SUBJECTIVE FEATURES
[p. 479] SUBJECTIVE FEATURES
Exodus 1: 17, 21; Exodus 2: 1 - 10; Exodus 15: 20, 21; Exodus 35: 25, 26
The women of Scripture, as signalised by the Holy Spirit, afford a most interesting study. They stand for the divine product — the divine result which God would reach, culminating, when viewed in a general way, in the assembly, or when viewed in detail, in the result to be reached in each of the books of Scripture.
So these scriptures in Exodus afford help regarding the divine end to be reached. This book has in view not only what its name implies, the exit of the believer from the world, but also the divine abode.
Genesis treats of the house of God in the abstract, but there is no building there, so that David in Psalm 132: 5, in thinking of the resting place of the ark — the abiding place of God, refers to Genesis 28 in speaking of “an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob”. But this merely presents the house in the abstract, and an abstract idea is not enough for God. It is important to begin with the abstract thought, but you must have the concrete idea. Exodus represents this.
The house of God appears in Scripture whilst the man of faith, Jacob, is on a journey. It is, in that sense, for those who take a journey. Going to heaven by the power of God is not that idea. The rapture is a question of power, not in us but in Him, not the Spirit in us, but the Lord coming for us. If we reach it now in the Spirit, that is a question of spiritual power; but going to heaven literally is not a journey — “the Lord himself ... shall descend from heaven”, 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
The house of God is what comes in as an immense provision as we move on the way. So in [p. 480] coming to Exodus we get education under the figure of the tabernacle, something which can be taken down and put up again, something admitting of a journey. Christendom has lapsed from the idea of journeying. National churches and the like have lapsed from the tabernacle thought, which suggests movement.
So the believer begins to move. “Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest” (Micah 2: 10) — that is the principle of the gospel. Luke brings the gospel to where we are, and sets us up locally as justified by the grace of God and having the Spirit. But in John it is “Come, see a man”; you move out. Luke presents grace; John presents love; and love moves its object, so that throughout it is “Come and see”. So the believer moves; and on the way home to heaven you have home comforts; heaven comes down. Luke shows this side too, at the beginning of his gospel. The angel is near by the shepherds, and the glory is round about them. What an encouragement for the believer as he sets out! So in Exodus the glory is before them and behind too. In Luke a multitude of the heavenly host comes down, heaven is brought down, the house of God — heaven here; enough for our comfort and satisfaction as we journey, so that we shall not falter.
These scriptures show how the material for the house comes about. The women refer to subjective conditions. Since the recovery of the truth the objective conditions are usually right; God keeps what is of Christ presented to the saints, but Genesis and Exodus bring in a subjective element which culminates in material for the house. It is not the presentation of objective truths but it is what is subjective, and inwrought, so that the believer is the thing himself. “Thou art Peter”; that is the material. In John it is “Thou shalt be called”. Each Christian,
[p. 481] as having the Spirit, is material. You can say of him that potentially he is something: “Thou art”. He takes on also character and personality as having the Holy Spirit. There is therefore who I am and what I am. The one makes me material for another world, and the personality gives me distinction and status among the persons. “Moses and Aaron among his priests”. Psalm 99: 6.
The midwives present that feature in us subjectively the feature of unselfish attention to what God is doing. They are not the mothers of the children, but just Hebrew women, in reproach like the infants. They are attentive in regard to what God is doing. It is important to understand what God is doing. The book begins with the “sons of Israel”, (Exodus 1: 1) a dignified people, and we must regard them spiritually in the light of sonship. They had come in with their father, they had come in in dignity, and in the recognition of the patriarch and the light of God, of Christ typically.
Now they meet with tremendous opposition, which would seek to extinguish them. Pharaoh’s idea was to cast them into the river. If you cast out an infant it is cruel, it would be better to destroy it. They are to be cast out, exposed to the power of the world, with no protection — a solemn consideration for parents. “Casting out their infants”, Stephen says, “that they might not live”, Acts 7: 19.
So the midwives represent unselfishness, but there is also a link of relationship for they are Hebrew women. The term “Hebrew” refers to the reproach of Christ. Many are turned back by this, but Moses’ parents did not “fear the injunction of the king”. According to Scripture Moses himself feared not the wrath of the king, an important matter in view of the exodus and the house of God. Moses came to this in time. He is told to go and stand “in front of” Pharaoh, Exodus 7: 15. Like the lion, he turns not aside for any. You fear God. If I fear to confess Christ before men, I do not fear God. If I fear God, I do confess. The Lord has to say to us as to non-confession before men.
So the women feared God and saved the boys, the most precious thing on earth at that time. It is not a mere matter of history, the Holy Spirit writes about what exists all around. Young ones are coming into being through the testimony of the gospel. The enemy would destroy them by the influence of the world, but the women stood athwart that and boldly saved them alive. It has a voice to us as to open identification with the reproach of Christ. They are Hebrew children, and these God-fearing women, unselfishly for they are not the mothers, saved the male children alive. How shall we have additions except as the male children are saved alive? It requires courage and skill; but these women were equal to the occasion; we might almost say they have professional skill; God dealt well with them. Our gatherings will not die out if this is done. God has great resources; He can be brought into every little thing and knows how to do well for us. We leave Him out of many little things, as if they were not His province. Even in the natural creation, God cares for little things. The farmer casts a grain into the earth, but God gives the grain a body. How much more does He care for little things in regard of the lives of His people! Even the hairs of your head, it says, are all numbered. So God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied. And God makes them houses.
What attention He pays to us! Presently a house has to be made for Him. We build houses for ourselves also; the Lord refers to this in the gospels, and raises the question of the foundation. One has [p. 483] observed the houses that brothers and sisters build around themselves spiritually, alas, they sometimes collapse. If you see what God builds around you for your comfort, then you will understand what is suitable to God: you have to learn everything from God. These women would not want a house with a gorgeous garden, as if it were a millennium, nor yet a palace in Egypt, but it would be the sort of house that is suitable to God.
In Exodus 2 we have a mother. The babe has grown a little and has become attractive, like the Thessalonians. We come here to maternal features. A young believer is more than a male Hebrew, he is born into the household of faith. And so we have here Moses’ mother, a most intimate relationship. This feature is carried into the assembly. Jerusalem above is our mother, its place is above in the thought of God, and that governs it — it is heavenly in principle.
Moses’ mother saw the child beautiful. And are these young believers not beautiful? As you see them in the divine mind, as you see them with God’s eyes, are they not beautiful? They are fair to God, as was said of Moses, exceedingly lovely, Acts 7: 20. If I love the saints I shall brook the opposition of the devil. The divine generation is worth dying for. This is what underlay the attitude of the martyrs. How much we owe to the martyrs! Stephen did not fear, and how he spoke of Moses! “Not fearing the wrath of the king”, Hebrews 11: 27. They accepted martyrdom to save the children.
This action of faith leads on to a positive saviour being found for the child in Pharaoh’s daughter. She was very different from her father, she had not the same terrible opposition to God. We must allow for the sovereign action of God. She had compassion, although she knew that it was one of the Hebrews’ children. The service is augmented from an unexpected quarter.
And now the sister comes into evidence. She watches to see what will become of the child. The child is in danger every day, as he goes to town, or to school — particularly at school. Have an eye on them! The sister does it here, she is not told to do so, but she is moved by family affection; and her service is most effectual. It brought the child back to his mother, so that she might nurse her own child.
It is like Paul among the Thessalonians — “as a nurse would cherish her own children”, 1 Thessalonians 2: 7. This was the secret of their growth and loveliness. The child stayed long enough under his mother’s influence to be spoken of as “grown”. If a child is under the mother’s influence till it is grown, there is hope for it. In the mother’s house, under the mother’s love, the child grows, and as grown it can enter into the house of Pharaoh’s daughter, and go through unscathed. The maternal service is essential for the continuance of the testimony. I do not speak of literal boys and girls, but of what is to be material for the assembly. In chapter 6, Jochebed’s name is mentioned as the great mother of the priestly family.
I come now to Miriam. What is needed when Moses is grown is the prophetic word; but what we have here is the prophetic word in one who had to wait ninety years before her name is mentioned. But it is not that she was not a prophetess before, she is now called the prophetess — she was there before the thing existed. It is better that the thing should be there, than that we should be speaking of it: we do not get things named in Scripture before the thing is there. How essential is the prophetess as young people grow up, to convey the mind of God, to speak to their consciences! Moses became identified with the Hebrews, and we need the mind of God.
[p. 485] At Caesarea there were four women who prophesied (Acts 21: 8); the thing was going on. Miriam is said to be the sister of Aaron here, she had had a secret life with God. Aaron is not mentioned till he is over eighty, but he was well-known to God: “Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well”, Exodus 4: 14. Miriam had grown up in secret relations with God amid all the scorn of Egypt, and now she is named as the prophetess. She would not be gossiping as moving among the people of God, but, would be bringing in the mind of God — like Anna, “who did not depart from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers”, Luke 2: 37.
And now she knows what to do. She takes her timbrel, and all the women of Israel follow her — what an influence she had! A woman influencing women is a matter of great consequence — Miriam would give a proper lead. Her secret life with God develops into influence, and all the women went out after her and she answered them. Whatever they had, she was equal to it. And so God is praised by all the women of Israel.
In the spinning (chapter 35: 25) we have actual toil. It is what every wise-hearted woman did. Earlier the men had brought things as raw material which suggests the objective side. In the women you see the spiritual side, the hands are occupied. Handling the goats’ hair would be toilsome work, wearing to the fingers. It is well to attend the meetings and listen to ministry, but what are you doing with it? How is it going into the tabernacle, how is it contributing to the principle of dwelling? The Holy Spirit in this book is leading on to the tabernacle. The raw material has to be rendered suitable for it. “All the women whose heart moved them in wisdom, spun goats’ hair”, Exodus 35: 26. The heart was in it, and wisdom of heart. So Paul “as a wise architect” laid [p. 486] the foundation. In Proverbs 14: 1 we read “The wisdom of women buildeth their house”. This shows us the importance of applying ourselves to actual toil.