THE HOLIEST
[p. 56] THE HOLIEST
I should like to say a word or two in regard to the ark of the covenant. It is a great point for christians to see what they come into the presence of in the holiest of all. I strongly suspect that the thoughts of many are very indefinite in this respect. Though we speak of boldness to enter the holiest, and sing about it pretty frequently, I doubt if many of us could give much account of what is there. I am sure I cannot say much, for I know very little about it.
I only desire to say a word or two in regard to what we get in this passage. We do not come into the holy place. If we did, we should come into view of the table of shewbread and the candlestick, &c. They have no place now that the first tabernacle is done away. They represented certain things connected with Israel, and do not belong to us. In entering the holiest it is a great point to remember that we do not come into the first order of things at all.
It has been said (very ignorantly, I think) that Adam entered the holiest in coming into the holy presence of God. Adam came certainly into the presence of God, but that does not convey to me the idea of the holiest. One point is very plain, if you come into the holiest you do not come into the first order of things at all. What was divinely connected with the first order of things is hidden there. You come into presence of another order of things. When I speak of the first order I refer to the two tables of the covenant — they were there, but hidden; there was also the golden pot that had manna, that was hidden; there was Aaron’s rod, too, that budded, that was not seen. These all belong to the first order of things. They are typical of principles hidden, so to speak, in Christ, and which are the means by which God [p. 57] is pleased to accomplish the purposes of His grace. They are connected with man in his position of profession and responsibility.
Sin came into the world. The way in which God met it was by declaring His law. I think many do not see the importance and bearing of what God did in that way. Sin wrought in the world with all its terrible fruits of dishonour to and alienation from God, and death was in its train. But on the tables of stone God declared His mind as to what man should be, in spite of all that is here and all that sin has done. It was not exactly a new revelation, not an unfolding of God’s particular mind as to that moment, but the setting forth of the great principles of what was proper in man down here. It put things in their right place morally. God saw fit to enunciate what was right for man with regard to God and to his neighbour. God did not write that at the beginning. It was long after sin had come into the world. Sin, the world and the devil had power over man. God said, as it were, I will write on tables of stone what man should be in the presence of God and his neighbour. I think in that way God vindicated His glory in regard of the evil here. In the Old Testament you frequently find God vindicated in some way. You get a striking instance of this in what took place on mount Carmel when Elijah erected an altar of twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of Israel. God was glorified in it in regard to the twelve tribes of Israel. And the writing of the law was of this character. God saw fit to vindicate Himself thus in view of the terrible contrariety and self-will of man. He declared man’s duty to God and to his neighbour.
But God had further thoughts: He intended to carry out His purposes of grace in sinful, weak man, and the means by which He would effect this were declared in priesthood on the one hand, and the manna on the other. A ministry of grace to man down here, and intercession on man’s behalf with God above. These were the two [p. 58] great principles on which God was able to carry out His way. These principles held good in the past; they hold good for us now, and will hold good in the future in regard to Israel. When God takes up His dealings with Israel in the future it will be on the one hand in connection with priestly intercession, and, on the other, with a ministration of grace here, so that they will be enabled to hold fast their profession until Christ appears for them. As regards ourselves, Christ ever liveth to make intercession for us, and we have the manna, ‘daily grace for daily need’, as has often been said, so that we too are enabled to hold fast our profession.
In the holiest all these things are hidden; they are out of view. The fact is, that God has been perfectly glorified in all this in Christ. It was not a vain thing for God to make known His mind on two tables of stone; He was going to be perfectly vindicated in regard to the expression of His will; and He has been vindicated. That is one of the wonderful things of the ark of the covenant. God has been glorified in Christ. It is said, “Thy law is within my heart”. He suffered that He might vindicate God, not only in regard to His ways with Israel, but in regard to man. And now, because of that, we find in Christ the power of intercession — the antitype of Aaron’s rod that budded, as well as of the manna. They are hidden in the ark in the holiest of all. We are conscious that all is there. Every one of us knows it in our own experience. You have no right to be there if you do not know these things in experience; they are the principles and means of God’s ways with us in grace down here. If you do not understand them, you have no business in the holiest. We are, in thought, in accord with all that is in the ark of the covenant, because we have the gain of it experimentally. In Christ God has been glorified, and Christ is the intercessor, and the manna. But what do you see when you enter the holiest? The mercy-seat. The mercy-seat was the lid of the ark. That is the first thing in connection with the [p. 59] holiest. It was founded on the ark. Glory is there; nothing there but glory. God’s glory at rest in all before Him. Rest is there; love is there. All is rest in the One in whom God has been completely glorified in regard to all His ways down here. From beginning to end Christ was in view. We come into the holiest, not ignorant of God’s ways, but in the knowledge of His ways, and that those ways have been declared in Christ. We have rest there in the presence of the One with whom we are associated in priestly service. Infinite, supreme love is there, and we are privileged to be there in association with that Man in whom God has been glorified, The Firstborn among many brethren. Our thoughts are perfectly in accord with all that is within the ark. It is not seen, but what is seen is the glorified Man, in whom; God’s glory rests in infinite and eternal satisfaction.
‘Glory supreme is there,
Glory that shines through all;
More precious still that love to share
As those that love did call’.
We share in the love — that is where we come in. We are brought into the presence of love with Him in whom God has been glorified in respect of His ways down here. That is the new order of things. We are conscious of the old order, and of what has enabled God to go on with the old order; but in the holiest we are brought into that which is of the new order. We are come to the church of the firstborn ones, whose names are written in heaven. We are brought to a scene where there is nothing to disturb and all is according to God’s glory.
God could not display His glory except where everything is according to that glory. You can see at once that it would be ruin and an end to everything not according to it. In the holiest everything is according to glory, and there is love in perfect rest. The love of God in Christ is what we come into presence of.
It is manifestly important to be in accord with what is [p. 60] contained in the ark. We have acquaintance with it experimentally, and know the way that God has taken to glorify Himself, and to accomplish His purposes in the midst of a scene of sin and rebellion and self-will.