SPOIL (3)
[p. 260] SPOIL (3)
Numbers 31:1-12; Numbers 31:21-30; Numbers 31:48-54
JT We began the consideration of our subject, which is “Spoil”, by reading 1 Samuel 30, which represents in a general way the subject before us, that is, David’s, or Christ’s, spoil; some of it being shared with those who had befriended David in his rejection and sufferings. And then we looked at Abraham’s spoil, as alluded to in Hebrews 7, but in greater detail in Genesis 14. There we saw that the spoil was contributory to the priest, that is, Melchisedec; not now shared with those who are friendly to Christ in His rejection, but one-tenth offered to Him as Priest, involving His Person — who He is; and allied with that, we read from Exodus about the spoil that Israel obtained from the Egyptians, demanding it from them as they went out of Egypt, which later became contributory to the tabernacle. All these were preliminary features belonging typically to the early history of the assembly.
Now we have come to a chapter that treats of spoil obtained by conflict arising through evil alliances formed by the people of God; that is, Israel coming under the pernicious influence of the teaching of Balaam, who for reward, and at the request of the king of Moab, sought to curse Israel, but God turned it into blessing. Then Balaam taught Israel through Balak to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication, that is, by forming evil alliances with the world (see Revelation 2). So, as we have read, the conflict between Israel and Midian arose at the direction of Jehovah. God would avenge Himself and would have the children of Israel avenge themselves, upon the Midianites. Now it is for us to arrive at an understanding of what [p. 261] the spoil referred to here means, what its antitype is; and in doing so we should be governed in our thoughts by the preceding chapters; that is, the effort of Balaam, which is brought forward into the New Testament and seen as developed in a certain system of great antiquity in the history of Christianity; and through it real Christians have been drawn under the influence of the world. As the Lord forewarned: “Woe to the world because of offences!” Matthew 18: 7. This system has been an offence; that is, in influencing the people of God to stumble and to affiliate themselves with the world. After chapter 25, where this evil was dealt with by Phinehas and by the destruction of many Israelites, God opens up the great truth of the inheritance and those who should inherit; and then the sacrifices are outlined in chapters 28 and 29, and the vow in chapter 30; and then this chapter, which is very significant as contemplating the end of the journey through the wilderness. At the end of this conflict Moses is about to die. The chapter, therefore, is to be understood in the light of the culminating history of the assembly and its results in spoil for God, for the Levites, and for the sanctuary.
CAM Does this section allude to the latter part of church history?
JT That is what I thought.
CAM Would it be right in that connection to look at such chapters as 28 and 29, where it speaks of all the offerings, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly, as the divine thought that these offerings should be observed all down the present era?
JT I think the richness of the chapters that intervene between chapter 25 and this one, brings out what has been recovered in the revival of the last days; that is, the thought of the inheritance in chapter 26; the daughters of Zelophehad claiming it as those who value it in chapter 27, and then in [p. 262] chapters 28 and 29, as you say, the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly offerings; so that God is fully responded to. Then in chapter 30 we have the principle of the vow — that whatever one commits oneself to, as subject to the Lord, He does not forbid; hence it stands; this would enter into the conditions surrounding the Lord’s supper. The relation of the assembly to Christ is fixed as the Lord’s supper is taken up and understood. Then this chapter brings out the conflict against this awful influence of worldly associations, corrupting the whole system — the whole body — the deliverance from that, and the spoils that result.
Ques Where does chapter 19 come in — the red heifer and the water of purification — does it connect with this spoil?
JT That belongs to another section, which would embrace the red heifer in chapter 19, the smiting of the rock in chapter 20, and the brazen serpent in chapter 21. The teaching of those chapters completes that section. Balaam’s attack begins a new section which finishes in this chapter, but of course the whole teaching of the book is constructive and enters into what we are now considering.
Ques The reason I raised the question is, that in this chapter there is a reference to anyone who had touched a dead person. Does the application of the ashes and the water of purification have any reference to spoil in this setting?
JT The teaching of chapter 19 would apply in that sense, of course. It is well, however, to see that the attack of Balaam is a new movement, and it finishes in this chapter; so that we have a new generation in chapter 26. The old is terminated in chapter 21; the Spirit succeeds the flesh, and we have a new generation; all of the old had died away except Caleb and Joshua. Israel is now on the banks of the Jordan at Jericho, and the wilderness [p. 263] is ended. Moses is about to die also, after this conflict has taken place; hence they are seen as ready to enter Canaan.
RWS Peter, in his second epistle, speaks of the path of Balaam; Jude speaks of his error; and John in the word to Pergamos, speaks of his doctrine. Would that fit in particularly at the end of the dispensation?
JT I think it does.
ARS Would Balaam being slain here be an example of: “If any one corrupt the temple of God, him shall God destroy”, 1 Corinthians 3: 17?
JT That is, a good reference. Balaam was a corrupter; it is a very solemn word.
ABP Would you say that Jude’s reference to the way of Cain, the error of Balaam, and the gainsaying of Core, would represent the whole moral history of the rival system?
JT I think that is right. All these references help as to the evil that enters into these chapters, the kind of thing that results from affiliating with the world and refusing to break with it. It is the evil we are liable to get into and the influence we come under.
ANW Is that coupled also with the reason why the method of Balaam’s slaying is given here? There are many slayings found in Scripture, but it does not always say how they are effected, but here it is definitely stated that Balaam was slain by the sword. Is there a reason for that?
JT The Lord says to Pergamos, where the doctrine of Balaam was held by some, “I will make war with them with the sword of my mouth”, Revelation 2: 16. Then to Thyatira: “These things says the Son of God, he that has his eyes as a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass”, (chapter 2: 18). It is also said earlier, “out of his mouth a sharp two-edged sword going forth”, (chapter 1: 16). The [p. 264] Son of God is jealous over the house of God. He is over that house as Son, and the teaching of Balaam, working up to the teaching of Jezebel, disputes the rights of the Lord in the house of God; what is needed to deal with them is the sword — the word of God which is sharper than any two-edged sword. That would perhaps help as to the use of the sword against Balaam. What do you say?
ANW Yes; I have noticed recently the power with which matters are dealt with as the word is used by the Spirit. To bring in divine principles according to the word has a wonderful effect in dealing with matters in our care meetings.
JT You feel it is the only weapon with which to deal with the sort of opposition presented here, because Balaam’s opposition is akin to what is said in Ephesians: “... principalities ... authorities ... spiritual power of wickedness in the heavenlies” (chapter 6: 12); that is, Balaam’s doctrine was a secret thing at first. And then it goes on to speak of the “sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word”, (chapter 6: 17). That is what is needed against these dark influences.
WR Paul says: “Take heed therefore to yourselves ... For I know this, that there will come in amongst you after my departure grievous wolves, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves shall rise up men speaking perverted things ... And now I commit you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give to you an inheritance among all the sanctified”, Acts 20: 28 - 33. Does that not help us?
JT It helps us in a positive way. It is able to build us up, but the side we are at is negative, dealing with evil. The character of evil is what is hidden at first. It is remarkably characterised by being concealed; it was Balaam’s pretension to be entirely on Jehovah’s side, when, in truth, he was [p. 265] looking to be paid by the enemy as the reward of secret unrighteousness.
JTJr Was it the power of the word that brought Ananias to death? “And Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and expired”, Acts 5: 5.
JT I think that is the idea. It reminds us of the resources that we have in adhering to, and employing, the word.
AFM As you were saying, this movement of Balaam’s was secret; Israel were entirely ignorant of the tremendous forces of evil that were against them, as set forth in Balaam and Balak. Is that what is in your mind?
JT Yes; Israel were not aware of what was current on high between these persons of the “upper world” as you might call it; but now they are aware, and they are dealing with Balaam hand to hand.
JS Is it like the leaven the woman placed in the three measures of meal until the whole was leavened?
JT Quite so; it is most difficult when we have hidden feelings with which to deal.
EP Would it correspond with “overthrowing reasonings and every high thing that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God, and leading captive every thought into the obedience of the Christ”, 2 Corinthians 10: 5?
JT I think that is what is meant, having in readiness to avenge all disobedience. The apostle had the means of immediately dealing with all disobedience.
EP Avenging Israel upon the Midianites was the last service Moses rendered. Afterwards he was to be gathered unto his people (verse 2). Would the element of authority remain in force here?
JT Yes; I think it shows what the Lord has been doing in relation to recovery, so that we recognise the Lord’s day and the Lord’s supper, which stand together. John says in Revelation 1: 10, “I became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”; indicating the right of way, the Lord had, and has, in dealing with these matters. Moses’ death, being foretold here, by Jehovah as soon as this matter of the Midianites was settled, makes way for another ministry — a spiritual order of things in Joshua.
AR In His word to Pergamos, the Lord says, “where the throne of Satan is”; and later He says, “where Satan dwells”, Revelation 2: 13. Is Jehovah, in the chapter we read, about to break up Satan’s power and release the saints to go into purpose?
JT I think that would point to the hierarchical system, which is marked by regal splendour, Satan having his part in it. There is the idea of a throne, a crown, royal splendour, and the like, attaching to the hierarchical system alluded to in Pergamos; that is the beginning of it. Satan’s throne was there.
ARS I notice there is no direct leader in this conflict. Jehovah tells Moses to avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites, and then Moses’ tells the people to take twelve thousand men out of the tribes of Israel; in other words, this victory seems to be the result of the word of Jehovah.
JT That is right. It is not to select soldiers, but arm them. Moses spoke to the people saying, “Arm from amongst you men for military service” (verse 3). That is, strength lies in the armour, or the military equipment. Christians are to be armed, as we have been saying, with the sword of the Spirit, as a weapon of offence and of defence, but with the armour, too. “Arm yourselves” would mean full military equipment and training; so that success lies in each soldier being himself armed, as seen in Ephesians, rather than in military leadership: The leadership was really in Phinehas; that is, it was [p. 267] a priestly matter, as you will observe; hence, “Moses spoke to the people saying. Arm from amongst you men for military service, that they go against Midian to execute Jehovah’s vengeance upon Midian. Of every tribe a thousand, of all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. And there were levied out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand by tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand by the tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, and the holy instruments, even the alarm-trumpets in his hand” (verses 3 - 6). That is the spiritual combination that met this situation. It was not simply great military leadership, but each person armed; because it was a personal matter waged between persons.
AFM Phinehas was he who smote the man and the woman with the javelin in holy zeal for Jehovah; on account of this he was qualified to go forth as a priest with these holy instruments, giving character to the whole war, would you say?
JT Quite so; it was a divine matter. In these last days we have come back, through grace, to Ephesian days, in principle; the saints, learning warfare and moving together, each equipped in a military sense, they recognise the whole nation; that it is not a party matter. The denominations, so called, are partisan in principle, whereas it is the whole nation that is in mind here — one thousand out of each tribe. That means the whole nation — “one body and one Spirit, as ye have been also called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all”, Ephesians 4: 4 - 6. What a conflict! It is in Ephesian character, and is in perfect unity.
AR In chapter 25 where the breakdown occurred, Phinehas appeared to be the only person that was armed; whereas, here, every man was to be [p. 268] armed.
JT That is the point that Moses makes: “Arm from amongst you men”; that is, one thousand men from each tribe were armed.
Ques Is that not on the principle of selection — one thousand from each tribe, as to whether those thousands would be able to meet the Midianites?
JT Well, each tribe would be, as it were, under obligation to produce this thousand; because the word is, “Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm from amongst you men”. It is not volunteers. Each tribe is to look after this matter, so that the whole body is brought into it; as we might say, the whole assembly.
JS Twelve thousand was not much of an army, but they are very effective here.
JT That is the idea. It was the quality; they were well armed.
JTJr Is there a present answer in the thought of the tribes today — each locality working this matter out in warfare, producing its thousand?
JT That is right; normally we would act in relation to the whole twelve tribes; not in any partisan way.
ARS Does this correspond with Ephesians: “Take to you the panoply of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having accomplished all things, to stand” (chapter 6: 13)?
JT Yes, that is right.
ABP If conflict should arise in New Zealand or in England, should there be the “thousand” in each company there, and in America, too?
JT I think so in principle. The matter is ours, and that saves us from sectional feeling. Other principles would help us to leave with those near by the immediate settlement and judgment, but the exercise belongs to us as well as to them. I think that is important.
[p. 269] Ques It is clearly a priestly matter, is it not, inasmuch as Phinehas uses the holy instruments?
JT Well, it rose to that; first, it is one thousand out of each tribe, and then, “them and Phinehas”. He gives character to the war, because he had the holy instruments, meaning that he was to sound them when they went forth to war. They were for the purpose of sounding an alarm, and he did it with “holy instruments ... in his hand” (verse 6); that is, the priestly element, in the war, sounds out the alarm; it indicates where the attack is. It is a question of the priestly element discerning where the real attack is.
EP Would a meeting for prophetic ministry come in in this connection? I was thinking of 1 Corinthians 14; how Paul would urge them with regard to a prophetic word in their own midst.
JT That is really what such meetings are intended to be; to call attention to what is current in a prophetic way, and what is needed in matters of emergency — how we are to meet things.
CAM The allusion to Ephesians seems to be a wonderful thing. We might have thought from Acts 20 that the great truth of all God’s thoughts might have faded or become dim, but to link the wonderful meaning of that epistle with the position here, shows that all the blessed truth of the beginning is known and confirmed at the end, do you not think?
JT I think it will help us if we see this: that it is at the end of Moses’ ministry that the spoil is brought, as it says in verses 11 and 12: “And they took all the booty, and all the prey, of man and of cattle; and they brought to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the assembly of the children of Israel, the captives and the prey and the booty, to the camp in the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan of Jericho”, Numbers 31: 12.
[p. 270] That is the end of the wilderness, and I think it is well to notice that position. The spoil at this point is all brought in full recognition of the authority of Christ and His priesthood, and also of the assembly.
CAM So we should really awaken to the greatness of it all now. Those alarm trumpets were like the word in Ephesians exhorting us to awake.
JT That is right — awake. The allusion there is to Isaiah 60: “Arise, shine! for thy light is come”; it is really like an alarm-blast. Similar expressions are found much in Isaiah, and it is a very important thing as applied to what is current; because so many of our brethren — no doubt all of us — are inclined to be sleepy about these matters. We should be awake to the apprehension that there is such a thing as the assembly, that we can move in the light of it, enjoy it, and reap the spoils of conflict for it as they did at the beginning.
AFM What is the character of this spoil? It appears that the men of Midian were all slain and that the spoil was made up of women and children.
JT The slaying of the males, and the names of the kings being given would be, I think, the destruction and overthrow, in principle — not, of course, literally in the antitype — of the intellectual side that has been used to bring about all this corruption. That is what is meant, I think; first, the kings and Balaam — the great corrupter. As has been remarked, “If any one corrupt the temple of God, him shall God destroy”. Let us not forget that. There are five kings mentioned by name who are destroyed; and the women are segregated by priestly discrimination — some are to be destroyed but those that are uncontaminated are to be preserved; alluding, I think, to what is subjectively of God. That is what is meant. That which caused the corruption is destroyed, but the uncontaminated are [p. 271] preserved. That would mean the work of God, however obscurely it may appear. They represent the subjective thing — what is living and pure, as it were, the work of God, and of these there were a goodly number, some thirty-two thousand. Jehovah got some as His offering and some went to the Levites, too; so that there is a disposition of these “human persons”, which is very striking. They are referred to along with the live-stock; the sheep, the oxen, and the asses are referred to, and then it says “human persons”. They are all included in the spoil.
JS Does that show how discriminating God is in His judgment?
JT I think that has a bearing on our care meetings and what flows out from them — the need of priestly discernment as to what is of real value in the spoil, as to whether it is really characteristically immune and free from contamination.
JS And then bringing all the spoil to the Jordan at Jericho is a remarkable expression. Would that be in view of preparation for the advance on Jericho?
JT Quite so; you feel you are ready to go into Canaan after that battle, because there is nothing but what is of God left. All is purified, as in verse 21, where Eleazar speaks directly to the people saying, “This is the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded Moses. Only the gold, and the silver, the copper, the iron, the tin, and the lead, everything that passeth through the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean; only it shall be purified with the water of separation; and everything that cannot pass through the fire ye shall make go through the water. And ye shall wash your garments on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean; and afterwards ye may come into the camp” (verses 21 - 24). That is the purifying process. It refers to the death of Christ; all is brought through [p. 272] in that way — all the inanimate things such as materials and metals, but the living things — the live stock and the persons — are viewed differently, as representing the work of God; their selection is carefully made. All that had to do with corruption is destroyed; and only what is pure is left.
AR Does this correspond with the burning bush that Moses saw? It burned, but was not consumed. The people are about to go into the land as going through the fire.
JT That is the principle. The Old Testament closes with that thought; what comes through to this dispensation. The Lord sits as a refiner; the thing goes through fire. He does not bring into the new dispensation anything but what is suitable.
AFM What about the garments and skins? It was necessary that they should be purified by the water of separation.
JT It is really the same as the fire in principle. They cannot go through fire, but the death of Christ is applied either way, whether it, be the fire or the water.
Ques Is the apostle’s ministry to the saints at Corinth analogous to bringing Israel to Jericho?
JT That is the principle of the two epistles. Everything must be dealt with. If there are things amongst us that may not have been dealt with as yet, we are to have a readiness to deal with them. Paul was going to the full limit in dealing with evil at Corinth. That is the word in this chapter.
Ques Would it link on with the apostle’s ministry in chapter 5, where the instruction he gives them is that they should act for themselves? Moses got divine instructions, but Eleazar speaks to the people. They are acting from what is within themselves. Is that right?
JT That is the idea — “put away from among yourselves”. The authoritative side is stressed in 1 Corinthians 5: “(ye and my spirit being gathered together, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ) ... to deliver him, I say, being such, to Satan” (verses 4, 5). That is authoritative, but at the end of the chapter, he says, “Remove the wicked person from amongst yourselves” (verse 13). He would say, You do that yourselves; you must not allow wickedness amongst you. And so here, Eleazar of himself says in verse 21: “This is the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded Moses”. He puts responsibility on them to cause them to pass the things through the fire and the water.
RWS How is this sinister thing to be recognised?
JT It is a question of priestly discernment. It says, “And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the princes of the assembly went forth to meet them outside the camp. And Moses was wroth with the officers of the army” (verses 13, 14). He was wroth because they had not discerned this defiling element. They had saved it alive; the leaders of the army were not true, and it needed the priestly element in Eleazar to deal with the situation.
AFM Phinehas does not seem to come into this particular part of the exercise, although he led in the battle in a spiritual sense; but Eleazar seems to feel the thing and speak of it for God.
JT Yes, and the captains of the thousands, and the captains of the hundreds, in verse 14, have come under Moses’ severe disapproval because they were not discriminative.
ABP Do you think the number of difficulties that have arisen in the past few years in divers localities have been the means in the Lord’s hand of bringing about this purifying?
JT That is what it is; Eleazar is bringing things through the fire; and any resistance to that is interference with this process which is so [p. 274] essential in order that the fellowship should be free from what defiles.
AR Does it show that as military men, we are to be prepared to slay, and that by the exercise of priestly discernment we discriminate? Is there not a danger in conflict, if we are not priestly in it, to show grace and save persons without regard to the contamination, whereas principles must govern us?
JT That is what Moses insists on; so only those that were immune from the contamination were preserved. Persons linked on with worldly associations are not admissible into the fellowship; that is what is meant. All evil is to be unsparingly judged. I believe the women that were saved represent the element of the work of God, the subjective side, so that what was in themselves in principle was to be pure. What is of God must be true and pure.
AFM The necessity for door-keeping is emphasised. There may be those who have come in with whom there is what is questionable, and we are to be on our guard so as to exclude the elements of the world.
JT That is what is meant in verses 21 to 24; and then we have the counting up of the spoil, enormous spoil, in verses 25 to 47. The spoil is segregated, and counted, and divided. The military have half and the people have half — that is, all the saints are brought into it — those that remain at home as well as those that go to war. David made this a statute later on. It is inaugurated here by Moses, under God. Then the people furnish a tithe to the Levites — one out of fifty; whereas the military furnish a tithe to Jehovah directly — one out of five hundred. Our minds have to come into all this thing spiritually, for we cannot be unintelligent spiritually if we are to understand this chapter. The application of it antitypically discloses what [p. 275] God is doing today; what He is securing as salvage out of the ruin of christendom, and how carefully He is counting it and requiring His own portion out of it; and then the levites — those who serve Him — have their portion, too. Then finally, the officers come forward voluntarily and offer for the sanctuary. We cannot be indifferent or apathetic if we are to understand this matter, for we have to learn to count; to become mathematical so as to recognise what belongs to God, to the servants, and to the sanctuary from all this spoil.
Rem It is on a percentage basis. There is no more required from one than one has. It is about one-fifth of one per cent.
JT That is right. As his portion, Jehovah gets one-fifth of one per cent, whereas the Levites get two per cent.
CAM The military men would seem to be at an advantage. They are the nearest to God in connection with the results.
JT They get half of the spoil — having been to the war — and the people get the other half.
CAM So it is of great advantage and benefit to suffer for the things of God; it is thus a privilege to be military. Is that not it?
JT Indeed. How important to be on the alert in dealing with the things of God; these things should not pass through as if they are nothing to us, but it should come into our hearts and minds as to what all this means mathematically. God’s portion enters into it, and the portion of the levites also, as well as the assembly, for the assembly gets half. We want to understand this great result and see that we come into it.
FHL What the captains offered is excess. They had learned righteousness, had they not?
JT You will notice it says in verse 53: “The men of war had taken spoil each one for himself”.
[p. 276] This is an inside matter and seems to be an additional feature. Each man had taken for himself jewellery, because ornamentation is a great feature with Midian; that is, they have taken on the things of God. Rome has taken on, as ornaments, almost every spiritual term belonging to the assembly. It arrogates to itself and claims almost everything; and so does the Anglican Church, and the denominations, more or less. They ornament themselves with what is of God. I think that is the thing the captains have in mind. Each one has taken for himself, and now they give of their own volition and offer an atonement for their souls. They are therefore concerned about their souls, for Jehovah had preserved them in the conflict.
AFM How does jewellery enter into the thought of offering of this spoil “to make atonement for our souls before Jehovah”?
JT Let us read what was said of it: “And the officers who were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses, and they said to Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war who were under our hand, and there is not one man of us lacking. So we present the offering of Jehovah, that which each one hath found, jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before Jehovah. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, all manner of wrought jewels. And all the gold of the heave-offering that they offered to Jehovah was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds. (The men of war had taken spoil each one for himself.) And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the children of Israel before Jehovah” (verses 48 - 54). That is for the sanctuary; that is, for Jehovah Himself. He gets from the military, as we heard, one-fifth of one per cent of their share of the spoil. The Levites get from the assembly two per cent of the other half. The captains offer what they obtained, each one, in the way of jewellery, to atone for his soul. These men want to be right. They are not living in their military achievements; they want to be right with God, and so offer to make atonement for their souls.
CAM I can understand Paul speaking to Timothy in this way: “Give heed to thyself and to the teaching; continue in them; for, doing this, thou shalt save ... thyself”, 1 Timothy 4: 16. Your soul is actually involved in the thing — the whole person.
JT That is important; especially among leading brethren who have done something, lest they might be living in what they are doing, or in what they have done. The soul is to be looked after, and these men are concerned about that.
JTJr Was Luther’s recovery of the truth of justification like some of this jewellery?
JT I think so; the jewellery would suggest ornamentation in assembly features. Ornamentation according to God is connected with Jerusalem and with the assembly.
AFM Do you not think there has been a great lack amongst us, that in conflicts through which we have passed, we have failed to consider for God? We should have it on our consciences to see that God gets His part in the spoil. That would be very pleasing to Him to see the result in praise of what He had started Himself. Is not that what we should be exercised about today?
JT I think so. I think the Lord is helping us on those lines; first, to make provision for God,
[p. 278] then for the levites, and then this voluntary provision — the ornamentation, as the gold and the jewellery; and the soul brought into it; so that our souls are right with God.
ANW “For our souls before Jehovah”, is a remarkable statement.
JT Many of us may be serving and doing things, and the brethren are talking about us. You may be sure those military men would be talked about in Israel; they would be the subject of conversation, but they are concerned about their own souls. We are not to be living in what we are doing — preaching, converts, and the like — but to get right in our souls. “Give heed to thyself” (1 Timothy 4: 16), says the apostle, as has already been referred to.
AR Taking the ornaments as spoil refers to what is external; whereas keeping the soul right with God is an internal matter.
JT Quite so; what you are before God — “for our souls before Jehovah”.
Ques Paul wrote to Timothy, “Take thy share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one going as a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of life, that he may please him who has enlisted him as a soldier”, 2 Timothy 2: 3, 4. Do you think that it was on this line that Paul sent Timothy to Corinth?
JT I think so. He was a trustworthy man. He was pleasing to the Lord; here it is being right before God in our souls in all this, however great our exploits.
JS In Luke 10, the seventy returned with great joy that the demons were subject to them through the Lord’s name. But He said, “in this rejoice not, ... but rejoice that your names are written in the heavens”. I suppose it would really be something for their souls.
ANW [p. 279] The voluntary spoil is brought into the tent of meeting as a memorial before Jehovah.
JT And it is a memorial for the children of Israel. It is for their benefit — a memorial for them.
ABP In each of the three parables in Luke 15 the one who enters into the blessing has been in nominal relationship, but has been conscious of being lost. Does that link on with this matter of concern about the soul?
JT Just so. No one ever really enjoys salvation who has not accepted the fact that he was lost and is found. The sense of having been lost and found is enjoyment — “my son ... was lost and has been found” (Luke 15: 24); that is the son’s enjoyment. The father can speak of him in that way. The son was dead and is alive, and he was lost and is found. It is a question of the state of the person.
JS Angels will never be able to enter into that.
RWS Gideon, who speaks of being the least of his father’s house, overthrew Midian, killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took great spoil in earrings, garments, and ornaments. Would that be parallel with the scripture we are considering?
JT Yes; only think of the miserable use Gideon made of them! That is the sorrowful side, that he made an ephod out of them and it incited idolatry in Israel. It was also a snare to Gideon and to his house. It gives us a clue to what Midian was. Gideon took the moons from their camels’ necks. They had a showy religion allied with the world. All the world’s distinctions are matched in the so-called public body.
EP Do you think these military men of our chapter had shepherds’ hearts? They had regard for the men that were under their hand, saying, “there is not one man of us lacking”.
JT I was thinking of that. It was a great matter, that there were no losses or casualties.
[p. 280] Ques The men had taken spoil, each one for himself. Not one was lacking, and all had spoil. In every conflict, is it not really what God finally gets out of it that counts?
JT That is important. I think those military men are outstanding as being right with God. Achan also took spoil for himself, but hid it. He would use it for his own ends at Jericho. These men took spoil each one for himself; it was an individual matter. Any combatant might have kept it; it was his own affair; but these men were upright, transparent men, and wanted to enrich the assembly, and to be right in their own souls before God.
JS Does the end of the chapter show how the whole assembly was greatly enriched by what the captains took?
JT Yes. It is one of the best things we can get hold of today; because God is helping in service, and many are coming forward to share in these exploits; so that you get individual things in result. But what are we doing with them? Are we making them a common matter with the brethren, in the enlargement of things amongst us?
AFM An example of this was seen in these men; the gold, as part of the spoil taken and presented to Jehovah, became a memorial for the children of Israel before Him.
JT I think what should be stressed, is the need for transparency and openness, especially in those who serve, that they are really set for the enlargement and prosperity of the assembly. What I have is not for myself alone; it becomes a question of what accrues to the assembly out of what we get in the way of spoil.
EP Paul says, “Wherefore I beseech you not to faint through my tribulations for you, which is your glory”, Ephesians 3: 13. The apostle’s tribulation became their glory.
JT Quite so. He said “all things are for your sakes”. The greatest servant was thinking of the brethren — “death works in us, but life in you”. 2 Corinthians 4: 12.
JTJr These captains made a mistake in the beginning in not going the whole way, and now they are settling the matter by making atonement for their souls publicly.
JT Quite so; they made a mistake in saving so many alive who would bring in corruption. Now they are specially concerned to be right in their souls before Jehovah.
WFK Each captain is offering what he has found himself. Would that mean he would not interfere in another’s service? He offers what he finds himself.
JT I think it is the individual side here — what the man is; open, honest, and transparent, thinking of the welfare of the whole. They are not acting in a body; but each for himself, and yet they are acting together. Each had spoil for himself, and is bringing it out, not concealing it like Achan had done.
JS Jehovah was justified in His selection of the thousand from each tribe.
AR When Paul says, “all are yours”, does he mean to convey that the gift was for everybody, not for him?
JT Quite so; he gladly shared with the saints what was common to him and them; whilst many may make mistakes, as these captains did, adjustment went on. If we are honest and open, everything will be adjusted, and our souls will be cared for.
FNW Would you say these men were prepared not to settle back on the abstract work of God following on the conflict?
JT Quite so. They were actively in exercise, and furthermore, they had shepherd feelings; they said “there is not one man of us lacking”. They had care for one another, but each had taken spoil. They had their share in the general spoil, but there was also what was over and above that. The whole twelve thousand had their share, too, but these were leaders. They had something special, and they brought it forward, and put themselves right with God, and the assembly gained through it.
ABP Does the footnote on the word “corban” in relation to the offering (verse 50), suggest that it is something on which there is no legal requirement, but it is a freewill offering on the basis of gift?
JT That is good. It is voluntary — the result of spiritual sensitiveness as to what is due to God.
ANW Would you say a word or two more about the thought of ornamentation in this offering? Where does that come in in relation to the tent of meeting?
JT Well, ornaments are for beauty and display, but when the thought of offering is introduced, it becomes a question of the weight of gold employed. They are golden jewels. It says: “And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, all manner of wrought jewels. And all the gold of the heave-offering that they offered to Jehovah was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds” (verses 51, 52). That is, they did not take the ornaments as they were and use them. It was a question of what they were essentially; because they were to be made adaptable to the divine system, and set up in the assembly as enriching the service of God.
AFM Would you say a hymn composed by a Christian in system, if corrected appropriately, could be used for the service of the assembly?
JT That is a good illustration. There might be something in the hymn that would make it unfit for spiritual service in the assembly, and [p. 283] yet there is essential merit in it, which when adapted becomes serviceable.
JS Would you say that ornaments rightly belong to the assembly?
JT That is what I believe is meant by this passage. These Midianites refer to the public body allied with the world. They have taken on the beautiful terms of Christianity; whereas they do not belong there at all. Their setting is the assembly proper, and I think the gifts of these captains would mean that typically. They recover what can be used in the assembly.
Ques Would you liken this section to the end of Exodus? It develops out of the ministry; that is, of the Levites — something entirely for God.
JT In Exodus, we have spoil taken out of Egypt — the spoiling of the Egyptians. That represents the world in its primary state, but Midian is the christianised world, so that we recover what belongs to God in it. I mean, the spiritual do that by bringing out the right thought which attaches each one of these things.
GL Was the assembly at Philippi marked by what is ornamental: “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are noble, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are amiable, whatsoever things are of good report”, Philippians 4: 8? They had seen, heard, and learned these things from the apostle.
JT Quite so; and then there are many beautiful ecclesiastical terms as they are called; spiritual assembly terms that have been taken over by the christianised world. They are simply stolen, but the spiritual take them all back, in principle, they are brought back and set up where they belong, that is, in the assembly. The Lord’s supper, perhaps, is the best illustration of it. It had been captivated and found in false hands, but the Lord [p. 284] has taken it out of such hands and put it in its own setting. Some call it the sacrament, but it is rightly the Lord’s supper.
EP Would this closing service of Moses, up to Numbers 32, fill out the expression in Hebrews — “And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house, as a ministering servant”, chapter 3: 5?
JT Exactly so.
ANW I suppose we get the advantage today of the spoil secured by men used in the recovery. It did not attach to them personally, but was placed in the tent of meeting, as a memorial, and we are getting the good of it today.
JT Quite so; that is how we are able to appropriate it now and perhaps make more use of it than they did.
CAM Does Luke’s gospel pursue this line more than others — the ornateness and preciousness of the thing? He makes a lot of the memorial at the end. Would you say that Luke’s gospel would run on the line of securing what was ornamental all the way through?
JT I am sure that is right. We have the ornaments restored in Luke. The question is whether we have the recovered light of that.
FHL Is it right that the spoil is all a result of assembly conflict though represented by individual exercise?
JT The whole assembly actually is in the conflict; it is not a partisan matter, but an assembly one.
Ques Would the shepherdly spirit referred to, resulting in all this, be seen in Ephesians 4? “With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love; using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace”, (verses 2, 3). Is that necessary for entering into what we have been speaking [p. 285] of?
JT I think it keeps the unity; the idea of the twelve thousand who went to the war, as representing the whole, keeps it concretely before us.
Ques At the end of 2 Corinthians, the apostle closes with, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all” (chapter 13: 14). Is it not a final touch given by Paul, and bears on what we have been having; so that divine Persons were getting spoil at Corinth?
JT Quite so: the three Persons are involved there.
RWS Does the gold of the heave-offering we have considered, suggest what will be recovered from the public position and deposited in the assembly before the rapture?
JT Quite so; it will all be taken up.