"LET US GO ON UNTO PERFECTION"
“LET US GO ON UNTO PERFECTION”
Numbers 15: 1 - 22; Deuteronomy 26: 1 - 11
In reading these scriptures I am thinking of a passage in the New Testament which enjoins us to “go on unto perfection”. The passage is preceded by a reference to the “senses”; these being exercised mark manhood, or “full age”, so that there is discernment of good and evil. Thus the groundwork is stated there for definite progress so that we may go on. That is what I had in view, that there should be, as the outcome of our meetings, a moving on. As the passage reads, “Let us go on to what belongs to full growth”, Hebrews 6: 1.
I have selected Numbers to develop this subject as being the account of the experience of Israel in the wilderness. The wilderness being viewed as a scene contrary to us, brings out the worst features unless we are on our guard in self-judgment, and if we are on our guard, kept by the power of God through faith, the wilderness brings out our best features. As Scripture says: “To humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not;” Deuteronomy 8: 2. God selects the testing circumstances Himself, but notifies us that He knows perfectly what they are. He has selected the circumstances because they are difficult. The book opens, “And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness”. He spake out of the tabernacle, but in the wilderness; meaning that He is taking account of us in those circumstances; that He has not placed us in them without the means of going through them; that indeed He has come into them Himself. He “walked in a tent” with them; 2 Samuel 7: 6. That is the book of Numbers. Every young brother should read the book of Numbers especially noting the opening [p. 2] remarks of Jehovah. In the first ten wonderful chapters we have the unfolding of the provision for the wilderness according to the statement that had become proverbial in Israel, “On the mount of Jehovah will be provided”. As we are in the wilderness we find this mount there. If you read Deuteronomy 33, you will find that He shines forth on His people out of the setting of mountains; Sinai, Seir, and Paran. In view of the adverse nature of the wilderness God connects with it these symbols of spiritual strength, and He shines forth upon His people according to this provision. In keeping with all this Aaron was to bless the children of Israel saying unto them, “The Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace”, Numbers 6. So you can see how God has at the very opening of these adverse circumstances made abundant provision for us as in them.
In those chapters it is a question of what God is to us in Christ as set up in testimony in this world. But we have to face in chapters 11 to 15, the sad disclosure of the flesh in the people. As I said, the circumstances bring out the worst features unless the heart is kept with all diligence, and we have noted, thirteen vicious things in Mark 7, that proceed out of the heart of man. In Numbers 10, immediately they began to move, the ark of the Lord went before to seek out a resting place for them, a touching thought. Christ in His humiliation taking the pioneer position, meeting every possible condition to seek out a resting place for them. And when the ark set forward Moses said, “Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel”. How interesting to see the scattering of the enemy and the return of [p. 3] the victorious ark to the many thousands of Israel! What blessed scenes are connected in all these operations, the glory of God and the power of God entering into them!
In chapter 11 you find the murmuring of the people in spite of all that. We may think little of murmuring; it is the first evil feature here. The flesh is beginning to show itself and I speak of it so that we might learn to judge the spirit of murmuring. It may be assumed that this refers to an unregenerate people who wanted to go back to Egypt, but the solemn thing is that the next one to fail is Moses; so that it is not simply the rank and file who give way, but the most distinguished. We do not indeed find evidence of gross features of the flesh in Moses, he was a man who knew how to keep himself, a model man in the main indeed, but the wilderness brought out something that was distasteful. What a voice to some of us who are more prominent! The wilderness will bring out something of the flesh unless there is vigilance to keep our hearts with all diligence. Moses complains to the Lord as if the Lord had put too much upon him. After all that provision displayed in the mount, he complains of God putting too much on him. Does any one of us complain of our labour, assuming that God has not measured what He put upon us? He is “the God of measure” and so does not lay on us what we cannot bear. Moses says, “Wherefore hast thou afflicted me ... that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom”. God never said that. How unreasonable the flesh becomes as allowed to show itself! Then he says, “Whence should I have flesh to give all this people?” and as Jehovah proposes to give them flesh in abundance, he replies, “The people among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen ... shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them ... or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them,
to suffice them?” Think of that coming from Moses! Who is immune therefore from fleshly eruptions? Thus the need for us all to keep our hearts with all diligence. Moses was challenging God as to His power and resources. Not only was unbelief implied in his remarks, but open denial of God’s ability to fulfil His proposal.
Next you have Aaron and Miriam, great servants; they too failed, failed worse than Moses. Miriam and Aaron envied Moses. Who can stand before envy? And the most distinguished servants are capable of it. Unless we maintain self-judgment the flesh in us is sure to show itself if another servant excels us. Are these not searching things? The most distinguished are thus exposed in wilderness circumstances. Look at the man they are envying! He is a very different man in chapter 12 from what he was in chapter 11. “The man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth”. That he should be envied, made the matter more serious.
Another feature appears in the spies; twelve men were selected, one from each tribe to go up into Canaan and search it out; a very honoured mission. What will they do? Surely as going into Canaan all the flesh will be withered up by the beauty, bounty and attractiveness of that land. Returning, they all bear testimony to the fruitfulness and general goodness of the land; later ten of them belied the fact. Caleb and Joshua alone stood true. Against the testimony of these ten liars the two faithful witnesses stood. You see in this another feature of the flesh brought out by the wilderness as a result. God decrees that not one of these six hundred thousand footmen, save Caleb and Joshua, should enter the land of promise. Another generation should go in.
It is easier to unfold the evil than the good, but by the Lord’s help I will now show the latter to you. Chapter 15 is this though not much understood. It begins thus, “When ye be come into the land”. It is not “if”. You might expect that from the previous chapters, but there is no “if” in the counsels of God. They must go through. So that in Ephesians 1 you get “the good pleasure of his will”, you get “the mystery of his will”, and “the counsel of his will”. You see the will of God enters into all these things, and the love and power of God are behind that. Thus we have here, “When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you”. First, there is the certainty of the people going in. Who the individuals are is not the point. Those in the counsels of God are going in, and as there they will serve or worship Him. Everything is in your favour now, as in a land flowing with milk and honey, watered by the rain of heaven, possessing waterbrooks, etc. The God of it is in your heart and you will bring Him an offering, but in this you are to show that you are regular in your growth. One’s offering represents his thought of God. God loves that thought, however small. I would say to young people, the smallest thought of God is delightful to Him, you come before Him with it in perfect liberty. But your meat offering, oil and drink offering must correspond; you thus do not appear to be a “young man” or a “father” when you are only a little one; 1 John 2. Some young brothers, having keen minds, take in all they hear, and speak like an old brother; but the meat and drink offerings are lacking. The kind of man you are, in everyday life is implied in these; and you cannot leave that out when appearing before God. If these things, the meat offering, oil and wine, do not accompany, in the prescribed proportions the creature presented, it will be manifest that the offerer has not developed regularly; his intelligence is out of proportion with [p. 6] his general practical state of soul. He speaks well, but what about his every-day life? The meat offering mingled with oil denotes that it is in keeping with his intelligence. And then the drink offering indicates the joy he affords to God, and correspondingly among the brethren. Our ability to speak or take part in the assembly may be out of keeping with our spirit and everyday life, and so the meat offering and drink offering are to be in keeping with the animal presented, as I said. The animal himself represents our conception of Christ, but the meat and drink offerings must correspond. I urge this upon all as most important, as showing how we are to be before God in the assembly. God looks upon your offering but looks also to see that everything else about you is in keeping with it.
There is an ascending scale in the passage. Thus in verse 6 a ram is mentioned. That would mean a person fully matured and possessing energy. The ram is a fully developed creature. If there be energy of mind, of soul, of voice, there must be the incense in keeping with the perfect humanity of Christ. You have one-third with the ram instead of one-fourth as with the offering mentioned previously. Then you come to the bullock, which suggests a very large conception of Christ. It is what the apostle had in mind in his prayer of Ephesians 3, that ye may “know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge”. We are to go on to this. But the meat and drink offerings must be in accordance. These things are practical if we are to have a right conception. We must not be out of proportion; we must grow uniformly. God looks for perfection. Then there is the heave offering in verse 19, “Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough”. In a cake you come to a whole thought. The whole thought of God is presented in Christ, who is the Word; what is in His mind. Now God looks for a corresponding effect in us, what [p. 7] He will have in His land. He brings us into it in this passage. First it is our entering, “When ye be come into the land”. Then there is the thought of God bringing me in. God loves my coming in because I value it, but if He brings me in, that is His power, His love. In Ephesians the thought is that He brings us in. His primary thought was that He should bring them in and plant them in the mountain of His inheritance; Exodus 15: 17.
I commend the thought that He should bring you in, a whole person. Now it is not three-tenths of flour, but dough. The wheat is not only ground, it is kneaded, referring to the exercise of soul I have gone through in relation to the whole thought of God. I have developed the exercise in the light of the full thought of God in Christ. Philippians answers to this. How much do we know of Philippians? The epistle shows how we may be practically conformed to what God presents in Christ; this implies energy. Paul laboured to be in every way like Christ, to be found in Him and have Him for gain. At Pentecost two loaves were to be brought out of the houses of the people and presented to God. What we are to be for God is worked out in Paul’s experience, seen in Philippians. The apostle was wholly given up to one thought, answering to the cake here. God’s thought for every believer is in Christ, and this is seen in Philippians in a man of like passions as ourselves. The cake offered was to be of the first fruits. Many yield themselves partly to God, but He wants us wholly, so that in each He should have a whole idea corresponding with Christ, and this is what the cake typifies here.
I now turn to Deuteronomy 26, wishing particularly to speak of the basket of first-fruits. Deuteronomy is specially preparation for the land. The chapter contemplates Israel in the inheritance, possessing it and dwelling therein; and thus to [p. 8] present of all the first fruits unto Jehovah, not simply one part. “When thou art come into the land ... thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth”. What a variety there would be in such a land! What about all the fruit of the land? Have we ever stopped to ponder what the land means? It is heaven as it is apprehended and realised now; Christ there known in the heart by faith. And it is to be entered into, possessed and dwelt in; the saint is to dwell there, taking of all of the fruit. What rich variety! The most of us have to speak more or less objectively. Like Moses, we only get a peep into it. But the grapes of Eshcol told their own tale of the fruitfulness of Canaan. Now the person of the offerer is in view as a basket; it is not a cake, but a containing vessel. One finds himself extremely leaky; we easily forget the most precious things presented to us. Divine things can only be kept securely by the Holy Spirit, as the apostle says, “Keep, by the Holy Spirit, which dwells in us, the good deposit entrusted”. If I go into Canaan and get a taste, it is by the Holy Spirit I retain it. The believer is thus the basket. There is the responsible man and there is the man of purpose. “The priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of Jehovah thy God”. The priest takes it out of the offerer’s hand. It is a spiritual transaction. The believer is here typified in a dual sense; as having a responsible history, and as in the purpose of God. In the former connection he makes the confession as to what his father was; in the latter he is the basket full of the precious fruits of Canaan. We must understand all this, and the spiritual transaction of which I have spoken if we are to be rightly in the assembly of God. The priest takes out of the man’s hand the basket containing the first fruits of Canaan and sets it down before the altar of Jehovah.
[p. 9] This is a most instructive and important matter. Paul may be taken as an example. He speaks in 2 Corinthians 12 about things treasured in his heart. He had been up to heaven fourteen years before. He was there as “a man in Christ”. Wonderful thought! It refers to what we shall be eternally. “I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body I know not, or out of the body I know not, God knows); such a one caught up to the third heaven ... and heard unspeakable things said”. We may know a good deal, but there is much that we do not know; it is, however, a comfort that God knows, and believers are to be “filled to all the fulness of God”. Thus we see in Paul, abstracted as a man in Christ, the idea of the basket handed over and before God, containing the first fruits of the land. Christ takes all the baskets, as it were, into His own hands and sets them before God. On the other hand, the offerer, viewed as a responsible man, makes a becoming confession. He owns his past history, and God’s wonderful deliverance of himself and His people. “A Syrian ready to perish was my father ... and he went down into Egypt ... and when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers ... the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt ... and he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey”. We say, “God, who is rich in mercy for his great love ... hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. There is the acknowledgment of what we were, and of what God in His great love has done for us. He has taken us out of one status and condition and set us down in another. He has set us in the heavenlies in Christ. The Israelite brought his first fruits and set them down before Jehovah and worshipped Him, rejoicing in every good thing which God gave him.
[p. 10] In like manner the believer today who apprehends what God has done in Christ worships the Father in spirit and in truth.
So you can see, dear brethren, what God brings us to, what these types mean for us, so that we should go on to full growth. Standing still leads to rebellion. We are urged, as I said, to go on to the things that belong to full growth; to know what it is to be in Christ, and enter on our heavenly portion. These things belong to us, but, alas! the most precious things are often most neglected. Our wisdom therefore will be seen as we go in for these things, divine love having made them our own; we shall thus be prepared when the Lord comes and raptures us to Himself.