THE FEMININE SIDE OF THE WORK OF GOD
[p. 65] THE FEMININE SIDE OF THE WORK OF GOD
Numbers 26: 33; Numbers 27: 1 - 11; Numbers 36: 1 - 13
JT I thought that the book of Numbers speaks of the work of God and hence we have references to the ages of the people. Whilst the family side is not so stressed as in other books, yet it is found in the passages we have read. The early part of the book speaks of persons being numbered from twenty years old and upward for military service, and from a month old and upward for levitical service, and later from thirty years to fifty years. These facts call attention to the latitude afforded to the work of God. The Spirit being here ensures that the work of God will proceed, and so the persons were numbered according to their ages and work given to them which was suitable to such ages. There is the equipping them for military service and in connection with that the idea of walking. Jehovah said He taught Ephraim to walk, which is a mark of growth. In going through the book the brethren will see that typically there is great latitude for the work of God in its variations, freshness and features of life.
It was thought now, that we might have opportunity to speak of the feminine side of the work of God which the daughters of Zelophehad suggest. It is a most interesting side, and necessarily leads to the truth of the assembly, but chapters 26 and 27 give us the thoughts of God as to marriage, and other family features in which God has His rights. It was thought that the Lord would help us to look at these scriptures having in mind what has been said. The subject itself, apart from the contents of the book generally, is of the greatest importance at the present time, because of certain looseness amongst the brethren. Firstly, there is the inheritance itself and how these women show an appreciation of it. And then the thoughtfulness and a sense of [p. 66] responsibility in the fathers of the tribes in chapter 36, with a view to maintaining the inheritance of God intact according to the number twelve, into which it is seen divided up so often in the Scriptures. We see that in the twelve tribes, their relations affording so much latitude for love; love in the working out of divine rights. It is important to note that these women had a sense of the moral side. Their father had died in his own sin, he was not with them that banded themselves against Jehovah in the band of Korah; that is, he was not a man who would be led by a party spirit, and Jehovah recognises that, for sin is graded. He recognises what they say, and says, “The daughters of Zelophehad speak right”. And then later we have the care of the fathers so that the inheritance should not be in any way dislocated, that the inheritance of the tribes should be kept to each tribe and the divine idea in the tribes, which involves love, should be thus maintained. Earlier we get the thought in the sons of Jacob, they are recorded as being 12, the numeral which involves the activities of love among them.
GHP In referring to the feminine side, do I understand that you are referring to a certain feature of the work of God that should be seen in all the saints, not in sisters alone?
JT Quite so. I think that is one feature that runs through Numbers. The work of God is contemplated in its varied features, and we see the beautiful traits of love in which the rights of each and all are recognised.
GHP Does what is suggested in the feminine side lead on to the enjoyment of the inheritance, whereas the masculine side is connected more with the military position?
JT I am sure of that. It is not only a matter of marital relations, but the larger and greater thought; the tribal thought is involved, and how the [p. 67] inheritance of God is treasured in it. Selfishness is shut out by the working of love. In marriage and such like matters there is a tendency towards selfish ness, whereas love thinks of others, and that is what the fathers in chapter 36 represent, I think. The women were regulated as is seen in the fact that they were married according to the word of Jehovah.
HB What would answer to the thought of the inheritance today?
JT That is a leading point. It is said in verses 53 to 56 of chapter 26, “Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Unto these shall the land be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names; to the many thou shalt increase their inheritance, and to the few thou shalt diminish their inheritance; to every one shall his inheritance be given according to those that were numbered of him. Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot; according to the names of the tribes of their fathers shall they inherit; according to lot shall his inheritance be divided to each, be they many or few in number”. The lot requires that God’s rights are maintained. It is not a question simply of each of the tribes, each to himself, or each to his family, but the lot decides, and that makes room for God’s rights. In the size of the tribe there is the suggestion that the work of God is in mind. If there be any defects which might tend to reduce the number, all that has to be provided for. So that the work of God is bound to come into it, no matter how we look at it.
Ques In what way are you viewing the tribes here? I can see that they are connected with the idea of love, there being twelve tribes, but practically for us what do they represent? Is it the saints in a local setting, or are you just applying the thought to the principle of love in its working?
JT It would be more the local idea, I thought, but all the tribes are in mind. They came into evidence [p. 68] at the outset under extraordinary circumstances, having different mothers, which reminds us that no matter how incongruous we may think things are outwardly, there is nothing incongruous inwardly. In the book of Revelation we have a reference to the twelve tribes of Israel in chapter 7; then in chapter 14, where they are seen with the Lamb, and again in chapter 21.
FI Have you in mind that the administrative side as suggested in the twelve tribes goes through to the end, but that it is governed by the feminine thought?
JT Well, that is so. We see therefore the subjective side, and the work of God would peculiarly enter into that. It is the rights of God, His authoritative rights in the assembly. We have the presence of the Holy Spirit with us, and that will continue from the outset to the end of the dispensation; this results in the subjective side being maintained, and room must be made for that side. That is what these women represent, and God was pleased by their statements; they justify themselves in their words, for God says that they “speak right”. This is a great matter as to the feminine side, that things that are said are right and free from selfishness.
AED The chief fathers would suggest that a mistake on the feminine side could have upset things; so that side seems to be very important.
JT The results of the choice made by these women are remarkable, and show how they were regulated by what is right; that is, by what God had prescribed. It is said of these women, “Even as Jehovah had commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; and Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their uncles’ sons”, (chapter 36). Their names are all mentioned and these verses show that they were regulated by the divine word, by the commandment of God. The subjective [p. 69] right of the Spirit of God is shown in the commandments, as Paul said, “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognise the things that I write to you, that it is the Lord’s commandment”, 1 Corinthians 14: 37. That governs the whole of the epistle to the Corinthians.
Ques In Numbers 36 there is restriction to the one tribe; how do you understand that?
JT They are to be governed by divine regulations. They are to keep within their own tribe, and, of course, if each tribe followed the divine commandment they would all be governed aright. There will be no dislocation or one tribe having more than another unduly; the divine mind comes into it. We must remember that the tribes were not a mere accident, what happened was exactly what was in the divine mind.
JW Would we be encouraged to see here that there is true liberty under obligations? They can marry whomsoever they please, only in their own tribe.
JT Quite so. It is liberty under obligation. We see that worked out in 1 Corinthians 7: 39; where a widow is said to be free to be married to whom she will; “only in the Lord”.
Ques Each one is to marry in his own tribe according to Numbers 36, how do you view the tribe in that particular setting?
JT I think it works out in relation to our responsibility; their responsibility was in the tribe, ours is “in the Lord”. We must recognise that God’s will enters into the smallest detail as well as into big things, and hence, whether it be a brother or a sister, and the question of marriage arises, there must be some recognition of God in what is happening, so that love may be seen to comply with the will of God. It is no accident. In Romans 8 the Lord is said to be “first-born among many brethren”. Well,
[p. 70] we may be sure that the word “many” means many, but it fits exactly with the divine mind. So it says in the previous verse, “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to purpose”. It is “work together”; the working goes on. It is a tribute to the power of God; what is of God goes on and it works together for good. The love of God is seen in the fact that all in our lives works together for good.
CD It says in Exodus 2, “And a man of the house of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi”. Did he consider for his tribe in that way and do we see things maintained in Moses as a result?
JT Yes, you are speaking about Moses’ father. What comes out there bears on this very point. It is a question of the levitical tribe and the accuracy of the mind of God working out in it. It says later on, “This is that Moses and Aaron”. They are a product of the mind of God, they were needed in the testimony, and they were there, and though Aaron was three years older than Moses, which might entail some exercises with him, yet Moses had the lead.
SB These five women got light from God as a result of feminine exercise, and would not further light as to maintaining the inheritance in the tribe be forthcoming?
JT Quite so. These tribes run down the line for centuries, and God is watching over them from the very outset, for the result has to be in accordance with the divine mind. We can test that out by reference to the Scriptures and we shall see that the divine mind ran through and all that had to do with it were subject. It is a question of subjection.
JM Are these restrictions as to the tribes to conserve what is for God in its own setting?
JT Just so. God did what He had in His mind. Things happen in our histories that are incongruous,
[p. 71] but we can be sure that God will reach the result. The time is, however, long, and the divine thought as to the tribes runs through the Old Testament from Jacob. It runs through on the official side in Moses and Aaron, the royal side in David and Solomon, the prophetic side in various prophets, the apostolic side in Paul. These all touch on it. Then it is tested out in the book of Revelation, where in chapter 7 we see the number out of each tribe sealed. How interested God was in the sealing. Then in chapter 14 there were one hundred and forty-four thousand who are with the Lamb on mount Zion. There can be no doubt that the exact number are there. Then all that follows in chapter 14 is the moral side. How perfect it all is, as answering to the position of Christ Himself in view of the millennium. In the book of Ezekiel too, the same thing comes out. It says, “these bones are the whole house of Israel” (Ezekiel 37: 11), and although they are all dead they are made to live. All this affords much food for the brethren as to the accuracy of the mind of God and the excellency of the work of God, and how important it is to be in the light of God’s counsels and to be governed by them.
Rem The apostle Paul in the Acts refers to “our whole twelve tribes serving incessantly day and night”.
JT That is a remarkable reference. The question arises when we arrive at a peculiar crisis in our history, not only in humanity, but particularly in the assembly, as to whether things are working out in our souls and in our bodies and in our minds, to throw aside the enemy’s work and to maintain what is of God in the testimony.
Ques In chapter 36 the inheritance of the fathers is referred to several times. Does it suggest that we should value what has come down to us through the [p. 72] labours and conflicts of our fathers, especially in connection with the truth governing marriages?
JT Well, that is good. The question of marriage is important. We use the words mixed marriages which is a reproach of course, but it is brought into evidence so frequently amongst the brethren. It is important that the will of God should prevail in our households, and that the principles of the world should be shut out, so that there is no seeking after money and the like, but the matter before us is households in the testimony. We see later how the widow had enough so that the man of God might live in her household. The Lord is helping us on these lines. God is taking care of these sisters. So as regards marriage, sisters may count on God to do the best for them, because He can do better for them than they can do for themselves. These women came out well and in a victorious way morally and they spoke well, as Jehovah says of them. They spoke in the presence of Moses and Eleazar and before the princes and the whole assembly. They were not afraid to say what was right and God approved it.
GHP Is chapter 27 more the personal or individual setting, suggesting perhaps the family side, too? It says, “The daughters of Zelophehad speak right”. Then is chapter 36 more the tribal setting? “The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well”. Is that the truth carried forward to the assembly position?
JT It is the idea of nobility and intelligence — Joseph’s tribe. God would exalt His own thoughts in these tribes. We see here that spiritual men are acting, so that you have God’s word confirmed in what they are doing.
Rem These women must have been very lovable to God as coming forward here. In chapter 27 they were not looking for husbands, but for the inheritance [p. 73] that God was bringing them into and they wished to have their part in it.
JT Very beautiful. The word is, “Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad ...” Then in verse 7 of chapter 27, the inheritance is spoken of and those who are to inherit. These women were seeking the mind of God. God’s mind has been active on the point, and we want to be in it. We do not want to be selfish, but we do want to have part in the inheritance. They say, “Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the band of them that banded themselves together against Jehovah in the band of Korah; but he died in his own sin, and he had no sons”. And then the question, “Why should the name of our father be taken away from his family, because he has no son? Give unto us a possession among the brethren of our father. And Moses brought their cause before Jehovah”. We can clearly see that heaven is pleased with this whole position. “And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, The daughters of Zelophehad speak right; thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them”. It seems as if God was saying that they are entitled to credit. If a man fails as their father did, there may be blemishes and faults, but at the same time there is something good, and if God can approve us in any way He will do so. That is a great comfort to children. God is noticing here what the daughters of Zelophehad are saying and He would bring their father into prominence even after he died. It comes into evidence that there is something there that God can approve.
HB Do these sisters stand out as an example of the generation that goes into the land, and which had been produced by the exercises of [p. 74] the wilderness?
JT Well, exactly. We have the subjective idea there. Although they came by themselves they are insisting on the inheritance of their father, and God says that they speak right. The mind of God is maintained in that sense. The Spirit of God works in the saints thus; it is the power of God, and this is the way it works out. The result comes out in these women, and the Spirit of God refers to them again in chapter 36. In chapter 27 they are seen moving toward Jehovah, as it says, “Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad ... and they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and the whole assembly, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the band of them that banded themselves together against Jehovah in the band of Korah; but he died in his own sin, and he had no sons”. They are in a public position, but not in the sense of being before the world, but it is in the sight of heaven.
SG Is it not a great matter that these sisters spoke right? In relation to a crisis is it not important that there should be right speaking continually?
JT Very good. We are apt to speak loosely and when sisters get together, and brothers too, they do not always say what is right. We see in the book of Esther a group of women in the king’s house, and they did not say what was right. It is better for brothers and sisters to be together and to speak one to another, for in that there is regulation and safety. This chapter is signalised as indicating the work of God, how it works out in asserting the mind of God; the inheritance goes according to lot, but it is according also to the comparative size of each tribe.
Ques Would you say that, speaking practically, the exercises indicated in chapter 27 would need to [p. 75] be taken up and entered into before we would be prepared to accept the restrictions mentioned in chapter 36? There is the desire for the inheritance but there is truth also in what is said and acknowledged.
JT Well, we come now to the fathers, the fathers of the tribe of Joseph in chapter 36. It says here that “Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of Jehovah, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well”. It is a similar statement to what had been said about the five sisters earlier. Then it goes on to say in chapter 36, “This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry whom they please; only they shall marry one of the tribe of their father”. They may marry ‘him who is good in their eyes’, as the footnote reads. 1 Corinthians 7 would correspond to this, that a sister is “free to be married to whom she will, only in the Lord”. So that there is the idea of a personal choice, at the same time the divine regulation of “in the Lord” which must govern us at all times. Many stumble at that, and sometimes it is said that the person concerned is a Christian, but then are they in fellowship? That is the test. This is where the crisis lies. So it says, “Let them marry whom they please; only they shall marry one of the tribe of their father”. Then the general idea comes in as applying to all, but “The children of Israel may possess every one of the inheritance of his fathers, and the inheritance shall not pass from one tribe to another tribe; for each of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep to his inheritance”. The portion of each is part of the whole inheritance, and it is his, but he must keep to it. Then it says, “Even as Jehovah had commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad”.
Ques Would you say that “in the, Lord” is to be understood in the light of what you have just been drawing our attention to?
JT I would say that. It is not simply that the person is a Christian, but that the bond is to be in the Lord, and that brings in the authority of the Lord.
JCT Is it important that it is the tribe of the sons of Joseph in this chapter? I thought Joseph would be in principle the overcomer and would link on with the word in Revelation 21, “He that overcomes shall inherit these things”.
JT You are stressing the point that it is the sons of Joseph in Numbers 36.
JCT I was thinking that in Joseph we see very much the spirit of the overcomer and such comes into the inheritance.
JT We are told in Genesis 48 that Joseph has one tract of land above his brethren and in the book of Ezekiel also we see that Joseph has two portions (Ezekiel 47: 13).