We shall now resume the personal history of Moses, and contemplate him
during that deeply interesting period of his career which he spent in
retirement--a period including, as we should say, forty of his very
best years--the prime of life. This is full of meaning. The Lord had
graciously, wisely, and faithfully led His dear servant apart from the
eyes and thoughts of men, in order that He might train him under His
own immediate hand. Moses needed this. True, he had spent forty years
in the house of Pharaoh; and, while his sojourn there was not without
its influence and value, yet was it as nothing when compared with his
sojourn in the desert. The former might be valuable; but the latter
was indispensable.
Nothing can possibly make up for the lack of secret communion with
God, or the training and discipline of His school. "All the wisdom of
the Egyptians" would not have qualified Moses for his future path. He
might have pursued a most brilliant course through the schools and
colleges of Egypt. He might have come forth laden with literary
honors--his intellect stored with learning, and his heart full of
pride and self-sufficiency. He might have taken out his degree in the
school of man, and yet have to learn his alphabet in the school of
God. Mere human wisdom and learning, how valuable soever in
themselves, can never constitute any one a servant of God, nor equip
him for any department of divine service. Such things may qualify
unrenewed nature to figure before the world; but the man whom God will
use must be endowed with widely-different qualifications--such
qualifications as can alone be found in the deep and hallowed
retirement of the Lord's presence.
All God's servants have been made to know and experience the truth of
these statements. Moses at Horeb, Elijah at Cherith, Ezekiel at
Chebar, Paul in Arabia, and John at Patmos, are all striking examples
of the immense practical importance of being alone with God. And when
we look at the Divine Servant, we find that the time He spent in
private was nearly ten times as long as that which He spent in public.
He, though perfect in understanding and in will, spent nearly thirty
years in the obscurity of a carpenter's house at Nazareth ere He made
His appearance in public. And even when He had entered upon His public
career, how oft did He retreat from the gaze of men, to enjoy the
sweet and sacred retirement of the divine presence!
Now we may feel disposed to ask, How could the urgent demand for
workmen ever be met if all need such protracted training, in secret,
ere they come forth to their work? This is the Master's care--not
ours. He can provide the workmen, and He can train them also. This is
not man's work. God alone can provide and prepare a true minister. Nor
is it a question with Him as to the length of time needful for the
education of such an one. We know He could educate him in a moment, if
it were His will to do so. One thing is evident, namely, that God has
had all His servants very much alone with Himself, both before and
after their entrance upon their public work; nor will any one ever get
on without this. The absence of secret training and discipline will
necessarily leave us barren, superficial, and theoretic. A man who
ventures forth upon a public career ere he has duly weighed himself in
the balances of the sanctuary, or measured himself in the presence of
God, is like a ship putting out to sea without proper ballast: he
will doubtless overset with the first stiff breeze. On the contrary,
there is a depth, a solidity, and a steadiness flowing from our having
passed from form to form in the school of God, which are essential
elements in the formation of the character of a true and effective
servant of God.
Hence, therefore, when we find Moses, at the age of forty years, taken
apart from all the dignity and splendor of a court, for the purpose of
spending forty years in the obscurity of a desert, we are led to
expect a remarkable course of service; nor are we disappointed. The
man whom God educates is educated, and none other. It lies not within
the range of man to prepare an instrument for the service of God. The
hand of man could never mould "a vessel meet for the Master's use."
The One who is to use the vessel can alone prepare it; and we have
before us a singularly beautiful sample of His mode of preparation.
"Now, Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of
Midian; and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came
to the mountain of God, even to Horeb." (Exod. iii. 1.) Here, then, we
have a marvelous change of circumstances. In Genesis, chapter xlvi.
31, we read, "Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians;" and
yet Moses, who was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," is
transferred from the Egyptian court to the back of a mountain to tend
a flock of sheep, and to be educated for the service of God.
Assuredly, this is not "the manner of man." This is not nature's line
of things. Flesh and blood could not understand this. We should have
thought that Moses' education was finished when he had become master
of all Egypt's wisdom, and that, moreover, in immediate connection
with the rare advantages which a court life affords. We should have
expected to find in one so highly favored, not only a solid and varied
education, but also such an exquisite polish as would fit him for any
sphere of action to which he might be called. But then, to find such a
man with such attainments, called away from such a position to mind
sheep at the back of a mountain, is something entirely beyond the
utmost stretch of human thought and feeling. It lays prostrate in the
dust all man's pride and glory. It declares plainly that this world's
appliances are of little value in the divine estimation; yea, they are
as "dung and dross," not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the
eyes of all those who have been taught in His school.
There is a very wide difference between human and divine education.
The former has for its end the refinement and exaltation of nature;
the latter begins with withering it up and setting it aside. "The
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they
are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned." (1 Cor. ii. 14.) Educate the "natural man" as
much as you please, and you cannot make him a "spiritual man." "That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit." (John iii. 6.) If ever an educated "natural man"
might look for success in the service of God, Moses might have counted
upon it; he was "grown," he was "learned," he was "mighty in word and
deed," and yet he had to learn something at "the backside of the
desert" which Egypt's schools could never have taught him. Paul learnt
more in Arabia than ever he had learnt at the feet of Gamaliel.[4]
None can teach like God; and all who will learn _of_ Him must be alone
_with_ Him.
[4] Let not my reader suppose for a moment that the design of the
above remarks is to detract from the value of really useful
information, or the proper culture of the mental powers. By no means.
If, for example, he is a parent, let him store his child's mind with
useful knowledge; let him teach him everything which may, hereafter,
turn to account in the Master's service: let him not burden him with
aught which he would have to "lay aside" in running his Christian
course, nor conduct him, for educational purposes, through a region
from which it is well-nigh impossible to come forth with an unsoiled
mind. You might just as well shut him up for ten years in a coal mine
in order to qualify him for discussing the properties of light and
shade, as cause him to wade through the mire of a heathen mythology in
order to fit him for the interpretation of the oracles of God, or
prepare him for feeding the flock of Christ.
"In the desert God will teach thee."
There it was that Moses learnt his sweetest, deepest, most influential
and enduring lessons. Thither, too, must all repair who mean to be
educated for the ministry.
Beloved reader, may you prove, in your own deep experience, the real
meaning of "the backside of the desert"--that sacred spot where nature
is laid in the dust, and God alone exalted. There it is that men and
things, the world and self, present circumstances and their
influences, are all valued at what they are really worth. There it is,
and there alone, that you will find a divinely-adjusted balance in
which to weigh all within and all around. There are no false colors,
no borrowed plumes, no empty pretentions there. The enemy of your soul
cannot gild the sand of that place. All is reality there. The heart
that has found itself in the presence of God, at "the backside of the
desert," has right thoughts about everything. It is raised far above
the exciting influence of this world's schemes. The din and noise, the
bustle and confusion of Egypt do not fall upon the ear in that distant
place. The crash in the monetary and commercial world is not heard
there; the sigh of ambition is not heaved there; this world's fading
laurels do not tempt there; the thirst for gold is not felt there; the
eye is never dimmed with lust, nor the heart swollen with pride there;
human applause does not elate, nor human censure depress there. In a
word, everything is set aside save the stillness and light of the
divine presence. God's voice alone is heard, His light enjoyed, His
thoughts received. This is the place to which all must go to be
educated for the ministry; and there all must remain if they would
succeed in the ministry.
Would that all who come forward to serve in public knew more of what
it is to breathe the atmosphere of this place. We should then have far
less vapid attempts at ministry, but far more effective
Christ-honoring service.
Let us now inquire what Moses saw and what he heard at "the backside
of the desert." We shall find him learning lessons which lay far
beyond the reach of Egypt's most gifted masters. It might appear, in
the eyes of human reason, a strange loss of time for a man like Moses
to spend forty years doing nothing save to keep a few sheep in the
wilderness. But he was there with God, and the time that is thus spent
is never lost. It is salutary for us to remember that there is
something more than mere _doing_ necessary on the part of a true
servant. A man who is always doing will be apt to do too much. Such an
one would need to ponder over the deeply-practical words of the
perfect Servant, "He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth Mine ear
to _hear_ as the learned." (Is. l. 4.) This is an indispensable part
of the servant's business. The servant must frequently stand in his
master's presence, in order that he may know what he has to do. The
"ear" and the "tongue" are intimately connected, in more ways than
one; but, in a spiritual or moral point of view, if my ear be closed
and my tongue loose, I shall be sure to talk a great deal of folly.
"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift _to hear_,
slow _to speak_." (James i. 19.) This seasonable admonition is based
upon two facts, namely, that everything good comes from above, and
that the heart is brimful of naughtiness, ready to flow over. Hence
the need of keeping the ear open and the tongue quiet,--rare and
admirable attainments!--attainments in which Moses made great
proficiency at "the backside of the desert," and which all can acquire
if only they are disposed to learn in that school.
"And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire, out
of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and behold the bush burned with
fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, 'I will now turn
aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.'" (Chap.
iii. 2, 3.) This was truly "a great sight"--a bush burning, yet not
burnt. The palace of Pharaoh could never have afforded such a sight.
But it was a gracious sight as well as a great sight, for therein was
strikingly exhibited the condition of God's elect. They were in the
furnace of Egypt; and Jehovah reveals Himself in a burning bush. But
as the bush was not consumed, so neither were they, for God was there.
"The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge." (Psalm
xlvi.) Here is strength and security--victory and peace. God _with_
us, God _in_ us, and God _for_ us. This is ample provision for every
exigence.
Nothing can be more interesting or instructive than the mode in which
Jehovah was pleased to reveal Himself to Moses, as presented in the
above quotation. He was about to furnish him with his commission to
lead forth His people out of Egypt, that they might be His
assembly--His dwelling-place, in the wilderness and in the land of
Canaan; and the place from which He speaks is a burning bush. Apt,
solemn, and beautiful symbol of Jehovah dwelling in the midst of His
elect and redeemed congregation! "Our God is a consuming fire," not to
consume _us_, but to consume all in us and about us which is contrary
to His holiness, and, as such, subversive of our true and permanent
happiness. "Thy testimonies are very sure; holiness becometh Thy
house, O Lord, forever."
There are various instances, both in the Old and New Testaments, in
which we find God displaying Himself as "a consuming fire." Look, for
example, at the case of Nadab and Abihu, in Leviticus x. This was a
deeply solemn occasion. God was dwelling in the midst of His people,
and He would keep them in a condition worthy of Himself. He could not
do otherwise. It would neither be for His glory nor for their profit
were He to tolerate aught in them inconsistent with the purity of His
presence. God's dwelling-place must be holy.
So, also, in Joshua vii. we have another striking proof, in the case
of Achan, that Jehovah could not possibly sanction, by His presence,
evil, in any shape or form, how covert soever that evil might be. He
was "a consuming fire," and as such He should act, in reference to any
attempt to defile that assembly in the midst of which He dwelt. To
seek to connect God's presence with evil unjudged is the very highest
character of wickedness.
Again, in Acts v, Ananias and Sapphira teach us the same solemn
lesson. God the Holy Ghost was dwelling in the midst of the Church,
not merely as an influence, but as a divine Person, in such a way as
that one could lie to Him. The Church was, and is still, His
dwelling-place; and He must rule and judge in the midst thereof. Men
may walk in company with deceit, covetousness, and hypocrisy; but God
cannot. If God is going to walk with us, we must judge our ways, or He
will judge them for us. (See also 1 Cor. xi. 29-32.)
In all these cases, and many more which might be adduced, we see the
force of that solemn word, "Holiness becometh Thy house, O Lord,
forever." The moral effect of this will ever be similar to that
produced in the case of Moses, as recorded in our chapter. "Draw not
nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for _the place
whereon thou standest is holy ground_." (Verse 5.) The place of God's
presence is holy, and can only be trodden with unshod feet. God,
dwelling in the midst of His people, imparts a character of holiness
to their assembly, which is the basis of every holy affection and
every holy activity. The character of the dwelling-place takes its
stamp from the character of the Occupant.
The application of this to the Church, which is now the habitation of
God, through the Spirit, is of the very utmost practical importance.
While it is blessedly true that God, by His Spirit, inhabits each
individual member of the Church, thereby imparting a character of
holiness to the individual; it is equally true that He dwells in the
assembly, and hence the assembly must be holy. The centre round which
the members are gathered is nothing less than the Person of a living,
victorious, and glorified Christ. The energy by which they are
gathered is nothing less than God the Holy Ghost; and the Lord God
Almighty dwells in them and walks in them. (See Matt. xviii. 20; 1
Cor. vi. 19; iii. 16, 17; Eph. ii. 21, 22.) Such being the holy
elevation belonging to God's dwelling-place, it is evident that
nothing which is unholy, either in principle or practice, must be
tolerated. Each one connected therewith should feel the weight and
solemnity of that word, "The place whereon thou standest is holy
ground." "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy."
(1 Cor. iii. 17.) Most weighty words these, for every member of God's
assembly--for every stone in His holy temple! May we all learn to
tread Jehovah's courts with unshod feet!
However, the visions of Horeb bear witness to the grace of the God of
Israel as well as to His holiness. If God's holiness is infinite, His
grace is infinite also; and while the manner in which He revealed
Himself to Moses declared the former, the very fact of His revealing
Himself at all evidenced the latter. He came down because He was
gracious; but when come down, He should reveal Himself as holy.
"Moreover he said, 'I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses hid his face; for
he was afraid to look upon God." (Verse 6.) The effect of the divine
presence must ever be to make nature hide itself; and when we stand
before God with unshod feet and covered head--_i.e._, in the attitude
of soul which those acts so aptly and beautifully express, we are
prepared to hearken to the sweet accents of grace. When man takes his
suited place, God can speak in the language of unmingled mercy.
"And the Lord said, 'I have surely seen the affliction of My people
which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their
taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver
them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of
that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk
and honey.... Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of
Israel is come unto Me; and I have also seen the oppression wherewith
the Egyptians oppress them.'" (Ver. 7-9.) Here the absolute, free,
unconditional grace of the God of Abraham, and the God of Abraham's
seed, shines forth in all its native brightness, unhindered by the
"ifs" and "buts," the vows, resolutions, and conditions of man's legal
spirit. God had come down to display Himself, in sovereign grace, to
do the whole work of salvation, to accomplish His promise made to
Abraham, and repeated to Isaac and Jacob. He had not come down to see
if, indeed, the subjects of His promise were in such a condition as to
_merit_ His salvation: it was sufficient for Him that they _needed_
it. Their oppressed state, their sorrows, their tears, their sighs,
their heavy bondage, had all come in review before Him; for, blessed
be His name, He counts His people's sighs, and puts their tears into
His bottle. He was not attracted by their excellencies or their
virtues. It was not on the ground of aught that was good in them,
either seen or foreseen, that He was about to visit them, for He knew
what was in them. In one word, we have the true ground of His gracious
acting set before us in the words, "I am the God of Abraham," and "I
have seen the affliction of My people."
These words reveal a great fundamental principle in the ways of God.
It is on the ground of what He is that He ever acts. "I AM," secures
all for "MY PEOPLE." Assuredly, He was not going to leave _His_ people
amid the brick-kilns of Egypt, and under the lash of Pharaoh's
taskmasters. They were His people, and He would act toward them in a
manner worthy of Himself. To be His people,--to be the favored objects
of Jehovah's electing love--the subjects of His unconditional promise,
settled everything. Nothing should hinder the public display of His
relationship with those for whom His eternal purpose had secured the
land of Canaan. He had come down to deliver them; and the combined
power of earth and hell could not hold them in captivity one hour
beyond His appointed time. He might and did use Egypt as a school, and
Pharaoh as a schoolmaster; but when the needed work was accomplished,
both the school and the schoolmaster were set aside, and His people
were brought forth with a high hand and an outstretched arm.
Such, then, was the double character of the revelation made to Moses
at Mount Horeb. What he saw and what he heard combined the two
elements of holiness and grace,--elements which, as we know, enter
into and distinctly characterize all the ways and all the
relationships of the blessed God, and which should also mark the ways
of all those who in any wise act for, or have fellowship with, Him.
Every true servant is sent forth from the immediate presence of God,
with all its holiness and all its grace; and he is called to be holy
and gracious--he is called to be the reflection of the grace and
holiness of the divine character; and, in order that he may be so, he
should not only start from the immediate presence of God at the first,
but abide there, in spirit, habitually. This is the true secret of
effectual service.
"Childlike, attend what Thou wilt say,
Go forth and do it, while 'tis day,
Yet never leave my sweet retreat."
The spiritual man alone can understand the meaning of the two things,
"go forth and do," and, "yet never leave." In order to act _for_ God
outside, I should be _with_ Him inside. I must be in the secret
sanctuary of His presence, else I shall utterly fail.
Very many break down on this point. There is the greatest possible
danger of getting out of the solemnity and calmness of the divine
presence, amid the bustle of intercourse with men, and the excitement
of active service. This is to be carefully guarded against. If we lose
that hallowed tone of spirit which is expressed in "the unshod foot,"
our service will very speedily become vapid and unprofitable. If I
allow my work to get between my heart and the Master, it will be
little worth. We can only effectually serve Christ as we are enjoying
Him. It is while the heart dwells upon His powerful attractions that
the hands perform the most acceptable service to His name; nor is
there any one who can minister Christ with unction, freshness, and
power to others, if he be not feeding upon Christ, in the secret of
his own soul. True, he may preach a sermon, deliver a lecture, utter
prayers, write a book, and go through the entire routine of outward
service, and yet not minister Christ. The man who will present Christ
to others must be occupied with Christ for himself.
Happy is the man who ministers thus, whatever be the success or
reception of his ministry. For should his ministry fail to attract
attention, to command influence, or to produce apparent results, he
has his sweet retreat and his unfailing portion in Christ, of which
nothing can deprive him. Whereas, the man who is merely feeding upon
the fruits of his ministry, who delights in the gratification which it
affords, or the attention and interest which it commands, is like a
mere pipe, conveying water to others, and retaining only rust itself.
This is a most deplorable condition to be in; and yet is it the actual
condition of every servant who is more occupied with his work and its
results, than with the Master and His glory.
This is a matter which calls for the most rigid self-judgment. The
heart is deceitful, and the enemy is crafty; and hence there is great
need to hearken to the word of exhortation, "Be sober, be vigilant."
It is when the soul is awakened to a sense of the varied and manifold
dangers which beset the servant's path, that it is, in any measure,
able to understand the need there is for being much alone with God: it
is there one is secure and happy. It is when we begin, continue, and
end our work at the Master's feet, that our service will be of the
right kind.
From all that has been said, it must be evident to my reader that
every servant of Christ will find the air of "the backside of the
desert" most salutary. Horeb is really the starting-post for all whom
God sends forth to act for Him. It was at Horeb that Moses learnt to
put off his shoes and hide his face. Forty years before, he had gone
to work; but his movement was premature. It was amid the
flesh-subduing solitudes of the mount of God, and forth from the
burning bush, that the divine commission fell on the servant's ear,
"Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou
mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
(Ver. 10.) Here was real authority. There is a vast difference between
God sending a man, and a man running unsent. But it is very manifest
that Moses was not ripe for service when first he set about acting. If
forty years of secret training were needful for him, how could he have
got on without it? Impossible! He had to be divinely educated and
divinely commissioned; and so must all who go forth upon a path of
service or testimony for Christ. O, that these holy lessons may be
deeply graven on all our hearts, that so our every work may wear upon
it the stamp of the Master's authority and the Master's approval.
However, we have something further to learn at the foot of Mount
Horeb. The soul finds it seasonable to linger in this place. "It is
good to be here." The presence of God is ever a deeply practical
place; the heart is sure to be laid open there. The light that shines
in that holy place makes everything manifest; and this is what is so
much needed in the midst of the hollow pretension around us, and the
pride and self-complacency within.
We might be disposed to think that the very moment the divine
commission was given to Moses, his reply would be, Here am I, or,
Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? But no; he had yet to be brought
to this. Doubtless, he was affected by the remembrance of his former
failure. If a man acts in anything without God, he is sure to be
discouraged, even when God is sending him. "And Moses said unto God,
'Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth
the children of Israel out of Egypt?'" (Ver. 11.) This is very unlike
the man who, forty years before, "supposed that his brethren would
have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them." Such is
man!--at one time too hasty; at another time too slow. Moses had
learnt a great deal since the day in which he smote the Egyptian. He
had grown in the knowledge of himself, and this produced diffidence
and timidity. But then he manifestly lacked confidence in God. If I am
merely looking at myself, I shall do "nothing;" but if I am looking at
Christ, "I can do all things." Thus, when diffidence and timidity led
Moses to say, "Who am I?" God's answer was, "Certainly _I_ will be
with thee." (Ver. 12.) This ought to have been sufficient. If God be
with me, it makes very little matter who I am, or what I am. When God
says, "I will send thee," and "I will be with thee," the servant is
amply furnished with divine authority and divine power; and he ought,
therefore, to be perfectly satisfied to go forth.
But Moses puts another question; for the human heart is full of
questions. "And Moses said unto God, 'Behold, when I come unto the
children of Israel and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers
hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name?
what shall I say unto them?'" It is marvelous to see how the human
heart reasons and questions, when unhesitating obedience is that which
is due to God; and still more marvelous is the grace that bears with
all the reasonings and answers all the questions. Each question seems
but to elicit some new feature of divine grace.
"And God said unto Moses, 'I AM THAT I AM;' and He said, 'Thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.'"
(Ver. 14.) The title which God here gives Himself is one of wondrous
significancy. In tracing through Scripture the various names which God
takes, we find them intimately connected with the varied need of
those with whom He was in relation. "Jehovah-jireh" (the Lord will
provide), "Jehovah-nissi" (the Lord my banner), "Jehovah-shalom" (the
Lord send peace), "Jehovah-tsidkenu" (the Lord our righteousness),--all
these His gracious titles are unfolded to meet the necessities of His
people; and when He calls Himself "I AM," it comprehends them all.
Jehovah, in taking this title, was furnishing His people with a blank
check, to be filled up to any amount. He calls Himself "I AM," and
faith has but to write over against that ineffably precious name
whatever we want. God is the only significant figure, and human need
may add the ciphers. If we want life, Christ says, "I AM the life;" if
we want righteousness, He is "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS;" if we want
peace, "He is our peace;" if we want "wisdom, sanctification, and
redemption," He "is made" all these "unto us." In a word, we may
travel through the wide range of human necessity, in order to have a
just conception of the amazing depth and fullness of this profound and
adorable name, "I AM."
What a mercy to be called to walk in companionship with One who bears
such a name as this! We are in the wilderness, and there we have to
meet with trial, sorrow, and difficulty; but, so long as we have the
happy privilege of betaking ourselves, at all times and under all
circumstances, to One who reveals Himself in His manifold grace, in
connection with our every necessity and weakness, we need not fear
the wilderness. God was about to bring His people across the sandy
desert, when He disclosed this precious and comprehensive name; and
although the believer now, as being endowed with the Spirit of
adoption, can cry, "Abba, Father," yet is he not deprived of the
privilege of enjoying communion with God in each and every one of
those manifestations which He has been pleased to make of Himself. For
example, the title "God" reveals Him as acting in the solitariness of
His own being, displaying His eternal power and Godhead in the works
of creation. "The Lord God" is the title which He takes in connection
with man. Then, as "the Almighty God," He rises before the view of His
servant Abraham, in order to assure his heart in reference to the
accomplishment of His promise touching the seed. As "Jehovah," He made
Himself known to Israel, in delivering them out of the land of Egypt,
and bringing them into the land of Canaan.
Such were the various measures and various modes in which "God spake
in times past unto the fathers, by the prophets" (Heb. i. 1.); and the
believer, under this dispensation or economy, as possessing the Spirit
of sonship, can say, It was my Father who thus revealed Himself, thus
spoke, thus acted.
Nothing can be more interesting or practically important in its way
than to follow out those great dispensational titles of God. These
titles are always used in strict moral consistency with the
circumstances under which they are disclosed; but there is, in the
name "I AM," a height, a depth, a length, a breadth, which truly pass
beyond the utmost stretch of human conception.
"When God would teach mankind His name,
He calls Himself the great 'I AM,'
And leaves a blank--believers may
Supply those things for which they pray."
And, be it observed, it is only in connection with His own people that
He takes this name. He did not address Pharaoh in this name. When
speaking to him, He calls Himself by that commanding and majestic
title, "The Lord God of the Hebrews;" _i.e._, God, in connection with
the very people whom he was seeking to crush. This ought to have been
sufficient to show Pharaoh his awful position with respect to God. "I
AM" would have conveyed no intelligible sound to an uncircumcised
ear--no divine reality to an unbelieving heart. When God manifest in
the flesh declared to the unbelieving Jews of His day those words,
"Before Abraham was, I _am_," they took up stones to cast at Him. It
is only the true believer who can feel, in any measure, the power, or
enjoy the sweetness, of that ineffable name, "I AM." Such an one can
rejoice to hear from the lips of the blessed Lord Jesus such
declarations as these:--"_I am_ that bread of life," "_I am_ the light
of the world," "_I am_ the good Shepherd," "_I am_ the resurrection
and the life," "_I am_ the way, the truth, and the life," "_I am_ the
true vine," "_I am_ Alpha and Omega," "_I am_ the bright and morning
star." In a word, he can take every name of divine excellence and
beauty, and, having placed it after "I AM," find JESUS therein, and
admire, adore, and worship.
Thus, there is a sweetness, as well as a comprehensiveness, in the
name "I AM," which is beyond all power of expression. Each believer
can find therein that which exactly suits his own spiritual need,
whatever it be. There is not a single winding in all the Christian's
wilderness journey, not a single phase of his soul's experience, not a
single point in his condition, which is not divinely met by this
title, for the simplest of all reasons, that whatever he wants, he has
but to place it, by faith, over against "I AM" and find it all in
Jesus. To the believer, therefore, however feeble and faltering, there
is unmingled blessedness in this name.
But although it was to the elect of God that Moses was commanded to
say, "I AM hath sent me unto you," yet is there deep solemnity and
reality in that name when looked at with reference to the unbeliever.
If one who is yet in his sins contemplates, for a moment, this amazing
title, he cannot, surely, avoid asking himself the question, How do I
stand as to this Being who calls Himself, "I AM THAT I AM"? If,
indeed, it be true that HE IS, then what _is_ He to _me_? What am _I_
to write over against this solemn name, "I AM"? I shall not rob this
question of its characteristic weight and power by any words of my
own; but I pray that God the Holy Ghost may make it searching to the
conscience of any reader who really needs to be searched thereby.
I cannot close this section without calling the attention of the
Christian reader to the deeply interesting declaration contained in
the fifteenth verse,--"And God said, moreover, unto Moses, 'Thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent
me unto you: _this is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all
generations_.'" This statement contains a very important truth--a
truth which many professing Christians seem to forget, namely, that
God's relationship with Israel is an eternal one. He is just as much
Israel's God now as when He visited them in the land of Egypt. Only,
because of rejecting their Messiah, they are, in His governmental
dealings, set aside for a time. But His word is clear and emphatic:
"This is My name forever." He does not say, This is My name for a
time, so long as they continue what they ought to be. No; "This is My
name _forever_, and this is My memorial unto _all generations_." Let
my reader ponder this. "God hath not cast away His people which He
foreknew." (Rom. xi. 2.) They are His people still, whether obedient
or disobedient, united together or scattered abroad, manifested to the
nations or hidden from their view. They are His people, and He is
their God. Exodus iii. 15 is unanswerable. The professing church has
no warrant whatever for ignoring a relationship which God says is to
endure "forever." Let us beware how we tamper with this weighty word,
"forever." If we say it does not mean forever when applied to Israel,
what proof have we that it means forever when applied to us? God
means what He says; and He will, ere long, make manifest to all the
nations of the earth that His connection with Israel is one which
shall outlive all the revolutions of time. "The gifts and calling of
God are without repentance." When He said, "This is My name forever,"
He spoke absolutely. "I AM" declared Himself to be Israel's God
forever; and all the Gentiles shall be made to bow to this; and to
know, moreover, that all God's providential dealings with them, and
all their destinies, are connected, in some way or other, with that
favored and honored, though now judged and scattered, people. "When
the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He
separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according
to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord's portion is His
people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance." (Deut. xxxii. 8, 9.)
Has this ceased to be true? Has Jehovah given up His "portion," and
surrendered "the lot of His inheritance"? Does His eye of tender love
no longer rest on Israel's scattered tribes, long lost to man's
vision? Are the walls of Jerusalem no longer before Him? or has her
dust ceased to be precious in His sight? To reply to these inquiries
would be to quote a large portion of the Old Testament, and not a
little of the New; but this would not be the place to enter
elaborately upon such a subject. I would only say, in closing this
section, let not christendom "be ignorant of this mystery, that
blindness _in part_ is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the
Gentiles be come in. And so _all Israel shall be saved_." (Rom. xi.
25, 26.)