Attraction, Power And Consecration
ATTRACTION, POWER AND CONSECRATION
Judges 1: 12-15; 3: 15-20; 6: 11-14; 13: 2-5; 11-14
The book of Judges as we know finds it application in a very definite way in the present time, for it presents the people of God as brought into the inheritance, but losing the blessing that flowed from this fact, because of their unfaithfulness. So it is that we see in this book the people of Israel under strongly opposed domination, which is indeed the position in which the saints of God are found in our days. In spite of the evident power of the apostolic times, power by which the greatest thoughts of God have been brought to light, and also by which the saints have been led into possession of these thoughts, in general afterwards they have lost the enjoyment by the fact of allowing themselves to be dominated by the power of the world and natural and fleshly influence. In this book of Judges, we find alongside the state of the people, divine interventions, according to which at intervals deliverance was effected.
My desire is to speak with the Lord’s help of these four judges, Othniel, the first, Ehud, Gideon and Samson, not in view of a detailed study, but so as to bring out the features brought into evidence in them, features which we should desire to be marked by ourselves if we have some desire to be helped mutually. Great things are set before us, for us to carry in the power of the Spirit, and yet we must recognise how little we enter upon them. This is really why we need to be helped and it is indeed necessary that we should learn how we can help mutually.
Othniel is the first of the judges, and the incident we have read relating to him is not about his quality as judge, but rather, I think, shows us the sort of man he was—what made him a powerful judge. If he comes at the head of the judges, it is without doubt because he presents the character of indispensable power so that the saints should be helped. We see manifested in Othniel that the assembly in figure was attractive to him, and also that he knew how to make use of the power of the Spirit of God—two most important features. The incident we have read relates that Caleb said: “He that smites Kirjath-sepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife”. Caleb presents Achsah his daughter as an attractive person. She had to be, indeed, for Caleb to be able to say: “He that smites Kirjath-sepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife”. She was certainly desirable, and I have no doubt that Achsah is a figure of the assembly in her beauty as a divine conception, as seen by those who have a heart for helping the saints. That is a main point, for in the present time, the assembly is the essential object of divine interest and of all ministry that is given. God has purchased it for Himself, we are told “by the blood of his own”; showing indeed what treasure He has placed in the assembly and what it is for Him. It is not only a matter of what she will be for Him in eternity, but what she is for Him at the present.
Thus it must be precious to the heart of God to have the assembly here in the presence of all that is false and pretentious, victorious over every element of the world, to have it for Him in the measure in which He possesses it and able to carry out His will in the power of the Spirit, in intelligence and in holy affection. It is a great interest for the heart of Christ, we can be certain, that that of which we are speaking should be secured for God and maintained to the end. He “has loved the assembly, and delivered himself up for it”, and He has made Himself available to serve it as it is said, “in order that he might sanctify it, purifying it by the washing of water by the word, that he might present the assembly to himself glorious …” So the Lord desires that we should have Him before us as One to whom we should be presented through Himself; this implies that we ought to consider well what is likely to be agreeable to Him, being exercised to display the features that He desires to see in us, and to put off all that might displease Him.
As I have said, Othniel represents someone who is attracted by the light of the assembly. The assembly is truly an immense conception, only possible to God, and He alone is able to form this unique vessel with the company composed of innumerable saints each having their personality, taken from every nation of the world, unified and united in one body by the Holy Spirit; the same affection developing for Christ in their hearts, maintained and formed under His influence, so that the assembly represents what answers to Christ in feminine features. It is a marvellous conception. It may be said with reason that the assembly is God’s masterpiece, not only the masterpiece of love, but also of wisdom and power; it is therefore of the first importance that we have the assembly before us in our exercises and in all ministry that the Lord may confide to us; of all importance also that each brother and sister should grasp that he or she has been taken up by God in the greatness of His grace to have an intelligent part in the assembly. Nothing is to fail of it, there will be nothing superfluous; this is why each brother and each sister must recognise that he or she has an essential part to take in the assembly.
Caleb said, “He that smites Kirjath-sepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife”. We know that Kirjath-Sepher was the city of the book and that it represents the power of books, power which must be dominated and vanquished. It is a very important subject in our day, beloved, and we have to understand that it is only in the Spirit that it will be possible to enter into the thoughts of God, to understand and appropriate them. Books by themselves, however good they may be, cannot establish us in the truth, for even “the letter” of the Holy Scriptures does not grasp it, or even the most precious ministry we read in the books. The Scriptures are without contradiction essential and we must continually read and enquire by the Spirit as to their significance; it is fitting also for us to read the ministry for it is of high value. But whatever books we read, whether the Bible or the books of ministry, it is important to understand that if we try to grasp what we read by our own natural mind, we will not at all be able to penetrate divine thoughts. It is only in the power of the Spirit that the thoughts of God can be grasped and made profitable, and if we are well aware of that, we are cast on God in prayer. As we have already remarked, God has said, “I dwell in the high and holy place, and with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit”—that is to say a state exactly opposed to self-confidence; we find in that the idea of a mind that has no confidence in itself and which has humble regard for God, relying only upon the Spirit of God, who alone allows penetration into God’s thoughts. The object of the Scriptures and of ministry is to enlighten us so as to give us an impression of what is to be deepened, and the ministry guides our exercises; but in the last resort, what is necessary to realise is that we would only be able really to possess the truth of the Scriptures and the ministry in the power of the Spirit of God.
This is what Othniel suggests, for he took the city of the book; he made himself master of it, and I say once more that we find in figure in Othniel two characteristic features: appreciation of the assembly in its attractiveness, and the fact of acquiring the truth and appropriating it to himself in the energy of the Holy Spirit. Those are the two features that we have always to have at heart to possess. Othniel is found to be the first of the judges from the fact that he is marked by these two features, and the principle is established with him that is going to guide the exercises of whoever has the real desire to progress themselves and to be a help to others. The great thought of prayer is then brought in in a pre-eminent way as going along with the activities of Othniel as he takes the city of the book, for we read that she—that is to say, Achsah—came to him, and moved him to ask of her father a field. It is very remarkable that this should be the first thing mentioned as to her, that is to say the first influence she exercised on him, inciting him to pray to the Father—this is to be particularly noted. We find a similar thought with the apostle Paul in chapter 3 of the epistle to the Ephesians: the apostle having before him the attractiveness of the assembly, the fulness of the truth relating to the mystery and, more than any other, having certainly understood these deep things, he moves us to ask the Father, or rather he mentions that he himself prayed to the Father saying: “I bow my knees to the Father … of whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named”. So as also the other families, the assembly is always marked by a distinctive character as named of the Father. Paul has the light of this fact in his soul; this is why he bows his knees before the Father, without any doubt, to the end of moving us on this same line. If we are really conscious that it is only in the power of the Spirit of God that it is possible for us to enter into God’s thoughts, we would not be able to do otherwise than give ourselves to prayer, I am persuaded, and then in the presence of God by the Spirit, we will obtain the truth. Little by little, as long as we are patient, the truth will be formed in us, for the Father’s Spirit, strengthening us in the inner man, takes pleasure in revealing God’s thoughts to us as the Father has conceived them. Let us therefore have confidence in the Source: in the Father Himself, and He will strengthen the inner man by His Spirit, “that the Christ may dwell, through faith, in your hearts”. This is what is brought out in this first detail mentioned as to Achsah.
It is to be remarked that, not only does she move Othniel to ask of her father a field, but she herself springs down from the ass and makes a request: “Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a southern land; give me also springs of water”. She is not content to have the blessing, but she desires that the sources of the water should be there so that the blessing should be maintained in freshness and that they should bear fruit: “give me also”, she says, “springs of water”.
Let us pass on now to Ehud: he represents someone who knows to use the sword of the Spirit. This is indispensable in order to intervene in what binds the saints, but first of all it is necessary to see it in its true character. In the times when Ehud is brought in, the children of Israel were tested by the domination of the Moabites; at other times, for example in the times of Shamgar and Samson, it was the Philistine yoke, at others yet again, it was the oppression of Midian; that is to say, there are very diverse influences by which the saints are affected and perhaps even held in bondage, influences from which they need to be delivered so as to be free to penetrate into the great things that God has prepared for those who love Him.
One of the most powerful things that God makes use of to deliver His saints is His word. His word applies aptly and in a living and effective way, and this through human vessels, human instruments. This is why it is important that we should know how to use the word of God so that it may produce its effect. This is what we have with Ehud, it seems to me. We are told that he was left-handed; this is certainly not someone that you would expect to see used as he has been. God often uses for His service instruments that do not seem suitable. What is important is to be available; whoever is available can be used. But it is also said of Ehud that he “made himself” a two-edged sword of a cubit length (which signifies in its exact sense a sword of unspecified dimensions); this suggests that he was not rigid or legal in the application of the word. It is a matter of possessing it and using it in a living way. So it is that he “made himself”—this is to be well noted—a two-edged sword.
In the epistle to the Hebrews, we find that “the word of God is living and operative, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and penetrating to the division of soul and spirit, both of joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is not a creature unapparent before him; but all things are naked and laid bare to his eyes, with whom we have to do”, chap 4: 12, 13. Attention has often been drawn to this fact, that the word of God in its real effects leads us into the presence of God. The word has this effect that all things are naked and laid bare to his eyes, with whom we have to do; and if we desire to be available to give the saints the word suited to their needs, it is essential that we have first proved for ourselves the two edges of its sword.
So Ehud made himself a two-edged sword, a cubit long, and he hid it under his clothes on his right hip, that is to say that the sword was very near him, in contact with his person, and in relation to what speaks of power—his right hip. So Ehud was first applying the word of God to himself; he had no confidence in himself or in his own capacity. He held the sword on his right hip, which suggests that he would make use of a power quite other than what he would find in himself. This is a very important question, beloved brethren. We know what David says in Psalm 139, as having proved the edge of the sword of the word of God, he says: “Jehovah, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off …”, showing indeed that he knew for himself what it was to come under the power of the word of God; and indeed that the experience had been very testing for him, he had got the gain of it, so that at the end he could ask Jehovah to search him, to see if there was any wicked way in him, and to lead him “in the way everlasting”. We go through such an evil world, and our own hearts are each so deceitful, that it is of the greatest importance, daily, that we first make use of the word of God as to ourselves by which means alone we will be preserved. The psalmist says, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his path? by taking heed according to thy word”. If this principle applies to a young person, it certainly does also to each of us. When we are younger, the same principle is always to retain its full effect upon us.
So it is said that Ehud went in to the king and said, “I have a secret word unto thee, O king”—a secret word expresses that he knew the value of what is in secret, of what passes between us and God in secret, as the Lord Himself said, “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet … pray to thy Father … who sees in secret”. He would prompt us to pray in secret. He would never expose us in public. Ehud had learned to have to do with God in secret and for himself; thus he could say, “I have a secret word unto thee”; and when he speaks the second time he says, “I have a word from God for thee”, which signifies that, not only did he understand what it was to have to do with God in secret, but he also had the sense of God’s authority in the word which he gives at certain times. With such experiences to his credit, and also this instruction, if one can put it thus, Ehud is ready to make use of the sword. In his hand, it had a real effect on something on which I have no thought to insist, but rather on this, that Ehud presents the capacity to make use of the word of God in a living and effective way. Paul shares with us in his epistles the exercise he had to bear in order to administer “the mysteries of God”. He tells us how among the Corinthians, he was “in weakness and in fear and in much trembling”—in fear as to himself as much as to the Corinthians—fearing that he had in him an element of self-confidence, or confidence in man’s wisdom, or in the power of man, which was manifested by the word he preached. He tells us also that the Thessalonians had received “the word of God, which works in you in power”, 1 Thess 2: 13.
In the case of Gideon, there are two particular salient features; the first is that he threshed what was in the winepress; and the second, that he had all Israel in his heart. It is said: “And his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, to secure it from the Midianites”. The Midianites had ravaged the land and Israel was greatly impoverished; but in the face of that, Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress—a winepress suggests what is contrary up to a point, for wheat is not threshed in a winepress in normal times; moreover it was not barley that he threshed, but wheat, that is to say, whatever the outward conditions, he cherished better thoughts of God as to His people: He considered the Israelites from the heavenly point of view. Although their conditions might seem to deserve disapproval, at least Gideon cherished the thoughts of God as to them. As it is written in the epistle to the Corinthians, “such as the heavenly one, such also the heavenly ones”. Gideon would not have envisaged the people of God on any lower level. As I have remarked, their condition at the time seemed to be a denial of such a thought, but Gideon cherished the thought of God as to His own, a thought which was not less than to have the wheat kept in secret from the hand of the Midianites, so that food could be assured to the people of God; and Jehovah took account of that. I think that the Lord takes account of whoever among us cherishes divine thoughts as to the saints. It is not a question of what is not true, but to cherish truly God’s thought as to them, and then make the effort to reach it practically, the Spirit of God being available for us to help in this, Christ Himself being always the Model present to our minds and to the heart of God.
Let us always remember, beloved, that we are going to be presented to Christ, a glorious Christ, and that there should be nothing in us unlike Him; it is to this that all ministry leads us, that the love of Christ assures us. It is why Christ Himself must always be before us as the unique Model of what God is working in the saints; so Gideon threshed wheat to hide it from the Midianites. “And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him, and said to him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valour”. Would you think that the action of threshing wheat in a winepress had great valour? But God was able to see in this the activities of a man ready to overcome difficulties, and who had the power to overcome. He was doing what was possible to do, all that he could in the circumstances where he was found without belittling the divine level at all, without adapting himself either to the current conditions of the people. That is what marked Gideon, so the Angel says to him, “Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valour”. Gideon’s response is more instructive and very attractive too. He says, “if Jehovah be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his miracles that our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? And now Jehovah hath cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian”. This “us” repeated five times in a single verse shows how the people of God were dear to Gideon’s heart. He was not only thinking of himself, he was thinking of the people, and he felt their state: he had this on his heart, and while he threshed the wheat in the winepress, he carried these exercises about the state of the people. This, I think, greatly commended him to God. So God can trust in this man. It is said, “And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might”—this power that he had is very remarkable. Gideon cherished divine thoughts; he carried all the saints of God on his heart, and this was his power, and Jehovah says “Go …and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of Midian”.
We might now consider the rest of the account briefly, at least one or two of the most striking features which it brings out, for we have always in one way or another to seek to help the saints and just now I am not talking only of those who have a special gift—we have each and every one the capacity to act in some way—we can all do something in view of helping the saints, and the history of Gideon is an illustration of the way in which help can come to a locality. Gideon without any doubt represents one who is a help to the saints locally, for his history is in parallel with the epistle to the Corinthians, where we see that after the difficulties were all regulated, God having overcome every resistance through reduction. It is impressive to hear Him say, “Go in this thy might”, as true power, which results from entire dependence on God, is realised. Although we may have a real desire to be dependent, and perhaps we have much to say, God is often obliged to allow circumstances which restrain us because we are naturally independent and marked by a lot of self-confidence! It is thus that the apostle Paul to whom had been entrusted a great ministry and who had received the brightest light, I suppose, that had ever enlightened a man, had been disciplined more than any other, but with such wisdom that he relied only on the power of Christ in him to allow him to pursue his service. In the same way, Gideon was greatly reduced as to his resources, as we know he was left with only three hundred men out of thirty-two thousand. What an exercise that would have been for him! Consider for a moment the circumstances in which Gideon was found! Perhaps he was able to accept readily the first reduction for it left him with several thousand men; but what were his feelings to prove that so few lapped the water! Only three hundred! God reduced him progressively. However this is done, beloved, it is necessary that we should be reduced—and we have not to reason as to it—if we would know the power of the Spirit without hindrance. And Gideon continued, accepting the exercise and the reduction.
A great feature that marks Gideon is the power of example; in all humility, I might be allowed to commend this to each one, in every locality; the power of example. Gideon says, “Look on me, and do likewise”. It is a very important subject in each locality; I have the conviction that the situation could often be saved locally if one or two are ready, in all humility and with patience, to be examples of the truth in a living and practical way. Sooner or later the truth expressed like this will find a way for itself. If a conflict arises, we have to watch not only to discern what suits the case, what is just, but also to act as a result, being exercised to work according to the truth in a way which is consistent with it so that the directions to follow should not be given by word of mouth only but by a power of life.
This is what explains what so often comes to mind in coming to this part of the history of Gideon; and then he says, “Look on me …”, in the way Paul acted in the assembly in Corinth, to which he not only sent an epistle full of authority, a very strong epistle, corresponding to the sword of the Lord, but he sent Timothy, who, he said to them “will put you in mind of my ways as they are in Christ, according as I teach everywhere in every assembly”. This shows that a man was going to come and go among the Corinthians who was a living example of the truth and who recalled to their memory the ways of Paul in Christ, according as he taught everywhere in every assembly; so that the example was there in their midst and the moral and spiritual power of this example could not be denied. It was there, supporting the apostle’s word of authority in this epistle, and I have no doubt that Timothy’s influence under the Lord’s hand perhaps has as much effect on them as the epistle itself. There was so to say the word of the Lord and of Gideon.
The end of the history of Gideon shows us an example, in its bearing on the men of Ephraim, of the special gift needed to approach a rebellious and headstrong spirit, which lacked discernment. If this is presented—the gift to address itself to such a spirit in humility quickly to esteem others better than ourselves. Gideon was characterised by such a gift. Those of Ephraim manifested a spirit very opposed to what should have marked them given the circumstances in which they were found; but with gentleness, Gideon gives them great credit and himself takes the humblest place. He saves the situation by his moving in the spirt of Christ.
We will refer now to Samson. Samson, it seems to me, puts less in evidence what is individual than the secret of the power which remains in conditions of submission among the saints; although Samson may be of course an individual and he judged Israel twenty years, he presents features of the assembly. This is what explains that there was such mixture in his history, a mixture of incidents where power comes out, and on the other hand, incidents that discredit him—and there is a lot that discredits the assembly in its history, we have to recognise; and yet thank God it has this element of power. As the Lord said to Philadelphia, “Thou hast a little power”; it is not exactly weakness, for the element itself is power, but a power that is only with us if it is the result of conditions of submission in righteousness allowing the Spirit of God to work in us without hindrance. This is the case with Samson, as comes out in his history.
So in chapter 13, he is consecrated entirely to the exercises of his mother and his father, and more especially of this mother. The Angel says to her: “… thou shalt conceive, and bear a son, and no razor shall come on his head; for the boy shall be a Nazarite of God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines”. Before this, the Angel had said to her: “And now beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean”, which shows how the Nazarite is an absolute consecration to the Lord in holy separation—not in outward appearance of course but in reality—the Nazarite is not to be a position taken for a limited time as we read in Numbers 6, but a state of separation and definite consecration adopted and which comes to characterise us for the whole course of our life. If it is not so, there will be no power with us.
The razor not passing on his head was something very humiliating for the flesh for it really implies that it is a matter of being marked by feminine features rather than virile features, that is to say, the outward appearance would be characterised by such features visible to men, and to God’s eyes for His pleasure; the razor not having passed on the man’s head, who appeared by his outward appearance to have the weakness of a woman rather than to be marked by what, for the world, is a sign of virility. It would indeed manifest that he had no confidence in himself, but that every detail of the whole course of his life is marked by entire dependence upon Another. A woman depends on another and such a feature must necessarily mark the Nazarite, that is to say that he is essentially dependent upon Another; his characteristic position is dependence. This feature is visible in his attitude; there is not the least indication of self-sufficiency or of self-confidence in such a man, he leaves the field entirely free to the Spirit of God; he is dependent on Christ in an absolute way. This is what is signified by “there shall no razor come upon his head”; in this is found the secret of the power that Samson manifests. Samson had to avoid all that was impure.
Then it is very remarkable that when Manoah comes to the Angel, he puts a question to him: “When thy words then come to pass, what shall be the child’s manner and his doing?” He wanted to know something about Samson, what he would do, how he would do it, but the Angel does not give an answer to his question. He is not going to clarify as to the acts and activities of Samson, he is not going to satisfy his curiosity. What he replies is what he had said to him, As to you, take care of the moral conditions, that is all that is necessary. The Angel adds nothing more: he says to Manoah, “Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware: she shall not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither shall she drink wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean: all that I commanded her shall she observe”.
It is a case of watching that the conditions that suit a Nazarite should be maintained, the rest will follow, the power will come, the power will meet the circumstances that may arise. The essential point is to remain in submission: “all that I commanded her shall she observe”.
It is a solemn word for us, beloved: the power that we feel such a need to possess rests in watching to maintain the essential conditions by which the Spirit of God has His place freely among us. These conditions are only assured on the principle of true nazariteship. This implies consecration to the Lord, not as I have already said a mere appearance, but a consecration of heart, which destroys all self-sufficiency and depends entirely on Christ with the support and power only of the Spirit of God.
So, as we know, the Angel having said this, communicated great things to Manoah and his wife, suggesting to them the possibility that they should have part in the service of God. He says, “if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering, thou shalt offer it up to Jehovah”, and it says further on, “Manoah … offered it up to Jehovah upon the rock”, and the Angel “did wondrously”. Manoah asked about the Angel’s name, who said to him, “How is it that thou askest after my name, seeing it is wonderful?”—one of the titles given to Christ according to the book of the prophet Isaiah: “Wonderful”.
So the Angel presents great possibilities to Manoah and his wife. He also does a wondrous thing. It is said, “as the flame went up from off the altar towards the heavens, that the Angel of Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar”, so that in figure the Person of Christ and glorious thoughts as to His ascension are introduced with the Angel. So, despite the outward weakness, it is possible to enter into the choicest thoughts of God as to the assembly. However, this is only realised in the power that results from maintaining Nazariteship in its true character.
My desire is that we should be encouraged and stimulated each to take our responsible part as to these things, to act on the line set out, understanding that the true beginning of this field is what has occupied us as to Othniel: to have the assembly before us in all the attractiveness that she presents to God in His mind, and to understand that the only power for penetrating divine thoughts is the Spirit of God; ending with this that is seen in Samson, the urgent necessity to maintain conditions of absolute submission.
May the Lord bless the word.
IPSWICH
13th April 1949
Translated from the French magazine, ‘Ondées’, February 1950
“THEY SHALL MAKE ME A SANCTUARY”
Exodus 25: 1-18; 26: 4-6, 11, 15
We have spoken of the truth as to God and of our privileges, and also our responsibility to keep it in the testimony to maintain it among men, not only in an individual sense but also as going on together.
It is important in an individual sense that we “in all things adorn the teaching which is of our Saviour God”, which will come in the way we comport ourselves in our occupations, for example, as in every position in which God has set us. God has in His mind that His testimony should be carried by the saints going on together, and this is what is illustrated by the tabernacle system of which the details are given to us in part of chapter 25 of Exodus.
God had in His mind first of all that His own should prepare Him a dwelling, a sanctuary, as it is said, “I will dwell in the midst of them”; and then that, in this dwelling, prepared according to His own direction, He should be served in a consistent way and that the whole system in which God dwelt and where He would be served should be carried in testimony through the wilderness, and that due impressions of Himself should be given during the journey in the wilderness, so that those who took account of it could see what marked God’s dwelling, and what characterised His service. All this was to be a question of testimony during the passage of the wilderness and this evidently has what corresponds to it in Christianity, in the assembly seen in its character as set before us in the epistle to the Corinthians. We have to take account of it as to ourselves here in a world where there is nothing to sustain spiritual life. The world offers nothing for spiritual life; it is in effect a wilderness, as the scene where our Lord has been crucified. It is in the divine mind that in such a scene the assembly should be a testimony as being God’s dwelling, so that it is called “the assembly of God which is in Corinth”, as well as the assembly in every place, as the apostle says, “with all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours”.
So God, having this thought, makes an appeal to those of His people that they should furnish the material necessary and that they should themselves construct the sanctuary. He says, “And they shall make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them”. It is evident that the word sanctuary implies that the presence of God requires holy conditions, as it is said in verse 9: “According to all that I shall shew thee, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the utensils thereof, even so shall ye make it”. God took care to give indications as to all the details, not leaving anything to the choice of man’s will in this question of His dwelling, nor was the mind of man to have any say as to what might be considered suitable. Everything had to be regulated according to divine prescriptions, and later Moses is mentioned as being faithful in all God’s house, because, in everything, He saw that the sanctuary should be constructed in every detail as Jehovah had commanded it.
There is now an important question to consider, dear brethren, if on the one hand God takes account of how we provide conditions in which He is pleased to dwell, and on the other He insists that everything be according to His prescription. He says, “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me a heave-offering”. It is a question of the saints’ affections answering to this appeal on the part of the blessèd God, a heave-offering representing that. “Of every one whose heart prompteth him”. That is to say that God does not ordain, but rather makes an appeal to the affections of the saints that they should understand that those coming to Him must now be made available for His dwelling among them as being set and going on together.
There are many Christians, dear brethren, marked by a real evidence of the divine nature and the work of God who also love Christ, who nevertheless do not understand that their true place is with their Christian companions in the assembly. It is evident that, if they are true believers and have received the Holy Spirit, they belong to the assembly, there is no doubt of it, but God’s mind is that the assembly according to the truth which that implies should be the expression of it, and the only way in which saints walking together are seen individually is in withdrawing from iniquity, separating from vessels to dishonour and pursuing “righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”. Once this ground is occupied, it is good to see that in going on together, every thought of God concerning the assembly can be realised, and this is a thought which must be a guiding line for us (I recommend it to young brothers and sisters as well as to older ones), that all that we have of spiritual value must be a contribution made to the assembly as being where God loves to dwell. It serves, so to say, to augment the glory of it.
And if someone has gold, he must hold it for this purpose. I believe that gold often refers to divine glory, that is to say it is really the divine nature in the saints. It is love; we are taught of God to love one another; love in the saints should be in evidence. It is essential if the assembly is to be practically in view, for the assembly needs each one, that is to say, all the saints. We admit that we are in scattered conditions and therefore the truth can only be practised in those who are morally available, but this being admitted, the assembly needs all the saints, embracing one another, going on thus in love, so keeping the truth. We must understand that being born of God we should be ready to contribute to this great thought of God’s dwelling. God Himself being love, He cannot dwell in conditions apart from love. Let us keep this in mind, dear brethren, as to our practical links with one another in the place where God has set us, that being who He is, He can only dwell sympathetically in conditions of love among the saints. So it is that He appeals to us all that what is of Him in us, as being born of God, should be available for this great conception of God’s dwelling among His people. “And they shall make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them”.
Then we have the silver; it is a constant allusion in Scripture to redemption, referring to the effect of the recognition in us, in our souls, of the fact that God has rights over us by redemption, that He has redeemed us by the precious blood of Christ, and that as a result, we are no longer our own. We have been bought with a price, and the silver signifies that we recognise this, and that we are practically delivered from all iniquity, being held now for the will of the blessèd God. The gold has in view that we are such as are made partakers in the divine nature, but the silver signifies rather that we are no longer what we were, unsubject, but now, recognising the rights of love divine over us, in the blood of Christ, we are held and holding our members as belonging to God.
Then the copper is an allusion to the judgment of evil, a very important thing we must always have with us. When we have believed the glad tidings and put our trust in Christ, we have understood that we have been pardoned on the basis that all that we were due for our sins has been borne by Christ. We have understood this perfectly, and that God has not dealt with evil as a small thing that He could pass over, but that He has judged it. All this is to be as a kind of fibre in our spiritual being, that is to say that sin has been judged unsparingly on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of God would make this effective in our souls, so that we refuse in ourselves what God has judged for us in Christ.
Now we can see, dear brethren, that all this represents the moral elements in the souls of the saints which must be taken to constitute suitable conditions for God to dwell there. It is not possible for us to refer to all the details and we have to limit ourselves, I believe, to show what the bearing of this passage is; that is to say, that all that we are and all that we have which is of God, and according to Christ should be held available for this great conception, that God desires to have a dwelling among His people. Then, having suitably established His dwelling, He is to be served. This is what the book of Leviticus is about; then the whole system has to be continued in testimony, which is what we find in the book of Numbers.
We have for example the acacia wood which represents the appreciation that we should have in our souls of the fact that in Jesus God has intervened in a Man of an entirely different order, a holy order, incorruptible humanity, which was introduced in this world when Jesus came: we are formed in consequence by the work of the Spirit in us, and we have to recognise that it is only to the humanity of Christ’s order that God’s thoughts can be entrusted.
Then, there is the oil for the light, the spices for the anointing oil and the incense of fragrant drugs, all this referring to what is in the Holy Spirit that we have received. There is oil for the light, they had to bring it; and that applies to an occasion like this. It is a matter of the Holy Spirit in the saints making the light available, making the ministry possible: it is a question for us of understanding the greatness of what is among the saints for the pleasure of God having His dwelling among us.
Thus the system is developing, we have first the ark, and then the mercy-seat; then the table and the candlestick. I simply make allusion to this in passing, for the ark and the mercy-seat upon it are a suggestion of God for us. I know that the ark evidently represents Christ, it is God who dwells between the cherubim. He constantly refers to Himself in this way. It is God in the glory of His Person by our Lord Jesus Christ who is, so to say, the centre of the system. It is what gives it its character: God dwells among His people according to His mercy, by His mercy founded on righteousness; a very important thing, so that we should be characterised by mercy on the one hand and by the maintenance of righteousness on the other, learning all this from God Himself.
The table suggests Christ as man able to sustain men before God. Christ has become Man having in view that God would be able to have His pleasure in men, and that an order of manhood according to Christ should be introduced and sustained before God in the power of the primacy of Christ for God’s pleasure. We have with this the thought of vessels, plates, cups and goblets, all things suggesting what relates to the saints themselves, as being vessels formed and held under the influence of Christ and also affording pleasure to the heart of the blessed God.
There is then the candlestick which suggests the Holy Spirit. The candlestick itself speaks of Christ no doubt, but what was in view was light in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thus, the three greatest articles in the system suggest the Godhead, that is to say that God Himself dwells among His people.
I say all this, dear brethren, not that there was anything new, but for us all, and especially for the youngest, we should be able to have a conception of the grandeur of the system to which by grace we belong; the grandeur of Christianity, the fact that God Himself dwells among His people, and that He serves us in view of furnishing and maintaining suitable conditions for Him to dwell complacently among us. It is something to consider before the great day, the day of eternity, when all will be according to God; but what a moral triumph there is in the midst of a world of evil of which Satan is the god and prince, to furnish conditions in which God can dwell among His people and be served in a way that suits Him. It is what is accessible to us all and God appeals to us saying, “And they shall make me a sanctuary”.
Each one is invited, every heart that is available, every brother or sister who receives the thought and who desires to be exercised, the Lord will show how to put it into practice and how it is possible to come into accord in mind in their local position with this great thing, that God should have conditions in which He can dwell complacently.
I refer for a moment to the passages read in chapter 26 because they show that the saints are brought in so as to take care (if I can so say) of the various articles mentioned. The thought is to provide conditions and the dwelling for God Himself; so it is that the curtains are mentioned. We have referred to the ark, to the table and to the candlestick, but there had to be a place where they would be put; so the curtains are brought in. It is the curtains that form the actual tabernacle, or the tent, and we have first of all, “ten curtains of twined byssus, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubim of artistic work”. They refer I do not doubt to the saints as subjects of God’s work, the beautiful features of the new man appearing there. I do not enter into all the details, but you will notice that they had to have loops of blue and fifty clasps of gold which connected to the loops of blue by which the curtains were put together: “And the tabernacle shall be one whole”.
It is the divine mind that it should be found in every locality where the truth is cherished among the saints. There is a great testimony in unity. If there is one thing that Satan will do his utmost to spoil it is unity among the saints, because he knows that unity is an undeniable testimony rendered to God. Men may be able to keep together in the main but they can never avoid disagreements for long; unity among the saints is a great testimony rendered to God, it is thus that the curtains had to be held together by clasps of gold held in loops of blue. That is to say that our affections as being born of God (which the rings of gold suggest) must be attached to what the saints are, as being taken account of according to Christ. We must not fix our attention on their dispositions or their natural features which can be displeasing, but if we fix it on what the saints are as heavenly, taking character from Christ, which can surely be seen in a certain measure in each true believer who has received the Spirit, our affections will be found linked, the idea being that the tabernacle is one whole.
Then over these curtains there were other curtains of goats’ hair which had to be linked together in the same way by loops with fifty clasps of copper. This furnishes another ground on which we keep together, all being disposed to refuse evil. The clasps of copper refer to that, we are characterised by the judgment of evil, and this is the means by which we are held together one with another.
Finally, to support the whole structure, there were the boards. “And the boards for the tabernacle thou shalt make of acacia-wood, standing up”. They had to be set together and there were tenons which held them together. I do not enter into all the details, but I refer to it simply in closing; what supported the whole position were the boards of acacia wood standing up. This refers to what the saints are individually as formed after Christ and taking their character from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is said, “Whosoever abides in him does not sin”. It is possible to move around in this world and to be preserved in incorruptibility; not that any one among us would say they have not sinned, for the epistle of John shows us that if we say that we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit has come to form the saints after Christ. In Jesus Christ, God has brought in an incorruptible order of manhood, and if we allow the Spirit to effect His own work in our souls and keep ourselves in relation to Christ, we can go through this scene of evil without being overcome by it. This is a very important feature and it is what is in view in the epistle to the Romans, the formation of the boards which can stand upright, the saints being affected by the truth in such a way in their position of responsibility here on earth, they are not at all overcome by the influence of the evil environment and so are able together to support the system in the midst of which it pleases God to dwell.
I have confidence, dear brethren, that I have said enough to show the great possibilities which exist. God is looking for us to furnish the necessary conditions. I do not suggest that they are not already furnished, for I am sure that they are in great measure and in many places, but I speak thus that all the brethren, and especially the youngest, may understand what God has called us to participate in and the greatness of the privilege of furnishing and maintaining conditions in this world in which God can dwell among His people.
Place not given
16th September 1949
Translated from the French magazine, ‘Ondées’, August 1950
____________________