THE TEMPLE OF GOD - THIRD READING
THE TEMPLE OF GOD - THIRD READING
WJH We have considered the preparation for the construction of the temple of God, which is the great work in which divine Persons are engaged at the present moment. I think we could say that it is a greater work than that of the physical creation, because the physical creation will be dissolved, while what God is doing now remains eternally.
Now, at the point which we have reached this morning, Solomon raises a very important question — “Who is able to build Him a house, seeing the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him?” Nothing of what is created, not even new creation, could contain God in His absolute character. Solomon had a great conception of the glory of God. He says, “Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee” (2 Chronicles 6: 18).
ThD What do we understand by “the heaven of heavens”?
WJH It is the highest point in creation. I have no doubt that there is allusion to the third heaven. It is created, but a spiritual realm, which is not made of physical material. When the apostle went to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12: 2), he did not know where his body was. But this is a created domain, and God cannot be limited to that. It is wonderful to see that Paul was unable to speak about it when he came back down. There is no language known which would enable us to speak about it, it is so great. But God is even greater.
Ques Can we go higher than this sphere?
WJH No, no creature can, but God can. As we noticed yesterday, “Who humbleth himself to look on the heavens” (Psalm 113: 6); it is a notable verse in the book of Psalms. I do not know of another which gives a more profound impression of the greatness of God. “Who humbleth himself to look on the heavens” — He condescends to look upon them. Solomon is conscious of this; he says, “And who am I that I should build him a house?”
M I wonder whether Solomon raises this question to show that there is only one person capable of building the house of Jehovah. Is not that the thought in Revelation 5, where only one is found worthy to open the book?
WJH It is a very similar thought. Christ alone is able to build the house; Christ alone can open the book. I feel that the Lord has helped us in these recent times to see that God cannot be limited to what is created. He whom no eye has seen or is able to see, He is invisible; He is always invisible. In the incarnation, God has made known all that we can know, all that the creature is able to know, whether angels or men. But there is more than that; there must be more, otherwise He would not be God. What we are saying applies to the Person of Jesus, who is God — “...no one knows who the Son is” (Luke 10: 22). Beyond what is known lies the inscrutable. That does not stop Solomon; he builds the house. What has been presented recently as to the Lord’s sonship establishes what is inscrutable in God. Solomon tells again of the purpose of his house. It could not contain God. “And who am I that I should build him a house, except to burn sacrifice before him?” The house is the place to which sacrifices are brought and presented to God. A great number of sacrifices are there.
M The expression used here relates to sacrifices and incense.
WJH There is great variety in the offerings. The Scriptures speak of “the sacrifice of praise”, “a sacrifice of thanksgiving”, of the sweet odour of prayers, of communicating of our substance “for with such sacrifices God is well pleased”. The apostle said to the Philippians that what they had given him was “an odour of sweet savour, an acceptable sacrifice, agreeable to God”. The house of God is where all these sacrifices are received.
M It seems that Solomon did not have sacrifice for sin in view; in relation to the construction of the temple, he sees it as something already accomplished.
WJH That is what the epistle to the Hebrews says (Hebrews 9: 26) — “But now once in the consummation of the ages he has been manifested for the putting away of sin by his sacrifice”. It is done; obviously, it is not forgotten, but it is finished.
In verse 7, Solomon needs a man. The Lord desires to engage men in this great work; we must all apply ourselves to this. The work is done by Solomon but he uses various instruments. It is really the Lord who is building the temple but He is, at present, not personally down here on earth involved in the construction, thus He needs men. This is the purpose of meetings like this; it is a matter of men making progress. When I say men, I am speaking of men and women. These are men in contrast to angels.
PG Why is the plural not used? It says, “And now send me a man”.
WJH I think that he is an example of the kind of man that is needed. Paul is the man needed for the construction; he is the “wise architect”. He needed others to copy him. He says in the epistle to the Corinthians that we must all see how we build and that what we build will be tried by fire. But as architect, Paul is the great builder. I think that he is the one who illustrates this section distinctively.
ThD Hiram’s servants worked with the skilful men who were already with Solomon.
DF Paul was the apostle of the gentiles, while Peter, James and John represented rather the work among the Jews.
WJH Exactly. Clearly, the construction has no national character.
There is no idea in the Scriptures, for example, of a Church of England. There are churches in England, in France, in Germany but, in a scriptural sense, there is no Church of England, of France, or of Germany. Nationality does not enter into the temple of God. Paul was particularly chosen and delivered from all nationality, even more than Peter.
M Hiram was the son of a man of Tyre and a woman of the daughters of Daniel He was delivered from what is national, belonging at the same time to Tyre and to Daniel He would have had as much interest in the one as the other.
Rem The Scriptures consider only the church in its universal aspect and as local churches. There is nothing else.
WJH A national church is a denial of Christianity. A local assembly is according to the model of the whole; otherwise, it is not according to God. The assemblies of Judea and the assembly at Corinth must have been the same in character. If we are subject to the truth, in England, in Australia, in France, the assemblies everywhere will have the same character. What we have to beware of in each locality is what is peculiar to the place. The apostle reminds Titus (Titus 1: 12) that “Cretans are always liars, evil wild beasts, lazy gluttons... for which cause rebuke them severely”. They are put on their guard against what is native to that place. We must be equally vigilant in order to take on the character of the temple of God.
ThD We must beware of what is natural and also of local and national customs.
WJH We must have assembly customs. We must have the Lord’s customs. The Scriptures speak of His custom. The custom which we must have in all local meetings is the Lord’s custom. The apostle says in 1 Corinthians 11, “... we have no such custom, nor the assemblies of God.”
ThD There is danger of having particular customs, which are not those of the assemblies of God.
WJH We must judge them, because they are not of God. We should all be exercised if we find that our customs are not the customs current among the saints. “And now send me a man skilful to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze, and in iron, and in purple and crimson and blue, and experienced in carving”. These are the materials which are going to be principally used in the temple. Solomon needs a man who knows how to work in these materials.
Ques Why is wood not mentioned?
WJH It says in verse 8, “Send me also cedar trees, cypress trees, and sandal-wood trees, out of Lebanon”.
Ques Why is gold mentioned first, while in chapter 1, silver is first?
WJH In the temple, gold clearly has the highest prominence. On our side, silver must be first, that is, that we must be redeemed before God can do what He has in mind for us. But from His side, with His house in prospect, gold is the prime material. I do not think that we can have any idea of the quantity of gold that we would have seen in the temple. This man knows how to work in gold; Paul knew how to work in gold. Gold is divine love. The great glory of God is His love. Paul works at that in Corinth; he speaks about the love of God, the love of Christ and his own love. Even if he should be less loved, he would love them even more (2 Corinthians 12: 15). He says to the Ephesians (Ephesians 3: 19), “to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge”. All Paul’s work was in order to manifest it and to clothe the saints in it.
I I suppose that this should be seen in the assembly and it is for us to be able to discern it.
WJH If there are fifty brethren, there is a little gold in each one of them. We are not Christians if we do not love God, if we do not love Christ, if we do not love one another — that is what gold represents. The gold is there, but who is going to work in gold, who is going to use it and to bring it out of the hearts of the brethren so that it should be at the disposal of the temple? In every local assembly, we need men to do this. It is the greatest glory, the most valuable part of the temple — the gold. If there is no love, there is nothing. I can have “the tongues of men and of angels”, but if I “have not love, I am nothing”.
SP We are exhorted, in Hebrews 10: 24, to “consider one another for provoking to love and good works”.
WJH Chapter 13 of the first epistle to the Corinthians has in view that the gold should be brought to light and to show what it is. How much gold have I obtained? It has been said that if the chapter were to be read while putting my name into it, I would soon stop reading. This chapter is a description of what gold is. How much of it do I possess? How much does each one of us possess? We possess a little and this skilful man will use the little which we have. We know that the brethren love God, they love Christ, they love one another. It may be that this love is often hidden but we know that it is there. Paul brought it into evidence.
DF It is the most precious feature of an assembly since gold is the metal of highest value.
WJH It is the highest standard in the world today. Silver has a lower currency than gold. Paper currency has little value. Gold is what is most precious; that is the idea.
LD The boards were overlaid with gold (Exodus 36: 34).
WJH They are covered with gold; what you see is love. But this man must also work well in silver. Thus every true Christian must pay a half shekel of silver in order to be numbered. If he does not have it, he is not numbered. We must refuse to recognise as Christian anyone in whom the silver is not seen.
Rem In other words, we do not recognise as Christian anyone who does not enjoy redemption.
WJH One who does not acknowledge it. A man who has silver acknowledges that Jesus is his Lord. We all recognise that Jesus is Lord. I hope that all here, even the children, confess Jesus as Lord. That is what silver is and we must work in silver, in order to make something with it for the temple.
LD The half shekel would be the proof that I am redeemed.
WJH The blood is the divine side. We are redeemed by the precious blood of Christ but the half shekel is my side. I bring it in recognition that I have been bought. The blood and the silver both speak of redemption. One is what God has paid; the other is what I pay and without silver I am not numbered.
Rem God has paid the price of redemption but the half shekel indicates that I recognise that I have been bought, that God has rights over me.
WJH Paul worked in silver at Corinth. He speaks of those who “call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1: 2). He says, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus Lord” (2 Corinthians 4: 5). He speaks of the Lord’s supper, the Lord’s table, the cup of the Lord, the body of the Lord, the death of the Lord. He works in silver in order to help us to give evidence of the silver, that is, that we belong to the Lord.
Ques Would you say something about the other metals?
WJH He must also be capable of work in bronze if he is going to be able to build. All the saints have a little bronze in them. I do not think that one could be converted without having a little bronze. Bronze typifies God’s judgement of sin. It may be that we do not have much of it but we do have a little. It is what repentance produces. Luke 15 speaks of a “repenting sinner”, not a sinner who repented some twenty-five years ago. Are you a repenting sinner? Paul was one such. He hated sin more as an old man than when he was outside Damascus. Do we continue to hate what marked us previously, before our conversion? Do we continue to judge it and to judge it more and more? “And these things”, says the apostle to the Corinthians, “were some of you” (1 Corinthians 6: 11). That is where he built the temple.
M You could not have the temple without all these things.
WJH Yes, these are the things which enter into its construction.
JM Paul says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first”, and not, of whom I was the first (1 Timothy 1: 15).
WJH He says, “I excessively persecuted the assembly of God” (Galatians 1: 13). He feels it more as he approaches the end of his course than he felt it at the beginning. There is “joy in heaven for one repenting sinner” (Luke 15: 7). That is the bronze. Paul was working in bronze. How useful that is for the temple, the maintenance in our souls of a holy judgement of sin! It is very good for the temple, for the temple is holy. There are Christians who would like to have everything that is of gold but who do not want the bronze and who say, “Why should we judge such and such? Let us love one another and that will do”. However, there can be no temple of God without the bronze. In Ezra 8: 27, it speaks of shining copper as “precious as gold”.
PN When the Lord was on the cross, the heavens were as brass.
WJH “And thou art holy” (Psalm 22: 3); that is the bronze. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The heavens were closed.
ThD Practically, we begin with self-judgment; that is the bronze. We continue by confessing the Lord; that is the silver. Then divine love covers everything; that is the gold.
WJH Yes. Here we have the divine side but it is different when we approach. “God... enjoins men that they shall all everywhere repent” (Acts 17: 30); that is the first thing. Then I confess Jesus as Lord. Consequently, “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Romans 5: 5).
The skilful man must also be able to work in iron. Iron, in Scripture, is a metal which represents strength. Neither gold, silver nor bronze carry the thought of strength. The Corinthians did not have much iron but Paul did. Read chapter 12 of the second epistle and see what had to be gone through; you will find there what is iron according to God.
M “And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails” (1 Chronicles 22: 3).
WJH A division was beginning at Corinth but Paul brought all together by means of iron. He lists the sufferings which he endured to introduce the element of strength and to curb the disintegration which was beginning to develop.
PN Can we say that John is taking account of the iron when he addresses the young men, saying, “I have written to you young men, because ye are strong” (1 John 2: 14)?
WJH Paul also alludes to iron — he says, “What will ye? that I come to you with a rod?” (1 Corinthians 4: 21). The Lord leads the flock with a rod. He does not wish to use it; however, He has it.
Rem The apostle is slow to draw attention to his own sufferings.
LD He would not wish to use iron; nevertheless, the iron is there.
WJH The nails are hidden, but they are there. He would not have wished to use the rod and he does not use it in his approach to them. But there is iron in the temple. The skilful man knows how to work in iron. We must all recognise that there is iron in the temple of God and God is watchful as to what remains there. It is possible that we might slip out of the temple, if we do not judge ourselves, but the temple of God remains in spite of everything.
DF Iron would represent firmness and faithfulness as to the truth at all times.
W.J.H. Nails hold things together. If divine principles are given up, things come apart but if they are kept, everything holds together.
Purple has a great place in the Scriptures. It is the royal colour. The republics have given up purple. Brethren need to pay attention to this because what is national down here is the rejection of the purple. There is purple in the temple.
M Does it mean recognition of the king?
WJH It means first of all the recognition of the King of kings, who is Himself dressed in purple. But then, all kings also have purple. In Revelation 19 He is called “King of kings”. The subjects of the King, the Lord, are also themselves kings — “Thou hast... made them to our God kings and priests” (Revelation 5: 10). Every believer is formed to be a king — he is being formed as a king. What He has in view for us is that we should wear purple. Do we wear purple?
PN Do we find the thought of royalty linked with priesthood in the expression used by Peter in his first epistle — “a kingly priesthood”
WJH It is what is presented in Revelation 5. The fact that we have the purple is the proof that we are ready to suffer for the Lord until He come. Paul speaks about it to Timothy in these terms — “if we endure, we shall also reign together” (2 Timothy 2: 12). All those who suffer for Christ and for the truth wear purple. I feel that we must speak about it very humbly, because we know practically that we have little purple. However, Paul worked in purple at Corinth; he himself had much of it. He says that he is going to reign, but then again, “I would that ye reigned, that we also might reign with you” (1 Corinthians 4: 8).
ThD He reproached them for reigning too early.
WJH It is remarkable that Christianity penetrated into Europe in relation to a woman who was a seller of purple. We cannot come into the assembly if we sell this world’s purple. She needed another purple and she is ready to suffer for this purple.
ThD The Corinthians did not possess the true purple when they wanted to reign.
WJH But Paul had it and he works in purple to help them to obtain it.
JM Does the “reproach of the Christ”
convey the idea of the purple?
WJH That is how it manifests itself now. What is in reproach down here is glorious according to God. Peter says, “If ye are reproached in the name of Christ, blessed are ye; for the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4: 14). No one should suffer as an evildoer; that is not the purple. “But if as a christian... glorify God in this name.”
ThD The soldiers put a robe of purple on the Lord (John 19: 2).
WJH They did it in mockery, but it was very true that He was king. The dying malefactor saw the purple when he said, “...when thou comest in thy kingdom” (Luke 23: 42). He desired to be in His kingdom, in the kingdom of Him who was suffering at that time. Never was seen so much purple as at the cross.
ThD The soldiers clothed Him in purple and Pilate wrote that He was “King of the Jews”.
WJH “...to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before should come to pass” (Acts 4: 28), for He was the king and purple was His colour. We have to know how to work in purple for the temple. I am sure that the element of purple,
which is found in this region, has emerged through our brethren who suffered at the times of the Huguenots. I have no doubt that the seed of what is of God in these mountains comes from the sufferings of our brethren and we wish to maintain the purple.
He must know how to work in crimson. Red is a beautiful colour which has a great place in Scripture. Its first mention is in the name of Adam, which means red earth; not simply earth, but red earth. God has great thoughts regarding man. As to his body, he is a very humble being, far short of being as great as an angel. However, God had great thoughts for man. “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1: 26) — that is the red. It is a conspicuous colour; red is not hidden. This man must work in crimson.
M Different words are used in referring to this colour — red, crimson, scarlet.
WJH These are different shades of the same colour. The idea is the same but the intensity varies.
LD Do we have the thought in the epistle to the Corinthians — “Do ye not recognise yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you”? (2 Corinthians 13: 5).
WJH What emerges from all the colours is that Jesus Christ is marked by them all. The veil is of blue, purple and scarlet — that is, in His flesh here. The Lord did not seek popularity but He could not be hidden. In Mark 7: 24, it says, “He could not be hid”. Wherever Jesus is seen, you see the red; He is distinct.
I When Adam hid among the trees in the garden, do you think that he was seeking to hide the red?
WJH He had lost the sense of what the red means, the sense of true greatness according to God. So he took fig leaves and covered himself with them. It is what women in the world do; they try to appear great by their dress. Peter would say to such to get other ornaments, “a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price”, “the hidden man of the heart” (1 Peter 3: 4). Such is Jesus; He is hidden, but you cannot hide Him. That is the idea conveyed by the red.
PN If we are in accord with Christ, do we correspond to what is red?
WJH You are alluding to the red heifer and to the rams’ skins dyed red. That is the red which we need. The false woman in the book of Revelation is clothed in scarlet but there is nothing in her of the red heifer. The red heifer is love, which suffers zealously. It can go even into the fire and be burned, providing the ashes of purification so that the people can be cleansed. The rams’ skins dyed red relate to the devotion of Christ even unto death. This is that in which the apostle sought to work in Corinth, in order to produce this element in the saints. The crimson is seen in them as devotion and suffering love.
JP Would you say a few words on verse 18 of the first chapter of Isaiah — “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow”.
WJH This colour is referred to because such are our sins. Who will be able to hide them? We might be able to hide them from the eyes of others but who will hide them in the presence of God?
M This Scripture shows that there is a way of removing them, of making them disappear, however glaring they may be.
WJH “To him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in his blood” (Revelation 1: 5) — that is God’s way.
The skilful man works in blue. It is the colour of the sky. Wherever you see blue, you think of heaven. When you consider Jesus, you always think of heaven. The blue was seen primarily in Him. Blue, purple and scarlet were in the veil. In whatever situation Christ is seen, blue is evident everywhere. “Jehovah, bow thy heavens, and come down” (Psalm 144: 5). God bowed the heavens down as far as here below with Jesus at the centre. This blue must be found in the temple. The skilful man must work in blue, manifesting heavenly features in the saints. If you consider Stephen, you really see heaven. You see the purple, the scarlet and the blue. If there was ever a king here below among the saints, it was Stephen. If there was someone outstanding under the eye of God, it was Stephen. If the character of heaven was seen in man, it was in Stephen. That must all enter into the temple, because it belongs to the temple of God.
We might perhaps refer to engraving (or sculpture). This man had to know how to engrave. What is engraved has a most important place in the temple. A deep and permanent impression is left in an article made of wood. Think of what is engraved on the saints and which will never be erased. Three things in particular were engraved on wood — these were the cherubim, palm trees and half-open flowers (1 Kings 6: 32). There was no need to engrave these things on the Lord as man. Everything was found in Him; but they must be engraved on us. How wonderful to behold a man having the cherubim engraved on Him. Paul went to Corinth with the cherubim, the palm trees and the half-open flowers engraved on him.
M. What does that mean?
WJH Everywhere around them, the cherubim protect God’s interests. They will admit nothing erroneous. The palm trees represent victory — “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in the Christ” (2 Corinthians 2: 14). The half-open flowers represent beauty. Paul does not try to express beauty; the beauty is in him. Beauty is added by the flowers being half-open; it is a flower’s most beautiful stage. This engraving is a magnificent divine thought, what is established in permanent fashion in the saints. It is included in the wonderful greatness of the work of God. “The house... shall be great and wonderful”.