MATERIAL FOR THE ASSEMBLY
MATERIAL FOR THE ASSEMBLY
JT We have dealt with chapter 12 particularly as presenting the use of the word ‘assembly’, thus indicating that the Israelites, in the presence of the judgments of God, as depicted in the plagues, had been formed by what transpired before them; so that the idea of the assembly had been reached even before they had left Egypt. In leaving Egypt they went out in order, and, typically at least, in accord with the mind of God, having partaken of the passover and the feast of unleavened bread. They went out in rank, as it is said, with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians, (Numbers 33:3), and moreover, they went out with substance. God had earlier said to Abraham that they should be afflicted in a foreign land four hundred years, and that then He would bring them out with great substance, (Genesis 15:13 - 14). So that they went out furnished with what was needed for the house of God and they went out in a dignified way. They were superior to the world in dignity and power. They were intended to supersede Egypt: indeed, it is said that Egypt was destroyed in its first born, but Israel was preserved under shelter of the blood of Christ, typically, and in the eating of the lamb.
The remaining chapters in Exodus, after chapter 15, work out all these things, and I thought we might see in this chapter the response to God, not only in regard to what He had done for them in Egypt and in taking them out of it, but in what He was in the covenant. Chapter 34 gives the renewal of the covenant. “... The two tables of testimony were in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mountain ... . Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone through his talking with him”, verse 29. There was shining there, indicating what God is in His covenant, in His love to us, which is expressed in [p. 253] the new covenant. Then in this chapter we read, verse 1: “Moses collected all the assembly of the children of Israel, and said to them. These are the things which Jehovah has commanded, to do them ... . Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings upon the sabbath day”. We have the assembly again addressed here, but addressed now in the light of the shining in Moses- face.
Ques In Ezekiel it says: He passed by and it was the time of love, chapter 16 verse 8. Is that the thought here?
JT That is Jerusalem, but this corresponds. It was the time in which love in God came out, and I think this chapter shows that love was active in Israel, for it was a question of their hearts, verse 21. I think we may see here that there is ample response. The people had passed through much, and their break down only served as an occasion for God to shine out in His love, through the mediator, because Moses acts typically as the mediator of the new covenant: his face shone, he was affected himself by what he saw on the mount. In Christ it was altogether that, it was Himself — “the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”, and the glory of God shines in His face and we behold it without a veil. It is in the light of that, that the heart is prompted. But it is well to notice that the first great feature in the chapter is the sabbath.
HH What is your thought as to that?
JT I think there is a great deal of activity in service and professed response to God which ignores the sabbath; ignores the necessity for that restfulness first in the apprehension of what God has found in Christ. The shining of Moses- face was what God is in Christ, the glory of God shining there; but the sabbath is rather what God has in Christ. We have the distinction between what God is in Christ and what He has in Christ. In apprehending what He has in Christ we rest; we need to understand how to sit down and rest, not even to kindle a fire. You see how things are [p. 254] done. Moses sat by the well earlier, but in resting in the presence of the shining, that is to say, what God is in Christ and then what God has in Christ, there is a peculiar change, there is transformation, and there is no effort in that.
HH Would that fit in with (2 Corinthians 3): “We all ... beholding ... are changed”?
JT Exactly, “... into the same image”; then you become like Christ and like one another. You must have a different people from those that danced round the golden calf, and that comes out, I think, after chapter 33. The Levites took sides with Moses in executing God’s judgment, then Moses going up, all the goodness of God passes before him — it is only a foreshadowing really of what is in Christ — so that he comes down shining. That is what God is in Moses, so to speak, what He is in Christ. Then the sabbath is what God has in Christ. We are brought into accord with what was His in Christ: that is, we come in for God’s pleasure.
HH In (Matthew 11) the point is rest: the Lord Jesus is it.
JT Yes; and then in the beginning of (Matthew 12) the Lord goes through the cornfields and the disciples learn from Him, and thus the legal sabbath is superseded there. He goes through the cornfields, and the disciples not only went through, but they plucked the ears of corn; they took up the liberty that He brought them into. His movement was liberating, and that is pleasing to God — the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free. You begin to see what kind of Man is before God, and you become like Him. He is not a legal man. He is a Man of liberty. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”; I am brought into that.
Ques Do we get that in a special way as the result of the Supper; what God is as seen in the cup, and the rest following on that?
JT What God has in Christ is in the loaf — He did [p. 255] the will of God; and what God is in Christ is in the cup. As soon as you see what God has in Christ, you say, ‘I can rest there’.
Ques What is suggested in kindling no fire in their dwellings?
JT I think it is to emphasise that there is nothing of that kind needed, all is there; and that brings in a certain restfulness in me, and my existence does not depend on movement and activity. I am afraid that many of us live in activity. Activity often arises from need; but in Christ as the sabbath I have reached everything. I can “sit down”. The people were to keep their sabbaths, and the land was also to keep its sabbaths. Spiritually the latter depends on the former. The idea is that I am free from labour; God rested on the sabbath and was refreshed. You sit down to rest in Christ, then you will find refreshment: God Himself found it there.
FWJ (Matthew 11) would give God and man the sabbath.
JT I thought so. Man, according to God, is there seen — “I thank thee, O Father”. It is Man in the presence of the Father, a Man speaking to His Father ‘at that time’ — when things were all against Him; when, if things depended on effort, it was the time to make effort, but He did not make any effort. Things had gone against Him outwardly, but He said: “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth ... Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight”. Then “All things are delivered unto me of my Father ...” There is a Man there in the presence of the Father, perfectly restful, and God is restful in Him. Hence He says: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”; it is from a Model. See how He is in the presence of God — “For I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. Then He walks through the cornfields on the [p. 256] sabbath, meaning that the literal legal sabbath was abrogated on account of their state. He was replacing it; the pleasure of God was there. He was moving through the cornfields and that was pleasing to God; it was very displeasing to the Pharisees; but the disciples entered into that liberty and they plucked the ears of corn and ate them, and the Lord vindicated it. I mention that because of the place it has here — the sabbath of rest to Jehovah. There is to be no sense of need or of energy or pressure; it is a wonderful point to reach spiritually.
HH Christ must be the key to everything in the way of service.
JT And Moses spoke to all the assembly of the children of Israel, and said to them. These are the things which Jehovah has commanded, to do them. Then it says: “And all the assembly of the children of Israel departed from before Moses. And they came, every one whose heart moved him, and every one whose spirit prompted him ...” verse 20. I thought we might see in that the principle of trustworthiness; that their hearts came under the influence of the love of God and the sabbath. They acted apart from Moses, having departed from Moses — they acted with integrity.
Ques That would suggest they had been in the shining of God in Moses. Does that refer to the shining of God in Christ?
JT Yes; and, instead of making the golden calf, they now act in accord with the prompting of their hearts in the light of the covenant.
Ques Do you mean the material they brought out of Egypt is now to be used?
JT Yes; they were prompted inwardly, pointing to the love of God in our hearts. Moses had indicated the mind of God. They had come out with substance, and now they depart from Moses, and their hearts are not deceptive, they are not acting as a deceitful bow.
[p. 257] Before, the absence of Moses had led to idolatry; now it says: “They came, every one whose heart moved him, and every one whose spirit prompted him; they brought Jehovah’s heave offering for the work of the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments” verse 21. You can see how they were governed now by right motives. The question arises as to how trustworthy we are — and what we do as departing from before Moses.
Ques Does trustworthiness depend on the movement of the heart and the spirit being in accord?
JT It does. The spirit is that part of us which refers more directly to God, it is that which we are all said to have received from God. The heart is more the seat of intelligence, hence Ephesians speaks of “the eyes of your heart”. In my spirit I am directly in touch with God. Both the heart and spirit are affected here. I think we can see that the spirit is wholly secured now for God. The apostle says: “Your whole spirit, soul and body” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Ques Would the giving in 2 Corinthians be on this line? You referred to chapter 3 of that epistle. In chapter 8 giving.
JT Yes, I was thinking of the order in 2 Corinthians. We come under the ministry of the new covenant, which is the love of God, in chapter 3, what Godwin Christ in the ministry of the new covenant; then what God has in Christ and in all those who are reconciled, which would imply the sabbath (chapters 4 and 5). Then you have the giving developed in chapters 8 and 9.
HH I suppose it is a very important day for the saint when he realises that he can make a living contribution?
JT Well, it is. I was thinking, in connection with what we had this morning, that a young believer has these things in principle; indeed, it should be a challenge as to fellowship whether the believer, as coming out of [p. 258] the world, has acquired wealth, for it is a divine principle that you come out with wealth; you do not expect to get it all in that to which you come. Israel came out with wealth, as we have seen.
Ques What does that refer to?
JT I think it refers to what came out from the time of the gathering of the people together in chapter 4; Moses and Aaron delivering their message to them from Jehovah, it says: “then they bowed their heads and worshipped”. They accepted the message in that way, chapter 4: 29 - 31. That is when they began to take things to heart and appreciate them. Then, in chapter 12: 27, it says after Moses delivered the message: “The people bowed their heads and worshipped. And the children of Israel went away, and did as Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron; so did they”. Now they are acting in obedience. I think that between those two periods they had acquired wealth. As you receive the gospel, the divine message, feelingly — and we have many illustrations in the New Testament of it — you begin to acquire spiritual wealth. You might not be able to classify it, but we have the classification here.
FWJ Moses is now mediator, is he not?
JT Yes; he is definitely the mediator now, chapter 34. The difference in him in this second coming down from the first is noticeable. His face is now shining; he has seen much more than he did on his first ascent.
Ques Does the introduction of the ark make any difference?
JT I think so. There was a guarantee, that the law would be kept now. There is no need to break the tables now, for the will of God is secured in Christ.
FWJ Would not the carrying out of all this suppose the indwelling of the Spirit?
JT It does, answering to (Romans 5), and (2 Corinthians 3 - 2 Corinthians 9), as we have seen.
[p. 259] Rem Is some kind of energy supposed here? I was thinking of the words ‘heave offering’ used several times.
JT Yes, there is energy now. It is the heaving up of the affections as in this wonderful setting, the shining of Moses- face and the sabbath. How much enters into that to affect our hearts! We have the light of what God can be in a breakdown, how He has met the breakdown. There had not as yet been a breakdown in Israel, as they ate the passover. The passover lamb was intended to affect them, as it did, doubtless; it was intended to effect unity, as appealing to their hearts. It is most touching! But what intervenes before the event we are considering now, is the breakdown of Israel in chapter 32 and how God met that. In the second giving of the law God made His goodness to pass before Moses. He also says: “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy”. Moses’ face shines. Typically, we are there in 2 Corinthians 3 and 4 — the shining of the glory in the face of Christ.
HH Do you think that in the breakdown the people learnt how much Moses loved them? Moses goes up the mountain with the thought of making some kind of atonement or reconciliation; it showed the love he had in his heart for the people, he was ready to be blotted out on their account. I wondered whether in a crisis we do not get the opportunity of learning the love of Christ in a way we have not known it before.
JT That is very interesting. Moses rises in moral greatness in the way he met this crisis. He told God he would be blotted out from His book rather than that God’s people should be destroyed. As coming down to the camp he stood for God. He took the tabernacle and pitched it outside the camp, and Jehovah came down and spoke with him face to face as a man speaks with his friend. So he is honoured, and he would become more [p. 260] to the people than he had ever been before. But then God became more to the people in that He could come in thus and shine through the mediator upon them. They were not able to bear the shining, but the shining was there.
FWJ Is all this introduced in view of eternal conditions?
JT Well, it should be material for the tabernacle, and the tabernacle really is a suggestion of eternal relationships: “The tabernacle of God is with men” — it was a figure, a representation of things in the heavens. So that, if the believer rightly apprehended the gospel, he would be wealthy; he has got something to present. (Romans 12) shows that you begin with your body; but there is also what we are spiritually.
Ques Do you mean that the light of God shining out becomes material in our souls?
JT Yes, exactly. It is very remarkable that it was announced to Abraham that they should come out with great substance; and in Exodus the first mention of that is that “every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that is the inmate of her house, utensils of silver, and utensils of gold, and clothing; and ye shall put them on your sons and on your daughters, and shall spoil the Egyptians”, chapter 3: 22. The sons and daughters of Israel therefore were to carry this out. Then in chapter 12: 37 there is nothing said about women, only the men and the children are mentioned: but the women are the first to be mentioned as supplying the wealth.
Ques Is the thought of wealth here the same as in (Romans 15: 14): “I am persuaded, my brethren ... that yourselves also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another”?
JT Quite. Whatever a believer has acquired of the j knowledge of God in Christ through his exercises in self-! judgment is wealth.
Ques Is not that alluded to in (Psalm 105: 37), “He [p. 261] brought them forth with silver and gold ...” in all the value of redemption and clothed with divine righteousness?
JT Quite. All these things are very practical. One would hope that younger believers would take hold of them. We are taken account of as one assembly, that is to say, a moral, corporate, responsible thing; and then, each is a member of the congregation, that is, one of the persons involved, and so he has responsibilities. That is what God would impress upon us, that we are under obligation severally and collectively.
Ques Would that fit in with (2 Corinthians 6): “We then, as workers together ...”?
JT Exactly. In that chapter the apostle mentioned about thirty-seven things that marked himself as a minister of Christ, and then says: “Our mouth is opened to you, Corinthians, our heart is expanded. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your affections”. That is, they were not contributing much. They had been endowed from the divine side in a most marked measure, for God would never set up the assembly without endowing it from His side with all that was necessary; but they had not taken things up, and they were shut up in their affections, they were worldly; so that he appeals to them to be enlarged, and not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers; for you can get nothing from such a yoke as that no material for the tabernacle.
I think that the women originally acquiring the wealth refers to what goes on subjectively. There is a sort of indefinable exercise with the believer normally, by which he takes on wealth. It is a figure, of course; you cannot make it fit in every detail, but there is the general thought of taking wealth out of Egypt, and spoiling the Egyptians, of whatever the world may lean upon to support itself. The world does take on things that are of God; but you take them from it. You may [p. 262] take them up in such a way that they become real, and your reality exposes what the world is — a mere hollow profession — and they lose them in that sense.
You can bring the thought of being sons and daughters of Jehovah Almighty into every relationship of life. The saints have their reading of the Scripture and prayers in the morning — all is sanctified by the word of God and by freely addressing Him, (1 Timothy 4:5). We give thanks to God for everything. They belong to us only by right as we accept them from God, and give thanks for them. There are things the world takes on which do not belong to them.
HH In the world to come everything will be publicly His. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof”, (Psalm 24:1).
JT We belong really to those who give thanks, though the Lord makes His sun to rise on evil and good, and the rain to come down on all. There are also things which take on spiritual names, and customs that belong only to the people of God, which the world has assumed in the way of profession. If I take up any of those things and exemplify them in the power of the Spirit of God, I rob the world of them really. If we take the things up in reality ourselves in the power of the Spirit of God, we obviously expose the sham; for there is nothing that answers to God save by the Spirit of God.
Rem “The meek shall inherit the earth”, (Psalm 37:11).
JT Yes. I do not think the world should be allowed to keep anything that belongs to God. Of course. God has His sovereign right to send rain on the just and on the unjust; but then there are things that do not belong to the world and which they only have by favour of the Christians. As Christians take these things up, the world’s possession of them is obviously a sham: they cannot exemplify them at all. So in Revelation, the break up of Babylon and the exposure of the world system, proves that they do not belong to God at all. If [p. 263] I am in any system, the only thing I can do is to take out of it all that I possibly can.
Ques What are we to understand by this cutting of the stones, verse 33?
JT We have first the things in verse 22, both men and women brought them — “nose rings, and ear rings, and rings, and bracelets, all kinds of utensils of gold”. There, I think, the people had the things, and a man is accepted according to what he has. Then “all they that offered a heave offering of silver and copper brought Jehovah’s heave offering. And every one with whom was found acacia wood for all manner of work of the service, brought it. And every woman that was wise-hearted spun with her hands”. Now you have another thing there, you have wisdom added — “Every woman that was wise hearted spun with her hands, and brought what she had spun”, verse 25. I think you have what God would provide anticipated. You see the fulness of this in the man that God called by name, “Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah”, verse 30. The thing was there in the wise hearted, that is, the principle with God is, that the thing is there before you get the name; so that it says of him that “Jehovah has called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the spirit of God”. The thing was there, but now God would take that up from His own side to provide a means and an assurance to His people, that what they had brought would be carefully taken care of. This is from the divine side. But before you get that, you get the wise hearted women.
Ques We have to distinguish between bringing the material and what is wrought out when it is brought?
JT Yes; I think what Bezaleel means is that God assures His people, it is a sort of honour given to them, that He is now seeing to it that their offerings are cared for properly and will shine according to their value. So it says: “See, Jehovah has called by name Bezaleel” — Jehovah has done it; but the thing was already there — in the wise hearted women.
Rem The blue and the purple is brought by the men, but the spinning is done by the women.
JT Well, I suppose we have to learn what the references are spiritually. “Every man with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and byssus, and goats- hair, and rams- skins dyed red ...” and then “spice, and the oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the incense of fragrant drugs”. I suppose that the allusion is to certain spiritual status. The thought of the man has its own significance spiritually, and so has the thought of the woman; and then “the principal men” are persons of spiritual development; they bring the most precious things, the precious stones. You can see how wonderfully graded the thing is and in what detail, and how God takes account of all that is brought and assures us that the very best care will be taken of it. He has called by name this remarkable man and then another man to help him. So that every believer may be assured that, however little or much he brings, it is in excellent hands; God will make the most of it.
Ques Does the thought of the households underlie this?
JT I think it does. It begins in (Genesis 15) where God says they shall “come out with great substance”; then with the women in chapter 1; then in chapter 11 you have a further reference to it: God gave them favour so that they demanded of the Egyptians and they gave them things.
Ques Would it suggest that every believer has something to bring?
JT Well, if he is truly a believer.
Rem The wealth of God returns to Him in a new, very acceptable [p. 265] way.
JT I think it is very fine to see that, as coming into fellowship, whatever little I have. God will assure me that the very best care will be taken of it. “See”, Moses says, “Jehovah has called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri” — Jehovah has done that.
Ques Do you see the sovereignty of God in choosing these two men, one of the tribe of Judah and the other of the tribe of Dan?
JT Yes. We might introduce the book of Proverbs now. In those two men operating you will see foreshadowed “the all various wisdom of God”; as of old, wisdom operated in the forming of the universe — “I was there”, she says. You begin to contemplate the thing. As we bring all this into the New Testament, angels, heavenly principalities and powers see in the assembly “the all-various wisdom of God”, (Ephesians 3:10). It is well worth my while to bring my little quota, for this is what is being done with it. If someone were to tell me I had put a little bit into Venus or Jupiter or the moon, I should be very interested — but it is a far greater thing that I have put a little bit into the assembly, and that God in His all various wisdom has put that where it shines best. Moses tells the children of Israel that God had called by name Bezaleel and He had endowed him with wisdom and that, therefore, he will do everything properly. In the next chapter we read: “Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every man that was wise-hearted, in whom Jehovah had put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work of the service of the sanctuary — according to all that Jehovah had commanded”. So that in the end of chapter 39 all this is brought to Moses and “he saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Jehovah had commanded — so had they done; and Moses blessed them”, verse 43. The thing is done.
Rem And it is all in view of God dwelling amongst [p. 266] them.
JT Quite. So it is really a greater thing than the physical universe. In (Proverbs 8) you have this spoken of by Wisdom, but in chapter 9 “Wisdom hath builded her house”.
Ques Would that encourage our hearts to obedience and restfulness so that the service might be carried on?
JT I think, as the heave offering is brought, the heart being in action, that wisdom will come in. 1 Corinthians is to bring in that element at Corinth; it was wanting there; they were relying on human wisdom and the apostle sought to bring in the wisdom of God.
HH In (Proverbs 8) you see the wisdom with which the earth itself was formed, the things that were put into it in divine wisdom; so God has put things in the church, and each suitable contribution is a pleasure to Him. God has put things in the material universe, and also in that which is to occupy the greatest place in relation to it in time to come. We need to appreciate this.
JT It is wonderful how God has foreseen the need of man in the earth; everything he requires is set there. The more you look at them the more you are impressed with the wisdom of God in everything. The church is to be the home of divine wisdom, in it are to be found all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And to think that I, tiny speck as I am, should be able to contribute to that And that God assures me that what little I contribute He will put in the position where it will shine best!
HH Even the desire to do anything must come from God.
JT Quite so; but what He loves is not so much the getting of it into you, but your response, if your heart and your spirit prompts you — it is spontaneity in the believer; and then the skill that operates in the spinning the blue, purple, scarlet and byssus; these the men had, The skill is not seen in them, the skill is in the women — [p. 267] the subjective idea.
SPP Does the first suggest raw material and the other working things out?
JT That is very good: the raw material in the man and the spinning in the woman.
SPP There are two references made to the heave offering and then there is a reference to the wave offering, and that refers to the gold.
JT I think the heave offering speaks of spontaneity in the believer, that is to say, the result of love by the Spirit; there can be no spontaneity apart from the Spirit. The key to that is Moses sitting by the well. There is that which operates of itself. A well springs up, it conveys the idea of life — living waters, and Moses sat by it. That underlies the idea of the heave offering, that the heart heaves up to God. The wave offering is, I think, that the thing is presented steadily before the eye of God; He is delighted to see it.
Rem The Spirit of Christ in the believer is the Spirit of wisdom.
JT Quite. In the early part of 1 Corinthians you have stress laid on the need for this sort of thing, what is seen in the women: “hidden wisdom”, we should have that. But in chapter 12 we see how all come under the one God and one Spirit and one Lord — the administration of divine Persons; so we may say that whatever there is in the assembly, comes under Their hands and is utilised. It says: “God has set certain in the assembly” — He set the gifts there.
Ques Are the features of these two men, Bezaleel and Aholiab, seen in Paul? He says: “As a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation”, and he wanted the Corinthians to be moved by that same wisdom.
JT Precisely. (1 Corinthians 12) is very instructive in that way, for it brings in the body as the vessel for the expression of Christ: and then it brings in the gifts. The word is changed from the ‘body’ to the ‘assembly’, for the gifts set in the assembly bring out the wisdom of God,
[p. 268] how wisely they have been placed; He has “set certain” — set them there.
Ques What is the thought in verse 34, in Bezaleel teaching?
JT Well, I suppose we can see how that principle goes on: we recognise the Spirit in those whom He uses. So that in the next chapter you have, not only these two men, but “every man that was wise-hearted, in whose heart God had put wisdom”. It is available, therefore, for everybody, the principle of spiritual teaching is there.
Ques Do you think that those who do every kind of work stand in contrast to those who do artistic work?
JT The latter is very fine — “Devise artistic work”, verse 32 — perhaps not much known among us — these fine touches, this fine art work. We have in (Psalm 45) “wrought needlework”. Needlework is particularly interesting.
MD'C So the treasures of Egypt have to give place to the treasures of the church. We come to it that there is nothing in Egypt, but everything in Christ.