PROPHETIC MINISTRY BEARING ON SERVANTS AND SERVICE
[p. 35] PROPHETIC MINISTRY BEARING ON SERVANTS AND SERVICE
2 Samuel 7: 14 - 18; 2 Samuel 12:7 - 9; 2 Samuel 12:24, 25; 1 Kings 1: 22 - 37
JT What is in mind is to call attention to prophetic ministry as bearing on the servants of God and on the service of God. We are all servants, but those more particularly in mind are those engaged in the divine service. Prophetic ministry is, of course, part of God’s service, but in Nathan it assumes a Davidic character. According to the record his ministry has David in mind, and eventuates in Solomon, who is indicated in 2 Samuel 7, although not named. This is the first important service of Nathan, and his message has in mind the limitation of David in his service, and the introduction of a son. The result with David was that he went in and sat before Jehovah, so that the service, whilst limiting him, added to him qualitatively. He sat before the Lord, implying that he had gained through the message and moved in the light of the liberty of sonship. Then the next message, or service of Nathan, eventuates in the actual son, Solomon; but, although it dealt with a most grievous crime, David himself increases in spiritual power and becomes a worshipper again through Nathan’s service under God. Then Nathan is employed to give the supreme touch to the event, in that he is said to name Solomon, the son already intimated, Jedidiah, which means that Jehovah loved him, so that we have quality again. Finally, we have, through Nathan’s service, Solomon on the throne. It is clear, therefore, that this prophet’s service, according to the records, is almost entirely engaged with David and Solomon, and the service eventuates in the worship of God in the greatest quality hitherto seen. He writes of David after his [p. 36] death, and he writes of Solomon too, and we are told that he had part in the very ordering of the service of God in conjunction with the king. So that it seems to me that this line of thought in connection with Nathan would elevate our thoughts as to prophetic ministry which God is stressing, how that it reaches high, so to say, and produces spiritual quality amongst those who are serving.
CAC Would you say that it implies conditions that are not quite suitable to God to begin with, but which are adjusted?
JT That is right. Nathan seems to be honoured in that he is dealing with the remarkable effect of the work of God. We may regard David as outstanding as representing the work of God, but he showed himself in these instances as adjustable. The more the work of God has effect in us the more adjustable we shall be. Nathan showed at the outset that he was thoroughly sympathetic with David; he was not a critic or a complainer; David too had confidence in him. If one is seeking to serve the saints as subjects of the work of God, it is a great matter to ensure their confidence. Normally, if one is sent of God he would inspire confidence in the brethren, and I think David clearly had confidence in Nathan, for he told him what was in his heart. In the earlier verses it says, “And it came to pass when the king dwelt in his house, and Jehovah had given him rest round about from all his enemies, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of God dwells under curtains. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for Jehovah is with thee”. He has no criticism to make, he is with the king, evidently having his confidence, and hence, David would all the more readily receive his message. If we have the confidence of the brethren, we shall have power [p. 37] with them.
GCS Would Saul be a contrast? He never seems to have got the gain of Samuel’s ministry.
JT Whereas David never resents any criticism or reproof on the part of his prophets, namely Nathan and Gad; he is always amenable to their rebukes. We shall never get any gain from the ministry meetings, as we rightly call them, unless we, especially those who serve, come in this attitude of soul. That those who would serve them should have their confidence is seen here in Nathan. Evidently he had David’s confidence, and he shows he was worthy of it, for he had no criticism of his thought to build a house, and so David is all the more ready to listen to the message. But what is particularly in mind is to show the exalted results of this ministry of Nathan. It is, I believe, set down in the scripture for this purpose, all else left out but what bears on David and Solomon.
Ques What was the difference between the three seers — Nathan, Gad and Heman? I wondered why the three were mentioned.
JT It seems to me that David must have encouraged the prophetic ministry. Samuel occupied a different position from either of those three, he was never regarded as one of David’s prophets, but we see how David valued him. I think those three allude to the spirit of encouragement which David accorded to the prophets and the liberty with him that he clearly afforded them. The influence of the king was so great that it was of all importance he should be kept right, and so today it is of all importance that those who are serving in a prominent way should be kept right. Their influence is necessarily great. The bearing of such a ministry is qualitative; it results in quality such as is needed in the service of God. Hence the Lord is helping us to steer away from Philistine methods, such as the saints suffered from [p. 38] earlier, and get us on to the Davidic line of things, making for quality in the service of God.
Ques Do you think we should be concerned that the underlying circumstances of such a meeting would warrant the Lord giving a definite word and some definite result for the increase of the service of God?
JT Exactly; that is what I was thinking, and if there is mutual confidence in the prophets the bearing of the message will be to increase spirituality. There is a beautiful confidence between David and Nathan. I suppose his thought was that David was on the right line. His judgment was right that there should be a house, “Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart; for Jehovah is with thee”. There was no doubt about the thought being right, and that Jehovah was with him, for it was a fact that Jehovah was with him. Nathan’s name means a gift, and at a time like this David would value such a man, especially after this message. David would feel himself a greater man after he received Nathan’s message than he was before, for we never read of his going in and sitting before Jehovah before, and we have to attribute it to Nathan’s message. So, Nathan would be more lovable to David henceforth.
JS Would you say that the more the work of God goes on in a man’s soul the more he will appreciate one like Nathan, what God gives, however humbling it may be?
JT And not only so, but a gift, as we were saying. The Lord having gone on high has given gifts to men, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers and the like, but Nathan is more than that. The man, I think, is peculiarly so. Attention is drawn, not only to the gift the man has, but to the man himself. His name means a gift, and he is mentioned here for the first time, so as to express what David’s mind would be, how a man’s service in the ministry is endeared to us and the man himself, because of his [p. 39] manner and ways. He is with you as far as he can go, not on a critical line, but with you as far as he can go. He is with God too, and that is the principal thing. He is available to God, and so we get him here, as it says, “And it came to pass that night that the word of Jehovah came to Nathan”. It would look as if he was a man God could act upon when he was by himself.
Rem So if I am one who serves, I should expect God to speak to me in the ministry meeting, as well as to any.
JT Jehovah spoke to him at night. It would indicate that God would have him by himself. The Lord speaks of how His reins instructed Him in the night seasons. The night seasons should enable us to be available to God to speak to us, not only in the meetings, but alone — in our quiet moments.
GCS The Lord was all day in the temple, but at night on the mountain, in His own sphere with God.
JT That is what is stated: “Jesus went to the mount of Olives”. I suppose if we could have seen the Lord in the night seasons on the mount of Olives we would have been impressed with His attitude. On one occasion He went out to Bethany to spend the night, which would indicate what one finds amongst the brethren, but generally, whilst He was in Jerusalem, His resort was in the mount of Olives; the others went to their own homes.
FWW Why does Nathan trace David’s history back to the time when he was taken from following the sheep?
JT I suppose that would bring home to David what God had done for him. It is well to go over our histories in that way. It says, “I took thee from the pasture-grounds, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people, over Israel; and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have [p. 40] made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth”. It would remind him of what God had done for him.
FWW Would it suggest also a good place to start in the service of God, looking after the sheep?
JT Yes. The facts relative to him in his youth would honour God viewed from that point of view. He had a spiritual ancestry too. Joseph had instructed his five brethren as to what Pharaoh would ask them as to their occupation; they were to say that they were shepherds and their fathers were too, and yet that was a reproach in Egypt. But here it would be to show that God had taken him from such lowly occupation, and, as it says, “made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth”. The Lord had said in regard of the disciples, “I will make you ...”; He took them from their fishing boats, and made them fishers of men.
EEB Does it show in any way how we need to continue in the thought of mercy? This great servant has a sense of what God had done entirely. It was nothing of himself, but what God had made him.
JT That is what we must keep steadily in mind, that whatever one is is what he is made. God loves to make us something too, but He makes us for Himself.
Ques Is your thought that the prophetic ministry would maintain David in that position?
JT It comes in here at a time of needed regulation, which we all need, especially those who serve, even although we may be getting on to the end. A prophetic word conveys to us the mind of God as to us, and the mind of God is to limit me. It was to limit David here, and yet to enlarge him in another sense, for he is perfectly satisfied with the adjustment. He went in and sat before the Lord, the message beautifully couched in grace indicating what a beloved man Nathan was. So it says, “According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David”. It is the kind of thing, what ministry really is. You get a word from the Lord as you wait upon Him for the brethren, and then He is well able to clothe it properly according to His mind. So, in the visit of Moses to the mount, the communications were “after the tenor of these words”, meaning that God had confidence in Moses that he would convey things after the tenor of what Jehovah had said.
Ques So, would it stir up the very best that the work of God is capable of bringing about in the persons to whom it appeals?
JT If God is sending a message to you He has the whole field of service in mind, and as David says, He speaks “for a great while to come”, and the limitations He may impose upon us indicate that He has somebody else in mind to do the work better, for God understands each vessel and has them for a certain purpose. The truth is, the message is to make way for sonship. Solomon is not yet mentioned by name, but as the son; and that shows what God is doing. He is stressing sonship, so that each one of us takes his place restfully before God, instead of being too much aglow with his service and talking about it. As with the disciples, they came back and told the Lord how much they had done, cast out demons and healed the sick, but the Lord said, Do not rejoice in that, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Really, it is sonship being impressed upon us, that each one is greater than his service.
AJG Is that in order that the servant may exemplify what his service is intended to produce?
JT The servant ought to be personally greater. In truth, in the divine mind, he is greater than his service, and sonship is the thought.
[p. 42] Rem Nathan does not resent the word; he is perfectly sympathetic with it.
JT Yes, and he speaks well of him, and gives him a great place, and the Lord said He would establish his kingdom. The thought is that one becomes restful as to the future; matters are all settled, and this message is from God, and is adjusting upon me, limiting my service. God being infinite in wisdom; but He is speaking well of me all the time and showing me as to His will in the future, speaking “for a great while to come”. So we are restful, and nothing can be better than God’s ordering for us; even limitation does not interfere with that.
CAC And He brings in a great thought that had not been in David’s mind, bringing in the thought of the son, and enlargement.
JT That is what I thought. It was really an extension of David, so to speak. It was what would come from him, and it seems as if David’s soul was enlarged by the thought, and it is indicated by the fact that he goes in and sits before the Lord. The mind of God was concerning things to come, greater than He had said before.
Now in the next passage, David is a great sinner, reminding us of what the most prominent is liable to, a very humbling thing. Again, it is Nathan, and, although he is directed by Jehovah, it does not seem as if Jehovah told him to speak the parable. It just says, “And Jehovah sent Nathan to David”, but he spoke the parable himself. It would look as if he would break the matter to David in a gracious way, so that he condemns himself before he knows it. Great ministers are liable to excuse themselves, but David is condemning himself before he knows it. That shows the skill of Nathan. Then we are told in verse 7, “And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man!”, and then it says [p. 43] what Jehovah said.
FWW What is the bearing of this second incident in regard to Nathan?
JT I think it is to bring out what we were saying at the beginning in the way of positive results. After all, what is ministry if there are no results? But it seems as if God is honouring prophetic ministry in a supreme way in showing results in Nathan. It brings about worship in David, and then Nathan is sent to name the son he had already spoken about. David called him Solomon, which was right, but the name given by Nathan is Jedidiah. He is used in it and has part in the actual result. He sent and named him Jedidiah, as if a brother is able to see the most refined result of his service and able to name it. It is what God loves, a result for God.
LDM It is a beautiful touch, “for Jehovah’s sake”.
JT Showing Jehovah’s part in the thing. He has part in these meetings, and we may be sure He will get the best. He knows how to single out what there is for Him, and here it is Jedidiah, what Jehovah loves. Surely every true servant would have that in mind, what Jehovah loves.
AJG Does it show that prophetic ministry will necessarily take account of moral conditions among the people of God, and always has in view the end that God is working for?
JT I think that is right. The Scriptures afford us, even if in an abstract way, what the divine intent is. Ephesians is that; it is generally an abstract view, that we are raised up together and made to sit down together in heavenly places. It is anticipative, but it is the mind of God. It is what He has in mind and what He loves. The epistle begins with what is before Him, that we are to be before Him in love. So the minister has that in mind; he aims high, having in mind something for God.
[p. 44] Ques Does prophetic ministry bring us into the presence of God?
JT That is what we see here supremely. David is brought into the presence of God in each case, and in this particular instance he writes a psalm which must have been extremely pleasing to God. Nathan’s name is brought into it, showing that he is carried on into the result, for the psalm must be for God.
Ques Would David represent the real character of the saints here, as well as being a servant?
JT Quite so. There are excellent qualities in him, as was remarked at the beginning. He stands out as representing the work of God, and I believe this is the explanation of the great place given him, God viewing His work abstractly. Aside from all his terrible failures, the work was there.
Rem So Jedidiah would be the extension of David, David meaning ‘beloved’, and Jedidiah ‘beloved of Jehovah’.
JT So it is the continuation of David really, for it is stressed earlier that he was to be David’s son.
Ques Would you say why the name Jedidiah is not referred to again, but Solomon is?
JT That name is for God, you know, God, I suppose, acting on this name and what it means. Solomon, corresponding with it, pleased God. What Solomon said after the appearance to him in the vision pleased God, showing he was lovable to God. When he prayed too, the house was filled with the glory, showing how delightful he was to God in those circumstances. You may be sure Jedidiah will not fade away; it is God’s part in Solomon really. God said of Jacob that He loved him, but it was at the end (Malachi 1: 3). But here it is clearly a type of Jesus, what God has in Christ as Man; “for Jehovah’s sake”. How that would be in the mind of the Lord Jesus in His [p. 45] life here!
CAC And the thought of God extending to the many sons.
JT Quite so. Then the final word brings out the vigilance of the prophet, still bearing on David and Solomon. He is not occupied with the antichristian element, but with those God is using. Prophecy, of course, deals with men, as we see in 1 Corinthians 14: a man comes in and falls down and judges himself as the effect of prophecy; but Nathan’s service bears on those actively in the service of God, to promote better conditions among the people of God as a whole, to improve God’s inheritance.
AJG Nathan’s first movement in this chapter is towards Bathsheba. Would she represent those cherishing the peculiar light God has given at any moment?
JT Just so. She was, however, a little remiss. You are struck with the apathy that existed at the beginning of this book. Why should it be so in the leading persons? What would have happened? But Nathan goes to Bathsheba, for she had a promise, and it is a good thing to remind people who are apathetic of promise. She was the one to go to, for she was the mother of Solomon.
Ques When David speaks, he speaks in regard to three persons, Nathan, Zadok and Benaiah. Would Nathan represent the prophetic word, Zadok the priestly service, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the power of the Spirit?
JT What was in mind was to bring out how Nathan’s ministry has to do with David. Bathsheba is essential to this matter, because she had the promise. Those three men are brought in, but we are speaking particularly of Nathan. He had to do, first of all, with calling attention to sonship, and then with the son himself coming into the scene, and now with the son on the throne. We are coming to the acme of the matter, for it is a question of sonship being enthroned.
[p. 46] If you can enthrone the idea in the hearts of the brethren, you will secure great results. That is what Nathan is aiming at, and in his actual part in the enthroning of Solomon you see the vigilance that attached to him, going to the right person, the mother of Solomon, who had the promise. Nathan puts the suggestion in her mind in verse 11: “And Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith is king, and David our lord does not know it? And now, come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. Go and get thee in to king David”, and so forth, which she did, and David listened to her. Then Nathan comes in, “And behold, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. And they told the king saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground”. We do not get this before. “And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?”. He gives him the facts, and then the king said, “Call me Bathsheba”. So the order is perfect; it is a question of his promise. She is the mother, and Nathan understands thoroughly how to bring Bathsheba into the matter. The promise was hers; he was her son, but the authority was vested in David, and so Nathan puts it in that way, and the king says, “Call me Bathsheba”, and he fulfils his word to her. “And the king swore, and said, As Jehovah liveth, who has redeemed my soul out of all distress, even as I swore to thee by Jehovah the God of Israel, saying, Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day”. So the matter is settled from David’s point of view, and then the king said, “Call me Zadok the priest, and [p. 47] Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada”. It is now the priest; he is perfectly in keeping with Nathan’s mind; it is the king; it is Solomon; it is the will of God.
Rem It seems as if this enthronement of sonship among the saints depends on prophetic ministry.
JT It is very striking, and illustrates the actual facts of the present time.
CAC It does not merely rebuke what needs to be corrected, but brings in the supreme thought of God.
Rem At one time we were content with reading meetings, but now the prophetic ministry is coming more to the front.
JT That is right, and now we should be concerned as to the quality of the prophetic ministry, what it is aiming at and what the result is to be in me.
Ques What if we did not have a prophetic ministry?
JT There would be no Nathans. That is the thing to look for now, not only a prophet, but a Nathan. What we should aim at is the quality of the prophet himself, not only the word heard in the meeting, but what kind of man it is who gives it.
Ques We read that “Judas and Silas, being themselves also prophets, exhorted the brethren with much discourse, and strengthened them”, Acts 15: 32. Would strengthening the brethren be the result of prophetic ministry being carried on?
JT That was a most critical time.
CAC You would look for something very positive in the ministry on those occasions.
JT It is important, I am sure, that those who are more distinguished in those meetings should make room for the younger men. One has considerable experience, for one moves about so much, but I think the Lord is helping. Indeed, it is in keeping with David and Solomon, that is, the old and the [p. 48] young together. David made Solomon king before he died himself, and he spoke of him as young and tender before God, and in Chronicles it goes on to say that the people made him king the second time. David had made him king, but the people said, We like that young man, and they made him king the second time; he has proved himself. The apostle said to Timothy, “Let no man despise thy youth”, and if the young men are doing that, they will not be despised. And David himself is evidently so pleased with the co-operation of Solomon that he reduces the age of the Levites from twenty-five to twenty, to increase their number. So there is no ban on the younger brethren today, but they must not let their youth be despised, and I think Solomon is an example of that, that the saints like him and accord him a greater place.
Ques Is the cause of possible weakness with us a lack of waiting? One sees the meetings are quickly taken up, whereas we might get a more definite word if there were a little more waiting.
JT I believe another thing to be said is that there is too much preparation before the meetings. The instructions given as to these meetings imply that a revelation is made to one sitting by. Well, I would like to be that one, not simply that I follow on what a brother has said, which is not always acceptable. Something revealed to another sitting by is not what another has been saying, but something distinctive.
FWW Nathan seemed to know the right moment to come in. Do you think that is important in these meetings, if you have got a word, to know the right moment to come in?
JT That is very good, I think a study of Nathan would greatly help us on the high side of prophetic ministry, the skill with which he acts and the results he reaches on each occasion, all bearing [p. 49] on quality.
Rem So Solomon as a young man asks for wisdom.
JT That is why God said He liked what he said and gave him abundantly what he needed. As it says in Chronicles, David made him king, and the people made him king the second time, and then he sat on the throne of Jehovah, showing the progress of the idea, that one occupies the throne of Jehovah.
Ques Do you think that Paul bringing Timothy forward would have in mind the extension of the prophetic operations, so he says in the second epistle; “Remember Jesus Christ raised from among the dead, of the seed of David, according to my glad tidings”?
JT Just so. He must have had peculiar pleasure in Timothy, and yet he was not without his discrepancies. I suppose Paul’s service to him would be very much like that of Nathan. In fact, he tells him in the first epistle, that his gift was through prophecy, an important matter, but confirmed by the laying on of the hands of the elderhood. That is, God puts a man forward through prophecy, and the elderhood, referring to the brethren in responsibility, lay their hands on the young man.
FI Would Nathan represent one who comes forward with a definite exercise as to what he sees in the conditions?
JT He sees the situation, and says, What will happen if I do not do something?
FI You said you would like to sit by and receive a revelation: is there not the side of having that which is the outcome of considerable exercise in regard of conditions?
JT That is quite right: “Each of you has a psalm”, or whatever it may be. It is quite right that we should come with things, not simply something made up. A psalm would be experience, but what [p. 50] follows is that someone receives something by revelation. Revelation is in the meeting, which is a very great and exalted thought, that we are in such a state that there can be such a thing as that in our day.
EEB What would the counsel that Nathan gives Bathsheba to save her life and that of the king, represent? Would that come in in any way in connection with prophetic ministry?
JT It is all the elements that are essential to the movement. She had a right according to the promise, and of course, today that refers to all of us.
GCS The man in 1 Corinthians 14 says that God is amongst you, that is, in the company.
JT How great it is that there is such a thing in our day, that God can make a revelation on the spot. It is available and within our reach.