APPRECIATION OF THE INHERITANCE (3)
[p. 109] APPRECIATION OF THE INHERITANCE (3)
Joshua 21:1-19; Joshua 21:43-45
JM For the benefit of those who were not present this morning, will you kindly outline what we had before us, and link it up with this chapter.
JT We read chapter 14 with the object of considering the inheritance, and distinguishing between the inheritance given by Moses and that given by Eleazar and Joshua. It was pointed out that the two-and-a-half tribes were content with what Moses gave (the epistle to the Romans answers to this), whereas the other tribes, whilst they also had what the two-and-a-half had, had a good deal more. It was pointed out that chapter 10 suggests to us in antitype the man in Christ; that is, Joshua being honoured by heaven. It is stated that there never was a day before nor after, that the Lord hearkened to the voice of a man. This shows in type how a man in Christ is honoured, or, as we may say, how Christ Himself is honoured, by heaven. We saw how Caleb illustrates the man in Christ as having an appreciation of the heavenly portion, and having the energy of soul to lay hold of it and to possess it.
WK Just say a word or two more as to the difference between what Moses gave and what Eleazar and Joshua gave.
JT What Moses gave in the antitype does not go beyond the gift of the Spirit; so, as I said, the epistle to the Romans answers to it; whereas what Eleazar and Joshua gave not only implies the gift of the Spirit, but the place in which we have the blessing; and the epistle to the Ephesians opens up the place where we are blessed with all spiritual blessings — in the heavenly places in Christ; that is to say, the emphasis is on the place where we have [p. 110] the blessings.
EJMcB In connecting the reading which we had yesterday afternoon with that of this morning we saw that the period in the book in which you get the history of the failure and breakdown — what occurred both at Ai and in connection with the craft of the Gibeonites — brought about a subduedness that enabled Joshua to go out as we see him in chapter 10. Caleb cherished in his heart the divine inheritance all the time he wandered with the people in the wilderness.
JT It is very interesting to see in Revelation that the failure being fully owned, the Lord returns to expressions which imply the assembly’s relationship with Him. The body of the book of Revelation is prophetic, and marked by distance, but when we come to the end (chapter 22) He announces Himself as “Jesus”; not now the Man clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle; not now with eyes as a flame of fire, and feet like fine brass; but the Man who is known in the Gospels: “I Jesus (He says) have sent mine angel to testify those things to you in the assemblies. I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star”, Revelation 22:16. He returns in measure to the simplicity of things in regard to the assembly at the beginning. And what is so encouraging is that there is an answer to that on earth; “the Spirit and the bride say, Come”. Revelation 22:17. It is really the appreciation of such a Man as Jesus and the appreciation of that Man — of Jesus — saves us from the appreciation of such a man as Antichrist, who is the very opposite.
JM Would not that indicate that recovery is through the affections?
JT Yes, quite so; Joshua 10 presents to us a man (Joshua), one who is dependent on God, who is the very opposite to Antichrist. I think it is very solemn that Antichrist springs out of church [p. 111] history. He really is a development of the light that has come in in Christianity taken up by man in the flesh; it is a monstrosity that is produced; a six fingered and six toed man. Whereas Jesus is the very opposite, and He presents Himself as such; and the assembly appreciates Him; and this shows that there has been recovery.
EJMcB Then we just touched on the different measures of appreciation, as seen in Caleb, and the daughters of Zelophehad, and the Levites.
JT Caleb, I think, represents the intelligence formed by the Spirit as to the inheritance, and the spiritual energy that goes with that; that is to say, he never grew old or weary; he was as fit at 85 as he had been at 40. He had all the ability for enjoyment and for war, that he had when he was 40 years old. Then the daughters of Zelophehad refer to that affection which desires the inheritance among the brethren. It is where you want it. Caleb says nothing about the brethren; whereas the daughters of Zelophehad want the inheritance, and they wanted it among the brethren. That is a very great point for Christians, as to where you want the blessings. You do not want your Christianity to adorn you in the world; you want it amongst the brethren.
Ques What do you mean by, amongst the brethren?
JT Well, you want to have all your enjoyment amongst them. It shows that you love them; that is your home.
EJMcB “I dwell among mine own people”. 2 Kings 4:13.
WK That is, Christ’s brethren.
JT Yes; your own tribe, so to speak. It was the brethren of their father’s house.
WH The things that are to be permanently enjoyed are placed there.
JT Yes. Of course you have the Spirit in yourself as an individual; but then you want to [p. 112] enjoy all the fruits of the Spirit among the brethren, and that answers to the gospel, because the gospel presents the inheritance among the brethren — “the sanctified”, Acts 26:18.
M What do you understand by the brethren?
JT We are all sons of one Father. The daughters of Zelophehad wanted the inheritance among the brethren of their father’s house — the tribe of Manasseh. Now, that is where you want to enjoy things. You do not want a select society in the world that is suited to your status in the world; your society is the circle of the saints — the brethren; they are the brethren that belong to your Father’s house.
Ques Why does it say “the Spirit and the bride” Revelation 22:17; does it refer to the assembly?
JT I think so.
M. Who is “the bride”?
JT The assembly.
M What authority have you for saying so?
JT The angel says, “I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife”, Revelation 21: 9. The foundations of the wall are twelve, “and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb”. Revelation 21:14. There is not much difficulty in identifying them as the founders of the assembly.
EJMcB Besides, He sent His angel to testify these things to the assemblies, and the response is; “the Spirit and the bride say, Come”. Revelation 22:17.
JT It is well to remember that the background of that is the anti-Christian period here. The bride does not want anyone else but Jesus; the Spirit and the bride want Jesus.
Ques Has the cry of the Spirit and the bride gone forth yet?
JT I think so; I think Jesus has been announcing Himself these years.
EJMcB The coming is not an arbitrary idea; the saints long for Him, and [p. 113] He comes.
JPW Does it not imply that the bride is completely in accord with Him?
JT That the Spirit and the bride want Him, and that shows the completeness of recovery.
JPW Has that time come?
JT Yes, I think so, from the time of the Lord’s word to Philadelphia onward.
JPW The revival has already come.
Rem The message was sent to the angel of the assembly; that was not to the whole assembly.
JT The angel is the responsible element in the assembly and who will say, he is not responsible? We cannot say that the angel is some individual or individuals, it is the element of responsibility, and anyone who says he is not responsible is not really in fellowship.
RL What about the Scripture now before us?
JT Well, what we had before us for this afternoon was that we might consider the Levites; not the Levites as presented in Numbers, but as presented in Joshua. In this book (Joshua) they represent a specially privileged class.
WH In Joshua they are evidently placed in connection with the whole inheritance.
JT You mean that they had cities in it all. That is the idea exactly. The Levites set forth those who are in accord with heaven — “the assembly of the firstborn ones”. Hebrews 12:23. God would influence you from heaven, wherever you go, hence there were cities on the other side of Jordan, as well as in Canaan. If you are content to stay there with your cattle — near them — God will seek to influence you there. God will do all in His power to keep His people, and hence He sets heavenly influences adjacent to you. We can understand how these forty-eight cities scattered over the whole nation would have an influence.
JM Would you say that it is those who are in [p. 114] the enjoyment of their heavenly portion that are a real help and influence to the isolated saints in every place. When what is heavenly comes out, everyone gets benefit from it.
JT That is the thought. Of course it is not that there is a class of saints regarded as Levites in this sense; because we are all regarded as Levites. The cities of refuge were levitical cities, and the intention was, that the man-slayer should find a heavenly atmosphere in those cities. One great idea of a city in Scripture is that it is a centre of influence.
JPW Is the thought in the cities here a greater thing than what Caleb got?
JT O, quite; it is a higher thought. The Levites had no inheritance among the people. Firstly, it is said in Joshua 13:14 “The sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance”; then secondly, verse 33, “the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance”. The Lord Himself was their portion; and they had the priesthood. Finally we are brought back to the thought of God about them, that there were forty-eight cities (four times twelve), to be allotted to them; showing that the assembly at the present time is to be what it will be in the future when it comes out of heaven; that it is to be a predominating influence. So that we should be ever exercised as to what influence we exert over others.
JFW Does the Christian now get not only Caleb’s inheritance, but also the cities of the Levites?
JT Well, you have to view Caleb in another light. He represents the energy that lays hold of the inheritance.
EJMcB In these three cases you have Caleb representing spiritual energy in the appreciation of the inheritance; then in the daughters of Zelophehad you have the moral side: they want the inheritance among their brethren; and then you have the Levites claiming their [p. 115] cities.
JT Yes, that is the order. I think it is helpful to point out that the tribe of Levi comes in for special recognition in connection with the failure of Israel at the time of the making of the golden calf. The Levites then took sides with Moses; they took sides with the Lord. Moses had said, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Exodus 32:26 and the tribe of Levi responded to the call. And the Spirit’s comment on that afterwards is that he did not recognise his father, his mother, or his brethren: “Who said to his father and to his mother, I see him not”, Deuteronomy 33: 9. That is one great feature of the Levites; they were concerned about the rights of God in the camp. The Levites judged the evil of the camp.
EJMcB Then another intensely interesting thought in connection with it, and the way in which the Scripture presents it, is that the land was divided, and then you have the Levites coming to the front; that is, they are to influence what is divided. It is an immense thing that the divine influence is brought to bear on that. That the inheritance may be preserved to us, and we to it.
M You referred to the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. What are they?
JT Whatever blessings there are, we are blessed with all or every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. The point is, where we have them. The place enhances the blessings.
M If we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, why do we ask God to bless His people now?
JT Because the blessings have to be made good to us by the Spirit. The epistle to the Ephesians presents God’s thought for us in its absoluteness, apart from the fact of whether it has come to pass for each individual or not. It is from the divine side there; but as regards our side, we have to be brought into them; and the first point is — Do you desire
[p. 116] those blessings? Now Caleb had desire for them, and the daughters of Zelophehad had theirs, and the Levites had their desire; whereas the two-and-a-half tribes had not the desire; so that, typically speaking, they missed the blessings in the heavenlies, though they did not miss the Spirit.
TMG The apostle prayed that the Ephesians might know these things. Now why should he pray in that way if there were no need?
JM It is quite clear to me with regard to the type that the Levites had no inheritance in the land, but they had cities to dwell in and the suburbs. How would you apply that at the present time The inheritance is the portion of the whole assembly, but how is the blessedness of the inheritance maintained for God’s people now?
JT Well, I think it is in the hands of the Levites to do that. You see, they had the sacrifices, and they had Jehovah for their hearts’ portion, and they had the priesthood as their service; so that in that way, they were constituted able to influence after a heavenly order.
JM That supposes, does it not, that there are those who do not go in for their heavenly portion — they linger, so to speak.
EJMcB It would have been a sorry thing for the two-and-a-half tribes had it not been for the levitical influence.
SL Will you kindly say what the inheritance is?
JT Well, it is what is heavenly in the way of association and relationship with Christ. There is a spiritual inheritance which is said to be reserved in heaven for us, unfading and undefiled. What there is in the way of association with Christ in heavenly glory, and the part we have in that now with each other, and in the Father’s affections, is ours.
EJMcB I think the practical exercise for us is that, just as Israel was called out of Egypt to enter [p. 117] into Canaan, so we have been called by God to enter into a vast system of things that He has taken up in Christ, and we are called to enjoy the inheritance. They are not material things.
JT The true levitical idea is properly seen in Deuteronomy 33: 9: “Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word and kept thy covenant”. It is in the disallowance of the natural claims that you come into it. So long as natural claims are prior to spiritual claims we never come into what is levitical in the light of Joshua. The Lord said to His mother, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” John 2:4. There was the disallowance of the natural claim, because it was a question of what was spiritual. If you disallow the natural, you come into the spiritual; and the heavenly inheritance is really the system of affections that are set up there in relation to Christ.
Ques Do the cities in any way answer to the Lord’s people gathered in any place?
JT Yes, the city suggests the assembly as a centre of light and rule and influence.
W.K. Do you mean locally?
JT Locally, or otherwise. That is, the forty-eight cities suggest localities.
JM The truth of the whole would be found in any locality?
JT Yes, each city would set forth the heavenly in that locality.
JM Would the cities represent what is heavenly and spiritual?
JT But you will never find that, unless you begin by the disallowing of the natural. They began by using the sword. “Who is on the Lord’s side”, said Moses, as he stood in the gate of the camp, “let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him”. Then Moses directed them to use the sword; and each one was to go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay his brother and his companion and his neighbour, Exodus 32: 26, 27.
Ques What is meant by the natural?
JT Allowing natural relationships to influence you when it is a question of the rights of God.
EM I suppose every natural relationship is to be influenced from the inside circle. The children are addressed both in Colossians and Ephesians.
JT Yes; you get more about the family relationship in Colossians and Ephesians than anywhere else; and yet these are the epistles that make everything of the spiritual. There is nothing said about the children at Jordan. I think going over Jordan is entirely a spiritual thing when you come to the antitype. I do not think that anything of nature goes over, nor does any natural relationship go over, nor is there any recognition of natural relationships over Jordan. As a matter of fact, Jordan is a type of the end of the human life, with all the relationships attached to it.
WK While it is quite true what you say, that the crossing of the Jordan is of necessity a purely spiritual idea, yet family relationships are looked at in connection with those who have actually crossed the Jordan; they are spoken of in that connection in Colossians and Ephesians.
JT The inference is that they went over; but when you come to the antitype, a man’s family is not over Jordan. Going over Jordan is, spiritually, the end of human life.
EJMcB If you take the New Testament epistles which deal with the question of family relationships, they are taken up by a person who has passed over Jordan. We take up relationships here as those who have already passed [p. 119] over.
JT You cannot take anybody over Jordan; you have to go over yourself; but as regards your family, you cannot take it out of the wilderness. You may come back into the wilderness and influence your family out of Canaan.
WK Does the position of the two-and-a-half tribes represent those who have a heavenly place themselves?
JT Yes; but the mistake of the two-and-a-half tribes was that they lived there instead of in Canaan. A Christian household is in the wilderness, and that is why you baptise it. Baptism brings it on to that position. But then the heads of the families of believers have the Spirit, and as spiritual they can go over Jordan, and, as having gone over, they come back to the family and influence it; so that you are a good husband and a good head to your children. You are that because of your knowledge of the heavenly things.
JM The reason families are mentioned both in Colossians and Ephesians is that the saints are there looked at as being in the enjoyment of what is heavenly. But then so long as we are here, there is another side; we have to take up our responsibilities both in business and in the household; and we influence both from the Canaan side, because we have ourselves crossed over Jordan, and we belong to the Canaan side; and that is where the families come in in those epistles. So that no doubt the position where the responsibilities are taken up answers to where the two-and-a-half tribes lived. It is only as living in the enjoyment of the inheritance that you can possibly take it up according to God.
JT Yes; so that viewing it anti-typically I would say that the households of the Gadites and the Reubenites would not be good Christian households; at best they could but remember what they saw in Canaan when they were there; it would be [p. 120] a matter of memory. When the two-and-a-half tribes were in Canaan, they were away from home; that is the sad side of it.
Ques Did they not both stand in the same relationship with God?
JT Well, they do not stand on the same ground. As having the Spirit they are in the same relationship, and all that is in the counsel of God for others is for them; but then it is a question of where they are in the experience of their souls.
Rem You spoke of the plains of Moab as the wilderness?
JT Yes, I did, but it was quite different from the wilderness previous to the brazen serpent in Numbers 21. The territory that the two-and-a-half tribes received was, of course, divine; otherwise Moses would not have given it to them. That is to say, the possession of the Spirit is divine territory; but it is not the land of Canaan. So long as the brethren maintain divine principles you can remain with them.
JM The proof of a spiritual man is that he will link himself with all the exercises and sorrows of God’s people; he will not leave them.
JT Yes; however low down their state may be, provided the rights of God are not disregarded, you can go on with them.