NEARNESS TO GOD
[p. 100] NEARNESS TO GOD
Exodus 19:1 - 6; Numbers 11:1 - 3; Deuteronomy 25:17 - 19
In reading these passages I desire to point out the advantages there are in being near to God, and the disaster which overtakes those who hold themselves at a distance. In Psalm 148:14 it says, “He hath lifted up the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints, even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Hallelujah!” This verse is calculated to make us appreciate nearness to God, to make it attractive to us; “a people near unto him. Hallelujah!” This is what Jehovah had in view when He brought Israel out of Egypt; He said to them, “I have borne you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself”, Exodus 19:4. He had not yet brought them into Canaan, but to Himself. He then indicates to them what they were to be, “Then shall ye be my own possession out of all the peoples — and ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation”.
It may be beneficial and exercising to speak for a moment to those who are holding themselves at a distance. We find in this passage in Numbers 11, that there were murmurings from those who were in the extremity of the camp; those who were choosing to occupy a position as far as possible from the divine dwelling. Outwardly they belonged to the camp, but they kept at the extremity of it. This reminds us, dear brethren, that if in our souls we keep at a distance from God and from His dwelling place we shall be inclined to complain. This spirit of complaint is found in such brothers and sisters; whilst those who are near to God and who enjoy assembly privileges do not complain. Those keeping near to God have no reason to complain; there will be no complaints in heaven. Complaints will only arise in our hearts if we keep at a distance from God [p. 101] and from His dwelling place, such as at the extremity of the camp, at the border of the world, whence our eyes begin to turn towards the world.
God desires that we be near to Himself, and all those who love Him and who are still in the wilderness will keep near Him. When bringing His people out of Egypt, He speaks of those who love Him, He says that He shows “mercy unto thousands of them that love me”, Exodus 20:6. There are still lovers of God on the earth, and such will seek to keep themselves near Him, because love hates the distance which separates it from its object. In like manner God hated the distance that existed between Himself and His people in Egypt, so He bore them on eagles’ wings and brought them to Himself, desiring to dwell in their midst, and that they should make Him a dwelling place. The cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle; in other words He came to dwell in the habitation that the people had prepared for Him, and from it He spoke to His people and invited them to draw near to Him. They must come with their offerings; that is to say we must approach God having Christ in our hearts; it is through Him we have access by one Spirit to the Father. Thus dwelling with His people in the wilderness, God is sought after by those who love Him; those remaining in the extremity of the camp show no sign of love for God. It may be that we are the Lord’s; the saints at Corinth certainly belonged to the Lord, they had the Spirit, but were in danger of being judged with the world, so God had to act towards them as He does towards unconverted people. Likewise we see Eutychus who also was in the upper room, seated at the window, whence he could look outside, to the world, instead of seeing all that was happening inside. God had placed His dwelling in the midst of His people whom He loved, and the love He had for Eutychus should have led him to draw near to Him, and not to look outside towards the world. In this [p. 102] position that he was occupying by the window, Eutychus was overpowered by deep sleep, and fell from the third storey down to the bottom. This is an example of the danger to which one is exposed who keeps at a distance. Eutychus was not complaining, but he was overpowered by sleep and he fell. In our chapter in Numbers certain ones complained; they were not overcome by sleep, but they were complaining against God, “and the fire of Jehovah burned among them, and consumed some in the extremity of the camp”.
It is possible, alas, dear brethren, to be only outwardly near to God, like Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, who offered strange fire. It is the activity of the will in one ministering in the assembly, like it was at Corinth, where believers were behaving wrongly even at the Lord’s supper. This is a solemn matter, for the activity of self-will in the assembly is still more serious than it is outside, and may result in one coming under judgment for his wrong conduct in the assembly. However, I am speaking now of persons keeping in the extremity of the camp; they do not typify those who are active in the assembly, but rather those who neglect the meetings, preferring to remain at home rather than make the short journey necessary to be found amongst the saints; remaining at home they pass their time perhaps in worthless reading or in pleasure, or even in bad company. It is almost certain that such persons will be murmurers, and as such will come under the governmental ways of God. Their place in the meeting is empty. God takes account of seats that are empty instead of being filled by those who love Him, and the saints feel these absences too. So we find here that “the fire of Jehovah burned among them, and consumed some in the extremity of the camp”. Take care of this, dear young friends, for although we are in the dispensation of grace, it says, “Our God is a consuming fire”, Hebrews 12:29. It is not the God of Israel but “our God”, the God of those who love Him. It is quite a normal thing for God [p. 103] to be a consuming fire; nothing purifies better than fire, and those who love God in reality, are thankful for that which purifies. We certainly do not wish that anyone amongst us should be destroyed — far be the thought! but God is a consuming fire, and we are glad that corruption should be destroyed. The apostle says, “If any one love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha”, 1 Corinthians 16:22. There is no compromise with the flesh in the house of God. In the case of Nadab and Abihu there went out fire from before Jehovah and devoured them, because they had offered strange fire, this strange fire being evidence of self-will, and of the work of the enemy behind it. As I have already said, the Corinthians were in danger, through their evil conduct, of being judged with the world. “On this account”, Paul says, “many among you are weak and infirm, and a good many are fallen asleep”, 1 Corinthians 11:30. He tells them also, “If any one corrupt the temple of God, him shall God destroy”, 1 Corinthians 3:17. It can be seen therefore how serious a matter it is that anyone amongst us should remain in the extremity of the camp.
Before returning to Exodus, I would like to speak about those who lagged behind through weakness (Deuteronomy 25:17,18). It says, “Remember what Amalek did unto thee on the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; how he met thee on the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, all the feeble that lagged behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary, and he feared not God”. It is not there a question of self-will showing itself in murmuring, but a state of feebleness in those that lagged behind. We are exhorted to sustain the weak, and to “make straight paths for your feet, that that which is lame be not turned aside; but that rather it may be healed”, Hebrews 12:13. This is the responsibility of those who are strong, who should sustain the weak and not please themselves. However, it is not this side which is occupying us for the moment; I ought to ask myself, why I am weak, why have I to lag behind? Is there not [p. 104] sufficient good food at my disposal? Or am I in a poor spiritual state of health which does not allow me to assimilate my food and develop a good constitution? Maybe I do not read the Scriptures, or do not meditate, or do not pray, or read the ministry that God places within my reach. In that case the remedy is in my own hands; it is for me then to judge my neglect, to turn to God about it, and to take advantage of the great amount of food that He has put at my disposal. If, on the other hand, I am not well, and I am ill, there is the Great Physician to turn to. The apostles had received power to cure diseases.
I believe the Spirit of God contemplates the possibility of an epidemic spreading amongst the saints; a contagious disease can spread in various localities. There are also instances of disease which is not contagious; but whether one or the other, there is the Great Physician; why not turn to Him? “Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there?” Jeremiah 8:22. Yes, both are there, and this Physician can cure all the various diseases we have just spoken of. The apostle Peter speaks of desiring earnestly “the pure mental milk of the word, that by it ye may grow”, 1 Peter 2:2. It is a matter of the mental milk of the word, so that by means of such nourishment I should no longer remain in a state of infancy: instead of weakness, strength would be developed, such as would enable me to contend with the horses and face the Jordan in flood (Jeremiah 12:5). In David’s time there were those who crossed the Jordan when it was overflowing its banks, a feat requiring both energy and strength. Why then, dear brethren, are there so many amongst us who lag behind because of weakness? The divine thought is that there should not be a single weak one amongst us. It says here that Amalek “smote the hindmost of thee, all the feeble that lagged behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary”. You can see the danger they were exposed to; Amalek smote them. You are so weak in such a case [p. 105] through lack of food, that the enemy works through the flesh in you and stumbles you; possibly you even cease to be in fellowship with your brethren.
Having looked at the danger there is in keeping at a distance, let us now speak for a moment of the blessings resulting from nearness. It says, “In the third month after the departure of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai ... and encamped in the wilderness”, Exodus 19:1,2. The Spirit of God is thus taking account of the time that has passed, so to speak, from your conversion until now. The children of Israel were so attracted that they entered upon the wilderness. Later on God could say, “I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown”, Jeremiah 2:2. The word says, “they departed from Rephidim”. Having engaged in the great battle of Rephidim, they are now considered to be warriors of God, and Amalek is powerless. This represents a believer who has discovered that the Holy Spirit has been given through the death of Christ, through His sufferings; not even by His ascension, but by the sufferings of Christ. The Israelites had thirsted, and had murmured, so God commanded Moses to come before Him with the elders of Israel, and with the staff with which he had smitten the river, and said to him, “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock on Horeb; and thou shalt strike the rock, and there shall come water out of it”, Exodus 17:6. That refers to the sufferings of Christ in a way calculated to touch us. Jesus has been smitten; the water came out; that is to say, the Spirit was there. So we learn that we can only receive the Spirit through the sufferings of Jesus. In John 7:39 we learn that Jesus must be glorified before the Spirit would come; however, before being glorified He had to suffer. If He had entered into glory without these sufferings, we could not have received the Spirit. It is as we recognise [p. 106] what we are according to flesh that the Spirit comes, so that the flesh in us might be kept in check. It is thus that the Spirit’s coming is presented in this chapter, and so it is possible to obey and do what Jehovah requires in Exodus 19:5,6. Satan working in the flesh was overcome at the battle of Rephidim and the people are now in a normal position. They have departed from Rephidim, Moses having built an altar there; “Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi” (Exodus 17:15), meaning ‘Jehovah my banner’. God Himself is our banner. It is a matter of the power of the Spirit of God in us, dear brethren, as we learn in the epistle to the Romans. So we have the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt; their departure from Rephidim, and their arrival in the wilderness of Sinai; they encamped in the wilderness before the mountain. All this is in type for the help of the saints, for God desires to give us as much as possible, so in verses 4 - 6 He makes a proposal to them. Does this not attract us? Can we be content to remain in the extremity of the camp, exposed to Amalek who falls on the hindmost of the people, on the feeble that lag behind? In spite of such a proposal on the part of God, can we do that, we, whom He calls His “own possession” or His “inheritance”? God says, “Jehovah’s portion is his people; Jacob the lot of his inheritance”, Deuteronomy 32:9. We need the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him, so that we should know “what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”, Ephesians 1:18. God is stressing His eternal thoughts concerning us, that we should be near to Him, and responsive to the love that He has manifested in the power of the Spirit whom we have received. In view of all this, He says, “All the earth is mine”.
God is bringing out that we are for Him, and therefore He is pleased to take up certain ones to form them so that they may render to Him intelligently the response that He expects. He is saying, so to speak, “I do not seek yours, but you” (2 Corinthians 12:14); for “Every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle upon a thousand hills”, Psalm 50:10. Not only does He want a treasure, but He also wants priests. “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests”; it is here not a matter of the family of one man, but of the whole company of priests, as the New Testament refers to it, “To him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in his blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father: to him be the glory and the might to the ages of ages”, Revelation 1:5,6. That is the divine thought, dear brethren: we are a holy priesthood and finally a holy nation. National feeling is very active at the present time; there are great nations and small nations, and the great ones are not backward in asserting their greatness, but what is referred to here cannot be found on earth, a holy nation. For us it is more than a holy nation, for we belong to the assembly, and God has made us His sons. “When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, come of woman, come under law, that he might redeem those under law, that we might receive sonship. But because ye are sons, God has sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father”, Galatians 4:4 - 6. Thus it is not a question only of a nation, but of a company of sons in the enjoyment of the nearness of this relationship, who are saying, “Abba, Father”. Such are the great, blessed and dignified privileges, dear brethren, of those who are in relation with God through redemption, and who in this relationship address Him with the same liberty as He to them. Jesus in Gethsemane said to His Father, “Abba, Father”; so we also in this holy nearness, have the privilege of saying, “Abba, Father”.