THE REMNANT (2)

^[p. 234] THE REMNANT (2)

Isaiah 7: 3 - 15; Isaiah 8: 5 - 20

JT This morning we observed in chapter 6 that Isaiah was brought into the ministry, and how in the moral process of his soul, according to the vision he saw, he learned how to serve. He sees “the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above him: each had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he flew. And one called to the other and said, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6: 1 - 3).

While it is a kingly position, it is also a priestly position. The seraphim are representative of the priestly side of the service of God, while the cherubim would be more the governmental side. Isaiah sees here how the seraphim behave in their service, and how holiness marks them; and then they serve him. They serve Jehovah, but one of them serves the prophet. “One of the seraphim flew unto me, and he had in his hand a glowing coal, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar”. The seraphim served the Lord in the celebration of His holiness, they recognise their creature estate; in coming to the application of the truth of atonement they also recognise it, and use the tongs. Christ had to do with the altar as suffering; He endured it in its fulness, the infinite fulness of divine wrath poured out. The seraphim show that they know what to do; recognising at all times their creature limitations, an important matter in service. We cannot go beyond creature limitations, the Lord can in His service. The word says, He has become “higher than the heavens”, as regards His priesthood (Hebrews 7: 26); and in regard to gifts given to the ^[p. 235] assembly, He has ascended up above all the heavens, (Ephesians 4: 10). The gifts are limited, and creature limitations attach to them; so the seraphim uses the tongs, meaning that he does not experience the full force of wrath, but he takes a glowing coal, representing the fierceness of wrath against evil, “which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; and he made it touch my mouth”. The sinner needs this touch in view of special service, for in the process he becomes a vessel of service, and so immediately it is said to him, “Behold, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin expiated”. All is fully dealt with. Then the voice is heard, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” and Isaiah says, “Here am I; send me”. It is well to recall this again to see how it applies in chapter 7, how the minister now is dealing with a special case in himself. What follows in chapter 6 are general facts as to the remnant, and what the remnant undergoes so as to reach the divine thoughts as to it.

In chapter 7 we have a special case, and verse 3 reads, “And Jehovah said to Isaiah, Go out now to meet Ahaz, thou and thy son Shear-jashub, at the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller’s field”. Isaiah is a family man. In the next chapter he has another son. He was a prophet, and his family is brought into the service; the child here having a name which signifies the point of view of the testimony at that time. This, it would seem, points to family education, and shows how our children ought to be brought into the service. The child does not say anything; he is apparently young, but is to be a sign, and is to be used as to his growth and age. Verse 16 reads, “For before the child knoweth to refuse the evil and to choose the good, the land whose two kings thou fearest shall be forsaken”. Thus the minister has ^[p. 236] his child in the house, and his age will determine certain things. The person who is being helped, or the person addressed, that is Ahaz, will be instructed by observing this child.

We are approaching now the presentation of the truth of the remnant in the minister — a special case; which shows how the family is brought into it. This boy’s name means, ‘A remnant shall return’. Wherever there is a feature of the remnant, it will endure, as seen in chapter 6; but here it is that the remnant returns. It points to the moment, I think, in which we are, the remnant has come into the light, and it is marked by returning; and this boy, as in the family of the prophet, is to remind us of this.

ABP Do you link this in any way with chapter 1: 2, where Jehovah says, “I have nourished and brought up children”? Isaiah’s prophecy opens with God speaking as a father.

JT They had rebelled against Him. They were not usable in the service, but the point here is that this man has a family, and the family is usable, as seen in a young boy. His father can take him by the hand. He signifies something. He is not pulling away from his father in self-will. He is evidently docile, in keeping with his name.

LES Does this suggest that we are to be with every movement that marks the ministry?

JT That is right. The idea is that the family is brought up in that relation. It is what often comes out in our meetings — let us have the children with us in it.

CAM Would it indicate that the prophetic ministry is increasing in its influence and power? In chapter 6 we have moral conditions in Isaiah and the remnant, and now we have extended influence in the prophet.

JT Yes. The boy is with him; Isaiah is free to take him. “Go out now to meet Ahaz, thou and thy son Shear-jashub”. The boy is there with his father; and then the position is, “at the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller’s field”. That is, the name of the child, and his being with him, have the testimony in mind, and king Ahaz is to see that.

JT-n What is the importance of the place where this testimony is brought out? — “at the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller’s field”.

JT The aqueduct would refer to running water — the supply of water; the fuller’s field, I suppose, would point to self-purification. It is a public position. The aqueduct would be, I judge, a principle, and so would the fuller’s field; but the boy is a living person. From the divine side there is a perfect testimony presented in this way, and Shear-jashub is a living person. He is quiet; not scampering about, or pulling away from his father; he is there in the presence of these principles, apparently not detracting from them. Ahaz, over against this, is not equal to the reception of the testimony; he is not receptive, but the testimony is perfect.

RWS There must have been exercise with Isaiah, and with his wife, at the birth of this son, and he would have been given this name as a result.

JT Well, that is what one was thinking. The prophetic idea must have been there when the child was born; the name given to him means that a remnant shall return. It is obvious that the service is not to be fruitless; if Ahaz is not affected, others will be.

JT-n Does that have a bearing on our first impression of the Lord? Isaiah at the end of chapter 6 had learned the lesson, not only as light, but experimentally in his soul, so as to understand this thought of the “holy seed” and that “it shall return;” the fruit he bore was thus ^[p. 238] named.

JT Quite so. Another thing that comes out is the readiness with which God would help those in responsibility in the testimony. Ahaz was in the place of responsibility. The history of the second book of Kings shows that Uzziah reigned a long time, and at first did what was right, God owning him. Kings who reigned in Israel were generally bad, but still God went on bearing with them. That shows that He is ready to use anyone in responsibility, if he is at all usable. He used Uzziah, and Jotham; and now God is ready to help and use Ahaz, as he is being attacked by the northern king. Ephraim and Syria have joined against him, but God is ready to help him. This indicates how we are situated. God will use anyone available, if he is usable; and if he is ready to listen to the prophetic word.

CAM The prophetic word from the temple in chapter 6 appears to lead on to sonship and to the incoming of Christ.

JT The son in verse 3, apparently, is the child of verse 16. The Son in verse 14, born of the virgin, is Immanuel. So we have two sons. When we come to chapter 9, we shall see how one of them is taken on. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given” (Isaiah 9: 6). We are leading up to it here. We have the suggestion of families, one Isaiah’s family, and the other that of the virgin.

HH Is the exercise of Isaiah connected with Shear-jashub? In Ahaz there is no proper exercise at all, yet God owns him.

JT Yes. That is the next thing for those who serve in this way, the kind of persons we have to deal with. We cannot always turn them aside, and say they are not spiritual men. We must make the most of them. Ahaz is here as king, and God is ready to help him. God gives him a most encouraging prophetic word ^[p. 239] through Isaiah.

CFN Does the position at the aqueduct in the fuller’s field show how the remnant would be reached?

JT I think so. There is a combination there in the prophet himself, and his son, and the aqueduct and the fuller’s field. It is from the divine side, the fulness of the testimony. Then we see the kind of man we have to deal with, and we cannot ignore him, for he is the king. He represents a brother active in a meeting or district. God said to Ahaz, through Isaiah, “If ye believe not, surely ye shall not be established”. He spoke to him again, saying, “Ask for thee a sign from Jehovah thy God”. God is for the moment going on with this man, seeking to help and use him.

ARS What would you say about Ephraim joining in with Syria?

JT Well, this combination against him was a serious matter for Ahaz — but God would assure him that all would be well, saying to him, “Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: It shall not stand, nor come to pass; for the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within sixty-five years shall Ephraim be broken, so as to be no more a people; and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye believe not, surely ye shall not be established” (Isaiah 7: 7 - 9). That is, these headships are not to be reckoned of value. Headship is an immense thing in Christ, but it is not in these men.

HH Ahaz needed the prophetic word because of this confederacy working against him.

JT That is the thought. The prophetic word implies that. There was no true wisdom in these heads, and they were not to be feared.

Rem The prophetic speaking seems to take two forms; one to comfort the heart by showing what God would do; the other would be ^[p. 240] an encouragement to spirituality — a sign in the height or the deep.

JT Quite so. How clearly it shows how far God is ready to go to help those in direct responsibility, for Judah was yet owned of God, and here He is ready to go a long way to help such in responsibility. Ahaz says, “I will not ask, and will not tempt Jehovah;” there was a sort of legality and pride about him, so he would not ask. When God is ready to serve us, why not appropriate the service? It is a very important matter. In all such emergencies we need, in our weakness, to be assured, because it is a question of our being believers. “If ye believe not, surely ye shall not be established”.

JTJr Do the governmental dealings come in first, that is the attack of these two kings? Then God comes in after the governmental dealings have started?

JT Yes, to fortify the responsible person. I think the teaching would be to show how God supports brethren in a district, or generally; how far He is ready to go to assure us, because we do need assurance. On account of the peculiar form of sin at the present time, we especially need assurance as to God’s part in what is current.

JTJr It suggests that the true idea of kingship has been lost. We have the true idea of kingship in the previous chapter, but there is another king here, but the features of kingship are not in him.

JT Quite so. Isaiah in chapter 6 saw the King, and spoke of Him; he saw His glory and spoke of Him, we read in John’s gospel. This passage is developed in John’s gospel. The miracles of Christ are called signs in John’s gospel, corresponding with our chapter. The idea is to establish faith; there never was a time when it was more needed. There were those who were affected by the signs and they ^[p. 241] believed, yet the Lord could not trust them. New birth must underlie faith, or it is ineffective.

HH We must be characteristically believers.

JT Characteristic believers is what John has in mind. He tells us as to his writings that “these are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life in his name” (John 20: 31).

ANW Belief is to be established by the prophetic signs.

JT That is it. So that the first sign in John is that in Cana; the sign of the wine at the marriage. The next one is in Cana, too, but the first has reference to wine, and the second has reference to noblemen; two elements which tend to draw out legal objections. That is, we object to a nobleman. In some, the legal conditions would object both to the distinctions owned in the government of God, and wine. The allusion is to a certain state in us that is unable to observe what God honours, what is of God, and the distinctions that God has established among men. Of the first one it is said, “This beginning of signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed on him” (John 2: 11). That is real faith; they had it before, but it was weak. His disciples believed on Him. The next sign is the nobleman in Capernaum whose son was raised; it is said of that nobleman that he believed. “The father therefore knew that it was in that hour in which Jesus said to him, Thy son lives; and he believed, himself and his whole house” (John 4: 53). It is not as the jailor that believed householdly. He believed himself, and his house believed as well; not “with his house”, but “and his whole house”. That is the enlargement of faith; it extends to the whole household; not simply the head of it, but the household itself. This is a most important matter, because it accords with the idea ^[p. 242] of the remnant. It is a great point in John’s gospel, that our houses should be believing ones, not simply baptised, but believing households.

CFN Is that the kind of faith implied in Isaiah 7: 9, “If ye believe not, surely ye shall not be established”?

JT Yes; and you will observe by the note, that it is not simply a statement, but it is a sort of a poetic phrase. The prophetic word in verses 4 to 9 has a poetic ending, which would be kept in mind, and recalled in a given connection. If we do not believe we shall not be established. We shall be shaken with the wind. It is said here of Ahaz, “Then his heart and the heart of his people shook, as the trees of the forest are shaken with the wind”. That is what is going on to a great extent now; people’s hearts failing them for fear. The word to believers is, to be established; and that is through faith.

WB-w The nobleman in John 4 was tested out to the seventh hour. That would help to establish him in faith in all he would need to go through.

JT Yes. It was reverting back to history. He recalled the moment when the Lord said, “Thy son lives”. The word the Lord uses is “son”, not ‘child’. The man is dignified already as a courtier, but dignified now in a real way. God would set us up in the dignity of the truth, beyond any other distinction. The man reverts back to history, and this leads him and his house to real faith.

LES Would the bringing forward of the two sons in Isaiah 7 have in mind the household; to support the ministry and then carry forward the remnant?

JT There are two families, Isaiah’s family and the virgin’s family. In Luke, Mary is prominent, not Joseph; he is prominent in Matthew. Here it is the virgin’s side. Mary appears in chapter 2 of John’s ^[p. 243] gospel, but she failed in the position. As corrected, the Lord identified Himself with her and the family; “After this he descended to Capernaum, he and his mother and his brethren and his disciples; and there they abode not many days”. He identifies Himself with His mother and His brethren; He is in the family. She is adjusted and now He identifies Himself with her. In John 4, the next miracle brings out the courtier as a believer, and his family, and his house.

Ques In your reference to wine and noblemen, had you in mind that legality, the spirit of democracy, and temperance, would hinder us from being characteristic believers?

JT Just so. Because these things, legal objection to a creature of God, or a radical objection to distinctions which God makes among men, are not of God. It is objectionable. It is not of faith.

ABP Why is the nobleman rebuked by the Lord? He says, “Unless ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe”.

JT Well, the Lord says “ye”. It is a general thought, just as when the Lord came down from the mountain, the disciples were discussing the matter of a boy who was a lunatic. He rebukes them all, even the disciples were included.

HH In John 4: 48, “not believe”, not is a strengthened negative. That would be a word to us as to believing.

APT Zacharias was a priest serving in his course, but he did not believe.

JT That fits in here, a man serving in his course; doing the right thing, but though he had been praying, evidently, for a son, now that son is promised, he does not believe. Unbelief comes in as to the things we pray about, but do not expect an answer; we forget our prayers, which God does not like. The man is dumb for a season until the answer ^[p. 244] comes to his prayer. There are two prophetic messages here. Jehovah spoke again to Ahaz. You will notice it is Jehovah directly speaking to him, after having said, “If ye believe not, surely ye shall not be established”. Jehovah spoke again to him, “Ask for thee a sign from Jehovah thy God; ask for it in the deep, or in the height above. And Ahaz said, I will not ask, and will not tempt Jehovah”. That is, he is not speaking as a believer at all. In spite of a most assuring message through Isaiah, he is not accepting the truth as presented, and now God goes on to say that He will give a sign, even though Ahaz does not want it. God proceeds with the thought of Messiah, for the Messiah must come in; it is a question now of what God will do of Himself. Immanuel must come in, “God with us”. God must come down here Himself — the greatest thought of all.

SMcC What do you understand by the change in the way of speaking here? Firstly God sends His servant Isaiah, saying to him, “Go out now to meet Ahaz ... and thou shalt say unto him”. In verse 10 Jehovah spoke again to Ahaz; also in verse 13. “Hear then, house of David”.

JT Well, it is God speaking Himself. No doubt all was through a prophet, but still, God speaks Himself directly. The Holy Spirit says at Antioch, “Separate me now Barnabas and Saul”, but through whom He spoke we are not told; but it was the Spirit Himself. So Paul says, “The Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and tribulations await me”. Through whom did He witness? No doubt a brother would be employed in each city, as at Caesarea. Of course, to one who has the Spirit, God can speak directly, but prophetic messages, as in the case of Ahaz, are usually through others. But the great point is that God is speaking; it is the voice of God, and it makes it all the more serious for Ahaz. It is God speaking directly to him.

^[p. 245] God used Elihu to speak to Job, but God Himself addressed Job in chapter 38. God goes on; that is the wonderful thing about it. God goes on with us, and with men like Ahaz, and gives plenty of opportunity, but the time comes when God ceases, as in the case of king Saul. The Lord ceased to speak to him — a most solemn thing.

ARS In Hebrews God speaks first in the Person of the Son; then we are warned in the second chapter as to what He says. “For this reason we should give heed more abundantly to the things we have heard, lest in any way we should slip away”.

JT Yes. Jehovah goes on to say, “Therefore will the Lord himself give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and shall bring forth a son, and call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good”.

ANW That you connect with Immanuel, but verse 16 with Shear-jashub.

JT Yes, verse 16 is the child present.

JTJr There is an allusion to the house of David: “Hear then, house of David”.

JT That is the point. He is of the house of David, and owned as in that position. God goes a long way with His people in that sense, but the time comes when He ceases to speak to us. It is a remarkable thing that the virgin is introduced here. Ahaz would have no part in that state.

WB-w Would there be some similarity between Ahaz here and Herod at Jerusalem when Jesus was brought before him — Pilate also; are they the same kind of persons, unbelieving? Christ was a stone of stumbling to them (Isaiah 8: 14, 15).

JT Quite so. The testimony was there before them. That brings up the subject of government, and shows what government is, as constituted now. Pilate represented it, as representing the fourth ^[p. 246] monarchy. Herod is disallowed; the Lord says nothing to him at all; there was a spurious side to his position. This matter of government is important because, according to John, the Lord talked with Pilate, conversed with him, but never with Herod. God maintains Pilate’s rights. A politician is one thing, but when he becomes a governor or president, he is then representative of God in the sense of government (Romans 13: 1 - 6). The Lord converses with Pilate, and tells him that He was born a king. Pilate is true to the abstract thought of the position, when he says to the Jews, “I find no guilt in this man”. He was true to the position; he was not a politician then, he was a governor. Politics are not of God. Kingship is of God, government is of God. So that Pilate says he finds no fault at all in Christ; but then he scourges Him. That is not true government. The soldiers put a crown of thorns on Christ’s head, and a purple robe on Him; and Pilate brings Him out to the Jews. Pilate is on the downward grade — hopeless. Presently he hands Christ over to the Jews, who crucify Him. So all that brings out that side of the matter — how uncertain those in authority are. Government is clearly of God, but how much can you trust those exercising it? General facts show how little they can be relied upon. They take on christianity as Henry the Eighth took on Protestantism, or Constantine took on christianity; he might be orthodox, but you cannot trust him. The Lord makes the most of them, and if they are on the side of right, we must pray for them, and God will support the side that is right.

ANW The Lord said to Pilate, “Thou hadst no authority whatever against me if it were not given to thee from above”.

JT Quite so.

APT Of Herod He said, “Go, tell that fox” (Luke 13: 32). What does ^[p. 247] that mean?

JT That would be a politician, a scheming man. You can never follow what he aims at.

CFN Would you tell us what you had in mind as to the virgin, and Immanuel?

JT We are coming on to very high ground spiritually. God is going on with this line, whatever Ahaz may be. It is His own matter now, because it is a question of Himself coming in. He is not waiting for anyone to ask Him. If God waited for that, it is a question whether He would ever come, but virgin conditions are needed. We have later the idea of a virgin in Hezekiah — an unconquered one, but that is not the point here. It is a state, with power of conception according to God, so that God has a means of coming in.

APT The virgin, “the” is emphatic according to the New Translation. What would that mean?

JT There would be no other. It points to her uniqueness in the prophetic mind, as the mother of Christ, saluted as “favoured one” by Gabriel (Luke 1: 28). She had found favour with God.

LES Would what you speak of as a virgin state make room for the prophetic ministry, so that as a result, it can be said that “God is indeed amongst you”?

JT The virgin state is the power to receive impressions, so that something is brought forth. “I have espoused you unto one man, to present you a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11: 2). This is essential to assembly growth and formation. It is the feminine side — the mother side, but here, of course, it is unique because, from the circumstances, she is the only one. We have the virgin-daughter of Zion (Isaiah 37: 22), but the word there is different. We see how things are grouped here: holiness in chapter 6, and now a virgin state — a unique person, the virgin. She conceived and brought forth a Son, and called His name Immanuel, which is “God with us”, — God the Mighty One. So that all is well. In the next chapter, we have it as the expression of the remnant, the prophetic spirit says, “for God is with us” (Isaiah 8: 10).

JT-n Does that link on with the teaching of Matthew’s gospel, how He came in, connecting Himself with the remnant, and then in the last chapter where He says, “All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth”?

JT Matthew contemplates Immanuel throughout; his gospel is built up on Immanuel. This is because of what is to be established in the assembly for the testimony; for power is needed. The Lord says to His own, “For where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18: 20), and again, “All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined you. And behold, I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age” (Matthew 28: 18 - 20).

HH Does the “little power” of Revelation 3: 8 provide for the coming in of Christ?

JT That is the thought. The Lord’s supper set in relation to the assembly is to make room for Christ in it, of course. Matthew says He is with us always, so the position is secure. Now in view of Immanuel being with us, in chapter 8, we have another member of the family, Maher-shalal-hash-baz, whose introduction signifies discipline. The meaning of his name is ‘Swift for spoil, hasty for prey’. Of him Jehovah said, “For before the lad knoweth to cry, My father! and, My mother! the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria”. The time that the things spoken of are to happen is reckoned by his growth; before he says, “My father! and, My mother!” the Assyrian would come in. “Jehovah spoke again to me, saying, Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah which flow softly, and rejoiceth in Rezin and in the son of Remaliah, therefore behold, the Lord will bring up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall mount up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: and he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow it and go further, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!” (Isaiah 8: 5 - 8). The Assyrian is the enemy of God’s people whilst they are owned of God and in their land. He comes even to the neck. The last enemy is the Assyrian, the northern power; north of Palestine. The four monarchies of Daniel 2 have to do with the Jews as disowned of God; not openly owned of God. They are still owned of God in this chapter of Isaiah. Ahaz is still of the house of David.

WB-w Was this partially fulfilled in chapters 36 and 37 when Rab-shakeh came up?

JT Quite so. Where Hezekiah as we shall see, is, in a certain sense, a type of Christ.

RWS So that each time these lads were seen, faith would link up the prophetic word with them.

JT I think that is the lesson for us today. What our families are to be; there is written on the family something in regard to the testimony. On the one hand, that the remnant shall return, and on the other, that the enemy will attack; the family denotes that. So it makes the christian family very important, and hence the need of right formation, so that it may represent the truth in some way.

AEH The general teaching seems to bring us to the distrust of mere human kingship, and full trust in what God provides. They cared more for Rezin ^[p. 250] and the son of Remaliah, than for the waters of Shiloah which flowed softly. God’s judgment of this is very serious.

JT Just so. As we connect Shiloah with John 9, we see the force of it; the word implies what is sent. Then Immanuel being there all is secured. The prophetic spirit in verse 11 seems to be exultant, saying, “For Jehovah spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and he instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, Ye shall not say, Conspiracy, of everything of which this people saith, Conspiracy; and fear ye not their fear, and be not in dread. Jehovah of hosts, him shall ye sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he will be for a sanctuary; and for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem”. This is for the support of our position in the truth.

HH Whose disciples were they in verse 16? “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples”.

JT I would say the Lord’s. It is the Messiah speaking there. In verse 18 He says, “Behold, I and the children that Jehovah hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel”. The disciples as instructed persons are the custodians of the testimony and the law. It is a very important matter here. It is placed as a trust.

RWS “He will be for a sanctuary”. To what does that refer?

JT I suppose it is what the disciples found in the Lord. You would find them with Him. They went into the temple, of course, but their real religious centre was Christ. Peter referred to the Lord Jesus coming in and going out amongst them, from the baptism of John until He was received up. They had their spiritual exercises in that connection.

^[p. 251] ANW Would you say a word as to the testimony and the law?

JT The testimony is what God commits to men, and it was taken out of the hands of the Jewish high priest and placed with the apostles. The believers, we are told, persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles. I suppose that is how it worked out historically.

ANW These verses would apply peculiarly today.

JT That would be the test. How important to understand what Christ handed over to the disciples!

WB-w Would this binding up of the testimony be what took place in the early part of Acts?

JT You can see it working out there. The New Testament always explains these allusions.

WB-w Isaiah 7 would refer to the early chapters of Luke’s gospel.

DR The virgin state and that of the disciples implied what could be trusted.

JT That is practically how it works out. A state of things as effected by God — the virgin conditions — and authority. You feel that conditions must be brought about which are trustworthy, involving the development of doctrine. During the past hundred years, conditions came about which God owned, in which He developed the truth. God had confidence in certain persons and conditions, so that there has been the unfolding of the truth. It does not fall to the ground. It is held in a trustworthy way.

JTJr The word is directly to the prophet, now He speaks to him with a strong hand (verse 11). Would that be the support He gives to our souls to take in the truth?

JT Yes. Support is given to what the prophet represents; that is, responsibility accepted in a condition ^[p. 252] of things which God regards as trustworthy; and, as we have been seeing in John’s gospel, it develops in that way. There were some that believed because of His signs; to these the Lord did not trust Himself; but there was a man from among the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, who represented those in whom God was working. New birth is the foundation of trustworthiness. Later His disciples believed on Him; they became real disciples, and He identifies Himself with them, and with His mother as corrected (John 2: 12). The Lord is identifying Himself with conditions like these; so that if we are conscious that God is with us, that settles everything. What can anybody say if “God is indeed amongst you”?

JTJr Would it be confirmed also in the word ‘instruct’? It says there, “He instructed me” (Isaiah 8: 11).

JT Quite so.

CAM Saints should follow those among whom this testimony is found.

JT Yes. I think what has been said about John ought to be taken account of very definitely as to trustworthiness — the correction and adjustment of Mary, the Lord’s mother, in chapter 2; and then His disciples believing on Him, as observing His glory, not simply the signs. That is confirming. Jesus abides with them in Capernaum, and the household idea is brought in; and in chapter 4 the nobleman as a believing man, and his house. There is a development of subjective conditions which are reliable.

APT Does verse 18 refer to Isaiah’s children?

JT Possibly it would literally, but in the use made of it in the New Testament, it refers to Christ and His disciples, see Hebrews 2. What these men were is seen in the Acts. Peter says, “Look on us”.

^[p. 253] What men they were! In chapter 2 it is stressed that they were Galilaeans, but in spite of it, see what men they were! In chapter 3 there was the man who was cured made to walk. It could not be denied.