SPIRITUAL PROPORTION IN THE SERVICE OF GOD
[p. 34] SPIRITUAL PROPORTION IN THE SERVICE OF GOD
Numbers 15:1 - 21; Numbers 15:37 - 41
I had in mind to speak about balance and proportion in the saints, especially in their part in the sanctuary, but also in their general relations. God is the God of measure, we are told, a remarkable thing! He is said to be the God of things as He is the God of persons. This thought of measure is to be reflected in His people; it is to be according to the sanctuary, as we learn in types, it is never left to ourselves. Otherwise we shall be measuring ourselves with ourselves, and prove ourselves foolish. God has His measure for man, He has set it out in Christ. There is that which is measurable in Christ, and there is that which is immeasurable. We are to arrive in the unity of the faith at the knowledge of the Son of God, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ. There is that therefore which is within our range, which is a clear link with that which is beyond our range — that which is immeasurable, that which is infinite in Christ. In speaking of His Person, He asserts His unknowableness to all save the Father. That is to keep us within our limits, and yet to remind us of what is unlimited in Him, quite beyond the creature’s range, but known to the Father.
We have therefore to be concerned about measure as set out in Christ, and which will appear in the heavenly city. The city is very large, but measurable, it is finite; it is not square measure, but cubic or solid measure. It is a substantial product of the handiwork of God, to be only understood spiritually. It would be folly to make it literal in the sense of what is material, but it is nevertheless a great substantial thought into which each one of us is to fit [p. 35] according to the God of measure; that is to be reflected now — each is to know his place and fit into it. The great lesson of time is to fit in according to divine thoughts. This is the work of the “stone squarer”, who has to be concerned about measure. That element is active in the power of the Spirit.
What I have been remarking fits into this chapter, which it will be observed comes between those chapters which speak of the most disastrous outbreaks of the flesh in the people of God. When these things happen, God comes in with His quieting, confirmatory thoughts of measurement. Although such sorrows are to be felt and owned by the saints, God’s thoughts are not at all disturbed by them; nor are His measurements disturbed. The enemy in times of difficulty such as we have depicted in chapters 11 - 14 of this book finds an area of operations to bring in disturbances and discouragements, but God would interpose His thoughts in one way and another by ministry, to quieten the saints, assuring them that the foundation of God stands — it cannot be overthrown. This quietens and forms us.
What formation went on in Caleb and Joshua, for instance! They are outstanding men, but we are not to be limited to such in the great congregation of God. According to His own word at Sinai, there were thousands who loved Him, not merely who should love Him, but who did. Every one of them would be formed; their formation would proceed in the face of the enemy and of the conflict. God can build in the midst of a storm; His building goes on. So in this chapter, which, as I said, comes between great disturbances, He would calm us; He reminds us that He has His measurements, and the greatest hurricane cannot alter them or upset them.
One finds in chapter 11 that even Moses was drawn into the discontent, but he soon righted himself by the grace of God. Then Miriam and Aaron, the other [p. 36] two great vessels sent by God to lead Israel, were drawn into the whirlpool, so there is not flattery for any of us in these chapters. You may say chapter 10 reads well, for Israel did everything they were told to do; they moved and encamped according to the command of the Lord. God saw to that, He teaches the believer to walk, and whilst the teaching goes on, the walking goes on. He took them by the hand, but when He let the hand go, they turned to complaint and rebellion. The great manifestation of the will of the flesh in chapter 11 is complaint. First it was nothing specific, but they complained, and God was displeased. You may say, Why did He release His hold on them? Well, He would bring out what is in our hearts, a very solemn thing. I may be doing well since I was converted, but there is something in me which is essentially against God which I have not discerned and it has to be dealt with, and it must be manifested to be dealt with. The judgment of God fell on those who were in the extremity of the camp, showing that He discriminates in His dealings, but later all Israel wept and complained Numbers 11:4. Tears and feelings of that kind are utterly valueless in the sight of God! The weeping shows how deep the spirit of complaint was amongst them. It represents an unjudged condition, and even Moses was affected, he really calls in question the accuracy of divine measurement, he assumed that God had put too much upon him. I mention this to show how the spirit of complaint spreads abroad. Moses recovered himself quickly, his beautiful spirit comes to light when Joshua says to him, “My lord Moses, forbid them!” Numbers 11:28. When the men prophesied in the camp, Joshua was a party man for the moment — how easily we may drop into that! “Would God”, says the great servant, “that all the Lord’s people were prophets”. Numbers 11:29. He was not affected by jealousy, he was thinking of the saints.
The spirit of complaint is further seen in Miriam [p. 37] and Aaron. Miriam is mentioned first, but they both complained against Moses. The Spirit of God tells us what kind of man Moses was; he was very meek, “above all men that were upon the face of the earth”. Numbers 12:3. What a tribute to a man! And yet he is the object of complaint which shows us what our hearts are. God had used Moses above all others, none knew that better than Miriam and Aaron. They knew him from his beginnings, and they knew of the great change that had come over him when he took his place amongst the saints of God. What a sacrifice he had made! What a man he was! He had renounced the greatest prospects in this world to suffer affliction with the people of God. They knew all that, and much more; times without number they had heard his voice as the voice of God. Indeed, he had been made “for God” to Aaron; so that Aaron must have known him in that peculiar capacity as a man of great weight and authority, and so did Miriam. They were both capable, too, of discerning through whom God was working, for they themselves were vessels in His service. They knew what it was to be actuated by the Spirit of God, and hence all the more serious was their attack on Moses.
So Jehovah says, “Come out ye three unto the tent of meeting”. Numbers 1:4 And later, “Why then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?” Numbers 12:8. He spoke suddenly, it was a most serious matter. The result was that “Miriam was leprous as snow”. Numbers 12:10. Typically, the complaint was against Christ; that is chapter 12.
Then there is the great uprising recorded in chapters 13 and 14, which is complaint against the heavenly land. This was the more serious because the twelve spies give a good report of the land, that it was good, “a land which floweth with milk and honey”. Numbers 13:27. But ten of the spies proceeded to speak in unbelief of the strength of the inhabitants, and the complaint [p. 38] becomes worse. Then Caleb stilled the people, saying, “Let us go up boldly and possess it, for we are well able to do it”. Numbers 13:30. As he and Joshua spoke in this noble strain the opposition became intense, and they became the objects of murderous intent on the part of the people. This shows what we are capable of; the spirit of murder may arise on the part of the people of God; hence the importance of judging the flesh radically at the beginning. God proposes to destroy the people and make a nation of Moses. If He brings out the evil, He loves to bring out the good that He has put in our hearts so we see God honours Moses by bringing out the good that was in his heart. Moses’ prayer is beautiful and God heard him and says, “I have pardoned according to thy word”. Numbers 14:20. God asserts, I will do it on My own terms. But terrible judgment fell immediately on the ten spies, and later the rest of those “numbered” fell in the wilderness. It is most sorrowful.
Still God says, “When ye come into the land”. He comes in, as it were, in the midst of the storm of self-will on man’s part and says, “When ye come into the land of your dwellings, which I give unto you”, chapter 15:2. It does not say a word about their despising it here; in truth there were those who loved Him, and He thought of them. There will be none in heaven who do not love God. Abstractly, His people are characteristically those who love Him, and there is no question about their coming into the land.
In the first section of our chapter we get the thought of bringing a lamb, or a ram, or a bullock “to make a sweet odour to Jehovah”. Whichever I bring, I must remember to bring the proportionate amount of flour and oil mingled with it, and of wine. The measurements are very exact. God would have us in the land that He has given to us, He would have us in nearness to Himself, and if we love Him we shall desire to be in nearness to Him, we shall be thinking of Him all [p. 39] the time. The world was made by Christ, but they put Him on the cross. He is an outcast from this world but chosen of God and precious, and exalted in heaven. Through the redemption which He accomplished God has those here who are thinking of Him and who offer spiritual sacrifices to Him; that is the import of this scripture. He assumes that in this chapter in saying, “and will make an offering”. Every lover of God offers to Him. How great it is to be among the lovers of God! The lovers of God as in His land will always worship Him, they will have something to offer. They will think of the sensibilities of God — for that is how God speaks of Himself — of His “nostrils”. People complain of great numbers coming together, but if they are lovers of God, how wonderful! The more the better! But our worship has to be properly proportioned. Saul the son of Kish was a fine-looking man, “he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward”, 1 Samuel 10:23 but what we want is from the shoulders down, we want the affections brought in. I am afraid our meetings are often largely from the shoulders up, whereas Scripture would bring in the range of the affections. In the description of the bride in Canticles, the whole person is described as beautiful; and in that book the whole Person of Christ is in perfect proportion, and that is what the Spirit of God is aiming at in the chapter before us, that there should be proper proportions.
So, when a lamb was brought, small but precious typically, a tenth part of fine flour was required; that speaks of the humanity of Christ, but reflected in each of us; it will be there when I give my note of thanks to God, I give out a hymn and God is pleased with me, as I am in accord with it. The flour is in right proportion. God is looking at me when I am sitting quietly as well as when I am participating audibly in His service.
[p. 40] Then, another offers a ram. The offerer is mature. He may have children in the faith, for a ram is a progenitive idea; but he is not a man who pushes with his horns — he has more flour than the man who brought the lamb — more flour and more oil and more wine. God is pleased with him as proportionate spiritually to the formal offering he has made.
Then another man offers a bullock; that is a large offering, but it has also a sweet savour to Jehovah. It may be a burnt-offering, or a sacrifice for the performance of a vow. The latter means that I have ability to make resolutions and keep them. You may addict yourself, commit yourself definitely, to God’s service. This is morally very great and acceptable to God. Offering thus, one is like Christ in His unqualified committal to the will of God, saying, “Lo, I come ... to do, O God, thy will”. Hebrews 10:9. This offerer is on those lines. He has the peace-offering in mind, too, in the bullock, he is “a son of peace”, Luke 10:6 one who promotes holy, happy conditions among the saints, conditions in which God can have part. This offerer was required, as in the other two cases, to bring proportionate quantities of flour, oil, and wine (verse 9).
These instructions apply to every person, stranger or otherwise. God will have regularity in His land. If there be any divergence from regularity He is displeased with it, and that is not all, He has His own way of dealing with it eventually.
A further thought follows, that of a cake (verses 17 - 21). “Of the first of your dough ye shall give to Jehovah a heave-offering”. This points to spiritual exercise. If I want a cake I must have dough; the wheat must be threshed and ground into flour, and the flour kneaded into dough — it is a process. But I have a whole thought in my mind. This implies the assembly. God had the assembly in His mind when He sent His beloved Son into this world, and now He looks for the corresponding thought from us. “We, being many, are one loaf, one body”; 1 Corinthians 10:17.
“[p. 41] in the power of one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body”. 1 Corinthians 12:13. We are to steadily maintain these great facts in our souls, otherwise we cannot be “in assembly” according to God. All the saints are in view, I am but one of them. Can I be intelligently and consciously part of the whole? That is the assembly; I have that in mind in the process of sowing, reaping, threshing, milling, and kneading so as to have a cake. God always has the whole thought in view, and He loves to see it come out in the saints. It is brought to God as a cake, but He says, “Of the first of your dough ye shall give to Jehovah”. It is a heave-offering. How God works to have these great thoughts brought in and maintained in the midst of the storm of self-will and opposition to Him that is current today! The worst outbreak of sin in this book is seen in chapter 16.
The closing verses of chapter 15, which are the top stone, present the heavenly side of the truth. Although Israel had despised the land of promise, and although those who did so fell in the wilderness, Canaan was still in prospect and would be entered into by those for whom it was prepared. No true lover of God — represented in Caleb and Joshua — has any other thought than that, and we are not to stop short. Hebrews says, “we which have believed do enter into rest”: we are to labour to do so; Hebrews 4:3,11. Viewed thus heaven is to be reflected in us. Hence Israel was commanded to “make them tassels on the corners of their garments”; and to “attach to the tassel of the corners a lace of blue”. Garments spiritually correspond with external circumstances or surroundings. Hence “corners” would refer to turns or changes from one position to another. In the assembly we are in heavenly circumstances, but we are not there always; we turn and go back to our houses, and there is a tassel on the turn or corner. I am in different surroundings when I leave the assembly and [p. 42] go back to my house. The conditions are different, and in turning to them I do not forget to have the tassel and the lace of blue on the corner. It is a reminder of the need of constant obedience to the commandments of God. It is a piece of fine work, it is a lace on the tassel. It shows that there is nothing spiritually coarse about me; I have been using fine language in the assembly, now all my language must be in keeping with that, and all my ways must also be in keeping with that. Then I come out from my house to go to business on Monday, that is another corner, but the tassel is there and the lace of blue is there. I am not different morally in my business from what I am in the assembly. There is nothing more practical than christianity; it is from heaven, and is superior, at every turn, over circumstances. The lace of blue is heavenly, the tassel no doubt implies strength. Both would be ornamental in a heavenly sense. As I said before, it is the divine thought interposed to keep us heavenly, whatever the storms may be, however serious the outbreaks of the flesh. What triumph!