THE SERVICE OF GOD MAINTAINED IN DIFFICULT DAYS
[p. 13] THE SERVICE OF GOD MAINTAINED IN DIFFICULT DAYS
Leviticus 8:31 - 36; 2 Chronicles 13:4 - 17
JT Before proceeding to dwell on the service of God in the difficult times of which the Scriptures speak, times illustrated in 2 Chronicles 13, it is thought well that we should look at it under normal circumstances. This chapter in Leviticus depicts the consecration of the priests; it is the disclosure of the mind of God as to Christ and the saints; Christ as the true Aaron, and ourselves as the sons of Aaron. The mind of God as to the priests is depicted in the chapter so that we might have understanding of the priesthood. As the consecration takes place, the verses read show that Aaron and his sons were to abide at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night, seven days, to keep the charge of Jehovah. Then we are told in the last verse that “Aaron and his sons did all things that Jehovah had commanded by the hand of Moses”. Thus we have the position from the divine side and the service inaugurated under favourable circumstances.
WB-w Answering to what took place at Pentecost at the beginning?
JT Yes. Aaron and his sons had charge of the service of God and they were to keep that charge day and night for the whole period, the whole spiritual period; there was to be no cessation in the service. Abijah’s speech recorded in 2 Chronicles shows that the service went on in Jerusalem although the kingdom had become divided, and a state of rebellion existed. It is very beautiful to see how Abijah is able to set out the position, showing that the kingdom was set up in the hands of the sons of David. First he says, “Ought ye not to know that Jehovah the God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?” And then he exhorts the Israelites too, saying, “do not fight with Jehovah the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper”. God answered him, giving complete victory, and it is because the service of God is continued in spite of difficulties.
CG Why do you think the seven days is brought in in Leviticus?
JT I think it would be a complete period of testimony; it is to go on during the whole period, night and day; as with Anna, the prophetess, she departed not from the temple, “serving night and day with fastings and prayers”, Luke 2:37.
CG You get the same thought with Joshua in the tabernacle, do you not?
JT Yes; he remained in the tent, Exodus 33:11. It shuts out the idea of optional feeling as regards the service of God. No one can say that it makes no difference whether he is there or not. He is to be there; the service is to go on. Trifles should not be allowed to hinder us.
CAM It is a case of whether we are going on with God or whether we are fighting against God. If we really give God His place everything will be clarified, will it not?
JT Quite so. You can see the urgency of the word in the verses read in Leviticus. “Ye shall abide at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night seven days, and keep the charge of Jehovah”; and “Aaron and his sons did all things that Jehovah had commanded by the hand of Moses”. That is to call attention to the perfection of what God had inaugurated, and of course that is to continue.
Ques Would you say, too, that in Leviticus the service is to go on in freshness?
JT Yes. The priests are provided for by boiled flesh. It says, “Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of the consecration-offering, as I commanded,
[p. 15] saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it”. So they have suitable food where they are, at the entrance of the tent.
RWS What is the thought in the allusion to the handful? The note to the word consecrated at the end of verse 33 says, shall your hands be filled, and, took a handful.
JT “Ye shall not go out from the entrance of the tent of meeting seven days, until the day when the days of your consecration are at an end: for seven days shall ye be consecrated” — that is, shall your hands be filled. They would be wholly occupied with God’s service. You do not take on anything else; one’s profession, or the like, should not interfere.
CAM As to this charge and being wholly in these things, would not the fact that it is a charge, and that it is to be continued the entire period, emphasise that it is not optional?
JT I thought that the consecration means being wholly occupied with this thing, filled full. The apostles said, for instance, “It is not right that we, leaving the word of God, should serve tables”, Acts 6:2. They had in mind that they should keep to the one thing; although Paul served tables, but clearly the apostles had in mind that they should be occupied with one thing, the word of God. Here, of course, it is the charge, “keep the charge of Jehovah”.
WBW The conflict is not contemplated here. The enemy is not seen working from without in this chapter.
JT It is normal. We see in the end of Exodus that as the tabernacle was set up every item in it was functioning; nothing was idle. In Eli’s time they had beds there; the priests evidently slept there, which was never thought of primarily; day and night they were to keep the charge. So that we have in the psalms the word, “Behold, bless Jehovah, all ye servants of Jehovah, who by night stand in the house of Jehovah. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless Jehovah”, Psalm 134:1,2.
[p. 16] The house of God is not a place for sleeping, nor is it a place for eating, except the Lord’s supper; we have houses to eat in and houses to sleep in. The house of God is not for ministering to one’s natural desires or needs.
RWS “... that ye die not” — is that the other side to it? As these things become our life there is life, but as we depart from them and become lax there is death.
JT I think there is too much optional feeling amongst brethren; we may be there, or we may not be there; it makes no difference in our minds. This chapter would reverse that thought — “that ye die not”, It is a most serious penalty; it alludes to one’s neglect of the service of God, we being charged with it.
WB-w “Ye shall abide at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night”, verse 35. You would not be neglecting it if you were abiding there.
JT Quite. “Aaron and his sons did all things that Jehovah had commanded by the hand of Moses”, showing the service was carried out as directed; and of course that standard is set up and is to continue; any deviation from it comes under penalty, “that ye die not”, verse 35.
AC Referring to the food of the sons of Aaron; there is another scripture, Deuteronomy 18, that speaks of this, “the shoulder, and the jawbones, and the maw”, Deuteronomy 18:3.
JT The shoulder is a question of strength; the jawbone is for mastication, and the maw is for digestion. That is general constitutional food for the priest, but this is boiled flesh; the flesh of consecration. It is a thing by itself, a higher suggestion as to food. It is the ram of consecration. Consecration means that I am devoted to this one thing for the whole period, and this food supports me in it.
AC One is impressed with the continuity of the service — day and night.
JT The food here is boiled flesh, the flesh of [p. 17] the consecration offering, implying that the priests are absolutely devoted to the will of God. There is nothing optional in it. The priest is always ready to do the will of God; he is devoted to the will of God in His service, and if I am appropriating Christ in that way I shall be equal to the continuance of the service.
Ques Would the idea of obedience enter into these verses?
JT Clearly; the Spirit of God tells us that Aaron and his sons did all things that were commanded by the hand of Moses; that is a fine tribute, that you do what is enjoined.
RWS In addition to the flesh there is the bread in the basket. It says in verse 31, “Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting; and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of the consecration-offering”.
JT Bread in these connections is usually an allusion to the humanity of Christ, only it is not fine flour, it is actually baked; it is kept in a basket: “the bread that is in the basket of the consecration-offering”, Leviticus 8:31 It is cared for in a utensil, showing that it is a special thing; both the flesh and the bread are special. The flesh is boiled. Except for some general references in Ezekiel 46 the word ‘boil’ in this connection is scarcely used save in this chapter and in Exodus 29, where the same subject is treated of. The bread with which the flesh was eaten was in the basket of the consecration-offering; this would mean I think, that it is of very great value, kept in a vessel; and if it is not all eaten, “that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire”, verse 32. It was not allowed to be carried over; it is to ensure freshness in every eating.
WB-w What is the difference in the action of the fire between roasting and boiling?
JT The roasting is direct action of the fire, as we have often noticed, like Matthew and Mark; these gospels speak of the Lord saying, “My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me?”, Matthew 27:46. Luke and John omit that part. All the evangelists, of course, record the death of Christ; death is there, only you may have death in a modified way, so that less suffering is attached to it. So, spiritually, you omit what refers to extreme suffering at certain times.
ANW Why is making atonement linked with the consecration in verse 34? It says, “so Jehovah hath commanded to do, to make atonement for you”.
JT It is the exalted feature of the atonement as applying to priesthood. Of course that atonement applies to all christians, but then there is the exalted appropriation of it; that is, a priestly appropriation of it. The priests have a more exalted thought of everything, and God looks for a true appreciation of His things. Some are not able to appreciate them fully, but priests ought to be able to appreciate them. Paul’s thought of the death of Christ would be of this character; he says, “who has loved me and given himself for me”, Galatians 2:20; and, “as the Christ also loved the assembly, and has delivered himself up for it”, Ephesians 5:25. These are exalted thoughts as to the atonement; not simply the appeasement of God, but all that enters into it, involving love; not only love to God, though there is love to God in it, as the Lord says, “On this account the Father loves me, because I lay down my life ... .”, John 10:17. We love Him too.
Ques Would you say then that from a priestly standpoint, deep pressure and suffering only bring out the holiness of God? Psalm 22 says, “thou art holy, thou that dwellest amid the praises of Israel”, Psalm 22:3.
JT Yes; only the boiling here would mean that the priests advance more to the Person of Christ and what is in Him; not only what He has done, but what He is Himself, what is in Him; because the consecration-offering includes the Lord Himself. We are linked up with Christ in this chapter; it is the consecration of [p. 19] Aaron and his sons, so that it is personal between Him and us, so to speak.
FSC Is this word consecration the same as we get in relation to the Nazarite in Numbers 6?
JT There is a link; in Numbers it is separation; in Leviticus 8 it is “filling of hand”. It is priesthood — filled out before God, with Christ; typically seen in the chapter under consideration. It is spiritual positiveness, whereas Nazariteship is more negative — what is to be refused. As the days of his separation end, the Nazarite comes into and is marked by great spiritual wealth before God, corresponding with the priest in our chapter.
WB-w Does the basket refer to believers individually, or is it collective, referring to what took place at the day of Pentecost?
JT It is the idea of a containing vessel. The Israelites were to borrow utensils, or demand them of the Egyptians, and among these would be containing vessels. You keep things in a suitable way. Hence the woman of Sarepta whom Elijah visited, had the meal in a barrel, and the oil in a cruse. The vessels are mentioned, as though God would have things properly kept; in many instances you get this. In John 2 there were six waterpots of stone; in chapter 4 you have the woman of Samaria taking in the thought of a vessel from the Lord’s ministry: “the water which I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life”, verse 14. In him, implies the containing vessel; so she leaves her waterpot and goes away into the city, meaning that she understood the teaching. She is the best example we can get of a person absorbing the teaching.
JTJr Would it be like the Thessalonians, learning how to possess our vessels in sanctification?
JT That is it exactly. Let each one know how to do it. Some have said that our ministry is made, perhaps, too plain. The Lord does not always make [p. 20] things so plain. In what He is saying, the woman of Samaria absorbed or discerned the force of His teaching without His having to say to her, You are a vessel. He does not say that; but He does say that the water He will give anyone shall be in that person a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. Inferentially, that person is a vessel, and the woman saw that without needing to have it explained.
CAM That is very interesting. If we dwell on that in our minds we shall see the great value of being in the spirit of inquiry when the Lord makes a suggestion.
JT Yes; He says, for instance, to the disciples, “Have ye understood all these things? They say to him, Yea, Lord”. Then the Lord immediately says, “Every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens” — notice, it is one discipled; he is a learner, taking account of things, weighing them up — “is like a man that is a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old”, Matthew 13:52. He keeps the things he has learned.
CAM I was thinking of Luke 24, and the Lord making Himself known to the two on the way to Emmaus; the way He did it; the wisdom He used; the time that elapsed as He conversed with them; His going into the house; breaking the bread and giving it into their hands, etc., whether all that was not perfectly timed in accordance with their spirit of inquiry?
JT I am sure it was. The whole chapter is touching in that sense, the Lord coming down to where we are; so that He even goes in the wrong direction with us; that is, if we are in the wrong direction He even goes as far as that. If He has to do that, He is humbled in doing it. He went away from Jerusalem, but the two were brought back. They were turned back, not by His wonderful exposition of the Scripture, but by the impression left upon them when He broke the bread [p. 21] and vanished!
APT You were speaking about optional matters. Is it not incumbent upon us to follow out the assembly service weekly, each meeting inclusive of every other meeting, as far as we are able to do so? Do you think that is the suggestion in the ministry this afternoon, that we should addict ourselves to the meetings on Lord’s day and other meetings throughout the week?
JT I think that is, perhaps, the word for us now, whether each one takes it to himself. Even the announcements you make you yourself are apt to forget.
JS Is John 7 an exemplification of the working of the vessel? “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”, John 7:38.
JT Just so. They are under control; rivers are under control and have banks, so that the water is not lost; the idea of the banks is that the water is conserved, kept in a course so that it will be of use. This is God’s thought; the river is moving and carrying fructifying power with it. It conveys the idea of influence for good. In John 7 the use of the word ‘river’ would imply that the water is under control, it does not issue forth just anywhere and become lost, spilt upon the ground. The allusion, I suppose, is to Genesis 2. The river flowed out of Eden, it entered the garden, and from thence it was parted into four heads. The word heads is the literal word and is, I think, what is meant; the water is under control, four main streams under control, and it becomes universally beneficial.
JTJr Would you say the believer thus is to have himself under control? Romans 7 bears that thought, that we are to have control over ourselves.
JT Quite so. If you have received anything in the way of help of that kind, the brethren are to get the best service from it. You do not say everything that comes into your mind; you are concerned as to what you are going to say, to whom you are going to speak, and you get before the Lord about it and control what you have;
[p. 22] you do not have to say everything you know. It is just one thing at a time. Meetings for edification ought to be marked in this way.
Going on to our second scripture, Jeroboam had eight hundred thousand men under him and Abijah had four hundred thousand men, showing that those who had departed from the truth had the greater number; hence numbers do not determine anything. Abijah gives a clear account of the position. There is not much to say about this king; he is like a brother to whom God gives a place at a given time, and he does well under certain circumstances. If you inquire into his history in 1 Kings, you would not expect much, if anything, so that we are not to judge a man just by part of his history; we must get the whole of his history, and especially the part in which God used him. This chapter gives a remarkable account of a service in which God used this king, Abijah; he went up, we are told in verse 4, to the mountain of Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim. This is to his credit; he took elevated ground. He 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, to him and to his sons ... ?” 2 Chronicles 13:4,5. Jeroboam had eight hundred thousand warriors, but he was not of the house of David; he is disqualified at once. Other things, of course, modify this, but this is the truth, Jeroboam was not of the house of David. Abijah says: “But Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord. And vain men, sons of Belial, gathered to him and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, and Rehoboam was young and faint-hearted, and did not shew himself strong against them. And now ye think to shew yourselves strong against the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David; and ye are a great multitude, and ye have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam [p. 23] made you for gods. 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? whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, he becomes a priest of what is not God”, 2 Chronicles 13:6 - 9. That is a very good setting out of the truth from the standpoint of the book of Chronicles, because it is a question of the house of David. Abijah is not saying anything as to his own qualities or those of others, but that the service of God is going on according to the appointment, and that the kingdom is in the hands of the sons of David. These are the important points; that is, the counsels of God and the service of God as over against a man like Jeroboam who is not of the house of David, and has brought in idolatry. The fact that he has a great number with him does not prove anything. Five hundred thousand of Jeroboam’s chosen men were slain in the battle, 2 Chronicles 13:17.
CAM The first thing he seems to emphasise is the matter of sonship in connection with David. “Jehovah the God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt”.
JT Yes. I think it is a great point at the present time to keep the purpose of God before us, whatever has happened. Someone might say, David — what was he? Think of this, that and the other thing about him that was discreditable! But we are dealing now with the purpose of God; Abijah is dealing with the purpose of God, that God made a covenant of salt with David and his sons. The true King is the Son of David, “I am the root and offspring of David”, the Lord says, Revelation 22:16.
Rem The covenant of salt is going through.
JT Yes. Salt means what preserves; it prevents corruption.
Ques Did not Abijah appeal to the men of Israel — “Ought ye not to know?”
JT They ought to know; what he is saying is public knowledge; the Scriptures testify to it, and this is most important at the present time. The testimony of Scripture is always conclusive.
RWS Is there something of the abstract side in verse 10 where he says, “But as for us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not forsaken him”. Despite elements of forsaking, the general position was right; is that your thought?
JT I think it is in keeping with Chronicles, which gives the abstract side of David’s history; David’s great sins are omitted, or at least the worst of them are. This man must have come under divine influence for the moment, because his history does not agree with this generally, but his speech here agrees with the purpose of God. As you say, it is an abstract condition and unless we get to the abstract in a day of cloudy departure, we shall never get to the real truth of matters. The truth must go through, the Son of David is the ruler; it is a covenant of salt, it will never fail.
Ques Would you say the house of Chloe and the house of Stephanas in Corinth were holding on to the abstract truth? The current conditions were challenging the Lord and His authority in Corinth, yet there were those who were true to the position and you might say holding in their affections what they had been brought into as the mind and purpose of God.
JT Yes. If the abstract state were not in some sense corresponded to in Corinth you could not have the epistle at all, so that the apostle enjoins them to purge out the old leaven, and yet he says, “according as ye are unleavened”, 1 Corinthians 5:7. That is the abstract. You cannot have the assembly without that.
AC The Lord says, “Ye are the salt of the earth”, Matthew 5:13. In alluding to salt, would Abijah have in mind that there were some preservative features?
JT Yes. There is not only the stability of divine [p. 25] purpose, but also the great preservative element in the presence of the Spirit of God down here. The Holy Spirit has been here ever since Pentecost and so divine things have been preserved. That is the idea in the salt. The things of God go through, and will go through; the point for us is to be in that; then we are practically the salt of the earth. It says of Mary that she took “a pound of ointment of pure nard”, without a word being said in John about the alabaster box. The box would preserve, but she herself was that, in keeping with John’s gospel; like the woman in chapter 4, — she was a vessel too. So that there is the power in the saints of God through the Spirit that preserves things and carries them down. Hence Jude, in order to carry the truth down, says, “But ye, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”, Jude 20,21.
RWS In our chapter the truth is carried down. Each item Abijah mentions, he mentions as functioning normally.
JT Just so, that is what I was thinking. He goes on to say in verse 9: “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? ... But as for us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests that serve Jehovah are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites are at their work: and they burn to Jehovah every morning and every evening burnt-offerings and sweet incense; the loaves also are set in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with its lamps to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of Jehovah our God; but ye have forsaken him. And behold, we have God with us at our head, and his priests, and the loud-sounding trumpets to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, do not fight with Jehovah the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper”, 2 Chronicles 13:9 - 12. What a strong position that is! He cites the fact that the service is going on despite the conditions, and that “we have God with us at our head”. It is like the remnant in relation to Emmanuel in Isaiah, as the Assyrian comes up and goes too far, the remnant says, “God is with us”. If the enemy interferes with Emmanuel’s land, God will deal with him.
CAM A true priest really has everything. Abijah shows that Judah had everything pertaining to the service of God. Do you think the gospel of Luke shows that Jerusalem, whatever else could be said about it, was at least in a central position and that the service was there?
JT The Lord leaves the disciples engaged in the service; they were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. That is the end of Luke. In the beginning of the Acts we have at the end of chapter 2 the description of what was there; it shows the service of God going on whatever happens.
FSC It says in 1 Kings in regard to Abijah that God gave him a lamp for David His servant’s sake.
JT That is in agreement with the position here. It is a question of David. It is the purpose of God, what God has decreed must go through, and that is the point he makes here. I think this is the saving position of Abijah, that he can say this. He does not call attention to himself, but to David; he does not say, “the son of David”, but, “the sons of David”. It is the general position right down to Christ.
ABP The chronicler records, “And the rest of [p. 27] the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his sayings, are written in the treatise of the prophet Iddo”, 2 Chronicles 13:22. That would bear on what is said in this chapter, it forms a basis for prophetic ministry in a sense.
JT Yes. That his life was recorded by the prophet is very suggestive. That service begins with David’s life, of which Samuel, Nathan and Gad wrote. The acts of Solomon were also written by prophets, and now “the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his sayings, are written in the treatise of the prophet Iddo”. A prophet discerns and is likely to record the doings of a servant according to his motives, and that is really how they should be recorded. What motives have you? You may fail in them, but the underlying motives are what God looks at. He looks at the heart.
APT Is that so with Zacharias in Luke 1? God was looking at the underlying motives — he really had right thoughts in relation to the service of God.
JT Yes. There must have been something that God would carry through to bring him out in such a remarkable way at the end of the chapter, because he speaks wonderfully after his mouth was opened.
SF Was not Abijah’s testimony rendered in the sphere of Jeroboam’s influence — in the territory over which was king — in mount Ephraim? He rendered his testimony in the sphere of rebellion.
JT Quite so; it was in the territory of Jeroboam, where the testimony was needed.
ANW The loud-sounding trumpets are there as well as the service of God, and as the attack is made by Jeroboam they are sounded; that is part of the service: “and the loud-sounding trumpets to sound an alarm against you”, 2 Chronicles 13:12.
JT I suppose the allusion is to Numbers 10: it speaks there of the use of these trumpets at such a time. It would confirm how the service of God is carried on even in the battlefield: “And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before Jehovah your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies”, Numbers 10:9. They were doing that, they carried the testimony right into the battlefield; they did not neglect that part of it.
Rem Would that not be encouraging, that in spite of all the pressure in Europe the service goes on?
[p. 28] JT That is the whole point of our reading. Think of our brethren, many of them under great pressure, and how stimulating it is to hear from time to time that the meetings go on as usual! And they will go on, doubtless, by God’s help.
FNW Is the threat to the service of God at present largely political, and are we to expect the threat religiously according to this chapter?
JT Well, the present attack is not directly against the saints, though the enemy is evidently trying to dislocate the service of God. It is an international matter, it is a world matter, but it affects us as in the world, and the question is how we move. In chapter 15 God says to Asa, “Jehovah is with you while ye are with him”, 2 Chronicles 15:2. We are to find out what God has in His mind in all that is transpiring, because the nations are under Him, and as God sees us exercised in that way He says, I am with you. That is the point Abijah makes here; he says, “And behold, we have God with us at our head”, a very remarkable thing; not captain, but head, corresponding with what David had said, “thou art exalted as Head”, 1 Chronicles 29:11. Who can stand against the wisdom of God?
JTJr You might say the highest point is touched in that reference of David; he says, “thou art exalted as Head above all”, I suppose David there touches the highest point of his ministry.
JT I thought that Abijah seems to have been helped of God; it would seem he was taken out of himself; he was taken to the mount of God and God helped him to set out the truth in this striking manner, ending up with this remarkable statement: “And behold, we have God with us at our head, and his priests, and the loud-sounding trumpets to sound an alarm against you”, 2 Chronicles 13:12. If Jeroboam had read Numbers 10 he would have known that Abijah must have meant that he was an enemy of God’s people.
[p. 29] Rem Despite his testimony Jeroboam went on to make a desperate attack by ambush; it shows the hardening of the heart.
JT Quite so, and that is what is going on now; this testimony that Abijah sounds out from the mountain has been going on for one hundred years or more, calling attention to the purpose of God, that the rule is in the hands of David and his sons; and calling attention to the service of God, the priests of God and the Levites of God, and that God is with certain people. Well, what are the others doing? They are carrying on, and attacking what is of God, so that their position is most serious.
Ques Do you think the remedy with us is to thoroughly judge ourselves?
JT Quite so. These trumpets imply that. We should hear them, they are loud-sounding ones, meaning that the testimony is sounded out.
WB-w We are to keep going on with the sons of David in the kingdom, in the public side; and with the sons of Aaron in the house, in the private side; is that how the service goes on?
JT Yes.
WB-w And when the crisis comes in the battle they cry out to Jehovah, verse 14.
JT You can see how lawlessness moves in verse 13. After all this wonderful speech of Abijah it says, “But Jeroboam 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; and they cried to Jehovah, and the priests sounded with the trumpets”. They sounded at the right time. “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”, verses 13 - 15. It is remarkable, showing how the opposition has gone on in spite of [p. 30] the testimony God is giving, but that God is dealing with it and will deal with it. The book of Revelation, of course, opens up with this solemn fact of what God will do; what God will do with all the elements of opposition to Himself.
RWS Is this ambush like the enemies of the truth going back to ministry of one hundred years ago in order to attack and refute current ministry?
JT Quite so; the ambush, I think, is the idea of encirclement. You see, there is no hope for Judah at all; the enemy are just getting around them and they are in the midst, but the men of Judah (and there you have the purpose of God) shouted, and God moved for them.
ARS This scripture seems to throw a great deal of light upon all the divisions of the last one hundred years; it is rebellion that is at the bottom of the whole history. Why is it that though Abijah makes such a very clear statement, and seems to be a valuable man, yet he only lasts three years?
JT Well, this is his best year; this is the best bit of work he did. You would not think much of him if you confined yourself to the book of Kings; but I think it is wonderful that God can use a man who is not perhaps equal to what he is saying, but is saying what is right. We have already had it that there were things that Joab dedicated, and that Abner dedicated and that Saul dedicated. What is right is right, in whomsoever it is found.
CAM Do you think that where there is a rebel condition, or some unusual situation, it would be like God to use an unlikely sort of man? As you say, there does not seem to be anything to say in favour of this man except what this chapter gives us, but evidently he was the right man for the moment.
JT You have an instance of it too in Balaam: remarkable prophecies, but the man not at all in keeping with them. So with a man like Jehu, greatly used against [p. 31] a certain evil and yet poorly formed. We must go on with what is done, if right, and value it because of what is in itself. So Abijah exposes Jeroboam’s evil conduct; he exposes the evil, but he brings out the good in a beautiful way, and from an elevated position — from the top of the mountain.