GOD’S THOUGHTS OF THE SAINTS
D. J. Hutson
Leviticus 24: 5–9; Judges 6: 25–27, 33–35; 1 Kings 18: 21, 30–39, 41
In looking at the scripture in relation to
Gideon I noticed there is a footnote where it speaks of building the altar in the ordered manner referring to Leviticus 24: 6, which relates to the shewbread. I just felt, beloved, that it is important ever to hold in our minds the thoughts of God in relation to His people at the level in which they are before Him as sustained there in Christ. So we often speak of the table of shewbread, and the loaves which were put there, each cake made of fine wheaten flour,
“twelve cakes thereof; each shall be of two tenths. And thou shalt set them in two rows, six in a row, upon the pure table before Jehovah”. It says of them that they should be a bread of remembrance. That would indicate that what they stand for is never to be forgotten. It may be lost sight of in its public setting; there is the breakdown that had come in in the days of Gideon and in the days of Elijah, but what is spoken of in the two rows of cakes upon the pure table before Jehovah is something which is ever to be remembered. Let us ever remember the place that the saints have before God in Christ Jesus above, beyond breakdown or failure of any kind; this is the bread of the presence (see Exodus 25: 30), speaking of the saints before God and yet having its testimonial bearing.
The first section of the chapter speaks of the light and the lamp outside the veil of the testimony. There is that which is secret, there is the most holy place; but there is the veil of the testimony, and before the veil there is the pure candlestick; the light is there and the table is there, and the light is shining upon the cakes upon the pure table in the presence of God. It speaks of the saints viewed as in Christ Jesus. No breakdown is there, beloved, no breakdown attaches to that position, a pure table, a golden table, that would speak to us of the glory of Christ and His ability to sustain the saints in the presence of God according to His own thoughts and at that level.
It says that it should be a bread of remembrance. Let us never forget it, beloved, in relation to our brethren, those not available to us—in relation to ourselves too, for we are to take account of ourselves as in this light—but let us take account of all the saints; let us never forget what they are as in the presence of God and sustained there by Christ, the One who will never fail, the One who is able to present the saints before God in this way. The beloved apostle could labour to present every man, perfect in Christ; I believe he would, as saying that, have before him the loaves on the pure table, the bread of remembrance.
“And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in a holy place”. This is the food of the priests, this is the way in which the priests would feed upon the saints. How do we regard the saints? How do we regard our brethren? Do we take account of them as in their weakness, as in the failings which have marked them and in which we have had our part, or can we feed upon them as they are in the presence of God, in Christ Jesus, where there is no failure, no breakdown, where no weakness attaches to them? Oh that we might be strengthened in this, in partaking of this bread of remembrance, priestly food, so that we might consider for God in relation to them, and as we move in relation to them in view of recovery. It would not be just that there might be more added, to make the situation any easier for us here though we thank God for those who are recovered, and that there are more to bear the burdens of the testimony—but what would primarily be in mind as the priest partakes of the bread of remembrance is what is for God Himself, that there might be more secured for Himself in His testimony, and in His service of praise.
So it says, “for it is most holy unto him of
Jehovah’s offerings by fire”. Think of the Lord Jesus saying before He went on high, “I sanctify myself for them, that they also may be sanctified by truth”, John 17: 19. What a wonderful prayer uttered by One who as to His Person is God, but here as Man, uttered to One whom He could refer to as “My Father” and “My God”. Think of that wonderful prayer and the way that He could speak of sanctifying Himself for the saints that they might be sanctified by truth. Let us take account of the saints according to truth, beloved, according to what they are in the presence of God in Christ Jesus on the pure table; let it ever be for us a bread of remembrance to partake of as priestly food that we may work in relation to God’s own thoughts in relation to the saints.
I believe Gideon was one who had these thoughts. We have earlier spoken of him and the spirit that marked him in the way that he could speak of his thousand being the poorest in Manasseh, and he being the least in his father’s house, but this makes way for Jehovah to speak to him in relation to this offering, and it says that he was to “build an altar to Jehovah thy God upon the top of this strong place in the ordered manner”. What a wonderful thing that is, “the ordered manner”; the footnote connects it with the order of the cakes upon the table of pure gold. As Gideon built this altar he would have before him the saints as they were in their completeness, in their entirety, apart from all the breakdown that had come in, apart from all the hand of God in government upon them. We would seek that we might hold these thoughts, beloved, as to the saints, and have in our minds the whole thoughts of God, the complete thoughts of God, and what is going through, what is to have part in the sustaining of His service—the altar would speak of that. What is primarily in mind is the service of God; the testimony is before us, but primarily in our
minds is the service of God. As he built this altar Gideon would have in view the saints as God views them, for it is thus they have part in the holy service to our God and Father.
Well, what an encouragement, the word is, “build an altar to Jehovah upon the top of this strong place in the ordered manner”. How wonderful that is, that in this day in which we are we can find a strong place! May I suggest that it would relate to the place that is provided for us outside the camp, the place that is established for us in the writing of the apostle to Timothy, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity”, 2
Timothy 2: 19. The Lord knows those that are His; that is, He can take account of His own, and take account of them according to what they are as before God, but then, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity”. Provision is made for us in separating from evil, and in separating from vessels to dishonour; there is, as it were, a strong place on which we can build this altar, where we can be recovered to God’s highest thoughts.
It says, “upon the top of this strong place”, a position (we need not fear to use that word because it is a position) outside the camp, outside of all that professes the name of Christ but is dishonouring to Him, in relation to Himself. We are to go forth to Him without the camp (see Hebrews 13: 13). The Lord Jesus Himself has taken up a position in relation to all that is here, and we can find our place in relation to Him at the top of this strong place in the ordered manner. Everything is there in order, no confusion. Confusion is all around us but as we get to the top of this strong place we can have before us the bread of remembrance where everything is in perfect order, where everything is sustained on the table of pure gold, where all the saints are viewed as in Christ Jesus.
“Gideon took ten men of his servants”; this
would have some reference, I suppose, the number ten, to responsibility, but Gideon takes on the responsibility in relation to it. Maybe he was marked by fear, he is doing it by night, nevertheless the Lord took account of it, and the men took account of it, and the result was a rallying of the people. So as we maintain this position, as we hold these thoughts in our minds and affections, viewing the saints as they are as before God, so there is provided a rallying point. It speaks of Gideon sounding the trumpet; as the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him he blew the trumpet. There was an alarm, a warning, as to the state of things around, but it was a rallying call and it called these people to him, the Abi-ezrites, Manasseh, Asher Zebulun and Naphtali; they rallied to this point where Gideon raised this altar. I believe it would be an encouragement, beloved. Think of Gideon in that obscurity in which he was threshing wheat in the winepress, yet now he is coming on to public view. One would encourage the dear brethren; maybe there has been that secret side of things, but let us be encouraged to wait on the Lord, for it is the word of the Lord that comes to Gideon. We have spoken of the prophetic word, and we would wait on the word of the Lord that there might be some emergence, may we say, to what is public, bearing in mind the saints as they are before God in Christ Jesus, but providing, and taking possession of, the ground, for the only ground on which there is room for every believer is the ground provided in 2 Timothy 2. It is a strong place and it provides a rallying point to which the saints can gather together, and a base from which the enemy can be overthrown.
I like to think of Elijah and the way in which he built that altar. We have to take account of the number of persons who may be halting between two opinions. Elijah says to them—he is not
persuasive, and it would be a guide for us, I suppose, as to how we would approach such persons “If Jehovah be God, follow him; and if Baal, follow him. And the people answered him not a word”. Maybe there is little response to the appeal; maybe that has been our experience. But Elijah is not diverted by that; he is not discouraged; he says, “Draw near to me”; he has found, as it were, the strong place of which Gideon would remind us, and it says,
“Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Jehovah came saying, Israel shall be thy name”. I love that expression.
The responsible history, the chequered history, the history of the supplanter and the bargainer, is not overlooked, and yet God has taken account of that man according to His thoughts in purpose and He names him accordingly, and Elijah holds to that. He has before him the whole position; all the saints are in his heart as he builds this altar, and in relation to this wonderful offering.
“And it came to pass at the time of the offering up of the oblation”; oh, think of the perfection of Jesus, the humanity of Jesus; what food it is for us, the perfection that was seen in the pathway of Jesus, the perfect evenness. How different from what has marked us! In every way He was permeated by the oil, the Holy Spirit identified in an absolute way with that blessed Man, the fine flour mingled with oil. So at that time there is this offering, and it says that Elijah put the wood in order. Again, you see, there is no confusion; in this day of breakdown and weakness in which he was there was no confusion as far as Elijah was concerned; he was holding to God’s thoughts of His people. Everything is set in order; he cut the bullock in pieces and laid it on the wood. Now he brings before the people, typically, the perfections of Jesus. We might
have thought it would be the sin-offering that he would bring before them, but it is the burnt-offering, the water being brought to bear only manifesting the perfection that was there. As we have been reminded in the teaching, the water in one sense would be for cleansing and the removal of impurities, but in relation to the burnt-offering it was but to manifest the perfection that was there. This has been likened to the way in which Jesus went into death, the way in which everything was done, if it were possible, to prevent that offering being absolutely acceptable to God, for what would seem to prevent the burnt-offering being an offering by fire was the pouring of water upon it.
It has been said that it is like when He was arraigned before Pilate, but then again, He was arraigned before Herod; think of the testing there; and then the testing before the high priest first of all; the water poured upon the offering again and again. Where you or I would have resisted, where it would have brought out in us the worst of the flesh, it only brought out in Jesus the absolute perfection that was there, and all, it says, was consumed. How wonderful the total consuming, “And the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench”. You could not think of anything more complete than this offering; not only the offering itself, but all that went up with it. How wonderful is all that has gone up in Christ; He has gone there in His own perfection, the savour of His own perfect offering, having taken with Him, as it were, all that God has taken account of in the saints, and the saints now are there in Himself. Elijah had that view of them and here he demonstrates to the people the acceptance of this blessed One and the acceptance of themselves in Him, as we would say as applying to us. So all the people saw it and they fell on their faces saying, “Jehovah, he is God! Jehovah, he is God! “. Now there is no halting between two opinions, but the manifestation of the perfection of Jesus and the acceptance of the saints in Him as coming in its convicting power to the saints, and they say, “Jehovah, he is God!”
“And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain”. As reminded of the sacrifice of Jesus, the basis which has been laid for the saints to be before God in perfect acceptance, taken into favour in the Beloved, as the reminder of that is there, and as the saints lay hold of it, so there is abundance of rain. There is ample supply in the Holy Spirit that the position which has been arrived at should be maintained, and the saints preserved in relation to the thoughts of God during the little while that remains before we are actually taken into that position which is beyond failure, beyond breakdown. Well, may the Lord encourage us to hold these thoughts in relation to His people, in relation to one another, in relation to ourselves, and to realize the way in which the ground has been secured by that perfect offering, and the absolute acceptance of that offering as before God and the saints as taken into favour in the Beloved, and the blessed Holy Spirit having come from that position so that we might be maintained in the light of it until the Lord comes, for His name’s sake.
Address at Cape Town
26 December 1981