2 CHRONICLES 9 (NOTES OF A READING)
2 CHRONICLES 9 (NOTES OF A READING)
CAC It is very comforting to be assured that whatever riches of glory are made known in Christ and wrought by His work in human hearts will bring about what corresponds with it and can appreciate it. I suppose Solomon is the type of Christ that is unique; there is no other type like Solomon; indeed, that is true of every type. There are not duplicates, and every type has its own unique presentation of Him; and spiritual intelligence and appreciation largely depend on our diligence in tracing out the beauty and glory of Christ in the types. But then the queen of Sheba is unique too.
Ques. In what way?
CAC Well, as representing a capacity to appreciate all that was found in Solomon. She is brought in in that way, is she not? I think it shows that if there is a peculiar glory set before us in Christ it needs a peculiar character of divine working in souls that it may be fully appreciated.
Ques Does the fact that she was a gentile suggest this working among the gentiles? The effect on the magi was a wonderful work.
CAC Yes, and they had to do with Christ, we might say, in a small presentation.
Ques Is this connected with the quotation from Isaiah in Revelation 21: 26, “And they shall bring the glory and the honour of the nations to it”?
CAC Yes, it is; but it is even greater because there is a spiritual quality about this in a typical way.
Ques How does the Lord comment on this in the gospel? He spoke of Nineveh and then of the queen of Sheba. What was in His mind?
CAC I suppose He had in mind the two great divine realities, that is, He was going into death, set forth in type in Jonah; and He was about to enter into His glory too. It was all there; His qualification to be glorified was all there, though they did not perceive it. What has come to us in the glad tidings is the fame of Christ glorified. The question is whether it has affected us in the same way as the queen of Sheba was affected by the fame of Solomon.
Ques Is the subjective side brought in here, in it being a woman?
CAC So that there was something that was excellent, suitable to Solomon and appreciative of his affairs. How good to know God is working that there should be something in relation to Christ glorified, true appreciation of Him glorified. The queen of Sheba is looked at as representing the work of God. She does not come as a poor sinner, as saying,
‘Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thyself I cling’, (396:3)
but she comes loaded with the choicest possible things, such as had never been seen before.
It is a question here of thoughts and enigmas which were in her heart, that no one could solve but Solomon; that is, she is a thoughtful person: I do not think that God takes much account of thoughtless people.
Rem Christ is the answer to every question.
CAC Yes, that is so. He is the wisdom of God. It is like a picture on the wall, until we come to Him. It is what is presented by the powerful testimony of the Spirit — Christ glorified.
Rem The question with us is whether we really take this journey and bring our questions.
CAC It would have been very interesting if we had been told some of her questions. I have no doubt her enigmas would all be in relation to the true God and would flow out of the acquisition through the fall of the knowledge of good and evil. While they got it from the fall, it was a most wonderful acquisition — Adam and Eve by the fall were far superior to what they were in innocence. Do you think that?
Rem I do not know that we can all take it in!
CAC There was a greater moral capacity. As fallen, this wonderful capacity came in for them. It is a capacity that would make us all very thoughtful, if we are true and sober, for there are a thousand enigmas connected with it.
Rem We need to get our questions solved first.
CAC It liberates us to contemplate an order of things that cannot be improved, and indeed we know what it is to be brought into connection with a scene that is in perfection and with a blessed Person in control, where everything is operating in love. There is no improvement on that. Think of the glorified Christ — I have sometimes thought of it with wonder — the One who is far above all principality and power and dominion and every name that is named, image of the invisible God, Heir of all things — to think that He is at liberty to pay attention to what is in my heart, any question and problem that I have! Now the glorified Christ is waiting to be at our service in the same way; is it not marvellous? Every question relating to good and evil is of profound interest to a glorified Christ. It is for the want of these exercises that men are perishing without Christ. Whatever I have found in Christ is a permanent thing. You cannot suppose the queen of Sheba did not carry her impression of Solomon and all his affairs back with her.
Ques It is something like Colossians, is it not?
CAC I was thinking of Colossians, because the great thought of Christ as Head is wisdom to direct and to be the source of supply; but the great thought is wisdom.
Rem She had no reserves at all. She spoke with him of all that was in her heart.
CAC She found out he could explain it all to her. In Colossians they were in danger of bringing in human solutions to their enigmas, philosophy and vain deceit, men spinning cobwebs out of their own brains. Well, that is not good. I suppose what the queen of Sheba brought to Solomon expressed her appreciation of his glories. We might think that we have nothing to bring; but we have. We can add something that no one else can bring to Christ. I can add something that no other creature in creation can — my own appreciation of His greatness and glory. That is not adding to Him, but is our own appreciation of His greatness and glory. It shows very clearly that she had an extraordinary sense of his glories. Think of a company of saints sitting down together, and in every heart a God-given sense of what Christ is and what He is on God’s behalf; what wealth that is! With the women in the gospels, like the woman in Luke 7, and Mary in John 12, there was a profound sense of divine love as expressed in Him.
Ques Have you any suggestion as to what the spices and gold and precious stones would mean as presented from her side?
CAC I think it typifies the sense in the soul of the worth of Christ. We were expressing it just now, ‘Thy worthiness we sing’. How precious that is. How precious to Him that in a world where men do not look to Him for anything, we should look to Him for everything with a sense that it is all there. Yes, it is in manhood, that all this comes out. It is a blessed Man, who is the wisdom of God, the power of God, the expression of the glory of God, and the image of God. So if we understand, we see there must be an answer to every moral exercise, to every question that springs up in each individual heart.
Rem We need to have the Person brought before us.
CAC We lack in this; we are content with a general statement which the gospel brings. We accept it, we do not question it; but it is quite another thing to draw near to the One we have known in the glad tidings. It is a different thing to find out that He can tell me all about my exercises as to God and as to good and evil, and wishes to be the answer to me, so that I have my own individual experience with Him. And this would set us free. If we get personal exercise met, it sets us free to contemplate an order of things where all is perfect. I am afraid many believers have very little conception that there is at the present time an order of things that is so perfect that it could not be improved upon. They think that will be in heaven.
Ques What do you mean by that?
CAC All that we get here — the house that he had built, the food of his table, the deportment of his servants and the order of their service, and finally the ascent by which he went up to the house of Jehovah. It was all in such perfection that it did not leave anything to be desired. Do you not think that it is our privilege to enter upon such an order of things, such as was in His mind when the Lord said, “I will build my assembly, and hades’ gates shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16: 18), because that is down here? It would hardly be said, “Hades’ gates shall not prevail against it” in heaven. Because it is His house, “My assembly”. That is not the same thing as the house of God. The persons are the same, but in a different setting.
It is a thing to ponder in our hearts before God, if there is a structure where there is not a single element that is not the handiwork of God. Is that not what is needed to keep us really bright? Otherwise we get under the dulling, deadening influence of the depressing conditions of the general ruin of the christian profession. I feel the need of it myself. We can resort to something only apprehended in the light of a glorified Christ; because it is a glorified Christ that builds the assembly. If I have it, I want to look round for other hearts in it too; then we can walk together in the light and blessedness of it. It is not so easy as you might think to get away from the area of imperfection. You get outside the area where you have to be constantly considering good and evil. In our responsible life and history we never can get away; it faces us at every step and turn. But there is a sphere connected with Christ glorified which is excellent and cannot be improved upon. It is all His handiwork.
Ques “There was no more spirit in her”. What does that refer to?
CAC I suppose it is there is no movement of desire. She has reached, as J.B.S. used to put it, the region of satisfied desire. Is it not in that sense? If we reach the ordering of the house, if we contemplate that, we have an entirely different standard by which to estimate everything. We need to be exercised about it, that it is not merely a picture on the wall to us as we have been saying. We want it to work out; for instance, “the food of his table”; we may be sure in Christ’s house where He has His way there will never be any shortage of food.
Rem I suppose all this, the food of his table, and the deportment of his servants, even these things reflect the glory of Christ.
CAC Yes, there is unquestionable wisdom about it all. The word “deportment” is generally translated “dwelling”; it is the place they occupied, that is, the wonderful favour that was conferred upon them in having a position in relation to his service. She says, “Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom”. She was struck by the blessedness of the place they had in relation to such a one; and the order of service of his attendants, and their apparel, I suppose, would apply to all the ordered service in the assembly viewed as Christ’s assembly. Everything is in perfect order; you would not find an evangelist trying to be a teacher, or anything like that, would you?
Rem “If any one of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God”, it says (James 1: 5).
CAC Yes, practically we need a great deal of exercise to get away from our thoughts and man’s wisdom. In christendom, there is an order of man’s wisdom. We want to get away to the liberty of an order of service where everything is of Christ. As to the “apparel”, I suppose personal suitability is required. All is taken account of in the walk and ways of those that serve, that no discredit comes upon the service. It speaks of “in everything commending ourselves as God’s ministers” (2 Corinthians 6: 4).
Ques What are the “cupbearers”?
CAC It is remarkable that the cupbearers are mentioned before his ascent to the house of Jehovah. It suggests that we minister first to the joy of Christ. His cupbearers would literally hand him wine; and I think the Lord has been exercising us for some years about the importance of ministering to the joy of Christ, before He moves to the ascent to the house of Jehovah. The Lord looks for His portion. Sometimes we are in too much of a hurry to get on to the service of God. It would be greatly enhanced if the cupbearers came into evidence.
Oh, what a privilege we have on Lord’s day morning when we have eaten the Supper together, which brings Himself before our hearts, because He says, “This do in remembrance of ME”. What are we to do next? Well, minister to Him — minister to His pleasure; and then we can join Him, as it were, in this wonderful ascent. He goes up (it is from his own house) to the house of Jehovah; and I think in a sense that is how the thing works in the assembly. One would covet to have a deep sense of the preciousness of it all. She is filled with it, and finds it exceeds all that she heard, and pronounces everyone happy in this wonderful circle; and finally she blesses “Jehovah thy God”.
Rem And she knew the delight that God had in him.
CAC Yes, indeed.
Rem It says, “King to Jehovah”, not to the people.
CAC Yes, she understood that he was filling the office entirely for the pleasure of God. That is when we come together, so that whatever is the product of divine working in Christ is all for the pleasure of God, so that God may be “all in all” ultimately. Oh, it is wonderful!