ADMINISTRATION (2)
[p. 279] ADMINISTRATION (2)
Genesis 9:24 - 29; Genesis 11:27 - 32; Genesis 12:1 - 3; Genesis 14:18 - 20; Genesis 18:16 - 28; Genesis 19:14-16; Genesis 19:24-26
JTJr Our subject is administration. We had before us the last time the thought of God as Supreme — “He spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast”, (Psalm 33:9). Elohim, in Genesis 1, expresses the thought of the Supreme. We also saw delegated authority in Adam, linked on with God’s attitude in blessing, and then the curse, the flood, and the confusion of languages, arriving finally at Abraham. I thought we might begin this time with the God of Shem. We have not had such an expression before. God is not referred to in relation to Adam in that way. It comes in in regard to Shem; God in relation to a family — one family. We saw how Noah was set up in government after the flood. These verses show how he failed personally, and yet he could recover to give us this prophecy, which we may say, governs the whole position in regard to the peopling of the world, through his three sons. The whole world has been peopled through these three families. I thought also we might take note of what is “after the flood”, (Genesis 10:1). It speaks of what occurred after the flood: the distribution of the isles, verse 5, the dividing of the earth, verse 25, the distribution of the nations on the earth, verse 32. All have in view God’s government. So that we have in Shem a new line of thought in regard to the position; that is. God in relation to one family, which works out through Abraham. We might therefore look at these scriptures along those lines. Abraham was to be made a great nation. That idea is in mind. And then we get the relationship of Abraham to the general public position in chapter 14, in regard to a world war, and how Melchisedec is brought in to give us the thought of the fulness of the kingdom — the administration of the fulness of time. And then Abraham [p. 280] speaks to God as the Judge of the whole earth in relation to His dealings with Sodom and Gomorrah; and finally, we see the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah from heaven.
We might consider Noah first, I think, as to what is in mind in regard to him.
AR Do you think Noah’s prophecy as to Shem, Ham, and Japheth is worked out in Acts 8, Acts 9 and Acts 10?
JTJr Ham is first there. The Ethiopian eunuch is blessed first (Acts 8). Here Shem is first. It is the “God of Shem”. Shem, therefore, is in mind in regard to this matter of administration. God was going to take up one family, which He did, and He was in relation to that family peculiarly.
CAM God’s ways are universal. The whole earth is in view, but nevertheless there is something special in the mind of God. He is selective, and He has something special in mind to work out His thoughts.
JTJr Yes; man’s sin was dealt with in the flood, but it comes to light again after the flood; that is, there is no change in the flesh; so that God moves in another way. He selects one family to bless, which comes out more definitely in Abraham, and there is no question about it. They will be blessed. There is no condition in it.
RWS In verse 21 of chapter 10 it speaks of Shem as the brother of Japheth the elder. God is not operating on the lines of nature in selecting Shem.
JTJr No, He is acting sovereignly, taking up one family, which, of course, is the Jew. But it is to show that God carries through His thoughts in His own way. This line culminates in the kingdom under David and Solomon, and in the fullest sense, in Christ. He appears, in type, as Melchisedec to give us the character of the glory of the kingdom that is soon to come in. These things are all in mind in these chapters in Genesis.
ANW There is encouragement for us in connection [p. 281] with Noah. As far as administration is concerned, he failed, having lost control of himself, but he is recovered to furnish us with this beautiful prophecy.
CWM Would there also be the indication that there was the fear of God in Shem’s family, so that God is not ashamed to be called their God, on the principle of Hebrews 11?
JTJr Quite so; there would be something in Shem that would correspond with God’s selection. His name means ‘renown’. There would be seen renown, subjectively, in Shem. And then we get the histories of the various families — Shem, Ham, and Japheth. But in chapter 10: 1 we have Shem, and then again in chapter 10: 21 he is reverted to again, so that is the line that is in mind now. The world is allowed to go on in the characteristics that come out fully at Sodom and Gomorrah, but over against that we have Shem’s line.
ABP Is Shem the head of the line which receives the blessing that comes to Abraham and finally arrives at the nations?
JTJr I think he is. God said that all nations of the earth shall be blessed in Abraham. Shem held the central point in the division of the earth. Japheth evidently went northward, and Ham, southward; so that Shem evidently occupied the central position. He was in the centre of operations, in a way, and everything stood in relation to that.
ANW Would not Japheth indicate enlargement, bringing in the nations?
JTJr I suppose it would. Shem is mentioned in both connections in this prophecy — “[p. 282] Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem”, verse 26. And then in verse 27, “Let God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem”. That is, Shem is the predominant thought, and Japheth is to dwell in his tents, so it refers to God’s operations in Shem, and everything else is around that.
CN There is no blessing attached to Ham; it is,
“Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem” so that it seems as if Shem is definitely picked out from the very beginning for blessing.
JTJr I thought that, as distinctively coming out in Abraham; so that God is called the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob and the God of Israel, that is. God stands in relation to Shem’s line. God identified Himself with that family and He is carrying out His thoughts in relation to that family.
AR Would you say that God has rights on the earth to operate just as He wishes? He can destroy as He wishes, as in the flood, and over against that He has the right to bless one family. He asks nobody about the matter.
JTJr Quite so, what Ham did, I suppose, is descriptive of one side of the whole position. It alludes to the corrupt character of things that has gone on all the time, a line of evil all the way down. It comes out in its full force at Sodom and Gomorrah. Evil developed to such an extent that God came down to see about it.
RW S. There is an interesting allusion in Deuteronomy 32:8. It says: “When the Most High assigned to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel”. It would seem that God is operating now on the line of Shem, Abraham and those who followed.
JTJr That is an important scripture to bring in here because it shows that the division in Genesis was according to the arrangement God had in mind for Israel. It was all planned out; so Israel was the centre of everything and was to be the centre of everything really under David and Solomon.
WFK Would Japheth dwelling in tents be God’s way of preserving him for future blessing — taking up the gentiles?
JTJr I suppose that in the fullest sense it would [p. 283] allude to the nations coming into blessing in relation to Israel; Shem is the central thought; everything is in relation to him. But the line of demarcation which we have in Noah’s prophecy and in the facts which preceded it alludes to what is right in Shem and Japheth — right principles. Ham suggests the working of evil and man’s occupation with it, with which the world is filled today. Sodom and Gomorrah were the full expression of it at that time.
ANW In relation to what you said about Israel having the central place, I thought the Lord had that in mind in speaking with the Samaritan woman. He said to her, and only to her. Salvation is of the Jews. But this other matter as to Ham is serious and a very important matter. How that has shown itself on moral lines!
JTJr The first thing is the breakdown in Noah, a man who was entrusted with government. God gave the government into the hands of Noah and his sons. And now we find him, in that position, losing control. I think we should look into this a little — that is, the matter of losing control.
APT Would the actions of Shem and Japheth be indicative of a principle of administration — to rightly judge and cover and circumscribe evil?
JTJr I think that is what is in mind; not to extend the thing but to circumscribe it and these two sons set out that principle. But Noah is before us first of all, as failing in government. He became occupied in the wine business, and he took too much of it. There is nothing against There is no such idea, but the man who was using it was out of control.
ABP It says in Hebrews 11 that Noah condemned the world, but later he became unfaithful in his own personal deportment, which is very solemn in relation [p. 284] to administration.
JTJr That is right. In a sense we have all condemned the world in the position we have taken up but how are we controlling ourselves?
JAP There is an interesting note to 2 Timothy 4:5: “Be sober in all things”, which reads: ‘This implies not watching actively, nor being awake; but that sober clearness of mind resulting from exemption from false influences — not muddled with the influence of what intoxicates. So we think of one when we say. He has a sober judgment’.
JTJr Noah did not regulate himself. There is nothing wrong with the proper use of wine. Melchisedec brought it out. This incident is to show that we are to be in control of ourselves. Jehovah had said: “Of every tree of the garden thou shalt freely eat”. There was no prohibition except with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but the point is that if we lose control of ourselves we expose ourselves to evil. That is what Noah did; he exposed himself.
CN Would you say that Shem and Japheth chose another course? They went backwards.
JTJr Quite so; that is the principle that we need in regard to matters that come up — how to deal with them so as to not extend evil. It must be dealt with, of course, but it is not to be spread. It is a vicious thing to spread evil.
ANW Does not that characteristic provoke the blessing?
JTJr Quite so; the blessing comes in in that relation; but there is also the curse, which is a solemn thing. God does not like that line of things which spreads evil. He would have us to be like Shem and Japheth, taking another way.
RWS Do you think this spreading of evil would extend down through Canaan? It was Ham who sinned, but Canaan is made a bondman.
JTJr That is the way that Noah dealt with it, in Ham’s posterity, and it would show what is cursed. The line of things that is cursed is connected with what is evil. How much people are occupied with evil, in large cities especially. That is what is cursed; the thing lies in that.
ANW Ham was the father of Canaan. We know the development of Canaan, and all that is the extension of the wickedness of Ham.
JTJr Canaanite means a ‘merchant’ (see note Zechariah 14:21). The evil probably developed along the line of commerce, and all the evil connected with it. The great commercial systems of the world are largely built up on what is questionable. Avarice and selfishness are in them. In every country there is on the one side, capital, and on the other labour. We have with the latter the development of trade unionism.
APT In the last chapter of Zechariah it says, “there shall be no more a Canaanite in the house of Jehovah of hosts”, chapter 14:21. That links on with the idea of trafficking and merchandising, and the things of God are corrupted by such practices.
JTJr Prominent men in the commercial world are often identified with the professing church as elders, etc. Their money and prestige mean much to the church.
AAT I notice that in the last verse of Genesis 5 it says that Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The footnote says that Ham means black. Is that moral blackness or skin darkness?
JTJr It is a question of the meaning of the name. “If the light in thee be darkness, how great the darkness”. “The lamp of the body is thine eye: when thine eye is simple, thy whole body also is light; but when it is wicked, thy body also is dark”, (Luke 11:34).
Now, if we pursue the line of Ham and his posterity we find that Nimrod’s name means ‘rebel’. He evidently had to do with the building of Babylon; so that Ham’s line is connected with the building up of the [p. 286] world which reached a climax in chapter 11. Evidently all the sons were involved in the building of the tower.
AR When the Lord was here He dealt with the Canaanite in the temple. He overthrew the tables of the money-changers and the seats of the sellers of doves. Mark tells us that He suffered no one to carry a package through the temple (chapter 11:16).
JTJr We are coming on to an important division of things in these chapters, and it is well for us to see that God is separating one family. He has in mind the line of faith. It is a principle of separation, and if we do not get that into our souls, we are apt to be worldly-minded and live in the world.
CN So that later, when God proposes to establish Shem, he exterminates the seven nations in the land of Canaan. All Canaan was to be cleared to make room for Shem.
JTJr Quite so, evidently the Canaanite spread himself in the land. He took charge of that territory. The seven nations were there, and it was therefore a question of exterminating them but it was not until David’s time that the land was fully subdued.
AI Why do you think Shem is mentioned in chapter 10, as the father of all the sons of Eber?
JTJr I suppose Eber is the root of the title Hebrew. It is the name Shem’s line acquired. They were despised. Shem’s line is important in chapter 10, because it speaks of the earth being divided in the days of Peleg. Something happened in the ways of God in the earth. And then, in chapter 11, we find that after Peleg, life was shortened by about one-half. God was reducing man’s life on the earth.
CAM The end of Proverbs shows that those who have to do with administration should refrain from strong drink. There is nothing wrong with wine, of course, for it says it is to be used, in the same scripture, but the matter of rule is a great test, do you [p. 287] not think?
JTJr It is; we should be in our right senses as exercising rule; whether it be in our homes, or attending to business, or amongst the saints, it is important that we be in our right senses as controlling matters. If we allow things to over-stimulate us, the senses become warped and we lose control. Wine is used as a figure of many things that may excite us.
AR God brings in the generations of Shem, in verse 10, after the scattering at Babel.
JTJr God is moving on different lines; He is taking up one family and He is operating in relation to that family. He is called the God of Shem, and then later the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. So it is now a question of what God is going to work out in one family. The world itself is going on as before. The world goes on in Egypt in these chapters, and it is demonstrated in Sodom and Gomorrah. The world is left to go on its course, and men are ruling in it.
AR Would you say that chapter 12 suggests that God is going to enlarge the matter? He says to Abraham, “I will make of thee a great nation, and bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing”, verse 2. A nation is in view now.
JTJr That is the thought — that a great nation would be the outcome, but on the principle of separation. This is an important point for us to consider. It is much needed at the present time. Separation from the world is a basic administrative principle.
WFK Abraham had to leave his kindred and his country and to come out the way God had appointed.
JTJr That is what we need to see now — that separation comes in at this point. It is the way God is operating.
APT Would you say that there is no difference in the principle on which God administered, as recorded in these chapters, and what He is doing at the present time?
JTJr Quite so; it is the same principle. He has [p. 288] carried the principle of separation right down to our time. We have it in 2 Timothy, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity”, chapter 2: 19. It is the principle of separation. I will never understand what God is at if I do not start there.
RWS It involves separation, not only from evil things as seen in Sodom, but from what men may ordinarily regard as good things, too. In Genesis 12:1 the word is, “Go out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house”.
JTJr Quite so; yet, it alludes to what is in the world. What is in mind is separation from the sphere where the rule of man is going on. Nations are alluded to in the previous chapter; they are all set up, you might say. In chapter 10: 32 we read, “These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations. And from these came the distribution of the nations on the earth after the flood”. The nations are set up in their several spheres. It would be the earth as it was known at that time, but nevertheless it is the nations set up and man ruling in them. The rule of man is going on in the various nations but the believer cannot have part in that. God tells Abraham to go out of that; Abraham had no part in it.
APT Chapter 11 speaks of one language; the same words. In a sense, that is what is all around us. The filthiness of the flesh is seen in every nation.
JTJr The same things are working in every nation. The desire for rule is in every land. Someone becomes prominent in it, and so we have a Nimrod. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel. Think of the kind of man Nimrod was! Think of the kind of rule that was going on! And yet God was allowing it, and He was allowing such men to become prominent, but He says to Abraham, ‘You come out of this’. It says later that they served other gods beyond the flood (see Joshua 24:2) but now they are to be in a new [p. 289] position.
AR God called Abraham alone and blessed him, we are told. I suppose the same thought applies to the assembly — it is called out.
JTJr That is the idea; and we are to know what that means. We hear people say that the Lord is with them, or that He is here, or there. But where was God in relation to this matter? He said to Abraham, in effect, ‘You get out of this. I am the God of Shem’. We need to see the principle which God establishes at once in these chapters. It is the principle of separation from evil.
DP Would you say that the working out of good and evil has been centred in families and persons? Evil shewed itself in Ham, and good shewed itself in Shem. Those wicked men who surrounded the cross of Christ were marked by the features of Ham. We need not think that Ham refers only to a particular race. He typifies persons in whom evil is working.
JTJr Ham apparently went out and disclosed the evil. He published it. Ham stands for that kind of thing — persons occupied with evil and spreading it.
JAP So that Paul says to Timothy: “But profane, vain babblings shun, for they will advance to greater impiety, and their word will spread as a gangrene”, (2 Timothy 2:16,17). The word to him was to cut “in a straight line the word of truth”.
JTJr Well now, we see that in the ways of God, He is taking up one family; He is taking up Abraham, but it is Shem’s line. So the Lord comes in on that line; we think of it in regard to Christ. We get our renown from Christ; Luke’s line is from Shem. So He is the One who gives us renown; everything centres in Christ.
AR In chapter 12 Jehovah says, “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”, verse 3. God has in mind that families are to be blessed through one man.
JTJr That is the idea; the blessing is going [p. 290] to extend to the nations; and that is reiterated over and over again, and we may say that He has done it. The blessing of Abraham has arrived at the nations, we are told. But what is developing here is really the beginning of God’s plan to rule in a nation. The idea comes out in Melchisedec, when he came to meet Abraham, but it is not seen fully until the reigns of David and Solomon.
ABP It says in Romans 1: “Wherefore God gave them up also in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness”, verse 24. Does that head up in Sodom? So that, on the one hand. God gave up certain people to their unclean-ness, but on the other hand. He called Abraham out.
JTJr I think that is the principle. “By their fruits ye shall know them”, (Matthew 7:16). And so Sodom and Gomorrah are examples. There is Egypt also, where Abraham went later, and he got damaged there. He did not belong there.
JS Scripture speaks of Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
JTJr Yes; that is brought up in Revelation. Sodom and Egypt are linked together there. I suppose it is for us to see that we do not get any help in going down to the world. Abraham got no good out of it. In fact, it is possible that his wife acquired Hagar there. If God says to get out of the world and I go back into it, there is nothing but damage for me there.
CN In Numbers 23:9, when Balaam spoke of the people, he said: “Lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations”. And then in verse 21 of the same chapter it says, “Jehovah his God is with him, and the shout of a king is in his midst”.
JTJr That is very fitting, because it shows that God had not changed His thoughts about His people. They were to dwell alone; that is what we need at the present time. We are in a critical time in our cities, as to separation.
CN [p. 291] Is the effectiveness of the authority that God has vested in the assembly, which is represented in the ‘shout of a king’, dependent upon this principle of separation?
JTJr Quite so. If we are not separate, we shall not understand who Melchisedec is.
WCR How do you account for the fact that Lot went out with Abraham, but finally settled down in Sodom?
JTJr I suppose that is like a good many defections among us. Persons go along for a time and then move away as attracted by some feature of the world. They do not stay with Abraham.
AR The matter of Abraham being called out is very important. We should not overlook it, for the word assembly means ‘called out’. We are called out from everything that is iniquitous around us.
JTJr That is an important principle — the separation of a people from the world. It is a cardinal principle with God, and it comes all the way down to us at the present time.
ANW Abraham did not go with Lot. Lot went with him, but he never went with Lot.
AMacd Would dwelling in tents help us to maintain separation?
JTJr Quite so; we are ready to move. So we see that God is not governing directly through Abraham. Government was not committed to him. Nor did God govern directly through the nations that are left. He was waiting the time when He would govern directly, and that came to pass through David and Solomon and will come out more definitely in the millennium. The word to Abraham is that he will become a great nation. God is going to make a great nation out of Abraham.
JE Family relationships test us very much in maintaining separation.
JTJr Lot was a relative of Abraham, but you may [p. 292] be sure that Abraham did not go down to Sodom to the marriages of Lot’s daughters.
ANW It says of Lot that he went as far as Sodom. It seems a tendency sometimes to see how far we can go, how much we can do, without doing anything overt, but the thing is to keep clear entirely.
JTJr You wonder about some who go off and leave the blessing. You can understand how Abraham would have said to Lot, God has said to me that He will make of me a great nation and that I am to be a blessing; “thou shalt be a blessing”, (Genesis 12:2). It is what a Christian is to be.
WCR According to the footnote the word Lot means ‘veil’. Would that have any bearing on his history?
JTJr There was probably some secret condition in him that allied itself with Sodom and Gomorrah. There is always something you can trace these things to.
AR “Thou shalt be a blessing”, came out in the fullest way in Christ. One Man upon the earth affects the whole earth. That is what came about when the Lord Jesus was here.
JTJr It says of Abraham, “I will make of thee a great nation, and bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing”. What God was going to do with Abraham was based upon the principle of separation. He was not leaving him in Babylon. He called him alone and blessed him.
APT We need help on the present bearing of this appearance of Melchisedec to Abraham.
JTJr It illustrates how God approves the movements of His people. I think it is to show that God has His system available all the time. It is in mystery, of course. It says that Melchisedec met Abraham and brought out bread and wine; that is a fine picture for us to realise at the present time.
ABP Coming in after the slaughter of the kings [p. 293] would suggest that God has not given up kingship. He is holding it in reserve.
JTJr Quite so; it is there all the time. Melchisedec only appears for a moment, as it were. It is just a matter of three verses, and then he disappears, we might say. Well, we are to know something about that; the incoming of Christ in this way into our circumstances.
CAM I suppose we should make up our minds that every increase of light from God will involve that separation takes on an increased meaning. Lot’s move to Sodom necessitated separation from him but the result of Melchisedec’s service is that Abraham separated from everything worldly. He separated from every worldly link after this light.
JTJr We want to see what Abraham’s position stands for. He was not well known, you might say. Abraham was moving out really in relation to another world. On the other hand there was a world war and then the slaughter of the kings. A great slaughter has taken place in our times. Think of the slaughter that has been going on! Well, have the brethren been recovered? That is the point now, that Abraham recovered his brother. He showed remarkable skill as a military man. “He divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them”.
WFK He went into this war to save a brother.
JTJr That is right. I suppose in a way he represents a priest. We do not get Aaron’s priesthood in this book, but this is a priestly move.
RW S. Would you say a little more about the way the matter of Melchisedec works out in our circumstances?
JTJr I would think that when we move like Abraham in regard to our brethren that we are in the way to receive some unexpected help. This was an unexpected thing, I suppose, for Abraham. He had gone a long way to get his brother. And how far we have to go sometimes to seek to recover one who has gone [p. 294] into Sodom and then, through some governmental act of God, has gone even further away. That requires the movements of a priest, according to the Aaronic service. Although you do not get Aaron’s ministry opened up in Genesis, yet it is there in a certain sense in Abraham in seeking to recover his brother. The purpose of the Aaronic service, as stated in Hebrews, was “that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins”.
APT It says in Hebrews 5:2: “... able to exercise forbearance towards the ignorant and erring”.
ANW Melchisedec seems to come in, in the attitude of blessing, to intercept the king of Sodom.
JTJr Quite so, this unexpected visit of Melchisedec is to bless Abraham; it is not for intercession; he does not need that. Lot needed intercession, but Abraham had a priest who was blessing him.
AR Abraham needed sustenance: Melchisedec brought out bread and wine.
JTJr What resources there are — bread and wine!
APT It seems to strengthen him for the test. The king of Sodom says, “Give me the souls”. The priestly service of Christ helps us in relation to tests which arise.
JTJr Quite so; the title of Melchisedec is intended to instruct us in regard to what Christ will be; that is, it is the fulness really of His glory as a king. He is said to be king of Salem. He is a Priest; He is a Priest on the throne. It is Christ’s millennial glory that is coming in here, at this juncture, to show Abraham that this system is already working.
AR Melchisedec is said to be “priest of the Most High God” and Abraham says, “I have lifted up my hand to Jehovah, the most High God, possessor of heavens and earth”, (Genesis 14:22).
JTJr That really connects with the millennium, because in a way God is now shut out of the earth. In that day God’s will is to be carried out both in the heavens and on [p. 295] the earth.
APT Abraham uses the same words which are used by Melchisedec. Is there something in that for us? We can lift up our hands not to do anything contrary to the principles which are opened up to us in the truth.
JTJr Yes; Abraham recognises the position of Melchisedec. Abraham was in the secret of what God had in mind. And so are we. We know that Christ is going to reign in His glory. Abraham was in the secret of that and he was not overcome by temptation; he would not surrender one iota of his position of separation.
AR What is meant by the title “Most High God”?
JTJr There is nothing higher; it is moral elevation. He is absolute.
CN This great system is operating. Melchisedec gives Abraham bread and wine, and Abraham gives him the tenth of all.
JTJr Quite so; Abraham’s victory is called to our attention. And we should be in the sense of that, also. When the enemy comes in like a flood, we are to raise a standard against him, especially on the line of separation.
CN The blessing is important. It reads: “Blessed be Abraham of the Most High God, possessor of heavens and earth. And blessed be the Most High God, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand”, verses 19,20. He blesses Abraham first.
JTJr That is the character of the millennium. Christ’s influence and blessing will be felt by all. But then God gets His portion, also. “Blessed be the Most High God”.
ANW That is the power by which Abraham met the temptation. He was consciously blessed and enriched by the One who possesses the heavens and the earth.
JTJr Quite so; he is not turned aside.
RWS Our souls are to be steeped in the glory and power and love of this system, which, as you indicate, is in operation today. How could we leave it — to whom could [p. 296] we go?
JTJr Quite so; we want to have an increased sense that Christ is blessing us. It is a separated people, like Abraham was, that get the blessing.
GVD It is most helpful to see that separation does not involve a void, but we are linked on with something positive. The first feature in (2 Timothy 2:22) is righteousness, which is the meaning of Melchisedec’s name.
JTJr That is good, king of righteousness and king of peace.
AR Would the service of Melchisedec have man in mind?
JTJr Well, he comes in here to give Abraham the sense that he is approved of God. The bread and wine are brought in as heavenly food for our souls; that God is pleased with us as we get the victory over the world and seek the recovery of our brother. We should go to great lengths to recover a brother. It is the mysterious or secret side of the assembly that is in mind. Abraham is approved by God. Melchisedec appears here, but he is not publicly seen again, you might say, until these features come out in David and Solomon.
WFK Abraham is satisfied with the blessing. He does not want anything from the king of Sodom.
JTJr Quite so; nor should we.
APf Is it because Lot is regarded as a righteous man that Abraham expends such energy in his recovery?
JTJr I suppose so. He is a brother, you know, even though he is a worldly man. He had become mixed up in the world and the most of his family was eventually lost in it.
CWM He really gets no moral gain out of his recovery.
JTJr Quite so; he went back there again.
AR Why did Abraham give Melchisedec the tenth of all?
JTJr It would show that Melchisedec was greater. He ministered to Melchisedec, Levi being yet in Abraham’s loins, we are told in Hebrews 7. It is to bring out the greatness of Melchisedec: “consider how great this personage was”. I suppose it would suggest the greatness of Christ as coming into our position at the present time, but He will soon come in publicly in all His glory.
RTM Is it the greatness of the priesthood of Melchisedec?
JTJr It is; the priesthood of Melchisedec is greater than the Aaronic priesthood. There is no question of intercession. It is a question of blessing entirely, the greatness of God’s blessing to man.
DP Does the priesthood of Melchisedec relate to God’s purpose?
JTJr I think it does. Psalm 110:4 says, “Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec”. The public vindication of Christ is soon to come in. His glory will be seen on the earth and all shall acknowledge Him.
APT In Hebrews 7 it says he was “assimilated to the Son of God”.
JTJr I suppose that would mean that Melchisedec himself was not so great as Christ. He is assimilated to the Son of God. Melchisedec was a mysterious personage. Christ is the One who is in mind.
CAM Whatever God gives, there is a return to Himself. A tenth of all is secured.
JTJr Well, now, when we come to chapter 18, you might say, three divine Persons are seen in relation to Abraham, in the three men who came to his tent. What is before them immediately is the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, but before that takes place they speak to Abraham of Isaac. Abraham is really being instructed in regard to what God has in His mind, and he is able, you might say, to shine in this position.
APT It is interesting to notice the extraordinary place Abraham has in verse 16. It says, “Abraham went with them to conduct them”. Is that not extraordinary?
JTJr Abraham shines in conducting these men. I suppose it suggests the importance of the three persons in Abraham’s mind that he conducts them on their way. And so it says, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?” verse 17. And we, too, want to be in what God is doing.
WFK Does Abraham get an impression of true administration? “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” verse 25. Do we learn from God the way to do things?
JTJr I think we do, and I think that God’s approval and His estimate of Abraham come out here. Abraham was really coming up to God’s thoughts. He says, I know him. Then He speaks of Abraham’s household, which is a very important matter, that they will do righteousness and justice. These are principles of administration, and Abraham is recognised in that light by God.
JAP The word ‘conduct’ is used in 1 Timothy 3:15: “that thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth”. We are to know how to deal with evil.
JTJr Quite so, we need to know how to conduct ourselves. Abraham shines in this chapter; he is coming to God’s thoughts about him.
WFK Is he acting now as a priest? He intercedes for Sodom.
JTJr I think so. God is bringing out of Abraham what is in keeping with His own heart. Abraham is rising up to God’s own thoughts about things.
TEH That is what the Lord would look for in His disciples in John 15. He disclosed to the ‘friends’ what was in His heart.
JTJr A friend is in the secret of things. So it is now a question of what God is doing at the present [p. 299] time. He would not hide it from us. He would tell us about it.
APT He is called a friend of God (2 Chronicles 20: 7). The footnote there indicates that it really might be rendered, ‘who loved thee’.
JTJr Abraham shines here that we might take pattern from him. Jehovah says that he will command his house after him. The word is: “I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice”. It is not what Abraham is saying; it is what God is saying.
JS Would you regard him as a believer, fully established, at the plains of Mamre?
JTJr He brings out what the heart of God is. He says, “Far be it from thee to do so, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked — far be it from thee!” verse 25. He is bringing out God’s own thoughts.
AR In verse 22 he remained yet standing before Jehovah.
JTJr Abraham knew God and he was bringing out God’s own thoughts about conditions; that God was not going to slay the righteous with the wicked. “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” That is what Abraham is saying; he knows Jehovah as the Judge of all the earth.
RWS Abraham is like God here. It says, “He will command his children ... to do righteousness and justice”. But Abraham says, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” He learned from God what righteousness is.
JTJr Yes; he learned righteousness and judgment from God Himself and that is what is needed in administrative matters. God says, in principle, I will make a great nation out of this man, but he will set out in himself the great principles of that nation.
TEH [p. 300] May we fail, in this characteristic, in our meetings for care? We may let things slip by when they should be taken up, and so we may miss the blessing.
JTJr There was no thought in Abraham’s mind of overlooking the wicked; it was a question of the righteous; that the righteous should not be destroyed.
TNW What was mentioned as to the blessing is brought out in verse 19: “... in order that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham what he hath spoken of him”.
JTJr What is in mind is that God might bring in this great nation of which He has spoken. Now just a word about the judgment of chapter 19: “And Jehovah rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven”, verse 24. It is from Jehovah out of heaven. It is an administrative matter, but a most solemn thing to consider; it is the execution of judgment on wicked persons. Sodom and Gomorrah were utterly destroyed. It points to what God is soon to do in the present order of things.
ABP Would you say that it has a direct bearing on us, in that what we may not allow to go in our baptism, but continue to cling to, may be dealt with in a very serious way?
JTJr So that Lot was here in this city. He was difficultly saved. It points to many who are linked up with this world.
APT It says of Lot’s wife that she looked back. Is that not a dangerous view to take?
JTJr The Lord tells us to remember Lot’s wife. What a solemn word! That is for us — that we may not look back.
AR We hear much about the atomic bomb, but God used fire and brimstone.
JTJr I suppose all that has happened recently only points to what God can do. In a sense God has judged things in these awful wars. He is not oblivious to the [p. 301] wickedness that has been going on. But He is not yet openly entering into judgment in this way.
DP There is a word of comfort in 2 Peter 2:9: “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of trial, and to keep the unjust to the day of judgment”.
TEH In the epistle that treats of the gospel, we have the allusion to heaven and the wrath of God being revealed upon all impiety, and unrighteousness of men holding the truth in unrighteousness. Is that helpful in relation to Sodom and Gomorrah?
JTJr It is not there against persons; it is against things. This type shows the final dealings of God in relation to the world, and so Sodom and Gomorrah are brought up continually in Scripture as examples. They were reduced to ashes and left to witness to the destruction of ungodly men.
ANW Jude says they lie there as an example.