THE LAWGIVER

^[p. 581] THE LAWGIVER

Numbers 21: 17, 18; 1 Corinthians 4: 37; Ezekiel 43: 12

The idea of law is mentioned in these scriptures but what is in mind is not exactly to speak of law but of the lawgiver. One need not suggest that the lawgiver in an ultimate sense is Christ. And so the book of Genesis in a remarkable poetic production speaks of the lawgiver in relation to the tribes of Israel. Indeed, one wonders at times at how much poetry there is in Scripture, and coming in where it might not be expected — particularly as written by shepherds and farmers. Jacob had to do with both farming and shepherding and he affords us some of the finest touches of poetry — spiritual poetry; indited by the Spirit of God. Among these touches is found that which refers to the tribe of Judah. Judah’s name, as most of us know, signifies praise. And the thought of praise has had a great place from time to time amongst the people of God, but especially in recent years in relation to the truth that may be interwoven in the hymnbook. Such a book is in our hands and it helps greatly in the service of praise. Of Judah it is said that his brethren shall praise him. The suggestion, no doubt, arose from the name that was given him. And so we read that the sceptre should not depart from Judah nor the lawgiver from between his feet till Shiloh come. So that the thought was long in the divine mind as a matter of counsel that Judah should have the ruler’s place. And so our Lord sprang out of Judah, as we are told in the epistle to the Hebrews. And when Israel came out of Egypt, Judah was Jehovah’s sanctuary, Psalm 114. The sanctuary of God was no small matter. And Judah had his part in it. David, who was of the tribe of Judah, particularly had his part in it. So that Judah was his sanctuary — not Levi, but Judah. Undoubtedly, whilst Judah was in the divine ^[p. 582] mind for rule and for music and for poetry, yet Christ was in the divine mind before him and that is what gives tone and power and enhancement to Judah — that the sceptre should not depart from him nor the lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come. Shiloh refers to Christ as the centre of gathering; unto Him shall the gathering of the peoples be.

Well now, we have the thought of the lawgiver in the passage I have read from Numbers. The allusion is not to Judah here. The allusion is probably to Moses; “at the direction of the lawgiver” the well is digged. The well would enter into the thoughts of all the tribes. It alludes to the Holy Spirit and so it is that Moses is in one’s mind in that sense. I have been alluding to Judah first because it is the question of purpose with Judah, but before he entered on his office as ruler, which would be in David peculiarly, Moses served. He served to write not only the book of Numbers, but all five books of the Pentateuch. And so we may say that he has the greatest place in ministry to the tribes of Israel. Of course, the Lord Jesus has the greatest place, in everything He has the pre-eminence, but I am speaking now of persons who are like ourselves, creatures who are employed in ministry, and Moses, I would say, has the greatest place. And here he is said to have directed the digging of the well. It was at the direction of the lawgiver and the word was, “Rise up, well! sing unto it”. So that we are happily situated immediately in the service of God; even at a time like this we are happily situated and circumstanced so that we have the well, the power of the Spirit, to help us in that in which we are engaged. And so the thought of the lawgiver comes in, which is important, for, even if we have poetry or singing or hymns or psalms, the principle of the lawgiver must be seen in all. That is to say we must be governed aright in all our matters and especially in God’s service. And that is why I linked on Paul with ^[p. 583] the persons who are lawgivers. The epistles, or letters, to Corinth afford above all of his other epistles material for lawgiving. Although I disclaimed at the outset the thought of stressing law, there is nothing more needed in the true sense and particularly in the sense of which I have spoken. And so it is that God ordained that Moses should be a lawgiver. He is at ease in writing the book of Genesis. No doubt many of us have been struck with the ease with which things have been left in that book. How little restraint, how little demand in that book. What liberty we see in Abraham; what dignity in his liberty! And yet, he is subject to his wife at some times. “Cast out the bondwoman and her son”, says Sarah, showing that Genesis introduces all that is necessary, and especially in a wife. Indeed, the book of Genesis is remarkable in the sense of the provision of wives for the ministers. So that we have in Scripture the idea of a man finding a wife. He finds a good thing, it says — not simply a good person, but a good thing — the thing being a suggestion of what is usable. And so we have the leaders in Genesis finding wives; several from Terah’s family. Hence the latitude that is found in Genesis. It is a book characterised by old men, because longevity was much greater in Genesis than in subsequent periods. Hence those who were in God’s service were mostly old men. And yet, probably the most effective in God’s service in the book of Genesis was peculiarly a young man — Joseph. One might name him the lawgiver of his day. God had made him a father to Pharaoh, and this shows how young brothers may acquire fatherhood before they are that by age. And how great the need is for fathers, dear brethren. We see it in Joseph — a young man. God made him a father to Pharaoh. We can understand with appreciation the term ‘Father’ as applied to Christ: “Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace”, Isaiah 9: 6. So that Genesis, whilst marked by old men in the ^[p. 584] service of God, has the greatest expression of service set out in a young man, and in that service he is not simply an able man who can do things, but he is a type of Christ. And so liberty, in a peculiar way, enters into Genesis, and it comes down to Numbers in the fact that the lawgiver directs the digging of the well — not giving law, but directing the digging of the well! How much we need the well, dear brethren, and happily it is evident here today that some effect is being produced by the ministry of the Spirit. So that what one is saying has in mind that there should be full provision made for the Spirit, for it was by the direction of the lawgiver that the well was digged and the song was sung: “Rise up, well! sing unto it”, Numbers 21: 17. The singing is unto it. We can see, therefore, the need of law in all our matters, and yet no mere code. There was a system of rules in Israel, but not in christianity — no hard and fast rules for the service of God, and yet there is order. Even if it be the collection among the saints, a matter that has held a great place among the brethren for many years, it is worked out in liberty — in liberty as to the circumstances of the servants or ministers, and liberty among the brethren in their needs being met. And so the great lawgiver says much about the collection. In earlier days it was a matter of how much was put into the collection rather than how much was needed. But the point in Scripture is what is needed: “... and see his brother having need”. We must look into that matter and take care of it. But the great lawgiver says to the Corinthians in his lawgiving as to the collection: “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the assemblies of Galatia, so do ye do also ... that there may be no collections when I come”, 1 Corinthians 16: 1, 2. That is to say, the great lawgiver will not influence the pocketbooks of the brethren. He will leave that to love and calculation, for the need of the brethren has to be discovered and ^[p. 585] what is put into the collection is not to determine that. It is a question of love, and the love of the brethren will determine the need so that the giving will be according to the determination of the need. It is not simply according to the love of the brethren, but according to the determination of the need. So that obligation rests with it. And so the great lawgiver says much about the collection, especially in 2 Corinthians 8, 2 Corinthians 9. But in the first epistle he says, “that there may be no collections when I come”, He is concerned that they are to be influenced by the first day of the week. He says, “On the first of the week let each of you put by at home, laying up in whatever degree he may have prospered”. It is as God has prospered him. We must think of the need of our brethren, and our calculation must be beforehand so that when the collection arrives it is there and the need is supplied through it. I mention these matters freely so that we may have something to affect our hearts to be intelligent on the principle of the lawgiver. God has provided us with that principle, not a person with a whip, but with a staff. Moses was marked by having a staff; something to lean upon, but nevertheless denoting his authority. So that we are not at loose ends; we cannot do as we please in the house of God; we cannot do as the denominations around us. We must go by divine principles. And these principles work out in the mouth of the lawgiver — in our care meetings and at other times — through experience and knowledge that is according to God and approved by Him. So that an elder has a place; we are given stipulations as to him. And so the principle of calculation runs through our care meetings; we are not leaving things at loose ends but thinking of what is needed. And so, as I have said, it is at the direction of the lawgiver. And the singing, also. I can see the great importance of happiness. The epistle to the Philippians is marked by it: “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice”. We are to ^[p. 586] be happy. The brethren are supposed to be happy. We have the means of happiness, not because we have lawgivers amongst us, but because we have the Spirit amongst us; the Spirit is made way for at the direction of the lawgiver. The lawgiver directed the digging of the well. And so the song, “Rise up, well! sing unto it”. Under the hand of the lawgiver, dear brethren, we have the means of happiness: “again I will say, Rejoice”.

And now the word in Ezekiel 43: 12 comes to mind. Ezekiel was a priest; he was not a son of David, he was a priest. But he is in keeping with Moses as to the law of the house. I will read it from the New Translation: “This is the law of the house: Upon the top of the mountain all its border round about is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house”. So that we are not left to ourselves as to the house of God. I was speaking of the collection but other things are also in mind. It is not as if things are optional in the house of God and that we are found looking round for better situations or better spiritual circumstances. They are not in any hands but God’s hands. Christ is over the house of God and the law of the house is determined by Him. The principles governing the house and the ministry and all related to it are regulated and governed by Him. So that He that has built the house has more honour than the house. Therefore again we have the greatness of Christ. He is greater than the house, and He must determine where we are to be and the principles that govern us, and if we elect to leave right principles and go elsewhere on account of other things, we are at issue with Christ. We are at issue with the great Regulator of the law of God, the Lawgiver. Whether it be the house of Judah or the house of Levi, Moses or David, the lawgiver is in authority and he must determine matters. For any to be just rovers going where they think they should, because they are dissatisfied with what they have, will not do; the Lawgiver will have to say ^[p. 587] to that. The Lord Jesus has to say to that; He is over the house and all the principles entering into it. It is remarkable how much Paul, who is our apostle under Christ, has to say about principles — he is the great lawgiver of the New Testament under Christ. He has come before the brethren very much of late, and I believe to their immense profit. He fits in at the right time under the regulations of the great Head in heaven. The Lord appeared to him at a given time and at a given place. He selected the place and the moment and the man. He said, “he is a chosen vessel unto me”. The Lord would imply that Paul was to have authority. We know well enough how religious leaders in this world slight Paul and his ministry. They did it at Corinth, too: “his presence in the body weak, and his speech naught”. And such things are said today, too. But Paul was, in effect, the great lawgiver of christianity. I say in effect because, under Christ, that is what he is. He uses such language as: “if any one think to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the assemblies of God”, 1 Corinthians 11: 16. So we are to pay attention to Paul and be regulated in everything. It is remarkable how he comes down to the circumstances of men, women and children, so that all should be right in view of the assembly, for it is the great thought of God which was given to Paul — the mystery as he calls it. “The mystery has been made known to me”, he says, in Ephesians 3: 3. So that everything is in his hands in that sense. Some may say that everything is in Peter’s hands, but it is not so. Not one of the apostles has such a place as Paul; not even Peter, who was given the administration of the kingdom. But Paul has the administration of the assembly, of the mystery. So that we do well to pay careful attention to what is said by Paul. One has said many times of late, quoting a great servant who has brought the truth to us, that we are not to forget John, but cleave to Paul. It is for each one of us to understand how we are to cleave ^[p. 588] to the teaching of Paul, to make it everything in governing us in the service of God and in everything else. I would be far from saying a word against the other apostles, because each has his place, but no one has Paul’s place. “As a wise architect, I have laid the foundation, but another builds upon it. But let each see how he builds upon it”, 1 Corinthians 3: 10. Peter does not say that nor does any other apostle. Paul alone says that and so we have to pay attention to Paul and become regulated through Paul the lawgiver. It is at the direction of the lawgiver, and as was said of Moses, the direction is to dig the well and to sing to it: “Sing ye unto it”. The allusion is to the Spirit of God — the singing is to God, not to Paul.

Well, I have said much about other things, but very little about holiness, but the word in Ezekiel is, “This is the law of the house: Upon the top of the mountain all its border round about is most holy”. That must be something different from Jerusalem. Ezekiel has something else in his mind as to the law of the house. The point is holiness. The law of the house is mentioned twice in the passage. It is a question of holiness: “Be ye holy, for I am holy”. It is the prime thought of heaven brought down to us in ministry — especially Paul’s ministry — so that we should know how to serve God in holiness. And so Paul says, “we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and boast in Christ Jesus, and do not trust in flesh”, Philippians 3: 3. That is the idea. It is where the holiness of God is, “Be ye holy, for I am holy”. God will not brook unholiness. Indeed, our children are said to be holy because they are born of christian parents. They are to be kept under hand for God and for Christ and for the assembly. We are to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It is in view of holiness, that they may know how to be in the house of God and belong to it. And so Paul under Christ is ^[p. 589] the great architect of the house. He tells fathers about their children — not the mothers only, but also the fathers. The onus is on them particularly. And so Abraham listened to Sarah. It was a question of the house: “Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of this handmaid shall not inherit with my son”. It is the law of the house. The holiness of God involves that what is of Christ and what is of the assembly be preserved in the power of the Spirit. God is bringing this up that we may give heed to the lawgiver and make way for the Spirit, that heaven’s mind may be known amongst us and that our children may be saved, being brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. May God bless these thoughts to us.

Whenever there is a movement of the Spirit, the levites are called into activity; Numbers 4. You will always find, where the Spirit gives any special impulse, there is a movement amongst the levites; things have to be taken up in a new way; the point of view you have had in times past will not do now.

Things are looked at from another angle now. The angle at which you have been looking from was all right in its time; the Lord was with you in that; but if there is a movement you must follow it.