GUIDANCE
[p. 46] GUIDANCE
EVERY true-hearted believer seeks to be guided aright, and it is the present thought of the Lord, as ever, that there should be a needed supply of light for His people. The church has always been cared for in this respect, and never more so than in our own day. The effort of the enemy, however, is to discredit, or otherwise render ineffectual, what has been given; his great aim being to hinder the saints from realising the divine end in view. This of course is nothing new; it has ever been his way. If he cannot extinguish the light entirely he will endeavour to divert from it by the introduction of counter issues, by some line of things, it may be which in its own day served its intended purpose, but is no longer effectual, There are not only numerous illustrations of this in Scripture; they abound all over Christendom. When communion with the mind of God for the moment is lost there will be a gradual, but certain departure; a lower line will be adopted and the measure in which this becomes prominent will be the measure in which what is really of God for the time will be lost to our view.
What strikes one is the prevalence of latitudinarianism. There seems immense scope as to what may be regarded as truth and as to what may be refused, and the principle of agreement to differ seems largely recognised. There may be the most radical divergence of mind on vital subjects and yet fellowship with one another is assumed. That there should be a distinct ministry of the Spirit seems a matter of doubt, and that the saints have the ability to locate such a ministry still more so. But cannot the saints tell what is of God? They are said to have an unction from the Holy One and to know all things. Hence they can discern what is of God and the contrary.
[p. 47] Otherwise we are not, after all, much better off than Pilate we are still asking, “What is truth?”
To the humble Christian it is not a matter of doubt or surprise that the Good Shepherd should constantly meet the needs of His flock; to him the Lord’s remark that the sheep should hear His voice is perfectly intelligible. Further, every thoughtful and exercised believer cannot fail to know that the Lord has been speaking very directly to His people. He knows too that what has been presented has become the very essence and spring of his joy and progress. He prizes it for this reason and also because he knows its source: he knows it comes from the Lord, and is conscious that it is essential to his existence as a witness for Christ down here. But he is not shut up to what has already come: he looks for more from the One who has given so much, and who is rich unto all that call upon Him. He is not discouraged although quite alive to the deadly antagonism of Satan, who becomes more and more infuriated as the blessed light of God gradually gains a footing in the hearts of men. But the Christian goes on in peace. He knows the chariots of God are twenty thousand, thousands of thousands and the Lord is among them. The chariots surround the light and the testimony (see 2 Kings 6:17) and his safety lies its being where these are.
It will be found that while God ever meets the current need of His people, yet He does this very largely by leading them into the intelligence of His mind as to what is before Him, and divine guidance will be found in connection with this latter. The tabernacle presents the idea of what was in the mind of God, and from the first moment of its being set up among the Israelites guidance for them stood identified with it. This is a very important point, and it holds good for all times. It indicates the predominating importance of the testimony. Other [p. 48] things had their place, such as the needs and discipline of the people, and great mention is made of these, but beyond all question the most prominent feature of the wilderness was the tabernacle of witness.
Directly the redemption of the people had been effected God began to unfold the magnificent system He had before Him. For forty days He communed with Moses on the mount, and during all this time the theme was the vast plan, or system of blessing, which His heart cherished, and which would in due time take form and come to pass in Christ. This system was indicated in a structure (the tabernacle),† a pattern of which was shown to Moses. Inseparably connected with this was the priestly institution. Seven chapters (Exodus 25 - Exodus 31) give details of the pattern and four more (Exodus 36 - Exodus 39) record the accurate construction, according to this pattern, of the tabernacle. All completed it was reared up by Moses and anointed in every part of it with oil. Then “the cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle”, Exodus 40: 34. Wonderful scene! Viewed according to what it represented nothing can exceed it in importance. Every part of that wondrous figurative representation of things in the heavens furnishes the most precious instruction, and the heart is lost in wonder as the whole is taken together and the infinite scheme of blessedness which God has purposed for man is apprehended. But this can be the portion only of those who have the Spirit, who alone can instruct us “as to all things”; 1 John 2: 27. These figures all refer to Christ, who came by (in connection with) the greater and more perfect tabernacle, i.e., the great moral system, hence they are altogether outside the range of man’s mind. They are the “things of God” and are apprehended
†The word is used in the singular, the pattern was shown to Moses on the Mount.
[p. 49] only by those who have the Spirit of God. Here we may notice the extreme carefulness with which human innovation in the least degree was precluded in the divine instructions. Everything was to be made exactly according to the pattern shown. We find too that the greatest care was taken that this injunction should be complied with. Thus the mind of man was utterly refused and shut out, from the very outset, from the sphere of divine things.
The thought is not, however, to dilate on the tabernacle, even if one had the ability to do this, but rather to point out, as already indicated, that guidance for the people stood connected with it. This is very evident, as the verses immediately succeeding those already quoted easily show. “And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys; but if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys”, Exodus 40: 36 - 38. The pillars of cloud and fire had led the way before, but now that God had advanced in His ways guidance for the people henceforth must be in accord with the further consequent light.
We are justified in regarding all this to have direct reference to the present time. We are not now living in the age of figures; we have come to the great substance and reality. The Lord did not come down from heaven with a pattern: He was in Himself the great Substantiality of all; i.e., in the sense that all would take form and come into being through and in Him. But the order indicated in the shadow is bound to appear in the substance; that is self-evident. Hence the immensely preponderating importance of God’s testimony is established and it is also clearly seen that guidance for the saints stands [p. 50] connected with it. There may be zeal and activity and much outward show, but if the great thought which God has purposed in Christ be disregarded we are sure to miss our way.
The tabernacle was an integral whole and the pillar of cloud rested upon it as such — it did not rest upon any fraction of it. If we take up one part, so to speak, of the divine system to the minimising of the others we diverge from the mind of the Spirit. The church of course has a wonderful place and too much can scarcely be made of it; still, it is not all. It fills a great and blessed place in the divine system, but it is still, a part of that vast scheme. Its place is in the heavenly places, but not as disconnected from the scene below. There is “the breadth and length and the depth and height” It is all one vast and blessed scene, as we have said, pervaded by the Spirit (the anointing oil) and filled with the glory of God.
May the Lord enable us to maintain the light of it in our souls till that blessed “world to come” bursts upon us, when we shall come out in holy splendour as the very crown of it all! In this way only shall we tread the divine path and show to all that we seek a heavenly country and a city which hath foundations whose Builder and Maker is God.