HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH LEADING TO THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD AND HIS SERVICE (5)
[p. 19] HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH LEADING TO THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD AND HIS SERVICE (5)
Exodus 4: 27 - 31; Ephesians 2: 18 - 22; Isaiah 56: 1 - 8
The levitical feature of the household of faith becomes the link with the household of God, and this leads to worship. Exodus 4: 31 says, “And when they heard that Jehovah had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped”.
Levi is marked by saying to his father and mother, “I see him not” (Deuteronomy 33: 9). He took the Lord’s side in a crisis. He was not governed by natural feelings or affections. Levi marks the side that links on with God. In Ephesians 2: 18 it says, “For through him we have both access by one Spirit to the Father”. This is priestly privilege. “So then ye are no longer strangers and foreigners, but ye are fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the household of God”. The link thus is in the levitical element. Isaiah 56 shows how it is maintained practically by those who keep the covenant.
Ques Was Moses’ reticence in approaching the children of Israel (chapter 4) modesty or reserve?
JT It is a very serious thing to resist God. Moses protests he cannot speak and God mentions Aaron. If he cannot undertake it alone God is not taken by surprise: He has Aaron in readiness. It says, “And Moses said to Jehovah, Ah Lord! I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant, for I am slow of speech”, or ‘heavy of mouth’, “and of a slow tongue. And Jehovah said to him, Who gave man a mouth? or who maketh dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? have not I, Jehovah? And now go, and I will be with thy mouth, and will teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, Ah Lord! send, I pray thee, by the [p. 20] hand of him whom thou wilt send. Then the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well” (Exodus 4: 10 - 14). Aaron represents resources known in secret history. However distinguished a servant may be he must remember that God can get along without him, and that He can do it without impoverishing anything. Jehovah does not push Aaron. He merely says, “Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother?” Moses would imply an aspersion on God, as if He did not know. Later on he blames God (Numbers 11), so that the seventy are given, but there is no more power, it is distributed. It is only as Moses protests that God brings on Aaron. It brings out what is in our hearts — that we are not slow to cast aspersions on God. The sequel shows what a speaker Moses became. In Deuteronomy 31: 30 it says, “And Moses spoke in the ears of the whole congregation of Israel the words of this song, until their conclusion”. There is nothing in this song to indicate that he is slow of speech and of a slow tongue. Paul says, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision”. It is a serious thing to resist when God is urging. Mary did not resist in Luke 1: 38; she said, “Be it to me according to thy word”. It is solemn to reflect that Moses never got back the power he lost in Numbers 11.
In connection with service, we must take account of the way the Lord indicates our movements. According to Matthew, you go to Galilee for your material for a sermon. But in Luke you get it at “that hour;” it comes down. Matthew suggests that things are to be strenuous. You not only preach, but make disciples of all the nations. This requires what is strenuous on your part, and patience too, but as you apply yourself Christ is sure to meet you. But the scripture in Luke reads: “Do ye remain in the city till ye be clothed with power from on high”. That is, you do not move. This is what I find. You go and get your thought from the Lord, but when you stand up to minister what you have slips away from you ofttimes, and you depend on what comes in as you are on your feet. As it says in Acts 2: 4, “As the Spirit gave to them to speak forth”.
Ques Will you say something of Aaron, who comes into evidence at this point?
JT Well, he is “thy brother”. “Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother?” A brother is born for adversity. Aaron is there for a crisis; and he is “the Levite”. Jehovah is the first to use the word, and Aaron the first to be so regarded. Jehovah says, “I know that he can speak well”. God had heard him speaking many times, no doubt in prayer, for the first speaking of a man to God should be the speaking of prayer, as it says of Paul, “Behold, he is praying”.
Aaron is eighty-three here, and he kisses Moses. What a felicitous meeting! God would bring the brethren together. Notice that each moves; Aaron moves, and Moses moves, and they meet at the mount of God, where there are infinite resources. We never love people we do not respect. In Romans 16, which begins with the commendation of Phoebe, the word “salute” occurs over twenty times. A salutation is a token of respect. Paul had never been in Rome up to this time, so far as we know, but he generally says something good of those saluted.
Ques How does the “holy kiss” work out today?
JT We take it up in the spirit of it. Our intercourse is on holy lines. The holy kiss goes beyond feet-washing. There is no thought of any brother whom we cannot greet with a holy kiss. They had coteries at Corinth, yet Paul in his first epistle says, “Salute one another with a holy kiss” (1 Corinthians 16: 20). It is a kiss in contrast with the kiss of Judas; it is normal christianity.
[p. 22] Ques What is the force of the mountain of God in Exodus 4: 27?
JT It is a place of divine resources; as in Genesis 22: 14 “On the mount of Jehovah will be provided”.
Ques What is the import of verses 24 and 25?
JT It means there must be the rigid refusal of the flesh in levitical service, in the family. God’s anger against Moses goes even so far as slaying him. God can brook nothing in us which is inconsistent with Himself.
Verses 27 and 28 give a beautiful picture of unity in those in the lead in service, and this is most important. “And Jehovah said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him. And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah who had sent him, and all the signs that he had commanded him”. It means that if you have something from the Lord, give it to the saints, and you will get more. He gave him “all the words” and “all the signs;” nothing is kept back. If we keep things back we will not have the confidence of our brethren. We must be transparent. The signs were given in verses 2 - 8 of this chapter. How solemn to think of the power of Satan; and of what is possible in the breast — what I am capable of. Yet the one is displaced by the power of God, and the leprosy is replaced by purity. It represents God’s power to deal with both Satan and sin.
In verses 29 - 31 it says, “And Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the elders of the children of Israel; and Aaron spoke all the words that Jehovah had spoken to Moses, and did the signs before the eyes of the people. And the people believed. And when they heard that Jehovah had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped”. That was [p. 23] just as God intended. The seal of any levitical service is that it brings about worship in the saints.
The link in worship leads to the house of God. It says in Exodus 15: 1, “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to Jehovah”, and in verse 20, “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the tambour in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambours and with dances”. This is the line on which we enter from the household of faith into the household of God pleasingly. We are there as those who know how to be there and serve there. The view in Exodus is that all sons should be free to serve God in the house intelligently. “Let my son go, that he may serve me” (Exodus 4: 23). This in chapter 4: 31 is anticipative. They are not yet out of the land of bondage, with burdens well nigh crushing them and still unremoved, and yet they worship. What powerful levitical service!
The scripture read in Ephesians 2 links on with Exodus. It is priestly. “For through him we have both access by one Spirit to the Father”. We are brought in as priests by Christ Himself. All three divine Persons are active in verse 18. The “both” means Jew and gentile.
Ques What is the difference between ‘house’ and ‘household’?
JT The household brings God in actively; it is more than the house. He is there familywise. This is an advance on the household of faith; we are brought into God’s household. Divine Persons are active in the sphere in which we are. We could not be here today, with any profit, on any other principle. The household of God indicates finality although it is provisional down here. It is not an eternal thought, but involves all there is for us.
Ques What is the idea of fellow-citizens?
JT It is a national thought; we belong to heaven. It is the priestly element which qualifies us [p. 24] for access to God. Many are in the household of faith; they attend readings, preachings, and so on, but the household of God requires a heart and nearness.
Now we come to Isaiah 56: 1, 2. “Thus saith Jehovah: Keep ye judgment and do righteousness; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth fast to it; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil”. It is not here the Levite, but the “man” and the “son of man”, and it is in connection with keeping the covenant. Are we upright enough to keep the covenant of God? There is an obligation attaching to us. The sabbath is mentioned first in Exodus 16: 23. “This is what Jehovah has said: To-morrow is the rest, the holy sabbath, of Jehovah”. It is mentioned also in Exodus 31, attached to the building of the tabernacle, where God says He was refreshed when He had finished His work. The sabbath is the great thought of Israel. If you add up the time in connection with sabbath keeping for the people, lands, cattle, and so on, you will find that almost one-third of their time was taken up in this manner. The fear is that God does not get much out of His people; other things and other interests occupy so much of our time.
God’s covenant with Abraham was not dual; but with Israel His covenant was dual. They said, “All that Jehovah has said will we do”. It was thus ratified. Our committal is in the Supper. It corresponds with the sabbath. It is a challenge if we mean what we are doing. The ‘if’ is on our side. So God says, “Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth fast to it; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. And let not the son of the alien, that hath joined himself to Jehovah, speak saying, Jehovah hath entirely separated me [p. 25] from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree; for thus saith Jehovah: Unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast to my covenant, even unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the alien, that join themselves to Jehovah, to minister unto him and to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast to my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. The Lord Jehovah, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith; Yet will I gather others to him, with those of his that are gathered”. How wonderful it is, and it all hinges on our acceptance of our responsibility. There is a striking relation between the Lord’s supper and the sabbath. Does everyone understand that it is a committal, and a committal that God holds us to? The privileges of the house are committed to us on that ground. The sabbath is the sign of the first covenant, and, taking fifty years as a basis, it will be found from the passages in Leviticus which concern sabbath-keeping that about one-third of the year was taken up in this way. One is not to be distracted, but to be for God, in sabbath conditions. For us it is the first day of the week, not the last day. You do not begin the Lord’s day by physical rest merely but by spiritual restfulness. And I would put the question to each, Do fifty-two breakings of bread dominate your whole year? The Lord’s supper should dominate the whole week. It is disgraceful that one should come to the Lord’s supper and never be seen during the rest of the week.
The Lord’s supper is at the entrance of the tent of meeting; by the Spirit we enter. I may eat it and not approach, for the approach is by the Spirit. God is inside, so to say.
In Exodus 31 there is the thought of refreshment to God. How delighted He was as He contemplated all these things! — the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the mercy-seat and all the utensils of the tent — all speaking of Christ!
Ques What is keeping judgment in Isaiah 56: 1?
JT We need this verse for our care meetings. There is so much sluggishness. In matters relative to the saints in a local gathering, we want to do justice. Our care meetings must be characterised by keeping judgment and doing righteousness. There is no moral housekeeping without a care meeting. There is no salvation as spoken of in verse 1 if things are allowed to drag.
Ques Is that why there are still many meetings without sufficient spiritual energy to have a Bible reading on Lord’s day afternoon?
JT I think the most auspicious time for a reading is on the Lord’s day. It is like the hill country in Luke. It was not meaningless that God chose that terrain on which are located Jerusalem, Hebron and Bethlehem. The average height is 2,700 feet, and Hebron is 3,000 feet above sea level. I think the Lord is helping us in regard of our sluggishness.
Rem We should not be sluggish. We will have a thousand years to rest, as it says, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God”.