Address—G.H. Hayhoe
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
221.
When someone started for us.
Others say.
Your.
Faithful.
I want to be lost.
I'd like to turn tonight to Exodus.
And the 28th chapter.
Exodus chapter 28 and the sixth verse.
And they shall make the effort of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twine linen with.
With cunning work, and it shall have the two shoulder pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof, and so it shall be joined together.
And the curious girdle of the effort which is upon it shall be of the same according to the work thereof even of gold, of blue and purple, and scarlet, and fine twin linen. And thou shalt take 2 Onyx stones and grave on them the names of the children of Israel, six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth, Birth, with the work of an engraving.
Stone like the engraving of a signet.
Shalt thou engrave the 2 stones with the names of the children of Israel. Thou shalt make them to be set in oches of gold.
And thou shalt put the 2 stones upon the shoulders of the effort, for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel, And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial. And thou shalt make the ooches of gold, and two chains of pure gold at the ends of recent work shalt thou make them, and fasten the recent chains to the oaches, And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work.
After the work of the effort, thou shalt make it of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and a fine twine, and shalt thou make it.
Foursquare it shall be being doubled, A spine shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even 4 rows of stones. The first row shall be a sardius of Topaz and a carbuncle. This shall be the first roll. The 2nd row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond, and the third row a leg yore and agate, and an amethyst, and the 4th row a burl and an Onyx, and a Jasper.
They shall be set in gold in their enclosings, and the stone shall be with the names of the children of Israel. 12 according to their names, like the engravings of a signet. Everyone with his name shall they be according to the 12 tribes, And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the end of recent work of pure gold, and thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings.
On the two ends of the breastplate, and thou shalt put the two wreath and chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate.
And the two other, and the other two ends of the two recent chains, thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the effid before it. And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the effort inward. And two other rings of gold shalt thou make, shall put them on the two sides of the effort underneath.
Toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the effen, And thou shalt bind the breastplate by the rings thereof with under the rings of the effort, with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the effort, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.
00:05:19
And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in under the holy place for a memorial before the Lord continually. And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be upon Aaron's heart when he goeth in before the Lord. And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually. And thou shalt make the role of the effort all of blue. There shall be a hole in the top of it in the midst thereof.
It shall have a binding of woven work round about the whole of it, as it were the whole of a hammer, John.
That it be not rent, and beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue.
And of purple and of scarlet round about the hen thereof, And bells of gold between them round about a golden bell, and a pomegranate a golden bell and a pomegranate upon the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister, And his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord. And when he cometh out that he die not, And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet.
Holiness to the Lord.
And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the miter, upon the forefront of the miter it shall be, and it shall be upon Aaron's forehead. That Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts, and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
All my thought in reading this portion tonight is.
That it brings before us in a very beautiful way the present work of the Lord Jesus, for us as our great High Priest. And there are three particular things that I was thinking of as it's brought before us here. That is, on the names on the shoulders would bring before us the Lord's strength to carry us through The names upon his heart would bring before us His love for us in carrying us.
And then the Urim and Thummim would bring before us the wisdom of his ways with us as he carries us home. And then in the latter part of the chapter, it seems to me we have the result that would be produced in our lives as we enjoy these things, because I believe it's in the measure in which we enter into and enjoy and shall I say, avail ourselves of his work for us there.
That there is a result in our lives for his glory and praise.
We know that these garments of glory and beauty were actually not worn by the High Priest because of failure, because as soon as sin came in then they were to wear the holy linen garments. But oh how lovely it is to know that our precious Savior has completed the work of redemption, has glorified God about the whole question of sin, has brought us into such a perfect standing that He does not have to take up the question of our sins and answer for them continually.
Like the priest in Israel that has been settled once and for all, and so now he can be before the Father. Not to settle the question of our sins, but to supply grace to help in time of need as we go through a world like this. And I believe the great thing that hinders our progress is so often.
Discouragement, It's because we get occupied with ourselves, with other things.
Instead of looking to him, then we become discouraged along the way. One has been struck in noticing in First Peter Five that where Satan is spoken of there as the roaring lion, it's not connected with persecution. We often think of Satan as the roaring lion in connection with persecution, but if you notice the context there and first First Peter 5, you'll notice, it says.
Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you. Then be sober. Be vigilant.
Because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.
00:10:05
That is, if we don't cast our cares upon the Lord, if we don't seek His grace and health, then Satan comes in and tells us that.
The Lord isn't caring for us that he isn't taking looking after our interests and we become discouraged. And how often the enemy works that way, You know, often in persecution a Christian is happy. He's rejoicing many of those who lay down their lives at the stake and who were thrown to the lions.
We're rejoicing and happy, but a discouraged Christian is not happy. A discouraged Christian has lost the enjoyment of his portion, and the Lord Jesus is up there to maintain us in the enjoyment of it. In Hebrews 10, where we have the truth about coming into the presence of God with holy boldness, it says, I'm having an high priest over the House of God. Let us draw near.
Yes, that blessed One who is our High Priest is there.
To maintain our souls in the enjoyment of what we have in Him, so that we would have that happy and blessed holy boldness in His presence.
Well, to come back to our chapter, it's beautiful to trace some of the details in connection with these garments. In the sixth verse where we began, it says Thou shalt make the effort of gold, of blue and of purple, and of scarlet and fine twine linen.
Well, these things bring before us the various glories of Christ. I think many of us are appointed with the meanings of these different materials, but I believe they're very precious to reconsider. The gold which was used so much in the Tabernacle is a symbol to us of divine righteousness. And so that Blessed One, who is up there before God for us, has settled the question of sin. He is there.
Shall I say in all the acceptance of His blessed work. And so the goal tells us of divine righteousness. And every believer has this perfect standing before God, because we are made the righteousness of God in Him. And then to it says blue. Yes, the 2nd man is the Lord from heaven, the blue is the heavenly color, and this one who is our high priest is the heavenly 1.
Who came down here? And then the purple brings before us his royalty. He's the rightful king. He's the one that we've been speaking about in some of the meetings. Who is soon to take his place and who will reign from sea to sea and from pole to pole. The one who will be crowned with many crowns, who will be acknowledged as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Oh, what a one we have acting on our behalf.
We might choose someone to act on our behalf in some matter, but he hasn't enough influence. He hasn't enough wisdom to handle our case. But all how lovely this one is there in all the righteousness and glory of his blessed person and of his work. He is there as the one who is the heavenly one himself, and yet who became a man. He is there as the one who is the rightful king.
And then Scarlet. We know Scarlet speaks of human glory. And isn't it lovely to think that there is going to be one as man, as man who is going to take this position of glory in a future day? And at this present time he is there for us. You know, a man likes glory for himself. When Scarlet is applied to man and his fawn state, it's connected with his desire to exalt himself.
It tells us about as a woman in the Book of Revelation, upon whom God brings such awful judgment, that she was clothed in scarlet. As she acquired this glory to herself, she wanted to be the prominent one, the great one in the earth, for herself.
But there's going to be a man in all human, in whom all human glory will center.
And that's the Lord Jesus. Yes, that blessed man who stood so low and died for us. And he's up there a real living man in the glory and then fine twine linen. Well it tells us in Revelation 19 The fine linen is the righteousnesses of Saints, that is its practical righteousness and awesomeness. Lovely to know that the Lord Jesus.
00:15:19
Has trodden the path before us, and in every step of his pathway.
He glorified God, his Father. You and I may find ourselves and do find ourselves, and very difficult in trying circumstances. Well, isn't it lovely to know there's been one who's trodden the past before us, who's marked it out all you say. But he's perfect and I'm not all that. He's given us his life, He's given us his life. He that saith he abideth in him are himself also. So to walk even as he walked.
Or you say, don't you make any excuse for failure? No excuse, but thank God there's provision. We have a perfect Savior, we have perfect power, and we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. But all it's good to know that when we do fail, there's provision for it. Yes, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, but let us not excuse ourselves for failure when we have failed to own it.
But isn't it lovely in all the things that we have to face in life to know that perfect power, perfect love and perfect wisdom is on our behalf? And all that through the one who is up there living for us as our great High Priest?
Then it says that these shoulder pieces were to be made, and in them it says the ninth verse. And thou shalt take 2 Onyx stones and grave on them the names of the children of Israel, six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. Well, I've always enjoyed this little verse.
Just think of those names graven upon those two Onyx stones.
On the shoulders of the High Priest. Now I'm sure you noticed while I was reading it.
That on the heart in the breastplate there were 12 different stones, and that the each one of the stones bore only one name, whereas on the shoulders there were just those and two stones, one on each shoulder. And the stones were both the same, they were both Onyx stones. Well why is this? Well, it's beautiful to think of this fact that as to our place of security.
Each one of us have an equal place of security before God. The shoulders speak of those blessed shoulders on which the sheep was placed. When it was picked up, the shepherd lifted up the sheep and put it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Put it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And how far did he carry that sheep? He carried it home. He carried it home. How secure was it? As secure as the hands of the Father and of the Son could make it. And so isn't it lovely to see these names upon shoulders of the High Priest according to their birth? That is, when you were born into the family of God, why you were placed upon the shoulders of the Good Shepherd.
As I look into the faces of many here tonight, I can say you were on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd before I was.
Yes, these names were grave, and according to their birth as this blessed. And there they were equally and those 12 names upon those 2 stones. And of course they had to be the two shoulders, because the Lord Jesus bears the government of the earth on his shoulder.
What seems to be a tremendous burden to man and indeed.
He can't handle it. The government is in a state of continual unrest because of the awful problems they have to face. The Lord carries the government upon his shoulder. But such is the security of the believer, such as his love for his own, that we are placed upon his shoulders. And he is carrying us home, carrying us all the way, and nothing could ever rob us of that place of security.
00:20:06
We have there, and these stones were set in ouches of gold.
That is, these storms were held securely in these golden settings. And so when God placed us before him in this place of security, we are also in a place of perfect acceptance, the righteousness of God in Christ. And you know, this is a precious thing to get hold of. We know there are those who think that they can be lost again.
Well, that's because they don't realize that there is a the place that we have been brought into has nothing to do with our works at all. It's according to divine righteousness. And so it tells us there is now therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus and in Acts chapter 13, it says, Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.
And the New Translation is And in him all that believe, not just by him, but in him all that believe. Yes, that's the place that we occupy. And so these stones weren't just set loosely upon the shoulders of the priest, they were set in settings of gold and all. If there should be a doubting believer here tonight, let me tell you that you are as secure as God can make you.
We're just speaking today of that lovely portion in the end of the 8th chapter of Romans.
And perhaps you have noticed there that there is a very unusual thing, and that is a transition from the singular to the plural. In those two verses it says, I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, and so on and then it goes on, shall be able to separate us.
From the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is quite unusual in the English language, that the sentence begins in the singular and ends in the plural. But in no other way could this wonderful truth be expressed. Because I want to tell you this, that whether you're persuaded of it or not, it's true of you. Nothing shall separate us happy for the believer. Who can say?
I am persuaded. In other words, I am in the good of it. In my soul I am rejoicing.
But it's true of the believer whether he is enjoying it or not. Such is the blessedness and the perfection of the work of Christ that this is the place into which the believer is brought.
And then it says in the 12Th person they thou shalt put the 2 stones upon the shoulders of the effort for stones of memorial, and to the children of Israel and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his shoulders for a memorial. Yes, there they were, They were continually born there. And the Lord Jesus, I repeat, is carrying each one of his own home.
Well, now these were fastened by chains to the breastplate, and the breastplate was made of similar material. And there was the blue, the gold, the blue, the purple, and scarlet and fine twine linen, and it was fastened by these recent chains of gold. This is beautiful, the way the gold is brought in here so often, because God never acts inconsistent with his own nature.
There is one thing God can't do. He cannot lie. He cannot act inconsistent with his nature.
And God is righteous, and if he is going to bless, he has to bless on a righteous groan. And he does. And so how beautifully this is brought out in this passage. Now the 16th verse about the breastplate 4 square. It shall be being doubled. We notice this expression often in connection with the Tabernacle and the way of approach to God. This expression 4 square.
Now in the Old Testament, God was dealing with a particular nation. He picked up the nation of Israel. He said, salvation is of the Jews. And so we might have thought, well is this blessing to reach beyond that nation. It was always in the purposes of God to go beyond that nation, to reach out in blessing, to reach out to whosoever will. And so it's brought before us here.
00:25:16
Four square it shall be.
And so isn't it lovely that not only in the United States, not only in Canada, but wherever a believer is found, he is brought into the same blessed place, and he has the same blessed man in the glory living for him?
And then it tells us a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.
Those two hands, the Spanish way, doesn't it make you think again of those verses in John 10, The Father's hand and the hand of the Son? So here we have this.
Breastplate Foursquare doubled and we have double security and then a spam each way. Now we remarked a moment ago that.
There were different stones, it says.
In the 17th verse.
Settings of stones, 4 rows of stones and the names of each of these stones are mentioned. And the 21St verse says and the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel. 12 according to their names, like the engraving of a signet. Everyone with his name they shall be according to the 12 tribes. Well, I've enjoyed this little thought.
That when the names were graven upon the shoulders.
They were graven on those two Onyx stones, but when they were graven on the heart, each name was graven on a different stone, and each one had a particular beauty of its own. I think we who our parents can understand this a little bit, and that is the place of security into which the believer is brought is equal. But we have a special love for each one of our children.
You know, I have three children and each one of them is different. Their dispositions, their feelings, their fears, everything about them is different. And I think I can say, although I love them all alike, there is a sense in which I have a special love for each one. And realizing the differences that exist in them, I love them according to their need and according to that which I feel requires.
A special display of love and affection.
And in all to my own heart this is very, very precious, that as the Lord looks down upon this.
Room tonight. He doesn't say, Oh well, there's 150 believers or something like that.
Although he looks over each one, and he knows just exactly what each one of us have to face in life, he knows our particular tendencies. He knows the He knows the things that we have to come up against in our lives. How some of us are naturally forward, some are naturally backward. Some find it easy to display their feelings, some do not.
And each one of us are different. Well, does the Lord make any distinction? All. Yes. Each one of these stones was beautiful. It doesn't say that one was more beautiful than the other. You or I might classify and say, well, we think some of these stones were nicer than others. And as we look over, we might say, well, I think that Christian is a nicer Christian than someone else. But it doesn't say that here, just that each one.
Had its own peculiar beauty. And you know, these stones were not lighted by ordinary daylight. They were lighted by the seven Branch Candlestick in the Holy Place. And that was a light that shone upon them. If one might speak in this way, a divine light. And how lovely it is that the Lord Jesus is looking down on this company tonight. And don't think that you're lost in the crowd.
Don't say well, nobody understands my feelings. Nobody enters into the things that I have to meet that even my parents don't seem to understand what I go through and the conflicts that I have. But there's one who does.
00:30:04
There is one who does. There is one who not only loves us perfectly, but who understands us perfectly, who understands us. And it tells us in Hebrews we have not an high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted, like as we are, yet without sin. And it says this one, because he continueth ever hath an unchangeable, or the new translation is.
An intransmissible priesthood.
That is not one that passes from one to another and two ones own heart. This is a comfort because.
You might have a person that was a very dear friend whom you felt understood you, and you could go to him and talk things over, and then that person perhaps is taken away in death. And you say, I've lost a friend. I'll never be able to replace him. He was so dear to me. He was so near to me.
But I've lost him. But this one. He has a priesthood that doesn't pass from one to another.
He knew you when you were a little baby in the in the cradle. He knew he saw you grow up. He knows all about you. He knew your parents too. And he knows the whole background of our lives and all, how blessed it is. This is the kind of a high priest that we have. And so there were those stones arraigned so beautifully on the breast of the high priest, and they were there continually, continually, because the Lord.
As we were noticing last night, he never ceases to love his own, one has often remarked.
That the times in the Scripture when he assured his people of his love was always at a time, were always at a time when perhaps we would least expect it. He assured them of his of his love toward them when they were in a condition that they might have wondered how he could still love them, for instance, when they were at the end of the wilderness journey.
It says yeah, he loved the people. All his Saints are in my hand.
When Jeremiah was warning them about being carried into captivity because of their sins, it says in the 31St chapter, Yeah, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness that I draw me. The little little remnant in Malachi's time had failed grievously, but the prophet is sent to tell them of those things that grieve the Lord.
But in the midst of all this, he says, at least at the beginning of all this, he says the burden of the word of the Lord. By Malachi, I have loved you, says the Lord. And if there's any one here who has become cold or who has got away from the Lord.
And the enemy says, oh, he can't love you the way you've gone on. Oh, I tell you he does love you. That's what draws us back is, the little hymn says.
Still sweet tis to discover if clouds have dimmed my sight. When past eternal lover toward me as air thou art bright. Oh yes, he he doesn't change in his love. So here we have the 12 Stones upon the heart.
And then it goes on to say again.
In the 23rd verse and thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate, And thou shalt put the two recent chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate. And so they were to be fastened to the shoulder pieces. And then passing on to the 28th verse it says, And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof onto the rings of the effort with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the effort, and that the breastplate be not loosed.
From the effort, I think this is very lovely. Here we noticed again how the settings were in gold, The chains were of gold, and then these were fastened by a lace of blue so that they could not be loosed. They could not be loosed. That one who has gone up there, it tells us in Hebrews it says we have an high priest who has.
00:35:15
Entered the heavens for us, whether the forerunner is for us, entered even Jesus. Yes, this one who came down here and died, the heavenly one. He's gone up. He's entered there for us. And so these were fastened in such a way that they could not be loosed. It seems as though the Spirit of God would seek to impress upon us over and over again through this lovely chapter.
The two things especially.
The fact that we stand in divine righteousness.
And the fact that we're perfectly secure, and so they were fastened to the breastplate. The place on the shoulders were just as sure as the place in the heart. Sometimes a Christian will say, well, I know I can't be lost, but.
There's still a question and a doubt how the Lord's love, whether we're fastened together. His love is just as secure as the place that we have upon His shoulders.
Then the 29th verse, And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goes in unto the holy place for a memorial before the Lord continually.
Well, these names were born when he went into the Holy place. He bore them upon his heart. And in the 12Th verse which we read, it says.
They were for stones of memorial onto the children of Israel. Isn't this nice to notice? The children of Israel were to know this, and as the high priest went in, they were stones of memorial before the Lord. That is, the Lord would have you.
To be enjoying in your own soul the preciousness that he sees in his own. Isn't this very sweet that we can have, We can have the very thoughts of God as to our position before him, and the place of all his people. Now this 30th verse, and thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be upon Aaron's heart when he goeth in before the Lord.
And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord.
Continually. Now, we're not told just what this means or how this was arranged.
We are simply told these two words, Urim and Thummim, which means lights and perfections, and it tells us that these were in the breastplate of judgment. Well, I believe they bring before us what I mentioned the wisdom of all God's ways. All that was seen on the outside were these beautiful stones with the.
Gravings of the mains in them.
But underneath this was the Urim and Thummim. And that expression lights and perfections, I believe, brings before us the fact that the Lord sees everything now. Sometimes we might want to show a kindness to our children, and we want to do what's best for them. But we make mistakes. We don't always see what's best for them, nor could we ever say.
That were always perfect in our ways. With them, Oh no, how often we fail, but the Lord loves us perfectly. But underneath and there was the lights and perfections, the fact that He knows just exactly what is best for us.
You've probably noticed through the history of Israel that when problems arose in their history that godly kings would.
Called for the Urim and Thummim are for the effort it's sometimes called, and then they would inquire of the Lord.
In situations that came up well, how often we need this too? We're living in a world where we have to face so many different things. We have to face so many questions. And don't we often feel that we don't have the wisdom that we need for those questions? Well, how good it is to know that we're in him Who of God is made unto us? Wisdom and righteousness and sanctification.
00:40:09
And redemption. And James tells us. It says that if we lack wisdom, we can ask of God. And in that very same chapter it says that every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from above, from the Father of Lights. It's connected, I believe, with this passage the Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning the perfect gifts. There we have perfection and the Lights.
That.
It tells us that he's the father of light, he sees everything, and so in the chapter where we're told.
To ask for wisdom why we have one who has all this perfect wisdom.
I remember reading a little incident one time about a girl, and she had a problem in her life and so she thought she'd write to this column in the newspaper where you can write in questions and get answers from someone who is wise in the affairs of this world. And so she wrote her problem out and she was going to send it into the newspaper and she left it on her desk at night and went to bed.
And she had an older sister. And she came into the room and she saw this written here, here, whoever it was, Abby or whoever it might be, I don't know what they call it in this country. And and she was going to get advice from the newspaper column. And this sister, her younger sister, was in bed asleep, and she rolled across the ladder. His name shall be called Wonderful.
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Well, Needless to say, the girl didn't send the letter in. She found that she had someone wiser to whom she could turn. And all dear young people, and those of us who are older too, we have one who's wiser. It's a it's a common tendency with us all to want someone upon whom we can lean. Even Moses, when they were going through the wilderness. And he knew that the wilderness was a.
Pathless ways just.
How they would go from Egypt to Canaan. Moses didn't exactly know which way they should travel, And so his father-in-law lived in that area, and he came to visit him, and he said to his father-in-law, won't you come with us? And he said, Thou shalt be to us instead of eyes. If you notice, that's in the 10th chapter of Numbers.
And in the chapter before the Lord had distinctly told Moses that.
When he wanted them to move, the cloud would move. And so in other words, Moses would didn't need to have somebody on earth to be instead of eyes. If he looked up every morning, there was the cloud, and whether it was for a day or for a month or for a year, the cloud was to be that which guided them through the wilderness.
But that was a bit of bother, you know, to look up every morning and see if the cloud moved. And then sometimes it might move for a day and then they had to stay in their tents, perhaps for a week. Another time it says that it might be for a year or two years. All this was kind of.
Unsatisfactory to Moses, I suppose. Why would they have to stay for so long in such a place, and only today? Another place ought to be an awful lot easier just to.
Ask his father-in-law to guide them through the wilderness, and that's what he did. And what did the Lord do? All the Lord interfered, and the Lord went before them in a three days journey to search out a resting place for them. And isn't this a lesson for us, beloved brethren? That is, we need to look up to the Lord. And he says, I will guide thee with mine eye. So underneath these, this breastplate with all these names.
Was the Urim and Thummim? And I say again, those kings who really felt dependence upon the Lord, they didn't trust their own wisdom. They turned to the Lord in times of difficulty. And you and I can turn to him too. And when he delays the answer, perhaps it's like the children of Israel. Sometimes it was 2 days, sometimes it was a month, sometimes it was a year. But it says if it was long, they tarried in their tents.
00:45:14
Kept the charge of the Lord and waited for the cloud to move. Oh, how grand it is that we have such a one.
He has all power. He tells us in his word that it was only in 11 days journey from Egypt to Canaan. The Lord could have taken them that way more easily even than Fuldab could, but he didn't take them the shortest way. No, there were lessons to be learned, and there are lessons for us to learn too. So we have a high Priest, the captain of our salvation, bringing us home to glory. And these names were upon the heart of the High Priest before the Lord, continually.
And now just passing to the 33rd verse, it says, And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue and of purple, and of scarlet round about the hem thereof, and bells of gold between them, round about a golden bell in the pomegranate, a golden bell in a pomegranate upon the hem of the robe round the boat. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister, and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord.
And when he cometh out, well, these bells primarily were so that when Aaron went in before the Lord, the children of Israel outside could hear the sound of those bells. I suppose we recall that when madab in a Bay hue went in and offered strange fire, they were smitten, dead. And so these these bells bore testimony to the fact that the priest who was in there offering the blood and incense.
And bearing those names before the Lord, that he was accepted. And they would hear those bells tingling. They know he wouldn't be that he hadn't been smitten dead, but that he was accepted. And so isn't it lovely to know that there is a testimony reaches us from heaven to tell us how that our great high priest has been accepted for us? Yes, it tells us now to appear in the presence of God for us. And we have that precious testimony reaching us that he is there now for us.
But I believe also that there is a practical application for our own lives.
Because for every bell there was a pomegranate.
And in the measure in which we lay hold of what the Lord Jesus has done for us.
We are brought into the fruit and the enjoyment of what he is before us and also I believe that we bear or can bear that kind of fruit in our own lives, just as we mentioned at the beginning, it says.
That we can be in this world as a testimony for the Lord Jesus. He that saith He abideth in him on himself also, so to walk even as he walked.
And so in the Lord Jesus.
There was a pomegranate for every bell that is in the life of the Lord Jesus.
Lie his life thoroughly and perfectly corresponded with what he said, that is.
When they came and asked him who he was, he could say all together that which I said unto you from the beginning.
I'm calling from the new translation altogether that which I said unto you from the beginning.
Oh, how lovely. The Lord Jesus was the one who perfectly manifested in his life what he spoke with his lips. That's why he could say to them. He said, if you don't believe what I say, believe for the works because they were in perfect agreement. His words and his works were perfect. I I couldn't dare to say it to any person. Well, if you don't believe what I say, believe what you see in my life.
Because they say, well, I see failure in your life, but all how the Lord Jesus could say with himself that His words and his works were in perfect agreement. But, brethren, there can be something of this in our lives too. And as we speak to others about the Lord Jesus every time, so to speak, that we ring the bell of testimony, then may the Lord grant that the fruit of the Spirit would correspondingly be seen in our lives.
00:50:01
It's like Gideon when he went out against the army of the Midianites. Why those men that were with him had a trumpet in one hand and a lamp in the other. The trumpet in the one hand would speak of their their spoken testimony, and the lamp would answer to the testimony that we live. We find the same thought in Philippians. It says that she may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke.
In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, that's the life that we live. Then the next verse holding forth the word of life, that's the testimony that we speak. So you see, for every bell there was a pomegranate, I say, in the life of the Lord Jesus. It was perfect. In US it should be more so, and each one of us should be exercised as we bear testimony to the world of what the Lord Jesus has done for us.
As we speak to our friends, they're going to watch us. We're a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men. I've sometimes said, if you want to be in the limelight, confess Christ. You'll be watched far more than anyone else. As soon as you confess Christ, your friends at school, neighbors on the street, those in the office, those in the shop, they'll begin to watch us all home carefully. They'll watch us everything that we say and do. The world sets a very high standard for a Christian.
They know what kind of life we should live. Well, may the Lord grant that these glories that were manifested in the Lord Jesus will be seen in their measure in us too, that the life of Jesus might be manifested in our mortal bodies.
And so they all see those glories of Christ shining out in their measure in US.
Now we have here in the 36th verse, And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of the signet, Holiness to the Lord. And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre. Upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be, and it shall be upon our Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow.
In all their holy gifts.
And it shall be always upon his forehead that they may be accepted before the Lord. Well, this is very precious too. We have spoken in the first part of the chapter how the Lord Jesus is there for us. But I believe in this latter part, as I remark that we have the result in our own lives. We have something of the testimony that should be born in our lives.
And I believe in the measure in which we are occupied with him.
And avail ourselves of his work for us. There will be something of this in our lives.
But now this last instance to me is very interesting and very encouraging. That is the miter which said, holiness to the Lord. It says that he was to bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts. Well, to my own heart this is a very wonderful encouragement, sometimes a young Christian will say.
Well, I am afraid to do anything for the Lord, because I am afraid that there would be something of self, something of my own failure, that would come in and spoil it. Well, isn't it nice that this comes in immediately following this about the bells and pomegranates? It tells us here that in everything that a child, one of the children of Israel, offered, there would be something that would not be acceptable.
It says the iniquity of their holy things in all their holy gifts. And if you and I never do anything for the Lord, until we're sure that we can do it without failure, we'll not do anything. We'll never start. And many a dear young Christian gets looking in so much and is so afraid to undertake to do something for fear there will be some mistake in it, for fear there will be something of self.
That he doesn't do anything for the Lord.
00:55:03
Perhaps there might be a person, a young brother, and he's led to give out a him in the meeting, but he's just afraid he might have chosen the wrong one. He's just afraid if he stood up to pray that he might make some expression in his prayer, that wouldn't be acceptable. And so he says, well, I don't think I'll do it. Isn't it nice here to see that there is one who bears the iniquity of our holy things?
And so if when we stood up to pray, there was something of self that came in and intruded, that is, we might get occupied with how well we're doing or what our brethren think about it, and this would be something of self. Would the Lord reject the whole prayer? Would he say that praise is not acceptable because self intruded there? Oh, isn't this lovely? We have one who bears the iniquity of our holy things in all?
Our holy gifts. Perhaps we could connect it with the first chapter of Leviticus.
And there we find about the various burnt offerings. One of them was the offering of turtle doves and young pigeons.
And it tells us that in the offering of the turtle doves and young pigeons that the priest was to take the crop and the feathers and was to put those things in the place of the ashes. And then the rest was offered in sacrifice. And it said it was a sweet savour to the Lord. Did the priest turn to the offer and say, well, I can't accept those because there is something that's unacceptable in them.
Oh no. He just simply took out what was not acceptable. Put it down in the place of the ashes.
And the rest was offered up as a sweet savour to the Lord. How about with the crop? Speak of. Well, I think it would bring before us. Well, we know the bird picks up a lot of things and eats them. They get into the crop, and then finally they go through the digestion. But the crop would be the undigested food, wouldn't it? And we might hear our brethren use some nice expression. We thought it sounded very nice. So we undertake to try to copy our brethren.
And we've never really made it our own. And we think it must be very acceptable because brother, so and so said it, but it's never been made our own. Well, that's not acceptable even though we thought it was. The Lord values what comes from the heart. He values that praise that rises up in our hearts to him. And then what about the feathers? Well, that was the shell. That was that when you see a bird.
Perhaps come into the into the garden. If it's got pretty feathers, you notice it much more. If it didn't have those feathers, it would look like a very ugly thing. But the feathers were all taken pretty as they might be, and thrown down the place of the ashes. And so all that that we do for a display before others and all that, that is just repeating things that we've never made our own. That's the crop and the feathers, but all don't get discouraged.
There is.
In the sacrifice that which the Lord can accept, and if the Lord has laid to him in your heart, if he's laid some little service on your heart to do for him, remember that he's going to pick out of that service. He's going to pick out of that praise that which is acceptable. And this was the work of the high priest. It wasn't the man himself that was able to distinguish. Perhaps he couldn't.
But the high priest, he had that miter holiness to the Lord on his forehead.
And this was connected with bearing the iniquity of their holy things. Oh, how blessed it is to know that we have one who desires the response of our hearts, all brethren, The response of our hearts is precious to him. We might look around and say, well, my heart doesn't respond like others, but the littlest there the Lord values, the Lord values. I look back when my children were small.
And some of the things that they brought to me and thought they were very valuable, they weren't worth very much. But all I valued, the heart that brought them, oh, I valued them. Some of the things I still keep, they have no intrinsic value. The children themselves laugh when they see them, but to me they're precious. They spoke of an expression of love that was in their hearts. And so isn't this precious? The Lord values the desire in your heart to please him. He'll never pass over or miss.
01:00:11
One thing that you and I do for him, he's living up there for us. He's bearing our unworthy names there. They're precious to him. They're a memorial to him, and they're a memorial to us, upon his shoulders of the place that he occupies for us. And now I say again, what response does all this produce in your heart and mind?
Does it make us want to bear fruit for him? Does it make us want to serve him? Does it make us want to praise him, always, say well we fail so much.
All He's up there, and when we fail, only what is acceptable reaches the ear of God. But all how good it is to know that He is looking in each of our lives for that response to His wondrous love. Oh, may he increase the measure, May God grant that we may value more His wondrous grace, and that our hearts and lives may show our appreciation to Him.
For all that he has done for us.
Shall we sing #2 in the appendix?
O Lord, thy loves unbounded, so sweet, so full, so free. My soul is all transported. When air I think of thee, so we sing the 1St.
Second and third verses and then the last two verses 1-2 and three and 7:00 and 8:00.