LITTLE, BUT EXCEEDING WISE
It will be clear, dear brethren, that I shall need help from the Lord and the brethren to speak about wisdom. The writer of the Proverbs says it is the principal thing—wisdom, Prov 4: 7 KJV. He enumerates things we are to get and says, “with all thy getting, get intelligence”. We could not, of course, venture far without referring to Christ who is made unto us wisdom from God. Everything we need, dear brethren, we find in Him. The assembly does not have to go outside of Him for anything. Full sufficiency is in the Head of the assembly and He “has been made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and holiness, and redemption”, 1 Cor 1: 30. What a Head we have; what resources we have; and the wisdom is wisdom from God; it is not “earthly, natural, devilish”, Jas 3: 15. You say, ‘That is a strong word’. That is scripture. It would be folly therefore to attempt to use earthly wisdom. It would make a clear avenue for the enemy to intrude, which he will do quickly if we open the door. I want to show that the assembly, seen as the city, is to be defended. We need good doorkeepers, wise ones, to keep the enemy out. Separation is not only to keep the enemy out, you know, it is to preserve what is precious within. That is why we keep the enemy out, we do not want it spoiled.
So we have read here about four things “little upon the earth” and yet their commendation is that “they are exceeding wise”. This is what is “upon the earth”, that is, what is here in testimony now, not in heaven yet; so it must be some view of what is universal in wisdom and in testimony on the earth. We would love to go on to the next chapter and speak of the assembly in another way, as a woman of worth. That runs along with this, but that is the inside view. It is wonderful to think of a woman of worth. In the absence of her husband, he trusts her. That should come home to us, dear brethren, that we are found faithful in the absence of the Husband. I am not going to speak of that at the moment. I want to speak of these four things little on the earth but exceeding wise.
Now Solomon, evidently, writes this. He was a wise man—the wisest amongst men. There has never been anyone as wise as Solomon. Of course, he is a type of Christ. He was given wisdom; he asked for it. Have you ever asked for wisdom? He got it because he asked for it. We should encourage one another, therefore, to ask for good and greater gifts. The Lord loves to give them. There is a great need among us, dear brethren; there is a great need for evangelists. Why not ask for the gift of the evangelist? Of course, you would not be thinking about the gift, you would be thinking about doing the work of an evangelist, 2 Tim 4: 5. I verily think the answer to our concern as to the enlargement of these little meetings is to get out in the gospel, in order that there may be more for God in His service and praise.
I am thinking now of these four little things on the earth which are exceeding wise. That is what Solomon says, and he had a view of everything; he had tried everything. He was given the facilities to try everything—more than you, dear young brother or sister, will ever get; even the world and its pleasures—he was enabled to try them all. So do not waste your time trying even one of them, because he says it is vexation and as foolish as chasing the wind. Could you think of anything more foolish than chasing the wind? That is what it means. So take the counsel of a wise man. In writing these Proverbs Solomon wrote thirty-one chapters—there is one for every day of the month. Can we be a little bit practical? Get into the habit of reading one of those chapters every day of your life, especially you younger brethren. Get the teaching of the book of Proverbs into you morally, it will protect you and, more than that, it will lead you into a great range of things you can live in, that you would exchange for nothing that the world could offer. So I commend to you, dear brethren, the book of Proverbs.
Now Solomon is speaking of four things, which would, I suppose, have a universal presentation of the truth. “Little” but “exceeding wise”. Dear brethren, I think that it is our safety to stay little. Have we not had to judge the pretentious system that had built up? Let it not build up again. We follow the One who was meek and lowly in heart. In a certain sense it relates to His final journey to Jerusalem and the cross; the saints of the assembly are travelling sufferingly. The cross, of course, was His alone, but as disciples we are to take up our cross every day. Deny yourself, take up your cross, “and follow me”, the Lord said, Mark 8: 34. That is the standard of true discipleship. Are you doing it? I do not know how much self-denial there is. Some places you go you see piety among the brethren that puts you to shame. We should all be like that, dear brethren. Let us just live pious lives and bring God into every detail and facet of our lives. You will find there is rich profit and gain coming that way.
So we come to these four things that are little, and they are exceeding wise. The suggestion is that there is hardly anything to compare them with. As you look at those ants, what do they do? They provide their food in the summer. Is that not wisdom? A person who does not provide his food in the summer is called a sluggard. He is told to go to the ants and learn from them, Prov 6: 6. How practical Solomon must have been! He knew the creatures; he knew them all. He could speak with intelligence of all creation, more than any of us could venture to do. And he had learned a lot. He must have studied the ants, and his commendation of them is that they provide their food in the summer. If we are not feeding on right food what will happen? We may get poisoned. There is plenty of food which will poison you. Beware of those foods; do not take them. There is better food. Remember Daniel. He was a wise young man and he chose what he ate. He was selective, and we need to be. So if that book comes along, look at the author; what is it about? You just scrutinise it a bit. Is this going to help me, or will it damage my tastes for spiritual things? Dear brethren, these things are very, very practical and we are to learn from the ants. They work together in mutuality; they are always working, always busy. How little they are! That is their safety, and they provide their food in the summer.
Now that is the first thing. One of the four essentials to maintain the testimony of God in this world is that we are feeding on spiritual food, that is, we feed on Christ. He is the Bread of life. You might have thought that that pulse and water was not much alongside the king’s delicate food, but its quality was seen in the results. You soon know persons who are feeding on the ministry. They have got something to talk about. I do not mean just to talk about. They have got something into their affections and out of that abundance the mouth speaks.
Oh, get the truth into you; it is wonderful! Do not leave those books gathering dust on the shelves; get them down and look into them. Provide the food in summer. What a season of summer we have had in this long period of the recovery! Thank God for those accredited ministries. (You will forgive the word, but they are ‘accredited’). Get them into you. Get to be the book yourself. Get formed in them; read them carefully, worshipfully, in communion.
Provide food in the summer. We do not know what is ahead. I would not attempt to be a prophet, but I do not see any relief publicly; things may get worse. But the testimony will get brighter, that is the path of the righteous; that is in this same book—“the path of the righteous is as the shining light, going on and brightening until the day be fully come”, Prov 4: 18. We are near that day. Dear brethren, let our meetings get brighter and brighter. “The path of the righteous”; they walk together. Why do they walk together? Because they are agreed, Amos 3: 3. They walk together in mutuality; that is the ants; they work and live together. It is wonderful to work something out in a meeting, in a reading, where the Spirit of God is free, and the twos and threes can do it; it is providing food in the summer.
Now the next are the rock-badgers. As evidencing wisdom, they build their house in the cliff. They understand that there is an impregnable position, we might say divinely provided, where the gates of hades cannot prevail. Then it says they “are but a feeble folk”. Do we mind being “a feeble folk”? The Lord says in Luke 12, “Fear not, little flock”, (feeble folk), “for it has been the good pleasure of your Father to give you the kingdom”. Oh what precious principles have been entrusted to us! They are protective. The kingdom is protective, but it leads us into something better still—the assembly. As to the rock-badgers, if you read Leviticus it will teach you that they appreciate food, because they chew the cud, Lev 11: 5. But they did not have split open hoofs, so they were not clean. Now, dear brethren, I want to make a simple application. I think we Gentiles would have to accept that—“These things were some of you”, 1 Cor 6: 11. If you feed on right food and, by the glad tidings, get right food into you, it will lead you into separation. “These things were some of you”—I think there is plenty to keep us humble as long as we are here, and let it do that, in genuineness. But these badgers can chew the cud. The things we have been speaking of today are really too great for us, you know, but take them to the Lord, into your closet. Think about them, pray about them, feed on them; search the Scriptures and the ministry. It becomes food and it gets built into your spiritual constitution and that has a separative effect. So they are the rock-badgers, one of the four that are little but exceeding wise.
Now we come to the locusts. What do they mean? They go forth by bands but they have no king. Our King is not here. It is the mystery of a heavenly people here on earth, without human organisation. It mystifies others how things work, without any formal administration, or organisation. These go forth by bands. They have no earthly king, they have a heavenly King. Dear brethren, I believe that we are in a most unique moment of the testimony of our Lord as the truth to which we have been recovered is understood by us, particularly as to the working of the one body. As the principles that govern it are operating universally through local meetings there must be brought about a testimony to unity. And that is a wonderful thing. So, in a sense, each locality is equipped. We will come to that in Samuel, “Just inquire in Abel”. You do not have to write somewhere else a thousand miles away or more. You are fully equipped locally, and the same principles that govern you there will govern every other locality. You may think that I am being fanciful, but I do not think so.
I believe that it is a wonderful triumph that the Lord Jesus by the Spirit is maintaining the testimony without distinctive public leadership as we have once known it. I do not mean that there is not leadership; I do not mean that at all; thank God for leadership “leaders led in Israel”, in the plural. Oh how important it is that those who would seek humbly to take a lead work together, shoulder to shoulder, in a mutuality of confidence and trust and love. But from an earthly point of view, ‘no king’. I believe that it is testing us out as to the degree in which the precious truth of Christ as Head in heaven and His body down here has become formed in our souls. I would just suggest that to the dear brethren. “The locusts have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands”. They are held together.
Now we come to the lizard, and I may be a bit out of my depth because I am not too sure what your lizards are like over here. The ones we have in New Zealand are very small and unobtrusive and shy. So I am thinking of them for the moment as representing what is defenceless. You can take it with the hand; there is no resistance. Oh how we need to be like that; “harmless and simple, irreproachable children of God”, Phil 2: 15. Anyone can take you with the hand, no self-defence. Defence will come from somewhere else, or it may not. It did not with Stephen. God could have stopped the opposition, but He did not. Oh what infinite wisdom enters into His ways! But the lizard you can take with the hands. How simple that is; but she is in the royal apartments of greatest privilege. You see the connection in every case is in regard to the protection of what is precious. Outwardly, what is it?—a feeble folk. Take us with the hands and we would not defend ourselves; not a bit; there is no need to go to the government. You may wonder at that. There may be a situation which would have to be looked at, but in a general way we accept no defence here. Our defence comes from heaven. He is a Man of war; He did not defend Himself. Think of that! They took Him and led Him away. He never attempted to escape; they had no need to bind Him. He was “led as a lamb to slaughter ... he opened not his mouth”, Isa 53: 7. That may relate, as to us, to the defenceless lizard and points up, it seems to me, the great need to draw upon the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ and thus maintain the character of the dispensation.
So there are these four things little on the earth—do we answer to them? But they are exceeding wise. Where do they get it from? Naturally, it is from their Creator. Where do we get our wisdom from? We get it from Christ and it is firstly pure. I have been wondering lately whether we read the Epistle of James enough. It is a little like the Proverbs of the New Testament, at least that might be something to think over. It is very practical. He says the wisdom from above is “first pure”, and peaceful too. That is what this dear woman says, “I am peaceable … in Israel”. She was not looking for war, but if someone lifted up his hand against the king, that was a different matter. Dear brethren, we never have to defend ourselves, but if it is Christ then that is another matter. Do you remember those threescore mighty men who were around the couch of this same writer, Solomon? They had the sword in the right place, on the thigh. And I would suggest, dear brethren, do not be in too big a hurry to pull it out; be patient. It might have to be, but your governing attitude is that you are going to protect the King lest His rest should be disturbed. Where does He find rest? Where two or three are gathered unto His name, that is where He finds rest, where the Ark is in rest; and you say, ‘I am not going to have that interfered with’. So doorkeeping is very, very important. You keep out what is inconsistent with the divine rest.
So I want to speak of this wise man and this wise woman. Both had to do with the city. One was a little city and a great king came against it. You say, the odds are against us. It would look hopeless. All the military prowess of the world is arrayed against this little city. Dear brethren, it may look like that publicly. I am satisfied that where conditions of life are amongst the brethren, where there is that “midst” preserved for Jesus, the devil hates it. We need to be on our guard because we are not ignorant of his thoughts and he may in all the cleverness that he has acquired over all these centuries be building turrets and bulwarks to overthrow it. What are we going to do? We have to admit publicly that the position is very, very frail. What does it mean? Is it going to be overwhelmed? Never! The Spirit of God is here. God is here. He will complete His mission. We have to remember as to the personnel of the assembly that almost all of them are asleep through Jesus. We are just a few, and we must be faithful to the heritage they have left us. I would venture to say that there has been no generation of faith more responsible than our own, those upon whom the ends of the ages are come. We carry a tremendous responsibility and privilege to maintain the truth to the end. In the face of all the bulwarks arrayed against us, what a comfort are the words of our Lord, “hades’ gates shall not prevail”, Matt 16: 18. That is His assurance, and there is comfort in it. But on our side we are not to be without concern to give Him a basis to maintain such conditions, through devotedness, until He comes, the Spirit and the bride saying, “Come” to Jesus.
So a poor wise man was there and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Would you not desire to be like that in the local meeting even if they forget all about you? In a way it added to his moral glory. How like his Master! Not that I think you would not be appreciated and loved locally. Thank God for the love among the brethren! One of the greatest comforts that we have is love amongst the brethren. There is not too much anywhere else. It is a lonely, lonely world. Do not go into it! Among the brethren there is “love amongst yourselves”. Thank God for it!—only, let it deepen and sweeten. It is wonderful just to be there, but you are not wanting any distinction. No one remembered the poor wise man. Do not be concerned; maybe you will have a few cities to rule over in the world to come. We are going to get a lot of surprises you know. Let us be prepared to serve out of sight, unknown, unthought-of, forgotten; but defend the city and deliver it.
Now this woman would be representative of the assembly; she is a mother in Israel. There is an attack against the city by someone who should have known better. His methods were not right; he was a military man. Oh it does not do to be a specialist. He would have overthrown the city for one person. It was out of all proportion, but here someone rises to the occasion, a woman. “Tell it to the assembly”—you say, ‘We cannot do that today’. We cannot actually, but we can in principle. We walk in the light of that vessel, claiming nothing, but as in the light of the assembly we can be governed by its principles, and need to be. She says, “I am peaceable and faithful in Israel”. In old time it was said, “Just inquire in Abel”. Maybe we have to go back to the pristine days of the assembly and see what it was, how evil was dealt with, how Peter discerned what Satan was doing in those two brethren in Acts 5 who were lying to the Holy Spirit. We could not assume to put away, but the same principles govern us as enlightened by the word of God. So she says, ‘You would swallow up a city’, and Joab says, ‘Oh, that is not the case’. That is, he is listening and is adjusted and presents the facts. It is a wonderful thing where a word of wisdom comes in to bring us back from an extreme line.
O, dear brethren, why are we so extreme? I am not critical; I am speaking of myself as much as anyone; we tend to be extreme. Let us honour the assembly and, if I may add, the sisterhood. They are part of it just as much as the brothers; in fact, a sister has often an intuition that a brother has not. I do not mean she would just represent the sisterhood; she would represent the assembly, composed of brothers and sisters. Oh let us cultivate what the assembly is as a functional vessel. The body functions; it is an organism, and every brother and sister is part of the organism. Oh let that develop in every local meeting, dear brethren, and then this extreme line will not get any headway at all. Joab is adjusted and affected by what this beloved woman says to him. Joab is a military man and a politician—dangerous elements. And he states the case, that someone has lifted up his hand against the king. Well, that is clear; we cannot have that. Someone is against the Person of Christ. Every true brother and sister of the assembly would rally to the challenge. It is beautiful; it says, she went to all the people in her wisdom and they dealt with the challenge.
Well, dear brethren, that is all that I wanted to say. I trust that we can be encouraged to fill out our part in these days of outward weakness. There is something small on the earth, yes, a feeble folk, but exceeding wise. It brings no glory to us; no, but every glory to Him who is made unto us wisdom from God. May the Lord help us, for His Name’s sake.
ADELAIDE
25th April 1986
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