THE CONFLICT FOR THE TRUTH
Address—Friday evening
1 Chronicles 12: 1-2, 8-22, 37-38
I would like to speak about the truth, and about the importance of having links with one another in the truth. In the second letter of John, John speaks about two things: of “whom I love in truth”, and then also of those that have known the truth and of loving them for the truth’s sake, so that the truth should be a great bond between us. We love one another for the truth’s sake, and we must see that we love “in truth”, which means that our truth is an upright truth, and our love is an upright love. The truth has always been opposed, and it was so from the beginning as soon as the serpent said to the woman: “Is it even so, that God has said?” (Gen 3: 1), bringing in a thought that was against the truth. It brought the thought into the woman’s mind that God was not completely good. And from that day on the truth has been attacked. It is the mind of God that “all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth”, 1 Tim 2: 4. It is the truth we should acknowledge. When we realise that we live in days when the truth is questioned, then it behoves us who know the truth that we stand for the truth; and when we stand up for the truth, then our affections will be kindled towards one another. That is why John says in connection with this lady to whom he wrote, that he loved her in truth, and not only he, but also all that had known the truth; and they loved her for the truth’s sake. He adds then also that the truth abides in us and shall be with us to eternity. I believe that refers to the Holy Spirit, because He is the Spirit of truth, and as He abides in us, and as He has secured His dwelling place in us, then the truth remains in us if the Holy Spirit is not hindered in us; and it will be with us to eternity. When all that is against the truth is finally set aside, then the preciousness of the real knowledge of God will be our eternal portion. That is why the truth is most important. To those who are like this sister, to whom John wrote, he says: “Grace shall be with you, mercy, peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love”. That is a remarkable and full salutation. We are directed to the place where Jesus is. It is in a place of perfect rest and joy. According to Psalm 16, the Lord Jesus as Man says to God: “thy countenance is fulness of joy”. So we can always through the Spirit look up to Christ where it is now—to the Son of the Father’s love—and can get an impression of the area of complete peace and fullness of joy. The love of the Father rests on Christ, and the love of the Son responds to the Father. From this circle the apostle John calls for grace, mercy and peace for this sister and her children. He says, “in truth and love”. It is important that the apostle mentions truth before love here. We must always see that our love is marked by the truth. It is not love when we encourage those who resist the truth. It is not love when we have connections and friendship and acquaintance and converse with those that resist the truth. Our love must be regulated by the truth. Only when our love is guided by the truth, are we suitable for the Lord and available to defend the truth. Only in this way can we be of any help to our brethren.
The first book of Chronicles is most interesting, showing in different sections that it was not written before the return from the captivity; that is to say, it is a review. The Spirit of God, through the writer of the books of Chronicles in the days of recovery, looks back on all the battles that had taken place in the testimony. The Chronicles were not written in the days when the events took place. What we have read in 1 Chronicles 12 are events in David's history; but the first book of Chronicles was written at least four hundred years later. During this time, different persons came to light that were faithful to David. God observed it and wrote down their names and what they did in His Chronicles, and He brought it to light round about four hundred years later. We should therefore all be encouraged and at the same time sobered, because God notices everything that goes on amongst the saints. He sees if the truth is really announced. He also sees what Satan is doing, how he works against the truth. Satan even uses the saints when he can to speak against the truth. One of the greatest adversaries of David was Saul, and yet he was one of the people of God. He was even anointed. David never really considered Saul as an enemy. In the heading of Psalm 18, it says that it is a song which David sang on the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul. That is to say, Saul was not regarded by him as an enemy, even if Saul sorrowfully often behaved like an enemy. So in spite of his behaviour, he was one of the people of God and he was even anointed. That is why David never considered him as an enemy. But of course God noticed all his activities, and his end was extraordinarily sorrowful; and finally God left him, and he went to a woman who had a spirit of Python, and died then on mount Gilboa.
In 1 Chronicles 12, the Spirit of God writes about certain events, not in the order in which they took place, but rather to show that He had knowledge of all that had taken place. He mentions many personal names. God has great pleasure in mentioning those that stand for the truth. They are included in His Chronicles, and at a given day, when the time has come, He will bring them to light. Thus we read in the beginning of the chapter: “Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag”. God calls them by name. I said that this took place four hundred years before, but God had not forgotten them, and He brought them to light in the day of recovery, to show that these persons had their part in maintaining David’s interests. One can say that at that time the truth of God was linked with David, and it says of them that they helped David in the conflict. They could use their right hand as well as their left hand. They were not one sided. We read in 2 Corinthians 6: 7, “through the arms of righteousness on the right hand and left”. These persons helped David, and they could use “the right hand and the left with stones and with arrows on the bow”; and then it says, “they were of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin”. This is important: they overcame the claims of natural relationships in view of identifying themselves with David. Further on in verse 29, it says “the greater part of them had adhered to the house of Saul”. Why did they do this? Because Saul was a brother according to their natural relations, and they put the demands of natural relationships before the demands of the truth: and the Spirit of God refers to this here. The Spirit of God had taken account of this. It says: “but hitherto the greater part of them had adhered to the house of Saul” (1 Chron 12: 29), in spite of God having said “I have rejected him”, 1 Sam 16: 1. They went along with what was against God through their natural relationship. It is most serious that God writes this down after four hundred years. This is written down in scripture, beloved brethren, in order that we should be warned, because God sees every motive that governs us. He also sees how we act in connection with the truth, if the demands of the truth are valued more than the demands of natural relationships.
Then we find in verses 8 to 15 references to the Gadites; they separated themselves to David when he was in the stronghold, in the wilderness. At any rate this must have been at the cave of Adullam. It was a place of separation and rejection. But they were persons that were furnished with shields and spears, they were equipped for the conflict that took place close to them. The ones referred to earlier used stones and with arrows on the bow. They also had their part in the conflict, but it was not in the immediate conflict with shield and spear. When we fight with the spear the enemy is very close. That is why we always also have the shield as well as the spear. The more we go along with the truth, the more we will find out that the devil is close at hand. That is why we must be prepared to have the shield by us. The shield is our protection, and the only protection in the things of God is that we ourselves are marked by the truth, otherwise we will expose ourselves to the enemy, and he is able to come in one or another way. But when we are armed and protected, then we can use the spear as an offensive weapon against the enemy.
It also even says further about them, “whose faces were like the faces of lions”, that is to say that they could not be diverted by anything. You could clearly see in their faces that they went along with the truth, whatever would happen. God appreciates such. They were “swift as the gazelles upon the mountains”. This shows simply that the Holy Spirit was unhindered and not grieved, so that we would be able to move quickly. We are often slow in our movements, when fresh features of the truth are being presented, because there might be something in us that hinders the Spirit of God. But when the Spirit of God is not grieved, then we will quickly acknowledge what comes by the Spirit. Then we are minded to follow it energetically. These were then mentioned by name, just as those in the previous section were mentioned by name. It is remarkable that God writes things down and records names that are not linked with His eternal purpose. From the standpoint of His eternal purpose our names are written in heaven. God also writes down names in the light of how we have stood for the truth. In connection with the sons of Gad it says: “they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it overflows”. Gad was one of the two and a half tribes that preferred to remain on this side of Jordan. They are like brethren that were held back through their convenience and through their own things, as Paul had to say about some: “all seek their own things”, Phil 2: 21. But these Gadites were so attracted to David and the demands of the truth that it set them in movement, that they went over the Jordan, in spite of the banks being overflowed. They overcame great difficulties, to identify them fully with David and have part with him to fight for the truth.
Then others are referred to in verse 16 to 18, they came to David in the stronghold, and David went out to meet them; and now he also presents a question to them. He says: “If ye come peaceably to me to help me, my heart shall be knit unto you”. There is something very attractive for us in this, dear brethren. If we direct our hearts, to further the interests of the Lord and if we come with peace in our hearts and no double motives, then His heart will be knit to ours. But then David goes on to say: “but if to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers see it and rebuke it”. David warned them about this; but their leader was able to answer immediately. He said:
Thine are we, David,
And with thee, thou son of Jesse:
Peace, peace be to thee!
And peace be to thy helpers!
For thy God helps thee.
It is a great thing to have this outlook on the truth. These are the ones God helps. He helps those who fully surrender to the truth, and that is a great encouragement for us, when we surrender ourselves to the truth; then it says: “And David received them, and made them chiefs of bands”. They are those who can see where God is and where His will is known. Each one that is fully with Him without any double motive, who is identified with Him and not linked with any that are against the truth, these could be made chiefs of bands. They are those who exercise an influence for good.
Now we come further to another section verse 19 to 22. It is remarkable that those who came to David at the time when he was on his way to Ziklag, after the Philistines, with whom he wanted to fight against Saul, had sent him back again. That was one of the darkest points in the history of David. David was marked by weakness, he was even prepared to fight against his own people of Israel, but God preserved him from doing that. As he came back to Ziklag he found out that the Amalekites had burned the city and all the children and wives had been taken captive and carried away. It was one of the darkest junctures in David’s history. It was a moment when the testimony was marked by much weakness, it was surely weakness that other people could point their fingers at. And yet some in this moment identified themselves with David. God has recorded it in His Chronicles, and He mentions the names of those who did it. This section therefore gives us the greatest possible encouragement, beloved brethren, for us to fully devote ourselves to the truth. The truth in itself is perfect, but those who support it may often be marked by weakness and failures. But it is still important that we surrender to the truth and are unconditionally identified with it.
If we continue reading the chapter, we find different kinds of persons. There were those that had understanding of the times. They knew what Israel ought to do. There were others that were keeping ranks without a double heart. All this reminds us of how the Lord observes us, how we move about, and how we move together and if our hearts are pure. Now in verse 37 a great number of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half tribe of Manasseh are mentioned. They had been on the wrong side of the Jordan, they were held there by their own interests. They preferred their own interests to the land. But now they were set in movement, and there were about one hundred and twenty thousand of them. They were able to keep rank in battle array with a perfect heart. Just consider one hundred and twenty thousand brethren, walking together, without the least trace of differences between each other. The claims of Christ were so real, and the claims of the truth were so pervasive, that they all with perfect hearts kept rank in battle array. They all came to make David king over all Israel, and then it says: “and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king”.
This is all I have to say, beloved brethren. I just would like to set out that the truth at the present time is the most important thing, and shows the great matter of interest that should really link us together; and then how God looks down on each one of us, to see how we stand in relation to the truth and how we behave, and if we are marked by the truth. Then God rejoices to refer to our names as such that have been found faithful. May the Lord bless the word for us!
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