COMMITTALS

D. J. Hutson

Genesis 22: 1–3; 6–8; 2 Kings 2: 1, 2, 4, 6–15;

Ruth 1: 11–19 (to “Bethlehem”—1st ref); 2: 1

Each of these scriptures refers to two persons going on together, and I wanted to speak of them to encourage us as to our committals to the testimony at the present time. We have been speaking of it in the reading and I thought these scriptures might stimulate us as to our committals to the testimony of our Lord.

First of all, we have here in type in Genesis 22 the Father and the Son. Many times we have referred to it. How beautiful was the way in which the Lord Jesus was here Himself as committed to the will of God, to the will of His Father. As coming into the world He said,

“Lo, I come ... to do, O God, thy will”, Hebrews 10: 7. Reference was made in the reading to that supreme test, when the enemy brought all he could to bear upon Him, if it were possible to turn Him aside from the pathway of the will of God, and He could say, “not my will, but thine be done”, Luke 22: 42. In John’s gospel He could speak of the way that He would be left alone, but says, “yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me”, John 16: 32. Wonderful, beautiful communion, unbroken until that time when He took upon Himself that which alone should be for our salvation, to bear our sins in His body on the tree, and be made sin for us.

But until that time what communion was there. How He could say to His Father, “I knew that thou always hearest me”, John 11: 42. How beautiful, always together! It says here, “they went both of them together”. Jesus knew fully what was involved, but the type falls short; Isaac did not know, he had to ask, but the Lord Jesus knew from the outset what that pathway would involve for Him. You might say that the fire and the knife were there all along the way. He could speak too of what He would suffer at the hands of men, and of the way in which He would be delivered up. Think of what it meant for Him as to the course that He was on and the way it would eventuate in such sufferings unfathomable at the cross when He Himself would be the offering for sin.

In John’s gospel, where we have so distinctly the Father and the Son going on together, we have the antitype of the burnt-offering. So I suppose it is significant that it is the burnt-offering that is here in this typical reference to the Father and the Son, we get such beautiful hints of the communion that was there—“My father! ... Here am I, my son”. Think of the beautiful communion that was there, but in the pathway of Jesus there was the most perfect communion that has ever been known on the earth between a man and God. That Man being who He is as to His Person, yet He was here in the reality of manhood according to God in perfect and absolute communion. So that He could say, I know that Thou hearest Me always.

That beautiful chapter, John 17, gives us an insight into what passed between Them, what the objectives were in that holy conversation, and to think that in it you and I were involved, as He could say, “I do not demand for these only, but also for those who believe on me through their word” (John 17: 20). How wonderful it is that they were thinking of many more, thinking of the millions of the redeemed, but thinking of us, in that holy conversation, that holy communion which passed between the Father and the Son. Never could there be a greater committal to the will of God, and for Him in the full knowledge of what that will would involve, than the committal of the Lord Jesus to the pathway of the will of His God and Father.

At the age of twelve, as we have it, “did ye not know that I ought to be occupied in my Father’s business?”, Luke 2: 49. Then when He was beginning to be about thirty years of age, heaven’s delight was expressed in what it had found in Him, “in thee I have found my delight”, Luke 3: 22. Surely in those thirty

years, unknown to us, but treasured up in heaven, there was perfect and absolute communion.

On the holy mount, He received of the Father honour and glory, such a voice, the Father’s voice expressing delight in what He had found in Jesus. Think of those words, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight—hear him”, Matthew 17: 5. The Father had heard Him, so that Jesus could say, “I knew that thou always hearest me”, John 11: 42. What His speaking meant to the Father in that holy communion! And the Father Himself, having found such infinite delight in the communion which He had with Jesus, would commend what He said to us, “hear him”. How wonderful these things are! One feels how little one can say, how little one appreciates this holy intimacy which existed between the Father and the Son, as They went both of them together. What a standard of committal!

We were speaking of it as to ourselves, presenting our bodies a living sacrifice. That is what it was in the case of Jesus. We have the apostle’s reference to, “always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus” (2 Corinthians 4: 10); not only the death of Jesus, but the dying of Jesus. As soon as He entered upon that pathway it was in that sense the dying of Jesus, it was a pathway which led only to death. He went into death “that through death he might annul him who has the might of death, that is, the devil; and might set free all those who through fear of death through the whole of their life were subject to bondage”, Hebrews 2: 14, 15. He speaks not only of Himself being raised again, but He said He would rise again. He rose again the Victor, out of death triumphant, and then was glorified by the Father. How glorious He is, the One who has gone through for us, so that there is a place there for us now, a place there in Him.

I read as to Elisha and Elijah. It is interesting that it does not say they went to Gilgal nor does it say Elisha went with Elijah, but it says Elijah went with Elisha from

Gilgal. It seems almost that Elisha was habitually there at Gilgal. You know what Gilgal means, the cutting off of the flesh, the rolling away of the reproach of Egypt. Elisha was clearly, you might say, typically in the gain of it, and Elijah goes with him. That is, that such an one is one to whom the testimony can be committed. Again, if I may refer to Romans 12,

“be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12: 2). In that sense he was not conformed to this world, he habituated himself to live at Gilgal where the reproach of Egypt was rolled away; the testimony could be committed to such an one. I believe that is suggested for us in that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

Then what was in view at Bethel was what was seen at the very outset of Jacob’s history, the house of God. It is not simply that we should be delivered for our liberty and happiness and joy, but there is an end in view, and the house of God is before us. Paul tells us it is the

“assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth” (1 Timothy 3: 15), and Elisha is committed to that typically. Again, let us remind ourselves that the house of God in that setting is not in ruins. There is the great house of 2 Timothy, and we have to find our way in relation to it for we cannot get out of it. There is all that has come in publicly through the intrusion of the mind of man, but the house of God is “the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth” (1 Timothy 3: 15), and is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit at the present time. We have been reminded also that the body is not broken down; “in the power of one Spirit we have all been baptised into one body”, 1 Corinthians 12: 13. We need to hold to these things. So Elijah and Elisha went down to Bethel.

Then they go on together again to Jericho, representing the complete overthrow of the world system, which stood athwart the people of God entering into the inheritance. They went there for Elisha was to

be in the gain of that. The whole world system has been overthrown through the great victory of our Lord Jesus, for He could say, “the ruler of the world comes, and in me he has nothing”, John 14: 30. He Himself could bind the strong man, and plunder his goods; the world is a system which has been overthrown by Christ. Elisha is to be in the gain of that so that he might have liberty in the house of God.

Then there is more in view for there is the Jordan. The practical application of the Jordan in the teaching is our death with Christ. So that we might find our life livingly and vitally in the house of God, it is needful that we should know what it is to be dead with Christ, and to stand on the other side as risen with Him. In Colossians, we are not taken off the earth. The teaching in Ephesians is that we are raised up together, and made to sit down together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. In Colossians, it speaks of our members which are upon the earth, but to have our mind on the things that are above, not on the things on the, earth, for we are still here. So they go through and together they stand on this ground, typically on Colossian ground. But then Ephesians is in mind, for there is the Man who has gone up, gone up into heaven, indeed, having passed through all the heavens that He might fill all things; now Elisha is to have a touch of this. Jehovah would take up Elijah into the heavens by a whirlwind, and as Elisha sees him go up what he desires is that he should have a double portion of his spirit. In one sense it would be the full knowledge of the power of the Holy Spirit, not only the Spirit in us but the Spirit with us, a double portion. He would desire to know this, and in order to know it he must keep his eye on the man that has gone up.

Let us keep our eyes on Jesus, let us view Him there in the glory—“we see Jesus ... crowned with glory and honour”, Hebrews 2: 9. All power would flow from Him where He is there. I believe that is what Elisha experiences as he commits himself, for he is a committed man, he is

committed to the vessel of the testimony. We may speak of Elijah in that way but now it is a question of the man who has gone up, and as he goes up Elisha sees this chariot of fire and horses of fire. It says, “And it came to pass as they went on, and talked, that behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire”. Much has been said of late as to the need for the maintenance of communion, and they were not just speaking but they were talking. I came across a remark of Mr Taylor’s only this past week, where he said. Do we know what it is to talk with Him? He said perhaps in a sleepless night you may just go over things with Him. Would that I knew more of it, but it has put something in me to make me feel that I would like to know more of it, just to go over things with Him. Perhaps we are too anxious to try and get to sleep again.

Beloved Mr Stoney, I think, said, it was better to have a sleepless night in communion than to have a good night’s sleep. Surely it would be, you might say it would be a touch of what it is to be with Christ which is very much better.

Here they are, it says, they “talked”—just the simplicity of communion—and as he talked with him “behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire”. I suppose you young people here, like those of us who are older when we were younger, may have picture books of Bible stories with a picture of Elijah going up to heaven in a chariot with horses of fire. Well, that is not what the Bible says; the horses of fire and the chariot of fire were down here. He went up in a whirlwind, but the power was down here. I believe Elisha was coming into something of the power that we heard of in the reading, the exceeding greatness of His power in which He wrought in the Christ in raising Him from the dead. Elisha came into the gain of it typically in a double portion. He was able to take the mantle, he was able to take on the testimony, and he was able to go through it in power, evidently so, because they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha”.

These are just suggestions of what is possible if we commit ourselves to the vessel of the testimony, which is the assembly. We are not speaking of any person or any body of persons, we are speaking of the assembly, we are speaking of what is here. The body of Christ is here and the Head is in heaven, and the power that took Him there is the power that is here for the testimony. Then you say, Well, of course, things are not quite like that now; they are not, publicly, and yet still there is ground for committal.

Therefore I read in Ruth, where there was an appeal, although things looked as if they had gone to pieces, ‘My husband is dead, your husband is dead’, you might say there is nothing to hope for here. Yet there is this woman, Ruth, who commits herself to the testimony as it was at that time. They were in widowhood, maybe in poverty, and yet seeking after a place where the Lord had visited His people to give them bread. O, thank God there is a place, we can say, without presumption, at the present time, where the Lord has visited His people to give them bread. Thank God for the food there is among the saints at the present time. Thank God Christ has never ceased in His service and devotion to the assembly, nourishing and cherishing it, not only purifying it by the washing of water by the word, but nourishing it, that would be feeding it. He has visited His people to give them bread, and in these last days there is still food available. Naomi was going after it, and Ruth was committing herself, whatever the outward position might be, that she might be identified with one who was seeking the place where the Lord had visited His people to give them bread. She said, “whither thou goest I will go”. That is things are in movement, and that is something we have to be prepared for.

There is what the Lord is saying today, but there may be something more that He would say a little later should He leave us here. What He is saying today may not be the same as what He was saying last year, for things are in movement. The vessel of the testimony is going forward

in view of that great day of glory and display; things are in movement so she says, “whither thou goest I will go”. She is prepared to go forward whatever the testimony may involve for her at any time; even literally and physically it involves different conditions. Think of the times of persecution, the times of the martyrs and the time of the recovery to the truth! Are we prepared for what the Lord may yet do? Are we saying, “whither thou goest I will go”?

Then she says, “where thou lodgest I will lodge”. You get an impression as it says in Numbers, as to the movements of the Ark, that it might stay a day or more or that it might move on, but they kept their eye on the Ark. Let us keep near to the Lord; not only committing ourselves to what is here, but to commit ourselves as having our eye on the Lord as committed to Him, so that whatever the movement may be or whatever the lodging may be, we are prepared for it. Ministry has been given as to the lodging places, and we may be in a lodging place; the Lord may just detain us to hold us in relation to a certain feature of the truth in view of our moving forward again. Then she commits herself further, “thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God”. Do we love the people of God? Do we love those who have been secured at such a price, by the precious blood of Jesus? Maybe they are scattered, but have we love for all the saints? As it says in Ephesians, “the faith in the Lord Jesus which is in you, and the love which ye have towards all the saints”, Ephesians 1: 15.

We cannot have fellowship with them all in the fullest sense, but do we recognise them for what they are as having the Spirit of God, and having been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ?

Then she says, “where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried”. She is prepared to go the whole way in committal in relation to the testimony. She was prepared to go out of sight,

“there will I be buried”, in view of the promotion of the testimony. Then it says,

“when she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking to her.

And they two went until they came to Bethlehem”. What it opens up for us when we think of Bethlehem, when we think of David, and when we think of Jesus. It would bring in some fresh touch of Jesus, some fresh knowledge of Himself.

Then it says, “And Naomi had a relation of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz”. Committal to the testimony, such as it is in a day of ruin as that in which we are, is the way in which we can reach this mighty Man of wealth and come into all the gain of what we have been speaking of in the reading. What a wealth there is in our glorious Head in heaven, and in all that is flowing still from Him where He is, in the power of the Spirit, coming into His body here, the life and power of the body. It is still available, and the way to it, although it may not be like in Elisha’s day, a day of power, but rather a day of outward weakness like the day of Naomi, is still in committal to Christ, and we can still arrive at the same thing as Elisha arrived at. We can know the power that there was that took Christ up, the power that is towards us who believe. So in a sense Ruth arrived at it by a different route, but she arrived at it in committal to the vessel of the testimony in such a day as that in which we are, and she arrived at the mighty man of wealth, and came into the gain of all the substance that was there. Think of all that ensued from it.

We know the history and all that flowed out of it, but it was all through this committal to the testimony as she saw it at that time. May the Lord help us in our committals for His name’s sake.

Address at Dundee
9 March 1996