MANHOOD

T. Druckenmiller

2 Samuel 23: 8, 16, 17; Nehemiah 2: 10–12

I am thinking, beloved brethren, of the need for manhood. Some of us were impressed recently with the way that God has set out the glory and greatness of His ways with men in the Man Christ Jesus, and that manhood according to God’s mind is seen in Him. We, as having part in the testimony currently, should be exercised to be expressive of that order of manhood and it is interesting to note the references to manhood throughout Scripture. What has come into my heart recently is this expression as to “the mighty men whom David had”, and the way that three of them are mentioned as working together.

What our brother has just mentioned as to standing would be a feature of manhood, standing upright. God made man upright (Ecclesiastes 7: 29), and there is a need to be upright as to righteousness, and upright in our thoughts of one another, so that there is transparency. That is a feature of manhood, so that a man does not have to hide what he has done; it is open for all to see. It is beautiful to see the way that the Lord Jesus Himself moved in this scene and the things that He did, and then when you come to the end of the gospel of John you get that expression, “Behold the man” (John 19: 5). While it came from the lips of one who did not shine in the feature of manhood, yet his testimony was right. What a Man Jesus is! What a Man He was in His pathway here, and the glory and greatness of the features of manhood set out in Him go through eternally. It is that order of manhood that we are to have part in. Having part in the testimony currently involves manhood. You get that word in 1 Corinthians 16: 13, “Quit yourselves like men”. There is need for strength in that regard, to quit ourselves like men and be strong. That marked these men of David and it is interesting that it says, “These are the names of the mighty men whom David had”. The list goes on, bringing out the qualities of these men, and their exploits, and it comes down all the way to Uriah the Hittite. Each has his distinctive place as protecting what was precious in David’s time.

As to Solomon’s palanquin it is said, “Threescore mighty men are about it”, Song of Solomon 3: 7. It is that quality of preparedness, as it says here, “at the risk of their lives”. I believe that is what the current testimonial position demands of us, preparedness to go at the risk of our lives. It is a quality that is needed, and it is a quality that has not marked us very much; but in view of the power of the enemy showing itself as it has, and continues to do, there is need of this preparedness to set ourselves, even at the risk of our lives. It is a solemn thing to consider, and it involves the sisterhood, as Esther said, “If I perish, I perish”. Her part in the testimony demanded a full surrender, and that marked these men. It is beautiful the way it is brought out, “These are the names of the mighty men whom David had”. He had such men, and the Lord Jesus is looking for such men. There is, a reference as the Lord speaks to the Father to “the men whom thou gavest me” (John 17: 6), an expression that we do well to think of as showing the feelings that the Lord had for those that were near Him and faithful to Him. Things are the same today. We would have an assurance in our souls of His delight in what is near to Him. I think we sensed it on Lord’s day morning. It is a precious matter to be near Him; it brings out liberty and freedom in expression from the hearts of one and another who are consciously near Him.

These men who broke through in David’s time were near enough to sense the longings of David, the desire of his heart. There must have been a unison in the way they acted as they did, breaking through the camp of the Philistines to draw water out of the well of Bethlehem.

And in bringing it back the precious thought is that what they did contributed to the service of God. That is a feature of manhood, to enter into what is Godward. We are not thinking of ourselves. I believe that it is a feature of manhood to consider for the heart of Christ, and to consider for what is not our own but for Him who has enlisted us in this time of exercise that the testimony currently involves. So David’s men broke through; they provided for David what he longed for, “however he would not drink of it, but poured it out to Jehovah. And he said, Be it far from me, Jehovah, that I should do this thing!” He puts a true valuation on what had been secured; he would not take it as for himself. The breaking through at the risk of their lives was something more than what was for his own heart; it involved what was for the heart of God. Such are the times in which we are, times in which what is being secured is for the heart of God. What is for the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ is for the Father’s heart, involving the

preciousness of the service of God. We need to think increasingly of the service of God and how it can be affected, either for good or for weakness, by the way we think and way we do things. What these men did contributed positively to the service of God.

Nehemiah too was a man who was considering for the welfare of his people, and considering for Jerusalem. God put things into his heart; and that is where matters begin to work rightly as hearts are affected and something is stirred there that is not of man naturally but is begotten of God. May our hearts be stirred; may the word of God stir us and prompt us to act not as natural men would act, but in a way that is pleasurable to the heart of Christ. It just impresses one’s heart, as reading Scripture, what persons went through. It is what they went through in their time, but now it is your time and my time. The tests may be a little different, but yet they are really the same, as to how things affect God. We should be affected so that we act for God in matters and not for ourselves.

It is interesting as to these other persons that “it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel”. They were on the side of the enemy, in the enemy’s camp. Well, may it grieve the enemy today to see persons who are prepared to stand for the rights of Christ, who have been brought to what God would have them brought to. It is not that we would seek anything against anyone, but we would stand for the rights of Christ. It will grieve the enemy. It may cause the enemy to rise up, but we must go through in relation to what is for God and move as Nehemiah did. He says, “I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me”.

Thank God for the togetherness that our brother referred to in the seven pillars. It is a needful thing in a local assembly. Maybe there are few men, maybe there are not seven in a locality. We were impressed on the other side with some localities with just two. “Two or three”, the Lord says (Matthew 18: 20), but thank God for the togetherness that there can be even in a local assembly with but few.

Nehemiah says, “I and some few men with me—but I told no man what my God had put in my heart to do”. Think of a man just having his own link with God in this way. It is beautiful, and it is available to you and to me to have a link with God and to have some such impress, and I think we will find that that impress links with the same impress in the heart of another.

It is the unison that God is looking for. It will lead to the building of the walls of Jerusalem and it will lead, I am sure, to the service of song. You get the service of song both in this book and in Ezra, these recovery books. We are in days of recovery and I am sure that as there is preparedness to commit ourselves there will be a strengthening to take up what needs to be taken up for the pleasure of our God, and to do it in a way that brings about blessing and a result for God’s glory. May it be so for His name’s sake.

Word in meeting for ministry, Plainfield
7 November 1978