WOOD - TYPICAL OF CHRIST'S MANHOOD
WOOD — TYPICAL OF CHRIST’S MANHOOD
Exodus 15:23 - 26; Nehemiah 10:34,35; Nehemiah 13:30,31
I have in mind to say something about wood - to speak of Christ, of course, but as presented in the figure of wood. Christ is in mind especially in the first scripture. The word ‘tree’ in the Authorized Version is more properly rendered ‘wood’ and inasmuch as it had to be shown, we must come to the antitype to understand that while, literally, wood is visible, this passage, in truth, refers to Christ as Man.
The typical scriptures are full of truth for our contemplation of Christ as Man, yielding much which the New Testament does not afford in detail, for the Old has the New in mind. But the Old has the same authority as the New. The Lord said of Moses’ writings: “If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me”. And then He adds, “But if ye do not believe his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” (John 5:46,47). So that Moses’ writings are, by the Lord’s own words, of the same authority as His words. When the rich man, in hades, entreated Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers as a testimony, Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them”, (Luke 16:29). And then, further, he said, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, not even if one rise from among the dead will they be persuaded”(Luke 16:31). Nothing can be more confirmatory as to — the status of the Old Testament scriptures than those words. Abraham had died before Moses wrote the five books, yet the Lord put these words in his mouth. If there is any one here who does not believe the Scriptures, there is an opportunity for him now. Paul said to Agrippa, “King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest”, (Acts 26:27).
[p. 544] No doubt Agrippa had read and believed as many do. That is, many people are not modernists or sceptics. In a certain way they accept the Scriptures. But when Paul tested Agrippa in this way, he answered, “In a little thou persuadest me to become a Christian”(Acts 26:28). But almost, as we have often said, is not enough. Faith in the inspired word is in mind. The Scriptures testify of Christ. They testify in a great variety of ways and with a great variety of glories, not the least of which is the type that is now before us in the wood that Jehovah showed Moses.
We are told that when the people came to Marah they could not drink the waters for they were bitter; therefore the name of it was called Marah. The people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And Moses “cried to Jehovah; and Jehovah shewed him wood”, (Exodus 15:25). He showed it to him! It is, in type, the kind of humanity that was in Christ. The natural eye did not see it. The natural man said, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon?” (Mark 6:3). Marvellous things were being done; great miracles and works of power; such ways and works had not hitherto been seen or heard of, and yet people had no other thought than that He was an ordinary man! So that the Lord, as His ministry proceeded, challenged His disciples, asking them as to what men were saying about Him: “Who do men say that I the Son of man am?”(Matthew 16:13) It was not simply what men thought, for many think much that they do not say. The question was. What are men saying? And the disciples immediately answered, for they were not ignorant of what men were saying. Nor should we be, if we are being faithful to the Lord. We, too, if we speak about Him to men, will bring out what their thoughts are about Christ. And so the disciples answer: “Some, John the baptist; and others, Elias; and others again,
Jeremias or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:14). None said that He was a divine Person! None knew that great and glorious Person who walked at the sea of Galilee, among the fisher people there; that One who dwelt in Capernaum — lived there as one might do here in Boddam, in a house, to be seen every day, as it were. Hundreds of years before, a prophet anticipated this and said: “The people sitting in darkness has seen a great light, and to those sitting in the country and shadow of death, to them has light sprung up”, (Matthew 4:16). But they could not name it! Such is the dullness and dimness and blindness of the natural eye! They could not name what was before them! And the Lord, in order to bring out where the disciples were in regard to this, asks, “But ye, who do ye say that I am?”. Peter answers, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15,16). But then, the Lord says, “Flesh and blood has not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens”(Matthew 16:17). The “wood” must be shown, and the Father shows it to Peter, as it were.
Well, let us consider a man like Simeon — an elderly person. He took the Babe up in his arms before. He began to walk and to speak. He took Him up in his arms and blessed God. He worshipped as he took the Babe in his arms! What made the difference between him and the ordinary person? He was the subject of God’s work; an exercised man; he had to do with God, and God had to do with him, too, for He had told him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. He believed this, and carried it in his heart as he waited. And so he saw the Lord’s Christ in that Babe, and he said, “Lord, now thou lettest thy bondman go, according to thy word, in peace; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation ... a light for revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel”, (Luke 2:29). He knew who was there, and he said what [p. 546] he knew about Him. It had been communicated to him by the Holy Spirit. It had been “shewn” to him! And he worshipped God, and spoke about Jesus, having received Him in his arms in the temple.
Well now, the average man or woman did not know Him, as I have said. Although there was much there to be seen in what Jesus did and said, yet they did not know. But then, Peter and John and James might speak together about the Lord, and what would they say? Would they not say that there was something wonderful about Him — something different from every other man with whom they had contact? At one time the disciples who were with Him when He crossed the lake in a storm and spoke to the sea and it was calm, said about Him, “What sort of man is this?” (Matthew 8:27). They were thinking aright. They were judging from what they had seen. He was different from the ordinary man; He could command the sea! Great miracles had been performed by Elijah and others, but what sort of man is this, that the wind and the waves obey Him? Such men believed; they were disciples; they began to say something about Jesus. It is a great thing when young people begin to say something that shows that their Christianity is not simply what they have heard from their parents or at the meeting, but that they have begun to see and to speak for themselves. So these men said, “What sort of man is this?”. Later, on another occasion, He not only quelled the storm and the waves, but He walked on the waves. They did not say, then, — “What sort of man is this?” (Matthew 8:27). They said, “Truly thou art God’s son”, (Matthew 14:34). That was a definite apprehension that they had acquired from what they had seen. They were making progress. They were coming to know who that blessed Man was.
Well, all that I have said, dear brethren, will indicate to you what is in mind. The wood was [p. 547] shown to Moses; attention was called to it. And so here. It is what came out in Jesus, personally, and what was called attention to. At His baptism the heavens were opened and a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight” (Matthew 3:17). Every person within the range of that voice would hear that. It was a voice calling attention to that Man; and what a Man, as I have already said. The disciples said, later, “What sort of man?”. But here it is the relation in which He stood to God. I wonder if there is any one here who has not the light of that in his soul. It is said, “He that believes on the Son has life eternal, and he that is not subject to the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him”, (John 3:36). A most solemn word! Any one refusing Him would expect to suffer; the wrath of God abides on such, alluding particularly to the Jews at that time.
You will see from what has been said, dear brethren, how the idea of ‘showing’ comes into the New Testament where we get the antitype of the wood — God calling attention to Jesus. Jehovah showed Moses the wood, as if it could not be seen otherwise; the antitype explains the position. The natural eye could not take in what was there; it had to be shown, and it was shown. God called attention to Jesus from heaven, and the works testified to Him, too, if they could see it. They were “the works which no other one has done”, (John 15:24). The Lord had to say, “Unless ye shall believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). But they ignored it; they could not see it; to them it was “this fellow” — they said, “Away with him”. But to Moses the wood was shown. I wonder if this light has come into your soul; the light from God of the knowledge of Jesus as another order of Man, different from all other men, a unique Person, no other like Him; He stands alone. But now the Spirit of God is calling [p. 548] attention to Him so that this light should be in our souls as life; that we should get the right thought of Man. It is a Man who was entirely amenable to the will of Another; He came as the sent One; and this is to be reflected in all believers, if they are to be in correspondence with the wood, for it was cast into the waters. It was amenable to the will of another. If I am to be in accord with this wood, I am to be amenable to the will of God. I must give up my own will. If I do not, although I am in fellowship, I am not different from what I was. If my will is working, I retain the old character and I am not fit, practically, for the fellowship or for the structure. Paul said, “As a wise architect, I have laid the foundation” (1 Corinthians 3:10). The dimensions were right — length and breadth — all perfect dimensions! But then, what is the quality? What is the foundation? It is Jesus Christ — He is the great foundation! And that is what I am speaking of, though in a different type. In the wilderness it was not a stone that was shown, but wood. This wood is equally a type of Christ as the stone. The structure is to be of the Peter character, and Matthew had this in mind. The foundation is Peter’s confession. It arose from the conversation to which I have already alluded. It is a fixed foundation, as I understand it. It is a fixed matter. The fixed foundation is the eternal, immovable thought. But the wood aspect is what the believer comes into — first: what the epistle to the Romans presents, who Christ is; it is “by faith of Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:22). We begin with that; we apprehend that kind of Man. The whole epistle is to dislodge the other order of man from our minds and to renew them so that we may prove “what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2). That is in the wilderness. In Exodus 15, Moses brought the people from the Red Sea into the wilderness of Shur. Naturally, we do not like the wilderness. If we are [p. 549] honest we will be inclined to say, ‘We are in this position; we cannot go back; the Red Sea is behind us; we must face the matter now’. But it is a bitter experience, and I am to begin to look for this wood — this kind of Man. He has to be shown! The people had believed on Christ, in type, as seen in Moses, but the new order of Man committed to the will of God had not yet come before their souls. We may question why we must drink this bitter water; why is there not good spring water? But the people were there — Moses had brought them there - and what were they to do — quarrel with God and with Moses? That is what they did, exactly. When the people could not drink the water, they murmured against Moses, they murmured against the authority of God in Christ! You may say, ‘I have never done that’. But are you sure? Have you not murmured against your parents, at times? Have you not murmured against the brethren and spoken against them at times? That is what the people were doing here. Jehovah did not rebuke them, because it was the beginning of things with them. God is exceedingly gracious with young believers. So He showed Moses this wood. It is the humanity of Christ; that kind of Man; different from all of us; amenable to Another; not exercising His will. When He was about to be cast into the depths, He could say, “Not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). He could not but shrink from the cross. He could say, “My Father, if this cannot pass from me unless I drink it, thy will be done”(Matthew 26:42).
You may say that you do not want to do your own will, but we must go further than that. We must say, Not my will, but Thy will. That brings me to the will of Another. Not doing my own will is a negative matter; I may do nothing! . But the will of God means that I move on. The will of God requires movement, and that may mean sorrow and [p. 550] distress; it may mean bereavement and all kinds of pressure, but it is the will of God. We are to “prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2). That is the point, dear brethren, and we would all like to have part in that kind of humanity. Many do come into it. It is what shone in Jesus as Man here below before He died and is now taken into heavenly glory. And we have liberty in this eternal condition that He has taken on; the other has been laid down. There is no difference, morally, for in the new condition He is subject to the will of God as in the old. He has laid down the flesh and blood condition, never to take it again. He took life again — He took humanity again, but in another condition, a spiritual condition, a kind of humanity in which He went through closed doors. Material things cannot control that condition.
Well, it says that Jehovah showed Moses wood, and Moses cast it into the waters. It was Jesus, entirely amenable to the will of God. And the waters were made sweet! How were they made sweet? It is the humanity of Jesus in the acceptance of the will of God “even unto death”. And it is ours to take on that kind of thing — to be submissive to the will of God. Jesus, in drinking the waters of death justified God: “Thou art holy”. And we have to drink them before partaking of that kind of humanity. You will notice that in verse 23 Marah is mentioned three times. The waters of Marah were bitter. Jesus tasted death! He tasted it in all that it meant, as we shall never taste it; yet we are to drink the waters if we are to have part in this. So that you see the casting in, and you accept that - that is the will of God. Jesus was entirely amenable to that will, and my lesson at this time, lies in that, for everything changes when that is accepted. The change is in me; that I can face death. I can face bereavement or sorrow: I can face it and bow to it.
[p. 551] But it is also a question of having part in His death, having part in His suffering, tasting death. It changes me for I begin to become like Him.
And then Jehovah says, in principle, Now that you have come to this point, I will talk about statutes. This is now the order of the day; not our wills, but His will. And so, He institutes laws and ordinances and statutes, and He says that the acceptance of these will mean that none of the diseases of Egypt shall come upon us. But we are to be entirely amenable; His will is to control us, and if so, we will be immune from the diseases of Egypt. These are not physical ills; it is a question of what is spiritual.
We have lingered considerably on what was shown to Moses, and what he did, and the effect of it, but you can see, beloved brethren, how Christianity, seen here in type, has now come into being. And how real it is! How practical it is! After this they came to another kind of water, the seventy palm trees and the twelve wells of water. This is Christianity in truth. And the point is that the saints come into the value of Christ’s humanity as He was here, and become available for the tabernacle. Hence we see the great place given, from chapter 25 to the end of the book, for the use of acacia, or shittim, wood. God is seeking to enlarge us so that we will be prepared to build a tabernacle for Him. Heaven will do it with a completely subdued people; a people that can be brought together as one; a people who say, ‘Not my will but Thine’. We can have no part with God unless by the acceptance of His will: “the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2). There will then be a representation of God’s own assembly in the locality in which we are placed, so that it can be said, in principle at least, “So also is the Christ”. What a blessed matter when it is no longer our wills but the will of God; and [p. 552] the will of the brethren, too, for we are to submit ourselves to one another.
Now I want to say a word about the wood offering. It is a unique kind of expression which is only found in Nehemiah; that is, in remnant times. Romans teaches us something about the wood offering. It is not wood for construction, because, at that time, the temple had been restored and the service of God resumed. It is kindling — firewood. It is a very great necessity, for the fire of the burnt-offering had to be kept burning all night, and it is very remarkable that Nehemiah makes such a point of it. He tells us, in chapter 10, that the brethren had committed themselves to supply the provisions for the service of God: “We made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God” (Nehemiah 10:32). The great point with any such agreement is that it is to be in accord with the mind of God, and not merely a human thought. And this was a mutual arrangement which came entirely within the scope of the mind of God. Such arrangements provide for the outflow of love. And amongst the things to be provided was the wood-offering; that is, that there should be wood in the house of God. It was wood for the fire — kindling wood. I recognise that in the types, the fire denotes judgment. But this is not the fire that is outside the camp. That is not in mind here; it is related to what goes up to God. There can be no fire without this wood. We may have hymns and words in our meetings without real stimulation, nothing kindled, as it were. This wood brings in some touch that would kindle the feelings, some touch that causes the fragrance to ascend to God. I am not overlooking the divine thought of fire; it involves suffering. I believe we get it first in Genesis 22, in a very pathetic way. Isaac called his father’s attention to the wood. The wood was there,
[p. 553] but where was the lamb for the burnt-offering? How affecting! Isaac was about to be offered up. Abraham had no other thought in his mind; it was complete self- sacrifice. The ram, caught in the thicket, became the offering. The wood was used. And now Nehemiah calls attention to it, saying that they had made an agreement among themselves to provide the wood. And what is it, but that when we come together there is some power to bring out the affections of the saints so that there is fragrance for God? That is in mind — what ascends to God in holy fragrance. We cannot do without the wood-offering. Nehemiah says, “We made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves ...”. Every one is to charge himself to have the wood. It tells what kind of man I am. Let us not be without it. It is mentioned twice in Nehemiah; almost the last words in the book refer to this wood-offering. And it is referred to earlier, when Nehemiah had severely reproved the brethren because many had married strange wives. Mixed marriages destroy the wood-offering. They are contrary to the kind of humanity that is suitable for the service of God. Nehemiah spoke plainly about it. It means in type, that there will be no wood-offering if young people are seeking wives or husbands who are unconverted or who are not walking in the will of God. We are to consider for the fire on the altar. What a fire! What a holy scene of righteousness! This wood-offering for the fire is the kind of manhood seen in Jesus; the foundation and support for the offerings. No other man, no other kind of manhood, could be in the offerings. But in Nehemiah there is this offering of firewood; it is what stimulates and kindles, so that there is fragrance for the nostrils of God in our service.
I commend these thoughts to you.