THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
[p. 108] THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
Numbers 10: 1 - 36; Hebrews 10: 19 - 22
The things that happened in regard to Israel happened unto them for ensamples, and are written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the world have come. It is extremely important to remember that. We get a great deal of detail furnished to us in connection with the wilderness, and the ways of God in connection with the people there; and these things are written for our learning. The anti-type to these things is found now in the assembly. What took place in the wilderness will never be repeated. So far as I understand it, God will never walk in the midst of Israel in the future. When the Lord comes again, He meets the people in the land; there will be also an ingathering of Israel from the nations; but that is not the wilderness. The people will not be delivered again from Egypt; the journey through the wilderness into the land — all that has been, will not be repeated. What occurred were types of spiritual things — things which are happening at the present time to us, and so you can understand that these things are written for our learning. I think I have been accustomed to look upon a great deal of that which is recorded here as having reference to the future, whereas I see now more and more plainly that it has far more reference to the present. We have set forth in types and shadows God’s ways with a heavenly people in the wilderness; and we can derive much instruction from all this detail.
Now if you admit that, all that we get in this chapter must have some kind of fulfilment in us. This chapter (Numbers 10) is of great interest, because it is the first movement of the people in the wilderness: the tabernacle moves for the first time. Everything was [p. 109] arranged according to divine order; the tabernacle is set in movement and comes to a resting-place; and we see what marked its movement, and also what marked its coming to a resting-place. In the wilderness, in general, everything was movement. God’s people could not rest there. It was not a place where they could have a city of habitation. People do not settle down in the wilderness. If you find Christians settling down, they are settling down in the plains of Moab. The wilderness is the place of death. Hence, what marks the wilderness, generally speaking, is movement, but at the same time, occasional rest. The ark of Jehovah went before the people, to find for them a resting-place, and from time to time they found a resting-place in the wilderness.
When first the people came out of Egypt, they were not occupied with the ark of the covenant, or with God dwelling among them: that did not take up their attention. What they were occupied with was salvation from the hand of the enemy, which furnished the subject of the song in Exodus 15. It is quite true that salvation was the pledge of something more; that the God who had brought them out would bring them in; but they were taken up — and rightly — with salvation from the Egyptian. Two things were true in regard to them: they were a justified people in virtue of the blood of the lamb, and at the same time, they had salvation from the power of the enemy. They had seen how God had destroyed the Egyptians; the power of death too had been broken; the Red Sea smitten in two by the rod of Moses. The moment that God made in Christ a way through death into resurrection, then the power of death was broken. Death was smitten in its hold over man, and the fear of death, which was in the hand of the enemy, passed away. We do not fear death: why? Because through death there is a way to life. The true David has entered into conflict with the enemy; the head of the giant is [p. 110] taken off, and is in the hand of the true David. This is true for a justified people, which Israel was in type. God had not seen iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel, and He had been pleased to give them deliverance from the enemy. The same thing is verified in the experience of believers. When converted, they rejoice that they are justified, and, if they go on, in having found salvation. They are no longer in terror of death or Satan, because God has made through death a way into life. But when we go a little further another thing comes into view. When Israel was brought into the wilderness, they had no tabernacle of God among them: that did not come in until some time afterwards. In fact, the tabernacle was not set up until the beginning of the second year. God gave injunctions to Moses to take from the people material wherewith to construct the tabernacle; but the tabernacle had to be constructed and set up. But the first experience of the people in the wilderness was not connected with that. Before that came into view they had had many a lesson to learn; they had to prove the resources of God, and His mercy in regard to a people in the dearth of the wilderness. They tasted the manna, and drank of the water from the smitten rock. They had experience of the faithfulness and the competency of God in regard to a people in such circumstances; but while that was going on they had not the tabernacle in view. Now in this chapter the tabernacle comes into view, and forms the most important point in relation to the people.
Express injunctions were given as to how the tabernacle was to be carried, and the arrangement of the people was connected with the tabernacle. The people could not move an inch without the tabernacle, and if they wanted a resting-place, everything depended on the tabernacle; if they were to go out in conflict, everything depended on the ark of the covenant. The whole life of the people was bound up now with [p. 111] the tabernacle of the congregation. God had redeemed the people for a purpose of His own, and that is, that He might have a dwelling place here upon earth.
The people could not fail to get the greatest gain from the fact of God dwelling among them; but God dwelt among them, not for their pleasure, but for His pleasure. That is an immense point to apprehend in regard to God dwelling with men. I believe it is the pleasure of God, in result, to dwell in the universe. The universe is to be the house of God; where God will dwell for His pleasure. The universe will derive the greatest possible gain from this; it will get experience of all the goodness of heaven; but the fact remains that God will dwell there for His own pleasure.
There is one more point I want to touch upon in regard to the children of Israel: and that is, that though they had the ark of the covenant, they never saw it. The only people that saw the ark of the covenant were the priests. It was carefully covered up even before the Levites came forward to carry it. The people never saw it; they had not boldness to enter into the holiest — not even the high priest had. I do not think the priests went into the holiest at all. The high priest went in once a year; but the way into the holiest was not yet made manifest. The ark of the covenant sought a resting place for them and led them against their enemies; but at the same time, they never saw it. There, in a way, the type fails. I am going to show you how the detail of this chapter is fulfilled in regard to us; but then, we get a great deal more than comes out here, and that is what led me to read the passage in Hebrews 10. We have “boldness to enter”; and the moment you enter the holiest you come into the presence of the ark of the covenant.
I speak of these things because they indicate steps in Christian experience. We begin with redemption, being delivered from the power of the enemy and brought into the enjoyment of salvation. Then we go [p. 112] on to the recognition that God is dwelling here by the Spirit, that He has a dwelling place in the midst of the assembly in the wilderness; then we go on to another point: we enter the holiest, and there contemplate the ark of the covenant. That is a great point to come to. When you come there, you have understanding, and are intelligent according to God.
It is an important point in the experience of a Christian when he recognises the fact that God is dwelling here. This fact is clouded to a very large extent in Christendom. The great bulk of Christians have no idea of the presence of the Spirit. Evangelical Christians have little idea connected with the Spirit, beyond an influence. The knowledge that God is dwelling here by the Spirit is limited to a comparatively small number of Christians. It is sad that it should be so, but the reason of it is intelligible. Men have tried hard to make Christianity a religion of the world, and the Spirit of God will not connect Himself with the world. When man came into prominence in Christianity, the Spirit of God was virtually displaced, and men lost the idea of God dwelling here by the Spirit. Men use still the expression, “the house of God”; but the common thought of it is that of a material dwelling place. The house of God in the true sense is almost entirely lost sight of, and the presence of the Spirit practically ignored. Do you think that if Christians believed in the presence of the Spirit they would have such things as ordered divine service, clergy, or appointed ministers? All that belongs to the rudiments of the world, and it goes in a moment when the fact is recognised that God is dwelling here by the Spirit. The recognition of that truth has had the effect of bringing many of us out of the various religious associations in which we were found in the world. It was a fact of such immense import that we were prepared to break with associations, friends, and even relatives, because of it. But the [p. 113] greater part of us were converted long before we recognised the truth, that God was dwelling here by the Spirit.
Now I want to point out how the presence of the Spirit is bound up with all our wilderness life. The assembly is in the wilderness, and the Spirit of God is present, dwelling here, and the Spirit’s presence affects every detail of a Christian’s life. In the case of Israel, as we have seen, the arrangement of the tribes was determined by the tabernacle of the congregation; their whole wilderness life and order had reference to the tabernacle of the congregation.
Now all our order down here is determined by the presence of the Spirit, for Jew and Gentile are builded together for a habitation of God by the Spirit. You can see what the effect of that must have been in early days. Think of a Jew with a family in the early days of Christianity, and a Gentile with a family, both brought into Christianity — justified by the faith of a risen Christ and indwelt by the Spirit, they were brought into unity. Suppose for a moment that the family of the Jew were not converted, yet the Jew had to consort with the Gentile and to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; just imagine what a deadly offence that may have been to the family of the Jew! And yet, the life of the Jew and the life of the Gentile were determined by the fact that God was dwelling here by the Spirit. The Jew and the Gentile had to regard that, and in spite of family associations and everything else, had to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The same thing holds good in the present day. In a worldly family one member may be brought into the light of the truth, the recognition of the presence of the Spirit of God, and that person takes a certain course in consequence, that is, can no longer go on with worldly religious associations, but is in fellowship [p. 114] with people who are to a large extent despised in the world. What deadly offence that will often cause! You will see thus how the recognition of the Spirit’s presence determines the course of a person here in the world, just as the tabernacle determined the order of Israel. I suppose the first obligation under which we are in the world is to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. A wife may have to do violence to the feelings of her husband because of that.
I bring these things forward to show that what is set forth here in the type is fulfilled now in the church; our course is ordered in reference to the Spirit, and we have to regard His order. Just as the twelve tribes were arranged in regard to the tabernacle of the congregation, so we are arranged in reference to the fact that God is dwelling here. A white man and his slave — a black man — may both be converted and brought to recognise the presence of God by the Spirit. They are to endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace — but what deadly offence that may cause in the world! The world is framed on a totally different order — on the order of the pride of man. Christian life, rightly understood, is framed on the recognition of the presence of God — God dwelling here by the Spirit. Hence our first obligation is to carry out the order which is consequent upon that.
But we are continually in movement, because the wilderness is a place of movement. In the book of Chronicles David speaks in regard to the Levites that there had been a time when they were occupied in carrying the tabernacle, and now they had come to a place of rest. David found a resting place for Jehovah, and God saw fit to accept that place; but in the wilderness, the ark of the covenant was rarely quiet — it was continually in movement. You could not get a greater expression of divine grace than in [p. 115] God accommodating Himself to the position of the people. If they had to march, God marched with them.
I trust we are continually in movement. It is a bad sign if we are not. If there is not continual exercise here, we are settling down into complacency with what is in the world. The influences of the world are extremely subtle, and where people are successful in, or have adaptability to the world, they are in the greatest danger of succumbing to the influences of the world. There ceases to be exercise; they settle down on their lees; they have everything their heart can wish. They forget that the bridegroom is taken away, and that the present time is one of fasting, and not of feasting. What is suitable to the wilderness is not rest; it is a place of exercise, and almost everything that comes in, in regard to our life down here, if we are at all faithful, tends to bring about exercise. In endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace many things come before me in my individual path which tend to cause exercise, because they raise the question of fidelity to the Lord. A possible marriage, an engagement in business, anything down here, will tend to raise the question of fidelity to the Lord in the mind of the saint. In the detail of Christian life I do not think the Lord will make known to people that He has a particular mind in regard to this detail or that. People are often exercised as to where they should go to live. I do not know that the Lord has any particular will in regard to that. If you want guidance from Him you must have no reservations in your mind; you must not say that a certain place would be prejudicial to health; you must go to Him with your mind as a clean sheet if you want His guidance. But I think these details are left to Christians, and they are tested by them in fidelity to the Lord. If we seek to order our way down here with reference to the Lord, I think we [p. 116] shall not go very far wrong, because God has given to us the spirit of a sound mind.
I refer to these things to indicate how true it is that the wilderness is not a place of rest, but of continual exercise; and yet, after all, remember this: God is going before the assembly. The great point is that we should recognise the presence of the Spirit of God, maintaining us in fidelity to the Lord. God is going before us now, to find a resting place. It is a great thing when we come now and again to a resting place. The idea of a resting place is that exercise ceases for the moment, and we come together to recognise God and His goodness — that He is amongst us. There could not be worship while the people were in movement; everything was disturbed; but when the ark came to rest, then there was the opportunity for the service of God, and that is what I understand by the tabernacle resting. The people got the opportunity of recognising what was due to God in the way of worship. It may be with us that, during the week, all is exercise; but the Spirit of God leads us to a place of rest. We cease from exercises, and come into the blessed sense that God is amongst us, to make us conscious of His goodness and the fatness of His house. It is a point of great moment, in the history of Christians, that we come together in assembly, recognising the fact that God is here of a truth.
Then there is also the testimony of God in the world. The ark goes forward — “Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee before thee”. That was one thought connected with the ark of the covenant — the leading out in conflict that the enemies of the Lord might be confounded. You will not suppose that I am referring to conflict with men — it is with spiritual enemies; they are to be confounded, and to flee before the ark of the covenant when Christ leads in the power of His testimony.
[p. 117] Now take into account these few simple thoughts. The fact that God is dwelling here by the Spirit determines our order, and the keeping the unity of the Spirit is of paramount importance. Then, by the very fact of the Spirit of God being here, we are in continual exercise, and He will keep us in exercise; but at the same time, we are furnished with a moment of rest now and again, and then we follow the ark of the covenant going forward in conflict against the enemies of God. This is all fulfilled to those who recognise the truth that God is dwelling here by the Spirit.
Now I go a point farther. I want to draw attention to the fact that the people of Israel never saw the ark of the covenant. There are a great many Christians now who understand the exercises of the wilderness; have had the enjoyment of the resting place; and have an interest in the testimony of the Lord; but it may be that they have never contemplated the ark of the covenant. I am almost afraid to speak of it, because boldness to enter the holiest is such a wonderful thing. I read the verses in Hebrews 10 to indicate what we well know, that we have that boldness — it is open to us to meditate on the ark of the covenant. Evidently the Hebrews had not got that far, else the apostle would not have spoken to them in the way in which he did, for after making known to them that they had boldness to enter into the holiest, he says, “Let us draw near”. They had not drawn near. The entering the holiest is to contemplate that which is there. Now I want to indicate what is there. So long as the first tabernacle was standing, the way into the holiest was not manifest. While the first tabernacle was standing, those who served were taken up with the things connected with the future glory of Israel. The table of shewbread, the candlestick, and the incense altar probably set forth the future glory of an earthly people in connection with Christ. So long as [p. 118] these were in view, the thought of entering the holiest was not present; but now that the first tabernacle has no standing, all that remains is the holiest of all, and in the holiest of all is the ark of the covenant. What I understand by the ark of the covenant is the secret of divine ways. The ark of the covenant conveys to my mind the idea of the great Head out of which the whole system of the world in which God will be glorified is to be evolved. It is no small thing to contemplate that. It is the holiest, and you have to be holy according to God in order to contemplate the breadth and length and depth and height of that vast system.
Now I will make that idea a little plainer if I can. Just contemplate what Christ is. He came here, the righteous One, who could perfectly glorify God on the earth, and set forth the principles of the kingdom. He could draw a perfectly defined line between good and evil; Psalm 45. The position of Christ here upon earth was, that He was establishing the great principles on which the throne of God would be based. Then He took up at the cross every liability of man, in order that, in His death, He might abolish the lawless man, the man in whom God had been dishonoured, and Himself come in as the Sun of righteousness. He accomplished redemption, and in doing it abolished that man. But then, He glorified God, and was raised again from the dead and carried to the right hand of God, far above all heavens, that He might fill all things. The thought which that brings before us is this, that the whole universe of bliss is to be evolved from Christ, out of the Head. If He fills all things, there is no room for anything else. The whole solar universe is filled with the light and heat of the sun, and there is no room for any other light. The electric light is very poor in the face of the sun. The only light I know of superior to that of the sun is the light of the Sun of righteousness. Paul [p. 119] saw a light above the sun. Now that is the Head — the ark of the covenant. The law of God was in His heart. The law of God is love. Christ came here with the law of God in His heart, that He might make that the law for the universe. The law of this world is lust and pride, but the law which Christ will give to the universe of bliss will be love. He will bring about that in that universe; the ruling principle shall be love, and everything will originate in the love of God. The love of God will be so made known and become so real to men, that it will be the law of the moral universe. The great principle of the Ten Commandments was love: if we love, we fulfil the law. Now take up the detail of Colossians 2, “In him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”. Christ is replete with divine intelligence. The next thing is, “You are complete in him, who is the head (entitled to give direction) of all principality and power”. I judge of every principality and power in the world by Christ, because He is the Head. Then He is the Head of the body, the assembly. The assembly lives in His life: He is the life of that body. The body is evolved from Him; and so I might go down to every other circle. The Old Testament saints will be in heaven in the life of Christ. Israel upon earth will take the law from Christ, and the same principle will apply through every circle. Every family is named of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and is evolved from the great Head, from the Sun of righteousness, the ark of the covenant.
I wonder if we have all contemplated that? I am afraid there may be many who are not prepared to enter into it; but it is there to be entered into. The great point of entering into the holiest is that you may contemplate Christ and that which is to be evolved from Christ; what Christ is as the Centre and Head and Sun of the universe of bliss. When all is filled by Him, you will not contemplate it in the same way. The privilege that we have now is to contemplate all [p. 120] in Christ, when it is not displayed and there is the possibility of entering into it. Christ is the great Priest over the house of God, and the house of God in result is the universe. I do not think you can contemplate this except in holiness and by the Spirit of God; but it is there to be contemplated.
I thank God that He has given us the faintest apprehension of the ark of the covenant. It is a most wonderful privilege to think of that great system of glory involved in Christ. It is going to be displayed; but it is an immense privilege, in the meantime, to contemplate it in the One who is the blessed Head and Centre and Source of it all.