THE time now came for the servant of the Lord publicly to testify for God. He had proved Jehovah’s faithfulness and grace in a secret life of faith at Cherith, and honored the living and true God when no human eye was upon him. In the family circle at Zarephath he again proved the same faithfulness and grace in another course of action, and distinguished himself by his life and walk of faith and love—he walked “as seeing Him who is invisible.” In his intercourse with Obadiah, he faithfully made it appear whose he was, and whom he served. All the temptation and discipline which this man of God experienced fitted him for more extensive service, and he was now called to honor God in a very prominent and public capacity.
Without doubt, this gradual leading of the Spirit, from deep secret exercise and service to public testimony, is recorded “for our learning,” and is a divine principle that may well be heeded by us; and though it serve to humble us, it will not be without profit, if it cast us more upon God for strength and grace to honor Him in what we call small matters, and circumstances of retirement, and thus qualify us for public testimony. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much,” is a principle taught by our Lord Himself; and we also find the apostle Paul insisting upon practical godliness in family and household responsibilities as an indispensable qualification for pastor ship in the Church of God. (1 Tim. 3:55(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) (1 Timothy 3:5).)
But, to turn again to the ancient Scriptures, we also find in the history of Gideon the same remarkable threefold character of experience and service recorded by the Spirit of God. We see that his acquaintance with God in the accepted sacrifice, and the Divine assurance that followed, “Peace be unto thee, fear not, thou shalt not die,” constrain him to build an altar, and worship the Lord God of Israel. (Judges 6:21-2421Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. 22And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. 23And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. 24Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. (Judges 6:21‑24).) In this we see, as in the history of Elijah, his soul-exercises alone with God. Next, we find Gideon engaged in faithfully serving God in his own family―his father’s house―and, according to the commandment of the Lord, he “cuts down the grove,” sacrifices his “father’s young bullock,” overturns and destroys that which was contrary to the truth of the living God, and builds an altar to the God of Israel. (vss. 5:25, 27.) The 31St verse shows us how remarkably the Lord honored his testimony. After these things, having repeatedly and in various ways, through much temptation, proved the faithfulness and grace of God, he goes forth, according to Divine appointment, to honor the God of Israel before an innumerable host of the enemies of the people of the Lord.
And do we not perceive the same principle, in all its perfectness, in the path of the Lord Himself? The first thirty years of the blessed Lord in the days of His flesh were spent in glorifying God, more especially in secret and social duties. “I was cast upon Thee from the womb, Thou art My God from My mother’s belly, Thou didst make Me hope when I was upon My mother’s breasts,” &c. were the utterances of the heart of the holy child Jesus. While the inspired account of His going down to Nazareth with His mother and Joseph, and being subject to them, together with His holy and gentle reproof, “Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” plainly show us how infinitely He glorified God, both in secret and in family associations, before He came forth as God’s public witness to Israel. It is happy thus to trace those features in the path of Him who hath “left us an example that we should follow His steps.” We never find the Lord Jesus seeking the esteem of men. Wherever He was, and whatever the circumstances, His meat was to do the will of Him that sent Him, and to finish His work.” “He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant ... . He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” May this mind be in us!
In considering the history of Elijah, we cannot but observe that the blessed Lord seems remarkably shadowed forth by this tried and honored servant. We see him not only as a solitary witness for God, but it may be said that he came unto his own, and his own received him not. He was also counted one “that troubleth Israel:” he testified of it that the works thereof were evil. Moreover, the history of Elijah, prior to his coming forth in public testimony, is left in comparative obscurity; an occasional intimation of his faith and dependence on God, his circumstances and service in the family circle, his passing through an experience of death and resurrection, and his temptation on meeting Obadiah, being the principal points touched on before he comes forth in the deeply solemn testimony, in the face of all Israel, to which he was called. We may notice farther, that his public testimony did not close until he had offered to God an acceptable sacrifice, which was followed by judgment on some, but with blessing to others who beheld the sacrifice, and testified, saying, “The Lord He is God; The Lord He is God.” We afterward find the offerer of the sacrifice on the top of the mount interceding for his people, which in due time is followed with an abundant shower of blessing from heaven. The scene closes with the prophet coming forth again, running in triumph before the royal chariot. All this testifies of Jesus to our souls.
The condition of Israel at the time of Elijah’s testimony was very awful. “Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.” (1 Kings 16:3333And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. (1 Kings 16:33).) Religion still had a place and abounded―there were four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal; but it was not the true religion. Some measure of truth might be associated with it, but the wisdom of the creature had displaced the counsel of “the only wise God.” The king and people rejected the commandments of the Lord, that they might keep their own tradition. A mixture of truth and error kept them in this God-dishonoring position of halting “between two opinions.” The whole lump was well nigh leavened with the idolatry of the age. It has always been Satan’s craft to frustrate the truth by mixing what is untrue with it, and thus deceive and blind. In the garden of Eden he admitted the truth, that if our first parents ate of the forbidden tree they would he as gods; but he deceived the woman by appending to it the malicious lie, “Ye shall not surely die.” In a later day he stole the comfort and power of the grace of Christ from the Galatian saints, not by presenting in its stead something grossly evil; no, in this way the snare would be apparent; but by subverting its simplicity and truth. By adding “circumcision,” an old ordinance of God, to the finished work of Jesus, he seduced them from the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free, and entangled them again with a yoke of bondage. By thus mixing up truth and error he imbued their minds with “another gospel,” that, were even an angel from heaven to preach, he might justly “be accursed.” And we know that in Ahab’s day there was a certain acknowledgment of the God of Israel while they bowed down to Baal, as there had formerly been a dancing round the golden calf while professedly keeping a feast to Jehovah. This reads us a serious lesson, and may serve to exhort us to hold fast the faithful word of the Lord, and to bid us beware of being corrupted from the simplicity of Christ by philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men.
Elijah’s testimony was to the faithfulness of God and the truth of His word, and against their apostacy; so that when the king accosted him with, “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” his reply was, “I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” (vss. 17, 18.)
Such was the bold and true witness of this man of faith; and I would ask, Is not the rejection of the authority of Scripture always a sure mark of departure from God Himself? Most assuredly it is. I do not say but that the Scripture may be read and ostensibly acknowledged, but its authority can only be received into the hearts and consciences of those whose aim is to live for the glory of the Lord. Among such the word of the Lord has always been highly valued. Jeremiah said, “Thy words were found, and I did eat thaw and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” (Jer. 15:1616Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16).) Job declared, “I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” (Job 23:1212Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. (Job 23:12).) David asks. “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?” and replies, “by taking heed thereto according to Thy word.” (Psa. 119:99BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. (Psalm 119:9).) He also said, “By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.” (Psa. 17:44Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. (Psalm 17:4).) And again, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” (Psa. 119:1111Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11).) And we know of the Lord Jesus, that “His delight was in the law of the Lord: and in His law did He meditate day and night.” (Psa. 1:22But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Psalm 1:2).)
As God has been forsaken so has His word been set aside in all ages. Departure from God’s word was Jeremiah’s frequent testimony against the nation of Israel. He could delight in God’s word; but “they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one after the imagination of their evil heart.” (ch. 11:8.) The prophet tells us, that “they hearkened not to the words of God, or to His law, but rejected it” (ch. 6:19); that “the word of the Lord was unto them a reproach, they had no delight in it” (ch. 6:10); and that “the prophets prophesied falsely, and the people loved to have it so.” (ch. 5:31.) And with this was connected the solemn declaration of the Lord, “My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the Fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” (ch. 2:13.)
While we thus see that departure from the authority of the word of God is connected with forsaking God Himself, we also find that returning to the commandments of the Lord is always found to be the path of blessing. When David first attempted to bring up the Ark of the Lord it was connected with signal failure and sorrow; he conferred with flesh and blood-consulted his captains, &c.; but when he acted according to the word of the Lord, wherein it was written that “none ought to carry the Ark of God but the Levites,” it was attended with abundant joy and comfort. (1 Chr. 13.-15.; see also Num. 4:2-152Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers, 3From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. 4This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things: 5And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it: 6And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof. 7And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon: 8And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put in the staves thereof. 9And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it: 10And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put it upon a bar. 11And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to the staves thereof: 12And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put them on a bar: 13And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon: 14And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to the staves of it. 15And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation. (Numbers 4:2‑15); Deut. 10:8,8At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day. (Deuteronomy 10:8) and 31:9.) When the king Jehoshaphat was in great difficulty and distress because of the numerous host that was against him (2 Chr. 20), his refuge was in God; and in prayer he reminded God of His own promise (vs. 9); and published to Judah and Jerusalem the certainty of blessing to those who honored God’s word, saying, “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper.” (vs. 20.) We know what victory and blessing followed. When Hezekiah came to the throne, he discovered that the Passover had not been kept for a long time in such sort as it was written; he therefore sent posts throughout all Israel and Judah to command them to turn to the Lord and to keep His word; and in keeping His commandments they found great reward: it was such a time of gladness and joy as had not been known in Jerusalem since the time of Solomon. (2 Chr. 30.) The great revival afterward in the days of Josiah, originated in their finding a book of the law in the house of the Lord, which the king read in the ears of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (2 Chr. 34., 35.) And the time of blessing after the return of the children of Israel from their captivity, was also particularly associated with Ezra’s having “prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” (Ezra 7:1010For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. (Ezra 7:10).) Lastly, we may refer to the testimony of our blessed Lord Himself, when He said, “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition;” and remark also how frequently He referred to the authority of the holy Scriptures, and the importance of practically fulfilling them. We know also what blessing there was in the apostles’ days, when “the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.”
In these days of man’s increasing greatness, when principles of infidelity are rapidly accumulating, it will be needful for us, beloved, often to consider our ways, and to be very jealous for the word of the Lord. If God be pleased to make His holy Scripture refreshing and savory to our spirits, and to conic with power to our consciences, we may well welcome it as His abounding mercy. The word of the prophet Amos on this subject is very solemn: “Behold the days come saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall weeder from sea to sea, and from the north even unto the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.” (Amos 8:11, 1211Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: 12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. (Amos 8:11‑12).) May we, beloved, well ponder these solemn admonitions, and let them animate us to serve our Saviour-God only, to acknowledge the authority of the word of God only, the teaching of the Spirit of God only, and to glory unceasingly in salvation by grace only.