MOSES - FAITHFUL IN ALL GOD'S HOUSE
MOSES — FAITHFUL IN ALL GOD’S HOUSE
Numbers 11: 10 - 17; Numbers 12: 1 - 8; Exodus 29: 26
You may have observed that I have read in order to speak about Moses. He was one of the great worthies. There were others, of course — very distinguished persons whom we shall see in heaven. It is important that we should become acquainted with them in some sense; not, of course, personally now, but as the Spirit of God is pleased to picture them in the facts of Scripture. We should become accustomed to them in this way, so that on seeing them above we shall be able to distinguish them from others; for as the stars, so the saints in heaven will each have his own glory. We are all to be glorious. One star differs from another star, we are told, “in glory”.
I have selected Moses to speak about him, not as a type of Christ, but, perhaps, as a type of some of ourselves. God waited until he was about eighty years of age before He took him up formally. He had His eye on him before, of course, and he was exceedingly lovely as a babe. He was fair to God, we are told; a sort of formula for extreme fairness, but undoubtedly carrying the idea that God saw fairness in him. How beautiful he was! Other worthies, as remarked, are selected similarly, some of them when very young, such as Samuel. We may say that Moses was selected when he was very young, but held in abeyance for many years to form his character. He was unique in his service. He is said to have been faithful in all God’s house. So that he is a model for us as to doing work in God’s house. Perhaps but few of us think of having part in the work of God’s house, of being workers with God. But Moses is signalised as being faithful in all God’s house. And there were others, of course. We have such a man as David: “I have found David my servant”, God says, in Psalm 89. It is a remarkable thing that it should be said that he was found, and yet [p. 73] he is regarded as a type of Christ in that psalm. But I am speaking of these men now as types of christians or believers, so that we may feel ourselves not so far away from them — that they are of us and that we are to become acquainted with them and learn from them in an objective way, but nevertheless truly to learn from them. And so Jehovah says, “I have found David”. How delightful that expression is: “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my will”, Acts 13: 22. That is saying more than was said of Moses. It is really Christ that is in mind there, but still it is David, and our minds are led to think of the occasion when he was found among his brethren. God saw to it that he was found in that way. He had been overlooked in the mustering of Jesse’s sons, as if he were of little value, but God found him at that time — a man after His own heart, who would do all His will. It is said of the man in John 9 that the Lord Himself found him — another very beautiful thought! And so it is well for young brothers and sisters to hold themselves as findable, and in a desirable place in which to be found. It is a terrible thing to be found in a picture show, for instance. That is very different from being found in this meeting, and God so regards it, too. David was neglected but he was well occupied, looking after the sheep. Typically, he was looking after the saints; and Jesse sent and fetched him, and the Spirit says, “This is he”. He does not say, ‘That is he’; it is one nearby; one who at the moment he was brought in was near to God.
Well, with regard to Moses, I have begun with a rather ugly setting, both for Moses and for the people. It was not a season like this when the faces of the brethren are bright and happy, the Spirit of God undoubtedly making them so, but when they were complaining bitterly. Moses was complaining too, showing how the minister may become like the people. The brethren tend to influence the ministers and make [p. 74] them like themselves; whereas, the idea is that the minister should make the saints like him. It is thus with the Lord; He makes us like Himself. And so, as I said, the people were in a bad state. It says, “And the mixed multitude that was among them lusted; and the children of Israel also wept again and said, Who will give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt for nothing; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic; and now our soul is dried up, there is nothing at all but the manna before our eyes. And the manna was as coriander seed, and its appearance as the appearance of bdellium. The people went about, and gathered it, and ground it with hand-mills, or beat it in mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was as the taste of oil-cakes. And when the dew fell upon the camp by night, the manna fell upon it. And Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every one at the entrance of his tent; and the anger of Jehovah was kindled greatly; it was also evil in the eyes of Moses”, Numbers 11: 4 - 10. That is a sorrowful picture, and we may all thank God that we are not much accustomed to that. But there may be much that is unseen. How many unspoken complaints exist? And so the word is to help us, and it is to call attention to Moses, dear brethren, what a man he was, though failing, somewhat, in this instance. In the book of Hebrews he is said to be faithful in all God’s house as a ministering servant, but Christ is the Son over God’s house. Sonship underlying the position insures the maintenance of what is pleasing to God, and that is the thing to lay hold of, “Ye are all God’s sons by faith in Christ Jesus”, Galatians 3: 26. Let us lay hold of that, dear brethren, because that is how God is going to keep things as He intends them to be in heaven, where Christ is to be first-born among many brethren. God is leading many sons to glory. But in Hebrews 3, the Lord is said to be Son, whereas Moses was a ministering [p. 75] servant. So Hebrews contemplates finality, and that which is opposed to the mind of God is reprobate, evil, and to be cast away. Hebrews contemplates finality; and Christ is the leader of our salvation, made perfect through sufferings.
Well, now we can see that Moses needed perfecting here. I only just touch on it because the position is somewhat similar to what we are in now. We are in the time of great pressure, a time in which there is much to be done and not enough time to do it, and that tends to complaint and to ugliness. Think of a ministering servant, so pleasing to God otherwise, asking God to slay him — like Elijah! Thank God he did not kill himself, nor attempt to; neither did Elijah. They put it on God to do it, but God did not do it. God does not take pleasure in killing His servants. He has pleasure in His servants, whom He has found — those who please Him. He keeps them alive. So, as I said, Moses was not at his best here. Nor does the Spirit of God take any pleasure in recording this of him. He, as it were, must suffer so that we might be ashamed of ourselves when we find ourselves in any state of complaint amongst the brethren. Are we prone to complain? Soon as ever we get to the back of the room do we begin, and when we get to the street, and when we get home? Now this is a sorrowful thing! Dear brethren, it is time for calling a halt to this kind of thing, “What shall we then say to these things?”. How many seldom come to the meetings — have more pleasure at home than at the meetings! How many come but once a week! We are thankful for that once, of course, but others come never at all. The more we stay away the more we shall complain; the more we shall find fault, and presently we may say that we are going out of fellowship. Just think of that! Where will you go? Where would the truth in Hebrews put you? “But we are not drawers back to perdition”, Hebrews 10: 39. Think of that word — drawing back to perdition!
[p. 76] You may say that you will be saved, finally; but will you? How will you be saved? This chapter contemplates a terrible disciplinary action on the part of God; but still, God was working with His people, and He was working with Moses. And I want to speak about Moses; about what a man he was in these circumstances. Jehovah’s anger was kindled and Moses was displeased. Moses usually was honoured in such cases, where he would have Jehovah be merciful and save His people. But that does not happen here. Moses in no way regulated himself to save the people; he rather spoke against them, as the circumstances warranted. God did not say, You are wrong, exactly, because God Himself was angered; His anger was kindled against the people. But then He took issue with Moses. Moses said, Have I conceived all these people? You put too much on me. He was complaining against God; not only complaining against the people but complaining against God, as Martha complained against the Lord. How ready we are to complain! It is one of the readiest things to come to us — to complain, and particularly in regard of those who are seeking to do their best for us. Of course, our best is very little; and so with Moses; but still, he was doing his best for the people at that time, and still they were complaining. And so I stress this, how God looks on His servants, and how in times of pressure in the world there is a tendency with us to complain. And the complaining spirit reaches even to those who are serving. It is therefore a most dangerous matter and one to be warned against. We should rather encourage and exhort the brethren not to come into the spirit of the age, the spirit of complaint.
I need not say anything more about this matter; I have said enough; it is rather an ugly situation, but God came in in His own way and He provided others — seventy men of the elders. Did they complain?
[p. 77] No! We do not hear a word about their complaining. They were selected by God in these circumstances, and if God selects persons for His service, you can be sure He will not select complaining people. He does not want complaining people. But He selected seventy men and He gave them the Spirit. Think of what God is ready to do for us, dear brethren, to turn us away from our complaints! He is ready to give us His Spirit and grant us the privilege of serving Him in the power of that Spirit, and to take advantage of all the favours there are for such people. The seventy were to be gathered to the tent, and Jehovah said, “I will come down” — not send down, but come down; and He did. He came down at Shinar, and at Sodom, and in Egypt, and now He comes down about this complaining matter and to see these seventy men and to give them the Spirit. Who is prepared to be one of these seventy? Is there someone here who wants to be one of these seventy? Would they not always be known thereafter? Surely, they were known in heaven. God says to Moses, “I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them”. He would take enough to make them useful. Moses was the leader; he would never cease to be the leader in those days, but the seventy would have their part, and I would again urge the young people here to have part in the service like these seventy. There is great room for ministry and ministers. One wonders at the number. Thank God for those that are available!
It must have been a real test to Moses to have been envied. But God would say to us now that what He was to Moses, He is ready to be to any one of us who is seeking to serve. We cannot hope to escape envy; but we can hope to escape being envious. Let us not return envy! Moses did not do it. And God took the opportunity of saying something He had never said before about him — that he [p. 78] was the meekest man in all the earth. Wonderful, that there should be such a man as that! And it may be that no one on the earth knew that. But it was made known when it was recorded in this book! The meekest man in all the earth! That was intended to shut the mouths of the complainers — the enviers — his own brother, three years older than he; his own sister, possibly eight or nine or more years older than he. You wonder why they should be envying at that age, but the flesh dies hard. If we in any way cultivate fleshly elements they get stronger as we get older; we have less power to overcome them, so the point is to judge at once any element of envy of one another. Moses knew how not to be envious, and he knew how, earlier, to rebuke one who was envious on his account. So we should refuse all thought of envy of one another, and especially if others may suggest it to us. Joshua said, “My lord Moses, forbid them!” Numbers 11: 28. But Moses said to him, “Enviest thou for my sake? Would that all Jehovah’s people were prophets ... !”. That is the language of a servant who knew God and knew how liberal God is, for He does not give His Spirit by measure. He gives us freely of His Spirit.
Well, I must now pass on to the passage in Exodus 29, I want you to see how God is concerned about His servants; how He loves His servants; how He values them and distinguishes them in heaven and on earth. It is lovely to think of the interest and love that God has for those that serve Him. None are more loved, and that is the reason why I turn to this priestly chapter. It is a chapter about priests, and Moses was among the priests. You may say, I thought he was the mediator. Yes; but he was among the priests. They were Aaron and his sons in those days; at least, that is how they are presented in the chapter. Aaron’s daughters were taken account of, too, but I am speaking now of his sons. Moses [p. 79] was not a son of Aaron, but he was a priest! He was a brother of Aaron, but he was a priest, nevertheless: “Moses and Aaron among his priests”, Psalm 99: 6. In Exodus he was a priest — supremely so, for he always had access to God. You could hardly find another like Moses. He went in, we are told, to speak to God. It was as if he always had access to God, and God loved him. God spoke to him “mouth to mouth”. It was always a pleasure to God to have Moses come into the tent. He was with God, and so in this chapter where the priests are mentioned, God said to him, “And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of consecration which is for Aaron, and wave it as a wave-offering before Jehovah; and it shall be thy part”, Exodus 29: 26. It was the priests’ food. But there was food especially for Moses, and that leads me to think of what the Lord Jesus was in service. How few thought of Him; how He was alone in the nights, we are told! He went to the Mount of Olives in the night and was in the temple during the day, to meet the attacks, to meet the criticism of the priests and the Pharisees. What days they were! How little we understand the life of Jesus! What a life it was! What a life of suffering in service! It says in one of Mr. Darby’s beautiful hymns:
‘Man’s boasting love disowns Thee;
Thine own Thy danger flee;
A Judas only owns Thee
That Thou may’st captive be’.
He was in the temple serving daily, doing all possible for men as He moved about amongst them. Who knew Him? Who valued Him? Who took sides with Him? When the test came, ‘A Judas only owns Thee that Thou may’st captive be’. The Psalms tell us something of the experiences the Lord had. Was not the mount of Olives a trysting place between Him and His God? Did the loneliness not cease; did the [p. 80] sufferings not cease for the moment? Where did He sleep? I do not know, I am not saying that He did not sleep — far otherwise. But He went to the mount of Olives in the nights; after the suffering, after the toil, after working the miracles! And may one not say that on one of those nights, possibly on many of them, Jehovah said to Him: This is your portion; I am thinking of you. He could say, “My food is that I should do the will of him that has sent me”. Do we ever think of this, dear brethren? The brethren may not think much of those who serve, and may criticise, too. But think of God coming and whispering in our ears, This is your part! You are not to be left without your part; there is something for you! How precious to think of God whispering in the ears of Jesus, This is for you. How the Lord speaks of the Father’s love — “On this account the Father loves me”, John 10: 17. Why should He say that? He loved Him from eternity; He loved Him as an Equal, but He says, “Therefore ...” The Father loved Him “because I lay down my life” — as if the Father would recompense Him. And so it is that those who, in any way, serve, may hear God say at the opportune time, Here is something for you. You are not doing this service for nothing, “... knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord”, 1 Corinthians 15: 58. Keep that before you if you want to serve; the Father will honour you, “If any one serve me, him shall the Father honour”, John 12: 26. And Paul says, “Henceforth the crown of righteousness is laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will render to me in that day; but not only to me, but also to all who love his appearing”, 2 Timothy 4: 8. If we love the Lord’s appearing, if we serve Him, someday He will tell you, This is for you. I do not know of anything more precious than a whisper from heaven: You have been toiling for Me; others have not thought much of it, but I have; this is for you.
[p. 81] This wave breast is your part. Would anyone take away this wave breast from Moses? I think not! We should keep it before us that the Lord Himself thinks of and gives a portion to those who serve Him. The Lord has a name which no one knows but Himself, and we are told that the overcomer will receive a secret name which no one but himself knows. I would urge this, dear brethren, that we cherish the Lord saying to us, This is for you; for nobody else but you. So that we never need to think that we are forgotten. We are not forgotten; we are thought of and valued in heaven.
Well, I would leave this with us all, that we may not be complainers; and that if we are serving at all, we may know that the Lord knows and values the service. And He has something particular for you which no one else shall have but you. May the Lord bless His word!