GOD'S CHIEF INTEREST ON THE EARTH
GOD’S CHIEF INTEREST ON THE EARTH
Genesis 24:1 - 9; Genesis 24:42 - 67; Ephesians 1: 19, 20
I have read this passage in Genesis in order that we might be interested in God’s chief interest on the earth. It is that which is the least spoken about; it was kept secret from the foundation of the world, but is now made known - Christ’s body here on the earth. Truth corrects error; we must present the right to expose the wrong, that is a principle which runs through Scripture. What are you on the earth for? I put this simple question to each one. If you know that you are saved and brought into favour with God, what are you here for? Every man is governed by his aim; the point is, what do you aim at? Your aim characterises you. The man who has a definite aim before him and sticks to it is the one who succeeds. Now not only have you a Saviour in glory but you are united to Him, your individuality is merged, you have lost your own interests, you are one of the company who form the body of Christ. What then is the true care of every believer on this earth? Surely the interests of the One to whom he is united. You are an object to God.
This chapter in Genesis is a type of what every believer is here for, and the first thing I notice is that the servant is sworn that he should not bring a Canaanite to be wife to his master’s son. She must be of the same kindred and stock. The wonder is that we are of His kindred and stock, as we read in Hebrews, “Both he that sanctifies and those sanctified are all of one” (one piece if you like); “for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren”. The definite point before me is that I am here to know union with Christ, but until I am established in grace I could not take it in. When you have learnt that you [p. 187] are of His stock, what do you expect? Is the great paramount thought of your heart, morning, noon and night, ‘I am united to Christ’? You may have the right thought and yet not be practically in it. You must know that you are united before you get the benefit. The great point in union is that you have lost your individuality. Christ’s interests now become your interests. If we are not awakened to a thing, we shall never reach it. The great hindrance practically is that we do not take the journey.
Rebecca was in for union, and he conducts her all along the road, and she leaves herself entirely in his hands. There can be no union until the place is reached where the person is; so Ephesians puts you in heaven. It is not enough to say we know that we are united to Christ, there must be the conscious knowledge. Do you think Rebecca would have been satisfied if she had not got to Isaac? The difficulty is to leave the present place and go to where Christ is. Rebecca takes the journey. Peter left the ship to join the Lord on the water; he really liked to go, and that is the point. Affection for Christ is wanted; like young birds in a nest, seeing the parent birds fly up they want to join them, and then find they have the power to fly. In Colossians you are in the life of Another. We are of the same family as Christ; He is not of us but we are of Him. To be united to Him there must be no moral disparity. It is written of Eve, “This shall be called Woman, because this was taken out of a man”. What comes out practically from having the life of Christ is the grace of Christ, as we read in Colossians 3, “bowels of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another”. Rebecca was gracious. She said, “Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also”. When her kindred is ascertained, the servant declares his mission. Her family make no objection, but they say, Stay ten days at least. Now if you do not do the [p. 188] thing at the moment, you will never do it so well. The transaction was an important one, but Rebecca says, “I will go”. There must be prompt decision. So it must be with us. It is not enough to know as a mere truth that you are united. You must go the road to enjoy it. The reason saints have so little power is that they do not practically know union. At Ephesus they had lost the sense of it (Revelation 2) and decline set in. As another has said, If you are not absorbed with heavenly things, you have lost your first love. Stephen had the blessing of union before union was declared. The question is, if you could go to the place where the Person you love is, would you go? There must be promptness of action as with Rebecca, “I will go”. That is where we fail, and hence the weakness. I believe if I had God’s purpose for me here on earth more before me, I would be wonderfully sustained. Peter saw the Lord in a peculiar place; it looked hopeless, but he liked to join Him; decision is the thing. If I have God’s purpose before me I am sustained. Daniel’s eye was on Jerusalem; it was in ruins, but God’s thought was there, and he looks towards it. Nothing makes me so sad as to take up publication after publication, and yet never to see as I search through them a word about the church. Christ’s treasure is here, not in heaven; it is hid in the field, but it is here, and that reconciles me immensely to all the contrarieties of this world.
Well, the first thing is decision; the next is continuance; Rebecca goes the whole road. You will have to leave the place where you are and go on until you reach the place where Isaac is. There your individuality is merged, Rebecca takes a veil and covers herself. It may be said, Have you no interest in your family? Yes, but I have a greater interest; like the wise woman in Proverbs, her interest is that her husband should be known in the gates. Many a happy marriage is spoilt through lack of interest on the wife’s part in her husband’s interests; it is not that there is not affection, but she has a separate interest. The failure in the gospel is often that the man who goes out to preach does not go out from the assembly. The disciples were to start with loving one another. The first mark of doing this is that I wash your feet, but privately, not publicly as they do in christendom on Easter Monday. We ought to be known as those who would die for the saints.
Now Rebecca has lost herself, she becomes the wife of Isaac, and he is comforted after his mother’s death. We find in the Old Testament that wives were often given to God’s people in the time of sorrow and loneliness, as in the case of Moses and Joseph. What a wonderful thought that I could be a comfort to the Lord! One’s heart is saddened that hardly anyone speaks of the church. Do you say people are not up to it? Then wake them up to it. For the power I turn to Ephesians; it works from death, the very lowest place, and takes you on to the highest, where Christ is at God’s own right hand in the heavenly places.
I have not been touching the results of union, but the affection that likes union. Look at the character of the power, it takes you up from judgment and puts you where Christ is. There is no lack in power, but the lack is in affection. The one thing christians seem to reject more than another is to take a heavenly position. I believe many are over Jordan in spirit, happy in their souls, who would not like to see the ship sink. Do you lose by accepting the heavenly position? No, you come back to every relationship here the better. It is remarkable under the law how little is said about domestic life, but in Ephesians, where you are taken into the highest spot, you touch everything with God. It is more than Colossians where you are unworldly, but there is a difference between being unworldly and heavenly. You are not [p. 190] capable of fulfilling earthly relationships without heavenly power. The power that worked towards you is the same that works in you and from you, and the prominent thing is that by it I am carried to another place - from the lowest point to the very highest, where the Lord is. There is amazing reluctance on our part to follow. Many would like to be with Christ very much if He would stay here. We want to be like Ruth, “Whither thou goest I will go”. That is the mark of a true heart, to go to the place where the object of affection is.