THE WARS OF THE LORD (11)
[p. 431] THE WARS OF THE LORD (11)
2 Chronicles 10:6 - 15; 2 Chronicles 13:4 - 12; 2 Chronicles 14:8 - 15; Isaiah 37:14 - 25; Isaiah 37:30 - 32
JT The ground to be covered is extensive and we would do well to pay particular attention in following the scriptures read, so as to see the connection throughout, leading up to conflict in relation to the remnant. The first scripture deals with a division amongst the people of God and conflict arising from that cause. Therefore the government of God enters into it peculiarly, causing humiliation that there should be such a condition of things at all. So that what is to be learned is the need, under those circumstances, of taking counsel. Solomon himself had advised in the Proverbs that they were to make war with good advice and his son fails in this at the outset. He had rightly asked advice from the old men at first, but then consulted with the young men that stood before him, and followed their counsel to subsequent disaster.
CAM Are you looking at Rehoboam’s unfavourable position as illustrating church history generally, or at the way it would work out at the present moment?
JT It marks the present time amongst those who have part in the great recovery. This sort of thing has, alas, marked the history, and we do well now to see how such a contingency, if it ever does arise, is to be met. A brother with light and ability may go forward without taking counsel, whereas war is to be entered upon “with good advice”. War was pending at this time, and was only averted by God’s direct intervention. Division took place, however, and conflict was there, but the principles involved had not fully come to light. They came to [p. 432] light under Abijah, the next king, as we shall see. He was able to call attention to the principles, so we may see more clearly what Jeroboam and his supporters stood for, and what Rehoboam stood for. That was why I thought Abijah’s features should be particularly before us, because his address (chapter 13) opens up in a very precise and intelligent way, the evil on one side and the good on the other; as showing in the latter that God was with the house of David.
ANW Would you make it a little clearer as to what this group of old men would stand for in our day?
JT What is said is: “And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived”. That they had stood before Solomon gave them a place of importance that no others had in regard to the matter in hand. They had stood before a man possessed of the greatest wisdom. You would regard one who has had to do with wisdom, seeing it exercised in Christ, as worthy of being consulted. Joseph taught Pharaoh’s senators wisdom, and those who have had to do with the Lord in exercising the government of God acquire great experience in wisdom. “All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth”, the Lord said, (Matthew 28:18). Solomon’s name signifies “peace”, and his reign was marked by peace, and therefore these old men, characteristically, would be sons of peace. Such are the men to rely upon for advice, now that the kingdom was transferred to Rehoboam.
JHE Would this rising up of the people be like that which will happen at the end of the millennium?
JT This is God dealing governmentally with the house of David. Jeroboam’s immediate movements were the outcome of Rehoboam’s want of wisdom. There were deeper motives, of course, and God had [p. 433] intended this change in His government; but the passage calls attention to the want of wisdom in the responsible man. What you allude to demonstrates the utter incorrigibility of man in the flesh, and that rebellion will be of a worse character than the rebellion of Jeroboam.
WGT The people had an able spokesman in Jeroboam.
JT They had, but Rehoboam had the matter in his hands according to the facts presented; and what happened was to show what may be the outcome of want of wisdom in those who are responsible.
AR The old men knew Solomon and also the people; whereas the young men knew neither.
JT Quite so; they were wanting in experience. The passage says, “But he forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, who had grown up with him, that stood before him”. They were brought up with him, and stood before him. What a lack of balance through pride! Rehoboam is not presented to us as a man of wisdom, whereas Solomon is. Solomon was a man that God loved from his birth; his name “Jedidiah” meant this. The name given him by David was “Solomon”, meaning that he was a man of peace, and that is a great matter in having to do with warlike conditions — for this, sons of peace are needed.
WGT Rehoboam’s government would result in bondage.
JT Quite so. The young men advised the rigour of Solomon’s reign, and would increase it.
CAM It would seem that Rehoboam was forcing a rebellious condition by disregarding what was of God in the past. Is that how you look at it?
JT Exactly. Solomon represents much. He was a counterpart of David and had specially asked God for “an understanding heart to judge thy [p. 434] people, to discern between good and bad”. Jehovah commends him for it, and gives it to him, but what a difference between him and Rehoboam! Those who stood before Solomon had an opportunity to observe the operation of the wisdom that God had given to him. We have no such facts credited to Rehoboam, and yet he accepted the advice of the young men who were brought up with him and stood before him. Anybody can see that the choice of counsel should have been that of the old men.
JS Rehoboam was really moving on party lines, choosing young men like himself.
FL The prophet seems to speak to “Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Go not up, nor fight with your brethren; return every man to his house, for this thing is from me”, (chapter 11:3,4). God overruled to prevent further disaster.
AFM Rehoboam had the advantage of his father’s advice and wisdom in general and he himself was a man over forty, yet he failed disastrously.
JT I think he had the character of a novice. If one is a novice, knows it, and bows, acknowledging his weakness as Solomon himself had done at the outset, God honours him. When Solomon was a young man, he says, “I know not to go out and to come in”, (1 Kings 3:7). God honoured that and gave him wisdom. Rehoboam was a novice and did not admit it. He chose men of his own kind, and really, as you say, was a partisan in that sense.
JS He disregards the elders.
JT I think that is the lesson; and such elders! We see in the book of Judges how important it is to respect those who have been associated with men whom God uses to lead His people; “the elders that outlived Joshua” helped Israel to serve Jehovah. One great thought of God is to carry forward His [p. 435] principles; there may be new ones, but the old ones are not discarded; divine principles never cease to have force.
JS So with Timothy, he was familiar with Paul’s ways as they are in Christ.
JT Paul said to Timothy: “thou hast been thoroughly acquainted with my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith”, etc.; (2 Timothy 3:10). He was a very good example for Timothy, and was to carry forward what he had seen in the apostle.
ARS How do you account for Rehoboam being brought up by Solomon, and seeing all the glory of his father’s kingdom, yet acting in this way?
JT I think he made himself the centre instead of following out the wisdom seen in his father’s kingdom, and these young men who were brought up with him stood before him. What an exposure as to lack of wisdom and discretion all this was!
ABP Is that not similar to Luke 15:29 where the elder son says to the father, “that I might make merry with my friends”?
JT Just so. He had his own coterie of friends aside from his father. You see it in Job’s sons, they made a feast in their elder brother’s house; their father was not present; they could carry on well enough without him, but the wind came and destroyed the house.
WGT At the end of the chapter he sends the man that was “over the levy”. The people could hardly be expected to accept such a man under those circumstances.
JT Quite so. It was as much as to say, This man knows the power of the army. It is somewhat a Philistine thought. Abimelech came with the captain of his army to Abraham. The children of Israel stoned Hadoram. What was needed was a son of peace.
CAM I suppose if we were to approach [p. 436] anything threatening division we have to observe previous history.
JT That is exactly what comes into evidence first of all here — Rehoboam’s failure. Jeroboam is left for a later exposure. His failure was deeper; it is really rebellious, but it is not in evidence at first. We come to that under the next king — Abijah. He exposes what is in Jeroboam, and makes plain that he shall not escape. That has marked all the sorrowful divisions; if we wait, time will show where the real evil is.
FL You were saying the great matter is principle. I was thinking of Jeroboam and those with him; they had certain right. Rehoboam was wrong, and in the great events that have caused sorrow in the church, divisions, etc., very often there has been a genuine cause of trouble, but God always supports that which is based on right principles. The history of the ten tribes, beginning with Jeroboam, was ever a declining one; although, numerically, they were by far the largest portion of the nation.
JT There was not a good king in the whole list. Of Abijah the son of Jeroboam, in 1 Kings 14, it is said that something good toward Jehovah was found in him; but he was removed governmentally, and Jeroboam’s ignominious end is announced at the same time. God exposed the roots of the movement under him, and although right principles were with Rehoboam, he fails at first in not taking the advice of the old men.
RDG In their answer the old men did not admit the charge against Solomon, that his rule was severe; whereas the young men do admit it.
JT The old men did not refer to it. All they say is, “If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever”. Kindness applies at all [p. 437] times. Hard words never accomplish much, but “good words” are always wise.
FHL It had the blessing of both parties in view. Both the king and the people would be blessed, had the advice of the old men been taken.
JT It was advice of sons of peace. The old men understood something about peace; they had stood before the man of peace and their advice would be according to that.
TH The character of these men would be reflected in the comments of the queen of Sheba: “Happy are thy men! happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee, who hear thy wisdom!” (1 Kings 10:8).
JT Yes; they would reflect something of Solomon, whose administration was marked by peace. Generally speaking, war should have peace in view.
ABP You could almost say they were quoting one of Solomon’s proverbs, “A soft answer turneth away fury”, (chapter 15:1).
JT Quite so. The book of Proverbs should have been studied by Rehoboam; indeed, it is addressed to him; it is “my son” almost throughout. We are translated “into the kingdom of the Son of his love”, (Colossians 1:13), and stand before Him.
When you come to Abijah, you see how the truth works out. Chapter 13 says: “In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah. He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. And Abijah began the war with an army of men of war, four hundred thousand chosen men; and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, mighty men of valour”. Jeroboam had the numerical strength, and this leads Abijah to make very important [p. 438] remarks as to the whole position. He is seen on the top of a mountain, which would mean moral elevation. Jotham (Judges 9) making a speech of this kind, stood on mount Gerizim. Abijah says, “Hear me, Jeroboam, and all Israel! Ought ye not to know that Jehovah the God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever ... ?” He is touching important truth, because it runs through Scripture that the kingdom over Israel was given “to David for ever, to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? But Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord”. That is the truth. And then Abijah goes on to say, “And now ye think to show yourselves strong against the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David”. I think that is a very fine statement; he has the truth of the “kingdom of Jehovah”. Solomon sat on the throne of Jehovah. There is such a thing as that today: to bring out what really is involved in the histories of the divisions that have occurred amongst the saints; the kingdom of God existing in the hands in which it was intended to be. Are there not such people in the world? That is the point to consider. And that is what Abijah is saying here, and so it goes on to say, “and ye are a great multitude, and ye have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods”. What we see is that Jeroboam is exposed. He was an idolator. He had set up idolatry, and now the time has come to expose the whole matter and to show where God is, and with whom He is. This is a matter of immense importance in divine warfare.
JTJr Is that why the priests and Levites are emphasised here — to show the real thought of the kingdom?
JT Yes; they represent the spiritual side of the position and maintain what is for God. How beautifully [p. 439] the matter is stated by Abijah! He says, “Have ye not cast out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made you priests as the peoples of the lands? ... Children of Israel, do not fight with Jehovah the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper”. Abijah’s speech throughout is most striking. It brings out where God is and His service; the priests, the sons of Aaron and the Levites are brought in. Thus the issue in the conflict is made clear, and also what a priestly heart this man had.
CAM It well fits into Chronicles. It is not recorded elsewhere.
JT That is the thought in Chronicles, the spiritual line in the house of David.
AP Abijah not only meets the situation with what is negative, but with what is positive.
JT Jeroboam is exposed; that is what the Spirit of God brings out. So in all the divisions and conflicts for the truth — in time all comes to light: what God has been and with whom He has been throughout.
FL Whether the headship of Christ, the order of the house of God, or other elements of the truth, all comes out.
CAM If Jeroboam fights after this, there is no excuse for him. I suppose, if things are stated in a priestly way, there should be no fighting.
JT Quite so. Here Jeroboam is fighting against Jehovah. Abijah makes it very clear that it is not a partisan matter. The point is, the kingdom is Jehovah’s; today, it is the kingdom of God.
JTJr The Levites are at their work. Is that not so today?
JT The point here is, that the service of God is not held theoretically, but is in progress, and each one is in his own place and active.
AFM Is Abijah a true son of Solomon?
JT [p. 440] I think he is really more a son of David; he is a priest. David represents the priesthood as king. He danced before the ark with all his might. Solomon acted as priest, too, but not as David did.
WGT It says of Rehoboam that he was young and faint-hearted. He did not have the courage of David.
APT The apostle says in 1 Corinthians that the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. I was wondering whether that was setting forth the thing in moral greatness, like Abijah before he went into conflict with Jeroboam.
JT The service of God went on, and that is a great matter.
JS Abijah sets forth the position clearly; “for we keep the charge of Jehovah our God; but ye have forsaken him”.
JT Yes, and he says further, “And behold, we have God with us at our head”, — the very words of David. David said, “thou art exalted as head above all”, (1 Chronicles 29:11).
AP Would you say too, in view of the priests and the sons of Levi coming into prominence, that they were not on partisan lines?
JT The whole position is that; it is not partisan. It is a question of Jehovah’s kingdom and Jehovah’s service. As David said, “Carry back the ark of God into the city”. He recognised the divine centre, although for the moment he was driven out; (2 Samuel 15).
GMcP We spoke of idolatry in Jeroboam’s kingdom and it has entered into Christendom. The spirit of idolatry was coming in at Corinth; the apostle says, “there are gods many, and lords many, yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ”, (1 Corinthians 8:5,6).
WGT Abijah in his address preserves the whole position of Israel as before God.
JT [p. 441] Quite so. But Jeroboam refused to listen; instead of taking it to heart, he “caused an ambush to come about behind them; and they were before Judah, and the ambush behind them. And Judah looked back, and behold, they had the battle in front and behind”, (chapter 13:13,14). Jeroboam had numbers, and would rely on them, refusing the word of God. There are those who make much of numbers. The clearest truth may be set before them, but they pay no attention to it. They just go on and regard those that have it as enemies, and attack them before and behind. We have experienced something like that. “And Judah looked back, and behold, they had the battle in front and behind; and they cried to Jehovah, and the priests sounded with the trumpets”, (verse 14). That is the way to meet those who trust in numbers and military skill: sound out the testimony. When Jericho was taken, the priests sounded the trumpets. The overthrow of opposition is in dependence on God and the clear sounding out of His testimony.
JS Human strategy is a poor thing in spiritual things.
JT I think that what is seen here is excellent, and serves as instruction for the present time. “And they cried to Jehovah, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. And the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. And the children of Israel fled before Judah; and God delivered them into their hand”, (verses 14 - 16). I think that is the lesson, to maintain the position as divinely ordered, and in prayer, sound out the testimony in a spiritual way; and God will come in for us.
APT Does this fit in with Numbers 10?
JT Yes, as to the trumpets. You can see how intelligent they were here. The men of Judah [p. 442] shouted, as at the capture of Jericho, and the trumpets sounded; they followed a spiritual example. In Numbers 10 the priests were to blow the trumpets when the enemy attacked.
FL I was thinking of Daniel in captivity, (chapter 9); what an acknowledgment he makes of the state of Israel at that time.
JT He is addressed as “greatly beloved”. When he began to pray, heaven began to move towards him.
AR Would this suggest that in all conflicts you look for the priestly element taking on the responsibility?
JT Yes. We get back to what God inaugurated, because, after all, that is the testimony; and the shout here, I think, is fully discerning that God was with Judah. There must be victory. Victory is anticipated in the shout.
FL It is a remarkable thing about Daniel that he was one against whom failure is not recorded, yet he is identified with what the people were. He had the spirit of Christ.
JT His part in chapter 2:17 - 23 and chapter 9 coincides with what is before us here. He and his companions waited on God, and God came in for them. Here Abijah calls attention to the divine institution and that it was operative.
AP Evidently all the men of Judah were brought into it as well as the elders. Would that fall in with the assembly meeting, the people of God all being brought into any judgment reached?
JT The men of Judah, I suppose, are characteristic. Judah is coming into his place. When the division took place, the whole position of Judah and the house of David was greatly beclouded; but as time went on, the truth came out that God was with Judah; he has a great place here.
FHL Abijah refers to Jeroboam’s army as “children of Israel”.
JT He appeals to them, I think, in a touching way. We ought to be able to address our brethren, however antagonistic, in a similar way; for after all, they belong to God. Abijah is not partisan; he is not stressing Judah in that sense; it is the children of Israel.
ANW “Hear me, Jeroboam, and all Israel!”
FHL He says “we”, but ends up with “children of Israel!”
JT “Do not fight with Jehovah the God of your fathers”. He gives them full credit for being children of Israel, although they are opposed to him.
AJD This address is like the apostle writing to the Corinthians, “Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?” (1 Corinthians 10:22).
AR Is the blowing of the trumpets to meet the rights of God among His people?
JT Yes, it is the assertion of His rights.
JHE Would you not see that in Peter, in addressing them in Jerusalem? The result was that three thousand souls were added.
JT Yes. He addressed them as “men of Israel”.
AMacD 1 Samuel 4 also speaks of Israel shouting with a great shout, but in that instance they were overcome by the Philistines. How should we view that?
JT They were trusting in the symbol instead of God; they carried the ark into the camp, as if the outward symbol would save them, but the moral state, which should go with it, was lacking with them. Symbols, unless accompanied by the state of soul in keeping with them, cannot be relied upon for the presence and help of God.
ANW Here they cried to Jehovah and they blew the trumpets and shouted — a remarkable combination, bringing God in.
AFM And God delivered Jeroboam’s host into their hand. “And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter; and there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men”; later the passage says, “And Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and Jehovah smote him, and he died”, (verse 20). In addition to the victory, Jeroboam fell under God’s stroke and died.
ABP Would Abijah’s confidence here be based upon the covenant of salt to which he refers?
JT Yes; it is incorruptible, and therefore is an abiding covenant.
JS The result of the victory here is that certain cities are captured with their dependent villages. What would you say about that?
JT Territory is acquired. “And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him: Bethel with its dependent villages, and Jeshanah with its dependent villages, and Ephron with its dependent villages”, (verse 19). There is recovered territory, especially Bethel.
Perhaps we may now look at Asa for a moment. It is a question here not only of thousands but a million in the field against Judah. “And Asa cried unto Jehovah his God, and said, Jehovah, it maketh no difference to thee to help, whether there be much or no power: help us, O Jehovah our God, for we rely on thee, and in thy name have we come against this multitude. Jehovah, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee”, (chapter 14:11). That is a most suitable prayer. He stresses “our God”. God loves that. It is another feature. I believe every one of those conflicts bring out a new feature, and God loves to be made much of by His people.
JS And man made little of.
JT Yes; when we come together we speak of Christ and His walk here, which is beautiful and right, but God loves to be made much of Himself,
[p. 445] and that is what Asa does here. He says, “Jehovah our God”.
ANW Is it greater to say, “our God”, than “our fathers’ God”?
JT I think so; it indicates a present knowledge and appreciation of God, as in Hebrews, “our God”.
CAM This book seems to run parallel with Luke’s gospel, making much of prayers and priestly exercises.
JT The first book of Chronicles is much like Luke in that it links the testimony from Adam onwards; and then you get “the course of Abia” in the beginning of Luke, which is from 1 Chronicles — it is a spiritual touch. Chronicles has a great place for David; in Luke Paul is in view.
JS In Luke the disciples are sent out as messengers of peace.
JT Quite so; and they are to look for sons of peace wherever they go.
AP What would you say about the removal of idolatry internally in Judah; (verses 2,3)?
JT “And Asa did what was good and right in the sight of Jehovah, his God; and he took away the altars of the strange gods and the high places, and broke the columns, and cut down the Asherahs; and commanded Judah to seek Jehovah the God of their fathers, and to practise the law and the commandment. And he removed out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images; and the kingdom was quiet before him”, (verses 2 - 5). That was all very important, and emphasises what we have been saying, that Jehovah, as Asa says, was “his God”, and again, “help us, O Jehovah our God”, and again “thou art our God”.
FL There is a very touching link with what you are saying in the time of Jehoshaphat. It reads, “Our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might in presence of this great company which [p. 446] cometh against us, neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon thee! And all Judah stood before Jehovah, with their little ones, their wives, and their sons”, (2 Chronicles 20:12,13).
JT Chapter 14 goes on to say, “Jehovah smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah”. A million men are destroyed, showing that numbers are nothing when God has His place. It rebukes the idea of mere numbers, although, of course, we rejoice in numbers of real saints, “those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”, (2 Timothy 2:19).
JTJr Is that the test of faith, that Ethiopia’s host represents what man is naturally before God?
JT Quite so, a boasting of the numbers they can bring into the field.
JTJr The Ethiopians are completely overthrown.
ABP It says, “they were crushed before Jehovah and before his army”.
JT I think that is an important point to bring out. We had Jehovah’s kingdom, and now we have His army; showing how completely He is identified with His people.
To go on further — in the next chapter we have prophecy through Azariah coming in after the victory, encouraging us with regard to our meetings for “ministry”. There ought to be room for the mind of God at all times coming in among us. God comes in at all times, if we are open for it, with a word in regard to any current difficulty. It says, “And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Jehovah is with you while ye are with him; and if ye seek him he will be found of you, but if ye forsake him he will forsake you ... And they sacrificed to Jehovah in that day, of the spoil that they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep”, (verses 1 - 11). I think that is a great point. These [p. 447] ministry meetings are of great importance if we make right use of them. God will bring in something to help us as to all matters and to confirm us in what is right. The word of Azariah was confirmatory to Asa and it was calculated to continue the result of the victory, that the gain of it should be permanent.
JS And many were recovered.
JT That is what I was thinking. From beyond the borders of Judah many are recovered. Largely that is the thing to keep before us that our brethren should be recovered to the truth. “They fell away to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that Jehovah his God was with him”, (verse 9).
Ques Is this like 2 Timothy — departing from iniquity and following righteousness?
JT Yes. That is the only way of recovery. “Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity”. “And pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”, (2 Timothy 2:19,22).
The point suggested in chapter 14 is to make room for prophetic ministry. The prophet comes in after the victory to consolidate it, so that God might get His portion, which He did, as the chapter shows.
GMcP It says they “returned to Jerusalem”.
JT Yes, that is the centre. We must now go on to the last scripture to show how the remnant comes into conflict and victory. It is a great subject: Isaiah, of all the prophets, brings in the remnant. He it is whose son’s name signified “a remnant shall return” and it comes out under this king: Hezekiah himself sends to Isaiah saying, “Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that is left” (Isaiah 37:4), as much as to say that Isaiah will understand the meaning of that. His is the leading prophetic book, and it is very significant that it makes so much of the remnant. “A remnant shall return” is [p. 448] the key. Every Christian should be in the returned remnant.
JS Isaiah makes so much of Christ personally by the Spirit.
CAM In him prophetic and priestly services are combined. Prayer is prominent in the chapter read.
JT Yes. Hezekiah knew Isaiah and said to him, “lift up a prayer for the remnant that is left”; and the answer is magnificent: “And this shall be the sign unto thee: there shall be eaten this year such as groweth of itself; and in the second year that which springeth of the same; but in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof. And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward; for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of mount Zion they that escape: the zeal of Jehovah of hosts shall do this”.
AP Historically, when does that take place?
JT It is a great general thought that in the remnant there is no result aside from this principle of taking root downward and bearing fruit upward.
The message from Isaiah begins at verse 21. Before that we have Hezekiah’s action in going to the house of Jehovah as he received Sennacherib’s letter: “And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up into the house of Jehovah, and spread it before Jehovah ... saying ... hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to reproach the living God”. That was his prayer. Then it says in verse 21, “And Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: ..”. (verses 21 - 35). We see in all this the place that the remnant has, and how the fact that only a remnant existed does not interfere with the working out of the divine thought in Zion and Jerusalem.
[p. 449] The principles involved in them were unconquered. The daughter of Zion laughed to scorn the enemy, and the daughter of Jerusalem shook her head at him. The great principles of God set out in them cannot be overcome. However few may be attached to them they stand. The enemy himself had spoken about that. He says, I will give you two thousand horses if you can find riders for them. That is the point the enemy is making, the fewness of those that are identified with divine principles, but faith says to him that the whole power of God is behind Zion.
FL “Fear not, little flock, for it has been the good pleasure of your Father to give you the kingdom”, (Luke 12:32). That is the principle.
JT That is the idea. We are going on with eternal principles, and they are indestructible and unconquerable. Our safety lies in being attached to them and standing by them. Hezekiah says, Thou art “the Same”. He uses the oft-repeated title conveying God’s unchangeableness.
APT There is no change with God, so there should be no change in the characteristics of the remnant.
JT God is the Same, and the truth is the same, and the principles are the same, and our safety lies in embracing them and abiding by them.
ES Hezekiah gets his answer from the prophet.
JT God honours the prophet. He has those through whom He speaks. It is our wisdom to perceive and know them and pay attention to them. God could have spoken to Hezekiah, but he is stressing the idea of the prophet. Meetings for prophecy, I think, are a great matter in these last days. We are constantly needing the mind of God in matters that are frequently coming up.
APT It is not simply to hear two or three brothers speak.
JT It is a question of the word [p. 450] of God.
RWS Verses 31 and 32 speak of taking root; what does that allude to?
JT “And this shall be the sign unto thee: there shall be eaten this year such as groweth of itself; and in the second year that which springeth of the same; but in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof”. In the first year, there is nothing in the way of order or skill. It is nature itself, and the second year is that which springeth of the same, what comes up from the uncultivated crop of the first year. But in the third year you come to the divine thought. There you have skilful cultivation. It says, “sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof”. That is, there is husbandry, as Paul alludes to it, “ye are God’s husbandry”, (1 Corinthians 3:9). The saints coming under divine order and authority and principles are God’s husbandry, and thus you have food properly produced. Spiritually, it is ministry intelligently presented with a view to a desired result. But the first two years are left open; it is what nature itself produces in spite of conditions and without agricultural skill.
JS The growth is first seen taking root downward, not what is displayed, but yet according to the order of God.
JT Yes, it is the order of God that enters into the third year; that is, the remnant has now come under the order of God. It is God’s husbandry.
AR Bearing fruit upward suggests full development, I suppose. God immediately says that out of Jerusalem shall come forth a remnant, as if it is going forth from that centre now.
JT I think the allusion is to divine principles taking form in the energy of life. However few there are in the remnant, there is reality, and thus there are results for God.
WGT Would the third year suggest finality;
[p. 451] that is, what God has produced at the end in the remnant?
JT Yes, it is completed exercise. The result intended is the third year. And what may be observed now is complete annihilation of the enemy, one hundred and eighty-five thousand are smitten at once. That is what God does, but He also brings out all these great and beautiful thoughts in Isaiah and Hezekiah and the saints.
CAM These are far more important than doing away with Sennacherib’s army.
JT God is working out His thoughts in His people. He allows difficulties to continue for some time without settlement, so that the saints may all be brought into the understanding of the principles that govern them. I believe the third year implies that.
JHE Paul was three years in Arabia; but then he took root downward and bore fruit upward.
FL In the recovery of 2 Chronicles, do you see any analogy to the seven assemblies in Revelation?
JT I have no doubt there is. Certain features in the revivals in the reigns of Hezekiah and Josiah correspond with Philadelphia.