THE TEMPLE OF GOD - SEVENTH READING
THE TEMPLE OF GOD - SEVENTH READING
WJH I recall the words of the psalmist, to which there was reference last evening — “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand” (Psalm 84: 10). He said, “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Jehovah” (verse 2), such was his appreciation of these courts. We have considered a little the altar and the sea. This morning, I thought we might consider the ten lavers, the ten lamps and the ten tables; then we might look at where these articles of bronze were made. They are so numerous that their weight is not known. I think that, even in eternity, we will never know the weight; it says that “the weight of the bronze was not ascertained” (verse 18).
Rem I suppose that we often feel the need of these ten lavers.
M The sea was for the washing of the priests and the lavers for the washing of the offerings.
WJH The sea was for the persons, for the priests, so that they might wash in it. Its capacity was three thousand baths; the sea was great, for we all have to be washed. On the other hand, most of us find that when we bring an offering we must wash it, because every offering which we bring needs to be washed.
M Would you develop that a little?
WJH Do you never find impure motives in your heart, when you stand up to pray or to give thanks? It is important to wash your offering. When a brother puts something into the collection, whether it be little or much, he generally has to wash his gift. When a sister devotes herself at home to the service of the Lord, I am sure that she acknowledges that this service has to be washed. As long as we are down here, the flesh is in us and, if an offering is not cleared of carnal elements, it is not pure.
M How is this purification carried out?
WJH I think that what puts an end to this order of things is some soul contact with the death of Christ. John says that in His death, he came “by water and blood”. The blood is for remission but the water is for purification. There is a wonderful power of purification in the death of Christ, as wonderful as the power of forgiveness.
LPN If we had a sufficient appreciation of Christ, we would offer joyfully, with a perfect heart.
WJH And with purity. It speaks in 1 Peter 1: 22 of love “out of a pure heart”. God knows that we need to have these ten lavers while we are down here in this scene of responsibility. We must have all ten of them.
AB Why are there ten of them?
WJH Because we are still on the earth; it is the place of our responsibilities. There are no lavers in heaven, because there is no defilement there. There are no lavers in chapter 5 of Revelation; the service of God proceeds without lavers. But down here we need to have the lavers and we must use them.
AB But why the number ten?
WJH In the Scriptures, ten represents human responsibility. We have ten fingers and ten toes. This responsibility is clearly seen in the ten commandments.
AG Speaking of responsibility, can the verse in Philippians be connected with what you are saying — “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2: 12).
WJH That is the idea; only here there is particular reference to that which we bring to God and which requires purification.
PN Would the purification of our souls (1 Peter 1: 22) relate to the sea, and would loving one another out of a pure heart fervently result from use of the lavers?
WJH Brotherly love is not offered to God; what you offer to God is love. Peter speaks of adding love to brotherly love (2 Peter 1: 7). What produces the praises of the saints is love for God and for Christ.
M Do you think that, practically, the priest washes in the sea before the breaking of bread and then, if there is a sacrifice to offer, this sacrifice also has to be washed? It is the continuation of self-judgment.
WJH The epistle to the Hebrews presents the matter thus — “sprinkled as to our hearts from a wicked conscience” (Hebrews 10: 22). This is what is done at the bronze gate. “And washed as to our body with pure water”. This is what is done at the sea. We cannot enter the presence of God, the holy place and the most holy place, without an offering in our hands, an appreciation of Christ in our hearts, we love Him. We have some money to put into the collection and a brother has it in his heart to give a word, but it all needs to be washed, because the flesh is in us. Everything has a trace of the flesh. The lavers would remove this element.
M It is what we are which needs to be purified by the water, so that the sacrifice is pure. The sacrifice in itself is pleasing to God.
WJH The sacrifice is your appreciation of Christ and the love which is in your heart for Christ but, in most hearts, there are all sorts of other things — a brother likes to be heard, to be known as one who gives generously, to be noticed. We know very well that these things are in our hearts and often in our sacrifices. But when we come to the death of Jesus and see the purity in which it is given, we purify ourselves from elements of this kind. That must continue all the time.
Rem “The Christ also loved the assembly, and has delivered himself up for it, in order that he might sanctify it, purifying it by the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5: 25, 26).
WJH That is a very good reference — “purifying it by the washing of water by the word”. Then there is the purification of the sacrifice, which is very important.
M We must be watchful not to discourage persons who wish to bring something but who might fear that it has some impurity. This feeling might cause hesitation to bring what one has.
WJH As seeing the lavers, one will be encouraged rather than discouraged, for God has provided ample means for the purification of our sacrifices. If you look to the right, there are five lavers and, equally to the left, there are five.
PN It is encouraging indeed to think that these lavers make it possible for us to bring something.
WJH We must not keep our offerings. We come with them and we wash them. Why would we not wash them? We never deceive God, even although we may deceive others. We must wash them; God knows and He provides.
Rem This obligation ought never to bring fear into our hearts.
WJH It brings joy. God so appreciates our offerings that He has provided for their washing.
PG It is the same with the breaking of bread. It says, “But let a man prove himself”, not to abstain, but to eat (1 Corinthians 11: 28).
WJH That takes place at the bronze door; it is self-judgment. We are speaking just now about the offerings.
Ques Is there significance in the fact that there are five lavers to the right and five to the left?
WJH Certainly. There is significance in all that God says. Every word in Scripture has great significance. We shall never reach the end of the Scriptures because God has put His breath there. We shall never be able to grasp its full depth. The right seems to me to refer to what is objective; it is a symbol of power. The left is what is weaker; it is the subjective side. We can think in this way of Christ according to what He is before God, apart from ourselves, and in the light of this we worship God, but our understanding must be purified. Then we can think of the work of God in the saints; this is the weaker side. It may be that we find pleasure in the saints and that we would wish to praise God in relation to His work in them but purification is also necessary in this connection. The apostle has the right side in view when he worships God in the epistle to the Ephesians. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ” (Ephesians 1: 3). At that moment he is not thinking even of the saints, he is thinking of the blessing which is found in God. That is the right side, the side of power. Later in the epistle to the Ephesians, he is at the left side, saying, “to him be glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus unto all generations of the age of ages. Amen” (Ephesians 3: 21). He considers the work of God in the saints. Thoughts are purified in the lavers to the right and to the left. As on one side, so on the other, worship is holy, pleasing to God.
I Nothing can be brought to God without its having been purified.
WJH Until we are in heaven, I do not think that there is a single thing that we do which does not need to be purified. But God knows what we are. These ten lavers are there for our use.
AB Can what you are saying be connected with this verse — “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all things to God’s glory” (1 Corinthians 10: 31)?
WJH For that to be true, much purification is needed. One sits down to a meal and has no other thought, in eating, than to do it to the glory of God. Every time you eat, every time you open your mouth, you have the glory of God in view. In all your actions, in all that you do, you have in view the glory of God. We now understand the necessity for the ten lavers, because, naturally, we are so selfish. Selfishness reigns in the human heart. This great sea is to help us as to our bodies and the lavers as to our sacrifices, so that they should be purified according to God. I think that, in the light of this, we can understand the depth of the words of the Lord, when He said to Peter, “Unless I wash thee, thou hast not part with me” (John 13: 8). Peter did not know what was in his own heart but the Lord knew and washed him.
I What distinction do you make between “holiness becometh thy house” (Psalm 93: 5) and the fact of our approach to it?
WJH “Holiness becometh thy house, O Jehovah, for ever”. It is always holy; it could not be otherwise, because it is the house of God. This is what we have to recognise as we approach. It is really the bronze door again. We never enter these courts without passing through this door. Otherwise we are robbers. He who “mounts up elsewhere, he is a thief and a robber” (John 10: 1). In truth, there is no way other than the bronze door, that is, self-judgment. I am sure that we know a little of these exercises, secretly in our souls. No one can serve the Lord without knowing something of these things.
Rem There needs to be a bronze door at the house of God.
WJH “Holiness becometh thy house, O Jehovah, for ever”. There is no allusion to any door in the new heavens and the new earth. Heaven will descend on the earth without doors, because sin will be excluded from it for ever. But in this scene of responsibility, we need to have doors and, particularly at the entrance, we need a bronze door.
“And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to the ordinance respecting them, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand and five on the left.” David’s desire to go into the courts to see the golden candlesticks is understandable, since he had to do with the terrible conditions of darkness of this world. The prominent feature of darkness is hatred. “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3: 15). David was hated without a cause by Saul and by those who were with him, that is, by the first man and by what belongs to him. The first man hated David and David felt it. He desired, if for only one day in the courts, to go into the temple where there are the golden candlesticks, the light of divine love, the light of heaven. We are here together for this reason. All the brethren love the candlesticks. We come to the temple to see the light shining there. We have reading meetings for the candlesticks to make the light of God shine in our hearts. There is always light in the temple; for us it is a matter of being able to go in. The candlesticks are not of bronze but of gold.
M Why does it say that candlesticks were made “according to the ordinance respecting them”.
WJH You are asking an interesting question, since all the candlesticks,
according to the ordinance, highlight the great lamp-stand; their light is on the lamp-stand. That is the ordinance; you find it in the book of Exodus. The candlesticks shine on the lampstand and show it more clearly. The lamp-stand is Christ. All divine light shines on Christ, to make Christ greater to us, more radiant, more glorious. That is the ordinance respecting the candlesticks.
Rem You mean that, in Exodus, there was a great candlestick and the lamps gave their light to this candlestick.
WJH The object of all the light we can have, in readings or otherwise, is to enhance the glory of Christ to us. No brother or sister would ever miss a reading meeting if they understood that, unless, obviously, they were ill, in which case, they would pray. God might make a ray of light as to Christ to shine and, if we should miss it, it might not shine again. A ray of light has shone; tomorrow, there will be another ray.
PN You mean that if we miss one of these meetings, something will be lost for ever.
WJH If, in the temple, a ray of light has shone on Christ and we have missed it, how shall we recover it?
M Christ is the light and the effect of these candlesticks is to show us a little more of His glory.
WJH I remember when I was a child, that our readings were sometimes discussions on difficult points. Thanks be to God that they no longer have this character today, because the Lord has worked over a long period in relation to the temple and the brethren are exercised to be in accord with the temple.
Rem “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5: 14).
WJH First of all, the Lord says, “I am the light of the world”; that is the great lamp-stand. Then, “Ye are the light of the world”, to draw the attention of others more clearly to the great light. These lamps are in the holy place. We have now taken one step further — we have moved from the court into the holy place. The altar, the sea and the lavers are the main utensils of the court.
M In the same way as in the court, with five lavers to the right and five to the left, there are also, in the temple, five candlesticks to the right and five to the left.
WJH The five candlesticks to the right would suggest light according to God and according to Christ personally, light which God has caused to shine especially in these recent years. The five to the left would illuminate the place which belongs to the assembly in her relation to Christ, who is the head of the body, the assembly. The assembly has in view the exaltation of Christ, according as it says, “woman is man’s glory” (1 Corinthians 11: 7). A man who can hold the affections of a woman is greater than a man who is not married. So it says, “woman is man’s glory”. The lamps to the left take nothing away from Christ; rather, they add to His glory.
We might now look at what relates to the tables. “And he made ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right hand and five on the left”. They are “the tables whereon was the shewbread”. The general thought of tables in Scripture is fellowship. Who would not wish to enjoy the fellowship of the saints? It is so much better than any other fellowship. There cannot be two fellowships. That is what the apostle establishes in the tenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, before dealing with the subject of the supper; this is also spoken about in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16. You cannot have fellowship with light and darkness. That cannot be and it has to be remembered. We have either light or darkness; we cannot have both. We cannot have fellowship with Christ and Beliar. Christ is the anointed man in whom there is everything that is precious. Beliar means ‘worthless’. We cannot have fellowship with what is precious and with what is worthless at the same time. We cannot have fellowship with the temple of God and idols. The apostle says, ‘You cannot have both’. Many Christians try to; also, they do not come to these ten tables. Brethren have to pay attention to this and to be watchful. Otherwise, they become angry and leave. There have been those who have tried to do what God says cannot be done. If we try it, we shall soon find ourselves out of fellowship; we shall lose contact with the tables. The desire of each of us is to remain in fellowship until the moment when the temple is on the point of completion. Think of what it would be to go out of fellowship at such a moment.
Rem The exercise would be to keep the unity of the Spirit.
WJH This would, doubtless, be the result. What is essential is to acknowledge what we cannot do. Christendom is full of people who try to do what is divinely impossible — to link light and darkness, the temple of God with idols, and Christ with Beliar. That is impossible. However, it is attempted. Many Christians lose true fellowship; indeed, they have already lost it and we shall lose it too, if we try to combine light and darkness.
M Would you say that one who tries to link Christ and Beliar will lose Christ and gain Beliar?
WJH One will have what is worthless. What will be gained is the idolatry, which is extending its influence over the world with horrifying speed. One will have darkness. The realm of the beast, who is just about to appear, is full of darkness. Not the slightest ray of divine light is there. There are two sets of these tables, five to the right and five to the left. To the right, we have fellowship together according to God and according to Christ. What holy fellowship together is given to us in relation to the greatness of God and to the greatness of Christ! These are the five tables to the right. Then the five to the left represent fellowship together in relation to the work of God in His people — it is really the work of the Spirit, since the subjective side of the truth is the work of the Spirit. The objective side is related to God and Christ. The subjective side, which is also very important, relates to the work of the Spirit in the saints. Many Christians would be content with the five tables to the right; they are not interested in the five at the left. Why should account not be taken of them? I think that many Christians look only to the right, where there are five lavers, five lamps and five tables. Could you imagine that God had made a mistake in putting these sets of five on that side? Is the assembly nothing to Him? It is in the assembly that He will have glory unto all generations of the age of ages.
M Would you say a few words on the shewbread?
WJH The twelve loaves were on the tables, representing the complete thoughts of God as to His people. They were always before God and they are always before those who are in the temple in reality. Paul speaks of “our whole twelve tribes” (Acts 26: 7). In his thoughts, there were never less than twelve. There is no idea of sectarianism in the temple of God. The shewbread provides for that. For us there is “one loaf”, whether at Corinth, at Loriol or at Sydney, “for we all partake of that one loaf” (1 Corinthians 10: 17). In our thoughts, a single loaf is in view, the same loaf on each table. There is no local fellowship. When the apostle says, “The bread which we break” (1 Corinthians 10: 16), it is not ‘we’ at Corinth. When he wrote that, Paul was not at Corinth; he was probably at Rome. It is still the bread which we break.
Ques Do you connect the tables with the breaking of bread?
WJH I connect the tables with the principle of fellowship, set out in 1 Corinthians 10. The idea of the shewbread is introduced more in chapter 11. Fellowship is necessary in order to have the supper. When the Corinthians were divided into sects, the apostle said, ‘That is not the supper’. So, in the tenth chapter, the great subject is “the Lord’s table”, the table signifying fellowship. The disciples were seated at table, when the Lord instituted the supper in holy links of affection.