FULL GROWTH
[p. 391] FULL GROWTH
1 Samuel 6:7 - 15; 2 Samuel 6:12-15; 2 Samuel 6:17
I was thinking, dear brethren, of the word in Hebrews, “Let us go on [to what belongs] to full growth” Hebrews 6:1 We are prone to hover round what belongs to the beginning; yet important as fundamentals are, we are enjoined to go on to the things that belong to full growth — to perfection. This resolves itself into what we commonly speak of as exercise; what is before me is not the beginning of an exercise, but the end of it. Enoch represents the end of an exercise, one that covered hundreds and hundreds of years from Adam, so that he is spoken of as “[the] seventh from Adam” Jude 14 He represented the full result of that period, fraught as it was with much history, and he prophesied. He saw the Lord coming with “his holy myriads”
These books of Samuel furnish us in a special way with the great principle of growth maturing. Stunted growth is a most objectionable thing, whether it be in the lower orders of creation, or in man, or above all in a spiritual sense. We find, therefore, in this first book, the great principle worked out in Samuel himself — a life-size example of growth to maturity. You will all remember the exercise out of which he sprang, Hannah, his mother, being one of the great spiritual landmarks of Scripture. It was a long, painful, but patient exercise, culminating not only in Samuel, who she determined should be the Lord’s, but in a note of worship, the like of which it is hard to find. Not only did Samuel appear, but this remarkable tribute, which we have in chapter 2, issued forth from this intelligent, godly, holy woman’s heart to God. Then she had the joy of seeing the development, the growth to perfection, of the son whom she [p. 392] devoted to Jehovah. It is said of him that he “ministered unto the Lord before Eli” 1 Samuel 3:1 It is said, too, that he “ministered before Jehovah ... girded with a linen ephod” 1 Samuel 2:18 One thinks of the need of this in the young as taking up ministry, and it is right that they should, however young; the fresh, living lispings of the young Christian are delightful to God. But in Samuel we see how quickly the element of sobriety marked him. As a boy he ministered to Jehovah, arrayed in a linen ephod. Then it further says that in this state he “grew before the Lord” as if the young are reminded that it is not a question of what we are before others, for as we make any start at all in a priestly way we are exposed to the temptation of resting in that, and clothing ourselves with it, whereas it is to be for God; whatever prosperity you have is for God, and so it is said that Samuel grew before the Lord. Then it is further said that he “grew on” as if no circumstance was allowed to hinder his growth; even priestly privileges, and priestly ability, and priestly sobriety do not divert him at all, they rather aid him; he has the Lord before him. He grew on, and in the growth finds favour with God. It is a fine moment when a young man or woman is made conscious that he or she is favourable to God, that God is pleased. It is a very fine experience, but one that is within your range, beloved young people. Then the corresponding fact, he was in favour with men. Then further, as if God would honour that, and show how He values steady growth before Him, He communicated to him His mind. It is said that the word of the Lord was scarce in those days; it was rare. The more rare it is, beloved (we speak of our meetings being dry, nothing for God, nothing fresh), the more the urgency that I should seek to be a vessel. Why not? The Lord is looking for such. He has got plenty to say to His people, but few through whom to speak. The word [p. 393] of the Lord was rare; but then there was a Samuel, he was growing on, and the Lord in time called him, spoke to him, and deposited in him His mind. Think of that, to have the mind of the Lord for any given moment! That is not beyond our reach. It is a question of taking account of the need, and aspiring to meet it, and God will help you. The mind of the Lord is conveyed to this young man, and again it is further said that he grew. He grew until it became known from Dan to Beer-sheba that he was a prophet. God sees to it that you acquire a place in His service; the saints own it, it cannot be denied. Then finally there is a beautiful touch; the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel. This was a much greater thing even than His mind. Hitherto it was the word, now it is the Lord revealing Himself. Precious thought, that I am brought into direct touch with the Lord Himself! He revealed Himself to Samuel, it is said, by the word of the Lord, and then not one word that Samuel uttered fell to the ground.
In this book there are several life-size pictures; a dark picture, alas! in Saul, but bright pictures in Samuel, David and others. But it was not only these things I had before me tonight, but to show the beginning of a spiritual exercise, not now in relation to my own growth, but in relation to Christ. It is one thing that I should grow up before God and become matured spiritually, but it is another thing to see how I am exercised in relation to Christ, for I need not say that God is not going on with me or with any man, He is going on with Christ, and His great thought is to have us moving on with Christ. That is what I desire may be the result of this word, that we may set out more to move on with God in relation to Christ.
We find in the course of the instruction here that the ark is taken captive. The wife of Phinehas is sorely distressed, she is a sufferer with the people of [p. 394] God governmentally. It is not her matter specially, but she has spiritual feelings, and she has to suffer with the people of God in the awful disaster that has befallen them. Her father-in-law is dead, her husband is dead, but “the ark of God was taken” 1 Samuel 4:11 — that was the one thing on her heart as she died. A terrible exercise, but not for nothing, not to be forgotten. She had written the mind of God on the face of the people in her last word. ‘Ichabod’ is negative indeed, but negative things are necessary things. Every pious heart in Israel afterwards would take that to heart. “The glory is departed” 1 Samuel 4:21 It is well when we know things as they are, and live not on theories but on facts. The wife of Phinehas announced a fact, a negative one indeed, but necessary to be known; she died saying, “The glory is departed from Israel; for the ark of God is taken” 1 Samuel 4:22 If one could get the ear of every saint of God in the varied religious systems of this world, one would like to call attention to this; what about the glory in your system? What about the Spirit of God? What place has Christ there? God has awakened many, and is awakening many to the fact that He is not there. So this word from the wife of Phinehas is a most important one, and the beginning of the exercise — “the glory is departed” 1 Samuel 4:22 There is nothing for your soul where the glory is not. If Christ be not there, leave it; it is a negative thing.
But spiritual sensibilities are of the utmost importance in this matter, and so I turn to these two milch kine. They were not barren, they were fruitful, they had calves; they had sensibilities, and we learn from the lips of the Philistine diviners that this is what is needed now. Under God, they outline His mind. It is a question of spiritual sensibilities, whether as discovering that the ark is taken, or that you would desire to have it back, and for this you have to deny natural things. The systems of this world, beloved friends, provide for nature. They would provide for [p. 395] the calves, they would abhor separating the mothers from the children. But the picture here is a denial of nature; as one may say, the very first movement of the soul in regard to Christ viewed as the ark is a question of spiritual instinct. The calves are shut up at home; what will these kine do? Where will the ark go? If you allow it a place in your instincts, it will lead you in the right way. Where will you go? You have no question. You are not hampered by the darkness around. These kine moved on, lowing as they went, showing that they were not insensible to nature, but they went against it. There is no possible hope for any child of God to get clear of this world’s system, unless he makes up his mind to go against nature. Nature will not help you, it is against you in these matters; it is the Spirit of Christ that will lead you. You may not be fully intelligent about it, but it is a question of instinct.
How did they go? They went towards the way to Beth-shemesh, his own border. There is that, beloved, in this world which Christ owns as His — His own parts. The Philistine diviners understood that the ark belonged to a certain part. Will the kine go that way? Yes, typically they are denying nature. They are lowing indeed as they go, but they are going, and they are making towards Beth-shemesh, moving to that land to which the ark belonged. They went, it says, by the “one high way”; the word ‘highway’ is properly “one high way” for there is only one. There are those who tell us that each of these so-called denominations is but another way to the one end. It is a lie; there is only one way, and that way is taken by these milch kine; they are moving on the line of the denial of nature and natural principles, they are taking the one high way. You will all remember how the Lord in Mark’s gospel was “in the way” and others followed Him in that way; in fact He is the way, and so in the Acts ‘the way’ is a synonym for Christianity — “the way” was evil spoken of. But these much kine were on it and on no other.
That is the beginning of the thing positively. I am moving now according to my spiritual instincts in regard of Christ; I am going the right way. But I have to suffer. There is no glory for the flesh at the end of this way; do not look for it. You are honoured in being in it, and you will find the end to be what Jesus found. It is His way, it is the shining way, the more excellent way, it is the way of love, of spiritual instincts, but nevertheless the way of death; not death indeed as a penalty for us, for He bore the penalty, but death to the flesh and to the world; and you have to make up your mind for it. Is it not worth while? See the company you are in, beloved. “Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried” Ruth 1:17 These milch kine went on, and they came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemeshite, and there they stood. They had reached the end, and what now? The new cart becomes wood for a sacrifice. As some of us have been seeing today, wood is a symbol of that kind of humanity that is now manifesting itself here and which is capable of going through death. The cart was used for the wood, and the kine as sacrifice.
I cannot dwell in detail on these beautiful types, but you will observe that this spiritual instinct links on with “intelligent service” The Levites take down the ark. How they came to be there we are not told. In truth it is but the development of spiritual understanding in the Christian. At this point, as life is laid down, you apprehend that you are part, a veritable part, of the service of God. Who are the Levites? Every Levite is a first-born one; a most extraordinary thing. There is no other family like it. You cannot possibly have an ordinary [p. 397] family with every one in it a firstborn; only of a levitical family could it be said. At this point, as life is laid down and sacrifice is made, the Levites come into view, and the ark is attended to.
Now this is a point reached; and I want everyone here, especially the younger people, to note that there is a great stone here. The writer of the book — it may have been many years later — tells us that it was still there when he wrote. It is a landmark. Do you understand what a landmark is in spiritual history? Many of us here do; as we look back upon our histories, some of them extending a long way, there are many things which have caused us shame, but this stone is not a landmark of shame, it is a landmark of spiritual glory, where you learned to die. Think of learning how to die! It is the living who die according to God. You see it in Jesus perfectly. In Matthew and Mark He utters a loud cry, and the centurion says, “Truly this man was Son of God” Matthew 27:54 He died in the power of His divine life, He laid down His life with a loud cry; He was not exhausted. In Luke He dies similarly; He is called by the centurion “a righteous man” It is not an ignominious death; morally it is a death of glory. A landmark in our lives in some little way is to learn how to die, to die for the testimony. As John says, “Hereby we have known love, because he has laid down his life for us; and we ought, for the brethren to lay down our lives” 1 John 3:16 That is a landmark indeed. If you can look back in your history when you first did that, it is the great stone, as I may say, in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemeshite.
Many years now elapse in this great exercise, and many are involved in it. We have a man in the hill looking after the ark; it remained many years in Kirjath-jearim. But the exercise goes on. I would now speak to older brethren. Let us not assume that the exercise is finished. A great many years, a century [p. 398] perhaps, have elapsed since it began; it is not completed. It has an end to it, and we want to have part in the finish, and hence I turn to the second book of Samuel. Second books, I believe, in Scripture are confirmatory books. First books bring in the great principles, but second books from the same authors are confirmatory, and certainly this is so in Samuel, whoever the writer may be. I was speaking of a life-size picture of David in the first book. The second book is David going up. The first book is what I might call horizontal experience, like the epistle to the Romans; the second book has to do with older Christians, more matured, they have learned to go up. In the beginning of the second book, David is three days at Ziklag, and he exhibits a fine spirit towards his enemy — Saul. He has overcome evil with good. What are any of us worth morally for God here, unless we learn to overcome evil with good? The first chapter of the second book is a fine tribute to David from this point of view; he is a type of a Roman Christian — a Christian who has become established in the truth according to the epistle to the Romans. He is morally victorious over his enemies. He speaks finely about Saul and Jonathan, even putting his thoughts into poetry, which was to be written in the book of Jasher — the book of the upright, a fine book to be in!
Then he enquires as to whether he shall go up. We are now treading on heavenly ground, beloved. The end is to be a heavenly end — a glorious anticipation. It is a question of going up, not of going down. There has been much descent in our time, masses of our brethren turning aside like a deceitful bow. Let us not descend to the level of current religion around us. We are beset by the danger, but the antidote to it is to go up. David says to the Lord, “Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” 2 Samuel 2:1 And at the word of the Lord he goes up to Hebron.
[p. 399] I cannot dwell on that, but I come to chapter 6, wherein is the full development of the exercise of which I have spoken. David hears that God has blessed the house of Obed-edom on account of the ark. He sees now that the blessing of God stands with those who care for Christ. Let us take that to heart. The blessing of God stands with those who are caring for Christ, with those who are concerned about Christ.
But David at first missed the great point which had been the culmination in chapter 6 of the first book — the Levites taking down the ark. He attempts to bring the ark up first of all on a cart. Our concern should be to link on with the exercise of the past, with the highest note of those who preceded us, and to move on from there. David missed the Levites out altogether, and he provided a cart and oxen. Not a word about milch kine, he missed even that. You see the low level he was on in endeavouring to bring back the ark. Let us see to it, beloved brethren, as to whether we are guilty in this respect. It was no question of a choice of milch kine, but of mere oxen — common current ideas. Oxen were used for all kinds of purposes, but not milch kine with their calves left behind. That was a spiritual touch, but David forgot it. So his cart and his oxen are not at all used of God, not owned of God. They are of the commonest kind; indeed oxen are so far removed from spirituality in type, that they stumbled, will was at work. This is sure to be the case where we are not governed by right principles and right instruments.
But David learned his lesson. The proof of a man’s spiritual stamina is that he can learn his lesson, and own his fault, and learn from it. David learned that the cart would not do, that the oxen had stumbled, and now he is bringing the ark back, recognising the blessing of God in connection with it,
[p. 400] and the Levites are carrying it. He has come back to the highest note of his predecessors. I wonder if we understand this? It is “Higher and higher yet” (427:5).
They make six paces in their journey. I want you to notice the growth of exercise, and the maturity that goes with it. I believe we are drawing near to the close of this wonderful time, and the seventh step is the most important one, the one after the sixth. The seventh will be the completion of the thing. David here is thoroughly restored, a spiritual man, and lest there should be a mis-step, he offers an ox — a type of Christ now, not ordinary oxen, but a select one, as I may say; not now an ox to tie to a cart, but to offer as a sacrifice — the perfect, steady step of the Lord Jesus, the walk of Christ. It is the Christ of the gospels. In Luke and John it is a question of steadiness of step. The Lord, six days before the passover, is anointed on the feet, as if prophetically, Mary discerns that those feet were to carry Him the full length — that is to death — which indeed they did; thank God! He laid down His life of Himself in John, it was His own act. And what a journey! He says, “Father ... I have completed the work which thou gavest me that I should do it” John 17:4 “I lay it down of myself” John 10:18 He had authority to do it, and He did it. He walked, as I may say, to the very grave. No one could take His life from Him; what a perfect walk it was! So David in the type offers an ox to God, as if to say, I am afraid of myself, I want to keep my eye on Christ and see how He took the last step.
Now let us not miss what we have gained. Let us have the full reward, let us reach the end, let us reach the finish according to God. It must be spiritual, it must be according to Christ, for God will have nothing less than that. The anointing of His feet in Luke and John are examples of faith. Faith is occupied with His feet.
[p. 401] Then David offers prosperity-offerings, meaning that there is prosperity. Thank God for it. But what is prosperity for? Not for us to glory in, beloved, but for God. David offered fatlings. That is what I consider the end. It suggests a mature Christian moving on in the exercise to its completion. Then it says that David danced with all his might, clothed with a linen ephod. What a sight! The king of Israel, the greatest of his time, taking his place as a humble worshipper in the presence of the ark of God. There was sobriety in it, it was no mere religious zeal; as Paul said, “I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but utter words of truth and soberness” Acts 26:25 Such was David. And he brought the ark into the place which he had prepared for it in the city of David.
I want to leave this impression with every one here — the great importance of going on, growing to perfection, going on with the exercise that is already begun, and is nearing its completion — the exercise in regard to Christ — to the end.