THE BROTHER
David Willetts
Acts 22: 12,13; Genesis 43: 30; 44: 32-34; 45: 14,15; 1 Chronicles 12: 1-3 (to "Ahiezer"), 16-18 (to "helps thee"), 38-40; Exodus 26: 1, 15-17, 26-30
I have an impression, I believe of the Lord, to say a word as to the features of the brother. There is a negative scripture in Revelation 12, speaking of the devil, where he is called ''the accuser of our brethren" (v 10). The enemy is bent upon spoiling every feature that God has introduced. He cannot succeed, but what he can do is spoil the enjoyment of it for you and me. I feel the present time is one in which the enemy of our souls knows his time is short, that the assembly is about to be raptured; therefore he will spoil, if he can, not only the enjoyment of assembly conditions, of sonship and of our place as men before God, but, if allowed, he would spoil our relations with one another.
I begin with Paul. We often speak of the fact that he had an impression as to the assembly when the Lord said to him, ''why persecutest thou me?" (v 7), but it is interesting that the Lord sent a pious brother, Ananias, to lay his hands upon him. This scripture says, "And I, in the same hour, received my sight and saw him"; He saw a brother. I believe Paul was profoundly affected by the sight of a brother. I think I can justify that statement because, in each of his corrective epistles, he links with himself either Sosthenes the brother or Timotheus the brother; and when he comes to the great crisis in Galatians he links all the brethren with him. It is a wonderful thing to contemplate that the truth of being brethren of Christ goes through into eternity. Paul seems to me to be profoundly affected by the brother. This does not mean to exclude the sisters, but it is that character of things where we belong to the same family. We get a great deal of teaching in the Old Testament as to the family of Jacob, and it is also interesting that the Lord takes up two pairs of brothers for His apostles. I wonder whether there is not some clue in that to the value the Lord places on brotherly relations. Now, one thing that marks a brother is affect ion. In his letter to Philemon Paul speaks of him not only as a partner but as a brother, and as to the runaway slave he says, "receive him ... not any longer as a bondman, but above a bondman, a beloved brother" (vv 12, 16). It is a wonderful thing, therefore, to have our relations one with the other on this level as having the same Father. We are born of God. We are born "not of blood, nor of flesh's will, nor of man's will, but of God", John 1: 13. That is, the Father gives character to His family. Jacob gave character to his family. The problem with Jacob's family was that they had different mothers, but we have one mother - "Jerusalem above ... which is our mother", Gal 4: 26. We have our origin in the same mother. I think all this would elevate in our minds the truth as to a brother. I do not think it is understood in Christendom. The whole idea of the clerical system degrades the saints to a congregation, so many units, but the idea of a brother involves a horizontal bond that is strong.
So I read that verse in Genesis 43. It is most affecting to me. It says "And Joseph made haste, for his bowels burned for his brother”. I think that, beloved brethren, would really be the feature that would cause us to resolve any little difference amongst the saints. It says in Matthew 5: "If therefore thou shouldest offer thy gift at the altar, and there shouldest remember that thy brother has something against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and first go, be reconciled to thy brother" (vv 23,24). There is no suggestion that there is no happy conclusion to that. I believe the Lord would recall us in these days to some of these basic and yet wonderful truths, that the saints have such affection for one another (our bowels burn for one another) that we could not stand to have any distance between any of us. The enemy would love to bring in distance. He does not mind what initiates it, whether it is through personal feeling, or jealousy because of social status, anything as long as he can spoil what is for God. It is interesting, as to Ananias, that we do not get any reference to what his trade was, but we know that Paul worked with Aquila and Priscilla in making tents. Think of that! There was a man who had the equivalent of a university education, a high academic career, and there were two persons who worked with their hands, and they merge perfectly in a trade in view of the Lord's testimony. Apostleship involves authority, involves being sent and distinction of gift, but in eternity all that is done away, and what remains is the brother. Peter, at the end of his second epistle, says, "according as our beloved brother Paul also has written to you", chap. 3: 15. And John says, when about to review the conclusion of God's ways, "I John, your brother" (Rev 1: 9), as much as to say, it is not the apostle exactly that is going to see things through to the end but the brotherly spirit. In Amos where God takes great vengeance against Tyre because he forgot the brotherly covenant, He even says, "I will not revoke its sentence", chap 1: 9.
These things are very sobering but I do not wish to be negative but rather positive. It says of Joseph, "his bowels burned for his brother". What is going to be the solution to discord in the family? The solution was with this other brother, Judah. He effectively takes up John's epistle: he lays down his life for his brethren. He lays down his life for Benjamin in the presence of Joseph and the result is that Joseph cannot control himself. He falls upon Benjamin's neck and weeps, not tears of sorrow but tears of joy. It is wonderful when there is such a happy, holy intimacy of brotherly and, for that matter, sisterly affections at the conclusion of a crisis. Paul is so affected by this brotherly spirit that, though he had never been to Rome, he can give us a whole chapter and say something positive about each one of them, such as, they were in Christ before me, they labour much in the Lord. I wonder what we can say about our brother. Can we say something positive? - "each esteeming the other as more excellent than themselves" (Phil 2: 3), not a comparison of negatives but a comparison of positives; so we find something positive that we can link on with.
In 1 Chronicles 12 it is the time of David's rejection. What a time it was when Saul's kingdom was getting weaker and David's kingdom was getting stronger! It is wonderful in our lives when Christ comes into the ascendancy. But Christ is in rejection and here we have Ziklag, a sorrowful picture. I suppose we have to say that, if we are a witness to anything, we are a witness to the breakdown. Ziklag was a witness to breakdown and yet there is a great rallying point here, some of Benjamin's tribe - that is Saul's own tribe - military men, come down to David and it is interesting, and the reason why I read the section, that the chief of them is Ahiezer. His name means 'a helping brother’. It is a wonderful thing amidst the conflict and amongst the gifted men to find that the brotherly spirit is there, a helping brother. We may not feel we can do much in the local place, but at least we can help. Here is a man who came to David at the time of his rejection and he comes down as a helper. I would like to encourage all the brethren to help one another. Some of us have proved it of late. When things may not be going as well as we would like, we find a brother draws near and helps. The Lord will give you direction as to how you can help.
It is a time of crisis here. It is a military setting, "armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left with stones and with arrows on the bow". It involves conflict at a distance. You may feel that things are beyond you, but here are men who know how to conduct conflict at a distance. "Spiritual power of wickedness in the heavenlies" (Eph 6: 12) is a thing that we need to be protected against. There is a man here who was a helping brother. I would love to know something of that. In the next section in this chapter, following Ziklag, the children of Benjamin and Judah come to the stronghold to David. Now, David's tribe was Judah, Saul's was Benjamin. You may wonder what is going to happen here. Now, beloved brethren, the only reason a place is a stronghold is because David is there. I would like to encourage the brethren to relate themselves to Christ and that is how we know the strength. Here is a difficult situation where two warring families come together because persons have fallen away to David. David challenges them. He raises the question as to whether they are genuine and whether they are true brethren. He says, "If ye come peaceably to me to help me, my heart shall be knit unto you". "Knit" is a very beautiful word, is it not? Jonathan's soul was knit to David. How wonderful if our hearts are knit to Christ! I do not think there would be any problem of our being knit to one another if our hearts are knit to Christ. "And the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David". It is wonderful when we recognise that we belong to Christ, to fly the flag, as it were, as to that bond which we each have in the local position as brothers and sisters. "Thine are we, David": but he does not stop there. He says, "And with thee, thou son of Jesse". Jesse was the reproachful name. He was forgotten in Jesse's house. He came last in it, but they say "with thee", prepared to be with Christ in His rejection. It is one thing to belong to Christ but are we prepared to be with Him? That is the challenge of our day, to be with Him, to help Him in the great area of things that is under His hand. Soon He is going to take the kingdom in its full sense. We are on the eve of that when Christ is going to reign. O, what a thing it is that He might reign in my heart now! Amasai says, "Peace, peace be to thee!" Wonderful when there is a sense of peace in our souls in the consciousness of being near to Christ. But he does not stop there. He says, "And peace be to thy helpers!" I believe, if we are at peace with Christ, there will be no problem with being at peace with one another. If we come from the presence of Christ to meet the saints, there will be no problem.
Well, the end of the chapter is a very wonderful time. They have come to Hebron ''with a perfect heart". We were noticing when we were reading this chapter the other week that not only do they come with a perfect heart but they had one heart. It is like 2 Timothy days. They come with a pure heart, one which has undivided affection for Christ, that would have none other as its object or motive.
You could not fault the affections of those who came to Hebron. It is really Ephesian ground that they come to as having one heart. What a thing that is when the saints can merge in perfect oneness to give Christ His place! The effect of that is, "And there they were with David three days, eating and drinking". There is liberty and wealth. Beloved brethren, is there not liberty and wealth amongst the saints? Have we not proved it these two days as coming together with Christ as the centre of our affections? The saints bring things - oxen, fig-cakes, raisin-cakes, wine and oil. You will notice that all these things have to be processed; meal has to be ground, fig-cakes have to be made, raisin-cakes have to be pressed. The Lord has worked with each one of His saints so that they can bring food into His house. What a wealth there is! There could not be a better atmosphere. There could not be a better company as the saints are knit together as brethren of Christ.
I will go on now to Exodus 26 because on the morrow we are going to be with Christ. We have spoken of being in the testimony in the place of reproach but now we come to this area of things where the brethren of Christ merge to provide something for God. The first section has these ten curtains. Ten refers to man in responsibility, so man is able to fulfil responsibility, and what it says of them is they are "of twined byssus, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubim of artistic work shalt thou make them". I wonder if we look at our brethren in that way, see something of the twined byssus, which is righteousness, and something of this blue, the heavenly colour, "such as the heavenly one, such also the heavenly ones", 1 Cor 15: 48. It is easy to see the earthly things but can we look at the saints and see the blue shining through? Can we see something distinctive, the scarlet colour? If you found a brother like Saul of Tarsus, you would see what God had done distinctively in a man. How precious to think of how a man who was insolent and overbearing can come in and Ananias could lay his hands upon him, identify himself totally with him and say, "Saul, brother". There is the distinctiveness of the vessel that was to serve, and yet there is a man there who identified himself with the brother with both hands. O that we might lay both hands on our local brethren, not just be half-hearted in our committal to one another. Then there are these cherubim of artistic work. There is something of the divine glory, something of the truth of God, sustained and upheld in a brother. You look at a brother and say, He is a brother who is taught in the truth. How wonderful to nestle close to him as the next curtain. Here it is all woven in and blended together. Is the local company not tempered? It is blended together. You find there is everything that you need in your brother.
But then, not only are there curtains, but there are these huge boards made of acacia-wood. Again it is a reminder that "such as the heavenly one, such also the heavenly ones". Our origin, beloved brethren, is in the death of Christ. We could never be called the brethren of Christ apart from being on the other side of death. "Except the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, it abides alone; but if it die, it bears much fruit", John 12: 24. It is in resurrection that the Lord says "go to my brethren", John 20: 17. So our associations are all on resurrection ground. In these boards something of the humanity of Christ is seen in the saints, and they have two sockets of silver, made with that half shekel of the sanctuary. It points to redemption, but there are two sockets: the brother is able to stand alone; he has his own standing in Christ but he is able to stand upright because he is linked to the board next to him. The idea of the sockets at the bottom is hands. There is something firm and strong in the foundation, in the death of Christ. But then these boards are joined at the top - the heavenly character of brotherly love. So Peter says, "in brotherly love love", 2 Pet 1: 7. It is like that link at the top. But then there is a middle bar that goes through. I think that is our love in the truth which binds the brethren together and the boards stand up; they provide support to hold the curtains and thus the tabernacle becomes one whole in view of the service of God. We are on the eve of that, beloved brethren. O that our links together may be pure and simple in the bonds of ardent affection so that, as we assemble and look upon the saints, we are quickly able to merge so that as Christ comes in we can move with Him on to His side and enjoy something of being brethren of Christ.
These passages are very full. I have just touched on them, beloved brethren, but that we might just see to our links together and make sure the enemy is kept out because I believe he is very busy at the moment, trying to divide the links amongst the saints. May he be thwarted in his every effort, tor the Lord's Name's sake.
MALVERN
28 August 1993