the lordship of Christ, but it is a bond of affection with each other, that is to say, it is the bond that holds the church together, “all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours”, and that, “ours” includes every believer. Whatever the conduct of any of the tribes, or any family in the tribes might have been, faith always included the twelve. So in writing to the Corinthians the apostle holds to all that in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In those days things were very real; calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus meant more then than it does in our day. The apostle has to add in writing to Timothy, “with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart” — with those whose hearts are pure. Paul contemplates a difficult day, and the necessity for the military position; and so he writes to Timothy, “Thou therefore, my child, be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus ... Take thy share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2: 1, 3). The more extended your position, the more it outflows into the enemy’s territory, the greater the need; so take thy share in suffering. One may let others take all the suffering. Take thy share. While I dwell on this point I am impressed with the importance of it. How it enters into the Lord’s position as growing up from His own place. He grew up there, and in growing up there, it is said that He shall build the temple of the Lord. You may think that if we go afield and do exploits we shall get a crown, but God attaches great importance to the patience of growing up spiritually in one’s place. An ox indicates patience and endurance, so there is great value attached to one growing up patiently and steadily in his place, having before him the testimony of God. The crown is for him; we read, “Behold a man whose name is the Branch; and he shall grow up from his own place, and he shall build the temple of Jehovah: even he shall [p. 72] bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne”. These statements all refer to Christ and Christ is an example for us. The “Branch” suggests dependence. Every disciple of Jesus is marked by prayer — by dependence. In Luke, which is the great gospel of dependence, we are told that when He was praying in a certain place, when he had ceased, one of his disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray. Jesus was dependent on His God in public service, and so His disciples say, Lord, teach us to pray; a very good request to ask the Lord for! Dependence here, not position in this world.
In turning now to Luke 4, I want to show that the Lord in taking up His levitical service is not local. He went to Nazareth where He had been brought up, but He was now engaged in service. They would bring in local ideas. I want to show, dear brethren, on the other hand how we ought to be on our guard against local feeling.
Well, the Lord having come to Nazareth, entered, as it was His custom, into the synagogue on the sabbath day; for He did not change His custom when He came to His own town — He was not governed by locality — it was His custom to enter into the synagogues elsewhere. Here in entering into the synagogue He is marked by perfect grace. He takes the Scriptures which were given to Him, and having received them He found the place where it is written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”. He knew them; we must not conclude for a moment that He opened at Isaiah 61 accidentally, as we speak. He did not. He opened it with intelligence, He found the place and He read. I never tire reading these verses. He stands out there practically as the Levite, and began to say to them, “To-day this scripture is fulfilled in your ears”. Having read the scriptures, He rolled up the book and delivered it to the attendant and sat down — perfect rest — every movement full of grace — and as having sat down the [p. 73] eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. He became attractive. The levitical work that He is carrying on, is carried on in perfect grace.
Now they say in their hearts, Is not this the son of Joseph? The language of their hearts is, we know your name; and naturally we all think like that, but the Lord would bring us on to spiritual lines. He never acted on local lines. He always acted from His own point of view, hence it says, “there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elias ... and to none of them was Elias sent but to Sarepta ... to a woman that was a widow”, and so too in the days of Elisha the prophet, Naaman the Syrian alone was cleansed although there were many lepers in Israel at that time. We have to learn in levitical work that the point of view is universal; the work of the levite — his business — is in relation to the tabernacle. No doubt each has his own work. Paul said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do”, and the Lord gave him his work in due time: “taking thee out from among the people, and the nations, to whom I send thee” (Acts 26: 17). That incident indicates how the Lord takes up levites in His own perfect way, bringing in the sovereignty of God and showing that God is acting universally.
I want to go on now to the end of the chapter (Luke 4) where the crowds thought that He should abide there and not go from them. It says, “When it was day he went out, and went into a desert place, and the crowds sought after him, and came up to him, and would have kept him back that he should not go from them. But he said to them, I must needs announce the glad tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for for this I have been sent forth”. Levitical work is not local; it is universal: “To the other cities also, for for this I have been sent forth”. He was sent to preach the kingdom of God. The epistle to the Romans has a universal application. The Lord declined to accept a local position in His levitical service. He had exemplified local responsibility for thirty years, and now [p. 74] He is anointed by the Spirit to preach. His work is to preach, and to preach where He was sent. And so, dear brethren, we thus are kept as having Christ for our model, whether it be in our position locally, or whether it be in service levitically.
I might remark here before closing that wilderness warfare in the main is defensive warfare, Canaan warfare is aggressive. Locally we do not attack; we are set to defend. There are exceptions I admit, but generally speaking, the position of the saints in the wilderness is defensive. The point is to occupy the position, and I apprehend that it is all implied in calling upon the name of the Lord. Hence when the time comes that evil shows its head in our circumstances, we depart from it. We simply withdraw from it. There is no such idea in Canaan as that. Ephesians treats of heavenly warfare. The whole church is in view there, so when Joshua was outside Jericho, it says: — “that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man before him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him, and said to him, Art thou for us, or for our enemies? And he said, No; for as captain of the army of Jehovah am I now come” (Joshua 5: 13, 14). Christ is known spiritually in relation to the whole host of Jehovah — the whole assembly. “Our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, ... against spiritual power of wickedness in heavenlies” (Ephesians 6: 12). The heavenlies are Satan’s stronghold. When the disciples came back after being sent out two by two, and say, the devils are subject to us, the Lord says to them, “In this rejoice not, that the spirits are subjected to you; but rejoice that your names are written in the heavens” (Luke 10: 20). Let us be on our guard, dear brethren, about giving way. If we give way one bit we shall give way another bit.
Ephesians is, I may say, general. It is for attack, whereas Numbers and Corinthians deal with what is local — the divine economy locally. Romans makes you [p. 75] a military man; you are exhorted to put on the armour of light, but that epistle helps us also in regard to levitical work. Paul exhorts and says to every man, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly. Romans gives us our place levitically, but it subdues us so that we must think soberly according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Corinthians teaches us how to serve. In 1 Corinthians 14: 40 the apostle says, “Let all things be done comelily and with order”, and in verse 26, “Let all things be done to edification;” for five words spoken with the understanding edify more than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.