THE ONE MAN AND THE COMPANY
[p. 22] THE ONE MAN AND THE COMPANY
Isaiah 3:1-3; Isaiah 4:1; Zechariah 8:23
God allows things to happen in the circumstances of His people and of man generally to turn men to Himself. All the happenings in the world are intended to turn men to God. Isaiah 3 refers to this. God had in discipline removed the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water, and the mighty man and the man of war, the judge and the prophet, so that all might see that they were not to rely on men. That which we should naturally lean on is taken away; food and great men are removed; this clears the ground for chapter 4. In the sense of their need, those in want and reproach lay hold of one man: one man instead of many men. There is a sense of reproach; they say, “Let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach”. Is there anyone here who, not knowing the Lord Jesus, is in need of Him?
The woman spoken of in John 4 was in this state. She was under reproach; she had to come out to the well at a time when others did not come, but she met the one Man. She found One who could supply her with everything she needed spiritually; and not only that, but He could tell her what was in her heart. He says to her, “Thou hast had five husbands”; but in spite of this fact she had to draw water for herself. There was evidently no man to provide for her, nor could any take away her reproach. Being alone, and in reproach, she finds the Lord, and she speaks of Him as One who told her all things that ever she did; she has found the one Man.
This one Man is the only hope, not only for each of us, but for the whole world. The world is looking out today for a leader; conditions that have arisen have brought into evidence that governments are [p. 23] unable to control the world, and when the man who is spoken of as the antichrist appears, he will be received. The only hope now for man is to accept Christ, who is presented in the gospel as the One who has effectuated the righteousness of God, and who gives the Holy Spirit. Moreover, God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world by this Man; but He is now presented to individuals. He is presented not only to be our Lord, that is to subdue us and to protect us, but to be our Head. The Head gives us wisdom. In this world, where Satan’s power is, man needs protection, and he gets protection in the Lord. You lift up your head in the knowledge that Christ is in heaven and exercises all power on earth. But then you not only need forgiveness and the Spirit, which you get from the Lord, but you need a Head. Christ is my Head, He enlightens me and shows me the way out of the world. I am known here by His name. They say, “We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name”.
How one’s position is altered before men! Instead of being known according to what one has been, one is known by Christ’s name. The woman of Sychar would henceforth spiritually be known as, related to Christ, as having Christ as Head. He not only tells me all things that ever I did, but He tells me all things that ever I should do henceforth. Henceforth, as a believer in Christ, I am to be called by His name and to be guided by Him. As unconverted men or women in this world we were spiritually under reproach; that is, as seen by heaven, and we need to have our reproach taken away. We must accept the fact that each individual has sinned “I have sinned”. On the day of Pentecost, when Peter preached, they said, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” He replied, “Repent, and be baptised each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the [p. 24] remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. (Acts 2:38) In that way one’s reproach is taken away spiritually. Henceforth the believer lifts up his head with the helmet of salvation on it, as knowing the Lord, and His name is called upon him. He is told in Romans to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
When we come to Zechariah, it is not seven women that are spoken of, but ten men. The thought of women is weakness, and the need of support. A man is, in a way, self-supporting. The allusion is to a believer who has come to recognise that he has the Spirit. Zechariah would refer to the believer as needing society or company, fellowship. Hence he takes hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew. A Jew is described in Romans 2:28,29. As Christians we seek such men. I would ask the young people here as to what society they seek. The Jew here is one whose praise is of God, and who is circumcised in heart. Naturally speaking, young people like the society of those that are highly esteemed among men, whereas truly exercised young or old person seeks the society of those who are in favour with God. The ten men come out of all languages of the nations, we read. We see here prophetically that when God works among the nations in the future, in regard of Jerusalem, they come out of all the nations. National distinction shall disappear in that day; that is to say, there will be a recognition of Christ and the people of God.
Now this has its answer today in the house of God. The house of God is not a national, but a universal idea. It is what is called catholic; it is composed of those who have the Holy Spirit, whose praise is of God and not of men. I would again ask in regard of the young people: have those present any exercise as to finding the house of God? One thing that marks the house of God is that God dwells there. Here they say, “We will go with [p. 25] you: for we have heard that God is with you”. God is dwelling in the house by the Spirit. Now it will be noticed that these ten men lay hold of the skirt. Sometimes young believers like to be noticed and cared for. They should of course be taken care of by the elder ones; but do they take hold of the skirts of the elder Christians? That means that I act. I am not seeking for others to act for me I am acting for myself. There is no likelihood that this Jew referred to would resent his skirt being laid hold of. When the Lord was here, the woman with the issue of blood touched His garment. He did not resent being touched; He knew, however, that He was touched. He knew that virtue had gone out of Him, but He did not resent it. On the contrary, He said, “Daughter be of good comfort”. The virtue that went out of Him healed her, and she was called a daughter. How blessed it is to know that the Lord accords to us a relationship of this kind! He said to her, “Thy faith hath made thee whole” (Luke 8:48). It was faith that led her to touch the hem of His garment. The Jew referred to here would have a character like Christ. So he does not resent his skirt being laid hold of; yea, rather, a true Jew or a true Christian loves to have others draw near to him in this way. It is wisdom for the young to keep near the Lord’s people. They find love and care there.
Isaiah 4 shows how a sinner’s reproach is taken away and he has a Head in Christ, to whom indeed in Romans 7 he is said to be married. In 2 Corinthians 11:2 it is said that we are espoused to one Man, to be presented a chaste virgin to Christ. Therefore the believer is henceforth in relation with one and that Man is Christ in heaven. He is also in relation with the people of God down here. We read in Acts that the Lord added daily such as should be saved. Here, however, the believers seek out those who know the name of the Lord and know where [p. 26] the Lord is. Ruth said to Naomi, “Thy people shall be my people”, (Ruth 1:16) and they say here, “God is with you”. That is the normal result of the gospel being received into the soul; we want to be where God is, and God is with those that are true Jews, who are circumcised in heart, and whose praise is of God. Paul said, “We are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God ... ... and have no confidence in the flesh”. (Philippians 3:3) We learn from that verse who the true Jews, the circumcision, are.
May God bless the word to us.