ATTACHMENT BY GOD
These are the words of Moses, his own impression of what God’s people meant to Him. He said in verse 6, “For a holy people art thou unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be unto him a people for a possession, above all the peoples that are upon the face of the earth”. It indicates how Jehovah valued His people. He said Himself in Exodus 19, “If ye will hearken to my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then shall ye be my own possession out of all the peoples - for all the earth is mine - and ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”, vv 5, 6. It is what His people are to be to Him as something special, not only as the earth is His—of course it is His, He made it—but there is something on the earth that is a special possession.
We read, “Not because ye were more in number than all the peoples, hath Jehovah been attached to you and chosen you”. It is very affecting that Moses speaks about Jehovah being attached to them, not because they were more in number, not because of anything that men could take account of, but because Jehovah loved them. He was attached to them because He loved them. We are accustomed to speak about love as following attachment. We love the Lord Jesus by first of all becoming attached to Him, but here it is the reverse order, Jehovah was attached to them because He loved them. I suppose that love for us would involve His purpose. Moses said, He has chosen you. We are loved because in purpose we were chosen. His love is His attitude, it is the disposition of His heart; but then it says He has been “attached to you”. That is a very fine thing. Attachment involves something very personal, persons in whom God is interested. We sometimes speak about the disciples being attached to the Lord Jesus, and so they were, but think of the Lord Jesus attached to His disciples! Think of how He was attached to them, think of how He went in and out amongst them during the three and a half years of His service here! It says, “having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end”, John 13: 1. The Lord Jesus became attached to the disciples, and He would become attached to every one of us because of His love. His love is His general disposition, but “being attached to” is something personal. We would all do well to consider the Lord Jesus being attached to us; He certainly was attached to His disciples. He went in and out amongst them, He taught them, He cared for them, He acted as a father towards them. Three times over the Lord addresses them as His children, He cared for them as a father. He became attached to them. According to John’s gospel the Lord felt leaving them, He was so attached to them. They felt the Lord leaving them, but He felt leaving them. Think of the forty days in which He went in and out amongst them—not only His lifetime here, but in the forty days, was He not attached to them? He said to Mary, “I have not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren”, John 20: 17. He was so attached to His brethren that He did not immediately ascend to the Father; He was forty days among them and He felt leaving them, but He made ample provision for them. He speaks in John 14, 15 and 16 about the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. In effect the Lord says to the disciples, the Comforter will be just as much attached to you as I have been.
And so it is; think of the Holy Spirit attached to us, dear brethren. The Lord says about Him, “he abides with you, and shall be in you”, John 14: 17. Think of how near the Holy Spirit has come in His attachment to each one of us! We sang about being sealed, being sealed with the Spirit, owned as God’s property. Think of how the Spirit is attached to us! Once we receive the Spirit He remains with us. We have ignored Him, grieved Him, quenched Him, and yet He has become attached to us; He remains with us. The Lord Jesus was with the disciples a certain time, three and a half years, but He says about the Comforter, “that he may be with you for ever” (John 14: 16). He will not be like Me; He will not leave you, He will be with you for ever. As long as we need Him in the testimony down here, the Spirit will be here. Just consider, dear brethren, how the Holy Spirit has become attached to us because He loves us. We read in Romans 15 of “the love of the Spirit” (v 30); He loves us and has become attached to us, dwells in our bodies. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor 6: 19). How immediate is the Spirit’s presence with each believer. He has become attached to us.
Think of the Father being attached to us. The Lord said, “the Father himself has affection for you, because ye have had affection for me”, John 16: 27. That expression “has affection for” is the same as “attached to” it is the word phileo, the word that Peter used in John 21 when he said, “I am attached to thee”, and the Lord challenged him the third time, “Art thou attached to me?”. It is the same expression as having affection for; it might be translated, The Father Himself is attached to you, because ye have become attached to Me. Think of the Father’s love for His family, His committal to each one of us as belonging to His family, His children, His sons. It says here, “Not because ye were more in number than all the peoples, hath Jehovah been attached to you and chosen you, for ye are the fewest of all the peoples”: they were not of much account in men’s estimation—“but because Jehovah loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers”. That is God’s faithfulness, God’s faithful love.
Consider, dear brethren, for our encouragement that the Lord Jesus is committed to us and has become attached to us. The Holy Spirit is committed to us, sealed us, is attached to us. The Father in His love, His interest in us, has become attached to us. What a comfort this is! There is much to face, maybe for young people especially, much to confront them, difficulties, temptations, but oh, just to be conscious of divine attachment to each one of us!
May the Lord encourage us!
EDINBURGH
8th May 1990
_____________________