IMPRESSIONS RECEIVED IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD
We can understand, dear brethren, that in writing these lines, the apostle said that it was not the time to enter in detail into the things of which he only makes mention, because of the state of the saints to whom he was writing. They were not fully established in the grace of God. Thus, the apostle had to face up to all sorts of difficulties, in order to encourage them to enter into the most holy place. He tells them in chapter 10 that we have “boldness for entering into the holy of holies by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he has dedicated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh”. He emphasises the fact that the death of Christ has removed all that could hinder our approach to God, God Himself desiring that we should know better what it is to come right into His presence, not simply to expose our needs there—which is right in its place, but above all that we should receive an impression of what He has in Christ and which is connected with Christ for His pleasure
In proposing these verses, I thought that we could be helped to see what is before God today, because there is no doubt that the tabernacle system—while typifying from a certain point of view the world to come, answers from another point of view to what God has now in His saints, or manifestly in Christ. Thus we read that there was first of all the holy place, in which were the candlestick and the exposition of the loaves. It is a reference to two things which God has now in the saints. It is good to have God’s point of view on what He has among His people. The candlestick speaks of the maintenance of light during the absence of Christ. See what God has in the local companies of the saints. You will remember that the candlestick had seven lamps, which indicate the totality of local companies. Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation mention the seven assemblies: they represent the totality of what belongs to God. And the Spirit of God Himself is presented in the Revelation as the “seven Spirits of God”, a remarkable expression which we only find in Revelation and which indicates, I believe, the full sufficiency of the Holy Spirit for every local position.
It is in localities, where the Spirit is recognised, that the light of God is maintained in this world. When the saints are taken away, the world will be left in darkness; the Spirit is down here with us and it is in the power of the Spirit that the light is maintained. We will see in Leviticus 24 that it was the responsibility of the children of Israel themselves to bring oil for the light. In this sense, the light depended on them, and although the light of God is down here, on account of the presence of the Holy Spirit, yet this light only produces its effect in the measure in which we furnish conditions suited to the Spirit, for it is in dependence on the Spirit of God that the mind of God is presented, whether in ministry or in our conversations together during reading meetings. The light is thus maintained, and it is important that God is able to see this. We shall be greatly helped if we take account of our occasions of gathering from the point of view of what is afforded for God, and not only what is afforded for us. When the Lord Jesus was in the world, He was the light of the world, and I do not need to say that it was a perfect light; nothing could obscure that light. The Lord Jesus has gone, and the Spirit has come in His place, to maintain the light and the thoughts of God; but for this there must be vessels; the saints are the vessels, and in each locality where the saints are set together, one finds the idea of the candlestick.
We understand in consequence that the Lord presents Himself, in the book of Revelation, as being Him who walks in the midst of the seven golden lamps. He wants to take account of that which is the light, if it is a pure light, if there is faithfulness to God and to the truth, or indeed if something contrary is allowed which obscures the light. And He has many things to condemn in what concerns five of the assemblies. One can understand the pleasure He finds in Smyrna and Philadelphia, two assemblies against which He has nothing to say. This is the first thing to see in the holy place, the candlestick.
There is then the exposition of the loaves. See again what is related to the pleasure of God; and there was a table, the table for the exposition of the loaves. The table signifies that in which God can share, for there was not only the unleavened bread on the table, but also the dishes and the cups, various vessels all suggesting what the saints are under God’s eye, as presenting different features of Christ. Then the loaves are set in order; they represent the saints set together, God Himself finding His pleasure in them, for the incense was sprinkled upon them. I believe that the epistle to the Colossians presents this idea of the table for the shewbread, for you remember that Paul says that he rejoices in seeing their order, Col 2: 5. This idea of the saints established in a divine order, and in unity. Then he speaks of what marked them, Christ everything and in all. Thus, dear brethren, in every place where the saints move together in love, in unity, in order, being governed by the truth, we can have the sense that God finds His pleasure, and our thoughts will be greatly elevated in the way in which we assemble, if we take account of the saints in this light, as forming part down here of a great system in the midst of which God dwells and in which He finds His pleasure.
The apostle goes on to speak of the most holy place. We have the right to enter right into the very presence of God and to see there everything as it is before Him. Mention is made first of all of the golden altar, which is very remarkable because in the instructions relating to the construction of the tabernacle, in the book of Exodus [chap 25], there is no mention of a golden altar; but when we come to Leviticus 16, we find the altar of incense mentioned. On the day of atonement, Aaron had to enter into the presence of God with the blood of the bullock for the sin-offering for Israel; but before entering with the blood, he had to fill the censer with coals from upon the altar, and fill his hands with fragrant incense, incense to be placed on the fire, so that the cloud of incense covered the mercy-seat. Thus the excellence of Christ for God is set before us, excluding man. We can readily understand that if Aaron had his two hands full of incense, he could not use them for anything else. I believe that this is found in the third chapter of Romans where it is a question of the righteousness of God through the death of Christ towards us. Before the work of Christ is presented in this chapter, the faith of Jesus Christ is introduced. This signifies that the believer must understand that another Man is before God, Jesus Christ, He who is entirely for the pleasure of God, and the sweet odour of this Man fills the presence of God. That is what we find and enter upon. It is important to be impressed in this way. The death of Christ makes our way of entering.
There was therefore first this altar of incense which served to set forth the fragrance of Christ before God. And the apostle continues by speaking of the “ark of the covenant covered in every way with gold”. It is remarkable to see how gold is emphasised in these verses, as if the Spirit of God was stressing to us the glorious character of the whole scene, “the ark of covenant covered in every part with gold”. It is an allusion to Christ in the glory of His Person, a divine Person become Man in order that all God’s thoughts in blessing should be brought out and established. What a contemplation, beloved friends, that this is Christ in the presence of God, from this point of view! What thoughts God has had, before the foundation of the world, thoughts of blessing and glory, all depending on Christ for their manifestation! All awaiting the incarnation. Perhaps we will never fully understand the glory of the incarnation, that a Person of the Deity became Man because God had thoughts of blessing for men. And it is in this blessed Man that God established His rights in mercy, in order that man could be brought for ever into the immediate blissful presence of God.
There are other glories to apprehend. Inside the ark were found the pot that had the manna, and the rod of Aaron that had sprouted, and the tables of the covenant. Now it is not said anywhere else that the pot was a golden pot. In Exodus, we are simply told that the manna was put in a pot. But now, we understand that this pot was of gold, indicating that if one enters into the presence of God, everything must be glorious. Thus, we are led to the thought of the manna, to which attaches a marvellous glory. We remember that, when they were hungry, after they had come out of Egypt, God said to them by Moses that they would know that God had brought them out of Egypt, and in the morning ye shall see the glory of Jehovah, Exod 16: 6, 7. In the evening, Jehovah brought up the quails in large numbers, which would show that the same power that had brought them out of Egypt could do everything for them, and give any amount of quails that might have been necessary. However, that is not His way of doing things, and in the morning, they would not see the quails; they would see the glory of Jehovah. What would they see? Something small and fine on the surface of the wilderness. This speaks of the marvellous grace of the Lord Jesus, who has come into the circumstances of humanity, and in the way in which He has acted in these circumstances; He can become the food of His people down through the centuries. Think of the grace of Christ. Think of Him becoming a Child, in order that a Christian child can find there the food of its soul in the obedience of Jesus as a child submitting to His parents, for it is said that He went down with them to Nazareth and was subject to them. He lived in a humble place, in Nazareth, in the house of a carpenter, and apparently He worked as a carpenter because according to the gospel of Mark, it was said in speaking of Him, “is not this the carpenter?” What marvellous grace! The One who has created everything and upholds everything, has come into such circumstances and there He has worked as a carpenter, to become the food of saints in the ordinary circumstances of their everyday life.
We understand why the Spirit of God gives us to know that the manna was in a pot of gold. If one wanted to have some impression of what the manna is, I think that one would be helped by Psalm 16, which brings out for us various features of the moral glory that marked the pathway of Jesus, depending on God, satisfied with His portion in Jehovah, finding His joy in the saints, receiving counsel from God, refusing to revel in the pursuits of others. In reading Psalm 16, which is short, one finds in almost every verse some feature of moral glory; this can be food for our soul. It is not too much to say that in the measure in which a saint has been sustained in this life in what is for the pleasure of God, he has been sustained in feeding himself on Christ. One can thus understand how the manna is glorious. How many millions of saints have been sustained down here for the pleasure of God since Christ has gone to heaven and the Spirit has come! God will be able to say, when we enter into His presence: It is in feeding on Christ that all the saints have been sustained for My pleasure.
There was also the rod of Aaron that had sprouted. If the manna speaks to us of Christ in His humiliation, the rod of Aaron speaks to us of Christ raised from the dead and raised from among the dead. We remember that twelve princes of Israel, one from each tribe, had taken twelve rods. There had been one that represented Aaron for the tribe of Levi, and eleven others. They were to be placed before Jehovah and they remained there all night. Then in the morning, Moses retrieved them from before God, and eleven of them remained dead. A rod is not a living thing. But one of the rods—only one—the rod of Aaron, had budded and had blossomed and had brought forth ripened almonds. In this way God indicated who was the man He had chosen for it had been done before Him. It was Christ raised who was in view, raised from among the dead on account of the moral excellence that God had found in Him; and we know that He is now living in the presence of God, representing on high all the people of God. From this point of view, the people’s murmurings did not come before God, because the saints are represented there in an infallible manner by our great High Priest, who personally gives such pleasure to God and who appears continually in God’s presence for us. Thus we are carried right through the wilderness. On one hand, we are maintained in life in feeding on the manna; and on the other we are sustained before God by Him in whom God finds His delight. What a marvellous service the Lord undertakes! In entering into the presence of God, we will have an impression of the estimate that God has of Christ as being Him by whom the saints are carried to the end.
And in the ark is found also the tables of the covenant. It is not the idea of the law, with its demands, but rather the covenant, expression of the thoughts of God towards us. And such thoughts are to be grasped as being in the ark. Then it is said, “above the ark the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat”. Not only do we have an impression of Christ, according to the various ways in which I have sought to speak of Him, but there is then also an impression of the glory of God Himself in “the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat”; giving us the idea that God insists on His rights in showing mercy. The cherubim are always presented in the Scriptures in accord with the rights of God, and protecting those rights. Thus God would have us to be touched in entering into His presence that he has found His pleasure in showing mercy. Indeed, he says “I will show mercy unto whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion”. What an impression of God we receive, dear brethren, in seeing that He insists upon His rights to show mercy of which He is full! This, of course, brings us back to Christ as the One through whose death the rights of God were established, so that He may act in mercy.
May we be always the more encouraged to enter into the presence of God, in order to obtain there an impression of Christ as He is before God, in the various light in which He may shine! May we also have an impression of the system which he sustains before God in the saints, a system of light in the Spirit on the one hand, and of food for the pleasure of God on the other!
BRONAC
3rd November 1954
From Paroles d’Édification Mutuelle
An alternative revision of this address was published in
Words of Grace and Comfort
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