POWER FOR WITNESS
[p. 83] POWER FOR WITNESS
2 Kings 2:1 - 14; 2 Kings 5:1 - 14
JT There are some passages in 2 Kings that I believe the Lord would use to link on with what we have had in Luke. What we have had in the gospel of Luke in connection with prayer as seen in the Lord Jesus has in view that we should be witnesses. He said in the last chapter, “Ye are witnesses of these things”, but they were to remain in the city. He said, “I send the promise of my Father upon you”; Luke 24:48 - 49 but they were to remain in the city until they should be clothed with power from on high; that is, the witnesses are to be clothed in heavenly power. Prayer is the secret of power, and it occurred to me that this book of 2 Kings fits in with that teaching. We see how Elisha clings to Elijah, Elijah emphasising that the Lord had sent him to different points. It begins with the statement that Jehovah would take up Elijah into the heavens by a whirlwind, and then it says, “Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel”. Elijah lays stress on the Lord having sent him to the places mentioned; he was under divine control — an important point for all of us, especially in connection with witnessing. The Lord emphasised in the prayer that we read this morning that it was to be the Father’s will — “Not my will, but thine”, Luke 22:42 and Elijah here emphasises that point. He says, “Jehovah has sent me to Bethel”, etc. But the exercise that comes out in Elisha is what underlies this dispensation: “As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee”.
[p. 84] We have to understand that; and then finally, as he traverses the whole course involved in the testimony of God with Elijah, he now asks a double portion of his spirit. The dispensation of grace is set up in type in Elisha.
Then, subsequently, we have the development of a Christian in the light of all this; that we find in chapter 4 where the widow of the prophet comes in typically for the Spirit — she receives the Spirit. She learns that there is an unlimited supply; the limit was in the vessels. Then she has to sell the oil, pay her debt and live of the rest. Following upon her we have the woman of Shunem, who is said to be a “great woman”. She makes room for the man of God; she is concerned about the testimony; Then she receives her son back from the dead. Then the “great pot” is set on, and the poisonous weed is brought in, and death is in the pot; Elisha remedies it by “meal”. The meal would point to the humanity of Christ. Then we have the “man from Baal-shalisha”, pointing to the heavenly side of the truth. Following this we have the little maid, who represents, as I understand, the testimony that is rendered by the Christian in the light of all this. One’s exercise is that we might see how we may be evangelical without presuming to be; without taking up any official place, because that is what she represents — effective work, and yet no pretension to be anything officially. Hence it is within the range or every Christian, but it can only be effective in those who have developed on the lines indicated in this chapter.
JCS So that the various points or suggestions that you have indicated thus lie within the range of all. There are possibilities for all the people of God, and these things must really be true of us before the testimony can flow out from us.
JT That is it. If you leap over chapter 4 you may have evangelical christendom, but there is no [p. 85] power according to God, and there must be some claim to official position to make up for that.
JCS So that your suggestion is that the thing can go on today without any pretension; it is carried on on moral grounds.
JT Yes; and what comes out in the ministry of the little maid, confirmed as it was by Elisha, is that it is a question, not of the person who preaches, or to whom the light comes, but of the authority of the word.
EBMcC So that is why you emphasised “Jehovah has sent me”, and linked it up with the Lord, who says, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you”. John 20:21.
JT Quite; then the word of the little maid had to be accepted by Naaman, and later, the word of Elisha, if Naaman would be cleansed, The basis of the dispensation in its bearing is in subjection. The first great lesson is subjection. The Lord Jesus taught that in His own path here, and what God found in Christ is the standard; He could not be satisfied with anything less than that; that is the principle.
EBMcC That is brought about, you say, by suffering. That is the only way. “To make perfect the leader of their salvation through sufferings”, Hebrews 2:10.
JT So I think, the Lord taking up Paul, who is a great exemplification of the dispensation in its heavenly character, says, “I will show him how great things he must suffer”, Acts 9:16. Suffering went with the ministry.
JCS He was to be both a witness and a minister, and that is what you are leading on to, is it not — that there might be witnesses here?
JT We cannot jump over chapter 4, and take up chapter 5 of 2 Kings. It is a well-known gospel chapter, but in order to preach from it one has to understand chapter 4; he has to understand chapter 2 [p. 86] also, but chapter 4 is of special importance. It shows us how we come in for the Spirit, and discover that the supply is unlimited; the limitations are only with us.
MPM Is it similar to the thought of the Spirit in Romans: “the Spirit is life because of righteousness”? Romans 8:10 Just so. The Spirit enables you to discharge every moral obligation, because no one can be a witness for Christ who has any undischarged obligations.
RJW Is that why the woman is said to live? She is not a finger-post, but a living witness.
JT She has discharged all her obligations, paid all her debts, and lives.
JCS So that according to this light there is no excuse for having obligations undischarged. All the possibilities lie in the Spirit, so that you have power to fulfil them.
JT I think that generally in Christendom chapter 4 is ignored, hence the world has to be appealed to for support. They resort to the world; subscriptions are taken up sometimes in large proportions. The work of God is carried on by the support of the world, whereas the support really is in the Spirit, and chapter 4 shows us the unlimitedness of the Spirit. The limitations were only with the woman; as there were no more vessels the oil stopped, but there was enough for her to pay her debts and live of the rest. Then what follows upon that is a great woman. Not great in the world’s estimation, because she did not want worldly distinction; she said, “I dwell among mine own people”, 2 Kings 4:13. She was a great woman because, typically, she had acquired the Spirit. She acquired the knowledge of the unlimitedness of the Spirit; hence she uses her means to provide a room or house for the prophet, the vessel of the testimony.
[p. 87] Then her son is given back to her from the dead, and the man from Baal-shalisha comes in, showing that there is a heavenly supply. Then we have the little maid. She is a type of the kind of witness that is rendered, for all this shows that there is no pretension at all; she is just a little maid serving, waiting on her mistress, having been taken captive by the Syrians.
MPM So that the little maid is in accord with all we have seen in the earlier chapters?
JT Yes, quite; I believe her testimony embodies all this.
MPM There is very little to take account of outwardly, but much to strengthen and build us up inwardly.
JCS I suppose Christendom, in a way, has really ignored the Lord — ignored the supply.
JT I think so; that is how the matter stands; whereas the Lord would call us back to the supply and enable us to witness without pretension — without claiming to be officials.
MPM Would you explain what it means to pay one’s obligations; it may not be clear to all?
JT Well, Romans 8 puts it concisely: the righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us “who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit”. Romans 8:4.
Ques Would it be fulfilled in the maid waiting on Naaman’s wife?
JT Well, she is content to do that; she accepted her circumstances without murmuring. The little maid is not marked by any national feeling; there is no resentment at all. Were she influenced by national feeling she might have said, “Let him die, the Syrians are our oppressors”. That would be national feeling, but she has none of that; she wants him healed. He is a leper, and she knows who can cleanse him, and so directs him to Elisha.
I think this passage helps us to be content to [p. 88] serve without any public recognition at all. Those who really serve Christ today have no public recognition, nor do they seek it. They may be “unknown, and yet well-known”, because the world may pretend not to know you, even though it does know you.
AHR Going back to chapter 2, is this what you would term the double portion of the Spirit?
JT I think the double portion is the portion of the firstborn, and it marks the whole dispensation. It is for every believer. The Spirit is here now in an unlimited way; we come into it. The double portion is what characterises the whole dispensation.
JCS As you were saying, the little maid served in obscurity, but one would gather that in the exercise of her service she had discharged her obligations in such a way that her testimony was effective.
JT Apparently so; it weighed with them.
EBMcC She had light and faith. She had no doubts in her mind.
JT None whatever. She did nothing, but gave her word. Her word put the test for Naaman. It tested him and the flesh in him; and the kings of Syria and Israel were exposed by it; but the word of the little maid stood. Then Elisha did not come out to see him; he sent a messenger, saying, “Go and wash in Jordan”. But Naaman was angry and went away. If you do not believe the little maid you are tested by the message of the prophet.
RMcM It is not only a question of the forgiveness of sins. The testing of the little maid suggested something more than that.
JT It did: “Would that my lord were before the prophet that is in Samaria!” It is not ‘with’, but “before”. He is a suppliant; he must take a humble place before the prophet. She is guided aright in her words.
SF She had carried the light of the God of Israel into [p. 89] that locality.
JT That is what I thought. What we should note is the entire absence of national feeling.
EBMcC She had light away beyond the officials of Israel; the king did not know what to say to Naaman.
RJW Is she serving in the dignity and liberty of sonship as suggested in Romans?
JT Yes, typically. She is outside national feeling, she is in liberty.
JCS She has apprehended the character of God’s house in its universal aspect; it was to be a house of prayer for all nations.
SF Is it not worthy of note that the Lord uses this very incident: “Many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed saying Naaman the Syrian”, Luke 4:27.
JT The Lord brings that in in Luke, so it bears out what we were saying. I think she would be fully in the light if we take it up anti-typically. We are really here in the presence of a believer in the light of Ephesians; he is obscure outwardly, but he knows what he is saying — he is definite.
Ques I thought of what we had before us this morning of the Lord typified by Elijah. Is it necessary to company with him to know how to move?
JT That is what I thought. Elisha had to travel with him from point to point, each point representing some feature of the testimony, and then they cross Jordan. There are the sons of the prophets looking on. These are persons who stand afar off; they have information, but the information is second-hand, and Elisha knows better than they do. There are many who have information about the ascension and second coming of the Lord, but they have it second-hand, and the persons from whom they have got it know much more about it than they do. They may talk more about it, but the second coming of the [p. 90] Lord is known to those who get it first-hand better than to those who get it second-hand.
MPM He was to see him taken up; that is not a second-hand thought.
JT The sons of the prophets did not go in for that. As a matter of fact, they would deny the ascension of Christ.
ARG Is there a good deal in the fact that the little maid seemed to take the situation on her spirit?
JT She felt for Naaman. I think you will see there is emotion in her remark. She said to her mistress, “Oh, would that my lord were before the prophet that is in Samaria!” It is an emotional remark; she is not merely interested in a passing way, she is moved in sympathy for her master.
ARG That would be the fruit of the Spirit, and that is the spring of our testimony as believers.
JT I am sure if you feel things the Lord will help you to meet them.
Rem So being set up in the Spirit we should be able to fill any position we are placed in.
JT And fill it in a comely way, without any pretension to being officials.
JCS Would what this little maid said answer to “the compassions of God”? Romans 12:1.
JT It is an emotional remark. It is a poor thing if we are not moved. The Lord was moved with compassion; He had compassion on the widow of Nain, and Romans impresses us with the compassions of God. We are besought by the compassions of God (Romans 12), so that it is God’s feelings working out in us.
LDB Bondmen are addressed in Ephesians. There are some interesting remarks about them. “Bondmen, obey masters according to flesh, with fear and trembling, in simplicity of your heart as to the Christ; not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but as bondmen of Christ, doing the will of God from the [p. 91] soul, serving with good will as to the Lord, and not to men”, Ephesians 6:5.
JT That is very interesting, and would fit in here.
LDB The apostle would promote the spirit of the little maid amongst the Ephesian saints.
JT There is no indication that her position or circumstances were irksome to her. She served her mistress, as it says, “She waited on Naaman’s wife”. According to Titus, a slave may adorn the doctrine — make it attractive even to an unbelieving master; and that involves emancipation of soul, that one is above one’s circumstances, in the dignity of his heavenly calling.
Rem That is the way the testimony is carried on at the present moment by those who are sympathetic with God, and His character is made known.
LDB You mentioned that 2 Kings 2 - 4 brought us out as Ephesian saints in testimony.
JT That is, I think, borne out fully by the facts in these chapters.
WW I suppose what the little maid said was a word fitly spoken; she was an ornament in the house of God.
SF Would Ephesians 3 help too: “Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named”? Ephesians 3:15. There seems a widening out there. It is not within the confines of Israel, but widening out. This little maid seems to show a sympathetic spirit with what God was prepared to do.
JT Quite so.
JCS I think one can see the importance of what you are calling attention to — that the house might not only be furnished, but all is in divine order; all is divinely arranged so that the testimony may flow out from suitable conditions.
RT Could it be said that Elisha was marked by divine intimacy by being in company with Elijah?
[p. 92] He knew what had become of his master, and the sons of the prophets did not.
JT I think that is emphasised in his cleaving to Elijah; and then it says that they crossed the Jordan. They walked and talked as if the communion was now uninterrupted. It is not so much what they were saying, but that they were talking together. It was, as you might say, a Colossian position, as we had it yesterday — they are on resurrection ground.
RT I was thinking, too, of the Lord speaking of His disciples: “because ye are with me from the beginning” John 15:17; they learnt of Him.
JT Thus the witnesses were to know Him as received up. So the end of Luke gives us the Lord carried up into heaven, and they “returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God”. Luke 24:52. They are competent witnesses now, as having joy in their souls — “praising and blessing God”, it says.
Ques In connection with Elisha, is there a challenge to our hearts as to how far we will go?
JT No doubt. He would go the whole length, and he is prepared to part with his own garments; he rends them in two pieces, meaning that he prefers the garment of the ascending man. It is like being clothed with power from on high. The disciples were to be clothed, as the Lord says. It does not comport with the modern clerical habiliments that we see; it is a heavenly garment.
Ques Is that the reason why he divides Jordan on his return, as his master had done?
JT Yes; not in his own power, but in the power of the God of Elijah.
EBMcC Would that be the result of their talking together on the other side of Jordan?
JT He was intelligent as to what he was doing.
EBMcC And the result of that would be that the heavenly garments would be [p. 93] worn.
JT Quite. So now as he comes back over Jordan we have the dispensation inaugurated; a double portion of Elijah’s spirit is here, and chapter 4 shows you how the believer comes in for that. It is not Elisha now; it is a distressed widow, she being a type of souls who are in distress — they are in debt; so that chapter 4 is to show how the believer comes into all this. The Spirit is here already before any of us receives Him, and chapter 4 shows how we are developed as coming into it. As receiving the Spirit we become heavenly; and it is the heavenly believer really who is effective in testimony.
EBMcC You were speaking yesterday about giving and then receiving; that is the Lord’s day morning meeting. There was the receiving as well as the giving; there should be time for that. Is that in your mind here?
JT What I have in mind is that chapter 4 shows how a needy soul comes in for relief in the Spirit, and develops from that into a spiritually great person; outwardly insignificant, but spiritually great. The Shunammite is said to have been “a great woman”; from that she developed appreciation of Christ risen from the dead, typically; that is Colossians. The first part of chapter 4 is Romans; the son received back from the dead is Colossians, and the third part Ephesians; the man from Baal-shalisha points to the supply coming in from heaven. All that enters into the witness — the service of the little maid, and I think she may be taken to represent what God looks for today in the service of the gospel. I think it brings it down to the range of every one of us — brothers and sisters alike — the witness of this little maid.
MPM Would it be seen in Onesimus, the slave? He was unprofitable, but in coming under the ministry of Paul he becomes profitable.
[p. 94] JT Quite.
JCS Such an one would be fully furnished in view of the testimony.
RJW Would Paul’s discoursing be like the opening up of the position; it goes on to say “he conversed”; there was mutual enjoyment in it?
JT Just so.
JCS Going back to the beginning of chapter 4, is there such an idea as a person in distress and in debt — a person with the Spirit, but as yet not having learnt to use the Spirit?
JT I think there is. Peter and John began by saying, “Look on us. And he gave heed unto them expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none”, Acts 3:4 - 6. That means they were relying on the Spirit, the Spirit of God here; and if believers in Christendom were to see what the meaning of this chapter 4 of 2 Kings is, it would deliver them from human organisation. Every religious organisation today is dependent on the world for support, whereas Christianity primarily was dependent wholly on the Spirit.
SF Would the woman’s confession that, “The creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen” have an application today? Since Pentecost things have been broken up, but the Lord by the Spirit is engaging our hearts with Christ. He is recovering light, and there is great encouragement at the present moment.
JT He is. I am sure he would lay it upon us who have the light to look about and see whether we cannot meet the need that exists, as we see in the case of this little maid.
JCS Luke gives Peter’s and John’s going to the temple as being “at the hour of prayer”. Acts 3:1. Prayer brings in the heavenly resources.
Rem I suppose the great woman would show them she was independent of all outside resources.
JT Yes, even Elisha was not in the mind [p. 95] of the Lord in asking would she be spoken of to the king. She says, “I dwell among mine own people”. Most people, particularly today, would be very glad to be spoken of to the king or to the captain of the host. We know well enough how people run after these things. Alas! some of the Lord’s people, too, quite pride themselves in them. This woman rebuked all this. She says, “I dwell among mine own people”.
HLD I suppose this great woman carries another lesson: there was a lack in her soul.
JT There was. Souls represented by her need to understand Colossians. As you apprehend Christ risen you see that you are risen with Him.
HLD Would you say she lacked Christ as an object for her affections, and that this was supplied by her getting a son?
JT Yes. I think Colossians is the teaching that fits in there. You have in Colossians an object for your heart, no less than a divine Person, and that divine Person brought within your range. “In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” Colossians 2:9; so that Christ is our life. In Colossians we have an abiding object for our affections — Christ is our life. “Your life is hid with Christ in God”.
RT The sons of the prophets said, “The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha”; has that an application at the present day?
JT It is the Spirit of Christ, I think, as seen in the early Christians. There was a divine testimony that they were Christ’s. Elisha was a reflection of Elijah; so the early Christians reflected Christ. 2 Kings 4 enables us to understand this.
Ques Is there a point of correspondence between the little maid and Gideon’s three hundred men who lapped?
JT Well, there is.
Rem What you have suggested seems to greatly reduce the number, like Gideon’s army, but it makes it effective. It is remarkable that the sons of the prophets should be passed by, and the testimony be found in the little maid.
JT God’s intent is that recipients of the light are to be brought into accord with the vessel through whom the light has come. It is not the divine intent that men should be benefited by the gospel and retain their greatness in this world. They do, but it is not the divine intent. So Naaman has to come into correspondence with the little child; he had a great deal to go through before he came to it. Elisha was faithful, and he would insist on the word; he did not show himself to Naaman. The latter must go by the word, and the word says that he should wash in Jordan seven times. Christ has gone into death to glorify God in respect of sin, and I must go that way. God is not going to let me off. I am not to retain my worldly greatness; I have to go down with Him.
HLD Does it suggest that Naaman had reached that in asking for the two mules’ burden of earth?
JT I think he had reached the thought of God. The altar of earth is the acknowledgement of what we are.
Rem He is no longer great in his own estimation.
JT Every one of us has to come to that. Elisha corresponds with the little maid’s word. Naaman thought he would come out and lay his hand on the spot and call on his God. He had his idea as to how God should operate, but God would teach him that He has His own way of operating, and it is for man to submit if he is to be blessed.
LDB The little maid had arrived at that. She said, “Would that my lord were before the prophet that is in Samaria!”
JCS Would Romans 6 correspond in measure to this, as the way out of that greatness in which he stood — closing the door on the greatness of man [p. 97] here?
JT Quite; that is the teaching of it. When he came up out of the waters of Jordan with his flesh as a little child’s he would be reminded of the little girl. He would forget all about the king and the things connected with him; he would forget all that greatness, and he would consider himself so as to be on a level with the vessel the light had come through — the little maid. He would now be material for God to take up and use.
JCS It is very interesting, because it maintains the link of likeness. What is shown forth in testimony is reproductive of that kind of thing.
JT Yes, that is the principle with God. The vessel through whom the light comes to me is before me, and I correspond with that. It is not God’s intent to enlighten men in this world and benefit them and allow them to continue on in their worldly greatness; it is not God’s intent at all. He can never make any material out of a man like that; he is not material for the house of God until he comes down to a little child; he must obey the word. So Elisha gives the word and Naaman must obey it.
SF I thought of verse 9 of chapter 5: “So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot and stood at the door of the house of Elisha”; but the prophet does not go out to meet him.
JT I think that is very often the case. Men who would receive benefit from the gospel retain their greatness, and expect the servants of God to recognise them in it. But we must learn that this is not in keeping with the dignity of the testimony of God. Naaman was now before the vessel of this testimony, and he is told to wash in Jordan.
Ques Would the thought of the little maid be found in the new name given to Saul of Tarsus?
JT Paul — that is what he was, meaning small; evidently insignificant outwardly. It is very remarkable about Paul that he was the last mentioned in [p. 98] the list of those who were in the assembly at Antioch; Acts 13:1. It shows he is not a brother who would set himself up in the presence of the king; he would be content to be in the lowest room, and wait till he is called up higher.
Ques Would you say something about Elisha’s message to Naaman to wash in Jordan: “Go and wash in Jordan seven times”.
JT It is a question of the death of Christ; he has to go down and dip seven times; seven times is the spiritual perfection of it. There has to be a definite acceptance of the death of Christ; one has to go down into it. Baptism is this — the end of any greatness I may have in this world. Then Romans 7 is the process that goes on in our souls, by which we learn experimentally what the flesh is. Christ is then known as Deliverer. It is by the Spirit that you get free practically from your state as seen in Romans 7.
JCS So whatever a man might be socially, whatever status he has in this world, when he takes up baptism, all that is gone, is it not?
EBMcC It is “the obedience of faith”. Romans 16:26.
JT It comes out in Romans 6. They had obeyed from the heart that form of teaching. It comes out in Naaman. You must obey the word. The servants were wise; they said, “If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing wouldest thou not have done it?” The prophet was not going to change his mind. Our salvation lies in obeying the word.
Rem God is very sympathetic and compassionate. There is a passage in Jeremiah which brings out very beautifully a man going down. It is chapter Jeremiah 31:18: “I have indeed heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised as a bullock not trained: turn thou me and I shall be turned, for thou art Jehovah my God”.
JT Quite. This very important principle of [p. 99] going down into the water is greatly emphasised in Scripture. We had it yesterday: “Into which few, that is eight souls, were saved through water”, 1 Peter 3:20. So in Jeremiah there is a remarkable passage in which the prophet is told to take his girdle and go to Euphrates and hide it in a hole in a rock; but it says, “Dip it not in water”. Jeremiah 13:1. Then he is directed to go again, and the girdle is marred — good for nothing. However near we may be to God outwardly — as the people of Israel were His girdle about His loins — unless we are dipped in water we are good for nothing. Many are outwardly very near — actively engaged in the Lord’s service, and yet in not accepting death they are ultimately good for nothing. We have to accept death; that is what Elisha insists on here. There is no change in the mind of God; the greatest man has to come down. There is only one way; in going down we accept the thing definitely. Thus Naaman’s flesh comes again as the flesh of a little child. It is a new start — born again. It is a new start; but more than that, he is cleansed.
Ques Would it suggest resurrection — the flesh of a little child?
JT I think it is what one is as cleansed. It refers to what we are spiritually now as accepting the death of Christ. I do not think this teaching goes beyond Romans, which prepares us for the assembly; it brings in the material for the assembly.
Ques How does John 3 come in here?
JT It synchronises in the sense that it is a new start: “It is needful that ye should be born anew” John 3:7 is the thought.
EBMcC You come thus into the organisation of David. There is a state in which David has his mighty men — not as great in the world, but like the little maid.
WW Would you say we see the evidence of a new start in the sensibilities that Naaman [p. 100] expressed?
JT That is what our attention has been called to: “Two mules’ burden of earth”. He has sensibilities now of what is due to God. So in Exodus 20:22 - 24 God says, “Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven ... an altar of earth shalt thou make unto me”. That would be the acknowledgement of what we are before Him.
JCS It is still Romans.
JT Quite; it does not go beyond Romans. It is remarkable how this word of the little maid works out. It exposes the whole world. The king of Syria, the worldly thoughts of Naaman, and the king of Israel are all exposed.
JCS You want the testimony to go forth like that in Wellington.
JT Well, it is within the range of every one of us to bear witness to Christ. The privilege of this is indeed great.