DIVINE THINGS SHOWN
[p. 13] DIVINE THINGS SHOWN
“And Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah” (the meaning of the word ‘Moriah’ is said to be ‘shewn by Jehovah’ ), “where he appeared to David his father” (the words ‘where he appeared’ may be rendered ‘which was shewn’ ), “in the place that David had prepared in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. And he began to build on the second of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign”.
There are other scriptures that I may allude to briefly but this one sets out more definitely than any other what I had in mind to call attention to, that divine things are to be shown. God has graciously provided the instrumentality for this, and young believers are to note that things have to be shown. The Holy Spirit indeed is here to that end; He takes of the things of Christ and shows them, or announces them, to us. That is what He is doing, one of the greatest acts that He is doing, showing the things of Christ, showing things to come to the saints. No saint or christian can afford to be neglectful of this, for the end is that we should become acquainted with eternal things, things that enter into our eternal state, and we should be conversant with these things as having had them announced to us.
So that this is the end of a series of showings which I will call attention to briefly — the foundation of the house. No one can be in the house save as seeing the foundation, no one can be in it intelligently save as understanding the foundation. The Lord says, “On this rock I will build my assembly” (Matthew 16:18). And Paul says, “Other foundation can no man lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). The foundation of the house — of the assembly — has to be understood, no christian should be ignorant as to it. Sometimes we think ignorance is almost a virtue, but it never can be. People speak of themselves as simple believers, but there is a certain shame attaching to ignorance. We have to admit, of course, we know nothing as we should know, but one says I will follow on to know, “And we shall know — we shall follow on to know Jehovah” (Hosea 6:3). That is the characteristic attitude of a christian, he is following on to know. There is so much to be known that we need to devote ourselves to it and follow it — as the apostle says to Timothy, “Thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience” (2 Timothy 3:10). Timothy gave himself to these things, he is enjoined to do it, “Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned” (verse 14).
Now the first showing that I will call attention to is that to Abraham. I want to speak briefly of the great men of faith to whom things are shown as examples. The more spiritual you are the less you assume; you are always dependent, ready to be shown, ready to learn. As regards young christians the eunuch is an excellent example, doubtless a man of education according to this world, but he was reading the Scriptures as we know, and the Holy Spirit says to Philip, “Go near, and join thyself to this chariot”. And he did, he joined himself to this man reading the Scriptures; he was enjoined to do it by the Spirit, and there was no doubt that it was the right thing to do. The first question is, “Understandest thou what thou readest?”. And the man rightly and simply said, “How should I then be able unless someone guide me?” (Acts 8:31). He had been up to Jerusalem where the scribes and Pharisees were, but they did not guide him. This guidance is by the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit says to Philip, “Approach and join this chariot” (verse 29). It is the act of the Holy Spirit. The man simply and rightly says, How can I understand except some man should guide me? And there was someone to guide him. He takes the things of Christ and announces them to us, He brings them home to our intelligence and understanding.
Now Abraham was the first to be shown things, Moses the second and David the third. With Abraham it was the mount on which Isaac was to be offered up; that was not left to his choice. It was spiritually the greatest event you can conceive of, typically it was the offering up of Christ. It was no accident that the Lord Jesus was crucified just outside the gates, outside the wall. It was in Jerusalem though, in principle; it is spiritually “Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:8). That was no accident, that is where the evil was, that is where the hatred of God and of Christ is.
Now Jehovah says to Abraham, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Genesis 22:2); Moriah, as you will see in the note, takes its name from the idea of being shown. It was not left to Abraham to find. And nothing is rightly understood spiritually except it is shown to us. What you find with Abraham is implicit obedience. Although it was a test of the supremest kind, he set out with his son Isaac; he rose up and went unto the place of which God had told him. And he arrived there in three days, the three days having its own significance; in three days he came in sight of the place; there was no doubt about it, no hesitation whatever. That is a great matter in the things of God, to be assured, so that you do not hesitate; you are not doubtful. “If any one desire to practise his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine” (John 7:17). It is a most important fact,
[p. 16] unfailing obedience to God and to Christ and the Spirit. Abraham saw the place and he knew it. He saw the place afar off. That is one of the features of faith; they saw the promises afar off and embraced them. Things are brought near to us by the Spirit; they are not far off now, they are near to us. Abraham leaves the young men there and he and Isaac ascended to the place. He offered up his son Isaac, one of the greatest transactions in Scripture spiritually; there is no greater transaction than that.
But I speak now of the showing, the gracious comment of God on His servant, that he should not hesitate. The death of Christ was plainly declared; not only the place of it but the kind of persons that were put with Him to death were recorded; the very grave in which they intended to put Him is mentioned beforehand; everything is accurately pointed out in the Scriptures, and when the time comes the Holy Spirit calls attention to that. How important to be definite in our apprehension of the place and time, the significance of the death of Christ.
Now as regards Moses, as he came out of Egypt with Israel they are complaining about thirst. There was no water to drink except brackish water, the waters of Marah which were bitter in taste. We have to apprehend the death of Christ in that way as set forth in the waters of Marah. The people come up out of the Red Sea; now they are made to drink the waters of Marah; the bitterness is in the taste. If we are to go into Canaan we must be in consonance with Christ. He tasted death for everything, that we might know what that means, what He endured, that we might have part in the suffering. And Moses was in that. And it says he cried unto the Lord and the Lord showed him wood. God never leaves us nor forsakes us. The great Mediator has to stand still; there is nothing but brackish water and the people complaining. Jehovah showed him wood. It is [p. 17] Christ in relation to the wilderness circumstances; although apparently bitter, they are made sweet; the bitterness is wholesome and necessary for us. The worst thing that can happen to us will turn to our blessing. Christ in Manhood in that setting is typified in the “wood”, spoken of so much throughout these typical books in the construction of the tabernacle. How important to be shown things so that we know what wood is. Then the second showing to Moses was just as he was about to die, the Moses of the book of Deuteronomy in the last mention of his life here. He wrote that great psalm in chapter 32 just as he was dying, but as still vigorous in mind and body. And so he goes up to the top of Mount Pisgah and Jehovah showed him the whole land; that is, He showed him heaven. He had been shown Christ as in the wilderness, what He is to the saints in the wilderness, and now he is shown the land. It was not an empty land, the heaven of purpose is an inhabited heaven. Heaven shown to the saints is an inhabited heaven. Abraham was told to go through the land, but we inhabit it. The Canaanites were still there, the land was full of Canaanites but Moses saw it with the Israelites in it.
In Deuteronomy 34:1,2, “And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea”. That is the land inhabited with the people of God, the saints. That is the land! Ephesians contemplates the land, but that is heaven with the brethren. Nor would anyone who loves the brethren be there without them. God’s way is to have the brethren there. The inhabitants there will be the brethren, not the Canaanites and the Amorites and the Jebusites, the nations who were hostile to God; these are all to be ejected from the land; faith sees [p. 18] heaven with the saints there. Those who love the brethren love this view. It is shown by Jehovah, He leaves nothing out; it is shown from His point of view. But the leading tribes, representative of the saints, are all there. How lovely to think of that, Christ the “firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). That is the way Romans brings out the purpose of God — firstborn among many brethren. Heaven will be inhabited by heavenly people.
Then finally David is shown the type or pattern of the temple. That is what is alluded to in this passage in 2 Chronicles. Solomon is conversant with it; it is Solomon’s foundation. The church is not a haphazard sort of thing as the church in christendom. It is built according to God, the foundation is shown, and Solomon is conversant with it. It is his foundation in a shown place. They saw the foundation in Matthew 16:16: “the Christ, the Son of the living God”. That is what He is as known in resurrection, what He is in His Person as here, but known in resurrection, the Son of the living God. There is no other foundation that can stand than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ, it is a question of the kind of Man He is. And the structure will be like the foundation. In order to understand the place we must understand the foundation. Ephesians gives us not only the foundation but the top stone, Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone.
That is what I thought might help us to begin, if we have not begun, to embrace the idea of having divine things shown to us, and to understand that there are instruments in the power of the Spirit which God employs to show us these things.