BLESSING THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
[p. 228] BLESSING THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
Jeremiah 9: 23, 24; Matthew 8: 1 - 17; Matthew 23: 23
All blessing for us lies in knowledge, any thoughtful person must allow this. We are not blessed as Israel in a future day will be with temporal blessing. Israel was promised material blessing — a fruitful land and so on. God gave promise of this to them if they were faithful, but we have no guarantee of that. In the Acts we find Peter saying, “Silver and gold have I none”. Again Paul had to say that he suffered hunger and thirst, his blessing consisted in what he knew and that is our blessing. That thought runs through all Scripture from beginning to end. See this verse in Jeremiah 9, amid warnings and imprecations to the people for their unfaithfulness, man is to glory in knowing and understanding that “I am Jehovah”. It is a great thing to understand that He is Jehovah. This was many a long year before christianity came in, it was God’s thought of blessing for man in general. It says that He exercises loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth. How do these things come to light? In the death of Christ — they came out in His life surely, but are seen specially in His death. He exercises loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness there. Suppose that all London understood and knew Jehovah in that way as exercising loving-kindness, then London would exercise immense power in the whole kingdom.
You get a remarkable expression in Revelation 18 as regards the great whore, that is, the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. The great city is Rome, and Rome has influenced kings at one time and another, superstition has been learnt from Rome. She is the city that rules over the kings of the earth, they have learned their manners and style from her. There is another city spoken of in the Revelation and the kings of the earth bring their honour and glory into it. The [p. 229] heavenly city will exercise amazing influence in the world to come. God is subjecting us to education now in order that we may be qualified, as heavenly, to exercise amazing influence in the world to come, just as, if London knew Jehovah, then London would have immense influence as regards the whole kingdom. The thought then of knowing God is found throughout all Scripture. He exercises loving-kindness; science is the food of some men, art is the food of others — man’s imagination is the food of these vessels — but to understand Jehovah as exercising loving-kindness surpasses all that, surely. Wisdom, might and riches are spoken of here and it is one of these things that gives importance to a man of the world. In human wisdom there is nothing morally good; God is left out, and there can be no true wisdom where God is left out. Philosophy leaves Him out. Power and might are often used to satisfy the ambition of man. Riches are often a calamity, they often have the effect of keeping a man away from God. So the rich man is not to glory in his riches, nor the mighty man in his might, nor the wise man to glory in his wisdom; the Spirit of God takes up these three things that give importance to man in the world. Christ came and He made nothing of men of these three classes; and why? Because He brought in divine wisdom; divine power, divine riches — durable riches in the revelation of God: no need was there then for man’s wisdom or riches or might. He took very little account indeed of the wisdom, riches or power of man here. He preached the gospel to the poor, He healed those who had no power at all. In Matthew 8 we get the leper first — in this chapter the Lord enters upon His ministry and where is the rich man there? The leper had no riches, might or wisdom, he was outcast.
Then the centurion was outcast also as regards the Jew. Then you get Peter’s wife’s mother, and Peter himself was only a fisherman — there was no wisdom, might or riches in his case, but in all these cases you see Jehovah exercising loving-kindness, judgment and [p. 230] righteousness in the earth. Jehovah was present and He was dealing with all those that were sick. It was the presentation of Jehovah and He was presented in His character as exercising loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth. Judgment is seen in verses 11 and 12, “Many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down” there is discrimination seen. Loving-kindness is the spring of divine action, but with regard to God’s judgments things are not upside down, there is discrimination, He is to be known as exercising loving-kindness, righteousness and judgment; righteousness, that is, He maintained what was right. His loving-kindness is seen towards the poor leper. In the case of the centurion He raised up his servant, and He raised up Peter’s wife’s mother. He maintained righteousness, that is He maintained all that was right before God and man, whereas in chapter 23: 23 the converse is seen in the scribes and Pharisees. The Lord takes up the chief among the Jews, they laid stress on trifles and omitted the great moral principles. In their minds things were upside down, they attached far too much importance to trifles and omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith. Now pass on to the death of Christ: there we see the wise man, the rich man and the mighty man, all arrayed against Christ. Judgment was divorced from righteousness — all were in accord to condemn Christ — but on the other hand there was the perfect expression of the loving-kindness and righteousness and wisdom of God seen. In the death of Christ there was a perfect distinction seen between the wickedness of man and the loving-kindness of God.
The house of God is not material but is moral; God is dwelling here by His Spirit. We get tuition in the house of God and are brought to the blessed experience of the loving-kindness, righteousness and wisdom of God. The church is learning these things now and hence its influence in the world to come. We see then the importance of the moment to us, for the opportunity is given us to know and understand Jehovah; how blessed to know “him that is true”. We know Jehovah in the things in which He delights.