STANDING BEFORE GOD
[p. 368] STANDING BEFORE GOD
Zechariah 6: 4,5; Zechariah 4: 13,14; Jeremiah 15: 19; Jeremiah 35: 18,19; Deuteronomy 10: 8
What is in mind is to enlarge on these scriptures as presenting the important thought of standing before God. It is seen in Zechariah, where God is said to be the “Lord of all the earth”. It is hoped, by the Lord’s help, first to call attention to these “four spirits of the heavens”, as they are called in Zechariah 6, and these “two anointed ones”, also standing before the Lord of all the earth, in chapter 4. Then in Jeremiah 15, to remind us of the danger, as in this attitude of standing before God, of becoming discouraged, being complainants (whether verbally or in our hearts) as if God were unfair to us. Fourthly, how young people come into this favour through obedience, especially to parents; and finally we may see the great privilege afforded to us as priests, that we may stand before God and minister to Him.
The first is of peculiar importance at the present time, as embodying the idea of government, the four monarchies seen in this chapter under the heading of horses being spoken of as “the four spirits of the heavens” Zechariah 6: 5. This is a unique explanation, but one which is to be noted, in view of the apparent danger in some quarters of disregarding governors: those whom God has appointed to maintain things, in His government, pending the return of Him to whom the government belongs — the King of kings and Lord of lords — that is to say, our great and glorious Emperor, still rejected, is about to take unto Himself His great power and reign. These four powers designated here as the four spirits of the heavens are, from the very designation itself, evidently appointed of God. Be they Babylonians or Medes or Persians or Greeks or Romans; be they what they may personally, they are designated in this way by God, and all who love God and who [p. 369] know Him should know His mind respecting them; give thanks to God for them; pray for them; for our very existence here in testimony, as we shall see in the later scriptures, depends upon them. So the prophet rightly asks about them, and young people would do well to follow the example of Zechariah, and inquire about these horses viewed in this remarkable way as the four spirits of the heavens. Four is always, I may say, universal, and not only at a given moment, but also in the sense of an extended period. They have come down the centuries to us, and we are under their protection in this very hall today. It is the authority of God in fact, not only the permanent thought of the heavens ruling, which is the primary thought of God, but the spirits of the heavens. How God can make men — themselves unbelievers it may be — represent the spirit of the heavens is a matter of great interest, but He does it. He makes them serve Him indeed, beyond what they themselves might be able to describe or admit. God has them in hand. The figure here is the horse, a very serviceable creature, but one that may easily get out of hand, as some of these monarchies have, but God has the power to control. We are exhorted as christians not to be like the horse or the mule, who have to be kept in with bit and bridle. Young people are like that sometimes; indeed, older ones too, but God has the means of control: we pray for that control, and we prove that He has that control, so that the very spirit of the heavens is around us in the sense of government, which is an assuring fact.
Then correlative with that, there is the question of “all the earth”, not merely a particular country, specially favoured. There are those of us who consider our own particular country or countries, and pray for them and rejoice in their prosperity, but the spirit of the heavens would enable us to think of all the earth. The Lord Jesus, we are told, is seen coming down from heaven with the rainbow on His head, and He puts His right [p. 370] foot on the sea, and His left on the land, and cries as a lion roars, meaning that He has power to take these things up, and is about to do it. He is already putting in His claim, by the testimony. It is our business to make it clear that the right is His; but still He died under these powers — under one of these monarchies — the apostles were martyred under its power also. It is all a question of the government and the wisdom of God in it, so that He might complete His testimony. His testimony involves His patience — how long He could wait — His patience in the gospel, and it is a very great matter that the gospel should go on to the end.
So we have these two “sons of oil”. We may have no part in the government — save through our prayers — but we certainly, as I assume, take on this second designation, namely, the “anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth” Zechariah 4: 14. The four spirits of the heavens make the testimony of these two a possibility and, dear brethren, it is our privilege to occupy this place of testimony. Thank God, we do take it up a little, but one would urge the great importance of taking our places under this heading — two anointed ones, or, as the margin reads, sons of oil; typically, persons who are developed in the thought of the Spirit. How important at this juncture that we should read Scripture, read it in the spirit of it, as the Holy Spirit gives us understanding, that we should understand what this oil means! It is the Holy Spirit, as I said, not as the earnest of our inheritance, but as seen publicly in us, the correlative witness to the rule of the four monarchies. The service of these two sons of oil is to continue. How this thought enlarges us as to the little we may be doing!
These two sons of oil, as you will remember, are seen in later years — in the book of Revelation — and indeed they run through the testimony from that time to this. It is a question of adequate testimony in the [p. 371] power of the Spirit, namely, that the preaching, the teaching, or the service, whatever it may be, is done in dignity; not as imitating current religious ways, but in the originality of the mind of God, as carrying conviction with it as of God. The apostles insist in their testimony: “We are of God”. Is it too much to suggest that there should be some representation of God at the present time? Surely not. I should be ashamed to be on earth save as in some way representing God. Man is made in His image, after His likeness. What is it for? To be representative. Man is God’s image and glory even as a creature, but what I am speaking of now is the dignity put upon us by the oil, by the Holy Spirit “sent down from heaven”. It is not only that one has the Spirit, but that one is characterised by Him.
In Jeremiah we have one of the most honoured of the prophets. He says to God: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy words were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by thy name, O Jehovah, God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor exulted: I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable? It refuseth to be healed. Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a treacherous spring, as waters that fail?” Jeremiah 15: 16 - 18. No one of us would speak to God in that manner, I am sure. We might tell Him of our appropriation of the Scriptures, as Jeremiah does; he says: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them”, referring, I suppose, to the book of the law found in the temple, in the days of Josiah. Jeremiah would assiduously read the holy roll, read it with deep interest; but then he had evidently been losing in his soul in spite of this; he actually says to God: “Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a treacherous spring, as waters that fail?” It carries with it, of course, the marks of the dispensation in which these words were uttered, but still, God is God, and could not but feel such words, for God is true. And it is a [p. 372] great testimony (among many other things in the epistles to the Corinthians) that God is faithful. Whatever appearances may be, let us never falter, especially those engaged in the divine service; let us never falter, for God is faithful, and not only so, every promise of His is yea and amen in the Son of God. We can rest in that.
It is clear that Jeremiah failed, and if any of us fail in the same way, conversion is necessary. It is well to be reminded that “our God is a consuming fire” Hebrews 12: 29, and any failure marked by bitter complaint, spoken or unspoken, whether against God or against the brethren, will not pass unnoticed. So the word “return” (verse 19), is addressed to Jeremiah by Jehovah at this juncture. If you are to stand before God again, there must be a turning round, and so God goes on to say to His servant: “Thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me” Jeremiah 15: 19. That is a word that ought to appeal to every heart that has known, if not now, but has known, what God is to the witness. Jeremiah was a witness, a most remarkable witness, and God says: “If thou return”. The need is great, dear brethren. If there is one here who has turned away, who once proved the faithful support of God in service, God is saying to you, “Return”; and this word, “If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me”, shows that you will not have to go all the way alone, God will meet you. God will meet the returning servant. I am not now speaking of a prodigal, for Jeremiah was not that. He was a failing servant for the moment, but God would have that settled with him, and it would be on the principle of returning. And then God says: You will not have to come all the way, I will meet you and bring you. He says: “then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me” Jeremiah 15: 19.
Jeremiah, then, would be engaged perhaps in a more difficult service. It will be a question of persons,
[p. 373] of being faithful to persons. Servants who turn aside, but become restored, sometimes make the best ones. It was said to Peter: “when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” Luke 22: 32. The need is great, as I said, and so the further word is, “if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth. Let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them” Jeremiah 15: 19. Maybe someone here has been with them. It may be you have found your place among the opposers of the truth. You must never be with them again. “Return not thou unto them”; the word is, “Let them return unto thee”, Thus you give them a lead in returning, and you will have power to help them. You will have your place restored. One thus restored will be a greater servant than he had been. You will never again turn aside complaint, or join the opposers of the truth. You will save them, you will separate the precious from the vile, and what could be more honourable than to be as God’s mouth? It bears on a title accorded to Christ, who is the Word, One who not only speaks the word of God, but He is God’s mouth. Can anything be more desirable in service than that? And what a need there is for it!
Well now, I go on to chapter 35, to speak to young men and young women here. The passage refers to the Rechabites, a remarkable family. They are brought in here by God as representative of His mind. Their way would ensure that their father, Jonadab, should never be without a man to stand before God. Where is the father who does not desire such a result from his careful discipline and training of his children? It is a question of coming generations, dear brethren. God works on that principle, the generations of the godly, how they are to be continued, how men of God are not to fail of a man to stand before God. Who is there here who is old, who would not cherish the thought that as the Lord takes him, as he goes to be with the Lord, he has left behind a man that can stand before [p. 374] God, that God accords that privilege to? I hardly know anything that pleases one more in moving about amongst the brethren than the presence of young men, sons of godly men, holding the ground that their fathers held. The work of God has taken this form peculiarly. It always marked the work of God, and the need for it now is great: the continuance of generations carrying on the work of God, which their forefathers had been used of Him to further. The primary parent in this sense never fails of a man to stand before God. It is a matter for serious attention. What is said is: “Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever” Jeremiah 35: 18,19. How stimulating these thoughts are as to the young! Do they not imply that parents should become more energetic as to their children? The world is bidding for them, and the governments need them too; but there are God’s rights, which must always come first, and these have to be inculcated in the house, in the household of faith, and the children are thus honoured. “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever”, Jeremiah 35: 19.
Well, finally we have the priesthood. As one proceeds in this service one is increasingly impressed with the thought of the extent of the area of our service. It is universal. Our outlook is to be universal in whatever little service we may be occupied: preaching in the streets, or in the meeting-rooms, or ministering the word to the saints, the outlook is the whole field. “The field is the world” Matthew 13: 38. It is a question of God’s rights on the earth and it has to go on, however few and feeble, this is the outlook — to stand before the Lord of all the earth.
Now priesthood is more inward. One can understand that these four spirits of the heavens standing [p. 375] before the God of the earth, are at His bidding. Indeed, the thought is that they are going forth from before Him. They are ever active as under His control. If it be the two sons of oil standing before the God of all the earth, we are also at His bidding. It is a question of what has to be done. A right of way is secured through redemption for His service. What has to be done is to be done in the dignity of the oil. However little there may be it has to be on that line.
Now, as to priesthood, I read from Deuteronomy. It says, “At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day” Deuteronomy 10: 8. Levi in Deuteronomy includes Aaron, of course. The whole of the Levites are called priests in this book, and also in the book of Joshua. That is to say, the priesthood has a wider bearing than in Leviticus and Numbers, but then it is Levi, and Levi means united. It would point to what God is helping us in — the idea of unity, that we are linked together in a vital way in the service of God and His testimony. What underlies it is the idea of union with Christ. How attractive all this is! May God grant that it may be so to us! He is calling us into it, this inner thought. “At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi” Deuteronomy 10: 8, so that he might stand before Him. It bears on what is so much before us now, namely, the service of God. It is a question of standing before God. The Lord Himself as risen is seen standing in the midst of the brethren. Stephen sees Him in heaven standing. It implies that we are not waiting to be served. We are ready to serve. We are on the alert to serve, and to serve after the divine manner, not as is customary in the general profession, dear brethren. Let us reject at once and for ever all thought of copying what is around us. It is a turning away from the truth. It is the assumption on the part of unconverted men to be priests to God. I do not say that it is wholly so,
[p. 376] but that is the general fact; whereas all believers, having the Spirit, are priests, and God is calling upon us to be priests in a true practical way. He separated the sons of Levi, and there is the thought of unity in the name; and according to this book, and especially Joshua, we have no earthly inheritance. I have been speaking of the Lord of all the earth. It is now a heavenly matter. Think of having access to the heavenly regions! It is not simply because I am a priest, but because I am a son, that I have access to the heavenly regions.
The apostle Paul says: “I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) how that he was caught up into paradise” 2 Corinthians 12: 1 - 4. He was not called up there to serve — he was caught up “to the third heaven”; then he says, “caught up into paradise”. The one is elevation, the other is privilege and blessing; unspeakable blessing, unspeakable ecstasy belongs to that place. Paul understood that, but he says: I did not know whether in the body, or out of it. It was special; we cannot build much upon it beyond that it was special. It was not the position of those who fall asleep through Jesus, it was a special circumstance.
The matter of priesthood is to be faced by us all; we belong to those whom God has separated; as He says, “the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day” Deuteronomy 10: 8. That is, the thing went on, and we may thank God that in our time it goes on; and God is stressing it; He is stressing His service in the assembly; and that in it we are to know what to do at a particular time. Normally the priest knows; it is the function of priesthood to lead in this matter. The priest knows [p. 377] what to do. The privilege of this belongs to every christian, young and old, and God would press it upon us that the whole range of divine service is open to us. He has separated us to stand before Him, to be ready as the opportunity comes, and to know what to do. As we get in Mary of Bethany, she had what was needed at a given moment. She had kept it for the day of the Lord’s burial. What spiritual understanding she had! It was a pound of ointment, pure, the best that could be found. It was not in an alabaster box according to John’s account. She was the box; she loved our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption. How important that is for young people! As we see with Joseph, a young man, he was preserved incorruptible. The enemy sought to corrupt him, but failed. And so we are to flee youthful lusts, and “pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart” 2 Timothy 2: 22, to have part in this service for God, to stand before God — ready to function suitably as opportunity offers; having what is needed and, like Mary of Bethany, knowing how to use it; hence the house is filled with the odour of the ointment.