READINGS ON EZEKIEL (10)
[p. 206] READINGS ON EZEKIEL (10)
Ezekiel 43: 1 - 27; Ezekiel 44: 15 - 31
At our last reading we considered the dimensions of the sanctuary of God recorded in this book of the prophet Ezekiel, as seen in a vision by the prophet, who was taken by the Measurer to the various parts of the house. In chapter 43, which is before us now, we have the divine approval of the sanctuary, so measured, for we are told that the glory entered, “And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east” (Ezekiel 43: 2); and then, “the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose front was toward the east” (Ezekiel 43: 4). And then the prophet hears one speaking to him out of the house saying, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever” (Ezekiel 43: 7).
There is a certain correspondence in this instruction as to the incoming glory, with that which we have upon the completion of the tabernacle in Exodus, and the temple built by Solomon; so that the first element of teaching this evening refers to the conditions which God can approve amongst His people, enabling Him to be among us. Then secondly, we have the altar — its dimensions and dedication — having the service of God in view; and thirdly, chapter 44, which gives particulars as to the gate which looks toward the east, suggesting how exclusive it is, for it was to be kept shut and used only by the prince. Thus provision is made for the distinction of our Lord Jesus above the saints; provision is made for Him personally. Then the priesthood is referred to in verses 15 - 31 of the same chapter. The two chapters may be thus subdivided into these main sections, and what is developed in them deserves careful consideration, for it is a question of what is suitable to God, whether in the [p. 207] assembly as a whole, or in a local company; what God can approve by coming in and taking up His abode with us.
ABP Does verse 2 of chapter 44 connect with the glory coming in — that it was really the divine presence?
JT Clearly; “And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and his voice was like the voice of many waters” (Ezekiel 43: 2). The glory is personified here, for it involves that God is there. So that in chapter 44 it says, “Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath entered in” (Ezekiel 44: 2).
CAM What would you say as to the points of the compass, referred to here in relation to the gates?
JT The tabernacle, we are told, was a figurative representation of things in the heaven. It really had in mind the created universe. “But he who has built all things is God”, Hebrews 3: 4. The “all things” there refers to the universe; that is, His house in the widest sense. The saints (Hebrews 3), are God’s house now, and the measurements before us and in Exodus refer to God’s house in this sense.
AR In regard to God coming in by the way of the east, does it suggest that He comes in majestically, like the rising of the sun?
JT That is a good suggestion. “And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and his voice was like the voice of many waters; and the earth was lit up with his glory. And the appearance of the vision that I saw was according to the vision that I had seen when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar: and I fell upon my face. And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose front was toward the east” (Ezekiel 43: 2 - 4). So that it is majestic. It is God coming into His dwelling. It is much the same as in Exodus; God coming in and showing His approval of what was there (Exodus 40: 34, 35).
[p. 208] The sanctuary is viewed as existent in the vision here, however. It is not that God asked for the building or for the materials to build as He did in Exodus; the thing is viewed as existent, and He accepts it as it is, and comes into it in this glorious way to be amongst His people.
ANW Is the “cloud” in Exodus less personal than here? The cloud is accompanied with the glory in Exodus, but here in chapter 44 it is stated that Jehovah Himself has entered.
JT Yes; we have no cloud here. The glory being mentioned, which is the neuter thought, is immediately followed by a personal pronoun, which would show that it is God Himself, presented all-glorious; it is the glory presented as indicating Himself: “his voice”, etc. We know how God can take on other characteristics, for He is pleased to humble Himself to behold the things in the heaven and things on the earth; and, indeed, in Jesus, He came down to the lowest depths of humiliation; but now He is seen as having conditions amongst His people which are suitable to Him, and He is coming in all-glorious. He is honouring what is there. It is Jehovah Himself.
AFM “And I heard one speaking unto me out of the house; and a man was standing by me” (Ezekiel 43: 6).
JT The man standing by him would be in the sense in which the Lord stands by us in the assembly; He Himself being divine as God the Father is, but standing by us to support us so that we might be in the midst of such a scene suitably and in liberty.
AR Does the prophet represent those that compose the assembly — persons with whom God is pleased?
JT Yes. He has been shown everything, but now he is in the inner court: “And the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court” (Ezekiel 43: 5). It is the Spirit now, for it is a wholly spiritual matter. So Ezekiel represents all that are to be there, and the man [p. 209] standing by him is representative of Christ, who stands by to support them there.
WGT In chapter 43, free access is available to Ezekiel; but in chapter 44, there is exclusiveness in regard to the gate. How do these thoughts work out?
JT Ezekiel is lifted up by the Spirit. He is not said to be brought through the gate; it is a wholly spiritual matter. The gate is the public side. Chapter 44 brings out the exclusiveness of the east gate. The fact that Ezekiel is lifted up by the Spirit and brought into the inner court shows that it is an extraordinary experience. Coming in by the south gate or by the north gate would be the ordinary way.
JHE Would the word in Revelation 1: 10, “I became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”, be akin to this?
JT Well, it would be like it; it is an element entering into the service of God.
FSC Is there a similarity to Revelation 21: 23 — “For the glory of God has enlightened it”?
JT Quite so; the temple is filled with His glory, and every whit says “Glory!” there. The whole domain is lighted up — even the earth — as He approaches. There is an enlightening, as it says in Revelation 18: 1, “and the earth was lightened with his glory”; an immense thought; but inside, of course, the light is more intense. It shines down in relation to the cherubim and the mercy-seat.
ABP In all the judgment that God had dealt out to meet the evil which existed, His glory had not been tarnished in the slightest degree.
JT Yes. It carried with it all that preceded as to God. We have often remarked that the ark never changes in dimensions. It does not present the idea of development. There is no idea of development with God; He is what He is, and no circumstances can alter that.
ANW Do we see the Trinity in view here in Jehovah, the Spirit, and the Man?
JT [p. 210] Just so. All are divine. In the light of the revelation of God, the Man standing by is Christ. The Spirit and the Man are subservient to Jehovah in this great matter, that the worshipper, who is in the divine Presence, should be sustained in it. The mediatorial system is in mind. The Spirit and the Man standing by suggest what we experience in assembly as we draw near to God; we are supported in a subjective way by the Spirit, and then Christ, the Minister of the sanctuary, is by us; both of these divine Persons are on our side so that we might be there according to God and that the approach on our side might be equal to the revelation made.
JHE In 2 Corinthians 3: 17 we have: “but where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”.
JT That is necessary to assembly service.
JWD Do you understand by Ephesians 3: 21, “to him be glory in the assembly”, that the glory is shining out?
JT It is what is Godward. “To him be glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of ages”. The two uses of the preposition “in” are suggestive of power: “in the assembly”, and “in Christ Jesus”; but it is all Godward, I apprehend. It shows what accrues to God in the assembly. According to our chapter, God has come into His house; He has come in in the form of “Glory”; the idea of glory being almost personified. I think it is to show that He thoroughly approves of what is there — what is described by Ezekiel, as shown to him. There is nothing to mar His feelings. All is perfectly in keeping with Himself, so that He can enter in the character of Glory.
CAM The scene is all-glorious, and I suppose it is because all that is necessary to come to this, is an accomplished thing. So when the altar is brought in later, it is in a commemorative way, would you say?
JT There would be that in it. The altar is greatly enlarged upon in these dimensions, as if the idea was [p. 211] that the approach is to be equal to this great manifestation of glory. God has entered in glory, as if there is nothing to mar it. It is not moral glory, but what He is, shining out in conditions suitable to Himself, for the thought was, that every whit in the temple should say “Glory!”. That all reflects what God is! There is nothing to mar the glory there. The Spirit took Ezekiel into the inner court, and the Man who stood by him would support him, as typical of the worshipper. The Two who thus serve him are equal to the One who has entered in glory, only They are seen as on a lower level, for the purpose of supporting the worshipper. Then the size of the altar shows it is altogether according to God. The settle was fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, and the upper part, which is called “the hearth of God” was twelve cubits square. We have two remarkable appellations of the altar; the one is the “Mount of God”, and the other is “lion of God”. What immense moral power there is in those two words! It is on our side; it is really what Christ is in self-sacrificing love. The dimensions of the altar indicate that we are approaching in keeping with this display of glory.
MB-w What is the force of one speaking to Ezekiel out of the house (verse 6)?
JT “And the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of Jehovah filled the house. And I heard one speaking unto me out of the house” (Ezekiel 43: 5,6). Speaking out of the house would imply a characteristic of it, corresponding with Leviticus 1:1.
WB-w What is the inner court, as distinguished from the house out of which the voice came?
JT Ezekiel was taken to the inner court, which in this house was the priestly place, and thus the divine speaking could be heard. The court is not in the house, but it is very near to it, so one in it could hear God speaking to him. And immediately Ezekiel goes on to say, “and a man was standing by me”, as if he would be supported, and then, “And he said unto me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne” Ezekiel 43: 7. The prophet is to be instructed as to the house — that it was the place of God’s throne; the place of the soles of His feet, where He would dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever (Ezekiel 43: 7). It is no longer “if indeed we hold fast the boldness and the boast of hope firm to the end”, Hebrews 3: 6.
WB-w The inner court is not the sanctuary?
JT It is not part of the house, it is where the altar is. The outer court was approached from the great domain outside, and then the inner court was approached from that court, so that there is gradation throughout in the approach, but Ezekiel is taken into the inner court by the Spirit — an extraordinary thing — so that he might have full opportunity to see and hear what was there; and then the Man standing by would make him quite at home in the place. I think that is the idea. He is supported by sympathy, and the speaking proceeds. The speaking is not in the court, but out of the house. That is how God speaks; as it says, “the Spirit speaks expressly”, 1 Timothy 4: 1. The speaking today is in the house; hence, “If any one speak — as oracles of God”, 1 Peter 4: 11.
JTJr Would it correspond to Leviticus where God spoke to Moses out of the tent of meeting?
JT That is exactly the same; the tent of meeting having been set up and the glory having filled it, that is the place from which God speaks. It is from the house — the holiest of all — “from off the mercy-seat which was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubim”, according to Numbers 7: 89.
RWS According to chapter 41, Ezekiel has not reached that point; is that right?
JT He has not reached the holiest. He is only in the court, but [p. 213] it is the inner court.
RWS Why is it that, with the support and sympathy mentioned, he does not go further than the inner court? You pointed out at our last meeting that he does not go inward; the measurer goes inward (Ezekiel 41: 3).
JT The way to the holiest in the Old Testament was not yet made manifest, nor will it be for Israel, in the future, as far as these instructions are concerned. Even in the instructions as to the priests (Ezekiel 44: 15 - 31), there is nothing to indicate “boldness for entering into the holy of holies”.
WB-w That would be the difference in christianity — we have access to the holiest.
JT What is taught here does not go so far as christianity, literally. We have to put christianity into it to make it applicable to ourselves, using these scriptures as types, which we are entitled to do. They are written for our learning. We noted last time in Ezekiel 41: 3, 4: “And he went inwards, and measured the post of the entry, two cubits; and the entry, six cubits; and the breadth of the entry, seven cubits. And he measured its length, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place”. He does not take Ezekiel in there. Ezekiel is in the court.
AR Does verse 7 help us to understand what you are speaking about? Jehovah says, “This is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet” Ezekiel 43: 7. All His operations are millennial in character; it is government.
JT Quite so; He is speaking out of the house, where He is to reside. Ezekiel is in the court, but the voice comes out of the house. Jehovah, in speaking to him, brings in the thought of the throne — “the place of my throne”. In truth, I think the throne of God was in the tabernacle, too, it was where He was armed with power to enforce His rights amongst His people. That is the idea of it, and so it will be in Israel in the millennium. None of the Old Testament types,
[p. 214] in Exodus, 1 Kings, 2 Chronicles, or Ezekiel, gives us the full thought of the assembly. In every case, the way to the holiest is not made manifest; it is only in the assembly that it is made manifest. As we come to the subject (Ezekiel 45), we shall see that the feast of Pentecost is not mentioned. That feast has special reference to christianity. It refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit as seen in Acts 2.
ANW Does the same remark apply to verse 27 of chapter 44? There it says, “And on the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall present his sin-offering” Ezekiel 44: 27. Is that the suggestion of the priest’s sphere of service?
JT Yes. There is not much made of the priests entering the house, in these passages. The altar mentioned in Ezekiel 41: 22 would appear to be the equivalent of the “golden altar” of Exodus. In the Mosaic service the priests had access always to the holy place, but it is hardly mentioned here. God dwelling in the midst of His people in suitable conditions and His service, generally in a public sense, is the theme in these chapters.
JWD Do you think there is any link between the name of God in the heavenly city — “Lord God Almighty” — and this setting of the glory in relation to service in the court? And would the glory of the inner sphere in christianity be suggested in John 20? The Son of God comes into the midst of the disciples.
JT Quite so. What we have in Revelation is the outer or public side of the assembly. It is recognisable by certain marks, as the assembly, but it is presented as a city.
RWS What had you in mind as to the size of the altar?
JT That it shows the correspondence in the approach with this wonderful display of glory. Solomon’s altar was larger, which, I suppose, is to show the [p. 215] approach that there will be in the millennial day, for it is a question of what God will effect in Israel; the marvellous result there will be in God’s people; they will have a priestly place before Him here on earth. Solomon’s altar was twenty cubits square, as large as the holiest in the square measurement. The height, length, and breadth of the holiest were equal, but in square measurement, the altar of Solomon was the same size as the holiest, showing that the approach is to be equal to the revelation, and how could that be save as Christ, a divine Person, is on our side?
Rem The introduction of the altar here, and the mention of the sin offering would indicate that there is defilement and it must be dealt with.
JT Just so; it is introductory; it had to be purified and consecrated before the continual service began (Ezekiel 43: 18 - 21). But we first see the dimensions of the altar and the remarkable words used as to it, not found elsewhere. One is “Mount of God” and the other is “lion of God”. What power there is connected with it The passage reads, commencing at verse 14, “And from the bottom upon the ground to the lower settle was two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the small settle to the great settle” (the footnote at this point reads, “The entire base of the upper altar - Hebrew Harel or ‘Mount of God’ - was in two parts, the upper of which was set back”). You do not get that anywhere else, in this sense, that I know of. Then the passage proceeds, “And the upper altar” (another note here refers to the same word Harel); and then in verse 16, “And the hearth of God” (another note refers to the word “Ariel”, which is “lion of God”); so that we have great thoughts in relation to this altar that we do not find anywhere else. They suggest that great power is involved; it answers to God. By comparing Exodus 29 and Leviticus 8 with what is now before us our understanding of the altar will be greatly enlarged. The former scriptures refer typically directly to christianity.
[p. 216] In Leviticus 8: 11 we have the anointing of the altar, which we do not get here. Moses sprinkled the anointing oil on it seven times. The tabernacle was anointed, but the word is not used in connection with the sanctuary.
Ques Would the glory here be equal to the glory to God in the assembly? Is the power down here equal to what is up there?
JT That is the idea. We draw near to God commensurately with what He is; not as so many mere creatures, but as related to Christ, He makes the approach suitable to God. It is equal to the revelation.
AR Does the lion refer to David?
JT It would be a symbol of strength. We have it in the prophets: “Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city of David’s encampment!” Isaiah 29: 1. It meant Jerusalem there; meaning that it was, at one time, a great power, and so the altar is here. We read that the returning saints in Ezra set up the altar because of the enemies round about them.
AHP Is it significant that the doxology in Ephesians 3 seems to be based on the idea of power?
JT Yes; it is the Father’s power working in the inner man; a very strong correspondence to this: it is what we are inwardly as drawing near to God. There is glory to God “in the assembly in Christ Jesus”.
JTJr Would Psalm 22 fit in? You have noted that the heading is feminine, and the psalm refers to the Lord being heard from the “horns of the buffaloes”. Is that the strength Christ has, and then it as seen in the service that goes along with it, singing in the midst of the assembly?
JT Quite so; “the hind of the morning” is a feminine thought — it involves power in agility.
EEH What is the significance of the law of the house preceding the altar?
JT It is a general thought. “This is the law of the house: Upon the top of the mountain all its border round about is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house” (Ezekiel 43: 12). It is a condensation of the law of the house. The whole law is bound up in this thought that the house of God is most holy and morally elevated.
JWD What do you say about these steps to the altar? In the old economy steps were forbidden, were they not? There were no steps going up to the altar.
JT The explanation must be in the change of dispensation. They looked towards the east (Ezekiel 43:17). The altar is very high. There is the idea of exaltation in the hill of God. The height of the altar here is about ten cubits, which would be equivalent to fifteen feet. To visualise it, it is about twenty-one feet square and fifteen high. Solomon’s was twenty cubits square and ten high (2 Chronicles 4: 1), but no steps mentioned.
JWD I was wondering whether it would be intelligent understanding of the manhood of Christ, the altar built up in that manhood.
JT That is the idea, I am sure. There is more said about the component parts of this altar than of the others — not the material, but the measurements, and how they are put together and supported, indicating, I think, that it alludes to what Christ is as offering Himself, and the offerers are in accord with that; so it brings up the whole question of sacrifice, whether we are sacrificing according to divine requirement.
CAM I think this statement that you have repeated about the approach being equal to the revelation gives a sort of key to the whole position. Does that not involve that all the blessed knowledge of God that comes out in the gospels is going to be fully answered to? And I was wondering in that connection if Matthew’s gospel would not answer to the “lion of God” here, the mountains, etc.; and Luke’s gospel would be the service of the priest?
JT Yes. Matthew presents the specially strenuous and suffering side. There are seven mountains mentioned [p. 218] in that gospel, and a line of truth connected with each, so that it is the idea of exercise and elevation. The gospels are like the coming out of God, in approach to man; that is, they were written after the teaching of the epistles. They show what God was in Christ and what man was in Christ. It is laying hold of that that enables us to see that the approach is equal to the revelation. God is not looking for ourselves simply. We are creatures. He has us in mind in relation to One who is equal to Himself. The whole universe is taken up in Christ as One that is equal to God. It could never be what it is to God save from that point of view. As merely creation, it could never answer to the heart of God. We must have the answer in keeping with the revelation. Hence the significance here of the dimensions of this altar and the much that is made of it, including the seven days devoted to its consecration.
JWD They spoke of His decease on the mount of transfiguration, did they not?
JT Yes; we see Moses and Elijah there, speaking to Jesus about His decease. They understand what God has in His mind; that the decease is of such an One as that.
Rem The mediatorial position brings the creature as near as possible to the Deity.
JT That is the truth. He went above all the heavens, and that is said of Him as it is stated, that He is our priest. “For such a high priest became us, holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and become higher than the heavens”, Hebrews 7: 26. We are not made higher than the heavens, but He is and still He is our Priest. See what a footing we have; how God looks out upon us as engaged in His service! Growth enters into this. Ephesians makes much of growth: “until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at the full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ”, Ephesians 4: 13.
[p. 219] Rem The thought of creature might tend unduly to make us feel inferior; the mediatorial position is to bring us into and maintain us in the full thought of God as to us.
JT Quite so; we never cease to be creatures, but then we are related to Christ, and what a status that gives us!
AR And so the writer to the Hebrews exhorts them to draw near; Ephesians is really to enable us to go inside.
ABP In line with that, would you say John’s gospel would fit in with the man that was standing by?
JT Quite so; the man denotes sympathy, but there is no doubt that Christ is in view, standing alongside of us, to show how we are supported.
FSC Is all this description the filling out of the end of chapter 37, the everlasting covenant?
JT It would be; Jehovah says, “I will make a covenant of peace with them: it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will ... set my sanctuary in the midst of them for ever” Ezekiel 37: 26.
JTJr Does the prostrate position of Ezekiel help? He prostrates himself in Ezekiel 43: 3; the Spirit raises up that kind of man; according to verse 5.
JT Very good. We also have it later (Ezekiel 44: 4). God speaks to such a man and opens up His mind to him.
ANW The word in Ephesians is: “For through him we have both access by one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18). Would you just say a word about the “through him” and the “by one Spirit”, in this connection?
JT It is a question of instrumentality; that we draw near to God through Christ. Although we are sons, we do not draw near on our own ground. We have liberty to draw near to God through Christ; the mediatorship of Christ never ceases. The Spirit is [p. 220] the power of it. Christ is the Mediator, by whom we draw near to God.
NMacC So, having a sense in our souls of what you are saying would sustain us in our worship meetings, would it not?
JT That is right. Think of the One who is sustaining us! We have been remarking about it lately in Canticles: “Who is this, she that cometh up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke?” (Song of Songs 3: 6). She is coming up herself, she is not leaning on anybody; but in Song of Songs 8:5, she is “leaning upon her beloved”; that is, the two thoughts enter into what we are saying now. The Beloved is the One by whom we draw near to God; that is, Christ. We lean on Him; but in chapter 3 she is contemplated as coming up in her own power; the strength the Spirit affords.
Ques Is it right to say in regard to the Lord as Minister of the sanctuary that it is Deity brought into manhood? Is that a right statement?
JT Well, it is Deity in manhood, only the stress is on man when you look at Him on our side. “Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy companions” (Psalm 45: 7), but He is, we may say, One of them. And that brings up the whole question as to conditions amongst the brethren, affording divine Persons opportunity to come in and take up Their abode with us. The conditions are primarily mutual relations with one another; right mutual feelings toward one another. The measurements in chapters 41 and 42 plainly indicate that everything is in proportion and that there is no interference one with another. There is a state of mutual feeling, and so at the very outset of creation we have it stated by Jehovah that the morning stars sang together. It is mutual; there is no leader there, no one above another; and all the sons of God shouted for joy; there is no one leading; they are all together. That is the first thing,
[p. 221] I think, the Lord would press upon us — right relations one with another, that we are not in the assembly sitting down with extraneous thoughts in our minds as to what pertains to outside. We are there in control of our minds — “So then I myself with the mind serve God’s law” (Romans 7: 25); and God’s law, under these circumstances, is that I should stand and hold myself in relation to the brethren; in relation to Christ in heaven, of course, but I am speaking now of my relation to the brethren sitting as “in assembly”. The introduction of the Supper shows that the Lord brought that about. They sang a hymn. They did it. He must have been there, but it is the mutual thing that is effected, and they move together to the Mount of Olives. These chapters would, I believe, impress us that God takes us on under these circumstances; His glory can come in, and now there are conditions among us for worship in keeping with the revelation; so the altar is very much stressed. And then, in chapter 44, there is abundant room made for the deity of Christ, the superiority of Christ over all others, for He alone can come in by a particular gate, that towards the east — the one by which the God of Israel came in. In Psalm 45: 6 Christ is addressed as God — just before His “companions” are spoken of. This is surely striking.
CAM So that the hymn at the Supper seems to show that there can be singing although all around be evil.
JT How wonderful that is for God that He can have that, a state of holy mutuality among us, that we can sing and move together! And now the Lord takes His place. The first great assembly service is Exodus 15, and in it there is the thought of leader, but you have none at the celebration of the laying of the foundations of the earth.
JWD I was wondering if we are practically delivered from what is extraneous as the sense of the Spirit among us collectively gives [p. 222] power.
JT Quite so, and that is dependent on our control of mind. One feels it is a most important item as to whether we are in control of our minds. If my mind is wandering outside, in my business and my house, I have not control of it and it is just lawless. It is not occupied with the great thing I am professedly engaged with. Throughout Romans, the great fundamental epistle, you reach the point of controlling your mind. We are to be able to control our minds, to fix them on one thing at a time — “I myself with the mind serve God’s law”; therefore I do not allow things foreign to the service of God to come in at all. I shut the door, and the Spirit in me helps me to do it, and that same Spirit is operating in everybody sitting down with me in assembly.
JHE Is it for that reason that the doors are shut in John 20, for fear of the Jews?
JT Quite so; I can only shut the doors as I have control of my mind.
AFM That is found in the verse, “For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of wise discretion”,2 Timothy 1: 7. Would you expect that to function as in assembly where all is in divine order?
JT It is one of the most important things for the brethren to take hold of, for if I am not in control of my mind, it will be lawless.
WR The apostle speaks of using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace, Ephesians 4: 3. Would “using diligence” be like what you have in mind?
JT Quite so.
Ques Would John 10 indicate the door being opened by the porter to let the right One in? Would that enter into this setting?
JT “To him the porter opens”, John 10: 3. The porter knows him. He would make room for Christ. The porter is a responsible element to shut out or let in.
[p. 223] Rem I was wondering whether it would synchronise with John 20; that where right conditions were prevailing, the Lord came in and they were all glad.
JT Quite so; the doors were shut, spiritually; that is an act of the mind.
NMacC At a certain time even past history is prohibited.
JWD What is the link between this mutual state of things and the priests of the sons of Zadok?
JT Well now, we are getting on to chapter 44. So far we have had the incoming of the glory — that is, God Himself — into conditions suitable to Him, and we have a man taken into the inner court by the Spirit; one who had fallen down before the glory. He is supported by the Man standing by, so he represents those who go in as acceptable to God according to the measure of the revelation. And then we have the altar, as we have been saying, and now the sons of Zadok, representative of the priesthood, are considered next in order. The priesthood here, it seems, is based on moral qualities. Aaron was made priest in Exodus. His priesthood can hardly be said to be based on moral qualities. He is, of course, a type of Christ, but he failed seriously as Moses was on high receiving instructions from Jehovah, including his appointment as priest; and we know that the breakdown of the priesthood was in the lawlessness of his two sons. But here we have a tested and tried priesthood which represents the priesthood of Christ, not anticipating it, but looking back to it. Christ was made Priest on the ground of His sonship, but also on moral grounds, as Hebrews shows. So that in this scripture we are, as it were, taken on to the millennium and permitted to look back; it is a tried priesthood, as suggested in the faithfulness of Zadok.
ANW Like Phinehas, too, I suppose.
JT Just so.
[p. 224] Ques You have in mind the breakdown in Abiathar?
JT Yes; the allusion would seem to be what Zadok was in relation to David and Solomon when others failed. We have an allusion here to the general failure of the priesthood, the Levites.
RWS The priesthood of Christ is looked back to, did you say?
JT Yes; we are taken forward here to the millennial day, so that it is a backward look; for all that appears there will have been tested out, Christ having already been here.
Ques Melchisedec has to do with the millennium, has he not? On earth, Christ could not have been a priest, literally, since He was not of the tribe of Levi, but as having gone into heaven, He is made Priest.
CAM It gives a wonderful idea of the millennium because we know that the last day will be a day of victory; and in the priesthood, as we have been saying, the approach is equal to the revelation.
JT What a triumph it will be! And that, I think, is why God brings in Zadok and makes so much of him as against others who went astray, which reminds us that we are all tested. All these lessons bear on ourselves; so that the word to Ezekiel in chapter 43 is: “in that they set their threshold by my threshold, and their post by my post, and there was only a wall between me and them, and they defiled my holy name with their abominations which they committed; and I consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their fornication, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. Thou, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be confounded at their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they be confounded at all that they have done, make known to them the form of the house, and its fashion, and its goings out, and its comings in, and all its forms, and all its statutes” (Ezekiel 43: 8 - 11). All this bears on ourselves, as to whether we can now take on this great service that is opening up.
Ques Would Hebrews 10 fit in? “Having therefore, brethren, boldness for entering into the holy of holies by the blood of Jesus, the new and living way which he has dedicated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and having a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, sprinkled as to our hearts from a wicked conscience, and washed as to our body with pure water” (Hebrews 10: 19 - 22). Do you not think that has a present bearing?
JT Quite so. That is what these verses that we have just read mean; how God would bring the matter home to us now. What a wonderful time this will be when the millennium is established, for it will look back to the testing out of everything in Christ! God says, as it were, It is established in Zadok, but not Abiathar, nor Aaron, but it is Zadok, a man who stood well in the test. That is the idea of all this, for it looks back to the moral features of priesthood as seen in Christ here.
ABP Zadok shone particularly at the end of David’s reign. Would it refer also to the recovery of the priesthood in this day after the Reformation; the development of priesthood under Christ?
JT I think these scriptures bear remarkably on that. This is a time of recovery, and Zadok is outstanding in this. Jehovah says of him: “But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me” (Ezekiel 44: 15). We are in the midst of that now. There are those who have gone astray, and what a great thing it is to keep the charge of the Lord in the presence of all that!
CAM When this is actually brought about in the millennium and Israel will be in the blessedness of it,
[p. 226] it will be with the consciousness that the assembly has previously entered into all this in a greater way.
JT Quite so; as a matter of fact, we shall have a part in it then in some sense. We are not totally separated from it, because the heavenly city includes the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel; they are in the gates.
AR In chapter 44 God is considering for the priesthood in view of the service? The chapter, in the main, has service in view?
JT Yes; the first part of the chapter makes provision for the superiority of Christ over all of us — the Prince; He alone can go in by the gate that looked toward the east; His Deity is really implied in what is stated, and then the sons of Zadok are the saints who take up the worship, but they are saints who have been tried, that have not gone astray when others went astray.
WB-w Is it significant that these sons of Zadok present the fat and the blood?
JT “And they shall stand before me to present unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord Jehovah” (Ezekiel 44:15). That would mean that prosperity is connected with overcoming, for this is what marked Zadok. Fat is spiritual prosperity, but instead of clothing myself with it, I offer it up to God.
JTJr The reference to the garments here is instructive, and does it not show a spirit of reverence with us in regard to the service as we come in — that we are suitably clothed? And reference is also made to the holy cells where these garments are kept.
JT Yes; it says, in verse 17: “And it shall come to pass when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, when they minister in the gates of the inner court, and towards the house. They shall have linen tires upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird on [p. 227] anything that causeth sweat. And when they go forth into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy cells; and they shall put on other garments, that they may not hallow the people with their garments. Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long: they shall duly poll their heads” (Ezekiel 44: 17 - 20). What is said about the garments is remarkable. The common people are not to be hallowed by them. They are altogether for the inner position. The reference to the “people” being hallowed by the priests’ garments would show the danger of priestly sanctity being taken on externally, not as a result of God’s work. The linen being so predominant would mean that we are balanced, sober in serving, and thus we do not offer “strange fire” as Nadab and Abihu did.
Ques Is it that God intends to guard the priesthood, that the common people can never have to say, as such, to things pertaining to the assembly?
JT Yes; that priestly status should not be taken on superficially. If we are priests we are sanctified in the true sense as in 1 Peter 2: 5. Christendom is marked by men assuming priesthood who have not the Spirit. We must be on our guard not to impart to the younger ones anything that might make them unreal.
Rem The teaching of Romans would correct this. You were drawing attention to the mind in Romans 7, that I am delivered and thus can serve God with my mind.
JT Quite so; and “in newness of spirit”. I not only have control of my mind, but it is renewed (Romans 12: 2).