(1) STEADFASTNESS
D.A.Burr
Luke 6: 47,48; Nehemiah 4: 12-14; 2 Samuel 11: 16
These three scriptures speak of steadfastness and reliability. The first speaks of what is individual and necessary if any of us is to stand at all. We must listen to the words of Jesus and be obedient to what He says. We cannot be light about it but must be prepared to work to get down to this foundation on which this man built. It says he built a foundation upon the rock. As we know, the rock speaks of Christ Himself; it is like the one in Matthew's gospel, where the Lord speaks of "this rock": "on this rock", He says, "I will build", chap 16: 18. He is the rock upon which we are to build, and I believe our brother has done that: he has built a house upon it, a house that remains among us and represents something lasting among the saints.
But then our brother has known what it was for storms to arise, storms that none of us would have sought or welcomed; storms, perhaps, that he would not have chosen to pass through. The Lord was over that, however, and, applying this verse, the Lord never had the slightest doubt that our brother's foundation was good. Pressure came, and sorrow came, through what the Lord allowed; and it came from many quarters - Matthew speaks of the winds (see chap 7: 25). Here it speaks of the rain and the stream. They may come from any quarter. Will it be, as our brother has shown, that our foundation is good, that it is "built upon a rock"? The Lord never had any doubt that he would stand. What a wonderful thing that is, beloved! He has, therefore, placed our brother among us, I believe, in order that we might learn that it is possible to have a foundation that will certainly stand. Our brother has shown that and the Lord has used him to show it to us; I believe we do well to take heed to it.
In Nehemiah there is another kind of building. As I said, the Lord's building is in a way like the man's in Luke 6, but there is another point of view of the Lord's building. He is working in the present day when there is ruin and failure. He is working in recovery; and it is recovery, beloved, that Satan would resist and seek to overwhelm. So while that work is continuing, the Lord has those upon whom He can call to stand in the exposed places. Now, it is, of course, of no value to put a novice in an exposed place. You could not rely on somebody who had never been tested, because, in a sense, on that stretch, they would be the wall; and it would be essential, therefore, that they should be as redoubtable as the wall itself. So the Lord will set in exposed places those whom He has proved and whom He knows. It may be that we are exposed to having to take a part in the testimony publicly; we might have to render a testimony before rulers, before those who are opposed, perhaps, or those who had to have the position explained to them; and so on. These are exposed places and our beloved brother has stood in them. He has stood with his wife in them and the Lord has come in for him. I believe we could say that. The fact that our brother has passed that way is itself a testimony to what the Lord saw in him. He would not have thrust into that kind of conflict anybody upon whom He could not rely. Beloved, the Lord may require others of us for that kind of service, and it is a question, therefore, of whether we are those upon whom the Lord can rely. Are we steadfast persons that He can trust? I believe there would be a lesson for us in that. There is a certain nobility about the matter, too, that we might take account of.
The verse in Samuel might be rather a difficult verse to apply, because Urijah was put in a position as a result of David's unfaithfulness. None of us under the Lord will find ourselves in that position because the Lord would never be unfaithful. David remained at home when the people went out to the conflict; the Lord would never do that. And, if I may say so, our brother would never have done it either. Like Urijah, he felt out of place if the saints were gathered together and he was not there. Urijah evidently felt that that was unnatural; he wanted to be where the people were. So he is sent back to Joab, and he assigned him to a place where he knew that the valiant men were. Urijah was not out of place there; he was worthy of the position in which he was. Later in this book David lists his mighty men arid Urijah is among them. Urijah is at the end (see chap 23: 39) and it might appear to be a relatively modest position. But then look in Chronicles; as we have been taught this is the history as God delights to record it; and Urijah is promoted further up the list as God has delighted to give it. What a thing that is, beloved, to see someone who might appear to have a relatively modest place advanced when God comes to make the record Himself. You will find him about halfway up the list in 1 Chronicles: "Urijah the Hittite", chap 11: 41. What a thing that is! I draw two thoughts from that, beloved. One is that God honours steadfastness and it is at a premium in His sight. Another thing I would draw from it is, let us each esteem one another better, because that is how God would esteem us.