HOUSEHOLDS FOR GOD

Exodus 2:1; Numbers 8:14; 1 Chronicles 15:16

I have been confirmed in the thoughts that I have had in relation to these scriptures by what our brothers have already mentioned. I have been thinking of what is for the Lord, and ultimately what is for God, as typified by the Levites. Looking at our brother and sister, there is no doubt about their love and affection for one another, and that is a wonderful thing. But I know that what has preceded that is their love and affection for the Lord Jesus, and how important that is. This household in Exodus chapter 2 that has been mentioned already was in type merged together because of these affections. Both our young brother and young sister, as having committed themselves to the Lord, have no doubt prayed about this very occasion. Our brother would have previously prayed that the Lord Jesus would bring someone suitable for him. I would say the same about our sister. It is wonderful to see, as our brother has mentioned, that this union is “in the Lord”.

These matters are seen in type by these two here in Exodus 2 in the exercise of faith as moving forward to set up a household; it was a man of the house of Levi taking a daughter of Levi. You might say, it did not only involve like interests, but their moving together in faith. The Levites were persons who were reserved for God; what we read in Numbers would set that out distinctly. The Levites were for God: it says, “that the Levites may be mine”. There was no doubt as to the service they were to carry out, and as our brother and sister set up their household together, there will be service that will be rendered. There will be service rendered to one another, and there will be service rendered to the saints, which is really service for the Lord. How important it is that the Lord gets His portion. There is no doubt that, as our brother mentioned in prayer, we live in a world where every man is seeking what is for himself; we own our part in that. But the joy of this day, the joy of this occasion, would freshly remind us of the importance of what is for the Lord. How wonderful it is that the Lord should receive His portion. There is no doubt that, as our dear young brethren have been joined together, and if the Lord leaves us here, there will be days ahead to be enjoyed by them in the Lord’s will, and it is right that it should be so. But again I come back to the importance of first giving to Lord what is for Him.

That concern was there in this household in Egypt, as our brother mentioned earlier from Hebrews. We know what came out of it. There was a distinct exercise that they had to pass through in relation to Moses in order that he might be preserved to them. They made an ark of reeds and plastered it with resin and with pitch; they put Moses in it then laid it in the sedge on the bank of the river, recognizing in faith that what was beautiful under the eye of God must be brought out from the place of death. In our Christian histories as we go on together, as we have experiences with the saints and as our young brethren will find in their own histories, even in their own household, there will be times when we have to accept that death lies on everything here. But then, praise the Lord, what comes out of that is love, as typified in Moses. Think of how this household would have had this concern; the father and mother were in it together. We read more about the mother and her concern for her son, how she became a wet-nurse (Exod.2:7). Moses’ sister had the exercise of going and finding him, and making sure that his mother would be his wet-nurse. But it was no doubt the exercise of the parents together to preserve what was to be in principle for the Lord. Then this was carried further, with the Levitical potential seen in Moses being placed in a most favourable position as son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and yet he gave all that up. For a Levite, there was no earthly inheritance, and if we are going to be here for the Lord, then what is for the Lord is to prevail and we must recognise we have no earthly inheritance. It is always for Himself.

I just had a sense as we came to this occasion of the joy which involves all of us. That brings us to this portion in 1 Chronicles: we become singers. “And David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren, the singers… that they should sound aloud, lifting up the voice with joy”. This is a joyous occasion, and the Lord desires that it should be so. I trust that as each one of us goes from here, we will be strengthened in our joy and in our affections for the Lord Jesus and for one another, because it all involves what is for Himself. Our hearts have, I trust, been awakened and stirred in us as a result of this union, and our desire is that as we go forward, the Lord would get what is properly His from each household, for His name’s sake.

Doug Klassen

Three words given at a marriage meeting, Denton, USA

21 November 2021