Chapter 3—the Jordan.
BUT to return to the Jordan. At the Passover, atonement was made; at the Red Sea, redemption was accomplished, and salvation obtained; but here it is another question. In order to take possession of the land of Canaan, the people must be in a certain condition.
Between the Red Sea and the Jordan Israel had crossed the desert, and this journey is divided into two distinct parts. In the first part, up to Sinai, it is grace which leads the people-the same grace which had redeemed them from Egypt, and by which they experience the resources of Christ in the midst of all their infirmities. In the second part, after Sinai, Israel is under the reign of law, and it is then that they are proved to know what is in their hearts. The trial only demonstrated that they were " carnal, sold under sin;" that they had no power, that their will was enmity against God, that it was not subject to the law of God, finally showing itself in positive open rebellion when it was a question of going up unto the mountain of the Amorites, and entering into possession of the promises.
The condition of Israel was an absolute obstacle to their entering Canaan. When they come to, the end of their experiences in the flesh, they find the Jordan, an overflowing flood, as a barrier to their onward progress.. The Red Sea hindered their escape from Egypt, the Jordan prevents their entrance into Canaan, and to attempt to' cross it would be their destruction. Here we have a fresh type of death. It is the end of man in the flesh, and, at the same time, the end of Satan's power. How can we, who are without, strength, withstand it? It separates us forever from the enjoyment of the promises. " Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
But the grace of God has provided for it. The ark goes before the people; it not only makes them know the way by which they should go, for they had not passed this way heretofore (3:4), but it associates them with itself in the passage.. The priests, the representatives of the people, were to take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before Israel. (Ver. 6.) It was indeed the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth (ver. 13) which was to pass on before them across. Jordan, but not without them. The ark maintained its pre-eminence " There shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits.
by measure " (ver. 4); but as the eyes of the -people were fixed upon it (ver. 3) they beheld at the same time the priests of the tribe of Levi who bore it. As soon as the soles of the feet of the -priests rested in the waters of Jordan, they were cut off and ceased to flow. A power was there which was victorious over the power of death, And which associated Israel with the victory.
If it was thus for Israel, how much more for! All that we were in the flesh has found its end in the cross of Christ. We can say: I am dead to sin, dead to the law; I am crucified with Christ. My eyes, fixed on the ark—on Christ—see in Him the end of my personality as a child of Adam; but in Him also a victorious power, now made mine, introduces me in resurrection-life in Him, beyond death, into the full enjoyment of the things which this life possesses: " I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."
Death itself, of course, is not yet swallowed up: When the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan.. the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks as they did before." (iv. 18.) But when " this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written; Death is swallowed up in victory." (1 Cor. 15:5454So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (1 Corinthians 15:54).) Then Christ's place, beyond all that which could hinder us, will be ours, even as to our bodies. But before the fulfillment of these things, we can already say: " Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:5757But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57).)
We find then in the Jordan, in a special way, death to that which we were in our former status, and the beginning of a new status in the power of life with Christ, with whom we are, risen. His death and resurrection introduce us now into all the heavenly blessings, and what we have just said explains the reason of our not finding enemies here as at the Red Sea. At the Jordan the Israelites are not pursued by Pharaoh and his-host, but the enemy is in front of them, and does not begin to act until they have crossed the river.
Now they enter upon a new series of experiences. In the desert of Sinai the old man has been proved to be sin; then follows, in type, at the Jordan, the knowledge acquired by faith, that we have been taken out of our association with Adam, and set in a new association with a, dead and risen Christ; finally, in Canaan, we have the experiences of the new man, though not without weakness and failure if there be a lack of vigilance, but with a power at our disposal, of which we can make constant use in order to be strong and to fight valiantly and resist the subtle wiles of the enemy.
Chapter 4—the Twelve Stones at Gilgal.
IN the preceding chapter we have seen that it is faith in Christ which enables us to apprehend (after an experience often as long as the forty years in the wilderness were for Israel) our deliverance from our old estate, and introduction into a new one in Christ. The soul, long exercised learns at length-and it is God who reveals it to faith-that what it was striving vainly to attain to, has not to be done, but is a present reality, for -faith a fact, an accomplished fact, in Christ.
I used to wonder at the extreme simplicity of the language produced by the discovery of this important truth in Rom. 7, whilst it takes a whole chapter to describe the experiences of a soul previous to knowing deliverance. More than this, the despairing utterance caused by the hopelessness of the situation, changes without any interlude into one of gratitude and joy: " I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." The reason now seems simple enough. When the soul makes this discovery it learns that the deliverance which it was incapable of attaining, God had already wrought by and in Christ, so that it is no longer a thing to be accomplished. The soul discovers and appropriates it as an accomplished fact prepared long ago for faith. Then calmly and peacefully the believer can say: Henceforth I am dead, because I am in Christ; dead with Christ, dead to the law, to the world; and " I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." (Gal. 2:19,2019For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:19‑20); Rom. 6:1010For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (Romans 6:10); Col. 2:2020Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Colossians 2:20); Gal. 6:1414But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. (Galatians 6:14).)
It is a truth which is outside the region of the intelligence; reason cannot explain it, memory cannot retain it. How often have I seen souls seeking, by similar efforts, to lay hold, so to speak, of deliverance! What was the result? When, after much painstaking, they thought they had grasped its import, a single night sufficed to disperse the illusion, just as dead leaves are swept away by a breath of wind between the evening and morning.
Ah! deliverance is not obtained in a moment, for just as there was no Jordan for Israel before -the desert, so, for us, deliverance comes after we have made the discovery of what the flesh is, and not before. Deliverance itself is not an experience, but a state which faith grasps. It is only experimental in the sense that I see myself in Christ, instead of laying hold of a work accomplished outside of myself as in redemption.
Such for us is the import of the Jordan. But God desires that the memorial of this victory should, be continually under our eyes. Joshua commands the representatives of the twelve tribes -to take twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the feet of the priests stood firm. They were to be for a memorial unto the children of Israel, and were to be laid in the place where the people passed their first night in the land of Canaan. The place was Gilgal, but what was the signification of the stones? They represented the twelve tribes, the people, snatched from death by the ark which had stood in the very spot where deliverance was needed, and which had stayed the waters of Jordan so that Israel could pass over. They became a monument at the very entrance of Canaan, at Gilgal, a place to which (as we shall see later on) the people had always to return; they were henceforth to be a sign constantly under their eyes and those of their children.
Now we, like Israel, stand as trophies of the victory achieved over the raging waters of the river. Christ went into death because we were there: "If one died for all, then were all dead." (2 Cor. 5:1414For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: (2 Corinthians 5:14).) But it was in order to deliver us out of death, and bring us into a new life in His own resurrection. " When we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ.. and hath raised us up together." (Eph. 2:5,65Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 2:5‑6).)
But the monument of this memorable work is permanently established on the other side of Jordan to serve for the maintenance of Israel's faith, a monument to be recognized at all times by the people at the entrance of Canaan. For us it is Christ, the object of our faith, the Firstborn from the dead, risen and entered into the heavenly places, but a Christ who represents us there, associating us with Himself, even as He associated Himself with us in death.
Moreover God desires that Christ thus set before us should produce a corresponding moral effect in us; that, in the contemplation of Him, our consciences should be laid hold of in a lasting way. " It is a memorial unto the children of Israel forever." It is also this for us, accompanied by an inward effect. The believer, risen with Christ, has the indelible marks of His death imprinted on him, and, if such is my place in Christ, can I live any longer in the things which I have abandoned, which Christ has left in the depths of Jordan? " In that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God." Up to this, it is the memorial, and then comes the moral effect:” Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 6:10,1110For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:10‑11).)
The twelve stones at Gilgal, then, are not merely our death and resurrection with Christ (the Jordan typified that), but the memorial of this death and resurrection as seen in a risen and glorified Christ. This monument reminds us of what we have henceforth to be. In the Jordan God declares us to be dead, and it is the portion of all the people; every Christian is dead and risen with Christ; in Gilgal we have the moral realization of this. All had crossed the Jordan, but many amongst them perhaps cared but little to inquire the meaning of the monument in Gilgal, those stones which seemed to say in living accents to the people: " Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus."
The Twelve Stones in the Midst of Jordan.
IF the twelve stones in Gilgal spoke to Israel's conscience, there was another monument set up in the midst of Jordan which spoke seriously to their hearts. Who could see the stones which the overflowing waters had covered? They could only be known to faith. They were not typical of a resurrection-life which had passed through death and bore its impress and character; they were essentially the sign of death. The stones in Gilgal are the monument of our introduction by Christ into our privileges, and into which we only enter after having passed through death with Him; but when I think of the stones in Jordan, my heart is in communion with Him in death.
I return to sit, so to speak, on the banks of the river of death, and I say: That is my place; it is there that I was; it is there that He has been for me; He has delivered me from my old man; He has left it with all that belonged to it in the depths of Jordan; I am buried beneath its waters in the Person of Christ. What led Thee, blessed Savior, to take this place? Thou alone couldst claim exemption from it, and having laid down Thy life, Thou alone hadst the power to take it again. But it was Thy love to us which led Thee down to death; no other motive, save the glory of God which I had dishonored, could have led Thee there. Thou past not only fought the fight alone, and victoriously stayed the waters of Jordan " until everything was finished that the Lord commanded," (ver. 10) but those waters -themselves passed over Thee. I see in this monument what death was for Thy holy soul; I recognize the memorial of the exquisite bitterness of the cup which Thou' didst drink.
The twelve stones "are there unto this day." (Ver. 9.) The monument remains, the cross remains, eternal witness of a love I have there learned to know, testimony too of the only place where God could put all that belonged to my old man.
In connection with these things, notice also what we find in verse 18: " And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before." The sentence is executed, the old man -condemned, the judgment is passed, death is conquered, but death remains. What was formerly an obstacle to entrance, an obstacle removed by the ark which opened the pathway for us, separates us when we are once across, not only from Egypt and the desert of Sinai, but from ourselves. If it were otherwise, we could have no lasting enjoyment in the land of Canaan.
The two and a half tribes (vers. 12, 13) truly crossed the Jordan with their brethren, armed for war and prepared to fight, but there were two things of which they remained in ignorance: the value of the land of Canaan, and the value of death. The river did not arrest them when they turned to rejoin their wives, their little ones, and their cattle, who were awaiting them on the opposite shore. The country " on this side " had its attractions for them, whilst the people, who were peacefully in the enjoyment of Canaan, saw with joy that the Jordan was a barrier to separate them from all that which formerly was, of any value to them.
" On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.' (Ver. 14.) It is thus with Christ. He is highly exalted as Savior by the glory of the Father before our eyes, in virtue of His finished work, and, as the result of this work, the saints are introduced with Him into the present enjoyment, and future possession of the glory. This will be to His everlasting glory and honor.
But the Lord will also have other crowns. The day will come for Him, which Solomon enjoyed in type, and of which it is said: " Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. And all the princes and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king. And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel." (1 Chron. 29:23-2523Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. 24And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king. 25And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. (1 Chronicles 29:23‑25).) He will reign; His people Israel will be subject unto Him, and even those whom He deigned to call His brethren will bow the knee before Him, happily and joyfully acknowledging openly in His presence that He is Lord, even as they have owned Him on earth in the days of His absence and rejection.
We find another future glory of Christ in 2 Chron. 32:2323And many brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth. (2 Chronicles 32:23). In the time of Hezekiah, after the deliverance of Israel by the judgment of the nations in the person of the Assyrian, it is said " And many brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was recognized in the sight of all nations from thenceforth." The nations will be subject unto Him.
Finally, it is said in Phil. 2:9-109Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (Philippians 2:9‑10): ` Wherefore God also hath highly exalted- him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.", Heaven, earth, and hell will bow before Him who humbled. Himself even unto the death of the cross.
Chapter 5 Circumcision.
IN chapter 1 we have traced the moral principles requisite for taking possession of Canaan; in chapter 2 we have seen that, when it is a question of heavenly places, God can go outside the limits of Israel, and bring in on the principle of faith; in chapters 3 and 4 we find the secret of entrance; and in chapter 5 something further is unfolded to us, namely, how the victory is obtained. Consequently, this chapter opens (ver. 1) with a mention of the enemies. All the kings of the Canaanites and the Amorites defile, so to speak, under our eyes, but the power given them by Satan has already been broken at Jordan, in death, in the person of their Prince. In spite of that, they are too strong for the poor children of Israel, but God is going to enable them to obtain the victory over their enemies. And how? By depriving them of all the weapons and resources which they would have found in themselves., Flesh cannot enlist in the warfare; God judges it and sets it aside; and this is the meaning of circumcision. Circumcision is " the putting off of the body of the flesh" in Christ. It is an accomplished fact for every believer, just as much as the Jordan is for each of us, whether or not we realize its import.
The teaching of Col. 2:9-159For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:9‑15) on this point is very clear and beautiful. " In him," says the apostle, " dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." All is in Christ, nothing is lacking in Him. But in verse 10, it is we who have all in Him; nothing lacks for us: " Ye are complete in Him." We cannot, then, seek to add anything to ourselves apart from Him. Now we come to circumcision. " In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ." Not only, says the apostle, is there nothing to add, but there is nothing to cut off from those who are in Him. The body of the flesh is judged, you are deprived of it; it is a thing done, it is the circumcision of Christ. In verse 12, we find that this end of the old mart, which takes place for us in the death of Christ, becomes personal for the Christian: " Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." This passage embraces the thing in its extent, and corresponds with the two truths represented by the Jordan, namely, death and resurrection with Christ. Here then we have the establishment of two great truths: we are complete before God in Christ, and perfectly delivered from all that we are in ourselves.
The Epistle to the Philippians (chap. 3:3) establishes the contrast between the circumcision made with hands, and the true circumcision, that of Christ. " We are the circumcision," says the apostle, " who worship God in the Spirit." Fleshly circumcision under the law had never done that. One must have done with the flesh to be able to worship in the Spirit. Then he adds, "And who rejoice in Christ Jesus." Even religious flesh never glories in anything but itself.
Finally, the apostle concludes by saying: "And who have no confidence in the flesh." This is true circumcision. It is the setting aside by judgment in the cross of Christ of what the word of God calls "the flesh,” so that henceforth we cannot have any confidence whatever in it, and this is a most important truth to get hold of. When it is a question of warfare, as it was for the children of Israel, we must bear on us the stigma of the death of the flesh. Notice, too, there is no thought here of trying to have done with ourselves, or of stripping ourselves. The." putting off" was accomplished at the cross; sin in the flesh was condemned there; it is a fact which faith grasps, and which becomes a practical reality as the conscience owns and accepts this judgment. The burning coal had to touch the lips of Isaiah, and even though the judicial fire from off the altar had exhausted every 'atom of its power upon the victim, and the anguish being over nothing remained but the purifying power, still the prophet had to be brought into contact with it, thus typifying the experience our consciences pass through, of divine judgment.
Gilgal.
AND the Lord said unto Joshua: " This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you." At the Red Sea they had been delivered from the slavery of Satan and of sin; here, for the first time, they were freed by judgment from the slavery of the flesh. But the Spirit of God adds: " Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day." Here we have a second great truth. As has been already observed, circumcision, judgment, the cutting off of the flesh, has been accomplished in Christ, but has also to be considered under an essentially practical aspect, and not purely as doctrine.
Gilgal was the place of circumcision, and if this place was to be the point of departure for the army of Jehovah before a single victory had been achieved, it was also to be the assembling place after victory (x. 15), and again the point of departure for fresh conquests. The judgment of the flesh was immovable. The people were to appropriate it to themselves continually, otherwise the flesh would work to regain what it had lost, and a first victory would never be followed by a second. We shall come upon Gilgal in the course of this book on more than one occasion; for the present let it suffice us to remember, that if circumcision signifies the cutting off of " the body of the flesh," Gilgal is " the mortification of our members which are upon the earth." Col. 3:55Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: (Colossians 3:5)-S teaches us this in contrast with 2:11.
Beloved, this is a daily reality, and every victory opens out fresh horizons for us in the land of promise. Without conflict there is no means of laying hold of any of our blessings, but without Gilgal there can be no victory. Which do we value most? Canaan with its warfare, or our members upon the earth? Do we prefer the passing gratification of the lusts of the flesh to the painful task of returning to Gilgal? If so, we shall have to be taught by humiliation and chastisement how to recover the path, if, at least, we have not irrevocably lost the secret of strength in bitterness and tears and the irremediable ruin of defeat.
Canaan's Food.
THE cutting off of the flesh by the judgment executed at the cross, and the practical realization of this judgment are the first conditions indispensable for warfare. Of what use were Saul's helmet, coat of mail, or sword, to David in fighting_ against the Philistine? He had to " put them off him." (1 Sam. 17:3939And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. (1 Samuel 17:39).)
But there is another resource. Before going forth to fight, Israel must be seated at the table of God. To be able to withstand the toils of warfare, Israel must be nourished; that is the secret of positive strength. And what is the nourishment? Christ. He is the source of strength,' and there will be no victory for the people if they have not been previously fed. What a blessed thing to enter into the conflict with hearts fed by Christ. We may certainly expect to be defeated if we advance to meet the enemy with hearts void of Christ. In the reverse case, as we shall see in the following chapter, there is nothing alarming about the combat, and may God give us each to prove this. Let us not wait until the morrow, for we may be called to fight this very evening. Let us feed on Christ to-day, to-morrow, every moment, that we may be ready at the first signal to arise and march on to victory.
Yes, beloved, it is a Person; it is Christ who is our food; not truths, nor privileges, but Himself; and He is here presented to us as food under three different aspects: the Passover, the Old Corn of the land, and the Manna.
This Passover in Canaan is the same feast that the people had celebrated in Egypt, and yet how much they differed one from the other. There, it was a people conscious of their guilt, hasting to flee, sheltered amidst the darkness and the judgment by the blood of the pashcal lamb. Here, it is a people safely landed in Canaan, delivered from the last traces of the reproach of Egypt, a risen people, who have been through death, but who return in perfect peace to the starting-point, the foundation of all their blessings, to sit around -the memorials of a Christ slain for them on the -cross. The Passover in Canaan corresponds with what the Lord's Supper is for the Christian. And notice, it is a permanent food; it will not cease in the glory; only it will no longer be the remembrance of the Lord's death celebrated during His absence, neither shall we need something tangible to remind us of it, for our eyes will see in the midst of the throne, the Lamb 'Himself, as it had been slain, He the visible center of the new creation founded on the cross, the basis and pivot, of eternal blessing, the object upon whom myriads of myriads gaze with adoring and universal worship.
But there is more than this in our heavenly repast. " And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes and parched corn in the selfsame day." (Ver. 11.) God gave them a food which had been unknown to them in Egypt, the old corn of the land of Canaan, a heavenly, glorified. Christ, but Christ as a Man who had been through this sin-stained world in a spotless humanity, the unleavened bread, and who in this same humanity had passed through the fire of judgment like the parched corn, and wire, having entered the glory in resurrection, sits as Man at the right hand of God.
Moreover He is there for us, not only as our Advocate with the Father, but as introducing us in His Person as Man into the glory. The place is prepared for man in the third heavens; he is brought, in Christ into the full enjoyment of heavenly blessing. I behold this Man and say:: There is my place; I am in Him, a man in Christy possessing already the same life as He, life eternal, the life of a Man risen from among the dead; I am united to Him, seated in Him in the heavenly places, enjoying this infinite blessing by the Holy Spirit who leads me into it. Blessed Savior! for me Thou earnest down, for me Thou didst hang on the cross; Thou art gone into the glory, and Thou past brought me into it already in Thine own Person, previous to being with Thee and like Thee forever.
What wondrous joy and what power there is in occupation with such a Christ " We all with unveiled face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:1818But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18).) In this passage we see the result of being nourished with the old corn of the land. The soul, formed by a heavenly Christ, is able to reproduce the traits of this blessed object. Such is our portion.
Such also was that of Stephen, the faithful -martyr. In him, a man on the earth, full of the Holy Spirit, as fruit of the perfect work of -Christ, we see a believer in his normal character, answering perfectly 'to the end for which God had placed him in this world, in the midst of -circumstances that were the most calculated to make him lose that character. The Spirit in him Unhindered (his heart having no object on the -earth, and the Holy Ghost not having to contend within him to bring him to the level of a heavenly Christ) links him with an object in heaven so as to form him here into its image. 'The traits of the glorified Man in heaven become in him those of a perfect man on the earth: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." Here it is an example of what it is " to be changed into the same image from glory to glory." It is not anything mystical, nor a vague product of human imagination; it is in our daily life, our ways, our words, by love, intercession, patience, and dependence, that we may, through grace, show forth the likeness of a glorified Christ on whom we gaze. Is it so with us Christians in these days? Are our hearts so fed by Him that the world can see it in our lives? Can those around us catch the rays of the glory of Christ on our countenances, as with Stephen or Moses? It would not be for us to know it, for in this case we should have lost sight of the heavenly object, and turned our eyes upon ourselves. Moses alone in the camp of Israel wist not that his countenance shone.
" And the manna ceased on the morrow." (Ver. 12.) Israel ate it no more; manna was wilderness food; for us a Christ come down from heaven into the midst of our circumstances to -encourage us in the difficulties of the way. In contrast with Israel, we Christians are privileged to have Christ as our food in every aspect at the same time, though perhaps not at the same moment. But the manna is not a permanent food. Indispensable and most blessed as it is that the remembrance of it should remain before God always, in the golden pot, and for us in " the hidden manna," still as food it is transitory and suited to the journey which comes to an end Now the Old Corn of the land will, like the Passover, be our lasting and eternal food; not in order that we should be, as on earth, transformed gradually into His likeness, for then "we shall be fashioned like unto His glorious body." (Phil. 3:2121Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:21).) " We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he' is." (1 John 3:22Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2).)
The Captain of the Lord's Host.
CONFLICT is about to begin, and the Captain of the host has not yet appeared. He reveals Himself at the last moment, but precisely at the needed one, " when Joshua was by Jericho." (Ver. 13.) Faith can count on Him for the time of need. Gilgal and the heavenly repast are, as we have seen, the preparations for warfare; the power, the plan, the order, the time of battle, all that and much more is the responsibility of the Captain of the host. Such a way of fighting will be incomprehensible to one who has not been at Gilgal. He would set to work with his own contrivances, would engage the enemy too soon or too late, would rush forward without the Captain of the host, make a false movement, fall, and be conquered, leaving nothing but a catalog of defeats.
Notice with what marvelous grace this representative of Jehovah adapts Himself to the circumstances of His people, this Angel of Jehovah of whom the Old Testament so often speaks-Jehovah Himself under this mysterious character, for it is said of Him (Ex. 23:2121Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. (Exodus 23:21)) "My name is in him." As others have observed, He presents Himself with Israel as a Deliverer at the Red Sea, as the Companion of their journeyings in the desert, as Lord of Hosts in Canaan, and later on when the kingdom is established, He dwells in peace amongst them.
Blessed condescension! What assurance it gives to our souls. Here we see Him sword in hand, and it is this sword which will deal the blows. Israel needs no other.
Three times in the course of the people's history; the Angel of Jehovah intervenes with the drawn sword in his hand. The first time it is to preserve them from threatened dangers, when Balaam; on his way to curse. Israel, encounters the messenger who obstructs his road (Num. 22:2828And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? (Numbers 22:28)); the second time, in our chapter, it is to fight with them and obtain the victory for them; the third time, alas! it is to judge the people who had sinned in the person of their king. (1 Chron. 21:1616And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. (1 Chronicles 21:16).)
Beloved, we also have to do with the Angel in these three ways. How many times, without our even being aware of it, He meets the enemy who seeks to accuse or curse us; how often He, in grace, associates us in the combat against the powers of darkness in the heavenly places; how often, too, He reveals Himself to us as He did to David, with His drawn sword turned against the city of God; that is to say, as the One who, for His own, is a consuming fire, who chastens and humbles them, but in order afterward to replace His sword in its sheath, and in the end restore them.
Even that is consoling, in spite of all; but it is a terrible thing for a man to-be met, like Balaam, by the Angel with the drawn sword, because, for a reward, he was selling the gift he had received from God to the devil, the accuser of the brethren. Such a path is that of a reprobate who does not know God, but how many Christians, alas I in these days of ruin, associate themselves in some manner with the way of Balaam; how many in company with the enemy of the people of God, though clad in the prophet's dress, place themselves in the hands of the world to do the enemy's work.
" And Joshua went unto him and said unto him: Art thou for us or for our adversaries?" It is impossible to be neutral in the fight, and we ought all, like Joshua, to understand this. " And the Captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so." He who reveals Himself to Joshua as Lord of hosts claims also His character of holiness.
It is impossible for those who are called to fight under a divine leader to remain associated, individually or corporately, with evil or defilement in the walk. It was partly on account of having disregarded this principle that the people were defeated before Ai. To keep unjudged evil in the -heart exposes us to the judgment of God and renders us defenseless in the hands of the enemy; it is the same thing with evil in the assembly. If God is holy in redemption, as He shelved Himself to be to Moses in the bush (Ex. 3:55And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. (Exodus 3:5))-and where did He make a more brilliant display of His holiness?-let us remember that He is not less holy in the combat, and that we can only engage in it after having loosened the shoes off our feet.
Chapter 6 Jericho.
THE people arrive at length in presence of the terrible obstacle raised to prevent their taking possession of Canaan. There is nothing the enemy hates more than seeing us in the enjoyment of our privileges, and taking a heavenly position. He is well aware that a heavenly people can escape from his hands and steal his goods; therefore his chief endeavor is to set some obstacle in the way of our onward progress.
This occurs in the history of every Christian, not necessarily at the moment of conversion, but sooner or later when it is a question of entering the path of conflict for the realization of our heavenly calling.
The first impediment put in our way by Satan is an apparently impregnable fortress, which it is impossible to enter or to quit: " None went out and none came in." (Ver. 1.) Surely this is enough to terrify us, and to make us turn back; and this is precisely the aim of the adversary, in which, alas, he too often succeeds. Every Christian has to face at some time or other his stronghold of Jericho. I need not enumerate here the difficulties of each soul, they are diverse, but may be resumed in one word, an obstacle. If I set my face heavenwards, what will happen? I shall lose my position; I shall be cut short in my career; my friends will forsake me; my parents will never suffer it; I should have to give up all I love, and separate myself from the Christians, amongst whom I received such blessing.
Such is often the aspect which the high walls of Jericho assume before the affrighted soul. Ah t how many Christians lose courage before the fight, and turn back.
But the soul, prepared by God, does not retreat in view of difficulties. It knows it is in possession of a means of overcoming them, and makes use of it. It is a very simple, but unique, way, for there is no other: it is faith. " By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after that they were compassed about seven days." (Heb. 11:3030By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. (Hebrews 11:30).) Faith is simple confidence in Another, in the Lord, and at the same time complete absence of self-confidence, for these two things are inseparable. The obstacle yields to faith. What does it matter if the walls reach up to heaven? What are they for faith? Faith counts on the power of God, and this, dear friends, is the first great characteristic of faith. " In order," says the apostle, " that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Cor. 2:55That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:5).) A power, absolutely divine is necessary in the fight, and can alone overthrow the obstacle, and it is solely on this power that faith rests.
We may notice, too, when faith has been appealed to, how jealous this power is of the existence of anything which could wear the appearance of human wisdom. The Captain of the Lord's host, who talks with Joshua, does not give them the choice of arms or means of warfare. They are not to make any plan or arrangement; they are not to concert as to the means for gaining the victory; God Himself has ordered everything, and faith submits to the order established by God, uses the means which He points, out, and does not invent others. We must have societies, committees, conferences, money, &c., &c;, is often said. Man must have them, but faith needs 'nothing of the kind. God has His own means.
But, it may be said, why not simplify the path? Why all these complications? Why go round the city every day, and seven times the seventh day? Why this procession with the ark and trumpets?' Faith does not ask why? It does not reason as to the means God chooses to employ; it accepts them, enters into them, and obtains the victory instead of being beaten by the enemy. It was thus at the Passover and at the Red Sea. Do you say: Then faith is without intelligence? Not at all; it first submits and then understands. Faith will tell you the reason of the seven days, the ark, the procession, the trumpets, and the shouts of joy, but it will only tell you after submission to them, otherwise it would be intelligence and not faith.
But this is not all. Faith marches forward in dependence on God, who says: " I have given into thine hand Jericho and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor." Then it is put to the test. There must be patience; the people had to march thus during six days, and then patience must Have her perfect work: " The seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times."
There are yet other blessed characteristics of this precious faith which we may do well to notice. It associates us with Christ, gives us.-part- and communion with Him.. God marshals His people round the ark in the conflict. It was no longer, as at Jordan, the ark preceding the people, but here the armed men go before the ark with the priests, and the rereward comes after.
But the aim and result of association with Christ is never to exalt or attach importance to man; it exalts Christ and makes much of Him. The ark itself formed the body of the army, properly speaking, the indispensable center, the main force; and the whole attitude of the people around it, manifestly proclaimed it. Without the ark there could be neither warfare nor victory.
Faith always renders testimony to Christ " The seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the Lord, and blew with the trumpets." It was a perfect testimony to the power of the ark in presence of the enemy.
Faith is zealous to exalt and render testimony to Christ, zealous for that service which is also conflict. Joshua rose early in the morning." (Ver. 12.) " They rose early, about the dawning of the day." (Ver. 15.) See how zeal in one provokes and encourages it in others; but we shall come to this again. In short we see that it is God alone who obtains the victory, though at the same time associating us with Christ in it. Of what use would weapons of warfare have been against Jericho? None whatever, God does it all. He desires that the power and victory should come entirely from Him, and be without any mixture of human importance.
Generally when it is a question of fighting, Christians are ready to admit that the power is of God, but they do not consent to the absolute exclusion of self, and the consequence is that they are not rewarded by a complete victory as at Jericho, where God claimed this honor for Himself; not that He refused human instrumentality, but it must be He who makes use of it, so 'that man may not be exalted in his own eyes. We do well to note God's way of action. He chooses instruments without strength or value in themselves, or else, if they are worth something in the eyes of men, He begins by smashing them as He did with Saul of Tarsus; then He says: " He is a chosen vessel unto me." Now I can use you.
We have already noticed that the manner of action of Christians during conflict is too often exactly the opposite to that of God. They put their means and resources in the foreground. " We have formed an excellent plan; we are well organized; we have a superior staff of evangelists, and we send forth our emissaries into the four quarters of the globe." Dear friends, I am not inventing; every day one hears and reads such things; you and I have perhaps expressed ourselves in these terms before now. If we look at man's work we shall always see this deplorable mistake.
Had Israel said: Very well, let the power be God's, but let us combine to find the means wherewith to overthrow the walls of Jericho; what would have happened on the seventh day? Not a single stone of the wall would have fallen!
But here the power of the enemy gives way, and the people destroy the accursed city. More than this, their faith and activity in testimony and victory set other souls at liberty, as will always be the result when we engage in the Lord's battles. Rahab, still a prisoner, is delivered and brought into the midst of God's people, where she can henceforth enjoy the same' privileges as the victors.
One more detail I would call your attention to. Faith makes no compromise with the world, receives and takes nothing from it. God forbids the people to touch the spoil of Jericho; it is accursed. Jehovah can claim these things and glorify Himself by them; they belong to Him,, but not to the children of Israel, who can only touch them to put them into " the treasury of the house of the Lord."
Such is the fight of faith. May God give us to go over these things in our hearts, so as not to be vanquished in our contest with the enemy.
Chapter 7 Ai and the Accursed Thing.
WE have just been considering the brilliant, picture of a divine victory obtained by faith over Satan. After such a conquest, we say, Israel will surely proceed from one victory to another but not so. Chapter 7 opens with the registry of a defeat. A little town, an insignificant, obstacle in comparison with Jericho, and " few people " are -enough to put to flight three thousand men of Israel, and to cause the hearts of the people to melt and become as water.
There are secrets of defeat as there are secrets, of victory, and the believer's chief danger lies in victory. After having gained it in real dependence upon God, the soul, if occupied with the results, willingly attributes something to itself, and the next defeat dates from that moment.
Notice the case of. Joshua: " Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai." (Ver. 2.) He repeats what he had done in chapter 2:1 with regard to the land and Jericho. Then it was the path of God, but now the very same act becomes a human and fleshly expedient. The spies had returned from reconnoitering Jericho saying: " Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land.' What need then to send further emissaries? It was in some measure a lack of dependence on God, a confidence in human means.
More than this, Joshua sent them " from Jericho," which is not the true point of departure; he forgets Gilgal, where they learned, what the flesh is, or perhaps he does not yet, know that it is the place to which they must return. Joshua had found in the victory an opportunity for trusting in the flesh. He, who-until now, had been a type of Christ by His Spirit acting in the believer, so as to bring him into possession of his privileges, descends to the level of an ordinary man. The typical Joshua, disappears, to make room for Joshua as a man.
Is it not often so with us? Every believer in his measure is a representative of Christ, an epistle intended to make Him known, which,, directly we forget Gilgal, disappears -to give place to the old man which we have neglected to judge.
But the people, alas! follow the example of their leader. The men sent by Joshua having returned, said unto him: " Let not all the people, go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people, to labor thither, for they are but few." (Ver. 3). They have the most implicit confidence in themselves; they will " smite Ai." What is it for us-and our men of war? Have we not shown our capability at Jericho? Dangerous confidence!
But there is not only this lack of dependence on God, and self-confidence, the fruit of unjudged flesh; there is more; coveted things, hidden from every eye; are buried in the earth in the midst of a tent; the accursed thing is there.
God had cursed the town of Jericho; all that belonged to it was under the curse; no one dared keep any of it lest he should make himself and the camp of Israel accursed. (Chapter 6:18.) One man Only had disobeyed, and hearkening to his lusts, had stolen of the accursed thing. Which of us is free in heart from this?
This man had followed his natural inclinations, he had begun where we all begin, where the first man began. " I saw." (Ver. 21.) " When the woman saw " is said in Gen. 3:66And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Genesis 3:6). He had eyes which knew how to discern the goodly things amongst the spoil. His eyes were the avenue to his heart, but there was no sentinel to watch, no " qui vive " to resound in case of an attack. It is through the eyes that the accursed thing takes possession of the heart, and provokes it to lust: " I coveted them." " Then when lust path conceived it bringeth forth sin:" " I took them." The goodly Babylonish garment which could adorn the pride of life, the silver and gold which could satisfy every lust, became the prey of Achan; nay rather, these things make him, their prey! Fatal and Satanic chain which links the world to man's natural heart, in order to make him the sport of the prince of this world.
Notice now how the sin of one man has to do with all Israel. (Ver. 1.) " But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing.. and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel." The people might have said: Does that concern us? How could we have known about a hidden thing, and not having-known it, how are we responsible? To all that we reply, that God always has the unity of His people before His eyes. He considers individuals as members of one whole, and responsible the one for the other. The suffering and sin of one is the suffering and sin of all, and if it is thus with Israel, how much more so with us, the church of God, one body united by the Holy Spirit to the Head which is in heaven.
If, however, their souls had been in a good state, God would have manifested the hidden evil in their midst. The power of an ungrieved Spirit in the assembly brings to light all that dishonors Christ amongst His own. The reason it was not so with Israel, was that there was something unjudged in the people and their leader. The hidden evil of Achan is the means of bringing out the hidden evil in the heart of the people. When the assembly is in a good state, although always answerable for the sin of one of its members, it is made aware of it by the Holy Spirit, and finds itself in a position to put away the evil from its midst, and, as the case may be, to put out the wicked person. sent men from Jericho to of the church, in the case of the cutting off of -Ananias and Sapphira; the power of the Spirit of God discovered and judged the evil immediately. But here in Israel, hearts had to be brought by self-judgment to bear the sin of one as the sin of all before God.
Is it thus with us in these days of ruin? Do we feel the evil in the church? Do we recognize our responsibility as to all the corruption which has been introduced? Or are we self-confident enough, in presence of the rubbish, to think that we could do better than others, and that the ruin of the church is not our doing? If our hearts are not habitually thus before God, we are sectarian; and, more than this, we may have to be reminded by a terrible defeat of the humility which becomes those who ought to have remained at Gilgal. See how differently from our miserable hearts God judges. He says: "Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing; and have also stolen and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff." (Ver. 11.)
In verses 5 and 6 we find the chastisement of the people. Three thousand men of Israel flee before Ai; and the hearts of the people melt and become like water because thirty-six of them are smitten. They are prostrate; strength and energy fail them; fear takes possession of their souls, for their courage has been carnal. So proud of their previous victory, they fall now to the level of the Amorites whose " hearts melted " when they heard of the crossing of Jordan. This was a sad but necessary experience, for they had forgotten Gilgal; and Satan undertakes to teach them through the bitterness of a defeat, what amount of strength they possess, and how much confidence can be placed in the flesh. All! if they had been with God they would have been preserved from a defeat, as we see very remark, ably in the- apostle Paul's experience. He had been triumphantly caught up to the third heavens, into paradise, and there he had heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter, but when he came down again to the earth, a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, was given to buffet him. The flesh was in him, and would have exalted itself, but God anticipates it and hinders His beloved servant from being puffed up.
The danger was great, for had he listened to the flesh, how many flattering things he would have said to himself in consequence of this wonderful vision, thus compromising not only his peace, but even his apostleship and his course. But God takes care of His servant, giving him the necessary corrective, in order that the course of his victories may be uninterrupted. Paul learns by " the thorn," which is his Gilgal, that the flesh, even the best, is worth nothing. God says to him: Never mind the infirmity-the thorn in the flesh; stay at Gilgal, it is precisely what you need, for in this way the power will be entirely mine and will obtain the victory; and as for thee, my grace is sufficient! It was a place of suffering and humiliation for' 'Paul, but of wondrous blessing! He was with God, in communion with the Lord, and the messenger of Satan is but the means of keeping him at Gilgal, and not of bringing him back there by a defeat.
(T. R.)
(To be continued.)