Darby Synopsis

1. Genesis to 2Chronicles

By John Nelson Darby

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Darby Synopsis

Contents

Preface ...........................................................................18

Introduction ..................................................................26

Genesis ..........................................................................34

Genesis 1 .......................................................................35

Genesis 2 .......................................................................40

Genesis 3 .......................................................................45

Genesis 4 .......................................................................49

Genesis 5 .......................................................................53

Genesis 6-8 ...................................................................54

Genesis 9 .......................................................................56

Genesis 10-11 ................................................................59

Genesis 12 .....................................................................66

Genesis 13-14 ................................................................71

Genesis 15 .....................................................................75

Genesis 16 .....................................................................79

Genesis 17 .....................................................................81

Genesis 18 .....................................................................84

Genesis 19 .....................................................................87

Genesis 20-21 ................................................................88

Genesis 22-24 ................................................................91

Genesis 25 .....................................................................93

Genesis 26 .....................................................................98

Genesis 27 ...................................................................100

Genesis 28 ...................................................................101

Genesis 29-35 ..............................................................103

Genesis 36 ...................................................................106

Genesis 37-41 ..............................................................107

Genesis 42-47 ..............................................................108

Genesis 48-50 ..............................................................111

Exodus .........................................................................116

Exodus 1-2 ..................................................................117

Exodus 3 ...................................................................... 122

Exodus 4 ...................................................................... 127

Exodus 5-13 ................................................................129

Exodus 14 .................................................................... 133

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Exodus 15 .................................................................... 137

Exodus 16-17 ..............................................................141

Exodus 18 .................................................................... 143

Exodus 19-23 ..............................................................144

Exodus 24-25 ..............................................................146

Exodus 26 .................................................................... 156

Exodus 27 .................................................................... 159

Exodus 28 .................................................................... 165

Exodus 29 .................................................................... 174

Exodus 30-31 ..............................................................178

Exodus 32 .................................................................... 181

Exodus 33-34 ..............................................................186

Exodus 35-40 ..............................................................196

Leviticus ......................................................................198

Leviticus 1 ...................................................................205

Leviticus 2 ...................................................................224

Leviticus 3 ...................................................................246

Leviticus 4-7................................................................260

Leviticus 8-9................................................................273

Leviticus 10 .................................................................277

Leviticus 11-12 ............................................................278

Leviticus 13-14 ............................................................280

Leviticus 15 .................................................................290

Leviticus 16 .................................................................291

Leviticus 17 .................................................................301

Leviticus 18 .................................................................302

Leviticus 19-20 ............................................................303

Leviticus 21-22 ............................................................304

Leviticus 23 .................................................................306

Leviticus 24 .................................................................319

Leviticus 25 .................................................................321

Leviticus 26 .................................................................322

Leviticus 27 .................................................................323

Numbers ...................................................................... 325

Numbers 1-2 ...............................................................327

Numbers 3 ...................................................................329

Numbers 4 ...................................................................333

Numbers 5 ...................................................................339

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Numbers 6 ...................................................................342

Numbers 7 ...................................................................350

Numbers 8-9 ...............................................................351

Numbers 10 .................................................................356

Numbers 11 .................................................................358

Numbers 12 .................................................................360

Numbers 13-14 ...........................................................362

Numbers 15 .................................................................365

Numbers 16 .................................................................367

Numbers 17-18 ...........................................................371

Numbers 19 .................................................................375

Numbers 20 .................................................................379

Numbers 21 .................................................................383

Numbers 22-25 ...........................................................386

Numbers 26-29 ...........................................................394

Numbers 30 .................................................................399

Numbers 31 .................................................................400

Numbers 32-33 ...........................................................402

Numbers 34-36 ...........................................................404

Deuteronomy ...............................................................406

Deuteronomy 1-4 ........................................................411

Deuteronomy 5-7 ........................................................413

Deuteronomy 8-11 ......................................................415

Deuteronomy 12-13 ....................................................417

Deuteronomy 14-15 ....................................................419

Deuteronomy 16-17 ....................................................422

Deuteronomy 18 ..........................................................428

Deuteronomy 19-21 ....................................................432

Deuteronomy 22-25 ....................................................436

Deuteronomy 26 ..........................................................439

Deuteronomy 27 ..........................................................444

Deuteronomy 28-29 ....................................................447

Deuteronomy 30 ..........................................................449

Deuteronomy 31 ..........................................................451

Deuteronomy 32 ..........................................................452

Deuteronomy 33 ..........................................................454

Deuteronomy 34 ..........................................................459

Joshua ..........................................................................463

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Joshua 1 .......................................................................466

Joshua 2 .......................................................................474

Joshua 3 .......................................................................477

Joshua 4 .......................................................................486

Joshua 5 .......................................................................489

Joshua 6 .......................................................................502

Joshua 7 .......................................................................504

Joshua 8 .......................................................................510

Joshua 9 .......................................................................515

Joshua 10 .....................................................................517

Joshua 11 .....................................................................519

Joshua 12-24 ................................................................521

Judges ..........................................................................525

Judges 1 .......................................................................527

Judges 2 .......................................................................531

Judges 3-5 ....................................................................534

Judges 6 .......................................................................537

Judges 7 .......................................................................544

Judges 8 .......................................................................546

Judges 9-12 ..................................................................549

Judges 13 .....................................................................551

Judges 16 .....................................................................555

Judges 17-21 ................................................................ 558

Judges 14 -15 ............................................................... 560

Ruth 568

1Samuel ...................................................................... 572

1Samuel 1 ................................................................... 579

1Samuel 2 ................................................................... 580

1Samuel 3 ................................................................... 582

1Samuel 4-6 ...............................................................583

1Samuel 7 ................................................................... 587

1Samuel 8-10 .............................................................589

1Samuel 11 ................................................................. 594

1Samuel 12 ................................................................. 595

1Samuel 13 ................................................................. 597

1Samuel 14 ................................................................. 601

1Samuel 15 ................................................................. 606

1Samuel 16 ................................................................. 608

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1Samuel 17 ................................................................. 610

1Samuel 18-19 ...........................................................612

1Samuel 20 ................................................................. 616

1Samuel 21 ................................................................. 618

1Samuel 22 ................................................................. 620

1Samuel 23 ................................................................. 621

1Samuel 24 ................................................................. 624

1Samuel 25 ................................................................. 625

1Samuel 26 ................................................................. 629

1Samuel 27 ................................................................. 630

1Samuel 28 ................................................................. 632

1Samuel 29-30 ...........................................................633

1Samuel 31 ................................................................. 635

2Samuel ...................................................................... 639

2Samuel 1-2 ...............................................................640

2Samuel 3-4 ...............................................................642

2Samuel 5 ................................................................... 644

2Samuel 6 ................................................................... 647

2Samuel 7 ................................................................... 659

2Samuel 8 ................................................................... 662

2Samuel 9 ................................................................... 663

2Samuel 10 ................................................................. 664

2Samuel 11-13 ...........................................................665

2Samuel 14-20 ...........................................................669

2Samuel 21 ................................................................. 672

2Samuel 22-23 ...........................................................674

2Samuel 24 ................................................................. 676

1Kings ........................................................................679

1Kings 1-2 .................................................................. 683

1Kings 3 .....................................................................685

1Kings 4-5 .................................................................. 691

1Kings 6 .....................................................................692

1Kings 7 .....................................................................696

1Kings 8 .....................................................................698

1Kings 9 .....................................................................701

1Kings 10 ...................................................................702

1Kings 11-12 .............................................................. 703

1Kings 13 ...................................................................706

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1Kings 14 -16 ............................................................. 709

1Kings 17-18 .............................................................. 711

1Kings 19 ...................................................................716

1Kings 20 ...................................................................721

1Kings 21 ...................................................................722

1Kings 22 ...................................................................723

2Kings 1 .....................................................................728

2Kings 2 .....................................................................730

2Kings 3-4 .................................................................. 741

2Kings 5 .....................................................................742

2Kings 6 .....................................................................743

2Kings 7 .....................................................................745

2Kings 8 .....................................................................746

2Kings 9-10 ................................................................ 748

2Kings 11-12 .............................................................. 750

2Kings 13-17 .............................................................. 751

2Kings 18-19 .............................................................. 755

2Kings 20 ...................................................................758

2Kings 21 ...................................................................760

2Kings 22-23 .............................................................. 761

2Kings 24-25 .............................................................. 763

1Chronicles ................................................................766

1Chronicles 1 .............................................................768

1Chronicles 2 .............................................................769

1Chronicles 3-5 .......................................................... 770

1Chronicles 6:1-9:34 .................................................. 771

1Chronicles 9:35 -12:40 .............................................773

1Chronicles 13 ...........................................................777

1Chronicles 14 ...........................................................778

1Chronicles 15 ...........................................................779

1Chronicles 16 ...........................................................783

1Chronicles 17 ...........................................................790

1Chronicles 18-20 ...................................................... 794

1Chronicles 21 ...........................................................795

1Chronicles 22-27 ...................................................... 799

1Chronicles 28 ...........................................................800

1Chronicles 29 ...........................................................802

2Chronicles ................................................................805

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2Chronicles 1-6 .......................................................... 806

2Chronicles 7 .............................................................810

2Chronicles 8 .............................................................812

2Chronicles 9 .............................................................813

2Chronicles 10-12 ...................................................... 814

2Chronicles 13-16 ...................................................... 815

2Chronicles 17-18 ...................................................... 817

2Chronicles 19-20 ...................................................... 819

2Chronicles 21 ...........................................................820

2Chronicles 22 ...........................................................821

2Chronicles 23 ...........................................................822

2Chronicles 24 ...........................................................823

2Chronicles 25 ...........................................................824

2Chronicles 26 ...........................................................825

2Chronicles 27 ...........................................................827

2Chronicles 28 ...........................................................828

2Chronicles 29-30 ...................................................... 829

2Chronicles 31 ...........................................................831

2Chronicles 32 ...........................................................832

2Chronicles 33 ...........................................................833

2Chronicles 34-35 ...................................................... 834

2Chronicles 36 ...........................................................837

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72463

Preface

e following Synopsis was originally written and

published in French, at the desire and more immediately

for the use of Christians speaking that language.

A few words only are needed to introduce the reader to

the present publication. He is not to expect a commentary,

nor, on the other hand, to suppose that he has a book

which he can read without referring continually to the

Word itself in the part treated of. e object of the book is

to help a Christian, desirous of reading the Word of God

with prot, in seizing the scope and connection of that

which it contains. ough a commentary may doubtless

aid the reader in many passages in which God has given to

the commentator to understand, in the main, the intention

of the Spirit of God, or to furnish linguistic principles

and information which facilitate to another the discovery

of that intention, yet if it pretend to give the contents of

Scripture, or if he who uses it seeks this in its remarks, such

commentary can only mislead and impoverish the soul. A

commentary, even if always right, can at most give what the

commentator has himself learned from the passage. e

fullest and wisest must be very far indeed from the living

fullness of the divine Word. e Synopsis now presented

has no pretension of the kind. Deeply convinced of the

divine inspiration of the Scriptures, given to us of God,

and conrmed in this conviction by daily and growing

discoveries of their fullness, depth, and perfectness, ever

more sensible, through grace, of the admirable perfection

of the parts and the wonderful connection of the whole,

Preface

the writer only hopes to help the reader in the study of

them.

e Scriptures have a living source, and living power

has pervaded their composition: hence their inniteness of

bearing, and the impossibility of separating any one part

from its connection with the whole, because one God is the

living center from which all ows; one Christ, the living

center around which all its truth circles, and to which it

refers, though in various glory; and one<P005> Spirit, the

divine sap which carries its power from its source in God

to the minutest branches of the all-united truth, testifying

of the glory, the grace, and the truth of Him whom God

sets forth as the object and center and head of all that is in

connection with Himself, of Him who is, withal, God over

all, blessed forevermore.

To give all this as a whole and perfectly would require

the Giver Himself. Even in learning it, we know in part,

and we prophesy in part. e more-beginning from the

utmost leaves and branches of this revelation of the mind

of God, by which we have been reached when far from

Him-we have traced it up towards its center, and thence

looked down again towards its extent and diversity, the

more we learn its inniteness and our own feebleness of

apprehension. We learn, blessed be God, this, that the love

which is its source is found in unmingled perfectness and

fullest display in those manifestations of it which have

reached us even in our ruined state. e same perfect God

of love is in it all. But the unfoldings of divine wisdom

in the counsels in which God has displayed Himself

remain ever to us a subject of research in which every new

discovery, by increasing our spiritual intelligence, makes

the inniteness of the whole, and the way in which it

Darby Synopsis

surpasses all our thoughts, only more and more clear to

us. But there are great leading principles and truths, the

pointing out of which in the various books which compose

the Scriptures may assist in the intelligence of the various

parts of Scripture. It is attempted to do this here. What the

reader is to expect, consequently, in this Synopsis is nothing

more than an attempt to help him in studying Scripture for

himself. All that would turn him aside from this would be

mischievous to him; what helps him in it may be useful. He

cannot even prot much by the following pages otherwise

than in using them as an accompaniment to the study of

the text itself.

From what has been said it will easily be understood

that the writer can readily feel the imperfection of what he

has written. Often he would have liked to have introduced

the developments which he has enjoyed, when unfolding

particular passages in detail and applying them to the hearts

and consciences of others; but this would have turned him

aside from the object of the work. He trusts, however, that

the right direction is given to the scriptural researches of

the reader: grace alone can make those researches eectual.

He cannot close this short introduction to the book

without expressing the eect which the discovery of

the perfectness and divinely ordered connection of the

Scriptures produces in his mind as respects what is

called Rationalism. Nothing is proved by the system so

denominated but the total absence of all divine intelligence,

a poverty associated with intellectual pretension, an absence

of moral judgment, a pettiness of observation on what is

external, with a blindness to divine and innite fullness in

the substance, which would be contemptible through its

false pretensions, if it were not a subject of pity, because of

Preface

those in whom these pretensions are found. None but God

can deliver from the pride of human pretension. But the

haughtiness which excludes God, because it is incompetent

to discover Him, and then talks of His work, and meddles

with His weapons, according to the measure of its own

strength, can prove nothing but its own contemptible folly.

Ignorance is generally condent, because it is ignorant; and

such is the mind of man in dealing with the things of God.

e writer must be forgiven for speaking plainly in these

days on this point. e pretensions of indel reason infect

even Christians.

He would add that it has not been his object to unfold

the blessed fruits the Word produces in the mind and

ways of him who receives it, nor the feelings produced in

his own mind in reading it, but to help the reader in the

discovery of that which has produced them. May the Lord

only make the Word as divinely precious to him as it has

been to the writer; to both ever still more so!<P007>

Translated from the French as appearing in “Études sur La

Parole” by J. N. Darby

Dear Reader,

I present to you in these pages the beginning of a

work which I trust will be of use to you in the study of

the precious Word of God. I also desire that the outlines

you will nd therein, giving you a glimpse of part of the

wealth contained in the Word, may induce you to study it

more carefully. I feel conscious, even more conscious than

you could be, of the great and numerous imperfections that

are found in this outline. However small one’s value of the

Word may be, however little one may have felt its divine

character, any work of man referring to it will be, in the

eyes of a believer, quite colorless and poor. I feel this, and

Darby Synopsis

wish to say a few words to explain to you my object in

publishing these thoughts, and to let you know what to

expect in perusing them.

A few years ago a brother suggested that I should

undertake this work, but until now, I have shrunk from

the task, more because of a sense of my inability for such

an undertaking than because of my being occupied in the

Lord’s service, although the latter may have accounted

somewhat for the delay. e feeling that the Lord is near

inclined me to devote myself to service rather than to

undertake work in my study. e needs of brothers who

are also in the Lord’s eld, and most of them in a more

useful way than I am, caused me to decide to set about

this work, without, I hope, forsaking a tting humility,

which I would rather maintain than accomplish any kind

of work whatsoever. Several matters, however, weighed in

the balance to hinder my commencing this task.

First, the immense responsibility which, when it is a

question of the Word of God, attaches to the one who would

give guidance to the thoughts of Christians; and however

modestly it might be, to present ideas as being the intention

of the Spirit of God. How grave an error to wrongly direct

the dear children of God in the understanding of His

thoughts and of His will; or to present as the purpose of

His precious communications that which may not be it!

Another consideration also checked me; it was the fear

that anyone might assume to nd in this work the whole

contents of the Word. e grave and serious harm of all

commentaries is that they make room for this thought,

lending themselves thus to the<P008> slothfulness of

heart and the lack of spirituality which are satised with a

few explanations, good, perhaps, in themselves, but which

Preface

only give a few thoughts suggested by the Word and fall

innitely short of communicating its life, its power and its

wealth. Nothing is more harmful than this laziness which

prefers to dwell on a few thoughts rather than fathom

the divine Word itself, which latter is denied to the soul

who does not earnestly seek of the Lord, with diligence,

spirituality and devotion, the knowledge which He alone

can give. e reader, therefore, will not nd here any

pretension to give him the whole contents of the Word. He

will nd-at least, such has been my desire and the object

of my work-a few indications which will help him in the

study of the Bible, but which will be useless to him without

this study. I should have rendered him an injurious service

had I helped him to gather up ideas, at the same time

diverting him from the living and true Word which puts

us in touch with God Himself, places our hearts beneath

that eye which sees all, which judges all; but which sees it

in order to heal us and bless us.

A further and more personal consideration weighed

with me a little-the fact that the task truly was very great.

e inuence of this thought vanished in the hope of being

of service to my brethren; and, in the great joy I anticipated

in performing the work, which joy indeed, I have not failed

to experience. Even if my reader does not derive any great

gain from it, I, at any rate, have the consolation that it has

been of immense gain to me. Whatever may be, I do not

regret having undertaken it. I beseech the reader not to

read these pages without accompanying them with those

of the Word, and to use them only for the study of the

Word. My purpose is that the Word should be studied, and

I even hope that it will be impossible to use these writings

otherwise than in the study of the Word.

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Finally, I did not propose to speak of the result the truth

has produced in myself, nor give utterance to the godly

emotions which gush up in the heart when the Word is

rightly read. I intended to help my reader to understand

that which should produce these feelings. I prefer to let

them spring up through grace in his heart, rather than to

impart to him much of what has taken place in mine. I

simply express the desire that the eect may be not only

the joy of knowledge, but of true communion with God.

I have only one word to add. I intended to publish a

summary of<P009> all the books of the Bible, indicating

as far as it may be given to me the intent and thought of

the Holy Spirit in each book. As it is a great undertaking, it

seemed that the work could very well be published in parts.

e Pentateuch suggests itself naturally as a group which

could appear separately. My work on the other books is

well advanced, so that I hope to be able, God willing, to

resume shortly the publication of this work. It is sweet

to think that my brethren will help me with their prayers

that I may have guidance from God in this work, and that

His Spirit may preside over it, and that thus it may be a

blessing to us all.

I must not nish this Preface without informing my

reader that if he nds that which edies in these pages, he

will be largely indebted to the care and aectionate interest

brought in by our brother M. H. Parlier, who has greatly

helped me in editing.

May the teaching of the Holy Spirit Himself be granted

to you, dear reader; may the Word become always more

precious in these last days, and may an obedient spirit,

mingled with love for all that belongs to Christ, be with

you. is is the desire of your aectionate brother in Him.

Preface

J. N. Darby <P010>

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72464

Introduction

I propose giving in this work, of which Genesis is the

commencement, a short synopsis of the principal subjects

of each book of the Bible, to aid in the study of this precious

volume that our God has given to us. I do not at all pretend

to give the full contents of each book, but only (as God shall

grant to me) a sort of index of the subjects, the divisions

of the books by subjects, and (as far as I am enabled) the

object of the Spirit of God in each part, hoping that it

may aid others in reading the book of God. e Bible, in

its object, is a whole, which presents to us God coming

forth from His essential fullness to manifest all that He

is, and to bring back into the enjoyment of this fullness

with Himself those who, having been made partakers of

His nature, have become capable of comprehending and

loving His counsels and Himself.

But before this purpose is fully revealed, man is brought

upon the scene as a responsible being, and his history, as

such, given to us in the various phases through which he has

passed, up to the cross, where his enmity against God was

manifested, and the foundation laid for the full revelation

of that purpose, and the accomplishment of God’s good

pleasure in man, and laid by that in which the whole

divine character in love and righteousness was revealed

and gloried, and God perfectly gloried in every respect

in bringing man into glory. e creation has served as a

sphere to this manifestation of God; but as a manifestation

it would have been in itself altogether imperfect, though in

a measure it declared His glory.

Introduction

Sin moreover having entered, the state of the creation

and the eects of Providence, which regulated its order and

details here below, tended, in the state in which man was, to

give a false idea of God. For if he referred this creation and

this government to God, he saw a power which belonged

to Him alone; while there existed at the same time evil

which overthrew every idea he could form of powerful

goodness. e mind of man was lost in the eort<P011>

to explain it, and superstitions and philosophy came in

to complete the confusion in which he found himself.

On the one hand, superstitions made falser still the false

ideas that man had formed for himself of God; and on the

other hand, philosophy, by the eorts which man’s natural

intelligence made to get rid of the diculty, plunged him

into such obscurity and such uncertainty that he nished

by rejecting every idea of God whatever, save the need

which had made him seek one.

ese superstitions were in truth nothing more than

that Satan had possessed himself of the idea of God in the

heart, in order to nourish, under this name, its lusts, and

degrade it in consecrating them by the name of a god, who

was in truth a demon; and philosophy was but the useless

eort of the mind of man to rise to the idea of God-a

height which he was incapable of attaining, and which in

consequence he abandoned, making it a subject of pride

to do without it. Even the law of God, while declaring

the responsibility of man to God, and thus asserting His

authority, only revealed Him in the exercise of judgment,

requiring from man what he ought to be, without revealing

what God was, save in justice; and in no way in relationship

with the scene of misery and ignorance which sin had

brought upon the human race. It did not show what God

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was in the midst of that misery, nor could do so; for its oce

was to require from man consistency with a certain line

of conduct, of which the Legislator constituted Himself

judge, at the end of the career of him who was subjected

to it. e Son of God is God Himself in the midst of all

this scene, the faithful Witness of all that He is in His

relationship with it. In a word, it is the Son of God who

reveals God Himself, and who becomes thus necessarily

the center of all His counsels, and of all the manifestation

of His glory, as well as the object of all His ways.

We shall nd, then, three great subjects in the Bible-

the creation (now under the eect of the fall);1 the law,

which gave to man, such as he is now, a rule-to man in the

midst of this <P012>creation to see if he could live there

according to God, and be there blessed; and the Son of

God.

(1. I conne myself more especially to the lower creation

where man was placed. ere are fallen angels, and the

created heavens are deled through sin. But angels were

a distinct creation, and present to celebrate with joy the

creation as we view it, and as it is viewed in Genesis 1, after

the rst verse, as a scene with which man has to do. Still

as responsible and creatures, where not preserved of God,

they were liable to fall, and in fact did fall. But they were a

distinct creation. Hence we have them not in the creation

recounted in Genesis.)

e rst two, namely, the creation and the law, are

bound up with the responsibility of the creature. We shall

nd all that is connected with these two either guilty or

corrupted. e Son, on the contrary-the manifestation of

the grace and love of the Father, and of God’s love to the

world, when this guilt was already there in lawless sin and

Introduction

lawbreaking; the express image of the subsistence of God,

in whom the Father was seen-we shall see suering in love

in the midst of this fallen creation and the contradictions

of a rebellious people, and when God had been perfectly

gloried in respect of sin, accomplishing all the counsels

of God in uniting all things in blessing by His power

and under His authority, those even who with hatred had

rejected Him being forced to own Him Lord to the glory of

God the Father; and at last, when He shall have subjected

all things, giving up to God the Father the kingdom of His

glory as Son of Man, that God may be all in all.

Besides all this, there are in the counsels of God those

with whom the God whom we know in Jesus surrounds

Himself, who are to be brought into the likeness of Him

with whom they are associated as sons, He the rstborn

among many brethren who are to enjoy eternally with God

His favor and blessing, as it rests on Him with whom and

through whom they enjoy it. ere is also an earthly people

in whom God manifests the principles of His government

here below and His unfailing faithfulness; it is to this

last, consequently, that the law was given. Finally, in the

purpose of God before the world was (but hidden until

the t moment when, its redemption being accomplished,

the Holy Spirit could, by dwelling in it, consequent on

the accomplishment of the work of redemption and

the glorifying of Christ, reveal to it all the ecacy of its

redemption and the whole extent of its blessing), there was

a church, chosen in Christ, His bride, to be presented to

Himself without spot or wrinkle, His body too, the fullness

of Him who lls all in all, united to Him by the Spirit

with which all the members are baptized, and soon to be

manifested in glory when He takes that headship.

Darby Synopsis

e cross is the center of all this in every respect. ere

the history of man in responsibility, as the child of Adam,

ends, and there begins anew in grace reigning through

righteousness. ere good<P013> and evil are fully brought

to an issue, hatred in man and love in God, sin and the

righteousness of God against it.1ere God is perfectly

gloried morally, and man judged in sin and redeemed in

righteousness, the dominion of evil destroyed, and that of

man established in righteousness as God willed it should

be, death and he that had the power of it set aside, and

this by an act of love which set the Son of God as man at

the head of all things in righteousness. All, through the

cross, rests secure and immutable in result on the ground

of redemption: what shall the end of the despisers of it be?

(1. is is morally of the greatest depth and fullness. We

have man in absolute evil, hatred against God manifested

in goodness; Satan in all his power over all Adam’s children,

man in perfection, Christ, in love to His Father and perfect

obedience; God in righteousness against sin, and in love to

the sinner; and all this in the very place of sin where man

was. Hence all founded on it is immutably stable. A risen

Christ is, as to the human state in itself, the result of this,

man in a new, eternal condition, beyond sin, death, Satan’s

power and judgment.)

Hence we shall nd, not only the creation, the law, and

the Son of God, but the dealings by which God has prepared

the way for, and led men to expect, His manifestation; the

development of all the principles on which He entered into

relationship with men; the consequences of the violation of

the law; and lastly, in its place, the manifestation of the

church upon the earth, and the directions He has given to

it, together with the course of events which are connected

Introduction

with its existence and its unfaithfulness on the earth; with

that of the earthly people of God; and with man himself,

responsible to God and clothed with authority by Him on

the earth: the whole closing with the glory of Jesus, Son

of Man, maintaining the blessing and union of all things

under the reign of God; and, in ne, God all in all. e

history of Jesus; the position granted to the church in glory

according to the counsels of God, the mystery hidden from

the ages; her participation in the suerings of Jesus, and

her union with Him; and, in general, the testimony of the

Holy Spirit given from on high are clearly revealed in the

New Testament. at of which we have spoken previously

forms the course of the ages; the church forms no part of

them.

is separates the Bible naturally into two parts-

that which speaks of the rst two subjects, the creation

and man in his relationship with God without law, and

His people under law; and<P014> that which speaks of

the Son come upon the earth, and all that relates to the

church and its glory-that is, in general, the Old and New

Testament. We shall see, however, that, in the Old, promise

and prophecy referred always to the Son, eternal object of

the counsels of God; as, in the New, there were prophecies

of the future dealings of God with the earth, and so far

connected with the Old; and, further, the rejection of the

Son gave occasion to the presence of the Holy Spirit on

earth-a fact which modied the whole state of the people

of God, and introduced special subjects which depended

on this presence. For there is this peculiar in the historical

part of the New, that the Son was presented rst to the

world, and to the people under the law, to put them anew

to the test. e bearing of His coming at rst was not the

Darby Synopsis

accomplishment of the counsels of God, but to present to

man, still placed under the old order of things, the faithful

testimony of what God was, if the heart of man had any

capacity to receive it, or to discern Him who returned in

grace into the midst of a fallen creation, and did so in the

very form and nature of him in whom the fall had taken

place; and to the Jews, if they had been willing to receive

Him, the Lord of glory, the object of all the prophecies

and of all the promises; and, in ne (the world not having

known Him, and His own not having received Him), to

accomplish the sacrice which could lay the foundation

of a new world before God, and place the redeemed in

joy before the face of His Father, heirs of all that was

established in Him, the second Adam, to make the church

His body and His bride.

From all that I have said, it results also that the Old

Testament contains two very distinct parts-often united,

it is true, in the same book, and even in a single passage,

still distinct in their nature-the history of man as he was,

and God’s way with him, or the historical part, whether

before the law or under the law; and the revelation of the

thoughts and intentions of God as to the future, which are

always connected with Christ. is revelation sometimes

takes the character of a positive prophecy, sometimes the

form of a typical event which pregures what God would

afterwards accomplish. I may cite, as an example of this

last way of expressing the thoughts of God, the sacrice

of Isaac. Evidently there is a historical instruction of the

utmost importance in the touching example of Abraham’s

obedience; but everyone easily recognizes in it the type of

a sacrice, for which God prepared for<P015> Himself a

Lamb, of which Isaac, the beloved of his father, was but a

Introduction

feeble gure; and where resurrection, not in gure but in

power, is the source of life and hope to every believer.

But perhaps I anticipate too much the details. Let

us proceed to the general character of the books of

Scripture.<P016>

Darby Synopsis

72465

Genesis

Its distinctive character presenting the great

elementary principles of the relationships of God with

man

Genesis has a character of its own; and, as the beginning

of the Holy Book, presents to us all the great elementary

principles which nd their development in the history of

the relationships of God with man, which is recorded in

the following books. e germ of each of these principles

will be found here, unless we except the law. ere was,

however, a law given to Adam in his innocence; and Hagar,

we know, pregures at least Sinai. ere is scarce anything

afterwards accomplished of which the expression is not

found in this book in one form or another. ere is found

also in it, though the sad history of man’s fall be there, a

freshness in the relationship of men with God, which is

scarce met with afterwards in men accustomed to abuse

it and to live in a society full of itself. But whether it be

the creation, man and his fall, sin, the power of Satan, the

promises, the call of God, His judgment of the world,

redemption, the covenants, the separation of the people

of God, their condition of strangers on the earth, the

resurrection, the establishment of Israel in the land of

Canaan, the blessing of the nations, the seed of promise,

the exaltation of a rejected Lord to the throne of the world,

all are found here in fact or in gure-in gure, now that we

have the key, even the church itself.

Genesis 1

72466

Genesis 1

Creation with man as head: God’s work and God’s

rest

Let us examine, then, the contents of this book in order.

First, we have the creation-creation in which man is found

placed on earth as center and head. We have rst the work

of God, and then the rest of God: at the close of His work,

rest from labor, without<P017> presenting the idea that

anyone participated in it. God Himself rested from His

work. Man comes in to take his place then in happiness at

its head.

God’s revelation given as to man’s relationship with

Him

But here some brief, general remarks deserve a place.

is revelation from God is not a history by Him of all

that He has done, but what has been given to man for his

prot, the truth as to what he has to say to. Its object is to

communicate to man all that regards his own relationship

with God. In connection with the second Adam, he will

know as he is known; and already, by means of the work of

Christ, he has that unction of the Holy One by which he

knows all things. But historically the revelation is partial.

It communicates what is for the conscience and spiritual

aections of man. e created world therefore is taken up

as it subsists before the eyes of man, and he in the midst of

it, and in so bringing it forward Genesis gives God’s work

as the author of it. What is here said is true of the whole

Bible. Here it is evident in this, that nothing is said of the

creation, but what places man in the position which God

Darby Synopsis

had made for him in the creation itself, or presents to him

this sphere of his existence as being the work of God. us

no mention is made of any heavenly beings. Nothing is

said of their creation. We nd them as soon as they are in

relationship with men; although afterwards, as a truth, it is

fully recognized, of course, that they are so created.

God as Creator of the material universe

us also, as regards this earth, except the fact of its

creation, nothing is said of it beyond what relates to the

present form of it. e fact is stated that God created

all things, all man sees, all the material universe. “In the

beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” What

may have taken place between that time and the moment

when the earth (for it only is then spoken of) was without

form and void, is left in entire obscurity. Darkness was then

upon the face of the deep, but the darkness is only spoken

of as resting on the face of the deep.<P018>

Out of the chaos and darkness the earth prepared and

furnished

From out of this state of chaos and darkness in which

the earth then lay God brought it, rst introducing light

into it by His word, and then formed seas and dry land,

and furnished it with plants and living creatures. In this

earth, thus prepared and furnished, man, made after the

image of God, is placed as lord of all that was in it. Its

fruits are given him for food; and God rests from His work,

and distinguishes with His blessing the day which saw His

labors closed. Man enjoyed the fruit of God’s work rather

than entered into the rest; for in nothing had he taken part

in the work.

Light and order out of darkness and confusion

Genesis 1

e rst four days, God brings light and order out of

darkness and confusion: light, the rst day; the expanse

as a scene of heavenly power over the earth, the second

day; then He divided what was formed and orderly, on the

one hand, from the moving powerful but shapeless mass

of waters, on the other, and then ornamented the ordered

habitable scene with beauty and fruitfulness on the third.

e symbols of directing power were set visibly in their

places on the fourth.

e prepared creation, proof of God’s life-giving

power

e scene of man’s display and dominion was formed,

but man was not yet there. But before He formed man,

God created living energies of every kind in the seas and

earth and air, which, instinct with life, should propagate

and multiply, the proof of God’s life-giving power, that

to matter He could communicate living energy; and thus,

not only a scene was formed, where His purposes in man

should be displayed, but that existence, which man should

rule so as to display his energies and rights according to the

will of God, and as holding his place as vicegerent over the

earth, apart and distinct from all, the center of all, the ruler

of all, as interested in them as his; living in his own sphere

of blessedness according to his nature, and as to others,

ordering all in blessing and subjection. In the midst of all

the prepared creation, in a word, man is set.<P019>

Man formed a living soul in immediate connection

with God

But this was not all. He was not to spring out of matter

by the mere will of God, as the beasts, by that power which

calls things that are not as though they were, and they are.

God formed man out of the dust, and when formed breathed

Darby Synopsis

from Himself into his nostrils the breath of life, and thus

man became a living soul in immediate connection with

God Himself. As the Apostle states elsewhere, we also are

His ospring. It is not said, “Let the earth bring forth,” but,

“Let us make.” And He made man in His likeness, created

him indeed to multiply as the other living creatures, but

gave him dominion over them, and made him the center

and head of God’s creation on the earth. e seeds of the

fruitful earth were given to him, the green herb and its

increase to the beasts. Death and violence were not yet.1

(1. Nothing can be more marked than the distinction

of man-of that being in whom the purposes of God also

were to be fullled; His delights were with the sons of

men, His good pleasure in (not merely good will towards)

men proved by His blessed Son becoming a man. Here no

doubt it is the responsible man, but the dierence from all

other creatures is marked as strongly as possible. e sixth

day’s creation nishes with the usual formula, “And God

saw that it was good” (ch. 1:25), before man is spoken of.

en comes a solemn consultation to give him a special

place, and the image and likeness of God are introduced by

God as that after which He creates him. And it is repeated,

“So God created man in his own image.” I must say, to

make a mere animal of him is monstrous and slights this

passage, the emphatic declaration of God. As an order of

being, he is evidently the counterpart of the ways of God,

though this be only fully accomplished in Christ according

to Psalm 8 which just brings this out: compare Romans

5:14 and Hebrews 2.)

Man’s creation distinct from all else

We shall see, in chapter 2, another immensely important

principle brought out as to man, when the question of his

Genesis 1

relationship to God is brought forward. Here his creation

is a distinct one from all else; he is presented simply, apart

from every other thought, as God’s workmanship as a

creature, the head and center of the rest, the ruler over them

all. But this we may remark: while he represents God and

is like Him, we have nothing of righteousness and holiness

here. is came in by redemption and the partaking of the

divine nature. ere was, of course, the absence of evil, and

so far the likeness of God; but ignorance of it, not what

God is in respect of it. It is much more here the place man

holds than his nature, though the absence of evil, and the

spring of condescending<P020> aections as the center of

being, must have been found there, had he not fallen. ese

last are more the likeness, his place more the image. He was

the central authority of all things, and all things referred

to him as their head. All authority and all aections were

related to him as their center and head, and no sin, sorrow,

or evil, or insubordinate self-seeking was there. Unfallen

moral order would have been his delight.

God’s rest

e rst three verses of chapter 2 belong to the rst

chapter. It is the rest of God, He ceasing from His own

works, all very good.

Darby Synopsis

72467

Genesis 2

Man’s relationship with God: the special manner of

his creation

In chapter 2 we have man’s relationship with God,

and his own portion as such. Hence the Lord1 God is

introduced: not merely God as a creator, but God in

relationship with those He has created. Hence we have the

special manner of man’s creation.

(1. at is Jehovah Elohim, a personal name as well as

Godhead. It was important too that Israel should know

that their God was the original Creator of all. Still it is

only used when special ways and connection with man

are introduced. e distinction of Jehovistic and Elohistic

documents is the merest child’s play, and ows from entire

ignorance of the ways and mind of God. ere is always a

reason for one or the other. Elohim is simply God; Jehovah

is the acting governing Person in time, though self-existing,

who abides ever the same and having to do with others,

who is, and was, and is to come.)

e garden of Eden

Only a word or two is called for as to the garden. It was

a place of delights. Eden means “pleasure.” It has wholly

disappeared, and it was meant that it should; only we

nd, by two at least of the rivers, that it was on this earth

substantially as we have it. Jehovah Elohim had formed the

man, Jehovah Elohim had planted the garden. e river of

God to water the earth had its rise there. e fresh springs

of God are found in the place of His delight. Man was set

Genesis 2

there to dress and keep it. Man and the earth are both now

in ruin.<P021>

e two trees: man’s responsibility in obedience and a

sovereign source of life

But we have in this chapter, more particularly, the

special relationship of man with God, with his wife (type

of Christ and His church), with the creation; and the two

great principles, from which everything ows as regards

man, established in the garden where man was placed in

blessing; namely, responsibility in obedience, and a sovereign

source of life-the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

and the tree of life. In these two things, in conciliating

these two, lies the lot of every man.1 It is impossible out of

Christ. It is the question raised in the law, and answered in

grace in Christ. e law put life as the result of the perfect

obedience of him who knew good and evil, that is, made

it depend on the result of our responsibility. Christ, having

undergone the consequence of man’s having failed, becomes

(in the power of a life which had gained the victory over

death, which was the consequence of that disobedience) a

source of life eternal that evil could not reach, and that in a

righteousness perfect according to a work which has taken

away all guilt from him that has share in it, a righteousness

moreover in which we stand before God according to His

own mind and righteous will and nature, according to His

own glory. His priesthood2 applies to the details of the

development of this life in the midst of evil, and the place

of divine perfectness in which we are set by His work, and

reconciles our present inrmities with our divinely given

place before God. In the garden the knowledge of good

and evil did not yet exist: obedience only in refraining

from an act, which was no sin if it had not been forbidden,

Darby Synopsis

constituted the test. It was not a prohibition of sin as at

Sinai, and a claim of good when good and evil were known.

(1. In Eden the two principles were there, obedience

and life; man failed, incurred death, and was excluded

from life there. e law did not treat man as lost, though it

proves him so, but takes up the two principles and makes

life dependent on obedience. Christ takes the consequence

of failure for us on the cross, and is the source of divine life

to us, and that in a new resurrection state.)

(2. e dierence between priesthood and advocacy

will be treated in its place in John and Hebrews. I only

remark here that priesthood refers to help and access to

God, advocacy to failure.)

Man in contrast with every other creature

e condition of man, in contrast with every other

creature here<P022> below, found its source in this, that,

instead of springing from the earth or water by the sole

word of God, as a living being, man was formed and

fashioned from the dust, and God places him in immediate

relationship, as a living being, with Himself; inasmuch as he

becomes a living being through God Himself’s breathing

into his nostrils the breath of life.

Man by his derivation of life in immediate relationship

with God

All animated creatures are called living souls, and said

to have the breath of life; but God did not breathe into the

nostrils of any in order to their becoming living souls. Man

was, by his existence, in immediate relationship with God,

as deriving his life immediately from Himself; hence he is

called in Acts 17 the ospring of God, and in Luke it is

said, “e [son] of Adam, the [son] of God.”

Genesis 2

Adam’s relationship with God, his wife, and the

inferior creation

It is important to consider this chapter as laying down,

in a special manner, all the principles of the relationship

of man, whether with God, with his wife, or with the

inferior creation. Here were all things in their own order as

creatures of God in connection with the earth; but man’s

labor not the means of their growth and fruitfulness, nor

did rain from heaven minister fruitfulness from above. e

mist that watered it rose from the earth, drawn up by power

and blessing, but not coming down. Yet man was, as to his

place, in a peculiar one in reference to God. Man did not

dwell in heaven; God did not dwell on earth. But God had

formed a place of peculiar blessing and delight for man’s

habitation, and there He visited him. Out of this garden,

where he was placed by the hand of God as sovereign of the

world, owed rivers which watered and characterized the

world without. Upon Adam reposed the duty of obedience.

e image of God upon earth, in the absence of evil from

his nature, and as the center of a vast system around him

and in connection with him, his own proper blessing was

in his immediate connection and communion with God,

according to the place he was set in.<P023>

Adam’s blessing secured by dependence on and

communion with God

As soon as God had redeemed a people, He dwelt

among them. His abiding presence is the consequence

of redemption and through it only (Ex. 29:46). Here He

created, blessed, and visited. Adam, created the conscious

center of all around him, had his blessing and security in

dependence on and communion with God. is, as we

Darby Synopsis

shall see, he forfeited, and became the craving center of

his own wishes and ambition, which he could never satisfy.

e position of the rst and innocent Adam

Earthly nature, then, in its perfection, with man, in

relationship with God by creation and the breath of life that

was in him, for its center; enjoyment; a source of abiding

life, and a means of putting responsibility to the test; the

sources of universal refreshment to the world without; and

if continuing in his created condition, blessed communion

with God on this ground-such was the position of the

rst and innocent Adam. at he might not be alone here,

but have a companion, fellowship, and the enjoyment of

aection, God formed-not another man, for then the one

were not a center-but out of the one man himself, his wife,

that the union might be the most absolute and intimate

possible, and Adam head and center of all. He receives her,

moreover, from the hand of God Himself. Such was nature

around man: what God always owns, and man never sins

against with impunity, though sin has spoiled it all; the

picture of what Christ, the church, and the universe shall

be at the end in power in the obedient man. As yet all was

innocence, unconscious of evil.

Genesis 3

72468

Genesis 3

Man’s fall: disobedience and failure

In chapter 3 we nd-what, alas! has always happened,

and happens immediately when God has set up anything

in the hands of responsible man-disobedience and failure.

So it was in Adam, so in Noah, so in Israel with the golden

calf, so in the priesthood with strange re, so in Solomon

son of David, and Nebuchadnezzar. So indeed in the church

(1John 2:18-19; Jude). It was always<P024> the rst thing

when what was set up was trusted to man. All is set up

again in Christ, the Man of God’s purpose. e subtlety

of the hidden enemy of our souls is now at work. e rst

eect is the distrust of God which he inspires; then lusts

and disobedience; utter dishonor done to God, whether

as regards His truth or His love; the power of natural

aections over man; the consciousness of being naked and

powerless; eort to hide it from oneself;1 terror of God-

seeking to hide from Him; self-justication, which seeks

to cast upon another, and even upon God, that of which

we have been guilty. After that, we have, not the blessing

or restoration of man, or promises made to him, but the

judgment pronounced upon the serpent, and, in that, the

promise made to the second Adam, the victorious Man,

but who in grace has His birthplace where the weakness

and the fall were. It is the Seed of the woman who bruises

the serpent’s head.

(1. He made g leaves to cover his nakedness as to

human shame, but when God came in he was as naked as

ever. “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, and

Darby Synopsis

went and hid myself, for I was naked.” e g leaves were

man’s covering. God clothed them with skins which were

had through death.)

Man trusts Satan rather than God

Remark too how complete was the fall and separation

from God. God had fully blessed; Satan suggests that God

keeps back the best gift out of envy, lest man should be

like Him. Man trusts Satan for kindness rather than God,

whom he judges according to Satan’s lie. He believes Satan

instead of God, when he tells him he should not die, as

God said he should, and casts o the God who had blessed

him, to gratify his lusts. Not trusting God, he uses his own

will to seek happiness by, as a surer way, as men do now.

Contrasts between the rst Adam and the Second

We see in Philippians 2 how completely the Lord

Jesus gloried God in all these points, acting in a way

exactly opposite to Adam. We may remark too that Adam

did it to exalt himself, to be as God, as a robbery; while

Christ, when He was in the divine glory, emptied Himself

to be like man, and was obedient, not disobedient, unto

death. Remark, too, how the hiding of sin from self is

gone when God comes in. Adam, who had covered his

nakedness, speaks of it when God is there as much as if

he had done nothing<P025> to cover it. And so it is with

all our eorts to make out what shall hide our sin, or make

out righteousness. Moreover, man ies from God before

ever God drives him in righteousness from His presence

and blessing. e knowledge of good and evil in a state

of disobedience makes us afraid of God, and must have a

divine work and righteousness to cover it. Remark further,

what is of great importance, Adam had no promise: there

is none to the rst Adam; no restoration of the rst man,

Genesis 3

no way back to the tree of life; all is in the Second, the

woman’s Seed. In judging Satan He and His victory are

promised.

Death, and life through an accomplished work

What follows is the present result as to the government

of God; the temporal sentence pronounced on Adam and

his wife, until death, under the power of which he was

fallen, seized him. ere was a sign, however, of deeper

mercies. Life is recognized as still there though death had

come in: Eve is the mother of all living; a faith, it would

seem, real, though obscure, at any rate, ours. But there is

yet more. Before they are driven out, and shut out from

all return back to the tree of life according to nature, God

clothes them with a garment which covers their nakedness,

a garment which had its origin in death (the death of

another), which had come in, but which hid the eects of

the sin that had introduced it. Man was no longer naked.

So, though out from God’s presence in nature, we have not

yet indeed the serpent’s head bruised, though this is sure to

be accomplished; the prince of this world is judged (though

he be it still), and we know it by the Holy Spirit come down

from heaven, when Christ, whom the world led by Satan

slew, was seated at God’s right hand; but if that be not yet

accomplished, we are before God clothed with the clothing

which He has put upon us, that best robe. It is not now a

promise or a gure, but an accomplished work-a work of

God. God has made our coat; the world may mock at such

a thought, we know what it means. But he is justly driven

out of the garden, an outcast from paradise and God, and

hindered from partaking of the tree of life, that he may not

perpetuate here below a life of disaster and of misery. e

way of the tree of life was henceforth inaccessible to man,1

Darby Synopsis

according to nature, as the creature of God. ere is no

return to<P026> the paradise of man in innocence. Adam,

already in sin and far from God, is the parent of a race in

the same condition as himself.2

(1. e cherubim I believe always to represent judicial

government and power.)

(2. Whatever Eve’s own condition as believing promise,

what she says at the birth of Cain was the expression of the

thought that the fulllment of promise was in nature, which

could not be. Sin was there and death, and the judgment

of the hope of promise connected with nature come in. “I

have gotten a man from Jehovah” was faith in promise, but

expectation of the accomplishment of promise in nature.

And Cain had to go out from the presence of Jehovah. )

Genesis 4

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Genesis 4

e separation of the families of God and of the

enemy: Cain and Abel

But grace could work-the grace of a God above the evil

of man, and Abel approaches Him by faith.

Hereon follows the separation of the families of God

and of the enemy, of the world and of faith. Abel comes

as guilty, and, unable as he is to draw near to God, setting

the death of another between himself and God, recognizes

the judgment of sin-has faith in expiation. Cain, laboring

honestly outwardly where God had set him to do so,

externally a worshipper of the true God, has not the

conscience of sin; he brings as an oering the fruits which

are signs of the curse, proof of the complete blinding of

the heart, and hardening of the conscience of a sinful race

driven out from God. He supposes that all is well; why

should not God receive him? ere is no sense of sin and

ruin. us is brought in sin, not only against God, which

Adam had fully wrought, but against one’s neighbor, as it

has been displayed in the case of Jesus; and Cain himself is

a striking type of the state of the Jews.

Sin and its present consequences

In these two chapters we have sin in all its forms, as a

picture set before us, in Adam’s and Cain’s conduct-sin in

its proper, original character against God, and then more

particularly against Christ (in gure) in the conduct of Cain,

with its present consequences set forth as regards the earth.

We may remark, in both Adam’s and Cain’s cases, how the

government of God on the earth is set in prominence as to

Darby Synopsis

the eects of sin. Separation from God of a being capable

of, and naturally formed for, communion<P027> with Him

is there, but left rather for the moral weighing of the soul.

e publicly revealed judgment is that of consequences on

earth. It is clearly said no doubt, “He drove out the man”

with whom He was to have held communion (ch. 3); and

“from thy face,” says Cain, “am I driven out” (ch. 4). But

what is developed is the earthly condition. Adam is shut

out from a peaceful and unlaborious paradise, to labor and

till the ground. Cain is cursed from the earth in this very

position, and a fugitive and a vagabond; but he will be as

happy there as he can, and frustrate God’s judgment as far

as he can, and settle himself in comfort in the earth as his,

where God had made him a vagabond;1 and that is the

world. Here it is rst pictured in its true character.

(1. Nod is “vagabond.” God had made him Nod; and

he settles himself, calls “the land after his own name,” or

at least his son’s name, as an inheritance, and embellishes

his city with arts and the delights of music-a remarkable

picture. )

Man’s state and sin apart from God

Remark also the two solemn questions of God: “Where

art thou?”-man’s own state apart from God-communion

with Him lost; and, “What hast thou done?”-sin committed

in that state; of which the consummation and full witness

is in the rejection and death of the Lord.

Lamech

In the history of Lamech we have, on man’s part, self-will

in lust (he had two wives), and vengeance in self-defense;

but, I apprehend, an intimation in God’s judgment that as

Cain was the preserved though punished Jew, his posterity

at the end, before the heir was raised up and men called

Genesis 4

on Jehovah in the earth, would be sevenfold watched over

of God. Lamech acknowledges he had slain to his hurt, but

shall be avenged.

Summary of chapters 2-4; Seth, the heir of God’s

counsel

In the second chapter, then, we have man in the order

of created blessing, the state in which he is; in the third,

man’s fall from God, by which his communion with God

on this ground is foreclosed; in the fourth, his wickedness

in connection with grace in the evil state resulting from his

fall; what the world thereupon became; man being driven

out from the presence of Him who accepted by<P028>

sacrice in grace, and ordering its comforts and pleasures

without God, yet borne with; and a remnant preserved, and

the heir of God’s counsels, Seth, set up, and men calling

on the name of God in relationship with them, that is, on

Jehovah.

Driven from the presence of God, Cain seeks, in the

importance of his family, in the arts and the enjoyments

of life, temporal consolation, and tries to render the world,

where God had sent him forth as a vagabond, a settled

abode and as agreeable as possible, far from God. Sin has

here the character of forgetfulness of all that had passed in

the history of man; of hatred against grace and against him

who was the object and vessel of it; of pride and indierence;

and then despair, which seeks comfort in worldliness. We

have also the man of grace (Abel, type of Christ and of

them that are His) rejected, and left without heritage here

below; man, his enemy, judged and abandoned to himself;

and another (Seth) the object of the counsels of God, who

becomes heir of the world on the part of God. We must

remember, however, that they are only gures of these

Darby Synopsis

things, and that in the antitype the Man who is heir of all

is the same as He who has been put to death.

Genesis 5

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Genesis 5

e family of God on the earth; Enoch and Noah

In chapter 5 we have the family of God upon the earth,

subject to death, but depositary of the counsels and of the

testimony of God. Here we may remark Enoch, who has

his portion in heaven, and who bears witness to the world

of the coming of Jesus in judgment, but is himself taken

up there before it; and Noah, on the other hand, warned

for himself, preaching righteousness and judgment, and

passing through the judgments to begin a new world-

gures of the church and the Jews in connection with

Christ’s coming.

Darby Synopsis

72471

Genesis 6-8

e result of apostasy: man’s ruin ending in judgment

Finally, we nd power and force here below, the

result, of the sons of God not keeping their rst estate,

of apostasy; and God <P029>executes judgment instead

of any longer pleading with men by the testimony of

His Spirit in grace, which has its allotted term. e

obedience of faith is the security of the warned remnant;

but the principle of degeneracy worked on in spite of the

testimony, and worked on the accomplishment of the

testimony it despised. Man grew worse and worse, and

God’s creation was utterly deled and lled with violence,

the two universal characters of active will out of God. As

regards man, it was now brought out, when he was left to

himself (for before the ood, save gracious testimony, he

was so left), that every thought of his heart was only evil

continually. God creates and destroys; He calls and repents

not. Creation was utterly corrupted, and God destroys it

wherever the breath of life is. e testimony of these things

is gone out everywhere among the heathen. We have here

the exact though brief account of them, so far as needed to

show what man was and is, and God’s ways with him.

e way of salvation through the judgment

In the midst of the ruin and judgment God points out

the way of salvation through the judgment. e remnant

taught of God prot by it. e ood is brought upon

the world of the ungodly. Up to this, though the seed of

the woman had been promised, sacrice brought in, and

testimony given, there were no special dealings of God

Genesis 6-8

with man. It was man walking before God in wickedness,

no calling out, no law, no judgment. e world, man, was

judged (save Noah and his family) and its deeds were

hidden under an overwhelming ood. e judgment of

God is accomplished; but He remembers His mercy.

Darby Synopsis

72472

Genesis 9

e history of the new earth

In chapter 9 begins the history of the new earth. God

blesses the earth more than before; and the answer to the

sweet savor of the sacrice assures the world that a universal

deluge will never recur. God makes a covenant1 with the

creation to this eect. <P030>Government is established

in the hand of man, and death begins to furnish him with

nourishment. It does not appear to me that, before this,

there had been either government or idolatry. ere had

been sin against God, violence without restraint against

one another, and corruption; the two perpetual characters

of sin, among men, and even in Satan as far as may be.2

God cared for His creation in mercy; but with Noah new

principles were brought out. e sacrice of Christ (in

gure) becomes a ground of dealing with the earth, not

alone of accepting man, as in Abel; and on this a covenant

is founded. at is, God binds Himself in grace, so that

faith has a sure ground to go upon, that on which it can

count.

(1. Covenant, when used in connection with the Lord, is

always, it seems to me, some order established by God and

announced to man, according to the terms of which He

enters into relationship with man, or according to which

man is to approach Him.)

(2. ere are three characters of sin-violence, falsehood

and corruption. e two rst are directly ascribed to Satan;

alas, man follows him in them, the third is more properly

man’s. All three are noticed in Colossians 3:5-9. In fact, we

Genesis 9

get these three characters at the close-the false prophet, the

beast, and Babylon.)

Government in the hand of man

Another very important principle introduced was

the second referred to-government in the hand of man.

Covenant was sure, for God is faithful when He binds

Himself. Government was entrusted to the hands of men.

Alas! this new trial soon has the same result as before.

e government conded to Noah loses immediately its

honor. e earth, under mercy, relieved (as Lamech had

announced) by agricultural care, becomes in its fruits a

snare to Noah, who becomes intoxicated, and his own son

dishonors him; on whose race consequently the curse falls.

is is given in view of the people opposed to Israel, the

center of God’s earthly government, and of the relationship

of God with that family.

A beginning on new principles

In these chapters then we have the old earth closed

and the new begun on new principles. is lasts till the

judgment by re. Man’s failure in the old world is set forth,

and God’s judgment thereon, in Adam and Cain. Now the

special judgment and the special blessing in connection

with Israel begin to show themselves, for we are yet on the

earth here. e historical course of Noah’s family is brought

out in connection with these two points, the blessing and

the curse in Shem and Ham. is is God’s survey of the

new world, in its three heads, Shem, Ham, and Japheth,

in<P031> a brief declaration of what characterized their

position in the earth. Its whole history is stated in a few

words. How mighty in everything is the Word! He who

knows all can state all briey and surely. We begin afresh

Darby Synopsis

with chapter 10 with the generation or history of Noah’s

sons.

We have thus the establishment of the new earth and

its whole general prophetic history, as this earth, in the rst

account of Noah, and God’s communications with him;

Shem being owned as the root of God’s family in it, allied

to the name of Jehovah, with special judgment on Canaan,

whose place, we know, Israel took.

Genesis 10-11

72473

Genesis 10-11

e history of the world after the deluge

Chapters 10-11 give us the history of the world as

peopled and established after the deluge, and the ways

of men in this new world; the great platform of all the

development of the human race as peopling this world

after the ood, and the principles and judgments on which

it is founded. Chapter 10 gives the facts, chapter 11 how

it came about in judgment, for chapters 10 and 11 are not

to be taken as chronologically consequent; for the division

into nations and tongues was consequent on the attempt at

unity in human pride in Babel; and then, lastly, we have the

family Jehovah owned, to trace the descent in it to the vessel

of promise: together with God’s orderings of the world.

e posterity of Noah is given by families and nations (a

new thing in the earth), out of which, from the race of

Ham, arises the rst power which rules by its own force

and founds an empire; for that which is according to esh

comes rst. We have, then, that the moral history of the

world may be known as well as the external form it assumed,

the universal association of men to exalt themselves against

God, and make to themselves a name independently of

Him,1 an eort stamped on God’s part with the name of

Babel (confusion), and which ends in judgment and in the

dispersion of the race, thence<P032>forth jealous of and

hostile to one another.2 Lastly we have the genealogy of

the race by which God was pleased to name Himself; for

God is Jehovah,3 the God of Shem.

Darby Synopsis

(1. e idea of a building high enough to escape the

ood is an idea of which there is not the smallest trace

in this passage. It was the pride of man seeking a center

and a name without God, and coalescing together. e rise

of imperial power and dominion came after this, in which

individual will and energy gained the ascendancy. ey are

two phases of human eort without God.)

(2. Pentecost was a beautiful testimony: God rose there

above the confusion and judgment, and found, even in its

eects, the means of getting near the heart of man; so that

grace overruled judgment, even when it was not exercised

in the power which regenerates the world.)

(3. All in chapter 9 is simply Elohim, God, till we get to

verse 26, where it is Jehovah, the God of Shem. )

e history of our present world in its great principles

and original sources

e importance of these chapters will be felt. e

preceding chapters gave us, after the creation, the great

original principles of man’s ruin, closing with judgment,

in which the old world found its close. Here we have the

history of our present world, and, as seen in Genesis (which

uncovers the roots of all that was to be for the revelation

of God’s thoughts and the display of His government),

in its great principles and original sources, which imprint

their character on the results, till another judgment from

God Himself obliterates all but its responsibility, and gives

room for another and a better world.

e world set out by families

e result of this history is that the world is set out

by families. e fashion of this world has obliterated the

memory and the perception of this, but not the power. It

is rooted in the judgment of God, and, when the acquired

Genesis 10-11

force of this world becomes weak, will be evermore

apparent, as it now really works. e fountainheads were

three, rst named in the order, Shem, and Ham, and

Japheth: the rst being the family in which the covenant

was to be established on earth, and with which God was to

be in relationship; then he who was in hostility with God’s

family; and last, though eldest and proudest, the Gentile

Japheth.

Japheth

In the detail Japheth is given rst. e isles of the

Gentiles in general, that is, the countries with which we

are familiar, and much of northern Asia, were peopled by

his descendants. But the great moral questions, and power

of good and evil in the<P033> world, arose elsewhere, and

the evil now (for it was man’s day) before the good.

Ham

e East, as we call it, Palestine, down the Euphrates,

Egypt, etc., was in the hands of Ham. ere power rst

establishes itself by the will of one in Nimrod. A mighty

hunter-force and craft- works to bring untamed man, as

well as beast, under his yoke. And cities arise; but Babel

was the beginning of his kingdom; others he went out and

built, or conquered. en come the well-known Egyptians,

Mizraim. Another branch of this family is marked as

forming the races in possession of the inheritance destined

of God for His people.

Shem

Shem comes last, the father of Hebrews, the brother of

him who has long despised him, as possessed of an elder

brother’s title. Such is the general result in the peopling of

the world under God’s ordering.

Man seeking a center for himself

Darby Synopsis

e way was this. Man sought to make a center for

himself. Adam, living in the earth, would have been so, and

its link with God; as Christ will be hereafter, and ever was

in the purpose of God, for Adam was the image of Him

that was to come. But will has none but itself. Noah, whose

inuence would have been just, has no place in the whole

history (after his worship), save that he lost the place of

authority by falling into sin, in the loss of self-restraint.1

Will characterized all now; but in a multitude of wills,

all impotent as centers, what can be done? A common

center and interest is sought independent and exclusive of

God. ey were to ll the earth; but scattered in peaceful

quietness, to be of no importance, they would not. ey

must get a name for themselves to be a center. And God

scatters into nations by judgment what would not ll the

earth by families in peace. Tongues and nations must be

added to families, to designate men on the earth. e

judged place becomes the seat of the energetic will of one-

of the<P034> apostate power. e beginning of Nimrod’s

kingdom was Babel. Tongues were a restraint, and an iron

band around men.

(1. is is a striking fact in the character of the history

of man after the ood. We get the full plain statement of

what he became.)

God’s history beginning in Shem

In Shem God’s history begins. He is Jehovah, the

God of Shem. We have dates and epochs, for after all

God governs, and the world must follow: man belongs to

God. Other people’s ages were shortened surely besides

those here named: here we know when. And when the

earth was divided, for God after all disposed of it, men’s

years lost one-half of what they were, as they had already

Genesis 10-11

done immediately after the ood. But of known history

God’s people have ever been the center. is comes down

to Abraham. And here again a new element of evil had

become universal, at least practically so-idolatry (Josh.

24:2), though it had not been the subject hitherto. It is man

in the world; and in Shem, the secret providential ordering

of things by God. Still it ended in the power of evil, even

in the family of Shem.

Universal idolatry

We have seen the wickedness and violence of man, his

rebellion against God, and Satan’s craft to bring him into

this state: but here an immense step is made, an astonishing

condition of evil appears on the scene. Satan thrusts himself,

to man’s mind, into the place of power, and seizes the idea

of God in man’s mind, placing himself between God and

him, so that men worship demons as God. When it began,

Scripture does not say; but the passage cited shows that

it had contaminated even Shem’s family, in the part of it

too which Scripture itself counts up as God’s genealogy in

the earth at the time we have arrived at. Individuals might

be pious; but in every sense the link of the world with

God was gone. ey had given themselves up, even in the

family which as a race was in relationship with God, to the

worship and power of Satan. What a tale all tells of man!

What a tale of the patience of God!

A new system: Abraham called and chosen by grace

Here, therefore, we change entirely the whole system

and order of thought; and a principle, in exercise without

doubt from the beginning as to individual salvation, but not

manifested in the order of things, declares itself, and comes

into evidence in the history of<P035> the earth. Abraham

is called, chosen, and made personally the depositary of

Darby Synopsis

the promises. But remark that here, in order that this great

principle may be preserved in its own purity as an act of

God, the occasion given in the fact we have referred to is

not mentioned. We nd it in Joshua 24. God comes down,

after judgment, in sovereign grace to have a family of His

own by the calling of grace-an immense principle.

Abraham the father of the faithful, the head of the

accepted race of God on earth

But it is well to dwell a moment on what was really a

most important epoch in the history of God’s ways with

the world, where the proper history of faith begins, though,

of course, there were believers individually before. But as

Adam was the head of the ruined race, so Abraham was

the father of the faithful, the head of the race of God on

the earth, both after the esh and after the Spirit. Christ

the fullness of all blessing we know, in whom we have far

higher blessings than those revealed in Abraham. Still in

God’s ways upon the earth Abraham was the head of the

accepted race. Idolatry, as we have seen, had at this time

gained a footing in the family of Shem himself. “Your

fathers,” says Joshua (Josh. 24:2), “dwelt in old time beyond

the ood, Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of

Nahor; and they served other gods.” Now these gods were

demons (1Cor. 10:20; it is a citation of Deuteronomy

32:17). at is (now that God had interfered in judgment

and in power), these demons had possessed themselves of

this position in the spirit of man, and taken the place in

his mind of the sources of the authority displayed and of

blessing still bestowed. ey presented themselves to him

as authors of those judgments, of all which drew forth the

worship, the gratitude, and the terror of the natural heart

of corrupted man, expressed in his worship according to

Genesis 10-11

the principles on which he was, on which he alone could

be, in relationship with those superior beings, to whom he

attributed the power to answer his desires or to avert the

things which he feared. It was not merely man corrupted

and in rebellion against God, it was his religion itself which

corrupted him; and he made of his corruption a religion.

e demons had taken the place of God in his mind, and

having the ascendancy over his conscience, if man did not

forget it, hardened or misled it.<P036> He was religiously

bad; and there is no degradation like that. What a state!

What folly! How long, O Lord?

God introduces us into His own thoughts

But if the human race plunge thus into darkness, taking

demons for their god, and, incapable of self-sustainment,

substitute for their own rebellion against God servitude

to what is more elevated in rebellion, placing themselves

in miserable dependence upon it, God raises and lifts us

up above all this evil, and by His calling introduces us into

His own thoughts-thoughts far more precious than the

restoration of what was fallen. He separates a people to

hopes which suit the majesty and the love of Him who

calls them, and places them in a position of proximity

to Himself, which the blessing of the world under His

government would never have given them. He is their

God. He communicates with them in a way which is in

accordance with this intimacy; and we hear speak, for the

rst time, of faith (ch. 15:6), based on these communications

and these direct testimonies of God, though it may have

operated from the beginning.

Darby Synopsis

72474

Genesis 12

A new order of events as to God’s call, covenants,

counsels, and the manifestation of His people as a

distinct people on the earth

From chapter 12, then, there is developed altogether a

new order of events, which refer to the call of God, to His

covenants, to His promises, to the manifestation of His

people as a distinct people on the earth, to the counsels of

God. Before the deluge, it was man such as he was-fallen

before God; and though there was a testimony from the

beginning, still no dispensational intervention of God in

His own ways, but man, with that testimony as to divine

institutions,1 left to himself, resulting in such violence and

corruption as brought on the deluge in judgment on the

world. Afterwards, God having interposed in judgment and

begun the world that now is, there was the government of

that world and its <P037>failure and the consequences of

this failure; but, the nations being established and having

submitted themselves to the power of demons, the call of

God, the deposit of promise in him who was chosen of God,

His elect ones (seed of the depositary of the promises), and

subsequently His people, rise up to our view.

(1. Sacrice may be called an institution of God

perhaps, but it was individual. ere was no establishment

of a people who were God’s upon earth.)

e call to separate

Hence we nd them at once called upon to separate

themselves entirely from all that connected them with their

position in nature on the earth, and to belong to God on

Genesis 12

the ground of promise and condence in His word. “Get

thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from

thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee.” is

was a solemn event. It was in principle the judgment of the

world, though in the way of grace to those called out of it.

e world and its prince, and Abram the root of the

tree of promise

at we may fully understand this, we must remember

that the world had been constituted by the judgment of

God passed upon the enterprise of building the tower.

Countries and nations had been formed, as it is to this day.

at was the world. Satan had full hold of it, and the very

world which God had providentially formed Abram had

to leave. God would have a family, a people for Himself,

not of it, though out of it. Another fact adds to Abram’s

importance. ere had been saints individually, known

and unknown, but no head of a race since Adam. Adam

fallen was the head of a fallen race. Abram was called to be

the root of the tree of promise, of God’s people natural or

spiritual. He was the father of the circumcision, and of all

them that believe.

A new principle to rule

In the outset, however, Abram still held to his family;

or at least, if it held to him, he did not break with it; and

though he quitted his country on the call of God, he stops

as far from the land of promise as before. For, thus called,

man must belong wholly to God on a new principle. In

ne, he sets out as God had said to him.<P038>

Abram called out by the manifestation of the glory of

God

We have then here Abram called by the manifestation of

the glory of God (compare Acts 7) for the journey of faith.

Darby Synopsis

e promises are given to him, whether of a numerous

posterity, or of the blessing of all the families on the

earth in him.1 He sets out, he arrives. ere are not many

experiences, though there will be deeper knowledge of

God, in a path which is purely of faith: power is there,

and man walks with God. In the history of Jacob we have

many. Arrived in Canaan, Abraham enters into possession

of nothing, for his life must still be of faith. And here we

see, by comparing this passage with Hebrews 11, the eect

of being left as pilgrims and strangers on the earth, not yet

in possession of what is promised. Abraham goes in the

obedience of faith to the promised land, and there has not

so much as to set foot upon; but in virtue of this-as God,

though He could prove, could not leave faith without an

answer; nor, indeed, where tried, without leading it on to

the knowledge of further blessing, for He never does-he

has before him the city which has foundations, and the yet

better country. e energy of faith through grace put him

in a position which, as it was not possession, necessarily

set him in connection with higher and better things; for

he was under the personal calling of God for blessing: so,

practically, we are come into the body and heavenly things

below. But there is the path of faith-not possession-and

the heavenly scene opens before us. Abraham in Ur could

not see the heavenly portion; a stranger in the land of

promise, it was his natural object under grace. Such is our

own case. Only Abraham rises above his calling; we enter

by the Spirit into what we are called to.

(1. is last promise is repeated only in chapter 22,

during Abraham’s history, and then to the seed alone; the

promise of his posterity and of the land to him and to his

seed is often repeated. It is to this promise given to Abram

Genesis 12

in chapter 12 and conrmed to the seed in chapter 26, that

the Apostle refers in Galatians. e earthly seed, on the

contrary, was to be numerous. e translation of Galatians

3:16 should be, “Now to Abraham were the promises made,

and to his seed.” And in the following verse not in Christ

but to Christ. He was the seed of promise.)

A second revelation of the Lord for communion and

worship

But then there is a second revelation of the Lord to him

in the land, in the place into which he had been called.

e rst was to call him out of the place he was in, and

make him walk in the path<P039> of promise. Now the

Lord reveals Himself to him for communion, where he is;

speaks with him; unfolds to him how the promise will be

accomplished, and Abraham thereon worships Him. He

has in the land his tent and his altar. is is the second

part of the life of faith. e revelation of God, when far

from Him, sets us out on the journey of faith, inspires the

walk toward heaven. When in the heavenly position, God

reveals Himself for communion and worship and a full

revelation of His ways. e Canaanite is in the land; the

heir of promise has no possession of the thing promised. We

have to do with spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, but

the Lord reveals Himself, shows the heir and inheritance

when the Canaanite will be gone; and so Abram worships

by faith, as before he walked by faith. is is the full double

function of faith.

Abram’s lack of faith

e rest of the chapter is the history of his personal

want of it. Pressed by circumstances, he does not consult

God, nds himself in the presence of the world, where he

has sought help and refuge, and denies his true relationship

Darby Synopsis

with his wife (just as has been done in respect of the church),

is cherished by the world, which God at last judges, sending

Abram again out from it. During this period, and until he

was returned to the place from which he started, he had no

altar. When he left Egypt and returned to his strangership

in Canaan, he had what he had before. But he must return

rst to the same place and nd his altar again. What a

warning for Christians as to the relationship of the church

with Christ!1 And, however the world may be a help for

the church, this relationship cannot be maintained when

we seek that help.

I would again recall here a remark made elsewhere, that

in types the woman presents the position in which those

pregured are placed; the man, the conduct, faithful or

unfaithful, of those that are there.<P040>

(1. ere may be a certain typical reference to Israel

while in the world and away from God. But these things

happened unto them for ensamples (τυποι; tupoi) and are

written for our admonition on whom the ends of the world

are come. Abraham was away from his altar at Bethel.)

Genesis 13-14

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Genesis 13-14

Abram and Lot

After this (chapter 13) we have, in the conduct of Abram

and Lot, the disinterestedness and self-renunciation of

true faith on the one hand, and, on the other, him, who,

though a believer, had, as regards the walk of faith, only

followed that of another, and was now put to the test by

circumstances which arise: and this, remark, is when they

have together left their unbelieving connection with the

world as an outward refuge. Lot had done so with Abram,

but his inward heart and will clung to the ease of it.

Abram had returned in spirit genuinely, perhaps with a

deeper experience, to his pilgrim portion in Canaan. Yet

the advantages he possessed in it led to the diculty, for

treasure here is not heaven, even if the possessor of it be

heavenly-minded: an important lesson. Still Abram behaves

beautifully. Lot chooses the world, fair in appearance, not

as Egypt, the world as such, but as self-ease, and what did

not seem, was not outwardly, separated from, Canaan; but

which was soon after the scene and object of what did not

appear-the sure judgments of God. e renunciation of a

present portion down here, and of self in it, by Abram, is the

occasion for him of a much clearer knowledge of the extent,

and a still rmer assurance of the certainty, of the promise.

It is when he gives up all to Lot as he might choose it, that

the Lord says to Abram to look north, south, east, west,

from where he was, adding he would give it to him and to

his seed forever. In a word, we have the believer acting in

Darby Synopsis

the spirit of the heavenly calling-the faithful believer, and

the worldly-minded believer.

Abram’s own proper portion and the result of Lot’s

choice

Abram maintains now his own proper portion; he

dwells in Canaan, goes here and there as a pilgrim with

his tent, and builds his altar. All this was the path of the

heavenly man; his characteristic portion here, a pilgrim and

a worshipper. Lot had lifted up his eyes, moved by his own

will and lust, and sees the plain of Jordan well-watered:

why should he not enjoy it? God makes Abram lift up his,

and shows him all the extent of the promise, and with the

promise tells him to walk through it all, to realize, in his

experience and knowledge, all the extent of the promise

made.

e<P041> scene soon changes. What is linked with the

world must suer its vicissitudes. Nor can the godly man,

though ensnared oft, be content with its evil. Lot (2Peter

2:7-8) suers from the iniquity by which he is surrounded,

and undergoes the ravages of the power of the world, of

which Abram is victor, and of which he will receive nothing

to enrich himself. Such are the just discipline and faithful

ways of God. Nor was it yet all.

e manifestation of Melchisedec

ese last circumstances are the occasion of the

manifestation of the kingly Priest, King of righteousness,

and King of peace; that is, Christ, millennial King of the

world, blessing victorious Abram, and, on Abram’s behalf,

the Most High God, who had delivered his enemies into

his hand.

e nal triumph of the Lord and the family of faith

over the world

Genesis 13-14

In this picture, then, we have the nal triumph of the

Lord and the family of faith over the power of the world,

realized in spirit by the church (and nally in glory) for a

heavenly hope and association with Christ; and literally by

the Jews on the earth, for whom Christ will be Melchisedec-

priest in full accomplished position; Priest on His throne,

Mediator in this character, blessing them, and blessing

God for them; God Himself then taking, fully and indeed,

the character of possessor of heaven and earth. e Most

High God is His proper millennial name; Almighty with

the patriarchs, Jehovah with Israel, and Most High for the

millennium. e discussion of where the Most High is

found, in connection with the promises to Abraham and

the Messiah, is beautifully brought out in Psalm 91, and

Jehovah the God of the Jews is recognized as He who is. It

is a kind of dialogue. ese are connected with the earth.

Our place, and the divine name we are in relationship

with God by, are outside all these and properly heavenly.

It is the Son who has revealed the Father, and now the

Holy Spirit, who gives us the consciousness of sonship,

and shows a man, the heavenly Christ, at the Father’s right

hand in glory, when He had by Himself accomplished the

purication of our sins.<P042>

e victory of faith

But the contrast of the heavenly-minded who do not

settle on the earth, and of those who do, with the world’s

power over the latter, and the entire victory of the former

over the power of the world, and then Christ’s reign, King

and Priest, and God’s taking all into His hand by Him, are

clearly and wonderfully brought out.1

(1. is closes the general history of these great

elements of God’s ways. Heavenly things are, no doubt,

Darby Synopsis

out of sight, save we look behind the scene, where Abram’s

faith went. Still the path of faith, the snare of the world,

the moral victory of unselsh faith, which has God and

His promises for its portion, and its actual, nal victory,

and God’s possession of heaven and earth under the

Melchisedec priesthood of Christ, priest on His throne,

are fully brought out, and the whole scene completed. is

makes chapters 12-14 a section by itself.)

Genesis 15

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Genesis 15

Detailed instruction as to the earthly seed and the

land given

When God had thus revealed Himself, according to His

establishment of blessing in power on the earth, through

the priestly king Melchisedec, naturally the actual blessing

of the chosen people nds its place; and we come down to

the actual earthly scene, and in chapter 15 have the detailed

instruction of the Lord to Abram, regarding the earthly

seed and the land given to him, the whole conrmed by a

covenant where God, as light to guide and furnace to try,

deigns to bind Himself to the accomplishment of the whole.

Death makes it sure. Jehovah conrms thus the covenant

in going, in grace, through that which bound Him; Abram,

heir of the promises, undergoes the terror and shadow of

it. It is not here precisely expiation, but what belonged to

the conrmation of the promises, by the only thing which

could establish them in favor of man a sinner. It is evident

that this unfolding of God’s ways and the establishment of

the covenant embraces (though the covenant be made in

favor of the earthly people) new and important principles.

God Himself was Abram’s defense and portion. at is the

highest portion of all, so far as anything given to man can

go.1<P043>

(1. e declaration of God in the beginning of chapter

15 is in connection with Abram’s refusing to take anything

from the world, as related in the end of chapter 14.)

Earthly hopes and God’s purposes: His unconditional

promise as to Israel and the land

Darby Synopsis

But Abram feels yet his connection with the earth as an

abiding place in connection with the esh, and it was indeed

God’s purpose so to bless him. at is in its nature Jewish,

and we have consequently the Jewish portion unfolded.

e whole scene descends thus here to earthly hopes, and

promises, and covenant, and the land. Abram’s mind goes

down; for it is going down-when God says (on his having

refused everything from the world, in view of the world to

come as a future hope), “I am thy reward,” as He had been

his shield-to say, What wilt thou give me? But the divine

Word uses it to unfold on God’s part His purposes in this

respect, which, as regards the government of this world, are

of real importance. I have no heir, says Abram; nothing to

continue, by a family tie, the possession of my inheritance

on earth, according to promise; for on earth, where men

die, there must be succession. And so it was to be. But still,

as to the earth, it was to be by dependence on Jehovah, by

promise, and by faith. Although connected here with the

earth, it was not according to nature: on this footing all was

foreclosed against Abram-he had no seed. Hence, the seed

of faith and promise comes forth-not indeed the one seed-

but the Jews as children of promise. e principle is set forth

and faith counted for righteousness while Abram believed

God. us, for this world, Israel was the seed of promise,

the heir. en comes covenant as to the land, according

to promise made in the call of Abram. e Lord binds

Himself to Abram according to death, as we have seen (for

indeed it is assured in the death of Christ, without which

they could have nothing). is is, as to present fulllment,

connected with the suering of the people in Egypt, and

their subsequent deliverance, when the oppressors of the

Genesis 15

people and the usurpers of the inheritance would both be

judged.

e inheritance assured to Abraham’s seed by

unconditional covenant

e character of the act by which the covenant was

made, we have already noticed. e reader may compare

Jeremiah 34:18-19, as to the force of this act. It is not here,

moreover, a promise by which Abram is called out by faith,

but the assuring the inheritance to his seed by covenant,

and here without <P044>condition. It is the promise to

Israel, the seed of promise, the heir in connection with

the earth and esh. Remark, moreover, that the prolonged

sorrow and oppression of God’s people- the delay of the

promised heir-is in connection with the patience of God

towards those that are to be judged. (Compare 2Peter 3:9.)

We may remark that the oppressors of Israel are judged for

the sake of Israel, the usurpers of his inheritance for him.

Summary of man’s state and God’s ways with him in it

Here the laying out of God’s plans and purposes closes,

even as to the earthly people, and man’s ways, and God’s

ways for their fulllment, begin to be unfolded with chapter

16,1 with the paths of those, or hindrances from those,

with whom His people may be connected in any way. ese

are developed up to chapter 23 when Abraham ceases to

be the representative of the stem of promise. Sarah dies,

the vessel of the seed of promise, and the risen heir comes

into notice as the one whom God sets forth. ey that are

born after the esh precede those who are born according

to promise.

(1. Chapter 15 stands by itself, between the general

principles already treated of and the historical account

which follows, but which, though historical, gives great

Darby Synopsis

leading principles which, with the exception of Isaac, apply

to Israel and the earth. It is the unconditional promise as

to Israel, the land, and the covenant. In the subsequent

chapters, however, we nd the promised seed.)

We cannot but remark, what gives so striking a character

to the book of Genesis, and such freshness to all that is in

it (particularly to what we have gone through hitherto),

how all the great principles of man’s estate and of God’s

ways are brought out in it. It is a heading and summary

of all man’s state and God’s ways with him in it-not of

redemption, though sacrice and covering of sin be found,

nor of its glorious results. Redemption is in Exodus. Man’s

state and God’s ways and fundamental promises are here.

Genesis 16

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Genesis 16

e covenant of the law in Hagar

Abram seeking, at Sarah’s instigation, to anticipate the

will of God and the accomplishment of the promise in its

time, we have the covenant of the law in Hagar, the source

of distress and<P045> disquietude. God, however, takes

care of the seed according to the esh. e application of

this as a gure is clear from Galatians 4. e pride of man

under the law is marked in Hagar’s spirit, yet her son cannot

be heir. e haste of man, who will not wait God’s time,

will not wait on Him as to means of accomplishment (so

was it with Jacob for the blessing) is full of moral warning

to us; it is ever the source of disquietude and sorrow. Hagar,

too, was an Egyptian-a remembrance, also, of the want of

faith in Abram. e law and esh, and indeed sin, ever go

together (see John 8:34-36); and in connection with the

unbelief of nature, that is, Egypt.

Order of chapters 12-16

As regards the order of these chapters, I may add,

chapters 12-14 go together, and are dependent on the

double manifestation of God to Abram; rst, to call him,

and then in Canaan. We have power, failure, return, and

enduring heavenly faith contrasted with worldliness, and

thereto the display of earthly power attached, to that faith,

closing with victory; God possessor of heaven and earth,

and Melchisedec.

Sarah’s eshly attempt to secure the promise, and its

failure

Darby Synopsis

ough chapter 15 stands alone as a whole, chapter 16

is so far connected with it, that it is the eshly attempt on

Sarah’s part to have the seed which was assured by the word

of the Lord to Abram in the beginning of chapter 15. Here

all is failure; but the purposes of God will be accomplished

according to promise, and not of the esh and man’s will.

Genesis 17

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Genesis 17

God’s new revelation of Himself by name; Abram’s

consequent correspondent walk, and the unfolding of

God’s purposes with the world

In chapter 17 we have a fresh revelation of the Lord

to Abram, and, I think, are on higher and holier ground.

It is not here calling, or worship, or the world and victory

over it in Lot (ch. 12-141), or<P046> a revelation by the

Word of how God would accomplish His earthly promises,

and what His people should go through (ch. 15)-not what

God was for Abram, but what He was Himself. It is not,

I am thy shield and thine exceeding great reward; but I am

God Almighty. is is not all He was, but it is what He

was- His own name; and Abram is called upon to walk

correspondingly to this name. Hence, also, he does not

worship or request anything from God, however high the

privilege, but Elohim talks with him. e various parts of

His purposes are unfolded, and what Abram is to be before

Him in whom he believed. It is the starting point of God’s

history of His connection with, and ways in, the world,

Jew and Gentile starting from His original, sovereign title.

at which brings in the Gentiles as well as Israel is before

us. It is not the individual seed of promise, as in chapter

22, to which the promise of chapter 12 was conrmed, but

the title of God with the rst vessels of promise as root of

a people set apart to God. In general God’s covenant was

with him. It is not a legal binding, but a free engagement of

God in grace, according to His own mind, that Abraham

should be the father of many nations. It is in three parts.

Darby Synopsis

God would be a God to Abraham, and to his seed after

him; the land wherein he was a stranger is to be to him and

to his seed after him; and nations and kings should come

out of him.

(1. In chapter 12 it is the path of faith, though

with failing, that failing the not owning the separated

relationship of God’s people (the church) to the heir of the

world. en chapters 13-14, the believer in a worldly place

taken as his portion, the victory of the separated ones, the

faith which would not take a shoe-latchet. Chapter 15, the

revelation of a numerous seed and Israel’s place. Chapter

16, the attempt to have the promise in esh-Hagar. See

Galatians. )

Circumcision, expressive of death, and free sovereign

promise of the Seed, the Heir of promise

All these promises are without condition; but principles

are set forth binding on Abraham, and expressive of

the character of those who enjoy the privileges of God-

circumcision and free, sovereign promise. Circumcision

in contrast with law (see John 7:22), but expressive of the

death of the esh (compare Romans 4:10-13),1 and next,

the promise of the seed is given; but this when Abraham,

as to the body, was now dead; and as the character of

circumcision<P047> was peremptory-for esh cannot have

to say to God in light-so was it as to the promise; it was to

the son of promise. ough God might outwardly bless the

seed according to esh, the covenant was exclusively with

the heir of promise. Death of esh (for we are away from

God), and simple, sovereign grace, are peremptory. e

barren woman must be the mother of thousands. Abraham

rejoices in the promise, and acts obediently in the order of

God.

Genesis 17

(1. I read verse 12 thus: “And father of circumcision

[that is, of true separation to God, such as God owns], not

only to those of the circumcision, but to those who walk in

the steps of the faith of Abraham, which he had being yet

uncircumcised.” at is, God recognizes them (believers

from among the Gentiles) as being truly circumcised.)

Having revealed His own name, God gives names to

Abram, Sarai and Isaac, signifying direct authority

ere is another element here, a common one to this

purport in Scripture; God’s giving a name to Abram and

to Sarai also. It signies the title of direct authority, and

entering into relationship on this ground. So Adam, so

Pharaoh, so Nebuchadnezzar. Here God having revealed

His own name gives one to Abram in connection with

Himself. enceforth He is the God of Abraham, revealing

Abraham’s place, and the sign of the covenant in separation

to Himself too; Abraham is the father of many nations;

Ishmael even is preserved and blessed; but the promised

seed stands alone, also has his name (laughter), the child

of mere promise of her whom God named too, intimating,

though not revealing, resurrection (compare Romans 4:19-

22). For this world, Israel as to promise holds the place of

Sarah thus named, but when dead according to the esh.

Darby Synopsis

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Genesis 18

e Seed of promise, the Heir of the world, and the

present object of hope

Chapter 18 is again a new unfolding of God’s ways, here

especially in connection with the seed, already in a general

way, as part of God’s purpose that it should be Abraham’s

seed according to grace and promise when esh had no

hope, and not according to the esh, but now specically

revealed as a present thing to Abraham. is seed of promise

is here the main object in view, and the present immediate

object of hope. is is so on to the end of chapter 21. But I

apprehend, he1 is here seen as heir of the<P048> world and

judge; while Abraham’s personal relationship with God is

in grace, by promise, where he is not seen; and, so far, has

the ground of faith, and, in gure, a Christian position.

Hence, God Himself being known (not merely His gifts),

Abraham rises higher than in chapter 15, and, instead of

asking gifts for himself, intercedes for others. All is the

eect of the gift of the heir being known. After chapter 22

the proper gures of the church as yet unrevealed come in,

because the seed is raised: we get, however, great individual

principles here.

(1. at is, the Seed, but who is withal Jehovah, the First

and the Last.)

Abraham’s visitors; the rebuke of unbelief

Abraham is accustomed to the divine presence, and it is

quickly felt by him; and although he says nothing referring

to the divine glory till the Lord is pleased to discover

Himself, yet from the rst he acts with an instinctive

Genesis 18

deference which was as fully accepted by Him who came.

In verse 3 Abraham addresses himself to One, yet speaks in

his hospitality to all, and to this they all answer, and inquire

withal for Sarah; but in verse 10 it is again individual, the

eectual promise of the Lord. In the rebuke of Sarah’s

unbelief Jehovah reveals Himself. He judges esh and

its unbelief, as He promises. Abraham accompanies the

three on their way; two go on, and Abraham is left alone

with Jehovah. In this respect it is a lovely scene of holy

consciousness and yet deferential waiting on the good

pleasure of God. e immediate promise of the arrival

of the seed is given. Abraham enjoys the most intimate

communion with Jehovah, who reveals His counsels to him

as to His friend. Intercession is the fruit of this revelation

(compare Isaiah 6). Judgment falls on the world; and while

Abraham, on the top of the mountain, communes with

God of the judgment which was to fall upon the world

below, where he was not, Lot, who had taken his place in

it, is saved so as by re. Righteousness which walks with

the world puts itself in the position of judge, and is at the

same time useless and intolerable. Abraham escapes all

judgment, and sees it from on high. Lot is saved from the

judgment which falls upon the world in which he found

himself. e place where Abraham enjoyed God is for him

a place of sterility and fear: he is forced to take refuge there

in the end, because he is afraid to be anywhere else.<P049>

Communion and intercession; the patience and

perfectness of judgment with God

In general, Abraham has the character here of

communion with God, which faith, without sight, gives-

not by an indwelling Holy Spirit, no doubt, according to

the privilege of the saints now (that was reserved for the

Darby Synopsis

time of fuller blessing, when the church’s Head should

be gloried), but in the general character of the blessing.

e promised seed is announced as to come, but not yet

brought into the world, that is, in the way of manifested

glory. Meanwhile, Abraham knows and believes it. God

then treats him, as we have seen, as a friend, and tells

him, not what concerns himself, but the world (with a

friend I speak of what I have on my heart, not merely of

my business with him); and then, as he has received these

communications from God, so he intercedes with God-a

stranger in the place of promise, on high in communion

with Him. And this is still more the place of the saints

now through the Holy Spirit: the full communication of

the mind and ways of God in the Word, and the Lord’s

coming to take them up, so that this is the scene they

live in by faith, and founded on that comes intercession.

Abraham had the promise of the heir for himself already;

here he is the vessel of divine knowledge of what concerns

the world too. is puts him in the place of full grace, and

so of intercession. His faith associates him with the mind

and character of God. It brings out, withal, the patience

and perfectness of judgment with God.

Genesis 19

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Genesis 19

Judgment: Lot delivered by providential power, but

passes through the tribulation and loses all he sought

Lot, in the following chapter, because of his connection

with the heavenly man, depositary of God’s counsels

and wisdom, and intercessor, himself down in the plain

of this world, which he had chosen, as the Jews have, is

delivered by providential power; but he passes through

the tribulation, and suers the loss of all that for which he

had refused the heavenly condition, and sought the earth,

as ignorant of the judgment as he was of the heavenly

treasure. Such is the position of the people of faith when

sunk into the world of judgment. Soon abandoned to the

uncertainty of unbelief<P050> in the presence of visible

judgment, he seeks his refuge in that place of Abraham’s

blessing to which he had previously been afraid to ee, and

which he had earlier abandoned for the ease of the well-

watered plain; but he is in miserable darkness, the parent

of a perpetual thorn to the people of God. But this last part

is only historically given, that Israel might know the origin

of Moab and Ammon; and furnishes a general principle

for all times.

us faith had its place, and the world had been judged.

So will it be in the days of the Son of Man; but here the

heir is not yet actually brought in, but expected, and the

path of faith, or the opposite, till He comes depicted.

Darby Synopsis

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Genesis 20-21

e heir and the path of faith

In chapters 20-21 we have the question of the heir and

of the path of faith in another point of view. Abraham

denies his relationship with his wife, and is reproved by the

world itself, which knows better than he what she should

be. God, however, guards the promises in His faithfulness,

and judges that which meddles with her who has to say to

them. e heir of promise is born; and the heir according

to the esh, son of the bondwoman or of the law, is entirely

rejected. Now Abraham reproves the powerful of the earth,

before whom he had previously denied his relationship

with his wife.

Unbelief working; God’s preservation of Sarah

But these two chapters must be somewhat more

developed. Like Abram’s going down to Egypt, we have

unbelief working in respect of the path into which he had

been called by grace, shown, as it ever is, in reference to

walking in the intimacy of the relationship in which God

had set him, of which woman is the expression in the types.

Here Sarah is the mother of the heir of the world, the wife

of Abraham, according to promise, and, for Abraham,

according to the church’s hope, as we have seen (though

Israel was the vessel according to esh). is position

he denies. Sarah is again his sister. is was worse than

before, for she is, to faith, mother of the heir of the world.

Abimelech was wrong, and acted to please himself, but

acted unconscious of it. Abraham <P051>before God was

in the falser position of the two. God warns Abimelech,

Genesis 20-21

and preserves Sarah by His own power, whom Abraham’s

want of faith had connected with the world; and Abimelech

returns her, with the cutting reproof to the church, as here

typied, that she at least ought to have known her own

relationship to Christ. Still, in the main, Abraham was

in the place of faith and blessing; and, as God’s prophet,

to whom none should do harm, intercedes for the faulty

Abimelech, for here all is grace. ere is another point to

notice here, that this was an arrangement of unbelief when

rst he started from his father’s house (ch. 20:13), so soon

was the germ of unbelief at work in the called of promise.

But God maintains the divine title to the allegiance of the

church at all times. But now the heir is born, the heir of

promise.

e heir of promise born and the heir of the

bondwoman cast out

e eect of this is that not only is the dierence known

to faith, but the heir of the bondwoman is utterly cast out

as to the inheritance. Historically he is preserved according

to God’s promise, a gure of legal Israel; but, as regards any

portion of the inheritance, wholly cast out.

Abraham’s title in the world

And here, further, Abraham fears no longer before the

prince of this world, but reproves him. He has the world, as

well as the heavenly communion, now that the heir is come;

and the world owns that God is with him in all things.

Hence the well of the oath is the witness of Abraham’s

title in the world, and Abimelech’s owning God to be with

him. ere, according to the oath and his title thus owned

by the world, he plants a grove, takes possession of the

earth, and worships, calling on the name of the everlasting

God-of Him who had once promised to Israel, and never

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abandoned His purpose, and had now accomplished on the

earth what His mouth had spoken: not, indeed, so blessed

a portion as the heavenly communion and possession of

faith, but a proof of the unchangeable faithfulness of the

God who had given the promises. ere Abraham, in

gure, now abides, where the power of the world had been.

is will belong to Israel in the letter, but we, on whom the

ends of the world are come, have it in a higher and<P052>

better way. It was the pledge of what should be and will be;

our hope is transferred to heaven where Christ is gone. But

we reign there in a better way.

Genesis 22-24

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Genesis 22-24

e heir of the promise sacriced and raised again, in

gure, and the call and readiness of the appointed bride

But on this introduction of the heir, he necessarily

becomes the main subject; and chapter 22 opens with

it: “It came to pass after these things,” for, indeed, a new

scene now opens. e heir of the promise is sacriced and

raised again in gure, and the promise is conrmed to the

seed.1e ancient depositary or form of the covenant (even

that of promise), mother of the heir (Sarah), now disappears.

Abraham sends Eliezer, the steward of his house, to seek

a wife for the risen heir, for his only son Isaac, from the

country whither Isaac was not to return-in the world

such as it is: beautiful gure of the mission of the Holy

Spirit, who, fullling His oce (after the Lord’s death and

resurrection) with the elect of God, who are to form the

Lamb’s wife in the counsels of God, conducts her (already

adorned with His gifts, but waiting the moment when

she shall see Him who is heir of all things that belong to

His Father) across the desert to her heavenly bridegroom.

e call and readiness of the appointed bride is beautifully

depicted, and she goes with him, who pregures the Spirit,

to the bridegroom who is heir of all. But mark how false

and wretched the position of the espoused wife, if Isaac

had lost his hold upon her heart-her home in nature left,

and she in the wilderness with one who was nothing to her,

if not her guide to Isaac. e walk of the Spirit, moreover,

in man, is depicted in the most instructive manner in the

details of this history, in the conduct of Eliezer: his simple

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subjection to what was for him the word of God even when

all seemed well (vss. 21-23); heart reference in thankfulness

to God the rst feeling (vs. 26); purpose of heart in service

(vs. 33), and the like.<P053>

(1. is distinct conrmation to (not in) the seed is

what the Apostle refers to as the one seed, that is Christ.

e general promises as to Israel were of a seed as the stars

of heaven for number. is is the conrmation to the one

seed, when risen, of the promise given in chapter 12.)

Genesis 25

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Genesis 25

e election of God sets apart His earthly people,

shown in Jacob

We have next the election of God which now sets apart

the earthly people, Jacob. It is remarkable how little we

have of Isaac, nothing but his remaining in heavenly places,

I mean, of course, in the gure, a wife being sought for him

on earth. We are on earth; yet the heavenly thing is to us

fully revealed and we have the earnest of all. In Abraham,

promise and principles are brightly unfolded to us; and

the earthly people of promise in Jacob are fully developed;

principles which we have all through. Jacob values the

promises of God; but if Lot was attracted by the well-

watered plain, the unbelief of Jacob was manifested in the

use of carnal means to obtain possession of the promises,

instead of waiting upon God. us his years were “few and

evil”; and he was continually the object of similar deceit

too. Remark here, that while the experience of Abraham

was altogether higher and better, and he had far fuller

communion with God in His mind, as it is with a faithful

Christian enjoying the things that are not seen, giving up

readily in the world, and interceding for others, yet the

unfaithful believer has much more experience in his path,

because he is not living with God. is we see in Jacob. He

prevails by faith through grace, but he wrestles for himself,

Abraham intercedes for others. But if we have in Isaac a

risen Christ, bridegroom, as to the gure, of the church

which the Holy Spirit has descended to seek here below

for Him who is on high; in Jacob we have Israel, driven out

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of the land of promise, kept of God to enjoy it afterwards.

I believe, however, that in his marriages we have the Lord,

who, while loving Israel (Rachel), has yet rst received the

Gentiles or the church, and then the Jews.

Summary of chapters 22-25; the sacrice and

resurrection of Christ shown in Isaac

ese subjects conduct us to the end of chapter 25-

the sacrice and resurrection of Christ, the calling of the

church in the gure of Rebecca, and the election of Israel,

the younger, to the promise and blessing in the earth. As

regards the rst point, the promises were settled in Isaac

living on the earth, as they were in<P054> the Person of

Christ. ere Abraham had to give all up in entire and

absolute condence in God, and trust them, with Isaac,

in God’s hand. So did Christ: all was His in connection

with the promises in Israel. He gave up all on the cross to

receive it in resurrection from His Father. Here, note, no

personal sacrice is ever made without a fresh ground of

relationship with God in grace; for God gives that which

sustains us in the sacrice, which was not needed to enjoy

the thing sacriced. God had given promises in Isaac; but

to trust God with a sacriced Isaac, resurrection must be

known; and so Abraham trusted that God would raise him

from the dead. For God could not fail in His promises.

e promise of the blessing of the families of the earth

made to Abraham conned to one seed, Isaac

In the Epistle to the Galatians the bearing of this part

of Scripture is considered. I only remark here that the

promise made to Abraham (ch. 12) is here conned to

the one sacriced and risen seed, Isaac. ere were other

promises to a seed numerous as the stars in heaven (itself

a promise); but the promise of the blessing of the families

Genesis 25

of the earth was given rst to Abram alone (ch. 22). Hence

the Apostle Paul speaks of one seed. e promise is not

spoken of elsewhere to Abram. It is conrmed to the risen

seed. In the end of the chapter, besides the general stem of

the nations, Rebecca’s origin is set forth.

Sarah disappears, to make way for Rebecca, Isaac’s

bride, the church in a gure

In chapter 23, as we have said, the vessel of promise,

Sarah, disappears, to make way for Rebecca, the son’s bride;

but with it, while Abraham has no portion in the land and

must buy his sepulchre, he has the sure pledge that he will

hereafter have it. He buries his dead there.

And now the heir’s bride must be sought. Remark, rst,

that she receives tokens of grace; then, as an espoused one,

gifts. She shows her willing mind through grace, and is led

of Eliezer in loneliness across the desert, leaving her father’s

house, to possess all with Isaac, to whom his father has

given everything. We have here fully the church in a gure:

Isaac, who is the risen man- between the man of promise,

Abraham, and Jacob, when Israel<P055> the earthly people

comes into the scene-must not on any account go back

to the country of nature, out of which his wife was to be

called. He is exclusively the heavenly man. Rebecca must

go to him. With him before her, her journey was blessed;

he once out of her mind, she was a stranger who had left

all to be homeless and portionless for nothing. Such is the

church. But to return was to give up Isaac.

e work of the Holy Spirit

Next mark, in the working of the Holy Spirit presented

in Eliezer, entire condence in God: he asks, and is

answered; but it must be entirely according to the word

(here Abraham’s), “Is she of the kindred?” Next, when the

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blessing is known, thanksgiving comes before joy; and next,

entire and exclusive consecration to the service he had to

perform. He will not eat till he has told his errand, and then

no hesitation: he has one work and nothing else. Would it

were so with all who are Christ’s! Eliezer conducts her to

Isaac, who is gone out and comes to meet her; and there, to

the son’s comfort, she replaces Sarah, the vessel of promise,

in the yet better place of the risen heir’s wife.

Abraham’s nished course; Isaac heir of all

Abraham’s course was nished. Promises have given

place to the church called by grace. But all that spring from

him have a place in the record of God; but Isaac is heir of

all, though Ishmael be great and have princes before him.1

(1. ough the subjects in general follow, chapter 25

is not in historical sequence. e “then” has no real force.

It is a general gathering up of the dierent families of

Abraham. Isaac was heir of his possessions, he gave gifts to

his concubines’ sons and sent them away. en we have his

death, and his two well-known sons, but Ishmael, the son

after the esh, rst; but Isaac and then Jacob carry on the

divine history.)

Esau and Jacob: their character and spring of conduct

Chapter 25:19 begins, in a measure, a new scene. We

are returned from the glimpse of heavenly things in Isaac

to earthly and Jewish things in Jacob. From the barren

woman-for all must be grace and divine power-spring two,

in whom election, not only in the grace of calling, but in

sovereignty and in contrast with works, is brought out. We

have the purpose of God revealed to<P056> Rebecca, but

of the history we have only so much as gives the character

and spring of conduct in Esau and Jacob. In Jacob there

was nothing naturally attractive; but Esau despised the

Genesis 25

gift of God; his judgment of what was valuable had its

origin from self. He was profane; though God in His

secret counsels had ordained the blessing in Jacob. Esau

saw nothing beyond the earthly advantage of the gift, and

nothing of the Giver or relationship with Him. Present

things governed him, his own present enjoyment; and

God’s promise had no further importance. Jacob, however

wretched his way of getting it, valued the promise for its

own sake; gave up present things, poor things no doubt,

but enough to govern Esau’s heart, to get it. In this we

have merely the presentation of the character of the two

sons. God’s dealings with them will come later, for Isaac’s

history now only begins. He is here the designated heir of

the world, but was to have, as such heir, the proper portion

of Israel in the earth. Chapter 24 gave, in gure, the secret

history of the church in connection with the risen heir.

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Genesis 26

God’s new revelation to Isaac whose history now

begins and who replaces Abraham as heir

Here (chapter 26) Isaac replaces Abraham as heir upon

the earth. It is a new revelation, when Isaac is himself in

a strange land, like the one made to Abraham at the rst;

only that Isaac was already in connection with the calling

of God, but not in enjoyment of the promise. ere was

a famine in the land, and Isaac could not dwell in it, and

he goes to those who had part of the land in possession,

but had no title-the future enemies and oppressors of his

people. But God appears to him there, and tells him not

to return into the world, but to dwell in the land which He

should tell him of. He is maintained in the heavenly places,

but still as a place of promise, though not now seeking it as

unknown, but still as an object of faith. It was a fresh calling

under dierent circumstances (the Lord appearing to him

anew), not indeed to journey to a land, but to dwell where

He should show him, and not to seek natural resources

(Egypt). He was not to go back, but to live by faith. But

the land is also shown and the promises renewed, both as

to Israel, and the nations, and the land. For the moment

he was<P057> to sojourn in the land where he was, that is,

where the Philistines were. us the whole land, Philistines

and all, was given to him, and he dwelt in Gerar.

Isaac’s personal walk as to faith

is is the position of Isaac; as the rst half of chapter

12 is the position of Abraham. From verse 7 to the end

we have his personal walk as to faith, as Abraham’s in the

Genesis 26

latter part of chapter 12; and the settlement of what should

be his portion in his posterity according to the faith that

he had. He fails like Abraham, and yet more as to energy.

He denies his wife, as Abraham had done, and he leaves

in the hand of the enemy the wells which Abraham had

dug: he had failed in faith in God before Abimelech, and,

though God had said to him, “Sojourn in this land,” he

has to recede before the will of Abimelech, then driven

from well to well, and has room only where the Philistine

has room. In Beer-sheba he meets with God, where he has

pitched his tent, where Abraham had set his bounds with

Abimelech when Isaac was born. But Abraham had not

received direction as to sojourning in the land, and had

reproved Abimelech, whose servants had taken the well,

and Abimelech had given it up. Abraham had dug all these

wells as he needed, as a stranger, and they were not taken

away: the only one contended for was Beer-sheba, and that

Abimelech gave up. However, Beer-sheba was, in divine

providence, the limit of the land according to the faith

of Israel. e Philistines did remain till David came, the

representative of Christ. e otherwise heirs of the land

possessed it not fully. ere the Lord appeared and blessed

Isaac: there Israel reposed and worshipped. is chapter is

Isaac’s history; it answers to Abraham’s (chapters 12 and

20).

Esau’s ways and thoughts governed by present

enjoyment

Esau’s ways were as careless as his thoughts as to the

birthright were profane. He marries with the women of

the land.<P058>

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100

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Genesis 27

Jacob as heir of the promises he values, but uses evil

means to secure

Jacob’s history now begins.1 Heir of the promises, and

valuing them, he uses means to have them, evil and low

in character. God answers his faith, and chastens his evil

and unbelief. God could have brought the blessing in His

own way (or made Isaac cross his hands as He did Jacob);

Jacob, led by his mother, followed his own way, and did

not wait for God. But the blessing was prophetic, and not

to be recalled. e ways of God and His purpose were not

to be changed. Isaac was guilty, and Jacob more so: all was

overruled to answer faith and chasten evil in the believer.

Esau had deliberately given up the right, when he had the

choice: God was not in his thoughts: he cannot receive the

blessing when the consequences are there. Man must act by

faith alone, when the consequences are not seen, in order to

be blessed, when the time for blessing comes.

(1. In general, Abraham is the root of all promise and

the picture of the life of faith: Isaac, of the heavenly man,

who receives the church; and Jacob, of Israel, heir of the

promises according to the esh.)

Genesis 28

101

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Genesis 28

Jacob’s wanderings, a picture of Israel watched over

but an outcast

Jacob becomes now the picture of cast-out and

wandering Israel, heir of the promises, watched over, but

an outcast. e wanderings of Abraham were in the land of

promise; those of Jacob, out of it: two things very dierent

one from another. God, indeed, was with Jacob, and never

left him; but Abraham walked with God: in the realization

of His presence he built his altar. Jacob had no altar; he was

not in the place of promise. For such a path takes us out of

communion. Although God in His faithfulness be with us,

we are not with Him. However, so soon as he bows to the

chastisement-destitute, and with his sta, and a stone for

his pillow, God reveals Himself to him, and assures to him

all the promises, not in the full revelation of communion,

but in a dream.<P059> And here all the promises are

renewed, but with a notable dierence from all before; for

now the promise of the blessings to the nations is to him

and his seed; for here we are in connection with Israel and

the blessing of the earth. us it is not merely the one seed,

Christ; but the seed of Israel in possession of the land-the

millennial possession of the earth.

e promises renewed, and another added

But another promise was added, a precious and

important one, that, outcast and a wanderer as he was, God

would keep him in all places whither he went, and bring

him back to the land, and fulll all without fail, not leaving

him till He had accomplished all. God was above; Jacob,

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102

the object of promise and blessing, of the earth; but earth

was all under the providential control of heaven; and the

angels had Jacob for their care, ascended and descended,

accomplishing the will of God.1 Awakened, Jacob binds

himself to Jehovah as his God-for Jehovah stood at the top

of the ladder; and thus He became, prophetically, the God

of a restored Israel, with whom, though far from heaven,

was the house of God on earth in connection with heaven.

It was a legal though just vow, and all prophetic. He is now

a stranger, and in many things represents Christ aicted in

the aiction of His people.

(1. Christ is the object in John; the ladder is merely to

connect the scene.)

Genesis 29-35

103

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Genesis 29-35

Jacob’s two wives-the Gentiles and Israel

I have no doubt that in the two wives, as I have said,

we have the Gentiles and Israel: Rachel rst loved on the

earth, but not possessed; but Leah the fruitful mother

of children. Rachel had children also afterwards on the

earth. Rachel, as representing the Jews, is the mother of

Joseph, and later of Benjamin, that is, of a suering Christ

gloried among the Gentiles, while rejected of Israel; and

of a reigning Christ, the son of his mother’s sorrow, but of

his father’s right hand.<P060>

e deceiver deceived, but preserved according to

God’s promise

Jacob’s personal history is the sad tale of deceit and wrong

done to him; but God, as He had promised, preserving him

throughout. What a dierence from Eliezer and Abraham,

where the power and character of the Holy Spirit is

seen! Here Providence preserves, but it is Jacob’s history.

He is bitterly deceived as he had deceived, but preserved

according to promise. At the return of Jacob the hosts of

God came to meet him. He receives a new and wondrous

proof of God’s mighty and gracious care, which should

have recalled Bethel to him. But this does not remove his

terror. He must anew use the means of unbelief, and sends

children and wives and all on before, and presents after

presents to appease Esau; but his strength was not there.

God would not leave him in the hands of Esau, but He

deals with him Himself. He wrestles with him, sustaining at

the same time his faith in the wrestling; and, after making

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104

him feel his weakness, and that for all his life, gives him,

in weakness, the place and part of victor. He is a prince

with God, and prevails with God and with men-victory

in conict with a God who is dealing with him, but no

revelation of or communion with Him.

e dealings of God with a soul who does not walk

with Him

is is a wonderful scene: the dealings of God with a

soul that does not walk with Him. It is not, however, the

calm communion of Abraham with Jehovah: Abraham

intercedes for others, instead of wrestling for himself. So

also, though God gives Jacob a name and so far recognizes

his relationship with Himself, He does not reveal to Jacob

His name, as He had done to Abraham. Jacob, too, still

employs his deceitful ways; for he had no thought of

going to Seir, as he said. But he is delivered from Esau, as

from Laban, and at last establishes himself at Shechem,

buying lands where he ought to have remained a stranger.

God removes him out of it, but by strange and humbling

circumstances; still God’s fear on the nations preserves

him. He is not yet back to the point where God had given

him the promises and assured the blessing; that was at

Bethel. Here, however, he was able to build an altar, using,

at the same time, the name which exalted his own position,

and which took the ground of the blessing which had

been granted to him; an<P061> act of faith, it is true, but

which conned itself to the blessing, instead of rising up

to the Blesser. is, indeed, he was not properly able to do

yet. God was dealing with him, and he was, in a measure,

thinking on God; but proper communion was not there: so

is it in like case with us.

Genesis 29-35

105

However, God led him onward, and now tells him to

go up to the place whence he had set out, and there build

an altar, where he had entered into covenant with God,

the faithful God, who had been with him all the way in

which he went. But what a discovery is made here! He

must now meet God Himself, and not simply be dealt with

for his good-God’s name still unknown, no full revelation

of Him. And this is a great dierence. Now he must meet

Him.

e result of meeting God Himself

He remembers-he knew it well, although he paid no

attention to it until he had to meet God-there were false

gods in his family. Meeting God Himself-not in secret

and mysterious struggle, but face to face, so to speak-

brings all to light. He puries himself, and the false gods

are removed, and he goes up to Bethel. ere God reveals

Himself openly to him, in grace making known His name,

unasked, to him as to Abraham, and confers upon him

anew the name of Israel, as if he had not received it before.

Rachel gives birth to him who, child of his mother’s sorrow,

is the son of his father’s right hand (remarkable type of

Christ the Lord); for this is, guratively, the establishment

of the promise in power in his person, though the former

standing of Israel, represented by Rachel, must disappear;

but her remembrance is kept up in the land.

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106

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Genesis 36

e apostate world in power, and the heirs of promise

as pilgrims on the earth

e apostate world establishes itself in power, while the

heirs of promise are still poor pilgrims upon the earth. is

last is a distinct point of revelation.<P062>

Genesis 37-41

107

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Genesis 37-41

Joseph, the beloved of his father, in humiliation

What follows from chapter 37 is the interesting history

of Joseph, to which even children ever yield a ready ear,

although ignorant of all the beauties which the believer

nds who knows Jesus, and recognizes Him as pregured

there: for there is an intrinsic beauty, where the heart is not

yet hardened, in all that reveals Him. Joseph, as revealed in

his dreams (faith alone could thus own it), is, in the counsels

of God, heir of the glory and chief of all the family. His

brothers are jealous of this; so much the more that he is

the beloved of his father. He is sold to the Gentiles by his

brethren, and, in the gure, instead of being put to death,

as the Jews did to the true Joseph (that being not possible),

is passed for dead. Meanwhile Judah falls into every kind

of shame and sin, which does not deprive him, however,

of the royal genealogy. Joseph is brought low among the

Gentiles, through false accusations put in prison, his “feet

made fast in the stocks.” “e iron enters into his soul”: “till

the time came that his cause was known, the word of the

Lord tried him.”

All power committed to Joseph in his elevation

Rising out of his humiliation, he is elevated, unknown

now of his brethren, to the right hand of the throne; and the

administration of all power over the Gentiles committed

to him. In his humiliation, interpreter of the thoughts and

counsels of God; in his elevation, he administers with power

according to the same wisdom, and reduces all under the

immediate authority of him who was seated on the throne.

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108

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Genesis 42-47

Repentance and humiliation bring blessing through

the once-rejected One

At the same time another scene presents itself. His

brethren, who had rejected him, forced by famine, are

brought, by the path of repentance and humiliation, to own

him at length in glory, whom they had once rejected when

connected with themselves.<P063> Benjamin, type of the

power of the Lord upon earth among the Jews, is united

to him who, unknown, had the power of the throne among

the Gentiles; that is, Christ unites these two characters. But

this brings all the brethren into connection with Joseph.

Finally, Jacob and his family are placed, as a people

apart, in the most favored country of all that was under

the power of the throne of the great king. Nothing can

be more touching than the conduct of Joseph towards his

brethren; but I must leave these reections to the hearts

of my readers, placing them, as far as my hearty desires

can, under the precious inuence of the Spirit of God. e

rapid survey I have given gives the type a clearer application

than more detail would, and that is what is of the deepest

interest here.

Joseph revealed to his brethren in glory and grace

Only remark that here the repentance is immediately

in connection with the rejection of Joseph; this is brought

on the conscience of Joseph’s brethren. So in the end will

it be with Israel. It is not here in reference to the law-that

we shall have after Sinai-but in typical connection with

the Messiah. eir consciences are fully convinced, and

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109

they go back to all the circumstances of his rejection. It is

only gradually that Joseph reveals himself, and with many

exercises of heart, which his dealings work in his brethren.

In the end Judah is brought into prominence in connection

with Benjamin. It is when Judah takes the sorrow of Israel

to heart, in connection with Benjamin, and the loss of

Joseph, and puts himself into it, that Joseph, in his glory, is

revealed to them as their brother: it is a lovely scene. e

perfect grace of Joseph at the end is a wonderful picture of

Christ’s revelation of Himself (ch. 45:4-8).

God’s children and the world

It is touching to remark, when Jacob is presented to

Pharaoh, though acknowledging that, compared with

those of his fathers, his life had been a sad one, he can

bless the monarch of all the country, himself a despised

shepherd; and “without contradiction the less is blessed of

the greater.” e least and most faltering of God’s children

has the superiority, and is conscious of it, in presence of the

most elevated men of the world.<P064>

Israel blessed in grace in connection with a risen

Saviour

e coming down to Egypt was according to God: so we

have here Israel viewed as abiding God’s time, even when

oppressed, not as cast out and wandering as the eect of

disobedience. Both are true. God, remark, appears to him

as the God of Isaac his father, not of Abraham: his blessing

comes under the risen Christ. What hangs on promises

Israel has lost by the rejection of Christ; but God can appear

for him in pure grace, in connection with a risen Saviour,

and fulll them according to His own faithfulness;1 and

so it is in gure here. erefore is Israel blessed in spite

of all, though long oppressed and a stranger. When he

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is in connection with Joseph, the scene changes; that is,

in his connection, in the world, with a gloried Christ

revealed to him there, he has the best of the land, which is

brought into universal order and subjection as belonging to

Pharaoh, whom Joseph represented, and whose authority

he exercised over it. Beer-sheba, the border of Israel-

from henceforward he was a stranger-is the place of this

revelation of God.

(1. is is the subject of Romans 11:28-33. In verse

31 read, “Even so have these not now believed in your

mercy that they also might be objects of mercy.” ey had

forfeited the promises, and take them now on no higher

ground than a Gentile; that is, pure mercy.)

One cannot fail to see in the history of Joseph one of

the most remarkable types of the Lord Jesus, and that in

many details of the ways of God in regard to the Jews and

Gentiles.

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111

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Genesis 48-50

Joseph as heir in Canaan

Lastly, in chapter 48 besides the prophetical character-

important in the history of Israel-we see Joseph as heir;

the double portion (mark of the eldest, heir of the father,

among the Jews) being given to him (see 1Chronicles

5:1-2); and not only as heir, but as heir in Canaan-Jacob’s

heir there where Rachel had died; that is, where Israel, as

the Jewish beloved one of God, had failed and gone. Here,

too, all is ordered according to the purpose and counsel of

God, not according to nature; and Joseph, in his children,

possesses, as heir, the portion taken from the hand of the

enemy by power; for Joseph, after his rejection, is ever

Christ as gloried, and then heir of the world.<P065>

e pledge to Israel of their reestablishment in the

land and the patience of God with evil

We have, then, the lot of the children of Jacob; and

two facts, the burying of Jacob, and the commandment

concerning the bones of Joseph, given as a certain pledge

of the reestablishment of Israel, left, according to what had

been said to Abraham, and in appearance abandoned, in a

strange country, while the patience of God bore yet with

the iniquity of the Amorites, a patience which strikes only

when it is impossible to bear the evil any longer (ch. 49-

50).

Remark the beauty of the grace in Joseph (ch. 45:7-8;

50:17,19-20).

e dierence between the prophetic blessings of

Jacob and Moses

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It seems to me that there is this dierence between the

prophecies of Jacob and Moses as to the tribes. Here the

prophecy refers to the responsibility of the rst parent-

source of the tribe, as Reuben, Simeon, Levi; and to the

counsels of God, which put forward Judah (the stock from

which the Lord sprang as regards the royalty) and Joseph

(type of Christ as Nazarene, separated from his brethren,

and afterwards exalted). e rest, if we except Benjamin

who ravages with power, gives the general characters of

the position and conduct of the tribes of Israel; Dan, of

his wickedness, and even of his character of traitor. I may

add that besides the royal place of Judah maintained as a

distinct tribe till Christ came, up to the end of Issachar, it is

the sad history of Israel in its responsibility and what befell

them. Dan adds to this traitorous unfaithfulness, as indeed

he set up, we may say, tribal idolatry. is casts the faith of

Jacob on waiting for God’s salvation, and grace comes in.

All that follows is blessing, and Christ the shepherd and

stone of Israel. Moses gives rather the history of the people

as entering into the country on leaving the wilderness; and

we nd the priesthood and people to be the two points

brought into prominence, although power and a special

blessing be given to Judah.<P066>

e moral character and failure of Israel and the

purposes of God

I add a few details as to this prophetic blessing, hoping

to make it more clear. We may remark, in the tribes,

responsibility and the future of Israel as rstborn according

to nature. Reuben represents Israel in this character; Simeon

and Levi, who come after and will maintain their right by

nature’s force, are no better. en we have the purpose of

God in the king and the whole of the royal tribe till Christ

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113

come, to whom the gathering of the peoples shall be.

Joseph comes with Benjamin at the end, the representative

of Christ personally gloried, as Benjamin of Christ in

judgment on earth. Joseph is a personal representative of

Christ, separated from His brethren, glorious and blessed

as the heir of all the resources of God. Dan, before this,

though owned as a judging tribe and so Israel in him, yet

marks out that apostasy and power of Satan in Israel which

led the remnant to look beyond the portion of the people,

unfaithful in every way, to Him who was the salvation:

“We have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah.”

Salvation will come with the true Joseph

I rather think, as already noticed, that in the other tribes

we have a distinct contrast of what Israel is as oppressed,

before Christ-who has taken the full Joseph character in

glory, and has answered the faith of the remnant expressed

in verse 18- and after; and that thus, in these characters of

the tribes, we have the whole history of Israel. Judah and

Joseph have been already marked out and distinguished

in the history-Judah as surety for and connected with

Benjamin, and Joseph in all his history. us, after Judah, in

Zebulun and Issachar we have Israel mixed with the world,

busied in its waters to seek prot, and a slave to it for rest

and quiet; but this ends in Dan and apostasy, so that the

remnant, in the spirit of prophecy, wait for the salvation

which is to come with the true Joseph. All is prosperity

when this is looked to. Once overcome, he overcomes at

the last: his bread is fat and yields royal dainties in his own

land, not seeking them by mixture with, and subjection

to, the world. And Naphtali is in the liberty of God, and

full of goodly words. In Joseph and Benjamin we have the

crowning of all blessing in the double char<P067>acter of

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Christ, the heavenly Heir of all, and power and strength

upon the earth that subdues all.

So that the whole series would be thus: Reuben, Simeon,

and Levi, the moral character and failure of responsible

Israel. It will be found, as ever, corruption and violence:

such is man. Next, the purpose of God in Judah: he remains

till Shiloh come, to whom the gathering of the peoples

belongs. But He was rejected when He came to Judah, and

there was no gathering: “beauty” and “bands” were broken.

Deliverance and blessing through Christ as once

separated and now the heavenly, gloried Man

Next, the state of Israel being such, interaction with

nations (which, when not in the power of God, is corruption),

subjection to their yoke for ease, and apostasy: still owned

as a people, however; and then the remnant looking to the

only source, and waiting, not for good in Israel, but salvation

from Jehovah Elohim. ereon deliverance and blessing

for Israel; and nally (what we have already seen as the

double character of Christ-separated from His brethren,1

and then gloried) Joseph and Benjamin present Him to

us as the heavenly, gloried Man to whom all is entrusted,

and the all-conquering Lord on the earth.

(1. Joseph is so characterized in Deuteronomy also.)

Israel’s past and future history in Jacob’s prophetic

blessing

On the whole, I think we have a complete history of

Israel in this way. First his failure: Reuben, Simeon, and

Levi, corruption and violence, as already remarked. en

Judah, God’s purpose in His people, in connection with

the royal stock and Shiloh. is is plain enough. To Him

the gathering of the peoples was to be. Zebulun and

Issachar then show their mixture with, and subjection to,

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115

the Gentiles for gain and prosperity; Dan, the treachery

of Satanic power, when faith waits for Jehovah’s salvation.

Gad, Asher, Naphtali, and Joseph and Benjamin, the fruit

and power of this salvation when the Shepherd, the Stone

of Israel, shall be also there, when prosperity full in Israel

shall overpass its bounds, and victorious power shall belong

to them.<P068>

e fear of God shown in Joseph the true basis of

power and blessing

Personally the fear of God was in Joseph from beginning

to end: a mighty principle, and the true basis of power.

Whatever his glory, he does not forget Canaan or the

earthly promise-he sends his bones there: nor has Christ.

So Joseph, when Israel is gone, forgives his brethren their

wrong, and nourishes them with his riches. So is it with

Christ: He is above the wrong and the just fears of them

that rejected Him; He will bless Israel from His own stores

of heavenly glory. e Lord hasten it in its day!<P069>

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Exodus

e characteristic subject of Exodus, the deliverance,

redemption and establishment of Israel as God’s people

In the Book of Exodus we have, as the general and

characteristic subject, the deliverance and redemption of the

people of God, and their establishment as a people before

Him, whether under the law, or under the government of

God in long-suering-of a God who, having so brought

them to Himself, provided for His unfaithful people;

not indeed entrance into His own presence, but a way

of approaching Him, at least at a distance, although they

had failed. But the veil was unrent: God did not come out

to them, nor could they go in to God. And this is of all

possible importance, and characteristic of the dierence of

Christianity. God did come among sinful men in love in

Christ, and man is gone in to God, in righteousness, and

withal the veil is rent from top to bottom. e law required

from man what man ought to be as a child of Adam; life

was put as the consequence of keeping it, and there was a

curse for him if it was not kept. God’s relationship with the

people had at rst been in grace; but this did not continue,

and the people never entered thereinto with intelligence,

nor understood this grace like persons who stood in need

of it as sinners. Let us examine the course of these divine

instructions.

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Exodus 1-2

Israel’s persecutions and the providential

superintendence of God

First, we have the historical circumstances which relate

to the captivity of Israel-the persecutions which this people

had to endure, and the providential superintendence of God

answering the faith of the parents of the infant Moses, and

thus accomplishing the counsels of His grace, which not

only preserved the child’s life,<P070> but placed him in an

elevated position in the court of Pharaoh. e things that

are done on the earth He does them Himself. He prepares

all beforehand when nothing is as yet apparent to man.

e response of Providence to faith neither its guide

nor its power for work

But, although Providence responds to faith, and acts in

order to accomplish God’s purposes, and control the walk of

His children, it is not the guide of faith, although it is made

so sometimes by believers who are wanting in clearness of

light. Moses’ faith is seen in his giving up, when grown

to age, all the advantages of the position in which God

had set him by His providence. Providence may, and often

does, give that which forms, in many respects, the servants

of God for their work, as vessels; but cannot be their power

in the work. ese two things must not be confounded.

It gives that, the giving up of which is a testimony of the

reality of faith and of the power of God which operates in

the soul. It is given that it may be given up. is is part of

the preparation. is faith acted through aections which

attached him to God, and consequently to the people of

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God in their distress, and manifested itself, not in the helps

or reliefs which his position could well have enabled him to

give to them, but in inducing him to identify himself with

that people because it was God’s people. Faith attaches itself

to God, and appreciates, and would have part in the bond that

exists between God and His people: and thus it thinks not of

patronizing from above, as if the world had authority over

the people of God, or was able to be a blessing to them. It

feels (because it is faith) that God loves His people; that

His people are precious to Him-His own on the earth; and

faith sets itself thus, through very aection, in the position

where His people nd themselves. is is what Christ did.

Faith does but follow Him in His career of love, however

great the distance at which it walks.

Moses’ faith shown in identication with God and

His people

How many reasons might have induced Moses to

remain in the position where he was; and this even under

the pretext of being able to do more for the people; but

this would have been leaning on the power of Pharaoh,

instead of recognizing the bond between the people and

God: it might have resulted in a relief which the<P071>

world would have granted, but not in a deliverance by God,

accomplished in His love and in His power. Moses would

have been spared much aiction, but lost his true glory;

Pharaoh attered, and his authority over the people of God

recognized; and Israel would have remained in captivity,

leaning on Pharaoh, instead of recognizing God in the

precious and even glorious relationship of His people with

Him. God would not have been gloried. Yet all human

reasoning, and all reasoning connected with providential

ways, would have induced Moses to remain in his position:

Exodus 1-2

119

faith made him give it up. All would really have been

spoiled.

Moses set aside for a time that his service may be more

entirely subject to God

Moses, then, identies himself with the people of God.

A certain natural activity, and the unconscious habits of a

strength which was not purely from on high, accompanied

him, perhaps; however, it is the rst devotedness which is

pointed out by the Holy Spirit1 as the good and acceptable

fruit of faith. But it ought to have been more entirely

subject to God, and to have had its starting point in Him

alone, and in obedience to His expressed will. We have, in

this case, an example of the way in which the Lord often

acts. e earnest energy of faithfulness is allowed to be

manifested, but the instrument is put aside for a moment,

in order that the service may depend directly and entirely

upon God. ere was something analogous to this even in

Jesus, save that there was not in Him either false reckoning,

or error, or external providences in consequence to deliver

Him from them. In Him the perfection of the energy of life

within acted always in the knowledge of who His Father

was, and at the same time submitted to His will in the

circumstances in which He had morally placed Him. But

the Lord appeared as Son with the doctors in the temple,

and then was subject to Joseph and Mary till the time and

way appointed of God, only alike perfect in both. Moses,

fearful even amid faithfulness, and dreading the power

which lent him, unconsciously perhaps, a certain habit of

energy (for one is afraid of<P072> that from which one

draws one’s strength), and repulsed by the unbelief of those

towards whom his love and his faithfulness carried him, for

“they understood [him] not,” ed to the desert; a type, as

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to the fact itself, of the Lord Jesus, rejected by the people

whom He loved.

(1. Hebrews 11:24-26. is is often the case with God’s

children, faithful in their principles and desires, they have

not done with self and its energies; indeed this is always

the case till self is utterly judged and known and, so to

speak, replaced by Christ, and doing simply God’s will. But

the world is always stronger than the Christian’s energy in

the esh.)

Dierences between Joseph and Moses as types

ere is a dierence between this type and that of

Joseph. Joseph takes the position (as put to death) of Jesus

raised to the right hand of the supreme throne over the

Gentiles, in the end receiving his brethren from whom he

had been separated. His children are to him a testimony of

his blessing at that time. He calls them Manasseh (“because

God,” says he, “has made me forget all my labors, and all

the house of my father”) and Ephraim (“because God

has made me fruitful in the land of my aiction”). Moses

presents to us Christ separated from His brethren;1 and

although Zipporah might be considered as a type of the

church (as well as Joseph’s wife), as the bride of the rejected

Deliverer during his separation from Israel, yet, as to what

regards his heart, his feelings (which are expressed in the

names that he gives to his children), they are governed by

the thought of being separated from the people of Israel:

his fraternal aections are there-his thoughts are there-his

rest and his country are there. He is a stranger everywhere

else. Moses is the type of Jesus as the deliverer of Israel.

He calls his son Gershom, that is to say, a “stranger there”;

“for,” says he, “I have sojourned in a strange land.” Jethro

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121

presents to us the Gentiles among whom Christ and His

glory were driven when He was rejected by the Jews.

(1. As a gure he came to his own and they rejected

him; see lower down. Stephen notices this morally (Acts

7); and so Christ is separated from His brethren in the

world till He returns in power. )

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Exodus 3

God sees His people, gives faith, displays His power,

and sends Moses as a prince and deliverer

But at last God looks upon His people, and not only

gives the faith that identies itself with His people, but

displays the power which delivers them. at Moses, who

was rejected as a prince<P073> and a judge, must now

appear in the midst of Israel and of the world as a prince

and a deliverer.

Stephen made use of these two examples, in order to

convict the consciences of the Sanhedrim of their similar

and still greater sin in the case of Christ.

God-who to appearance had left Moses in the power

of his enemies, without recognizing his faith-manifests

Himself now to him when alone, in order to send him to

deliver Israel and to judge the world.

e hope of the esh destroyed and its strength

humbled

Considered as a practical history, this sending away of

Moses into the wilderness, and his long sojourn there, is

full of instruction. God shows Himself to us as destroying

the hope of the esh, and humbling its strength. He makes

of the adopted son of the house of the king, a shepherd,

under the protection of a stranger; and this during forty

years, before he can undertake God’s work, in order that

the work might be a work of obedience, and the strength

that of God; and Moses’ hope and the aection of his heart

were left in abeyance all this time. No human issue was

apparent.

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123

God’s manifestation of Himself in His name

But God was now about to manifest Himself under

the name of Jehovah. He had put Himself in relation

with the fathers under the name of God Almighty. at

was what they wanted, and this was His glory in their

pilgrimage. Now He takes a name in relationship with

His people, which implies constant relationship with

them; and in which, being established with Him who is

the same yesterday, today and forever, He accomplishes in

faithfulness what He has begun in grace and promise, all

the while showing what He is in patience and in holiness

in His government in the midst of His people. For us He

calls Himself Father, and acts towards us according to the

power of that blessed name to our souls.1<P074>

(1. Compare Matthew 5 and John 17. His millennial

name is Most High. See the interesting connection of three

of these names in Psalm 91. at of Father is not found

in the psalms: the Son has revealed it. e other three

connect themselves with the earth and the government of

the world. Father puts us in the place of sons with God, in

the same relationship with God in which Christ Himself

is, and, when the time comes, to be like Him and to be

heirs of God.)

e grace of God shown: Moses sent to Pharaoh

But Jehovah is not the rst name He takes in His

communications with the people through the mediation of

Moses. He rst presents Himself as interested in them for

their fathers’ sakes, whose God He was. He tells them their

cry had come up to Him; He had seen their aiction, and

was come down to deliver them. Touching expression of

the grace of God! Upon this He sends Moses to Pharaoh,

to lead them up out of Egypt.

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Moses raises diculties in unbelief; God’s gracious

answers

But, alas! obedience, when there is only that, and when

carnal energy does not mix itself with it, is but a poor thing

for the human heart. e eshly energy with which Moses

had slain the Egyptian was now gone; and when God calls

upon Moses to go into Egypt for the deliverance of His

people, Moses raises diculties. God gives thereupon a

sign, in token that He will be with him, but a sign which

was to be fullled after the obedience of Moses, and was

to strengthen him and to rejoice him when he had already

obeyed.

God’s names revealing Himself and His relationship

with the earth

Moses still makes diculties, to which God answers in

grace, until they cease to be weakness, and become rather

the working of self in unbelief. For thither self-indulgence

in weakness tends. In the mission which God thus

conded to Moses, He declares His name “I Am.” At the

same time, while declaring that He is that He is, He takes

forever, as His name upon the earth, the name of the God

of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob: an important principle,

as regards God’s ways. “I Am” is His own essential name,

if He reveals Himself; but as regards His government

of, and relationship with, the earth, His name, that by

which He is to be remembered to all generations, is the

God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. is gave Israel,

now visited and taken up of God under this name, a very

peculiar place.<P075>

Abraham’s peculiar and separate place as heir of the

promises, and His seed beloved; their election and God’s

foreknowledge as to Pharaoh

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125

In Abraham rst God had called any out, rst to him

given any promises. He rst had been publicly called apart

from the world, so that God called Himself his God. He

never calls Himself God of Abel or of Noah, though in a

general sense He is the God, of course, of every saint. Faith

itself is rst here pointed out as the way of righteousness.

In Eden, God, in judging the serpent, had announced the

nal victory of the promised Seed; in Abel, He had shown

what acceptable sacrice from a sinner was-not the fruits

of his labor under judgment, but the blood God’s grace had

given to him, which answered his need; and this established

a righteousness in which he who came to God through

the oered sacrice stood, and of which he had himself

the witness, and which was measured by his gift, that is

by Christ Himself;1 in Enoch, clear and absolute victory

over death, and removal from earth, God taking him; in

Noah, deliverance through judgments, when the world was

judged. en a new world began, and a ceasing, through the

sweet savor of sacrice, to curse the earth, and a covenant

for its preservation from any future destruction by water.

But in Abraham we have, after the judgment of Babel, one

called out from the world now worshipping other gods,

brought into separate and immediate connection with God,

and promises given to him; a person called to be the object

and depositary of God’s promises. is gave him a very

peculiar place. God was his God. He had a separate place

from all the world with Him, as heir of the promises. He is

the root of all the heirs of them. Christ Himself comes as

seed of Abraham, who is the father also of the faithful as

to the earth. Israel is the promised nation under this title.

As regards election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.

In this name, consequently, as His eternal memorial, God

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126

would now deliver them. At the same time, God foretells

that Pharaoh will not let the people go; but takes clearly

the ground of His authority and of His right over His

people, and of authoritative demand upon Pharaoh that he

should recognize them. Upon his refusal to do so, he would

be judged by the power of God.<P076>

(1. Note in Hebrews 11 it is not the divine gift of Christ

for us, but the coming in faith by Him to God.)

Exodus 4

127

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Exodus 4

Signs given; Moses’ refusal and God’s wrath and

mercy accomplishing His purposes

Moses still raises diculties, and God gives him again

signs, remarkable signs. e two rst seem to me in their

character- types, the rst, of sin and of its healing; the second,

of power, which, having become Satanic, is taken back, and

becomes the rod of God; and then presents that which

refreshes, coming from God, as having become judgment

and death. But we must note here the dierence of what was

then given to Moses and what occurred in Egypt. Here in

the two personal signs, there is rst restoration (the leprosy

is healed), and then power from which Moses ed becomes

the rod of God in his hand. e water becoming blood is

simple judgment. In Egypt the rst is not found, he acted

for God there, but there was a much larger development of

the two last signs. e personal healing, that is, and removal

of sin there was nothing of. But power completely destroys

all manifestation of Satanic power, and the worshipped

source of wealth for the esh and the world became death

and judgment to it. But Moses refuses still, and the wrath

of God is kindled against him; yet He acts in mercy, in

a way, however, humbling to Moses, with whom he now

joins Aaron his brother whom He had already prepared for

that, and who had come out of Egypt to meet him; for the

folly of His children, while it is to their shame and to their

loss, accomplishes the purposes of God.

Circumcision necessary for the coworkers with a God

of holiness

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Whatever may be the power of Him that delivers, it is

necessary that circumcision should be found in him who

is interested in, and who is used as an instrument of, the

deliverance; for the Saviour-God is a God of holiness;

it is in holiness, and in judging sin, that He delivers: and

acting in holiness, He does not suer sin in those who are

coworkers for Him, with whom He is in contact; for He

comes out of His place in judgment. For us the question is

of being dead to sin, the true circumcision; our Moses is a

bloody husband to her who has to do with him. God cannot

use the esh in the ght against Satan. He cannot suer it

Himself,<P077> for He is in His place in judgment. Satan

also would have power over it, and of right; God therefore

puts it to death Himself, and this is done for us on the

cross, where He who knew no sin was made sin for us

(compare Romans 8:3). And He wills that this should be

accomplished in us also. is is true of those who compose

the assembly; but they can reckon themselves dead. We

bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.1 It

will be true in one way more evidently, in judgment at the

last day, when the Lord pleads with all esh, and identies

Himself with those who have not taken part spiritually in

the fellowship of Christ’s suerings, the Christian’s place.

God will purge Jerusalem by the spirit of burning.

(1. In Colossians 3 we nd God’s judgment of him in

whom Christ is (compare Romans 8:10); in Romans 6 faith

reckons it so; in 2Corinthians 4 it is practically realized.

And God proves the faith, but to conrm the soul in it. See

2Corinthians 1 and 4.)

Exodus 5-13

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e power of evil; Satan’s resistance permitted for the

exercise of faith, discipline of God’s people and display

of His power

At the news of the goodness of God, the people

adore Him; but the struggle against the power of evil is

another matter. Satan will not let the people go, and God

permits this resistance, for the exercise of faith, and for

the discipline of His people, and for the brilliant display

of His power where Satan had reigned. We have to learn,

and perhaps painfully, that we are in the esh and under

Satan’s power; and that we have no power to eect our own

deliverance, even with the help of God. It is the redemption

of God in Christ’s death and resurrection, realized in the

power of the Spirit given when He had accomplished that

redemption and had sat down on the right hand of the

Majesty in the heavens, that delivers; for forgiveness, and

escape from judgment, is not deliverance. One refers to

sins and God’s righteously passing over them, the other to

sin and its power.

Oppression heavier; the hand of God shown

Before the deliverance, when the hopes of the people

are now awakened, the oppression becomes heavier than

ever, and the<P078> people would have preferred being left

quiet in their slavery. But the rights and counsels of God

are in question. e people must be thoroughly detached

from these Gentiles, who, to this end, are now become

their torment under God’s hand. Moses works signs. e

magicians imitate them by the power of Satan, in order

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to harden Pharaoh’s heart. But when the question is of

creating life, they are forced to recognize the hand of God.

God as Judge and Deliverer

At last God executes His judgment, taking the rstborn

as representatives of all the people. We have thus two parts

in the deliverance of the people; in one, God appears as

Judge, but satised through the blood that is before Him;

in the other, He manifests Himself as Deliverer. Up to this

last, the people are still in Egypt. In the rst, the expiatory

blood of redemption bars the way to Him as Judge, and

it secures the people infallibly; but God does not enter

within-its value is to secure them from judgment.1

(1. Note here the expression, “When I see the blood, I

will pass over.” It is not said, When you see it, but, When

I see it. e soul of an awakened person often rests, not

on its own righteousness, but on the way in which it sees

the blood. Now, precious as it is to have the heart deeply

impressed with it, this is not the ground of peace. Peace is

founded on God’s seeing it. He cannot fail to estimate it at

its full and perfect value as putting away sin. It is He that

abhors and has been oended by sin; He sees the value of

the blood as putting it away. It may be said, But must I not

have faith in its value? is is faith in its value, seeing that

God looks at it as putting away sin; your value for it looks

at it as a question of the measure of your feelings. Faith

looks at God’s thoughts.)

e journey out of Egypt with God

e people, their loins girded, having eaten in haste,

with the bitter herbs of repentance, begin their journey; but

they do so in Egypt: yet now God can be, and He is, with

them. Here it is well to distinguish these two judgments,

that of the rstborn, and that of the Red Sea. As matters of

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131

chastisement, the one was the rst-fruits of the other, and

ought to have deterred Pharaoh from his rash pursuit.

God’s two judgments-of the rstborn and at the Red

Sea- God’s justice and truth satised

But the blood, which kept the people from God’s

judgment, meant something far deeper and far more

serious than even the<P079> Red Sea, though judgment

was executed there too.1 What happened at the Red Sea

was, it is true, the manifestation of the illustrious power

of God, who destroyed with the breath of His mouth

the enemy who stood in rebellion against Him-nal and

destructive judgment in its character, no doubt, and which

eected the deliverance of His people by His power. But

the blood signied the moral judgment of God, and the

full and entire satisfaction of all that was in His being. God,

such as He was, in His justice, His holiness and His truth,

could not touch those who were sheltered by that blood.2

Was there sin? His love towards His people had found the

means of satisfying the requirements of His justice; and at

the sight of that blood, which answered everything that

was perfect in His being, He passed over it consistently

with His justice and even His truth. Nevertheless God,

even in passing over, is seen as Judge; hence, so long as

the soul is on this ground, its peace is uncertain though

the ground of it be sure-its way in Egypt, being all the

while truly converted-because God has still the character

of Judge to it, and the power of the enemy is still there.

(1. As a gure this may be looked at as nal judgment

according to the estimate of sin in the death and resurrection

of the Lord Jesus; for the people were brought to God, and

the evil enemies come under death and judgment which, as

accomplished in Christ, save us. But as the secret of God’s

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dealings experimentally known in our souls, it has another

sense; it begins the desert journey, though that has its

full character only from Sinai. e path in the wilderness

forming no part of the counsels, but only of the ways of

God; it may as to redemption be dropped, but then Jordan

and the Red Sea coalesce. e Red Sea is Christ’s death

and resurrection for us; Jordan, our death and resurrection

with Him, but here we have got into what is experimental.)

(2. ere is further a dierence between the passover

and the great day of atonement. Here the blood met the

eye of God passing through the land in judgment. On the

great day of atonement it puried His habitation from our

delements, and, we can say, opened up the way to God’s

throne and presence; gave us boldness to enter into the

holiest by a new and living way. In the passover was added,

as it had the character of rst deliverance and forgiveness,

the bitter herbs of judgment of sin in ourselves, and feeding

on the slain Lamb, with loins girded and shoes on our feet,

to leave the place of sin and judgment from which as the

consequence of sin we had been fully sheltered. )

Exodus 14

133

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God acts in power at the Red Sea

At the Red Sea God acts in power according to the

purposes of His love; consequently the enemy, who was

closely pursuing His people, is destroyed without resource.

is is what will happen to<P080> the people at the last

day, already in reality-to the eye of God-sheltered through

the blood.

e Red Sea a moral type of the death and resurrection

of Jesus and of His people as seen in Him

As a moral type, the Red Sea is evidently the death

and resurrection of Jesus, so far as the real eecting of the

work goes in its own ecacy, as deliverance by redemption,

and of His people as seen in Him; God acting in it, to

bring them, through death, out of sin and the esh, giving

absolute deliverance from them by1 death, into which

Christ had gone, and consequently from all the power of the

enemy. As to our standing and acceptance we are brought

to God: our actual place is thus in the world, become the

wilderness on our way to glory. We are made partakers of it

already through faith. Sheltered from the judgment of God

by the blood, we are delivered, by His power which acts

for us, from the power of Satan, the prince of this world.

e blood keeping us from the judgment of God was the

beginning. e power which has made us alive in Christ,

who has gone down into death for us, has made us free

from the whole power of Satan who followed us, and, as to

conscience, from all his attacks and accusations. We have

done with the esh as our standing, and Satan’s power,

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and,<P081> brought to God, are in the world with Him.

e world, who will follow that way,2 is swallowed up in it.

(1. Jordan adds our death with Christ, and, as to our

state subjectively, our resurrection with Him-analogous to

the forty days He passed on earth. To this the teaching

of Colossians answers. Hence heaven is in hope. Romans

3:20 to chapter 5:11 gives Christ’s death for sins, and

resurrection for our justication; thence to the end of

chapter 8, death to sin. Sin in the esh is not forgiven, but

condemned (Rom. 8:3); but we as having died are not in the

esh at all, we are alive unto God through, or rather in, Jesus

Christ. is takes us no farther than the wilderness, though

passing through it as alive to God in Christ. In Romans we

are not risen with Christ. at involves, as a consequence,

our being identied with Him where He is; and so, by the

Holy Spirit when we are sealed, union. In Colossians we

are risen with Him, but not in heavenly places. Colossians

treats of life, with a hope laid up for us in heavenly places;

not at all of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 2 we are risen

with Him and sitting in heavenly places in Him, and then

begins the conict with spiritual wickedness in heavenly

places, and testimony according to what is heavenly; so far

this is Jordan and Canaan, and here the sealing and gift

of the Holy Spirit is fully spoken of, and our relationship

with the Father and with Christ, as sons, and as body and

bride. Only Ephesians begins with our being dead in sins,

so that it is a new creation; it is not death to sin. e blood-

shedding, however, in one respect, has a more glorious

character. God is gloried in it, though by crossing Jordan

we are experimentally placed higher. at too is the fruit of

the blood-shedding, in which there is not only the bearing

of sins to meet our responsibility, but a glorifying of God,

Exodus 14

135

so as to bring us withal into God’s glory with Him, which

is beyond all questions of responsibility.)

(2. is is a solemn warning; for the worldlings, who

call themselves Christians, do take the ground of judgment

to come, and the need of righteousness, but not according

to God. e Christian goes through it in Christ, knowing

himself otherwise lost and hopeless; the worldling in his

own strength, and is swallowed up. Israel saw the Red

Sea in its strength, and thought escape was hopeless: so

an awakened conscience, death and judgment. But Christ

has died and borne judgment for us, and we are secured

and delivered by what we dreaded in itself. e worldling,

seeing this, adopts the truth in his own strength, as if there

were no danger, and is lost in his false condence. )

e Red Sea the end of events, but the beginning of

the Christian path

Considered as the historical type of God’s ways towards

Israel, the Red Sea terminates the sequel of events; and

so for us. We are brought to God. us the forgiven thief

could go straight to Paradise. As a moral type, it is the

beginning of the Christian path, properly so called; that is

to say, the accomplishment of the redemption1 by which

the soul begins its Christian course, but is viewed as in

the world, and the world become the wilderness of its

pilgrimage; we are not in the esh.

(1. In itself, it is Christ’s death and resurrection. But that

is not only meeting the holiness of God’s nature, which is

the blood-shedding, but entering into the whole power of

evil that was against us and making it null. Hence, though

it be not our realizing death and resurrection so as to be in

heavenly places, we are owned as having died in Him, and

He our life, so that we have left our old standing altogether.

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In Colossians, we are risen with Him; in Ephesians, also

sitting in Him in heavenly places. Colossians is the risen

man still on earth, the subjective state, what refers to heaven

but is not there, as Christ Himself for forty days-Jordan

crossed, but not Canaan taken possession of.)

Exodus 15

137

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Exodus 15

e song of triumph of deliverance eected and of

hope of entering the sanctuary

Hereupon we enter the desert. ey sing (ch. 15) the

song of triumph. God has led them by His power to His holy

habitation. But they are on this journey, not in Canaan. He

will lead them into the place which He has made, which

His hands have established. eir enemies shall be unable

to oppose themselves to this. So with us. ere is a third

thing which is found in this beautiful<P082> song-the

desire to build a tabernacle for Jehovah. is is one of the

great privileges which are the result of redemption. God

did not dwell with Adam innocent, nor with Abraham,

vessel of promise and root of the enjoyment of it. But

when redemption was accomplished, on the one hand,

God was fully revealed; and, on the other, man perfectly

redeemed. en God naturally, so to speak, comes to dwell

with men as among them (Ex. 29:46). Here it is an external

deliverance; for us an eternal; but the principle, a blessed

and important one, is clearly brought out. And note this

desire is not our dwelling with God, though the thoughts

are linked one with another, but His dwelling with us; and

the heart’s desire is that He should do so down here. It will

never really be eectually so, till verse 17 be accomplished;

but the desire is good, like David’s, and we are now builded

together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.

ere are the three things: we are brought to God’s holy

habitation; there is the desire to prepare Him one; and,

then, that which He has prepared. e tabernacle belonged

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to the wilderness; what they sing is the deliverance eected

already by the power of God, and the hope of entering into

the sanctuary which the hands of Jehovah have made.1

(1. It is practically important to see that the wilderness

is no part of God’s purpose; of His ways, a most important

part. ey were brought to God by redemption-Christ’s

death and resurrection-but not in Canaan. e thief went

straight to Paradise with Christ. He has made us meet

to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

See Exodus 3, 6 and 15 where there is no question of the

wilderness; see, on the other hand, Deuteronomy 8, where

it is reviewed when through it. For the dierence of our

spiritual judgment of ourselves, and God’s judgment of us,

see Deuteronomy 9 and Numbers 23:21.)

Joy accompanies the consciousness of complete

deliverance, though the redeemed one is still on the way

to glory

e deliverance, then, of the people is accompanied by

a full and entire joy, which, having the consciousness of

this complete deliverance by the power of God, grasps the

whole extent of His intentions towards them, and knows

how to apply this same power to the destruction of all the

power of the enemy.1ey sing the deliverance of God,

note, before a step has been taken in the desert.<P083>

e soul, in connection with Egypt (that is, in the esh

on the ground of a child of Adam), not only is responsible,

but its position with God, dependent on its acting up to

this responsibility, is still uncertain and in fear. e desert

may be never so bitter and trying; but we are free and with

God there (brought to His holy habitation), through the

redemption and deliverance of God. But the redeemed one

is looked at still as on the way to glory, not yet in possession

Exodus 15

139

of the promised dwelling-place of God. We are come to

God’s habitation, to God Himself, but the prepared place

is future. Edom and Moab will be still as a stone, but the

people have yet to pass over. is dierence is important

to notice. However, the redeemed soul is looked at in both

ways; as in Christ, where as to acceptance all is settled-“as

he is, so are we in this world,” giving boldness for the day

of judgment (1John 4:17); and as in the wilderness, where

faith is put to the test. For the wilderness is what the world

is for the new man.

(1. e wilderness formed no part of the counsel of God

as we have seen, and the song does not refer to it, to its

sorrows or its joys, nor the provision for it. at, as far as

revealed here, belongs to the book of Numbers.)

Redemption accomplished, God dwells among His

people, entailing holiness

Remark here too some other important elements of the

position of the people. First, it is a people. is till then

there had never been: just men by grace, believers, called

ones, there had been; now, though according to the esh,

these are a people of God on the earth. is was based

on redemption wrought by God. Further, God, as we have

seen, dwells among His people on earth when redemption

is accomplished. at is the distinct fruit of redemption;1

He had not dwelt with innocent Adam; He had not with

called Abraham; He does with redeemed Israel.2 But

thirdly, this dwelling of God, His presence, brings in the

denite claim of holiness. Holiness becomes His house

forever. We do not nd holiness mentioned in Genesis, if it

be not sanctifying the sabbath day. e moment redemption

is accomplished, He is glorious in holiness, and there is a

holy habitation. All these are important principles.<P084>

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(1. See page 82.)

(2. Exodus 29:46.)

Exodus 16-17

141

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Exodus 16-17

e diculties of the way

But now the diculties of the way arrive. ey travel

three days without water-a sad eect, in appearance,

of such a deliverance; and then the water is bitter when

they nd it. If death has delivered them from the power

of the enemy, it must become known in its application to

themselves; bitter to the soul, it is true, but, through grace,

refreshment and life, for “in all these things is the life of

the spirit.” It is death and the application of the cross to

the esh practically, after the deliverance; but the wood-

Christ’s part on the cross, I doubt not-makes it sweet, and

refreshment too. ereupon we have the twelve wells and

seventy palm trees1-types, it seems to me, of those living

springs and of that shelter which have been provided,

through instruments chosen of God, for the consolation

of His people.

(1. e Lord adopted this number in His two closing

missions of the disciples to Israel.)

e manna and the water from the smitten rock

Here we have the principle of the people’s responsibility

and their obedience, put as a condition of their well-being

under God’s government. Still, however, the part of the

history from the Red Sea to Sinai is always grace. e

sabbath-rest of the people-is established in connection

with Christ, the true bread of life, who gives it. en comes

the Spirit-living waters which come out of the rock; but

with the presence of the Holy Spirit comes conict, and

not rest. Yet Christ, typied here by Joshua, of whom

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142

mention is now made for the rst time, places Himself

spiritually at the head of His people. True rest is by Christ,

the bread come down from heaven, and this comes rst,

before conict, though man could not really enjoy it by

that bread alone, that is, Christ incarnate, without death

and redemption coming in. Unless we eat the esh and

drink the blood, there is no life to taste and enjoy the bread.

But, as yet, the people are characterized by redemption, and

their exercises and blessings are under grace. e question

of direct access to God is not yet brought before us. e

rock indeed is smitten-as it must be to have the living

water at all; but this is the gure of what is historical, the

event of Christ’s death, not<P085> the gure of access to

God within the veil. It is all the earthly part of God’s ways,

even in grace.

Victory dependent on God’s blessing from on high

However sure of victory they may be in ghting the

Lord’s battles, the entire dependence of the people, at every

moment, on the divine blessing is presented to us in this,

that if Moses (who with the rod of God represents to us

His authority on high) keeps not his hands lifted up, the

people are beaten by their enemies. Nevertheless, Aaron

the high priest and Hur (purity?) maintain the blessing,

and Israel prevails. e cause was a hidden one. Sincerity,

valiant eorts, the fact that the battle was God’s battle,

were, though right, of no avail-all depended upon God’s

blessing from on high. One would have thought, indeed,

that if God made war, and unfurled the banner, it would

soon be over; but no! From generation to generation He

would make war upon Amalek. For, if it was the war of

God, it was in the midst of His people.

Exodus 18

143

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Exodus 18

Divine government follows the reign of grace

Up to this all was grace, though there were dependence

and conict. e murmurs of the people had only served

to show the riches of the grace of God, who displayed His

sovereignty in giving them all they could desire; which

appears so much the more striking, because afterwards

the same desires, under the law, brought very bitter

chastisements. At length, after this reign of grace, follows

the order of divine government, what will be realized

in the millennium (ch. 18), where the king in Jeshurun

judges in righteousness, establishes order and government,

the Gentiles eat and oer sacrices with Israel, and

acknowledge that the God of the Jews is exalted above all

gods. All this was the acting of God’s grace and power.

e future deliverance of Israel

During the days of the deliverance of Israel Moses’ wife

had been sent away, as the church during the tribulation,

and as the church will appear in the joy of Israel’s

deliverance, so now Zipporah appears again upon the

scene, and we have not only <P086>Gershom, “a pilgrim

in a foreign land,” but a second son, Eliezer; “for,” Moses

said, “the God of my fathers was mine help, and delivered

me from the sword of Pharaoh.” e application of this to

the future deliverance of Israel is too evident to require any

lengthened explanation.

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72501

Exodus 19-23

e law and its character of fear, with blessing

conditional on obedience

But having thus terminated the course of grace, the

scene changes entirely. ey do not keep the feast on the

mountain, whither God, as He had promised, had led them-

had “brought them, bearing them, as on eagles’ wings, to

himself.” He proposes a condition to them: If they obeyed

His voice, they should be His people. e people-instead

of knowing themselves, and saying, “We dare not, though

bound to obey, place ourselves under such a condition, and

risk our blessing, yea, make sure of losing it”-undertake to

do all that the Lord had spoken. e blessing now took

the form of dependence, like Adam’s, on the faithfulness

of man as well as of God. Still farther was it from being, as

ours, based on a fullled and accomplished redemption; it

was not even based on an unconditional promise, as in the

case of Abraham.1e people, however, are not permitted

to approach God, who hid Himself in the darkness. In fact,

they undertook obedience far from God, in a state in which

they could not approach Him in that majesty to which

obedience was due. Nevertheless God gave all possible

solemnity to the communication of His law, and sees it

good that the people should fear before Him; but what

can fear do towards giving power at a distance from Him?

e feeling may, perhaps, be proper; but it is not proper to

undertake to obey in such a state. Terror, and the condition

of obedience when the people are far from God-such is

the character of the law, a rule sent out to man, taken in

Exodus 19-23

145

its largest character, when man cannot approach God, but

a barrier is set up, and the question of righteousness as the

way of life raised and claimed from man when man is a

sinner.<P087>

1. It is important for us to see that our standing before

God does not rest on promise, but on accomplished

redemption. All that concerned that and the basis

of our assurance of faith is accomplished promise.

Glory is in hope.

Man’s work and order in worship equally prohibited

Moses, when God had spoken to the people, and the

people dared no more to hearken, drew near to the thick

darkness, and received the instructions of God for the

people-moral and general instructions-relating to their

possession of the land, in case they should enter upon

it according to the covenant of the law. Two things are

pointed out as to worship-the work of man, and his order,

in which his nakedness will certainly be made manifest;

and they are equally and together prohibited by God.

Christ’s devotedness, love and service “forever”

We have (as we may observe by the way) a beautiful type

(ch. 21) of the devotedness of Christ to the church and

to His Father, and His love to us. Having served already

faithfully His full service as man, during His lifetime, He

would remain a servant even in death for the sake of the

Father, the church, and His people. He made Himself a

servant forever. (Compare John 13 for the present time,

and Luke 12 even for glory).

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146

72502

Exodus 24-25

e conditional covenant conrmed by blood,

relationship with God follows

is covenant, made on condition of the obedience of

the people, was conrmed by blood1 (ch. 24). e blood

being shed, death having thus come in as God’s judgment,

the elders go up to enter into relationship with God. ey

see His glory, and continue their human and terrestrial life;

they eat and drink.

(1. Death was the penal sanction, as it was also, because

such, the delivering power in grace.)

e tabernacle-the patterns of heavenly things

But Moses is called near to God, to see the patterns of

things more excellent, of heavenly things-of things which

make provision indeed for the faults and the failures of

God’s people, but reveal to them the perfection and varied

glories of Him whom they approach as His people. Only

they still carry the stamp of the dispensation to which they

belong, as is true of everything which is<P088> not founded

on, and characterized by, association with a gloried Christ,

the fruit of eternal redemption, the eternal expression of

the counsels of God. at, however, in which the gures do

not answer to the antitypes, as we know them, is not in the

things themselves, but in the liberty of access, and the way

that has been opened, and we admitted to them, things

connected withal with far higher privileges.1e form of

realization was dependent on the actual state of things.

Priesthood there was, but many priests because they were

mortal; we, but one, because He dies not. e veil, behind

Exodus 24-25

147

which God was and which barred the way to God, is for

us rent, and the way into the holiest open, so that the holy

and the most holy place are for us in spirit thrown together.

Still the general gure remains, and it does not appear

that there will be a rent veil in the millennium, though

all the blessing depends on Christ’s death. Our place is

peculiar; associated with Christ as sons with the Father,

and as members of His body; also heavenly in our hope

and calling, as belonging to the new creation.

(1. Hence in Hebrews you never have the Father and

our relationship with Him, nor with Christ, and in what is

there found there is more contrast than comparison.)

Two aspects of the tabernacle: the glories of Christ

and the means of the relationship of God with His people

e glories in every way of Christ the Mediator

are presented in the tabernacle; not precisely, as yet, the

unity of His people, considered as His body, but in every

manner in which the ways and the perfections of God are

manifested through Him, whether in the full extent of the

creation, in His people, or in His Person. e scene of the

manifestation of the glory of God, His house, His domain,

in which He displays His being (insofar as it can be seen);

the ways of His grace and His glory; and His relationship

through Christ with us-poor and feeble creatures, but who

draw nigh unto Him-are unfolded to us in it, but still with a

veil over His presence, and with God, not the Father.1e

question is, How is man with God-can he approach?-not

love coming out to seek, and reception by the Father. God

is on the throne justly requiring righteousness and holiness

according to His own nature, not in sovereign love seeking

men when in a state contrary to it. is,<P089> and the

relationship of sons, make the whole basis dierent as to

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the relationship with God. But the moral ground of its

possibility is found in these types, with the contrast already

mentioned.

(1. We see the glory unveiled in the face of Jesus Christ

and approach boldly, because the glory in His face is the

proof of redemption and perfect putting away of our sins,

for He who bore them has them not on Him in the glory.)

us the tabernacle had two aspects-the glory which

was His own, and the means of the relationship of God

with His people. is is true even of the Lord Jesus. I can

view His cross in its absolute perfectness, according to the

thoughts and the heart of God; I can also nd there that

which answers all my wants and failures.

Apparent descriptive disorder of details arising

from the linking together of things connected with the

tabernacle’s two aspects

It would lead me too far to enter into the details of the

construction of the tabernacle and its utensils, but I will

make some general remarks. ere is a certain appearance

of disorder in the description, in that it is interrupted by the

description of the vesture, and of the order of consecration,

of Aaron. us the altar of burnt oering comes before

the priest’s vesture and consecration, the laver after. But

this arises from what I have just said. ere are things

which are the manifestation of God, the place of meeting

with Him and what belongs to it, others which refer to

the presentation of man to God, and his service in these

places; these things are linked together, for there are some

manifestations of God which are the points and means of

the approach of man, as the cross; for there indeed man in

the height of his sin, and God in innite love and laying the

ground of righteousness, and righteousness for us, meet. It

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149

is the central point in all moral history, where every issue

of good and evil was settled for eternity; and while it is

the point at which man draws nigh, there is something

there besides the act of drawing near, or even of serving

God.1<P090>

(1. We are apt to consider the cross simply in respect

of our sins. In coming to God it is the only right, the only

possible way. But when, at peace with God, we weigh what

it is, we shall nd every moral question brought to an

issue there; man in absolute wickedness, that is, rejecting

God in goodness with scorn and hatred; Satan’s full and

universal power over him; man in perfectness in Christ-

absolute obedience and absolute love to the Father; God

in righteousness against sin in the highest way (“it became

Him”), and innite love to the sinner; all is brought out on

the cross in Christ, and all to our blessing, and so that we

should be in glory with Him, and like Him, as the fruit of

the travail of His soul-a blessed portion.)

God’s manifestation of Himself in the tabernacle, the

priesthood, and man’s way in drawing near

e description of the tabernacle presents to us, rst,

the things in which God manifests Himself, as the object,

however, of the spiritual knowledge of human intelligence

(by faith, of course); and then the priesthood, and that

which man does or uses in drawing near to Him who thus

reveals Himself.

e place of approach to God

First, then, there are the things which are found in the

holy of holies, and the holy place: the ark of the covenant,

the table of the showbread, and the candlestick with

seven branches. is is what God had established for the

manifestation of Himself within the house where His glory

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dwelt, where those who enter into His presence could have

communion with Him. In result none could enter into the

most holy place, for the high priest only went in to place

the blood on the mercy-seat, and not for communion then,

and with a cloud of incense that he might not die.1 (See

Hebrews 9.) But it was in itself the place of approach to

God. en we have the arrangement and structure of the

tabernacle which enclosed all these things, and which was

divided into two parts; and then the altar of burnt oerings,

and the court where it stood, to the end of chapter 27:19.

We will consider these things rst. It is there the rst part

ends.

(1. is was the result of the failure of the priesthood,

in the person of Nadab and Abihu, which, as everything

placed under man’s responsibility (and all, save, of course,

actual redemption, has been so), was immediate. So in the

case of Adam, Noah, the law, here the priesthood, Solomon

son of David, Nebuchadnezzar, and so, as Paul testies, the

church.)

e priesthood

In that which follows there is what regards the action of

man therein-of the priests; and God orders certain things

to be brought in for that. is it is which consequently

introduces the priesthood, which acted in it, and which

alone could, in fact, so act. Hence the description of the

priesthood interrupts the description of the various parts

and furniture of the tabernacle; what follows it refers to its

exercise.<P091>

e ark, the judicial throne of God

e ark of the covenant was the throne where God

manifested Himself, if any could go in in righteousness,1

and as the seat of His sovereignty over every living man-

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151

the God of the whole earth. It was also, however, the throne

of relationship with His people. e law-the testimony of

what He required of men-was to be placed there. Over it

was the mercy-seat, which covered it in, which formed the

throne, or rather the basis of the throne, as the cherubim

(formed of the same piece), which were its supporters, did

its sides. In itself it seems to me a marvelous connection

of the human and divine righteousness in the Lord Jesus.

e law was hid in it, and, in divine government of man

on earth, this formed the perfect rule; it was the measure

of responsibility of man as a child of Adam, in its abstract

foundations, which the Lord adduces-the perfection of

creature relationship with God; and we know that the law

was in Christ’s heart. He was perfect in human obedience

and love to His Father. He lived perfectly up to the

responsibility of man according to God in His inner man.2

But He also gloried God-all that God is in love, divine

righteousness, truth, majesty. All God is was gloried

by the Son of Man, and not only the Son of Man goes

righteously into the glory of God, but God is fully revealed

as the place of access for us in that character: righteousness

is proved by His going to His Father. e shittim wood

and the tables of the law are there, but all is clothed with

the gold-God’s own righteousness is there too. It is with

this communion is,3 only as yet the veil hid it within. e

character as<P092> yet was a judicial throne. At that time

man (save Moses owned in grace) could not go in, and

God did not come out. Now He has come out in grace,

clothing Himself in humiliation that He in perfect grace

may be with us; and man is gone into the glory according

to the title of an accomplished redemption.

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(1. But not, I think, separate from holiness, for it was

in the holiest, and could not be if God was there as His

dwelling, and not taking merely duty as the measure of

what was accepted. But, while God Himself was to be

approached who is holy, it was a throne, and judicial,

and so righteous in character. Holiness is the character

of a nature delighting in purity, and which repels evil.

Righteousness judges it with authority. It was not merely

man’s responsibility, but what God was.)

(2. e rst is the essence of creature perfection, adding

the place of Son. e second, the actual responsibility of

man’s place measured by that place.)

(3. Only now, as already noticed, there is another

relationship entered into with the Father. is is

relationship, not nature, though, of course, that nature

is necessarily involved in it. Hence, but only after His

resurrection, Christ says, I go to My Father and your

Father, My God and your God. ere is that with God

according to the character here spoken of, but there is that

with the Father in the relationship and liberty in which

Christ Himself is, and into which we are adopted. is

dierence of nature and relationship is strikingly brought

out in John’s writings-grace, and what the divine nature

makes necessary. See John 4 as to worshippers, and 1John

1. e Father could not be revealed but by the Son. But

also the veil was rent in the cross, and we are before God in

divine righteousness according to what He is as such. In the

full character of this as to both, we are in Him. Elsewhere I

have touched on the dierence of the sense of relationship

with God as sons, and the knowledge of the Father as such,

personally revealed in the Son. e rst is Paul’s ground,

and he seldom goes beyond it; the latter, John’s. e Epistle

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153

to the Hebrews gives direct access to God in the holiest,

but the Father is not found in it.)

e cherubim, executors of the will of God’s judicial

power

e cherubim, throughout the Old Testament, wherever

they act, are connected with the judicial power of God,

or are the executors of the will of that power; and in the

Apocalypse they are generally connected with providential

judgments, and belong to the throne, but the seraphic

character is connected with them there, so that the throne

judges, not merely in present governmental judgment, but

nally according to God’s nature.

e necessity for the blood on the mercy-seat

Here, then, God manifested Himself as the Supreme

God in His moral being, armed with power to enforce

respect to His laws, and to keep account of all that was

done. is character of God in Himself also is why the

blood-witness of all that had been done for those who

were thus responsible, and satisfying all the moral nature

of Him who sat there-was put upon the mercy-seat; but

every year, a witness that the work which did that was yet

undone.1 Nor was it exactly there that God was directly

in connection with His people; but thence came forth the

communications which were to be made to them: “And

there will I meet with thee,” said God to Moses, “and I

will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from

between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of

the testimony, of all the things which I will give thee in

commandment unto the children of Israel.” Moses, who

receives the thoughts of God for the people, was there to

have his communion with Jehovah, and that without a

veil.2<P093>

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(1. Hence there was still an unrent veil.)

(2. e communications of the Old Testament and all

that belongs to the law come directly from God, but do not

belong to a system which gives direct access to Him.)

e manifestation of God in judgment and in

government

It was, then, the most intimate and most immediate

manifestation of God, and that which came nearest to

His very nature, which does not thus manifest itself. But

it was a manifestation of Himself in judgment and in

government,1 it was not as yet in man, neither according to

man, but within the veil. In Christ we nd Him thus, and

then it is in perfect grace and divine righteousness, proved

by man’s place, and the latter only when the veil has been

rent; till then Christ remained alone, for grace was rejected

as well as law broken.

(1. is is true; but, in its typical (or perhaps I should

say spiritual) application, not in the letter, but in the spirit,

there was another important element of truth in it. It was

the place where God was approached, not where He dealt

with man’s responsibility as man. is was at the brazen

altar, the place of sacrice, the rst thing met, when man

had to come as a sinner, when consequently what man

ought to be was in question, what he ought to be for God

surely, still what man ought to be as man. In coming to

the mercy-seat in the holiest of all, what God is was in

question. Man has to be meet for God’s own presence, then,

in the holiest. And in truth the rest was only testing man.

He was not innocent in Paradise, and as a sinner could not

come to God, according to what God is, being a sinner. It

is only through the rent veil in a heavenly Paradise he can

have to say to Him; though on the ground of the work then

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155

accomplished He will have an earthly people also, in whose

heart the law will be written. )

e table of showbread and the golden candlestick

Outside the veil was the table with its twelve loaves and

the golden candlestick. Twelve is administrative perfection

in man-seven, spiritual completeness, whether in good or

evil e two are found outside the veil, inside which was

the most immediate manifestation of God, the Supreme,

but who hid Himself, as it were, yet, in darkness. Here

was light and nourishment: God in power manifested in

man; administrative power revealed among men, and, in

historical fact, in connection with the twelve tribes. But

faith recognizes both in Christ, and the light of the Holy

Spirit makes us know it, if priests, to enter into the holy

place, before it is actually revealed in power, while all is

otherwise darkness, and God is giving the light of the

Holy Spirit.1

(1. erefore it is that, in another sense, we have twelve

apostles attached to the Lord in the esh, and seven

churches for Him who has the seven Spirits of God.)

e twelve tribes were, for the time being, that which

answered externally to this manifestation. It is found in

the new Jerusalem.<P094> e primary idea was the

manifestation of God in the holy place in man, and by the

Spirit.

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72503

Exodus 26

Two meanings in the tabernacle and its form

Next we have the tabernacle itself, which was one,

though separated into two parts. ere were (as the Word

teaches us) two meanings in the tabernacle and in its form.

In general it was where God dwelt and revealed Himself,

hence, the heavens, God’s tabernacle; and the Person of

Christ, God’s dwelling.1e heavenly places themselves,

says the Apostle, had to be puried with better sacrices

(Heb. 9:23). So Christ has passed through the heavens,

as Aaron up to the mercy-seat (Heb. 4:14). Again, it is

used in the same sense as a gure of the created universe

(Heb. 3:3-4), where it is also used as a whole as a gure

of the saints, as the house over which Christ is as Son.

e veil was, we know on the same divine authority, the

esh of Christ, which concealed God in His holiness of

judgment-in His perfectness as sovereign justice itself, but

manifested Him in perfect grace to those to whom His

presence revealed itself.

(1. We may add Christians: “Whose house are we.” e

body is never the subject in Hebrews: we are pilgrims here

walking by faith. Nor is the Father.)

e tent, the veil and the cherubim

e tabernacle1 itself was formed of the same things

as the veil; gurative, I doubt not, of the essential purity of

Christ as a man, and of all the divine graces embroidered,

as it were, thereon. To this was also added cherubim, the

gure, as we have seen, of judicial power,2 conferred, as we

know, on Christ as man: God “will<P095> judge the world

Exodus 26

157

in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained”: and

again, “e Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all

judgment unto the Son . . . and hath given him authority

to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.”

(1. If we examine the details more closely, it will be

found that in the tent and veil there was no gold, but there

were cherubim; in the ephod, gold, but no cherubim; in the

hangings before the holy place, neither. Within, in both

holy place and holy of holies, all was gold. So Christ as

man (and the veil we know was His esh) had the judicial

authority, and will have it as man, not only in government,

but in nal divine judgment; but He was man, and walked

as man; within all was divine. e priesthood in its Aaronic

character could not have the cherubim; that is judicial

authority in heaven, but His presence there is identied

with divine righteousness. As He appeared outside down

here all was perfect grace, but in outward appearance He

took neither.)

(2. When fully depicted, the cherubim showed the

powers of creation, and God’s attributes as displayed in

the throne, in the four heads of the earthly creation: man,

cattle, wild beasts, and birds; intelligence, stability, power

and rapidity of judgment. Man had made gods and idols of

them; they formed the throne on which God sat.)

e outer coverings

It seems to me that the other coverings point to Him

also: that of the goat skins to His positive purity, or rather

to that severity of separation from the evil that was around

Him, which gave Him the character of prophet-severity,

not in His ways towards poor sinners, but in separation

from sinners, the uncompromisingness as to Himself,

which kept Him apart, and gave Him His moral authority,

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that moral cloth of hair which distinguished the prophet;

that of the ram skins dyed red points to His perfect

devotedness to God,1 His consecration to God (may

God enable us to imitate Him!); and that of the badger

skin to the vigilant holiness, both of walk and in external

relationship, which preserved Him, and perfectly so, from

the evil that surrounded Him. “By the word of thy lips I

have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.” “He that

is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one

toucheth him not.” Besides what may be called His Person,

these things correspond to the new nature in us, the new

man, and of Him, so far as born of the Holy Spirit at His

incarnation-His birth in the esh in which He was the

perfect expression of it; but I speak of the thing itself in

practice, or what is produced by the Spirit in us, and by the

Word.

(1. is is drawn from the occasions on which the ram

was used in the sacrices.)

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159

72504

Exodus 27

e court where sinful men draw near

In the court God meets the world (I do not speak of the

world itself through which we walk:1 this was the desert);

but it is where those coming up out of the world draw near

to God, where His <P096>people (not as priests or as saints,

but as sinful men) draw near to Him. But in coming out of

the world, it is an enclosure of God’s, who is known only to

those who enter therein. ere the altar of burnt oerings

was rst found; God manifested in justice as to sin, but in

grace to the sinner, in His relationship with men, in the

midst of them, such as they were. True, it was the judgment

of sin, for without this God could not be in relationship

with men; but yet it was Christ in the perfection of the

Spirit of God who oered Himself a sacrice, according

to that justice, for sin, to put sinners in relationship with

God. He has been lifted up from the earth. Upon earth

the question was as to the possibility of men’s relationship

with Him who is holy and living: that could not be. On

the cross He is lifted up from the earth, rejected by the

world; nevertheless He does not enter into heaven. Upon

the cross Christ has been raised from this world-has left it;

but He still remains presented to it, the object of faith as a

full satisfaction to the justice of God, as well as the witness

of His love, of the love withal of Him who has gloried all

that God is in this act. He is the object still, I say, to the

eyes of the world, though no longer on it, if, through grace,

one goes there and separates from this world, while God

in justice (for where has this been gloried as in the cross

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of Jesus?) can receive according to His glory, and even be

gloried there, by the most wretched of sinners. As regards

the approaching sinner, it was for his guilt and positive

sins. In itself the sacrice went much further, a sweet savor

to God, glorifying Him.

(1. is would be the grace of Christianity, the seeking

and saving what is lost. e gures of the tabernacle have

to say to our coming to God, not to His coming to us.

is is proper to Christianity. Hebrews takes up the gures

we are speaking of, only with the changes introduced by

Christianity even in these.)

e altar of burnt oerings: God manifested in

righteous

judgment of sin, where Christ satised and gloried

Him

It is here, then, that the altar of burnt oerings is found,

the brazen altar: God manifested in righteous judgment

of sin (meeting, however, the sinner in love by the sacrice

of Christ); not in His being (spiritual and sovereign object

of the adoration of saints), but in His relation with sinners

according to His righteousness, measured1 by what their

sins were in His sight; but<P097> where withal sinners

present themselves to Him by that work in which, by the

mighty operation of the Holy Spirit, Christ has oered

Himself without spot unto Him, has satised all the

demands of His righteousness, and more, has gloried

Him in all that He is, and has become that sweet-smelling

savor2 (of sacrice) in which, in coming out of the world,

we draw near to God,<P098> and to God in relation with

those, sinners in themselves and owning it, who draw near

to Him, but nd their sins gone through the cross on their

way; and, besides that, come in this savor of His sacrice

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161

who made Himself a whole burnt oering. It was not the

sacrice for sin burned outside the camp: there no one

approached. Christ was made sin by God, and all passed

between God and Him; but here we draw near unto God.

(1. Here we must remark that while nal judgment

refers to, and is measured by, our responsibility, forgiveness

cannot be separated from our entrance into the presence

of God (though in experience there may be progress as to

this), because it is by a work of Christ in which the veil was

rent and God fully revealed. is the great day of atonement

showed, for there the blood was brought in to God, and yet

it was for sins, but sins as deling God’s presence, as well

as their being all carried away. But at the brazen altar there

was both the love that gave and the value of the sacrice,

so that divine favor and complacency were brought in;

“therefore doth my Father love me.” Here sin oerings

and burnt oerings were oered, but they both referred

to acceptance, negatively and positively, not simply to the

holiness of God as the blood on the day of atonement. We

have redemption by His blood, the forgiveness of sins, but

according to the riches of His grace.

(2. It is interesting to know that the word burn is not at

all the same in Hebrew for the sacrice for sin, and for the

burnt oering: in the case of the latter, it is the same as for

the burning of incense.

I add here a word upon the sacrices. In the sacrice for

sin burned outside the camp, God came out of His place to

punish, to take vengeance for sin. Christ has put Himself

in our place, has borne our sins, and died to put away sin by

the sacrice of Himself. In the sacrice for sin His blood

was shed, our sins washed away. But this blood, innitely

precious, has been carried by the high priest inside the

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holiest, and put upon the mercy-seat; and thus the sure

foundation of all our relationship with God has been laid;

since, as to him that comes, sin exists no longer in the sight

of God. But it is not only that God has fully reached sin in

judgment in the death of Christ, but the work which Christ

has accomplished has been perfectly agreeable to God. “I

have gloried thee on the earth.” God was gloried in

Him; and God owed it, in justice to Christ, to glorify Him

with His own self. e very being of God, in righteousness

and in love, had been fully gloried (publicly before the

universe) though the eye of faith alone is open to see it,

and hence it was the part of this very righteousness to place

Christ in a position that corresponded to the work. e

love of the Father towards Him surely did not turn from

this.

us it was not only that the holiness which takes

vengeance on sin had already dealt with that sin in the death

of Jesus, and had nothing more to do as to the putting of

it away, but (for him who knows that in his Adam-nature

there is no resource, and still less in the law) there is, by

grace, through the faith of Jesus, the righteousness of God

Himself, a justifying righteousness-not merely the putting

away of sins, but the positive value of all that Christ has

done as glorifying God in this. We are accepted in the

Beloved. God must raise Christ in consideration of that

which He had done, and place Him at His right hand; and

we are cleared from our sins according to the perfectness

of God, between whom and Christ alone this work was

accomplished, and, He being entered in as man in virtue

of that work, since He has carried His blood there, we

also-objects of that work-are in virtue of itaccepted as

He is. us, then, the sinner, believing in God, draws near

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163

to the brazen altar where the sacrice is oered (the way

being open to him by the blood), and (now we can add,

the veil being rent) draws near unto God manifested in

holiness, but according to the sweet-smelling savor of

the sacrice of Christ, an expression inapplicable to the

sacrice for sin burned outside the camp (there He was

made sin), according to all the sweet-smelling savor of the

devotedness and obedience of Christ upon the cross, that

is to say, unto death.

Notice that, besides this, the priests draw near as priests,

and even into the holy place. But of this more hereafter.)

e priests’ service essential that the light should

always shine

All the manifestations of God thus arranged, we come

now to the services that were rendered to Him in the

courts, and in the places where He manifested Himself (ch.

27:20). e priests were to take care that the light of the

candlestick should be always shining outside the veil, which

hid the testimony inside, and during the night; it was the

light of the grace and of the power of God by the Spirit

that manifested God spiritually. It was not Himself upon

the throne, where His sovereign being was keeping the

treasure of His righteousness: that treasure Christ alone, in

His Person and in His nature, could be Himself: nor was it

righteousness in His relationship with sinful man outside

the holy place, of which man’s duty was the measure, and

for which the law of God gave the rule; but it was a light,

through which He manifested Himself in the power of

His grace, but which applied itself to His relationship with

man viewed as holy or set apart for service to Him, all the

while that it was the manifestation of God. Essentially it

was the Holy Spirit. is we see in the Apocalypse; but it

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might rest upon Christ as man, and that without measure;

or it might act as from Him, and by His grace in others,

either as the Spirit of prophecy, exclusively so before He

came, or in some other way more abundant and complete,

as was the case after His resurrection and glorifying, when

the Holy Spirit Himself came down. But whatever these

manifestations in men may have been in action, the thing

itself was there before God, to manifest Him in the energy

of the Spirit Himself; but the priesthood was essential

here for us,1 in order to maintain this relation between the

<P099>energy of the Holy Spirit and the service of men

in whom He manifested Himself, in order that the light

might shine (ch. 27:20-21). We nd, therefore, immediately

afterwards, the ordinance for the establishment of the

priesthood.

(1. For the full manifestation of it, in His personal

and free manifestation down here, the glorifying of man

(Christ) according to divine righteousness was needed, but

this would take us out of our present subject. I must again

recall that we have only the shadow, not the very image

of the things. What is in the text refers to man under

God’s government down here as vessel of the Spirit. e

priesthood supposes man in weakness here, and Christ,

another Person for us on high.)

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72505

Exodus 28

e high priest’s garments

e garments were composed of everything that is

connected with the Person of Christ in this character

of priesthood; the breastplate, the ephod, the robe, the

broidered coat, the curious girdle, and the mitre. e ephod

was, par excellence, the priestly garment; made of the same

things as the veil, only that there was no gold in the latter, and

there were cherubims (but all enclosed inside the veil was

gold, for God’s government and judgment were in Christ,

as Son of Man): in the ephod, gold but no cherubim,1

because the priest must have divine righteousness, but

was not in the place of rule and government (compare

Numbers 4). It signied also the essential purity and the

graces of Christ. e girdle was the sign of service. e

girdle was of the same materials as the ephod to which

it belonged. Arrayed in these robes of glory and beauty,

the high priest bore the names of the people of God in

the fullness of their order before God; upon his shoulders,

the weight of their government, and upon the breastplate

on his heart-breastplate which was inseparable from the

ephod, that is, from his priesthood and appearing before

God. He also bare, according to the perfections of God’s

presence, their judgment before Him. He maintained

them in judgment before God according to these things.

ey therefore looked for answers through the Urim and

ummim that were in the breastplate; for the wisdom

of our conduct is to be according to this position before

God. Upon the hem of the robe of the ephod2 there was

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the desirable fruit, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit,

which depended on the priesthood. I think that Christ, in

entering heaven, made Himself heard<P100> through the

Holy Spirit in His people-hem of His garment (compare

Psalm 133); and He will make Himself heard through His

gifts when He comes out also. Meanwhile He bears within

also the iniquity of the holy things in holiness before the

eternal God. (is holiness is upon His very forehead.) Not

only His people, but their imperfect services are presented

according to the divine holiness in Him.

(1. See note, page 95.)

(2. is was all of blue under the ephod; I suppose what

was essentially heavenly, not the display of purity and

graces in man. )

e priests’ clothing

e sons of Aaron were also clothed. eir natural

nakedness was not to appear, but the glory and the honor

with which God clothed them. e girdle of service also

distinguished them.

e ephod, its girdle and the robe of blue

e dress of the high priest demands a little further

explanation. at which characterized him in service

was the ephod, to which was inseparably attached the

breastplate in which the Urim and ummim were placed.

With the ephod, therefore, the description begins. It was

that in which, as thus clothed, he was to appear before

God. It was made as the veil, with the addition of gold, for

the veil was Christ’s esh, the actings of which could not

be separated from what was divine; but in the exercise of

priesthood He appeared before God within the veil, that is,

guratively, in heaven itself; and there what met, and had

the nature and integral essence of (along with the heavenly

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167

grace and purity) divine righteousness, had its place and

its part as found in Him: as it is written, looking at Him

in a somewhat dierent aspect, but alike as to this,1 “an

advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” e

groundwork of the priesthood, then, was absolute personal

purity in man, in its highest sense as a nature owing

intelligently from God, and in the priesthood gloried,2

every<P101> form of grace interwoven with it, and divine

righteousness. It was service, and the priest was girded

for it, but service before God. e loins were girt, but the

garments otherwise down to the feet. is was especially

the case with the robe all of blue.

(1. e priesthood in Hebrews is not for sins, save once

in chapter 2 to make propitiation, because they are all put

away, and we have no more conscience of them; it is for

grace to help that we may not sin.)

(2. Compare 1 John 2:29 and chapter 3:1-3, where

remark how the Spirit passes from Godhead to manhood

and manhood to Godhead in one person, according to the

relationship spoken of. is is very beautiful, and makes us

know what the new nature in us is, which ows from and

is through the Holy Spirit, capable of appreciating Him.

He that sancties and they who are sanctied are all of

one. So practically in detail: we all beholding with unveiled

face the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image

(2Cor. 3), and actually we shall be like Him, for we shall

see Him as He is, and he that has this hope in Him puries

himself as He is pure.)

e shoulderpieces

But to pursue the ephod itself. e high priest

represented all the people before God, and presented them

to Him, and this in a double way. First, he bore them on his

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shoulders-carried the whole weight and burden of them

on himself. eir names were all graven upon the two onyx

stones which united the parts of the ephod; there was

no wearing the ephod-that is, exercising the priesthood-

without carrying the names of the tribes of Israel on his

shoulders. So Christ carries ever His people.

e breastplate

Next, the breastplate was attached inseparably to the

ephod, never to be detached. ere also he carried the

names of his people before the Lord, and could not, as thus

dressed in the high priestly robes, be there without them.

As it is expressed, he bore them on his heart before Jehovah

continually. “ey shall be upon Aaron’s heart when he

goeth in before Jehovah.” us are we borne ever before

God by Christ. He presents us, as that which He has on His

heart, to God. He cannot be before Him without doing so;

and whatever claim the desire and wish of Christ’s heart

has to draw out the favor of God, it operates in drawing

out that favor on us. e light and favor of the sanctuary-

God as dwelling there-cannot shine out on Him without

shining on us, and that as an object presented by Him for

it.

e Urim and ummim

is was not, however, all. e Urim and ummim

were there-light and perfection. e high priest bore the

judgment of the children of Israel in their present ways

and as to their present relationship1 upon his heart before

Jehovah, and this according to the light and perfection of

God. is we need, to get blessing. Stood we before God,

such as we are, we must draw down judgment, or<P102>

lose the eect of this light and perfection of God, remaining

without. But, Christ bearing our judgment according

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169

to these, our presentation to God is according to the

perfection of God Himself-our judgment borne; but then

our position, guidance, light, and spiritual intelligence are

according to this same divine light and perfection. For the

high priest inquired and had answers from God according

to the Urim and ummim. is is a blessed privilege.1

(1. e great day of atonement met the guilt.)

(2. We must remember that all this is not children with

a Father, but man drawing near to God, only with Christ

there for us. We are seen on earth (not in heavenly places),

and He appearing in the presence of God for us, securing

our place according to God (only for us the veil is rent,

a very great dierence); yet we are here on earth with a

heavenly calling. Compare Hebrews. ere, note, the

priesthood, as now exercised on high, is not for committed

sins, but for grace to help in time of need that we may not

sin. e sins are borne and put away once and forever as

the basis of priesthood. See chapters 9, 10, 8:1 and 1:3.

Advocacy with the Father applies when we have to restore

communion. Compare John 13 and Numbers 19. )

e priestly presentation of the high priest

Introduced into the presence of God according to divine

righteousness in the perfection of Christ, our spiritual light

and privileges and walk are according to this perfection.

e presentation in divine righteousness gives us light,

according to the perfection of Him into whose presence

we are brought. Hence we are said (1John 1) to walk in

the light as He, God, is in the light-a solemn thought for

the conscience, however joyful a one for the heart, telling

us what our conversation ought to be in holiness.1Christ

bearing our judgment takes away all imputative character

from sin, and turns the light which would have condemned

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it and us into a purifying, enlightening character, according

to that very perfection which looks on us. is breastplate

was fastened to the onyx stones of the shoulders above, and

to the ephod above the girdle below. It was the perpetual

position of the people, inseparable from the exercise of

the high priesthood as thus going before the Lord. What

was divine and heavenly secured it-the chains of gold

above, and the rings of gold with lace of blue to the ephod

above the girdle beneath. Exercised in humanity, the

priesthood, and the connection of the people with it, rests

on an immutable, a divine, and heavenly basis. Such was

the priestly presentation of the high priest. Beneath this

ocial robe he had a personal one all of blue.<P103>

(1. Dispensationally all was dark; God not revealed, the

veil not rent; but I speak in the text of what was gured in

the high priest’s dress.)

e bells and pomegranates-the testimony and fruits

of the Spirit

e character of Christ too, as such, is perfectly and

entirely heavenly. e sanctuary was the place of its

exercise. So the heavenly Priest must Himself be a heavenly

Man; and it is to this character of Christ, as here in the

high priest, that the fruits and testimony of the Spirit are

attached-the bells and the pomegranates. It is from Christ

in His heavenly character that they ow; they are attached

to the hem of His garment here below. His sound was

heard when He went in and when He came out; and so it

has been and will be. When Christ went in, the gifts of the

Spirit were manifested in the sound of the testimony; and

they will be when He comes out again. e fruits of the

Spirit, we know, were also in the saints.1

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171

(e colors were blue, purple and scarlet: heavenly,

royal and earthly glory. ese, while belonging to Christ

personally, were hidden when He went in, will be

displayed when He comes out. We ought to display them

characteristically, but as connected with a rejected Christ

down here, bringing in the cross as the way to the crown.)

Worship and service in holiness

But not only were there fruits and gifts. Worship and

service- the presenting of oerings to God-was part of the

path of the people of God. Alas! they also were deled.

It formed thus also part of the priest’s oce to bear the

iniquity of their holy things.

us the worship of God’s people was acceptable, in

spite of their inrmity, and holiness was ever before Jehovah

in the oerings of His house-borne on the forehead of the

high priest, as His people were on the one hand presented

to Him, and on the other directed by Him, according to

His own perfections through the high priest.1

(1. Our relationship with God is more immediate, the

veil being rent. Still our High Priest is there for us, only set

down on the right hand of God. e name of Father does

not come in here.)

e coat of ne linen

e coat of ne linen was that which was more proper

to himself and personal, what was within-personal purity,

but embroidered, adorned with every grace. Such was, and

indeed is, Christ.<P104>

Where the garments of glory and beauty and those of

ne linen were used

e application of this to Christ is evident. Only we

must remember the remark of the Apostle; that is, of the

Spirit of God, that these were the shadow of good things

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to come, not the very image of the things. Our High Priest,

though He ever lives to make intercession for us, is set

down at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. In

spirit all this is ours; He presents us, receives grace and

direction for us through the Spirit, and bears the iniquity

of our holy things. All our service is accepted, as our

persons, in Him. In the literal fact, the high priest never

used the garments of glory and beauty to go within the

veil. He was to use them for going into the sanctuary;1 but

this was forbidden after Nadab and Abihu’s death, save on

the great day of atonement, and then he went in in other

garments, namely, the linen ones. So death and entrance

thereon were needed for us in Christ’s fulllment of the

type. And, as regards the Jews, He is gone in in this last

way, all this time being His absence in the sanctuary; and

they must wait, till He come forth, for the knowledge of

the acceptance of the presentation of His work: we know

it by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven; He came out

when the Lord went in, so that we anticipate in spirit the

glory He is in. is constitutes essentially the Christian’s

place. In His glorious high priest’s garments, it would have

been the communion of an accepted people through the

high priest. Hence we have it in spirit, though this be not

the whole truth as regards our position.2

(1. eir use is referred to going into the holy place

before Jehovah when expressly spoken of, except the

golden plate on the mitre or turban (ch. 28:29-30,35); and

for the golden plate, see verse 38. is characteristic use

was forbidden: see Leviticus 16.)

(2. We must always remember that we have only the

shadow of good things to come. e great principles of the

heavenly scenes are depicted, but not the change by the

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173

rending of the veil through which we enter ourselves boldly

into the holiest, Christ being in glory at the right hand

of God, and that through an eternal redemption. Also, as

noticed already, the Son not being come, the Father’s name

and relationship does not come in.)

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72506

Exodus 29

Sanctication and anointing

For their consecration they were all washed. Aaron

and his sons together always represent the church, not

as gathered in a body<P105> (a thing hidden in the Old

Testament), but in varied positions sustained individually

before God. ere is only one sanctication for all-divine

life. Christ is the spring and the expression of it. We are

made partakers of it, but it is one.1 Both He that sancties

and they who are sanctied are all of one. But Aaron is

rst anointed separately without sacrice, without blood.

But his sons are then brought and with him are sprinkled

with blood upon the ear, the thumb of the right hand, the

great toe of the right foot;2 obedience, action and walk

being measured and guarded, both through the price and

according to the perfection of the blood of Christ. And

then they were sprinkled with blood and with the oil of

consecration, that is to say, set apart by the blood and by the

unction of the Holy Spirit. e washing is the Spirit’s work

in the sanctifying power of the Word; the anointing, His

personal presence and energy in intelligence and power-

God working in us.

(1. Aaron is always united to his sons in such types, for

Christ cannot be separated from His own or they would

become naught. But he had been anointed personally

without blood, a thing that has been veried in Christ’s

history. He was anointed while on earth; His disciples

after His death. He received the Spirit for the church in a

new way (Acts 2:33), when He was risen from among the

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175

dead in the power of the blood of the eternal covenant:

for it is according to the ecacy of that blood in behalf

of His people, that He has been raised as their Head. In

Christ’s anointing on earth the Holy Spirit was witness to

Christ’s own personal righteousness and sonship; in ours

He is the witness of our being clean through His blood,

the righteousness of God in Him, and sons by adoption.)

(2. Aaron is rst simply anointed with the anointing oil

poured upon his head (ch. 29:7). en the sons are brought,

and the ram of consecration brought, and some of its blood

put upon Aaron’s ear, and then on the tip of the ear of his

sons, the right thumb and the great toe of the right foot.

It might be supposed that it was only on Aaron’s ear, but

comparing with Leviticus 8:23 it would seem that “their,”

in verse 20 here, includes Aaron. e great principle is our

association with the blessed Lord; but He was obedient

unto death, and no act or walk needed to be puried. e

great principle for us is that nothing should pass into the

thought, no act be done, nothing occur in our walk which is

not according to the perfection of consecration in Christ’s

sacrice: we have its value upon us as to imputation, but

here it is consecration, for both are in His blood.)

Cleansed by blood and sealed by the Spirit

And it is important to remark here that the seal of the

Holy Spirit follows on the sprinkling with the blood, not

on the washing with the water. at was needed. We must

be born again, but it is not that cleansing which, by itself,

puts us in a state God can seal: the blood of Christ does.

We are thereby perfectly cleansed as white as snow, and

the Spirit comes as the witness of God’s <P106>estimate

of the value of that blood-shedding. Hence, too, all were

sprinkled with Aaron. e blood of Christ and the Holy

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Spirit have set us in association with Christ, where He is

according to the acceptableness of that perfect sacrice (it

was the ram of consecration), and the presence, liberty and

power of the Holy Spirit.

All the sacrices oered for the priests

All the sacrices were oered. at for sin, the burnt

oering of a sweet-smelling savor, the ram of consecration

(which had the character of a peace oering), accompanied

by the meat oering. ese sacrices have been explained

elsewhere, and I only recall their import: Christ made sin

for us, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree; rst

need of the soul, the sin oering; Christ obedient unto

death, devoting Himself to the glory of His Father-but

according to God’s nature, and the existence of sin, and

that in us-and to us as belonging to the Father, the burnt

oering; the communion of God, of the Saviour, of the

worshipper, and of the whole church, the peace oering;

and Christ devoted in holiness of life upon the earth, but

proved even to death, the meat oering.

Aaron’s sons associated with their head

It is to be observed that, when Aaron and his sons were

sprinkled and anointed, the sons were anointed with him,

and their garments also, and not he with them. Everything

is connected with the head. Aaron and his sons ate the

things with which the atonement had been made. Such is

our portion in Christ, the food of God whereby we dwell

in Christ and Christ in us.

e dwelling of God sanctied by His glory

en, connected with this priesthood, comes the

perpetual sweet-smelling savor of the burnt oering, in

which the people present themselves before God-sweet-

smelling savor which is found there, as it were in the midst

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177

of the people, according to the ecacy of which they stand

in His presence round about. ere God met the people.

With the mediator He met above the ark without veil,

and gave him commandment for the people according

to His own perfection. Here He puts Himself on a level

with the people, though speaking with the mediator. e

dwelling of God in the midst of the people is sanctied

by His glory.<P107> e tabernacle, the altar, the priests,

are sanctied, and He dwells in the midst of the people

surrounding Him. For this purpose had He brought them

out of Egypt (vs. 46): a blessed picture of how, in a far

higher and better way, God dwells in the midst of us.1

He never dwelt with man, we may moreover remark, till

redemption was accomplished: not with Adam innocent,

nor with Abraham, or others; but, so soon as redemption

is accomplished, He says, “ey shall know that I am

Jehovah their God, who brought them forth out of the

land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them” (ch. 29:46).

(1. He dwells in us both individually and collectively

by the Holy Spirit, Christ being gone up on high as man;

so that the body of the sealed saint is a temple, and we

are builded together for a habitation of God through the

Spirit. e last runs out now to all Christendom.)

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72507

Exodus 30-31

Provision for the communion and service of a

redeemed people

Having thus established the priesthood, and the

relationship of the people with God who dwelt in the midst

of them, the intercession of Christ in grace (all that was in

Him ascending as a sweet savor to Jehovah) is presented

(ch. 30:1-10); and His service in making the manifestation

of God in the Spirit shine forth (vs. 7). e people were

identied with this service through redemption (vss. 11-

16). ey could neither be there, nor serve;1 but they were

all represented as redeemed. We then have the laver between

the brazen altar and the tabernacle- purication2<P108>

for communion with God, and for service to Him therein:

the hands and feet (for us only the feet, as our walk alone

is concerned), every time they took part in it.

(1. e places were seen; but not our entrance into them,

with all the rent veil brings with it.)

(2. It was the washing of water by the Word, the

purication of the worshipper (rst, of the heart) to

constitute him one by being born again of the Word. But

this was not the laver. e priests had their bodies washed

rst to be such, but it is not said this was in the laver. ere

they washed their hands and their feet, when they had come

into priestly service by the sacrices, being already washed

as to their bodies. at is, they were priests already when

they washed their hands and feet in the laver; their bodies

had been washed, and the consecrating sacrices oered;

and then in respect of practice, according to the purity of

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179

divine life by the Spirit, there was the washing through

the Word, and especially if they had failed. (Compare John

13.) For communion requires not only acceptance but

purication. Without this the presence of God acts on the

conscience, not in giving communion, but in showing the

delement. Christ, even as a man, was pure by nature, and

He kept Himself by the words of God’s lips. With us, this

purity is received from Him; and we must also use the Word

to purify ourselves. e idea and measure of the purity are

the same for Christ and for us: “He that saith he abideth

in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked”-

“to purify himself, even as he is pure.” For the ordinary

relationship of the people, looked at as worshippers, it was

the red heifer (Num. 19); its ashes, which typied this

purication on failure, were put into running water; that

is, the Holy Spirit applied, by the Word, to the heart and

conscience, the suerings of Christ for sin to purify man;

suerings which could have all their moral and purifying

power, since the ashes of separation showed forth that sin had

been consumed in the sacrice of Christ Himself for sin,

as to imputation, by the re of the judgment of God. e

blood of the heifer had been sprinkled seven times before

the door of the tabernacle-the place where, we have just

seen, God met the people; but to worship and serve there

must be the actual purication according to the standard

of Christ: at least as far as realized, so that the conscience

be not bad. is being in His presence, and the judgment

of failure, is the means of progress also. Note, the rules

as to the red heifer show that however it came (for there

were cases viewed merely humanly which were inevitable,

but, they show that however it came), God could not have

impurity in His presence.)

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e oil and incense

Finally, we have the oil and the incense, the fragrant oil,

which were for priests only: the nature of man, as man, or

his natural condition in the esh could not partake of it.

e incense typies the precious perfume of the graces of

Christ, the savor of divine graces manifested, and a sweet

odor in the world in man. He alone answers to it, though

we may seek of and from Him to walk in them.

e sabbath associated with the tabernacle: God’s

people partakers of God’s rest

e institution and obligation of the sabbath was

associated with the tabernacle of the congregation, as a

sign, as it had been with every form of relationship between

God and His people: for to be made partakers of God’s rest

is what distinguishes His people. In ne, God gave Moses

the two tables of the law.<P109>

Exodus 32

181

72508

Exodus 32

e people completely abandon Jehovah

While God was thus preparing the precious things

connected with His relationship with His people,1 the

people, only thinking of what they saw in the human

instrument of their deliverance, completely abandon

Jehovah: a sad and early, but sure fruit of having undertaken

obedience to the law as a condition, in order to the

enjoyment of the promises. Aaron falls with them.

(1. e tabernacle had a double character. It was the

manifestation of the heavenly things, and a provision for a

sinful people to be brought near again to God there. It is

interesting to consider the tabernacle under another aspect;

for, as a pattern of heavenly things, it is of the highest

interest. First, it signies the heavens themselves; for Christ

is not entered into the tabernacle, but into heaven itself. In

a certain sense, even the universe is the house of God; but,

moreover, the unity of the church as a heavenly building is

presented by it: we are His house, the tabernacle of God

in Spirit. ese two meanings are closely connected in the

beginning of Hebrews 3-Christ, God, has built all things,

and we are His house. He lls all in all, but He dwells in the

church; it is a concentric circle, although quite dierent in

its nature. Compare the prayer in Ephesians 1, which also

connects these two things under the headship of Christ,

and still more distinctly in Ephesians 3; Ephesians 1 being

headship, not dwelling, though the relationship be the

same. Compare Ephesians 4:4-6, though there it is in the

form of Spirit, Lord and God, that is, not simply dwelling

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182

in. What most fully answers is the prayer of Ephesians 3,

where, note, “height,” etc., is not of the love, but of the

whole scene of God’s glory, we being at the center to look

out into it all, because Christ, who is the center, dwells in

us. In another point of view, the person and the fullness of

Christ Himself are there; for God was in Him, and thus

the rending of the veil is applied by the Apostle to the esh

of Christ, or, if you please, the veil itself; “through the veil,

that is to say, his esh.” It is evident that the dwelling-place

of God is the central idea of these things, just as a man lives

in his house, in his property, etc.)

Moses as mediator pleads God’s glory and

unconditional promises

Such being the state of the people, God tells Moses to

go down; and now everything begins to be put on another

footing. God, in His counsels of grace, has not only seen

the people when they were in aiction, but in their ways.

ey were a stinecked people. He tells Moses to let Him

alone, and that He would destroy them, and make of Moses

a great nation. Moses takes the place of mediator, and, true

to his love for the people as God’s people, and to the glory

of God in them, with a self-denial which cared only for

this glory, sacricing every thought of self, intercedes in

that magnicent pleading which appeals to what that glory

necessitates, and to the<P110> unconditional promises

made to the fathers.1 And Jehovah repented. e character

of Moses shines in all its beauty here, and is remarkable

among those which the Holy Spirit has taken pleasure in

delineating, according to the precious grace of God, who

loves to describe the exploits of His people, and the fruit

they have borne, though He Himself is the source of them.

Exodus 32

183

(1. is is a universal principle, where the full restoration

of Israel is in question. Solomon, Nehemiah and Daniel

only go back to Moses; an important remark as to the

fulllment of God’s ways towards Israel.)

e golden calf: the covenant of the law broken,

Moses breaks the tables of the covenant

But it was all over with the covenant of the law; the

rst and fundamental link-that of having no other gods-

was broken on the part of the people. e tables of the

covenant never even came into the camp on the simple

ground of law. e people had made a complete separation

between themselves and God. Moses, who had not asked

God what was to be done with the law, comes down. His

exercised ear, quick to discern how matters stood with the

people, hears their light and profane joy. Soon after he sees

the golden calf, which had even preceded the tabernacle of

God in the camp, and he breaks the tables at the foot of the

mount; and, zealous on high for the people towards God

because of His glory, he is below on earth zealous for God

towards the people because of that same glory. For faith

does more than see that God is glorious (every reasonable

person would own that); it connects the glory of God and

His people, and hence counts on God to bless them in

every state of things, as in the interest of His glory, and

insists on holiness in them, at all cost, in conformity with

that glory, that it may not be blasphemed in those who are

identied with it.

Levi’s consecration to Jehovah; individual

responsibility to God under the law

Levi, responding to Moses’ call, says to his brethren,

the children of his mother, “I have not known you”; and

consecrates himself to Jehovah. Moses, now full of zeal

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184

though not according to knowledge, but which was permitted

of God for our instruction, proposes to the people his going

up, and “peradventure” he shall make an atonement for

this sin. And he asks God to blot him out<P111> of His

book rather than that the people should not be forgiven.

God refuses him; and, while sparing them through his

mediation, and placing them under the government of His

patience and long-suering, puts each one of them under

responsibility to Himself-that is, under the law, declaring

that the soul that sinned He would blot out of His book.

Contrast between the mediation of Moses and the

work of our Saviour

us the mediation of Moses was available for

forgiveness, as regards government, and to put them under

a government, the principles of which we shall see by and

by; but it was useless as regards any atonement which

would protect them from the nal eect of their sin (its

eect as regarded their eternal relationship with God), and

withdraw them from under the judgment of the law.1 God

spares them and commands Moses to lead the people to

the place of which He had spoken, and His angel should

go before him.

(1. Hence it is that this revelation of God, though the

character proclaimed be so abundant in goodness, is called

by the Apostle (2Cor. 3) the ministration of death and

condemnation. For if the people were still under the law,

the more gracious God was, the more guilty they were.)

What a contrast do we here remark, in passing, with the

work of our precious Saviour! He comes down from above-

from His dwelling-place in the glory of the Father-to do

His will, and did it perfectly; and (instead of destroying the

tables, the signs of this covenant, the requirements of which

Exodus 32

185

man was unable to meet), He Himself bears the penalty of its

infringement, bearing its curse; and, having accomplished

the atonement before returning above, instead of going up

with a cheerless “peradventure” in His mouth, which the

holiness of God instantly nullied, He ascends, with the

sign of the accomplishment of the atonement, and of the

conrmation of the new covenant, with His precious blood,

the value of which was anything but doubtful to that God

before whom He presented it. Alas! the church has but too

faithfully reected the conduct of Israel during the absence

of the true Moses, and attributed to Providence what she

had fashioned with her own hands, because she would see

something.<P112>

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72509

Exodus 33-34

A new mediation

We have now to examine a little what was taking place

among the people, and on Moses’ part, the faithful and

zealous witness, as a servant of God in His house; for we

shall nd a new mediation going on peacefully, if one may

so speak, and holily, weighing by faith, these relationships

where the mercy and the justice of God meet in their

application to His government. It is not the indignation of

holy wrath, which had indeed its place at the sight of the

evil, while it knew not what to do-for how put the law of

God beside the golden calf ? Jehovah says that He will send

an angel, and that He will not go in the midst of the people,

seeing it is sti-necked, lest He should destroy them by the

way. But I will state succinctly the facts connected with this

new intercession, which are of touching interest.

e holy grace of God

God had rst said that He would come up in a moment

in the midst of them to destroy them. is present excision

of the people in judgment, Moses’ intercession had averted,

and Jehovah calls upon Israel now to put o their ornaments,

that He might know what to do unto them. Holy grace of

God! who, if He sees the insolence of sin before His eyes,

must strike, but wills that the people should at least strip

themselves of that, and that He may have time (to speak

the language of men) to reect as to what He should do

with the sin of a people now humbled for having forsaken

Him.

Exodus 33-34

187

e tabernacle of the congregation pitched outside

the camp

However, God does not forsake the people. Moses

enters holily, and by the just judgment of conscience, into

the mind of God by the Spirit; and, before the tabernacle

of the congregation was pitched, he entirely leaves the

camp, and makes a place for God outside the camp, afar

o from the camp, which had put a false god in His place,

and changed their glory into the similitude of an ox which

eats grass. He calls it the tabernacle of the congregation-

the meeting-place between God and those who sought

Him.<P113> is name is in itself important, because

it is no longer simply God in the midst of a recognized

assembly, which was one of the characters we have already

observed connected with the tabernacle.1 Moses being

outside the camp, God now declares that He will not go up

in the midst of them, lest He should destroy them by the

way, as He had threatened. Moses begins his intercession,

having taken an individual position, the only one now of

faithfulness to God; but his connection with the people

being so much the stronger by his being nearer to God,

more separated unto Him. is is the eect of faithful

separation when it is for God’s glory, and one is brought

near to God in it.

(1. He anticipates by faith, jealous of God’s glory,

the tabernacle which was to be set up according to the

thoughts and commandments of God, which he had seen

in communion with Jehovah. at was indeed the principal

thing; but it was without the camp, and a sort of disorder

in the eyes of men, and was without the ornaments and the

forms commanded of God in the tabernacle, and there was

not one express word of God for it to be done. Nevertheless,

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the presence of God was there, and the main thing for faith

was there; that is, a tent where God was seen, and where

He might be sought, even in a manner in which faith was

more manifest than when the tabernacle was regularly set

up. en the pillar came down as a blessed testimony to the

faith of Moses.)

e mediator links God with His people

It must be remarked here, that God had taken the

people at their word. ey had said, acting according to

their faith, or rather to their want of faith, “is Moses that

brought us up out of Egypt.” God says, “y people, which

thou broughtest out of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.”

Hence God says to Moses, “ou,” addressing Himself to

the mediator. Moses says to God, “y people.” is earnest

power of faith does not, though separating from evil, loose

God from this blessed claim (ch. 32:1,7,12-34). Afterwards,

however, the people having stripped themselves of their

ornaments, and Moses being in the position of mediator,

God says (ch. 33:1), “ou and the people which thou hast

brought up.”1 Everything now hangs upon the mediator.

(1. And Moses really represents Christ here, not Christ

outside the camp.)

God’s ways in grace, glory and beauty

Moses having taken his place outside the camp, God

reveals Himself to him as He never had done before. e

people see God standing at the door of the tabernacle

which Moses had pitched; and they worship, every man

at his tent door. Jehovah speaks unto<P114> Moses face

to face, as a man speaks unto his friend. We shall see that

it is to these communications that God alludes when He

speaks of the glory of Moses (Num. 12:8), and not to

those on Mount Sinai. Moses, as mediator in the way of

Exodus 33-34

189

testimony, goes into the camp; but Joshua, the spiritual

chief of the people (Christ in Spirit), does not depart out

of the tabernacle.1 Moses now recognizes what God had

told him, that he has to bring up the people; he is there as

the mediator on whom everything depends. But he dares

not entertain the thought of going up alone, of going up

without knowing who would be with him. God has fully

acknowledged him in grace, and he desires to know who

will go before him. He therefore asks, since he has found

grace (for so God had told him), that he may know His

way, the way of God; not only to have a way for him

(Moses) to get to Canaan, but “thy way”; thus will he know

God, and in His path and conduct, will nd grace in His

sight. God replies that His presence shall go, and He will

give rest to Moses: the two things he perfectly needed as

crossing the wilderness. Moses then brings in the people,

and says, “Carry us not up hence,” and that “we have found

grace, I and thy people.” is also is granted of Jehovah;

and now he desires for himself to see the glory of Jehovah;

but that face which is to go and lead Moses and the people,

God cannot show unto Moses. He will hide him while He

passes by, and Moses shall see His back parts. We cannot

meet God on His way as independent of Him. After He

has passed by, one sees all the beauty of His ways. Who

could have been beforehand in proposing such a thing as

the cross? After God of Himself has done it, then all the

perfectness of God in it overows the heart.

(1. is is the place we have in spirit, but it is sometimes

hard to connect the two.)

God’s sovereignty in goodness and the conditions of

His government

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God then lays down two principles: His sovereignty,

which allows Him to act in goodness towards the wicked-

into this He retreats that any may be saved-for in justice He

would have cut o the whole people: and the conditions of

His government under which He was putting the people,

His character such as it is manifested in His ways towards

them. Hid while He passes by, Moses bows down at the

voice of God, who proclaims His name and reveals what He

is as JEHOVAH. ese words give the principles<P115>

contained in the character of God Himself in connection

with the Jewish people-principles which form the basis of

His government. It is not at all the name of His relationship

with the sinner for his justication, but with Israel for His

government. Mercy, holiness and patience mark His ways

with them; but He does not clear the guilty. Moses, ever

bearing the people of God on his heart, beseeches God,

according to the favor in which he stands as mediator, that

the Lord Himself, thus revealed, may go up in their midst;

and this, because they were a stinecked people. How

should he bring such a people safe through without Him?

A new covenant established

e relationship between Moses personally and God

was fully established, so that he could present the people

such as they were, because of his (Moses’ own) position; and,

consequently, make of the diculty and sin of the people a

reason for the presence of God, according to the character

He had revealed. It is the proper eect of mediation; but it

is exceedingly beautiful to see, grace having thus come in,

the reason God had given for the destruction of the people,

or at the very least for His absence, becoming the motive

for His presence.1 It, no doubt, supposed forgiveness as

well. is Moses asks for, and adds, in the consciousness of

Exodus 33-34

191

the blessing of the name and being of God, “Take us for

thine inheritance.” In answer to this prayer, God establishes

a new covenant with the people. e basis of it is complete

separation from the nations which God was going to drive

out from before the people. It supposes the entrance of the

people into Canaan in virtue of the mediation of Moses,

and the presence of God with the people consequent

upon his intercession. He is commanded to maintain their

relationship with Him in the solemn feasts under the

blessing and safeguard of God.<P116>

(1. We know this ourselves; my sinfulness in itself

would be the reason for God’s giving me up. But now I am

in grace, I can plead it with God as a reason, blessed be His

name, for His going with me; never should I overcome and

get safe across the wilderness, if He was not with me. Surely

the esh is there. But it is wondrous grace. Nothing shows

more clearly the dierence between justifying forgiveness,

and governmental mercy, than this part of Israel’s history.

God forgives, but does not clear the guilty-atonement was

not made: no doubt, even in possibility of government all

was based on it.)

Summary of chapters 33-34 as to Moses’ position

It is well to have the order of facts clear here as to

Moses’ position. He broke the tables; the Levites at his

summons slay their friends and relations; and then he

pitches the tabernacle far o from the camp. ere the

cloud comes down (ch. 33:9). ere the basis of all was laid,

rst in absolute, sovereign grace, and then in the character

of Moses’ personal relationship. is was at the door of

the tabernacle outside the camp. en chapter 34 he goes

up again, and there, he being in this relationship, quite a

new governmental covenant is made, founded on God’s

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192

character mediatorially, and the law put into the ark. ey

were put back in principle under law; real atonement could

not be made, of course, by Moses (ch. 34:10-17). But Israel

was never directly and properly under the covenant of the

law, but mediatorially under chapter 34:5-10; though the

commandments were, of course, before them as their rule.

But this new covenant of chapter 34 was what they were

under as to the law; and hence they, as under the law, were

apostate and left of God before they got it; and Moses

and the cloud of God’s presence outside the camp. People

sought the Lord and went there. Utter separation from

all mixture with the idolatrous people, and consecration,

characterizes the new covenant of chapter 34. In chapter

23 they were told to destroy their altars and serve Jehovah

who would cut these nations o. But the covenant is not so

characterized. It is of moment to see that God retreats into

His own sovereign grace to spare them. But this was at the

door of the tabernacle and with Moses alone; the covenant

of gracious government was based on it. at was on the

mount. e people were only on that ground. ere was no

real basis of relationship; the law, which would have been

one, broken, and no atonement made, nor could be. Moses

had a special revelation of grace. But this seems to have

been personal and unrecorded.

Israel placed again under law, with the government of

patience and grace added

I have rather enlarged upon these conversations of

Moses with the people, because (and it is very important

to remark it) Israel never entered the land under the Sinai

covenant, that is, under simple law (for all this passed under

Mount Sinai); it had been<P117> immediately broken. It

is under the mediation of Moses that they were able to

Exodus 33-34

193

nd again the way of entering it. However, they are placed

again under the law, but the government of patience and

grace is added to it. In Deuteronomy 10:1, we see there

is no longer question of introducing the law openly into

the camp where God had been dishonored. It was to be

put into the ark, according to the predetermined plans of

God,1 arranged to enable the people, miserable as they

were, to draw near unto Him, though only outside unto

the brazen altar. Moses abides there with Jehovah. ere

was enough in the contemplation of what God was, as He

had revealed Himself, to occupy him. He had not now to

be occupied with the instructions2 God was giving him on

the details of the tabernacle, but with God according to

the revelation He had made of Himself; he neither ate nor

drank; he was in a state above nature, where the esh could

not intermeddle, in some sort apart from humanity.3e

Lord writes His law anew on the tables which Moses had

prepared. But the eect of this communion with God was

manifest; the skin of his face shone when he came down.

However, here it was a glory as it were external and legal,

not like that of Jehovah Himself in the Person of Jesus.

us Israel could not behold it. We are in quite a dierent

position: for us, there is no longer a veil; and we behold

with open (that is, unveiled) face the glory of the Lord. For

the glory now is not applied to make good the law<P118>

in the conscience; for the glory in the face of Moses did

this, only the people consequently could not bear it,4 nor

consequently understand the gures of grace: the law (as

rule of human righteousness) being broken and gone as

ground of relationship with God, and laid up in the ark,

they turned the gures of grace into law, as men do. e

glory we see is the proof of the putting away of sins and

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194

divine righteousness, for it is seen in Him who bore our

sins and is that righteousness for us. We are rather in the

position of Moses when he entered into the most holy

place.

(1. us Christ was in reserve, though at the same time

foreordained, even from eternity. He was only manifested as

the true propitiation when the law had been presented, and

man had failed under it. Its only existence now is, as giving

great, recognized principles of the righteousness required

from man (in its highest elements, we may add, from the

creature), but hidden and buried in Him who gives His

character to the throne of God. But it was necessary to

break or hide those tables (terrible to man) of the perfect

but inexible law of God. God will write them on the heart

of once-disobedient Israel in the latter day.)

(2. e little that was said to Moses in the covenant was

prohibitory of all association with the nations, strangers

to Jehovah, and the establishment of links with Him,

consecration to Him in everything as redeemed, absence of

leaven, and I think the prohibition of what was devilishly

against nature. What was of nature as of God was not to be

violated. ere was redemption, as the key to all connected

with the judgment of evil, but also the rstfruits of nature

were to be consecrated to God, and the relationship of

nature not violated.)

(3. Here, however, is seen the excellency of the Lord

Jesus, who in all things must have the preeminence. Moses,

naturally far o, is separated from his natural state, in order

to draw near unto God. Christ was naturally near there,

and more than near; He separates Himself from nature to

meet the adversary on the behalf of man.)

Exodus 33-34

195

(4. It had the character of claim on them coming

with the law from above, and thus they could not see the

pregurement of Christ, when it came out either. (See

2Corinthians 3.) e whole position is of all importance.

On the ground of law, that is, man’s responsibility, all being

gone, God retreated into His own sovereignty (Moses

pleading as to Israel God’s unconditional promises), and

Israel was placed under the governmental name and

dealings of God as they are to this day, only having since

rejected Christ and promise and grace.)

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196

72510

Exodus 35-40

e portion of the people under the mediator

Besides the separation of Israel from the inhabitants

of the land wherein they were to dwell, which is found

in chapter 34, there is in chapter 35 another part of the

instructions of Moses which he gave when he came down.

It is not now the certainty of entering, and the conduct

suited to those who have found grace, abstaining from all

that might tend to bring sin back when they were enjoying

the privileges of grace; Moses speaks to them of the portion

of the people under the inuence of that communication

which the mediator, as head of grace, had established. e

sabbath1 is appointed; and, moreover, His people (grace

thus manifested) are encouraged to show their goodwill and

their liberality in everything that concerned the service of

God. Consequently we nd the manifestation of the spirit

of wisdom and of gift in service; God calling specially by

name those He designed more particularly for<P119> the

work. is was done liberally: they brought more than was

sucient; and every wise-hearted man worked, each the

things for which he was gifted; and Moses blessed them.

(1. e sabbath is always found whenever there is any

principle whatever of relationship established between the

people and God; it is the result proposed in every relation

between God and His people, that they enter into His rest.

It is to be noted that, while the people are distinctly put

under law, the principle of the second tables was law after

present forgiveness and mercy. is is exactly the ground

Christians want to be upon now-to bring in law after

Exodus 35-40

197

grace and mercy. But this it is Paul calls the ministration

of death and condemnation. For, the rst time he went up,

his face did not shine; and it is to that the Apostle refers in

2Corinthians 3.)

e tabernacle set up and anointed with oil, God

takes possession of it by His glory

us was the tabernacle set up, and everything put

into its place, according to the commandment of God.

ereupon (which we might have remarked before), the

whole is anointed with oil. Christ was thus consecrated,

anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power; and,

moreover, Christ having made peace by His blood, having

all things to reconcile (being the One who rst descended,

and afterwards ascended, to ll all things with His presence,

according to the power of redemption in righteousness and

love divine), the unction of the Holy Spirit must carry the

ecacy of this power in redemption everywhere. erefore

had the tabernacle been sprinkled with blood. It is the

power of the presence of the Holy Spirit which is spoken

of, not being born again. God takes possession of the

tabernacle by His glory, and the cloud of His presence and

of His protection becomes the guide of the people (now

forgiven), happy, and so greatly blessed, in being under the

government and guidance of God, and at the same time

His habitation and His inheritance. But all still depended

on human obedience, the people’s obedience, nor was

atonement, though revealed in gure, accomplished in

fact.<P120>

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198

72511

Leviticus

Drawing near to God in the sanctuary in the midst of

His people

e Book of Leviticus is the way of drawing near to

God, viewed as dwelling in the sanctuary, whether in

respect of the means of doing so, or of the state in which

men could; and therewith, consequently, especially the

subject of the priesthood; that is, the means established

of God for those outside the sanctuary drawing near unto

Him; and the discernment of the delements unbecoming

those who were thus brought into relationship with God;

the function of discerning these being, in any case that

rendered it necessary, a part of the service of the priesthood.

ere are also in Leviticus the several convocations of the

people in the feasts of Jehovah, which presented the special

circumstances under which they drew near unto Him; and,

lastly, the fatal consequences of infringing the principles

established by God as the condition of these relationships

with Him.

Here the communications of God are consequent upon

His presence in His tabernacle, which is the basis of all

the relationships we are speaking of. It is no longer the

lawgiver giving regulations from above, to constitute a state

of things, but one in the midst1 of the people, prescribing

the conditions of their relationship with Him.<P121>

(1. is is the character in which God puts Himself

thus into relationship. Consequently most of the directions

given suppose those to whom they apply to stand already in

the revelation of a people recognized of Him as His people.

Leviticus

199

But the people being really without, and the tabernacle

presenting the position in which God was putting Himself

in order to be approached, the instructions which are given

in cases supposing the people or the individuals to be thus

placed, furnish those who are without with the means of

drawing near to God, when they are in that position, though

no previous relationship had existed. It is very important to

observe this: it is the basis of the reasoning of the Apostle,

in Romans 3, for the admission of the Gentiles and so of

any sinner whomsoever. It is true, nevertheless, that most of

the directions apply to those who are already in proximity

with the throne. Besides, all, in spite of themselves, have

to do with it, although they do not approach it, and

especially now that, as a testimony of grace, the blood is on

the mercy-seat, and the revelation and testimony of glory

without the veil, the result of grace and redemption, gone

out. e conditions of relationship with the throne that

God establishes, where He condescends to be approached

by His creatures, are presented, which includes the details

of those He sustains with His people.

e reader will remember, as regards our drawing nigh

to God, the position of the Christian is entirely changed

from that of the Jew. en (Hebrews 9) the way into the

holiest was not made manifest, and no one, not even the

priests, could go into the presence of God within the veil;

and the services were a remembrance of sins. Now, the

work of Christ being accomplished, the veil is rent. It is

not a people in a certain relationship with God yet always

remaining without, drawing near to the altar, or, at best,

some to the altar of incense. It is full grace going out to

the world; and then, redemption being accomplished, and

believers righteous before God, their having all perfect

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200

boldness to enter the holiest. Hence, our subject is not

the character of approach, but the gures of the means

by which we approach, in order to have communion with

God. I need hardly add, the Father’s love does not come

in question. It was a throne of judgment which was in the

sanctuary, and who could approach that?)

e sacrice of Christ the means of approach

But whatever be the nearness and the privileges of the

priestly position, the sacrice of Christ is ever that which

establishes the possibility and forms the basis of it. Hence

the book begins with the sacrices which represented His

one perfect sacrice. As presenting the work of Christ in

its various characters and diverse application to us, these

typical sacrices have an interest that nothing can surpass.

We will consider them with some little detail.

Dierent characters of types

e types which are presented to us in the Scriptures

are of dierent characters; partly, of some great principle of

God’s dealings, as Sarah and Hagar of the two covenants;

partly, they are of the Lord Jesus Himself, in dierent

characters, as sacrice, priest, etc.; partly, of certain dealings

of God, or conduct of men, in other dispensations; partly,

of some great future acts of God’s government.

ough no strict rule can be given, we can say in general

that Genesis furnishes us with the chief examples of the

rst class; Leviticus, of the second, though some remarkable

ones are found in Exodus; Numbers, of the third: those of

the fourth class are more dispersed.

e employment of types to meet our capacity

e employment of types in the Word of God is a

feature in this blessed revelation not to be passed by. ere

is peculiar grace in<P122> it. at which is most highly

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elevated in our relationship with God almost surpasses,

in the reality of it, our capacities and our ken, though we

learn to know God Himself in it and enjoy this by the

Holy Spirit. In itself, indeed, it is needful that it should

surpass innitely our capacities, because, if I may so speak,

it is adapted to those of God, in respect of whom the

reality takes place, and before whom it must be eectual,

if protable for us. All these profound and innite objects

of our faith, innite in their value before God or in the

demonstration of the principles on which He deals with

us, become, by means of types, palpable and near to us. e

detail of all the mercies and excellencies which are found

in the reality or antitype are, in the type, presented close to

the eye, with the accuracy of Him who judges of them as

they are presented to His, but in a manner suited to ours,

which meets our capacity; but for the purpose of elevating

us to the thoughts which occupy Him. Christ, according to

the mind of God, in all His glory, is the picture presented.

But we have all the lines and explanations of what is

contained in it, in that which we hold in our hand-of Him

who composed the great reality. Blessed be His name!

e tabernacle displays God’s plans in grace, the

means of meeting necessity and sin

To apply this to the sacrices in the beginning of

Leviticus, the establishment of the tabernacle embraces

two points quite distinct, the display of the plans of God in

grace,1 and the place of access to Him, and also the means

of meeting the necessity and sin which gave occasion for its

present exercise. All its structure was according to a pattern

given in the mount-a pattern of heavenly things including

the fellowship between heaven and earth, and shows forth

the order which nds its accomplishment in the better

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tabernacle not made with hands. But the economy of the

tabernacle was only actually set up after the sin of the

golden calf, when<P123> the jealousy of God against sin

had already broken forth; and His grace was ministered

from the throne in the sanctuary by oerings which met

transgression, and transgression which in result barred the

entrance of the priests at all times into the sanctuary, but

supplied in grace all that met the need of a sinful people.

(1. My impression is that the tabernacle is the expression

of the millennial state of things, save as to royalty, with

which the temple is connected-the throne of God, in the

holiest. I do not see that the veil will then be rent for those

on earth, though all be founded on the sacrice of Christ;

but the high priest will go at all times into the holy place,

and then in his robes of glory and beauty. e showbread

and the seven-branched candlestick represent thus Israel

in connection with Christ, as manifesting government, and

light in the world, but in the place of priesthood with God.

For us the veil is rent, and we enter with boldness into the

holiest.)

e tabernacle economy set up after the sin of the

golden calf

Hence also it is that the rst mention we have of the

tabernacle is upon the occasion of the sin of the golden

calf, when Moses’ anger waxed hot against the mad impiety

which had rejected God, before they had received the details

and ordinances of the law of Moses, or even the ten words

from the mountain. Moses took the tent, and pitched it

without the camp, far o from the camp, and called it the

tabernacle of the congregation, though that really was not

yet erected; and all that sought Jehovah went forth to the

tabernacle of the congregation without the camp. It was a

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place of meeting for God and those among the people who

sought Him. In the law there was no question of seeking

God. It was the communication of God’s will to a people

already assembled, in the midst of whom God manifested

Himself, according to certain demands of His holiness.

But when evil had come in, and the people as a body had

apostatized and broken the covenant, then the place of

assembly, where God was to be sought, was set up. is

was before the tabernacle, as regulated according to the

pattern shown in the mount, was set up; but it established

the principle on which it was founded in the most striking

manner.

e original order never carried out

e order of the tabernacle as originally instituted was

never carried out, as the law in its original character never

was brought in. Nadab and Abihu oered strange re the

rst day, and Aaron was forbidden the holiest save on the

great day of atonement in another way. e tabernacle

itself was set up according to the pattern, but the entrance

to the inner sanctuary was closed. What was done referred

to the state of sin, and was provisional, but a provision for

sin, only not a nished work as we have it.<P124>

e meeting of Jehovah with the mediator and the

people through the mediator

is meeting of Jehovah with the people, or the

mediator, was twofold: apostolic, or sacricial; that is, for

the purpose of communicating His will; or of receiving the

people in their worship, their failures, or their need, even

as Christ Himself is the Apostle and High Priest of our

profession-expressions which allude to the circumstances

of which we treat. Jehovah’s presence in the tabernacle, for

the communication of His will (with which we have to

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do only inasmuch as what occupies us is an example of

it1), is thus spoken of in Exodus 25 and 29. In chapter 25,

after describing the structure of the ark and its appendages

in the most holy place, it is said, “And thou shalt put

the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou

shalt put the testimony which I will give thee. And there

I will meet with thee [Moses], and I will commune with

thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two

cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all

things which I will give thee in commandment with the

children of Israel.” is was for the mediator with Jehovah

alone in secret. In chapter 29 we read, “A continual burnt

oering throughout your generations at the door of the

tabernacle of the congregation before Jehovah: where I will

meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there will I meet

with the children of Israel.” at is where, though through

a mediator, as all was now since the law was broken,

Jehovah met the people, not Moses alone, with whom He

communicated from between the cherubim in the most

holy place.

(1. For prophecy is a thing apart.)

On this ground Leviticus commences.

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205

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Leviticus 1

God speaking out of the tabernacle, accessible by a

provided mediation, sacrice and priesthood

God speaks not from Sinai, but out of the tabernacle,

where He is sought; where, according to the pattern of

His glory, but according also to the need of those who

seek His presence, He is in relationship with the people

by mediation and sacrice. In Sinai, in terrible glory, He

demanded, and proposed terms of, obedience,<P125> and

thereupon promised His favor. In this the communication

was direct, but the people could not bear it. Here He is

accessible to the sinner and to the saint, but by a provided

mediation and priesthood. But then the center and ground

of our access to God thus is Christ’s obedience and oering.

is therefore is rst presented to us when God speaks in

the tabernacle.

e order of the sacrices

e order of these sacrices is rst to be remarked. e

order of their application is uniformly opposed to the order

of their institution. ere are four great classes of oerings:

(1) the burnt oering; (2) the meat oering; (3) the peace

oering; and (4) the sin oering. I name them in the order

of their institution, but, in their application, when oered

together, the sin oerings always come rst, for there it is

restoration to God;1 and, in approaching God by sacrice,

man must approach by the ecacy of that which takes

away his sins, in that they have been borne by another. But

in presenting the Lord Jesus Himself as the great sacrice,

His being made sin is a consequence of His oering

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Himself in perfectness to God, and though as made sin for

us, still in His own perfectness, and for the divine glory, we

say, His Father’s glory; this is a great but blessed mystery.

He gives Himself up, coming to do His Father’s will, and

is made for us sin, Him who knew no sin, and undergoes

death.

(1. As to acceptance, the Christian has no more

conscience of sins; but the Israelite had never learned this;

and hence, as we have seen, his way of approaching served,

as to the means, to portray the sinner’s rst coming to God.

e import of Christ’s sacrice is often too little seen. Man

must come as a sinner, and about and owning his sins. He

cannot come truly otherwise, but when entered in peace

into God’s presence, feeble as we may be, we view it from

God’s side, and daily see more of the reality and value of this

great fact which stands alone in the history of eternity, and

on which all and eternal blessing is immutably founded.

Every point and power of good and evil was there brought

to an issue; the absolute enmity of man’s heart against God

revealed in grace; Satan’s complete power over men; man

(Christ) perfect in obedience and love to His Father in the

very place needed when He was made sin; God perfect

in justice against sin (it became Him), and perfect in love

to the sinner. And this being accomplished, the perfect

ground was laid in justice, and in what was accomplished

and immutable, for the display of God’s love and God’s

counsels, in what morally could not change.)

e sin oerings the expression of Christ’s perfect

sin-bearing

Furthermore, our sins being put away, the source of

communion<P126> is thus in the excellency of Christ

Himself, and in His oering, who oers Himself to God,

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207

without spot; glorifying God by death inasmuch as sin was

there before Him and death by sin; and He gives Himself

wholly up to God’s glory in respect of this state,1 and then

our presentation according to the preciousness of this on

high, though the actual bearing of our sins be of absolute

necessity to introduce us into this communion. In this is the

dierence of the great day of atonement. en the blood was

put on the mercy-seat in the holiest; but this, while giving

access there on the ground of perfect cleansing through

an oering of innite value, was in respect of actual sins

and delement, not the pure sweet savor of the oering in

itself to God. Yet it supposed sin. e oering would not

have had its own character nor value if it had not. Hence,

as presenting Christ, and our approach to God when sin

has been fully dealt with and holiness tested, the burnt

oering, meat oering and peace oering (in which latter

our communion with God is presented to us) come rst,

and then the sin oerings apart; needful, primarily needful

to us, but not the expression of the personal perfectness

of Christ, but of His sinbearing, though perfectness were

needed for that.

(1. It is to be remarked that we read of no positive

sin oerings before the law. e clothing of Adam may

suppose it, and Genesis 4:7 may be taken to speak of it, but

they are not professedly oered; burnt oerings frequently.

ese suppose sin and death, and no coming to God

but by sacrice and death, and reconciliation through it.

But the sacrice is viewed in the perfect self-oering of

Christ, so that God should be perfectly gloried in that

which was innitely precious in His sight, and all He was,

righteousness, love, majesty, truth, purpose, all gloried in

Christ’s death so that He could freely act in His grace. Sin

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is supposed in it, and perfectness of self-sacrice to God

there where it was; but God gloried rather than individuals’

sins borne. Hence worship according to the sweet savor

of it is involved in it. A man far departed from God, as

such I cannot come to God at all but on this ground, and

it will remain valid for eternity and secure all things: the

new heaven and earth are secured as the dwelling-place

of righteousness by it. But my actual sins being put away

is another thing. In one, the whole relationship of man,

indeed of all things with God, is in question; in the other,

my personal sins. Hence all acceptable sacrice was of the

former kind: sacrices for sins when the relationship of a

people with God was established, where every act referred

to His actual presence.)

Christ the one all-perfect sacrice

It is evident, from what I have said, that it is Christ we

are to consider in the sacrices which are about to engage

our attention: the various forms of value and ecacy which

attach to that one all-perfect sacrice. It is true, we may

consider the Christian in a<P127> subordinate point of

view as presented to us here, for he should present his body

a living sacrice. He, by the fruits of charity, should present

sacrices of sweet savor, acceptable to our God by Jesus

Christ; but our object now is to consider Christ in them.

e distinction between the sin oerings and all the

others

I have said that there are four great classes presented

to us- burnt oerings, meat oerings, peace oerings,

and oerings for sin. ese may be seen thus classed in

chapter 10 of the Epistle to the Hebrews. But then there

is a very essential distinction which divides these four

into two separate classes-the sin oerings, and all the

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209

others. e sin oerings, as such, were not characterized

as oerings made by re, of a sweet savor unto Jehovah

(although the fat was in most of them burned on the

altar, and in this respect the sweet savor was there, and so

it is once said, chapter 4:31; for indeed the perfection of

Christ was there though bearing our sins), the others were

distinctly so characterized. Positive sins were seen in the

sin oerings: they were charged with sins. He that touched

those of them which fully bore this character, as being for

the whole people1 (Lev. 16; Num. 19), was deled. But

in the case of the burnt oering, though not brought for

positive sins, sin is supposed; there blood was shed, and it

was for propitiation, but burned on the altar, and all was

a sweet savor to God. It was Christ’s whole sacrice of

Himself to God, and perfect as an oering in every respect,

though sin, as such, was the occasion of it. By this sacrice,

in result, sin will be put away out of God’s sight forever-

what joy! See John 1:29 and Hebrews 9:26. But then we

brought to the consciousness of our state of sin say, He was

made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness

of God in Him. is is a consequence, but the basis is that,

besides bearing our sins, He gloried God perfectly there

where He was made sin. It was as in the place of sin that

His obedience was perfect and God perfectly gloried in

all He is (John 13 and 17). Indeed there is but one word

for sin and sin oering in the original. ey were burned,

but not on the altar; the fat, save in one case, of which

we may speak hereafter, was (ch. 4). e other oerings

were oerings made by re of a sweet savor unto Jehovah-

they present<P128> Christ’s perfect oering of Himself

to God, not the imposition of sins on the substitute by the

Holy One, the Judge.

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(1. In these cases the burning was outside the camp.

It was the same as to the scapegoat, which immediately

connected itself with the rest of the work.)

ese two points in the sacrice of Christ are very

distinct and very precious. God has made Him to be sin for

us, Him who knew no sin: but also is it true, that through

the eternal Spirit He oered Himself without spot to God.

Let us consider this latter, as rst in the order presented in

Leviticus, and naturally so.

e burnt oering

e rst sort of sacrice, the most complete and

characteristic of those characterized by being oerings

made by re of a sweet savor, was the burnt oering. e

oerer was to bring his oering,1 in order to his acceptance

with God, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

and to kill it before Jehovah.

(1. e burnt oerings as such were brought voluntarily;

still, it seems clear that this is not the sense of the Hebrew

word “ratzon” here, but for his acceptance, to be in divine

favor. It remains, just the same, doctrinally true that Christ,

through the eternal Spirit, oered Himself without spot to

God.)

e place of the tabernacle ritual: (1) the holy of holies

First, of the place, the whole scene of the tabernacle

ritual consisted of three parts: rst, the holiest of all, the

innermost part of the boarded space covered with tents,

separated from the rest by a veil which hung before it, and

within which was the ark of the covenant and the cherubim

overshadowing the mercy-seat, and NOTHING ELSE.

is was the throne of God, the type also of Christ, in

whom God is revealed, the true ark of the covenant with

the mercy-seat over it.

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211

(2) e holy place

e veil, the Apostle tells us, signied that the way

into the holiest was not yet made manifest while the old

economy subsisted.1 Immediately outside the veil-its

ecacy, however, entering within, and whence, indeed, on

certain occasions, incense was taken in a censer and oered

within-stood the golden altar of incense. In the same, or

outer chamber of the tabernacle, called the<P129> holy, as

distinguished from the most holy place, or holy of holies,

stood, on either side, the showbread and the candlestick-

types, the former of Christ incarnate, the true bread in

union with and head of the twelve tribes, on the one hand;

and the latter, of the perfection2 (still, I have no doubt, in

connection with Israel in the latter day) of the Spirit, as

giving light, on the other. e church owns Christ thus,

and the Holy Spirit dwells in it, but what characterizes it,

as such, is the knowledge of a heavenly and gloried Christ,

and the Holy Spirit, as in divine communications, present

in unity in it. ese gures, on the other hand, give us Christ

in His earthly relation, and the Holy Spirit in His various

displays of power, when God’s earthly system is established.

Compare Zechariah 4, and Revelation 11 where there

is the testimony to, but not the actual perfection of, the

candlestick; God’s testimony on the earth. e Epistle to

the Hebrews aords us all needed light as to how far and

with what changes these gures can be applied now. But

that epistle never speaks of the proper relationships and

privileges of the church and Christians. ese are viewed

as pilgrims on earth, an earthly people. ere is no union

with Christ. He is in heaven and we in need on earth; no

mention of the Father’s name, but only so much the more

precious as to our access to God, and needed supplies of

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grace for our path down here. It is properly Christian; we

are partakers of the heavenly calling; but it may reach out

and give what is available for the remnant, slain after the

church is gone. Into the holy place the body of the priests,

and not merely the high priest, entered continually, but

they only. We know who, and who alone, can now thus

enter, even those who are made kings and priests, the true

saints of God: only, we can add, that the veil that hid the

holiest and barred the entrance is rent from top to bottom,

not to be renewed again between us and God. We have

boldness to enter into the holiest. e veil has been rent in

His esh. He is not merely bread from heaven or incarnate,

but put to death, denoted by esh and blood, and the door

fully opened for us to enter in spirit where Christ is. Our

ordinary privilege and title is in the holy place- type of the

created heaven, as the most holy is of the heaven of<P130>

heavens, as it is called. In a certain sense, as to spiritual

approach and communion, the veil being rent, there is no

separation between the two, though in the light which no

man can approach unto God dwells inaccessible. In the

heavenly places we now are as priests, though only in spirit.

(1. is is a signal instance that the order set up in the

wilderness was not the image, but only a shadow of good

things to come; for the veil unrent forbad entrance, the

rent veil gives us, through the cross, full boldness to go in.

So that in relationship to God there was contrast.)

(2. e number seven is the number of perfection, and

twelve also, as may be seen in many passages of Scripture:

the former, of absolute completeness in good or evil; the

latter, of completeness in human administration.)

(3) e court of the tabernacle of the congregation

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213

In approaching to this was the outside court, the court

of the tabernacle of the congregation.1 In entering this

part, the rst thing met with was the altar of burnt oering,

and between that and the tabernacle the laver, where the

priests washed2 when they entered into the tabernacle, or

were occupied at the altar, to perform their service. It is

evident that we approach solely by the sacrice of Christ,

and that we must be washed with water by the Word before

we can serve in the sanctuary. We have need also, as priests,

of having our feet, at least, washed by our Advocate on

high for our continual service there. (See John 13.)3

(1. e door of the tabernacle of the congregation is not

simply the veil of the holy place, but the court where they

entered from without. e altar of burnt oering was at the

door of the tabernacle of the congregation.)

(2. It does not appear that the washing of the priests for

their consecration was at the laver; that was according to

what was within when they had got there. But it is always

the Word, which is gured by the water.

(3. In the rst edition, I had added here the “renewing of

the Holy Ghost,” referring to Titus 3. But though the Holy

Spirit surely renews the heart continually, yet I doubt the

justice of the application of this passage here. e renewing

seems more absolute there, ανακαινωςεως (anakainoseos). I

might have simply left it out, perhaps, but that I would call

the attention of the reader to the fact that “regeneration” is

not the same word as being “born again.” It is παλιγγενεςια

(paliggenesia), not αναγεννηςις (anagenneesis). It is only

found again, to denote the millennium, in Matthew 19.

It is in its import, the “washing of water,” or being “born

of water,” not the reception of life by the Spirit. Water is a

change of condition of what exists, not in itself receiving

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of life, which is being “born of the Spirit.” at is the

ανακαινωςις (anakainosis).)

Christ’s approach to God in the perfect oering of

Himself

Christ also thus approached, but it was in the perfect

oering of Himself, not by the oering of another. Nothing

can be more touching, or more worthy of profound attention,

than the manner in which Jesus thus voluntarily presents

Himself, that God may be fully, completely, gloried in

Him. Silent in His suerings, we see that His silence was

the result of a profound and perfect determination to give

Himself up, in obedience, to this glory-a <P131>service,

blessed be His name, perfectly accomplished, so that the

Father rests in His love towards us.

Christ’s absolute devotedness to the Father’s glory

shown in two ways

is devotedness to the Father’s glory could, and indeed

did, show itself in two ways: it might be in service, and of

every faculty of a living man here, in absolute devotedness

to God, tested by re even unto death; or in the giving

up of life itself, giving up Himself-His life unto death, for

the divine glory, sin being there. Of this latter the burnt

oering speaks; of the former, I judge, the meat oering:

while both are the same in principle as entire devotedness

of human existence to God-one of the living, acting man,

the other the giving up of life unto death.

Christ both victim and oerer

So in the burnt oering; he who oered, oered the

victim up wholly to God at the door of the tabernacle of

the congregation. us Christ presented Himself for the

accomplishment of the purpose and glory of God where sin

was. In the type the victim and the oerer were necessarily

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215

distinct, but Christ was both, and the hands of the oerer

were laid on the head of the victim in sign of identity.

Let us cite some of the passages which thus present

Christ to us. First, in general, whether for life or for death,

thus to glorify God; but exactly as taking the place of these

sacrices, the Spirit thus speaks of the Lord, in Hebrews

10, citing Psalm 40: “en said I, Lo I come, in the volume

of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O

God; yea, thy law is within my heart.” Christ, then, giving

Himself up entirely to the will of God is what replaces

these sacrices, the antitype of the shadows of good things

to come. But of His life itself He thus speaks (John 10:18):

“I lay it down of myself, no one taketh it from me. I have

power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again:

this commandment have I received of my Father.” It was

obedience, but obedience in the sacrice of Himself; and

so, speaking of His death, He says, “e prince of this

world [Satan] cometh, and hath nothing in me; but that

the world may know that I love the Father, and as the

Father hath given me commandment, so I do.” So we read

in Luke 9: “And<P132> it came to pass when the time was

come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his

face to go to Jerusalem.” “rough the eternal Spirit he

oered himself without spot to God” (Heb. 9:14).

e result of Christ’s work-introduction into the

glory of God

How perfect and full of grace is this way of the Lord!

as constant and devoted to draw near when God should

be thus gloried, and submit to the consequences of His

devotedness-consequences imposed by the circumstances

in which we are placed-as man was to depart from God

for his pleasure. He humbles Himself to death that the

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majesty and the love of God, His truth and righteousness,

may have their full accomplishment through the exercise

of His self-devoting love. us man, in His person, and

through His work, is reconciled to God; takes the true and

due relationship to Him; God being perfectly gloried in

Him as to, and (wondrous to say) in the place of, sin, and

that according to all the value of what Christ has done to

glorify God. It was in the place of sin, as made it for us, for

there it was God had to be gloried, and there all He is

came out as nowhere else, and there perfectly, in love, light,

righteousness, truth, majesty, as by man’s sin He had been

dishonored; only that now it was innite in value, God

Himself, not merely human defacing of God’s glory. I do

not here say men, but man. And the blessed result was, not

merely forgiveness, but introduction into the glory of God.

e oerer’s part in the sacrice without blemish

e sacrice was to be without blemish; the application

of this to Christ is too obvious to need comment. He was

the Lamb “without blemish and without spot.” e oerer1

was to kill the bullock before Jehovah. is completed the

likeness to Christ, for, though evidently He could not kill

Himself, He laid down His life: no one took it from Him.

He did it before Jehovah. is, in the ritual of the oering,

was the oerer’s part, the individual’s, and so Christ’s as

man. Man saw, in Christ’s death, man’s judgment-the

power of Caiaphas, or the power of the world. But as

oered, He oered Himself before Jehovah.<P133>

(1. at is, it was not yet the priest’s part. It may be

translated, “One was to kill him.” It was completing the

oering, not presenting its blood in a priestly way.)

Jehovah’s and the priest’s part in the pure oering

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And now comes Jehovah’s and the priest’s part. e

oering was to be made the subject of the re of the altar of

God; it was cut in pieces and washed, given up, according

to the purication of the sanctuary, to the trial of the

judgment of God; for re, as a symbol, signies always the

trial of the judgment of God. As to the washing with water,

it made the sacrice typically what Christ was essentially-

pure. But it has this importance, that the sanctication of it

and ours is on the same principle and on the same standard.

He is in this sense our sanctication. We are sanctied

unto obedience. He came to do the will of His Father, and

so, perfect from the beginning, learns obedience by the

things which He suered; perfectly obedient always, but

His obedience put ever more thoroughly to the test, so that

His obedience was continually deeper and more complete,

though always perfect. He learned obedience, what it was

to obey, and that by growing suerings and the sense of

what was around Him, and nally by the cross.1 It was

new to Him as a divine Person-to us as rebels to God-and

He learned it in all its extent.

(1. Much deep instruction is connected with this, but its

development belongs to the New Testament. See Romans

12 and 6, and 1Peter.)

e water of cleansing and its symbolical use in

baptism

Furthermore, this washing of water, in our case, is by the

Word, and Christ testies of Himself that man should live

by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. is

dierence evidently and necessarily exists, that as Christ

had life in Himself, and was the life (see John 1:4; 1John

1:1-2), we, on the other hand, receive this life from Him;

and while ever obedient to the written Word Himself, the

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words which owed from His lips were the expression of

His life-the direction of ours.

We may pursue the use of this water of cleansing yet

further. It is the power of the Spirit also, exercised as by the

Word and will of God;1 so even the commencement of

this life in us. “Of his own will begat he us by the word of

truth, that we might be a kind of rstfruits of his creatures”

(James 1:18). And so in 1Peter 1:23, we are born of the

incorruptible seed of the Word. But then this<P134> nds

us walking in sins and living in them, or, in another aspect,

dead in them. ese are really the same thing, for being

alive in sins is being spiritually dead towards God; only the

latter sets out with our whole state discovered; the former

deals with our responsibility. In Ephesians we are viewed as

dead in sins; in Romans alive in them; in Colossians chiey

the latter, but the former is touched on. e cleansing must

be, therefore, by the death and resurrection of Christ; death

to sin and life to God in Him. Hence, on His death, was

shed forth out of His side water and blood, cleansing as

well as expiating power. Death then is the only cleanser

of sin as well as its expiation. “He that is dead is freed2

from sin,” and water thus became the sign of death, for

this alone cleansed. is truth of real sanctication was

necessarily hidden under the law, save in gures: for the

law applied itself to man, alive, and claimed his obedience.

Christ’s death revealed it. In us-that is, in our esh-good

does not dwell. Hence, in the symbolical use of water in

baptism, we are told that as many of us as are baptized

unto Christ, are baptized unto His death. But it is evident

that we cannot stop at death in itself. In us it would be

the herald and witness of condemnation, but, having life in

Christ, death in Him is death to the life of sin and guilt. It

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is the communication of the life of Christ which enables us

thus to treat the old man as dead, and ourselves as having

been dead in trespasses and sins. e body is dead because

of sin, and the Spirit is life because of righteousness, if

Christ be in you. So we are told as to the truth of our natural

state (it is not here what faith holds the old man to be if

Christ be in us): “You, being dead in your sins, and the

uncircumcision of your esh, hath he quickened together

with him.” When we were dead in sin, He has quickened

us together with Him; and, as baptized unto His death, it

is added, “at like as Christ was raised up from the dead

by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in

newness of life.” It is only in the power of a new life that we

can hold ourselves to be dead to sin. And, indeed, it is only

by known redemption we can say so. It is when we have

apprehended the power of Christ’s death and resurrection,

and know that we are in Him through the Holy Spirit, that

we can say, I am crucied with Him; I am not in the esh.

We<P135> know, then, that this cleansing, which was

apprehended as a mere moral eect in Judaism, is, by the

communication of the life of Christ to us, that by which

we are sanctied, according to the power of His death and

resurrection, and sin as a law in our members is judged. e

rst Adam, as a living soul, corrupted himself; the last, as a

quickening Spirit, imparts to us a new life.

(1. Water thus used as a gure signies the Word in the

present power of the Holy Spirit.)

(2. Literally, “justied.” You cannot accuse a dead man

of sin. And note, it is not “sins” here, but “sin.”)

Christ’s baptism of re

But, if it is the communication of the life of Christ

which, through redemption, is the starting point of this

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judgment of sin, it is evident that that life in Him was

essentially and actually pure; in us, the esh lusts against

the Spirit. He, even according to the esh, was born of

God. But He was to undergo a baptism, not merely to

fulll all righteousness as living-though perfectly pure-in

a baptism of water, but a trial of all that was in Him by the

baptism of re. “I have,” says He, “a baptism to be baptized

with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!”

Here, then, Christ, completely oered up to God for

the full expression of His glory, undergoes the full trial of

judgment. e re tries what He is. He is salted with re.

e perfect holiness of God, in the power of His judgment,

tries to the uttermost all that is in Him. e bloody sweat,

and aecting supplication in the garden, the deep sorrow of

the cross, in the touching consciousness of righteousness,

“Why hast thou forsaken me?”-as to any lightening of the

trial, an unheeded cry-all mark the full trial of the Son of

God. Deep answered unto deep-all Jehovah’s waves and

billows passed over Him. But as He had oered Himself

perfectly to the thorough trial, this consuming re and

trying of His inmost thoughts did, could, produce naught

but a sweet savor to God. It is remarkable that the word

used for burning the burnt oering is not the same as that

of the sin oering, but the same as that of burning incense.

e sacrice of a sweet savor

In this oering, then, we have Christ’s perfect oering

up of Himself, and then tried in His inmost parts by ery

trial of God’s judgment. e consuming of His life was a

sacrice of a sweet savor, all innitely agreeable to God-

not a thought, not a will, but was put to the test-His life

consumed in it; but all, without <P136>apparent answer

to sustain, given up to God; all was purely a sweet savor

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221

to Him. But there was more than this. e greater part of

what has been said would apply to the meat oering. But

the burnt oering was to make atonement, an expression

not used in chapter 2. ere the personal intrinsic

perfectness of Christ was tested, and the manner of His

incarnation, what He was as man down here, unfolded,

but death was the rst element of the burnt oering, and

death was by sin. ere where man was (otherwise for him

it could not be); where sin was; where Satan’s power as

death was; where God’s irreversible judgment was, Christ

had to glorify God, and it was a glory not otherwise to

be displayed: love, righteousness, majesty, in the place of

sin and death. Christ, who knew no sin, made sin for us,

in perfect obedience and love to His Father goes down to

death; and God is gloried there, Satan’s power of death

destroyed, God gloried in man according to all He is, sin

being come in, in obedience and love. He was in the place

of sin, and God gloried, as no creation, no sinlessness,

could. All was a sweet savor in that place, and according to

what God was as to it in righteousness and love.

e sweet savor of Christ’s sinless sacrice and its

acceptance made ours

When Noah oered his burnt oering, it is said, “And

Jehovah smelled a sweet savor, and Jehovah said in his

heart, I will no more curse the ground for man’s sake, for

the imaginations of man’s heart are only evil continually.”

It had repented Him that He had made man, and grieved

Him at His heart; but now, on this sweet savor, Jehovah says

in His heart, “I will no more curse.” Such is the perfect and

innite acceptableness of Christ’s oering up of Himself

to God. It is not in the sacrice we are considering that

He has the imposition of sins on Him (that was the sin

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oering), but the perfectness, purity and self-devotedness

of the victim, but in being made sin, and that ascending

in sweet savor to God. In this acceptability-in the sweet

savor of this sacrice- we are presented to God. All the

delight which God nds in the odor of this sacrice-

blessed thought!-we are accepted in. Is God perfectly

gloried in this, in all that He is? He is gloried then in

receiving us. He receives us as the fruit and testimony of

that in which He has been perfectly gloried and that

as revealed<P137> in redemption, in which all that He

is is wrought out in revelation. Does He delight in what

Christ is, in this His most perfect act? He so delights in

us. Does this rise up before Him, a memorial forever, in

His presence, of delight? We, also, in the ecacy of it, are

presented to Him; in one sense we are that memorial. It is

not merely that the sins have been eaced by the expiatory

act; but the perfect acceptability of Him who accomplished

it and gloried God perfectly in it, the sweet savor of His

sinless sacrice, is our good odor of delight before God,

and is ours; its acceptance, even Christ’s, is ours.

Atonement made in obedience unto death

And we are to remark that, though distinct from laying

our sins upon Him, yet death implied sin, and the sacrice

of Christ, as burnt oering, had the character which

resulted from sin being in question before God, namely,

death. It made the trial and suering so much the more

terrible. His obedience was tested before God in the place

of sin, and He was obedient unto death, not in the sense

of bearing sins and putting them away, though in the same

act, but in the perfection of His oering of Himself to God,

and obedience tested by God; tested by being dealt with as

sin, and therein, only, and a perfect sweet savor. Hence it

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223

was atonement; and, in one sense, of a deeper kind than

the bearing of sins, that is, as the test of obedience and

glorifying God in it. If we have found peace in forgiveness

we cannot too much study the burnt oering. It is that one

act in the history of eternity in which the basis of all that in

which God has gloried Himself morally, that is, revealed

Himself as He is, and of all that in which our happiness

is founded (and its sphere)-for, blessed be God, they go

together-is laid; and laid in such a way that Christ could

say, erefore does My Father love Me; and that in total,

self-sacrice made sin before God (oh, wondrous thought!)

and for us. It became Him. Where is God’s righteousness

against sin known? where His holiness? where His innite

love? where His moral majesty? where what became Him?

where His truth? where man’s sin? where His perfectness?

and, absolutely, where Satan’s power, but its nullity too? All

in the cross, and essentially in the burnt oering. It is not

as bearing sins, but as absolutely oered to God and in

atonement-blood-shedding about sin.<P138>

e burnt oering wholly for and to God

ere is another point to remark in this sacrice

distinguishing it. It was wholly for and to God; for us no

doubt, but still wholly to God. Of other sacrices (not of

the two rst, for sin-but of these hereafter) in some form

or other men partook, of this not; it was wholly for God

and on the altar. It was thus the grand, absolute, essential

sacrice; as to its eect, connected with us, as blood-

shedding was (Hebrews 9:26 and John 1:29, the Lamb of

God) present in it (compare Ephesians 5:2). Hence, though

having the stamp of sin being there in blood-shedding

and propitiation, it was absolutely and wholly sweet savor,

wholly to God.

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72513

Leviticus 2

e humanity of Christ contrasted with ours

I now turn to the meat oering. is presents to us the

humanity of Christ; His grace and perfectness as a living

man, but still as oered to God and fully tested. It was of

ne our without leaven, mingled with oil and frankincense.

e oil was used in two ways; it was mingled with the our,

and the cake was anointed with it. e presenting (Christ’s

presenting Himself as an oering to God) even unto death,

and His actually undergoing death, and shedding blood,1

must have come rst; for, without the perfectness of this

will even unto death, and that shedding of blood by which

God was perfectly gloried where sin was, nothing could

have been accepted; yet Christ’s perfectness as a man down

here had to be proved, and that by the test of death and the

re of God. But the atoning work being wrought, and His

obedience perfect from the beginning (He came to do His

Father’s will), all the life was perfect and acceptable as man,

a sweet savor under the trial of God-His nature as man.2

Abel was accepted by blood; Cain, who came in the way

of nature, oering the fruit of his toil and <P139>labor,

was rejected. All that we can oer of our natural hearts is

“the sacrice of fools,” and is founded on what is failure

in the spring of any good, on the sin of hardness of heart,

which does not recognize our condition-our sin and

estrangement from our God. What could be a greater

evidence of hardness of heart than, under the eects and

consequences of sin, driven from Eden, to come and oer

oerings, and these oerings the fruit of the judicial toil

Leviticus 2

225

of the curse consequent on sin, as if nothing at all had

happened? It was the perfection of blind hardness of heart.

(1. And this for a double reason: He came to meet our

case, and we were in sin, and the basis of all must be blood-

shedding in virtue of what God is, and His obedience

all through must have this perfect character-unto death.

Hence, too, there was no eating it. Sin being there, it was

according to what God is, and wholly to God. Sin was

before Him and He gloried as to it.)

(2. us the holocaust gives what the sinful man’s state

according to God’s glory needed; the meat oering, the

sinless, perfect man in the power of the Spirit of God in

obedience; for His life was obedience in love.)

Man’s will and Christ’s perfect obedience to His

Father’s will

But, on the other hand, as Adam’s rst act, when in

blessing, was to seek his own will (and hence by disobedience

he was, with his posterity such as he, in this world of

misery, alienated from God in state and will), Christ was

in this world of misery, devoting Himself in love, devoting

Himself to do His Father’s will. He came here emptying

Himself. He came here by an act of devotedness to His

Father, at all cost to Himself, that God might be gloried.

He was in the world, the obedient man, whose will was to

do His Father’s will, the rst grand act and source of all

human obedience, and of divine glory by it. is will of

obedience and devotedness to His Father’s glory stamped

a sweet savor on all that He did: all He did partook of this

fragrance.

It is impossible to read John’s,1 or indeed any of the

Gospels, where what He was, His Person, specially shines

forth, without meeting, at every moment, this blessed

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fragrance of loving obedience and self-renouncement. It is

not a history-it is Himself, whom one cannot avoid seeing-

and also the wickedness of man, which violently forced its

way through the coverture and holy hiding-place which

love had wrought around Him, and forced into view Him

who was clothed with humility-the divine Person that

passed in meekness through the world that rejected Him:

but it was only to give all its force and blessedness to the

self-abasement, which never faltered, even when forced to

confess His divinity. It was “I am,” but in the lowliness and

loneliness of the most perfect and self-abased obedience;

no secret desire to hold His place in His humiliation,

and by His humiliation: His Father’s<P140> glory was

the perfect desire of His heart. It was, indeed, “I am” that

was there, but in the perfectness of human obedience.

is reveals itself everywhere. “It is written” was His reply

to the enemy. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by

every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

“It is written” was His constant reply. “Suer it thus far,”

says He to John the Baptist, “thus it becometh us to fulll

all righteousness.” “at give,” says He to Peter, though

the children be free, “for me and for thee.” is historically.

In John, where, as we have said, His Person shines more

forth, it is more directly expressed by His mouth: “is

commandment have I received of my Father,” “and I know

that his commandment is life eternal.” “As the Father hath

given me commandment, so I do.” “e Son can do nothing

of himself, but what he seeth the Father do.” “I have kept,”

says He, “my Father’s commandments, and abide in his

love.” “If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not.”

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227

(1. In John, the divine displayed in man, specially comes

out. Hence his Gospel attracts the heart, while it oends

indelity.)

e Lord’s blessed humiliation revealing Him as

God’s Son

Many of these citations are on occasions where the

careful eye sees through the blessed humiliation of the

Lord, the divine nature-God-the Son, only more bright

and blessed, because thus hidden; as the sun, on which man’s

eyes cannot gaze, proves the power of its rays in giving full

light through the clouds which hide and soften its power. If

God humbles Himself, He still is God; it is always He who

does it. “He could not be hid.” is absolute obedience gave

perfect grace and savor to all He did. He appeared ever as

one sent. He sought the glory of the Father that sent Him.

He saved whoever came to Him, because He came not to

do His own will, but the will of Him that sent Him: and

as they would not come without the Father’s drawing, their

coming was His warrant for saving them, for He was to do

implicitly the Father’s will. But what a spirit of obedience

is here! He saves whom? Whomsoever the Father gives

Him-the servant of His will. Does He promise glory? “It

is not mine to give, but to those for whom it is prepared of

my Father.” He must reward according to the Father’s will.

He is nothing, but to do all, to accomplish all, His Father

pleased. But who could have done this, save He who could,

and He who at the same time would, in such obedience,

undertake to do whatever the Father would have done? e

inniteness<P141> of the work, and capacity for it, identify

themselves with the perfectness of obedience, which had

no will but to do that of another. Yet was He a simple,

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humble, lowly man, but God’s Son, in whom the Father

was well pleased.

e ne our of the meat oering, the perfect, equal

and even humanity of Jesus

Let us now see the tting of this humanity in grace for

this work. is meat oering of God, taken from the fruit

of the earth, was of the nest wheat; that which was pure,

separate and lovely in human nature was in Jesus under

all its sorrows, but in all its excellence, and excellent in its

sorrows. ere was no unevenness in Jesus, no predominant

quality to produce the eect of giving Him a distinctive

character. He was, though despised and rejected of men,

the perfection of human nature. e sensibilities, rmness,

decision (though this attached itself also to the principle of

obedience), elevation and calm meekness which belong to

human nature all found their perfect place in Him. In a Paul

I nd energy and zeal; in a Peter, ardent aection; in a John,

tender sensibilities and abstraction of thought united to a

desire to vindicate what he loved, which scarce knew limit.

But the quality we have observed in Peter predominates,

and characterizes him. In a Paul, blessed servant though he

was, he does not repent, though he had repented. He had

no rest in his spirit when he found not Titus, his brother.

He goes o to Macedonia, though a door was opened

in Troas. He wist not that it was the high priest. He is

compelled to glory of himself. In him, in whom God was

mighty towards the circumcision, we nd the fear of man

break through the faithfulness of his zeal. John, who would

have vindicated Jesus in his zeal, knew not what manner

of spirit he was of, and would have forbidden the glory of

God, if a man walked not with them. Such were Paul and

Peter and John.

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229

But in Jesus, even as man, there was none of this

unevenness. ere was nothing salient in His character,

because all was in perfect subjection to God in His

humanity, and had its place, and did exactly its service,

and then disappeared. God was gloried in it, and all

was in harmony. When meekness became Him, He was

meek; when indignation, who could stand before His

overwhelming and withering rebuke? Tender to the chief

of sinners in the<P142> time of grace; unmoved by the

heartless superiority of a cold Pharisee (curious to judge

who He was); when the time of judgment is come, no tears

of those who wept for Him moved Him to other words

than, “Weep for yourselves and your children”- words

of deep compassion, but of deep subjection to the due

judgment of God. e dry tree prepared itself to be burned.

On the cross, when His service was nished, tender to His

mother, and entrusting her, in human care, to one who, so

to speak, had been His friend, and leaned on His bosom;

no ear to recognize her word or claim when His service

occupied Him for God; putting both blessedly in their

place when He would show that before His public mission

He was still the Son of the Father, and though such, in

human blessedness, subject to the mother that bare Him,

and Joseph His father as under the law; a calmness which

disconcerted His adversaries; and, in the moral power

which dismayed them by times, a meekness which drew

out the hearts of all not steeled by willful opposition. What

keenness of edge to separate between the evil and the good!

Jesus’ perfect humanity judging all that it found in

man

True, the power of the Spirit did this afterwards

in calling men out together in open confession, but the

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character and Person of Jesus did it morally. ere was a

vast work done (I speak not of expiation) by Him, who, as

to outward result, labored in vain. Wherever there was an

ear to hear, the voice of God spoke, by what Jesus was as

a man, to the heart and conscience of His sheep. He came

in by the door, and the porter opened, and the sheep heard

His voice. e perfect humanity of Jesus, expressed in all

His ways, and penetrating by the will of God, judged all

that it found in man and in every heart. But this blessed

subject has carried us beyond our direct object.

In a word, then, His humanity was perfect, all subject to

God, all in immediate answer to His will, and the expression

of it, and so necessarily in harmony. e hand that struck

the chord found all in tune: all answered to the mind of

Him whose thoughts of grace and holiness, of goodness, yet

of judgment of evil, whose fullness of blessing in goodness

were sounds of sweetness to every weary ear, and found in

Christ their only expression. Every element, every faculty

in His humanity, responded to the impulse<P143> which

the divine will gave to it, and then ceased in a tranquillity

in which self had no place. Such was Christ in human

nature. While rm where need demanded, meekness was

what essentially characterized Him as to contrast with

others, because He was in the presence of God, His God,

and all that in the midst of evil-His voice was not heard in

the street-for joy can break forth in louder strains when all

shall echo, “Praise his name, his glory.”

e unleavened cakes, a sweet savor to God

But this faultlessness of the human nature of our Lord

attaches itself to deeper and more important sources, which

are presented to us in this type negatively and positively. If

every faculty thus obeyed and were the instrument of the

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divine impulse in its place, it is evident that the will must

be right-that the spirit and principle of obedience must be

its spring; for it is the action of an independent will which

is the principle of sin. Christ, as a divine Person, had the

title of an independent will. “e Son quickens whom he

will”; but He came to do His Father’s will. His will was

obedience, sinless therefore, and perfect. Leaven, in the

Word, is the symbol of corruption-“the leaven of malice

and wickedness.” In the cake, therefore, which was to be

oered as a sweet savor to God, there was no leaven: where

leaven was, it could not be oered as a sweet savor to God.

is is thrown into relief by the converse: there were cakes

made with leaven, and it was forbidden to oer them as

sweet savor, an oering made by re. is occurred in two

cases, one of which, the most important and signicative,

and sucing to establish the principle, is noticed in this

chapter.

e cakes baked with leaven required a sin oering

When the rstfruits were oered, two cakes were oered

baked with leaven, but not for an oering for a sweet savor.

Burnt oerings and meat oerings were also oered, and

for a sweet savor; but the oering of the rstfruits-not.

(See verse 12 of this chapter, and Leviticus 23.) And what

were these rstfruits? e church, sanctied by the Holy

Spirit. For this feast and oering of the rstfruits was the

acknowledged and known type of the day of Pentecost-in

fact, was the day of Pentecost. We are, says the Apostle

James, a kind of rstfruits of His creatures. It will be

seen<P144> (Lev. 23) that, the day of Christ’s resurrection,

the rst of the fruits was oered, ears of corn unbroken,

unbruised. Clearly there was no leaven there. He rose, too,

without seeing corruption. With this no sin oering was

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oered, but with the leavened cakes (which represented

the assembly sanctied by the Holy Spirit to God, but

still living in corrupted human nature) a sin oering was

oered; for the sacrice of Christ for us answered for and

puts away in God’s sight the leaven of our corrupted nature,

overcome (but not ceasing to exist) by the operation of the

Holy Spirit; by reason of which nature, in itself corrupt, we

could not, in the trial of God’s judgment, be a sweet savor,

an oering made by re; but, by means of Christ’s sacrice,

which met and answered the evil, could be oered to God,

as is said in Romans, a living sacrice. Hence it is said,

not merely that Christ has answered for our sins, but that

“what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the

esh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful

esh, and for sin, condemned sin in the esh.” God has

condemned sin in the esh, but it was in Christ as for, that

is, as a sacrice for, sin, making atonement, undergoing the

judgment due to it, being made sin for us because of it, but

dying in doing so, so that we reckon ourselves dead. e

condemnation of the sin is passed in His death, but death

to it is therein come to us.

It is important for a troubled but tender and faithful

conscience to remember that Christ has died, not merely

for our sins,1 but for our sin; for surely this troubles a

faithful conscience much more than many sins past.

(1. Judgment in the last day is according to works, but

by the state of sin we were wholly alienated from God and

lost.)

As the cakes, then, which represent the church, were

baked with leaven, and could not be oered for a sweet

savor, so the cake, which represented Christ, was without

leaven, a sweet savor, and oering made by re unto Jehovah.

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233

e trial of the Lord’s judgment found a perfect will, and

the absence of all evil, or spirit of independence. It was

“thy will be done” which characterized the human nature

of the Lord, lled with and animated by the fullness of the

Godhead, but the man Jesus, the oering of God.<P145>

Leavened cakes in the peace oering the ordained

symbol of what is ever in man

ere is another example of the converse of this which I

may notice in passing-the peace oerings. ere Christ had

His part, man also. Hence in this were found cakes made

with leaven along with the others which were without it.

at oering, which represented the communion of the

assembly connected with the sacrice of Christ, necessarily

brought in man, and the leaven was there-ordained symbol

of that leaven which is ever found in us. e assembly is

called to holiness; the life of Christ in us is holiness to

the Lord; but it remains ever true that in us, that is, in our

esh, dwells no good thing.

e cake to be mingled with oil, symbol of the purity

of the Spirit

is leads us to another great principle presented to us

in this type: namely, the cake was to be mingled with oil.

at which is born of the esh is esh; and in ourselves,

born simply of the esh, we are naturally nothing but

corrupted and fallen esh- “of the will of the esh.” ough

we are born of the Spirit of God, this does not uncreate

the old nature. It may attenuate to any conceivable degree

its active force, and control altogether its operations;1 but

the nature remains unchanged. e nature of Paul was as

disposed to be pued up when he had been in the third

heaven, as when he had the letter of the chief priest in his

robe to destroy the name of Christ if he could. I do not say

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the disposition had the same power, but the disposition

was as bad or worse, for it was in the presence of greater

good. But the will of the esh had no part whatever in the

birth of Christ. His human nature owed as simply from

the divine will as the presence of the divine upon earth.

Mary, bowing in single-eyed and exquisite obedience,

displays with touching beauty the submission and bowing

of her heart and understanding to the revelation of God.

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord [Jehovah], be it unto

me according to thy word.” He knew no sin; His human

<P146>nature itself was conceived of the Holy Spirit. at

holy thing which was born of the virgin was to be called

the Son of God. He was truly and thoroughly man, born

of Mary, but He was man born of God. So I see this title,

Son of God, applied to the three several estates of Christ:

Son of God, Creator, in Colossians, in Hebrews, and in

other passages which allude to it; Son of God, as born in

the world; and declared Son of God with power as risen

again from the dead.

(1. We never have any excuse for any sin of act or

thought, because Christ’s grace is sucient for us, and

God is faithful not to suer us to be tempted above that

which we are able to bear. It may be that at a given moment

we may not have power, but then there has been neglect.)

e cake anointed with oil, the power of the Spirit

e cake1 was made mingled with oil, just as the

human nature of Christ had its being and character, its

taste, from the Holy Spirit, of which oil is ever and the

known symbol. But purity is not power, and it is in another

form that spiritual power, acting in the human nature of

Jesus, is expressed.

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(1. is was in various forms, but all bringing out the

two principles noticed. First, the great general truth: ne

our, oil poured on it, and frankincense; baken in the oven,

cakes mingled, or wafers anointed, with oil-of course,

unleavened; if in a pan, our unleavened mingled with oil;

if in the frying pan, ne our with oil. us in all forms in

which Christ could be looked at as Man, it was absence of

sin; His human nature formed in the power and character

of, and anointed also with, the Holy Spirit. For we may

consider His human nature, as such in itself: oil is poured

on it. I may see it tried to the uttermost: it is still purity, and

the grace and expression of the Holy Spirit, in its inward

nature, in it. I may see it displayed before men, and it is in

Holy Spirit power. We may see both together in essential,

in inward, reality of character, in public walk, in every part

(as presented to God) of that nature which was perfect and

formed by Holy Spirit power: absence of all evil, and the

Holy Spirit’s power is manifested in it. So, when broken

into pieces, every part of it was anointed with oil, to show

that if Christ’s life were, so to speak, taken to pieces, every

detail and element of it was in the perfectness of, and

characterized by, the Holy Spirit.)

e cakes were to be anointed with oil; and it is written

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit

and with power, who went about doing good and healing

all that were oppressed of the devil. It was not that anything

was wanting in Jesus. In the rst place, as God, He could

have done all things, but He had humbled Himself, and

was come to obey. Hence, only when called and anointed,

He presents Himself in public, although His interview

with the doctors in the temple showed His relation with

the Father from the beginning.<P147>

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e dierence between new birth and the Spirit’s

anointing and sealing

ere is a certain analogy in our case. It is a dierent

thing to be born of God, and sealed and anointed with the

Holy Spirit. e day of Pentecost, Cornelius, the believers

of Samaria on whom the Apostle laid his hands-all prove

this, as also many passages on the subject. We are all “the

sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” But “because ye are

sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your

hearts.” “In whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed

with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of

our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased

possession.” “is spake he,” says John, “of the Spirit, which

they that believe on him should receive.” e Holy Spirit

may have produced, by a new nature, holy desires, and the

love of Jesus, without the consciousness of deliverance and

power-the joy of His presence in the knowledge of the

nished work of Christ. As to the Lord Jesus, we know

that this second act, of anointing, was accomplished in

connection with the perfectness of His Person, as it could,

because He was righteous in Himself, when, after His

baptism by John (in which He who knew no sin placed

Himself with His people, then the remnant of Israel, in

the rst movement of grace in their hearts, shown in going

to John, to be with them in all the path of that grace from

beginning to end, its trials and its sorrows), He, sinless,

was anointed by the Holy Spirit, descending in a bodily

shape like a dove, and was led of the Spirit into the conict

for us, and returned conqueror in its power, in the power

of the Spirit, into Galilee. I say conqueror in its power;

for if Jesus had repulsed Satan simply by divine power as

such, rst, there evidently could have been no conict; and

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237

second, no example or encouragement for us. But the Lord

repulsed him by a principle which is our duty every day-

obedience, intelligent obedience; employing the Word of

God, and repulsing Satan with indignation the moment

he openly shows himself such.1 If Christ entered into His

course with the testimony and joy of a Son, He entered

into a course of conict and obedience (He might bind the

strong man, but He had the strong man to bind).

(1. e two rst temptations (Matt. 4) were the wiles of

the enemy. In the last he is openly Satan.)

So we. Joy, deliverance, love, abounding peace, the Spirit

of <P148>sonship, the Father known as accepting us: such

is the entrance to the Christian course, but the course we

enter on is conict and obedience: leave the latter, and

we fail in the former. Satan’s eort was to separate these

in Jesus. If ou be the Son, use y power-make stones

into bread-act by ine own will. e answer of Jesus is, in

sense, I am in the place of obedience- of servitude; I have

no command. It is written, Man shall live by every word

that proceeds out of the mouth of God. I rest in My state

of dependence.

e power of the Spirit used by Jesus to display more

perfect service

It was power, then, but power used in the state and in the

accomplishment of obedience. e only act of disobedience

which Adam could commit he did commit; but He, who

could have done all things as to power, only used His power

to display more perfect service, more perfect subjection.

How blessed is the picture of the Lord’s ways! and that, in

the midst of the sorrows, and enduring the consequences

of the disobedience, of man, of the nature He had taken in

everything save sin. “For it became him, for whom are all

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things, and by whom are all things, [seeing the state we are

in] in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain

of their salvation perfect through suerings.”

Jesus, then, was in the power of the Spirit in conict.

Jesus was in the power of the Spirit in obedience. Jesus

was in the power of the Spirit in casting out devils and

bearing all our inrmities. Jesus was also in the power of

the Spirit in oering Himself without spot to God; but

this belonged rather to the burnt oering. In what He did

do, and in what He did not do, He acted by the energy of

the Spirit of God. Hence it is that He presents an example

to us, followed with mingled energies, but by a power by

which we may do greater things, if it be His will, than He-

not be more perfect, but do greater things; and morally, as

the Apostle tells us, all things. On earth He was absolutely

perfect in obedience, but by that itself He did not, and, in

the moral sense, could not, do many things, which He can

do, and manifest now, by His apostles and servants. For,

exalted at the right hand of God, He was to manifest, even

as man, power, not obedience: “Greater things than these

shall ye do, because I go to my Father.”<P149>

e Christian place of obedience as servants to Christ

is puts us in the place of obedience, for by the

power of the Spirit we are servants to Christ-diversities

of ministrations, but the same Lord. Hence greater works

were done by the apostles, but mingled in their personal

walk with all sorts of imperfections. With whom did

Jesus contend, even if He was in the right? before whom

manifest the fear of man? when did He repent of an act

which He had done, even if afterwards there was no reason

for repentance? No! ere was a greater exercise of power

in apostolic service, as Jesus had promised; but in vessels

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239

whose weakness showed all the praise to be of Another, and

whose obedience was carried on in conict with another

will in themselves. is was the great distinction. Jesus

had never need of a thorn in the esh, lest He should be

exalted above measure. Blessed Master! ou didst speak

that ou knewest, and testiedst that ou hadst seen;

but to do so ou hadst emptied, humbled yself, made

yself of no reputation, and taken the form of a servant,

in order to our being exalted by it.

e height, the consciousness of the height, from which

He came down, the perfectness of the will in which He

obeyed where He was, made no exaltation needed to Him.

Yet He looked on the joy that was set before Him, and was

not ashamed, for He was humbled even to this, to rejoice

in having respect to the recompense of reward. And He

has been highly exalted. “Because of the savor of thy good

ointments, thy name is as ointment poured forth.” For there

was yet besides, in the meat oering, the frankincense-the

savor of all Christ’s graces.

e frankincense

How much of our graces is presented to the acceptance

of man, and consequently the esh often mistaken for grace,

or mixed with it, being judged of according to the judgment

of man! But in Jesus all His graces were presented to God.

True, man could, or ought to have discerned them as the

odor of the frankincense, diusing itself around, where all

was burned to God; but it was all burned as a sweet savor

to God. And this is perfection.

How few so present their charity to God, and bring

God into their charity, exercising it for and towards Him,

though in behalf of man, so that they persevere nothing

the less in its exercise,<P150> though the more they love,

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the less they be loved! It is for God’s sake. So far as this

is the case, it is indeed a sweet odor to God; but this is

dicult: we must be much before God. is was perfectly

the case with Christ; the more faithful He was, the more

despised and opposed; the more meek, the less esteemed.

But all this altered nothing, because He did all to God

alone: with the multitude, with His disciples, or before

His unjust judges, nothing altered the perfectness of His

ways, because in all the circumstances all was done to God.

e incense of His service and His heart, of His aections,

went ever and always up, and referred themselves to God;

and surely abundant frankincense, and sweet its odor, in the

life of Jesus. e Lord smelled a sweet savor, and blessing

owed forth, and not the curse, for us. is was added to

the meat oering, for in truth it was in eect produced

in His life by the Spirit, but always this frankincense

ascended; so of His intercession, for it was the expression

of His gracious love. His prayers, as the holy expression of

dependence, innitely precious and attractive to God, were

all sweet odor, as frankincense, before Him. “e house

was lled with the odor of the ointment.” And just as sin

is taking self instead of God, this was taking God instead

of self, and this is perfection. And it is power too, because

then circumstances have no power over self. And this is

perfection in going through the world. Jesus was always

Himself in all circumstances; yet for that very reason we

feel them all according to God-not self. We may add, too,

as Satan led to one and so slavery to him, so the other is in

the power and leading of the Holy Spirit.

Honey forbidden in the sacrice

ere was yet another thing forbidden, as well as leaven,

in the sacrice-namely, honey, that which was most sweet

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to the natural taste, as the aections of those we love after

the esh, happy associations, and the like. It is not that these

were evil. “Hast thou found honey?” says the wise man.

“Eat so much as is sucient, lest thou be lled therewith,

and vomit it.” When Jonathan took a little he had found in

the wood, in the day of service and the energy of faith for

Israel, his eyes were enlightened. But it cannot enter into a

sacrice. He who could say, “Woman, behold thy son,” and

to John, “Behold thy mother,” even in the terrible moment

of the cross, when His service was nished, could also say,

“Woman,<P151> what have I to do with thee?”1 when He

was in the simplest accomplishment of His service. He was

a stranger to His own mother’s sons, as Levi, in the blessing

of Moses, the man of God-Levi, who was oered as an

oering to God of the people (Num. 8:11), “who said unto

his father and his mother, I have not seen him; neither did

he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children:

for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.”

(1. In the rst case in which this happens, after saying

it, He goes down immediately with His disciples, and His

mother (John 2:12), and brethren. He could be in the

midst of all that inuences man naturally, yet separate from

it because He was inwardly perfect. All the Gospels, and

personally John 19:26, show these natural relations formed

of God fully owned.)

Christ the food of the priests of God

Yet another thing remains to be observed. In the burnt

oering all was burned to God, for Christ oered Himself

wholly up to God. But the human nature of Christ is the

food of the priests of God; Aaron and his sons were to

eat what was not burned in the re, of the meat oering.

Christ was the true bread, come down from heaven, to

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give life unto the world, that we (through faith, priests and

kings) may eat thereof and not die. It was holy, for Aaron

and his sons alone to eat; for who indeed ever fed on Christ

but those who, sanctied by the Holy Spirit, live the life of

faith and feed on the food of faith? And is not Christ the

food of our souls, as sanctied to God, yea, sanctifying us

also ever to God? Do not our souls recognize in the meek

and humble, holy One-in Him who shines as the light of

human perfectness and divine grace among sinful men-

what feeds, nourishes and sancties? Cannot our souls feel

what it is to be oered to God, in tracing, by the sympathy

of the Spirit of Jesus in us, the life of Jesus toward God, and

before men in the world? An example to us, He presents

the impress of a man living to God, and draws us after

Him, and that by the attraction of what He was-Himself

the force which carries on in the way He trod, while our

delight and joy are in it. Are not our aections occupied and

assimilated in dwelling with delight on what Jesus was here

below? We admire, are humbled, and become conformed to

Him through grace. Head and source of this life in us, the

display of its perfection in Him draws forth and develops

its energies and lowliness in us. For who could be proud

in fellowship with the humble Jesus? Humble, He would

teach us<P152> to take the lowest place, but that He had

taken it Himself, the privilege of His perfect grace. Blessed

Master, may we at least be near to and hidden in ee!

Dierence between eating of the meat and peace

oerings

is is true, but there is a dierence to be made here.

In the peace oerings there was also an eating of the esh

of the sacrice besides what the priests had. ose who

ate were Israelites and clean, and they ate together as a

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243

convivial feast. ere was a common enjoyment, fellowship,

founded on the oering of the blood and of the fat to God,

that is, of Christ as oered to God in death for us-the sin

oerings are assimilated in this last (Lev. 4:10,26,31,35),

and the partaking of those who partook of the feast was

carefully connected with this. is was common and just

joy, thanksgiving for blessings, or voluntarily as rejoicing

in the Lord’s blessing, it was “Shalom,” and was fellowship

in it, the fruit of redemption and grace. e case of the

meat oering was that of one, himself consecrated to God,

entering into and feeding on the perfectness of Christ

Himself as oering Himself to God. e priests alone ate

of it as such.

e salt of the covenant of God

How vast too the grace which has introduced us into

this intimateness of communion, has made us priests in the

power of quickening grace, to partake of that in which God

our Father delights; that which is oered to Him as a sweet

savor, an oering made by re to Jehovah; that with which

the table of God is supplied! is is sealed by covenant

as a perpetual, an eternal, portion. Hence the salt of the

covenant of our God was not wanting in the sacrice, in

any sacrice; the stability, the durability, the preservative

energy of that which was divine, not always, perhaps, to

us sweet and agreeable, was there-the seal, on the part of

God, that it was no passing savor, no momentary delight,

but eternal. For all that is of man passes; all that is of God

is eternal; the life, the charity, the nature, and the grace

continue. is holy separating power, which keeps us apart

from corruption, is of God, partaking of the stability of the

divine nature, and binding unto Him, not by what we are

in will, but by the security of divine grace. It is active, pure,

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sanctifying to us, but it is of grace, and the energy<P153>

of the divine will, and the obligation of the divine promise

binds us indeed to Him, but binds by His energy and delity,

not ours-energy which is mingled with and founded on the

sacrice of Christ, in which the covenant of God is sealed

and assured infallibly, or Christ is not honored. It is the

covenant of God. Leaven and honey, our sin and natural

aections, cannot nd a place in the sacrice of God, but

the energy of His grace (not sparing the evil, but securing

the good) is there to seal our infallible enjoyment of its

eects and fruits. Salt did not form the oering, but it was

never to be wanting in any-could not be in what was of

God; it was indeed in every oering.

e essential characteristic and the substance and

essence of the meat oering

We must remember in this oering, as in the former,

that the essential characteristic, common indeed to all,

was its being oered to God. is could not be said of

Adam: in his innocence he enjoyed much from God; he

returned, or should have returned, thankfulness for it; but

it was enjoyment and thankfulness. He was not himself an

oering to God. But this was the essence of Christ’s life-it

was oered to God; and hence separated from all around

it, essentially separated.1 He was holy, therefore, and not

merely innocent: for innocence is the absence of-ignorance

of- evil, not separation from it. God (who knows good and

evil, but is innitely above and separated from the evil, as

it is opposite to Him) is holy. Christ was holy, and not

merely innocent, being consecrated in all His will to God,

and separate from the evil, and living in the energy of the

Spirit of God. Also, as oered, the essence of the oering

was the ne our, oil and frankincense, representing

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245

human nature, the Holy Spirit and the perfume of grace.

Negatively there was to be no leaven or honey: so, as to the

manner, there was the mingling with oil and the anointing

with oil; also, for every sacrice, the salt of the covenant of

God: here noticed, because in what concerned the grace of

His human nature, what concerned man (a man oering

Himself to God-not as dying, but as living, though tested

even to death), it might have been <P154>supposed to be

wanting, that it was as man’s act just as good. But its being

oered on the altar to God, burned as a sweet savor, and

the three things rst named, formed the substance and

essence of the meat oering.

(1. is was what was properly signied by salt. So

every sacrice is seasoned with salt. Let your speech be

always with grace, seasoned with salt. It is what gives a

divine taste, a witness of God to everything.)

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72514

Leviticus 3

e peace oering, the communion of saints, based

on what Christ was and did

e peace oering now presents itself to our notice.

It is the oering which typies to us the communion of

saints, according to the ecacy of the sacrice, with God,

with the priest who has oered it in our behalf, with one

another, and with the whole body of the saints as priests

to God. It comes after those which presented to us the

Lord Jesus Himself in His devoting Himself to death, and

His devotedness and grace in His life, but even unto death,

and the testing of re, that we may understand that all

communion is based on the acceptability and sweet odor

of this sacrice; not only because the sacrice was needed,

but because therein God had all His delight.

I have already remarked that, when a sinner, that is,

a guilty person, approached, the sin oering came rst;

for the sin must be borne and put away that he might

approach as qualied to do so. But, being cleansed and

clean, he approaches; and so here, according to the sweet

savor of the oering of God, the perfect acceptability of

Christ, who knew no sin, but consecrated Himself in a

world of sin to God, that God might be perfectly gloried-

and His life also, that all that God was in judgment might

be also gloried-gloried by man in His Person; and hence

innite favor ow forth on them that were received and

that came by Him. “erefore doth my Father love me,

because I lay down my life that I might take it again.”

He does not say here, Because I have laid it down for

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the sheep; that was rather the sin oering. He speaks of

the positive excellence and value of His act; for in this

Man wrought all perfectness. In this all the majesty and

truth, the righteousness against sin, and love of God were

innitely gloried in man, though much more than a man,

and, where poor, estranged man had got by sin, in Him

who was made sin for us. “Now is the Son of man gloried,

and God is gloried in him.” “By<P155> man came death,

by man came also the resurrection from the dead.” e

evil which Satan had wrought was innitely more than

remedied, in the scene where the ruin was brought in; yea,

by the means through which the ruin was eected. If God

was dishonored in and by man, He is a debtor in a certain

sense to man in Jesus for the full display of His best and

most blessed glory: though even this be all His gift to us,

yet Christ making Himself man has wrought it out. But

all that Christ was and did was innitely acceptable to

God; and in this we have our communion- not in the sin

oering.1 Hence the peace oerings follow here at once,

though, as I have remarked, the sin oering came rst of all

where the case of application arose.

(1. ough the perfect oering for sin is the basis

of all; we should not without it have the thing to have

communion in, and this point was carefully guarded in

the type of the peace oering-it could not be acceptably

eaten but in connection with what was oered to God.

(See chapter 7.) Only it is communion in the joy of the

“common salvation,” not special priestly delight in what

Christ was for God.)

e identication of the oerer with the victim

e rst act in the case of the peace oering was the

presenting and killing it at the door of the tabernacle of the

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congregation and sprinkling the blood, which formed the

basis of every animal oering, the oerer being identied

with the victim by laying his hands on his head.2

(1. e exceptions to this rule are sin oerings of the day

of atonement, and the red heifer, which conrm the great

principle, or fortify a peculiar portion of it. e sprinkling

of the blood was always the priest’s work.)

e fat, God’s food of the oering

Next, all the fat, especially of the inwards, was taken

and burned on the altar of burnt oering to the Lord. Fat

and blood were alike forbidden to be eaten. e blood was

the life, and necessarily belonged essentially to God; life

was from Him in a special manner; but fat also was never

to be eaten but burned, and so oered to God. e use of

this symbol, fat, is suciently familiar in the Word. “eir

heart is fat as grease.” “Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked.”

“ey are enclosed in their own fat, with their mouth they

speak proudly.” It is the energy and force of the inward

will, the inwards of a man’s heart. Hence, where Christ

expresses His entire mortication, He declares they could

tell all His bones; and,<P156> in Psalm 102, “By reason of

the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.”

Jehovah’s delight in Jesus

But here, in Jesus, all that in nature was of energy and

force, all His inward parts, were a burnt oering to God,

entirely sacriced and oered to Him for such a sweet

savor. is was God’s food of the oering, “the food of

the oering made by re unto Jehovah.” In this Jehovah

Himself found His delight; His soul reposed in it, for

surely it was very good-good in the midst of evil-good in

the energy of oering to Him-good in perfect obedience.

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249

If the eye of God passed, as the dove of Noah, over this

earth, swept by the deluge of sin, nowhere, till Jesus was

seen in it, could His eye have rested in complacency and

peace; there on Him it could. Heaven, as to the expression

of its satisfaction, whatever its counsels, was closed till

Jesus (the second and perfect Man, the Holy One, He

who oered Himself to God, coming to do His will) was

on earth. e moment He presented Himself in public

service, heaven opened, the Holy Spirit descended to dwell

in this His one resting-place here, and the Father’s voice,

impossible now to be withheld, declares from heaven, “is

is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Was this

object (too great, too excellent, for the silence of heaven

and the Father’s love) to lose its excellence and its savor in

the midst of a world of sin? Far otherwise. It was there its

excellency was proved.

If He learned obedience by the things which He

suered, the movement of every spring of His heart was

consecrated to God. He walked in communion, honoring

His Father in all-in His life and in His death. Jehovah

found continual delight in Him; and above all, in Him in

His death: the food of the oering was there. Such was

the great principle, but the communion of our souls with

this is further given to us. e fat being burned as a burnt

oering, the consecration to God is pursued to its full point

of acceptance and grace.

e peace oering eaten by the priests, the oering

priest, the oerer and his friends

If we turn to the law of the oerings, we shall nd that

the rest was eaten. e breast was for Aaron and his sons,

type of the<P157> whole church; the right shoulder for

the priest that sprinkled the blood, more especially type

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of Christ, as the oering priest; the rest of the animal was

eaten by him who presented it, and those invited by him.

us there was identity and communion with the glory

and good pleasure-with the delight-of Him to whom it

was oered, with the priesthood and the altar, which were

the instruments and means of the oering, with all God’s

priests, and among those immediately taking part.

e same practice existed among the heathen; hence

the reasoning of the Apostle as to eating things oered to

idols. So, alluding to the sacrament of the Lord’s supper,

the purport of which is strongly associated with this type,

“Behold Israel after the esh: are not they which eat of

the sacrices partakers of the altar?” And this was so much

the case, that in the desert, when it was practicable (and

the analogous order needful to maintain the principle was

established in the land), no one could eat of the esh of

any animal unless he rst brought it to the tabernacle as an

oering.1 We indeed should eat in the name of the Lord

Jesus, oering our sacrices of thanksgivings, the calves of

our lips, and so consecrate all we partake of, and ourselves

in it, in communion with the Giver, and Him who secures

us in it; but here it was a proper sacrice.

(1. Life belonged to God. He only could give it. Hence,

when allowed to be taken in Noah’s time, the blood was

reserved. ere was, of course, no eating connected with

death before the fall (unless the warning not to bring it

in), nor allowedly before Noah. Hence, as life belonged

to God, death had come in by sin, and there could be no

eating of what involved death, no nourishment by it, unless

the life (the blood) was oered to God. is being done,

man could have his living nourishment through it. It was

indeed his salvation through faith.)

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251

God and the worshippers have the same subject of

delight

us, then, the oering of Christ, as a burnt oering, is

God’s delight: His soul delights and takes pleasure in it; it

is of sweet savor with Him. Before the Lord, at His table

so to speak, the worshippers, also coming by this perfect

sacrice, feed on it also, have perfect communion with God

in the same delight in the perfect sacrice of Jesus, in Jesus

Himself thus oered, thus oering1<P158> Himself-have

the same subject of delight as God, a common, blessed joy

in the excellency of the work of redemption of Jesus. As

parents have a common joy in their ospring, enhanced

by their communion in it, so, as lled with the Spirit, and

themselves redeemed by Him, the worshippers have one

mind with the Father in their delight in the excellency of

an oered Christ. And is the Priest, who has ministered all

this, the only one excluded from the joy of it? No; He has

His share also. He who has oered it has part in the joy

of redemption. Further, the whole church of God must be

embraced in it.

(1. Oering has a double character distinguished in

Greek by προςφερω (prosphero) and αναφερω (anaphero),

in Hebrew by Hikrib and Hiktir. Christ oered Himself

without spot through the eternal Spirit to God; but, having

done so, God laid the iniquity on Him, made Him to be

sin for us, and He was oered up on the cross as an actual

sacrice.)

e joy of the Redeemer

Jesus, then, as priest, nds a delight in the joy of

communion between God and the people, the worshippers,

wrought and brought about by His means-yea, of which

He is the object. For what is the joy of a Redeemer but

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the joy and communion, the happiness, of His redeemed?

Such then is all true worship of the saints. It is joying in

God through the means of the redemption and oering

of Jesus; yea, one mind with God; joying with Him in the

perfect excellency of this pure and self-devoted victim,1

who has redeemed and reconciled them, and given them

this communion, with the assurance that this their joy is

the joy of Jesus Himself, who has wrought it and given it

to them. In heaven He shall gird Himself, and make them

sit down to meat, and come forth and serve them.

(1. is expression, in measure, brings in the meat

oering.)

e joy of the redeemed

is joy of worship necessarily associates itself also with

the whole body of the redeemed, viewed as in the heavenly

places. Aaron and his sons were to have their part also.

Aaron and his sons were ever the type of the church, not as

Christ’s body (that was wholly hidden in the Old Testament)

but viewed as the whole body of its members, having title

to enter into the heavenly places, and oer incense-made

priests to God. For these were the patterns of things in

the heavens, and those who compose the church are the

body of heavenly priests to God. Hence worship to God,

true worship, cannot separate itself from the whole body of

true believers. I cannot really come with my sacrice unto

the <P159>tabernacle of God, without nding necessarily

there the priests of the tabernacle. Without the one Priest

all is vain; for what without Jesus? But I cannot nd Him

without His whole body of manifested people. e interest

of His heart takes them all in. God withal has His priests,

and I cannot approach Him but in the way which He

has ordained, and in association with, and in recognition

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253

of, those whom He has placed around His house, the

whole body of those that are sanctied in Christ. He who

walks not in this spirit is in conict with the ordinance of

God, and has no true peace oering according to God’s

institution.

Communion interrupted by delement of heart

But there were other circumstances we must remark.

First, none but those that were clean could partake among

the guests. We know that moral cleansing has taken the

place of the ceremonial. “Ye are clean through the word

which I have spoken unto you.” God has put no dierence

between us and them, having puried their hearts by

faith. Israelites then partook of the peace oerings; and

if an Israelite was unclean, through anything that deled

according to the law of God, he could not eat while his

delement continued.

Christians then, whose hearts are puried by faith, having

received the Word with joy, alone can worship really before

God, having part in the communion of saints; and if the

heart is deled, that communion is interrupted. No person

apparently deled has title to share in the worship and

communion of the church of God. It was a dierent thing,

remark, to be not an Israelite, and not clean. He who was

not an Israelite had never any part in the peace oerings; he

could not come nigh the tabernacle. Uncleanness did not

prove he was no Israelite (on the contrary, this discipline

was exercised on Israelites only); but the uncleanness

incapacitated him from partaking, with those that were

clean, in the privileges of this communion; for these peace

oerings, though enjoyed by the worshippers, belonged to

the Lord (ch. 7:20-21). e unclean had no title there. True

worshippers must worship the Father in spirit and in truth,

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254

for the Father seeks such to worship Him. If worship and

communion be by the Spirit, it is evident that those only

who have the Spirit of Christ, and also have not grieved

the Spirit (and thus rendered<P160> the communion,

which is by the Spirit, impossible by the delements of

sin) can participate.

e leavened cakes oered with the peace oering a

recognition of the evil in man

Yet there was another part of this type which seemed to

contradict this, but which indeed throws additional light

on it. With the oerings which accompanied this sacrice,

it was ordered (ch. 7:13) that leavened cakes should be

oered. For though that which is unclean is to be excluded

(that which can be recognized as unclean), there is always

a mixture of evil in us, and so far in our worship itself. e

leaven is there (man cannot be without it); it may be a very

small part of the matter, not come into the mind, as it will

be when the Spirit is not grieved, but it is there where man

is. Unleavened bread was there also, for Christ is there, and

the Spirit of Christ in us who are leavened, for man is there.

True worship and communion inseparable from

Christ’s perfect oering

ere was another very important direction in this

worship.1 In the case of a vow, it might be eaten the second

day after the burning of the fat-Jehovah’s food of the

oering; in the case of a thanksgiving oering, it was to be

eaten the same day. is identied the purity of the service

of the worshippers with the oering of the fat to God.

So is it impossible to separate true spiritual worship and

communion from the perfect oering of Christ to God.

e moment our worship separates itself from this, from its

ecacy and the consciousness of that innite acceptability

Leviticus 3

255

of the oering of Christ to God-not the putting away

of sins, without that we could not approach at all, but its

intrinsic excellency as a burnt oering, all burned to God

as a sweet savor2-it becomes carnal, and either a form, or

the delight of the esh. If the peace oering was eaten

separately from this oering of the fat, it was a mere carnal

festivity, or a form of worship, which had no real<P161>

communion with the delight and good pleasure of God,

and was worse than unacceptable-it was really iniquity.

(1. It may be well to remark that the peace oering

supposes fellowship in worship, though many principles

are individually applicable.)

(2. We may add of Jesus with the Father, and that in

connection even with His laying down His life, but this

is not our direct subject here. (See John 10:17.) But there,

note, it is not done as for sinners, but for God.)

When the Holy Spirit leads us into real spiritual

worship, it leads us into communion with God, into the

presence of God; and then, necessarily, all the innite

acceptability to Him of the oering of Christ is present

to our spirit. We are associated with it: it forms an integral

and necessary part of our communion and worship. We

cannot be in the presence of God in communion without

nding it there. It is indeed the ground of our acceptance,

as of our communion.

Worship in the esh

Apart from this, then, our worship falls back into the

esh; our prayers (or praying well) form what is sometimes

called a gift of prayer, than which nothing often is more

sorrowful (a uent rehearsal of known truths and principles,

instead of communion and the expression of praise and

thanksgiving in the joy of communion, and even of our

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256

wants and desires in the unction of the Spirit); our singing,

pleasure of the ear, taste in music, and expressions in which

we sympathize-all a form in the esh, and not communion

in the Spirit. All this is evil; the Spirit of God owns it not;

it is not in spirit and in truth; it is really iniquity.

Degrees of spiritual energy in worship

ere was a dierence in the value of the various kinds

of this oering: in the case of a vow it might be eaten

the second day; in the case of thanksgiving only the rst.

is typied a dierent degree of spiritual energy. When

our worship is the fruit of unfeigned and single-eyed

devotedness, it can sustain itself longer, through our being

lled with the Spirit, in the reality of communion, and our

worship be acceptable-the savor of that sacrice being thus

longer maintained before God, who has fellowship with the

joy of His people. For the energy of the Spirit maintains

His joy in His people in communion acceptable to God.

When, on the other hand, it is the natural consequence of

blessing already conferred, it is surely acceptable as due to

God, but there is not the same energy of communion. e

thanks are rendered thus in communion with the Lord, but

the communion passes away with the thanksgiving really

oered.<P162>

Note we also that we may begin in the Spirit and pass

into the esh in worship. us, for example, if I continue

to sing beyond the real operation of the Spirit, which

happens too often, my singing, which at the beginning

was real melody in the heart to the Lord, will terminate

in pleasant ideas and music, and so end in the esh. e

spiritual mind, the spiritual worshipper, will discover this

at once when it happens. When it does happen, it always

weakens the soul, and soon accustoms to formal worship

Leviticus 3

257

and spiritual weakness; and then evil, through the power

of the adversary, soon makes its appearance among the

worshippers. e Lord keep us nigh to Himself to judge all

things in His presence, for out of it we can judge nothing!

True worship; the expression of the excellency of

Christ

It is good to bear strongly in mind this expression,

“Which pertain to Jehovah” (ch. 7:20); the worship, what

passes in our hearts in it, is not ours-it is God’s. God has put

it there for our joy, that we may participate in the oering

of Christ, His joy in Christ; but the moment we make it

ours, we desecrate it. Hence what remained was burned in

the re; hence what was unclean must have nothing to do

with it: hence the necessity of associating it with the fat

burned to Jehovah, that it may be really Christ in us, and

so true communion, the giving forth of Christ, on whom

our souls feed, towards God.

Let us remember that all our worship pertains to God,

that it is the expression of the excellency of Christ in us,

and so our joy, as by one Spirit, with God. He in the Father,

we in Him, and He in us, is the marvelous chain of union

which exists in grace as well as in glory: our worship is the

outgoings and joy of heart founded on this, towards God,

by Christ. So, as Himself ministering in this, the Lord says,

“I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst

of the church will I sing praise unto thee.” He surely is

in joy and knows redemption is accomplished. May we be

in tune with our heavenly Guide! He shall well conduct

our praises, and agreeably to the Father. His ear shall be

attentive when He hears this voice lead us. What perfect

and deep experience of what is acceptable before God must

He have, who, in redemption, has presented all according

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258

to God’s mind! His mind is the expression of all that is

agreeable to the Father, and He leads us, taught by<P163>

Himself, though imperfect and feeble in it, in the same

acceptableness. We have the mind of Christ.

Worship accompanied by service

e “calves of our lips” is the expression of the same

Spirit in which we oer our bodies a living sacrice, holy

and acceptable unto God, proving what is His good and

perfect and acceptable will: such our worship, such our

service, for our service should be in a certain sense our

worship.

Fat and blood forbidden to be eaten

ere is added to the directions of this sacrice a

commandment to eat neither fat nor blood. is evidently

nds its place here, inasmuch as the peace oerings were

the sacrices where the worshippers ate a great part. But

from what we have said, the signication is evident; the life

and inward energies of the heart belonged wholly to God.

Life belonged to God and was to be consecrated to God; to

Him alone it belonged or could belong. Life spent or taken

by another was high treason against the title of God. So

as to fat-that which characterized no ordinary functions,

as the movements of a limb, or the like, but the energy of

the nature itself expressing itself-belonged exclusively to

God. Christ alone rendered it to God, because He alone

oered to God what was due; and hence the burning of the

fat in these and other oerings represented His oering

Himself a sweet savor to God. But it was not less true that

all belonged to God and belongs to God: man could not

appropriate it to his use. Use might be made of it in the

case of a beast dying or torn; but whenever man of his

will took the life of a beast, he must recognize the title of

Leviticus 3

259

God, and submit his will, and own the will of God as alone

having claim.

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260

72515

Leviticus 4-7

e sin and trespass oerings; their dierence from

the sacrices of sweet savor

We come now to the sacrices which were not sacrices

of sweet savor-the sin and trespass oerings, alike in the

great principle, though diering in character and detail:

this dierence we will notice. But rst a very important

principle must be noticed. e<P164> sacrices of which

we have spoken, the sacrices of sweet savor, presented

the identity of the oerer and the victim: this identity was

signied by the laying on of the hands of the worshippers.

But in those sacrices the worshipper came as an oerer,

whether Christ or one led by the Spirit of Christ, and so

identied with Him in presenting himself to God-came of

his own voluntary will, and was identied as a worshipper

with the acceptability and acceptance of his victim.

e sin oering brought by a sinner, coming as having

guilt upon him

In the case of the sin oering, there was the same

principle of identity with the victim by laying on of hands;

but he who came, came not as a worshipper, but as a

sinner; not as clean for communion with the Lord, but as

having guilt upon him; and instead of his being identied

with the acceptability of the victim, though that became

subsequently true, the victim became identied with his

guilt and unacceptableness, bore his sins and was treated

accordingly. is was completely the case where the sin

oering was purely such. I have added “though that became

subsequently true” because in many of the sin oerings

Leviticus 4-7

261

a certain part identied them with the acceptableness

of Christ, which, in Him who united in His Person the

virtue of all the sacrices, could never be lost sight of. e

distinction between the identity of the victim with the sin

of the guilty, and the identity of the worshipper with the

acceptance of the victim, marks the dierence of these

sacrices and of the double aspect of the work of Christ

very clearly.

Four classes of sin and trespass oerings

I now come to the details. ere were four ordinary

classes of sin and trespass oerings, besides two very

important special oerings, of which we may speak

hereafter: sins where natural conscience was violated;

that which became evil by the ordinance of the Lord, as

uncleannesses which made the worshipper inadmissible,

and other things (this had a mixed character of sin and

trespass, and is called by both names); wrongs done to the

Lord in His holy things; and wrongs done to the neighbor

by breaches of condence and the like. e rst class is in

Leviticus 4; the second, attached to it, down to verse 13 of

chapter 5; the third, from<P165> verse 14 to the end; the

fourth, in the rst seven verses of chapter 6.

Interrupted communion between God and His

people distinguished from individual sin and loss

e two other remarkable examples of sin oering were

the day of expiation, and the red heifer, which demand

an examination apart. e circumstances of the oering

were simple. In the case of the high priest and the body

of the people sinning, it is evident that all communion

was interrupted. It was not merely the restoration of the

individual to communion which was needed, but the

restoration of communion between God and the whole

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262

people; not the forming a relation (the day of atonement

eected that), but the reestablishment of interrupted

communion. Hence the blood was sprinkled before the veil

seven times for the perfect restoration of this communion,

and the blood also put on the horns of the altar of incense.

When the sin was individual, the communion of the

people in general was not interrupted, but the individual had

lost his enjoyment of the blessing. e blood was sprinkled,

therefore, not where the priest approached-at the altar of

incense; but where the individual did-at the altar of burnt

oering. e ecacy of the sin oering of Christ is needed,

but has been once for all accomplished, for every fault; but

the communion of the worshipping body of the church,

though lamed and hindered, is not cut o by the individual

sin; but when this is known, restoration is needed and the

oering demanded.1at the Lord may punish the whole

congregation, if the sin lie undetected, we know; for He

did so in Achan. at is, the power belonging to a state in

which God is ungrieved, is enfeebled and lost, and where

conscience is awake and the heart interested in the blessing

of God’s people, this leads to search out the cause. But this

is connected with the government of God; the imputation

of sin as guilt is another matter, but sin in itself has always

its own character with God. “Israel,” said He,<P166> “hath

sinned”; but Achan only suers when the evil is known and

purged, and blessing returns, though with much greater

diculty. e truth is, that He who knows how to unite

general government with particular judgment, even where

there is general faithfulness, puts in evidence individual

evil, or permits it not (a yet higher and happier case); and,

on the other hand, can employ the sin of the individual as

a means of chastening the whole.

Leviticus 4-7

263

(1. Only we must always remember that in Christ it has

been done once for all. We have only a shadow of good

things to come, and in certain points, as in this, contrast-a

contrast fully developed in Hebrews 10. In Hebrews,

however, it is not restoration after failure, but perfecting

forever, in the conscience, which takes the place of repeated

sacrice. e restoration of communion on failure is found

in 1John 2:1-2, founded on the righteous One being before

God for us, and the propitiation made. )

God can let nothing pass

Indeed it appears to me very clear, in the case alluded

to, that, though the occasion of the chastening is evident in

the sin of Achan, Israel had shown a condence in human

strength which was chastised and shown vain in the result,

as divine strength was shown all-sucient in Jericho.

However that is, it is evident from the detail of these sin

oerings that God can let nothing pass; He can forgive all

and cleanse from all, but let nothing pass. e sin hidden to

a man’s self is not hidden to God; and why is it hidden to

himself, but that negligence, the fruit of sin, has stupied

his spiritual intelligence and attention?

God judges sins according to responsibility and what

becomes Himself

God judges sins according to the responsibility of those

who are judged. But in the sovereign work of grace God

judges of sin in those who approach Him, not according to

what becomes man, but what becomes Himself. He dwelt

in the midst of Israel, and Israel must be judged according

to what becomes God’s presence: our privileges are the

measure of our responsibility. Men admit to their society

what becomes themselves, and do not admit the base and

corrupt, allowing their evil, because it is suited to their

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estate so to act. And is God alone to profane His presence

by acting otherwise? Is all the evil which man’s corruption

leads him into to nd its sanction only in the presence of

God? No; God must (in order to make us happy by His

presence) judge evil, all evil, according to His presence, so

as to exclude it from it. Has the moral stupidity, which

is the eect of sin, made us ignorant of it in ourselves?

Is God to become blind because sin has made us so-to

dishonor Himself and make others miserable, and all holy

joy impossible everywhere, even in His presence; to let pass

the evil? <P167>Impossible. No; all is judged, and judged

in the believer according to the place grace has brought

him into.

God’s compassion does not change His just judgment

of evil

God is ignorant of nothing, and evil, however hidden

to us, is evil to Him. “All things are naked and open before

the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” He may have

compassion, enlighten by His Spirit, provide a way of

approach so that the greatest sinner may come, restore

the soul that has wandered, take account of the degree of

spiritual light, where light is honestly sought; but that does

not change His judgment of evil. “e priest shall make

an atonement for him concerning his sin wherein he erred

and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. It is a trespass

oering; he hath certainly trespassed against Jehovah.”

Dierences in the details of the sin oerings

I have now to remark certain dierences in these sin

oerings full of interest to us in the detail.

e bodies of those in which the whole people, or

the high priest (which came to the same thing, for the

communion of the whole body was interrupted), were

Leviticus 4-7

265

concerned, were burned without the camp; not those

for individuals, nor those which were for a sweet savor, a

sacrice made by re, though the whole were burned. But

those for the high priest, or the whole people were: they

had been made sin, and were carried out of the camp as

such. e sacrice itself was without blemish, and the fat

was burned on the altar; but, the oender having confessed

his sins on its head, it was viewed as bearing these sins, and

made sin of God, was taken without the camp; as Jesus

(as the Epistle to the Hebrews applies it) suered without

the gate, that He might sanctify the people with His

own blood. is was always the case when the blood was

brought into the sanctuary for sin. One of the sacrices, of

which I do not enter into the details here, was abstractedly

and altogether viewed in this light of sin, and was slain and

burned, fat and blood (part of the blood having been rst

sprinkled at the door of the tabernacle), and every part of

it, without the camp. is was the red heifer.

In the three other sacrices, which concerned the whole

people,<P168> the bodies were burned indeed without the

camp, but the connection with the perfect acceptance of

Christ in His work, as oering Himself, was preserved, in

the burning of the fat on the altar of burnt oering, and

thus gave us the full sense of how He had been made sin

indeed, but that it was He who knew no sin, and whose

oering in His most inmost thoughts and nature was in

the trial of God’s judgment perfectly agreeable. But though

the fat was burned on the altar to maintain this association

and the unity of the sacrice of Christ, yet, maintaining

the general character and purpose of the diversity, it is not

habitually called1 a sweet savor to Jehovah.

(1. ere is one case only where it is (Lev. 4:31).)

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e sacrice of the great day of atonement

ere was a dierence, however, between one of the

three last-mentioned sacrices, the sacrice of the great

day of atonement, and the two others mentioned in the

beginning of Leviticus 4. In the sacrice of the great day

of expiation the blood was carried within the veil; for this

was the foundation of all other sacrices, of all relationship

between God and Israel, and enabled God to dwell

among them so as to receive the others. Its ecacy lasted

throughout the year-for us, forever-as the Apostle reasons

in the Hebrews; and on it was based all the communion

between God and the people. Hence the blood of it was

sprinkled on the mercy-seat, to be forever before the eyes

of Him, whose throne of grace, as of righteousness, that

mercy-seat was thus to be. And God, by virtue of it, dwelt

among the people, careless and rebellious as they were.

e ecacy of the blood of Jesus

Such also is the ecacy of the blood of Jesus. It is

forever on the mercy-seat, ecacious as the ground of the

relationship between us and God. e other sin oerings

referred to were to restore the communion of those who

were in this relationship. Hence, in Leviticus 4:1-21, the

blood was sprinkled on the altar of incense, which was

the symbol of the exercise of this communion; the residue

poured out, as habitually in the sacrices, at the altar of

burnt oering-the place of accepted sacrice; the body, as

we have seen, was burned. In the case of the oerings for the

sin and<P169> trespass of an individual the communion of

the body was not directly in question or interrupted, but

the individual was deprived of the enjoyment of it. Hence

the altar of incense was not deled or incapacitated, as it

were, in its use; on the contrary it was continually used. e

Leviticus 4-7

267

blood of these sacrices, therefore, was put on the horns

of the altar of burnt oering, which was always the place

of individual approach. Here, by Christ and the ecacy

of the sacrice of Christ once oered, every individual

soul approaches; and, being thus accepted, enjoys all the

blessing and the privileges of which the church at large is

continually in possession. But for us the veil is rent, and as

to conscience of guilt we are perfected forever. If our walk

be deled, water by the Word restores the communion of

our souls, and that with the Father and with His Son.

To speak of resprinkling of blood consequently upsets

the real position of the Christian, and throws him back on

his own imperfect state as to acceptance and righteousness.

ere may be a repeated remedy, but one who is on

that ground drops the question of holiness, and makes

continuous righteousness in Christ uncertain. “Blessed

is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity” is

unknown in such cases; as is also that the worshipper once

purged should have no more conscience of sins. Were it

so, as the Apostle urges, Christ must have suered often.

Without shedding of blood is no remission.

e perfect identity between the priest and the victim

But there was another circumstance in these sin oerings

for the individual. e priest who oered the blood ate the

victim. us there was the most perfect identity between

the priest, and the victim which represented the sin of the

oerer. As Christ is both, the eating by the priest shows

how He did thus make it His own. Only, in Christ, what

was thus typied was rst eected when victim, and the

priesthood, as exercised for us now in heaven, comes after.

Still this eating shows the heart of Christ taking it up

as He does for us when we fail, not merely its being laid

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268

vicariously on Him, though then His heart took up our

cause. But He cared for the sheep.<P170>

Christ’s advocacy on high

e priest had not committed the sin; on the contrary,

he had made atonement for it by the blood which he had

sprinkled, but he identied himself completely with it. us

Christ, giving us the most complete consolation-Himself

spotless, and who has made the atonement, yet identied

Himself with all our faults and sins, as the worshipper in

the peace oering was identied with the acceptance of

the sacrice. Only that now, the one oering having been

made once for all, if sin is in question, it is in advocacy

on high that He now takes it up, and in connection with

communion, not with imputation. ere is nothing more

to do with sacrice or blood sprinkling. His service is

founded on it.

Sin taken away, communion restored

e fat was burned on the altar, where the priest was

identied with the sin which was on the oerer of the victim,

but transferred to it. It was lost, so to speak, and gone in

the sacrice. He who drew nigh came with confession and

humiliation, but, as regarded guilt and judgment, it was

taken up by the priest through the victim; and, atonement

having been made, reached not the judgment seat of God,

so as further to aect the relation between God and the

oender. Yet here it was perpetual repetition. Communion

was restored in the acceptance of the sacrice, as the sin

which hindered the communion was entirely taken away, or

served only to renew (in a heart humbled into the dust, and

annihilated before the goodness of God) the communion

founded on goodness become innitely more precious, and

established on the renewed sense of the riches and security

Leviticus 4-7

269

of that mediation there typically exhibited, but which

Christ has accomplished once for all, eternally for us, as

sacrice, and makes good as to the blessings owing from

it continually on high; not to change the mind of God to

us, but to secure our present communion and enjoyment, in

spite of our miseries and faults, in the presence, the glory,

and the love of Him who changes not.1<P171>

(1. ere are points in the New Testament it may be

well to notice here. e Hebrews views the Christian as

walking down here in weakness and trial, but as perfected

forever by the work of Christ, no more conscience of sins,

and the priesthood is exercised not to restore communion,

but to nd mercy and grace to help. First John speaks of

communion with the Father and Son. is is interrupted

by any sin, and Christ is our Advocate with the Father to

restore it. e Hebrews is occupied with access to God

within the veil, the conscience being perfect, and we enter

with boldness, hence failure and restoration are not in

question. e Father is not spoken of. In John, as I have

said, it is communion and the actual state of the soul is

in question. And it is so true that it is the standing in

Hebrews, that if one falls away, restoration is impossible. In

the tabernacle there was no going within the veil. No such

standing was revealed, and priesthood and communion as

far as enjoyed were mingled together, the Father unknown.)

e sin oering stamped with the character of

holiness

Some interesting circumstances remain to be observed.

It is remarkable that nothing was so stamped with the

character of holiness, of entire, real separation to God,

as the sin oering. In the other cases, perfect acceptance,

a sweet savor, and in some cases our leavened cakes, are

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270

found therewith in the use of them; but all passed in the

natural delight, so to speak, which God took in what was

perfect and innitely excellent, though it supposed sin and

judgment to be there; but here the most remarkable and

exact sanctions of its holiness were enjoined (Lev. 6:26-

28). ere was nothing in the whole work of Jesus which

so marked His entire and perfect separation to God, His

positive holiness, as His bearing sin. He who knew no sin

alone could be made sin, and the act itself was the most

utter separation to God conceivable, yea, an act which no

thought of ours can fathom, to bear all, and to His glory.

It was a total consecration of Himself, at all cost, to God’s

glory; as God, indeed, could accept nothing else. And the

victim must have been as perfect as the self-oering was.

Christ as sin-bearer and sin oering

As a sacrice, then, for sins, and as made sin, Christ is

specially holy; as indeed, now in the power of this sacrice,

a Priest present before God, making intercession, He is

“holy, harmless, separate from sinners, made higher than

the heavens.” Yet, so truly was it a bearing of sins, and

viewed as made sin, that he who carried the goat before

his letting loose, and he that gathered the ashes of the red

heifer, and sprinkled the water of separation, were unclean

until even, and must wash to come into the camp. us

are these two great truths in the sin oering of Christ

distinctly presented to us in these sacrices. For, indeed,

how can we conceive a greater separation to God, in Christ,

than His oering Himself as a victim for sin? And, on the

other hand, had He not really borne<P172> our sins in all

their evil, He could not have put them away really in the

judgment of God.

Leviticus 4-7

271

Blessed forever be His name who has done it, and may

we ever learn more His perfectness in doing it!

Various aspects of Christ in the sacrices

We have, then, in these sacrices, Christ in His

devotedness unto death; Christ in the perfection of His life

of consecration to God; Christ, the basis of the communion

of the people with God, who feeds, as it were, at the same

table with them; and nally, Christ made sin for those who

stood in need of it, and bearing their sins in His own body

on the tree. We shall nd that in the law of the oerings

the question is chiey as to what was to be eaten in these

sacrices, and by whom, and under what conditions.

e law of the oerings: what was to be eaten, by

whom, and under what conditions

e burnt oering and the meat oering for a priest were

to be entirely burned. It is Christ Himself, oered wholly to

God, who oers Himself. As to the burnt oering, the re

burned all night upon the altar and consumed the victim,

the sweet-smelling savor of which ascended thus to God,

even during the darkness, where man was far from Him,

buried in sleep. is too is true, I doubt not, as to Israel

now. God has the sweet savor of the sacrice of Christ

towards Him, while the nation forgets Him. However this

may be, the only eect for us of the judgment of the holy

majesty of God-the re of the Lord, now that Christ has

oered Himself, is to cause the sweet smell of this precious

sacrice to ascend towards God.

Of the other sacrices, the meat oering and the sin

oering, the priest ate. e rst pictures the saint in his

priestly character feeding on the perfectness of Christ;

the last, Christ, and even those who are His, as priests,

in devoted love and in sympathy with others, identifying

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272

themselves with their sin and with the work of Christ for

that sin. To Him alone it was, of course, to bear that sin;

but founded on His work our hearts can take it up in a

priestly way before God. ey are connected in grace with

it according to the ecacy of the sacrice of Christ; they

enjoy the grace of Christ therein. Christ entered into it

directly for us, we in<P173> grace into what He did. is

is, however, a solemn thing. It is only as priests that we can

participate in it, and in the consciousness of what it means.

e people ate of the peace oerings, which, though they

were holy, did not require that nearness to God. It was the

joy of the communion of believers, based on the redemption

and the acceptance of Christ. erefore the directions for

these oerings follow those given for the sacrices for sin

and trespass, although the peace oering comes before the

sin oering in the order of the sacrices, because, in the

former, it required to be a priest to partake of them. ere

are things which we do as priests; there are others which

we do as simple believers.

Leviticus 8-9

273

72516

Leviticus 8-9

e priesthood established; Aaron, type of Christ

e sacrices and the rules for partaking of them being

thus appointed, priesthood is established (ch. 8) according

to the ordinance. Aaron and his sons are washed; Aaron is

then clothed, and the tabernacle, and all that was therein,

was anointed, and Aaron also, and this without blood.

In this we have, I apprehend, a bright inlet into the way

in which the universe is lled with glory. When Aaron

alone is anointed without blood, the tabernacle is also.

e fullness of the divine power and spiritual grace and

glory which is in Christ, lls the whole scene of created

witness of the glory of God; that is, the energy of the Holy

Spirit lls it with the claim and witnesses of the excellency

of Christ. When the creature has had to do with it, then,

indeed, as on the great day of atonement, it has all to be

puried and reconciled with blood. But this does not undo

the direct title in grace and divine excellency in Jesus. It

is His on this ground too. It is His as Creator of it all. It

may have contracted impurity. Redemption is the ground

of the restitution of all things, and the creature is delivered

from the bondage of corruption. But as His creation it all

belonged to God. As the normal order it was, as created-

consecrated to God (see also Colossians 1:16,21).

Aaron’s sons, the ground of their place with God

When Aaron’s sons are brought in, the altar is puried

with blood, because we have got out of the mere personal

excellency<P174> and title of Christ. When the sons of

Aaron are clothed with the priestly garments, sacrices

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274

are oered, beginning with the bullock for a sin oering,

and Aaron and his sons have its blood put upon ear and

thumb and toe; and then Aaron and his garments, his sons

and their garments with him, are sprinkled with oil and

blood according to the directions given in Exodus. e

blood of Christ and the Spirit are the ground on which we,

associated with Him, have our place with God.

Jehovah’s presence in blessing manifests His

acceptance of the sacrices

On the eighth day Jehovah was to appear and manifest

the acceptance of the sacrices oered on that day, and

His presence in the glory in the midst of the people. is

manifestation took place accordingly: rst Aaron, standing

by the sacrice, blesses the people; and then Moses and

Aaron go into the tabernacle, and come out and bless the

people. at is, there is rst Christ, as Priest, blessing them,

in virtue of the oered sacrice; and then Christ, as King

and Priest, going in and hiding Himself for a little in the

tabernacle, and then coming out and blessing the people in

this twofold character. When this takes place, as it will at

the coming of Jesus, the acceptance of the sacrice will be

publicly manifested, and the glory of Jehovah will appear

to the people, then become true worshippers through that

means.

e time of Israel’s knowledge of the acceptance of

the sacrice

is is a scene of the deepest interest; but there is a

remark to be made here. e church is not found in this

place (though there are general principles which apply

to any case of connection with God), unless it be in the

persons of Moses and Aaron. e blessing comes and is

made manifest; that is, the acceptance of the victim is made

Leviticus 8-9

275

manifest when Moses and Aaron appear at their coming

out of the tabernacle. It will be thus with Israel. When the

Lord Jesus appears, and they recognize Him whom they

pierced, the ecacy of this sacrice will be manifested in

favor of that nation. It will be public by the manifestation

of Christ. Our knowledge of that ecacy is during the stay

of Christ within the veil, or rather in heaven itself, for the

veil is now rent. Israel will not know the<P175> acceptance

of the sacrice until Christ comes forth as King; for us the

Holy Spirit is come forth while He is yet within, so that

we have the anticipatory certitude of that reception, and

are connected with Him there. And it is this which gives

to the Christian his proper character.

e place of Jehovah’s manifestation

Here the manifestation takes place in the court where

the sacrice was oered, and when Moses and Aaron have

come to the place where God talked with the people (not

where He communed with the mediator only, that is, the ark

of the testimony, where the veil was no longer on the face

of him who also communed with the Lord), and answering

to this gure the manifestation will be here. ere is a very

peculiar circumstance connected with that. ere had been

no sacrice whose blood was carried into the holy place,

though the body of the bullock was burned without the

camp.1 A sin oering was indeed oered, but it was such

as ought to have been eaten by the priest (see chapter

10:17-18). e relationships which had been established

were comparatively external. e sin and delement were

carried clean out of the camp and done away; but there was

no entering in within the veil, or meeting God there.

(1. It does not exactly appear whether the goat for the

people (ch. 9:3) was burned without the camp. It is said in

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276

chapter 10:16 that it was burned, and that its blood was

not brought into the holy place for sin, so that they ought

to have eaten it. So that if it was burned outside the camp it

was an error; the bullock for Aaron was, though the blood

was not carried within the veil. Of the goat it is merely said,

“Oered it for sin, as the rst” (ch. 9:15). Aaron’s sacrice

seems to show that the character of Christ’s priesthood

does not bring Israel into fellowship with what is within

the veil, though Christ may have suered on the cross for

them. e blood was put on the altar in the court. e sons

should have eaten that for the people, as for a particular

fault of a people already in relationship with God. ey are

the oerings after the consecration of Aaron, not those of

his consecration. en there was naturally no oering for

the people there. Now his hands were lled. e reader may

remark, as regards the remnant of Israel (the one hundred

and forty-four thousand who are on Mount Sion with the

Lamb, the Suerer in Israel, now King there), that they are

on earth, but they learn the song sung in heaven, though

they are not there to sing it.)

Leviticus 10

277

72517

Leviticus 10

e priesthood immediately comes short of the glory

of God

Lastly, we have what, alas! is always the case with man.

e rst day the priesthood is established, it comes short of

the glory<P176> of God. Nadab and Abihu oer strange

re, acting as men in nature in their relationship with God,

not founding their service on the altar of sacrice, and they

die.

What the presence of God requires

e priests must on no account whatever depart

from their consecration (vss. 6-7); therefore they must

be Nazarites (vs. 9), apart from that which is only the

excitement of the esh, separated unto God from all that

which would let nature loose in His presence; from that

which would prevent them from feeling its power-a state

of abstraction in which the esh has no place. e presence

of God must have its full power, and the esh must be

silent before Him. It is only thus that they would be able

to discern between that which is unclean and that which

is pure-that which is profane and that which is holy. ere

are lawful things, real joys, which, however, do not belong

to priesthood-joys which ow from God’s blessings, and

which do not keep the esh in check as does His presence;

for there is always a certain restraint on the heart, on

nature and its activity, produced by the presence of God.

But priesthood is exercised before Him.

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278

72518

Leviticus 11-12

Discernment, the service and duty of the priests

Priesthood being established, there comes the

discernment between holy things and profane, and the

judgment of delements (ch. 11-15), and what was to be

done for the purication of deled persons. We see that it

is this nearness of separation unto God which alone can

discern thus, and such is the service and ever the duty of

priests.

Discernment of what was clean in food

First, as to food, that which is allowed to be eaten. In

general the principle seems to be that anything is allowed

that is clean, in this sense, rst, that it is thoroughly

according to its element, that is, in principle, divine order

(of course, here presented in a gure), as shes having

scales; second, that was allowed which united mature

digestion to the absence of that willful energy which goes

boldly through everything. ese two qualities must be

united.<P177> e grossness which swallows down things

as they are, or the lack of quiet rmness, rendered unclean.

To be clean, it must be that which at the same time chews

the cud and divides the hoof. Of birds, the carnivorous

night birds and those which cannot be tamed are forbidden;

creeping things also, whatever grovelled and trailed itself

on the earth. In general, there was to be in their eating the

discernment of what was clean.

God’s judgment on what, as now connected with sin,

is unclean

Leviticus 11-12

279

en we have the judgment of God fallen on that which

would have been, for unfallen man, joy and blessing. e

birth of a man, connected now with sin, renders unclean;

that of a woman, in whom was the transgression, being

deceived, still more so.1

(1. Connected with this was the weakness of fallen

nature. (Compare Genesis 1:28.) All that belonged even to

weakness of nature, being the eect of sin, rendered unclean

under the law. is is also true spiritually. All this was the

result of some manifestation or other of the life that was

in the esh. It was so with the leper; raw esh rendered

unclean, as well as any other case where this life (which

had become unclean, and had been as set aside and under

judgment through sin), manifested itself externally, even

though weakness alone were the cause of its manifestation.)

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280

72519

Leviticus 13-14

Leprosy in persons, garments and houses

Leprosy requires a little more detail. It was found in

persons, in garments, in houses. Leprosy was sin acting in

the esh. e spiritual man-the priest-discerns as to it. If

the raw esh appears, he is unclean; the strength of the

esh is at work. If the man was white all over, it was only

the eect, as sin entirely confessed but no longer active;

he was clean. e thing spreads in man, if it be evil in the

esh. e rst step is for him to confess; and to confess

under full spiritual discernment, and the judgment of God

who has brought to light what was acting in his nature. He

makes up his mind as one judged and detected. He has no

part in the assembly of God, though making part of it in

one sense. He is put out, without the camp.

Leprosy in circumstances, and its treatment

Leprosy (sin) manifested itself in circumstances, in

that which<P178> surrounds us, as well as in personal

conduct. If it was only a spot, the garment was washed, and

it was clean; if the plague spot, on the contrary, spread, the

whole was burned; if the plague, though it did not spread,

remained, after washing, unchanged, the whole was burned.

If changed and it spread no more, the spot was torn out.

If we get thus deled by our circumstances, and it is not

in the things themselves, we need only wash and remain

where we are; if a part of them be essentially bad, that it

spread delingly in our whole condition, all that part of our

outward life must be given up; if, in spite of washing, sin be

still found the same there, if we cannot walk therein with

Leviticus 13-14

281

God, such a position must be wholly given up at any cost;

if it be aected by the washing and cease to spread, the

general state being unaected, the particular thing which

has deled is to be given up.

Purication of the healed leper; its means

As to purication, the leper was rst considered as being

outside the camp, not belonging to it; but if the activity

of the disease was stopped in him, he was healed, but not

yet puried. us this type supposes that the esh, instead

of being active and characteristic of the state of man, is

judged and arrested in its activity. It is the enjoyment

of a recognized relationship with God which is to be

established.1

(1. is dierence is important; it is that between the

work in us which makes a sin a judged thing in us, judged

by us, and the work of Christ which supposing that, puts

us in a condition for relationship with God.)

e rst part of the purication relates to this position.

Christ being dead and risen, man sprinkled with His

blood is t, as regards the controversy with God, and His

requirements, to enter the camp of God’s people; and

then he can share in the ecacy of the means which they

can use there, of that which is found within, in order to

present himself as acceptable before the tabernacle of God.

Two birds were to be taken, and one killed by someone,

at the command of the priest; for the priest’s oce never

properly began till there was blood to oer or sprinkle,

though the high priest represented Israel on the great

day of atonement.1e two birds,<P179> however, are

identied, so that we hear no more of that which was killed,

though the ecacy of the blood be everything in the work

of cleansing; the second is dipped in the blood of the rst.

Darby Synopsis

282

(1. It was the high priest who did it, but it was not a

properly priestly act. at is, it was not one going between

individuals or even the people and God, but representing

them as such in his own person: as Christ, His people on

the cross.)

e Antitype of the two birds

us Christ dead is no more found; but, being raised,

He sprinkles His blood, as priest, on the unclean sinner.

e earthen vessel, over running water, presents to us the

ecacy of the Holy Spirit, according to the all-powerful

ecacy of which, in Christ as man, this work of the death

of Jesus has been accomplished: through the eternal Spirit

He oered Himself without spot to God-God having

brought again from the dead the great Shepherd of the

sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. He,

the sinner, was under the ecacy of Christ’s work.

e actual cleansing applied to the leper

But now there is, before he can oer, the work done

on himself, the actual cleansing applied to him. He who

cleansed himself washed himself-a purication of water as

well as of blood, which is always found; the moral judgment

of sin viewed as that which excludes from God’s presence,

so that the sinner is, in principle and faith, morally as well

as judicially cleansed. Of the last blood is the emblem;

but the water is the estimation of sin as shown in Christ’s

death, and the forsaking of God. It is in virtue of the death

of Christ, seen as His work for us, for the water comes out

of His pierced side. He came by water and blood. e leper

rids himself of anything to which impurity might have

attached, or had a share in, and now he enters the camp;

and the work of bringing him into communion with God

in his conscience begins.1

Leviticus 13-14

283

(1. When it was a question of consecrating those who

were recognized as to their persons (the priests), they were

rst washed, and the sacrice of Christ, viewed under every

aspect, was the measure of their relation with God in every

way, and the basis of their communion in its inward ecacy

upon the soul. But here, the sinner being viewed in his sin

outside the camp, it was necessary rst to lay the basis for

the possibility of communion with God. is was done in

the death and resurrection of Jesus. en, being washed

(the ecacious operation of the Spirit by the Word), he

can be in relationship.)

e second part of the cleansing after reentry into the

camp

is is through realizing all the ecacy of the work

of Christ,<P180> with reference to conscience itself-not

only as to the acceptance of the person, according to God’s

knowledge of that acceptance, but as to the purication of

the conscience, and as to a knowledge of God, based on a

moral appreciation of the work of Christ in every aspect,

and the excellent work of the power of the Spirit of God.

is is the second part of the cleansing of the leper, that

which took place after he had reentered the camp.

It is important to recognize the work of Christ under

these two aspects; its intrinsic ecacy for the acceptance

of the person on the one hand; and, on the other, the

purication of the conscience itself, in order that there

may be communion with God, according to the price and

the perfection of that work, known in the conscience as a

means of drawing near to God, and as the moral condition

of that nearness.

e trespass oering for purication of the conscience

Darby Synopsis

284

Let us now examine what took place. e rst thing was

the trespass oering. e conscience must be puried, by the

blood of Christ, of all that with which, as a matter of fact, it

is charged, or would be chargeable in the day of judgment;

and man must be consecrated to God with an intelligence

which applies the value of that blood to his whole walk, his

whole conduct, his whole thoughts, and upon the principle

of perfect obedience. It is the judicial purication of the

whole man, upon the principle of intelligent obedience-a

purication acting upon his conscience, not merely an

outward rule for a man freed from the present power of sin,

but a purication of his conscience felt in the knowledge of

good and evil, of which the blood of Christ is the measure

before God. Man being a sinner, having failed, the work

must take place in the conscience, which takes a humbling

knowledge of it; and in becoming cleansed through the

precious ecacy of the blood of Christ, does so through

the sorrow for all that is contrary to the perfection of that

blood, and which has required the shedding of it.

Consecration and communion

It is thus man is consecrated. e heart is rst puried in

the conscience. e things to which he had given way are,

as it were, brought to the conscience, which takes a painful

knowledge of them, according to the value of the blood of

the precious Lamb of<P181> God, who, without spot, and

perfect in obedience, had to suer the agony caused by the

sin from which we have to be cleansed-wretched creatures

that we are.

Afterwards the heart makes progress in the power of its

communion, through the knowledge of the most precious

objects of its faith. As to communion-though never as to

the conscience of imputation (see Hebrews 10), and as to

Leviticus 13-14

285

communion it is by water (see John 13 and 1John 2). is

work must go on again from time to time in the conscience,

whenever there is something in our nature which is not in

subjection to Christ, which is not brought captive to the

obedience of Christ.

e blood and oil applied, the sin oering was oered

e blood, then, was put upon the tip of his right ear,

his right hand, his right foot-his thoughts, his conduct and

his walk puried on the principle of obedience according

to the measure of Christ’s death, and the claim of the love

displayed in it. Over that they sprinkled oil-the presence

and sanctifying inuence of the Holy Spirit as given to us,

by which we are anointed and sealed- not washing (that

was typied by water, the application of the Word by the

Spirit), but given to consecrate in knowledge and power of

purpose and aection to God (with whatever gifts might

be added thereto); the whole man being thus consecrated,

according to the intelligence and the devotedness wrought

by the Holy Spirit, to God. After that the oil was put upon

his head, his whole person being thus consecrated to Him.

e work was complete upon him who was to be cleansed.1

After that the sin oering was oered; that is, Christ (not

only for the purication of the conscience in a practical

sense, for its actual faults, but that sin might be judged in

its full extent before God; for Christ was made sin for us,

as well as bore our sins) thus acts on our consciences with

regard to those sins-makes us estimate sin, such as it is in

itself, seen in the sacrice of Christ.<P182>

(1. Note here how very distinctly the ground of

introduction into the new Christian place is stated in

its completeness. Culpability is fully met, guilt removed,

cleansing by blood as to all committed sins perfect, and

Darby Synopsis

286

the Holy Spirit given, giving competency for all that was

to follow. e man stood, to apply the gure, personally on

Christian ground. e sin oering and the burnt oering

go further, hence only the trespass oering is used to

introduce the leper and have him anointed.)

e burnt and meal oerings oered, the leper was

clean

en the burnt oering with the meat oering was

oered; the former, the appreciation of the perfection of

the death of Christ, seen as the devoting of Himself to

God unto death, to vindicate all the rights of His majesty,

and put away sin by the sacrice of Himself-in view of

the existence of sin; the latter, the absolute sinlessness of

Christ, His perfection, and the acting power of the Spirit

in Him even to death, and full testing by it. is death was

of innite perfection in itself, as a work, for it can be said,

“erefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my

life, that I might take it again.” It was not as bearing our

sins, but absolute devotedness to God and His glory, in

the circumstances that sin had brought us into, and into

which Christ also came by grace, that God might be fully

gloried in Him.

In the meat oering was found, besides, all the

perfectness of the grace of Christ in His life-humanity,

pure without doubt, but kneaded with oil; humanity having

in it all the strength, the taste and savor of the Holy Spirit

in its nature; for it is in that aspect that it is presented here,

not as anointed with oil1-as power- but kneaded with oil

in its substance. Now the man is clean.

(1. e fact of anointing the person comes after the

trespass oering. But this circumstance is of moment

as showing that it is Christ, in what He was in Person

Leviticus 13-14

287

intrinsically-not the display of power, so as to say, “If I by

the Spirit of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom

of God is come amongst you,” but what He was in all

His blessed life in perfectness to God and in love. is is

what we feed on. Note here that what is said in verse 18

does not mean, I apprehend, that the oil in itself made an

atonement, but the trespass oering, for it is the blood that

makes atonement for the soul. But it is not the less true that

the man was not there until he had been anointed with the

oil; nor is a man in heart and conscience before God till

he have received the Holy Spirit, though the ground and

measure of all be the blood with which he is sprinkled. It is

the same in verse 29. See what follows.)

e importance and reality of reconciliation and

restoration to God

And how great is the importance and the reality of the

reconciliation of a soul to God, if it values all that is thus

unfolded of the work of Christ, and of its application to

the soul; and certainly its reconciliation does not take place

without. Alas! our triing hearts pass, perhaps lightly, over

this, and the dealings of that hand of God which does

marvelous things with the quiet ease which perfect grace

and power give. However, we do see, <P183>sometimes, in

some souls (according to the wisdom of God), the anguish

and the suering which accompany this work, when the

conscience, in view of the reality of things before God, and

through Christ, takes knowledge of the state of the heart,

sinful and distant from God in its nature.

is is the restoration of the soul on the part of God.

It is all the working of divine power, not merely as to the

work and resurrection of Christ, but even as to the soul

itself; for the case here under supposition is that of a man

Darby Synopsis

288

already vitally cleansed. e priest judged him already

clean, but the leper was not himself restored to God in

his conscience;1 and the Spirit of God, for this purpose,

goes over the work of Christ, and its application to the soul

itself, and its relationship with the work and presence of

the Holy Spirit in its work, whether in purifying the sinner,

or in consecrating the man. May our gracious God render

us attentive to this! Happy that the work should be His,

though it takes place in us as well as for us.

(1. is dierence is important, and shows how the

working of sin may be stopped, and the desires and will

set right, and in a certain sense the aections, but the

conscience not yet be restored; communion consequently

not yet reestablished, nor the blessed condence and

aections founded on it.)

Leprosy in a house-in the land

ere remains to be considered leprosy in a house. In

the case of the leprous person, the whole referred to the

tabernacle. ey were still in the wilderness: the walk in

the world was what was in question. But here the being

in the land of promise is supposed. It does not refer to the

cleansing of the person; it is more typical of an assembly.

When delement appears there, they take out the stones

and the plaster: the external walk is quite changed, and the

individuals who have corrupted this walk are taken out,

and thrown among the unclean. If the whole be thereupon

healed, the house remains; if not, it is wholly destroyed; the

evil is in the assembly itself, and it was manifest, as in the

case of the leper. If its source was in the stones taken away,

if it was only there, the end was accomplished by taking out

the stones and removing the plaster, reforming the whole

external walk. Purication consisted in taking away the

Leviticus 13-14

289

wicked who corrupted the public testimony-that which

was manifested outside. It was not<P184> a question of

restoring the conscience; the whole rests anew on the

primitive ecacy of the work of Christ, which renders the

assembly acceptable with God.

We shall nd that the Apostle Paul, in his epistles

addressed to assemblies, says, “Grace and peace”; and,

when writing to individuals, adds “mercy.” Philemon seems

an exception; but the church is addressed with him.

In the case of garments it is no question about cleansing

one’s person, but of getting rid of deled circumstances.

We see that the case of the house is presented separate,

being in the land of promise, and not in the walk of the

wilderness. e same truth is found in the application,

I doubt not. e assembly is in the land of promise; the

individual walks in the wilderness. However, stones which

corrupt the house may be found there.

Darby Synopsis

290

72520

Leviticus 15

e inevitable existence of what is shameful

Other cases connected with the weakness of nature

are mentioned, but which point out that, sin having come

in, all that is of nature, of the esh, deles (whatever may

be the excuse as to the weakness and the unavoidable

character of the thing). If it cannot be avoided, it is the

manifestation, or at least the inevitable existence, of that

which is shameful, because it is a nature fallen and sinful.

We shall nd, however, that, though being shameful,

the case is supposed less morally serious than leprosy. In

leprosy there was the manifestation of positive corruption,

existing beforehand in the nature, which was admitted in

the heart, so that a long process was necessary to purify the

conscience. Here they only washed once, and they oered

merely a sin oering, and they were thereby able, in oering

their burnt oering, to enter into communion through the

sweet savor of Christ.<P185>

Leviticus 16

291

72521

Leviticus 16

e day of atonement: the purication of the

sanctuary and atonement of the sin of the people

Having made provision for such delements of the

people as allowed of it, we have the revelation, rst, of the

general provision for the purication of the sanctuary which

was in the midst of a people who deled it, and second, for

the atonement of the sins of the people themselves.

In general, there are two great ideas; rst, that the

atonement was made, so that the relationship of the people

with God was maintained notwithstanding their sins;

and then, in the second place, in the diculties which

surrounded the entrance of Aaron into the holy place,

there was the testimony (according to the Epistle to the

Hebrews itself) that the way into the holiest of all was not

yet made manifest during that dispensation.

Drawing near to God

It is important to examine this chapter under these

two points of view. It stands alone. No mention is made

anywhere else of what took place on that solemn day. e

sacrice of Christ, as meeting God’s righteousness against

sin as the ground of redemption, was typied by the

passover. It was a question of drawing near unto God who

revealed Himself on His throne-of cleansing delements-

of taking away the sins of those who would draw near, and

of purifying their conscience. Now, while presenting to

us in gure God’s means of doing this, it signied indeed

that the thing was not done. As to the general idea of its

ecacy, the high priest drew near personally, and lled the

Darby Synopsis

292

most holy place with incense. So Christ goes in personally

in the perfect savor of what He is for God. e place of

God’s presence was full of it.

Atonement made by blood according to the nature

and majesty of the throne of God

e expression “that he die not” expresses the absolutely

obligatory nature of anything which was fullled in Christ.

Personally he appears before God, being as ointment

poured forth, a sweet savor, connected with re from

the altar, that is, based on judgment and death, but only

bringing out a perfect, sweet odor to<P186> God: not

blood for others, but re for the testing of his perfectness;

not in this case to cleanse, but to bring out the odor of this

good ointment. en he took some blood, which he put

on the mercy-seat and before the mercy-seat. Atonement

or propitiation was made according to the requirement

of the nature and majesty of the throne of God Himself,

so that the full satisfaction made to His majesty rendered

the throne of justice favorable, a place of acceptance; grace

had free course, and the worshipper found the blood there

before him when he drew near, and even as a testimony

before the throne. en, second, the high priest cleansed

the tabernacle, the altar of incense, and all that was found

there. But it was only that which was within.

e throne of justice made a throne of grace, and the

place and its belongings cleansed

ere were thus two things; the blood presented to God,

the throne was a throne of grace according to righteousness-

the conscience being puried, so that we enter with

boldness now; and then the place was cleansed, with all

that belonged to it, according to the nature and presence

of God, who dwelt there. In virtue of the sprinkling of His

Leviticus 16

293

blood, Christ will reconcile all things in heaven and earth-

but here this is only shown as to the heavenly part-having

made peace through the blood of His cross. ere could be

no guiltiness in the tabernacle, but it was the place of God’s

dwelling, and God would cleanse away the delements,

that they might not appear before Him.

e substitution of the scapegoat; sins confessed and

borne by another

In the third place (but this as a distinct service) there was

no cleansing of that which was outside, but the high priest

confessed the sins of the people over the scapegoat, which,

sent away unto a land not inhabited, bore all the sins away

from God, never to be found again. It is here that the idea

of substitution is presented most clearly. ere are three

things: the blood on the mercy-seat, the reconciliation of

the sanctuary, and the sins confessed and borne by another.

It is evident that, though the scapegoat was sent away

alive, he was identied as to the ecacy of the work with

the death of the<P187> other. e idea of the eternal

sending away of sins out of remembrance is only added to

the thought of death. e glory of God was established,

on one side, in the putting of the blood on the mercy-

seat; and, on the other, there was the substitution of the

scapegoat, of the Lord Jesus, in His precious grace, for the

guilty persons whose cause He had undertaken; and, the

sins of these having been borne, their deliverance was full,

entire and nal. e rst goat was Jehovah’s lot-it was a

question of His character and His majesty. e other was

the lot of the people, which denitively represented the

people in their sins.

Two aspects of the death of Jesus, to glorify God and

to save man

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294

ese two aspects of the death of Jesus must be carefully

distinguished in the atoning sacrice He has accomplished.

He has gloried God, and God acts according to the value

of that blood towards all.1 He has borne the sins of His

people; and the salvation of His people is complete. And,

in a certain sense, the rst part is the most important. Sin

having come in, the justice of God might, it is true, have

got rid of the sinner; but where would then have been

His love and His counsels of grace, pardon, and even the

maintenance of His glory according to His true nature as

love, while righteous and holy too?

(1. See John 13:31-32 and 17:1,4. And this entitles man

to glory, does not merely justify him.)

I am not speaking here of the persons who were to be

saved, but of the glory of God Himself. But the perfect

death of Jesus-His blood put on the throne of God-has

established and brought into evidence all that God is, all

His glory, as no creation could have done it; His truth (for

He had passed sentence of death) is made good in the

highest way in Jesus; His majesty, for His Son submits to

all for His glory; His justice against sin; His innite love.

God found means therein to accomplish His counsels of

grace, in maintaining all the majesty of His justice and of

His divine dignity; for what, like the death of Jesus, could

have gloried them?

e devotedness of Jesus to God’s glory giving an

outlet to the love of God

erefore this devotedness of Jesus, God’s Son, to His

glory<P188>-His submission, even unto death, that God

might be maintained in the full glory of His rights, has

given its outlet to the love of God, freedom to its action;

wherefore Jesus says, “I have a baptism to be baptized with,

Leviticus 16

295

and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” His heart,

full of love, was driven back, in its personal manifestation,

by the sin of man, who would not have it; but through

the atonement it could ow forth to the sinner, in the

accomplishment of God’s grace and of His counsels,

unhindered; and Jesus Himself had, so to speak, rights upon

that love-a position we are brought into through grace, and

which has none like it. “erefore doth my Father love me,

because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.”

We speak with reverence of such things, but it is good to

speak of them; for the glory of our God, and of Him whom

He has sent, is found therein established and manifested.

ere is not one attribute, one trait of the divine character,

which has not been manifested in all its perfection, and

fully gloried in that which took place between God and

Jesus Himself. at we have been saved and redeemed,

and that our sins have been atoned for in that same

sacrice, according to the counsels of the grace of God, is

(I presume to say it, precious and important as it is for us)

the inferior part of that work, if anything whatever may

be called inferior where everything is perfect: its object at

least-we sinners-is inferior, if the work is equally perfect in

every point of view. Nor can they indeed be separated; for

if sin had not been there, where would that in God have

been displayed, which has been in putting it away? Nor is

it here only, though we know it here; we shall be eternally

in glory, the proof and living witness as to the ecacy of

Christ’s work.

Having considered a little the grand principles, we may

now examine the particular circumstances.

Aaron and his family, and the people

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It will have been observed that there were two sacrices;

one for Aaron and his family, the other for the people.

Aaron and his sons always represent the church, not in the

sense of one body, but as a company of priests.<P189>

e distinction between the place of the heavenly and

earthly people

us we have, even in the day of atonement, the

distinction between those who form the church, and the

earthly people who form the camp of God on the earth.

Believers have their place outside the camp where their

Head has suered as sacrice for sin; but, in consequence,

they have their place in the presence of God in the heavens,

where their Head has entered. Outside the camp,1 here

below, answers to a heavenly portion above: they are the

two positions of the ever blessed Christ.

(1. e camp is an earthly, religious relationship with

God outside the sanctuary, and established on earth with

priests between men and God. is the Jews were; they

cast Christ out of it; and it is now utterly rejected.)

If the professing church takes the position of the camp

here below, the place of the believer is always outside. It

is, indeed, what she has done; she boasts of it-but it is

Jewish. Israel must indeed recognize themselves outside

at last, in order to be saved and to be brought in again,

through grace; because the Saviour, whom they despised

in a day of blindness, has in grace borne all their sins as a

nation, owned in the remnant, for He died for that nation.

We anticipate that position while Christ is in heaven. e

heart of the remnant of Israel will indeed be brought back

to Jehovah before that time; they will only enter into the

power of the sacrice when they shall look upon Him

whom they pierced, and mourn for Him. erefore was it

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297

prescribed that it should be a day to aict their souls, and

that he who did not should be cut o.

e way into the holiest closed that the people should

not perish

e day of atonement supposes, moreover, according to

the state of things found in the wilderness, that the people

were in a state of incapacity for the enjoyment of the

relations with God fully manifested. God had redeemed

them, had spoken to them; but the heart of Israel, of man

however favored, was incapable of it in its natural state.

Israel had made the golden calf, and Moses put a veil over

his face; Nadab and Abihu had oered strange re upon the

altar of God-re which had not been taken from the altar

of burnt oering. e way into the holiest is closed; Aaron

is forbidden to enter there at all times. He never went in in

his gar<P190>ments of glory and beauty. When he went

in, it was not for communion, but for the cleansing of the

sanctuary deled by the iniquities of a people among whom

God dwelt; and the day of atonement is only introduced

with a prohibition of entering at all times into the holy

place, and is conspicuous as taking place after the death of

the sons of Aaron. He does it with a cloud of incense, lest

he die. It was truly a gracious provision, in order that the

people should not perish on account of their delements;

but the Holy Spirit was signifying that the way into the

holiest of all was not yet made manifest.

e rent veil

In what, then, is our position changed? e veil is rent;

and we enter, as priests, with boldness into the holiest, by a

new and living way through the veil, that is to say, the esh

of Christ. We enter in without conscience of sins, because

the blow which rent the veil, to show all the glory and

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the majesty of the throne, and the holiness of Him who

sits thereon, has taken away the sins which would have

incapacitated us from entering in, or from looking within.

We are even seated there in Christ our Head-the Head of

His body the church.

Israel, in this dispensation, outside the holiest

In the meantime, Israel is outside. e church is seen

in the Person of Christ, the High Priest, and the whole of

this dispensation is the day of atonement, during which

Israel’s High Priest is hid within the veil. e veil which

hid the import of all these gures is indeed done away in

Christ, so that we have full liberty by the Spirit, but it is

upon their hearts. He maintains there within, it is true,

their cause through the blood which He presents; but the

testimony to it is not yet presented to them outside, nor

their consciences freed by the knowledge that their sins are

lost forever in a land not inhabited, where they will never

be found again.

e church’s position inside with the high priest

Now our position is, properly speaking, inside, in the

person of Aaron, the blood being on the mercy-seat. We

are not only justied by the scapegoat, as being without;

that is done, it is clear, and<P191> once for all, for the veil

is only on the heart of Israel, it is no longer between us

and God. But we have gone in with the High Priest, as

united to Him; we are not waiting for reconciliation till

He comes out. Israel, though the forgiveness be the same,

will receive these things, when the true Aaron comes out

of the tabernacle. is is why that which characterized the

sacrice of Aaron and his sons was the blood put inside on

the mercy-seat, and the going in of Aaron in person.

Outside, yet within

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299

But the church is composed of persons who are here

below, who have committed sins. us seen in the world,

they are, as to their conscience, in the rank of the outside

people, as well as Aaron himself, not viewed as a typical

individual; and the conscience is puried by the certainty

that Christ has borne all our sins in His body on the tree.

Our position is within according to the value of the blood

of Christ, and the perfect acceptance of His Person.

Waiting for Christ, yet united with Him

It is the same with regard to the expectation of Christ.

If I consider myself as a man responsible upon earth, I

expect Him for the deliverance of all things, and to put

an end to all suering, and to all the power of evil; and

so individually myself, as a servant, I look to receive, at

His appearing here, the testimony of His approval, as a

Master, before the whole world, though if we had done

all that was commanded us we have only to say we are

unprotable servants, we have done that which it is our

duty to do-I speak merely of the principle. But if I think

of my privileges, as a member of His body, I think of my

union with Him above, and that I shall come back with

Him when He shall come to appear in His glory.

In Christ, yet in our circumstances

It is well we should know how to make this distinction;

without it there will be confusion in our thoughts, and in

our use of many passages. e same thing is true in the

personal religion of every day. I can consider myself as

in Christ, and united to Him, seated in Him in heavenly

places, enjoying all the privileges which He enjoys before

God, His Father, and also as united to Him as Head<P192>

of the body. I may also look upon myself as a poor, weak

being, walking individually upon the earth, having wants,

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faults and temptations to overcome; and I see Christ above,

while I am here below, Christ appearing alone for me

before the throne-for me, happy in having, in the presence

of God, Him who is perfect, but who has gone through

the experiences of my sorrows; who is no longer in the

circumstances in which I nd myself-but with God for me

who am in them. is is the doctrine of the Epistle to the

Hebrews;1 while the union of the church with Christ is

more particularly taught in that to the Ephesians; in John’s

writings we are taught that the individual is in Him.

(1. e dierence of 1John 2 is this: there communion

is in question, and Christ is our Advocate with the Father.

Sin interrupts that communion, but the advocacy is

founded on righteousness and propitiation. In Hebrews it

is approach to God which is in question, and for this we are

perfected forever, have boldness to enter into the holiest.

Sin is not thus in question, but mercy and grace to help in

time of need.)

Leviticus 17

301

72522

Leviticus 17

Preservation from delement; God owned and

honored

After this quite special instruction of the day of

atonement come some directions, not to purify from

delements, but to preserve from them either the people

or the service of the priests (ch. 17). It is to maintain

them as a people holy to God, and keep them from all

that would dishonor Him in their relations with Him, and

themselves in their relations with others. Life belongs to

God. And where it is taken, it must be oered in sacrice

and in sacrice, of course, to God. e blood must be

sprinkled, and the fat burned on the altar. us the danger

of secret departure of the heart to demons was guarded

against, and God’s title to life, and the truth of sacrice

were maintained-all vital truths. us God was owned and

honored, and man’s relationship with Him.

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72523

Leviticus 18

Jehovah’s statutes given to keep man from dishonoring

himself in natural relations

Chapter 18 keeps them from dishonoring themselves

in the things which belong to nature itself-to what man

ought to be in<P193> his natural relations, that he might

not dishonor himself. Man ought not to do it; but, not

having honored God, he has been left to dishonor himself

(compare Romans 1). e people of God, being brought

into nearness to Him, are taught on this subject. ey were

separated from the evil of the world they were called out

of, and the reckless proigacy into which Satan had driven

degraded man as his sport. Verse 6 is the great principle

which is insisted on in the chapter-not to confound the

intimacies of marriage with the condence of natural

relationship. ose things are forbidden into which, in the

satanic and unnatural indulgence of esh, Satan plunged

man, and to which God had given them up to work all

uncleanness with greediness. e comeliness of nature is

maintained; what is deling forbidden. Jehovah’s statutes

and judgments were to guide them: man in probation

walking in them would live.

Leviticus 19-20

303

72524

Leviticus 19-20

Holiness to be maintained because Jehovah is holy

Chapters 19-20 carry us somewhat further. ey were

to be holy, for Jehovah was holy. Chapter 19 takes up rather

the side of good, though keeping themselves from all that

was profane, or profaning what was holy; but we nd

what is good and kind and comely, what ought to be their

conduct, in various details, in the relationship they sustain

one with the other, either with regard to various dangers to

which they were exposed in their walk, in their everyday

circumstances: for they had to do with God, and Jehovah

was their God. e people of God were, in all their ways, to

walk in a manner worthy of this relationship, and even to

understand what was suitable to man, to every relationship

in which they were found, according to God. us, though

it was not here priesthood, it was the practical maintenance

of this relationship with Him who dwelt among them, and

to whom they drew nigh, by guarding against delements

unsuited to those who were in it. It is here we nd the

precept to love our neighbor as ourselves.<P194>

Separation from idols and evil because Jehovah had

sanctied the people

Chapter 20 guards more against the evil and corruption

which was found among the nations. In both they are

called to be holy, in chapter 19 more in conformity to the

character of God, in chapter 20 to keep apart from idols

and evil because Jehovah had sanctied them to Himself.

It insists upon purity in every respect.

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72525

Leviticus 21-22

Holiness specially becoming the priests as set apart

for Jehovah

Chapter 21 specially presents what becomes the priests

as set apart for Jehovah: this more intimate nearness

supposed a conduct corresponding with it. All in their state

must be t for God’s presence. So it is with us.

Chapter 22. If there was, through weakness or neglect,

anything unbecoming this nearness, they were to keep at

a distance. Consequently there were things of which the

priests, and those of their families in priestly separation,

alone could eat. It is the same with us: there are things of

the spiritual food of Christ, oered to God, upon which we

can only feed, inasmuch as the heart is really separated unto

Him, by the power of the Spirit. e oerings themselves

must be pure, and such as become the eyes of God to whom

they are presented, and a right appreciation of His majesty,

and of our relationship with Him. All this indeed is found

in Christ. No hardness of nature is allowed, but holiness. In

what is connected with our own joy before God, holiness

must be maintained in what is oered.

Practical sanctication in obedience to Jehovah’s

Word

In chapter 20, where they are forbidden to follow the

brutal and superstitious customs of idolatry (to which

Satan had degraded man) and are warned against all

impurity, which indeed was always inseparable from it,

and for which the inuence of the devil gave license, we

have this simple and beautiful exposition of the principle

Leviticus 21-22

305

which was to govern them: “Sanctify yourselves, therefore,

and be ye holy: for I am Jehovah your God. And ye shall

keep<P195> my statutes, and do them: I am Jehovah which

sanctify you.” ey are bound to holiness and to sanctify

themselves practically, because they are in the house, and

the Master of it is holy. Sanctication supposed that they

were in an acknowledged relationship with God, who will

have the inmates of His house clean according to His own

cleanness.

But then His Word was to be the rule. ey were to obey

Him in His directions, for it was He who was separating

them to Himself. is is a very instructive word as to the

standard of all our thoughts with regard to that. If any are

in my house, I will have them clean, because they are there;

those outside are no concern of mine.1en it was Jehovah

who was separating them for that. ere are interesting

instructions with regard to what the priests ate, which we

shall nd again in the following book, and consider when

we come to it.

(1. I do not speak of responsibility or mercy here.)

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72526

Leviticus 23

e seven feasts of the Lord

We have now come to the feasts (ch. 23). It is the full1

year of the counsels of God towards His people, and the

rest which was the end of those counsels.

(1. I add, to give the intelligence of this expression, that

the word translated “feast” signies an appointed or denite

time, and which returned consequently at the revolution of

the year. e series of the feasts embraced the whole year,

inasmuch as they returned regularly each consecutive year.

is shows too the dierence of the sabbath, God’s rest-

only here of creation; and, I may add, of the new moon-

gure, I doubt not, of Israel’s restoration. e great new

moon was in the seventh month.)

ere were consequently seven-a number expressive

of perfection well-known in the Word: the sabbath, the

passover and the feast of unleavened bread, the rstfruits

of harvest, Pentecost, the feast of trumpets in the seventh

month, the day of atonement, and the feast of tabernacles.

If the sabbath be separated and reckoned by itself,

the passover would be distinguished from the feast of

unleavened bread, which would make the seven. I do not

say this to preserve the number, but because the chapter

itself speaks thus: having counted the sabbath among the

others, it resumes and calls the others (without the sabbath)

the solemn feasts. For, in one sense, it was in<P196>deed

a feast; in another, it was the rest, when the whole was

ended.1 In general these feasts present us, then, with all

the bases on which God has entered into relationship with

Leviticus 23

307

His people; the principles on which He has gathered them

around Him, in His ways with this people, upon the earth.

eir bearing was wider than that, in other respects; but

it is in this point of view that these circumstances, that

is, these facts, are here considered. ey are seen in their

accomplishment upon the earth.

(1. e idea of these feasts is God gathering the people

around Himself as a holy convocation. e solemn feasts

were, then, the gathering of God’s people around Him, and

in detail the ways of God in gathering them thus. Hence

the distinction made in this chapter. It is evident that the

sabbath, the rest of God, will be the great gathering of the

people of God around Him, as the center of peace and

blessing. So that the sabbath is truly a solemn feast, a holy

convocation; but, also, it is evidently apart and distinct

from the means and the operations which gathered the

people. Hence we nd it mentioned at the beginning,

and reckoned among the solemn feasts; then the Spirit

of God begins afresh (vs. 4) and gives the solemn feasts,

as embracing all the ways of God in the gathering of His

people, leaving out the sabbath. In reckoning the feasts,

the pass-over and the feast of unleavened bread may be

considered as one, for both were at the same time, and

treated together; or, looking upon the sabbath as separate,

they may be estimated as two feasts. Both these things are

found in the Word.)

e moral distinction of the feasts

ere is another way of dividing them, by taking the

words, “And Jehovah spake unto Moses”1 as the title of

each part: the sabbath, the passover, and the unleavened

bread (vss. 1-8); the rstfruits and the Pentecost (vss. 9-22);

the feast of trumpets (vss. 23-25); the day of atonement

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(vss. 26-32); the feast of tabernacles (verse 33 to the end).

is latter division gives us the moral distinction of the

feasts; that is, the ways of God therein. Let us examine

them a little more in detail.<P197>

(1. It is well to observe, in passing, that this formula gives,

in the whole Pentateuch, the true division of the subjects.

Sometimes the directions are addressed to Aaron, which

supposes some internal relations based on the existence of

priesthood-sometimes to Moses and Aaron; and in that case

they are not purely communications and commandments

to establish relations, but also directions for the exercise

of functions thus established. Consequently we have in

Leviticus 10, for the rst time I think, “Jehovah spake unto

Aaron”; chapter 11 to “Moses and Aaron”; because that,

while it treats of commandments and ordinances given

for the rst time, it is also a question of the discernment

consequent upon relations existing between God and the

people, and in which the exercise of the priesthood came

in. ese general principles will assist in apprehending the

nature of the communications made by God to His people.

(See chapter 13.) Chapter 14, as far as verse 32, consists of

ordinances to settle simply what priesthood must do; verse

33, priestly discernment is again in exercise.)

e sabbath, the passover and the feast of unleavened

bread, as a whole

e very rst thing presented is the sabbath, as being

the end and the result of all the ways of God. e promise

is left us of entering into God’s rest. It is a feast to Jehovah;

but the feasts, which present rather the ways of God to

lead us there, begin again at the fourth verse, as we have

already said (compare verses 37-38). is distinction being

noticed, we can take the sabbath,1<P198> the passover

Leviticus 23

309

and the feast of unleavened bread as making a whole

(vss. 1-8). Of the two latter, the unleavened bread was the

feast, properly speaking; the passover was the sacrice on

which the<P199> feast was grounded. As the Apostle says,

“Christ our passover is sacriced for us: therefore let us

keep the feast, not with leaven,” etc.

(1. I shall here add a few words on the subject of the

sabbath, submitting them to the spiritual thoughts of my

brethren. It is well to be subject to the Word. First, the

participation in God’s rest is what distinguishes His people-

their distinctive privilege. e heart of the believer holds

that fast, whatever may be the sign that God has given of

it (Heb. 4). God had established it at the beginning; but

there is no appearance that man ever enjoyed in fact any

share in it. He did not work in the creation, nor was he set

to labor or toil in the garden of Eden; he was to dress and

keep it, indeed, but he had nothing to do but continually to

enjoy. However, the day was hallowed from the beginning.

Afterwards the sabbath was given as a memorial of the

deliverance out of Egypt (Deut. 5:15), and the prophets

specially insist on that point-that the sabbath was given as

a sign of God’s covenant (Ezek. 20; Ex. 31:13). It was plain

that it was but the earnest of the word, “My presence shall

go, and I will give thee rest” (Ex. 31:13; 33:14; Lev. 19:30).

It is a sign that the people are sanctied to God (Ezek.

20:12,13-16,20; Neh. 9:14: compare Isa. 56:2-6; 58:13; Jer.

17:22; Lam. 1:7; 2:6; Ezek. 22:8; 23:38; 44:24). Besides

these passages, we see that, whenever God gives any new

principle or form of relation with Himself, the sabbath

is added: thus in grace to Israel (Ex. 16:23); as law (Ex.

20:10). See also, besides the verse we are occupied with,

Exodus 31:13-14; 34:21; when they are restored afresh by

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the patience of God through mediation (ch. 35:2), and in

the new covenant of Deuteronomy already quoted in the

passage.

ese remarks show us what was the radical and

essential importance of the sabbath, as the thought of

God and the sign of the relation between His people and

Himself, though, being only a sign, a solemnity, and not in

itself a moral commandment; for the thing signied the

association with God in His rest, and is of the highest order

of truth in connecting the heart with God. But if that be

of the utmost importance, it is of an equal and even higher

importance to remember that the covenant between God

and the Jewish people is entirely set aside for us, and that

the sign of this covenant does not belong to us, although

God’s rest be yet quite as precious to us, and even more

so; that our rest is not in this creation-a rest of which the

seventh day was the sign; and moreover (which is more

important still) that the Lord Jesus is Lord of the sabbath,

a remark of all importance as to His Person, and null if He

was to do nothing with regard to the sabbath; and that, as

a fact, He has omitted all mention of it in the sermon on

the mount, where He has given such a precious summary

of the fundamental principles suited to the kingdom,

with the addition of the name of the Father and the fact

of a suering Messiah, and the revelation of the heavenly

reward, making a whole of the principles of His kingdom,

and that He uniformly thwarted the thoughts of the Jews

on this point; a circumstance which the evangelists (that is,

the Holy Spirit) have been careful to record. e sabbath

itself Jesus passed in a state of death, a terrible sign of the

position of the Jews as to their covenant-for us, of the birth

of much better things.

Leviticus 23

311

It has been tried, with much trouble, to prove that

the seventh day was, in fact, the rst. A single remark

demolishes the whole edice thus reared; it is, that the

Word of God calls this last the rst in contrast with the

seventh. What is, then, the rst day? It is for us the day of

all days-the day of the resurrection of Jesus, by which we

are begotten again unto a lively hope, which is the source of

all our joy, our salvation, and that which characterizes our

life. us we shall nd the rest of God in the resurrection.

Morally, in this world, we begin our spiritual life by the

rest, instead of nding it at the end of our labors. Our rest

is in the new creation; we are the beginning, after Christ,

who is the Head of it, of that new dispensation.

It is clear, then, that the rest of God cannot, in our case,

be connected with the sign of the rest of creation here

below. Have we any authority in the New Testament for

distinguishing the rst day of the week from the others?

For my part, I do not doubt it. It is certain we have not

commandments like those of the old law; they would be

quite contrary to the spirit of the gospel of grace. But the

Spirit of God has marked out, in divers manners, the rst

day of the week, though that day is not made binding upon

us in a way contrary to the nature of the economy. e

Lord, being raised on that day according to His promise,

appears in the midst of His disciples gathered according

to His word: the week following He does the same. In

the Acts the rst day of the week is marked as the day on

which they gathered together to break bread.

In 1 Corinthians 16 Christians are exhorted to lay

by what they had earned, each rst day of the week. In

Revelation it is positively called the Lord’s day, that is,

designated in a direct manner by a distinctive name by

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the Holy Spirit. I am well aware that it has been sought

to persuade us that John speaks of being in spirit in the

millennium. But there are two fatal objections to that

interpretation. First, the Greek says quite another thing,

and uses the same word that is used for the Lord’s supper,

lordly or dominical-the dominical supper, the dominical

day. Who can doubt as to the meaning of such an expression,

or, consequently, can fail to admit that the rst day of the

week was distinguished from others (as the Lord’s supper

was distinguished from other suppers), not as an imposed

sabbath, but as a privileged day? But the reasoning to prove

it refers to the millennium is founded on a totally false

idea, in that only a minimum portion of the Revelation

speaks of the millennium. e book is about the things

which precede it, and in the place where the expression is

found, there is decidedly no mention whatever of it, but

of the existing churches, whatever withal might be their

prophetic character; so that, if we hold to the Word of

God, we are forced to say that the rst day of the week

is distinguished in the Word of God as being the Lord’s

day. We are also bound to say, if we desire to maintain the

authority of the Son of Man, that He is superior to the

sabbath-“Lord of the sabbath”; so that in maintaining for

us the authority of the Jewish sabbath as such, we are in

danger of denying the authority, the dignity and the rights

of the Lord Jesus Himself, and of reestablishing the old

covenant, of which it was the appointed sign, of seeking

rest as the result of labor under the law. e more the true

importance of the sabbath, the seventh day, is felt, the more

we shall feel the importance of the consideration that it is

no longer the seventh, but the rst day which has privileges

for us. Let us take care, on the other hand, because we are

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313

no longer under law but under grace, not to weaken the

thought not only of man’s rest but of God’s-a governing

thought in the whole of the revelation of His relationships

with man. e nal rest for us is rest from spiritual labors

in the midst of evil, not merely from sin; a rest which we,

as fellow-laborers, shall enjoy with Him who has said, “My

Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”)

What was indeed necessary for the sabbath, for the rest

of God, was the sacrice of Christ, and purity; and though

all these feasts lead on to the rest of God, yet these two,

the passover and unleavened bread, are the basis of all, and

of the rest itself for us. Christ’s sacrice and the absence

of all principle of sin, form the basis of the part we have

in the rest of God. God is gloried in respect of sin; sin is

put away for us, out of His sight, and out of our hearts. e

perfect absence of leaven marked Christ’s path and nature

down here, and is accomplished in us, so far as we realize

Christ as our life, and recognize ourselves, though the esh

be still in us, as dead and risen with Him.1 It is thus that

we have seen the manna connected with the sabbath in

Exodus 16. To be without leaven was the perfection of

the Person of Christ living upon earth, and becomes in

principle the walk upon earth of him who is partaker of

His life. In the true and nal sabbath, of course, all leaven

will be absent from us. e sacrice of Christ and purity of

life render one capable of participating in God’s rest.

(1. ere are three points which we may notice here

as to this. First in Colossians 3 God counts us dead with

Christ (in Colossians also risen); in Romans 6 we reckon

ourselves dead to sin, and alive not in Adam, but through

Him; in 2Corinthians 4 it is practically carried out; always

bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that

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the life of Jesus may be manifested in our esh. Ephesians

is on dierent ground: we are not such as have died to sin,

but were dead in sins, and then a wholly new creation.

Sovereign grace has put us into Christ with the same power

that raised Christ from the grave to the throne of God.)

e rstfruits-Christ

After that comes power, the rstfruits; that is, the

resurrection of Christ on the morrow after the sabbath-

the rst day of the week. It was the beginning of the true

harvest-harvest gathered, by power, outside and beyond

the natural life of the world. According to the Jewish law

nothing of the harvest could be touched before: Christ was

the beginning, the rstborn from the dead. With this rst

of the rstfruits were oered sacrices for a sweet savor,

but not for sin. It is clear there was no need for it. It is

Christ who has been oered to God, quite pure, and waved

before God-placed fully before His eyes for us, as raised

from the<P200> dead, the beginning of a new crop before

God-man in a condition which not even innocent Adam

was in, the Man of God’s counsels, the second Man, the

last Adam: not, all hanging on obedience which might fail,

and did, but after God had been perfectly gloried in the

place of sin, past death, past sin (for He died unto sin), past

Satan’s power, past judgment, and consequently by this

wholly out of the scene where responsible man had stood,

on a totally new footing with God after His nished work,

and God perfectly gloried; such a work too as gave Him

title to say, “erefore doth my Father love me, because I

lay down my life, that I might take it again,” and made it

God’s righteousness to set Him at His right hand in glory.

Pentecost-rstfruits of those who are Christ’s

Leviticus 23

315

Connected with that comes the meat oering at the

end of the seven weeks. It is no longer Christ here, but

those who are His, the rstfruits of His creatures; they

are considered as being upon earth, and leaven is found

in them. erefore, though oered to God, they were not

burned as a sweet savor (Lev. 2:12); but with the loaves

was oered a sin oering, which answered by its ecacy

to the leaven found in them. ey are the saints of which

Pentecost commenced the ingathering.

e provision of grace-the church period

is feast was followed by a long space of time, in which

there was nothing new in the ways of God. Only they were

commanded, when they reaped the harvest, not to make

clean riddance of the corners of the eld. A part of the

good grain was to be left in the eld, after the harvest was

gathered into the garner, but not to be lost; it was for those

who were not enjoying the riches of God’s people, but who

would participate exceptionally by grace in the provision

which God had made for them-in the abundance which

God had granted them. is will take place at the end of

this age.

e feast of trumpets

Pentecostal work being ended, another series of events

begins

(vs. 23) with the words referred to, “And Jehovah spake

unto Moses.” ey blow upon the trumpet in the new

moon (compare Psalm 81; Numbers 10:3,10). It was the

renewal of the blessing<P201> and the splendor of the

people-Israel gathered as an assembly before Jehovah. It

is not yet the restoration of joy and gladness, but at least

the renewal of the light and reected glory which had

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disappeared takes place, and enlightens their expectant

eyes; and they gather the assembly to reestablish the glory.

But Israel must at least feel their sin; and in the solemn

feast which follows, the aiction of the people is connected

with the sacrice of the day of atonement: Israel shall look

on Him whom they have pierced, and mourn. e nation

(at least the spared remnant who become the nation) will

participate in the ecacy of the sacrice of Christ, and

that in their state here below, repenting, and recognized of

God, so that the times of refreshing will be come. is is

then the repentance of the people, but in connection with

the atoning sacrice. e ecacy is in the sacrice; their

participation in it is connected with the aiction of their

souls (compare Zechariah 12). But Israel did nothing-it

was a sabbath-they were assembled in humiliation in the

presence of God. ey accept the pierced One under the

sense of the sin of which they have been guilty in rejecting

Him.

e feast of tabernacles

en follows the feast of tabernacles. ey oered,

during seven days, oerings made by re unto Jehovah;

and on the eighth day there was again a holy convocation-

an extraordinary day of a new week which went beyond the

full time-including, I doubt not, the resurrection; that is,

the participation of those who are raised in that joy.

It was a solemn assembly-that eighth day, the great day

of the feast, on which the Lord (having declared of the

then time that His hour was not yet come to show Himself

to the world-His brethren [the Jews] not believing in Him

either) announced that for him who believed in Him there

would be, in the meanwhile, rivers of living water which

would ow from his belly; that is, the Holy Spirit, who

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317

would be a living power working in, and owing forth from

the heart, and in the expression of its intimate aections.

Israel had indeed drunk of the living water out of the rock

in the wilderness, the sojourn in which, now past when

the feast of tabernacles is celebrated, was celebrated with

joy in the memorial of that which was over, to enhance

the joy of the rest into<P202> which they were ushered.

But believers now meanwhile were not only to drink, for

blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed;

the river itself would ow from the heart; that is, the Holy

Spirit in power, which they would have received through

Christ before He should be manifested to the world, or

they have their place in the heavenly Canaan.

e joy of the millennium

us, the feast of tabernacles is the joy of the millennium,

when Israel has come out of the wilderness where their

sins have placed them; but to which will be added this rst

day of another week-the resurrection joy of those who are

raised with the Lord Jesus, to which the presence of the

Holy Spirit answers meanwhile.

e day of joy yet awaiting the center and spring of it

all

Consequently, we nd that the feast of tabernacles took

place after the increase of the earth had been gathered in,

and, as we learn elsewhere, not only after the harvest but

after the vintage also; that is, after separation by judgment,

and the nal execution of judgment on the earth, when

heavenly and earthly saints should be all gathered in. Israel

was to rejoice seven days before Jehovah.

e passover has had its antitype, Pentecost its also;

but this day of joy is yet awaiting Him who is to be the

center and spring of it all, the Lord Jesus, who will rejoice

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in the great congregation, and whose praise will begin with

Jehovah in the great assembly (Psa. 22). He had already

done it in the midst of the assembly of His brethren; but

now the whole race of Jacob is called to glorify Him, and

all the ends of the world shall remember themselves.

e feast of tabernacles kept only in the land

e expression, solemn assembly, is not found applied to

any of the feasts but this, except to the seventh day of the

passover (Deut. 16), as it seems to me somewhat in the

same sense. e feast of tabernacles could not be kept in

the wilderness. In order to observe it, the people were to

be in possession of the land, as is plain. It is also to be

observed, that it never was kept according to<P203> the

prescriptions of the law from Joshua till Nehemiah (Neh.

8:17). Israel had forgotten that they had been strangers in

the wilderness. Joy, without the remembrance of this, tends

to ruin; the very enjoyment of the blessing leads to it.

It will be remarked that, properly speaking, all the feasts

are types of what is done on earth and in connection with

Israel, unless we except the eighth day of tabernacles. e

church period, as such, is the lapse of time from Pentecost

to the seventh month. We may, and of course do, get the

benet of, at any rate, the two rst; but historically the type

refers to Israel.

Leviticus 24

319

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Leviticus 24

e feasts present the ways of God towards His people

on the earth

e remaining chapters of this book appear to me to

have a special bearing. e Spirit of God has presented,

in chapter 23, the history of the ways of God towards His

people upon earth from beginning to end, from Christ to

the millennial rest.

God’s work in relation to priesthood and apostasy

Chapter 24 presents rst the internal work, so to speak,

which related to priesthood alone on the one hand, and

the public sin of an apostate on the other-the fruit of

the alliance with an Egyptian who blasphemed Jehovah.

rough the care of priesthood (whatever might be God’s

public ways, and the state of Israel) the gracious light of the

Spirit would be maintained, and that particularly from the

evening until the morning-the time during which darkness

brooded over Israel.

Moreover, the incense which was on the memorial

of the bread, representing the twelve tribes of Israel,

was burned as a sweet smell to Jehovah, and the priests

identied themselves with the tribes by eating this bread-

the action of eating having the signicance of continued

identication.

Grace and judgment

us priesthood maintained the light with respect to

Israel, when all was darkness in the midst of them, and

the memorial of Israel was in sweet savor before God, the

priesthood identifying<P204> itself with them; although

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the people were in the eyes of man as lost, they exist through

the priesthood of Jesus on high, as a memorial before God.

ere is a certain sense in which the church participates in

this, as is explained doctrinally in Romans 11. is is only

as far as promise goes, and the being children of Abraham,

not the mystery in which we are taken up as lost sinners,

without promise, and placed by sovereign grace in the same

glory as the Lord Jesus. In Isaiah 54 we see that believers

are reckoned to Jerusalem, in grace, though she were a

widow.

Externally the judgment of cutting o and death

without mercy is executed against him that had cursed.

Leviticus 25

321

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Leviticus 25

e trumpet of jubilee

e land itself is held for Jehovah, as being His; it

must enjoy God’s rest; and moreover he who had lost his

inheritance therein should nd it again, according to the

counsels of God, at the appointed time. e trumpet of

the jubilee would sound and God would reestablish each

one in his possession, according to His (God’s) rights, for

the land was His. eir persons also were to be free then,

for the children of Israel were God’s servants. It was not so

with those not belonging to God’s people. And although

Israel have sold themselves to the stranger, He who made

Himself nigh of kin has redeemed them from his hands.

e day of jubilee will free the people, whatever may be the

power of those who hold them captives.

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72529

Leviticus 26

God’s ways in patience and chastisement, and His

unconditional promise

We have a touching picture of the ways of God in

patience and in chastisement, if Israel walked contrary

to Him. When they acknowledged their fault, then He

would remember the covenant made with their fathers,

with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. is was a covenant

made without condition, and with the land. en He

would remember the covenant made with their ancestors,

<P205>under His name of Jehovah, when they came out of

Egypt.1 God will take these two titles on their restoration:

Almighty, the name of His relationship with the fathers;

and Jehovah, the name of His relationship with the people,

viewed as taken to Himself at their coming out of Egypt.

(1. I take this to be the covenant of Exodus 6, not the law.

It connected itself directly with the covenant made with

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, adding the name of Jehovah,

and taking up the people under that name.)

Leviticus 27

323

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Leviticus 27

God’s rights in all devoted to Him; His absolute title

e last chapter (ch. 27) treats of the rights and the

appointments of God in all that relates to things which

are devoted to Him through the medium of priesthood.

is necessarily nds its place in that which treats of

priesthood; but it has, I doubt not, a much wider meaning.

e subject treated is that of him who devotes himself to

God, and that of the lands belonging to Him-of the rights

of Israel, whose possession it was not, and of their selling

it to others.

As to Christ, He oered Himself without spot to God;

He was valued at a low price. Israel by right belonged to

Jehovah. As Emmanuel’s land, the Israelites only enjoyed

the land without being proprietors, and they could only

pledge it till jubilee; it would then return to its possessor

as Emmanuel’s land. Israel (looked at as the possessor of

the gift of God) not having redeemed it when sold to the

stranger, when the jubilee comes the land will be absolutely

the Lord’s; the priest will possess it. In Zechariah 11Christ

is thus valued, “whom they of the children of Israel did

value.”

I only point out the principle presented in the chapter,

without pretending to enter into all the details of

application which may suggest themselves. e principle

is the important thing to enable one to understand the

purpose of God; in the case of any vow, whether it be

redeemed or not; or of land, whether it shall return in the

day of jubilee, when God shall take possession again of His

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rights in the land of Israel, and cause to enter those whose

right it is.

us the government of God, resulting in His return in

grace to His unconditional promise and (earthly) purpose

are given to us<P206> in chapter 26, and the absolute title

of Jehovah in chapter 27. Chapter 26 is, in fact, a parenthesis

showing God’s ways, with return to His promise in grace;

chapter 25, man’s redeeming, if he could, or his kinsman;

chapter 27, God’s absolute title.

e judgment entrusted to the priest shows plainly it

is to Christ as Priest and King

It is to be observed also that the judgment is according to

the judgment of the priest. But although this be attributed

to the priest, it is to the king in Jeshurun (the upright) that

the appreciation is entrusted. is shows plainly who is to

do it, and under what character, though being according to

the discernment, the grace and the rights of priesthood. It

is Christ as Priest, but Christ as King in Israel, who will

order all that.<P207>

Numbers

325

72531

Numbers

e scope and connection of Leviticus and Numbers

e Book of Leviticus contains the revelation of God

sitting upon the throne, where He places Himself that

He may be approached by the people, as far as they could

come; that of the priesthood brought into proximity to the

throne, as far as men could have access to it; and then the

promulgation of the commandments relative to these two

great facts, in that which concerned the generality of the

people.

In Numbers we have the service and walk of the

people, guratively of the saints through this world: and,

consequently, that which relates to the Levites, and the

journey through the wilderness. Now, as Leviticus ended

with regulations and warnings respecting the possession

of the land, and that with regard to the rights of God,

and consequently to the rights of His people, the Book of

Numbers brings us through the wilderness to the moment

before the entrance of the people into the land at the end

of the wilderness journey, and speaks of that grace which

justies the people at the close, notwithstanding all their

unfaithfulness.

e wilderness journey

It is important to keep in mind that as to the ecacy of

redemption the people were brought to God at Sinai (Ex.

15:13; 19:4). All in this respect was complete (compare

the thief on the cross and Colossians 1:12). e wilderness

journey is a distinct thing; no part of the purpose of God,

but of His ways with us. Hence it is here “if” comes in

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and the time of testing. Jordan coalescing with the Red

Sea, coming out and going in (only the ark was in Jordan),

there was no question of judgment or enemies. It is the

experimental realization of our death and resurrection with

Christ. But as to the journey we must reach the goal to get

in.<P208>

Numbers 1-2

327

72532

Numbers 1-2

God numbers and arranges His people around His

tabernacle

e rst thing to be noticed is that God numbers His

people exactly, and arranges them, once thus recognized,

around His tabernacle: sweet thought, to be thus

recognized and placed around God Himself! But here it

had no reference to calling by faith, but to families, and

households, and tribes. at order was carefully maintained

when encamped at rest, or on their march; but it was the

order of a nation and its tribes. God dwelt there, but the

unity of the body, or of the Spirit-union in any sense-had

no place.

ree tribes on each side of the court kept the

tabernacle of Jehovah. Levi alone was excepted, in order

to be consecrated to the service of God: therefore the tribe

of Levi encamped according to their families immediately

around the court. Moses, Aaron and the priests were placed

opposite the entrance whereby God was approached. e

least things in the Word deserve to be noticed. Psalm 80

is entirely opened by the position of the tribes. e spirit

of the psalmist asks, in the last days of the desolation of

Israel, for God to lead them and to manifest His power as

He did when He led them through the wilderness; he asks

for the power of His presence on the ark of testimony, as

God manifested it when it was said, at the moment when

Israel set forward, “Rise up, Jehovah, and let thine enemies

be scattered.” Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh were the

three tribes nearest the ark in the camp of Israel; that is

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why it is said, in verse 2 of the psalm, “Before Ephraim,

Benjamin, and Manasseh.”

In the setting forward of the camp, the order given was

that the tabernacle, surrounded by the Levites, should be

in the midst of the tribes, as it was when the camp was at

rest (ch. 2:17). It was in the midst of them as of an army

that was its guard, as the rallying point of worship and

approach when the camp was at rest. ey kept the charge

of the Lord.

In chapter 10 we shall nd that another arrangement

took place as a matter of fact: of this, in its place.<P209>

Numbers 3

329

72533

Numbers 3

e Levites set apart for service

In chapter 3 we have the Levites set apart, according to

the thoughts of God, for service. ey are a gure of the

church, or rather of the members of the church in their

service, even as the priests are the gure of Christians

drawing near to the throne of God, though both be a

shadow, not a perfect image.

e Levites and the church as rstfruits

e Levites were rstfruits oered to God, for they were

instead of the rstborn in whom God had taken Israel to

Himself, when He smote the rstborn of the Egyptians.

us it is that the church1 is, as the rstfruits of the

creatures of God, holy to the Lord. e number of the

rstborn being greater than that of the Levites, those that

were over were redeemed, as a sign that they belonged

to God, and the Levites became God’s possession for

His service (vss. 12-13). It is the same with regard to the

church: it belongs wholly to God to serve Him down here.

(1. I speak always of the church here in its individual

members as indicating the class of persons.)

e church’s service wholly dependent on Christ and

His priesthood

But, besides, the Levites were entirely given to Aaron

the high priest; for the service of the church, or of its

members, is wholly dependent on Christ in the presence of

God, and has no other object but that which concerns Him,

and that which is connected with, and ows from the place

and service which He Himself renders to God in the true

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tabernacle, carrying out in service here the ends for which

He is in the holy place up there; but directly connected

with the sanctuary-that is for us heaven, for we belong to

heaven, and our walk and all our service is referred to, and

characterized by our connection with it. Our conversation

(living association) is in heaven; we purify ourselves as He

is pure, and are called to walk worthy of God, who has

called to His own kingdom and glory-worthy of the Lord

unto all pleasing. Only, the veil <P210>being rent, we are

much more fully connected with that than the Levites were

even in gure. e service of the saints has no value (on the

contrary, it is sin), except as it is united to the priesthood

(that is, to Christ on high, in the presence of God for us,

with whom we, indeed, are also associated in this nearness,

priests by grace); and hence all is accomplished in direct

reference to Him in that heavenly character.

In all its details, consequently, our service is absolutely

good for nothing, if it be not linked with our communion

with the Lord and with the priesthood of Christ. Christ

is “Son over his own house.” “ere are dierences of

administrations, but the same Lord.” e Holy Spirit gives

the capacity and the gift for service; but in the exercise of

this capacity and of this gift, we are the servants of Christ.

e three principles of service

us, as regards our service, we have these three

principles:

(1) we are redeemed, delivered from the judgments,

under which are the enemies of God, being taken from the

midst of those enemies; (2) as a consequence of this rst fact,

we belong absolutely to God; bought with a price, we are

no longer our own, but God’s, to glorify Him in our bodies

which are His; (3) we are entirely given to Christ, who is

Numbers 3

331

the Head of the house of God, the Priest, for the service of

His tabernacle. Blessed bondage, happy self-renunciation,

true deliverance from a world of sin! Service is rendered

in dependence on Christ, and in the communion of the

Lord: it is linked to the priesthood and ows from and is

connected with Himself, and the place where He is, and

with which He has connected our hopes, our lives and the

aections of our hearts. We serve from, and in view of that:

“To present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”

Service exercised in the midst of God’s people

Service appears to be limited to the tabernacle, that is, to

be exercised in the midst of God’s people and in connection

with their drawing near to God. For the preaching of the

gospel to those without made no part of the Jewish system,

which was the shadow, but not the perfect image, of the

present state of things. e gospel is the expression of grace

visiting sinners, to eect<P211> their salvation, a love that

goes actively out. e institution of the Levites is here

presented to us in principle: we shall nd, further on, their

purication and their consecration to God.

e dierence between the service of the Levites and

that of the church

We may remark here that with regard to that which is

most elevated in the calling of the church, all her members

are one. e priests, the high priest excepted, accomplished,

all equally or together, the service of the oerings to God.

And so it is with the church; all its members equally draw

near unto God, and are in the same relationship with

Him. (A priest acting for another Israelite who brought

an oering, or who had sinned, represented rather Christ

Himself.)

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332

e order of the service of the Levites, on the other

hand, was according to the sovereignty of God, who put

each one in his place. us, in the service of the church, the

greatest dierences are found, and each one has his own

place assigned him.

Diversity of services dependent on the sole authority

of the Master

e same thing will likewise, I believe, take place in the

glory (compare Ephesians 4; 1Corinthians 12). All are

conformed to the likeness of the Son; but as each has been

lled with the Holy Spirit for service, and thus according to

the counsels of God, they-to whom it is given of the Father

to sit on the right hand or on the left-are over ten cities or

ve. All enter together into the joy of their Lord. We are

all brethren, having only one Master. But the Master gives

grace to each according to His own will, according to the

counsels of God the Father. He who denies brotherly unity

denies the sole authority of the Master. He who denies

the diversity of services equally denies the authority of the

Master who disposes of His servants as He pleases, and

chooses them according to His wisdom and His divine

rights.<P212>

Numbers 4

333

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Numbers 4

Arrangements for the carriage of the utensils for

God’s service

Next in order come the arrangements prescribed for the

carrying of the things which the tabernacle contained, as

well as their coverings, when the camp journeyed in the

wilderness. I shall point out what appears to be the typical

meaning of these prescribed ordinances. is is full of

interest and of practical importance.

After the instructions intended to teach us how it is

given to us to draw near God, the connection between the

manifestations of God in Christ, and our walk here below,

are for us what is most essential.

Now, this last subject is the one treated of in type, in the

arrangements made for the carriage of the chief utensils

destined for the service of God. When they were in their

place, while the camp rested, they were uncovered. ose

which were shut up within the tabernacle had reference to

heaven; the altar and the laver were outside, before coming

to it.

In the wilderness, these utensils put on certain characters,

one of them especially; but others also, in certain cases. I

consider them, therefore, as the manifestation of certain

relationships existing between the walk of the Christian,

and various manifestations of God in Christ.1

(1. I say the walk of the Christian, applying it to our

consciences; but the expression is imperfect, for the subject

seems to me to embrace the life of Christ Himself upon

earth, and even, in some respects, His life in the time to

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334

come, but always upon earth. ey show the relationship

between the manifestation of life here below, the forms

and the characters it assumes, and the sources of life in the

manifestation of God in Christ: a subject of the deepest

interest. e badgers’ skins, and the circumstances with

which this book is occupied, still suppose the walk to be

in the wilderness. It is only when we abstract, as to these

circumstances, that we see the manifestation of things to

come. us faith, that of the thief on thc cross, for example,

saw, in Christ’s suering, the King, though all was hidden.

I have therefore alluded to it without fear. I only present

the idea contained in the type, without unfolding all the

consequences of it.)

e ark of the covenant

e ark of the covenant represented the throne of God

in heaven, the holiness and the justice which are there

manifested in God. It was rst of all covered with the veil

of the humanity of Christ, such as He was here below

in His Person; that is, that <P213> divine holiness and

righteousness have clothed themselves in humanity. Over

this were the badgers’ skins.

e badgers’ skins coverings

We have seen, in these skins, that practical and watchful

holiness down here which keeps itself from the evil to

which we are liable in passing through the wilderness.

However, when there is an immediate connection with

what God is in heaven itself (and it is thus that He Himself

was manifested in Christ), the entirely heavenly character,

which results therefrom, manifests itself outside.

e covering wholly of blue

Hence, outside even the badgers’ skins, there was a

covering wholly of blue. is was what appeared in the

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wilderness. is is what took place with regard to Christ:

the ark, by the way, in the wilderness nds no perfect

antitype but Himself, considered in His personal walk

down here. Nevertheless, the walk of the believer, in as far

as it reaches towards this height, has also its expression in

this type.

e table of showbread, its loaves and coverings

After the ark comes the table of showbread; it was a

gure of Christ in the divine perfection of justice and

holiness, according to the power of the eternal Spirit, in

connection with the perfection of human administration,

which manifests itself in the number twelve and in the

loaves, of which the twelve tribes, and the twelve apostles,

were the expression. Here the heavenly covering was placed

immediately upon the golden table; the part properly

divine put on the heavenly character. Upon this covering

were put the utensils and the loaves, which were covered

over with a second covering of scarlet (that is, as it appears

to me, human glory and splendor).1is glory and this

splendor were of God, but they were human. Over all were

the badgers’ skins to preserve the<P214> whole from evil.

is external protection is always needful for anyone, save

the Person of Christ. Christ was assuredly sheltered from

evil; but it was in an internal and deeper manner. at

which was heavenly was seen in Him at the rst glance by

those who had eyes to see: “e second man . . . is the Lord

from heaven.”

(1. It is the idea which has been suggested to me by the

examination of all the passages in the Word where scarlet is

mentioned. Saul adorned the maidens of Israel with scarlet

and other delights. Babylon is clothed with scarlet. e

color of the beast is scarlet. Scarlet was cast into the re

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when the leper, and he who was deled by a dead body,

were puried. Scarlet is a very brilliant color.)

As regards us, we have within ourselves that which is

heavenly; but we must keep it carefully, with a vigilance

most decided, and commensurate with the evil we are

passing through, and from which it is of consequence

we should keep ourselves. erefore Christ, in His

relationship with the government of the world in Israel

in the age to come, will put on, in principle, that which is

here represented by the badgers’ skins, which, in the case

of the ark, were inside. ere will be in Him the divine

character, then the heavenly, then the perfection of human

government covered over with the brightness of the glory.

In His passage in the wilderness, all this was guarded by

a power which, in the wisdom of God, repelled all evil. In

the manifestation of the kingdom it will be in the judicial

exercise of power. But here we treat of the wilderness. e

principle is the same, the repelling of evil, of all injury to

the holy thing entrusted to be guarded; only one is moral

and spiritual power, the other judicial (see Psalm 101).

e candlestick and its coverings

Next to the table of showbread came the candlestick,

covered with a cloth of blue and badgers’ skins. It was the

spiritual perfection of the light of the Spirit; that which

covered it was simply heavenly, with the covering of badgers’

skins, the guard against the injuries which the entrusted

grace might receive in the wilderness. All its utensils bore

the same character.

e altar of incense and its coverings

e altar of incense (spiritual intercession) was covered

in the same manner. I leave these to the spiritual reections

of the reader, and the intelligence of that which has been

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337

explained in its principles. It was so with all that was

contained in the holy place, for the sanctuary represented

the heavenly places.

e brazen altar and its coverings

With regard to the brazen altar it was dierent. Its

covering was<P215> a purple cloth, the royal color. If we

suer, we shall reign. ere is a connection between the

cross and the crown upon the earth and in heaven. us

was it with Christ, the King of the Jews, according to the

superscription written on the cross; and the very throne

of God was the answer to His suerings, inasmuch as He

was the burnt oering, oered according to the power of

the eternal Spirit acting in man, according to the exigency

of the divine majesty.1 But what was thus crowned was

perfection itself; that which was being accomplished in

man, according to the energy of the eternal Spirit, was

also divine; so that the Lord could say, “erefore doth my

Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take

it again.”

(1. e comparison of Psalms 19, 20, 21 and 22 is, under

this point of view, most interesting. Psalm 19 contains

testimonies of the creation and the law; Psalm 20 presents

Messiah suering, but externally, so that man can take

an interest in Him; Psalm 21, Messiah exalted, and, as a

consequence, vengeance striking His enemies who had

rejected Him; Psalm 22, His suerings as forsaken by God

Himself. is is the expression of Christ alone, while in

Psalms 20 and 21 the Jewish remnant was speaking of His

outward suerings. ere is no vengeance in connection

with those suerings consequent on His being forsaken

of God, for it was expiation; there is nothing but blessing,

which the mouth of the Saviour announces, and to which

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He Himself responded by praising in the midst of His

saints. is blessing will extend to the ends of the earth

during the millennium.)

However, that which was divine in the act, was divine

in the sense of the eternal Spirit acting in man, while the

Godhead itself was the source of it, and on that title it would

claim the glory of the Godhead. e circumstances of the

death of Jesus were consequent upon His humanity-a truth

most precious to us. He was crucied through weakness;

He was delivered into the hands of the Gentiles; His throat

was dried up, while He waited on His God. He was perfect

in all these things. ey were manifested outwardly, seen

of men: it was man. He who could look within saw Him

who through the eternal Spirit oered Himself without

spot to God.

us all that related to the service was placed on purple;

the altar was under this covering. e badgers’ skins here,

as always, were spread over all.2<P216>

(2. e laver is not among the things to which these

commands relate. e reason for this omission is apparent

from the explanation we have just given of these gures,

and conrms this explanation. e laver did not represent

a manifestation of God, the ecacy of which is reproduced

in the Christian life, or in the glory of Christ; but a means

for the purication of man. ese directions here, only

summarily entered on, seem to me, if entered into with

spiritual intelligence, full of the deepest import and

interest.)

Numbers 5

339

72535

Numbers 5

e purity of the camp as God’s dwelling-place in its

passage through the world

Let us pursue the study of the book. Chapter 5 presents

three things, in connection with the purity of the camp,

looked at as the dwelling-place of God, and in connection

with our pilgrim passage through the wilderness, which is

the great subject of the Book of Numbers; a passage in

which all is put to the test, and in which the presence of

God ungrieved in the midst of us is our only security and

guidance and strength.

Delement purged, wrong done amended, and

jealousy tested

Every delement was to be purged out.

God took knowledge of the wrong done there against

a brother. If this be always true, it is the more so when

applied to the wrong done to Him, who has not been

ashamed to call us His brethren. When the trespass could

not be recompensed to the person who had suered the

wrong, or to his kinsman, it was due to God in the person

of the priest, beside the sin oering. In God’s camp no

wrong could be committed without amends being made

for it.

en comes the question of jealousy. If the faithfulness

of Israel, the church or an individual, to God or to Christ,

be questioned, there must be the trial of it. It seems to me

that the dust of the tabernacle was the power of death in

God’s presence, fatal to the natural man, but precious, as the

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death of sin, for him who has life. e water is the power of

the Holy Spirit acting by the Word on the conscience.

Unfaithfulness manifested and judged by the Spirit of

God

e power of the Holy Spirit judging thus (according

to the sentence of death against the esh), the state of

unfaithfulness which was thought to be hidden from

the true husband of the people, makes the sin manifest,

and brings down the chastening and the curse upon the

unfaithful one, and that evidently by the just judgment of

God. Drinking death, according to the power of the Spirit,

is life to the soul. “By these things,” says Hezekiah, “men

live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit”; even

when they are the<P217> eect of chastening, which is

not always necessarily the case. But if any of the accursed

things be hidden-if there be unfaithfulness towards Jesus,

undetected, it may be, by man, and God puts it to the test;

if we have allowed ourselves to be enticed by him who has

the power of death, and the holy power of God is occupied

with death, and comes to deal with this power of the

enemy-the concealed evil is laid bare, the esh is reached;

its rottenness and its powerlessness are made manifest,

however fair its appearances may be. But if we be free from

unfaithfulness, the result of the trial is only negative; it

shows that the Spirit of holiness nds nothing to judge,

when He applies death according to the holiness of God.

e oering displaying God’s judgment of our ways

In the oering without either oil or frankincense, the

woman is set before God, according to the judgment of

God displayed against sin, in His holiness and majesty,

when Christ was made sin for us. Sin which is confessed

has never that eect; for the conscience is puried from it

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341

by Christ. e unfaithfulness here spoken of is that of the

heart of Israel-of the church to Christ. All these things

apply, not to the acceptance of the believer, or of the church

as to righteousness-that is treated of where drawing near

to God is in question-but to the judgment of our ways in

the wilderness journey, inasmuch as God is in our midst.

Unfaithfulness in heart

e church would do well to consider how far she has

given herself to another. ere are some, assuredly, among

its members who have not done it in heart. If Christ did not

discover the iniquity, and cause it to be judged, He would

be, so to speak, identied with the iniquity of the bride,

and thus deled thereby (vs. 31); He will therefore surely

do so. What is here said of the church may be equally said

of each one of its members: remembering here also, that

the question is one, not of salvation, but of the walk down

here, the walk in the wilderness being ever the subject of

this book.1 Let us also observe that the soul, or the church,

can, in<P218> other respects, show a zeal, an extraordinary

devotedness, which are indeed sincere, while it falls into

a fault which it conceals from itself up to a certain point.

But nothing can counterbalance unfaithfulness to one’s

husband.

(1. Looked at as a professing whole, or as an individual

who makes profession, there may be the discovery that

there is nothing real; as the case has been in Israel according

to the esh and will be also in the professing church. ey

have been unfaithful to their husband.)

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72536

Numbers 6

e Nazarite and his separation to God

e Nazarite presents to us another character connected

with the walk of the Spirit down here-special separation

and devotedness to God. ey separated themselves unto

Him. Christ is the perfect example of this. e church

ought to tread in His footsteps. Cases of special call to

devote oneself to the Lord come under this class.

Marks of the Nazarite

ere were three things connected with this separation.

e Nazarite was to drink no wine; he was to let his hair

grow; and he was not to make himself unclean for the

dead. Wine designated the joy derived from the pleasures

of society, which rejoice the heart of those who give

themselves up to them. “Wine which cheereth God and

man.” From the moment Christ began His public service,

He was separated from all that nature had its just part in.

Invited with His disciples to a marriage, He says to His

mother, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” But, in

fact, even His disciples knew Him “after the esh.”1 His

communion with them was, as to the capacity of their

fellowship in it, on the ground of the presenting of the

kingdom then as come in the esh.

(1. It is a striking fact that in no one case did His

disciples understand what He said when He expressed

what was in His heart. is was utter isolation.)

e Nazarite character of Christ

As to this too, however, He must take His separate

and Nazarite character, and, true as His aection was for

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343

His disciples, even in that human sphere where He, who

saw through weakness, delighted in the true “excellent of

the earth,” the poor of the ock that waited on Him, yet

He must be separated from this joy too. “I will not drink

henceforth of this fruit of the vine,” says the Lord,<P219>

“until that day when I shall drink it new with you in my

Father’s kingdom.” He separated Himself indeed from that

communion which, miserable as even His own were, His

love had led Him to desire to have with them. He had

said, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with

you.” ese natural aections were already denied, because

God’s consecration was upon His head. “What have I to

do with thee?” had already expressed this to His mother. It

is not that He had not the most tender aection for her;

but now He was separated from everything to be God’s.1

(1. e dierence of these two phases of the Nazarite

character of Christ in His life and in His death is not so

great as might appear. He was ever separated from human

joy as from all evil-there was no honey as there was no

leaven, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief as

passing in holy love through a world of sinners-His love

driven back, and thus Himself straitened and pent up: the

atonement opened its sluices. He is now, in fact, outwardly

made separate from sinners. e early rejection of His

mother’s claim in John has its natural place in John, because

in that Gospel He stands from the beginning apart in His

own Person, and the Jews are a rejected people.)

Renunciation of self in consecration to God

Secondly, the Nazarite let his hair grow: it was neglecting

self in yielding oneself to the will of God, renouncing

one’s dignity and rights as a man; for a head of long hair

marked, on the one hand, in a man, the neglect of his

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person; and on the other, subjection- power on the head.1

It was consecration to God in the giving up of the joy, the

dignity and the natural rights of man (man considered as

the center of the aections proper to him), and that to be

wholly God’s.

(1. 1Corinthians 11:10.)

Christ the complete Nazarite

Man has his place as the representative and the glory of

God, and in that place he is encompassed by a multitude

of aections, joys and rights, which have their center in

himself. He can give up this place for the special service of

God, seeing that sin has entered into all these things, which,

far from being bad in themselves, are, on the contrary, good

in their proper place. is Christ has done. Having made

Himself a Nazarite, He did not take His place as a man,

His rights as Son of Man; but, for the glory of God, He

made Himself completely subject; He submitted to all

that that glory required. He identied Himself with the

godly remnant<P220> of the sinful people whom He had

loved, and became a stranger to His mother’s children. He

did nothing that was not prescribed to Him; He lived by

the word that proceeded out of the mouth of God; He

separated Himself from all the links of human life to devote

Himself to the glory, the service of God, and obedience to

Him. If He found, in the love of His own, any consolation,

which can only have been very small and poor, He had to

give up this also, and with regard to this, as to everything

else, become, in His death, a complete Nazarite, alone in

His separation to God. e church should have followed

Him; but alas! she has taken strong drink; she has eaten

and drunk with the drunken, and has begun to smite the

servants of the house.

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345

e believer may be called to deny himself, for the

precious service of his Saviour, in things which are not

bad in themselves. But this act is accomplished inwardly.

“Her Nazarites were purer than snow,” says Jeremiah.

Devotedness is inward. It is proper to consider here to

what those who fail in this separation expose themselves.

Failure and loss, seen in Samson’s extreme and solemn

case

If we have devoted ourselves to the Lord in a way which

is pleasing in His sight, enjoyment follows this devotedness

in the measure of the testimony which is rendered to

Him. God is with His servant according to His call; but

it is a secret between His servant and Himself, though the

external eects are seen by others. If we have failed in this

separateness, we must begin all afresh: divine inuence and

power in the work are lost. ere may be nothing amiss in

other respects; we may arise to shake ourselves, like Samson,

but we have lost our strength without being aware of it.

God is no longer with us. e case of Samson is an extreme

but a solemn one; for it may be that our strength has placed

us in the presence of evil, and then, if God be with us, His

magnicent glory manifests itself; but if not with us, the

enemy has the sad opportunity of glorying over one long

known as a champion for God, and apparently over God

Himself. In this second alternative the inward secret, the

true strength of separation unto God, was lost.

Let us beware, in ordinary things, of the rst step

that would separate us from inward holiness, and that

separation of heart to<P221> Him which gives us His

secret, light from above on all that is around; for the secret

of the Lord is with them that fear Him. If grace has called

us to separation for an extraordinary service in anything

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whatever, let us keep ourselves from any lack of obedience

to the word of the cross, whereby we are crucied to the

world, sin and the law.1

(1. ese are the three things to which the cross is

applied in the Epistle to the Galatians.)

Beginning again

Generally, the unfaithful Nazarite returns to his

separation, through the sacrice of Christ; he is consecrated

anew to God.1 But anything which brings us into contact

with sin produces its eect on our Nazariteship. We lose the

power attached to the communion of God, and the special

presence of the Spirit with us, whatever be the measure in

which this power was granted to us. Alas! the time which

has preceded is lost: we must begin again. It is great grace

that all privilege of serving God is not taken from us; but

though it be not, we suer something from the eects

of our unfaithfulness, when the power is restored unto

us. A blind Samson was obliged to kill himself in killing

his enemies. It belongs to us, in any case, immediately

to acknowledge our delement, to go to Christ, and not

pretend to be Nazarites externally, when we are not so in

the eyes of God. Nothing is more perilous than the service

of God, when the conscience is not pure: however, let us

ever recollect that we are under grace.

(1. It is not here his own conscience repuried as to guilt.

at is never done. All through here it is not redemption,

but the walk of a professing people who have to say to

God.)

Nazarite separation and self-denial are not forever

is separateness and this self-denial are not forever.

Even Christ will not always be a Nazarite. He will know

fullness of joy with God and His own. He will say, “Eat, O

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347

friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.” It is by the

alone power of the Spirit that we are separated from that

which is evil, and often even from that which is natural, to be

vessels of service and enjoyment, a testimony to God in the

midst of evil. e time will come when, evil being removed,

we shall be able to gratify our nature, but it<P222> will be

a new one; a time in which the operation of the power of

the Holy Spirit will only produce joy, and when everything

surrounding us will be in communion with us. en Christ

will take a place which it was impossible for Him to take

heretofore, although He was ever the perfect, sociable man,

perfectly accessible to sinners because He was thoroughly

separated from them, and set apart for God inwardly, and

had denied Himself,1 to live only by the words of God.

(1. Not, of course, that there was any evil nature in Him

to deny as there is in us, but in will and nature where there

was no evil; as, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?”

which I take only as an example. On the cross when all was

nished, He carefully owned her. Honey could not be in a

sacrice any more than leaven.)

Such is the life of God here below. at which He has

created cannot be bad. God forbid we should think it! Such

an assertion is a sure sign of the latter days. Christ could

think about His mother with tenderness, when the work of

His soul on the cross was done. But the Holy Spirit comes

in as a power foreign to this life, and takes up man to make

him go through it according to that power; so that, the

more man is a stranger to it himself, the more he is able to

show, and does indeed show, sympathy to those who are

there according to God. Anything else is only monkish.

If we are truly free within, we can sympathize with that

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which is outside; if we are not so, we shall become monks,

with the vain hope of obtaining this freedom.

e Nazarite vow fullled

Lastly, when the Nazarite vow was fullled, all the

sacrices were oered, and the hair of the head of his

separation was burned in the re which consumed

the sacrice of the peace oerings: a type of the full

communion which is the result of the sacrice of Christ.

When, in the time xed by God, the sacrice of Christ

shall have obtained, in its eects, its full and entire ecacy,

the energizing power of separation will merge in the

communion which will be the happy consequence of this

sacrice. We are thankful to know that the power of the

Holy Spirit, now spent, in a great measure in checking the

lusts of the esh, will then be wholly a power of joy in God,

and of communion with all that will surround us.<P223>

e ways of God when the Nazarite vow is ended

Let us now speak of the ways of God when the Nazarite

vow is ended. en the result of the work of Christ will

be produced; all the varied ecacy of His sacrice will be

acknowledged; His people will enter into the communion

of His joy; wine will be taken with joy. Jesus Himself

awaits that time. I believe this specially applies to His

people here below, to the Jewish remnant in the latter days.

eir partaking of the Holy Spirit will be joy and delight.

Something similar, however, awaits us, but in a still better

way. So we have this joy by anticipation up to a certain

point; for the Holy Spirit produces these two things, the

joy of communion, and separation in loneliness for the

service of God. It is a little what the Apostle means in

these words to the Corinthians, “Death worketh in us, but

life in you.” However, it can always be said of all Christians,

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349

“I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with

you.”

God ends by putting His blessing and His name on

the people

After having placed the people around Himself-having

counted them by name, having arranged the service,

cleansed the camp (which is distinct from the cleansing of

deled individuals, a subject which belongs to Leviticus),

and shown the true position of the devoted servant, a

position which Israel might have taken, and which Christ,

true servant, set apart for God, has taken-God ends by

putting His blessing and His name on the people. e

blessing places them under the keeping, the grace, and in

the peace of Jehovah; and eectively Jehovah rst blessed

them in a general way; then, in making His face to shine

upon them, He caused them to enjoy His grace; lastly, in

lifting up His countenance upon them, He gave them the

assurance of peace.

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72537

Numbers 7

United free-will oerings follow purity of the camp,

Nazarite consecration and God’s blessing

Here ends this part of the book. e camp, arranged

according<P224> to God’s order, is placed under His

blessing.1ereupon the princes of the people oer a free-

will oering to Jehovah, for the service of the sanctuary

and the dedication of the altar according to the number of

the tribes. is was done with a common understanding,

each oering the same, and as to the wagons; jointly not

the service of the sanctuary, but the united devotedness

and free-will oerings of the people for the service and

consecration of the altar when the people came to God.

It was done in tribes; they were Israel’s gifts in the nitely

perfect unity of the twelve-none wanting in the orderly

unity, and as a whole as that completeness stood before God

in that day. en we have the form of the communications

of Jehovah to Moses to instruct him in the way. We see

that it is in the tabernacle from between the cherubim. It is

not now a law to the people from Sinai, a covenant, but the

regulation of a people in connection with God.

(1. Note, chapters 5-6 give the cleansing of the camp in

every way from impurity and wrong, and the consecration

of the Nazarite to God, and the blessing. en comes

the free-will oering. Purity of the camp and personal

separation to God-holiness in its twofold character,

negative cleansing, and positive consecration to God. en

the freewill oering. e putting of the name follows the

cleansing and consecration.)

Numbers 8-9

351

72538

Numbers 8-9

e pure golden candlestick and its light

Chapter 8 speaks of the candlestick.1e lamps were

to make the light shine from it, and cause that light to be

diused around and before it. is is the case when that

which is the vessel of the Holy Spirit shines with the light

of God. Whether it be Israel or the church, it throws light

before it. “Let your light so shine before men, that they

may see your good works, and glorify your Father which

is in heaven.” It is because the profession of the Christian

is clear and unequivocal that men, seeing his good works,

know to whom to attribute them. e candlestick was of

pure gold only, beaten work; it was properly divine, and

that only, God’s light in the sanctuary. e twelve loaves,

connected with what was divine, were the government of

God in man; the table was of wood, though overlaid with

gold; the number we have seen as marking<P225> divine

government, but in man, specially true of Israel, but the

testimony of God in light is purely divine.

(1. e introduction of this type at this place shows how

much the order of the types, and their introduction in such

or such a place, refers to the things typied and to their

moral order.)

e purication of the Levites and their consecration

to Jehovah’s service

We have next the purication of the Levites and their

consecration to the service of Jehovah. is pregures the

consecration of the members of the church to God for

service. e Levites were sprinkled,1 then shorn like the

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lepers, and their clothes washed, all their manifested life

puried according to the purication of the sanctuary, their

ways suited to the service of God. After that the whole

people laid their hands upon them, and they laid theirs

upon the sacrices. In the oerings which accompanied

their consecration there was no peace oering, because it

was a question of service and not of communion; but the

sacrices which represented the ecacy of the atonement,

and the devotedness unto death of the Lord Jesus, were

oered, and characterized the ground and nature of their

service. ey are the double character of the death of

Christ. e meat oering was there also with the burnt

oering; all that constituted Christ as an oering to God,

glorifying God in death as regards sin, bearing sins, and

also in living perfection and devotedness fully tried in the

re, were found. In the application the sin oering comes

rst.

(1. e leper was washed, not merely sprinkled. He

was outside the camp, wholly unclean before God. It

was cleansing, not consecration; he had been, before the

washing, brought under the blood-sprinkling-the full,

abiding ecacy of Christ’s work in itself. en he was

washed with water, cleansed personally in the power of the

Spirit and Word, according to that water that came out of

Christ’s side. His clothes or outward demeanor were even

cleansed too, and all that could harbor delement removed.

Here it was the consecration of those who, in an ordinary

sense were clean and within. e sprinkling was a sign

calling to remembrance consecration according to Christ’s

death, what was t for the sanctuary, bringing them into

that conscious separation to God’s service; and so their

clothes, their outward demeanor, were washed. It was all

Numbers 8-9

353

of the same nature-the water-but with the leper it was the

body of sin destroyed, cleansing from it so as not to serve

it. Here it was consecration too.)

e people’s identication with the Levites

e children of Levi belonged to Jehovah as His

redeemed, having been saved, when He judged sin, and

themselves oered as an oering to Jehovah. e laying

on of hands identied with the victim the person who

did so. If it were an oering for sin, the oer<P226>ing

was identied with the sinner in his sin; if it were a burnt

oering, the oerer was identied with the value of the

consecration to God’s glory of the victim in respect of sin.

Romans

15:16 is an allusion to this consecration of the Levites,

and considers the church as thus oered to God from

among the Gentiles. e Israelites having also laid their

hands upon the Levites, the whole people were, so to speak,

identied in this consecration with them, as an oering

made by them to Jehovah, so that the Levites represented

them before Him.

We nd here again, what we have already seen, that the

Levites were given to Aaron and his sons, as the church

is given to Christ, the true Priest and Son over the house

of God, to be used in the service of the house. ey were

rst oered by Israel to Jehovah for His service by Aaron

the priest (verse 11); it was a wave oering (tenupha); that

is, they were presented before the Lord as consecrated to

Him. en (vs. 13) they were set before Aaron and his sons,

and so under their hand given to the Lord, wholly given

to Him instead of the rstborn (vss. 16-19). How solemn

and perfect is the oering up of the servant of the Lord to

Him, according to the purication of the sanctuary and all

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the value and true character of Christ’s oering of Himself

to God, and the divine judgment of sin.1

(1. ey served from 25 to 50, the rst ve years a kind

of novitiate, as after 50 they ministered, but were not

charged with the service.)

Israel under the direct fatherly government of God in

the wilderness

e passover, the memorial of redemption, and in

consequence the symbol of the unity1 of the people of

God, as an assembly redeemed by Him, is obligatory

during the journey through the wilderness.2 Only God

makes a provision, in grace and forbearance, for those who

were not able to keep it according to His will, to whom it

had reference.

(1. In Israel this unity was simply that of a people

redeemed together to the enjoyment of a common portion,

not a body as the church.)

(2. Yet those who had only wilderness character were not

in a condition to keep it. None born there were circumcised

till they came to Gilgal across the Jordan.)

But these provisions of forbearance and grace kept

continually present the idea of a redeemed people and

one under the direct fatherly government of God. Besides

this we have the precious <P227>declaration that God

Himself conducted His people by His presence. At His

commandment they pitched; at His commandment they

journeyed. ey kept the charge of Jehovah, according to

the commandment of Jehovah. God grant that we, who

have His Spirit, may thus be led in all things, to stay or to

go entirely under His immediate direction! If we are near

God in His communion, we shall be guided by His eye;

if not, we shall be guided by His external providence, as

Numbers 8-9

355

horses and mules, with bits and bridles, that we may not

stumble.

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72539

Numbers 10

e silver trumpets

Chapter 10 speaks of the silver trumpets which

served for calling the assembly of the people, and for the

journeying of the camps, but which serve also for other

purposes. It was the testimony of God, rendered publicly,

with two chief ends in view; to gather the people, and

to make them journey. It is so indeed, practically; the

testimony of God gathers His people around Him, and

makes them go forward. e testimony of God was the

sign of His intervention, while, at the same time, its result

was to produce it. e priests who, in communion with

their head, were to be in the intimacy of the thoughts of

God, sounded the trumpets when needed.

All was thus done according to communion with God

in His sanctuary. After the people were brought into the

land, if war arose, they sounded an alarm: they proclaimed

the testimony of God, without being afraid, and God

remembered His people and interfered. So with us, we

need never fear the attack of the enemy; instead of being

frightened, let us give a faithful testimony, in answer to

which God has pledged Himself to come in in power. Let

us not fear: in nothing terried by our adversaries.

e trumpets were also used in the solemn feasts; for

the testimony and the memorial of God constitute the joy

of His gathered people. us the whole people in national

unity and order were assembled as the camp where God

was, and were to march in like order. All was complete for

the order of the people, and the service of Jehovah.<P228>

Numbers 10

357

e order of the march; precedence of the ark

At length the people are called to take the rst stage

of their journey. e order followed in the march diers

from that which had been prescribed, in this, that the

tabernacle, with its curtains, went after the rst three tribes,

that it might be set up to receive the ark, which followed

the second division. Still this was merely a detail in the

arrangements, to have all ready when the ark arrived. But

God appears in a remarkable manner in grace, outside the

whole order He had prescribed; for it is the ark itself which

precedes the whole camp. Moses had asked a child of the

wilderness to be to them instead of eyes; but what man

does not care to do, God takes upon Himself. He comes

out of the place which He had taken in the midst of the

tribes, to be taken care of, so to speak, and honored there,

and makes Himself, in some sort, their servant, seeking a

place where they might rest in the trackless desert.

A place of rest in the wilderness

It was not in Canaan, but a place in the wilderness,

where the Lord went a three days’ journey to seek a rest for

them. A beautiful picture of the tender and precious grace

of Him who, if He makes us pass through the wilderness

for our good, does not fail to be there with us, and who

takes care, in putting out His sheep, to go before them, and

to solace them with His love. Mighty leader of His people

by the way, He is their joy and their glory when He comes

to rest in their midst!

is closes the divinely instituted order of the camp and

the grace that led them through the wilderness. Compare

Psalm 132:8, where God at the close of Israel’s history

(anticipating David) arises into His rest. Psalm 68 is God’s

intervention to establish the rest.

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72540

Numbers 11

e murmuring of the people and God’s answer

We are now brought to turn our thoughts in another

direction- to see the conduct of the people in the wilderness;

and alas! what is it except a history of unfaithfulness and

rebellion? Let us add,<P229> however, that it is also that

of the forbearance and the grace of God. It is an extremely

humbling and instructive picture. We shall briey review

the dierent forms of unbelief which are here presented

to us.

e rst thing we nd, after the sweet manifestation

of the love of God, is the murmuring of the people. ey

complain of fatigue, where God is seeking a resting-

place for them. God chastens them. Humbled, they cry

unto Moses, and upon his intercession the chastening is

removed; but their heart remains alienated from the Lord,

and, seduced by the mixed multitude who accompanied

them, and to whom Canaan was not a land of promise,

they get wearied with the manna. How often does Christ,

the bread of life, not suce a heart not in communion

with God! e heart seeks elsewhere for its nourishment;

it wants something else; it remembers what the esh used

to enjoy in the world, while it forgets the bondage in which

it was held. It knows no more the power of the word-“he

that cometh to me shall never hunger.”

God grants the people the object of their desires: instead

of being ashamed when they see that God is equally able

to satisfy them in the wilderness, they greedily gather the

quails, and the wrath of God falls upon this wicked people.

Numbers 11

359

Moses’ complaint and God’s answer

Moses, wearied of them as of a heavy burden, complains,

in his turn, of his glorious position. God relieves him of the

weight of his charge, but not without upbraiding him; and

He adjoins seventy persons to him to help him in bearing

it. e Spirit of God acts in two of them, though they do

not present themselves to receive it where Moses was: they

prophesy in the camp. Joshua, jealous of the glory of his

master, wishes them to be silenced. But if Moses,1 unable

to bear the weight of his glory, has been obliged to share

it with others, and, up to a certain point, lose part of it,

he shows at least, in this circumstance, the depth of the

grace that was in him.<P230> He does not envy those who

prophesy in the camp. “Would God,” he says, “that all were

prophets!”

(1. Remark here the dierence even in the blessed

Apostle’s faith, comparing chapter 11:12 here and

Galatians 4:19: see also 2Corinthians 11:28. It is possible

that this failure of Moses under the pressure of the weight

of the people, giving occasion to the prophesying in the

camp, was the occasion also of the rising up of Miriam

and Aaron against him. At any rate God maintained the

authority of His servant, who, as to himself, held his ground

by unfeigned meekness, and leaving all that concerned

himself to God.)

ere is something very beautiful in the spirit which

animated this servant of God. Finally, whatever may be

God’s arrangements, He is sovereign in the dispensations

of His Spirit.

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72541

Numbers 12

Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses

After that (for what form will not rebellion assume?)

Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses. It is the prophetess

and the priest (one who has the word from God and access

to God, the twofold character of the people of God), who

rise up against him who is king in Jeshurun, with whom

God speaks as unto His friend. In this Moses is in all

respects a type of Christ, who stands personally outside the

rights which grace has conferred upon the people. Faithful

in all the house of God, he enjoys close communion with

Him. Miriam and Aaron ought to have been afraid. e

excuse of the two rebels was that Moses had taken an

Ethiopian woman- a blessed sign for us of the sovereignty

of grace which has introduced into the blessing of Christ

those who had no right or title to it. e people of God,

whatever their privileges, ought to have recognized this

sovereignty. Israel would not, and was smitten with leprosy.

It is, however, in their character of witness or prophet that

they suer this chastening.

Aaron as intercessor, and the position of Moses

Aaron resumes his place of intercessor, and speaks

humbly to Moses (a gure, I think, of the humiliation of

Israel, grounded on the value of the intercession of Christ,

identifying Himself with the position of the people). God’s

answer is that Miriam should be humbled and chastened,

shut out, for a time, from communion with Him, then

restored to favor again. e people wait for her restoration.

Let us remember that the Lord here recalls this fact, that

Numbers 12

361

the most glorious position for Moses was that when he was

separated from the people-when he pitched his tent without

the camp, and called it the tabernacle of the congregation

or meeting. e people had but too much forgotten this.

When the members of the church also, in the thought of

making themselves spiritual,<P231> take advantage of

their glory and position as prophets and priests (characters

which do indeed belong to them), to disown the rights

of Christ, as king in Jeshurun, having authority over the

house of God, there is room for considering whether they

are not guilty of the rebellion here spoken of. For my part,

I believe they are.

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72542

Numbers 13-14

e pleasant land despised; faith and unbelief

Next, the pleasant land is despised. I shall here call the

attention of the reader to some points mentioned on this

subject in other parts of the Bible.1

(1. See Deuteronomy 1:20-23. )

Jehovah has brought the people to the borders of

the land; Moses tells them to go up. e people propose

sending spies; Moses consents. It seems that they had

God’s sanction, for they went according to the word of the

Lord. But this request was prompted by the weakness and

unbelief of the people. ere are many things commanded

of God, and which we are bound to do as soon as they

are the object of a command from Him, in the result of

which His ways are displayed, which, however, are only

owing to our lack of faith. e consequence of it is that the

result abundantly conrms the faith of the faithful, of the

remnant; but unbelief reaps what it has sown. So it is in this

case. First, the report brought to Moses is in a right spirit;

but the diculties immediately present themselves, and

unbelief measures them with man, instead of with God.

en the witnesses draw their words from the people’s

feelings, and express a judgment founded on their unbelief.

Having thus entirely departed in heart from the Lord,

and fallen into the current of the unbelief of the people,

through their own, they belie the convictions they had

formed when enjoying the sight of the goodness of Jehovah,

and come to declare that the land even is bad, and end with

justifying themselves by complaining of God. For now it

Numbers 13-14

363

is no longer Moses who has brought them here, it is God

Himself; they accuse Him of it. Moreover, they cannot

contain their rage against those whose faithful testimony

condemns their unbelief.<P232>

e consequences of the unbelief of the mass

How often is this the case, that the diculties which

draw out the unbelief of the heart lead to speak evil of

the position to which we have been divinely called, and of

which once we had tasted the blessedness! All owed from

forgetfulness of God. Was He a grasshopper, in comparison

with the sons of Anak? What matter if walls were high, if

they fell down at the blowing of a ram’s horn? But now

God Himself interferes. ey will be dealt with according

to their faith; they shall perish in the wilderness, according

to their wish. e faithful ones and the children will alone

be brought into the land; but not without undergoing, in

their march, the consequences of the unbelief of the mass.

However, other hopes and other consolations will be their

portion.

Moses’ intercession and its eect

e eect of the intercession of Moses is to obtain

from God that the people should be spared; but this is

His declaration-He will be gloried in judgment over a

rebellious people who despise the promises, and the earth

shall thus be lled with His glory. Moses here appeals to the

revelation of the name of Jehovah, on which footing He

governs the people, and not to the promises made to the

fathers; and the answer he receives is in keeping with that

name. Caleb pregures the faithful remnant; Joshua is not

named (vs. 24), for he represents Christ introducing the

people into the land of promise.

Unbelief gives no escape from diculties

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364

At the end of the forty years Caleb was obliged to

subdue, name for name, the same persons who had lled

the souls of the spies with terror. Unbelief, when in spite of

it we are to enjoy the eects of the promise, does not make

us escape the diculties. In ne, when we have judged the

folly of unbelief, and we see the consequences of it, it is of

no avail, because of these last, to undertake a work. God is

not with us; and, if we persist in going up, we shall nd the

enemy such as our unbelief has pictured him to us.<P233>

Numbers 15

365

72543

Numbers 15

Jehovah’s rest in His foreordained counsels in spite of

Israel’s unbelief

After all this unbelief of the people, when God had

declared that the earth should be lled with His glory, by

the cutting o of the rebellious congregation, and when one

might have supposed they had forfeited the land forever, it is

perfectly beautiful, in chapter 15, to see the Lord returning

into the perfect rest of His foreordained counsels, and of

His immutable being, and giving instructions relative to

the time when the people shall have entered the land He

has given them. It speaks of the oerings of righteousness

they are invited to bring to Him of their free will, and of

the wine of joy which was to accompany these oerings;

and as this is grace, the love of God reaches out beyond

Israel, and, bringing the stranger near to His people, He

makes one law for both. e rstfruits belong to Him. e

sins of ignorance are forgiven by means of the sacrice

required by the perfectness of the ways of God. e sin

committed presumptuously alone brings destruction.

God orders them to put upon the fringe of the borders of

their garments a riband of blue, that they may remember

His commandments, and be kept from that which would

render them profane. e heavenly principle must enter

into the minutest details of life, even into those that are

nearest to the earth, if we wish to escape the serious evils

which bring down the judgment of God. e introduction

of the stranger in this chapter is of the highest interest,

as a testimony to grace. But we have not, as yet, seen the

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nal apostasy which brings down the judgment at the very

moment when it is accomplished.

Numbers 16

367

72544

Numbers 16

e open rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram

Chapter 16 contains the open rebellion against Moses

of Dathan and Abiram, but especially the pretension

of the ministry in Israel to arrogate priesthood to itself.

Some of the chiefs of the people were indeed parties in

this rebellion, and for a moment all the people, but too

well prepared, were led away by the ambition of a man

who discharged the functions of the ministry. e New

<P234>Testament calls it “the gainsaying of Core”; he is

the rst addressed by Moses; and the main point of the sin,

as Moses insists on it, was this taking too much upon them

by the sons of Levi. He drew others in by attering them,

but to the assumption of ocial priesthood. Dathan and

Abiram’s was a side question of Moses’ authority, of the

word of God by him, and the judgment was a thing apart.

But this claim of priesthood by the ministry is identied

with open rebellion against God in the authority of His

word as borne by Moses. It is not, however, the corruption

of ministry in teaching error itself, as the distinction made

by Jude shows us.

“e gainsaying of Core”; revolt against the authority

of Christ

In Cain we see natural wickedness; in Balaam, who

taught error for a reward, religious corruption in teaching;

in Core, the gainsaying which brings destruction. Let

us remember that Jude treats of the results, and the end

reserved to the corruption and the corrupters of Christianity.

e gainsaying of Core is a revolt against the authority of

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368

Christ, and the distinctive character1 of His priesthood: a

revolt excited by a man, who, occupying the position of a

minister, pretends that he is a priest, and sets aside in doing

so the only true, heavenly priesthood of Christ.

(1. It is ecclesiastical evil; but as regards the rebellion,

the evil went further. It was the pretension of ministry

to be priesthood. at is the evil pointed out by Moses,

though Core brought others near also (vss. 8-10).)

Reuben was the eldest son of Israel, and Core was of

the most favored family among the Levites. e tribe of

Reuben and the family of Core were near each other in the

camp; but nothing of this is apparent in the motives which

led them to act.

e judgment of God

In a word, it was open rebellion and audacity presenting

itself before God Himself. God soon put an end to their

pretensions, for “who hath hardened himself against him

and hath prospered?” Moses appeals to Him. Dathan

and Abiram take advantage of the eect of the unbelief

of the assembly, who might have been in Canaan already,

to throw the blame of it upon Moses. As to Core, Moses

announces that God will show who is holy and whom He

has chosen. Core and the two hundred and fty princes of

the <P235>assembly are consumed; Dathan, Abiram and

theirs swallowed up. But the spirit of rebellion had laid

hold of the whole assembly. On the morrow they murmur

against Moses and Aaron, saying, “Ye have killed the people

of the Lord”-a convenient name to aggrandize themselves.

Now, the priesthood and the intercession of Aaron are

made evident. Aaron, with a censer, stands between the

dead and the living, and the plague is stayed.

Numbers 16

369

e priesthood and intercession of Aaron made

evident

We shall see the importance of this last remark in

what follows, and what is the principle on which alone,

considering sins and the esh, God can bring His people

through the wilderness. ere that priesthood is needed

which Core had despised; but it is by priesthood alone that

man can get through the wilderness with God.1 Moses,

in replying to Core, declares that God will show whom

He had chosen for this end; and this He soon does in fact.

Moses, vexed at the contempt and the injustice of Dathan

and Abiram, appeals to the justice and the judgment of

God. God intervenes by a judgment of pure destruction.

But the glory and the house of God are at stake, when

the question is, By whom is He to be approached? Now,

authority is insucient to conduct such as we are through

the wilderness. e esh is rebellious, and the last resource

of authority is destruction. But this does not lead a people

to a good end for the glory of God, though He is therein

gloried in righteousness.

(1. ere is no question here of union with Christ (it

was yet the hidden mystery), nor even of being sons; it

is the passage of pilgrims through the wilderness. In this

character we are viewed as apart from Christ, as in Hebrews.

I add here that we get a dierence between priesthood and

advocacy (Hebrews and John). In Hebrews it is priesthood

for mercy, and grace to help in time of need; advocacy is to

restore communion when we have sinned.)

Moses, then, in that character of authority which strikes

in righteousness, is powerless as regards bringing the

people into Canaan. It is priesthood, which the rebellion

had so despised, which is invested with authority over His

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rebellious people. It is Christ the priest, in His grace and

goodness, who leads us through the wilderness. is is the

conclusion we come to at the end of the narrative we have

of the journeying of the people of God.<P236>

Numbers 17-18

371

72545

Numbers 17-18

Aaron’s rod

In chapters 17-20 this subject is set forth with the

circumstances relative to it. First, the authority of Aaron is

established by signs shown by the power of God, in his rod,

put with the others near God-the source of all authority.

e power of life and blessing displays itself with a rapidity

which makes manifest the presence of God. e buds, the

owers and the fruit grow on dry wood. Priesthood, living

and victorious over death, through divine ecacy,1 must

lead the people; God’s authority is entrusted to it.

(1. at is grace; righteous judgment could destroy, but

not bring through; grace alone can.)

e carnal people, always astray, bold just before in the

presence of the majesty of God, are afraid of His presence

now that His grace manifests itself, and say that they

cannot draw near Him. is opens the way for still deeper

views on the place that priesthood holds in general.

e place of the priests and Levites clearly dened

In chapter 18 the place of priesthood is clearly dened,

as well as that of the Levites. e priests alone draw near

to the holy place; they alone are allowed this intimacy with

God. But, in consequence of their position, there are sins,

iniquities which they are called to bear, as an eect of this

proximity, which would not be remarked among those who

are outside. at which is unbecoming the presence and the

sanctuary of God does not become His priests. ey bear

the iniquity of the holy place. If the people disobeyed the

law, doubtless they were punished; but that which deled

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the sanctuary fell upon Aaron and his sons. What, then, is

the measure of holiness given to the children of God-alone

true priests? It is the purication of the sanctuary itself, not

what is t for man, but what is t for God. e service of

the Levites, and the Levites themselves were given as a gift

to the priests. Priesthood also was a pure gift to Aaron and

his sons. Because of the anointing, the most holy things

were given them to eat, which was a special privilege of the

priests. e same thing is true with regard to us.<P237>

e food of the priests

Whatever is precious in the oering of Christ, in every

point of view-in His life and in His death; in that bread

come down from heaven, contemplated in His life of

devotedness and grace here below; and in His death for

us-all is the food and nourishment of our souls, in that

communion with God in which we ourselves are kept in

our priesthood. e priests alone ate the holy things, and

they ate them in a holy place. It is only in the sense of the

presence of God, and under the ecacy of that oil which

is not poured on esh, that we can truly realize what is

precious in the work of Christ.

e holy things associated with the most holy place;

the priests accounted as being there in spirit

Verse 10 presents something very remarkable; for what

is here said, and nowhere else, is that they were to eat

them in the most holy place, the holy of holies. ere is

no diculty in the terms. I have sometimes thought that it

might mean, from among the most holy things; but if it be

not that, the meaning is then in the holy of holies, and only

relates to the antitype. at is, it is only in the presence

and before the throne of the sovereign God Himself that

we can really feed on that precious food. Historically the

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373

priests were not there; being in the sanctuary of God, they

were accounted as being there.

Distinction in the joys of the household of God

ere were things which, though truly belonging to

the priestly family, were not properly eaten in the priestly

character, such as the heave oerings, the wave oerings;

the daughters ate of them as well as the sons: all that were

clean in the house could partake of them. us, in the joys

of the children of God, there are some that belong to them

as a family. We enjoy our blessings and all that is oered by

man to God. It is a joy for the soul.

All that the Spirit of Christ works to the glory of God,

even in His members, and still more what He has done in

Christ Himself, is the food of the soul of the household

of God, and strengthens them. Do not our souls enjoy

those rstfruits, the best of the new wine and the wheat-

the rstfruits of that noble harvest of God, the produce of

His seed on the soil of His election? Yes, we<P238> enjoy

them in thinking of them. But the sin oering, the trespass

oerings, the meat oerings, all that in which we share

in spirit in the deep work of Christ, is only eaten in the

character and the spirit of a priest.

We must, according to the ecacy of this work of

Christ, enter into the spirit in which He presents Himself

after His sacrice, moved by His perfect love, in the

presence of the Most High-enter into the sentiments of

love, of devotedness in the consciousness of the holiness of

God; in a word, into the feelings with which He presents

Himself as a priest before Him, in order to connect, by love

and the ecacy of His oering, the holiness of God, with

the blessing of him who has sinned-to realize that which is

precious in Christ in that work, to share in it (for so it is)

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374

in grace. And, eectively, that only takes place in the most

holy place, in the presence of God, where He appears for

us.

In ne, whether the joys of the family of God’s house, or

this holy participation in spirit in the work of Christ, all we

have just been speaking about belongs to the priesthood.

Even the Levites were to recognize in all that God gave

them as strangers in the land of promise, the rights and the

authority of the priests.

Priestly joy and Levitical service

Now, if we make the distinction between the two, all

believers are priests; ministers, in their capacity of ministers,

are only Levites. eir service (besides that which is towards

the world, a character which the dispensation did not bear,

and which, therefore, is not the subject here) is to minister

to the priestly joy and service of the saints with God. Our

service will meet with reward in heaven, our priestly place

will be nearness to God and joy in Him.

It is evident that partaking in spirit (to partake in it in

reality is, of course, impossible) in the sacrice of Christ for

sin, in eating of it as a priest, is a very holy thing, a privilege

enjoyed in a very holy place; everything is specially holiness

here.

Numbers 19

375

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Numbers 19

e red heifer; the reason this sacrice is placed here

But if, on the one hand, priesthood must lead the people

through the wilderness, and if Moses’ rod of authority

cannot do this, if it<P239> can only smite; on the other,

there must be a provision connected with it for removing

the delements taking place during the journey, that the

communion of the people with God may not be interrupted.

at is the reason why the sacrice of the heifer is placed

here, apart from all the others, because it was prescribed in

order to meet the delements of the wilderness.

But if the consideration of Christ (even though it be

Christ oered for sin, and the participation in His priestly

work, in connection with that sacrice) was a most holy

thing realized in the communion of the most holy place;

being occupied with that sin, even in a brother, and that

to purify him, deled even those who were not guilty of it.

God’s provision for the delements of the wilderness

ese are the subjects of chapter 19. What follows is

the ordinance given on this occasion. To touch a dead

body was indeed being deled with sin; for sin is here

considered under the point of view of delement which

precluded the entrance into the court of the tabernacle.

Christ is presented in the red heifer as unspotted by sin,

and as never having borne the yoke of it either; but He is

led forth without the camp, as being wholly a sacrice for

sin. e priest who brought the heifer did not kill it; but it

was killed in his presence. He was there to take knowledge

of the deed.

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376

e death of Christ is never the act of priesthood. e

heifer was completely burned without the camp, even its

blood, except that which was sprinkled directly before the

tabernacle of the congregation, that is, where the people

were to meet God. ere the blood was sprinkled seven

times (because it was there that God met with His people),

a perfect testimony in the eyes of God to the atonement

made for sin. ey had access there according to the value

of this blood.

e priest threw into the re cedar wood, hyssop and

scarlet (that is, all that was of man, and his human glory

in the world). “From the cedar down to the hyssop” is the

expression of nature from her highest elevation to her

lowest depth. Scarlet is external glory (the world, if you

please). e whole was burned in the re which consumed

Christ, the sacrice for sin.

en, if anybody contracted delement, though it

were merely through neglect, in whatever way it might be,

God took account of<P240> the delement. And this is a

solemn and important fact: God provides for cleansing, but

in no case can tolerate anything in His presence unsuited

to it. It might seem hard in an inevitable case, as one

dying suddenly in the tent. But it was to show that for His

presence God judges of what is suited to His presence. e

man was deled and he could not go into God’s tabernacle.

e means of cleansing linked with the sacrice

To cleanse the deled person, they took some running

water, into which they put the ashes of the heifer, and

the man was sprinkled on the third and on the seventh

days; then he was clean: signifying that the Spirit of God,

without applying anew the blood to the soul (that in the

type had been sprinkled once for all when the people met

Numbers 19

377

God), takes the suerings of Christ (the proof that sin and

all that is of the natural man and of the world have been

consumed for us in His expiatory death), and applies them

to it.

It is the proof, the intimate conviction, that nothing

is nor can be imputed. It was in this respect wholly done

away in the sacrice, whose ashes (the witness that it was

consumed) are now applied. But it produces upon the

heart the deeply painful conviction that it has got deled,

notwithstanding redemption, and by the sins for which

Christ has suered in accomplishing it. We have found our

will and pleasure, if only for a moment, in what was the

cause of His pain; and this in the face of His suerings

for sin, but, alas! in forgetfulness of them-even for that sin

the motions of which we yield to so lightly now: a feeling

much deeper than that of having sins imputed. For it is in

reality the new man, in his best feelings, who judges by the

Spirit and according to God, and who takes knowledge of

the suerings of Christ and of sin, as seen in Him on the

cross.

e sprinkling with water repeated

e rst feeling is bitterness, although without the

thought of imputation-bitterness, precisely because there

is no imputation, and that we have sinned against love as

well as against holiness, and that we must submit to that

conviction. But lastly (and it seems to me it is the reason

why there was the second sprinkling), it is the consciousness

of that love, and of the deep grace of Jesus, and the joy of

being perfectly clean, through the work of that love.<P241>

e rst part of the cleansing was the sense of the horror

of sinning against grace; the second, the mind quite cleared

from it by the abounding of grace over the sin.

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378

Practical restoration of the soul

We may remark that, as it is merely the needed purifying

for the way, nothing else is noticed; no sacrices, as in

the case of the leper. ere it was drawing nigh to God,

according to the value of Christ’s work, when cleansed

from sin. Here it is the practical restoration of the soul

inwardly. ere is no sprinkling with blood: the purifying is

by water, Christ’s death being fully brought in in its power

by the Holy Spirit. e details show the exactness of God,

as to these delements though He cleanses us from them.

ey show also that anyone who has to do with the sin of

another, though it be in the way of duty to cleanse it, is

deled; not as the guilty person, it is true, but we cannot

touch sin without being deled. e value of grace and of

priesthood is also made evident.

Numbers 20

379

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Numbers 20

e death of Miriam, and the gathering of the people

against Moses and Aaron

Miriam the prophetess dies; this character of testimony

is closed. Israel grows old, so to speak, in the wilderness;

and the voice which sang songs of triumph in coming up

from the depths of the Red Sea is silent in the tomb. Also

they lacked water. e journey was still prolonged. e

resources were far from increasing; on the contrary, what

there had been of joy and testimony was vanishing. ey

gather themselves together against Moses and against

Aaron. God directs them to the provision He had made

against murmurings. If we have just witnessed His holiness,

we see now His resources and His blessing.

God’s resources and His grace

“Take the rod,” says God-He knows of no other now-

“and speak unto the rock, and it shall give forth its water.”

ere is nothing to be done but to show the sign of grace

(of priesthood intervening on the part of God in the

grace with which He has clothed His authority), and to

speak the word, and the wants of<P242> the people shall

be immediately supplied. It was not precisely, that grace

which had followed the people from the Red Sea to Sinai;

nor was it, either, authority punishing sin; but it was grace

taking priestly knowledge of sin and wants; restoring from

the delements of the one, and obtaining all that met the

others.

Moses’ trespass against God

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380

But Moses, while taking the rod according to the

commandment of God, soured by the rebellion of the

people, thinks of his authority and their rebellion; he does

not apprehend the counsels of grace, and speaks unadvisedly:

“Must we fetch you water out of this rock?” Before, it was,

“What are we that ye murmur against us?” e rebellion

of the people and the contempt of his authority have got a

rmer hold on his mind than the intelligence of the grace

of God; “he smites the rock with his rod.” e rst time

this must needs have been done. Christ needs to have been

smitten, that water might come out, in the behalf of His

people; but there can be no repetition of this smiting.

God’s sanctication of Himself in grace

Now under the priesthood we have only to speak

according to the living power of this priesthood, which God

has established, and there is an answer in grace to all our

wants. e fruit and the blossom would be spoiled, if I may

so speak, by smiting with it. It is not the thought presented

in it. Moses did not sanctify God; he did not suciently

value the character which God had assumed; he did not

respect God in the position He had deigned to take; but

God sanctied Himself the more, by acting in grace and

quenching the thirst of the people in spite of this. Moses

gloried himself, and before God he was abased. He did

not know how to abandon the position he had been placed

in, to have sympathy with the thoughts of the abounding,

sovereign and good grace of his God, which surpassed in

compassion the justice and authority under which He had

placed His people. God, however, does not forsake His

poor servant. How insignicant we are in comparison with

His grace! e grace of priesthood can alone bring such a

people as we are through the wilderness.1<P243>

Numbers 20

381

(1. is is the character of the Epistle to the Hebrews:

perfectness through Christ’s oering as to conscience; but

going through the wilderness, and so constant dependence

but infallible faithfulness in Him on whom we depend.

e mediatorial character of this is priesthood, consequent

upon our sins being put away. )

Israel’s entrance into the land hindered by enemies

near of kin; the death of Aaron

But the wandering of Israel is drawing towards its

close; and we now come to the enemies who oppose its

ending, and the entering of the people into the desired

land, that land of promise, so long sought after. Edom, full

of jealousy, will not let the way be shortened; Israel turns

away from him. ere are people who oppose us, and from

whom it is right to turn away, on account of some external

relation existing between them and ourselves, though they

are animated with an implacable hatred: we must know

how to discern them. God will judge them in His own

time; our hand must not be upon them. As to the enemies

of God, they must be our enemies; where the power of the

enemy is evident, it is God’s war. But we meet in the way

with those who are descended from the sources of promise,

although after the esh, and who are characterized by the

esh; we leave them to God: it is His prerogative to judge

of them. e occasion for war is not apparent; it would

not be legitimate for the people. Now Aaron also departs.

Service in the end takes another character.1<P244>

(1. With his death the wilderness history closes. Provision

for delement on the way had been given. Moses clings to

law, and does not avail himself of Aaron’s rod (priesthood

grace), and on this footing cannot take the people into the

land. We have this order in this transition period: provision

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382

for delement on the way (ch. 19); the priesthood given

up, and so no entrance into the land; then the perpetual

hatred of the elder brother, the outward, eshly descendant

of the risen man in relentless opposition to the called

people. Aaron dies, and wilderness grace closes; the power

of Satan overcome, and through weariness (their own fault

and want of faith) the deadliness of sin comes in, and the

great remedy; Arad’s power being resisted is destroyed.

But from chapter 21:4, it is the state of the soul, the heart

gone back to Egypt; Christ (the manna) is despised. e

power of the enemy when they were faithful was nothing.

Unfaithfulness, murmuring against God, brings them into

the sting of death. If they despise the bread of life, they

get the fatal sting of death in judgment. ere was healing

by the look of faith on Christ lifted up for us. is is not

priesthood for the journey, but an absolute remedy for

death by sin. It is in general what God is for the people

outside wilderness care. en the refreshings of the Spirit

and Word-the digged well. We have, further, victorious

power over all their enemies, though outside Jordan

and uncircumcised. It is God for His people in spite of

their imperfect state; closing with their full justication,

character and blessing as in God’s mind.)

Numbers 21

383

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Numbers 21

Enemies and diculties to be met; the brazen serpent

lifted up

e question is not here to conduct the people with

patience through the wilderness, where the esh manifested

itself; but there are enemies and diculties to be met; for

there are diculties distinct from the conduct and the

patience of life. e Israelites ght with the Canaanites in

the south, though they have not got into the land. But the

king of the Canaanites has been informed of their coming

by the presence of the spies. is was another fruit of the

want of boldness of faith which had caused them to be

sent. How little we gain by the prudence of unbelief! It

gives occasion to the power and attacks of the enemy.

However, though these enemies seem to prevail at rst

when Israel allow themselves to be attacked, when the

Israelites are ready utterly to destroy them God delivers

them up to them. Take notice of this. But the people,

wearied, murmur again, for the way was long. ey were

ghting with the Canaanites without yet possessing the

land; the question was only about destroying their power

and yet possessing nothing. It was the power of evil and

that only, and resisted and put down as such. It was for

God’s sake and His glory only. On their murmurs God

interferes and makes them feel all the power of the enemy,

the old serpent. Christ made sin for us is the only perfectly

ecacious remedy. e mere sight of that wonder procures

healing, for the ecacy is in the thing itself before God.

Faith sees Christ made sin for us.

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384

e question is not here about leading the people, but

of answering the judgment of God, either nal or in the

way of chastening, and the power of the enemy against us

in the face of that judgment, and even as the eect of that

judgment. In such a case the question is between our souls

and God; it is a question of death, or simply of the death of

Jesus. We must submit to that, as being in an irremediable

condition, and, submitting to God’s righteousness, look to

His ordinance-that is, to Christ lifted up for us.

e springing well in the wilderness

Next, Israel goes forward, but they are not yet in the

land. God relieves and refreshes them of His own free

grace, without their<P245> murmuring. He gathers the

people. Israel celebrates anew, close by the land, the wells

which are found in the wilderness. ey can now say

themselves, “Spring up, O well”; no more rock to smite, no

more murmurings near the land. Life at the end of their

course is no longer the question: it is salvation from the

deadly wound of the serpent. ey are healed; they walk

and drink with joy and songs of praise. ey dug-for their

activity displayed itself in the presence of the grace of God-

and the water sprang up in the wilderness.

e beginning of the realization of the promises

We meet with people with whom we do not wish to have

war, but they will not let us pass peaceably. Our warfare is

with the possessors of our inheritance beyond Jordan. If

we are attacked, we must defend ourselves; but we are not

to be aggressors. Israel wishes to pass quietly through the

land of the Amorites; but these will not allow it, and they

suer the consequences of the war they had sought against

the people of God. Israel takes their cities, and begins

Numbers 21

385

already on this side Jordan to realize, as if beforehand, the

possession of the promise.

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386

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Numbers 22-25

In the plains of Moab: Balak and Balaam as Satan’s

servants

Moab also opposes in vain. Now they are in the plains

of Moab, having only Jordan between them and the land of

their rest. But had they a right to enter there? If the enemy

cannot oppose by force, he will try another way, by putting

under the curse the people who well deserved it.

Balak sends for Balaam. e grand question in this

touching scene is this, “Can Satan succeed in cursing the

people of God, so as to prevent their entrance into the

land of promise?”1 It is not<P246> merely a question of

redemption and of the joy of redemption at the beginning

of their course, but in the end, when all their unfaithfulness

has been manifested-their unfaithfulness even after the

Lord has brought them to Himself. Can Satan succeed

then? No.

(1. It is of the highest interest to see the special character

of this prophecy.

It is God who, of His own will, interferes to take the

part of His people against the enemy, and that even without

their knowing it, or asking for it. It is not, as almost all

prophecies are, an appeal to the conscience of the people,

accompanied by promises calculated to sustain the faith

of the remnant in the midst of the gainsayers. e people

know nothing about it; they are perhaps still murmuring

in their tents (so beautiful in the eyes of him who had the

vision of the Almighty) against the ways of God with them.

It is God declaring His own thoughts and confounding the

Numbers 22-25

387

malice of Satan, the enemy He has to do with. at is the

reason why this prophecy is so complete; presenting to us,

in spirit, our whole portion (literally it is that of Israel, as

in the fourth prophecy is evident), separation, justication,

beauty in the eyes of God (all that corresponds with the

presence of the Spirit of God), and the crown of glory in

the coming of the star of Jacob, of Christ Himself, in glory.

)

Balaam the involuntary witness of the truth

When Moses, in those same plains, has to say, with

regard to their conduct towards God, “Ye have been

rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you”

(and indeed, they had been excessively froward, a most

stinecked people; do we not know this well?), God says

by the mouth of Balaam, the involuntary witness of the

truth, “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath

he seen perverseness in Israel.” What a testimony! What

wonderful grace! What perfection in the ways of God! God

sees aright; He makes no mistakes. He speaks the truth

according to the perfectness of His innite intelligence;

and it is because it is innite, that He can see no iniquity

in the redeemed people. How could He see any in those

who are washed in the blood of the Lamb? Nor is it His

mind to see it.

God acts and judges according to His own thoughts

In His own dealings with the people He will see

everything, take

knowledge of everything; but with the accuser it is

a question of righteousness. God only sees this, that,

according to the counsels of His grace, He has given a

ransom; the sins of His people have been atoned for. He

could not in justice see those sins. e mouth of the accuser

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388

is therefore obliged to confess that there are none, and that

there is no power of the enemy against Jacob. And the

ground is clearly taught: according to this time it shall be

said of Jacob and Israel, What has God wrought? Not said

of God, but of Israel; and not, What has Israel wrought,

but, What has God wrought? Israel had the place, but the

work was God’s work. is is very perfect.<P247>

What is peculiarly blessed and comforting in this is

that God acts and judges from His own thoughts. From

beginning to end He has had thoughts about us; He has

done what was needed to reconcile all His ways, in the

accomplishment of them, with eternal righteousness; but

He has these thoughts, and acts towards us according to

them. It is these faith apprehends, accepts and builds on.

Hence joy and peace; while the presence of God in the

midst of an accepted people to whom a new nature has

been given, and His judging all there secures practically

the holiness which He cannot dispense with, or judges

departure from it, so as to vindicate His name. But here it

is God acting, judging, in spite of all, according to His own

thoughts.

Balaam’s iniquity characterized

Balaam was a sad character. Forced to see from afar o

the blessing of God upon His people, when he is near, and

actuated by his own heart and will, he sees nothing but the

way of error, into which he wishes to drag them that they

might forfeit that blessing (if this were possible), reasoning

upon this ground, that the righteous God could not bless a

sinful people. One cannot think of any iniquity worse than

that.

Balaam used of God while condemned for his crooked

ways

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389

We shall say a few words as to his typical character.

Let us pursue the history. Balak seeks him. Balaam wishes

to inquire of Jehovah either from instinctive fear, or to

attach, in the sight of others, the importance of the name

of Jehovah to what he does. Eectively God does interfere,

and even goes rst to Balaam. He takes the matter in hand,

and has power over the unjust mind of Balaam against

his will; for Balaam has no understanding of the mind of

God. God said, “ou shalt not go: they are blessed.” What

is his answer? “Jehovah refuseth to give me leave to go.” He

would gladly have gone; his heart was set upon the reward

of Balak; but he fears before God. e blessing of the people

does not come into his mind; he is a complete stranger to

the generosity of grace-insensible to the thought of their

being blessed of God, of delight in His blessing on His

people.

Consequently, when there is a renewal of the temptation,

he says that he cannot transgress the commandment of

Jehovah his<P248> God: he puts on piety, and, in reality, he

was not entirely without sincerity, for God held him close,

and, indeed, allowed all this. But, at the same time, Balaam

induces the messengers of Balak to tarry and see what God

would say further. What did he want to know more about

an invitation to curse that people, who, God had told him,

were blessed? He had no sympathy whatever with the

thoughts of the heart of God, none with Himself; he was

governed by the fear of consequences. Otherwise, he would

have been so happy in the blessing of the people, that he

would have shuddered at the idea of cursing what God

had blessed. God, however, will use him, to give a glorious

testimony on behalf of His people, while, at the same time,

condemning the crooked ways of the prophet, for they

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390

were indeed crooked. He shows him his perverseness, his

folly, to be more stupid than the ass he was riding; but, at

the same time, He makes him go on his way.

is meeting in the way does serve to force him,

through fear, to utter faithfully what God should put into

his mouth. Balaam goes to meet-he does not say what. It is

plain (ch. 24:1) that he had mixed enchantments with the

profession of the name of Jehovah, and that he had thus

been the enemy’s instrument, with the credit of Jehovah’s

name-a deeply solemn case. He was thus going to meet the

mysterious power which came there, and Elohim came to

meet him. God restrains and hinders on the behalf of His

people all power of the enemy, and causes Balaam to say

what He wishes to be said. Balaam looks upon Israel from

above, and utters his prophecy.

Balaam’s fourfold prophecy:

(1) Separation of the people unto God

is prophecy is divided into four parts. It has Israel for

its object; but, as to the principle of it, it applies also to the

assembly.

e rst prophecy announces the separation of the

people from the world. “e people shall dwell alone,”

separated unto God, a people not reckoned among the

nations.

(2) God having blessed does not repent; the people

are justied

e second prophecy declares that God does not repent.

God has blessed them; shall He not conrm what He has

just said? e<P249> people are justied, and without sin in

the eyes of God. God it was who had brought them out of

Egypt. is people had “the strength of the unicorn,” and

Numbers 22-25

391

the enemy, whom he had sought (in his enchantments),

had no power against them.

(3) e people seen by God in beauty, freshness and

power

Balaam, seeing at last that God was bent upon blessing,

yields to the power of God, goes no longer to the meeting of

enchantments, and the Spirit of God comes upon him. e

justication of the people being now declared, the Spirit of

God can bear testimony to them, instead of conning His

testimony to the thoughts and intentions of God. Balaam

sees them from above; seeing the vision of the Almighty,

he sees the people according to the thoughts of the Spirit

of God, as seen in the mind of God from above. e eyes

of the prophet are open. And remark, here, that it is neither

the anticipation of Canaan, nor Israel in their permanent

habitations: Balaam turns his face towards the wilderness

and sees Israel abiding in their tents. ere the Spirit sees

them, and declares the beauty and the order of the people

in the eyes of God. e water of the refreshing of God

was also always with them there; they were as trees that

Jehovah had planted, therefore will they be great among

the nations, a source of power and joy. ey drink from the

sources of God, and pour out from them abundantly for

others. God had brought them out of Egypt, they were the

work of God, and the power of God was to go with them

against their enemies.

We get here, thirdly, then, beauty, a freshness the sources

of which do not dry up, and power (what the Spirit does

for the assembly).

(4) e coming of Christ

en, in the fourth place is the coming of Christ, the

Star of Jacob, who crowns the glory of the people. Only,

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as it comes in the midst of Israel, it is in judgment. With

regard to us, it will be to take us hence, in order to make

us participate in the joy of His presence, to the marriage of

the Lamb.

In a word, we see the separation of the people from

the world; their justication; their order, their beauty, as

planted by God near the everlasting sources of the river of

God; and then the <P250>coming of Christ. e prophecy

is perfectly beautiful. Remark, too, the prophecies, in the

renewed eort to bring a curse on them, are not repetitions.

Each such eort brings out something more of what

God had in His mind for His people for blessing. It is

not without interest to see how Balak uses all human and

superstitious means to bring the curse on them. He had no

idea of God, and it was with God he had to do.

God’s thoughts of the church, seen from above

It is very important for us to see sometimes the church

from above, in the wilderness, but in the beauty of the

thoughts of God, a pearl without price. In the midst of the

camp below, in the desert, what murmurings, complainings;

how much indierence, what carnal motives, would have

been witnessed and heard! From above, for him who has

the vision of God, who has his eyes open, everything is

beautiful. “I stand in doubt of you,” says the Apostle; and

immediately after, “I have condence in you, through the

Lord.” We must get up to Him, and we shall have His

thoughts of grace, who sees the beauty of His people, of

His assembly, through everything else, for it is beautiful.

But for this, one would be either entirely discouraged or

satised with evil. is vision of God removes these two

thoughts at once.

e terrible judgment of God at the end of the age

Numbers 22-25

393

We see the nal judgment of the ships of Chittim (that

is, of the west, north of the Mediterranean), and that of

their chief, after he has aicted Asshur and Eber also. It

will be the terrible judgment of God at the end of this age.

Balaam’s endeavor to frustrate blessing; Phinehas

and his reward

A few words more on the position of Balaam.

At the end of a dispensation based on any knowledge

whatever of God, when faith is lost and profession retained,

this last obtains a renown of which men glory (as now, of

the name of Christianity). Satan uses it: power is sought

from him. ey go to meet enchantments; because, while

glorying in the revealed name of God, they seek to satisfy

their own lusts; and the importance of the name of God is

tacked on to the work of the devil.<P251> However, God

is acknowledged up to a certain point. ey fear Him, and

He may interfere; but the system is diabolical, under the name

of the Lord, with a partial fear of the Lord, and a dread which

recognizes Him as an object of fear. e people of God are

preserved; but it is a very solemn thought, and it is truly the

history of the Christian system.

At last, the unhappy Balaam, whose heart was in the

bond of iniquity, seeing that he cannot curse by the power

of Satan, seeks to frustrate the blessing of God by leading

the people into sin and idolatry. As regards the people, he

is but too successful. God sends chastisement; and, while

the people are humbling themselves, the enormity of the

evil excites the indignation of Phinehas, who, acting with

an energy suitable to the circumstances, stops the plague

and acquires a perpetual priesthood in his family.

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72550

Numbers 26-29

Israel numbered afresh at the end of their journey

e journey being now ended, God numbers afresh His

people, and counts them by name, as heirs ready to take

possession of the inheritance. He has kept them through

everything, and brought them as far as Canaan; their

raiment even did not wax old. He settles the details of the

inheritance, and appoints a leader in the room of Moses

to introduce them into the land of promise. Chapter 26

presents us with the numbering.

Details of the order of inheritance; Moses’ view of the

land, and Joshua’s appointment as conqueror

In the beginning of chapter 27 are details upon the

order according to which they were to inherit. Moses is

favored with a view of the land, and the people are placed

under the conduct of Joshua to enter therein. Moses and

Aaron had led them through the wilderness; but here it is

a new scene, and Joshua (as to the assembly, Christ in the

power of His Spirit) is appointed to conquer the land. But

he is dependent on the priesthood in his progress onward;

as eectively the presence and the operations of the Holy

Spirit are dependent on the presence of Christ in the holy

place.<P252>

Worship rendered to God on earth, in the sacrices as

the meat of God

In chapters 28-29 we have the worship of the people,

the sacrices which are the meat of God. We shall dwell a

little on these chapters. ey are not the ways of God, and

the gathering together the people to Himself, as in chapter

Numbers 26-29

395

23 of Leviticus, but the oerings themselves as oered

to God and especially those of sweet savor, made by re,

except that which was purely accessory.

First, there are lambs for the regular daily service; that

is, for that of the morning and evening, and, for that of

the sabbath, two lambs; then, bullocks and goats also for

the extraordinary feasts. e lamb has the most simple

meaning; it is the constant presentation of the value of

Christ and so of believers in Him, the true Lamb of God-

the sweet savor of His sacrice ascending continually, by

day and by night; and when the true sabbath is come, its

ecacy will only ascend more abundantly, as a matter of

intelligence and application. is can be said as regards

God Himself, as to the increased display of the fruit of the

travail of the Saviour’s soul.

e bullocks seem to me to represent rather the energy

of the devotedness of persons in their estimate of that

sacrice. It was the largest thing that could be oered: still

having regard to the sacrice of Christ and the price set

upon it.

e ram was always a victim of consecration, or of

amends for some violation of the rights of consecration.

As to the number of these two last kinds, there were in

general two bullocks, a ram, and seven lambs; an additional

bullock and ram the rst day of the seventh month; one

bullock, one ram, seven lambs the tenth of that month; and

the decreasing number of the feast of tabernacles.

It appears to me that all this gives the testimony of the

worship rendered to God upon the earth.

Man’s answer to God’s power and sin acknowledged

us, when the testimony is renewed, when God revives

the light which produces it, the rst feast noticed here, the

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answer on the part of man is simple and perfect-the two

bullocks (as there were two lambs on the sabbath day), the

full and complete testimony to the devotedness of man, for

two gave a valid testimony.<P253> e ram of consecration

is the estimate of the sacrice of Christ fully developed.

Man being still down here, and sin not out of question, the

goat was added as an oering for sin.

If the worship of the people was in connection with the

resurrection of Christ (ch. 28:17), it was the same thing; so

in the case of the work of the Spirit in gathering together

(vs. 26). It was the exercise of power on the part of God

which made an opportunity for worship; the answer on the

part of the people was the same.

e recall of Israel pregured as a special and peculiar

but partial work

e rst day of the seventh month had reference to the

recall of Israel, which was a speciality, the renewal, according

to the value of Christ’s work, of God’s connection with the

earth, and especially with Israel. Hence besides the regular

recognition of grace on the rst of the month, an additional

bullock, ram and seven lambs were oered. e general

testimony or answer to Christ’s work was oered, but a

special and partial one besides, for the earthly restoration

of Israel. So on the day of atonement, when Israel, seeing

the Lord, will be fully restored in grace. e general and

complete testimony, when the resurrection of Christ and

the power of the Holy Spirit, which allowed the Gentiles

also to come in and thus extended to the perfect testimony

of the relations between God and man, produced, as thus

witnessed in the oerings, an answer from below which

fully recognized the good which God had done, and the

relations established thereupon, in being to Him according

Numbers 26-29

397

to the sweet savor of Christ, either in consecration or in the

intelligent estimate of the oering of Christ. e unction

of the Spirit and joy accompanied it. And the oering

took place all the seven days of the feast, a testimony to its

completeness.

In the former case, then, that is, at the feast of the rst

day of the seventh month, there was one bullock added

as witness of a special and peculiar (but at the same time

partial) work, but the general testimony to the value of

Christ’s sacrice on which it depended was maintained.

e application of Christ’s atonement to Israel on

earth

It is evident that the same principle applies to the

tenth day of the seventh month. It is the application of the

atonement of Christ<P254> to Israel on earth. But it was

the simple apprehension of the worth of Christ’s sacrice;

its proper value before God. e principle of consecration

and the intrinsic value of the sacrice remained the same.

e coming dispensation; the joy of the millennium

on earth

e feast of tabernacles introduced another order

of ideas, at least a new development of those ideas; it is

the coming dispensation. ere is no perfection in that

which is oered joyfully of one’s own free will to God; but

that is nearly realized-thirteen bullocks are oered. e

millennium will bring upon earth a joy of worship and

thanksgiving, which (Satan being bound, and the blessing

of the reign of Christ being spread everywhere) will be,

externally at least, almost perfect.

e two rams manifest the testimony of abundant

consecration, and perhaps outwardly the introduction

of Jews and Gentiles (not consecrated in one body, but)

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adequate witnesses upon earth in a distinct manner of this

consecration to God.

en the testimony of the perfectness of the work

of Christ being full, upon earth, either for Israel or for

the blessing of the Gentiles, its complete ecacy was

manifested upon earth; and the question here is only

about this manifestation upon earth (understood by faith,

however). ere were fourteen lambs. ere is, however,

declension in this devotedness of joy and testimony towards

God; it does not cease from being complete, it is true; but

its abundance gradually ceases to manifest itself as it did at

the beginning. e thing, as established of God, remains in

its perfection (vs. 32). is was found in the seventh day,

which completed the part purely earthly.

e eighth day: outside earthly perfection, the

heavenly people apart

On the eighth day, we have only one bullock, one ram,

and seven lambs. It was the counterpart of what was special

to the day of atonement, and the rst day of the seventh

month: for, if this last designated Israel alone brought back

to God, the eighth day, on the other hand, designates that

which was outside earthly perfection, and the heavenly

people apart. is, it seems to me, is the general idea of

what the Spirit of God gives us in this passage.<P255>

Numbers 30

399

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Numbers 30

e vows of women

Chapter 30 is the case of the vows of women, which

has reference also to the fate of Israel, who have indeed

taken these vows upon themselves, in the hearing of God,

and He has not disannulled them in His government here

below; and Israel have continued responsible to the vow

wherewith they have bound themselves, and of which, on

the other hand, the precious Saviour has been obliged to

take the burden upon Himself.

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72552

Numbers 31

War in the wilderness and failure resulting from

idolatry

War is found in the wilderness (though it is not

characteristic of it) whenever we fall into the snares the

enemy there lays for us. ere are always conicts in the

heavenly places in order to the enjoyment of the things

promised there. But in the wilderness it is patience which

is in exercise.

But if there be failure, if we fall into idolatry, if we

commit fornication with the world by yielding to its baits,

if in any way whatever we contract friendship with the

world in the desert, we make wars for ourselves, without

having even the advantage of acquiring, in this kind of

warfare, any spiritual ground. God is obliged to make our

relations with the world undergo a total change. If we had

not formed intimacies with them, we should not have had

that trouble; but, since as our friends they deceive us, we

must become enemies. Having no relations whatever with

them is our proper and peaceful position.

e way of God-given victory

How often we must act the part of enemies with the

world, because we have sought to have to do with them as

friends, and they were a snare to our souls! However, God

gives a complete victory as soon as we treat them as foes:

only, all that seduced must be utterly destroyed. ere must

be nothing spared, no concession.<P256>

God honors all who serve Him according to His

sovereign will

Numbers 31

401

e Lord orders also concerning the joy resulting from

the wars of His people with their enemies. He chooses

whom He will for the war, and honors them; but He will

also honor, in their place, those who have been left behind

according to His sovereign will, and who have faithfully

discharged the perhaps less arduous task allotted to them;

but who have, however, done it according to His will. God

Himself is also recognized there in the Levites and the

priests.

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72553

Numbers 32-33

Blessing on this side of Jordan: the request of Reuben

and Gad rebuked but granted

ere is another thing connected with this: if we have

occasioned wars out of Canaan, it is also through the

indispensable wars of the people of God against those who

opposed their march through the wilderness that they have

acquired a good land, and, up to a certain point, rest, on this

side Jordan, that river of death which serves as a boundary

to the true land of promise.

Having possessions down here to which the heart clings,

the heart clings also to the blessings which are on this side

Jordan, to that measure of rest which the people of God

have acquired out of Canaan. “Bring us not,” they say, “over

Jordan.” Moses felt the bearing of this wish. If he could not

enter the land, according to the government of God, his

heart was there nevertheless. He recalls the contempt of

the pleasant land at Kadesh-barnea, and severely rebukes

Reuben and Gad.

Patient waiting for the blessings of God over Jordan

However, the tribes engaging to go equally forward

until the land were conquered, he grants their request and

settles them in the land, with the half-tribe of Manasseh.

Nevertheless, the history of the holy book shows us that

these tribes were the rst to suer, and to fall into the hands

of the Gentiles. “Know ye not,” says Ahab, “that Ramoth

in Gilead is ours, and the Syrians possess it?” Happy they

who patiently wait for the blessings of God,<P257> till

they have gone over Jordan, and who, in the meanwhile,

Numbers 32-33

403

take patience for their portion, rather than the blessings

which are on this side! ough they are the gifts of the

providence of God, they are less secure; and even spiritual

blessings, if the assembly take this world as the seat of them,

though real, yet deceive the hopes of the saints. ere are

no frontiers like Jordan, appointed by God as such in His

counsels of grace.

God’s government and His faithfulness during the

long wilderness journey

If God numbers His people name by name, He shows,

at the same time, His government and His faithfulness;

for, though He had kept them, as a people, yet there were

none of the rst numbering left, save Caleb and Joshua.

He remembers, also, all their long journey through the

wilderness; each stage is before His eyes and in His memory;

and now He lays down, in principle, the possession of

the land by the people, and the total destruction of the

inhabitants, who were to be entirely driven away and not to

abide in the midst of Israel: else those who were left would

be a torment for the people, and God also would do unto

Israel, as He had done to those nations.

It is a dangerous charity, then, that which spares the

enemies of God, or rather which spares itself, through

unbelief, in its conicts with them, and which is soon led

to form with them connections that bring the judgment

which those enemies have inherited, and themselves also

deserved.

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72554

Numbers 34-36

God’s care over His people

Finally, God takes care of His people in all respects;

He marks the limits of the country they were to enjoy. He

settles the taking possession, the portion of His servants,

the Levites, who were not to have any inheritance.

e six cities of refuge, and Israel’s present and future

Six of their cities were to be refuges for those who had

unintentionally committed murder; a precious type of

God’s dealings with Israel, who, in their ignorance, killed

the Christ. In this sense,<P258> God judges them to be

innocent. ey are guilty of blood which they could not

bear, but guilty in their ignorance, like Saul himself, who

is a striking gure, as one born out of due time (εκτρωμα,

ektroma; 1Corinthians 15:8), of this same position. Such a

murderer, however, remains out of his possession until the

death of the priest living in those days.

And so it will be with regard to Israel. As long as Christ

retains His actual priesthood above, Israel will remain out

of their possession, but under the safe keeping of God. e

servants of God at least, who have no inheritance, serve

as a refuge to them, and understand their position, and

recognize them as being under the keeping of God. When

this priesthood above, such as it now is, ends, Israel will

return into their possession. If they did before, it would

be to pass over the blood of Christ, as if the shedding of

it were no matter, and the land would be deled thereby.

Now, the actual position of Christ is always a testimony to

this rejection, and of His death in the midst of the people.

Numbers 34-36

405

God maintains the inheritance, however, as He has

appointed it (ch. 36).

e relationship between the desert journey

and the possession of the promises and rest

is last part, then, of the book presents, not the passage

itself through the desert, but the relationship between that

position, and the possession of the promises and of the rest

which follows.

It is in the plains of Moab that Moses bore testimony,

and a true testimony, to the perverseness of the people; but

where God justied them, showing His counsels of grace,

in taking their side against the enemy, without even their

knowledge, and pursued all the designs of His grace and of

His determinate purpose for the complete establishment

of His people in the land He had promised them. Blessed

be His name! Happy are we in being allowed to study His

ways!<P259>

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72555

Deuteronomy

We now come to the Book of Deuteronomy, a book

full of interest in its moral warnings as to testimony, but

presenting fewer subjects for interpretation and exegesis

than those, the summary of which we have hitherto sought

to give.

e scope of Deuteronomy

is book takes up Israel just on the borders of

Canaan, and insists upon the faithful maintenance of

their relationship with God, and on obedience to His

commandments, as the only ground on which Israel can

enter and continue therein, adding warnings as to the

consequence of failure in obedience. It takes, in the main,

the ground of their historical state (not of typical forms,

presenting the thoughts of God, as the books we have

just been considering do).1e body of it, after recalling

the history of the wilderness, deals with the ordering of

Israel in the land under God without a head on earth.

e people are under responsibility to walk in obedience,

with only God as their king and ruler. In immediate

reference, the people are in enjoyment of the promised

land under condition of obedience; but feasts, and such like

ordinances, look forward to millennial times. At the end the

distinction between possessing the land under condition of

legal obedience, and by the grace which accomplishes its

purpose in spite of failure is denitely brought out.<P260>

(1. After Genesis and the earlier chapters of Exodus,

there is very little of which the object is historical in the

previous books of Moses. And even in Genesis and the

Deuteronomy

407

beginning of Exodus principles and types are the most

important aspect of what is related. As to the history of

Israel, the Apostle tells us this expressly in 1Corinthians

10:11. And this appreciation of the character of these

books greatly aids us in understanding them. ere is no

proof that one sacrice was oered; possibly the xed ones

were; but Amos, quoted by Stephen, would say the contrary.

ose born in the wilderness were not circumcised, and

could not rightly keep the passover.)

e divisions of the book

e book may be divided into three parts. e rst

eleven chapters insist upon obedience, presenting various

motives to lead the people to it. en come, as far as the end

of the twenty-ninth, divers commandments; to which are

added, by way of sanction, the consequences of obedience

and the curse upon disobedience. From the thirtieth to the

end we have things to come, the blessing of the people, and

the death of Moses.

e contents and teachings of the rst eleven chapters

But this division requires more development, which

will much aid our understanding of the book. e rst part

recounts their history, and this as insisting on the unity

of an invisible God, their obligation to Jehovah who has

called them, through redemption, to be with Him. is

closes with chapter 4, where three cities are secured for the

two tribes and a half. Moses cannot enter into the land;

Jehovah their God is a jealous God. ey are placed under

the covenant of Sinai, but He is a merciful God, and in

their tribulation they can look to the God of their fathers.

In chapter 5 all Israel are called to hear as to their present

place, and put upon the basis of the covenant of Sinai-

to observe it in the land into which they were going to

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possess it. e land had been promised, but they held it

under the covenant of legal obedience, but on the basis of

deliverance wrought by Jehovah out of Egypt. Him they

were exclusively to serve, and He was a jealous God. ey

were to have no kind of connection with the nations found

in the land. Further, we have the terms of the government

of mercy, still of righteousness, established in Moses’

second ascent of Sinai. us we have the government of

God-His ways taken into account; and so the character

of their ways and their object (ch. 8). If they did not give

heed they would perish. is leads to recalling, in order

to humble them, how they had failed all through in the

desert. e second governmental covenant is referred to,

and the Lord’s love that had chosen them in pure grace,

and that in spite of their failures, had already so largely

blessed them. ey must circumcise their hearts to serve

Him and Him only: one only exclusive God, and a God

of government. All is summed up hortatively in chapter

11. Over Jordan they were going, there they were to keep

all that was commanded.<P261> Here Ebal and Gerizim

are brought in. To the end of chapter 4 it is Israel outside

Jordan; chapter 5, inside the land. e rst part presents

the one invisible Jehovah of Horeb, jealous but merciful,

though His ways in general with the people are there too;

the second, the covenant of the ten words with Jehovah,

and His government on the ground of their responsibility.

Of the rst eleven chapters, the rst four form thus a

rather distinct part.

Motives for obedience and consequent blessing

at which strikes one in the rst chapters is the pains

that Jehovah takes to present all possible motives to that

poor people to lead them to obedience, in order that they

Deuteronomy

409

may be blessed. ese things, which ought at least to have

touched the heart, served, alas! only to prove its hardness,

and to show that, if man is to be blessed, God must give

him a new heart, as it is written in the chapter which closes

the second part of His exhortations to obedience: “Yet

Jehovah hath not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to

see, and ears to hear, unto this day” (ch. 29:4).

Deuteronomy is, then, of all the books of Moses, that

which is the most essentially conditional-that is to say, the

rst two divisions which I have pointed out.

e secret things and their unfolding

Chapter 29, which is the last of the second division,

ends, consequently, by saying, “e secret things belong

unto Jehovah our God: but those things which are revealed

belong unto us, and to our children forever, that we may do

all the words of this law.”

e chapters which follow throw this into greater

prominence, by unfolding the secret things which were

to happen after the people had completely failed in

the fulllment of the law, as chapter 30, and, still more

strikingly, chapter 32, by speaking of righteousness by faith.

For the discussion as to righteousness by the law ended

with chapter 29; and chapter 30 supposes the people in a

position in which the securing of righteousness by the law

was impossible, and where there could only be question of

the spirit and end of the law, in the counsels of God.

Now, Christ was the end of it, and it is thus the Apostle

applies the passage (Rom. 10). It is interesting also to

see that the<P262> Lord always quotes Deuteronomy

in answering Satan. He put Himself on the true ground

where Israel stood, in order to possess and keep the land;

being not only the faithful man, but the Jew, the true Son

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called out of Egypt, put to the test as to His faithfulness,

in the conditions under which the people were placed by

Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 1-4

411

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Deuteronomy 1-4

Let us examine a little more closely these chapters,

which show the pains the Spirit took, to set before the eyes

of the people all the motives which could induce them to

walk faithfully in the career which now lay before them.

Moses recalls the patience and goodness of God in

the wilderness journey

He begins with the narrative of what had occurred since

the sojourn of the children of Israel at Sinai; and Moses

reminds them of the commandment to leave that place and

to go to the mount of the Amorites,1 to go up and possess

the land. ey get there, and, discouraged by the spies, they

will not go up; then, trying to do so without God, they

are smitten before their enemies. Passing by the borders of

Esau and Moab, God gives them the land of Sihon and of

Og.

(1. It is interesting to put together the second and

third verses. For an eleven days’ journey Israel took forty

years. Alas! how often is it thus with us, owing to our

unfaithfulness.)

We learn too here that, though sanctioned by God,

the sending the spies was the eect of unbelief among

the people-an instructive lesson. God may allow, and

so far sanction a course, wise humanly, in His ways-His

government, which yet bears the fruit of the unbelief which

is at the root of it.

In a word, Moses recalls to them, in general, what had

taken place in the journey which led to their entrance into

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the land of which they are to take possession-the patience

and the goodness of God.<P263>

e majesty of God and His Word,

and the privilege enjoyed at Horeb

In reminding them of Horeb, he insists on the privilege

they had enjoyed in nearness to God, who Himself had

spoken to them out of the midst of the re, when they saw

no similitude; on the authority of the Word-its majesty-

excluding thus all thought of idolatry. He shows them that

all that were of full age had perished, as a consequence of

their unbelief; that he himself could not enter into that

good land; that God is a jealous God, a consuming re;

and that, if they made any graven image, they would utterly

perish from o the land they were about to enter, and would

be scattered among the nations and left to serve the gods

they had loved; that, nevertheless, they should nd God if

they sought Him with all their heart, for He is a merciful

God, who would not forsake them; that if Sinai had been

the brightness of His majesty, it was also true that such a

God of majesty had never vouchsafed to come so near to a

people, elect and chosen for their fathers’ sakes. Such is the

basis of the government of this people.

ree cities of refuge on this side Jordan

Moses sets apart three cities of refuge, as a token of

possession, on the part of God, of what was on this side

Jordan. ese four chapters are introductory.

Deuteronomy 5-7

413

72557

Deuteronomy 5-7

e ten commandments and the great principles of

God’s government in the land

In chapter 5 Moses reminds them of the ten

commandments given in Horeb; and it is to be remarked

that the deliverance out of Egypt (not the rest of God after

the work of creation) is the reason he gives for the sabbath:

it became a sign of His covenant with Israel (compare

Ezekiel 20). ese were the basis of a regular covenant; and

God here, as we have seen, governs the people in the land

of promise according to their responsibility, as a jealous

God. Mercy, beyond law, only comes in in chapter 30.

ere had been mercy (ch. 10) in giving them back the law,

and placing them under sparing mercy still. ese chapters

give us the great<P264> principles of God’s government in

the land; chapters 12-29 the terms of it.

Reverent fear of God and His Word, with heartfelt

love and remembrance of His deliverances

He reminds them of their fear in the presence of the

Lord; engages them, in chapter 6, to love God with all

their heart; and exhorts them to remember His words in

every way, and to keep them, when they should enjoy the

land, having nothing to do with other gods.

When they should have cast out their enemies, as

Jehovah had spoken, and when their children should ask

the meaning of the ordinances, they were to tell them of

the deliverances and of the signs wrought in Egypt.

God’s sovereign grace; faithful obedience the channel

of blessing

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ey were to destroy every vestige of false gods, being

a people holy to Jehovah. Nor did God set His love upon

them on account of their own importance, but because of

the election and love of God. He assures them that their

faithfulness would also be the channel of blessing, for God

would recompense them according to their ways. Neither

ought they to fear, after all the signs they had seen. us

they were a people separate to Jehovah. As to Him all

was sovereign grace, but sure faithfulness. As to them the

ground they were on was the government of God; hence

all then depended on their holding fast to Jehovah, and

faithful obedience.

Deuteronomy 8-11

415

72558

Deuteronomy 8-11

Calling to remembrance God’s care, His twofold

dealings and their own perverseness

In chapter 8, in the most instructive and touching

language as to the care God had taken of them, while

keeping them in dependence, and His object in doing so,

he also brings to mind the dealings of God with them by

the way,1 as a motive; and how God had humbled and had

exercised them, lest, through the enjoyment of<P265> the

blessings of the good land into which He was bringing them,

they should be pued up (for it was God who gave them

the needed strength); that otherwise God would destroy

them, as He had destroyed the nations. On the other hand

(ch. 9), He reminds them of their continual perverseness,

in order to show them that it was not on account of their

righteousness, but because of the wickedness of the nations,

that God drove them out before them.2

(1. See particularly verses 2-4 and verses 15-16.)

(2. It is important to keep this in mind. Israel was the

rod in God’s hand to get rid of intolerable evil. erefore

also they were not to spare.)

is he applies to them (ch. 10), reminding them

that God had renewed the tables of the law, urging

them to circumcise their hearts, to care for the stranger,

remembering how God had enlarged them since they went

down as strangers to Egypt.

God’s judgments, the beauty of the promised land,

and blessing dependent on their obedience

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en, in chapter 11, he brings to their remembrance the

judgments upon the Egyptians, and those upon Dathan and

Abiram; and declares to them the beauty and excellency of

the land into which they are about to enter, a land upon

which the eyes of Jehovah ever rested;1 and, lastly, he

puts before them the blessing and the curse which there

awaited them, according to their conduct, when brought

in; charging them to keep carefully the commandments of

the Lord, and to teach them to their children. And it is

added, that, by keeping the commandments of God, they

would be able to take possession, according to the full

extent of the promise.

(1. e terms in which this is expressed present a

perfectly beautiful contrast between the carefulness of man

in seeking for blessing, and the grace from above.)

But here all depends on their obedience to this

conditional covenant which made them Jehovah’s, whose

exclusively they were to be; sovereign restoring grace does

not come till chapter 30.

Deuteronomy 12-13

417

72559

Deuteronomy 12-13

e conditions of relationship with God in the land,

and enjoyment of His promises

e second division begins with chapter 12, and

contains the statutes and ordinances they were bound to

observe. It is not a repetition of the old ordinances, but

what specially referred to<P266> their conduct in the land,

that they might keep it and be blessed in it. It is a covenant,

or the conditions of their relationship with God, and of the

enjoyment of His promises, added to what had been said

before (see chapter 29:1).

Maintenance of their relationship with Jehovah

characterized by a center of worship

e ordinances tended in general to this, that they were

a people belonging to Jehovah, and that they were to give

up every other relationship in order to be His; and keep

themselves from all that could seduce them to form such

relationships, or dele them in those which they had with

Jehovah. At the same time, directions are given as to the

details of the maintenance of those relationships. One

thing specially characterizes this part: a xed place where

Jehovah would put His name to which they were to go up

to worship.

But in all this, and in the whole book, this point is

treated as a question of a direct relationship of the people

itself with God. e priests are, in general, mentioned,

more as being the objects of the care of the people when in

the land, according to ordinances already given. e people

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were to behave in such and such a way towards them; but

the relationship is immediate between the people and God.

e xed place of worship chosen by Jehovah, and

conduct suited to the true God

e rst principle laid down to conrm these

relationships is the choice of a place as the center of their

exercise. ey were to go thither with all their oerings;

they might eat esh elsewhere-without the blood; but the

consecrated things could only be eaten in the place chosen

of God. ey were not to forget the Levites. ey were

not even to inquire about the ways of those who had been

driven out of the land.

If the signs of a prophet, who would entice them to serve

other gods, came to pass, or if a relative, or the beloved of

their souls, enticed them, such were to be put to death; if

any of a city, the whole city was to be reduced to a heap of

stones. No relationship with any but with the true God was

to be allowed-no forbearance toward that which ensnared

them to follow another.<P267>

Deuteronomy 14-15

419

72560

Deuteronomy 14-15

A holy people to maintain holiness

Chapter 14 forbids that the people, as being the

children of the living God, should imitate the profane

customs which indicated the devotedness of idolaters

to the impure beings they worshipped. God had chosen

Israel for Himself. Neither were they to dele themselves

by eating abominable things. ey were a holy people. e

tithes and all the rstfruits were to be oered to God.

Recognition of God’s supremacy, and united

enjoyment of His goodness in communion with Him

us consecrated, each one might eat them in the place

where God had put His name. e same command had

been given (ch. 12) with regard to the place where they

were to be eaten, with the addition that the children,

menservants and maidservants might partake of them,

applying it also to the vows, the free-will oerings and the

heave oering. ese ordinances are very remarkable.1

Another, found at the end of chapter 14, may be added

here. e tithe of the third year was to be laid up within

their gates, and the Levite, the fatherless and the stranger

were to come and eat of it; and he who did thus would be

blessed of Jehovah in all the work of his hands.

(1. It is generally explained that there was a double tithe;

that is, that this does not refer to the regular tithe paid to the

Levites, as ordered in the other places in the law, and that

the Levitical tithes remained as they were according to the

previous prescriptions of the law; and it is to be remarked

they were to be locally paid to the Levites, not where

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Jehovah had placed His name. Two years they carried the

dierent oerings to the place chosen of Jehovah, and ate

and rejoiced, but the third, invited the Levite and the poor

at home. Tobit 1:7 gives us historically all these dierent

tithes and oerings; only it appears that, the ten tribes being

in rebellion and apostasy, pious people carried the Levitical

tithes to Jerusalem. Amos 4:4 shows there was some special

habit of tithing every third year, then at Bethel. At any rate

what characterizes Deuteronomy is their enjoying God’s

goodness together, and making the poor enjoy it with

them, Levites and strangers; while priests, though named,

are on these points wholly ignored. (See chapter 12:6-

7,11-12,17-18; 14:22-28.) e priests’ portion is in chapter

18:3-4. But rstlings and rstfruits in chapter 12 are not

the same word; nor is chapter 14:23. But the whole tone of

Deuteronomy is fellowship and enjoyment only before the

Lord, not priestly or altar service.)

Here everything was sanctied, as having been presented

to Jehovah. ere was thus the recognition, on the one

hand, that the<P268> people were His, on the other, that

all they had was of Him; but in giving Him back what He

had given them, they enjoyed, in fellowship with Him, and

their families, the things common to God and the people,

given by Him, oered to Him, and enjoyed in His presence

in communion one with another, God Himself partaking

of them, for the whole was oered to Him.

It was not here the priests opening out a way for the

people to draw near to God: God was honored by the

oering. God enjoyed the piety of the people, and the

people themselves oered with joy. Seated before God

Himself, in the joy of communion with Him, as at the

same table, it was the people who enjoyed the privilege.

Deuteronomy 14-15

421

Acting in grace to Jehovah’s poor in family fellowship

and with His blessing

In the case of the tithe of the third year, it is not the

family joy of the people with God, but rather the grace that

brought enjoyment to those who were strangers or in want,

and to the servants of God who had no inheritance. It was

within their gates that this took place. ey had the privilege

of acting in grace from Jehovah, in communicating to His

poor what He had given them. ey did not go to the house

of Jehovah, but they invited the widow, the orphan and the

Levite to their house to rejoice, and Jehovah blessed them.

e immediate relationship of the people with God in

family fellowship and in grace here is very remarkable. e

priests are out of the scene; the Levites being the objects

of the liberality of the people, as having no inheritance

(compare chapter 12:19).

e year of release: liberality and grace to the poor

and needy

Chapter 15 teaches each one among the people to

consider with liberality and grace their poor brethren (this

consideration being besides made sure to them by the year

of release, which applied to debts and to the Hebrew slaves).

e dependence of him, who thus respected Jehovah in

His poor, was to be placed in God, who would bless him in

thus acting according to His commandment; for the poor

were His poor.<P269>

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72561

Deuteronomy 16-17

e dwelling-place of Jehovah and His solemn feasts

Chapter 16 connects the people with the dwelling-place

of Jehovah, by solemnities in which He surrounds Himself

with His people, blessed and happy in the deliverance

which He has granted them under His reign.

e passover and what it recalls

It gives us three solemn feasts-the passover, Pentecost,

and the feast of tabernacles. e spirit of each of these feasts

suggests a few remarks. e passover recalled deliverance,

deliverance from bondage in Egypt1-for us under sin and

Satan. e unleavened bread, truth in the inward parts,

was here the bread of aiction. e knowledge of Christ,

or the application of Christ to the heart, though coupled

with deliverance and salvation, when it takes the form of

repentance (and this is the case, when the question is of

remembering one’s deliverance), has always something

bitter in it. Joy is not the point here. One has gone out in

haste, by the mighty arm of God; and if one is happy, it is

only as having escaped, feeling that it is through the power

of God alone, and conscious of the state which required

it all. ey ate it during the night, and everyone returned

in the morning to his tent. ey went home with the

sense of the goodness of God, with the sense that it was

a deliverance from the evil under which they had been by

their own fault and to their own ruin.

(1. Egypt signies properly the esh, but that involves

sin and Satan.)

Holiness obligatory, but also the joy of the redeemed

Deuteronomy 16-17

423

Holiness is presented in repentance and deliverance

from the power of evil, under the form of conscience and

judgment of sin; it is an obligation. One dares not remain

any longer in evil. ey were cut o if leaven was found

in the house; whereas this holiness is in itself the joy of

the redeemed. ey were bound to keep the feast wherever

God should put His name. God gathered the people

around His dwelling-place, and linked them with His

name and with Himself.1eir nationality and all their

recollections<P270> were connected with the worship of

Jehovah. It was another safeguard against idolatry (vss.

5-7).

(1. is we have seen was part of Deuteronomic

worship.)

Pentecost characterized by the free-will oering, the

eect of the presence of the Holy Spirit

Seven weeks having elapsed, the people were again to

gather around Jehovah. ey numbered seven weeks from

the time they began to put the sickle to the corn, from the

day they began to reap the fruit of the land of promise.

ey waited for the perfect time of the work of God.

at which rst of all characterized this feast was that

everyone oered a free-will oering, according to the

blessing wherewith Jehovah his God had blessed him. It

is the Holy Spirit, and the blessing owing from Him,

which this type presents to us. It is not only redemption,

but the power of the things which are the result of it-not

in full, however; they were only rstfruits oered to God.

e presentation of these rstfruits to God is the eect

of the power of the Holy Spirit. ey are the remnant of

Israel, historically in the beginning of Christianity, on the

principle of redemption and of the new covenant; but, in

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424

fact, Christians themselves become the rstfruits of the

creation of God. But the eect produced by the Holy

Spirit, the eect of His presence in general, is that which

characterizes this feast.

ere was no mention of free-will oerings at the

passover; they ate in haste and returned home. But the Holy

Spirit has made the renewed heart willing; and according

to the enjoyment of the fruits of the promise-according

to the measure of the blessing of the Spirit of God, it can

and will render to God the rstfruits of the heart, and of

all that He has given us. erefore (and it is what always

accompanies this free-will fruit of the Holy Spirit) they

were to rejoice in the presence of Jehovah their God.

God surrounded Himself with joy, the fruit of His

grace and blessing

e fruits of grace and of the Spirit manifest themselves

in joy and in grace.1 Blessing manifests itself in the spirit

of blessing, in the joy and the goodwill of grace. Blessed

and precious results! Joy<P271> and the desire for the joy

of others always ow from grace, known according to the

power of the Spirit of God.

(1. is also characterizes Deuteronomic worship. )

us the worshipper, his son and his daughter, his

manservant and his maidservant, the Levite within his

gates, the stranger, the orphan and the widow were to

rejoice together in the place where Jehovah had set His

name. God surrounded Himself with joy, the fruit of grace

and of His blessing.

Watchfulness and obedience should accompany joy

e remembrance of having been themselves bondmen

was to touch the heart and inuence the conduct of Israel;

and, by comprehending the grace which had delivered

Deuteronomy 16-17

425

them when they were in that condition, they were to be

led to act in grace towards those who were bondmen to

them. ey are admonished, at the same time, to observe

the statutes of Jehovah; for the presence of the Holy Spirit,

while ministering joy, leads to watchfulness and obedience.

We enjoy the earnest and the rstfruits before God; but

still it is down here, where watchfulness and restraint are

needed.

e feast of tabernacles, as yet unfullled

When the ingathering of the harvest and vintage were

ended (that is, God having gathered in His own, hidden

them in His garner, and trodden His enemies in the

winepress), then came the feast of tabernacles; a feast, the

antitype of which we have not, it is certain, yet seen.

Although all the eects of the passover and Pentecost

are not yet accomplished, yet they have been fullled as to

the event marked by them; but there has been as yet no

fulllment of the feast of tabernacles. is will take place

when Israel, restored to their land after the end of this

dispensation, will fully enjoy the eect of the promise of

God. Consequently joy is put in the foreground, while in

that which pregured the presence of the Holy Spirit upon

earth the free-will oering came rst.

Full and complete joy connected with the time of rest

when labor will be ended

is feast was to be kept during seven consecutive

days. It is joy, full and complete joy; not according to the

measure of the blessing, as in Pentecost, but because God

had blessed them in all the<P272> works of their hands:

therefore they certainly ought to rejoice. e spirit of that

day belongs to us, although the fulllment of it has not yet

taken place.1

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(1. But it is to be remarked here, that in the account

of tabernacles in this chapter, there is no reference to an

eighth day as elsewhere. All refers properly to Israel placed

in the land in present responsibility, but with promise

of yet better things under the new covenant. To us it is

anticipatively the eighth day, that great day of the feast. See

John 7 where we get what to us is now in the place of the

feast, connected with the glory of a rejected, but exalted,

Christ-the outowing fullness of the Holy Spirit. )

ere is a joy that manifests itself in us in connection

with the measure of the present eect of the presence of

the Holy Spirit, a joy with requires watchfulness and to

walk in the narrow way, and in which the remembrance of

our former condition strengthens in us the spirit of grace

towards others, and the presence of the Lord is specially

marked.

ere is a joy known to the heart, although the things

which cause it have not yet had their accomplishment, a joy

connected with the time of rest, when labor will be ended,

and when there will no longer be any need of vigilance, nor

of the remembrance of our misery, to urge us to share our

blessings with others. e feast itself will suce for the

joy of all: “ou shalt rejoice in thy feast.” e Lord recalls

the great principle of the three feasts, namely, to appear

before Jehovah three times in a year, bringing oerings to

Jehovah.

e pains taken and instruments used to preserve

blessing and maintain relationship with God

Verse 18 begins a new subject: the pains taken, and the

instruments used, to preserve the blessing and execute the

judgments necessary to that eect. e thought is still to

maintain the people in relationship with God alone. ey

Deuteronomy 16-17

427

were to appoint judges and ocers in their gates. Whatever

led to idolatry was forbidden; he who enticed them to it

was to be stoned (ch. 17). If the matter were too hard, they

were to come to the priests and the judges, and the people

were to abide by their judgment.

e people’s desire for a king anticipated

e case of the people desiring a king is anticipated;

and they are told that he must be of the people, and not act

so as to open the way for interaction with Egypt, nor so as

to lead the people to<P273> idolatry; but he is to write a

copy of the book of the law with his own hand, and read

therein all the days of his life, being subject to it, so as not

to despise his brethren.

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72562

Deuteronomy 18

Lack of faith foreseen, but Jehovah would raise up a

prophet to whom they should hearken

e priests and the whole tribe of Levi have their

portion assigned to them. e people are forbidden to do

after those abominations, on account of which the nations

which inhabited the land were driven out before Israel,

inquiring of those who used divination. Jehovah would

raise up a prophet like unto Moses, unto whom the people

should hearken. ese ordinances foresee in the people the

lack of the faith needful in order to walk simply with the

Lord. Christ is the true and only answer. ey were not to

fear a prophet who gave a sign which did not come to pass,

for Jehovah had not spoken by him.

eocracy, and the portion of the priests and people

One word here as to the portion of the priests. First, the

normal condition of the people was that of being guided

by the priests, and, in case of need, by judges raised up in

an extraordinary way; and to abide under the keeping of

God in the land, enjoying His blessing. It was, properly

speaking, theocracy. e laws of God directed the people;

they enjoyed the blessing of God; and the priests settled

any questions which arose, a judge being raised up in

exceptional cases.

e priests are introduced here in connection with that

which was necessary to the enjoyment of the land, not as

a means of drawing near to God. Consequently, they were

there to fulll their ministry before God, and a certain

portion belonged to them.

Deuteronomy 18

429

e acknowledgment and enjoyment of God’s

deliverance and goodness

e king was only thought of in the case when the

people would ask one, in order to be like the nations; and

in that case he was to remain, as much as possible, simple in

the midst of Israel, that the law of God might have its full

authority. e people are always ac<P274>counted to be

themselves responsible before God, and enjoying the land

under this responsibility, though for that reason subject

to the decisions of the priests. ey had the land from

God. e position spoken of here is not that of drawing

near to Him, but acknowledging His deliverance and His

goodness, as in the feasts which we have considered.

us he who went up to the place which Jehovah had

chosen ate with his family, and sometimes with the Levite,

the stranger, etc., the tithes1 of each year (in the third year

there were some for the Levite and the poor), the rstling of

the herd and of the ock, the vows, the free-will oerings,

and the heave oerings, all before Jehovah. But at the

same time that they oered them to Jehovah, the oerer

partook of the enjoyment of them (see chapter 14:23,28-

29; 12:7,11-12,17); while, in chapter 18 the priest had a

certain portion of the sacrice, the rstfruit of the corn, of

the wine, and the oil, and the rst of the eece of the sheep.

(1. See note in chapter referred to; they were second

tithes, not Levitical ones. e people never paid tithes to the

priests; but to the Levites at home, they to the priests. e

tithes of the third year (not Levitical) were eaten at home.

We have nothing of Levitical tithes in Deuteronomy.)

e true character of Deuteronomic worship

e rst part of these ordinances is so much the more

remarkable that in the book of Numbers (ch. 18), the

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430

rstborn,1 the heave oerings, all sorts of oerings for sin,

and the meat oerings are given to the priests, and the

tithes to the Levites. But these are assumed, not reordained

here, that the true character of Deuteronomic worship may

be maintained, rejoicing before Jehovah in the enjoyment

of what He gives, not drawing near to Him in the holiest.

(1. Firstborn males. See notes to chapters 12 and 14.)

e dierence between the position of the people and

priests in Deuteronomy and in the three preceding books

We may remark here the dierence between that

which was in this case for the priests, and that which in

Deuteronomy the people are to eat of before the Lord, and

in the other books what is given to the priests. We have

already pointed out the dierence of position.<P275>

In the three preceding books, what is brought before

the mind is drawing near to God, and the priests alone are

looked upon as able to do this; and thus, in the relationship

of priests, they ate in the holy place all that was oered.

ey alone were near God, and that which was oered

to God (according to the force of the word,1 that which

was brought near to God) was theirs, as being near. ey

were all as one company in the camp, and the whole was

essentially typical.

(1. e word translated “an oering” (that is, corban)

comes from a word which means “to draw near,” and, in

the form Hiphil, “to bring near.”)

Pilgrims in the wilderness and dwelling in the land

us all the arrangements of the tabernacle were made

for a people who found themselves in the wilderness-

strangers there; and it is to be observed that Paul, in the

Epistle to the Hebrews, never speaks of anything but the

Deuteronomy 18

431

tabernacle, never of the temple. e relationship he speaks

of is that of pilgrims with God.

It is no longer thus in Deuteronomy. ere the dwelling

of the people in the land of promise is considered; and,

consequently, the people are accounted, not as needing to

learn how to draw near to God,1 but as enjoying, from

God, the eect of His promise in His presence and before

Him, so that the people are directly concerned in the

sacrices. ey are in the enjoyment of the promises, in

the presence of God, and they realize, in the communion

of Jehovah, all the means through which it is enjoyed, and

they partake, in communion, of all that is devoted to Him,

as a sign of the redemption through which this enjoyment

was procured for them.

(1. is very important dierence characterizes the

book. It is no question how near we can get to the holiest,

to God Himself, but communion in the enjoyment of all

the fruits of His promise in His presence and in the spirit

of grace. It is not wilderness connection with God, a yet

deeper principle of connection with Him. )

e rstfruits of the land

It is otherwise with regard to the rstfruits of the land-

that which it yields. Enjoying those fruits of the goodness

of God, the people gave Him back the rstfruits, as a

testimony that all came from Him, and that all was His, and

that His grace had communicated it to them (see chapter

26). erefore the rstfruits were not for the people to eat:

they oered them to God, and ate of all<P276> the rest. It

was the recognition of God, while sharing His blessings.

e rstfruits then were oered to God, and thus fell into

the hands of the priests as their portion.

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72563

Deuteronomy 19-21

Ordinances as to the enjoyment of the land

Chapter 19 opens with ordinances which contemplate

the people in possession and enjoyment of the land; they

were to observe them, that the land might not be deled,

and that the people might walk in the strength of Jehovah.

ree cities of refuge appointed in the land; righteous

regulations as to false witnesses

ree cities of refuge are appointed, and he who kills

his neighbor, without hating him, is distinguished from

the murderer: an important principle, as to the fate of the

Jewish nation, which makes a distinction between those

who have taken a voluntary part in the death of the Lord,

or who afterwards heartily approve the deed, and those who

have done it ignorantly. e regulations of righteousness

also against false witnesses are given here.

Ordinances relative to war

In chapter 20 we have the ordinances relative to war.

Principles of the ways of God with Israel

In chapter 21 we have three interesting cases, because

of the principles which apply to the ways of God with

Israel: the case of the man found slain; that of the child of

the hated wife; and that of the rebellious son. e land of

Jehovah must be kept pure. Israel will have to make this

confession in the latter days, and to clear themselves of the

blood of Messiah.

If the case of the two wives applies to Israel upon earth,

it applies still more closely to Christ (Head of the Gentiles)

Deuteronomy 19-21

433

and the assembly with whom He will inherit all things,

although upon earth Israel be the wife beloved.

However, Israel, as a rebellious son under the old

covenant, is condemned and cut o; as regards the

redeemed, the curse of the<P277> law has fallen upon

another. ose who read the Bible are too well acquainted

with the application of the end of this chapter to make

it needful for me to dwell upon it. e point here under

consideration is the deling of the land, which Jehovah

had given for an inheritance to the people; the hardness

of heart of the priests in applying the precept under the

circumstances is appalling, yet natural.

Summary of chapters 16:18 to 21:23

I will now briey sum up the subjects we have looked

at from chapter 16:18. We have the means, in point of

authority, employed of God to maintain the people in His

ways, and in the knowledge of His will, that they might

enjoy the land in peace. Judges and ocers were to be

appointed, and to judge with uprightness. e priest and

the judge, raised up in an extraordinary manner, were

to communicate, in case of need, the judgment and will

of God, and the people were to obey them. In case the

people wished for a king, directions are given respecting

his conduct.

Directions are given for those Levites who should

devote themselves to the service of Jehovah, in the place

chosen by Him as His dwelling-place. e people, seeking

to know the will of God, were not to consult diviners.

Jehovah would raise up a prophet. Afterwards there is

provision made to keep the land from being polluted with

blood; the elders of the city were to take knowledge of the

deed, whether the slayer had killed without set purpose.

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e cities of refuge present a beautiful type of the state

of Israel, as to their sin, in having killed the Lord Jesus,

whether ignorantly (as the grace of God looks upon it with

regard to those who repent), or knowingly (as perseverance

in rejecting Him would be the proof of): this is the principle

upon which God will judge them. So, in this last point of

view, the people were placed under the searching severity

of the law.

In chapter 20 provision is made to reconcile any war

that might arise with the enjoyment of the land and the

blessing of God, either individually or in case of conquest;

and directions are given to secure the presence of the

power of God, and to show how the enemies were to be

treated according to the mind of God; all mercy towards

the nations of Canaan being prohibited, in order that

Israel might not learn the abominations they were guilty

of.<P278>

Chapter 21 gives another provision for preventing

the land from delement by blood, while declaring (as

elsewhere) that life belongs to God-that, when His rights

are infringed, He will not wink at it. We cannot fail to see

that the blood of Christ is, above all, that of which Israel is

here (ch. 21) guilty (see Psalm 51), and the blood of Jesus

is the only atonement for the sin which shed it. e elders

excuse themselves by pleading their ignorance of what had

been done. e same thing will take place with regard to

Israel. So pleads also Paul. However, there is nothing but

the blood of the heifer which never bore the yoke that can

wipe away sin. us will the guilt of innocent blood be

taken from o the people.

e following directions are indeed practical directions

for Israel; but they seem to me to contain, at the same time,

Deuteronomy 19-21

435

some of God’s principles towards His people. us Israel

upon earth, and the assembly in heaven, have both been

the true rstborn, whom God will not disinherit. And the

rebellious son presents also Israel in nal disobedience to

God.

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72564

Deuteronomy 22-25

Ordinances to guard against want of benevolence and

mercy, or tenderness and purity

Chapter 22 appears to contain ordinances to guard

the people from want of benevolence and mercy, and of

that which would oend the sensibilities of nature, either

with regard to tenderness or purity. So also all mixture was

forbidden in plowing or sowing. We nd the same with

regard to women: they were protected against the dishonor

done to them by a brutish, inconsiderate husband; while

impurity was punished with death.

Conduct and sentiments according to God’s

goodness, tenderness and kindness

us (ch. 23) the people are taught what sentiments

became them, according to God, with reference to the

nations (taking the ways and doings of those nations into

consideration) in case of war. ey are also instructed in

what was proper, as to the purity of the camp in case of war,

seeing God was there. So with regard to all sorts of things,

such as the slave that was escaped from his master; things

morally impure; even the neighbor’s vineyard;<P279>

and (ch. 24) a more serious thing, divorce, and everything

relative to it; delicacy towards the poor, the hire of laborers,

the gleaning for the poor.

e spirit of all these ordinances is very instructive, and

the goodness and the tenderness of God, who deigns to

take knowledge of all these things, and to teach His people

delicacy, propriety, consideration for others, sensitiveness,

and those feelings which, by removing brutality, and

Deuteronomy 22-25

437

softening the hardness of the heart of man, fashion his ways

according to that love with which the Spirit of God clothes

Himself when He acts in the heart of man. Here, it is true,

everything is imperfect. ere are things taken for granted

here, which form the basis of these ordinances, which the

full operation of the Spirit of Christ would entirely take

away; divorce, for instance, and other things endured;

owing their existence to the hardness of man’s heart. But

the limitations and conditions, assigned by the law of God,

keep in check the wickedness of that will which hardens

itself, while it oppresses others.

Care taken that no family should perish, and for the

maintenance of purity and uprightness

Chapter 25 adds ordinances which are a continuation

of what we have already read; taking care that none of their

brethren should be dishonored in their eyes, and that no

family should perish from among the people (there being, at

the same time, the maintenance of purity and uprightness).

Israel forbidden to seek peace with Amalek, the

inveterate enemy of God

As to the inveterate enemies of God and His people,

Israel was never to seek peace with them. Human amiability

is often enmity with God. is ordinance is so much the

more remarkable, because it follows so many others which

made provision for kindness, even to a bird.

Forgetfulness of what was due to God and indierence

toward evil, shown in sparing Amalek

Jehovah had taken care that an Egyptian should nd

the entrance into the assembly of God; but those aections

were to be in exercise towards the Egyptians for the good

of the souls of the <P280>Israelites themselves. ey were

not to harden their hearts against those in whose midst

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they had sojourned. But to spare the Amalekites (who

came to meet Israel to shut up their way and destroy the

feeble ones among them) was to forget what was due to

God, who brought them back; and, as regarded the people,

it would have proved indierence of heart to evil, and not

the eusion of a natural aection; neither was it yielding to

remembrances, with which charity might mingle for good,

by a becoming forgetfulness of wrongs formerly received.1

Where there is nobleness of sentiment, men who know

(though they have injured) each other, still will own one

another when the evil is over.

(1. e Egyptians were merely that in which Israel was

held naturally. e Amalekites were positive, active enemies

against them when the redeemed people of God. One was

really man, though fallen man without God-I honor all

men; the other, the positive, direct power of the enemy.)

e dierent position of the Egyptian and of Amalek

But there is a spirit which claims nothing but disgust:

to tolerate it is only sparing oneself, and admitting that

very spirit into one’s heart so as to partake of it. What is in

question is not judging, but the state of one’s own heart. e

distance of an Egyptian from God was recognized; but if

he were in relationship with Him during three generations,

why should he be kept at a distance? why should he remain

a stranger? But Amalek did not fear God- did not recognize

Him. What then could be recognized in such a nation?

We must bring God into our aairs-our relationships; and

charity, rmness, justness in our judgments, will each nd

its place, and be reproduced in all our ways.

Deuteronomy 26

439

72565

Deuteronomy 26

Worship consequent on the enjoyment of the land

To close this succession of ordinances, we have (ch. 26)

a most beautiful picture of the worship consequent on the

enjoyment of the land according to the promises of God, a

picture full of instruction for us too.

First, we nd the main subject of this book appears as

everywhere else: Israel is in the land which God had given

him for an inheritance.<P281>

But, as to worship, it is not looked at here in the light

of drawing near to God in the holy place, by means of

sacrices which, supposing sin, opened the way for the

people into the presence of Jehovah. is characterizes the

whole book. en the question was, Could they, or how

far could they, or how near could they or the priests draw

near to Jehovah in the sanctuary of His holiness? What

Deuteronomy presents is, while acknowledging their

previous state, the festal enjoyment of the eect of all

the promises, only as coming from, and they themselves

identied with, Jehovah. (So in chapters 12 and 14.)1ey

enjoy the promise, and present themselves as worshippers,

giving thanks as enjoying it. In presenting the rstfruits of

the land of promise, they were to go up to the place where

the Lord had placed His name. What then was the spirit

of that worship?

(1. ese two characters on worship, the wilderness

worshipper’s approach to Jehovah, and the enjoyment of

promises in the land, are not separated for Christians as

they are in these books, because we have entered into, and

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440

are in, the holiest, in heavenly places, and the things we

enjoy are the things that are there. It is all one, though

we shall reign over a subject inheritance, but our undeled

inheritance is there where we are entered. is is a blessed

truth. It is with, not from. We have from; but we joy in

God.)

Acknowledgment of the faithfulness of God

First, it was based on the open confession that they were

in the full enjoyment of the eect of the promise of God.

“I profess this day unto Jehovah that I am come unto the

country which Jehovah sware unto our fathers to give us.”

at is the rst feature of that worship-the full profession

of being in the enjoyment of the eect of the promise. It

was the acknowledgment of the faithfulness of God in

the present communion of His goodness. ereupon the

oering was presented.

Confession of past misery and Jehovah’s redemption

en, in the presence of Jehovah, the worshipper made

confession of the redemption and deliverance of the people.

A Syrian, ready to perish, was his father; and afterwards,

when his children, oppressed by the Egyptians, cried unto

Jehovah, Jehovah had heard and delivered them with an

outstretched arm, and had, by a display of His power,

brought them up into the land they were enjoying.<P282>

Presentation of the rstfruits of God’s blessings as

the recognition of God in them

e second feature, then, is the confession of what their

misery had been, of their impotency in time past, and

that their redemption has been accomplished by Jehovah

alone, to whom they were indebted for all these blessings.

ereupon the worshipper directly addresses Jehovah,

presenting Him with the rstfruits of those blessings. It

Deuteronomy 26

441

was the recognition of God in the blessings (the infallible

eect of a work of God in the heart), and the only means

of truly enjoying them; for God’s blessings turn the heart

away from Him, if their rst eect is not to turn it to Him.

at is the history of Israel, and a thousand times alas! in

the details of life, that of our own hearts. A pious heart

acknowledges God Himself in the blessing, before enjoying

it. See a beautiful example in the conduct of Eliezer, the

servant of Abraham, sent to fetch a wife for Isaac.

Rejoicing with God in consecration in purity

en it is added, “And thou shalt rejoice in every good

thing which Jehovah thy God hath given unto thee.” ey

were to enjoy them with God; and, consequently, observe

here, that in this the spirit of grace manifests itself at once:

“ou, the Levite, and the stranger that is within thy gate.”

It is impossible truly to rejoice in the blessing of God before

Him, without the spirit of grace being present-without

returning blessing for cursing, knowing that we are called

to inherit His blessing. e same truth is found again in

the tithes of the third year, given to the poor, the Levite,

etc., according to the spirit which we have just spoken of.

Another feature of the state of heart of the true

worshipper was holiness in consecrating to Jehovah,

with uprightness of heart, that which was due to Him

according to grace. He was not to be robbed in anything

for appropriation to oneself: nothing was to be profaned by

applying it to self-to deled or interested uses.

In a word, the conscience was good as regarded

consecration to Jehovah, in the things by which the

worshipper acknowledged Him as the true and sole

Author of all the blessings. And if Jehovah was the Author

of them, communion with Him, in acknowledging Him,

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442

was enjoyed in the spirit of holiness, of consecration to

Him, and in the spirit of goodness and grace that was

in Him<P283> towards His poor and forsaken ones.

e character of God is introduced again and again, and

His name brought in, in that which is recognized in the

communion of His people; if overlooked, the people were

guilty and deled, in that they had profaned the name

of the Lord. is consecration in purity to God, and this

expression of His goodness, are singularly beautiful. en

the blessing of God was implored, not only upon oneself,

from God who cared for all His people, but upon all Israel,

upon the land which was the proof of the faithfulness of

God and of the riches of His goodness.

Summary of chapter 26 as giving the spirit of the book

is chapter is of great importance, and a kind of

summing up of the spirit proposed of God in the whole

book: it is the last chapter of the body of its contents. It

refers to no promises to Abraham, Isaac, etc., but takes

the history of Israel from Jacob’s going down into Egypt,

a Syrian ready to perish; oppressed in Egypt they cried to

the God of their fathers, historically so known (not the

promises), and they were delivered with great signs, and

Jehovah had brought them into that good land where they

were, and they brought the rstfruits of the land Jehovah had

given them. It was the acknowledgment of the possession

of blessing in the land given by Jehovah through grace.

is was their worship; and they and Levites and strangers

rejoiced together there in all the good Jehovah had given.

ey did so also, when they had given to fatherless, widows,

Levites, strangers, the tithes of the third year, which were

eaten within their gates, they declare their cleanness and

uprightness; there had been no profanation, but obedience

Deuteronomy 26

443

in all things as to their ordinances; and thereupon an appeal

to God for blessing on the people and the land. e land

possessed, its rstfruits oered to Jehovah; then comes

rejoicing in all the good Jehovah gave; then fellowship in

grace with all in need every third year, and with this, avowal

of purity of ways, thoroughness in doing it, and obedience,

and so a blessing looked for. It is a picture of the true state

of the people with Jehovah, and in the land, and walking

uprightly, considering the needy, that the blessing might

rest upon them; and on this ground they now entered into

covenant with Jehovah to possess and enjoy the land in

obedience, and be fully blessed and exalted.<P284>

is worship was, then, a bond between the people and

God, in the communion of what He was; that is, a bond in

worship, by acknowledging what He was; and by bearing

witness to it. us, according to the commandments of

Jehovah, looked at as the conditions of this bond, God

had that day acknowledged the people, and the people

had acknowledged Jehovah for their God. is closes the

teaching of the book.

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72566

Deuteronomy 27

e law written on the altar: blessings or curses

following obedience or disobedience

Now comes the sanction-that is to say, that which

gives vigor to His law-in the consequences (blessings

and curses) which were to correspond with obedience or

disobedience. is is brought out in chapter 27 and two

following chapters.

Chapter 27 is by itself, however, and is of rather wide

scope in the understanding of the Word of God. If individual

piety expressed itself in the manner we have seen in the

preceding chapter, the public relations of the people with

God were based on the threats of the law. When the people

should have gone over Jordan to take possession of the

land of promise (an idea which constantly presents itself),

having set up great stones and plastered them with plaster,

they were to write the law upon them. is law contained

the conditions on which the land was to be enjoyed.

Mounts Ebal and Gerizim

e people were to divide themselves into two companies

of tribes, part being placed upon Mount Gerizim to bless,

the other upon Ebal to curse. Upon the latter was an altar

to be erected to Jehovah, not for sin oerings, but for burnt

oerings and peace oerings: a worship presupposing

a righteous people in communion with Jehovah, but

placed under the curse if they should break the law. e

announcement of the curses follows, ending with that

curse which would rest on everyone not continuing in all

Deuteronomy 27

445

the things which were written in the book of the law to do

them. But the blessings of Gerizim are entirely omitted.

It is needless to insist upon the importance of this

blank. e Apostle seizes on it as the place of all under the

law. “As many as<P285> are of the works of the law1 are

under the curse,” says the Apostle, “for it is written, Cursed

is every one that continueth not in all things which are

written in the book of the law.” ere is no possibility of

escape. No one, except the Lord Jesus, has accomplished

it; and He, if one may so speak, did not raise an altar for

burnt oering, an altar of worship for a righteous man who

had fullled the law-for Himself alone; but He oered

Himself for us on that mountain of cursing as an oering

for sin, and has thus silenced forever all those threats

and curses. e blessing of Gerizim, consequently, is not

sucient either. Heaven, and, moreover, for Him, the

Father’s throne, are the only worthy answer and reward for

what He has accomplished by suering for our sins. But

this is the righteousness of God, giving to Christ, and so

consequently to us, what He was fully entitled to in having

gloried God, and to us what He has obtained for us.

(1. is expression does not contemplate the conduct,

but the principle on which we stand before God. ose

who are of faith are linked with faithful Abraham; those

that are of the works of the law are under the curse, for the

law says, “Cursed,” etc. )

e principles of chapters 26-27

e connection between the principles of chapter 26

and those of chapter 27 is deeply interesting: the fulllment

of the promise in the enjoyment of the land, the basis of

thanksgivings and of the worship which has its source in

redemption; afterwards the altar, the service to be rendered

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to God, a service linked to His law, the violation of which,

in a single point, brought the curse. is was the condition

of their enjoyment of it.

It is in that point of view, the only one which went to

the root of the question, that the Apostle looks at it. It is

on the ground of this covenant of Deuteronomy that the

people became the people of Jehovah on their entering the

land (compare verses 2 and 10, and chapter 29:1).

Deuteronomy 28-29

447

72567

Deuteronomy 28-29

e immediate consequences of obedience or

disobedience

In chapter 28 we have the principles of God’s

government in the midst of that people, and the immediate

consequences of obedience or disobedience-consequences

so solemnly fullled in the<P286> fate of that unhappy

people, still beloved for the fathers’ sakes. e consequences

of the violation of the law as a principle of relationship with

God, as to the point of a righteousness which was adequate

ground of God’s acceptance, must not be confounded with

the temporary consequences of disobedience under the

government of God. It is to these latter that chapter 28 has

reference. We may notice for ourselves the deep instruction

of verses 47-48. As to Israel, universal history presents to

us the accomplishment of the threats of the chapter.

God’s exhortations applied to the conscience; His

unalterable purpose

Chapter 29 is the personal application to the conscience

of the people, both collectively and individually, of all that

precedes, that there may be no bitter root of sin (compare

Hebrews 12:15, the application of this exhortation to the

discipline and the loving care of saints now).

Verse 29 requires to be noticed. We nd in it the contrast

between the consequences thus revealed of obedience and

disobedience, and the purposes of God in behalf of the

people, notwithstanding their disobedience-purposes which

evidently could not be a rule for their conduct. e rule

was found in the ordinance of the law. e meaning of

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this verse has been so twisted, that it is worthwhile thus

to point out its force. e secret things are the purposes of

God with regard to the people, though they should have

been disobedient and driven out of the land; but, although

they are not the rule of conduct, they are revealed and are

of deep interest. In what follows, God begins already to

present them to our attention, and surely it becomes us to

consider them.

Summary of chapters 27-29

us we have, in these chapters, the relationship of the

pious Jew with God, grounded upon the accomplishment of

the promises made to the fathers, in the present enjoyment

of the land; the relationship of the people with God, in

view of the curse pronounced upon the violation of the law;

the relationship of the people with God, according to the

principles of His government, the consequences brought

in, either by their obedience or <P287>disobedience: and,

nally, after the disobedience, and when this has produced

its fruit, the designs of God according to His purpose,

which nothing could alter.

Deuteronomy 30

449

72568

Deuteronomy 30

A new principle: faith laying hold of the spirit of the

law and turning the heart to Jehovah

We must now dwell a little on this last point. Chapter

30 furnishes us with an important principle. It supposes

that the people have already incurred the consequences of

disobedience, and they are seen as driven out of the land,

and strangers among distant nations. e law could not be

followed out in such a case; and, indeed, the violation of

the law had even then produced its fruits.

But then quite a new principle is introduced: the return

of the hearts of the people to Jehovah, and obedience, one

must add, in spirit. ereupon Jehovah brings them back

into their land, and blesses them in it. e curse is put

on their enemies; and they are to observe in the land the

ordinances of Jehovah, enjoying anew His full blessing; for

the commandment was neither in heaven, nor beyond the

seas, but in the mouth and in the heart. is was not the

new covenant, but faith laying hold of the spirit of the law

in principle, and turning the heart towards Jehovah, when

the law was externally impracticable.

e principle of the return of the heart when under

the curse of the law

e establishment of the new covenant, based on this

return of the heart, at a time appointed of God, will be

something well dened. Here we have the principle of their

return when under the curse of the law they had broken.

Hence, the Apostle quotes this passage for the basis of the

principle, as a testimony given to what righteousness by

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faith was, applying it to Christ Himself- the return of the

heart to the object and end of the law, when judgment was

on them for its violation, and hope of righteousness by its

accomplishment impossible-how Christ was the end of

the law for righteousness. e principle is found here. e

Apostle brings in Christ as the true accomplishment of

it. At the end of the chapter, Moses declares that he has

now set before<P288> them the good and the evil, and that

they would have to bear the consequence of their choice.

Deuteronomy 31

451

72569

Deuteronomy 31

Joshua the leader into the promised land; the law a

written witness against the people

In chapter 31 he introduces Joshua, as the leader under

whom the people were to take possession of the promised

land. He orders that the law should be read before all every

seventh year, in order that everyone might take notice of it,

in that solemn moment when, enjoying afresh, as it were,

the blessing which it secured to them, they submitted to it

as a testimony that the land, as well as everything, belonged

to Jehovah. Afterwards, when Joshua is established in his

charge, Moses is ordered to communicate to the people a

song inspired of God, which, based upon the certainty of

the iniquity of the people, announces the ways of the Lord

towards them; commanding the Levites, at the same time,

to put the written law by the side of the ark, as a witness

against the people.

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Deuteronomy 32

Moses’ prophetic song based on the people’s

foreknown fall

We have the prophetic song, which is based on the

foreknown fall of the people. First, it declares the perfectness

of Jehovah, whatever may take place; it is Israel who have

corrupted themselves (compare Psalm 22:3; Christ can say,

“Why?”). At the same time (vs. 8) we have an all-important

declaration; namely, that God, in His government of the

world, had made Israel the center, and had arranged the

nations of the earth, in their various localities, as having

respect to the bounds of Israel as being the rst object of

those ways. For His earthly people are Jehovah’s portion,

His inheritance upon earth. But Jeshurun (Israel) waxed

fat, and kicked, and forsook the Rock of his strength.

Consequently God moves them to jealousy with those that

are not a people. It is the call of the Gentiles, according to

Romans 10:19.<P289>

God’s ways with Israel and the Gentiles

e judgment, nevertheless, falls upon Israel, so that God

would have destroyed them, had not the glory of His name

hindered Him, for the Gentiles proved themselves perfectly

wicked. en, the people being distressed, without strength

and without hope, He remembers them, and nally takes

vengeance on their enemies, those idolatrous Gentiles. But,

though avenging Himself, it is then that, having restored

His people Israel, He will cause the Gentiles to rejoice in

Him.

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453

Israel yet to be restored, and God’s mercy shown to

His land and people

is principle is true already; but the testimony it

furnishes will be fully accomplished when Israel is again

restored to the enjoyment of the promises; when God will

manifest His mercy towards His land, as well as towards

His people. e whole course of His dealings, in respect of

the people who form the center of His ways upon earth, is

thus fully brought out. Afterwards, Moses puts obedience

(the great end of this book, Israel being placed under the

condition of obedience for continuance in the enjoyment

of the promises) before them again, and reminds them that

thereby they would prolong their days in the land which

they were going up to possess.

Moses’ sight of the land

At last poor Moses has to go up Mount Nebo, to see

the land into which he cannot enter, not having answered

the requirement of the glory of God in the wilderness,

nor sanctied His name by faith. It is the unavoidable

consequence of the just government of God towards a

servant-I mean under the law. He does not get into the

enjoyment of the promise. A single fault deprives him of it.

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Deuteronomy 33

e blessings of Moses over the people according to

those of God

We have also the blessings of this man of God,

pronounced over the people before his death (ch. 33). e

blessings of Jacob were<P290> more historical regarding

the future. Here they are rather relationship with God

according to His government. Twelve is still the number

of the tribes (Simeon being omitted to make room for

two tribes of the posterity of Joseph, the rstborn as to the

inheritance, instead of Reuben). Here it is according to the

blessing of God, and not according to the rights of nature.

Upon this latter principle, Israel, represented by Reuben,

will be diminished, but will not die.

Jehovah is there in majesty, with the terror of the law

in His right hand; but He loves the people, that is to say,

His saints there surrounding Him to receive His words.

e people receive a law, through the mediation of Moses,

which is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. is

Moses is there as king. ese, then, are the relationships on

which these blessings are based.

Jehovah’s blessings according to the majesty of Sinai

and of His revelation of Himself

e blessings are not here presented historically as

those of the children of the fathers, and, consequently,

in connection with Shiloh, the Rock of Israel, nor as a

complete view of God’s ways in Israel, as in Genesis; but

the subject is the relationship of Jehovah with the people,

as in possession of the land (as in the rest of the book), and

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455

placed under the government of God: Jehovah blessing,

but blessing according to the majesty of Sinai, and of His

revelation of Himself in the bush; Moses, the king, being

the channel of these blessings, which had thus reference

to the nation, and were based upon this relationship with

God.

us Levi is blessed, having been faithful to Jehovah;

Joseph has the blessing and the goodwill of Him that

dwelt in the bush, having been separated from his brethren,

fearing God, and being the vessel of His purposes. is was

accordingly the position of the two tribes in the land, as

Simeon, not mentioned here, was, so to speak, lost in the

land; his portion was where the Philistines dwelt.

Why the chief blessings rest on Levi and Joseph

We must also remark here, that the chief blessings

rest upon him who, for the sake of God, neither knew

his father, nor his mother, that is, Levi; and upon Joseph,

who, for the glory of God,<P291> was separated from his

own. Both were His. Levi has the most excellent place; his

separation, which should actually take place, was a fruit of

faithfulness. Joseph has, perhaps, more sensible enjoyment;

he was faithful to God in his involuntary separation. Both

these are completely realized in Christ.

Reuben and Judah

If the blessing of God preserves life to Reuben, with

but few men, Judah is presented to Jehovah, that he may

be heard, and that the help of Jehovah may be with him.

e expression, “Bring him unto his people,” deserves

careful notice, in the relations which have existed between

that people and God, seeing the position of Judah in their

history, under the government of God, and its present

dispersion, and in that which is yet to take place, when the

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union of the whole people will be restored in their own

place.

Levi and the everlasting priesthood

Levi occupies the third place, Simeon being left out.

e request of the prophet-king for him (Levi) is the

everlasting priesthood of the people of God (upon earth,

of course). “His holy one” is used in the sense of piety

towards God-grace in the heart. He requests that light and

perfection (Urim and ummim) in the intelligence of the

relations which would in reality exist at all times between

the people and God, and between God and the people in

return, might be with the man of grace and piety, ocially

the priestly tribe.

But the basis of this request is remarkable, as to the

government of God. God proved the people at Massah, and

strove with them at Meribah. Now, that is precisely what

is attributed to Israel historically. ey tried (or tempted)

God at Massah, and strove with Him at Meribah. But

where the esh manifested itself in Israel, there did God

put His priest to the test, and at the waters of Meribah,

where Moses did not sanctify Him, He was in controversy

with Moses.1 Painful circumstances-the being deprived of

the stream of manifest and sensible blessings in the midst

of<P292> the people of God, a state which makes room

for the manifestation of rebellious esh, and for murmurs

against God in the wilderness, tempting God and saying,

“Is He amongst us?”- are trials to which God subjects His

priests. e church, in her priestly position, and especially

those who have the good of the church at heart, are also

put to the test, to see whether they know how to reckon

upon the blessing of God, however things may be.

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457

(1. No doubt the fall of this man of God was the eect

of his previous state, for he was a man. Trial, when we are

not going on well, is chastening, but needful chastening,

and a blessing in result. erefore, at the same time that it

is a blessing, it is said, “Lead us not into temptation.”)

Levi put to the test

But, although Levi was put to the test in his priesthood,

he had been put to the test in order to obtain it; and Levi

had not hesitated one moment in choosing between man

and God-even man in the nearest relationship according

to the esh. at is the sole basis of all priesthood. One

can only stand before God on the behalf of another, in

proportion as one has oneself stood truly for God before

man. For with what God would one be a mediator? It would

not be with the holy God, who has a right to our whole

being. ere could only, as to sinners, be the sympathy of

the esh, which connects itself with sins.

One must be accepted in the presence of God according

to His holiness, in order to be able to intercede for man in

his weakness. is is absolutely true of Jesus, and of us all in

a practical sense. But to be so, there must be the testimony

when the question is raised; and this must needs cost us

something before men. One must be for God, not sparing

oneself, hating father and mother. is instruction is

important. ere must also be the distinguishing between

the trial of our priesthood and the trial of ourselves before

entering upon it. Here the practical trial, where we are so,

is spoken of, for we are priests by grace, yet tted by full

exercise of heart, separating us to God.

Benjamin and Joseph

It would seem that the place of Benjamin, in relation

with Jehovah, was in His favor; being kept near Him, as

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has been the case with that tribe, within whose limits was

Jerusalem.

Joseph had his earthly blessing by the title of rstborn;

as to the inheritance, his land is blessed, the double portion

is assigned to him.<P293>

Zebulun, Issachar and Gad

I have no remarks to make on the other blessings, except

that those of Zebulun and Issachar seem to be yet future,

and those of Gad to establish the relations which existed

already.

God exalted Himself to bless His people in the end

But, moreover, if the ways of God towards His

people were connected with their faithfulness and the

manifestation of Himself- if God suited His ways to their

conduct to manifest His government and Himself-He also

exalted Himself above all to bless and to keep. He would

fall back upon the title of His own glory in order to be

to them an infallible source of blessing and security; He

would make known His glory in the behalf of Israel; He

rode upon the heavens in their help. Where His majesty

was, there was the help of the people. He would uphold

them also, would destroy their enemies, and then should

Israel dwell in safety alone. e nations should dwell in

a fruitful land, on which the heavens would drop down

blessings as dew. Happy people! Objects of the deliverance

of God, who was unto them as a shield and a sword. eir

enemies would be subdued under them.

us, whatever might be the details of the relationship

of the people with God, in His government of them, He

would bless them in the end, as a people, according to His

sovereign glory and majesty.

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459

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Deuteronomy 34

Moses, as the servant of God, belonged to the

wilderness and could not enter the land

We have now to consider a little the prohibition

to which Moses was subjected, not to enter the land of

promise. Moses, the man of God, might pronounce the

blessings on Israel as in the land; but he himself, as servant

of God, belonged to the wilderness. ere are more things

than one to be weighed here. As to the position of Moses,

it was that of the government of a people, placed under the

principles of Sinai; that is, while under the government of

God, it was in the esh that His people were subjected to

that government (compare Romans 9:5, where the subject

is fully discussed).<P294>

Man in the esh cannot enjoy the promises

Now, man in the esh, under the government of God,

cannot come into the enjoyment of the promise. is is true

even of a Christian. Risen with Christ, he is seated in the

heavenly places, he enjoys the promise in the presence of

God; or, at least, his aections look up there, his life is hid

there with Christ;1 but, as a man upon earth, he is under

the government of God, who acts towards him according

to the manifestation of the spiritual life here below; and

Christ is between him and God, exercising priesthood

and advocacy, which do not establish righteousness (that

is done once for all), but which maintain the relationship

of weak men with God in the light-to the fellowship of

which they are called in Christ who is in it-by obtaining

mercy and grace to help in time of need so that they should

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not fall, or to restore them if they do, through the advocacy

by the operation of the Spirit upon earth.

(1. e former is the teaching of the Ephesians, the

second, of the Colossians. In the former, dead in sin, he

is raised up and set in Christ in heavenly places. It is a

new creation. In the latter, he has died to sin and is risen

with Christ, and his aections are to be set on heavenly

things. In this last epistle he is viewed also as dead in sins

and quickened together with Christ, but not as sitting in

heavenly places.)

Crossing Jordan was our death and resurrection with

Christ in a gure. Joshua always represents Christ, Head

of His people, according to the power of the Spirit. But the

wilderness is this world. Moses directs and governs the

people there according to God; consequently he does not

enter into Canaan.

e dierence between the Red Sea and Jordan

e dierence (we shall dwell on that more at length

when we study the Book of Joshua) between the Red

Sea and Jordan is that the Red Sea was the ecacy of

redemption through the death and resurrection of Christ

Himself, and we are viewed, withal, in Him; Jordan was

the application of it to the soul, as having died with Him

in order to the enjoyment of the promises. e passage of

the Red Sea was followed by songs of joy; that of Jordan,

by conict and the realization of the promises.

Moses’ fault when wearied with evil

As to Moses himself, personally, the fault which

precluded his entrance into the land is well-known.

Provoked by the rebellion of<P295> Israel, and wearied

with caring for the people, instead of exalting God in the

eyes of Israel, he exalted himself. He made use of the gift

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461

of God for that purpose; he did not sanctify Jehovah in

the eyes of the people; he did not give Him His place.

God does not become weary in His goodness; and thus

acting in discipline, for the good of His people, according

to His majesty, He can always fall back upon those ways of

direct blessing which ow from His unfailing grace. Man,

wearied with the evil that vexes him, tries to exalt himself,

to put himself above the evil, and to shelter himself from it,

because he is not above it. He no longer glories God; he

exalts himself and he is abased.

If Moses, instead of acting according to the esh, had

remembered that it was not he or his glory which was in

question (and how often had he himself told them so!) but

God, he would have felt that the people could not touch the

glory of God; and this unfailing glory would have sustained

him, looking only at that glory which ever maintains itself;

so that if we only seek to maintain it, we may rest upon it.

But he lacked faith, and was forbidden to enter into that

which only the perfection of glory could open to men; and,

indeed, what could lead Israel safely through the desert and

into the land of Canaan? Pure grace alone. Moses was not

able to apprehend the height of the grace that conquers

everything. It was according to that grace, as we have seen,

that God acted at Meribah.

New creation needed to enjoy the promises

Now, the law could not lead into life; and, therefore, the

esh, the world and the law, ever correlative in the ways of

God, were found in the journey through the wilderness;

and Moses remains there. He might, as a man of God

and a prophet, tell of grace, as making sure the blessing of

Israel (ch. 33:26-29). Faithful in all His house, as a servant,

he remains on this side Jordan; a proof, in these touching

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circumstances, that an absolutely new creation is needed to

enjoy the promises of God, according to that grace which

can alone, after all, bring one in safety even through the

wilderness-the unfailing grace of our God.<P296>

Moses’ death: the purpose of his honored burial by

Jehovah

Moses dies, and, buried by Jehovah, does not serve as an

object of carnal veneration to a people at all times ready to

fall into this sin, when his name gave them honor according

to the esh; just as they continually opposed him, when his

presence according to God thwarted the esh. He was a

man honored of God, who scarcely had his equal (He, of

course, excepted who had none); but nevertheless he was

man, and man is but vanity.<P297>

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463

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Joshua

e great principles set forth in the Pentateuch as to

the relations of God and man

We have gone through, by the goodness of God, the

ve books of Moses. ey have set before us, on the one

side, the great principles on which the relations of man

with God, and of God with man, in their great elements,

are founded, such as redemption, sacrice, and the like;

and on the other, the deliverance of a people set apart for

Himself, and the dierent conditions in which they were

placed, whether under grace in the form of promise, under

law, or under God’s government established over them by

the special mediation of Moses.

We have had occasion in them to examine the history

of this people in the wilderness; and the pattern presented,

by the tabernacle, of things to be afterwards revealed;

sacrices and priesthood, means of relationship with God

granted to sinners, wherein is indeed wanting the image

of our perfect liberty to approach God, the veil not being

then rent, but wherein the shadow of heavenly things is

placed before our eyes with most interesting detail.

Finally, we have seen that God-having at the end of

the journey, in the wilderness, pronounced the denitive

justication of His people, and caused His blessing to rest

upon them in spite of the eorts of their enemies-declares

under what conditions the people should retain possession

of the land, and enjoy His blessing in it, in the liberty

and grace of God’s free gift in immediate relationship

with Himself; and what would be the consequences of

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disobedience; revealing, at the same time, His purposes

with respect to this people, purposes which He would

accomplish for His own glory.1is brings us to the taking

possession of the land of promise by the people under the

guidance of Joshua.<P298>

(1. eir typical revelations in these books, which

though interwoven with the history are their real subject,

are invaluable to us; only the special privileges of Christians

and of the assembly of God, in sovereign grace, are not

communicated. )

e scope of the Book of Joshua

As the Book of Numbers sets forth the spiritual journey

through the wilderness in which the esh was tested and

tried, so this book is full of interest and instruction, as

setting before us in type the conicts of the inheritors of

heaven with spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, when

we have entered into them, with a sure title, but having to

take possession of them by the energy which overcomes the

enemies who would keep us out, which is the other part of

the Christian life. Christians are blessed with all spiritual

blessings in heavenly places, as Israel was to enjoy temporal

blessings in earthly places. It is easy to understand that, if

we may rightly use (as I do not doubt) the name of Canaan

as a gurative expression of the rest of the people of God,

that which we have here to do with is not the rest itself, but

the spiritual conict which secures the enjoyment of the

promises of God to true believers. e close of the Epistle

to the Ephesians presents that which precisely answers,

indeed alludes, to the position of Israel in this book. e

saints in the assembly having been quickened and raised

up with Jesus, have their conict in the heavenly places,

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465

as it is to those who dwell there that the assembly is a

testimony- the testimony of the manifold wisdom of God.

Jordan and Canaan as types

It is worthy of notice, if Jordan represents death, and

Canaan rest and glory, how short common Christian views

must come of some intended Christian position; for the

eect of the crossing of Jordan, and what characterized

what followed, was war. e angel of Jehovah comes with a

drawn sword as captain of Jehovah’s host. It leads us to see

that the Christian is to learn that he is dead and risen while

here, and has his place in the heaven-lies in Christ, and

that it is in this position that his true conicts take place.

Joshua a type of Christ leading His people

Joshua, then, represents Christ, not as coming down

in person to take possession of the earth, but as leading

His people through the power of the Holy Spirit, who acts

and dwells in the midst of this people. Yet in Joshua, as in

all other typical persons, those errors and sins are found

which betray the weakness of the <P299>instrument, and

the fragility of the vessel in which, for the time, God has

condescended to put His glory.

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72574

Joshua 1

Joshua commissioned by Jehovah

Let us apply ourselves now to the study of this book.

e rst chapter shows us Joshua placed in service by

Jehovah who commands him to go over Jordan into the

land which He had given to the children of Israel.

Let us pause a moment over this immediate commission

from Jehovah. Moses here holds the place, not of the living

mediator, but of the written word. All that he commanded,

being from God, was evidently the word of God for Israel.

Joshua is the energy which brings them into possession of

the promises.

e condition attached to the actual possession of the

land

First of all, we have the principle on which possession

is taken; not in the simple exercise of divine power, as that

which will take place at the end, but in the energy of the

Spirit and in connection with the responsibility of man.

e boundaries of the promised land are given; but the

knowledge of the boundaries assigned by God was not

enough: God had dened them very accurately; but a

condition was attached to their possession. “Every place

that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that I have given

unto you.” ey must go there, overcome the obstacles

with the help and by the power of God, and take actual

possession. Without that they could not possess it; and, in

fact, this is what happened. ey never took possession of

all the land which God had given. Nevertheless, to faith

the promise was sure: “ere shall not any man be able to

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467

stand before thee all the days of thy life.” e power of the

Spirit of God, of Christ by His Spirit (the true energy of

the believer), is all-sucient. For it is, in fact, the power

of Christ Himself, who has almighty power. At the same

time, the promise of never being left nor forsaken (Deut.

31:6,8) is maintained in all its force. is is what may

be reckoned upon in the Lord’s service-such a power of

His presence that none shall be able to stand before His

servant, a power which will never forsake him. With this

full encouragement, he<P300> who walks by the Spirit is

called upon to be strong and of a good courage.

e courage of faith necessary to take heed to God’s

Word

After this comes Jehovah’s exhortation, in verse 7,

“Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou

mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses,

my servant [the title always given him here], commanded

thee.” Spiritual strength and energy, the courage of faith,

are necessary, in order that the heart may be bold enough

to obey, may be free from the inuences, the fears, and the

motives which act upon the natural man, and tend to turn

believers aside from the path of obedience, and that they

may take heed unto the Word of God.

e walk set before God’s people in His Word

ere is nothing so unreasonable in the world as the walk

set before us in the Word-nothing which so exposes us to

the hatred of its prince. If, then, God be not with us, there

is nothing so foolish, so mad; if He be with us, nothing

so wise. If we have not the strength of His presence, we

dare not take heed to His Word; and, in that case, we must

beware of going out to war. But having the courage, which

the almighty power of God inspires by His promise, we

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may lay hold of the good and precious Word of our God:

its severest precepts are only wisdom to detect the esh,

and instruction how to mortify it, so that it may neither

blind nor shackle us.

e road to victory and repose

e most dicult path, that which leads to the sharpest

conict, is but the road to victory and repose, causing us to

increase in the knowledge of God. It is the road in which

we are in communion with God, with Him who is the

source of all joy; it is the earnest and the foretaste of eternal

and innite happiness.

If only this word from God, Jehovah, is heard-“Turn

not from it, to the right hand nor to the left, that thou

mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest”-what joy for him

who, through grace, comes forward to do the work of God!

e two great principles of spiritual life and activity

e Lord then exhorts him to the diligent study of this

book of<P301> the law: “For then thou shalt make thy

way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Here, then, are the two great principles of spiritual life and

activity: rst, the assured presence of the almighty power

of God, so that nothing can stand before His servant;

second, the reception of His Word, submission to His

Word, diligent study of His Word, taking it as an absolute

guide; and having courage to do so, because of the promise

and exhortation of God.

Jesus’ path and the revelation of it

In short, the Spirit and the Word are all in all for

spiritual life. Furnished with this power faith goes forward,

strengthened by the encouraging word of our God. God

has a way in the world where Satan cannot touch us. is

is the path where Jesus walked. Satan is the prince of this

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469

world; but there is a divine path through it, but no other,

and there God’s power is. e Word is the revelation of it.

So the Lord bound the strong man. He acted by the power

of the Spirit, and used the Word. e Spirit and the Word

cannot be separated without falling into fanaticism on the

one hand, or into rationalism on the other-without putting

oneself outside the place of dependence upon God, and of

His guidance. Mere reason would become the master of

some; imagination, of others.

Satan’s inuence when reason is destitute of guidance

Moreover, there is nothing more imaginative than reason,

when destitute of guidance! In result, the enemy of souls

would take possession of both. We should have man under

Satan’s inuence, in the place of God. Miserable exchange!

for which the unbeliever is consoled by attering himself

that there is nothing beyond his reach, because he reduces

everything to the limits of his own mind. Nothing appears

to me more pitiful than this unbelief, which pretends that

there is nothing in the moral and intellectual sphere beyond

the thoughts of man, and which denies man’s capacity to

receive light from a more exalted mind-the only thing that

raises man above himself, while at the same time rendering

him morally excellent, by making him humble through the

sense of superiority in another.

Blessed be God, that some are to be found who have

proted<P302> by the grace which has communicated to

man of His perfect wisdom! Even though the imperfect

vessel which received it may have a little impaired its

features and its perfection, they have nevertheless proted

by it so as to take their true place. Happy place, before the

presence of Him whom to know is innite and everlasting

joy!

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Consciousness of the will of God and strength for

action

ere is yet an important, practical rule to be recognized

in these words, “Have not I commanded thee?” (ch. 1:9). If

we are not conscious that we are doing the will of God-if,

before we begin to act, we have not assured ourselves of this

in His presence, we shall have no courage in performing it.

Perhaps indeed what we are doing is the will of God; but,

not being conscious of this, we act with hesitation, without

condence, without joy; we are repulsed by the smallest

opposition, while, when we are assured of doing His will,

and that He has said, “Have not I commanded thee?” nothing,

through grace, can alarm us.

Nevertheless I add one word, or rather I call the reader’s

attention to what God says; for although the command

of God inspires us with a courage which we could not

have had without it, yet no revelation is by itself strength

for action. But God adds, “Be not afraid, neither be thou

dismayed, for Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever

thou goest.”

Paul’s weakness and strength

We have in the New Testament a striking exemplication

of this principle: Paul was caught up to the third heaven,

where he heard things which it is not lawful for man to utter.

Was this his strength in conict? Doubtless it inwardly

gave his views a scope which reacted upon his whole work;

but this was not his strength for the work. On the contrary,

it tended to feed the false condence of the esh; at least

the esh would have used it for self-exaltation.

Such revelations rendered humiliation needful, and drew

from God, not fresh favors (though all was favor), but, that

which humbled the Apostle, and rendered him weak and

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471

contemptible as to the esh.1 Being then weak, strength is

given him in another way:<P303> not in the use or in the

consciousness of revelations, that would have made him

weak, by ministering to the exaltation of the esh, but, in

the grace and strength of Christ, which were made perfect

in this inrmity. ere lay his only strength; and he gloried

in this inrmity, in which the power of Christ was perfected

in him, which gave occasion for the manifestation of this

power; and which, in proving that Paul was weak, proved

that Christ Himself was in the work with Paul. We always

need immediate strength from Christ, when acting on the

part of Christ- strength which is made perfect in weakness,

to do His work- abiding strength, for without Him we can

do nothing. Let us remember this truth.

(1. Idle curiosity inquires what this thorn in the esh

could be. It matters little to us what it was. ere might be

a dierent thorn for each case in which God saw t to send

one. It would be always something suited to humble him

who needed it. It is enough for our spiritual instruction

to know by the Word, that as to Paul it was an inrmity

which tended to make him personally contemptible in his

preaching. (See Galatians 4:14; 2Corinthians 10:10.) e

object of God, in such a trial, as meeting the danger, is so

evident to every spiritual mind, that it were useless to dwell

upon it.)

“On this side of Jordan,” and the land

I add but one word on the end of the chapter. ere are

Christians (I cannot say approved of God) who take their

place on this side of Jordan-that is to say, on this side of the

power of death and resurrection, applied to the soul by the

Spirit of God. e place in which they settle is not Egypt;

it is beyond the Red Sea, it is within the limits of Israel’s

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possessions-outside Egypt and this side the Euphrates,

river of Babylon. But it is not Canaan. It is a land they have

chosen for their cattle and their possessions; they establish

their children and their wives there. It is not Joshua who

conquered that land; it is not the place of testimony to the

power of the Spirit of God-that Canaan which is beyond

Jordan.

However, although the children and their families

might be placed there, yet the men of war must, whether

they will or no, take part in the conicts of the children

of God, who seek no rest except where the power of God

is found-that is to say, in Canaan, in the heavenly places,

all enemies being driven out. And indeed when the sin of

Israel, and their consequent weakness, exposed the people

to the successful attacks of their enemies, of the enemies

of God, this country was the rst that fell into their hands.

“Know ye that Ramoth Gilead is ours?” leads to no blessing

to the people when sorrowful on account of its loss. For

the time all was<P304> well; that is, as long as Reuben,

Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh remained under the

authority of Joshua, and through him the power of God

conducted the people. ey too say to Joshua that which

God had said, “Be strong and of a good courage.”

e impossibility of reconciling “that which is

spiritual” and what is carnal

How often among the children of God some principle

or line of conduct is brought in, that is inferior in nature

to the excellence of that work which is going on in the

purpose of God; but which, as long as the power of God

is working according to this purpose, does not disengage

itself, so to say, from the work, so as to assume any

prominence, and produce uneasiness and sorrow! But

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473

when this divine stream becomes shallow in consequence

of man’s unfaithfulness, then bitter fruits appear; spiritual

declensions, weakness, heart-burnings, divisions, and direct

subjection to the evil power, owing from the impossibility

of reconciling that which is spiritual with that which is

carnal, and of maintaining a spiritual testimony while

conforming to the ways of the world.

But this testimony belongs to the other side of Jordan.

e two tribes and a half may follow this course if they

will, but we cannot come out of Canaan to join them. Alas!

these beautiful meadows, well suited to feed their ocks,

have found but too many Lots, and tribes of Israel, to settle

in them to their loss. e shoals that are met with in our

Christian voyage may perhaps be safely crossed at high

tide; but at low tide skillful pilotage is needed to avoid

them, and to oat always in the full current of the grace

of God in the channel it has made for itself. But there is a

sure and steadfast Pilot; and we are safe if we are content

to follow Him. God has given us what we need for this.

Perhaps we must be satised with a very little boat: the

unerring Pilot will be in it.

At the rst Moses was not pleased with the proposal

of the two tribes and a half. e thing was permitted

certainly. But in general the rst thoughts of faith are the

best; they only contemplate the promises, the full eect of

the promises and the thoughts of God. Afterthoughts are

not in connection with that.<P305>

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72575

Joshua 2

Rahab: the grace of God setting up its way-marks

e second chapter contains the interesting history of

Rahab.

How beautiful it is to see the grace of God setting up its

way-marks from the beginning, that the eye of faith may

know where to rest, when God was obliged to narrow His

dealings with respect to man, and to limit Himself in His

relationship to man, until the precious blood of Christ gave

that grace its full scope and liberty! Seed of the woman, seed

of Abraham, seed of David-it narrows more and more. e

promises even, as to the government of God, give place to

the law, until a small remnant of Israel, proud in proportion

to its poverty, becomes the vessel which contains the yet

smaller remnant of faithful ones who were waiting for the

redemption of Israel.

And what shallow thoughts, though true ones, were

found in the hearts of these precious saints, in comparison

with the hopes of an Abraham and the solemn declarations

of an Enoch! e Lord, ever perfect, ever precious, might

well say (one understands it, although the depths of His

heart are innitely beyond our reach), “I have a baptism

to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be

accomplished!” But there have always been these signals for

faith. If God acts, He goes beyond the limits of the existing

dispensation, and oversteps His established relationships

with man.

God’s goodness not limited to the existing

dispensation

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475

It is thus that the divine nature of Jesus, and the divine

rights of His Person, manifested themselves. He was only

sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. is was the

limit of His formal relationship with men. But if faith

lays hold of the goodness of God, can this goodness deny

itself, or limit itself to those who, for the time being, were

the alone subjects of His dispensation? No, Christ could

not say, God is not good, I am not good, to the degree

you have imagined. How could God deny Himself ? e

Syrophenician woman obtains what she asks for. Precious

prerogative of faith, which knows and owns God through

everything; which honors Him as He is, and ever nds

Him what He is!<P306>

Rahab’s faith

Wherein was manifested that faith in Rahab which the

Apostle cites as a pattern?-admirable proof that the way in

which God acts in grace is before and above law; that grace

overleaps the boundary which law prescribes to man, even

while maintaining its authority-an authority, however,

which can only manifest itself in condemnation! What

then was Rahab’s faith? It was the faith which recognizes

that God is with His people, all weak and few as they may

be and not yet possessed of their inheritance, wandering on

the earth without a country, but beloved of God.

Rahab’s identication of herself with God’s people

If Abraham believed God when there was not a people,

Rahab identied herself with this people when they had

nothing but God. She well knew that the inheritance was

theirs, and that, however strong their enemies might be,

in spite of their walled cities and their chariots of iron,

their heart was melted. is is always the case with the

instruments of the enemy, whatever appearances may be,

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476

when the people of God are under the guidance of the

Spirit of God in the path of obedience which God has

marked out for them.

us, in the midst of heathens, this poor, simple woman,

a bad and despised member of an accursed race doomed to

destruction, is saved, and her name is a testimony to the

glory of God. Her house, recognized by the sure mark, the

line of scarlet thread, becomes the refuge and the security

of all who take shelter in it, trusting to the promise given.

Joshua 3

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72576

Joshua 3

e passage of the Jordan and the Red Sea

And now the people are to enter the promised land; but

how enter it? For Jordan, with its ood at the highest, lay as

a barrier before the people of God, guarding the territory

of those that oppose their hopes. Now Jordan represents

death, but death looked at rather as the end of human life,

and the token of the enemy’s power, than as the fruit and

testimony of the just judgment of God. e passage of the

Red Sea was also death; but the people<P307> were there

as having part (in type) in the death and resurrection of

Jesus accomplishing their redemption, and setting them

free forever from Egypt, their house of bondage-that

is, from their place in esh and thus from all the power

of Satan1- as the blood on the doorposts had from the

judgment of God. It was complete redemption, the death

and resurrection of Christ in its proper and intrinsic value.

But in this aspect it is a complete and nished work, and

brings us to God-not a history of what we may go through

in actually arriving at this result (see Exodus 15:13,17;

19:4). Hence, judgment even was executed. In Sinai, but

not till then, law took the place of worship, historically. It

was then that the people entered upon their pilgrimage in

the wilderness. 2

(1. It is important rst to see Jesus alone in life and

in death: there we have the thing itself in its perfection.

It is equally important then to know that God sees us as

having been there, that it expresses our place; that God

sees us in Him, and that it is our place before God. But

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478

then there is also our taking that place, by the Spirit, in

faith and in fact. e former was the Red Sea; as to death,

it was Christ’s death; Jordan, our entering into death with

Him. e Red Sea was deliverance from Egypt; Jordan,

entrance into Canaan subjectively; that is, a state suited to

it in spirit, not possession of it, as Christ when risen-for us,

by faith only, of course, as yet, as risen with Him. Sitting in

heavenly places is an entirely distinct thing, and on distinct

ground; an absolute work of God. e Red Sea was the

condemning of sin in the esh, in Christ in death for sin;

and so deliverance, when known by faith. But this is Jordan.

Only Jordan goes further, for it brings us, as risen with

Him, into the state which makes us meet to be partakers of

the inheritance of the saints in light. e people followed

the ark in going through Jordan, the ark remaining there in

its power against death till all were passed.)

(2. is supposes being really born again. (See Romans

8:29-30.) e wilderness journey after Sinai supposes this

Christian position taken, but individual reality tested. To

this all the “ifs” of the New Testament apply; that is, to

the Christian on the road to the promised land, but with

a certain promise of being kept to the end, if faith is there

(1Cor. 1:8-9; John 10:28). It is dependence, but on the

delity of God. ere is no “if ” as to redemption, nor as to

our present place in Christ, when once we are sealed.)

Redemption, complete salvation, purchased by the

precious blood of Jesus, introduces the Christian into this

pilgrimage. With God he only passes through the world

as a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; still, this

pilgrimage is but the life down here, although it is the life

of the redeemed.1

(1. To this the Epistle to the Romans answers.)

Joshua 3

479

Warfare in heavenly places and the wilderness journey

But, as we have seen, there is the heavenly life, the

warfare in the heavenly places, which goes on at the same

time with the wilderness journey. When I say at the same

time, I do not mean at the same instant, but during the

same period of our natural life<P308> on the earth. It is one

thing to pass through this world faithfully, or unfaithfully,

in our daily circumstances, under the inuence of a better

hope; it is another thing to be waging a spiritual warfare for

the enjoyment of the promises and of heavenly privileges,

and to conquer the power of Satan on God’s behalf, as men

already dead and risen, as being absolutely not of the world.

Both these things are true of the Christian life. Now, it is

as dead and risen again in Christ that we are in spiritual

conict: to make war in Canaan we must have crossed the

Jordan.1

(1. To this Ephesians answers; only Ephesians has

nothing to do with our death to sin. It is, as to this question,

simply God’s act, taking us when dead in sin and placing

us in Christ on high. Colossians is partially both, life here

in resurrection, but it does not set us in heavenly places,

only in our aections there. By heavenly life I mean living

in spirit in heavenly places. Actually Christ was divinely

there; we as united to Him by the Holy Spirit.)

Death and resurrection with Christ represented in

Jordan

e Jordan, then, is death and resurrection with Christ,

looked at in their spiritual power, not as to their ecacy for

the justication of a sinner, but as to the change of position

and state in those who have part in them, in order to the

realization of life in connection with the heavenly places,

into which Christ has entered.1 A comparison between

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480

Philippians 3 and Colossians 2-3 shows how death and

resurrection are bound up with the true character of

the circumcision of Christ. In Philippians 3 the return

of Christ is introduced as completing the work by the

resurrection of the body. We are not looked at as now risen

with Him; but as practically running the race, with Christ

and resurrection in view-a place which indeed characterizes

the epistle. It is not what faith assumes as to position, but

the actual present race towards its possession. Hence it is

objective, not being in Christ, or even with Him; but that

I might win Christ and the resurrection from among the

dead. Paul has given up everything for the excellency of the

knowledge of Christ, and is looking for the power of His

resurrection, and even justication is looked at as at the

end of his course.

(1. is is not mere communication of life, as by the Son

of God, but passing as a moral being out of one condition

into another, out of Egypt into Canaan; for that is it, the

wilderness being dropped as another thing. e Red Sea

and Jordan in this aspect coalesce.)

In both Philippians and Colossians the heavenly life is

spoken of as a present thing; but there is entire separation,

even down<P309> here, between the pilgrimage and this

heavenly life itself, although the latter has a powerful

inuence on the character of our pilgrim life.

Ephesian and Colossian doctrine: the connection

between life manifested and the objects it pursues

And this introduces a very important subject, which I

cannot treat at large here, the connection between life as

manifested here, and the objects it pursues. ey that are

after the Spirit have their minds on the things of the Spirit.

e new life ows from what is divine and heavenly, from

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481

Christ, and this is specially John’s part in teaching; hence it

belongs to the risen state in glory, has its full development

and place there. Our citizenship is there, and this makes us

pilgrims; the heavenly life belongs to heaven; the second

Man is “out of heaven.” But in its full development there

is no pilgrimage; we are at home in our Father’s house,

like Christ. But here it is developed in pilgrimage; has

this character from its being heavenly. It has a growing

development in a growing apprehension of what is heavenly

(see 2Corinthians 3:3,17-18; 4:17-18; Ephesians 4:15;

1John 3:2-3, and many other passages). is necessarily,

our object being on high, makes us strangers and pilgrims

here, declaring, in the measure of our delity, that we seek a

country, the country to which our life belongs; but it forms

itself thereby for the display of Christ here, it is adapted

to the scene through which we pass, has duties, obedience,

service there. e starting point is sure, that we have died

and are risen with Christ, in one aspect; and in another,

we are sitting in Him in heavenly places. But this last is

not our subject here, it is Ephesian doctrine; this is more

Colossian. Christ Himself, though Himself that life and

its manifestation down here in pilgrimage, yet, as a Man

down here, had objects-for the joy that was set before Him,

endured the cross and despised the shame, and is set down.

And this is deeply interesting; His life-God Himself (the

last is more John’s doctrine)-was what was to be expressed,

expressed suited to the scene He passed through; but, being

a true Man, He walked with objects before Him, which

acted on the tenor of His path. e fact that He was this

life, and that for His living it had not to die in His death, as

we have, to an evil nature, makes it more dicult to realize

in His case; but obedi<P310>ence, and He learned what

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482

it was, suering, patience, all referred to His place here;

compassion, grace as to His disciples, and all the traits of

His life, though divine and such that He could say, “the

Son of man who is in heaven,” all were the development of

the heavenly and divine life here.

Its inuence was perfect and entire in His case; but

His life in connection with men, although the ever-perfect

expression of the eect of His life of heavenly communion

and of His divine nature, was evidently distinct from it. e

joy of the heavenly life entirely set aside all the motives of

the lower life; and, leading to the suerings of His earthly

life in connection with man, produced a life of perfect

patience before God. In Him all was sinless; but His joys

were elsewhere, save in acting in grace in the midst of

sorrow and sin-a divine joy. us also with the Christian;

there is nothing in common between these two spheres

of life. And, besides, nature has no part whatever in that

above; in that below, there are things which belong to

nature and to the world (not in the bad sense of the word

“world,” but considered as creation). Nothing of this enters

into the life of Canaan.

e unique power of Christ in death and resurrection

Christ alone could pass through death, and exhaust its

strength, when in it, as shedding the blood of the everlasting

covenant; and He alone could rise again from death, in the

reality of the power of the life that was in Him, “for in him

was life.” But it was proper, divine power by which this was

done. God raised Christ from the dead, testimony of His

full acceptance of His work. Christ, being God, could say,

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up”:

nor was it possible that He could be holden of death. But

it is not by any force of spiritual life, as Man, that He raised

Joshua 3

483

Himself; though we know, as He laid it down of Himself,

so He took it again, and this by commandment received of

the Father-so that in this we cannot separate the deity and

humanity-I speak of the act, not of His Person. He had

power to take it again, but it was still obedience; we feel at

every step, no one knows the Son but the Father. He has

opened this way; He has converted death into a power that

destroys the esh which shackles us, and a deliverance from

that in us which gives advantage to the enemy with whom

we are to ght, being thenceforward<P311> brought into

Canaan. erefore the Apostle says, “All things are yours,

whether life, or death.” Now, every true Christian is dead

and risen in Christ; the knowing and realizing it is another

thing. But the Word of God sets Christian privilege before

us according to its real power in Christ.

e unknown way opened by the ark

e ark of Jehovah passed over before the people, who

were to leave the space of two thousand cubits between it

and them, that they might know the way by which they

must go; for they had not passed this way before. Who

indeed had passed through death, to rise beyond its power,

until Christ, the true Ark of the Covenant, had opened this

way? Man, whether innocent or sinful, could do nothing

here. is way was alike unknown to both, as was also the

heavenly life that follows. is life, in its own sphere, and in

the exercises here spoken of, is altogether beyond Jordan:

the scenes of spiritual conict do not belong to man in his

life below; though, as we have seen, the realization of the

heavenly things we are brought into act on the character

of our faith down here; and our sorrows and trials down

here, under God’s grace, tend to clear our vision as regards

the glory hoped for. See 2Corinthians 5:2-5, and how the

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484

hope of verse 2 is returned to in verse 5. No wilderness

experience, be it ever so faithful, has anything directly to do

with this heavenly life although the grapes of Canaan may

cheer the pilgrims by the way. But Christ has destroyed all

the power of death for His people, so far as it is the power

of the enemy, and the token of his dominion. It is now but

the witness of the power of Jesus. It is indeed death; but, as

we have said, it is the death of that which fetters us.

God’s counsels to be accomplished

I will add some brief remarks. “Lord of all the earth” is

the title Joshua repeats, as that which God had here taken:

for it is in testimony to this great truth that God had

planted Israel in Canaan. Hereafter He will establish in

power, according to His counsels, that which had been put

into the hands of Israel, that they might keep it according

to their responsibility. is last principle is the key to the

whole history of the Bible, as to man, Israel, the law, and

all it has to do with. All is rst trusted to<P312> man, who

ever fails, and then God accomplishes it in blessing and

power.1

(1. And that in much fuller glory, according to His

counsels before the world was, and in the Second Man.)

us this chapter supplies us with very clear indications

of that which God has promised to accomplish in the last

days, when He will indeed show Himself to be “Lord of all

the earth,” in Israel brought back in grace by His mighty

power. And we must attend to this testimony of the purpose

of God in establishing Israel in their land. Harvest time

will come, and the strength of the enemy will overow its

banks; but we, as Christians, are already on the other side.

e strength of the enemy passed all bounds in the death

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485

of Jesus; and we do not say now, “Lord of all the earth”; but,

“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

God’s encouragement: victory assured

Let us remark, also, how God encourages His people.

ey must combat. e sole of the foot must tread on every

part of the promised land to possess it; and it must be in

conict that the power of the enemy and entire dependence

upon God are realized. But, while ghting boldly for Him,

He would have us know that victory is certain. e spies

said to Joshua, “Truly Jehovah hath delivered into our hands

all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do

faint because of us.” at is what we know and prove by

the testimony of the Holy Spirit, so dierent from that of

the esh as brought by the ten who came back with Caleb

and Joshua.

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72577

Joshua 4

e twelve stones out of Jordan: remembrance of the

death of Jesus on this side of Jordan

But if we are introduced into a life which is on the other

side of death, by the power of the Spirit of God, as being

dead and risen in Christ, there must be the remembrance

of that death, by which we have been delivered from that

which is on this side of it, of the ruin of man as he now is,

and of the fallen creation to which he belongs. Twelve men,

one out of each tribe, were to bring stones<P313> from

the midst of Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet

stood rm with the ark, while all Israel passed over on dry

ground. e Holy Spirit brings with Him, so to speak, the

touching memorial of the death of Jesus, by the mighty

power of which He has turned all the eect of the enemy’s

strength into life, and deliverance from what could not

enter into heavenly things, and has laid the basis for our

having part in them. Death comes with us from the grave

of Jesus: no longer now as death, it is become life unto us,

and, subjectively for faith, the absence of that which cannot

have part in what is heavenly. is memorial was to be set

up at Gilgal. e meaning of this circumstance will be

considered in the next chapter. We will only dwell here on

the memorial itself. e twelve stones, for the twelve tribes,

represented the tribes of God as a whole. is number is the

symbol of perfection in human agency, in connection here,

as elsewhere, with Christ, as in the case of the showbread.

e Christian remembrance of the Lord’s death

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487

Here also the Spirit sets us-Christians-in a more

advanced position. ere were twelve loaves of the

showbread, and we form but one in our life of union by

the Holy Spirit with Christ our Head, which is the life we

speak of here. Now it is His death that is recalled to us in

the memorial left us by the loving-kindness of our Lord,

who condescends to value our remembrance of His love.

I only speak here of this memorial as the sign of that

which should always be a reality. We eat His esh, we drink

His life given for us. Being one now in the power of our

union with Christ risen and gloried, for here I speak of

our whole place, dead to the world and to sin, it is from the

bottom of the river into which He went down to make it

the way of life-heavenly life-for us, that we bring back the

precious memorial of His love, and of the place in which

He fullled His work. It is a body whose life by blood is

closed1 which we eat, a poured out blood which we drink;

and this is the reason why blood was entirely prohibited to

Israel after the esh; for how can death be drunk by those

who are mortal? But we drink it because, alive with Him,

through the death of Christ<P314> we live, and it is in

realizing the death of that which is mortal that we live with

Him. e remembrance of Jordan, of death when Christ

was in it, is the remembrance of that power which secured

our salvation in the last stronghold of him who had the

power of death. It is the remembrance of that love which

went down into death, in order that, as to us, it should lose

all its power, except that of doing us good, and being a

witness unto us of innite and unchangeable love.

(1. e word “broken” is wrongly introduced in the

common text. It was after He had given up His spirit to the

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Father, in full strength, that the blood was shed through

the soldier’s spear. He laid down His life of Himself.)

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489

72578

Joshua 5

Gilgal: practical realization of death

e power of resurrection life takes all strength from

Satan: “He who is begotten of God keepeth himself, and

that wicked one toucheth him not.” In our earthly life, the

esh being in us, we are exposed to the power of the enemy,

though Christ’s grace is sucient for us, His strength made

perfect in weakness; but the creature has no strength against

Satan, even though it should not be drawn away into actual

sin. But if death is become our shelter, causing us to die

unto all that would give Satan an advantage over us, what

can he do? Can he tempt one who is dead, or overcome

one who, having died, is alive again? But, if this be true,

it is also necessary to realize it practically. “Ye are dead . . .

therefore mortify” (Col. 3). is is what Gilgal means. Nay,

we are always to bear about in the body the dying of the

Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our

body (2Cor. 4:10).1

(1. Colossians 3 is God’s declaration of our position;

Romans 6, exhortation to take it up in faith; 2Corinthians

4, carrying it out in practice in the inner man (Col. 3:5-

17).)

e matter in hand was not yet the taking of cities, the

realization of God’s magnicent promises. Self must rst

of all be mortied. Before conquering Midian, Gideon

must cast down the altar that was in his own house.

Circumcision, the application of the Spirit’s power to

the mortication of the esh

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Remark further, the wilderness is not the place where

circumcision is carried out, even though we may have been

faithful there.

e wilderness is the character the world takes when

we have<P315> been redeemed, and where the esh which

is in us is actually sifted. But death and our entrance into

heavenly places judge the whole nature in which we live

in this world. But then, consequent upon our death and

resurrection with Christ, it is practically applied, and

circumcision is the application of the Spirit’s power to the

mortication of the esh in him who has fellowship with

the death and resurrection of Jesus (compare 2Corinthians

4:10-12). erefore Paul says (Phil. 3), “We are the

circumcision.” As to an outwardly moral life, Paul had

that before. Had he now added true piety to his religion of

forms, the true fear of God to his good works? It was far

more than that. Christ had taken the place of all in him-

rst of all as to righteousness, which is the groundwork.

But further, the Apostle says, “at I may know him, and

the power of his resurrection, being made conformable

unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto the

resurrection from among the dead.” erefore it is in

“pressing towards the mark” that he waits for the coming

of Jesus to accomplish this resurrection as to his body.

e circumcision of Christ

In the Epistle to the Colossians, chapter 2, he speaks to

us of the circumcision of Christ. Is it only that he has ceased

to sin (the certain eect, indeed, of this work of God)?

No; for in describing this work he adds, “Being buried

with him in baptism, wherein also we are risen with him,

through faith of the operation of God who hath raised him

from the dead.” e consequences of this heavenly life are

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found in Colossians 3:1, which is in immediate connection

with the verse just quoted. Here also the work is crowned

by the manifestation of the saints with Jesus when He shall

appear. Not the rapture; the heavenly part is omitted in

Colossians, save that our life is hid there, and that what is

there is an object of hope; we are made meet for it, which

indeed is just what is done here.

Our Gilgal

Our Gilgal is in verse 5: “Mortify therefore.” It is not,

“Die to sin.” Mortify is active power. It rests on the power

of that which is already true to faith: “Ye are dead: mortify

therefore.” is being the standing, it is realized. “Reckon

ye also yourselves to be<P316> dead,” said the Apostle

(Rom. 6), when speaking on the same subject.1is is

the practical power of the type of the stones brought from

Jordan. ey are a symbol of our place, being the result of

death with Christ who was dead.2 But we are also raised

up together with Him,3 as having died with Him. But

there is another aspect of truth, we were dead in sins. He

came down in grace where we were, on the way down, so to

speak, atoning for our sins. God has quickened us together

with Him, having forgiven us all trespasses.4 All that He

did was for us; and now, associated with Him in life, united

to Him by the Spirit, I am also sitting in, not yet with,

Him in heavenly places.5 I appropriate to myself, or rather

God ascribes to me, all that He has done, as though it had

happened to myself: He is dead to sin, in Him I am dead

to sin. erefore I can “mortify”: which I could not do as

being still alive in the esh. Where was the nature, the

life, to do it in? I am risen with Him; I am also in Him

sitting in heavenly places. But here it is not the Ephesian

doctrine-which teaches the purpose and counsels of God,

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and, Christ being exalted to the right hand of God, shows

the simple act of divine power which takes us when dead

in sins and sets us in Him-it is the process, so to speak,

through which we pass as having been alive (not dead) in

sins, and passes us through death, in Christ, into a better

life. e other is equally true, so I have spoken of it; but, it

is the change, the essential but subjective change spoken of

in Colossians as far as death and resurrection with Him go,

which is our present subject in Joshua.

(1. We have three steps in this process: God’s judgment,

“Ye are dead”; the recognition of it by faith, “Reckon

yourselves dead”; and the carrying it out in practice, “Always

bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.” )

(2. e Epistle to the Romans gives, in the desert,

faith’s estimate of the position which Christ’s death has

given to us, of death to sin and life to God in this world,

as involved in our being saved by His death into which we

were baptized, but our resurrection which takes us out of

the desert is Colossians and Jordan.)

(3. us far the Colossians.)

(4. us far, also, the Colossians; but we are not viewed

there as dead in sins, but as having lived in them, now dead

and risen.)

(5. is is Ephesian teaching. And this is God’s sovereign

act of power which has taken us when dead in sins and put

us into Christ.)

<P317>

e mortication of our members accomplished

through grace

Now, circumcision being the practical application of

that of which we have been speaking-the death of Christ

to sin, to all that is contrary to our risen position, “the body

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493

of the esh”-we remember the death of Christ, and the

mortication of our members on the earth is accomplished

through grace, in the consciousness of grace. Otherwise it

would only be the eort of a soul under the law, and in this

case there would be a bad conscience and no strength. is

is what sincere monks attempted; but their eorts were not

made in the power of grace, of Christ and His strength.

If there was sincerity, there was also the deepest spiritual

misery. In order to mortify there must be life; and if we

have life, we have already died in Him who died for us.

e stones set up in Gilgal were taken out of the midst

of Jordan, and Jordan was already crossed before Israel was

circumcised. e memorial of grace and of death, as the

witness to us of a love which wrought out our salvation, by

taking up our sins in grace, and dying to sin once, stood in

the place where death to sin was to be eected. In that He

died, He died unto sin once; and we reckon ourselves dead

to sin. Christ dying for sins, in perfect love, in unfailing

ecacy, and His death to sin, give us peace through His

blood as to both, but also enable us through grace to reckon

ourselves dead to sin, and to mortify our members which

are on earth.

In every circumstance, then, we must remember that

we are dead, and say to ourselves, If through grace I am

dead, what have I to do with sin, which supposes me to

be alive? Christ is in this death in the beauty and in the

power of His grace; it is deliverance itself, and introduction

morally into the condition in which we are made meet to

be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. As

to the glory, as running the race down here, the Apostle

says, “I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which

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also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” But that is another

subject.

e life of a risen man

us, in being dead, and only thus, will the reproach

of Egypt be taken away. Every mark of the world is a

reproach to him who is heavenly. It is only the heavenly

man who has died with Christ that disentangles himself

from all that is of Egypt. e life of the<P318> esh

always cleaves to Egypt; but the principle of worldliness

is uprooted in him who is dead and risen with Christ and

living a heavenly life. ere is in the life of man, alive as

such in this world (Col. 2:20), a necessary link with the

world as God sees it, that is, corrupt and sinful; with a dead

man there is no such link. e life of a risen man is not of

this world; it has no connection with it. He who possesses

this life may pass through the world, and do many things

that others do. He eats, works, suers; but, as to his life and

his objects, he is not of the world, even as Christ was not

of the world. Christ, risen and ascended up on high, is his

life; he subdues his esh, he morties it, for in point of fact

he is down here, but he does not live in it. e camp was

always at Gilgal. e people-the army of Jehovah-returned

thither, after their victories and their conquests. If we do

not do the same, we shall be feeble: the esh will betray

us. We shall fall before the enemy in the hour of conict,

even though it may be honestly entered into in the service

of God. It is at Gilgal the monument of the stones from

Jordan is set up; for if the consciousness of being dead with

Jesus is necessary to enable us to mortify the esh, it is

through this mortication that we attain to the practical

knowledge of what it is to be thus dead.

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495

We do not realize the inward communion (I am

not speaking now of justication), the sweet and divine

enjoyment of the death of Jesus for us, if the esh is

unmortied. It is impossible. But if we return to Gilgal, to

the blessed mortication of our own esh, we nd there all

the sweetness (and it is innite), all the powerful ecacy

of this communion with the death of Jesus, with the love

manifested in it. “Always bearing about in the body,” says

the Apostle, “the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also

of Jesus might be manifested in our body.” us we do not

remain in Jordan; but there remains in the heart all the

preciousness of this glorious work, a work which the angels

desire to look into, which is for us, and which Christ, in

His love, appropriates to us. We nd Him with us at

Gilgal-a place of no outward show or victory to attract the

eyes of men; but where He, who is the source of all victory,

is found in the power and the communion which enable us

to overcome.<P319>

e twelve stones set up in the midst of Jordan

But there were also twelve stones set up in the midst

of Jordan; and indeed, if we apply the power of the death

of Christ to mortify the esh, the heart-exercised in,

and fully enjoying heavenly things-loves to turn again to

Jordan, to the place where Jesus went down in the power

of life and obedience, and to gaze upon that Ark of the

Covenant, which stood there, and stayed those impetuous

waters till all the people had passed over. One loves, now

that He is risen, while viewing the power of death in all

its extent, to behold Jesus there, who went down into it,

but who destroyed its power for us. In the overowing of

the nations, Christ will be the security and the salvation of

Israel; but He has been our security and our salvation with

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respect to much more terrible enemies. e heart loves to

stand on the banks of that river-already crossed-and to

realize, while studying what Jesus was, the work and the

wondrous love of Him who went down into it alone, until

all was accomplished. But in one sense we were there. e

twelve stones show that the people had to do with this

work, although the ark was there alone when the waters

were to be restrained.

e Psalms and Jordan

In the Psalms we can especially there contemplate the

Lord, now that we are in peace on the other side of the

stream. Oh, that the Christian-each one in the assembly-

knew how to seat himself there, and there meditate on

Jesus gone down into death alone, and death when it

overowed all its banks, bearing its sting and the power of

divine judgment with it! In doctrine the Psalms set forth

also the connection between the death of Jesus and the

residue of Israel passing through the waters of tribulation

in the last days.

In Canaan, at Gilgal

Behold, then, the people out of Egypt and in Canaan,

according to the faithfulness of God’s promise; but as yet

nothing of Canaan possessed, nor any victory gained. It is a

type for us of what is taught in the Colossians: made meet

to be partakers, but the inheritance of the saints in light

still in hope;1 not only redeemed<P320> out of Egypt, but

brought into Canaan, the reproach of Egypt being rolled

away, and the people of God having taken their place at

Gilgal-the true circumcision of heart of which we have

spoken.

(1. Christ’s state (only that He was actually raised)

between His resurrection and ascension helps to understand

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497

it. He belonged evidently to heaven, not to this world,

though He was not in heaven.)

Israel encamped at Gilgal.

e passover kept in the land, the memorial of

accomplished salvation

e character of their communion with God is then

pointed out, before their victories. ey keep the passover

in the plains of Jericho. Jehovah prepared a table before

them in the presence of their enemies.

e blood was no longer sprinkled, as in Egypt, upon the

lintel and the two side-posts, that they might be sheltered

from the destroyer, and preserved from the last judgment

which spread terror throughout every house where the

blood was not seen.

We need this aspect of the blood of Christ, while

judgment threatens in the territory of sin and Satan,

although called of God to come out of it. God’s justice and

our consciences require it. But here the passover is no longer

this; it is the memorial of accomplished salvation. Neither

is it participation by grace in the power of the death and

resurrection of Christ. It is the soul’s communion; it is the

sweet, spiritual recollection of a work all His own, of His

death as a lamb without blemish. We feed upon it, as His

redeemed people, in the enjoyment of this position in the

land of promise and of God-a land which belongs to us in

consequence of this redemption, and of our being raised up

with Christ. e death of Jesus can only be thus enjoyed

on the other side of Jordan, as risen with Him. en, in

peace, in fellowship with Him, and with ineable feelings

of thankfulness, we return to the death of the Lamb; we

contemplate it; we feed upon it. Our heavenly happiness

and intelligence only increase our sense of its preciousness.

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e old corn of the land

On the morrow after the passover the people ate of

the old corn of the land. us, raised up, and in title and

nature suited to it, and taking our place thus in tness and

hope in the heavenly places, it is Christ known as heavenly

who feeds the soul, and<P321> maintains it in vigor and in

joy.1 From thenceforward, also, the manna ceased. is is

the more remarkable, because Christ, we know, is the true

manna, but Christ down here, Christ after the esh, and

suited to man, and to his wants in the wilderness; nor will

He ever be forgotten as such. I contemplate Jesus (God

manifest in the esh) with adoration. My soul feeds upon

the mighty attractions of His grace in His humiliation;

delights in the blessed testimony of His love who bore our

sorrows and carried our sicknesses, and learns to be nothing

and serve, in Him who took the lowest place. It is in this

He ministers to the secret aections of the heart as we pass

through this world; still in that condition He remained

alone. e corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die;

otherwise it abides alone.

(1. Let us remark, also, that Christian simplicity and

sincerity, the practical holiness of the Christian life, the

unleavened bread which was eaten on the morrow after the

passover, is a heavenly thing. Nothing on this side Jordan

can be this. It is of the growth of that land; therefore it is

connected with Jesus, and peace through His death as a

thing previous.)

But-while knowing what He has been-it is a Christ

seated above, who came from above, who died and is raised

again, and ascended up where He was before, whom I now

know. His death, of the memorial of which we have spoken,

is undoubtedly the basis of all. ere is nothing more

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499

precious: but it is a heavenly Christ with whom we have

now to do as the living One. For the rest, we remember

Him in His humiliation and death; but this He gives us as

its character. Even in the Lord’s supper, analogous to the

pass-over here celebrated, it was, “Do this in remembrance

of me.” And so in all His life; it was in the wilderness,

and suited to us for the wilderness also; it is, in our little

measure, in heart or in fact, the fellowship of His suerings.

Christ, the heavenly Man, our present portion

We contemplate, while seeking to imitate, the precious

model which He has set before us, as a heavenly man upon

the earth. But, beholding with unveiled face the glory of

the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory

to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. He has for our sakes

sanctied Himself, that we might be sanctied through

the truth. We delight ourselves with the contemplation of

all His grace here below; our aections are drawn out by

a suering Saviour. Nothing more precious than<P322>

the Son of God winning the condence of man’s heart to

God by His love in their midst when far from Him; but

our present fellowship is with a Christ in heaven. And the

Christ, whom we know on earth, is a heavenly Christ, and

not an earthly Christ, as He will be to the Jews by and

by. It was bread on earth no doubt, but bread come down

from heaven; and this is a very important consideration.

In passing through this wilderness (and we are passing

through it), Christ, as the manna, is innitely precious to

us. His humiliation-His grace-comfort, also relieve, and

sustain us. We feel that He has passed through the same

trials, and our heart is sustained by the thought that the

same Christ is with us. is is the Christ we need for the

wilderness-the bread which came down from heaven: but,

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as a heavenly people, it is Christ, as belonging to heaven

and heavenly things, as associated with Him, the old corn

of the land; for it is to Christ ascended up on high that

we are united; it is there that He is our life. In a word,

we feed on heavenly things, on Christ above, on Christ

humbled and dying indeed as a sweet remembrance, but

on Christ living as the present power of life and grace. We

feed on the remembrance of Christ on the cross; this is the

passover. But we keep the feast with a Christ who is the

center of heavenly things, and feed upon them all (Col.

3:1-2). It is the old corn of the land into which we have

entered. For He belongs to heaven.

us, before giving battle, in front of the very walls of

Jericho (representative of the enemy’s power), God gives

us to enjoy the fruit of this heavenly land as being all our

own. We remember the death of Jesus, as redemption long

since wrought out; and we feed on the old corn of the land,

on heavenly things, as our own present portion. For, being

risen with Christ by His grace, all is ours.

War, and the Captain of Jehovah’s host

After this beautiful picture of the position and the

privileges of God’s people, who-according to God’s own

rights-may enjoy everything before engaging in a single

battle, we nd that war must follow. But there is one

thing necessary for making war and obtaining blessings

by conquest. Jehovah presented Himself as Captain of

the host; it is He Himself who leads us. He is there with

a drawn sword in His hand. Faith owns no neutrality in

heavenly<P323> things.1 “And Joshua said unto him, Art

thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay, but as

captain of the host of Jehovah am I come.”

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501

(1. I say, in heavenly things, because the heart is sensible

of good qualities in the creature. e Lord loved the rich

young man when He had heard his replies. But when a

rejected and ascended Lord is to be followed, the will

always sets itself either for or against. Faith knows this; it

knows too the rights of God, and it maintains them. )

Almighty power and innite holiness

Remark here that the presence of Jehovah, as Captain

of the host, as much demanded holiness and reverence,

as when He came down to redeem His people (Ex. 3) in

that divine holiness and majesty which were manifested

according to their just requirements in the death of Jesus,

who gave Himself that He might magnify and establish

them forever. Such as He was, who called Himself “I am,”

when He thus came down in righteousness and majesty;

such also is He when standing in the midst of His people

to bless and lead them in conict.

e almighty power of God is with the church in its

warfare. But His innite holiness is there also, and He will

not make good His power in their conicts if His holiness

is compromised by the delement, the negligence, the

heedless levity, of His people; or by their failure in those

feelings and aections which become the presence of God,

for it is God Himself who is there.

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72579

Joshua 6

e foundation principles of Israel’s conquests shown

in Jericho’s fall

In chapter 6 we nd the principles on which the

conquests of Israel are founded. e work is altogether

God’s. He may indeed exercise His people in conict, but

it is He who does all. “ey went up every man straight

before him.” ere is submission here in the use of means,

readiness to follow a course which, in the eyes of the world,

is absurd and without object; but which loudly proclaims

the presence of the Lord in the midst of His people. ere

is entire dependence upon God, a perfect condence in

Him, which openly declares it has nothing else to do but

to obey Him.

e promise is sure; they act in obedience. at is the

principle.<P324> Joshua-type of the energy and the mind

of the Spirit in one who enjoys communion with the Lord-

is certain of success; and in this assurance of faith he acts

without hesitation. In eect, all the strength of the enemy

falls to the ground without the use of any means that could

account for it.

Another principle is that there must be no fellowship

whatever with that which constitutes the power of the

enemy of God, with the world, and that which is its

strength. All is accursed. It is so with us in this world. If

the world of Sodom had enriched Abraham, he would

have been dependent on that world; he would have owed

it something; he would not have been at liberty from it

to belong entirely to God. “And ye in any wise keep

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503

yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves

accursed.” God may use these things by consecrating them

to Himself, if He will. But if man, if the Christian, meddle

with them, the Lord must judge him. Cities walled up

to heaven, the greatest obstacles are as nothing; how can

they be with God? But holiness, complete separation from

the world because power is of God-that is the condition

of strength. Jericho, representing the enemy’s power and

means of defense (inasmuch as it was the rst city standing

as a barrier to arrest the progress of God’s people), is put

under a curse forever; and sentence is passed against anyone

who should rebuild it (see 1Kings 16:34). e abstract

principles of the power of God and the enemy’s strength

are presented by this city and its fall, in what evidences

them, and in contrast. But, if God is there, and the world

is utterly condemned, His grace calls out from this world a

people saved by faith from its abominations, and Rahab, a

poor, unworthy sinner, is saved from its judgment, and has

her place and part with the people of God.1

(1. It is noticeable that she, like Ruth, the stranger, is in

the line of the Lord’s royal genealogy (Matt. 1:5).)

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72580

Joshua 7

God neglected, consequent defeat at Ai

Chapter 7 lays open the principles of God’s government,

or His ways in the midst of His people who are in conict.

Victory leads to negligence. e work is thought easy.

After a manifestation of God’s power there is a kind of

condence which in reality is only<P325> self-condence,

for it neglects God. What proves this is that God is not

consulted. Ai was but a small city. Two or three thousand

men could easily take it. ey went up and viewed the

country, but God was forgotten. e consequence of this

will be seen. If they had taken counsel of Jehovah, either

He would have given no answer on account of the accursed

thing, or He would have made its presence known. But

they did not seek His counsel; they went forward, and

they were defeated. e people of God surrounded by the

enemy, have lost their strength, and ee before the least

city in the land. What will they do now? is is more than

they know. Engaged in battle, and unable to conquer, what

can they do there, where victory alone is their safety? “e

hearts of the people melted and became as water.” Joshua

cries unto Jehovah, for in such a case even he who has the

Spirit is taken by surprise, not having acted according to

the Spirit. He must fall on his face before Jehovah, for their

condition is not normal, not according to the Spirit who is

the only guide and wisdom of His people. Joshua, however,

recalls the power by which God had brought the people

over Jordan, and contrasts it with their present condition,

so evidently inconsistent with it. “Wherefore hast thou at

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505

all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the

hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would to God we had

been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan, O Lord!

what shall I say?”

Fear, and the reasonings of unbelief

is was a perturbed state of mind, the eect of a

mixture of unbelief with the remembrance of the wonders

which the power of God had wrought. Joshua loves the

people, and he sets before God the glory of His name; yet

with a timorous wish that they had remained on the other

side of Jordan (and what to do there? for unbelief ever

reasons badly), away from the conict which led to such

disasters-a wish that betrayed the unbelief which disturbed

his heart.

“Israel hath sinned”

Such is the state of a believer’s soul in the conict which

the Holy Spirit brings him into, when the state of his soul

does not inwardly correspond with the presence of the

Holy Spirit who is our only strength for conict. ere is

no escape. e position in<P326> which the saints nd

themselves is one which absolutely requires strength; yet the

very nature of God prevents His bestowing it. We lament,

we recognize His power, we dread the enemy. We talk of

God’s glory: but we are thinking of our own fears and our

own condition. Yet the thing was very simple. “Israel hath

sinned.” Man, even when spiritual, looks at results (because

he is in close contact with them), even while owning the

power of God, and the connection between Him and His

people. But God looks at the cause, and also at what He is

Himself. It is true that He is love, but He cannot sacrice

the very principles of His being, nor deny Himself in those

relationships which are founded upon what He is. His

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glory is indeed connected through grace with the well-

being of His people. But He will vindicate His glory, and

even bless His people in the end, without compromising

these principles. Faith must count on the sure result of

His faithfulness, but bring the heart (submitting to God’s

ways) into accordance with those principles.

It would not be maintaining His glory in the midst

of His people if He tolerated among them anything

contrary to His essential character, and made use of His

power to maintain them in a condition which would deny

His nature. e relationship would be broken, and God

Himself compromised-a thing absolutely impossible. ey

had sin among them, and the strength of God is no longer

with them; for God cannot identify Himself with sin.

Achan’s sin discovered

And let us remember that there was sin also in the

neglect which went forward without seeking counsel from

God. Joshua’s cry did not at once bring deliverance, but,

rst of all, discovery of the sin, with respect to which God

is very precise and exact. When the government of His

people is in question, He searches into everything, and

takes cognizance of the smallest details (see verse 11).

Further, God not only said, “erefore Israel could not

stand,” but, “ou canst not stand.” eir weakness would

continue. Sorrowful change! Before it was, “No man shall

be able to stand before thee.” Now they could not stand

themselves. Where there is not holiness, God allows the

weakness of His people to be practically seen; for there is

no strength but in Him, and He will not go<P327> out

with them where holiness is wanting, nor thus sanction and

encourage sin. Only, let us remark here, that God does not

always withdraw His blessing at once from those who are

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507

unfaithful. He frequently chastens them on one hand, and

blesses them on the other. He deals patiently, He instructs

them, in His grace; He does not bless them on the side

where the evil is, but He acts with admirable tenderness

and perfect knowledge, taking the trouble, so to say, of

following the soul in detail according to its condition and

for its good; for He is full of grace. How often He thus

waits for the repentance of His people! Alas! how often He

waits for it in vain. But we have here the great principle on

which He acts (as in the case of Jericho, that of His power

exercised on behalf of His people), proving that all is of

God.

Corporate sin and its remedy

Another important principle is here set before us. e

people of God are viewed corporately, as to the eects of

sin among them. God is in their midst. Sin is committed

there. He is there. But since there is only one God there,

and the people are one, if God is displeased and cannot act,

the whole people suer in consequence, for they have no

other strength but God. e only remedy is to put away the

accursed thing.

We nd the same thing at Corinth, modied according

to the principles of grace. e wicked person must be put

away. If not, they are all identied with the sin until they

have put it away, and have thus “approved themselves to be

clear.” In doing so, they take God’s part against the sin, and

the relationship between God and the body reassumes its

normal state. Nevertheless all this cannot fail to produce

certain painful eects. If the accursed thing is there, although

God may have been gloried in the manifestation of the

perfection of His ways-of His jealousy of sin, and perfect

knowledge of all that happens (for Achan’s confession

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justies God, and the people have not a word to say), still,

though the sin is no longer concealed, discipline must be

carried out. e confession of Achan (whose sin had been

brought to light, through the obedience of the people, or of

Joshua, to the Lord’s directions) does but ratify, in the eyes

of all, the just judgment of God.<P328>

e object of Christian discipline

But it is well to remember here that Christian discipline

has always the recovery of the soul for its object. Even if

the oender should be delivered unto Satan, it is for the

destruction of the esh, that the spirit may be saved in

the day of the Lord-a most forcible reason for exercising

this discipline, according to the measure of our spiritual

power; for we cannot go beyond that. At the least we might

always humble ourselves before God, in order that the evil

may be removed. To be indierent to the presence of evil

in the church is to be guilty of high treason against God;

it is taking advantage of His love to deny His holiness,

despising and dishonoring Him before all. God acts in

love in the church; but He acts with holiness and for the

maintenance of holiness: otherwise it would not be the love

of God which acted; it would not be seeking the prosperity

of souls.

e valley of Achor, “a door of hope” in grace

It is interesting to see that this valley of Achor, the

witness and the memorial of the rst sin committed by

Israel after they had entered the land, is given them “for a

door of hope” (Hos. 2:15), when the sovereign grace of God

is in action. It is always thus. Fear sin, but do not fear the

bitterness of its discovery, nor that of its chastisement: for

at this point God resumes the course of blessing. Blessed

be His gracious name for it! Alas! Shinar (Babylon) and

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money soon begin to aect the ways of the people of God.

ey nd these things among their enemies, and the carnal

heart covets them. Observe also that, if there is faithfulness

and obedience, God never fails to manifest and take away

that which hinders the blessing of His people. Let us

follow the history of the people’s restoration to God’s favor.

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Joshua 8

Israel’s return to their strength in God

Chapter 8 exhibits the return of Israel to their strength

in God.

If all the people were compromised by Achan’s sin, it was

needful that they should be sensibly restored to condence,

that they should be established, and consequently that they

should go<P329> through whatever was necessary to their

restoration. ey must experience many things. Much

experience of this kind would be avoided by walking in the

simplicity and integrity of faith. Jacob had more of it than

Abraham, and it was when unfaithful that Abraham went

through the most (that is, of such experience as is really felt

to exercise the heart). But God makes use of this to teach

us what we are, and what He is: two things which-if we

know them not-render experience necessary.

Ai taken; pride and self-condence sharply rebuked

Success is now certain: but all the people must go up

against this small city which, judging by human strength,

might have been taken by two or three thousand men.

Pride and false condence are sharply rebuked by this.

How much trouble must Joshua now take! Lay an ambush,

feign to ee: all this to take a small city, and not much

glory after all. It costs more pains to return into the path

of blessing than it would have done to avoid the evil. But

the simplicity of faith and its natural vigor can be regained

no other way.

e Lord’s work by His Spirit

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511

Meanwhile, the power of God is with them, and

everything succeeds; although the manifestation of this

power is not such as it was at Jericho. At length by God’s

command Joshua stretches out the spear that was in his

hand toward the city. It does not appear that the ambush

saw it, or that it was a concerted signal.1 But as soon as it

was stretched out, the ambush arose, entered the city, and

set re to it. It is thus that the Lord, working by His Spirit

at the opportune moment, produces activity in those even

who may not know why. At a given time they are impelled

onwards, and think they act from motives of their own,

while it is the Lord who directs all their steps in harmony

with what He is doing elsewhere: and thus He brings about

the success of the whole aair.

(1. It the more appears that this was not a concerted

signal, but that the action had the meaning which I have

here assigned to it, because Joshua drew not his hand back

till they had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai; and

this does not agree with the idea of a mere signal.)

It is highly interesting to see the Lord thus the hidden

spring of all action, giving impulse to the activity of His

children, who in <P330>detail are ignorant of what it is

that puts them in motion; although, on the whole, the mind

of God is revealed to them, even as Israel had the general

orders of Joshua. When Christ stretches out the spear, all

is activity to bring about the counsels of His wisdom and

lead to the predetermined results of His mighty grace. May

we only have faith to believe it!

Joshua takes formal possession of Canaan as Jehovah’s

land

We have still two other important facts to consider in

this chapter. Jehovah had already shown in the taking of

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Jericho that it was His might alone that gave victory, or

rather that made everything fall before Israel, the prince

of this world having no power against Him; and that, the

gold and silver being Jehovah’s, the people were not to

seek the treasures of the conquered world, nor to enrich

themselves with its spoils. In general, however, when Israel

had exterminated their enemies, they took possession of

everything, as of the promised land.

Now that these two great principles are established

(namely, that the power of God is with His people, and

that He will have holiness and consecration to Himself

maintained in the camp), Joshua takes formal possession

of the whole country, as belonging to Jehovah.

is is not celebrating the memorial of their salvation

by the blood of the Lamb; nor is it feeding on the old

corn of the heavenly land in the place of rest, where the

grace and perfection of Christ and the redemption He has

wrought out are peacefully remembered. e people treat

the land itself as belonging of right to Jehovah, according

to the strength of the spiritual might which is in activity to

assert His rights, and which recognizes them, although the

conquest of the land is only just begun. Before Jericho (in

type) they had fellowship with the cross, and with things

above, without striking a blow.

As Jehovah’s land it must not be deled

Here, the conditions of the warfare being laid down,

they publicly declare beforehand that it is Jehovah’s land.

ough Satan is still in possession of the contested land,

by right it is Jehovah’s. ere were two actions by which

Joshua veried this. He <P331>commanded the dead body

of the king of Ai to be taken down from the tree as soon as

the sun was down. is was the ordinance in Deuteronomy

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513

21:22-23, “His body shall not remain all night upon the

tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day (for

he that is hanged is accursed of God); that thy land be

not deled, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an

inheritance.” Israel’s victory was complete. e curse hung

over their enemies, who were also God’s enemies. ey

were made a curse, and declared to be so. Now, according

to Joshua’s faith, the land was so entirely Israel’s, as the gift

of God, that it ought not to be deled; he had, therefore,

the dead body taken down that it should not be so in fact.

e altar built on Mount Ebal; Jehovah recognized as

Israel’s God

e other action was Joshua’s building an altar on

Mount Ebal. Having taken possession of Canaan as a

consecrated land, they recognize Jehovah as the God of

Israel by worshipping Him in the land. e altar was there

as a witness, and as a bond between the people and Jehovah

who had given them the land. e erection of this altar

has been already spoken of, when considering the Book of

Deuteronomy; I will not recur to it. I leave it to the reader

to judge whether Joshua would have done better to set up

this altar as soon as they had crossed the Jordan. Be that as it

may, we do not always turn at once to God, when we enjoy

that which His power has wrought. Our not doing so only

proves our folly, whether it be in things connected with

our joy or our safety. It was the Lord’s mind here to give

us the testimony of divine strength and human weakness

before this public assumption of the land in His name; the

practical realization of being beyond Jordan in power and

of Gilgal, brought home to them by its contrast. It is taken

possession of in connection with Israel’s responsibility

under the law.

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Joshua now reads, before all the people, not only the

curses attached to the violation of the law, but all that

made known the ways of God in His government of the

people.<P332>

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Joshua 9

e wiles of the Gibeonites

But, if such a position as this proclaims the rights of God

and manifests the condence of the people, it soon leads

to conict. e enemy will not consent to the invasion and

the taking possession of all the territory he has usurped.

But the wiles of the enemy are more to be feared than his

strength; indeed it is only these that are to be feared: for

in his strength he meets the Lord: in his wiles he deceives,

or seeks to deceive, the sons of men. If we resist the devil,

he ees; but to stand against his wiles, we need the whole

armor of God. Christ met his wiles with Scripture, in the

path of simple obedience, and, when he manifested himself,

the Lord said, “Get thee hence, Satan.”

Why the Israelites were deceived

e inhabitants of Gibeon pretended to have come from

far. e princes of Israel use their own wisdom instead of

asking counsel of Jehovah. is time it is condence, not in

the strength, but in the wisdom of man. e princes of the

congregation, accustomed to reect and to guide, are more

likely to fall into this snare. Bad as they are in their unbelief,

the people, eager for the result, are often nearer the mind

of God to whom the result is sure. e princes had some

misgivings, so that they are inexcusable. Apparently there

was much advantage in gaining allies in a place where they

had so many enemies. e Gibeonites attered them too,

as the servants of Jehovah. Everything was calculated to set

their minds at rest.

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Satan can talk religiously as well as another; but he

deceives only when we take the management into our own

hands, instead of consulting the Lord. Communion with

Him was needed to discern that these were people of the

country, enemies who dared not to be enemies; but to make

peace with such is to deprive oneself of a victory, and of

one’s right to make good the judgment and the glory of

God, in the unmingled possession of the land of blessing.

Allies can only set aside that single-eyed dependence upon

God, and that purity of moral relationship which exist

between God and His people, when it is His power alone

that sustains them. For allies were not Israel. Israel spares

the enemy; and the name<P333> of Jehovah, which had

been brought in, obliges His people to retain a perpetual

snare in their midst.

e sorrowful fruits of false peace

Four centuries later, in the days of Saul, this produced

its sorrowful fruits. To a spiritual mind the presence of

the Gibeonites would always be an evil. Besides, what had

Israel to do with allies? Was not Jehovah sucient? May

He give us always to trust in Him, to seek counsel of Him,

to own none but Him, and to be always subject to Him!

is will ensure victory over every enemy, and the land will

be all our own.

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Joshua 10

Conict and victory

Moreover, this peace with the Gibeonites only brought

fresh attacks upon Israel. But now all is plain. Jehovah

says to Joshua, “Fear them not, for I have delivered them

into thy hand.” is is all that conict means for one who

walks in the Spirit before God. ere must be conict, but

conict is only victory. It is the Lord who has delivered the

enemy into our hands; none can stand before us.

Return to Gilgal

All things are ours. e sun stands still, and the moon

stays its course, witnessing to the power of God and to the

interest He takes in blessing His people. We may be sure

that, whithersoever the Spirit will go, there the wheels will

go (Ezek. 1:20). Joshua defeated all his enemies, because

Jehovah, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. is time they

were faithful, they made no peace. What had Canaanites

to do in Jehovah’s land? Has Satan any right to the land of

promise? is is the light in which Joshua always beholds

the land of Canaan (ch. 10:27). But, after the victory, Israel

returned to the camp of Gilgal. We have already explained

what Gilgal means. But the return thither of the conquerors

of the Canaanitish kings contains the instructive lesson

that, whatever our victories and our conquests may be, we

must always return to the place that becomes us before

God in the annihilation of self; to the application of the

knowledge we have of God (the resurrection<P334> of

Christ having set us in the heavenly places), to the judging

and the mortifying of the esh-to spiritual circumcision,

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which is the death of the esh by the power of resurrection.

ere is a time to act and a time to be still, waiting upon

God that we may be t for action. Activity, the power that

attends us, success, everything, tends to draw us away from

God, or at least to divide the attention of our ckle hearts.

But the camp is the starting point for victory, and the

return from triumph for true strength is always to Gilgal.

It is not there that the enemy attacks us if we are faithful.

e attack will be on our side, whatever the maneuvers of

our adversaries may be.

God making everything work together for good

Let us observe also that, in spite of the people’s and

Joshua’s failures, everything turned out well in the end. ere

were faults, and these faults received their chastisement,

as in the case of Gibeon and of Ai. But, the walk of the

people being faithful in the main, God made everything

work together for good. us the peace with Gibeon led to

victory over the kings who attacked that people. ere was

cause for humiliation and for chastisement in the details of

their history; but, as a whole, the hand of God appears in

it most manifestly.

It is seldom that every step of our way is taken in faith

and dependence upon God. We do well to humble ourselves

on account of this. But when the object is the Lord’s object,

He goes before us, and orders all things for the triumph of

His people in this holy war, which is His own war. Only

failures may bring their fruits for a long while.

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Joshua 11

Hazor, the seat of power, totally destroyed

Israel’s victories bring fresh war upon them; but the

confederation of their enemies only serves to deliver them

all together into their hands. If God will not have peace,

it is because He will have victory. A new principle is now

set before us. God will in nowise allow the world’s seat

of power to become that of His people; for His people

depend exclusively on Him. e natural consequence

of taking Hazor would have been to make it the seat of

<P335>government, and a center of inuence in the

government of God, so that this city should be that for

God which it had before been for the world; “for Hazor

beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms.” But it was

just the contrary. Hazor is totally destroyed. God will not

leave a vestige of former power; He will make all things

new. e center and the source of power must be His,

entirely and exclusively His: a very important lesson for

His children, if they would preserve their spiritual integrity.

Conquest and rest

In a certain sense the conquest of the land seemed

complete; that is to say, there was no outward strength left,

either to stand before them or to form a kingdom. But

Israel had still many enemies in this land, enemies who did

not, indeed, molest them while they continued faithful, but

who taught the people many things that afterwards helped

on their ruin. ey had divided the conquered land; they

had rest from war. When all is nished, we may reckon up

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our victories, but not before; till then we ought rather to be

occupied in gaining more.

God’s dealings as to Ai and the Gibeonites

We may remark here that, in the result of God’s dealings,

the fault committed previously to the attack upon Ai seems

blotted out, and had even contributed to the development

of His purposes. At the time it had kept them back, and

was punished. But God applied Himself to Israel’s moral

restoration to the condence of faith, and the grand object

of His dealings was in nowise hindered. is is no excuse;

but it is a sweet and strong consolation which leads so

much the more into worship. e fault committed in the

matter of the Gibeonites appears to me more serious. It

did not delay their progress; but, being the act of Joshua

and the princes, it set them forever in a false position with

respect to those whom they spared.

Chapter 11 closes the rst division of the book, that is

to say, the history of Joshua’s victories (typically that of the

Lord’s power by the Spirit, giving His people possession of

the promises).<P336>

Joshua 12-24

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Joshua 12-24

e extent of the country and portion of each to be

known

Chapter 12 is only a summary of their conquests. e

Holy Spirit not only gives us the victory over our enemies,

but makes us understand and know the whole extent of

the country, and denes the particular portion of each;

giving us details of everything it contains; of God’s perfect

arrangements for the appropriation of the whole, and the

distribution of each part of His people, so as to produce a

well-ordered whole, and perfect in all its parts, according

to the wisdom of God. But here we have to realize the

distinction maintained in the New Testament between

the gifts of God, and the enjoyment of the gifts given.

“Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all

things.” “He hath made us sit together in heavenly places”

by the same power which placed Christ there, when He

raised Him from the dead and set Him above every name

that is named. Alas! how many earthly things still remain

unsubdued among Christians. But the Holy Spirit takes

cognizance of this condition, in view of, and in connection

with, that which rightfully belongs to them: it is this which

enables us to understand the second division of this book.

e whole land parcelled out and given by Jehovah

Himself

Although there was still a considerable part of the land

to be possessed, Joshua parcels out the whole among the

tribes of Israel, according to the command of Jehovah, who

declares that He will Himself drive out its inhabitants before

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them. But the people poorly responded to this promise.

e cities of the Philistines were indeed taken, but their

inhabitants were not exterminated; they were spared, and

soon regained power. Here we may remark that, wherever

there is faithfulness, there is rest. e eect of Joshua’s work

was that “the land had rest from war”; so also with that

of Caleb (ch. 14:15). When the cities of the Levites were

allotted them, we nd the same thing again (ch. 21:43-44).

It is not so in detail. e whole extent of country is given to

Israel, and each tribe has his share; the portion, therefore,

which fell to each tribe was given them in full right by

Jehovah Himself. eir borders were marked out; for the

Spirit of God takes notice of everything in distributing the

spiritual inheritance, and gives to each accord<P337>ing

to the mind of God. ere is nothing uncertain in God’s

arrangements. But we nd that not one tribe drove out all

the enemies of God from His inheritance, not one realized

the possession of all that God had given him.

Judah and Joseph take possession of their lots

Judah and Joseph take possession of their lots. We know

that they always remained chief among Israel, fullling

thus the counsels of God as to royalty for Judah, and the

birthright which fell by grace to Joseph (chapters 15-17;

see 1Chronicles 5:2). e tabernacle of God was also set

up in peace (ch. 18); but, once at rest, the tribes are very

slow in taking possession of their portion-too frequently

the history of God’s people. Having found peace, they

neglect His promises. Nevertheless, as we have seen, the

Spirit of God did not fail to point out to the people in

detail all that belonged to them.

e cities of refuge the provision for restoration of

the enjoyment of the inheritance

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523

e cities of refuge are appointed (ch. 20); that is, the

land being Jehovah’s, provision is made that it may not be

deled, and for the return of every man to his inheritance,

after he had ed from it for a time, because of killing

some person unawares. We have already seen the force

of this. Only we may remark here, that not only have we

seen spiritual title to all at once before Jericho-the rights

of Jehovah maintained in the case of the king of Ai and

Mount Ebal, as the ground of present posses-sion-but

provision for restoration to enjoyment of the inheritance

in detail when temporarily lost, which, in gure, applies to

the people in the last days.

e two tribes and a half

e establishment of the two tribes and a half on the

other side Jordan gave rise to diculties and suspicions.

Nevertheless these tribes were faithful at heart. eir

position had done them harm, their self-seeking having

somewhat marred the energy of their faith: still, faithfulness

to Jehovah was found in them.<P338>

Joshua’s warning

Finally, Joshua sets the people, in the way of warning,

under a curse, or under a blessing, according to their

obedience or disobedience; and then recapitulates their

history, telling them that their fathers had been idolaters,

and that the people around them were so still.

Peaceable possession of all under promise of

obedience

But the people, not having yet lost the sense of the power

of God who had blessed them, declare that they will serve

Jehovah alone. ey are thus placed under responsibility,

and undertake to obey, as the condition of their possessing

the land and enjoying the fruit of God’s promise. ey

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are left there, it is true, in peaceable possession of it all,

but under the condition of obedience after having already

allowed those, who should have been utterly destroyed, to

remain in the land; and when, from the outset, they had

not at all realized that which God had given them. What a

picture of the assembly ever since the days of the apostles!

e heavenly things which are ours

ere is yet one remark to be made. When Christ shall

return in glory, we shall inherit all things, Satan being

bound. e assembly ought to realize now, by the Holy

Spirit, the power of this glory. But there are things, properly

called heavenly, which are ours, as being our dwelling-

place, our standing, our calling; there are others which are

subjected to us, and which are a sphere for the exercise of

the power that we possess. us the limits of Israel’s abode

were less extensive than those of the territory to which

they had a right. Jordan was the boundary of their abode,

the Euphrates that of their possession. e heavenly things

are ours; but the manifestation of the power of Christ over

creation, and the deliverance of this creation, is granted to

us. It will be delivered when Christ Himself shall exercise

the power.

us the “powers of the world to come”1 were

deliverances from the yoke of the enemy. ese were not

things proper to us; nevertheless they were ours.<P339>

(1. So called, I doubt not, because they were samples

of that power which will entirely subdue the enemy when

Christ shall appear.)

Judges

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Judges

e subject of the book; its connection with Joshua

e Book of Judges is the history of the failure of Israel.

Joshua sets before us the energy of God acting in the midst

of the people, though there may be failure. In Judges we see

the miserable state of the nation, now become unfaithful;

and, at the same time, the intervention of the God of mercy

in the circumstances into which their unfaithfulness had

brought them. ese interventions correspond with what

are called revivals in the history of the church of God.

e people’s sorrowful history and God’s grace and

compassions

In this book we no longer see blessing and power

marking the establishment of the people of God. Neither

does it contain the fulllment of God’s purposes, after the

people had manifested their inability to retain the blessing

they had received, that indeed is yet to come for them, and

for the assembly; nor the forms and government which, in

spite of the evil and internal unfaithfulness of the people,

could maintain their external unity, until God judged them

in their leaders. God was still the only leader acknowledged

in Israel; so that the people themselves always bore the

penalty of their sin.

e misery into which their unfaithfulness brought

them moving the compassion of God, His mighty grace

raised up deliverers by His Spirit in the midst of the fallen

and wretched people. “For his soul was grieved for the

misery of Israel.” “And Jehovah raised up judges, which

delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.”

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“And when Jehovah raised them up judges, then Jehovah

was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hands

of their enemies, all the days of the judge; for it repented

Jehovah because of their groanings by reason of them that

oppressed them<P340> and vexed them.” But Israel was

unchanged. “And yet they would not hearken unto their

judges.” “And it came to pass, when the judge was dead,

that they returned and corrupted themselves more than

their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and

to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own

doings, nor from their stubborn ways.” is is the sorrowful

history of the people of God; but it is also the history of the

grace of God, and of His compassions towards His people.

Judges 1

527

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Judges 1

Increasing unfaithfulness

us, in the beginning of the book, we see evil and

failure, and also simple and blessed deliverances. But alas!

the picture darkens more and more. ere are grievous

features even in the conduct of the judges, and the state

of Israel becomes worse and worse; until weary of the

results of their own unfaithfulness, in spite of the presence

of the prophet, and the express word of God, they reject

the kingship of the Almighty to adopt human forms of

government, and establish themselves on the same footing

as the world, when they had God for their king!

God’s omniscient wisdom

is unfaithfulness, indeed, foreseen of God, was the

reason why God left some of the nations in the midst of His

people to prove them. e presence of these nations was in

itself a proof of Israel’s lack of energy and condence in

the power of God, who nevertheless would have preserved

them from their subsequent disasters. But in the wisdom

of His counsels, God, who knew His people, left these

nations in their midst, as a means of proving them. Israel

will be fully blest only under Messiah, who by His might

will bring in their blessing, and by His might will preserve

it to them.

Decay of each revival marked by increasing evil and

unbelief

Alas! this history of Israel in Canaan is also that of the

assembly. Set up in heavenly blessing on the earth, it has

failed from the beginning in realizing that which was given

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to it; and evil developed itself in it as soon as the rst and

mighty instruments of<P341> blessing which had been

granted it were removed. ings have gone from bad to

worse. ere have been revivals, but still the same principle

of unbelief; and the decay of each revival has marked

increasing progress in evil and unbelief in proportion to

the good which has been thus forsaken. e revival never

reaches to the extent of laying hold of what God is, what

He revealed Himself as at rst for His people, what the rst

power of revelation and action of the Spirit. When departed

from, God is more and more lost. e part of His blessing

afresh brought forward is neglected and abandoned, so that

there is a more entire forgetfulness of Him, and nature and

the world resume their place, but now not merely without,

but to the exclusion of, God, and setting up of man and

nature, by departing from the primitive source of blessing

and strength.1

(1. It is a striking fact in man’s history that the rst thing

that he has always done when God has set up something

of His own on the earth has been to spoil it. Man himself

eats the forbidden fruit; Noah gets drunk; Aaron’s sons

oer strange re; Israel makes the golden calf; Solomon

falls into idolatry; Nebuchadnezzar sets up his idol and

persecutes. God’s patience has gone on dealing with souls,

all through, in spite of it.)

God’s unfailing faithfulness and grace

Nevertheless God has always had His own people; and

His faithfulness has never failed them, whether in secret, or

manifesting openly, in His kindness, His grace towards His

assembly in public power-a power that it ought always to

have enjoyed. is sad succession of falls will have an end

at the coming of Jesus, who will accomplish His purposes

Judges 1

529

respecting the assembly in its heavenly glory; purposes, of

which it should have always been the faithful witness here

below.

God’s power and presence always to be found

e power and the presence of God did not forsake

Israel at the time of Joshua’s departure. It was always to be

found wherever there was faith to make use of it. is is

the rst truth which this book presents. It is what Paul said

to the Philippians, “Work out your own salvation with fear

and trembling, not as in my presence only, but now much

more in my absence; for it is God which worketh in you

both to will and to do.”<P342>

Failure of faith, energy, sense of God’s presence, and

perception of evil

is presence of God with them in blessing to faith

makes itself known at one time by victory over most

powerful enemies (ch. 1:1-7); at another by the obtaining

of special blessing, “springs of water” (vss. 13-15), and in all

the detail of their realization of the promises. e Philistines

even were driven out (vs. 18). But at the same time, the

faith of Judah and Simeon, of Ephraim and Manasseh,

and of all the tribes failed; and consequently their energy,

and their sense of the value of God’s presence, and of their

own consecration to Him, failed also, together with their

perception of the evil existing among their adversaries-a

perception which would have rendered their presence in

the midst of them insupportable.

Evil and corruption tolerated and spared

What dishonor to God, what sin, to spare, to tolerate,

such people! What unfaithfulness towards God was this

indierence; and what an infallible source of evil and

corruption in Israel! But they were insensible to all this.

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ey were wanting in spiritual discernment as well as in

faith; and the sources of evil and misery dwelt beside the

people, even in the land, the land of God and of Israel.

Judges 2

531

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Judges 2

e change from Gilgal to Bochim

Alas! if such was the condition of the people, and they

were satised with it, chastening, as at Ai, was no longer in

question. But the angel of Jehovah (the operative power of

God in the midst of the people) quits Gilgal (that spiritual

circumcision of heart, which precedes victory, and tempers

the soul anew that we may overcome in conict) and comes

up to Bochim, to the place of weeping, in the midst of

the people, declaring that He will no longer drive out the

enemy whom Israel had spared.

God had been then at Gilgal! What a blessing amid

those exercises and inward conicts of heart, in which true,

practical circumcision is accomplished, in which the source

and inuence of sin are felt in order to judge it before God;

so that, the esh being<P343> judged, we may in conict

(and also in communion) enjoy the strength of God, who

cannot grant it to the esh and to sin.

e proper work of Gilgal; the dierence at Bochim

is inward mortication is a work of no outward

glory; it is unseen, or little and pitiful in the eyes of man;

it makes us little in our own, but God and His grace

great, and associates the heart with Him, giving the moral

consciousness of His presence. Not as if we were strong;

on the contrary there is the sense of entire dependence

(compare 2Corinthians 12), but dependence on divine

strength, which really does all that is done, though God

may do it through instruments if He sees good, and then

the responsibility of man comes in. At Jericho God did all,

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532

to show, being without man, who was the doer-then at Ai,

responsibility. e strength was not shown at Gilgal. It was

shown against the Amorites of the mountains, at Gibeon;

but it was gathered at Gilgal. Historically it did not appear

that the strength of God was at Gilgal. To have manifested

it would have destroyed the proper work of Gilgal- the

judgment in humbleness because of God, of everything in

which esh works. But, when forsaken, it was discovered

that the angel of Jehovah had been there. It is exchanged

for tears. But the tears are for lost blessings. God may be

worshipped in Bochim: His relationship to the people was

unaltered. He accepts these tears. But what a dierence!

e strength and the light of Jehovah’s countenance are

not there. But He is always the same for faith to count on,

as when the sea ed from before His face, and Jordan was

driven back. e sorrow of the position is felt, but alleviated

by the sense that His grace cannot and will not fail (see

Judges 6:13-14). is change from Gilgal to Bochim is the

key to the book; it is so, alas! but too often, the condition

of God’s children.

e history of Israel that of the assembly

e Holy Spirit, having laid these general foundations,

goes on to the historical development of Israel’s position.

All the days of Joshua and of the elders that outlived

him, Israel walked before Jehovah. It is the history of the

assembly. While the apostles were there, it was preserved;

but Paul (Acts 20:29) and Peter (2Peter 2) alike warned the

saints that unfaithfulness and rebellion would unhappily

follow their departure. ese evil <P344>principles were

already there. e intermixture of unbelievers (the enemy’s

work) would become the means through which the evil

would unfold itself and gain ground among them.

Judges 2

533

e Lord had spoken of this (Matt. 13), not indeed as

to the assembly, but as to the good seed which He had

sown; and Jude develops its progress and results with

solemn perspicuity and precision.

In their aiction, judges raised up by Jehovah

But when another generation arises in Israel, which has

not known Jehovah, and has not seen all the great works

of His hand; and when they serve the gods of the people

whom Israel had spared, God no longer protects them.

Unfaithful within, the Israelites fall into the hands of the

enemy without. en, as we have seen, in their aiction

Jehovah, moved with compassion, raised up judges, who,

acknowledging His name, brought back the manifestation

of His power in their midst.

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Judges 3-5

e people’s unfaithfulness turned into blessing

God, knowing what the people were, and what was

their condition, had left within the borders of their land

that which put obedience to the proof-the Philistines, the

Sidonians, etc., that they might learn war, and experience

the ways and the government of Jehovah.

us the wisdom and foreknowledge of God, who knows

what is in man, turned the unfaithfulness of the people

into blessing. Outward prosperity, without trial, would not

have remedied unbelief, while it would have deprived them

of those exercises and conicts in which they might learn

what God was, His ways and His relations to them, as well

as what their own hearts were.

We go through the same experience, and for the same

reasons.

Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar raised up as deliverers

I will now go over the principal subjects presented in

the history of this book. Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar were,

in succession, the rst instruments raised up by God to

deliver His people.

First we have to remark the failure of the people, who

begin to<P345> serve false gods; thereupon their servitude.

In their distress they cry unto Jehovah. is is always

the way in which deliverance comes (ch. 3:9,15; 4:3). In

this last instance Jehovah departs from His usual ways.

e nation had lost its strength and energy, even as to its

internal aairs. is is the eect of repeated falls; the sense

of God’s power is lost.

Judges 3-5

535

Deborah and Barak

At the period of which we speak, a woman judged

Israel. It was a sign of God’s omnipotency, for she was a

prophetess. But it was contrary to God’s ordinary dealings,

and a disgrace to men. Deborah calls Barak (for where

the Spirit of God acts, He discerns and directs); she

communicates to him the command of God. He obeys;

but he lacks faith to proceed as one who has had direct

instruction from God and consequently needs no other.

ese direct communications give the consciousness of

God’s presence, and that He interposes on behalf of His

people. Barak will not go without Deborah. But this want

of faith is not to his credit. Men will keep the place which

answers to the measure of their faith; and God will again

be gloried through the instrumentality of a woman. Barak

has faith enough to obey if he has someone near who can

lean immediately on God, but not enough to do so himself.

is is too often the case. God does not reject him, but He

does not honor him. In fact, it is by no means the same

faith in God. And it is by faith that God is honored.

e recovering discipline of the people in war

We have, moreover, in this case, not the immediate

destruction of the enemy, but the discipline of the people

in war to recover them from the state of moral weakness

into which they had fallen. ey began with small things.

A woman was the instrument; for fear does not honor God,

and God cannot allow His glory to rest on such a condition

as this. But little by little “the hand of the children of Israel

prevailed against Jabin until they had destroyed him.”

e usual eect of such a work of the Holy Spirit as this

is to present the people as willingly oering themselves

(ch. 5:2). Nevertheless the Spirit of God has shown us that

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unbelief among the people had caused many of them to

stay behind; and thus they<P346> lost the manifestation

and the experience of the power of God. e judgment of

God amounts to a curse where there was an entire holding

back, a refusing to be associated with the people in their

weakness.

Judges 6

537

72590

Judges 6

Delivered into the hand of Midian

But again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of

Jehovah, and He delivered them into the hand of Midian.

And the children of Israel cried again unto Jehovah. God

reveals the cause of their distress to the consciences of the

people. is was indeed an answer; but, for the moment,

He left them as they were. He did not act in their midst

by delivering them at once; but He acted for them in the

instrument whom He had chosen to eect their deliverance.

God gloried Himself in Gideon: but the concentration of

this work in one man proves the people to be in a lower

condition than before. Nevertheless, in these humiliating

circumstances, God chooses means which display His

glory in every way. Where He works, there is strength; and

faith also, which acts according to that strength in its own

sphere.

Gideon and his exercises as to Jehovah

We will examine a little into the history of Gideon, and

the features of the Spirit’s work in this deliverance, as well

as in the faith of him whom He raised up. It is evident

that many thoughts had occurred to Gideon, many serious

reections, before the angel spoke to him. But it was the

angel’s visit that caused him to give form and expression to

the thoughts with which his heart was occupied. Gideon

suered with the rest from the oppression of God’s

enemies; but it led him to think of God, instead of making

up his mind to endure the bondage as a necessary evil. e

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538

angel says to him, “Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man

of valor.”

at which preoccupied the mind of Gideon is now

manifested. It was not his own position, but the relation

between Jehovah and Israel.1 “If Jehovah,” said he, “be

with us, why then is all<P347> this befallen us? And where

be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did

not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? But now Jehovah

hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the

Midianites.”

(1. Not the elevation of Abrahamic promises, but the

manifestation of redeeming power in Jehovah in favor of

Israel. Something like Moses, to whom Jehovah had said,

“y people,” but who ever said, “y people.” So Gideon

cannot separate him self from all Israel-God’s people.

“Jehovah is with thee,” said the angel. “If Jehovah be with

us,” says Gideon, “why then is all this befallen us?” But

this is an immensely important principle of faith and its

activities. Note, too, what was passing in the heart of faith

was the ground Jehovah took in testimony (vs. 8), only

adding the charge of disobedience.)

Gideon’s faith and Jehovah’s command

Faith, indeed, was the source of all these reasonings and

exercises of mind. Jehovah had wrought all these wonders.

He had brought the people up from Egypt. If Jehovah was

with Israel, if such was His relation to His people, why

were they in this sorrowful condition? (Oh, how applicable

would this reasoning be to the assembly!)

Gideon acknowledges, too, that it is Jehovah who

delivered them into the hands of the Midianites. How the

thought of God raises the soul above the suerings one

is enduring! While thinking of Him one recognizes, in

Judges 6

539

these very suerings, the hand and the whole character of

Him who sent them. It was that which lifted up this poor

Israelite, laboring under the weight of oppression. “And

Jehovah looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might,

and thou shalt save Israel.” e visit and the command of

Jehovah imparted their form and their strength to that

which before was only heart exercise.

Nevertheless it was this heart exercise which gave him

strength; for it was the inward link of faith with all that

Jehovah was for His oppressed people, in the consciousness

of the relationship existing between them.

e development of faith

We will look now at the development of this faith, and

see it employed for the deliverance of God’s people. Gideon

experiences at rst the sense of his own littleness, whatever

may be the relationship between Jehovah and the people

(ch. 6:15). Jehovah’s answer shows him the one, simple

means, “Surely I will be with thee.” Precious condescension!

Sweet and powerful <P348>encouragement to the soul!

Gideon’s faith was weak. e present state of the people

tended, by its duration, to blot out the remembrance of

the wonders which Jehovah had wrought when they came

out of Egypt, and to weaken their consciousness of His

presence. e angel of Jehovah condescends to tarry with

him in order to strengthen his faith.

e revelation of Jehovah humbles and strengthens

Gideon, who had addressed him with a secret

consciousness that it was Jehovah, now knows indeed that

he has seen the angel of Jehovah, of Elohim, face to face.

It was a positive revelation, sucient to annihilate him

in himself, as was indeed the case; but also mightily to

strengthen him in his walk among others, who had not

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540

known Jehovah in the same way. Although not with similar

visions, yet it is always thus when God raises up a special

instrument for the deliverance of His people.

Jehovah had made Himself known, and now He

reassures Gideon: “Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt

not die.”

A man who is humbled by the presence of God receives

strength from God, if that presence is in blessing. Gideon

recognizes and lays hold of this for himself: Jehovah is

with him in peace and in blessing. e word “Shalom,”

translated “Peace be with thee,” is the same as that used in

the name of the altar.

Gideon’s worship

When God acts powerfully on the heart, the rst eect

shows itself always in connection with Himself. Gideon’s

thoughts are occupied with Jehovah, they were so before

this manifestation. But being taken up with Jehovah, it is

by worship that he expresses his feelings,1 when he receives

an answer from Jehovah to all his thoughts.2 He builds an

altar to the God of peace.

(1. We observe a similar feeling in Eliezer (Gen. 24:27).

It is very interesting to notice the dierent circumstances

in which altars have been built to Jehovah. I will name a

few passages: Genesis 8:20; 12:7; compare 13:4; see 21:33;

22:9; 26:25; 33:20; 35:7. We may also remark Exodus 24:4;

Joshua 8:30; and here Judges 6. It appears even that Gideon

built two altars; the one for himself in worship, and the

other by command as a testimony (1Samuel 7:17; 14:35;

1Kings 18:32; we may add 2Samuel 24:25; Ezra 3:2).)

(2. It is instructive to observe here the dierence

between the exercises of heart which are the result of faith,

and the answer of God to the wants and diculties which

Judges 6

541

are caused by those exercises. In verse 13 we have the

expression of these exercises in a soul under the weight of

the same oppression as his brethren, but who feels it thus

because his faith in the Lord was real. en we have the

answer which produces peace, and, with peace, worship. It

is the same, when, after having suered death, the risen

Jesus reveals Himself to His disciples with the same words

that God uses here, and lays down the foundation of the

church gathered together in worship. In Luke 7 we nd

the same experiences in the woman who was a sinner. She

believed in the person of Jesus. His grace had made Him

her all; but she did not know yet that one like her was

pardoned and saved, and might go in peace. is assurance

was the answer given to her faith. Now this answer is

what the gospel proclaims to every believer. e Holy

Spirit proclaims Jesus. is produces conviction of sin.

e knowledge of God in Christ, and of ourselves, casts

down (for sin is there, and we are in bondage, sold under

sin); but it produces conict, perhaps anguish. Often the

soul struggles against sin, and cannot gain the mastery; it

cannot get beyond a certain point (the greater number of

the sermons from which it expects light go no further); but

the gospel proclaims God’s own resources for bringing it

out of this state. “Peace be unto thee,” “thy sins are forgiven.”

“y faith” (for she has faith), says Christ to the poor, sinful

woman, “hath saved thee.” is was what she knew not yet.

Compare Acts 2:37-38.)

e<P349> relationship of peace is thus established

between God and His servant; but all this is between

Gideon and Jehovah.

Gideon’s public service preceded by obedience and

faithfulness

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542

Now comes his public service, which is also fullled by

reestablishing, rst of all, in the bosom of his own family,

and in his own city, the relationship between God and His

people. Israel must put away Baal before God can drive out

the Midianites. How could He do so, while the blessing

might be ascribed to Baal?

Gideon is therefore commanded to give a striking

testimony, which calls the attention of the whole people

to the necessity of casting out Baal, in order that God may

intervene.

Faithfulness within precedes outward strength: evil

must be put away from Israel before the enemy can be

driven out. Obedience rst, and then strength: this is God’s

order.

Satan’s power in superstition despised by faith acting

in obedience

When Satan’s power in superstition (in whatever way it

may be outwardly manifested) is despised, it is destroyed;

supposing always that God is with him who pours contempt

on it, and that he is in the path of obedience.

Gideon overthrows Baal; and, on the anger of the

people fearful through superstition-what can this god do?

He cannot defend<P350> himself, said even he to whom

the altar belonged. e power of God acted on their minds,

for faith was there. But the opposition of the enemy did

not cease on that account. ere is nothing so despicable as

a despised god. But if Satan cannot be a god among men,

he is not at the end of his resources, he will incite them to

open hostility against those who overthrow his altars; but

if we are standing on God’s side, the only eect of this will

be to bring him thereby into the presence of God’s power,

and to give us victory, deliverance and peace.

Judges 6

543

Faithfulness followed by power

e Midianites come up against Israel. All is ready

for the Lord’s intervention. e Spirit of Jehovah comes

upon Gideon. is is a new phase in the history; not

only faithfulness, but power. Gideon blows the trumpet,

and those who shortly before would have slain him now

follow in his train. He sends messengers to all his tribe.

Zebulun, Asher and Naphtali come up also. e power of

the Spirit, which sways the minds of men, is with the faith

that acknowledges God, that acknowledges Him in His

relationship to His people, and faithfully puts away the evil

which is incompatible with that relationship.

God condescends to grant signs to strengthen

Gideon’s faith

God gives another proof of His great condescension, by

granting a sign to strengthen the weak but real and sincere

faith of Gideon; who feels, while repeating his request (vs.

39), that God might well chasten him for his lack of faith.

Nevertheless the Lord grants his petition.

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72591

Judges 7

Jehovah alone must be gloried: Gideon’s followers

are too many

irty-two thousand men followed Gideon. But Jehovah

will not have so many. He alone must be gloried in their

deliverance. eir faith was indeed so weak, even while the

Spirit of God was at work, that, when in the presence of the

enemy, twenty-two thousand men were content to return

at Gideon’s invitation. e<P351> movement produced by

the faith of another is quite a dierent thing from personal

faith.

But ten thousand men are still too many. Jehovah’s hand

alone must be seen. ose only may remain who do not

stop to quench their thirst at their ease, but who refresh

themselves hastily, as opportunity oers, more occupied

with the combat than with their own comforts by the way.

is was what was needed for Israel- that Jehovah should

have His place in their hearts and faith; and it suited the

just judgment of God in Israel that they should, as to their

place in the work, be left out of the glory of it.

Gideon’s mistrust changed to assurance

Gideon now displays entire condence in God.

Previously, the weakness of his faith had made him look

too much at himself, instead of simply looking to God. His

deep sense of Israel’s condition prevented his hesitating for

a moment because the people were not with him; what

could be done with this people? In the mistrust which

arose from a disposition to look too much to himself, what

he needed was the certainty that Jehovah was with him.

Judges 7

545

But, having now the assurance that Jehovah will deliver

Israel by his means, he trusts entirely to Him.

Jehovah’s work; His care to give His servant

condence

Jehovah throws terror and alarm into the midst of the

enemy; and acquaints Gideon with this. It is aecting

to see the care which God takes to impart condence to

His servant, suitably to the need which the state of things

had created. Already the name of Gideon resounded with

dread in the numerous army of the Midianites. en,

terror-stricken, they destroy each other. e condence

of the Midianites, founded only on Israel’s want of power,

melted away before the energy of faith; for the enemy’s

instruments have always a bad conscience. It is Jehovah

who does everything. e trumpets and the lamps alone

announce His presence, and that of His servant Gideon.

e multitude of Israel pursue the enemy, proting by the

work of faith, although without faith themselves: the usual

result of such a movement.<P352>

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Judges 8

e righteous indignation of faith

Nevertheless, they did not all unite with Gideon in

pursuit of the Midianites. But, for the moment, Gideon

despises the cowardice which disowns him through a

remaining fear of the oppressor’s power. On his return he

chastises, in the righteous indignation of faith, those who

at such a moment had shown themselves favorable to the

enemy, when the servants of God were “faint yet pursuing”

(ch. 8).

While the work was yet to do, they were taken up with

the work and passed on: there is time enough for vengeance

when the work is done. Gideon has also the prudence to

set himself aside, in order to allay the jealousy of those

who felt their pride wounded, because Gideon had had

more faith than themselves. ey did not boast of their

own importance, or request to be called, when Midian had

power over the land of Israel. It would be wrong to contend

with such persons. If you are satised with having done

the work of God, they will be satised with the spoil they

nd in pursuing the enemy; they will make a victory of it

to themselves. It must be allowed them; for, in fact, they

have done something for the cause of God, although tardy

in espousing it. ey came when they were called, and

willingly, as it appears; they followed Gideon’s directions,

and brought him back the heads of the princes. e secret

of faith and of Jehovah was with Gideon. It was useless to

speak of it to them. e people did not know their own

weakness. Gideon must be strong on Jehovah’s side for

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Israel, since Israel could not be so with him. But for that

very reason they could not understand why they were not

called before. It had to be left unexplained; a proof of the

sad state of Israel. But the danger was removed, and the

diculty set aside, in that Gideon wisely contented himself

with calming their minds, by not insisting upon his own

importance, which arose from a faith of which they did

not feel themselves incapable, and the diculties of which

they could not appreciate, since they possessed it not. We

must be near God in order to feel what is wanting in His

people’s condition as to Him: for it is in Him we nd that

which enables us to understand both His strength, and the

exigencies of our relationship with Him.

During the lifetime of Gideon, Israel dwelt in

peace.<P353>

God alone accomplishes the deliverance

Although the details of this deliverance have a special

interest, it appears to me to mark a lower condition of the

people than at the period of the preceding ones. It then

seemed quite a natural thing that some servant of Jehovah,

trusting to His arm, should deliver the people from the

yoke that oppressed them. Or else the people-awakened

by the words of a prophetess-released themselves, and, by

the help of God, obtained the victory over their enemies.

But in this case even the sense of Jehovah’s relationship

to His people had to be restored. at is what God does

with Gideon, as we have seen, and that with touching

condescension and tenderness. But it was requisite to do it.

erefore God alone accomplished the deliverance of His

people. e people must not be employed in it, lest they

should attribute it to themselves; for the farther o we are

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from God, the more ready we are to ascribe to ourselves

that which is due only to Him.

Judges 9-12

549

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Judges 9-12

Internal struggles

After Gideon’s death we see the results of this distance

from God in the internal struggles which took place

between the children of Israel. ey are ungrateful to the

house of Gideon, and war breaks out among them through

the leader whom they set up, and who, instead of ghting

with the enemies of God, only seeks dominion over the

people who are now at peace (ch. 9).

Temporary peace followed by idolatry and

chastisement

e overthrow of the men of Shechem and of Abimelech

is followed by temporary peace, after which the people fall

again into their idolatrous iniquity, and Jehovah sells them

into the hands of the nations whose gods they serve. Sorely

distressed by their enemies, the children of Israel cry unto

Jehovah, who reproaches them for their past conduct, and

sends them back to the gods they had been worshipping.

en the people put away the strange gods from among

them. Jehovah is moved with compassion (ch. 10).<P354>

Jephthah as God’s deliverer

Israel, without a leader, have recourse to the captain of

a troop of “vain men,” and promise to obey him if he will

put himself at their head. Jephthah consents. But although

this was a deliverance, yet we see in it all how deeply Israel

had fallen. Jephthah himself suers cruelly from his rash

vow; and, moreover, when the pride of the Ephraimites

led them to complain that they had not been treated with

due respect, the calmness and wisdom of one who knew

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Jehovah as Gideon did, were not found in Jephthah. What

a dierence between these days and those of Joshua! God

multiplies His deliverances; but this has no eect on the

unbelief of the people, and their condition continues to

grow worse and worse (ch. 11-12).

Israel’s return to sin; new and bitter enemies, the

Philistines

After Jephthah, Israel again enjoys an interval of peace

under the guidance of several judges whom God raises

up. But they soon return to their former course of sin, and

Jehovah delivers them into the hand of the Philistines.

Samson’s history gives us the commencement of Israel’s

relationship with these bitter enemies, which only ceased

when David had subdued them. e Philistines at this

period were at the height of their power. But the important

thing here is the history of Samson (ch. 13-16).

Judges 13

551

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Judges 13

Samson as a type

Samson, as a type, sets before us the principle of

Nazariteship, entire separation to God, the source of

strength in conict with our enemies, looked at as enemies

who seek to gain the upper hand among the people of God,

within their own limits and in their own heart.

e Philistines, in the land, assume dominion over

God’s people

e Philistines were not a scourge, a chastisement sent

from without; they dwelt in Israel’s own territory, in the

land of promise. Undoubtedly, before this, other nations

whom the <P355>faithlessness of the people had left in

the midst of Canaan had been a snare to them, leading

them to intermarriage with idolaters, and to the worship of

false gods; and Jehovah had given them up into the hands

of their enemies. But now, those who had been suered to

remain in the conquered land assume dominion over Israel.

e principle of Nazariteship

Here, then, that which can give victory and peace to the

heirs of promise is the strength imparted by separation from

all that belongs to the natural man, and entire consecration

to God, so far as it is realized. is Nazariteship is spiritual

power, or rather that which characterizes it, when the

enemy is within the land. For Samson judged Israel during

the dominion of the Philistines (ch. 15:20). Afterwards

Samuel, Saul and above all David entirely changed the

state of things.

Christ as a Nazarite

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When the Canaanite, when the power of the enemy,

reigns in the land, Nazariteship alone can give power to

one who is faithful. It is a secret unknown to the men of the

world. Christ exemplied it in its perfection. Evil reigned

among the people. e walk of Christ was a walk apart,

separate from evil. He was one of the people, but, like Levi

(Deut. 33:9), He was not of them. He was a Nazarite. But

we must distinguish with respect to this.

Morally, Christ was as separate from sinners while

on earth, as He is now. But, outwardly He was in their

midst; and, as the witness and expression of grace, He was

spiritually in their midst also. Since His resurrection He is

completely separate from sinners. e world sees Him not,

and will see Him no more save in judgment.

Separation from the world

It is in this last position, and as having put on this

character of entire separation from the world, that the

assembly, that Christians, are in connection with Him. Such

a High Priest became us. e assembly retains its strength,

Christians retain their strength, so far only as they abide in

this state of complete separation, which the world does not

understand and in which it cannot participate. Human joy

and sociability have no part in it;<P356> divine joy and the

power of the Holy Spirit are there. e life of our adorable

Saviour was a life of gravity, always grave and generally

straitened (not in Himself, for His heart was a springing

well of love, but because of the evil that pressed Him on

every side): I speak of His life and of His own heart. With

regard to others, His death opened the oodgates, in order

that the full tide of love might ow over poor sinners.

e two joys

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Nevertheless, whatever may have been the Lord’s

habitual separateness, He could say, with reference to His

disciples, “ese things I speak in the world that they

might have my joy fullled in themselves.” It was the best of

wishes, divine joy instead of human joy. e day will come

when these two joys shall be united, when He will again

drink wine, though in a new way, with His people in the

kingdom of His Father; and all will be His people. But at

present this cannot be; evil reigns in the world. It reigned

in Israel, where there ought to have been righteousness. It

reigns in Christendom, where holiness and grace should be

manifested in all their beauty.

e only means of enjoying God’s strength

e separation unto God, of which we have been

speaking, is under these circumstances the only means of

enjoying the strength of God. It is the essential position of

the assembly. If it has failed in it, it has ceased to manifest

the essential character of its Head, in connection with itself,

“separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens”;

it is but a false witness, a proof among the Philistines that

Dagon is stronger than God; it is a blind prisoner.

e judgment of God

Nevertheless it is remarkable that, whenever the world

draws away, by its allurements, that which God has separated

from it unto Himself, this brings down the judgment of

God upon the world, and leads to its ruin. Look at Sarah in

the house of Pharaoh; and in this instance, Samson, blind

and prisoner in the hands of the Philistines; and again

also Sarah in the house of Abimelech, although God, on

account of the integrity of his heart, did but chasten the

latter.<P357>

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e Nazarite represented in Christ, the assembly and

an individual Christian

e Nazarite, then, represents Christ, such as He was

here below in fact and by necessity; and also such as He

now is completely and in full right, seated on the right

hand of God in heaven, hidden in God, where our life is

hid with Him. e Nazarite represents the assembly or an

individual Christian, so far as the one and the other are

separated from the world and devoted to God, and keep

the secret of this separation.

is is the assembly’s position, the only one which God

recognizes. e assembly, being united to Christ who is

separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens,

cannot be His in any other manner. It may be unfaithful

to it, but this is the standing given it with Christ. It can be

recognized in no other.

e neglect of Nazariteship shown in Samson

Samson represents to us also the tendency of the

assembly, and of the Christian to fall away from this

position, a tendency which does not always produce the

same amount of evil fruit, but which causes the inward and

practical neglect of Nazariteship, and soon leads to entire

loss of strength, so that the assembly gives itself up to the

world. God may still use it, may glorify Himself through

the havoc it makes in the enemy’s land (which ought to be

its own); He may even preserve it from the sin to which the

slippery path it treads would lead it. But the state of mind

which brought it there tends to yet lower downfalls.

Judges 16

555

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Judges 16

e secret of Samson’s strength

Samson sins again through his fellowship with “the

daughter of a strange god”; he connects himself again with

women of the Philistines, among whom his father’s house

and the tribe of Dan were placed. But he retains his strength

until the inuence of these connections becomes so great

that he reveals the secret of his strength in God. His heart,

far from God, places that condence in a Philistine which

should have existed only between his soul and God (ch.

16).

To possess and keep a secret proves intimacy with

a friend. But the secret of God, the possession of His

condence, is the highest of all privileges. To betray it to

a stranger, be he who he may, is to despise the precious

position in which His grace has placed us; it is to lose

it. What have the enemies of God to do with the secret

of God? It was thus that Samson gave himself up to his

enemies. All attempts were powerless against him so long

as he maintained his Nazariteship. is separation once

lost, although Samson was apparently as strong, and his

exterior as goodly as before, yet Jehovah was no longer with

him. “I will go<P364> out as at other times before, and

shake myself. And he wist not that Jehovah was departed

from him.”

Samson’s folly and his loss

We can scarcely imagine a greater folly than that of

conding his secret to Delilah, after having so many times

been seized by the Philistines at the moment she awoke

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him. And thus it is with the assembly: when it yields

itself to the world, it loses all its wisdom, even that which

is common to man. Poor Samson! His strength may be

restored, but he has lost his sight forever.

But who has ever hardened himself against the Lord,

and prospered (Job 9:4)?

Sharing the judgment of the world

e Philistines ascribe their success to their false god.

God remembers His own glory, and His poor servant

humbled under the chastisement of his sin. e Philistines

assemble to enjoy their victory and glorify their false gods.

But Jehovah had His eye on all this. In his humiliation,

the thought of the Lord had more power over the heart of

Samson; his Nazariteship was regaining strength. He makes

his touching appeal to God. Who would fear a blind and

aicted prisoner? But who among this world knows the

secret of Jehovah? A slave and forever deprived of sight, his

condition aords an opportunity, which his strength had

not been able to obtain, before his unfaithfulness deprived

him of it. But he is blind and enslaved, and he must perish

himself in the judgment which he brings upon the impiety

of his enemies. He had identied himself with the world

by hearkening to it, and he must share the judgment which

falls upon the world.1

(1. ere was something of this, though in a very

dierent form and manner, in Jonathan. His faith was not

perfect. He held the world with one hand and David with

the other, though the excuse of natural relationship might

be there.)

If the unfaithfulness of the assembly has given the world

power over it, the world has, on the other hand, assailed the

rights of God by corrupting the assembly, and therefore

Judges 16

557

brings down judgment upon itself at the moment of its

greatest triumph: a judgment which, if it puts an end to the

existence, as well as to the misery of the Nazarite, destroys,

at the same time, in one common ruin the whole glory of

the world.<P365>

In the details of prophecy this applies to the closing

history of the Jewish people.1 Only there the remnant

is preserved, to be established on a new base for the

accomplishment of the purposes of God.

(1. As to the professing church it is somewhat dierent,

because the saints are taken away to glory, and the rest,

being apostate, are judged; but the fact of judgment on the

world is identical.)

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72597

Judges 17-21

Iniquities which required discipline

e chapters that follow (ch. 17-21) are not comprised

in the historical order of this book. ey lift the veil to

disclose some incidents of the inner life of this people

whom the patience of God bore with so long, touched with

the aictions of His people in the suerings occasioned by

their sins. Had they been obedient when Jehovah was their

King, their prosperity had been secure. Self-willed as they

were, the absence of restraint-when they had no king-gave

room to all kinds of license. e last event, related in this

book, shows to what a height disorder had risen in Israel

and how they fell away immediately from God. But it

aords a very important lesson. If the state of God’s people

collectively gives rise to iniquities which require discipline,

the whole people are involved in the chastisement that

follows; the eect of which is to make them take their

condition to heart. at condition had prevented the

repression of iniquity, or its immediate punishment when

committed. But the people are set in the presence of God,

who judges the whole matter, and all the people must have

to do with it.

Defeat allowed and victory given

Israel at rst did not even take counsel with Jehovah

to learn how the sin should be dealt with. ey acted

from natural indignation (which was nevertheless quite

righteous). Jehovah allowed all this in order that the people

might learn where they were. e evil which required

chastening had so blunted their spiritual state that they

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559

had not the thought of waiting in the rst place on Jehovah

to know what was to be done. eir course of action is

determined before they consult Him, for they were far from

Him. ey merely ask who is to go up rst. Jehovah points

out Judah,<P366> but Judah is defeated. Twice beaten

when they expected an easy victory, the people humbled

and in tears have recourse again to Jehovah, and inquire

if they shall go up. Jehovah then gives them the victory.

Gibeah well deserved this discipline; but, to execute it,

Israel itself needed discipline, and God allowed all to take

part in it in order to make it take eect upon all.

God’s patient dealings in His omniscience

But what a state were they all in, when the whole tribe

of Benjamin joined the men of Gibeah, when guilty of

such enormities! And observe that Phinehas was still high

priest, although he had already grown to manhood in the

wilderness. How patiently God dealt with this people,

delivering them when they had so quickly fallen into sin

and into such depths of sin! What does God not see in this

world, and even in His people? It is important to note this

bringing to light of that inward state which, in the general

history, is not done. It sheds a much fuller light on the ways

of God. But it must be remarked that this is disaster and

shame within, and from within, and under God’s hand, but

not judgment by enemies without through departure from

God Himself.<P367>

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72595

Judges 14 -15

Samson’s marriage with a Philistine

God makes use of Samson’s marriage with a Philistine

woman to punish that people. Still, in the freshness of his

strength, his heart with Jehovah, and moved by the Holy

Spirit, Samson acts in the might of this strength in the

midst of the enemies he has raised up against him; and, in

point of fact, he never marries this Philistine woman.

I have said that God used this circumstance. It is thus

He may use this spiritual strength of the assembly, so long

as in heart it<P358> cleaves to Him, although its walk may

not be faithful or such as He can approve. For it is evident

that Samson’s marriage with a daughter of Timnath was a

positive sin, a agrant infringement of Jehovah’s ordinances,

which is in no wise justied by the blessing which the Lord

bestowed upon him when wronged by the Philistines. It

was not in his marriage he found blessing, but quite the

contrary.

Accordingly Samson has not Israel with him in the

conicts occasioned by his marriage; the Spirit of God does

not act upon the people as He did in the case of Gideon, of

Jephthah, or Barak.

Opposition to Nazariteship to be expected

Moreover, when Nazariteship is in question, opposition

must be expected from the people of God. A Nazarite

is raised up in their midst, because they are no longer

themselves thus separated unto God. And this being the

case, they are without strength, and will allow the world to

rule over them, provided that outward peace is left them;

Judges 14 -15

561

and they would not have anyone act in faith, because this

disquiets the world and incites it against them. “Knowest

thou not,” said Israel, “that the Philistines are rulers over us?”

Even while acknowledging Samson as one of themselves,

the Israelites desire to give him up to the Philistines in

order to maintain peace.

But in the part of Samson’s life now before us there are

some details which require more attention.

Counsel from God unsought

His marriage was a sin. But the separation of God’s

people had no longer that measure of practical application

which the mind of God had assigned it. e fact itself was

inexcusable, because it had its origin in the will of Samson,

and he had not sought counsel from God. But, owing to

the inuence of circumstances, he was not conscious at the

time of the evil he was committing, and God allowed him

to seek peace and friendship with the Canaanite world

(that is to say, the world within the enclosure of God’s

people), instead of making war against them; so that, as

to the Philistines, Samson had right on his side in the

contentions which followed.

Samson’s riddle

Before his marriage Samson had slain the lion, and had

found<P359> honey in its carcass. He had strength from

God while walking in his integrity. is is the “riddle,” the

secret of God’s people. e lion has no strength against one

who belongs to Christ. Christ has destroyed the strength of

him that had the power of death. By the might of the Spirit

of Christ our warfare is victory, and honey ows therefrom.

But this is carried on in the secret of communion with the

Lord. David maintained this place better in the simplicity

of duty.

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Samson did not keep himself from those connections

with the world to which the condition of the people easily

led. is is always a Christian’s danger. But whatever

may be their ignorance, if the children of God make any

alliance with the world, and thus pursue a line of conduct

opposed to their true character, they will assuredly nd

disappointment. ey do not keep themselves apart for

God; they do not keep their secret with God, a secret

which is only known in communion with Himself. eir

wisdom is lost, the world beguiles them, their relationship

with the world becomes worse than before, and the world

despises them, and goes on its own way, regardless of their

indignation at its behavior towards them.

Linked with the world; its consequences

What had Samson to do there? His own will (ch. 15)

is in exercise, and takes its share in the use of that strength

which God had given him (like Moses when he slew the

Egyptian). We always carry a little of the world with us

when, being children of God, we have mingled with it.

But God makes use of this to separate us forcibly and

thoroughly from it, making union impossible by setting us

in direct conict with the world even in those very things

which had formed our connection with it. We had better

have remained apart. But it is necessary that God should

thus deal with us, when this union with the world becomes

a habitual and a tolerated thing in the church.1e most

outrageous circumstances pass unnoticed. ink of a

Nazarite married to a Philistine! God must break o such

a union as this by causing enmities and <P360>hostilities

to arise, since there is no intelligence of that moral nearness

to God which separates from the world, and gives that

quietness of spirit which, nding its strength in God, can

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563

overcome and drive away the enemy, when God leads into

conict by the plain revelation of His will.

(1. In this union, when it takes place between the world

and true Christians, or those at least who profess the

truth, the world always rules; when, on the contrary, it is

with the hierarchy that the world is connected, it is then

a superstitious hierarchy that rules, for this is necessary in

order to restrain the will of man by religious bonds adapted

to the esh.)

But if we are linked with the world, it will always have

dominion over us; we have no right to resist the claims

of any relationship which we ourselves have formed.

We may draw nigh to the world, because the esh is in

us. e world cannot really draw nigh to the children of

God, because it has only its own fallen and sinful nature.

e approximation is all on one side and always in evil,

whatever the appearance may be. To bear testimony in the

midst of the world is another thing.

e exclusive privileges of God’s people

We cannot, therefore, plead the secret of the Lord, the

intimate relationship of God’s people to Himself, and the

feelings they produce; for the secret and the strength of

the Lord are exclusively the right and the strength of His

redeemed people. How could this be told to his Philistine

wife? What inuence would the exclusive privileges of

God’s people have over one who is not of their number?

How can we speak of these privileges when we disown

them by the very relationship in which we stand? We

disown them by imparting this secret; for we then cease

to be separated and consecrated to God, and to conde

in Him as we can do in no other. is experience should

have preserved Samson, for the future, from a similar step.

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But in many respects experience is useless in the things of

God, because we need faith at the moment; for it is God

Himself whom we need.

Nevertheless Samson here still retains his strength. e

sovereign will of God is fullled in this matter, in spite

of very serious faults which resulted from the general

state of things in which Samson participated. Once in the

battleeld, he exhibits the strength of Jehovah who was

with him; and in answer to his cry Jehovah supplies him

with water for his thirst (ch. 15).

e danger of unfaithfulness in Nazariteship

It is here that this general history of Samson ends.

We have seen that the people of God, his brethren, were

against him- the<P361> general rule in such a case. It is

the history of the power of the Spirit of Christ exercised

in Nazariteship, in separation from the world unto God;

but in the midst of a condition entirely opposed to this

separation; and in which he who is upheld by the power

of this Spirit, nding himself again in his habitual sphere,

is always in danger of being unfaithful; and so much the

more so (unless he lives very near to God in the repose of

obedience) from his consciousness of strength.

e perfection of Christ’s heavenly walk

Christ exhibited the perfection of a heavenly walk under

similar circumstances. We see that no one understood

the source of His power, or His authority. He must have

given up all hope of satisfying men with respect to the

principles by which He was guided. ey must have been

like Him to comprehend Him, and then they would not

have needed to be convinced. To walk before God and

leave His justication with God was all that could be done.

He silenced His enemies by the well-known principles of

Judges 14 -15

565

God and of all good conscience; but He could not reveal

the secret between Him and the Father, the element of His

life, and the spring of all His actions. If the truth came out,

when Satan pushed things so far that nothing else could

be said, His enemies treated Him as a blasphemer, and He

openly denounced them as the children of Satan. We nd

this particularly in John’s Gospel (see chapter 8). But at

that time Jesus held no longer the same relationship to the

people. Indeed, from the beginning of this Gospel, they

are treated as rejected, and the Person of the Son of God is

brought forward.

Christ the obedient Servant in perfect separation to

God

From the commencement of His ministry, He

maintained the place of an obedient servant, not entering

on public service until called of God, after having taken

the lowest place in John’s baptism. is was the point at

issue when He was tempted in the wilderness. e tempter

endeavored to make Him come out of His place as the

obedient man, because He was the Son of God. But the

strong man was bound there: to remain in obedience is the

only way to bind the adversary. Christ ever walked in this

perfect separation of the inner man, in communion with

His Father, and entire dependence upon Him in obedience

without a single <P362>moment of self-will. erefore was

He the most gracious and accessible of men: we observe in

His ways a tenderness and a kindness never seen in man, yet

we always feel that He was a stranger. Not that He came to

be a stranger in His relationship with men; but that which

lay deepest in His own heart-that which constituted His

very nature, and consequently guided His walk by virtue of

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His communion with the Father-was entirely foreign to all

that inuences man.

He abode emphatically alone. It is striking that not

once His disciples understood what He said. e one only

trace of a heart going with Him was Mary at Bethany; and

that had to be told to the whole world. In Him, sympathy

for every sorrow; for His, none.

Christ separated by entire communion with His

Father

is spirit of self-denial, entire renunciation of His own

will, obedience, and dependence upon His Father, is seen

throughout the life of Jesus. After John’s baptism He was

praying when He received the Holy Spirit. Before calling

the apostles He spent the whole night in prayer. After

the miracle of feeding the ve thousand with ve loaves

He went up into a mountain apart to pray. If the request

is made to sit on His right hand and on His left in His

kingdom, it is not His to give, but to them for whom it is

prepared of His Father. In His agony of Gethsemane, His

expectation and dread of death is all laid before His Father;

and the cup which His Father has given Him, shall He not

drink it? e eect is that all is calm before men. He is the

Nazarite, separated from men by His entire communion

with His Father, and by the obedience of a Son who had

no other will than to fulll the good pleasure of His Father.

It was His meat to do the will of Him that sent Him, and

to nish His work.

Christ in heaven the true Nazarite

But it was when man would not receive Him, and there

was no longer any relationship whatever between man

and God that Jesus fully assumed His Nazarite character,

separate from sinners, made higher than the heavens. It is

Judges 14 -15

567

Christ in heaven who is the true Nazarite, and who, having

received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, has

sent Him forth upon His disciples, in order that, by the

power of the Holy Spirit, they might maintain<P363>

the same position on the earth, through communion with

Him and with His Father; walking in the separateness of

this communion, and capable therefore of using this power

with a divine intelligence that enlightens and sustains the

obedience for which they are set apart unto the glory of

Christ, and for His service. “If ye abide in me,” said He

to His disciples, “and my words abide in you, ye shall ask

what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” ey were

not of the world, even as He was not of the world. e

assembly, which was formed of His disciples, should walk

as separated from the world and set apart unto Himself in

a heavenly life.

Christ the Antitype of Samson as to principle

Christ is then the antitype of Samson’s history, as to the

principle it contains. But its detail proves that this principle

of strength has been entrusted to those who were, alas! but

too capable of failing in communion and obedience, and

thus of losing its enjoyment.

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72598

Ruth

Ruth, a stranger, and the grace of God in the midst

of evil

e Book of Ruth tells us also of the days of the judges,

when there was no king in Israel; but it shows us the fair

side of those days, in the operations of the grace of God,

who (blessed be His name!) never failed to work in the

midst of the evil, as also in the steady progress of events

towards the fulllment of His promises in the Messiah,

whatever may have been the simultaneous progress of the

general evil.

Ruth, a stranger seeking shelter by faith under the wings

of the God of Israel, is received in grace, and the genealogy

of David, king over Israel according to grace, is linked with

her. It is the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Himself after the

esh.

e typical character of the book

is book appears to me to set before us, in type, the

reception in grace of the remnant of Israel in the last

days, their Redeemer (the kinsman, who has the right of

redemption) having taken their cause in hand.

Eli-Melech (which signies “God the King”) being

dead, Naomi (“my delight, my pleasure”) becomes a widow,

and eventually loses her children also. She typies the

Jewish nation, who, having lost her God, is like a widow

and has no heir. Yet there shall be a remnant, destitute of all

right to the promises (and therefore pregured historically

by a stranger), who will be received in grace (similarly to

the Gentiles and the assembly1)-who will faithfully and

Ruth

569

heartily identify itself with desolate Israel; for Ruth clave

to her and to her God (see chapter 1:16). God will own

this remnant, which, poor and aicted itself, will in heart

obey the commands given to the people.<P368>

(1. Compare Micah 5:3, last part.)

Naomi, who in her destitution is a type of the nation,

acknowledges her condition: she calls herself Mara

(“bitterness”).

He who was nearest of kin, who would willingly have

redeemed the inheritance, refuses to do so, if Ruth must

be taken with it. e law was never able (nor the assembly

either) to reestablish Israel in their inheritance, nor to raise

up in grace the name of the dead.

Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer

Boaz (“in him is strength”), upon whom the remnant

had no direct claim (and who typies Christ risen, in

whom are the sure mercies of David), undertakes to raise

up the name of the dead, and to reestablish the heritage of

Israel. Acting in grace and in kindness, and encouraging

the patient, humble faith of the remnant, the meek of the

earth, he shows himself faithful to fulll the purpose and

the will of God with respect to this poor, desolate family.

Nothing can be more touching and exquisite than the

details given here. e character of Ruth, this poor woman

of the Gentiles, has great beauty.

“Naomi took the child that was born to her, and laid

it in her bosom”; and they said, “ere is a son born to

Naomi.” In fact, the heir of the promises will be born unto

Israel as a nation, although the fulllment of the promise

aects the remnant only, which, fully identifying itself

with the interests of God’s people, has sought neither the

rich nor the poor, but, in faith and obedience, has kept the

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testimony of God among the people in the path appointed

by Him.

e contrast between the books of Ruth and Judges

us, if on one side the Book of Judges shows us

the falling away of the people of Israel, and their failure

under responsibility, even when God was their helper,

on the other side this touching and precious book sets

before us, as the dawn of better things, grace acting in the

midst of diculties, securing the fulllment of promise,

and embellishing this scene of misery and sin by lovely

and beautiful instances of faith, precious fruits of grace,

whether in weakness and devotedness, or in strength and

kindness, and always in accordance with the perfect will of

God, and assuring by this touching history, as a type, the

full restoration of Israel to<P369> blessing according to

promise. It is a refreshing and lovely picture in the midst of

the hard-mindedness and sorrows of Israel.

Ruth as the intermediate link between Israel’s fall

and prophecy

In the succeeding books we shall see prophecy, and the

history of God’s dealings, developing the body of events

which tended to the fulllment of His designs, the rst

principles, the elements, of which are laid down in that

which is shown us in this. For Ruth furnishes a kind of

intermediate link between the fall of Israel under God’s

immediate government, and the future fulllment of His

purposes.

Prophecy, which unfolds these purposes and gives moral

proof of this fall, begins with Samuel: we learn this from

the Apostle Peter, and that Christ is the object of prophecy

(see Acts 3:24).

Ruth

571

Eli, the last judge and priest, departs; his family

is to be cut o; the ark of the covenant is taken by the

Philistines; and Samuel, consecrated to God in a new and

extraordinary manner, comes in with the special testimony

of the Lord.<P370>

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72599

1Samuel

We have seen that the Book of Ruth occupies, in its

purport, an intermediate place between the end of the

period in which Israel was governed by God Himself, who

interposed from time to time by means of judges, and the

setting up of the king whom He selected for them. is

period, alas! came to an end through the people’s failure,

and their inability to make a right use, by faith, of their

privileges.

e contents of the Books of Samuel

e Books of Samuel contain the account of the

cessation of Israel’s original relationship with God, founded

on their obedience to the terms of the old covenant, and

the special prescriptions of the Book of Deuteronomy; the

sovereign interference of God in prophecy; and the setting

up of the king whom God Himself had prepared, with the

circumstances which preceded this event. It is not merely

that Israel failed under the government of God: they

rejected it.

e ark in the enemy’s hands and the failure of the

priesthood

Placed under the priesthood, they drew nigh to God

in the enjoyment of privileges which were granted them

as a people acknowledged by Jehovah. We shall see the

ark-which, as it was the nearest and most immediate, so

was it the most precious link between Jehovah Elohim and

the people-fall into the hands of the enemy. What could

a priest do, when that which gave his priesthood all its

importance was in the enemy’s hands, and when the place

1Samuel

573

where he drew near to Jehovah (the throne of God in the

midst of Israel, the place of propitiation by which in mercy

Israel’s relationship with God, through the sprinkled blood,

was maintained) was no more there?<P371>

It was no longer mere unfaithfulness in the circumstances

in which God had placed them. e circumstances

themselves were entirely changed through God’s judgment

upon Israel. e outward link of God’s connection with the

people was broken; the ark of the covenant, center and basis

of their relationship with Him, had been given up by the

wrath of God into the hands of their enemies. Priesthood

was the natural and normal means of maintaining the

relationship between God and the people: how could it

now be used for this purpose?

God in communication with His people by a prophet

Nevertheless God, acting in sovereignty, could put

Himself in communication with His people, by virtue of

His grace and immutable faithfulness, according to which

His connection with His people existed still on His side,

even when all acknowledged relationship between Him

and them was broken o by their unfaithfulness. And

this He did by raising up a prophet. By his means God

still communicated in a direct way with His people, even

when they had not maintained their relationship with

Him in their normal condition. e oce of the priest was

connected with the integrity of these relations; the people

needed him in their inrmities. Still under the priesthood

the people themselves drew nigh to God through the

medium of the priest, according to the relationship which

God had established and which He recognized. But the

prophet acted on the part of God outside this relationship,

or rather above it, when the people were no longer faithful.

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e establishment of a kingdom

e setting up of a king went much further. It was a

new order of relationship which involved most important

principles. e relationship of God with the people was no

longer immediate. An authority was set over Israel. God

expected faithfulness from the king. e people’s destiny

depended upon the conduct of the one who was responsible

before Jehovah for the maintenance of this faithfulness.

God’s grace and wisdom displayed in our follies and

faults

It was God’s purpose to establish this principle for the

glory of Christ. I speak of His kingdom over the Jews

and over the <P372>nations, over the whole world. is

kingdom has been pregured in David and in Solomon. To

ask for a king, rejecting God’s own immediate government,

was folly and rebellion in the people. How often are our

follies and our faults the opportunity for the display of the

grace and wisdom of God and for the fulllment of His

counsels hidden from the world until then! Our sins and

faults alone have conduced to the glorious accomplishment

of these counsels in Christ.

ese are the important subjects treated of in the

Books of Samuel, so far at least as the establishment of the

kingdom. Its glorious condition and its fall are related in

the two Books of Kings.

It is the fall of Israel which puts an end to their rst

relationship with God. e ark is taken; the priest dies.

Prophecy introduces the king-a king despised and

rejected, man having set up another, yet a king whom God

establishes according to the might of His power. Such are

the great principles unfolded in the Books of Samuel.

1Samuel

575

History shows us here, as everywhere, that there is but

One who has remained faithful-a humbling result for us

of the trial to which God has subjected us, but one well

adapted to keep us humble.

e priesthood and its fall

If we have spoken of the fall of the priesthood, we must

not infer from it that priesthood ceased to exist. It was

always necessary to a people full of weakness (as it is to

ourselves on earth); it interposed in the things of God to

maintain individual relationship to Him in them, but it

ceased to form the basis of relationship between the whole

people and God. e people were no longer capable of

enjoying this relationship through this means alone; and

the priesthood itself could suce no longer, having so

deeply failed in its standing. We shall do well to dwell a

little on this, which is the turning point of the truths we

are considering.

In Israel’s primitive state, and in their constitution

generally, as established in the land given to them,

priesthood was the basis of their relationship with

God; it was that which characterized and maintained it

(see Hebrews 7:11). e high priest was their head and

representative before God, as a nation of worshippers;

and in this character (I speak here neither of redemption

from<P373> Egypt nor of conquests, but of a people before

God, and in relationship with Him), on the great day of

atonement he confessed their sins over the scapegoat. It

was not merely intercession. He stood there as head and

representative of the people, who were summed up in him

before Jehovah. e people were acknowledged, although

faulty. ey presented themselves in the person of the

high priest, that they might be in connection with a God

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who, after all veiled Himself from their eyes. e people

presented everything to the priest; the high priest stood

before God. is relationship did not imply innocence.

An innocent man should have stood himself before God.

“Adam, where art thou?” is question brings out his fall.

Still the people were not driven away, though the

veil was between them and God; the high priest, who

sympathized with the inrmities of the people, being one

with them, maintained the relationship with God. ey

were a very imperfect people, it is true; yet by this means

they stood themselves in connection with the Holy One.

But Israel was not able to maintain this position; not only

was there sin (the high priest could remedy that), but they

sinned against Jehovah, they turned away from Him, and

that even in their leaders. e priesthood itself, which

should have maintained the relationship, wrought for its

destruction by dishonoring God and repelling the people

from His worship, instead of attracting them to it.

e place and duty of a king

I pass over the preparatory circumstances; they will

be considered in detail in their place. God then sets up

a king, whose duty it was to preserve order and to secure

God’s connection with the people by governing them,

and by his own faithfulness to God. is is what Christ

will accomplish for them in the ages to come; He is the

anointed. When the king is established, the priest walks

before him (1Sam. 2:35). It is a new institution, the only

one capable of maintaining the relationship of the people

with God. Priesthood is no longer here an immediate

relationship. It provides indeed, in its own functions, for

the wants of the people. e king watches over it, and

secures order and blessing.<P374>

1Samuel

577

e dierence between Israel and the church as to

priesthood

Now the assembly’s position is altogether dierent.

e saint now approaches God directly. Together with the

priesthood, which is exercised for the saints on earth, to

maintain them in their walk here and in the enjoyment of

their privileges, it is united to the Anointed; the veil exists

no longer. We sit in the heavenly places in Christ, made

accepted in the Beloved. e favor of God rests upon us,

members of the body of Christ, as upon Christ Himself.

at which has unveiled the holiness of God has disclosed

all the sin of man, and has taken it away.1

(1. I refer here to that of His believing people.)

us in Christ, members of His body, we are perfect

before God, and perfectly accepted. e priest seeks neither

to give us this position, nor to maintain relationship with

God as to those who are not in this position. e work

of Christ has placed us in it. How intercede then for

perfection? Can intercession make the Person and the work

of Christ more perfect in the sight of God? Certainly not.

But we are in Him. In what manner then is this priesthood

exercised for us? In maintaining mercy-needing creatures

in their walk, and so in the realization of their relationship

with God.1e Christian indeed enters into a still clearer

manifestation of God and more absolute relationship with

God, that of being in the light as God is in the light. We are

seated in the heavenly places, made accepted in the Beloved, loved

as He is loved, the righteousness of God in Him. He is our life;

He has given us the glory that was given Him. Now the Holy

Spirit, who came down from heaven after that Jesus was

gloried, has introduced us consciously into the unveiled

presence of God. Nevertheless we, though without excuse

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578

in doing it, fail and pick up delement here below. rough

the advocacy of Him who is in the presence of God for us

our feet are washed by the Spirit and the Word, and we are

rendered capable of maintaining a communion (of which

darkness knows nothing) with God in that<P375> light.

Hereafter, in the presence of Jesus the King, priesthood

will no doubt sustain the connection of the people with

God, while He will bear the weight of government and of

blessing for the people in every sense.

(1. ere is a shade of dierence between the priesthood

and the advocacy of Christ. e priesthood is in Christ

appearing in the presence of God for us; but this as to our

place before God is perfection. It does not, therefore, refer

to sin in its daily exercise, but mercy and grace to help in

time of need. We enter boldly into the holiest. Advocacy

refers to our sinning, because the question, where it is

spoken of (1John 2:2), is communion, and this is wholly

interrupted by sin.)

1Samuel 1

579

72600

1Samuel 1

Eli and his sons, and Hannah’s answered prayer

We nd, then, in the beginning of this book, priesthood

existing before God in the original form we have mentioned.

Eli, pious himself, and fearing God, maintained no order

in the priestly family. e priesthood, instead of binding

the people to God, morally separated them. Hophni and

Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were at Shiloh; but their conduct

made the oering of the Lord to be abhorred of the people.

Such was the state of things in Israel. At the same time,

in the family of Elkanah, Hannah, chosen of Jehovah for

blessing, was in trial; the desires of her natural heart were

not satised, and the adversary tormented her by means

of the prosperous Peninnah. But He, whose strength is

perfected in weakness, having made manifest (as ever in

such a case) the powerlessness of nature, gives blessing

according to His own will, against all hope, in order that

that which was of Him should be evidently wrought by His

own power. Hannah has a son according to her petition, a

son devoted to the Lord. His family was of the tribe of

Levi (1Chron. 6).

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72601

1Samuel 2

Hannah’s song a prophecy of God’s ways

In the beautiful song of 1Samuel 2 Hannah recognizes

this great principle of sovereign grace, and of the power of

God; that He brings down the proud and those who trust

in the esh, and exalts the weak and impotent. “For the

pillars of the earth are Jehovah’s; and he hath set the world

upon them.” is was what Israel, poor and fallen, and a

feeble remnant waiting for Jehovah, needed to learn; that

is, that everything hung upon God and God alone, who did

not seek for power in man, but manifests<P376> it in His

own dealings by destroying all His enemies, and who will

at length “give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn

of his anointed.” It is the history of God’s interposition in

favor of poor, fallen Israel; and that by the manifestation of

His power in giving strength to His King, His Christ. It is

a prophecy of the ways of God, of the great principles of

His government with respect to the position of Israel, from

the moment of its utterance until the establishment of the

millennial kingdom in the Person of the Lord Jesus.

God’s judgment on the priestly family

Immediately after this testimony from God upon which

faith might rest, the inward state of the people is revealed,

and the iniquity of the priesthood, which should have been

the instrument for cleansing this iniquity of the people,

but which, on the contrary, brought down judgment upon

them. “Ye make Jehovah’s people to transgress,” said Eli. “If

one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him; but

if a man sin against Jehovah, who shall entreat for him?”

1Samuel 2

581

Such was the state of things according to Eli himself.

“Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of

their father, because Jehovah would slay them. And the

child, Samuel, grew on, and was in favor both with Jehovah,

and also with men,” happy in sharing (however feeble the

copy) the testimony borne to Jesus Himself.

As to the sons of Eli, they are an example of that which

but too often happens. How frequently, alas! do we see that,

when the judgment of God is on the point of breaking

forth, people are unconscious of it (their moral perception

being darkened by the evil). e eyes of God are elsewhere,

as well as the spiritual discernment which He gives to His

own, as was the case here with Samuel. Nevertheless God

warns Eli by means of a man of God. His judgment on the

priestly family and on the priesthood is pronounced before

Jehovah reveals Himself to Samuel.

is judgment announces the change in the order of

divine government, which was to take place through

the setting up of a king, an anointed one (a Christ), and

through the consequent position of the priesthood, as

we have already remarked (vs. 35). “And I will raise me

up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which

is in mine heart and in my mind; and I will build him a

sure<P377> house, and he shall walk before mine anointed1

forever.” Such, I apprehend, will be millennial order.

(1. Joshua, on the contrary, went in and out under the

direction of Eleazar, who inquired of God.)

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72602

1Samuel 3

God’s revelation of Himself to Samuel

In chapter 3 God reveals Himself to Samuel; and he is

known to be a prophet of Jehovah from Dan even to Beer-

sheba.

Eli’s failure, but personal piety and submission

Eli, judged for having loved his sons more than Jehovah,

comforts our hearts nevertheless by his submission. If he

failed in the energy of faithfulness, he was yet true in heart

to Jehovah, and his personal piety is the more conspicuous

in the devotedness to God’s glory which he manifests in

these circumstances, nding his death in the Ichabod of

His people.

Sad and aecting history of the eect of God’s

righteous judgment upon one whose heart was set upon

His glory in His people, but who had not had rmness

enough to prevent the people, and even his own sons, from

dishonoring Jehovah Himself in the priestly service!

Here begins the display of the means which God

employs in His sovereignty to be in relationship with His

people, when the ordinary relations He had established are

interrupted.

1Samuel 4-6

583

72603

1Samuel 4-6

e Philistines and God’s overruling providence in

judgment

In chapter 4 the enemies of God and of His people

display their strength; the Philistines put themselves in

array against Israel. God, in overruling providence, makes

all things concur to bring about the purposed result.

We shall do well to pause a moment here; for the

Philistines are of considerable importance, on account of

the part they take in this history, as the power of the enemy.

ey appear to me to represent<P378> the power of the

enemy acting within the circle of God’s people. ey were

in the territory of the Israelites-within the land, and even

on this side of the Jordan. ey were not, like the Egyptians

or Assyrians, enemies from without. Habitually hostile to

Israel, to those who by God’s appointment should have

possessed the land of promise-so much the more dangerous

from being always at hand, and claiming possession of the

country, the Philistines set before us in type the power of

the enemy acting from within. I do not mean the esh, but

the enemy within the pale of the professing church, acting,

of course, through instruments, the oppressor of God’s true

people to whom the promises belong.

e loss of the ark, Eli’s death and the naming of

Ichabod

Israel, corrupt in all their ways, and daring in their ways

with God, because they had forgotten His majesty and

His holiness, seek to identify Jehovah1 with them in their

unfaithful condition, as He had been in their original state,

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584

instead of coming before Him to learn why He had forsaken

His people. God will neither acknowledge nor succor

them. On the contrary, the ark of the covenant, the sign

and the seat of His relationship with the people, is taken.

His throne is no longer in the midst of the people; His

tabernacle is empty; all ordered relationship is interrupted.

Where can they oer sacrice? where draw nigh to Jehovah

their God? Eli, the priest, dies; and his pious daughter-in-

law, overwhelmed by these disastrous tidings, pronounces

the funeral oration of the unhappy people in the name

she bestows on that which could no longer be her joy. e

fruit of her womb bears but this impress of her people’s

calamity; it is only Ichabod in her sight.

(1. Observe the contrast between this case and that of

Achan, although there was sin in the latter. e sin was

confessed and judged in detail, although the people were

chastised.)

God’s power and majesty maintained among the

Philistines and His people

What a blessing to have had through grace the song

of Hannah already given by the Spirit to sustain the faith

and hope of the people! All outward connection is broken;

but God upholds His own majesty; and if unfaithful Israel

had not been able to withstand the worshippers of idols,

the God whom Israel had forsaken<P379> vindicates His

glory, and proves, even in the heart of their temple, that

those idols are but vanity.

e Philistines are obliged to acknowledge the power

of the God of Israel, whom Israel could not glorify. His

judgments suggested a means to their natural conscience

which, while proving that the inuence of the almighty

power of God is felt even by creatures devoid of intelligence,

1Samuel 4-6

585

causing them to act against their strongest instincts,

manifests also that it was indeed Jehovah, the Omnipotent

God, who had inicted the chastisement under which they

were suering.

God maintains His majesty even in the midst of Israel.

He is no longer among them securing their promised

blessings. His ark, exposed through their unfaithfulness

to the unworthy treatment of the Philistines and of the

inquisitive, becomes (as the token of God’s presence) the

occasion of judgment inicted on the temerity of those

who dared to look within it, forgetful of His divine majesty

who made it His throne and kept His testimony therein.

But how often the absence of God causes His value to be

felt, whose presence had not been appreciated!

Israel, still deprived of Jehovah’s presence and glory,

laments after Him. Let us remark here that God could

not remain among the Philistines. Unfaithfulness might

subject His people to their enemies, although God was

there. But, left (so to say) to Himself, His presence judged

the false gods. Association was impossible; the Philistines

desire Him not. You cannot glory in a victory over One

who, when captured, is your destroyer. e Philistines get

rid of Him. Never can the children of Satan endure the

presence of the true God.

e ark at Kirjath-jearim

Moreover the heart of God is not alienated from

His people. He nds His way back to the people of His

choice in a sovereign manner, which proves Him to be the

God of all creation. But, as we have seen, He asserts His

majesty. More than fty thousand men1 pay the penalty

of their impious temerity. God returns; but still it needs

that He open a way for Himself after His own purposes

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and dealings, according to which He reestablishes His

relationship with the people. us Samuel appears again on

the scene when,<P380> the ark having abode in Kirjath-

jearim twenty years (ch. 7), Israel laments after Jehovah.

e ark is not put back in its place, nor is the original order

restored.

(1. e New Translation says “seventy men.”)

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Samuel the meeting point of Israel and God

Samuel begins to act, by his testimony, upon the

conscience of the people, and to put away that which

weakened them by dishonoring God. He tells them that, if

they will turn to Jehovah with all their heart, they must put

away the strange gods, and serve Jehovah alone. A mingled

worship was intolerable. en would Jehovah deliver them.

e prophet Samuel is now the meeting point between the

people and God. God now acknowledges him alone.

e true place of the ark

e ark is not found again in its place until the king

chosen of God is established on the throne; it is only

placed entirely in God’s order when the son of David rules

in peace and in strength at Jerusalem.1 It is consulted once

(1Sam. 14:18-19), but its presence is without eect and

without power. It exists, but in connection with those in

whom faith and integrity were no longer found, so that

nothing resulted from it. It the rather proved that God was

elsewhere, or at least that He wrought elsewhere.

(1. Compare Psalm 78:60-61 and Psalm 132. e ark is

in connection with Sion, the seat of kingly grace. Solomon

only, as the man of peace, could build the house.)

Samuel at Mizpeh; his intercession and God’s blessing

But we will pursue the history. At Samuel’s call the

strange gods are put away. e people gather around him,

that he may pray for them. ey oer no sacrice; they

draw water and pour it out upon the ground in token of

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repentance (see 2Samuel 14:14); they fast and confess

their sin. Samuel judges them there.

But if Israel assembles, even for humiliation, the enemy

at once bestirs himself in opposition; he will tolerate no

act which places the people of God in a position which

recognizes Him as God.

e Israelites are alarmed, and have recourse to Samuel’s

in-ter<P381>cession. Samuel oers a sacrice,1 token of

entire surrender of self to the Lord, and of the people’s

relationship with Him; but it is not before the ark. He

entreats Jehovah, his prayer is heard, and the Philistines are

smitten before Israel. And it was not an exceptional case,

although they lost nothing of their formidable character,

or of their hatred for Israel. Samuel brings down God’s

blessing upon the people, and the hand of Jehovah was

against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

(1. at is to say, a burnt oering. is is remarkable. It

was not sacrice for sin, but sacrice which recognized the

relationship existing between the people and God. Christ

only, as we have seen elsewhere, is the true burnt oering.)

Samuel the support and upholder of the people

e cities of Israel were restored. ere was peace

between Israel and the Amorites. Samuel judged Israel at

Ramah and built an altar there. All this is an exceptional and

extraordinary position for Israel, in which they depended

entirely on Samuel, who, while living himself as a patriarch,

as though there were no tabernacle, becomes, through

his own relationship with God, by faith, the support and

upholder of the people, who, in fact, had no other.

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1Samuel 8-10

e people’s demand for a king; Saul the man

according to the esh

But faith is not transmitted by succession. Samuel

could not make prophets of his sons. ey were no better

as judges than Eli’s sons had been as priests, and the people

had no faith themselves to lean immediately upon God.

ey ask to be made like unto the nations.

“Make us now a king,” said they to Samuel. Where

was Jehovah? For Israel, nowhere. But it was evil in the

eyes of Samuel, and he prayed unto Jehovah. While

acknowledging that the people had, as usual, rejected

Him, God commands Samuel to hearken unto their voice.

Samuel warns them according to God’s testimony, and

sets before them all the inexpediency and consequences of

such a step; but the people will not hearken unto him. God

brings to the prophet, through providential circumstances,

the man whom He had chosen to satisfy the carnal wishes

of the<P382> people. In all this He judges the people and

their king. (“He gave them a king in his anger, and took

him away in his wrath.”) But He remembers His people.

He does not forsake them. He acts by Saul on their behalf,

while showing them their unfaithfulness, and afterwards

in cutting o the disobedient king. Beauty and height of

stature distinguished the son of Kish. But in the signs that

Samuel gave him, when he had anointed him, there was a

meaning which should have carried his thoughts beyond

himself.

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How often there is a meaning, a language, perfectly

intelligible to one who has ears to hear, but which escapes

us, because our gross and hardened heart has no spiritual

intelligence or discernment! And yet all our future hangs

upon it. God has shown our incapacity for the blessing it

involved. Nevertheless the means were not wanting.

Although the signicance of this circumstance was less

evident than that of the other signs, yet Rachel’s sepulchre

should have reminded Saul, the son and heir according to

the esh, of the one who was born there, that the son of

the mother’s sorrow was the son of the father’s right hand

(Gen. 35:18).

God-given signs

Now God had not abandoned Israel; faith was still there;

men were going up to God. ere were some in Israel who

remembered the God of Bethel, who had revealed Himself

to Jacob when he ed,1 and who in His faithfulness had

brought him back in peace; and God gave Saul favor in

their eyes. e servants of the God of Bethel salute him

and strengthen him on his way. But the hill of God was

possessed by the garrison of the Philistines-another

circumstance which, by its signicance, should have gone

to the heart of a faithful Israelite who desired the glory

of God and the good of His people. But the sign which

accompanied it made it much more forcible; for the Spirit

of Jehovah came upon Saul in this place, and he was turned

into another man, called therefore to “do as occasion served

him, for God was with him” (ch. 10:7).2<P383>

(1. e God who had said to him in the day of his

trouble, when driven out from before his enemy, that He

would not forsake him. )

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591

(2. Accordingly it was the Spirit of prophecy, the Spirit

which acted in blessing, which indicated the presence of

God, and that to which Saul should have recourse, even

though (yea, because) the hill of God, the public seat of

His authority in Israel, was in the hands of the enemies of

the true people of God. is scene pictured the whole state

of Israel.)

It often happens, that faith sets forth clearly what

should be done, while the heart, waxen fat and unfaithful,

does not see it at all.

And what do these signs mean? ere are those in Israel

who remember the God of Bethel, and who seek Him-

upright and prepared hearts, who know Him as the resource

of faith. But the hill of God, the public seat of His strength,

is in the enemy’s hands. Still, if this be so, the Spirit of God

is upon the man who takes cognizance of it, and it is at this

very hill that the Spirit comes upon him. e name of God

is also signicative here. It is God abstractedly-God the

Creator: God Himself is in question. e Spirit of Jehovah

comes upon Saul, because He resumes there the course of

His relations with Israel.

Samuel, not Saul, the link between God and the

people

But Samuel is still the only one whom God recognizes

as the link between Himself and the people. It is when

Saul has had to do with Samuel, that he is another man.

He must wait for Samuel, that he may know what to

do, and that blessing may rest upon him. He must thus

acknowledge that blessing is connected with the prophet,

and not act without him; he must wait for him with perfect

patience (seven days), a patience which, submitting to

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God’s testimony, will not seek for blessing apart from His

ways.

e Philistine enemies

Here also we see in the Philistines the enemies who

put faith to the proof. We have often enemies over whom

we gain an easy victory, and on whose account we are

considered spiritual, yet they are not such as (on God’s

part, and it may also be said on their own part) put faith to

the proof. With these patience must have her perfect work.

And the Philistines held this place with respect to Saul.

It was all well that the people should be delivered from

their other enemies; but they were not the ones which were

a snare to them, and which manifested the power of the

enemy in the very midst of Israel and the promises.

Do spiritual powers rule over us in the assembly, in the

place where the promises of God should be fullled? And

what power do<P384> we see to overthrow the power of

evil and spiritual wickedness within the borders of the

professing church?

It was from the Philistines that Saul should have

delivered the people of God (see chapter 9:16). e hill of

God was in the Philistines’ hands (see also chapter 14:52).

If Saul had waited for Samuel, he would have declared

unto him all that he should do. Now we shall see that, two

years later, Saul is put to the proof as to this in the presence

of the Philistines; and whatever may have been the delay,

the thing had not been altered; all the intermediate success

should have increased his faith and strengthened him in

obedience.

e choice of a king

Samuel calls the people together at Mizpeh. ere he

sets before them their foolishness in rejecting the God of

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their salvation. But he proceeds to the choice of a king,

according to the command of God. God meets the wishes

of the people. If the esh could have gloried God, nothing

was wanting to induce them to trust in Him. God adapts

Himself to them in outward things; and further, as we

know, had the people followed Jehovah, Jehovah would not

have forsaken them (ch. 12:20-25).

And now that God has set up a king, those who will not

own him are “men of Belial.” e people, however, scarcely

see God in it at all: they only recognize Him in those

things which the esh can perceive, such as the beauty of

the king and the success of his arms, that is to say, the

things in which God suits Himself to nature, and in which

He grants blessing, in order that He may be known and

trusted. In this they rejoice, but they go no further. Faith is

not of nature.

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1Samuel 11

Saul’s early prudence; the kingdom renewed at Gilgal

As yet all goes well with Saul; he does not take vengeance

on those who oppose him. Before his faith is tried, his

natural character would gain him favor with men. And

now, in those things which have given rise to the carnal

movement that led the people to desire a king, all apparently

prospers to their wish. e Ammonites are so thoroughly

defeated, that two of them are not left <P385>together.

Here also Saul acts with prudence and generosity. He does

not allow the people’s desire for vengeance to be carried

out. He owns the Lord in the blessing granted to the

people. In truth God was with them, granting to the esh

all the means and helps necessary for walking with Him,

had the thing been possible. Samuel is there on God’s

part, and supports by his authority the king whom God

has set up. At Samuel’s invitation the people assemble at

Gilgal (a place memorable for the blessing of the people

and their association with Jehovah, the esh being judged,

on entering the land), to renew the kingdom there, and

again to recognize a throne whose authority had just

been conrmed by successful eorts for the deliverance of

God’s people. Peace oerings and great rejoicing make the

ceremony more imposing.

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1Samuel 12

Samuel’s faith, love and intercession

Samuel receives the people’s testimony to his delity.

He sets before them the ways of God towards them, their

ingratitude and foolishness in having asked for a king and

rejected God. Nevertheless, while giving a sign from God

which added the weight of God’s own testimony to his

words, he declares to the people that, if henceforth they

would obey Jehovah, both the king and the people should

continue to follow Jehovah (that is, they would walk under

His blessing and guidance); but if not, Jehovah would be

against them. For Jehovah would not forsake them, and

he himself (Samuel) would assuredly not cease to pray for

them, and would teach them the good and the right way:

that is to say, he places the people, as to their public conduct,

in the position they had chosen, and set them under their

own responsibility before Jehovah; but at the same time,

full of love to them as the people of God, their rejection

of himself does not for a moment suggest the thought to

him of giving up his intercession or his testimony for their

welfare. Beautiful picture of a heart near the Lord, which,

in forgetfulness of self, can love His people as its own! To

fail in this would

have been to sin against the Lord (compare 2Corinthians

12:15).

Saul established, called to be faithful and obedient

Here, then, is Saul established in his place, and his

authority<P386> conrmed by the blessing of God. Samuel

retires, conning himself to his prophetic oce, and Saul

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is now called to prove himself faithful and obedient in his

present position, surrounded by all the advantages which

the blessing of God and the solemn act of His prophet

could confer upon him.

Summary of chapters 1-12

Let us now recapitulate the history we have been

examining.

Israel, unfaithful, no longer maintain their relationship

with God under priesthood. e ark is taken, the priest

dies, and Ichabod is written on the condition of the

people. God raises up a prophet, who becomes the means

of communication between Himself and the people;

but, threatened by the Ammonites, the people at length

demand a king. God grants their request, testifying at the

same time His displeasure, since He Himself was their

King. e Spirit of prophecy continues nevertheless to be

the channel of divine communication to the people. Signs,

which indicate the state of the people, are given to Saul,

the elected and anointed king: rst of all, some faithful

ones who own the God of Bethel- that is to say, the faithful

God of Jacob, who had promised not to leave him till He

had performed all that He had promised him; and, next,

the hill of God-the seat of authority among the people-in

possession of the Philistines, the power of the enemy in the

land of promise.

e Spirit of prophecy comes upon Saul, showing him

where God was amid these circumstances; and Samuel

tells him to wait for him at Gilgal. Meantime, as we have

seen, he is strengthened by the blessing of God upon his

undertakings.

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1Samuel 13

Saul, the man after the esh, and Jonathan, a man of

faith

Saul reigns two years. He then selects three thousand

men: two thousand are with him, and one with Jonathan.

Jonathan, a man of faith, acts with energy against the

enemies of God’s people, and smites the Philistines; but

the energy of faith, acting (as it always does) in the very

stronghold of the enemy, naturally provokes their hostility.

e Philistines hear of it: Saul is roused to action, and calls

together, not Israel, but the “Hebrews.”<P387>

Let us remark here that there is faith in Jonathan. e

esh, placed in the position of leader to God’s people,

follows indeed the impulse given by faith, but does not

possess it; and the word Hebrews, the name by which a

Philistine would have called the people, indicates that Saul

relied on the gathering of the nation as a constituted body,

and understood no better than a Philistine would have

done the relation between a chosen people and God. And

this is the position set before us in the history of Saul. It is

not premeditated opposition to God, but the esh set in a

place of testimony and used in accomplishing God’s work.

We see in it a person linked with the interests of God’s true

people, doing the work of God according to the people’s

idea of their need-a true idea as to their actual need; but

he is one who seeks his resources in the energy of man, an

energy to which God does not refuse His aid when there is

obedience to His will, for He loves His people; but which

in principle, in moral and inward motive, can never of itself

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go beyond the esh from which it springs. In the midst of

all this faith can act, and act sincerely, and this is Jonathan’s

case. God will bless this faith, and He always does so,

because it owns Him; and in this instance (and it is His

gift) because it sincerely seeks the good of God’s people.

All this is, in principle, a kind of picture of the professing

church, which in this point of view anticipates the true reign

of Christ, and in this position even fails in her faithfulness

to God. True faith, in the midst of such a system, never rises

so high as the glory of the coming One, the true rejected

David, but it loves Him and cleaves to Him. If the church

is merely professing, she persecutes Christ; but that in her

which acts by faith loves and owns Him, even when He is

hunted like a partridge on the mountains.

Saul’s failure when put to the proof

Jonathan having thus in faith attacked the Philistines,

Saul, who ostensibly leads the people before God, is put

to the proof. Will he show himself competent? Will

he remember the true principle on which the blessing

of the people rests? Will he act as a royal priest, or will

he acknowledge the prophet to be the true link of faith

between the people and God-a link the importance and

necessity of which he ought to have recognized, since he

owed to it his present place and power, and it had proved

to him its own<P388> mission and prophetic authority by

establishing his? When the critical moment arrives, Saul

fails.

e tokens of the unbelief of the esh

It is worthwhile to retrace here the tokens of the

unbelief of the esh.

e Philistines are smitten. e nation, active and

energetic, hear of it; nothing could be more natural. Saul

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has but the same resource-no call upon God, no cry to

Jehovah, the God of Israel; Samuel does not occur to his

faith, although he remembers what Samuel had told him.

If the Philistines have heard, the Hebrews must hear also.

Israel fears; God gives no answer to unbelief when the trial

of faith is His object. Saul calls the people after him to

Gilgal, but they were soon scattered from him at the report

of the Philistines having gathered together. Saul is at Gilgal,

and Samuel comes again into his mind. It was no longer as

when the kingdom had been renewed. e circumstances

naturally suggested Samuel as a resource. Saul tarries seven

days for him according to his word. He waits for him long

enough to satisfy the exigence of conscience. Nature can

go a long way on this principle; but it has not that sense

of its own weakness, and that all depends on God, which

makes it wait on God, as the alone resource and worker.

en, as the people once brought the ark into the camp, he

oers the burnt oering. But, if he had had condence in

God, he would have understood that, whatever might be

the result, he should wait for Him; that it was useless to do

anything without Him, and that he ran no risk in waiting

for Him. A faithful God could not fail him. He had thought

of Samuel, and of his having told him to wait, so that he

was without excuse; he remembered that the guidance and

blessing of God were found with the prophet. But he looks

at circumstances: the people are scattered, and Saul seeks

to bring God in by an act of devotion without faith. It

was the decisive moment; God would have conrmed his

kingdom over Israel, would have established his dynasty.

But now He had made choice of another.

e secret of Saul’s loss of the throne

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Observe here, that it is not through being defeated

by the Philistines that Saul loses the throne. e fault

was between himself and God. e Philistines do not

attack him. It is enough for Satan<P389> if he succeeds

in frightening us away from the pure and simple path of

faith. Samuel departs after having made known to Saul

the mind of God. e Philistines pillage the land, which

is defenseless. e people moreover had neither sword nor

spear.

What a picture of the state of God’s people! How often

we nd that those who profess to be the children of God,

to be of the truth, and heirs of the promises, are unarmed

before the enemies who despoil them!

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Jonathan’s faith in God

But faith in God is always blessed; and if God has

shown the eect of unbelief, He also shows its folly, since

wherever faith is found, there all His strength is displayed;

and then it is the enemy who is defenseless. Jonathan makes

up his mind to attack the Philistines in the energy which

he derives from faith in God; and if unbelief is manifest in

Saul, the beauty of faith is exhibited in his son.

e diculties are not lessened. e Philistines are in

garrison, and their camp situated in a place of unusually

dicult access, a narrow pathway up perpendicular rocks

being the only means of approach. e Philistines were there

in great number, and well armed. But it is hard for faith to

endure the oppression of God’s people by the enemy, and

the dishonor thus done to God Himself. Jonathan endures

it not. Where does he seek for strength? His thoughts are

simple. e Philistines are uncircumcised; they have not

the help of the God of Israel. “ere is no restraint to

Jehovah to save by many or by few”; and this is the thought

of Jonathan’s faith, that fair ower which God caused

to blossom in the wilderness of Israel at this sorrowful

moment. He does not think about himself. Jehovah, says

he, has delivered them up to Israel. He trusts in God, and

in His unfailing faithfulness towards His people: his heart

rests in this,1 and he does not imagine for an instant that

God is not with His people, whatever their condition

may be. is characterizes faith. It not only acknowledges

that God is great, but it recognizes the indissoluble bond

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(indissoluble be<P390>cause it is of God) between God

and His people. e consequence is that faith forgets

circumstances, or rather nullies them. God is with His

people. He is not with their enemies. All the rest is but

an opportunity of proving the real dependence of faith.

us, there is no boasting in Jonathan; his expectation is

from God. He goes out and meets the Philistines. He is

there a witness for God. If they are bold enough to come

down, he will wait for them and not create diculties

for himself, but he will not turn away from those which

meet him in his path. e indolent and at the same time

foolish and imprudent condence of the enemy is but a

sign to Jonathan that Jehovah has delivered them up. Had

they come down, they would have lost their advantage; in

bidding him come up, they set aside the insurmountable

diculty of access to the camp. Happy in having a faithful

companion in his work of faith, Jonathan seeks no other

assistance. He does not talk of the Hebrews; but he says,

“Jehovah has delivered them up into the hand of Israel.”

He climbs the rock with his armor-bearer. And in truth

Jehovah was with him; the Philistines fall before Jonathan,

and his armor-bearer slays after him. But while honoring

the arm which faith had strengthened, God manifests

Himself. e dread of God took hold of the Philistines, and

everything trembles before the man whom faith (God’s

precious gift) had led into action.

(1. See the same proofs of faith in David, when he went

out against Goliath.)

Saul’s unbelief and ignorance

Faith acts of itself. Saul is obliged to number the

people to nd out who is absent. Alas! we are entering

into the sad history of unbelief. Saul endeavors to obtain

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some directions from the ark, while elsewhere God was

triumphing over the enemy without Israel. e tumult

of their defeat continues to increase; and unbelief, which

never knows what to do, tells then the priest to withdraw

his hand. e king and the priest were not the link between

God and the people. ere was neither the people’s faith

in God without a king, nor the king whom God Himself

had given.

Here again, instead of Israel (whom Jonathan alone

recognized), we nd those whom even the Spirit of God

calls Hebrews,1<P391> who, although they were “of the

fountain of Jacob,” are among the Philistines, content to be

at ease among the enemies of God.

(1. is is the more remarkable, because the Spirit calls

those who were with Saul and Jonathan Israelites. is

gives special force to the word “Hebrews,” wherever it is

found. God does not refuse the name of Israelite to the

most timorous of the people (ch. 13:6), but He refuses it

to those who join the Philistines. e idea was lost of the

connection between the people and God. It was a nation like

any other.)

Now that the victory is gained, all are glad to share the

triumph and pursue the Philistines.

e work of faith spoiled and hindered by unbelief

And poor Saul, what does he do? Never can unbelief-

however good its intentions in joining the work of faith-do

anything except spoil it. Saul speaks of avenging himself

on his enemies. Jehovah is not in his thoughts; he thinks

of himself, and hinders the pursuit by his carnal and selsh

zeal. May God preserve us from the guidance and help

of unbelief in the work of faith! God Himself can succor

us through every means; but when man mixes himself up

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with the work, he does but spoil it, even when seeking to

bring in strength.

Saul, at the moment of such blessing, is zealous to

maintain the idea of honoring Jehovah’s ordinances, as

he sought to do previously in asking His counsel at the

ark, making much of His name, as though the victory had

been due to him, and it was only some hidden sin which

prevented his obtaining an answer from God. He had

nearly put Jonathan to death, through whom God had

wrought. He would discover the sin by bringing in God,

who acts indeed, but only to make manifest the folly of the

poor king.

Observe that faith in full energy can thankfully avail

itself of the refreshment which God sets before it in its

toilsome course, while the carnal zeal of that which is

but an imitation of faith, and which never acts with God,

makes a duty of refusing it. All that Saul can do, when he

takes the lead, is to prevent their reaping the entire fruit of

the victory. His intervention could only spoil the work of

others; he has no faith to perform one himself.

Nevertheless God has pity on Israel, and keeps

their enemies in check by means of Saul; for although

unbelieving, he had not yet turned his hatred against God’s

elect. He was not yet forsaken of Jehovah.

e contrast between Saul and Jonathan

But this painful and solemn moment is at hand.

Meanwhile he strengthens himself. ere was constant war

with the Philistines; but Saul, warlike as he was, could not

overcome them, as David<P392> or even Samuel did. He

sought carnal means among his fellows to attain his object.

Observe here with what frightful rapidity, and how

even at once, the enemy gains the upper hand when we are

1Samuel 14

605

not walking in the ways of God (compare chapter 7:12,14,

and chapter 13:16-23).

Observe also that all the forms of piety and of Jewish

religion are with Saul; “Jehovah’s priest in Shiloh, wearing

an ephod” (ch. 14:3), and the ark (vs. 18). He consults with

the priest. He prevents their eating esh with blood. He

builds an altar. e priest consults God; and, God giving

no answer, Saul is ready to slay Jonathan as guilty, because

he had eaten in spite of the oath.

Observe, at the same time, that it is the rst altar Saul

had built; that the priest is of the family which God had

condemned. He builds his altar when rejected, and after

the outward blessing which God had given, and which he

attributes to himself, although he had only spoiled it.

On the other hand, Jonathan’s faith acts without taking

counsel of esh and blood: as the people said (ch. 14:45),

he wrought with God. e people did not know that he

was absent. Happy Jonathan! Faith had led him so far

in advance that he did not even hear the senseless curse

which his father invoked on whoever tasted food. e folly

of another’s unbelief did not reach him. He was at liberty,

as he went along, to avail himself of the kindness of his

God with joy and thanksgiving, and he pursued his course

refreshed and encouraged-happy walk of simplicity which

acts with God!

e consideration of these two chapters is very

instructive, as setting before us the contrast between the

walk of faith and that of the esh, in the position which

the latter takes, by virtue of its profession, in the work of

God. It was the rst time that Saul had faced the enemy on

whose account God raised him up.

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1Samuel 15

Saul sent to smite Amalek in fulllment of God’s

command

Nevertheless Saul is put to a nal proof. Jehovah, by the

mouth of Samuel, sends him to smite Amalek, and utterly

destroy them and all that belonged to them. ey were

the cruel and <P393>determined enemies of God’s people

(Deut. 25:17-19). ey had been chief among the nations,

their name and their pride were everywhere known (Num.

24:7,20); but it was a nation doomed of God.

Saul’s disobedience and rejection

God now entrusts Saul with the fulllment of

Deuteronomy

25:19. In this case all Israel accompanied him without

fear. ese were not the enemies from within who were

daily wearing away their strength and courage. e victory

is complete. e only question now is that of faithfulness

to God, and of preferring His glory to self-interest. But

Saul fears the people. e Spirit of God says, “Saul and the

people”; Saul says, “e people”; and that it was for God they

spared. But our excuses, even when true, only condemn

us. Saul, not having faith, not looking to God, fears the

people more than God. What a slave is the unbeliever! If

not the slave of the enemy, he is that of the people whom

he appears to govern. Saul, unfaithful to God in the midst

of the people, and surrounded by blessings from Jehovah,

is at length deprived of the kingdom.

No humiliation, no brokenness of heart-he confesses

his sin, hoping to avoid its punishment; but, unable to

1Samuel 15

607

escape it, he entreats Samuel to honor him in spite of it.

Samuel does so and then forsakes him. Everything changes

now, and David appears on the scene. It is well to remark

that the connected history of Saul’s reign closes with the

end of chapter 14.

Chapter 15 is given as a separate history on account

of the importance of its contents-the denite rejection of

Saul, a rejection which introduces David.

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1Samuel 16

David anointed as God’s chosen king

In chapter 16 Samuel is sent of Jehovah to anoint this

His chosen one. All glorying in the esh and its birthright

are here set aside; and the youngest, despised and forgotten

of all, who kept the sheep, is chosen of God; “for Jehovah

seeth not as man seeth.” Samuel, taught of God, hesitates

not in his decision, and can accept none of the seven who

are at home. “Are here all thy children?” At length he

anoints David, brought in from the eld.<P394>

David in trial a type of Christ and His suering

people

But God does not set David at once in the height of

power, as He did in the case of Saul. He must make his

way by grace and faith through all kinds of diculties; and,

although lled with the Holy Spirit, he must act in the

presence of a power devoid of the Spirit, and which God

has not yet set aside. He must be subject and be humbled,

he must feel his entire dependence on God, that God

is sucient in all circumstances; and his faith must be

developed by trial in which God is felt to be all. Beautiful

type of One who, without sin, journeyed through far more

painful circumstances! And not only a type, but at the same

time a vessel prepared by God for the Holy Spirit, who

could ll him with sentiments which, while describing

so touchingly the suerings of Christ Himself and His

sympathy with His people, exhibit, to those who were to

tread in weakness the same path as Himself, their resource

in God. For one cannot doubt that the trials of David gave

1Samuel 16

609

rise to the greater part of those beautiful psalms, which,

depicting the circumstances, the trials, and the complaints

of the remnant of Israel in the last days, as well as of Christ

Himself (who, in Spirit, has identied Himself with them,

and has undertaken their cause), have thus furnished so

many other burdened souls with the expression and the

relief of their sorrows; and although their interpretation of

these psalms may have been incorrect, yet their hearts were

not mistaken.1

(1. is unintelligent use of the Psalms, however, has

tended to keep pious souls down below their privileges as

Christians. A child’s place with the Father is never found in

any of the Psalms, nor the spiritual feeling generated by the

consciousness of the relationship. e Word may be used

as a comparison, but the relationship is never recognized,

and could not be.)

David and Saul: their outward and inward dierence

We will return to our history. e Spirit of Jehovah

came upon David and forsook Saul, who,

at the same time, is troubled by an evil spirit. e

providence of God brings in David by means of one of

Saul’s servants who knew him, and presents him to Saul.

Saul loves him, and keeps him in his presence; he becomes

his armor-bearer, and he plays on a harp when the evil

spirit troubles Saul. David, in God’s sight, is the anointed

king, but he must suer before he reigns, however great his

energy may be.<P395>

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1Samuel 17

e Philistine champion, Goliath, and David

e Philistines, that type of the enemy’s power, present

themselves again with their champion at their head, against

whom no one dares to ght. David had returned home,

and was living in the simplicity of his usual life.

Although that which precedes gives the general idea of

the position in which he had been placed, it appears that

David had not remained long with the king (ch. 17:15).

His father sends him to see his brothers, who are in Saul’s

army. ere he sees the Philistine who deed the armies of

Israel. Jonathan does not appear here. ere is but one who

can destroy this champion, who centers in his own person

all the energy of evil. David’s faith sees no diculty in it

because he sees God, and in the enemy, an enemy of God

without strength. He was but one of the “uncircumcised”; the

rest matters little. In the performance of his ordinary duties

David had already met with diculties too great for a full-

grown man; yet, although a mere youth, he had overcome

them for a very simple reason-“Jehovah delivered.” He

had not boasted of this (it was the fulllment of his duty);

but he had learned in it the strength and faithfulness of

Jehovah. And this experience is now repeated. Man’s armor

is rejected; faith knows it not. God will perform the work

by the most simple means.

David’s strength in the simplicity of faith

David declares wherein his strength consists. “I come to

thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts.” He then identies

himself with the people of God. “All the earth shall know

1Samuel 17

611

that there is a God in Israel.” Remark how the simplicity

of faith rises to the consciousness of power and its eects

in the hands of God (ch. 17:46). So ever when God leads

the heart.

e stone which sinks into the forehead of Goliath

deprives him of strength and of life. David cuts o the

head of Goliath with his own sword, like Him who by

death destroyed him that had the power of death.

David’s triumph; Saul’s forgetfulness

e whole army of Israel prots by David’s triumph.

Saul, who<P396> had forgotten him, will not suer him

to go away. Alas! the esh, and even the esh in rebellion,

can love Jehovah’s elect on account of his kindness and the

relief he ministers; but it knows him not. When he is doing

Jehovah’s work, he is as much a stranger to Saul as if they

had never met.

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1Samuel 18-19

Jonathan representing the remnant

But when Christ makes Himself known, the remnant

(which Jonathan represented) loves Him as his own soul,

and this beloved one becomes the object of his whole

aection. is does not, however, in its bearing, go beyond

the personal reign of Christ. Jonathan represents the

remnant which has loved Him in humiliation. As to this

world, it is so always; there is a remnant who love Christ,

and desire His kingdom, although it will put an end to the

economy in which they stand. Of the assembly, properly

so called, there is nothing here. It is a remnant who desire

the coming of Christ. Saul, who sought his own glory and

endeavored to uphold his house by carnal means, seeks the

death of him who is to come and establish the kingdom. So

the Jews with Christ.

e faith of David and that of Jonathan

e faith of David had rather a dierent character from

that of Jonathan, although both conquered the Philistines.

Jonathan is not deterred by diculties: he sees the God of

Israel and does the work of God which Saul neglects. It is

the true and energetic faith of God’s people. But David,

the king-secretly so indeed, but chosen and anointed-

meets face to face the great enemy of his people in all his

might, the mere sight of whom dismayed the people, who

ed before him.

at which distinguishes the faith of Jonathan most

touchingly is his attachment to one who (to judge after the

manner of men, as Saul did) eclipses his glory. But Jonathan

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613

is absorbed by his aection for the one whom God has

chosen. He sees in him the true head of Israel-worthy

to be so-who, however despised at the present moment,

must prosper and reign as of God. It was also David’s

qualities which gained his aection. It was a personal

attachment. He could appreciate David, and he forgot his

own <P397>interests in thinking of him. e voice and the

words of David sink deep into his heart, and bind him to

the king whom God has chosen, while unknown, and in

spite of everything. Saul, the professed head of the people,

jealous of anyone who might displace either himself or

his descendants, is at enmity with David and forsaken of

God; he is the instrument of the enemy against Jehovah’s

anointed. At length he falls by the more direct and open

power of the enemy of God’s people. Sorrowful end of that

which had been a vessel of blessing and an instrument in

the work of God, although but in a carnal way.

Saul’s jealousy and David’s true glory

God causes David’s true glory to outshine the ocial

importance of Saul. e victories of the former are sung in

such a manner as to excite the king’s jealousy.

We will now briey trace the features of David’s faith

in these new circumstances. Never does he lift his hand

against Saul; he serves him obediently, he does his duty,

and patiently bears the jealousy and malice which pursue

him.

Poor Saul! Troubled by the evil spirit, David plays on

the harp to soothe him, and Saul seeks to slay him. David

escapes. Saul fears him; for the God by whom he is himself

forsaken is with David. He employs him at a distance from

himself, but where he is more than ever in the view of the

people. God always carries out His purposes in spite of all

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the carnal precautions of man. David is prudent. He has the

wisdom of God, who is with him in all his ways. Energetic

and unpretending, always successful, he is beloved by all

Israel and Judah, before whom he goes in and out with all

the strength and superiority of faith.

Saul’s continued hatred; Jonathan’s intercession

Saul seeks to turn all this to his own account; apparently

he honors David, but he only does so in order to expose

him to the enemy and get rid of him. David abides in his

lowliness, and Merab is given to another. Michal aords

Saul a more specious opportunity. As he was only required

to destroy the power of the enemies of God’s people,

David accepts Saul’s proposal and succeeds. Saul perceives

more and more that Jehovah is with David, and becomes

still more afraid of him: sad development of a sad state

of<P398> soul! Yet Saul was not decient in ne points

of natural character, which manifested themselves at times

in better feelings. But God was not in them (ch. 19).

Jonathan’s intercession has power over his father, and for

a time all is well. But Saul, being forsaken of God, cannot

bear that He should be with David. War breaks out; and

David, God’s own instrument in what He does for His

people, defeats the Philistines and drives them away.

It will be observed here, that it is the Philistines who are

there, through whom the power of faith is in question. It

is with them that the battle of God and of faith is fought,

that David always succeeded, and that Saul failed.

David taking refuge with Samuel

Saul is again troubled; and David, who seeks to refresh

him, narrowly avoids being slain. He makes his escape and

goes away to Samuel. Remark here how the grief, which

1Samuel 18-19

615

egotism and self-love produce, makes room for the action

of the evil spirit on the soul.

e power reappears here, which, hidden as it was,

still governed the fate of Israel. David recognizes it, and,

when he can no longer remain with Saul, he does not

seek in anywise to magnify himself by rising up against

the outward form which God had inwardly judged but

not destroyed. Instead of opposing it, he contents himself

with acknowledging that manifestation of the power

of God which had placed Saul in his royal position, and

from which he had himself received the testimony and

the communication of the strength and of the will of

God; he takes refuge with Samuel. He is pursued thither

by Saul and by his messengers, who, with their master,

are subjected to this same power-a power which does not

inuence their hearts or guide their conduct, a power of

which Saul had forfeited the blessing. What a picture of

a useless, ruined vessel! Sometimes prostrate under the

energy of Satan, sometimes prophesying in that of God,

from whom his heart is far away, by whom he is forsaken.

His outward conduct is not disorderly; he does no harm

except when Jehovah’s anointed excites his jealousy and his

hatred.<P399>

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72614

1Samuel 20

David a wanderer in the earth

David is now driven away from the presence of Saul,

and becomes a wanderer in the earth. It is no longer entire

submission to Saul, while himself the vessel of the energy

of God. Driven away by Saul, David had returned to the

source of God’s testimony; and Saul had again dared

to seek his life, even when he was with Samuel. He has

completely thrown o the last restraint, and forgotten all

that should have reminded him of God, and stayed his

hand. Seeking his own glory, and taking advantage of his

acquired position, the presence of Samuel has no longer

any hold upon his conscience. It is even no longer, “Honor

me before the elders of my people”; he does not value

the prophet at all; he comes, in spite of himself, under an

inuence which he has despised. David is thus shielded

from his malice. He could not now return to Saul. It would

have been to unite himself with the despisal of God’s

testimony. For, what can be done when a man prophesies,

and yet runs counter to the power which he cannot deny?

David takes ight. But Saul’s state is again tested by this

state of things. Jonathan can scarcely credit his father’s ill-

will. But, before putting it to the proof, his devotion to

David is very plainly manifested. His faith and his heart

acknowledge that which the blinded Saul cannot receive

(ch. 20:13-17).

Jonathan’s love for the rejected David

Even when David is driven away, Jonathan’s faith is not

shaken; his heart is not separated from the one whom his

1Samuel 20

617

soul loved, when, radiant with youth and the glory of his

victory over Goliath, David replied to Saul with a modesty

that heightened its lustre. He loves him when dishonored

and a fugitive. He acknowledges him as God’s elect, and

links the hopes of his house with the glory of his beloved.1

(1. See chapter 23:16-17. But what Jonathan proposed

there could not be; that is, connection between the old

system in the esh and God’s grace and purpose. Jonathan,

though loving David, walked with the old, which God was

going to judge.)

But Jonathan does not follow David, and he falls with

Saul. Whatever opinion we may entertain with respect to

the typical meaning of this part of his history, we see in

him that whatever is<P400> allied to the carnal system,

which is outwardly connected with the interests of the

people and name of God, falls, as regards this world, with

the system that perishes entirely.

David, informed by Jonathan of Saul’s state of mind,

departs; and Jonathan returns into the city.

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1Samuel 21

e elect king rejected; a type of the Lord Jesus

e elect king is now rejected. He repairs to the priest,

who gives him the hallowed bread, according to the

sovereign grace of God, who rises above the ordinances that

are connected with blessing, when that blessing is rejected-

when He Himself is rejected in His chosen one, and in

the power of His testimony. When this is the case, He sets

faith above ordinances in His sovereign grace. Since God

Himself and His testimony are rejected, the showbread was

considered common. God, in fact, was ordering all anew.

It was precisely the case of the Lord Jesus. e Person

of the rejected One is above all the carnal ordinances,

which have lost their signication where He is. Christ

submitted indeed to all the ordinances and authorities; but

the rejection of God’s testimony in Him caused it to be

perceived by degrees that He was One greater than the

ordinances-One who set them aside, and replaced them by

the manifestation of the eectual and eternal grace of God.

It was much more important to give David food than to

keep that which had grown old. God cared more for him

than for the bread of the tabernacle.

e sword of Goliath in a new arsenal

David then takes the sword of Goliath. It was by the

power of death that the Lord destroyed all his strength

who had the power of death. Death is the best weapon in

the arsenal of God, when it is wielded by the power of life.

Refuge sought among the Philistines but driven forth

by God

1Samuel 21

619

David, his mind full of Saul’s enmity, seeks refuge

among the Philistines. What business had he there? is

time God drives him thence without chastisement, but

abundantly proving to him<P401> at the same time that

he was out of place there. We escape from the wisdom

which leads us into the midst of God’s enemies, by the

shame of that folly which causes us to be driven out again.

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1Samuel 22

Saul’s relentless pursuit

David now takes his place fully with the excellent of

the earth (Heb. 11:38). ere the prophet Gad joins him;

he is guided in a direct manner by the plain testimony of

God, and soon after he is joined by the priest also; so that,

rejected as he is, all that belonged to the testimony and the

dealings of God gathers around him. He was the king; the

prophet was there; the priest was there also. e outward

forms were elsewhere. Saul, on the contrary, as he had

shown his contempt for Samuel by pursuing David even

into his presence, without pity as without fear of God, and

without remorse, rids himself of the priests by the hand of

a stranger, an Edomite, a merciless enemy of the people,

when the consciences of the latter would have withheld

his hand. It is on this occasion that the priest is brought

by God to David, in like manner as we nd the prophet

there after Saul had manifested his contempt of him. us

a hostile king, he is a despiser of the prophet, an enemy of

the priest of God.

What a sad history of the gradual but progressive fall

of one who, having the form of good, has not faith in God,

and whom God has forsaken! How sure are the ways of

God, whatever appearances may be!

1Samuel 23

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72617

1Samuel 23

David, victor over the Philistines, accompanied by

prophet and priest

David, despised as he may be, is the king and saviour

of the people; he puts the Philistines to ight with great

slaughter. He nds nothing but treachery in Israel, of

which Saul makes use in the hope of seizing David. But

as the wisdom of the prophet is with David, so has he also

God’s answer by the ephod of the priest which is with

him.<P402>

Saul’s real position before God

Let us observe in passing, that Saul has greatly

aggrandized himself to outward view. He is no longer with

his six hundred men who followed him trembling; he can

speak of his captains of thousands and captains of hundreds;

he can bestow elds and vineyards; he has his Doeg, the

head over his herdsmen. Before God, inwardly, he makes

frightful progress in evil; he is not only forsaken of God,

but he breaks through all the restraints of conscience, and

of the testimony and ordinances of God. For the prophet

Samuel and the priests ought to have been a restraint to

one who professed to be identied with the interests of

God’s people.

Outward progress in prosperity, joined to actual progress

in evil inwardly, is a very solemn thing. It is at once a snare

to the esh and a trial to faith. David, on the contrary, is

apparently- and in fact, as to circumstances-driven out

from the people. He has neither home nor refuge. But the

testimony of God, in the person of the prophet Gad, and

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communion with God by the priest’s ephod, are his portion

in his exile. Cast out by man, he is where the resources of

God are realized according to the need of His people.

David acting as priest, a type of Christ

Remark also that David himself acts as priest, to obtain

the expression of God’s mind. He takes the ephod to seek

counsel of God; he eats the showbread, a remarkable type

of Christ, teaching us that, when all is ruined, blessing

is made over to those who by faith walk in obedience,

understanding the duty of the believer who discerns the

moral place of faith, what it owes to God, and how it may

rely on Him.

David’s discernment of what pleases God

Remark, also, that that which here distinguishes David

is not shining deeds, the fruit of the power of faith, but

the instinct and intelligence of that which is suitable to his

position, a moral discernment of that which is pleasing to

God, and of the line of conduct which His servant should

pursue as the vessel of His spiritual energy, while the power

which belongs to him is in the hands of another. It is the

walk of one who has apprehended that<P403> which is

suitable to this dicult position, in all the circumstances

it brings him into; who respects that which God respects,

and does the work of God without fear when God calls

him: a remarkable type of Jesus in all this, and example for

us.

Besides this spiritual perception, these moral

suitabilities, the greater part of this history sets before us

the way in which God makes everything tend towards

the accomplishment of His purposes (in spite of all the

motives and intentions of men) in order to place David,

1Samuel 23

623

through patience and the energy of faith, in the position

He had prepared for him.

God’s intervention and safeguard

Nevertheless David needs the intervention and the

safeguard of God. Having quitted Keilah (ch. 23), in

consequence of God’s warning, he goes into the wilderness.

ere he is surrounded by Saul’s men. But at the moment

when Saul would have taken him, the Philistines invade

the land, and Saul is obliged to return.

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72618

1Samuel 24

Saul’s life spared

“And David went up and dwelt in the strongholds

of En-gedi.” Saul pursues him thither, after following

the Philistines, more occupied with his jealousy of the

king whom God had chosen than with the enemies of

his people. But this expedition is not to his honor. An

opportunity to kill his persecutor presents itself to David;

but the fear of God rules him, and even Saul’s heart is

touched for the moment by a preservation which proved

that David respected him in a way he had not imagined.

He sees clearly what the result will be, and engages David

to protect his posterity; but David does not return to Saul.

e relationship was broken.

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72619

1Samuel 25

Samuel’s death

At length Samuel dies. is forms an epoch, because

he who was the true link between the people and God

was gone. Israel <P404>acknowledged him when dead,

although they had despised him while living.

Abigail’s faith; her acknowledgment of David in

rejection compared with that of Jonathan

And now David’s position changes, and Abigail is

brought in. Jonathan never separated from the system in

which he stood, never united himself to David, although

loving him, and never shared his suerings. But Abigail

identies herself with him; existing relationships do not

prevent her acknowledging David; and she is united to

him after her husband’s death. Jonathan pregures the

remnant in the character of the remnant of Israel, who

acknowledge the future king, and adhere to him, but go no

further. As regards old Israel they come to nothing with

it; they will be blessed as reigned over in the kingdom, but

not be associated with Christ on the throne. Jonathan does

not suer with David, and does not reign with him. He

remains with Saul, and, as to that position, his career ends

with Saul. Abigail, and even the malcontents who joined

David, shared his suerings. Abigail separates herself

completely from the spirit of her husband; and it is on

account of her faith and wisdom that David spares Nabal’s

life. God judges the latter, and then Abigail becomes the

wife of David.

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Historically David had nearly failed in his high standing.

In fact it is on account of the faithful remnant, the Abigail

of the foolish nation, that Israel itself has been spared; and

the Lord’s connection with the assembly is in the character

of pure grace, not in that of the avenger (as hereafter with

Israel). At this time it is that David, during his rejection,

surrounds himself with those who will be the companions

and the retinue of his glory in the kingdom. But he also

takes a wife.

Abigail speaks of Saul as a man. Jehovah, she says,

will make a sure house to David. is is the intelligence

of faith.1 It is the<P405> truth of God’s counsels (2Sam.

7:11), and in its fullness, as to this. She was forming for

herself, without knowing it, the position of the assembly,

in the future she was preparing for herself.2

(1. In fact, when the priesthood had been judged,

nothing remained for faith, which apprehended the mind

of God, except the prophet Samuel and the king given

by God, David. Abigail understands this. e assembly

should think as God Himself thinks, in spite of existing

circumstances. Abigail thinks nothing of Saul. Samuel is

dead; David is now everything to her. “e law and the

prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of

heaven is preached, and every man presseth into it.” Where

were the high priests and all their company? Nevertheless

the Lord submitted to them as to an ordinance, as David

to Saul.)

(2. She takes a much more humble place than Jonathan

did, and one which, even at the time, acknowledged David

much more fully. It is not a friend like Jonathan; it is a

submissive soul which, in spirit, gives David his place

according to God, taking her own place before him. It is

1Samuel 25

627

exactly that which distinguishes the spirit of the assembly

- of the true Christian.

In Jonathan we see the remnant under the Jewish

aspect. But Abigail enters into the spirit of God’s purposes

respecting David, although he was now in distress; and

David, who, while thoroughly submissive, can act according

to the faith that owns him, hears her voice, and accepts her

person.

Let us mark the features of Abigail’s faith. All rests

upon her appreciation of David (it is this which forms

a Christian’s judgment - in every respect he appreciates

Christ); his title as owned of God; his personal perfection;

and that which belonged to him according to the counsels

of God. She thinks of him according to all the good which

God has spoken of him; she sees him ghting God’s battles,

where others only see a rebel against Saul; and all this from

her heart. She judges Nabal, and looks upon him as already

judged of God on account of this, for with her everything

is judged according to its connection with David (vs.

26); a judgment which God accomplishes ten days later,

although Nabal was at peace in his own house, and David

an exile and outcast. Nevertheless the relation of Abigail

to Nabal is recognized until God executes judgment. She

judges Saul. He is but a man, because, to her faith, David

is king. All her desire is that David may remember her.

Jonathan says, when he goes out to David, “I shall be next

unto thee”; and David abides in the wood, while Jonathan

returns to his house. In the order of things which God

had judged (a judgment that faith recognized) he remains

with his family and shares its ruin. is is important to

a Christian. For instance, he respects, insofar as based on

God’s authority, ocial Christianity - which, in the world,

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is the religion of God while God bears with it - and does

not stand up against it. As to faith and personal walk, this

Christianity is nothing at all; just as Saul was only a man

to Abigail’s faith. )

1Samuel 26

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72620

1Samuel 26

Saul’s life again spared; David’s appeal to God

Alas! Saul is unchanged; instigated by the Ziphites, he

seeks David anew, but it is only to fall again, and more

publicly, into David’s hands. Observe that David now

appeals more directly to the Lord to judge between him

and Saul. e separation is more complete. Saul was

incorrigible. is appeal to God was becoming. It is not

becoming, it is not according to the way of the Spirit, to

accustom ourselves to evil. “Righteous Father,” said the

Lord at length, “the world hath not known thee: but I have

known thee; and these have known that thou hast sent me.”

at which characterized David in everything is that he

puts<P406> himself entirely into Jehovah’s hands; it is the

spirit of Christ in the Psalms.

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72621

1Samuel 27

David’s faith fails

But David, after all, is only a man; and immediately

after this testimony that God was with him (a testimony

that even Saul acknowledged), his faith fails, and he passes

over into the midst of the enemies of God’s people. God,

no doubt, makes use of this means to remove David from

peril. But at the same time, he is tried and chastened, and

is exposed to the dreadful necessity of appearing ready to

ght against Israel. ere is but One whose perfection and

wisdom were His safeguard in every trial.

We may remark that it was immediately after an evident

interposition of God (ch. 26:12) that David’s faith fails.

It is the same with Elijah (1Kings 19). One would say

that, in our hearts, faith exhausts itself by an unusual eort.

Faith may carry us through the crisis; but the heart, which

was the vessel of faith, is terried by it; while in Jesus we

nd an equability of perfection altogether divine.

With the Philistines, in a false position

David removes to a distance from the royal city. In the

land of the Philistines he gains their king’s favor, not by

faith, but by a prudence inconsistent with truth. It is an

unhappy position; nevertheless, God does not forsake him.

He chastises him, and in a painful manner, but He spares

and preserves him. We have seen similar ways of the Lord

in the case of the fugitive Jacob.

Achish, who knows David, wishes to employ him in his

service, and David cannot refuse; for when he who possesses

the energy which the Spirit of God imparts by faith has

1Samuel 27

631

placed himself in a false position through unfaithfulness,

he has no power against the one under whose authority

he has placed himself; and if he does not use the energy

with which he is endowed in favor of his protector, he

very naturally excites his jealousy. He would have avoided

all this by going to Ziklag, but he could not. God in His

mercy preserved David, but he was now in a sad and false

position.<P407>

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72622

1Samuel 28

Saul turns to witchcraft; God’s solemn judgment

Saul, as well as Israel at present, was in a still worse

position, having succor neither from God nor from the

enemy. Saul is forsaken of God. Samuel is dead; so that

Israel is no longer in connection with God through him.

David, who at least made head against the Philistines,

was, through Saul’s own doings, in their midst. e outward

zeal of the king had put down all those who had the spirit

of witchcraft. He seeks direction from God, but obtains

no answer. He has now neither conscience nor faith. e

case is urgent; and he throws himself, not into outward

service to God, as formerly (he has the sad and solemn

conviction that it belongs to him no more), but into those

things which he had condemned and cut o as evil when

he maintained a religious character-things which he still

knew were evil. But the Philistines were there, and his

heart greatly trembles. He seeks out a woman who had a

familiar spirit. God meets him here. Samuel ascends, but in

such a manner as to terrify the woman. She recognizes the

presence of a power superior to her enchantments. Samuel

declares to Saul, without reserve and without any sympathy

(for this was no longer possible), the solemn judgment of

God.

1Samuel 29-30

633

72623

1Samuel 29-30

David’s fall at Ziklag and God’s grace

In chapter 29 God, in His loving-kindness, brings David

out of his diculty by means of the jealousy of the lords

of the Philistines. Nevertheless, to maintain his credit with

Achish, David falls still lower, it seems to me, and protests

that he is quite ready to ght against the enemies of the

Philistine king, that is to say, against the people of God.

is appears to me the most wretched part of David’s life-

at any rate, before he was king. God makes him sensible

of it; for while he is there, the Amalekites strip him of

everything and burn Ziklag, and his followers are ready to

stone him.

All this is grievous; but the grace of God raises him

up again, and the eect of this chastisement is to bring

him back to God, for<P408> he was ever true to Him in

heart. David encouraged himself in Jehovah his God, and

inquires of Him what he shall do. What patience, what

kindness in God! What care He takes of His people, even

while they are turning away from Him!

God’s preparation and purication

David is truly brought back to God, and rescued from

his false position, and he walks and acts with God. God

was, unknown to him, preparing a very dierent position

for him, and was purifying and preparing him for it. How

dreadful would it have been, had David been with the

Philistines, and taken part in the defeat of God’s people,

and in the death of him whose life he had often spared so

touchingly! How far the child of God may go astray when

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he puts himself under the protection of unbelievers, instead

of relying on the help of God in all the diculties which

beset the path of faith! It is through these very diculties

that every grace is developed.

And observe the danger the believer is in-if his faith

be not simple, but fails ever so little-of being thrown into

the arms of God’s enemies through the persecution of

professors. Nature grows weary, and seeks comfort afar

from the narrow path which leads through the briars.

is happens whenever the people of God, following

their own will, conde their interests to those who seek

nothing but their own advantage in a less dicult position,

which is neither that of God nor that of faith. And the

more glorious a work there is for faith, the more nature

grows weary, if faith becomes weak. Ziklag is taken during

David’s absence, but he pursues the spoilers, and recovers

all the booty.

David, upright and generous, found, in the diculty

which arose from the selshness of his people, an

opportunity to institute that which was conformable to

the will of God; and instead of seeking to enrich himself

through his share of the spoil, he uses it to maintain kindly

relations with the elders of his people, and to prove to them

that Jehovah is still with him.

1Samuel 31

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72624

1Samuel 31

e solemn deaths of Saul and Jonathan

Chapter 31 recounts the solemn deaths of Saul and of

Jonathan also, closing, with the total discomture of Israel,

this touching<P409> history. e whole account of Saul

and his family, as raised up to withstand the Philistines,

is ended: Saul and his sons fall into their hands; they are

beheaded, their armor sent in triumph to the house of the

Philistines’ idols, and their bodies hung upon the walls of

Beth-shan. Sad end, as that of the esh will ever be in the

battle of Jehovah!

David’s history retraced; his simplicity of faith

Let us briey retrace the history of David. Simplicity

of faith keeps him in the place of duty, and contented

there, without desire to leave it, because the approbation of

God suces him. Consequently he can there reckon upon

the help of God, as thoroughly secured to him; he acts in

the strength of God. e lion and the bear fall under his

youthful hand. Why not, if God was with him? He follows

Saul with equal simplicity, and then returns to the care of

his sheep with the same satisfaction. ere, in secret, he

had understood by faith that Jehovah was with Israel; he

had understood the nature and force of this relationship.

He sees, in the condition of Israel, something which does

not answer to this; but, as for himself, his faith rests upon

the faithfulness of God. An uncircumcised Philistine falls

like the lion. He serves Saul as musician with the same

simplicity as before; and, whether with him, or when Saul

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sends him out as captain of a thousand, gives proof of his

valor. He obeys the king’s commands.

At length the king drives him away; but he is still in the

place of faith. ere is little now of military achievement,

but there is the discernment of that which became him,

when the spiritual power was in him, but the outward,

divine authority was in other hands. It was the same

position as that of Jesus in Israel. David does not fail in

this position, its diculties only the better bringing out

all the beauty of God’s grace and the fruits of the Spirit’s

work, while very peculiarly developing spiritual aections

and intimate relationship with God, his only refuge. It is

especially this which gave rise to the Psalms. Faith suces

to bring him through all the diculties of his position,

in which it displays all its beauty and all its grace. e

nobleness of character which faith imparts to man, and

which is the reection of God’s character, produces in the

most hardened hearts, even in those who, having forsaken

God, are forsaken of Him (a state in which sin, selshness

and <P410>despair combine to harden), feelings of natural

aection, the remorse of a nature which awakens under the

inuence of something superior to its malice-something

which sheds its light (painful, because momentary and

powerless) upon the darkness which encompasses the

unhappy sinner who rejects God. It is because faith dwells

so near God as to be above evil, that it withdraws nature

itself from the power of evil, although nature has no power

of self-mastery. But God is with faith; and faith respects

that which God respects, and invests one who bears

something from God with the honor due to that which

belongs to God, and which recalls God to the heart with

all the aection that faith entertains for Him, and all that

1Samuel 31

637

pertains to Him. is is always seen in Jesus, and wherever

His Spirit is; and it is this that gives such beauty, such

elevation, to faith, which ennobles itself with the nobility

of God, by recognizing that which is noble in His sight,

and on account of its relationship to Him, in spite of the

iniquity or abasement of those who are invested with it.

Faith acts on God’s behalf, and reveals Him in the midst

of circumstances, instead of being governed by them. Its

superiority over that which surrounds it is evident. What

repose, to witness this amid the mire of this poor world!

Nature and faith

But, although faith, in the place it gives us in this world,

suces for all that we meet with in it, yet alas! communion

with God is not perfect in us. Instead of doing our duty

whatever it be without weariness, because God is with us,

and when we have slain the lion, being ready to slay the

bear, and through this, more ready still to slay Goliath-

instead of faith being strengthened by victory, nature

grows weary of the conict; we lose the normal position of

faith, we debase and dishonor ourselves. What a dierence

between David, who, by the fruit of grace, draws tears from

the heart of Saul, reopening (at least for the moment)

the channel of his aections, and David, unable to raise

his hand against the Philistines whom he had so often

defeated, and boasting himself ready to ght against Israel

and the king whose life he had spared!

My brethren, let us abide in the place of faith, apparently

a more dicult one, yet the place where God is found, and

where grace-the only precious thing in this world-ourishes,

and<P411> binds the heart to God by a thousand links of

aection and gratitude, as to One who has known us, and

who has stooped to meet our need and the desires of our

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hearts. Faith gives energy; faith gives patience; and it is

often thus that the most precious aections are developed-

aections which, if the energy of faith makes us servants

on earth, render heaven itself happy, because He who is the

object of faith is there, and lls it in the presence of the

Father.

God’s grace above all failure

Nature makes us impatient with circumstances, because

we do not suciently realize God, and draws us into

situations where it is impossible to glorify Him. On the

other hand, it is well to observe, that it is when man had

thoroughly failed, when even David’s faith had been found

wanting, and-departing from Israel-he had thrown himself

among the Philistines, it was then that God gave him the

kingdom. Grace is above all failure: God must glorify

Himself in His people.<P412>

2Samuel

639

72625

2Samuel

e subject of 2Samuel

e Second Book of Samuel sets before us the denitive

establishment of David in the kingdom; and afterwards,

the miseries of his house, when prosperity had opened the

door to self-will.

Prosperity not the path of faith

e path of faith and its diculties is that in which we

walk with God, and in which we celebrate the triumph

which His presence secures to us. A state of prosperity

makes it evident how little man is able to enjoy it without

its becoming a snare to him. Prosperity not being the path

of faith, that is to say, of strength, the evil of the heart

comes out in the walk. Compare 2Samuel 22 (the psalm

by which David closes the path of diculty) with chapter

23, which contains his last words, after his experience of

the enjoyment of the prosperity and glory in which faith

had placed him.

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72626

2Samuel 1-2

David’s genuine sorrow at Saul’s death; his

dependence on God

Nevertheless piety, and pious (and hence generous)

sentiments, were genuine in David. He did not pretend

to feel for Saul’s misfortunes, and then seize upon the

kingdom without regret as soon as Saul had ceased to exist.

David’s heart was really melted when he heard of Saul’s

death. Woe to the hard-hearted man who, impelled by the

hope of reward, thought to be the bearer of good tidings in

announcing it to him. Whatever Saul’s misfortunes, he was

the king of Israel to David. Whatever his faults, he was an

unfortunate king. David had been beloved by him, and had

dwelt in his house, where the king’s aiction manifested

itself, and <P413>commanded the respect of all around

him. And if Saul had unjustly persecuted David, at this

moment it was readily forgotten. Now that he has fallen,

David will only remember that which can do him honor;

and, above all, that it is Jehovah’s anointed, and Jehovah’s

people, who have fallen before their enemies.

David causes the man to be put to death who, deluded

by selshness, accused himself of lacking all fear of Jehovah,

all good and generous feeling. For David fears God; and

Jehovah’s anointed is precious in his sight. He then pours

out his heart before God in the touching accents of a grief

which, in solemn and aecting language, recalls whatever

would exalt Saul, and expresses the tender and aectionate

recollections which his heart suggests. Beautiful exhibition

of the fruits of the Spirit of God! David is in no wise

2Samuel 1-2

641

discouraged, for his faith is in action. If this misfortune

grieves him, it gives him also the opportunity of guarding

against a similar calamity. He bade them teach the children

of Judah the use of the bow, by which weapon Saul was

slain. David, still humble, goes on well. He asks Jehovah if

he should go up to Judah, and to which place; and Jehovah

directs him. David testies also to the men of Jabesh-gilead

his satisfaction at their conduct with respect to Saul.

Ishbosheth made king; war results

Nevertheless war has not yet ceased; if not against

enemies from without, it is carried on against those

from within. at which was linked with Saul’s eshly

importance cannot support David. All is, however, now

changed, for Ishbosheth was not Jehovah’s anointed, and

to make him king was, in fact, to rebel against God. David

makes war upon him by his captains.

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72627

2Samuel 3-4

Joab and Abner; nature and its pretended rights

Alas! the history of this period plunges us into the

ways of man. It is no longer merely David walking in the

path of faith. It is Joab, a clever, ambitious, bloody-minded

and heartless man. It is Abner, a man morally superior to

Joab, but who ghts on eshly principles as a party man

against the king whom God has chosen. Abner is related to

Ishbosheth as Joab is to David. When his pride<P414> has

been wounded, he throws himself into David’s interests,

and Joab kills him as much from jealousy as to avenge his

brother’s death. And wherein is the prowess and valor of

the chiefs of Benjamin and Judah now manifested in this

“eld of strong men”? In slaying each other. e Philistines

were forgotten. But the family of Saul were entirely in

the wrong. It was nature which, with its pretended rights,

would not submit to God and to His will.

As David now begins to do, so will Christ, the King of

Judah, bring all around into subjection to Himself after He

has taken the throne.

It is well, however, to observe that David does not

appear in all this. Joab is the actor; and it appears to me,

from the details given, that evil had already begun. I do not

see that David had sought counsel of Jehovah; and Joab

had certainly not done so, for he was nothing more than an

ungodly man, who understood that it was more prudent to

honor God, and not to depart too far from Him merely to

gratify one’s passions; but this did not preserve him from

being at length ensnared in his own calculations. And, after

2Samuel 3-4

643

all, it is not the energy of Joab which puts the kingdom

into David’s hands but the wounded pride of Abner, the

chief of Ishbosheth’s party, who ends by reaping from men

that which he had sown. But all this is very sad.

David generally typies Christ; historically he

exhibits the weakness of man

By providential means God accomplishes His

purposes, and David is successful. Generally also, in his

combats at this period, and in his exaltation, he typies

the Lord Jesus. And I doubt not that the establishment of

Christ’s kingdom will be accomplished in detail after His

appearing; the prophecies of Zechariah and Micah 5 prove

this; but, as a history, we are, as I have said, in the midst of

men. In the matter of Ishbosheth’s death David maintains

his integrity; and with respect to Abner’s assassination he

manifests the sentiments which become a man of God.

Nevertheless chapter 3:39 exhibits the weakness of man as

the instrument of God’s government. David appeals to the

God of judgment.

e election of one in whom God’s counsels are

accomplished must necessarily take place before his

establishment in the place which Jehovah had appointed.

It is still more evident that this<P415> election precedes

the rest of the chosen one, and this is true as to Christ

Himself; only He came down into it in grace.

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72628

2Samuel 5

David made king; the energetic man

David, the king of Judah in Hebron for seven years and

a half, becomes the king of all Israel upon Ishbosheth’s

death. And now David is no longer the man of faith

who, himself the head of the armies of Israel walking in

dependence upon God, guided the enterprises which the

circumstances of Israel required of faith; but he is a king

who can exalt whom he will. e man very soon appears,

the energetic man, but not the man of God. “Whosoever

getteth up to the gutter,” the king said should be rewarded;

“he shall be chief and captain” (ch. 5:8). Joab goes up, and

he has natural claims upon David.1

(1. Joab was evidently clever and enterprising: but

it is remarkable that he is not named among those who

distinguished themselves by brilliant exploits, when

individual faith had to ght for God’s glory. When it is a

question of being chief and captain, a place which David

had held till then, Joab immediately comes forward.)

Nevertheless, in the main David is guided by God, and

he takes the city which God had chosen for His throne

upon the earth. It was on this account he could say of

those who had it in possession, “ey are hated of David’s

soul”; for, in fact, they who possess the true seat of God’s

power, the place which He loves, and who, trusting to their

natural strength, resist and sco at the king whom God has

chosen, are more hateful than any people, and are hated by

those who have the Spirit of the Lord who establishes His

throne upon the earth.

2Samuel 5

645

David and Solomon as types of Christ

It is well to remark here that David is a type of

Christ in rejection, and of Christ making war in power

for the establishment of the millennium; as Solomon is

of Christ reigning in millennial peace. David’s wars with

the Philistines are subsequent to the taking of Jerusalem,

and to the entire subjugation of Israel to David. It is not

David, neither is it Christ reigning over the earth, who

takes Jerusalem. Christ will descend from heaven for the

destruction of Antichrist; but He destroys the enemies of

Israel by<P416> means of His own people, after having

established His throne in Zion (compare Zechariah 9-10).

I do not enlarge upon this; I merely point out the grand

features which the Word supplies on this subject.

Awakened by danger David turns to God

David establishes himself in Zion; he is acknowledged

by some friendly Gentiles; he is conscious too that it was

God who made him king. But the natural heart soon

shows itself. Strengthened in his kingdom by Jehovah,

he does what he likes, he follows his own will (compare

Deuteronomy 17:17).

Nevertheless the consolidation of his power does not

overthrow the hopes of his former enemies;1 it excites

their jealousy. ey neither know the arm of his strength,

nor the purpose of Jehovah who exalted him. ey rush

on to destruction. And now, with the danger that awakens

him, we nd again the man of God, the type of the Lord

Jesus, inquiring of Jehovah, and obedient to His word. He

gains signal victories under the express guidance of God,

whose strength goes before him and puts his enemies to

ight. Accordingly he gives God the glory.

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(1. It is evident, from many Old Testament prophecies,

that it will be the same when Christ returns to the earth.

And yet at that period, if man exalts himself, it will be but

for sudden destruction.)

2Samuel 6

647

72629

2Samuel 6

Removal of the ark from Kirjath-jearim

Although God has established a king in power, who is

at the same time the victorious leader of His people, yet

the bonds of the covenant are not yet restored. e ark

is still in the place where individual piety had sheltered

it when God was obliged to be the guardian of His own

glory. David would bring it to the place where his throne

is now established. He desires that the Jehovah of hosts,

who dwells between the cherubim, should be honored, and

that He should be at the same time the glory of the king of

Israel’s throne. ey are bound together in his mind. Now

the kingdom of Melchisedec was not yet in exercise, not

even in type. For Melchisedec is king of Salem (this is,

king of peace). God was still maintaining His own glory.

He could bless David, the elected and<P417> anointed

king; but that order of things which united all together

under the king’s authority was not yet in force. It was to be

set up later under Solomon.

e consequences of neglect of God’s order; God

maintains His majesty

Israel should have acknowledged God’s order. But even

while seeking to honor God, David thinks of himself, and

there is denitively but a faulty imitation of that which the

Philistine priests had done when acted upon by the terror

of Jehovah. e result was unhappy. What man had done,

man seeks to sustain; but in doing this he touches the glory

of Jehovah and falls before His majesty. Jehovah vindicates

His glory. He dwells not yet in the midst of His people.

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e ark of blessing in the house of Obed-edom and

in Zion’s hill

At once pained and alarmed-pained because his heart

truly sought Jehovah’s glory, although he did not understand

its height, and had forgotten the majesty of Him whom his

heart desired to have nearer to him-David leaves the ark

in the house of Obededom; and there Jehovah shows that

it is His nature to bless, whenever His majesty is not so

forgotten that men deal with Him as they think proper.

If we detract from His glory, He maintains it; as also He

manifests what He is by the blessing He bestows. e heart

and aections of David are restored; he causes the ark to

be carried from Obed-edom’s house, and places it in the

tabernacle he had pitched for it. Here we only see David,

and we see him clothed with the ephod. He is the head of

his people, when he reestablishes the relationship1 between

them and his God, and it is with joy, with oerings, and

songs of triumph. It is he also who blesses the people, being

in all this a remarkable type of Jesus, and of that which He

will perform in Israel in the last days.

(1. I say “relationship,” because, in fact, the ark of the

covenant was the outward link, the sign of the formal

relationship between God and Israel. is gives much

importance to the circumstance we are considering. e

loss of the ark had been, on the contrary, the Ichabod of

the people.)

All this, however, was not building the temple, which

was a work reserved for the prince of peace. It was the king,

by faith<P418> head of the people, acting up to a certain

point for faith as priest, on the principle of Melchisedec,

although the order and the blessing belonging to that

title were not yet established. e king oers sacrices, he

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blesses the people. As their sole head, he had united all

Israel, he had beaten his enemies.

Mount Zion, the seat of royal grace of a King who had

suered

But after all it was a transitional period. e ark of the

covenant abode still in a tent; David had triumphed, but

the peace he enjoyed was but transitory. e establishment

of the ark on the hill of Zion formed, however, an epoch;

for Mount Zion was the seat of royal grace, where the king

who had suered-and as having suered-had established

his throne in power and grace with respect to Israel. is

is the key to Revelation 14-a book in which the Lamb is

always (as it appears to me) the Messiah who has suered,

but who is seated on the throne of God while waiting

for the manifestation of His glory; seated there in this

character, although as such He had accomplished things

far otherwise important (for salvation and the assembly are

far more excellent than the kingdom); but it is evidently the

kingdom that we have to do with here. I doubt not that the

hundred and forty-four thousand who are with the Lamb

on Mount Zion are those who have suered for Messiah’s

sake in the spirit of His own suerings in the midst of

Israel. ey are with Him in His kingly position in Zion,

and follow Him whithersoever He goes. ey are morally

near enough to heaven to learn its song, which none other

on earth can learn. ey are the rstfruits of the earth. ey

are not in heaven.

is explains Hebrews 12:22 also; in which we nd

Zion in contrast with Sinai, where the people had been

placed under their own responsibility, the law having the

sanction which the terror of Jehovah’s presence gave it. But

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in the passage referred to, Zion is clearly distinguished

from the heavenly Jerusalem.1<P419>

(1. e construction of the sentence (Heb. 12:22) makes

it more easy to distinguish the dierent parts of which it

is composed. e word “and” separates them: Zion-the city

of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem-the angels, the

general assembly-the church of the rstborn, whose names

are written in heaven-God the judge of all, etc.)

e warlike kingdom of Christ; the subjection of His

enemies shown in Psalm 110

I doubt not that at the end a similar relation will exist

between Christ and the remnant of His people who have

waited for Him. It is a period during which Jesus is fully

triumphant, and acts in power and as a king, but does not

yet rule in peace; and during which He forms, develops and

establishes the relationship of His people with Himself on

the earth in His triumphs and in His kingdom, according

to the rights of which He will subject His enemies to

Himself. e Psalms also open this part of Christ’s reign to

us prophetically and in type (see Psalm 110). After having

seated David’s Lord at the right hand of the majesty in

the heavens, the Spirit says, “Jehovah shall send the rod of

thy strength out of Zion; rule thou in the midst of thine

enemies. y people shall be willing in the day of thy power,

in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning

[the morning of His glory, the dawn of day]; thou shalt

have the dew of thy youth [of the young men who follow

Him].” e whole of this psalm unfolds the same idea, the

warlike kingdom of Christ, having Zion chosen of God

for its seat, and the place whence His power shall go forth

during the triumphant wars of the Messiah.

Let us pursue this latter point.

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Election applied to David and Zion in Psalm 78

After having described the ruin of Israel, Psalm 78

shows us Jehovah awaking; but it sets aside all rights of

inheritance, and testimony to His former dealings with

Israel; for (1Chron. 5) the birthright was Joseph’s-“He

CHOSE the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he

loved. He CHOSE David his servant, and took him from

the sheepfolds,” etc. is psalm mentions indeed His

sanctuary, but the mountain on which it was built is never

represented as the object of God’s election. is psalm

reaches farther than our present history; but it applies

election to David and to Zion.

David’s inspired sentiments as to the ark and Jehovah’s

abundant answers, given in Psalm 132

Psalm 132 sets before us precisely the sentiments with

which the Spirit inspired David when he placed the ark

upon Mount<P420> Zion. It is but a tabernacle, but it is

that of the mighty God of Jacob on the earth. And Jehovah

has chosen Zion. ere the horn of David shall bud.

Observe here that Jehovah’s answer goes each time

beyond the request and desire of David-a beautiful

testimony to the rich goodness of God. Jehovah’s rest is in

the midst of His people. He will enjoy this rest here in the

midst of His own, although He establishes His glory in

the temple; and it is there that everyone speaks of it. In the

wilderness this glory had not had a place of rest. Israel was

on a journey, and Jehovah, who dwelt among the people,

went before them to search out a resting-place for them

(Num. 10:33). Neither was it the case at Shiloh, when

His rest among them depended on their faithfulness. “He

forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, and delivered his strength

into the enemy’s hand” (Psa. 78:61-62). Election and grace

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alone-by means of “one chosen out of the people” (Psa.

89:19)-establish the rest of God among His people.

What God is, clearly demonstrated in His public

dealings

ere is yet a remark to make on the subject of Psalm

132. We have seen that God maintains His majesty in His

government, and does not allow anyone to touch His ark.

He gives David time to learn that God is a God of blessing

and of grace; but, however good the intentions of His people

may be, it is necessary that truth, that what He is, should

be clearly demonstrated in His public dealings. If it were

otherwise, if His government were not stable, all would go

to ruin; the levity of man would constantly lead him into

the paths of self-will. It is true that God is full of patience,

and that after having formed the relationship between His

people and Himself, He continues to act according to this

relationship as long as possible, although forced to chasten

at the same time; but judgment comes at length.

David’s failure as to the ark indicated in Psalm 132

In the case we are considering, God had broken this

relationship as originally established by His sitting

between the cherubim; He had delivered His strength into

captivity, His glory into the enemy’s hand. David, as victor,

restores to Him His place, but on a new principle, that of

grace and power. Nevertheless, in <P421>examining Psalm

132, we discover much deeper sentiments, a heart which

desires to have God gloried among His people in a much

more developed and much more intimate manner than

was indicated by that which the outward pomp and train,

in which Israel could take part, represented; sentiments to

which God responded in a very dierent way than by the

death of Uzzah. is psalm, it is true, was written after the

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653

touching communications which are revealed in 2Samuel

7, as verses 11-12 prove. It teaches us, however, in what

spirit David went to fetch the ark, the ardent desire of his

heart to nd a habitation for Jehovah,1 which, as we have

seen, Christ will accomplish. Now it appears to me that

it was the consciousness of this desire that led to David’s

failure. Alas for man! In the consciousness of it he seeks

to put it into execution, and he a little forgets the supreme

glory of God, the sin which had caused God’s departure

from His people, and the majesty proper to Him. When

God acts according to the requirements of His glory,

and smites the man who lent David his assistance in

accomplishing the desire of his heart, David is displeased.

e death of Uzzah was the result of David’s conduct,

and he is angry with Jehovah when this result takes place.

is was truly the esh. God made David sensible of that

which was becoming to the service of the God of Israel

(see 1Chronicles 15:12-13),2 and He restored his soul by

showing him that He was the true source of blessing, and

that the leaving the ark aside was leaving blessing aside too.

(1. We may compare Exodus 15:2 in the English

Version, though the translation is questionable. But see

Exodus 29:46.

(2. is is not mentioned in Samuel; because it is David

as the type of the Lord, whom the Spirit sets before us

here.)

In his maintenance of a sense of Jehovah’s glory David

rises higher than Solomon

Moreover the position of David, zealously maintaining

a sense of Jehovah’s glory in the midst of his exaltation,

as portrayed in the psalm, is of the highest moral beauty,

and has a very peculiar aspect in reference to the divine

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economies. e place which Solomon occupies at the

dedication of the temple presents, no doubt, a more

striking picture. e Melchisedec priesthood is there in

its simplicity and its fullness, but this was the fruit of the

accomplishment of blessing; and the moral condition of

those who took<P422> part in it was much less the result

of deep exercise of heart, and of the close communion

with God which is its consequence; it was, therefore, much

less connected with the intelligent expectation of Christ.

Solomon enjoyed the present realization of the glory upon

which, in its true accomplishment in Christ, David relied

by faith; Solomon does not go to a higher source than

David’s faith, and the responsibility of the people which

owed from it. e temple is the scene of this. David

rises higher. He lays hold of God’s purpose, as to the seat

of Jehovah’s kingdom; and at a time when this required

faith, he becomes, as far as possible, the royal priest, and

consequently ascends to God Himself, who is the source

of this priesthood. Taught of God, he has understood the

election of Zion, the seat of Christ’s kingly glory; and in

this sense his moral position, when dancing before the

ark as an obscure man, and to his shame before the world,

appears to be a much higher one than that of Solomon

upon his brazen scaold.

e ark is also the sign of the reestablishment of God’s

power in the midst of His people by this moral link; but this

reestablishment takes place, by what was in type the victory

and the energy of Christ who prevails over His enemies, as

will be the case, and not merely in the enjoyment of the

glory.

David a type of Christ as a servant-priest, a Levite

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In all this part of the history David (though as to

himself with individual failure) is more personally a type of

Christ. It is while diculty exists, before the reign of peace

when power will have removed every obstacle to the full

enjoyment of it, that he restores the people’s connection

with God, and blesses and feeds them as Melchisedec.

Blessing ows from his person in the presence of all that

still opposes it, and in spite of every diculty. e position

which David still takes is that of servant, the immediate

servant of God, by grace. He is not a priest upon his throne;

but the king makes himself a priest, and this while still

performing service.

Samuel, as given to Jehovah, was clothed with a linen

ephod. It was the priestly garment, and he was not a priest

after the order of Aaron. He served in the tabernacle, by

grace and by the Spirit, as one chosen and set apart for God.

He was in his right place, but on God’s part it was in grace,

when the gloomy night of Ichabod already threatened

the people with its darkness. Here it is the<P423> king

who, taking this place, puts on the priestly ephod; not the

garments which God had given the priests for glory and for

beauty, but those which distinguished the priest considered

as the type of Christ as priest,1 and which belonged to the

essence of his functions,2 and, in fact, he took the place

rather of a Levite, that is, of one set apart to serve before

the ark, before Jehovah. e leading idea connected with

the ephod is that he who wears it presents himself to God.

But, even though making request, Melchisedec rather

presents himself to the people; although he is before God

for the people, as king and priest upon his throne.

(1. For the high priest (after the strange re oered

on the day of their consecration), it seems, never wore the

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garments of glory and beauty in the most holy place. He

only went in in white garments on the day of atonement.)

(2. is priesthood He exercises now. e glorious

garments He will come out in. He is personally already

crowned with glory and honor, but the all things are not

put under Him; nor has He taken His Melchisedec throne,

which indeed will be on earth. He is on His Father’s throne,

while His fellow-heirs are being gathered.)

e king secures and communicates blessing to the

people

Having oered his sacrices, the king blesses the people.

ere were yet the Philistines, the Syrians and other nations

to be subdued; but the connection of the people with God

was established and maintained in security by the king in

Zion, although the ark on which this connection rested

was still within curtains. Blessing was also secured through

the king himself, who had brought the sign of the covenant

and the elect king together in the place which God had

chosen, and who was still the servant for this. e ephod

did not pertain to Melchisedec; but, in honoring Jehovah

who had preserved the people, he who wore it maintained

as priest the blessing of the people before God. Michal,

who in the spirit of Saul her father only dreamed of earthly

glory, cannot participate in this. Abasement before Jehovah

was incomprehensible to her. She neither understood nor

tasted His glory or the joy of knowing Him as the heart’s

sole master. at which belongs to Saul can have no share

in David’s kingdom, nor can it suer with a despised and

rejected one. In short, we have a king devoted to Jehovah

and to the people, who secures and communicates blessing

to the latter; and not as yet a king characterized above all by

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the enjoyment of established blessing, which is Solomon’s

condition.<P424>

Christ’s glory presented in the Psalms

Now the rst of these two conditions appears to me to

represent Christ, such as He has always been in principle

and in right, and especially such as He will be after the

destruction of Antichrist, and before the destruction of

those enemies who will still oppose themselves to the

establishment of His kingdom in peace. His people, all

Israel, will be united under Him. e rod of His strength

will go out of Zion, and He will rule in the midst of His

enemies (Psa. 110); but it will not yet be the fulllment of

Psalm 72 or of Zechariah 6:12-13. Compare also Psalm

2, in which Christ is looked upon as the Son of God

born upon earth, and in which His universal rights to the

possession of the earth, which ow from this, are set forth,

acknowledged by God and proclaimed to the kings of the

earth.

In Psalm 110 Christ is seated at the right hand of God,

waiting until His enemies are made His footstool.

In Psalm 8 He is the Son of Man, and all things are put

under Him.

David as the one who blesses his own house

Under Solomon all Israel rejoices in all the good things

which Jehovah had bestowed upon Solomon, as well as

upon David. Here David in his own person provides that

which is necessary to feed the people, and deals to everyone

a “good piece.”1 He returns to bless his house, for David

has his own house to which he returns after having blessed

Israel; it is something nearer to him than Israel. Michal,

we have seen, could not really belong to it. David nds it

a joyful thing to humble himself before Jehovah, and he

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reproves her. How overwhelming was the reply he made

to her!<P425>

(1. Psalm 2 shows us the King set upon the holy hill of

Zion, the Son of God begotten in time (a distinct thing

from His relationship as Son, one with the Father before

the world was-a doctrine taught in John 1, Hebrews 1,

Colossians 1, and elsewhere-yet I do not believe one could

be without the other, though the “therefore” of Luke 1:35

shows it to be a distinct thing, and His Sonship in this

place is also a truth of the greatest importance), owned

as such by Jehovah, and the kings of the earth charged to

submit to Him. Psalm 8 speaks of Him as the Son of Man

to whom all things are subjected according to the eternal

purposes of God. In Psalm 110 He who had been despised

and rejected, being seated at the right hand of God, is to

rule in the midst of His enemies.

Compare Psalms 24 and 102. In the rst, He is

acknowledged as Jehovah of hosts, the King of glory,

after having conquered His enemies: in the second, as the

Creator Himself. )

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2Samuel 7

David’s desire and God’s answer in blessing

Ardently desiring Jehovah’s glory, David is troubled at

dwelling in a house of cedar, while Jehovah dwelt within

curtains. He wishes to build Him a house-a good desire, yet

one which God could not grant. e work of building the

temple belonged to the prince of peace. David represented

Christ as suering and conquering, and, consequently, not

as enjoying the earthly kingdom by undisputed right, and

opening to all nations the gates of the temple in which the

Lord of righteousness was to be worshipped. He returns

then, so to say, into his own personal position, in which

God blessed him in a very peculiar manner. David was

more than a type; he was truly the stock of that family from

which Christ Himself should spring. is is taught in the

beautiful seventh chapter. An elect vessel to maintain the

cause of Jehovah’s people in suering, and to reestablish

among them the glory of the Lord’s name (vss. 8-9), Jehovah

had been with him; and David, most especially honored

in this, was also in his faithfulness a vessel of promise of

the future peace and prosperity destined for Israel in the

counsels of God. But these were yet future things. e

perpetuity of the kingdom over Israel is established in his

family, which God will chasten if needful, but not cut o.

His son shall build the house. Already, at the time of the

exodus, the man in whom was the Spirit, desired to prepare

a habitation for Jehovah (Ex. 15:2).1 But the Messiah was

needed for this. Till then Israel was a wanderer, and God

with him.

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(1. e translation is very questionable; it was, however,

God’s thought. See Exodus 29:46.)

e following are the chief subjects of the revelation

made to David, and of his reply: the sovereign call of God;

that which God had done for David; the certainty of future

rest for Israel; the establishment, on God’s part, of David’s

house; his son shall be the Son of God, shall build the

house; the throne of his Son shall be established forever.

David’s prayer of thankfulness

David’s rst thought-and it is always so when the

Spirit of God works-was not to rejoice, but to bless God.

ese are the<P426> striking features of the prayer of

thankfulness: he is in peace and freedom before God; he

goes in and sits before Him; he acknowledges at the same

time his own nothingness, and how unworthy he was of all

that God had already done. Yet this was but a small thing

in the sight of God, who had declared to him the future

glories of his house. It was God, and not the manner of

man. What could he say more? God knew him; there lay

his condence and his joy. He acknowledged that God did

it in truth and “of his own heart.” It was grace to make His

servant know it. e eect of all this was to make David

recognize the excellency of Jehovah. ere was none beside

Him, and none upon the earth, therefore, to be compared

to His elect people, whom He went to redeem for a people

to Himself, and whom He had now conrmed to Himself,

that Israel might be His people forever, and that He

Himself might be their God. e highest kind of prayer

is that which does not spring from a sense of need, but

from the desires and the intelligence which the revelation

of God’s purposes produces-purposes which He will fulll

in love to His people and for the glory of Christ. Finally, he

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661

asks that his house may be the place of God’s own blessing.

In a word, he desires that the purposes of God, which

had awakened all his aections, may be accomplished by

Jehovah Himself, who had revealed them unto His servant.

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72631

2Samuel 8

David the man of faith, the victor-king in Zion

Being entirely delivered from the insurrections of the

people,1 David exercises his power in bringing his enemies

into subjection. e Philistines, who dwelt within the land

of Israel, are subjugated. Metheg-ammah signies “bridle of

the capital.” David held the key of power. Moab is subdued

and made tributary. At length the outward enemies, the

Syrians, also, are either conquered or submit themselves.

e Edomites become David’s servants, and Jehovah

preserves David whithersoever he goes.

(1. Compare Psalm 18:43, where the righteous suering

Christ (under the gure of David) is the source of all

blessings for Israel from Egypt to the end.)

In all this we have again the man of faith and the type

of the Lord Jesus, King in Zion, who is victorious over

the enemies of Israel, and puts Israel in possession of the

promised land (Gen.<P427> 15:18) as far as the Euphrates.

He dedicates the spoil to Jehovah. He reigns over all Israel,

and executes judgment and justice unto all his people. e

companions of his pilgrimage participate in the glory of

his kingdom-a type, in all this, of the kingdom of Christ.

2Samuel 9

663

72632

2Samuel 9

“e kindness of God” showed to Mephibosheth

He acts in grace also towards the humble remnant of

Saul’s house; and if Mephibosheth is not associated with the

glory of his kingdom, he enjoys the privilege of the king’s

table, who shows him kindness; although Mephibosheth

belongs to the family of his enemy and persecutor, but at

the same time to that little remnant which favored the king

whom God had chosen (being itself, on that account, hated

by those in power). He enjoys also the whole of his family’s

inheritance.

is touching and beautiful testimony to David’s

kindness and faithfulness through grace appears to me

to give us a picture of Christ’s relations to the remnant

of Israel, or at least that of the spirit of these relations. It

was “the kindness of God” which sought out the family of

Saul, the enemy of David’s crown-and which rests upon

the representative of Jonathan, whose history we have read,

and who typies those that will attach themselves to Christ

in prospect of the kingdom, to which their thoughts are

limited. e remnant enjoys the eect of the establishment

of the kingdom, but does not rank among those that

surround the throne after having shared the suerings of

the despised and rejected king.

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72633

2Samuel 10

Grace despised followed by judgment

Chapter 10, the details of which we pass over, sets

before us the general principle of the king’s rule in Zion.

When grace is despised by those to whom it is manifested,

the king’s judgment follows. Opposition and rebellion

only serve to establish his authority in the very place where

resistance is attempted. It is useless to strive against the

power of God’s chosen king.<P428>

2Samuel 11-13

665

72634

2Samuel 11-13

David’s great sin and its consequences

e history of David and the wife of Uriah follows.

David is no longer acting by faith in God’s service. When

the time comes at which kings go forth to war, he stays

at home at his ease, and sends others in his place to ght

Jehovah’s battles. At ease and in indolence he falls readily

into sin, as was the case when he sought for rest among the

Philistines. He was no longer standing by faith.

e nearer David was to God, the more ineectual were

his attempts to conceal his sin. Given up to himself for

the time in chastisement, he adds a second transgression to

the rst; he completes it, and enjoys its fruit, now that the

removal of every obstacle gives a semblance of lawfulness

to his course. What a sad history! What unworthiness! He

forgets his position as king, and a king from God. Was

it reigning in righteousness to take advantage of his royal

power to oppress Uriah? He makes himself a slave to the

wretched Joab by rendering him accessory to his crime.

How degrading! How much happier was he, when, though

hunted like a partridge in the mountains, he had a living

faith and a good conscience! But who can shun the eye of

God? Accordingly God, who knows and loves him, fails

not to visit his sin.

is was a very great sin: David committed it in secret;

God punishes it in the sight of all Israel. If David knew

not how to glorify God, nor-while reigning in His name-

to maintain a true testimony as to the nature of God’s

kingdom; if he had, on the contrary, falsied its character,

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God Himself will know how, in the sight of all men, to

retrace its features through the chastisement He will send

upon the man who has thus dishonored Him, and who

had taken away the only witness to His government which

God had set up before men.

e work of the Spirit

is history shows us how far sin can blind the heart,

even while the moral judgment continues sound; it shows

also the power of the faithful word of God. God manifests

at the same time the sovereignty of His grace; for although

He chastened David by the child’s death, it is another son

of Bath-sheba who was the elect of God, who became

king and the head of the royal family, the<P429> man of

peace and blessing, the beloved of Jehovah. David submits

himself under the hand of God; his heart bows under it in

the depth of its aections. He understands it better than

his servants do, although more guilty than they. He acts

becomingly according to spiritual intelligence. ere was

condence in God and intimacy with Him; and therefore

David can lay open the tenderest part of his heart to God,

the part in which God had wounded him; but when the

will of God is manifest, he submits entirely.

We see here the evident work of the Spirit. It is the

same Spirit who wrought in Jesus at Gethsemane, although

both the occasion and the extent of the suering were not

only dierent, but far otherwise important; but the heart

is opened to God completely and the submission complete

when God’s will is known.

God’s chastisement publicly manifested

e sin of David has been extremely great; but we

can plainly see in him the precious work of the Spirit.

Confounded by the simple faithfulness of Uriah, he

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667

cannot escape the hand of God! David is pardoned, for he

confesses his sin; but as to His government, God shows

Himself to be inexible, and while sparing the king- for he

deserved death-He announces to him that the sword shall

never depart out of his house. We have seen a similar case

in Jacob’s unfaithfulness. David’s punishment also answers

to his sins (compare verses 10 and 12 with the history of

Absalom). As to David’s aections, the chastisement was

in the death of his child, a chastisement which he deeply

felt; and the public government of God was manifested

in that which was done, according to His word, before all

Israel and before the sun.

e judgment of the Ammonites

It is possible that the children of Ammon deserved

severe judgment, and that this period was the time of

their judgment; they were the insolent enemies of the

king whom God had set up, and who had given proof

of his kind feeling towards them. But as to his personal

condition, I know not whether David would have treated

his enemies in this manner when he was walking in the

narrow path of faith. As a type, this judgment brings to

mind the righteous judgment of the Messiah, and the

dreadful consequences of having despised and insulted

Him even in His glory.<P430> We learn from it also, that

when a people are ripe for judgment, God will bring it

upon them, even although others may seek to act in grace.

e bitter and sorrowful fruits of sin

When David had shown that he had forgotten God,

and had failed in his entire dependence upon Him, the

evils in his house soon broke out. He had added to the

number of his wives. e root of bitterness buds and brings

forth bitter fruits.

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Although in the main David’s heart was upright before

God and deeply acknowledged Him, yet, when once out

of that path of humble dependence which is produced by

faith and the sense of God’s presence, he embittered the

remainder of his days through following his own will in

the midst of his blessings. ere is sin in his house, wrath

on account of the sin, vacillation through partiality for

Absalom. Joab appears on the scene, as is the case every

time that these matters of intrigue and wickedness recur

in the history. is is all that need be said of the sorrowful

story of Am-non and Absalom.

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2Samuel 14-20

David driven from his home and throne by Absalom

David’s partiality for Absalom had yet other and more

painful results, and heavy chastisements. It is painful to see

the conqueror of Goliath driven from his home and his

throne by his beloved son, and that under God’s hand. For

if God had not allowed it, who could have driven God’s

elect from the royal seat in which Jehovah had placed him?

e sword was in his house; the Word of God, sharper

than a two-edged sword. How just is Jehovah! But whom

He loves He chastens. Accordingly, while all this is a

manifestation of the righteous rule of God, it is to David

an occasion of deep heart exercise, and of a more real and

more intimate knowledge of God; for his heart was truly

and eternally bound to God, so that all his sorrows bore

fruit, although they were occasioned by his faults.<P431>

David’s confessions and humiliation expressed in the

Psalms

In this respect also, although the cause of his grief was so

widely dierent from that of the Lord’s grief, he becomes

the type of Christ in suering, and the vessel of the

expression of His sympathy for His people. is is even so

much more the case, because with a faithful heart, and in a

certain sense with perfect integrity towards God, the king’s

faults and transgressions gave rise to those confessions and

to that humiliation which the Spirit of Christ will produce

in the remnant of Israel; so that on the one hand he speaks

of his integrity, while on the other he confesses his faults.

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Now that is what Christ causes His people to say, and what

He says for them.

Nevertheless we must remember it is not David

himself, as a godly man, who speaks in the Psalms; it is

by the inspiration of the Spirit he utters them; and it is

a very precious thing for us that, in circumstances where

faith might fail and the heart be discouraged, the Word

supplies us with language suitable to faith, and to faith in

one who has perhaps been unfaithful: a precious testimony

that, even in this condition, God does not cast us o, and

that Christ sympathizes with us, since He furnishes us with

expressions and sentiments adapted to such a condition.

e principle of the Psalms

e Psalms supply this, and in special suitability to the

remnant of Israel in the last days. ey are characterized

by integrity of heart and confession of sin. e Spirit of

Christ gives the sentiments, and assures of His sympathy.

Psalm 16 gives us very strikingly this position of Christ.

His goodness extends not to God. It is not His divine place,

“equal with God,” which He is taking. He calls Jehovah

His Lord; but of the saints on earth He says, “In whom is

all my delight.” By His baptism, which was the expression

of this, He connected Himself, not with Israel in their sin,

but with the rst movement of the Spirit responding in the

remnant to the condemnation of the people as such. is is

the principle of the Psalms-the upright and faithful man in

the midst of the perverse nation, the object of the counsels

and purposes of God. e book opens with this distinction

drawn by God; it next presents us with the King in Zion

according to the decree of God, rejected by<P432> the

nation and hated by the heathen who oppress the people.

All this develops itself through a variety of circumstances,

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671

and all the relationships of the remnant are there depicted,

as well as all aections of the heart. All connected with it is

gone over by the hand and the pen of God, and according

to the Spirit and the sympathies of Christ.

David reestablished on his throne in peace

Chapter 20 ends this part of David’s history, and his

history in general. He is reestablished on his throne, and

has overcome the eorts of his enemies and the rebellion

of his own people. e order of his court and ocers is

restored in peace. Sundry details are added by the Spirit

of God.

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2Samuel 21

e Gibeonites and the house of Saul

And, rst of all, the government of God, who forgets

nothing, and with whom everything has its results, is

recalled to David and to his people by means of the

Gibeonites. It is no longer necessary for the establishment

of God’s economy that David should pursue the house of

Saul. ere is a righteous judgment, a moral principle of

God, which is above all economies.

Saul in his formal and eshly zeal, although it was for

God, had not acted in the fear of God. It is this which

especially distinguishes a godly zeal from a zeal for the

outward interests of His kingdom. Saul forgets the oaths

which Israel made to the Gibeonites. God remembers

it, and does not despise the poor Gibeonites. David also

recognizes its obligation; after having inquired of Jehovah

on account of the thrice-repeated chastening upon Israel,

he submits to the demand of the Gibeonites.1e whole

house of Saul perishes, except the little remnant attached

to David. With respect to the latter, the circumstances of

Rizpah’s touching and faithful aection awaken in David’s

heart the re<P433>membrance of brighter moments

in poor Saul’s career, and he pays the last honors to his

memory. After this God was entreated for the land.

(1. However, in yielding to the Gibeonites, David

did not consult Jehovah as to what he should do. We see

the government of God as to Saul’s house, and Saul’s act

towards those he had wronged; but though in its general

character righteous and upright, had he consulted Jehovah,

2Samuel 21

673

some happier way of being righteous might have been

found.)

Valiant foes conquered by strength, or by faith alone

If with a sling and a stone faith can overthrow its

enemies, the esh is at fault before their attacks. David,

when king, as we have clearly seen, gave himself up more to

his lusts and to his own will than David suering.

Nevertheless it is beautiful to see that, where faith has

acted amid the people’s ruin, it has stirred up many other

instruments, who-animated and encouraged by its success-

act fearlessly with the same power as that which wrought

the rst deliverance. It is well, however, to observe that

to conquer valiant foes when all Israel was ushed with

success and strengthened the hands of the mighty men is

a very dierent thing from the faith which reckons upon

God when strength and success are on the enemy’s side and

the people are eeing before him. e latter was David’s

case with Goliath; the former, that of the men who slew

the other giants.

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72637

2Samuel 22-23

David’s two songs

e songs that follow contain instruction of deep interest.

In chapter 22 David comes forth from his suerings and

his aiction with a song of triumph and of praise. He had

learned what God was in his suerings. He celebrates all

that God had been for him, all that he had found Him to

be in his necessities and dangers, the eect of God’s power

on his behalf, and the glorious and blessed result of this

power. All this is given in a song, the expression of which

will only be fully accomplished in Christ Himself.

In chapter 23 he celebrates his prosperity. But what a

dierence! He declares, it is true, what Christ will be when

He reigns; and he does so in language of most attractive

beauty, a beauty which ravishes the mind and transports

it into the reign of Christ, that blessed “world to come of

which we speak.” But then this sorrowful thought presents

itself-“my house is not so with God.”<P434>

e song of triumph and praise for what God had

done: the suerings of Christ

In the rst of these two songs there is something more

of profound interest. David speaks as a prophet; and, as he

had done in so many other instances, he personies the

Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus in connection with Israel. is

song then sets before us the suerings of Christ (as the

representative of Israel, and often speaking of the nation

as though it were Himself), suerings which obtained also

other deliverance of far surpassing excellence, as the cause

of the deliverance out of Egypt and of all Israel’s blessings,

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675

until the establishment of Messiah’s glory in the age to

come. He surrounds the agony of Christ with the whole

history of Israel in salvation and in blessing, from Pithom

and Rameses unto the destruction of the violent man at the

end of days, and the submission of the nations to Messiah’s

scepter; and he gives a voice to their distress in Egypt.

David’s second song looks on to the coming of Christ;

judgment executed before full blessing

In chapter 23 the covenant is “all his salvation and

all his desire,” although at that time “he made it not to

grow.” Judgment must be executed ere the full blessing he

expected could be brought in; and these thorns of iniquity

must be “utterly burned in the same place.” is will take

place at the coming of Christ.

David’s mighty men

If God honors and glories David, He does not forget

those whom the energy of David’s faith had brought around

him. e Holy Spirit enumerates the mighty men of David,

and recounts their deeds of valor and devotedness-deeds

which obtain a name and a place for them when God

writes up the people (Psa. 87). Joab is not among them.

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72638

2Samuel 24

e sin of numbering the people

Chapter 24 leads us into a subject which requires

particular notice. e wrath of God is kindled again against

Israel. It is not in<P435> the mind of the Spirit to inform

us on what occasion this took place, but to lay open God’s

dealings both in government and grace. In the preceding

chapter God “writeth up” the mighty men who pregure

the companions of the true David in glory. Here it is His

grace in staying His anger and bringing in His blessing.

God’s dealings in government and grace

God punishes the pride and rebellion of Israel by leaving

them to the consequences of the impulse of David’s natural

heart. Joab’s habitual cleverness and good sense made him

perceive its folly. e esh, when it is in another, is easily

discerned. Joab felt that it was not worthwhile to despise

God when nothing was to be gained by it; for in this way

the esh fears God. But the thing was of Jehovah, and

Satan gains his point.

When in truth can man’s good sense avail in opposition

to the will of God in chastening, and to Satan’s malice? It is

an awful thing to be given up to his power. Nine months of

sin on David’s part, and of patience on God’s part, show us

the fatal inuence of the enemy; but the sin accomplished

only awakens David’s conscience. e enjoyment of the

fruit of our sin undeceives us. It is the pursuit of it which

allures our hearts. When Satan has succeeded in inducing

the children of God to commit the evil to which he tempts

them, he cares no longer to conceal from them its emptiness

2Samuel 24

677

and folly. Happily, where there is life, conscience resumes

its power in such a case.

David’s choice; his condence in God

Nevertheless chastening must follow sin which has been

carried out in spite of so much long-suering. But God,

who reaches His servant’s conscience, brings into play the

sincere aections of his heart, in order to bring about His

own sovereign purpose. David exhibits that never-failing

token of a heart that knows the Lord- condence in God

above all, and at whatever cost. “Let me fall into the hand of

Jehovah.” Sweet and precious thought of what the Lord is

unto His people! And well He knows how to ll the heart

with the certainty that He deserves its condence. Even

while chastening, God is more loving, more faithful, more

worthy of condence than any other. e plague breaks

out; but in the midst of judgment Jehovah remembers

mercy, and commands the <P436>destroying angel, when

he had reached Jerusalem, to stay his hand. It is Jerusalem,

the city of His aections, that attracts His attention. God

chooses it for the place where His altar shall be built, and

His grace shown forth-His appointed mercy-seat. It is

there that His wrath, justly kindled against Israel, ceases;

and sin gives occasion to the establishment of the place

and of the work in which He and His people shall meet,

according to that grace which has put away the sin. is

characterizes the cross of Christ; this will stay the plague in

Israel, and introduce the reign of the true Prince of Peace.

David stands in the breach to deliver the people; and at his

own cost (vs. 17), and, typically according to the counsels

of God, he oers the sacrice of appeasement.

e altar at Araunah’s threshingoor; the atoning

sacrice

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e thoughts on the First Book of Chronicles will

contain a fuller examination into this latter part of David’s

history. But it is a striking close to this book, after all the

governmental history of David, that it closes with the

atoning sacrice which stops the wrath through grace,

and lays the foundation of the meeting-place of God with

Israel and the place of their worship.<P437>

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72639

1Kings

e trial of kingly power placed in the hands of men

e Books of Kings show us the kingly power established

in all its glory; its fall, and God’s testimony in the midst of

the ruin; with details concerning Judah after the rejection

of Israel, until Lo-ammi had been pronounced upon the

whole nation. In a word, it is the trial of kingly power placed

in the hands of men, not absolute, as in Nebuchadnezzar,

but kingly power having the law for its rule; as there had

been a trial of the people set in relationship with God by

means of priesthood. Out of Christ nothing stands.

e foreshadowing of Christ’s kingdom

Although the kingly power had been placed under the

responsibility of its faithfulness to Jehovah; and although

it had to be smitten and punished whenever it failed in

this, it was yet at this time established by the counsels and

the will of God. It was neither a David, type of Christ

in his patience, who, through diculties, obstacles and

suerings, made himself a way to the throne; nor a king

who, although exalted to the throne and always victorious,

had to be a man of war to the end of his life; a type in this,

I doubt not, of what Christ will be in the midst of the Jews

at His return, when He will commence the coming age

by subjecting the Gentiles to Himself, having been already

delivered from the strivings of the people (Psa. 18:43-44). It

was the king according to the promises and the counsels of

God, the king established in peace, head over God’s people

to rule them in righteousness, son of David according to

the promise, and type of that true Son of David, who shall

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be a priest upon His throne, who shall build the temple of

Jehovah, and between whom and Jehovah there shall be

the counsel of peace (Zech. 6:13).<P438>

Responsibility and election

Let us examine a little the position of this kingly power

according to the Word; for responsibility and election met

in it, as well as the foreshadowing of the kingdom of Christ.

In chapter 7 of the Second Book of Samuel we have seen

the promise of a son whom God would raise up to David,

and who should reign after him, to whom God would be

a father, and who should be His son, who should build

the temple of Jehovah, and the throne of whose kingdom

God would establish forever. is was the promise: a

promise which, as David himself understood, will be fully

accomplished only in the Person of Christ (1 Chron.

17:17). Here is the responsibility: “If he commit iniquity, I

will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes

of the children of men” (2Sam. 7:14); which David well

understood also (1Chron. 28:9).

e book which we are considering shows us that this

responsibility was fully declared to Solomon (ch. 9:4-9).

Psalm 89:28-37 sets the two things also before us very

plainly, namely, the certainty of God’s counsels, His xed

purpose, and the exercise of His government in view of

man’s responsibility.

In the Book of Chronicles we have only what relates to

the promises (1Chron. 17:11-14), for reasons of which we

will speak when we examine that book.

From all these passages, we perceive that the royalty of

David’s family was established according to the counsels

of God and the election of grace; that the perpetuity of

this royalty, dependent on the faithfulness of God, was

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681

consequently infallible; but that at the same time the

family of David, in the person of Solomon, was in fact

placed upon the throne at that time under the condition

of obedience and faithfulness to Jehovah.1 If himself or

his posterity were to fail in faithfulness, God’s judgment

would be executed; a<P439> judgment which nevertheless

would not prevent God’s fullling that which His grace

had assured to David.

(1. is is the universal order of God’s ways: to set

up blessing rst under the responsibility of man, to be

accomplished afterwards according to His counsels by His

power and grace. And it is to be noted that the rst thing

man has always done is to fail. us Adam, thus Noah,

thus under law, thus the priesthood, thus as here the royalty

under law, so Nebuchadnezzar where it was absolute, so,

I add, the church. Already in the apostles’ days all sought

their own, not the things of Jesus Christ. God continues

His own dealings in grace in spite of this, all through,

besides His government according to responsibility in the

public body in this world, but a government full of patience

and grace.)

e scope of the Books of Kings

e Books of Kings contain the history of the

establishment of the kingdom in Israel under this

responsibility, that of its fall, of the long-suering of God,

of God’s testimony amid the ruin which owed from the

unfaithfulness of the rst king, and nally that of the

execution of the judgment, a longer delay of which would

but have falsied God’s own character, and the testimony

that should be given to the holiness of that character. Such

delay would have borne a false testimony with respect to

that which God is.

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We shall see that, after Solomon’s reign, the greater

part of the narrative refers to the testimony given by the

prophets Elijah and Elisha in the midst of Israel, and

in general to that kingdom which had entirely departed

from God. Little is said of Judah before the complete ruin

of Israel. After this the ruin of Judah, brought on by the

iniquity of their kings, is not long delayed, although there

were moments of restoration.

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1Kings 1-2

e proclamation of Solomon as king

Before David’s death the iniquity and ambition of a son

whom he “had not displeased at any time” led to the solemn

proclamation of Solomon, to whom God had destined,

and David promised, the throne. In this circumstance Joab,

long restrained by prudence in David’s lifetime, shows

himself as he is. He makes himself necessary to Adonijah,

as he had been to David. Abiathar, long under the sentence

of God, takes the same course. Solomon, the elect of God,

who held his rights from God, did not suit them. But after

all, man’s prudence fails before the judgment of God. God

arranges events in such a manner as, sooner or later, to

exhibit the most prudent in their true light. Apparently

all goes on well. e elder and beloved son of the king, the

captain of the host whom David himself could not resist,

and the priest who had always accompanied David, are

there, as well as all the king’s sons, excepting the elect of

God; but the thought of God, or His will, had no place

there. e companions of David,<P440> who had truly

served with him for the glory of God, were not there either.

e prophet of God, the witness to His will, is employed

in the fulllment of that will, and Solomon is proclaimed

king, and inaugurated before the eyes of David himself.

Righteous judgment executed by the king reigning in

glory

David’s faith, if it had not energy enough to give each

one his place in judgment, had at least full intelligence

of what was proper. He communicates his judgment to

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Solomon, who is to execute it according to his word.1

Solomon at rst shows clemency to Adonijah; but the still-

restless will of the latter, who desired the deceased king’s

wife, awakens the righteous judgment destined for those

who had failed in integrity, and who had risen up against

God’s anointed. It is the rst character attached to the king

reigning in glory. He executes righteous judgment in the

earth. ere is no escaping the vigilance of this judgment.

is is seen in the case of Shimei.

We nd at the same time the fulllment of the word

given to Samuel, namely, the humiliation of the priest.

Solomon, Jehovah’s anointed, sends Abiathar away, and

puts Zadok in his place.

(1. It is to David also, and not to Solomon, that God

communicated the plan of the temple. Solomon, in

glory, performs these things, and possesses the requisite

discernment for executing justice and judgment; but

it is in David that intelligence displays itself. In fact, if

Christ, reigning in glory, exercises just judgment, He

is already wisdom; and, indeed, it is in His connection

with the assembly in the present time of grace, that the

communication of the purposes of God, and the intelligence

of His ways, are found. )

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1Kings 3

Pharaoh’s daughter as Solomon’s bride

But there is another element in the history of the king

of glory, in which he oversteps the limits of the king of

Israel’s legitimate position; he allies himself with the

Gentiles, and marries Pharaoh’s daughter. Neither the

house of Solomon, nor that of Jehovah, was yet built; but

the daughter of Pharaoh, whom the king espouses in grace,

dwells in the place where the suering and victorious king

had provisionally placed the ark of the covenant, which

secures blessing to the people, and which, when placed

in<P441> the temple, will form the source of blessing for

Israel. is ark was not a covenant made with Pharaoh’s

daughter; but she dwelt where the symbol of the covenant

was hidden, and she was placed under the safeguard,

and sheltered by the power, of Him who had made this

covenant, and who could not break it, whatever might be

the unfaithfulness of a people who ought always to have

enjoyed its benets.

I doubt not that hereafter a remnant of the Jews will nd

themselves through sovereign grace in the same position1

(before the glory of the kingdom, and of the house of God,

is established) under shelter of the covenant attached to

the city of David, the seat of royal grace, but the provisional

seat in anticipation of the full and entire result of the king’s

power. But we conne ourselves here to recognizing the

principle of the bringing in of the Gentiles, manifested in

the reception of Pharaoh’s daughter as Solomon’s bride.

(1. Consider here Revelation 14:1, and Hebrews 12:22.)

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e position of those who enjoy royal grace

It is well to remark, that the passage we are considering

does not introduce the light and intelligence of the heavenly

places, but only, in connection with the kingdom, the

principle through which the position of those who enjoy

that grace is established. And therefore, while admitting

the Gentiles, the principle applies to this Jewish remnant

of the latter days, who are intelligent and faithful according

to their intelligence, a remnant which will be admitted

according to the same principles of grace.

e people in general do not enter into this thought.

e kingdom itself even, and the blessing of the kingdom,

are not established on that footing. All doubtless will be

founded on the new covenant, and that by the presence

of the Mediator of this covenant. Still, even then, the

connection of the people with God, as an earthly people,

will not be established on the ecacy of a faith which enters

into the enjoyment of the grace of the covenant while the

mediator of it is hidden, and which anticipates the public

establishment of it as made with Judah and Israel, but on

the positive enjoyment of its results, when the king shall

have settled everything by his power. e brazen altar was

not in the sanctuary but in the court, marking indeed a

rejected one lifted up from<P442> the earth (and on this

the future blessings of Israel depend), but not gone into

heaven and hidden, save to faith, there. It is by that the

people will approach God. It is the earth which is the

scene of the development of their religious aections

and the knowledge of God manifested on the earth. e

ecacy of the cross, as the means of approaching God on

the earth, will be known to them. Without it they could

not approach Him. ey will mourn when they shall see

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687

Him whom they have pierced, but see Him as manifested

down here to those below. Blessing, pardon, new life, will

be brought them down here. ey will not enter into the

power of these things as hidden within the veil. Being

established on the earth, it would not even be suitable for

them to do so.

Solomon at Gibeon; the altar and the ark

To return to our history: if the ark is on Mount Zion,

there are two ways of approaching God-before the ark,

and at the altar which, in fact, is confounded with the high

places. Until the temple is built, the people are on the high

places, earthly and carnal even when approaching the true

God.1 God bears with it. Solomon himself goes thither,

and God hears him there. e temple is not built. If it had

been, it ought to have been the only center of service and

worship. at God bears with a thing, until power shall

act, is quite another thing from sanctioning it after power

has acted. We must remember that, if Solomon went to

Gibeon, it is because the tabernacle and the brazen altar

were there; and it was there that, according to the law, the

priests performed their functions (1Chron. 16:36-40). e

ark of the covenant was not there. David had placed it in

a tent in the city of David. ese latter points are more

developed in the Chronicles (and I refer the reader to that

which will be said in the examination of that book); but

the passage we are considering would hardly have been

understood without some anticipation of what is found

there.<P443>

(1. e position of Solomon is morally worthy of

attention. He loves Jehovah; he walks in the statutes of

David; but he does not cleave to the ark which David had

placed in Zion; he oers sacrices in the high places. How

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often Christians, who do not walk outwardly in sin, do

not seek in Christ the secret of His will according to the

revelation He has made of Himself while hidden! For us

the temple is not built. We may draw nigh to the ark-Christ

rejected and gone up on high; or to the brazen altar and the

high places, for this altar is confounded with them.)

e personal faith of David and Solomon compared

As to the responsibility of the moment, the state of

the people in this respect appears to me to be set before

us as a sorrowful state; and Solomon himself is but on a

level with the existing state of things-a state borne with

indeed by God in grace, but not after His heart. e king

thought neither of the ark nor of the hidden blessing of the

covenant, as that from which all his thoughts and actions

should spring,1 and as the only means of his connection

with Jehovah. He loved Jehovah. It was given him to

accomplish all that was requisite for the manifestation of

His glory; but his heart rose not to the height of that faith

which reckoned upon the secret of God’s love, when the

glory was not manifested, and which discerned it through

all the existing things, even while God still bore with them.

It was this which formed the strength of David personally.

e ark of the covenant in the city of David was the symbol

of this and for the time its expression.

(1. He drew nigh to it, under the inuence of granted

blessings, to render thanks to God (vs. 15). )

Solomon walked, no doubt, in the statutes of David,

and he loved Jehovah; but he approached Him without

rising above the level of the people. Only our chapter says

that he sacriced and burned incense in high places. is

continued until Hezekiah. e luster of a great blessing

often keeps out of sight something which God bears with,

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as we have said, but which produces disastrous eects when

the energy which gave rise to the blessing has disappeared.

Better to be little and despised at the ark than to possess

the glory of the kingdom and to worship on high places.

A motive above the path necessary to walk in it

Moreover, although loving Jehovah, if we are not by faith

in the secret of the covenant at the ark, we shall always let in

something which is not according to integrity even in our

own path. Before we are in the glory, we are never on a level

with the position we hold, while we have only this position

to sustain us. We must look above our path to be able to

walk in it. A Jew, who had the secret of Jehovah and who

waited for the Messiah, was pious and faithful according

to the law. A Jew, who had only the law, assuredly did not

keep it. A Christian, who has heaven before him and a

Saviour in glory as the object of his aections,<P444> will

walk well upon the earth; he who has only the earthly path

for his rule will fail in the intelligence and motives needed

to walk in it; he will become a prey to worldliness, and his

Christian walk in the world will be more or less on a level

with the world in which he walks. e eyes upward on Jesus

will keep the heart and the steps in a path conformable to

Jesus, and which consequently will glorify Him and make

Him known in the world. Seeing what we are, we must

have a motive above our path to be able to walk in it. is

does not prevent our needing also for our path the fear of

the Lord to pass the time of our sojourning here in fear,

knowing that we are redeemed by the precious blood of

Christ.

Solomon’s request and God’s gracious answer

Solomon goes to Gibeon to oer burnt oerings. Jehovah

appears to him there in a dream. Solomon is conscious that

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he needs the help of Jehovah to fulll the duties before

him; and, through the grace of God, he manifests a state

of heart with respect to this, which is pleasing to Jehovah.

e sense of the diculty of performing the duties of his

position, towards a people who belong to Jehovah, makes

him feel his own littleness; and the desire of not failing

in the task entrusted to him of God is uppermost in his

heart, and leads him to ask for the wisdom requisite to

accomplish it. e genuineness of this sentiment is so much

the more evident, from its being in a dream that he replies

to God. God adds glory and riches to the fulllment of this

prayer. e sense of God’s goodness and the joy of his heart

bring him before the ark of His covenant who had thus

revealed Himself to him beyond his expectation. God’s

answer places the king immediately under the condition of

obedience. e wisdom he had asked for is manifested in

the judgment he gives, and the people acknowledge that it

comes from God.

Strict justice in vengeance had cut o the wicked at the

beginning; now it is the justice which maintains order and

blessing among the people of Jehovah. us will it be also

with Jesus.<P445>

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Solomon’s glory

Chapter 4 contains an enumeration of the ocers who

served Solomon, and upheld the glory of his throne; and

then, the manner in which the whole country provided for

the maintenance of his household, Judah and Israel being

multiplied and full of joy. e king’s authority extends as

far as the Euphrates. Peace reigns all around. e wisdom

and understanding which God had given him surpassed all

that was known in the world; so that from the ends of the

earth they came to hear the wisdom of his lips.

His proverbs, his songs and his knowledge bore

testimony to the excellent spirit with which God had

endowed the king. His throne is established, and the glory

of the son of David abounds. e Gentiles now-the king of

Tyre, emblematic of the world and its desirable things-are

at Solomon’s disposal, and apply themselves joyfully to the

fulllment of the king of Israel’s projects, and to his service

in building the house of Jehovah.

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1Kings 6

e two aspects of God’s house

e house may be looked at in two ways-as a type

of the Father’s house, and as, in fact, the habitation of

God on the earth when Jesus reigns. In the latter aspect

I only look for the grand thoughts and character of the

government revealed in it. In the former, as a typical house,

two circumstances give it its character. It is, rst of all,

God’s house, His dwelling; and then there are chambers

all around it.1 God surrounded Himself with dwellings, in

the very place where He had xed His habitation.

(1. It is to this, I doubt not, that the Lord alludes, when

He says, “In my Father’s house are many dwellings”-at any

rate, to the fact that other priests beside the high priest

dwell there.)

As the dwelling-place of God at that time in the midst

of His people, the presence of God in the temple depended

on the faithfulness of Solomon.<P446>

What characterized the house

at which characterized the house in general is that

nothing except gold was to be seen in it. All was bright

with the glory of divine righteousness that distinguished

the throne of God which was placed there. But it is not

transparent as glass. Beauty and holiness are not what

characterize the earthly throne, but righteousness and

judgment. Nor are there seraphim.

In the Revelation we have the seraphic character added

to the cherubim, and the gold is transparent as glass.

Emblems, as we have seen, of judicial power, the cherubim

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had a new position (those belonging to the ark remained

the same); the wing of one of these new cherubim touched

the wall of the house on one side, and on the other the

wing of the other cherub. eir wings extended from one

side of the house to the other. ey looked not towards the

ark, but outwards.1 At this time, righteousness reigning

and<P447> being established, these symbols of God’s

power can look outwards in blessing, instead of having

their eyes xed on the covenant alone. During the time that

there was nothing but the covenant, they gazed upon it;

but when God has established His throne in righteousness,

He can turn towards the world to bless it according to that

righteousness.

(1. e word in Hebrew is “towards the house,” which

is used as a preposition for inwards; but here, being at the

bottom of the most holy place, “towards the house” was

outwards.

I anticipate the Chronicles here a little. is circumstance

of their looking outwards, which is not brought in here by

the Holy Spirit, refers to the aspect of this history given in

the Chronicles, that is, to the glorious reign of the Son of

David. Here, the typical character of the heavenly house

and glory being the object, the veil is not seen, nor the

circumstance as to the cherubim which gave its character

to the governmental blessing of the earth. Both are in

Chronicles. Here, while the veil is not mentioned, in its

place are folding doors. I make this allusion to that which

is written in the Chronicles, in order to give a general idea

of the whole, and to link the two accounts together.

I will give here something more denite, as to the

contents of chapters 6 and 7 of the book that occupies us.

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ere are three parts in this description: the temple itself;

the dierent houses of cedar; and, lastly, the brazen vessels.

(1) e temple. e idea which it presents has been

already pointed out. It is the dwelling-place, the house of

God: there are chambers all around; but it is the house of

God. Within, all is gold. Nothing is said about the veil.

Dwelling, not drawing near, is the idea. But there are

folding doors which open.

(2) After this comes the royal connection of Solomon

and Pharaoh’s daughter with the world without, but with

a view to the glory and elevation of this position. It is not

the dwelling-place of God, but the royal position of the

king, the judge, and of his bride. It is Christ in His glorious

administration. All is solidity, magnicence and grandeur,

within and without.

(3) en comes the manifestation, according to the

power of the Spirit of God, and in a glorious manner,

of all that belonged to His reign here below. All was of

brass, the pillars and the sea. Nothing is said of the altar,

because drawing near to God is not the question; but

the manifestation of God in Christ who reigns in sight

of the world-divine righteousness in respect of man’s

responsibility, not of approach to God Himself.

us we behold the dwelling-place of God where all

is gold, the glory of divine righteousness; the house as

the dwelling of the king, and the porch of judgment: the

house of his bride. It is the sovereign glory of Christ in

manifestation according to the dispensation of glory; and

then the development, in this world, by the power of the

Spirit, of what Christ is, of what God Himself is. ere is no

mention of silver-the type of the immutable steadfastness

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of God’s purposes and ways in the wilderness. It is gold;

the house of cedar; brass.

In the description given by the Book of Chronicles

there are an altar and a veil, because there the positive

administration of the things and circumstances of the true

Solomon’s reign is much more the question; the state of

things which will, in fact, exist upon earth, rather than

the abstract idea, and the type of that which is manifested

of God Himself, as well as of the king’s glory; and this,

whether in the dwelling-place of God, or on the earth, as

the sphere where He will unfold that which He is according

to the Spirit. )

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1Kings 7

e outer and inner glories of Solomon’s buildings

manifesting the king’s glory, riches and power

It is rather, to my mind, the house of Solomon that

pregures the church, as such, in connection with Christ;

the temple, the Father’s house on high, where we are

brought to dwell. “We are his house”; as the house of the

forest of Lebanon pregures His glory among the Gentiles.

e porch of judgment characterizes this glorious reign.

e glory was not all on the outside. e inner court was

equally beautiful. e glory was not hidden either. e

outer court, as well as the inner, exhibited His royal glory

who built the whole.

It was the same thing also towards the great outer court.

us even the great court, as well as the inner court of the

house of Jehovah, was built with costly stones and with

cedar. e house itself had its peculiar glory. Everything

manifested the glory, the riches and the power of the great

king. With respect to this outward glory, Pharaoh’s daughter

had a house similar to the king’s. is outward glory of the

walls, of the courts of Jehovah, of the king’s house and of

all the others exhibits the connection between these things

in Christ in the day of His manifested glory.<P448>

e larger scale of the vessels in the temple

e vessels of Jehovah’s house were made on a much

larger scale than those of the tabernacle; but they were the

same, although greater in number. e only new things

were the pillars, Jachin and Boaz; that is to say, “He will

establish,” and, “In Him is strength” (names which make

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the meaning of these pillars evident). I doubt not that the

passage in Revelation 3:12 alludes to these pillars.

We nd here also the union of Jews and Gentiles

recognized; and the latter employed in the work for the

temple of Jehovah.

e unalterable symbol-the ark

e ark is not altered. It was put in the temple, which

was but a house for its reception, as the seat of His presence

who dwelt between the cherubim. As to the token of God’s

presence, and of the establishment of His throne on the

earth, the ark had entered into its rest, as well as Jehovah

whose seat it was (compare Psalm 132:8).

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1Kings 8

e removal of the staves, the absence of Aaron’s rod

and the manna-the ark at rest

e circumstances which revealed the character of this

rest were remarkable. e staves, with which the priests had

borne the ark, were now the memorial of their journeys

with God, who, in His faithfulness, had led and preserved

them, and brought them into the rest which He had

prepared for them. But that which, in the passage through

the wilderness, had been the token of their means of grace,

was no longer in it: nothing but the law remained there.

Aaron’s rod and the pot of manna would not have been in

harmony with the glorious reign and the rest of Canaan.

e law was there; it was the basis of the administration of

the kingdom, and the rule of that righteousness which was

to be exercised in it.

e ark at rest, Jehovah’s presence hallows the house

e ark of the covenant once set in its place of rest,

Jehovah comes and seals it with His presence, and lls the

house with His<P449> glory. As the rod, the emblem of

the priestly grace which had led the people, and the manna,

which had fed them in the wilderness, were no longer

there, so did the priesthood no longer exercise its ministry

on account of the presence of the glory.

Solomon as king-priest

For the moment Solomon fully assumes the character

of priest. It is he who stands before Jehovah, as well as

between Jehovah and the people-a remarkable type, as to

his position, of what Christ as King will be for Israel in the

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day of His glory. He has built a house for Jehovah to dwell

in-a xed habitation-that He may dwell in it forever.

Remark here also that all refers to the deliverance out of

Egypt, to Horeb, to the law, and not to Abraham, to Isaac

and to Jacob. It was doubtless, up to a certain point (and

fully so, typically), the fulllment of the promises made to

them; but Solomon does not refer to them as to his present

position. is is seen in verse 56.

Solomon’s blessing and prayer

In examining the blessing pronounced by the king

(which, like almost all that is termed blessing, consisted of

thanksgiving), and his prayer, we shall again nd the same

principles that we pointed out at rst-the fulllment of the

promises made to David as present blessing (vss. 20-24);

but the enjoyment of this blessing granted under condition

of obedience (vss. 23-25). e prayer sets the people under

the terms of a righteous government, abounding indeed in

kindness and forgiveness, yet one which will not hold the

guilty to be innocent; and it presents God as the people’s

resource, when the consequences of their sin fall upon

them according to the principles laid down by Moses in

Deuteronomy and elsewhere. Moreover, while confessing

that the heaven of heavens could not contain Jehovah,

the king entreats Him to grant every prayer that should

be addressed to Him in this house-a petition which was

granted (ch. 9:3), so that the house was established as the

throne of the God of heaven upon earth-the place in which

He revealed Himself, and in which He had put His name.

is fact has a very wide bearing. It was the establishment

of Jehovah’s government upon the earth in the midst of

His people<P450>-a government entrusted to a man, the

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son of David; so that it is said that Solomon sat upon the

throne of Jehovah.

is enables us to understand the importance of the

events which took place under Nebuchadnezzar, by whom

this throne was cast down, according to the judgment

pronounced by God Himself. e house was not elect;

but, built under God’s own direction, it was hallowed by

Himself, that His name might dwell there forever. e close

of chapter 8 gives a very lively gure of Israel’s millennial

blessing.

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1Kings 9

God’s answer; the enjoyment of blessing conditional

on faithfulness

e answer which God gives establishes the house as

the place in which He has set His name forever. His eyes

and His heart shall be there perpetually; but, at the same

time, for the enjoyment of the granted blessing, the dynasty

of Solomon, the people of Israel and even the house itself

are subjected to the condition of faithfulness to Jehovah on

the part of Solomon and his children. If he, or his posterity,

should turn away to serve other gods, Israel should be

cut o; and the house should become a testimony of the

judgment of God to everyone that passed by. We see here

to what an extent the fate of Israel hung upon their king.

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1Kings 10

e queen of Sheba

e king of Tyre also was dependent on the king of

Israel; and the queen of Sheba comes from the far south to

delight herself in the wisdom of the head of God’s people,

and to be lled with wonder at the sight of his glory, and

to praise Jehovah who had raised him so high, and who

had blessed the people in giving him to be their king. She

also came with gifts; for the king’s renown had spread into

distant lands. Nevertheless, although it was a true report

that she had heard, the sight of his glory went far beyond

all that had been said of it.<P451>

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1Kings 11-12

Solomon’s failure: the secret of it and its results

Till now we have had the beautiful picture of God’s

blessing resting upon the son of David, whose only desire

it had been to possess wisdom from God, that he might

know how to govern His people. Jehovah had, in addition,

given him riches, magnicence and glory. e reverse of

this picture, painful to the heart, serves nevertheless to

instruct us in the righteous dealings of God.

In the event, foreseen by God, of Israel’s having a king,

he was forbidden to multiply his wives or his riches, and to

go down into Egypt to multiply horses (Deut. 17:16-17).

Now with whatever blessings we may be surrounded, we

can never forsake the law of God with impunity, nor the

walk appointed in the Word for His children. God had

bestowed the abundance of riches and honor on Solomon,

who had only asked for wisdom; but the study of the law,

which was prescribed to the king (Deut. 17:19-20), should

have prevented his using the means he did in acquiring

his riches. ese chapters teach us that he did precisely

that which the law forbade his doing. He multiplied silver

and gold, he multiplied the number of his wives, and had a

great number of horses brought from Egypt.

God’s promise was fullled. Solomon was rich and

glorious above all the kings of his day; but the means he

used to enrich himself showed a heart at a distance from

God, and led to his ruin according to the just judgment

and sure Word of God.

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How perfect His ways, how sure His testimony! Holiness

becomes His house. His judgments are unchangeable.

Solomon enjoys the sure promises of God. He sins in

the means by which he seeks to satisfy his own lusts; and

although the result was the accomplishment of the promise,

yet he bears the consequences of so doing. Outwardly only

the fulllment of the promise was seen; in fact, there was

something else. Without sending for horses from Egypt,

and gold from Ophir, Solomon would have been rich

and glorious, for God had promised it. By doing this he

enriched himself, but he departs from God and from His

Word. Having given himself up to his desires after riches

and glory, he had multiplied the number of his wives, and

in his old age they turned away his heart. is neglect of the

Word, which at rst <P452>appeared to have no bad eect

(for he grew rich, as though it had been but the fulllment

of God’s promise), soon led to a departure more serious

in its nature and in its consequences, to inuence more

powerful and more immediately opposed to the commands

of God’s Word, and at last to agrant disobedience of its

most positive and essential requirements. e slippery path

of sin is always trodden with accelerated steps, because

the rst sin tends to weaken in the soul the authority and

power of that which alone can prevent our committing

still greater sins-that is, the Word of God, as well as the

consciousness of His presence, which imparts to the Word

all its practical power over us.

God brings chastening and trouble upon Solomon

during his life, and takes from his family the rule over the

greater part of the tribes, declaring that He will aict the

posterity of David, but not forever.

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Rehoboam’s folly; Jeroboam’s revolt; the two

kingdoms

According to the king’s lamentation (Eccl. 2:19), he to

whom Solomon left all the fruit of his labor was not wise.

His folly brought the consequences upon him which, in

God’s counsels, were attached to his father’s sin. Under the

guidance of Jeroboam ten tribes shook o the authority

of the house of David. Looked at with an eye to its

responsibility, the house of David has entirely and forever

lost its glory.

We have to follow the history of the two kingdoms,

and yet more particularly that of the kingdom of the ten

tribes, which retained the name of Israel, although God

still caused the lamp of David to shine at Jerusalem.

e sin of Jeroboam

Now, the moral fall of the new king-of Jeroboam-

was not long delayed. Judging by human wisdom and

forgetting the fear of Jehovah, he made two golden calves,

in order that the powerful links of a worship in common

might be broken, and no longer attach his subjects to

Judah and Jerusalem. A new priesthood had to be set up;

everything, with respect to worship, was devised of his own

heart. Israel’s sin was an established rule, and the phrase,

“Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin,”

became the sad designation of their rst king.<P453>

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1Kings 13

A prophet sent in testimony and judgment from Judah

But the testimony and the judgment of God tarried

not according to the mercy of God towards His people.

Prophecy immediately reappears; for the faithful love of

God to His people never grows weary. His mercy endures

forever. e testimony of His Word-prophecy-that is to

say, the intervention of God in testimony, when the people

go astray and the ordinary connections between God and

His people are broken, does not fail. Rehoboam himself

is forbidden, by prophecy, to carry out his intention of

ghting against Israel, to bring them again under his

dominion; but, in the case of Jeroboam, Jehovah vindicates

the rights of His glory against the king himself and against

his altar. e altar is rent, the ashes poured out, the king’s

arm-put forth against the prophet-is dried up, and only

restored through the prophet’s intercession.

Here too Jehovah makes known that He has not

forgotten the house of David in the midst of all this evil.

From his house shall proceed the repairer of the breach,

and the judge of that iniquity which caused the breach; for

Judah is still recognized as the place of His throne.

God’s just judgment on disobedience shown in the

prophet himself

e prophet, charged with such a testimony as this, is

forbidden even to drink water among a people who call

themselves Israel, but who are rebellious and deled. No

participation in such guilty confusion is allowed; and the

prophet himself suers the consequences of God’s just

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judgment upon his disobedience. Such was the severity of

God with respect to an action that countenanced a state of

unfaithfulness, which the light He had given was sucient

to judge.

e details of this case deserve some notice.

By the word of God the prophet had knowledge of

the judgment of God. His heart should have recognized,

morally as well as prophetically, the dreadful evil of Israel’s

position; and the moral sense of this evil should have given

the prophetic testimony its full power over his own heart.

At any rate the word of God was <P454>imperative: he

was neither to eat nor to drink there. He knew it, and

he remembered it; but there was in appearance another

testimony, a motive for neglecting the Lord’s command.

e old prophet (and he was a prophet) told him that

Jehovah had said unto him, “Bring him back into thine

house that he may eat bread”; so the prophet from

Judah went back with him. It was very desirable for the

unfaithful, old prophet that a man whom God was using for

testimony (and whose testimony he himself also believed)

should sanction his unfaithfulness by association with it.

Outwardly he appeared to honor the testimony of God,

and the man who bore it. In fact, the prophet from Judah,

by returning with the old prophet, destroyed the power of

his own testimony. e old prophet-although truly such-

bore with the evil around him. e testimony of God, on

the contrary, declared that the evil was not to be borne

with. It was with this testimony that the other prophet was

charged; and the refusal to eat or drink in the place was

the moral and personal testimony of his own faithfulness,

of his conviction and of his obedience. is refusal was the

testimony that, in this matter, he took God’s part. But, by

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returning with the old prophet, he nullied his testimony,

and countenanced the old prophet in his unfaithfulness.

God did not reverse His word, if the prophet was disobedient

to it. e old prophet was punished, in that God made use

of his mouth to announce the consequences of his fault to

the prophet from Judah. It is also a lesson which teaches

us, that, whenever God has made His will known to us, we

are not to allow any after-inuence whatever to call it in

question, even although the latter may take the form of the

word of God. If we were morally nearer to the Lord, we

should feel that the only true and right position is to follow

that which He told us at rst.

Obedience to God’s Word

In every case our part is to obey what He has said.

His Word will put us in a true position-in position apart

from evil, and from the power of evil, even when we have

not spiritual intelligence to appreciate it. If we fail in this

obedience, we lose our sense of the falseness of our position,

because the moral sentiment is weakened. At best there is

uneasiness, but no liberty. Where the Spirit of the Lord is,

there is liberty. Unfaithfulness to the simple and<P455>

primary testimony of God’s Word never sets us at liberty,

whatever may be the reasons which apparently justify our

putting it aside.

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1Kings 14 -16

Jeroboam’s neglect of God’s warning; its results on

himself and his house

In spite of this testimony, Jeroboam perseveres in his

sin. e only one of his sons in whom any piety is seen dies;

and the judgment of God is pronounced upon his house.

Judah’s condition after Solomon’s death;

constant war between the two kingdoms

Judah having walked in all sorts of iniquity also, during

the reign of Rehoboam, Jerusalem is taken, and all the

riches which Solomon had amassed became the prey of the

Egyptians. Abijam, his son, follows no better course. ere

was constant war between the two kingdoms-the sad story,

so often renewed, of man placed in the enjoyment of God’s

blessing, and the eect of his fall. In what a condition do

we see the kingdom of God’s people, and the house of

David itself, recently so glorious!

Transgression against Jehovah and hastening doom

Asa, pious himself and faithful to Jehovah, pressed by

the power of Baasha, king of Israel, who had dethroned

the house of Jeroboam, seeks that help from the Syrians

which he did not know how to nd in God. e family of

Baasha falls, as that of Jeroboam had done, and the chief

captains contend together for the throne, which remains

at last in the hands of Ahab’s father. Ahab added to the

sin of his predecessors the worship of Baal, the god of his

idolatrous wife; and, in the enormity of his transgressions

against Jehovah, he went beyond all the kings of Israel that

were before him.

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But in the midst of all this moral ruin, the Word of

God reaches those who violate it; and Joshua’s prophetic

judgment upon whosoever should rebuild Jericho is fullled

in the family of Hiel, the Bethelite. Not only are the ways

and government of God manifested in full vigor, however

great His patience with a rebellious<P456> people, but

the energy of the king’s iniquity, in the presence of God’s

long-suering, gives occasion for a testimony remarkable

in proportion to the evil which made it necessary.

e reign of Ahab was the occasion of the testimony of

the prophet Elijah. Israel, at that time, was hastening to its

doom. But, whatever their iniquity may be, God does not

smite a people who have forsaken His ways, until He has

sent them a testimony. He may chastise them previously,

but will not denitively execute His judgment upon them.

e testimony of the prophets in Judah unaccompanied

by miracles

e character of the testimony deserves particular

attention here.

In Judah the prophets, who bore testimony in the midst

of an order of things which God Himself had established,

performed no miracles. ey dwell upon the people’s sin,

and put them in mind of the law of Jehovah, His ordinances

and the obedience due to Him. ey proclaim the advent

of the Messiah, and the future blessing of Israel; but, the

system in the midst of which they give this testimony being

still owned of God, they perform no miracles.

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711

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1Kings 17-18

e striking miracles of Elijah and Elisha

Elijah and Elisha, on the contrary (witnesses for God

in the midst of a people that according to grace God still

recognized as His own, but who had openly forsaken God

and worshipped golden calves), perform striking miracles

in proof of their divine mission.

ey maintain the power and the rights of Jehovah in the

midst of a people who disavow His title; while the prophets

of Judah, standing amid those who publicly profess to own

Jehovah’s authority, insist upon the consequences of this

position. God sent indeed to Israel by the mouth of His

prophets-such as Hosea and Amos-threatenings similar

to those addressed to Judah; but it does not appear that

miracles were wrought in Judah by the prophets who bore

witness there.<P457>

e miracles of Moses and Elijah

Elisha’s miracles, of which we will speak further on, have

a dierent character from those of Elijah. e latter have

a character which none but the miracles of Moses share

with them. ey are judicial miracles with respect to the

people among whom the prophet dwelt. Accordingly God

preserved His servant in a miraculous manner. I only speak

now of what Elijah did in testimony in the very midst of

the people.

Elijah’s miracles are few in number, and of striking

character. He shuts up the heavens1 over a rebellious and

apostate people, so that there should be no rain. He brings

down re from heaven upon the captains sent by the king

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to take him prisoner. At length he proves that Jehovah

is God, and (in spite of all that had happened) the God

of all the tribes of Israel, according to immutable rights

which depend upon His counsels, and upon what He is

in Himself. When the people confess this, by executing

judgment themselves upon the priests of Baal, Jehovah

grants His blessing anew, and the heavens give rain.2e

import of these signs is evident.

(1. Let us remark here that this book gives us, as a

solemn and positive declaration of the prophet’s, that which

we know from James’ testimony to have been an answer

to the prayer of a man like ourselves. is is the history

of all true spiritual energy. It appears to man as a simple

action, accompanied with more or less demonstration on

God’s part, and as a proof of the authority and spiritual

power of the man who performs it; and so it is. But at the

same time, in fact, all these things ow from the energy of

divine life, and from communion with God; they are its

expression and its fruit, but in power exercised on God’s

part. Compare Christ’s words at the tomb of Lazarus.

It is protable to examine such cases when presented to

us in the Word.

ere are others also which have two aspects.

Historically the mission of the spies was according to the

will of God; it was nevertheless, as to its origin, the fruit of

the people’s unbelief, an unbelief which soon manifested

its eects. Paul’s journey to Jerusalem, related in Acts 15, is

apparently the same which he mentions in Galatians 2, but

we nd in the latter elements and motives which are not

spoken of at all in the Acts.)

(2. Elijah had said, “But at my word,” yet the rain is

given when God is gloried; for Elijah was, as a witness, the

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713

witness of the government of Jehovah, of Jehovah the God

of Israel, despised by Israel. Hence the truth and reality of

Jehovah’s authority and the principles of His government

were both displayed.)

Moses was in a dierent position. e people of God

were in captivity, not in rebellion, and the judgment falls

on their oppressors.

It is neither the heaven become brass closed over the

people, nor heaven the source of judgment which falls

from thence. e earth, given to the children of men, and

possessed by those who will not<P458> acknowledge

that Jehovah is its God, or that He has any rights over its

inhabitants, is smitten with all kinds of plagues. e earth,

the water, the fruits of the earth, the cattle, the air, and,

nally, man himself in his rstborn, all is smitten by the rod

of God, according to the powerful word of God’s witness.

e Egyptians, enjoying the providential bounties of the

gracious Creator, have not judgment inicted upon them

until they have refused to let go the people of God and to

recognize His rights, who claims them for His own. After

having refused to hear, they are rst of all smitten in the

enjoyment of the earthly blessings which they hold from

Him, and afterwards the people themselves are smitten in

the persons of their rstborn.

e two kinds of signs of the two Apocalyptic

witnesses

We may remark here that the power of the two witnesses

in the Apocalypse manifests itself in these two kinds of

signs. ey shut heaven that it rain not, they bring down

re from heaven: and if any man will hurt them, he must

in this manner be killed. at is Elijah. ey smite the

earth with all plagues as often as they will. at is Moses.

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eir testimony also will, no doubt, be given in the midst

of a people who bear the double character of a rebellious

people, and of a people in captivity, oppressed by the world

who will not hear the God of the earth whose rights their

testimony proclaims.

God’s sovereign rights and power exercised in grace

If, in the case of Elijah, God shut heaven over His

rebellious people, He takes care of the remnant according

to grace, overstepping even in this grace the limits of the

covenant of law. ere were many widows in Israel in the

days of Elijah the prophet, but unto none of them was

he sent, save unto a widow of Sarepta in Sidon, a widow

who hearkened to the voice of God’s testimony, and by

faith acted on that testimony in a case that required self-

denial; and her life is preserved. e grace-a hard thing to

the hearts of Jews-whichis a revelation of His heart, whom

they knew not, reveals itself in power equal to the need;

and the dead is restored to life. e poor widow receives

her son by a power which is that of resurrection, and her

faith is fully established in the word of<P459> God.1

(1. is reference to the sovereign rights and exercise

of power of God in grace, out of the limits of Israel, is

frequent and full of interest; and here, as followed by the

renewed blessing of Israel, looked at as composed of the

whole twelve tribes, is very striking. It will be remembered

that Jesus refers to it in the Gospel of Luke, which is the

witness of this great principle, and causes thereby the

anger of the Jews. Pride sinks the lowest and worst when it

clothes itself with a religious form.)

God’s power shown; Baal’s priests slain

Afterwards God blesses Israel again, when they are

brought back to the confession of His name by a striking

1Kings 17-18

715

manifestation of His power which confounds the priests

of Baal. ese are all slain by the people, now convinced

of the folly of idolatry and made the instrument of God’s

judgment. It is here that-looked upon as the general

expression of the mind of God-Elijah’s mission closes,

although his ministry was prolonged for some time.

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1Kings 19

Elijah’s ight at Jezebel’s threats

Until now the prophet had stood before Jehovah (ch.

17:1; 18:15) and had spoken in His name; but now, terried

by the threats of Jezebel, he ees from the dangers of the

place into which his testimony had brought him.

Just as we have seen in Moses at Meribah, Elijah’s faith1

does not rise to the height of Jehovah’s grace and patience,

who is full of goodness and mercy to His people. It is this

failure which puts an end to Elijah’s testimony, as it had

shut Moses out of Canaan; for who can equal Jehovah

in goodness? Elijah does not look to God; he thinks of

himself, and takes ight; but God has His eye<P460> upon

him. He who had not God’s strength amid the evil had no

refuge but the wilderness. ere was a heart true to God,

but not faith equal to meet Satan’s hostile power in the

place of testimony to the end. He must either be a witness

for God among His rebellious people, or be entirely apart

from them.

(1. We see here how far the energy of the outward life

of faith may continue to exist, while the inward life grows

weak. It was at the moment of the most striking testimony

to the presence of God in the midst of the rebellious people,

and when Elijah had just caused all the prophets of Baal

among them to be slain by the people’s own hands, that his

faith entirely fails at a mere threat from Jezebel. His life

was not inwardly sustained by this faith in proportion to

the outward testimony. His testimony excites the enemy in

a way for which his personal faith was not prepared. is is

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717

a solemn lesson. e still, small voice (which, unknown to

him, was still heard among the people) had not, perhaps,

its due inuence upon his own heart, where the re and

manifestations had held too much place. us he did not

know himself the grace which was still in exercise towards

the people; he could not love them for the sake of the seven

thousand faithful ones as God loved them, nor hope as

charity hopes. Alas! what are we, even when so near God!

And his complaint when he came to God, for a person so

blessed, has a sad deal of self in it. I have been zealous, he

says, and they have cast down thine altars and killed thy

prophets; just when he had cast down Baal’s and killed all

his prophets; and then, I am left alone. It is a humbling

testimony.)

God’s care over His servant

e heart of Elijah and the hand of God led the

prophet into the wilderness, where, overwhelmed perhaps,

yet precious in Jehovah’s sight, he will be alone with God.

Elijah’s forty days’ journey in the wilderness has only a

partial resemblance to the forty days which Moses spent

with God, in the same Horeb to which the prophet was

going, or to those which Jesus spent in the wilderness for

conict with the enemy of God and man. In the two latter

cases nature was set aside. Neither Moses nor the Lord

ate or drank. As for Elijah, the goodness of God sustains

the weakness of tried nature, makes manifest that He

considers it with all tenderness and thoughtfulness, and

gives the strength needed for such a journey. is should

have touched him, and made him feel what he ought to be

in the midst of the people, since he had to do with such a

God. His heart was far from such a state. Impossible, when

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we think of ourselves, to be witnesses to others of what

God is! Our poor hearts are too far from such a position.

Elijah at Horeb; his complaints

Elijah goes on till he reaches Horeb. But coming before

God to speak well of himself and ill of Israel is a very

dierent thing from forgetting self through the power of

the Lord’s presence, and setting Him before the people in

His power which is patient in mercy in spite of all their

evil.1People sometimes come before God because they

have forgotten Him in the place where they ought to have

stood and borne testimony for Him. And thus God asks

Elijah, “What doest thou here, Elijah?” Terrible question!

Like those addressed to Adam, to Cain, and now to the

world with respect to Jesus. e answer does but betray (as

is always the case) the sad and fatal position of one who has

forgotten God. e voice was not a voice of thunder, but

one that made Elijah feel it was the voice<P461> which he

had forgotten. Wind, re, earthquake, these heralds to man

of the power of God, would have suited the angry heart of

Elijah as instruments of divine power against Israel; but

these manifestations of His power were not God Himself.

e still, small voice reveals His presence to Elijah. at

which would have satised his will, and that which would

perhaps have been just towards others, did not awaken his

own conscience. But the still, small voice by which God

reveals Himself penetrates Elijah’s heart, and he hides his

face before the presence of Jehovah. Nevertheless the pride

of his embittered heart is not yet subdued. He repeats his

complaints, unsuitable as they were at the time when he

had himself just destroyed all the prophets of Baal, and

proving that his faith had not been able to nd, by the light

of his testimony, all that God saw of good in Israel.

1Kings 19

719

(1. It was dierent, too, from Moses who, with God,

interceded for the people, setting himself aside.)

God’s answer; the patience of His grace

God’s answer, although just, is sorrowful to the heart.

Vengeance shall be executed, and Elijah is commissioned

to prepare its instruments-a sad mission for the prophet, if

he loved the people. As to Elijah, he should be succeeded by

Elisha in his prophetic oce. But if the deserved vengeance

was to be executed in his time, and if the saddened prophet

was to announce it, God has still seven thousand souls who

had not bowed the knee to Baal, although Elijah had not

been able to discover them. Oh! when will the heart of

man, even in thought, rise to the height of God’s grace and

patience? If Elijah had leaned more upon God, he would

have known some of these seven thousand. He would at

any rate have known Him who knew them, and who raised

up his testimony to strengthen and comfort them.

But the time was not ripe for the fulllment of God’s

purposes; and God will not give up the patience of His grace

towards His people to satisfy the prophet’s impatience.

Elisha is anointed; but, Ahab having humbled himself

when God threatened him on account of his iniquity, the

judgments are withheld even during the lifetime of Ahab

and of his son. is displays another feature in God’s

government, namely, that judgment upon the evildoer may

not only have been pronounced in the counsels of God, but

may be already marked out in His dealings, and be even

ready to be executed a long time before it is really poured

out. e<P462> prophet, or the spiritual man, will know

or will understand in spirit that it is so, and will have to

wait for the moment that suits this perfect patience, which

itself waits upon the slowness of our hearts and the lling

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up of the iniquity of the wicked, or at least for their refusal

to repent.

1Kings 20

721

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1Kings 20

Ahab and Ben-hadad

According to the outward history of Israel, that which

follows the revelations made to Elijah in Horeb looks like

a time of restoration and blessing; and outwardly it was

so. Ben-hadad is overcome and Israel delivered from his

power; but Ahab has no knowledge at all of the mind of

God, and he lets the man whom God had condemned

escape. ere are cases in which moral levity only proves

that the honor of God and His thoughts have no inuence

over the heart. It was not for Ahab to be on brotherly

terms with a king whose constant aim was the oppression

of God’s people. It was putting himself on a level with a

Gentile king, forgetting the position both of Israel and of

Israel’s king, with respect to God. In such a case as this,

severity of conduct is the suitable accompaniment of the

sense of God’s perfect grace towards His people. He who,

from love to God’s people, desired in Mount Horeb to be

blotted out of the book of Jehovah, is also he who said,

in the presence of evil, “Consecrate yourselves today unto

Jehovah, every man upon his brother, his companion, and

his neighbor”; but the weakness, which despisal of God

produces in one who holds the place of God’s servant,

assumes the character of kindness towards men.

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1Kings 21

Ahab’s great wickedness; the long-suering of God

ready to accept humiliation

At Jezebel’s instigation, Ahab adds sin to sin, and a

piece of agrant injustice lls up the apostasy of the king

of Israel. He enjoys the fruit of a crime which he had not

courage to commit himself. His enjoyment was short-lived.

Sent by God to meet the king, Elijah goes before him into

the vineyard, which Ahab went down to<P463> possess.

e king’s heart bows before the word of Jehovah, and the

fulllment of the judgment is put o until the days of his

son: a new proof of the long-suering of a God ever ready

to accept and respond to any movement of man’s heart

towards Himself.

Outward prosperity; apostasy and iniquity

e reign of Ahab, looked at historically, was in general

prosperous and glorious. Moab was tributary; Syria, subject

and quiet. e king had an ivory palace, and built fresh

cities: a new motive to own Jehovah, a snare to one who

worshipped Baal. God did not regard all this prosperity. In

a moral point of view, this reign stamps its character upon

the kingdom of Israel. It is apostasy and iniquity, but at the

same time the testimony of a faithful and patient God.

1Kings 22

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1Kings 22

Outward peace and mutual alliances, marked by

unfaithfulness and forgetfulness of God

e last chapter presents another element of this history,

namely, the guilty alliances which were formed between

the royal families of Israel and Judah. Both of them

prosperous at this period, they seek the establishment and

increase of their power by peace and mutual alliances. On

Jehoshaphat’s side it was nothing but unfaithfulness and

forgetfulness of God. And, if God did not forsake him,

Jehoshaphat saw the commencement of chastisements, the

results of which were deeply disastrous to his house.

e false prophets and the prophet of Jehovah

We see also the false prophets in power: Ahab had four

hundred of them. We may remark, also, that they made use

of Jehovah’s name, and no longer, as it appears, of Baal’s.1

Nor was Elijah, as we see, the only prophet of Jehovah. e

intermixture continues. Outwardly the state of things is

less oensive; but the heart of Ahab is unchanged. At the

request of Jehoshaphat, who is uneasy in this false position,

Ahab sends for the prophet of Jehovah; but he does not

hearken to him and has to meet the consequences.<P464>

(1. Nevertheless the worship of Baal had not ceased.)

We learn also here in what manner a lying spirit deceives

and leads the wicked to ruin, fullling the purposes and

judgments of Jehovah.

Elisha and Elijah

During all this time Elisha constantly accompanies

Elijah and, led to this intimacy by grace, he is morally

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imbued with his spirit before he is clothed with it in power.

He seems identied with him.

e government of God in exercise in the Books of

Kings

Before passing on to the Second Book of Kings, I will

add some general remarks, which apply equally to the two

books.

at which is here in question is the government of God.

Now the principles of this government are laid open to us

in the revelation made to Moses, when he went up the

second time to Mount Sinai (Ex. 33). ere was, rst of all,

goodness and mercy; then the declaration that the guilty

shall not be held innocent; and, thirdly, a principle of public

government, which caused the eects of misconduct to be

felt, namely, that their children should bear its consequences

(a principle which could not be applied where the soul is in

question); but this principle important and salutary in the

outward government of the world, is veried daily in that

of Providence. is government of God was in exercise in

the case of the kings; but the condition of Israel depended

on the conduct of the kings.

Prophecy set up by God in testimony and grace

We have already seen that the fall of the priesthood

and the demand for a king had placed the people in this

position-a position which will be one of blessing when

Christ shall be their King; but, meantime, God had set up

prophecy, a more intimate and real connection between

the counsels of God and His people. e existence of a

king placed the people under the eect of their governor’s

responsibility.

e prophet was there on the part of God Himself in

testimony and in grace. He recalled to the people the duties

1Kings 22

725

attached to this responsibility; but he was himself a proof

of those counsels which assured them of future blessing,

and of the interest which God took in their enjoying it

both then and at all times. He supplied<P465> the key also

to God’s dealings, which were dicult to be understood

without this.

We, Christians, have both these things. God will have

us act by faith upon our own responsibility; but close

communion with Him reveals to us the cause of many

things, as also the perfection of His ways. us, in His

public government, God could well bless Israel after the

events related in chapter 18. ey strengthened the faith of

His own people. Chapter 19 shows us the secret judgment

of God upon the real state of things; and it was speedily

manifested. Ahab knows not how to prot by the blessing;

he spares Ben-hadad; and the aair of Naboth shows that

Jezebel’s inuence is as strong as ever.

God’s patience and mercy manifested

But to what a degree are the patience and mercy of

God manifested in all this, according to Exodus 33! Ahab,

rebuked by Elijah, humbles himself, and the evil comes to

pass neither in the days of Ahab, nor in those of Ahaziah,

but in the days of Jehoram, who was also his son, and that

according to the principle already laid down. Personally

Jehoram was less wicked than his father and his brother.

He did not worship Baal. Israel, however, who had been led

into the worship of this idol, still bows down to it.

e dierence between God’s judgment and the

appearance of things

Observe the dierence between the judgment of God

and the appearance of things. e judgment of God was

pronounced against the king and against Israel (ch. 19);

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yet prosperity and peace generally marked this reign, as

we have seen. Syria is subdued, Moab tributary; and Judah

in unaccustomed prosperity leagues itself with Israel. e

king of Judah was as Ahab, his people as Ahab’s people,

and his horses as Ahab’s. It was even proposed to send to

Ophir for gold, as in the days of Solomon. Nevertheless

judgment was only suspended, and its suspension was

revealed to none but Elijah.

e alliances of believers with the unfaithful

But what was morally the character of this alliance?

It is Jehoshaphat who comes to Ahab, and not Ahab to

Jehoshaphat. e<P466> latter asks, as a favor, that Jehovah

may be consulted. After this request the false prophets

make use of Jehovah’s name to announce the success of

the enterprise. is was natural enough; for the Syrians

having been overcome, and having failed in performing

the conditions of peace laid upon them, Ahab was going to

assert his rights with the help of the king of Judah.

In short Jehovah’s name is in the mouth of the false

prophets. Micaiah (for the king of Judah was uneasy)-

Micaiah, being come, announces misfortune. But Ahab’s

mind was made up; and the king of Judah was bound by his

engagement. It was no longer time to consult Jehovah: to

inquire after the truth, in such a position as this, was but to

learn a judgment which they had resolved to contemn. Ahab

was more consistent than Jehoshaphat. e conscience of

the latter only made everyone uncomfortable, and proved

his own folly. To please Jehoshaphat by speaking to him of

Jehovah was no more than decency required; but it was all

that Ahab did for Jehoshaphat, except that he unwillingly

sent for Micaiah. Jehoshaphat helped Ahab against Syria;

he helped Jehoram against Moab; but neither Ahab nor

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727

his son helped Jehoshaphat in any one thing, except to be

unfaithful to Jehovah. Ahaziah was willing indeed to go

with him, but it was in order to obtain gold from Ophir. It

would rather appear that this alliance was the cause of that

between Moab, Ammon and Seir against Jehoshaphat.

Happily it was no question then of succoring Israel.

Such is the history of the alliances of believers, not only

with unbelievers, but with the unfaithful. e latter are very

willing that we should go with them; but to walk in the ways

of truth is another thing. is is not the question with them;

if they so walked, they would cease to be unfaithful. A true

union would necessarily have made Jerusalem the center

and capital of the land: for Jehovah and His temple were

there. e alliance took it for granted that Jehoshaphat had

given up all such idea, since it showed that he recognized

Ahab in his position. ere is no equality in an alliance

between truth and error; since, by this very alliance, truth

ceases to be truth, and error does not thereby become truth.

e only thing lost is the authority and obligation of the

truth.

I have anticipated some of the events related in the

Second Book of Kings, in which we nd the greater part of

Jehoshaphat’s history. Let us now proceed to examine the

contents of this Second Book.<P467>

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2Kings 1

Elijah’s ministry resumed in Israel

If God has shown that He took notice of His servant’s

fault, and did not pass it lightly over, He did not fail towards

him in either tenderness or faithfulness. He acted towards

him as towards a beloved and faithful servant, even at the

moment in which He made him sensible of his failure in

the energy of faith; for He did not make others aware of it,

although He has communicated it to us for our instruction.

I said failure in the energy of faith; for, with respect to the

mass of the people, Elijah’s judgment was just. God reveals

His thoughts and His intentions to him, and even points

out to him the agents He will employ; and, while denitely

replacing the prophet by Elisha, God nevertheless makes

him publicly reenter His service, by commanding him to

call Elisha to accompany him in his work. us Elijah

resumes his ministry in the midst of Israel.

Ahaziah’s sin and its reproof in power

Now Ahaziah walked in the way of his father, and

openly confessed Baal to be his god by sending to consult

Baal-zebub at Ekron. Sent to meet the king’s messengers,

Elijah pronounces his sentence from the Lord. Incensed

at being opposed in his iniquity, Ahaziah sends men of his

army to take him.

We nd again here the same judicial character in

Elijah’s miracles which was spoken of before-a character

pointed out by Jehovah Himself. He calls down re from

heaven to consume these men. e last of those sent by the

king, owning the authority and power of Elijah, has his life

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spared. Elijah goes down with him to the king, to declare

again to him in person Jehovah’s judgment which awaited

him.<P468>

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2Kings 2

Elijah’s translation to heaven

And now we reach the end of the troubles and aictions

of this precious and faithful servant of God. And, if we do

not nd in his case the calmness of the ascension of Jesus,

who, while blessing His disciples, ascends to His eternal and

familiar home; if this peculiar characteristic became His

departure alone, who-perfect in Himself and in His human

life, in which nothing had been found out of harmony with

the heaven He was reentering-went back to His Father,

from whom He came; if in Elijah’s rapture we nd not the

elevation of One who, having come forth from the Father

and come into the world, again left the world and returned

to His Father, without having for one moment departed

from this word-“e Son of man which is in heaven,” and

who had so much the more right and title to be there, that

He had perfectly gloried the Father here below; if, in a

word, he who goes up is not the God-man ascending after

having nished the work committed to Him, at least the

presence of God is felt throughout the whole scene in the

most solemn manner-a God whose presence alone can

abrogate the laws of His government, and set aside, in His

servant’s behalf, that which is appointed unto men.

Moreover it is not surprising that such an event should

have been accompanied with the mysterious solemnity

which, in fact, surrounds it, and that those who were present

should feel that something was about to happen which was

beyond the common track of human joy and sorrow.

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Elijah, taken away by the power of God, quits the earth

without passing through death. We nd in the fact itself

a marvelous testimony to the sovereign goodness of God,

and to the approbation He bestowed upon His faithful

servant.

e details are worthy of all attention.

Elijah’s maintenance of the relationship between

God and Israel

If the prophet’s translation to heaven is the great object

presented to faith, we nd also that he goes to every place

that had a voice with respect to God’s relationship to

Israel. Elijah <P469>maintained, in spite of the king, the

relationship between God and Israel, according to God’s

faithfulness, and as a prophet upon the earth.1 He did

not maintain it by the king, which, since David, was the

normal state of the people. is earthly relationship was

impossible, and was to close by an act of judgment. It is

this which took place, with respect even to Judah, in the

rejection of Christ.

(1. is consideration makes Elijah’s position pretty

evident. We have seen that prophecy was the means of

maintaining God’s relationship with Israel, in a sovereign

manner, when the ark had been taken and the priesthood

was fallen. Prophecy still holds this place in the presence of

royalty in a state of failure, which, instead of maintaining

the people in relationship with God, causes them to depart

from Him. While presenting their true King to the people

according to Zechariah’s prophecy, Christ lled also this

prophetic oce according to the word of Moses, only

in a manner quite peculiar. It must be remembered that,

in comparing Elijah and Elisha with the Lord, Christ is

looked at in this character. is gives a very important

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position to the function of prophecy. (Compare Hosea

12:13.))

Nevertheless the counsels of God change not; they will

be fullled in heavenly power.

e starting point of Elisha’s ministry

Elisha, is, so to say, the link between these two things

as to prophecy. He does not return to Horeb, to announce

the uselessness of an earthly ministry, and, in some sort,

to place the broken law again in His hands who gave it,

but who was really acting in grace.1e starting point of

his ministry is the ascended man, evidently quite a new

starting point in God’s messages to Israel. Up to this point

he constantly attached himself to Elijah. e latter had

thrown his prophetic mantle over him (1Kings 19); Elisha

thenceforth was as if identied with him.

(1. It is this grace, which Elijah had not properly

understood, that was the only means by which God could

maintain His relationship with the people; so that a return

to Horeb could only put an end to the relation itself as

standing on Sinai ground, and especially to the ministry of

Elijah which took no higher position. Nevertheless God

wrought for the revelation of all this.)

Elisha’s faith

At the present moment, when Elijah is under the

extraordinary power which is to snatch him away from

Elisha, will the faith of Elisha maintain this position? Yes:

the power of God upholds him, and he accompanies Elijah

until the chariots of God Himself separate them, and in

such a way that he may see Elijah ascending to heaven upon

them. rough grace the whole heart of Elisha<P470> was

in the prophet’s ministry, and by faith he walked in the

height of God’s thoughts in this respect.

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e path of Elijah and Elisha from Gilgal beyond

Jordan

Let us trace their path upon the earth. It is no longer the

weakness of man, as when he went to Horeb, but the power

of God; and Elijah traverses all that in type had to do with

God’s relationship with Israel, even death itself (and that

dry-shod), up to heaven. Gilgal1 is his starting point-the

consecration of man to God by death applied to the esh-

the place where Israel was cleansed from all remembrance

of Egypt, where the people were set apart for God, where

their camp was xed for their victories under Joshua; in a

word, it was the place where, by circumcision,2 Israel was

denitively separated unto God. Elijah repairs thither, and

acknowledges it thus according to God, although it was

now only a place of sin to the people.3 He attains the mind

of God with respect to the people, as separated from evil

and consecrated to God. He sets out with this. He thinks

with God: this is faith.

(1. Reection will show us that all this is a moral history

of the life of Christ, save that Christ is what He makes us to

be. But this is everywhere true. Still it was experimentally

realized in Him. He had not to be circumcised; still it was

the circumcision of Christ. See following note. So the high

priest was washed as well as the priests. ough absolutely

obedient in nature and will, He learned obedience.)

(2. is, as we have seen in the Book of Joshua, was in

Canaan after the passage of Jordan, as the circumcision of

Christ (that is, His separation from evil which, always true

in His Person, was externally made good in His death) has

a true, heavenly character, and to us is by being risen, and

in heavenly places. )

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(3. See Amos 4:4, Hosea 9:15, and many other passages

in the prophets. is is a very striking fact, just as the cross

now is a matter of constant idolatry. e memorial of good,

of the denial and death of esh too, is to esh the power of

evil. Oh, what is man! )

Elisha will not leave him; and they go away to Bethel;

that is to say, Elijah places himself in the testimony of

God’s unchangeable faithfulness to His people.4 He

acknowledges it; he takes his place in it; and Elisha is with

him.

(1. See Genesis 28:13-15. Here too one of the calves

was set up; the place of special blessing again made the

place of idolatry.)

ese were the two main branches of faith-of the faith of

God’s people: the setting apart of the people, of man, unto

God; and the unchangeable and perpetual faithfulness of

God to His people, whatever their circumstances may be.

Israel (what a triumph to Satan!) had set their false

gods, their golden calf, in Bethel. Elijah (and this is faith)

links himself with<P471> the mind of God there in spite

of this. ese two things compose the life of Jesus on earth

in the midst of Israel.

Elijah cannot stay there. What will he nd in going

further? e scene changes: he is still with God. But if

transgression is multiplied at Gilgal, and if false gods are

worshipped at Bethel, as “the king’s chapel and the king’s

court,” the curse will meet him (for Israel has placed itself

under it). He goes to Jericho. It was there that formerly

the power of the enemy barred the whole land against

Israel, and God had smitten Jericho and pronounced a

curse against it. Man had rebuilt it to his own destruction

(1Kings 16:34). Pleasant as its situation was, the curse

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735

of God still rested on it. Elijah goes thither, and Elisha

accompanies him, and refuses to leave him.

But he does not remain there either; he is still under the

mighty hand of God, Elisha following him. e sons of the

prophets give their testimony to that which shall take place

(but they only look on from afar, when the two prophets

draw nigh to Jordan); Elisha knows it too, and puts an end

to a discourse which, adding nothing to his knowledge of

the mind of God, and disturbing the concentration of his

thoughts, tended rather to weaken the union of his soul

with Elijah.

Elijah comes at length to Jordan, the type of death,

which should carry him out of the land of earthly promise,

and break the links of God Himself with Israel on that

footing. He crossed it indeed dry-shod. We know that he

ascended without having tasted death, but typically he

passed through it. (It is not a question here of expiation, but

of passing through death.) And now, beyond the borders

of Israel-the land of law, forsaken of God-he can freely

propose blessing to Elisha according to his desire.

As Jesus said, “I have a baptism to be baptized with,

and how am I straitened until it be accomplished.” In every

detail death is the path of liberty.

Elisha’s request granted

Elisha, attached by the power of God to the prophet-

to the same ministry which Elijah had just left-asks for a

double portion of his spirit; and, although now separated

from him, yet associated by faith with Elijah, gone up

on high (testied by his having seen him in his heavenly

condition), his request is<P472> granted. He again receives

Elijah’s mantle; but it is that of the ascended Elijah.

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As we have said, the starting point of his ministry is

not Sinai. It is heaven beyond the borders of Canaan, the

other side of Jordan, which is the type of death. For, the law

having been broken, and prophecy-which set before the

people their relation to God on earth, and His blessing on

that earth-having been proved powerless for restoration,

the faithful prophet, forsaking a land which had rejected

him, had taken his place outside a blind and ungrateful

people, and had been taken up to Him who had sent him

(hidden, so to speak, in God; although that expression, in

its fullness, is true of the precious Saviour alone).

Elijah demands the execution of justice

Up to Jordan Elijah demanded, by his ministry, that

the righteous claims of God upon His people should

be satised. He sets these claims before them. He must

withdraw, and God takes him away from a people who did

not know Him.

At Sinai he acted in human weakness, although God

had revealed Himself. Why retire to Horeb, where the law

dwelt which the people had broken? is could be only to

demand the execution of justice. While manifesting that

He could in His own time exercise justice, God reserved

to Himself His sovereign rights of grace. But in eect it

is tting that it should be exercised in a sovereign manner

beyond the limits of man’s responsibility. e relationship

of Christ with Israel, with man, clearly explains this.

erefore God rst shows that grace has reserved the

perfect number who were known of God in Israel; then,

having sent Elijah to ll up the long-suering of the will of

God in grace towards the people, instead of cutting Israel

o, He places ministry in a position with respect to Israel,

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737

in which He can act sovereignly in grace towards everyone

who has faith to avail himself of it.

Grace the distinctive character of Elisha’s ministry

After Elijah had passed the Jordan, we have seen that all

was changed. Until then Elisha is on probation; after that,

grace acts. In principle it is the position of Christ towards

the assembly1 or<P473> at least towards men in grace;

that is to say, it is sovereign grace, to the actings of which

death has given free course, justice having nothing more to

say, and no longer resting on the responsibility of man who

had undertaken to obey, and from whom obedience was

due. Justice now consists in God’s having His rights, in His

glorifying Himself, as is just, by being consistent with His

entire being, love, justice, sovereignty, majesty, truth, and

every attribute which forms a part of His perfection. He

does so according to His sovereignty; and He does it by

the Christ who has gloried Him on the earth in all these

respects, in every part of His being, so indeed as to make

Him known. e testimony of it is that He has exalted

Christ as man to His right hand.

(1. And, of course, towards Israel also.)

It must be remembered here that the application of

this regards Israel, so that the rejection of the people is

considered to have taken place by the very fact of Elijah’s

rapture. God has ceased to maintain His relationship with

them. In His sovereign counsels God never withdraws

His love from Israel; but, on the ground of the people’s

responsibility, God has judged them. He has stretched out

His hands all the day to a rebellious and gainsaying people.

erefore Elisha says to the king of Israel, “Get thee to the

prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother.

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Were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, the

king of Judah, I would not look toward thee.”

Elisha nevertheless returns to Israel in grace. His

ministry has then this distinctive character, that it is a

testimony to the rejection of all that belonged to the

condition of responsibility in which the people had been

placed; but at the same time it is a testimony to grace by

faith, according to election and the sovereignty of God, in

order to maintain the people in blessing; and that through

the righteous execution of the judgment which their sin

had brought upon them.

is is what the return of Christ will be for Israel, rather

than what it will be for the assembly, notwithstanding that

fundamentally the principle is the same.

Elisha at Jericho; the curse removed

Elisha, in the power of resurrection, reenters the scene

of Elijah’s labors, who had sought in vain-as He also had

done who was more excellent than Elijah-to gather Israel

unto the God of<P474> their fathers (that is to say, to

bring back man in the esh to some faithfulness towards

God). Jericho (pleasant in itself, yet, as we have seen, an

accursed place) ceases to be so; the curse is removed, and

the spring of waters permanently healed, by means of salt

brought in a new cruse: a type, I doubt not, of the purifying

power of grace which separates man from evil, and which

removes evil, as contrary to the relationship of man with

God; a moral power, which will take away the curse from

the world, and especially from the Jews, who are the center

of rebellion against God. Salt represents purifying power

in the ecacy and the permanency that distinguish the

work of God which heals the object of blessing; and it

characterizes, according to the faithfulness of God, the

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source of blessing itself. e new vessel is an image of the

renewed condition of all things through resurrection.

Elisha at Bethel, Carmel and Samaria

From Jericho Elisha goes up to Bethel, which, as we

have seen, is a place commemorative of the unchangeable

faithfulness of God1 towards Israel; a faithfulness which

can now bring forth all its fruits through death and

resurrection.

(1. is is the reason why Paul (Acts 13:34-35) quotes

these words, “I will give you the sure mercies of David,” in

proof of the resurrection of Christ, “no more to return to

corruption.” Death rendered blessing possible with respect

to a rebellious people, and resurrection gave complete

stability to the conferred blessing; this was secured.

Compare Isaiah 55 where grace towards Israel and the

nations, through a risen Saviour, is gloriously proclaimed.)

From Bethel he proceeds to Carmel,1 that is to God’s

fruitful eld, the place where judgment had been executed

upon Baal, the prince of this world; a place typical of that

condition of Israel which will be the fruit of the fulllment

of God’s faithful promises. It will be seen that all this

answers perfectly to the character of his ministry, as we

have considered it, and answers to it in so much the more

interesting a manner from being in contrast with Elijah’s

ministry; the path of each corresponding with the ministry

which we have ascribed to them respectively.

(1. Compare Isaiah 32:15-18.)

From Carmel Elisha returns to Samaria, in connection

with which his ordinary ministry is fullled.<P475>

Judgment manifested on the mockers of God’s

messenger

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ere remains another circumstance to be noticed in

this history. Elisha curses the children who mock him. is

action not only shows us the prophet’s authority upheld by

God; it characterizes his position. For although sovereign

grace, in spite of Israel’s fall, is in exercise towards the people,

yet, together with grace, judgment shall be manifested with

respect to those who despise the messenger of God. It will

be well to remark that the judgment happens when he

reenters the land of Israel, before he takes his place in the

unchangeable promises of God to His people. enceforth

it is the Carmel of God which is presented to our faith.

We may observe also, in this chapter, how little man

realizes and believes what he knows, if in spirit he is not

identied with it. e sons of the prophets knew that

Elijah was to be taken away. Nevertheless they propose to

search for him.

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2Kings 3-4

e prophet as the blesser and saviour of his people

In the following chapter we enter into the historical part

of Elisha’s ministry. Jehoram goes to war; and, although

less wicked than his father, the prophet no longer regards

him. Jehoshaphat is still something to him: but the prophet

seeks to abstract himself from the inuence of the whole

scene. He then proclaims blessing, and directs the counsels

of the united kings. He is a saviour of Israel. He provides

(ch. 4) for the need of the poor of his people, and delivers

them from their distress. He bestows the heart’s desire

upon faith, which recognizes and receives the prophet; and

restores life to the dead, thus binding up the broken heart.

He feeds the sons of the prophets during the famine, and

multiplies the scant measure of bread. Death having been

mingled with the food, he remedies the evil so that they eat

with impunity.

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2Kings 5

Naaman; sovereign grace to the Gentiles

Elisha goes also beyond the borders of Israel in

dispensing the blessing of which he is the instrument; and,

when the king of <P476>Israel is troubled at Naaman’s

coming, Elisha heals the leprosy of this Gentile, who is

brought to acknowledge Jehovah, the God of Israel, as the

only true God. e Lord Jesus points out the sovereign

grace of God on this occasion, which, overstepping the

narrow limits of Israel, and, owning no longer their rights,

acts towards the Gentiles in the way of election.

Gehazi smitten irremediably with that from which

Naaman had been freed

As it has been frequently remarked, the means used

were simple, and humbling to the esh and to the pride of

man, having their ecacy in full apprehension of, and full

submission of heart and faith to, death, which is become

life unto man, and that which heals him and cleanses him

from sin. e man who was the most closely connected

with Elisha, a prey to covetousness, suers the painful

consequences of a hardened heart; and that from which

the Gentile had been freed comes irremediably upon him.

Such is the position of Israel, outwardly nearer to Jehovah,

but morally afar from Him.

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2Kings 6

Nature’s laws reversed; the iron made to swim

e sons of the prophets must enlarge their dwelling-

place, and Elisha, who consents to go with them, secures

them from the results of their negligence by reversing the

laws of nature.

I know not if we should seek here for anything beyond

the general character of the miracle, or nd a type in

the fact that Jordan is in question. So far as Jordan has a

typical meaning, that meaning is abiding. It means death.

e house built with that which was taken thence, and the

power of the stream overcome and destroyed by the piece

of wood cast into it, by means of which that which was

beyond hope and lost was rescued from it, easily suggest a

typical meaning. I dare not say positively that it is the mind

of the Spirit; and we must not give way to imagination.

Elisha, the captor of a host, teaches God’s unceasing

care

Elisha preserves Israel after this from the attacks of their

powerful enemies. e king of Syria seeking to take Elisha

prisoner,<P477> it is Elisha, on the contrary, who captures

the whole host that came to seize him, thus teaching his

blind servant, who had eyes and saw not, the unfailing care

with which the Almighty constantly surrounds His own

people.

After having taught the enemy the power of Israel’s God,

and the folly of attacking His people when the messenger

of His covenant is with them, Elisha lets the Syrians go;

and these men come no more into the land of Israel.

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All these miracles suciently characterize Elisha’s

ministry. e poor comforted, the Gentiles healed, Israel

delivered and protected, the election blessed, Israel and

their unfaithful king set aside as regards the prophet’s

testimony-all this we nd in it. ese miracles are more

numerous than Elijah’s. e burden which weighed upon

Elijah’s heart had no place in Elisha’s; and therefore he

sought relief neither in judgment upon the evil, nor in

withdrawing from a useless labor.

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2Kings 7

Famine in Samaria; God’s interposition

e iniquity of Israel plunges the nation again into

distress; and Samaria is desolated by famine. e judgment

produces indignation against Jehovah’s testimony; for,

although Jehoram did not worship Baal, his heart was

unchanged. en comes the despair which considers it

useless to wait any longer upon Jehovah.1is is the result

of professing Jehovah’s name, when there is no faith in Him.

It was so with Israel in the wilderness: “Wherefore hath

Jehovah brought us up hither to destroy all this people?”

(1. It may be doubted whether what is said in verse 33

be not the words of Elisha.)

Elisha appears here again as saviour, or, at least, as

proclaiming Jehovah’s salvation. e unbelief of the king’s

attendant, who considered this deliverance impossible,

is punished at the moment when he sees the abundance.

When all is impossible to man, Jehovah interposes; and in

a moment the whole scene is changed.<P478>

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2Kings 8

Blessings restored; judgments accomplished

e history of the woman,1 whose son Elisha had raised

to life again, gives us a little picture of all God’s dealings

with Israel. During long years, as determined by Jehovah,

Israel is deprived of everything; but God has preserved all

for them, and in the day of blessing all will be restored

to them; and they shall receive double the fruit of their

years of aiction. It is the son restored to life that brings

blessing.

(1. It seems to me that Gehazi stands here in a grievous

position. Smitten by the hand of God, because his heart

clung to earth, even in the presence of Jehovah’s mighty and

long-suering testimony, he is now a parasite in the king’s

court, relating the wonderful things in which he no longer

took part. is poor world grows weary enough of itself to

lead it to take some pleasure in hearing anything spoken of

that has reality and power. Provided that it does not reach

the conscience, they will listen to it for their amusement,

taking credit to themselves perhaps for an enlarged and

a liberal mind, which is not enslaved by that which they

can yet recognize philosophically in its place. But that is a

sad position, which makes it evident that formerly we were

connected with a testimony, while now we only relate its

marvels at court. Nevertheless God makes use of it; and it

does not follow that there was no truth in Gehazi. But to

rise in the world, and entertain the world with the mighty

works of God, is to fall very deeply.)

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747

Nevertheless the judgments of God are being

accomplished. Elisha goes to Damascus, and Hazael, the

rod of Jehovah to chastise His people, is placed on the

throne of Syria. On the other hand, Elisha is acknowledged

by the Gentiles themselves.

e Spirit of God takes notice of the consequences of

Judah’s alliance with Israel; but with this exception, Judah

for the time is out of sight.

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2Kings 9-10

Judgment on Ahab’s house begun by Jehu

In chapter 9 the judgment on Ahab’s house commences.

He who executes it does not remove, in so doing, the rod

which God had lifted up against Israel in the person of

Hazael. By means of Jehu God judges the house of Ahab;

but Israel was oppressed by the Syrians, and their land

overrun by them during the whole of Jehu’s reign. Going

farther than Jehoram, Jehu destroyed Baal and his worship

at the same time as the house of Ahab: but he did not return

unto Jehovah. He saw the folly of idolatry: energetic<P479>

and ambitious, his interest lay on the other side. When the

prophet of the Lord announces to him the near possession

of the throne, he hearkens unto him. Sincere perhaps in

the conviction that Jehovah was God, he was quite ready to

honor Him when his interest agreed with his convictions.

He displayed all his energies in accomplishing a work to

which he had devoted himself. Ahab’s religion had no

charm for him. He had felt in his conscience the power of

Elijah’s testimony; and he understood that it was madness

to ght against Jehovah, whose part he had taken. What

he did for Jehovah, he did well, according to his wonted

energy. Nevertheless his vengeance is without the fear of

Jehovah; it is carnal (see Hosea 1:4). At the same time the

golden calves still existed, as the sanctuary of the kingdom,

with whose origin they were connected, and of which they

were the national religion. is Jehu did not care to touch.

God recognizes a zeal which had judged evil uprightly; for

the question here was His outward government, and not

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749

His judgment of the secrets of the heart; and, in fact, Jehu

acted faithfully in destroying Baal root and branch. us he

slays the king of Judah, who was confederate with the evil,

and the royal family of Judah, who had come to visit that of

Israel. Everything falls before his avenging sword, and the

words of Elijah, the servant of Jehovah, are fullled. us

it is Elisha who performs the function of Elijah1 in his

stead, prophetically anointing Hazael and Jehu, although

not with his own hands.

(1. In this respect Elijah and Elisha form but one

prophet, with the dierence that has been pointed out.

Elisha was a “prophet in his room,” an expression not used

with regard to prophets in general. In fact, it is Christ risen

who will execute, or cause to be executed, the judgments of

God upon apostate Israel. (See Psalms 20-21.))

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2Kings 11-12

Athaliah judged, with Judah’s royal family, as

connected with Ahab

In chapter 11, the judgment of God falls upon the

family1which<P480> had corrupted Israel, and even

Judah also. e daughter of the house of Ahab, the usurper

of the throne of Judah, Athaliah, is cut o through the

faithfulness of the high priest, whose wife had preserved

one of the ospring of David.

(1. During the time that Ahab, stirred up by Jezebel, as

well as his family and sons, are the instruments of Israel’s

apostasy and corruption, God sends the testimony of Elijah

and Elisha. is is, in the main (after Solomon), the subject

of the two Books of Kings. e fall of the house of David,

brought on by its alliance with Israel, or by the example

of their kings, is related in the end of the book, where we

nd also the connections of the Assyrians with the people

of God. )

Unfaithfulness in Judah’s priests

Nevertheless there is not true zeal for Jehovah. e

priests keep the money to themselves, which they had

agreed to use for repairing the house of the Lord, until the

king interposes to set things in order.

2Kings 13-17

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2Kings 13-17

Israel’s deliverance from the Syrians

Walking in the steps of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, the

house of Jehu was no protection to Israel against Hazael.

But the compassion of Jehovah raised up a deliverer. To

His pitiful heart there was yet space for long-suering

towards His people. Elisha, at the point of death, puts the

king in the way of deliverance; but his heart was unable to

embrace it in its full extent. Still, in the reign of Jehoash,

the Syrians were driven back into their own land; and

Jeroboam, although walking in the evil ways of the son of

Nebat, was able to recover all the original possessions of

Judah; for God had pity on Israel, and had seen that their

aiction was very bitter.

e Assyrian invader; Israel and Syria allied against

Judah

Alas! when it is not the faith of God’s people that is the

source of their strength, one enemy destroyed only makes

room for another. e Assyrian soon appears on the scene.

Elisha being dead, Israel-deprived of this last link with

God-soon falls into anarchy and ruin. e Assyrian invades

the land. Israel, leagued with the king of Syria, turns their

last eorts against Judah. A sorrowful picture of the people

of God! e alliance between Syria and Israel brings out

the king of Judah’s unfaithfulness, and entangles him in the

snares of the Assyrian.<P481>

Elisha’s death; his history stamped with the power of

life

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Elisha, already dead, restores life to a corpse which

was being hastily buried on account of an invasion of the

Moabites. His history, unto the end, is stamped with the

character of the power of life.1

(1. To understand all this part of the history which we are

considering, the prophets Hosea and Amos must be read,

and Isaiah 7-8 (compare Hosea 5:13; 8:4; 11:5; Amos 5:27

and also verses 25-26; Hosea 13:10-11); but, to understand

well God’s dealings, the whole of these prophecies should

be read. I have only quoted the passages which mark the

connection with the history; but the internal condition of

the people is much more seen in the prophets than even in

the books which instruct us as to their public history.)

is resurrection, wrought by contact with the bones of

Elisha, appears to me to give the comforting instruction,

that, while apparently lost to Israel, the true prophet is still

the vessel and guardian of all their hopes; and that when

Israel is, as it were, dead and forgotten, He will, after all,

restore them to life in a manner as unexpected as powerful.

Judah’s alliance with the Assyrian

We come now to the connection of Judah with the

Assyrian, fruit of the inward demoralization of the former.

Ahaz plunged into the worst idolatry. Full of worldly

wisdom, he seeks in the new power of Assyria a support

against enemies nearer home, and he succeeds to his

ruin. We see again here the nullity of the high priest in

presence of the king. It appears that the people had lost

their condence in the house of David, as had the latter in

the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord.

Hoshea, the last of the kings of the northern kingdom;

Israel in captivity

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753

Hoshea, although less wicked than his predecessors,

concludes the list of kings, whom the patience of God had

borne with in Israel. God thought of His people; and now

there was no more hope of them. ey were not even a

vessel t to contain the election of God, to whom He made

Himself known. Brought under subjection to the king of

Assyria, Hoshea had sought help from Egypt. After the

king of Assyria had put him in prison, Samaria and all

Israel could not long resist. e people of God are carried

into captivity and dispersed among the cities of Assyria

and Media; and the<P482> land which belonged to

Jehovah, and which had been given in possession to Israel,

is peopled by strangers, sent thither by the king of Assyria.

Hosea’s prophecies after Elisha’s death

In the prophecies of Hosea the two great principles of

God’s dealings may be seen, one of which has been set before

us in Elisha (the connection between the resurrection of the

man about to be buried and the rst verse I shall quote is

remarkable), namely, redemption from the power of death

(Hos. 13:14); and the governmental dealings of God (Hos.

14:9). But how the prophet labors to adapt his voice to the

foolishness of Israel, and to make it reach the conscience of

this erring people! He comes after Elisha’s death. Elisha’s

presence among them and the subsequent testimony of

Hosea bring out the marvelous patience and kindness of

God towards them. Hosea gives us more than the internal

history-he unfolds the causes of the judgments, although

God may have sometimes interposed for restoration, and

may have appeared to smite when the king was less wicked

than ordinarily.

In the language of the prophets we nd what the

people really were in the sight of God. e promise of

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their restoration, and in principle even that of our present

blessing, is found there also.

Foreign nations brought into the land

e history of that which happened after foreign

nations were brought in shows the strange confusion which

had taken place in Israel. It is one of the former priests

of Jeroboam’s system who comes to instruct them in the

fear of Jehovah. Together with this they worship their own

gods. A medley, hateful to the Lord, is the consequence. In

the same way that, in spite of their unfaithfulness, Jehovah

retained His sovereign rights over the people, we nd Him

also vindicating His claim to the land after the people were

driven out. He maintains these rights forever.

2Kings 18-19

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2Kings 18-19

Judah in relation to Assyria and Babylon

Chapter 18 brings us to a rather dierent subject, namely,

the relations of Judah with the Assyrian, who had become

their <P483>oppressor through their unfaithfulness; and

also their relationship with Babylon.

Hezekiah’s faith in Jehovah

In order to set His dealings with His people in their

true light, God raises up a faithful king, distinguished by

this, that he puts his trust in Jehovah as no king had done

since David until this period, and as none did after him

until the captivity.1

(1. We shall see, further on, that which characterized

Josiah.)

e brazen serpent: Satan’s use of it

at which happened with respect to the brazen serpent

shows us the tendency of the heart to idolatry. And how

many things, to which man continues attached in a carnal

way, remain hidden in the midst of so many blessings

and chastenings! is teaches us also how near-with such

hearts as ours-is the remembrance of blessing, to idolatry

of the symbols of blessing. Faith gets rid of these things;

for God had given the brazen serpent, not to be a token of

the remembrance after the cure, but in order to cure. Man

preserved it by a very natural feeling; but this is not of God,

and it soon became the instrument of Satan.

e Philistines subdued

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Hezekiah smites the Philistines, those inward and

perpetual enemies of God’s people, and in a great measure

subdues them.

It is after this that the king of Assyria comes up.

e king of Assyria, Israel’s conqueror, assails Judah

e king of Assyria had carried Israel away captive. His

successor seeks to conquer Judah likewise. According to

the prophet’s expression, the waters of this river reached

even to the neck. e power of the allied kings of Israel

and Syria appears to have had some attraction for the

people of Judah, who, on the other hand, despised the

weakness of the house of David; for God was little in their

thoughts. In this confederacy, favored apparently by the

people of Judah and Jerusalem, they proposed to set aside

the house of David in favor of the son of Tabeal. ere

was an apparently well-conceived plan on the one side, and

an imminent <P484>danger on the other. But these were

not God’s thoughts. In His mercy He would not yet put

out the lamp of David’s house. He sends the promise of

Emmanuel, and exhorts the remnant to put their trust in

Jehovah Himself.

We shall examine this more in detail when we consider

the prophecy of Isaiah. I only refer to it now, in order to

elucidate the history and exhibit the condition of the people.

Ahaz, who did not trust in Jehovah, was the instrument of

fullling His purposes; but the Assyrian, in whose power

he trusted, became through him the scourge of Judah.

Hezekiah and Sennacherib

But in order still to bless and preserve Jerusalem and

Judah, God raises up Hezekiah, a godly and faithful king,

who put his trust in Jehovah. Hezekiah is unable to repulse

Sennacherib; so that the people are punished. He submits

2Kings 18-19

757

to Sennacherib, oering to pay whatever he demands; but

whether the king’s resources were insucient, or that the

king of Assyria, after having accepted the present which

Hezekiah sent him, broke his engagement (compare Isaiah

33), Sennacherib, taking advantage of the king’s apparent

weakness, requires complete submission, both from the

king and the kingdom, and invites the inhabitants of

Jerusalem to come out of the city and place themselves

under his command.

Sennacherib’s blasphemies answered by God

We see, however, that even while blaspheming Jehovah,

Sennacherib is conscious that he is in the presence of a

principle and a power that he does not understand. e

people, obedient to the king’s commandment, make him no

answer. Drawn elsewhere by tidings of the king of Ethiopia’s

attack, Sennacherib repeats in a letter his blasphemies and

insults. Hezekiah lays all these things before Jehovah, and

seeks His answer through the prophet Isaiah. e same

night God smote the army of the Assyrians. Sennacherib

returns to his own country and dies there by the hand of

his own sons.

Hezekiah as a type of the true Emmanuel

Hezekiah is thus a type of the true Emmanuel, of Him

before whom the Assyrian, the desolater of Israel, will fall.

is is a very<P485> important history, as foreshadowing

the events of the last days; but it will be studied more

advantageously when examining the Book of Isaiah, which

frequently applies it in this manner. It is but the general

idea that needs to be touched upon here.

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2Kings 20

Raised as from the dead

We nd here again in a gure the principle with which

Israel’s deliverance, and that of all men, is connected-a

principle pointed out in Elisha, and accomplished in Jesus.

Hezekiah is raised as from the dead. He had been sick unto

death; but Jehovah heard his prayer, and, on his humiliation,

revokes the sentence which He had pronounced through

Isaiah.

Hezekiah’s boasts; the prophet’s warning

But man can scarcely bear exaltation. Blessed of

Jehovah he boasts himself of that which he has received.

After having displayed all his riches to the ambassadors of

the king of Babylon, who were sent to congratulate him

on his recovery, he is warned that they shall all be carried

away even to Babylon. e king of Babylon felt, perhaps,

some satisfaction in allying himself with one who had not

yielded to the power of the king of Assyria; but the world’s

wisdom, which cultivates protable connections with the

people of God, is always a snare to them. Hezekiah might

have made known the source and giver of all this; but he

acted as a man. Nevertheless he submits graciously and

humbly to the word of Jehovah, which was spoken to him

on this occasion.

Judah’s condition at Hezekiah’s death

But, at this period, the people had deeply corrupted

themselves, and the impulse which God had given

disappeared entirely with the man in whom it acted. e

son of Hezekiah was a model of wickedness. God was about

2Kings 20

759

to transfer power to the Gentiles; and, even while making

it manifest that certain blessing attended faithfulness and

trust in Himself, He allowed the house of David to give

themselves up to debasement.<P486>

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2Kings 21

Manasseh’s heinous sins; evil rampant

When Hezekiah died at the age of fty-four, his son

was but twelve years old. Beguiled himself, Manasseh

seduced the people, who were but too willing to commit

greater iniquity than the nations who knew not God.

e particular events of Manasseh’s life are not related

here. e Holy Spirit, having given us the details, in that

which precedes, of God’s public government in Israel, until

He had said, “Loruhamah,” then shows us God’s dealings

with Judah, governed by the conduct of their kings,

until God has said, “Lo-ammi.” is had been already

announced on account of Manasseh’s heinous sins; and

Josiah’s piety could not change the just judgment of God.

ere was yet for Judah some prolongation of tranquillity;

but their repentance under Josiah was but outward,1 and

evil regained the mastery immediately after his death.

Amon did but follow the evil ways of his father Manasseh.

(1. See Jeremiah 3:10. is passage teaches us how

seldom the heart, which is what God judges, corresponds

with the semblance of zeal for Him and for His glory,

which appears on the surface, when, moved by the Spirit

of God, a man of faith presents himself to promote His

glory. See also under Hezekiah’s reign the condition of the

people and God’s judgment (Isa. 22). )

2Kings 22-23

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2Kings 22-23

God’s sovereign grace manifested His readiness to

bless

Observe what grace raised up Hezekiah and Josiah,

both of whom were born of fathers given up to idolatry,

and followed by sons who were equally abandoned to it.

But the sovereign grace of God towards Israel again raised

up this testimony, and manifested that He was always

ready to bless, even if Israel refused to be blessed, and chose

their own ruin instead. Without God, what is the heart

of man? In all this the patience of God’s government was

fully demonstrated; for, under Hezekiah, many things still

existed which escaped the king’s eye and judgment, through

lack of watchfulness in the fear of the Lord.<P487>

e distinguishing characteristics of Josiah and

Hezekiah

at which distinguished Josiah was his carefulness

to observe the law of Moses, the book of which had been

discovered in the temple; trust in Jehovah had characterized

Hezekiah; and in these respective characteristics they are

both unequaled as to their walk.

e Assyrian’s connection with God’s people

e kingdom of Assyria was declining, and Josiah

exercises his royal power through the whole extent of the

country. e threat addressed to Jeroboam of old is fullled.

All the high places of Israel are destroyed. Perhaps the heart

of Josiah was lifted up. Be that as it may, God performed

His promise, and took him away from the evil, the dreadful

accomplishment of which was hastening onwards; for,

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whatever might be the sincerity of Josiah’s piety, all hearts

were corrupted. Compare with this 2Chronicles 30:17,

etc.-the account of that which happened long before his

reign.

2Kings 24-25

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2Kings 24-25

e kings of Israel had been the fatal examples of a

course which had led Judah and all Israel to their ruin

(see chapter 16:3). e pious Jehoshaphat’s alliance with

Ahab was the origin of all this, for evil bears fruit which

continues long to reproduce itself. Alas! alas! what is man

when he turns aside from Jehovah’s ways, from the narrow

and straight path of God’s Word and will, from the path of

faith-the true path of an obedient spirit?

Pharaoh’s pretensions and God’s purposes;

Jerusalem trodden underfoot of the Gentiles

e history which we have been going over has given

us an account of the Assyrian’s connection with the people

of God. He was a cedar of Lebanon; but he is cut down.

Pharaoh thought, for a moment, of making the empire his

own; he sought to exalt himself that he might rule over the

trees of the forest. Judah, brought out in former days with

a high hand by the power of God from Pharaoh’s country,

is subject to him. But, whatever Pharaoh’s pretensions may

be, this is not the purpose of God. If God writes “Loammi”

on His people, it is Babylon which is to begin the times

of<P488> the Gentiles.1 Pharaoh returns into his own

country, and Jehoiakim, powerless and without God,

comes under the dominion of Nebuchadnezzar.2 We need

not go into the details. His son, as wicked as himself, rebels

against Nebuchadnezzar; for Judah, the son of the Most

High, was little used to bondage; but this heifer also must

bend its neck to the yoke (Hos. 10:11), and Jehoiachin is

carried captive to Babylon. e kingdom and the temple

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still exist; but Zedekiah, having broken the oath which he

had made in the name of Jehovah,3 and, allowing himself

to be governed by the princes, persists in his rebellion

and is taken prisoner. His sons having been slain before

his eyes, and himself deprived of sight, he is carried away

to Babylon. e temple is burned; the walls of Jerusalem

are broken down; the seat of Jehovah’s throne is trodden

under foot of the Gentiles. Sorrowful result of His having

entrusted His glory to men among whom He had placed

His throne! Sorrowful, thrice sorrowful, conduct of man-

of that generation whom God had so honored! On the

other hand, God will take occasion from it to manifest that

innite goodness, which, in sovereign grace, will reestablish

the very thing that man has cast under foot to the profane.

(1. As a gure, this is an important principle; for Egypt

is the state of nature, out of which the assembly is brought;

Babylon is the corruption and worldliness into which she

falls.)

(2. How sorrowful is this part of the history, in which

the only question is whether Egypt or Babylon is to possess

the land of God’s people, the land of promise! It being

no longer a doubtful point whether Israel shall continue

to possess it, it must become a prey to one or the other

of these hostile and unbelieving powers. Alas! Israel was

unbelieving with more light than the others, who did but

take advantage of the position and the strength which the

unbelief of Israel gave them, and acknowledged in them.)

(3. is lled up the measure of sin. We shall draw the

reader’s attention to this when considering the prophecy

of Ezekiel, who dwells upon it. By making use of an

oath in Jehovah’s name in the hope of preventing revolt,

Nebuchadnezzar showed more respect for that name than

2Kings 24-25

765

Zedekiah did, who despised such an oath. God permitted

this nal evidence of iniquity. Zedekiah might have

remained a spreading vine of low stature. One who was

above all, alone knew how to render to Cæsar the things

that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.)

e prophets reveal the condition drawing down

judgment and the patience of God

e prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel must be read to have

the complete history, and the internal history of the spirit

of the people, and that of the king; the history at once of

the condition which<P489> drew down the judgment, and

of the patience of God, who, even until the very taking

of the city, continued to send them most aecting calls

to repentance-alas! in vain; and the times of the Gentiles

began.

e reader who would thoroughly understand the events

of all this history, the marvelous patience of God, and the

way in which He raised up faithful kings, in order that

He might bless, should read the prophets Hosea, Amos,

Jeremiah, and certain chapters of Isaiah, which speak to

the people in the name of Jehovah and tell them of their

true condition.<P490>

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1Chronicles

e dierence between the history given in Kings

and Chronicles

e Books of Kings have given us the general and

public history of God’s government in Israel; and, from

Rehoboam to Zedekiah, the history of the kings of Israel-a

history in which the result of the fall of the kingly power

is manifested in presence of God’s long-suering. at

which is said in these books respecting Judah only extends

to the connection of Judah with the house of Israel during

this period.

e Books of Chronicles give us the history of the same

period under another aspect (that is, that of blessing and

of the grace of God); and, more particularly, they give us

the history of the house of David with respect to which

this grace was manifested. We shall see this veried in a

multitude of instances.

God’s history of the people preserved

ese books, written or drawn up after the captivity (see

1Chronicles 6:15), preserve God’s history of His people,

recorded by the Holy Spirit, as He loved to remember it,

exhibiting only such faults as require to be known in order

to understand the instructions of His grace.

God’s record of names

He records at the same time the names of those who had

gone through the trials mentioned in this history without

being blotted out of the book. Here indeed it is but the

outward gure of this blessed memorial of the people of

His grace; but in fact this is what we nd here. All Israel

1Chronicles

767

is not there; but all are not Israel who are of Israel. At the

same time the Spirit of God goes further back, and gives

us the genealogy from Adam of the generation blessed by

grace according to the sovereignty of God, with that<P491>

which belonged to it outwardly, or after the esh. He puts

into relief, suciently to make it apparent, the part owned

in grace, which stood externally in relationship with that

which was merely outward and natural; putting always that

which is natural rst, as the Apostle tells us.

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1Chronicles 1

From Adam to Isaac, the child of promise

us, beginning with Adam, we have the family of Seth

down to Noah. en comes the family of Japheth and of

Ham, one of whose descendants began to be mighty on the

earth; and nally that of Shem, whose God was Jehovah,

and whose line is followed down to Abraham. Abraham,

called out from among men, becomes, as it were, a fresh

stock. His posterity after the esh is rst given us; then

Isaac, the child of promise, a fresh stock, whose children

after the esh are exhibited, with their kings and their

chiefs, before the child of election.

1Chronicles 2

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1Chronicles 2

Israel; Judah introduced to lead to the royal race of

David

At length, in the second chapter, we nd Israel, all of

whose sons were more or less under the care of God who

had loved Jacob.

Judah is then introduced to lead us to the royal race

of David, the object also of the promises according to the

election of God.

Besides this, we nd a picture of the prosperity of

Judah’s family in general, and that of Caleb’s family in

particular, who was faithful to God in his generation. God

has preserved the memorial of it in this place.1us also

the way in which the land was peopled and its internal

history are vividly presented to the reader.<P492>

(1. It is well to remark here that in all these genealogies,

when a family has been established in a place, the name

of the place is often used for that of the family; that the

descendants, through several generations, are named

together as children of the head of the race (compare

chapter 4:1 with the commencement of chapter 2); and

that, without having been named before, the eminent

man of a family is taken to begin a genealogy anew (ch.

8:29,33).)

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1Chronicles 3-5

Genealogy of David’s family and of the tribes in

relationship with their position

e genealogy of David’s family is next given us, as far

as several generations after the return from the captivity;

and then that of the tribes in succession; but in relationship

with their position in Israel, and with the addition of

certain notices of possessions acquired either by families or

by an entire tribe. Dan and Zebulun are wanting; Judah is

found (ch. 4:1). Simeon (ch. 4:24) had had his lot within

the territory of Judah, but he had enlarged his domain;

and some of this tribe, having gone beyond the borders

of the land, had escaped the captivity. Reuben (ch. 5:1),

Gad (ch. 5:11) and the half tribe of Manasseh (ch. 5:23)

had remained eastward of Jordan. ese tribes together

had also much extended their territory, and had enriched

themselves at the expense of their enemies.

ese tribes come together, Judah as the royal tribe;

Simeon is brought in with him, because his territory was

within Judah’s; then Reuben, the rstborn, and with him

the tribes beyond Jordan as connected with him. Also they

were carried away captive before the rest. e God of Israel

brought judgment upon them. Levi came genealogically

next; but I apprehend there was a stronger reason; that it

was the priestly tribe, as Judah the royal.

1Chronicles 6:1-9:34

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1Chronicles 6:1-9:34

Levi’s genealogies and those of other tribes

In the genealogies of Levi (ch. 6) we see, rst of all,

the line of high priests until the captivity; and then the

Levites, their services and their cities. After Levi come

Issachar (ch. 7:1), Benjamin (ch. 7:6), Naphtali (ch. 7:13),

few in number; the other half tribe of Manasseh (ch.

7:14), Ephraim (ch. 7:20), and Asher (ch. 7:30). en we

nd Benjamin again (ch. 8), rst of all with reference to

Jerusalem, and afterwards in connection with the family of

Saul.<P493>

e genealogies reveal that where there was faith God

blessed individually

But that which has been preserved here of the genealogies

of the people-an aecting remnant (through grace) of

those who had fallen under the sorrowful condemnation

of “Lo-ruhamah” and “Lo-ammi”-reveals to us another

circumstance, namely, that, wherever there has been faith,

God has blessed His people individually. Jabez (ch. 4:9-

10), the son of aiction, seeking blessing in the presence

of the God of Israel, failed not to nd it. Jehovah enlarged

his borders, and so kept him from evil that it grieved him

not. Simeon, although dispersed in Israel, was able to drive

out the enemy and possess their land, even unto Mount

Seir. e two tribes and a half beyond Jordan enlarged their

territories also, and possessed the gates of their enemies,

“because they cried unto God.” Afterwards they were

carried away captives, because they forsook God. us,

although there was neither the power of the king nor the

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order of the kingdom, yet, wherever there was faith, God

blessed those of His people who trusted in Him.

e preservation of genealogy the proof of faith

ese genealogies were imperfect. e condition of

Israel bore the impress of the ruin which had befallen them;

but also that of the goodness of God who had brought back

a remnant, and who had preserved all that was needful to

place those who formed it in the record of His people. If

the needful proof to give them a title to this were wanting,

such as were of the people ceased to enjoy their proper

privileges, and the priests their sacerdotal position, until a

priest stood up with Urim and with ummim. For these

genealogies served as a means to recognize the people.

Happy he who had preserved his own, and who had so

appreciated the heritage of Jehovah as to attach value to it!

It was a proof of faith; for, it might have been said, of what

use are these genealogies in Babylon?

e use made of genealogies

As to the Levites-for it is good to serve the Lord-their

genealogies, their cities and their services were known

with sucient certainty, even with respect to those that

dwelt at Jerusalem. e mercy of God has not forgotten

either to preserve a lamp in the<P494> house of Saul; for

in judgment God remembers mercy. Chapter 9 teaches us

the use which they made of their genealogies; for those

mentioned in it are persons who had returned from the

captivity, as may be seen in Nehemiah 11. is portion

of the book closes at chapter 9:34. Verse 35 begins the

narrative.

1Chronicles 9:35 -12:40

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1Chronicles 9:35 -12:40

e ruin of Saul’s house; Jehovah’s establishment of

David

A brief recital of the ruin of Saul’s house introduces

Jehovah’s establishment of the house of David. All that

took place before the people gathered themselves to David

at Hebron, and before the kingdom was established in his

house over all Israel at Jerusalem, is passed over in silence.

e order of kingly power and the Davidic kingdom

After this we nd, as a general subject, the order of the

kingly power, and of the kingdom as established in the

house of David- the kingdom, looked at as ordained of

God in blessing, rather than the historical account of all

that took place-excepting, so far as was necessary to furnish

this picture. ere is not perfection here; but there is the

order which God appointed. e faults and the suerings

of David, whether before or after he was made king, are

consequently passed over in silence.

e king and the strength and glory of his kingdom

After having mentioned the king himself, anointed by

Samuel according to the word of Jehovah to rule over all

Israel, the history begins with that which constituted the

strength and glory of David’s kingdom. e high priest

no longer occupies the foreground. Jehovah’s anointed

is essentially a man of war, although it is not always to

be so. Joab and the mighty men who had been David’s

companions in arms come immediately after the king.

e rst place next to the king is his who delivered

Zion out of the enemy’s hands;1 and this spot, chosen of

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Jehovah, becomes the<P495> city of David and the seat of

royal power. We are then told how David’s companions in

arms successively joined him, though yet for a long time

rejected and pursued by Saul, mean as yet in appearance, a

fugitive and without power to resist.

1. David having built the city from Millo round about,

Joab repaired the rest of the city. We may observe

that Shammah the Harorite is not mentioned

here. Perhaps it is Shammah in chapter 11:27: but

this is doubtful. (See 2Samuel 23:25.) It may also

be observed that the exploits of these mighty men

consisted especially of victories over the Philistines,

the enemies by whom Saul, who had been raised up

for the purpose of destroying them, was overcome.

Whatever may have been their subsequent

achievements, it was there they learned to conquer,

and that they acquired the reputation which procured

them a place in the archives of God.

It is well that the reader should remember the connection

between this whole history, and the establishment of the

power of Christ, the Son of David, on the earth. )

David’s companions

e rst who are pointed out as having come to him-a

proof that God and the knowledge of His will had more

value in their eyes than parentage and the advantages

which ow from thence-are from among the brethren

of Saul (that is, of the tribe of Benjamin), and men of

the greatest skill in handling the bow and the sling, the

weapons with which Saul was slain in the battle in which

he was overthrown.

ere were some who came from beyond Jordan to

David, while he was still concealed in the wilderness; for

faith and the manifestation of God’s power tend to bring

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into play the energy and strength of those who connect

themselves with it. He with whom God is attracts those with

whom God is working; and their energy develops itself in

proportion to the manifestation of His presence and favor.

Many of these had been with Saul, but when with him they

were not mighty men; many also had never been with him.

Yet even in Saul’s camp David had been able to slay the

Philistines when all Israel was in terror. After that, similar

achievements become almost common. At the beginning

such things required immediate communion with God, so

as to shut out the inuence of all that surrounded the man

who enjoyed this communion. Afterwards the surrounding

inuence was favorable, and, in this sense, faith propagates

itself. ese were but the chief of the mighty men whom

David had. When God acts in power, He gives strength to

the weak, and produces, by the energy of faith and of His

Spirit, an army of heroes.

In those who came from Benjamin and Judah we see

that there was this link of faith (ch. 12:16). ey knew that

David’s God helped him. David committed himself to God

with respect to those<P496> who joined him, for he was

in a very dicult position towards the end of his career of

trial and aiction. ose to whom God had given energy

and strength came to him in great numbers; for everything

was ripe for his elevation to the throne of Israel, and for the

transfer of Saul’s kingdom to him.

e various characteristics of God’s army, but their

one heart and object

ere were various characteristics in this army of

God: all famous for their valor, some among them had

understanding of the times to know what Israel ought

to do, and, in this case, all their brethren were at David’s

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command; others were armed for battle; others had all

instruments for war, and were not of a double heart. And

these things were according to the gift of God, and they all

came with one heart to make David king; their brethren

had prepared everything in abundance, for there was joy in

Israel. It is always thus when Christ is really magnied by

upright hearts who only seek His glory.

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David’s zeal for the ark

David immediately thinks of the ark (see Psalm 132).

He consults with the captains of the thousands of Israel

in order to bring it back among them. Loving the people,

and beloved by them, he acts with and for them: but his

zeal was still too much connected with his warlike spirit;

and, while giving himself up to joy, he did not suciently

consider Jehovah’s ways. He imitates, no doubt, the means

by which God had gloried Himself, when the ark fell

into the hands of the Philistines. ese were quite right in

having nothing to do with it, and in leaving God to act, and

to testify of Himself, that He was the God of all creation,

exercising a power that overrules nature in His creatures.

is was faith in the Philistines; but it was not faith in

Uzza to touch the ark. Among God’s people it is His Word

that must direct. God may act in sovereignty outside of all

this; but here the Word rules. Perez-Uzza is a witness that

it cannot be neglected with impunity, and that the order

of His house in the midst of His people is a thing which

He will cause them to reverence. It was through having

failed in this <P497>reverence that David’s joy was turned

into sorrow and fear; but the house of Obed-edom was

nevertheless a proof that the presence of God assuredly

brings blessing.

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1Chronicles 14

Establishment, conrmation and victory

e history of the royalty continues. David establishes

himself at Jerusalem, and Jehovah conrms the kingdom

in his hands, and it is lifted up on high because of His

people. Having inquired of God and exactly followed His

directions, David twice gains a complete victory over the

Philistines. Being thus blessed of Jehovah, his fame goes

out into all lands.

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1Chronicles 15

A place prepared for the ark

He makes himself houses in Jerusalem, and prepares a

place for the ark of God, pitching a tent for it.

Warned by the calamity1 which his neglect had brought

upon Uzza, the rst time he undertook to bring back the

ark, David now gathers, not only all Israel together, but also

the Levites and the children of Aaron. is gives occasion

to the setting forth of the whole order of Levitical service

as it had been appointed by David, and of the relation

between the priesthood and royalty; that is, that the former

is subordinated to the latter, the king being Jehovah’s

anointed, although the service of the sanctuary belonged

to the priesthood.

(1. It is to be observed, that, although this had its origin

in the guilty forgetfulness of David, it nevertheless gave

occasion through grace to his being set in his true position

for the regulation and appointment of all that concerned

the Levites’ service. It is always thus with regard to faith,

for the purposes of God are fullled in favor of it. Man in

his zeal may depart from the will of God, and God will

chasten him, but only to bring him into more honor, by

setting him more completely in the position which God

has purposed, and in the understanding of His ways,

according to which He will magnify His servant.)

e ark brought with joy and song to Zion

As the head, David orders everything and appoints

psalmody<P498> for the service of God. en by the help

of God, the ark is brought from the house of Obed-edom

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into the tent prepared for it in Zion, with oerings to God

who helped the Levites by His power, and with joy and

songs of triumph. David himself, clothed with a robe of

ne linen and an ephod, dances and plays before the ark

of Jehovah who was going up to His place in Zion. is

action-unintelligible to the unbelieving Michal, to whom

the king’s behavior was therefore unintelligible also-was of

very great importance. It identied kingly power in Zion

(that is to say, the kingly power of Christ, as deliverer in

grace) with the token of Jehovah’s covenant with Israel-a

token established there in grace, when Israel had already

failed entirely under the law, and even after their rejection

of God as their King.

e altar and the ark

e Aaronic priesthood was not able to maintain the

people’s relationship with their God, and consequently the

outward order had completely failed. e altar at which

the priests were to sacrice was elsewhere (at Gibeon),

and not before the tent which contained the ark. And the

ark, which was the sign of the covenant and of the throne

of Jehovah, was at a distance from the altar at which the

priests ministered.

Jehovah’s covenant connected with kingly power

e covenant of Jehovah is connected with the kingly

power, and that in Zion-the place which He had chosen

for His rest. David himself assumes somewhat of the

Melchisedec character, but only in testimony and by

anticipation (ch. 16:1-3). In these verses the priests do not

appear.

In order to apprehend more clearly the import of the

removal of the ark to Zion, it will be well to consider Psalm

78:60-72 and Psalm 132, and to compare verse 8 of the

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latter with what Moses said during Israel’s journey in the

wilderness (Num. 10:35-36). It is interesting to see that

each petition in the earlier part of Psalm 132 is exceeded

by its fulllment at the close.

e ark in Zion and the tabernacle in Gibeon

e circumstance of the ark not being taken to the

tabernacle at Gibeon was also of deep signicance. It was

completely <P499>judging the whole system connected

with this tabernacle. e tabernacle was still in being, as

well as the altar, and the priests oered sacrices there; but

the ark of the covenant of Jehovah had been taken away

from it. e king disposed of the latter by his authority,

placing it elsewhere. Ever since the ruin of Shiloh this

judgment had continued as a chastisement executed by the

enemy; but, now that God interposes by means of David

and acts in power, this power places the visible sign of His

covenant with His people elsewhere. e kingly power is

established at Jerusalem, and the sign of God’s covenant is

taken away from the tabernacle of the congregation to be

placed on Mount Zion, the seat of the kingly power.

When the people were to journey, Moses said,1 “Rise

up, Jehovah, and let thine enemies be scattered, and let

them that hate thee ee before thee.” is was when the

ark went before them to search out a resting-place for

them. When it rested, he said, “Return, O Jehovah, unto

the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” But, when God had

up to a certain point given rest to Israel, they knew not

how to enjoy it. ey took the ark out of its place to carry it

into the camp of Israel, when defeated on account of their

unfaithfulness by their enemies; but this was not now the

place for the ark. Neither the one nor the other of Moses’

expressions was suitable to this transfer of the ark to the

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midst of the camp. e ark was taken, and, as we have seen

elsewhere, Ichabod was pronounced upon the people.2

But the faithfulness of God is abiding; and, now that He

has interposed in grace and power, and that the throne is

established as the vessel of this power and grace, another

word is given: “Arise, O Jehovah, into thy rest, thou and the

ark of thy strength” (Psa. 132:8). Israel, the camp and the

priesthood were no longer the rest of God.<P500>

(1. us in the wilderness, it was Israel journeying,

who were seeking their rest, who were to nd enemies

on their way, and whose faith recognized these enemies

as the enemies of Jehovah; or Israel carefully surrounding

the token of the presence of their God, when He gave a

temporary rest unto His people.)

(2. Expressed in these words, He has “delivered his

strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy’s

hand” (Psa. 78).)

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1Chronicles 16

Blessing and praise

Let us now consider the import of this establishment

of the ark and of the throne in Zion, as set before us in the

psalm which David wrote on this occasion.

It is true that, so far as it was entrusted to man,1 the

kingly power failed; but it is not, therefore, the less true

that it has been placed in the house of David, according to

the counsels, the gift and the calling of God, and that all

the promises connected with it-the sure mercies of David-

will be fullled in Christ.

(1. Compare Psalm 132:11-12, the two principles

already pointed out in the thoughts on the Books of Kings.)

In that which we read here (ch. 16) the throne is

considered in the light of God’s thoughts, and of the

blessing which, according to those thoughts, is linked

with it. David, having oered burnt oerings and peace

oerings, and having blessed the people, deals to everyone,

both to man and woman, a loaf of bread, and a good piece of

esh, and a agon of wine; for God will “abundantly bless

her provision, and satisfy her poor with bread.” en David

gives the Levites a psalm to sing praises unto Jehovah.

David’s psalm; its connection with Psalm 105

is psalm is composed of a part of Psalm 105, of Psalm

96 with some alterations, of the beginning of Psalms 106,

107, 118 and 136, which is an important form of words;

and of Psalm 106:47-48.

e following are its subjects in the order which the

psalm follows. First, Psalm 105 in which the deeds of

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Jehovah are celebrated, as well as His marvelous works,

and the judgments of His mouth. Israel, as His people

and the assembly of His chosen ones, is commanded to

remember these things, for He is Jehovah their God,

and His judgments are in all the earth. Israel is called to

remember, not Moses and the conditional promises given

to the people through him, but the covenant made with

Abraham unconditionally-an everlasting covenant to

give the land to his seed. Israel is reminded of the way in

which God preserved those heirs of promise, when they

went from nation to nation. e remainder of the psalm is

omitted; it speaks historically of the ways of God,<P501>

with respect to the preservation of His people in Egypt, and

of their deliverance thence, to be established in Canaan,

that they might observe the statutes of Jehovah; and this

part of the psalm would have been unsuitable here, where

grace is celebrated in the establishment of the people in

power after those statutes had been broken. e beginning

of the psalm celebrates grace towards Israel according to

the promises made to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob,

when the judgments of God are in all the earth. is is the

rst thing founded upon the presence of the ark, and the

establishment of the throne in Zion.

Correspondence with Psalm 96

Verses 23-33 are almost the words of Psalm 96. It is a

call to the heathen to acknowledge Jehovah, whose glory

should be declared among all nations. is psalm belongs

to a series of psalms, which, from the rst cry of the people

until the universal joy of the nations, relate in order all that

refers to the bringing again the Firstborn into the world.

Only in Psalm 96 the words, “Say among the heathen that

Jehovah reigneth,” have a place which gives them a more

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prophetic character. Here the joy of the heavens and the

earth precedes this message to the heathen, and, instead

of saying, “His courts,” it is said, “Before him.” e words,

“He shall judge the peoples with righteousness,”1 are also

omitted, as well as the second half of the last verse, which

applies this judgment to the world. Apart from these

alterations, which appear to me to give this psalm more of

the character of a present joy, these verses correspond with

Psalm 96.

(1. People is עמים (Ammim), habitually in the Psalms

I think the peoples associated with העם (“the people”).

See, however, verse 26; at any rate, they are not treated as

heathen. “Judge the peoples in uprightness” (Psa. 96:10)

is דין (deen), controversies and litigation; שפט (Shaphat) is

more general judicial authority. e last is the word used

at the end of this psalm. “Say among the heathen that the

Lord reigneth” is displaced here.)

e omission of the judgment of the peoples in

righteousness is remarkable. It is because the subject here

is joy, and the grace of deliverance in the establishment

of power, with the subsequent government of the earth,

and that the nations are called up to Jerusalem to present

themselves there before Jehovah. is is the leading

thought.<P502>

Jehovah’s mercy continually celebrated

We have then in these two parts the fulllment, in

Israel’s joy before Jehovah, of the covenant made with

the fathers, following after His mighty works; and the

call addressed to the nations to come up to the place of

His glory.1 We have next this form of words, “His mercy

endureth forever,” declaring that in spite of all the faults, all

the sins and all the unfaithfulness of Israel, Jehovah’s mercy

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has stood rm. It will be when the Lamb, the true ark of the

covenant and the real David, shall be upon Mount Zion,

even before He assumes the character of Solomon, that

this will be fully demonstrated. Accordingly, since David,

this has been sung (compare verse 41; 2Chronicles 5:13;

Ezra 3:11; Jeremiah 33:11).

(1. Psalm 100 could not have been used here, because

before that psalm Jehovah had already been celebrated as

sitting between the cherubim (Psa. 99:1); while the act

of placing the ark in Zion was only an anticipation. It is

Psalm 96, therefore, which is quoted. It is the presence of

Christ on Mount Zion to fulll the promises in power,

before reigning in peace, which explains all these allusions,

as well as some psalms, which seem to speak of a return

from captivity, and a rebuilding of Jerusalem, while praying

at the same time for the accomplishment of this return. In

some the celebration of the blessing is in spirit, and the cry

for blessing the fact preceding the accomplishment of it.)

Correspondence with Psalm 106

Psalm 106, which concludes the fourth book of Psalms,

opens at length the proofs of this precious declaration, while

the psalm we are considering, after giving the promises

made to Abraham, passes over the whole history to the

end (omitting the latter part of Psalm 105, from verse 16,

which speaks of it, and places Israel under responsibility

in Canaan), and goes on with the rst verse of Psalm 106,

which declares that the mercy of God has continued in

spite of everything.

Correspondence with Psalms 107, 118 and 136

Psalm 107 treats the same subject, but in connection

with the deliverance and the return of Israel at the end of

the age.

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Psalm 118 brings out this truth in connection with the

Person of the Messiah, suering with His people, but at

last known and accepted in the day which Jehovah has

made.

Finally, in Psalm 136, the same doxology is sung in

connection<P503> with the full blessing of Israel and of all

creation; beginning with the creation itself, and celebrating

the proofs of this mercy throughout all things, until the

blessing of the earth, resulting in the redemption of Israel.

Here we may remark, that from Psalm 132, which we

have already noticed as celebrating the establishment of

the ark on Mount Zion, the psalms are consecutive until

Psalm 136. Only they go beyond our present subject and

introduce us to the restored temple, although still speaking

of Zion as the place of blessing (compare Psalms 133, 134,

135 and, nally, 136, of which we are speaking, and which,

as a chorus, concludes the series).

e contents of the psalm; its concluding verses of

prayer and praise

Finally, we have the two concluding verses of Psalm 106,

the rst of which prays that God would gather Israel1 from

among the heathen, which will be the result of the throne

of Jesus being set up in Zion,2 and the second of which

concludes the psalm (as we nd at the close of each book

of Psalms) by blessing forever Jehovah the God of Israel.

is song of praise contains then every subject which the

presence of Christ in Zion will give occasion to celebrate,

when He shall already have appeared to establish there His

power in grace, but before the eects of His presence have

been felt all around.

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(1. is petition proves the prophetic character of the

psalm, and shows that it reaches onward to the latter times

of Israel.)

(2. See Matthew 24:31 (although it is there in connection

with His coming from heaven), and Psalm 126.)

e place of power and mercy

At the close of chapter 16 we see that the king regulates

everything that was to be done before the ark, and before

the altar which was in the high place at Gibeon (that is

to say, for the service of every day before the ark, and for

the sacrices upon the altar); and that he also appointed

Levites to praise Jehovah, and to sing that “His mercy

endureth forever.”

It is touching to see that the testimony to this precious

faithfulness on God’s part is not only found in the place

where power had set the ark, but there also where the heart

of the people needed it<P504> meantime, namely, at the

altar, which, although the place where the people drew

nigh to God, had become after all a testimony to the fallen

condition of the people, a tabernacle without the ark.

e sure mercies of David seen in the ark and the altar

Faith, apprehending the counsels and the work of God,

could see in the establishment of the ark in Zion (an act

which, according to the old order, was thorough disorder),

the progress of God’s power and intervention towards the

peaceful and glorious reign of the Son of David. e sure

mercies of David were as bright to the eye of faith as the

dawn of day, in that the ark of the covenant had been set up

by David the king in the mountain which God had chosen

for His everlasting rest.

But all did not apprehend this intervention and these

ways of God, so precious to those who understood them;

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and the condescending mercy of God stooped at Gibeon

to the low estate of the people whom He loved, and He

still spoke to them after His own heart there, at the altar

where this people could draw near to God in an ignorance

perhaps which saw no further; but where, as far as this

ignorance allowed, they were faithful to Him who had

brought them out of Egypt: there God spoke to them,

telling them that His mercy endured forever. is was, in

fact, a touching proof of it. David returns to bless his house,

always a distinct thing, for David as for Solomon, from the

people, and from the glory connected with them.

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1Chronicles 17

e Lord’s house and its builder

But although David was to connect kingly power in

Zion with the ark of the covenant, and thus to secure

blessing by the power of the king whom God had chosen,

yet the warrior king was not to build the Lord’s house.

e energy which was victorious over the enemies of God

and of His people was not yet the peaceful and glorious

power which would bring the people into the enjoyment

of all God’s blessing, when the enemy should be no more

and all should yield implicit obedience to the throne of

God upon the earth. Like Abraham, David was to be in

his own person the depositary of the promises; but he was

not himself to enjoy the result<P505> of the promises on

the earth.

When the people had been redeemed, their rst spiritual

desire was to build a habitation in which God should dwell

among them (Ex. 15:2),1 and this desire was according to

the mind of God (Ex. 29:44-46).

(1. is translation here is more than doubtful, but

Exodus 29:46 is quite clear as to the purpose of God.)

But if God had accompanied His people in their

wandering; if He had borne with their unfaithfulness,

when He had entrusted to them His glory in the earth,

which He had promised them; and if the song, “His mercy

endureth forever,” echoed around His altar in the midst of

the ruin; if, for the deliverance of His people, He had set

up a king after His own heart, and placed the ark (rescued

from the enemy) upon Mount Zion, the place which He

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had chosen for His rest; nevertheless it was still true that

there remained a rest for the people of God. e victory

which obtained it was not this rest, neither was the grace

which bestowed the victory this rest. When God should

give His people full and entire rest, then the house in

which He would dwell among them should be built; for

God comes into the midst of His people according to their

condition and their need.1

(1. When Israel was a slave, God became his Redeemer;

when he dwelt in tents, God abode in one also; when in

conict, God presented Himself as captain of Jehovah’s

host; when settled in peace, God establishes Himself in

the house of His glory. e interval was the probation of

His people on earth. God abode in the tent, and even His

ark is taken. He interposes in grace for deliverance.

Christ also, since we were born of woman, is born of a

woman; since His people were under the law, He is born

under the law; now that He will have a heavenly people,

He is on high for us, when He comes in glory, we shall

come with Him, and reign when He reigns, but in these

last we are with Him.)

e counsels of God in blessing; the throne

established forevermore

But the holy desire to build it for the glory of God

becomes the occasion of revealing to David all the counsels

of God with respect to himself. Grace had chosen him

when in a low estate, and had set him up to rule the people

of God, who had Himself been with David wherever he

went, who had cut o David’s enemies, and who had exalted

him. And this was not all. He had ordained a rest for His

people, which should no more be disturbed, as it had been

aforetime and during all the days of the judges.<P506>

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Moreover God would subdue all his enemies, and

would build him a house. It should no longer be saviours

occasionally raised up to deliver a people from the miseries

into which their unfaithfulness had plunged them; but the

counsels of God on their behalf should be accomplished,

and blessing established forevermore in the house and

family of the king. e son of David should sit upon his

throne; he should be a son unto Jehovah, and Jehovah

should be his Father, and Jehovah’s mercy should not be

taken away from him. He should also be settled in the

house, and in the kingdom of Jehovah forever, and his

throne should be established forevermore.

Christ the true Son of David, the King; David’s prayer

It will be remarked here that all question of the

responsibility of David’s seed1 is left out, and that the

whole refers to the fulllment of God’s purposes in Christ,

the true Son of David according to the promise. God takes

the matter in hand. While His people are still deprived

of rest, He is pleased to go with them from tent to tent,

and desires not that they should build Him a house. At

length He will Himself raise up the One who shall build

up a house, and under whose reign the people, established

in power forever, shall enjoy the rest which God Himself

shall have procured them. David, with overowing heart,

makes answer to Jehovah,2 who, for His servant’s sake, and

according to His own heart, had done all these great things,

and had revealed them to make His servant know them.

While acknowledging Israel’s glorious privilege, in being

the people of such a God-the only true God, he prays that

the God of Israel will, in fact, be a God to Israel, and that

He will fulll all that He had spoken to him concerning

his posterity.<P507>

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(1. e latter part of verse 14 in 2Samuel 7 is omitted.)

(2. It is beautiful to see, in this aecting prayer, how

David’s heart is full of that which God is in this matter.

“ere is none like thee”; and, if he speaks of the blessing

upon His people, Israel is not that which the people are,

but “the only nation in the earth whom God went to

redeem to himself, that they might be his own people, to

make himself a name of greatness and terribleness.” “Let

thy name be magnied forever.” is is the proper eect

of faith.)

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1Chronicles 18-20

David’s glorious reign

In chapters 18-20 David, already delivered from all

internal conict in Israel, triumphs over the heathen, and

spreads the glory of Israel and of his reign on every side.

ese are the events which occasioned Psalm 18, although

it has a more extended meaning (compare verses 36-45).

It will also be remarked that all David’s faults are passed

over in silence. Faithfully recounted elsewhere, they have

no place here, because it is the fulllment of the ways and

thoughts of God in the house of the elect king that is here

depicted.

e children of the giant fall with the Philistines before

the children of Israel.

1Chronicles 21

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1Chronicles 21

Prosperity and temptation; sin, chastisement and

grace

But prosperity exposes David to the temptations of the

enemy. Head over Israel, and conqueror of all his enemies,

he wishes to know the strength of Israel, which was his

glory, forgetting the strength of God, who had given him

all this and had multiplied Israel. is sin, always a great

one and still more so in David’s case, did not fail to bring

chastisement from God-a chastisement, however, which

was the occasion of a fresh development of His grace, and

of the accomplishment of His purposes. David, in his heart,

knew God although for a moment he had forgotten Him,

and he commits himself to Him, choosing rather to fall

into the hands of God than to hope anything from man;

and the pestilence is sent by God. is, by the grace of

God, gives occasion for another element of David’s glory-

for the honor which God gave him of being the instrument

to x the spot, where the altar of God was to be the means

of the daily connection between the people and Himself.

Jerusalem was beloved of God. is election on His part

is now manifested. e spot of ground in question was

the threshingoor of a stranger; the moment was one in

which the people were suering under the consequences

of sin. But here all is grace; and God stays the angel’s hand

when stretched out to smite Jerusalem. Grace anticipates

all <P508>movement in David’s heart;1 for it acts and

has its source in the heart of God. Moved by this same

grace, David on his part intercedes for the people, taking

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the sin on himself; and God hears his prayer, and sends

His prophet to direct him in oering the atoning victim,

which, in fact, formed the foundation of all subsequent

relationship between the people and God. One cannot

but feel-defective as the type is,2 in comparison with the

reality-how much this calls Him to mind who took upon

Himself, and even in behalf of this very people, the sin

which was not His own.

(1. It is interesting to see the order unfolded here in the

establishment of the relations of sovereign grace: rst of

all, the heart of God and His sovereign grace in election,

suspending the execution of the deserved and pronounced

judgment (vs. 15); next, the revelation of this judgment, a

revelation which produces humiliation before God and a

full confession of sin before His face. David, and the elders

of Israel, clothed in sackcloth, fall upon their faces, and

David presents himself as the guilty one. en, instruction

comes from God, as to that which must be done to cause

the pestilence judicially and denitively to cease, namely,

the sacrice in Ornan’s threshingoor. God accepts

the sacrice, sending re to consume it, and then He

commands the angel to sheathe his sword. And sovereign

grace, thus carried out in righteousness through sacrice,

becomes the means of Israel’s approach to their God, and

establishes the place of their access to Him. e tabernacle,

a testimony to the conditions under which the people had

failed, oered, as we have seen, no resource in such a case.

On the contrary, it occasioned fear. He was afraid to go to

Gibeon. Nothing would do but the denitive intervention

of God according to His own grace (the circumstance of

the sin, on the king’s own part, leaving no room for any

other means). e whole system and principle of the

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797

tabernacle as a legal institution is set aside, and the worship

of Israel founded on grace, by sacrice coming in where all,

even the king as responsible, had failed. Such was Israel’s

position for him who understood it.)

(2. And even historically quite opposed; for it is the king’s

own sin that has brought chastisement on the people. Christ,

however, made the sin His own. Nevertheless, this shows

us how everything depended now on the throne. It is not

the priest who brings in the remedy. David intercedes and

David oers. e fact that the king, in whom the promises

were, had sinned, made sovereign grace necessary.)

Acceptance of the atoning sacrice

David having oered the sacrice according to God’s

ordinance, God marks His acceptance of it by sending re

from heaven; and at God’s command the angel sheathes

his sword.

Here all is evidently grace. It is not the kingly power

which interposes to deliver Israel from their enemies,

and gives them rest. e ark of the covenant being there

through the energy of faith, out of its regular place which

is now desolate in consequence of the people’s sin, it is

Israel’s own sin1 (for all depends upon the king) which is

in question. God acts in grace, ordains and accepts<P509>

the atoning sacrice; David, in sackcloth with his elders,

presenting himself before Him in intercession.

(1. is dierence between Israel’s deliverance from

their enemies, and the sense of their own sin before God,

in the last day, is found in the psalms of degrees: see Psalm

130. )

A new order of things

In the place where God has heard his prayer, David

oers his sacrices; and of this place it is said, “is is the

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house of Jehovah-Elohim, and this is the altar of the burnt

oering for Israel.” In the presence of the sin, God acts

in grace, and institutes, by means of sacrice, the regular

order of the religious relationship between Himself and

His people who are accepted in grace, and the place of

His own habitation in which they were to draw nigh unto

Him.1 It was a new order of things. e former presented

no resource against the judgment of God: on the contrary,

David himself feared to go to the tabernacle; it was all

over with it as a means of approach to God. David’s sin

became the occasion of putting an end to it, by showing the

impossibility of using it in such a case, and by being thus

made the occasion of founding everything upon sovereign

grace.

(1. Observe too here, how sin gives occasion to the

bringing out of the counsels of God, though the responsibility

was also met in what did so. So the cross. Compare Titus

1:2-3, and 2Timothy 1:9-10; Ephesians 3; Colossians 1.)

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David’s provision for, and ordering of, the house to

be built

From this chapter to verses 28-29 of chapter 26 all refers

to the house which is to be built. We see the provision that

David made of everything necessary for its construction,

the order of the Levites’ service who were appointed for

song, of those among them who were porters, of the priests

in their classes, all being ordered and arranged by David.

How entirely all was dependent on the king is especially

shown in this that, without any distinctive break, the

other royal appointments of his house, his administration,

his ocers and guard, are then continuously introduced;

nally, the chief among the people, the number of whom

is mentioned.

As to the numbering of the people, it had not been

nished because of the wrath of God. e thing of interest

here is that all is<P510> ordered and arranged by David,

even for the doors of the house which was not yet built.

us, in Christ, all is appointed before it is manifested in

glory.

We see too that David had it always at heart, and what

immense preparations he had made. For whatever the

warfare may be, the glory of God in peace among His

people is always in the heart which is in unison with the

Spirit of Christ, in the heart of Christ Himself.

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1Chronicles 28

A new system established founded on grace

It is David who places Solomon on the throne, who

commands the princes to aid him, and who appoints

prophecy in inspired psalms.1 He ordains the age at which

the Levites’ service should commence-a dierent age from

that ordained by Moses.2

(1. Heman himself, apparently, was inspired also. Several

psalms are ascribed to him, as well as to Asaph.)

(2. At any rate the probably probationary period of four

years is not mentioned. David ordains the age by his own

authority.)

It is the whole order of the house of God and of the

king which is appointed under his hand; a new system

which is established, founded upon grace as its principle.

Solomon only puts in execution the order and plans of

divine wisdom in David. Glory is but the fruit of grace.

It is the Christ who has suered, who is the wisdom and

the power of God, unto whom all the order of the house

belongs. All the rest is glorious, but it is only a result. Only

we have already seen that it is in peace, and by Christ, as

Prince of Peace, that this house must be built. It did not

become the habitual manifestation of the glory of God,

that there should be enemies to combat; neither was it

suitable to the character of His people’s joy. e character

of such a state of things should be that of blessing owing

without obstacle from God.

David, the rejected, suering one, ruler of all, typical

of Christ

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801

It is very important to observe how everything here is

ruled by David. It is important, in the rst place, morally.

e intelligence, the right of ordering all things, the energy

which grasps<P511> the whole thought of God, the

fellowship with Him in His counsels, the germ and moral

foundation of all these counsels, as well as the power of

maintaining them, are connected with the suerings which

Christ underwent for the glory of His Father. is is true of

us also in our measure. It is the humbled, suering Christ,

who is morally on a level with all this glory. It is important,

in the second place, as to intelligence in the ways of God;

for I doubt not that Christ, at the commencement of His

reign, will act in the character of David.

We may also remark here that the extent of authority

which David exercised was very great and of wide bearing.

e whole religious order was reconstructed. Everything,

even to the age of the Levites’ service, depends on the

authority and regulations of David, as formerly on those

of Moses. All the pattern of the temple, and of its vessels,

is given him by inspiration, as that of the tabernacle, and

all belonging to it had been given to Moses. He also

introduced singing, and divers musical instruments, which

are even called “the musical instruments of God,” and

which, as well as the singing, had previously formed no

part of the public service. With the exception of the ark,

even the various vessels were dierent from those of the

tabernacle; and for each thing the precise weight in gold or

in silver was determined by David.

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1Chronicles 29

e sharers in the work

God would also associate the people with David in this

willing service of the day of His power; and, even as they

had been associated with him in his wars and conicts,

there are those who shall be so likewise in the liberality

which he manifests towards the house of his God. ey

are at a great distance from him, it is true: it is, so to say,

a superuous thing. ey have nothing to do with the

wisdom that arranges and prepares, but they are allowed

to share in the work. is favor is granted them, and their

goodwill is acceptable to God, and it is also the fruit of His

grace.

David as leader of the people’s praises

David here (ch. 29:18) again acknowledges God

according to the promises made unto the fathers, and

according to the <P512>memorial of God forever; “God

of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers”; he seeks that

which will be accomplished under the new covenant, and

directs the thanksgivings of the whole assembly. Sacrices

of righteousness are oered, and they eat before Jehovah

with great gladness.

e identication of Solomon with David

Solomon is made king the second time (see chapter

23:1). e rst time was when grace was fully established

in the altar built on the threshingoor of Ornan, where the

son of David, as the prince of peace, was to build the temple.

Solomon is introduced as the head of all that was being

established, and as holding the rst and supreme place in

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803

the mind of God-the one on whom all the rest depended,

which could not even exist now without him. e house, the

whole order of the house, and its government, all referred

to Solomon; and thus his identication with David, in

that both were on the throne at the same time, makes it

much easier to understand the type of Christ in this. It

is one person, whom His suerings and victories place

on the throne of glory and of peace. For at this moment,

although the result of the glory was not yet manifested,

God had given rest unto His people, that they might dwell

at Jerusalem (ch. 23:25).

Solomon reigning in glory and peace

David now disappears, although it is he who puts

Solomon in this position. at which we see, as lling the

whole scene of royal glory, is Solomon himself reigning in

peace over a willing people, who can oer these sacrices

of righteousness. e son of David is seen in his own

true character, and in this character alone, namely, that of

Jehovah’s anointed, the governor of the people; and Zadok,

the faithful priest (not Abiathar), walks before the anointed

one (all the counsel of God, according to Hannah’s song,

and the words of the man of God in 1Samuel 2 being thus

fullled). “And Solomon sat on the throne of Jehovah”-a

remarkable expression: everything is subject to him.

e thought and intention of God’s Spirit in this book

e attentive reader cannot fail to observe the prominent

place given to the counsels of God respecting Christ the

Lord, and the<P513> contrast there is between this and

the history of Adonijah in Kings-a history which, by the

contrast it presents with the narrative in Chronicles, so

fully proves that the thought and intention of the Spirit

of God in this book was to give us, in type, the expression

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of God’s purposes with regard to the true Son of David,

and the position He is to occupy, and to show what will

be the character in those days of the throne at Jerusalem,

when Christ shall be seated upon it. It will be the throne of

Jehovah, and the royal majesty in Israel shall be such as has

never yet been known. With reference to this the Book of

Chronicles is full of instruction.<P514>

2Chronicles

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2Chronicles

e scope of the book

is Second Book of Chronicles unfolds the reign of

the son of David and of the family of David. It does not

commence with the faith of David at the ark, but with the

tabernacle that Moses, the servant of Jehovah had set up,

and the brazen altar, at which the king and the congregation

worshipped. e kingly power is realized in connection

with Israel, the people of God whom Moses brought out of

Egypt.1 It is the means by which the purposes of God with

respect to them are accomplished; it is not yet assuredly a

new covenant by a new power, but the object of blessing

is Israel. If it is Boaz and Ruth who raise up the family, it

is to Naomi that a son is born, that is, through sovereign

grace, by a redeemer “in whom is strength”:2 one who had

no title (and Israel had no more any) is introduced into

the enjoyment of the promises. Israel, long known as the

“pleasant one”3 of God, is the people which receives into

its bosom the son that is born. To us, they say, a son is

born (Isa. 9:6). At the altar which was before Jehovah in

the tabernacle of the congregation Solomon recognizes his

position. He is to judge the people of God. Hereafter all

this shall take place in power.

(1. But the connection is not with the ark in Zion. He

goes, historically, where the people are.)

(2. Such is the meaning of the name of Boaz.)

(3. Naomi means “my pleasant one.”)

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2Chronicles 1-6

e temple built; kingly power and government on

earth- the millennium

is book presents us also with kingly power in

connection with the earth and the government of the

people on the earth. Glory and riches are added to that

which Solomon requests. Neither <P515>enemies nor

the energy of faith is in question. e king’s position is

the result of the victory which that faith had obtained.

He reigns, and is established in glory and in riches. He

begins to build the house. Hiram acknowledges Jehovah

as the Creator of heaven and earth, and the strangers who

dwell in Israel are the king’s servants to do his work. In the

temple the cherubim have their faces towards the house,

that is, outwards.1e attributes of God do not now look

only at the covenant to maintain it in spite of everything,

but they also look outwards in order to bless. It is the

time of the millennium; but the veil is here found again

in the temple. Whatever may be the blessing of the true

Solomon’s reign, Israel and the earth have not immediate

and direct access to Him who is hidden in the heavens.

at is our portion, even to enter boldly now through the

veil, and to nd no veil in heaven: blessed be God! ere

is no temple there. Jehovah God Almighty and the Lamb

are the temple of it. e stability of a divine government

is granted to the earth,2 and the blessing of a God whose

face is turned towards it; but those who are blessed do not

behold that face, do not draw nigh unto it. ere is also an

altar adapted for worship in a time of such blessing. e

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altar and the veil are not mentioned in the Book of Kings,

where the structure of the temple is the gure of things

not seen, and where, as a whole, it is presented to us as the

dwelling-place and manifestation of God. We are told of

a golden door, opening with two leaves, before the oracle,

and nothing is said about the altar.

(1. In the Authorized Version it is inwards. It is literally

towards the house, which, generally, would mean inwards;

but, as the cherubim were at the very bottom of the house,

looking towards the house was really outwards. e French

translation is literal.)

(2. is stability consists, apparently, in two things-God

shall establish it, and then in Him is strength. ese are the

two sources of the stability of Christ’s kingdom. is is the

meaning of the words “Jachin” and “Boaz,” the names of

the pillars before the temple.)

e state of Christ’s glorious kingdom

In Chronicles the order is arranged also according to

the state of things which this book sets before us, that is

to say, according to the state of Christ’s glorious kingdom.

ere is a court for the priests, and the large outer court

with doors. All was arranged (ch. 4:9) for the relationship

of which we speak.<P516>

God’s connection with Israel in the last days; mercy

celebrated

So also, as to the manifestation of the glory, nothing is

said in the Book of Kings of the public acceptance of the

sacrice; but it is simply stated that when the ark had been

carried into the holy place, and the priests were gone out,

and the staves of the ark had been drawn out, so that the

dwelling of Jehovah was denitively established there, the

glory of Jehovah lled the house. It is God’s habitation,

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a gure of the heavenly dwelling-place which awaits us,

our Father’s house. On the other hand, that which is set

before us in the Book of Chronicles is God’s connection

with His people Israel in the last days, pregured by that

which happened to Solomon. It was when the trumpeters

and singers lifted up their voices with one accord to praise

Jehovah, saying, “His mercy endureth forever,” that the

house was lled with a cloud. As we have seen, when all

shall be accomplished for Israel, these words will celebrate

the untiring mercy of which Israel’s blessing will be the

proof in that day. It is the deliverance and blessing of that

people which demonstrate the truth of those words.

We have seen that there was a second part of grace, the

acceptance of Israel as worshippers after their sin-not only

the ark on Mount Zion, but the sacrice and pardon and

consequent worship of Mount Moriah, the threshingoor

of Araunah the Jebusite.

Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple;

God’s public acceptance of the sacrice

us Solomon having prayed, and entreated Jehovah

that His eyes should be open, and His ears attentive to the

prayers that should be oered to Him in that place (quoting

David’s petition in Psalm 132, and using His mercies to

David as a plea), the re comes down and consumes the

burnt oering and the sacrices; and the glory of Jehovah

lls the house. And now, it is not only that the priests

cannot enter, but the children of Israel behold the glory

which rests upon the house; they fall upon their faces and

worship. It is the public acceptance of the sacrice which

sets the people in public connection with God, and makes

them confess that “Jehovah is good, and that his mercy

endureth forever” (compare Leviticus 9:24). Only in this

2Chronicles 1-6

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last passage the acknowledgment of God’s unwearied

mercy was not the point.<P517>

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2Chronicles 7

e feast of tabernacles

ere is also another element in the scene we are

considering, and that is the public and joyful assembly

of the whole people, the feast of tabernacles, the great

congregation (Psa. 22:25), and also the dedication of the

altar.

ese are the two things which mark Israel’s

participation in the blessing, namely, the altar, and the

feast of tabernacles; worship subsequent to their fall and

ruin, founded on the acceptance of the sacrice, and the

realized eect of the promises, the people being no longer

in distress.1

(1. It does not appear, however, that they made booths

with the branches of trees. Since Joshua, this had not been

done until the days of Nehemiah. At the time which we

are considering, joy and prosperity had made them a little

neglectful of the Word.)

David’s praise in the temple

We nd again here the musical instruments of Jehovah,

which David had made to praise Jehovah, “because his

mercy endureth forever”; when David himself “praised by

their ministry” (ch. 7:6); blessed thought! for who is this

David? (Compare Psalm 22:22.) e people saw themselves

blessed and happy in all the goodness of Jehovah.

e conditions of enjoyment of blessing

After this the Lord sets before Solomon the conditions

under which He places him, as well as the people, for the

enjoyment, or for the recovery of these blessings. He had

2Chronicles 7

811

chosen this house of prayer. If there was chastening and

the people humbled themselves, there was respite: the eyes

and the heart of Jehovah should be there perpetually.

en, with respect to Solomon and the seed of David

generally, on their faithfulness the blessing of the whole

people was to depend. If the house of David should turn

away from God, Israel should be rooted out of the land;

and the house, which had been sanctied by the worship of

Jehovah, should become a byword among all nations, and a

witness to the just judgment of God.<P518>

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2Chronicles 8

Solomon’s rule preguring that of Christ on earth

Chapter 8 gives us a few more details of the state

of Israel-a state which pregures that of the last days.

Solomon brings everything into subjection that could

have hindered the full enjoyment of the promised land in

its whole extent, whether on the side of Tyre or of Syria.

e strangers in the land continue to pay tribute, and the

children of Israel are captains and men of war. Zion is

entirely sanctied, and the worship of Jehovah maintained

and honored by the king. e service of the house of God,

the praises and the whole order connected therewith were

appointed according to the ordinances of David. e king’s

commandment was the absolute rule for everything. Edom

itself was his possession; and, as far as the Red Sea, all were

the king’s subjects. e king of Tyre, who represents the

Gentile glory of the world, supplied all that he needed to

accomplish his designs.

2Chronicles 9

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2Chronicles 9

Solomon’s glory and wisdom; the tribute of the queen

of Sheba

But it is not only within the borders of the land that the

power and glory of Solomon are known. His fame spreads

among the heathen, even to distant lands; and the queen of

Sheba comes to bring him her tribute of admiration, and

the precious things of the Gentiles, who thus contribute to

the splendor and glory of the place chosen by God, whose

light had come, and upon which the glory of Jehovah had

risen (in type doubtless for the moment, but according

to the principle of grace, and by the power that will fully

accomplish it, according to the counsels of God). It is a

glory, the report of which attracts the nations, but which,

when seen, surpasses all that could be said of it; and which

one must be near to appreciate. It is a glory that excels

all that the world has seen, a wisdom never equalled-a

wisdom that attracted all the kings of the earth, who, each

year, brought their oerings and their gifts to the king who

sat upon the throne of Jehovah on earth.

us, ruling even to the farthest limits of the promised

land, he<P519> causes all Israel to enjoy the abundance

and the blessing, which God poured out upon His people.

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2Chronicles 10-12

Rehoboam’s folly and repentance

But soon the picture changes.

Solomon’s faults are not related here for reasons which

we have already pointed out; but the history of Rehoboam

shows us the immediate fall of the kingly power which

God had established. e king’s folly occasioned it, but it

was only the fulllment of the Lord’s word by Ahijah.

e war which Rehoboam began against the revolted

tribes was prevented. Rehoboam submits to the man of

God’s prohibition. He is blessed and forties himself in

Judah. e Levites repair to Jerusalem as well as a great

number of the faithful, who would not forsake the true

worship of Jehovah to bow down before golden calves,

to which His name had been attached. us Judah was

strengthened; for, during three years, the king walked in

the ways of David and Solomon. But soon he forsook the

law of Jehovah, and, secure against revolted Israel, he is

chastised by unexpected enemies, and all the riches amassed

by Solomon fall into their hands. Nevertheless he humbled

himself, and the wrath of Jehovah was turned from him.

2Chronicles 13-16

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2Chronicles 13-16

e ways of God in grace towards David and in

connection with His house

In the history which we are about to consider we shall

nd the ways of God more immediate and direct with those

who were in direct and avowed relationship with Him,

according to His grace towards David, and in connection

with the house that had been dedicated to His name.

When their kings were faithful, all went on well.<P520>

Abijah blessed

In his wars with Jeroboam, Abijah stands entirely upon

this ground, and he is blessed.

Asa’s faithfulness but failure

Asa follows his steps; and, whether at peace, or while at

war with the Ethiopians, Israel prospers in his reign. He

takes away the strange gods; for we continually nd them

again. Energy is required to cast them out and prevent

their return. Even the king’s mother is deprived of her royal

position, on account of her idolatry. Nevertheless “the high

places were not taken away.”

But, although Asa’s faithfulness continued, his trust in

God failed afterwards. Jealous of the Israelites resorting to

Judah, Baasha builds a city to prevent it; and Asa, instead

of looking to the Lord, allies himself with Syria-an alliance

which produced the desired eect, but which stirred up

Gentiles against Israel. And this was not all; alliance with

the world prevents our overcoming the world. Had he not

done this, the Syrians would have fallen into the hands of

Asa; for “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout

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the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of

them whose heart is perfect towards him.” Solemn and

precious word! Wounded in his self-love, and irritated at

having thus missed so good an opportunity, Asa puts the

seer who gave this testimony in prison; and he oppresses

the people. He is chastened of God, and alas! he does not

seek God in the chastening. Nevertheless, except in this

instance, Asa continued faithful and was honored.

2Chronicles 17-18

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2Chronicles 17-18

Jehoshaphat’s piety and prosperity

Jehoshaphat, his son, succeeds him, and begins his

reign by walking faithfully with God. He strengthened his

kingdom against Israel, an enemy more dangerous by their

example than by their strength. When anything pretends to

be in connection with God and to acknowledge Him, there

is no safety except in judging it with a spiritual judgment-

which can only be formed through a just sense of God’s

honor-making no terms with that<P521> which pretends

to be connected with Him, and treating it as an enemy. is

is what Jehoshaphat did at rst; and, as he did not walk in

the ways of Israel, Jehovah established the kingdom in his

hand. Blessed of Jehovah, he takes away the high places

and the groves, and seeks with much faithfulness and zeal

to instruct the people in the true knowledge of the Lord;

Jehovah preserves him from war, and some of the nations

even become tributary to him on account of his power.

Prosperity Jehoshaphat’s snare; anity with Ahab

In many respects this is a more beautiful picture than

anything we have yet read in the history of the kings.

But this prosperity becomes a snare to him; and it bore

most bitter fruits when his real piety was not present as a

counterpoise.

e prosperity with which God had blessed him in

consequence of his faithfulness made it worthwhile to seek

alliance with him, and rendered it more dicult to attack

him. us at ease, Jehoshaphat on his part joins anity

with Israel. His prosperity put him in a condition to do

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so in a manner which made the alliance honorable. e

human heart, when it is not kept by God, can act generously

with respect to the evil which it fears not; but this is not

charity. Outwardly Jehoshaphat is faithful to Jehovah, but

the wrath of Jehovah is upon him.

2Chronicles 19-20

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2Chronicles 19-20

War; Jehoshaphat’s appeal to God and the answer

Nevertheless, when he had returned to his house, the

king sets himself to bring back the people to the fear of

Jehovah, and to cause judgment and righteousness to be

executed in Israel. But war begins. He could no longer

have the unmingled blessing of having to do with God

alone without trial. e intervention of the enemy was

now needful for his good, according to God’s government,

although in the trial through which he passes he may have

full blessing. His piety was genuine; the trial proves it. He

appeals to the relationship of God with Abraham and to

His promises to Solomon, when the latter had built the

house. Jehoshaphat understood also the relation in which

the enemy stood to Israel, looked at in connection with

God’s dealings (ch. 20:10-11). God <P522>answers him,

and the king encourages the people by acknowledging the

voice of the prophets, and by singing the praises of God

before the blessing came-singing in faith that His mercy

endures forever. God abundantly granted his prayer. Israel,

whose enemies had slain each other, had only to carry away

the spoil; and God gave rest to the king, and his realm was

quiet.

Still, if Jehoshaphat no longer united himself with the

king of Israel to make war, he joined him in a matter of

commerce. But God put a stop to his undertakings.

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2Chronicles 21

Sorrowful fruits of the league with Ahab; Jehoram’s

judgment from Elijah

In spite of some faults the character of Jehoshaphat is

a ne one, and refreshes the heart. But soon the sorrowful

fruits of his league with Ahab ripen and bring Judah into

distress. Jehoram, his son, Ahab’s son-in-law, walks in

the ways of the kings of Israel. e Edomites revolt, and

Libnah, a city of Judah, does the same. e king makes

high places, and compels Judah to worship at them. e

judgment of God is soon manifested. He whom God has

raised up as a witness against the sins of the house of Ahab

has foreseen their fruits in Judah; and a writing of Elijah’s

is brought to the king,1 threatening him with the terrible

judgments of God. Judah also is attacked by their enemies,

who pillage the land, laying waste even the king’s house,

and slaying all his sons excepting one. is was of Jehovah.

It is His government which we see here; for He rules over

those who are in covenant with Him, those who are His

house.

(1. Elijah had been taken up to heaven some time before

the writing reached its destination. Being a prophecy, there

is nothing which makes any diculty in believing that this

writing, like any other prophecy, was left by Elijah to be

used at the suitable time. It was a function which, according

to the ways of God, naturally belonged to him as a witness

against the iniquity of Ahab.)

2Chronicles 22

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2Chronicles 22

Disaster resultant from connection with Ahab’s house

Finally, the king perishes, according to Elijah’s

prediction. <P523>Disaster upon disaster falls upon Judah

in consequence of this connection with the house of Ahab.

To connect oneself with that which claims to be of God,

according to His religion, but which is not so, is intolerable

to God. e only son that remained to Jehoram is slain by

Jehu, as participating in the iniquity of Ahab’s family; and

Athaliah, who belonged to this family, takes possession of

the throne, destroying all the seed royal, except one child

that God in His grace took care of, who would not have

the lamp of David put out at Jerusalem, although He

chastened his family. e sister of Ahaziah, wife to the

high priest, preserves the child, who is concealed in the

house of God for six years.

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2Chronicles 23

e faithfulness of God and the faith of Jehoiada

Everything was in a very low state; and, to outward

appearance, all was over with the house of David; but the

faithfulness of God did not fail. And, although the power of

the throne is absolutely destroyed, and the family of David

set aside, God raises up a man of faith, in the person of the

high priest, to restore the whole. e chastisement of God

was complete. e entire order of the throne was subverted

by His judgment. Nothing was left but the faithfulness

of God. Man was judged. He had no longer any means

of recovery. But all things are at God’s disposal, the heart

of Jehoshaphat and the faith of Jehoiada. e latter takes

the needful steps, and the king is set upon his throne; and,

after all, the same thing which we have seen before again

takes place: the king appoints everything concerning the

reestablishment of the order in the house of God.

2Chronicles 24

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2Chronicles 24

Joash’s failure in ordinary duty; idolatry

How often the energy of faith may, so to say, establish

a kingdom, yet fail at the same time in maintaining the

ordinary duty of those who have to do with the service of

God! Faithful at the commencement of his reign, Joash

walks nevertheless more by Jehoiada’s faith than by his

own; and, after the death of the high<P524> priest, he

leans on the princes of Judah, and serves idols, and even

puts to death the son of Jehoiada, by whom the Holy

Spirit had testied against him. Joash, forsaken of God, is

defeated by the Syrians. He falls into many diseases, and

is at length slain by his own servants. In this whole history

we must observe that the immediate government of a God

of judgment is in exercise, because those whom He judges

were in close connection with Himself.

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2Chronicles 25

Amaziah and the two prophets; his preservation and

fall

Amaziah, up to a certain point, walks with God, but in

weakness and with an unsteady step. He leans upon an arm

of esh: but he hearkens to the prophet, and this saves him

from being defeated. e cities of Judah, however, suer

the consequences of his false step, and are plundered by the

army of Israel, which Amaziah had sent back. Lifted up

by the victory that he had obtained over Edom, he takes

the gods of Seir which could not deliver their own people,

and bows himself down before them. He then turns a deaf

ear to the prophet who rebukes him. But pride goes before

confusion, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Amaziah,

making war against Israel, is ignominiously defeated and

made prisoner, and Jerusalem itself is laid waste.

We should remark in this part of the history the

goodness of the Lord, who continually interposes by means

of prophets.

2Chronicles 26

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2Chronicles 26

Uzziah’s successful reign; its sorrowful end

Uzziah, the son of Amaziah, walks for a long time with

Jehovah and prospers. e strength of Judah is increased,

and all the king’s undertakings are successful. “But when he

was strong, his heart was lifted up”; he takes upon himself

the priestly function, and is smitten with leprosy by the

hand of God.

We enter now on a period in which Isaiah throws

much light on the state of the people. is state was partly

exhibited before, in the reign of Joash, who, as soon as he

hearkens to the princes, falls into idolatry. But in reading

the rst two chapters of Isaiah,<P525> or the prophecy of

Hosea, we shall see the terrible condition of the people,

the greatness of God’s patience, and the manner in which

iniquity and idolatry multiplied on every side, when the

king was not faithful and energetic.1

(1. We nd, consequently, that Isaiah, after exposing the

evil and the consequent judgment, immediately introduces

the promises of the latter-day blessing and of the Messiah.

In the rst chapters he sets forth the state of the people, as

well as the blessing of the last days. e house of David is

not judged till chapter 7, and it is there that the Messiah,

the Son of the virgin, is brought in as the resource, and the

means of deliverance and grace according to the counsels of

God. e rest of this prophet’s writings gives us the whole

history of the people, according to the thoughts of God,

and that of the nations, in connection with Israel, until

the accomplishment, at the end of the age, of full blessing

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in Christ, with the judgment of Israel’s sin in respect of

Jehovah (Isa. 40-48), and in respect of Christ (Isa. 49-57). )

2Chronicles 27

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2Chronicles 27

Jotham’s uprightness and its reward

Jotham, the son of Uzziah, walks uprightly; and he

avoids his father’s fault; but the people are still corrupt.

Nevertheless the faithfulness of Jotham procures him

blessing and prosperity. For it is always the state of the

king which is the object of God’s judgment. As we have

seen, the people as such had failed long before.

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2Chronicles 28

e wickedness of Ahaz

e reign of Ahaz forms an epoch. Entirely forsaking

Jehovah, he gives himself up wholly to idolatry; and, the

more he is smitten of God, the more he sins against Him.

He is delivered into the hands of the Syrians, and into the

hand of Pekah, the king of Israel. In the latter case, however,

God interposes for the rescue at least of the captives. e

Edomites, and afterwards the Philistines, invade Judah. All

this distress induces Ahaz to seek help from the king of

Assyria, who only brought him into still greater trouble

(compare Isaiah 7:17; see also Hosea 5:13-15).<P526>

2Chronicles 29-30

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2Chronicles 29-30

e energy of faith in Hezekiah not inherited

If piety is not transmitted from father to son, grace

can work in the heart and direct the steps of one who had

the most wicked father. is was the case with the son of

Ahaz. e way in which Hezekiah sought the glory of his

God shows remarkable faith and energy. In the better days

of the kingdom, true piety and the work of righteousness

were manifested in Jehoshaphat; great energy of faith is

now displayed in Hezekiah; and we shall nd in Josiah

profound reverence for the Scriptures, for the book of the

law.

God’s government in reference to the king’s conduct

I recall here the great principle, the eects of which

the reader has to remark in the book which occupies us,

namely, the government of God, which visited every act

with its immediate consequences, a government which

always had reference to the king’s conduct. But, in spite

of some awakenings and some restorations wrought by

grace, the people having entirely corrupted themselves,

the kingly power which alone recalled them to their duties

came short of the glory of God; and at length, the oath

made in Jehovah’s name being broken, the measure of sin

was lled up, and the judgment of Israel, and the times of

the Gentiles commenced.

Acknowledgment of sin leads to pardon and true

worship

Hezekiah acknowledges the sinful state of Israel, and he

invites the people to cleanse themselves. A true worship,

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aecting in its character, is reestablished (ch. 29:25-29),

and the service of Jehovah’s house is set in order.

But Hezekiah’s zeal embraces all Israel, and he sends

letters which, although the greater part laughed them to

scorn, brought up many serious souls to the worship of

Jehovah in Jerusalem. If everything is not reestablished as

a whole, yet, wherever faith is in action and a sincere heart

seeks to glorify God, there is always cause for the faithful to

rejoice in the dealings of God. God pardoned their failure

in the purication necessary for participation in the service

of the sanctuary; the prayer for blessing came up to His

holy dwelling-place and was granted.<P527>

2Chronicles 31

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2Chronicles 31

Idols destroyed; freewill oerings brought by grateful

hearts

Strengthened by this communion with Jehovah, all

Israel that had been present went out and destroyed the

groves and the images, not only in Judah, but also in

Ephraim and Manasseh. e state of disorder in Israel

gave an opportunity on God’s part for the exercise of

faithfulness and the manifestation of devotedness in His

people. Abundance and blessing are found in Judah, and

Jehovah’s house is lled with proofs of His goodness

brought in by grateful hearts according to the ordinances

of the law; and even in the cities of the priests all is set in

order according to the law, and everything prospers.1

(1. Observe here that, when God blesses and there is

faithfulness, the instruments whom He employs in His

service partake of the glory that is connected with the

blessing. eir names are inscribed in the record of God’s

dealings. )

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2Chronicles 32

e Assyrian; Hezekiah’s faith and failure

God fully answered the king’s faith; but the iniquity of

the people’s heart was little changed, and the ways of God

in judgment began to be manifested; and in such a manner

as to make it evident that, in the midst of His judgments,

and at the height of the enemy’s power, the faithful seed of

David should be the infallible resource of His people. is

is the lesson of chapter 32. is man is the peace of the

people when the Assyrian enters the land. See, in Isaiah 8,

the Assyrian’s entrance into the land already called the land

of Immanuel through the prophetic revelation of the birth

of the virgin’s Son-a revelation addressed to the unfaithful

king, to Ahaz; see also, in the same chapter, the revelation

of the terrible distress of the people, the law being sealed

and entrusted to the remnant who would follow Christ as

a prophet, until the people confess that a Son was born

unto them. See also, in chapter 22 of the same prophet, the

Spirit’s judgment as to the moral condition of the people,

on the occasion of those events which are recorded in

2Chronicles 32. Hezekiah himself did not render again

to Jehovah according to the benet done unto him; but his

heart<P528> was lifted up. Nevertheless, as he humbled

himself, he was allowed to see the peace of Jerusalem all

the days of his life.

2Chronicles 33

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2Chronicles 33

e lessons of Manasseh and Amon

Manasseh, his son, who gave himself up to iniquity in

spite of the warnings of the prophets, brought desolation

and ruin upon himself and afterwards upon Israel. Guilty

of sins which God could not forget, his personal repentance

in his captivity procured him personal restoration and

peace through the mercy of God; and after his return to

Jerusalem he acted faithfully and was jealous for the glory

of God; for the time of Judah’s judgment was not yet come.

His son Amon followed him in his iniquity, but not in his

repentance, and he dies by the hand of his own servants.

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2Chronicles 34-35

Josiah as a seeker after God

We nd in Josiah a tender heart, subject to the Word,

and a conscience that respected the mind and will of God:

only at last he had too much condence in the eect of this

to secure blessing from God, without the possession of that

faith which gives intelligence in His ways to understand

the position of God’s people. God, however, makes use of

this condence to take Josiah away from the evil He was

preparing in the judgments which were to fall upon Judah,

the knowledge of which should have made Josiah walk

more humbly. At the age of sixteen he began by the grace

of God to seek Jehovah; and at twenty he had acquired

the moral strength necessary for acting with energy against

idolatry, which he destroyed even unto Naphtali. We see

here how sovereign grace came in; for both Hezekiah and

Josiah were the sons of extremely wicked fathers.

e book of the law found; the secret of Josiah’s

success and failure

Having cleansed the land from idolatry, Josiah begins to

repair the temple; and there the book of the law was found.

e king’s<P529> conscience, and his heart also, are bowed

under the authority of the Word of his God. He seeks for

the prophetic testimony of God with respect to the state in

which he sees Israel to be, and God makes known to him

by Huldah the judgment about to fall upon Israel; but tells

him at the same time that his eyes shall not see the evil.

It was this communication which should have made him

act with less precipitation, and with a more exercised heart

2Chronicles 34-35

835

than he manifested when he went up against the king of

Egypt. e knowledge that their well-deserved judgment

was soon to overwhelm Israel, and that there was no

remedy for their sins (although Josiah himself was spared),

ought to have prevented his going up against Pharaoh,

when the latter did not attack him, and even warned him

to forbear; but he would not hearken, and was lost through

a hardihood which was not of God.

e consequences of Josiah’s death

His death opened the sluices to the aiction of Judah

and Jerusalem, which had been blessed through his means;

for they had followed Jehovah all the days of Josiah, and

had therefore been blessed; they had also mourned for

his death. Jeremiah (that is to say, the Spirit of God by

the prophet), in lamenting over the last king who would

maintain the relations of God with His people, wept

for the ruin and desolation which sin would bring upon

the ock which Jehovah loved-the vineyard that He had

planted with the choicest vine.

However faithful Josiah had been, this had not changed

the heart of the people (compare Jeremiah 3:10). Josiah’s

faith was in action, and overruled this state of things;

and, as we have constantly seen, blessing depended on the

conduct of the king, although the undercurrent was always

tending to the ruin and rejection of the people.

e keeping of the passover

It remains for us to notice the passover. Everything is set

in order according to the ordinances of Moses and David,

and that in a remarkable manner. It appears that even the

ark had been removed from its place (ch. 35:3); but now, the

ark being restored to its rest, the Levites occupy themselves

diligently with their service, and even make ready for the

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priests, that they might keep<P530> the feast. ey were

all in their places according to the blessing of Israel in the

rest they enjoyed under Solomon. ose who taught all

Israel no longer bore the ark, but they ministered to God

and to His people. e singers were there also, according

to their order, so that there had not been such a passover

since the days of Samuel. It was like the last glimmering of

the lamp which God had lighted among His people in the

house of David. It was soon extinguished in the darkness

of the nation which knew not God, and those who had

been His people came under the judgment expressed

by the word “Lo-ammi” (“not my people”); but this was

only to give occasion afterwards to the manifestation of

His innite grace towards the one, and His unchangeable

faithfulness to the others. Ezekiel dates his prophecy from

the year of this passover, when he says “the thirtieth year.”

Why so, I cannot tell. Was it the year of the jubilee? or did

the passover itself form an epoch?

2Chronicles 36

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2Chronicles 36

Delivered into the hands of the kings of Egypt and

Babylon

Little need be said of the succeeding reigns. e king

of Egypt took possession of the land, and the iniquity

of Jehoiakim, whom he made king in Jerusalem, was far

from leading to restoration on God’s part. One more

powerful than the king of Egypt, a king by whom God

would commence the dominion of the Gentiles, comes

up against Jerusalem, and binds Jehoiakim in fetters,

yet leaves him after all to end his reign and his life at

Jerusalem. ree years after he carried away his son to

Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest; the city and sanctuary

destroyed by God’s just judgment

Zedekiah, whom this king had made to swear by

Jehovah-thus acknowledging the authority of that name

over his conscience- more sinful in this respect than

Nebuchadnezzar, despises his oath and the name of

Jehovah; and, after an interval of fruitless resistance, in

which he perseveres in spite of Jeremiah’s testimony, he

falls into the hands of the king of Babylon, who utterly

destroys the city and the sanctuary. For both people

and priests were thoroughly corrupted; they dishonored

Jehovah, and <P531>despised His prophets, till there was

no remedy, and the land enjoyed her sabbaths.

In judgment God remembers mercy; Cyrus prepared

and proclaimed as God’s instrument

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Sad and solemn lesson of the sin and iniquity of man,

and of the just judgment of God!

“You only have I known of all the families of the

earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

But in His judgments God remembers mercy; and in

the counsels of His grace He had already prepared, and

even proclaimed by His prophets (and that by name), an

instrument to give His people some respite.

e length of the captivity dened; Cyrus’

proclamation

After the seventy years which Jeremiah had announced

as the period of Judah’s captivity, Jehovah put it into the

heart of Cyrus to proclaim publicly that it was Jehovah

the God of heaven, who had given him all the kingdoms

of the earth, and that He had charged him to build Him

a house at Jerusalem. He invites the people of God to

go thither, assuring them that Jehovah their God will be

with them.

Government and power entrusted to the Gentiles

us it is by mercy-but by a mercy which recognizes

that power has passed into the hands of the Gentiles-that

the history of Israel’s downfall concludes; the downfall

of a people placed in the most favorable circumstances,

so that God could say to them, “What could have been

done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it?”-

of a people that had already been pardoned once; and

who, after having allowed the ark of Jehovah to fall into

the enemy’s hands, and after God had forsaken Shiloh,

His habitation, had been reestablished in blessing, but

reestablished in vain. e long-suering of God, the

restoration He had granted them, the establishment of

the house of David in grace, all was fruitless. e vineyard

2Chronicles 36

839

(for they were men) brought forth wild grapes. Its walls

were broken down; it had been laid waste. Jerusalem had

ceased for the present to be the throne of Jehovah, and

government and power in the earth have been entrusted

to the Gentiles.<P532>

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