We here arrive at the close of a very marked division of the book of
Exodus. We have seen God, in the exercise of His perfect grace,
visiting and redeeming His people, bringing them forth out of the land
of Egypt, delivering them first from the hand of Pharaoh and then from
the hand of Amalek. Furthermore, we have seen, in the manna, a type of
Christ come down from heaven; in the rock, a type of Christ smitten
for His people; and in the gushing stream, a type of the Spirit given.
Then follows, in striking and beautiful order, a picture of the future
glory, divided into its three grand departments, namely, "the Jew, the
Gentile, and the Church of God."
During the period of Moses' rejection by his brethren, he was taken
apart and presented with a bride--the companion of his rejection. We
were led to see, at the opening of this book, the character of Moses'
relationship with this bride. He was "a husband by blood" to her. This
is precisely What Christ is to the Church. Her connection with Him is
founded upon death and resurrection; and she is called to fellowship
with His sufferings. It is, as we know, during the period of Israel's
unbelief and of Christ's rejection that the Church is called out; and
when the Church is complete, according to the divine counsels--when
the "fullness of the Gentiles is come in"--Israel shall again be
brought into notice.
Thus it was with Zipporah and Israel of old. Moses had sent her back
during the period of his mission to Israel; and when the latter were
brought forth as a fully delivered people, we read that "Jethro,
Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent
her back, and her two sons, of which the name of the one was Gershom;
'For,' he said, 'I have been an alien in a strange land;' and the name
of the other was Eliezer; 'For the God of my fathers,' said he, 'was
mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.' And Jethro,
Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into
the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God. And he said
unto Moses, 'I, thy father-in-law, Jethro, am come unto thee, and thy
wife and her two sons with her.' And Moses went out to meet his
father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each
other of their welfare; and they came into the tent. And Moses told
his father-in-law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the
Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon
them by the way, and how the Lord delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced
for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom He had
delivered from the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, 'Blessed be
the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and out of the hand of Pharaoh; who hath delivered the people from
under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater
than all gods; for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly He was
above them.' And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering
and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel,
to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God." (Chap. xviii.
2-12.)
This is a deeply interesting scene. The whole congregation assembled
in triumph before the Lord, the Gentile presenting sacrifice, and in
addition, to complete the picture, the bride of the deliverer,
together with the children whom God had given him, are all introduced.
It is, in short, a singularly striking foreshadowing of the coming
kingdom. "The Lord will give grace and glory." We have already seen,
in what we have traveled over of this book, very much of the actings
of "grace;" and here we have, from the pencil of the Holy Ghost, a
beauteous picture of "glory,"--a picture which must be regarded as
peculiarly important, as exhibiting the varied fields in which that
glory shall be manifested.
"The Jew, the Gentile, and the Church of God" are scriptural
distinctions which can never be overlooked without marring that
perfect range of truth which God has revealed in His holy Word. They
have existed ever since the mystery of the Church was fully developed
by the ministry of the apostle Paul, and they shall exist throughout
the millennial age. Hence, every spiritual student of Scripture will
give them their due place in his mind.
The apostle expressly teaches us, in his epistle to the Ephesians,
that the mystery of the Church had not been made known, in other ages,
to the sons of men, as it was revealed to him. But though not directly
revealed, it had been shadowed forth in one way or another; as, for
example, in Joseph's marriage with an Egyptian, and in Moses' marriage
with an Ethiopian. The type or shadow of a truth is a very different
thing from a direct and positive revelation of it. The great mystery
of the Church was not revealed until Christ, in heavenly glory,
revealed it to Saul of Tarsus. Hence, all who look for the full
unfolding of this mystery in the law, the prophets, or the psalms,
will find themselves engaged in unintelligent labor. When, however,
they find it distinctly revealed in the epistle to the Ephesians, they
will be able, with interest and profit, to trace its foreshadowing in
Old Testament Scripture.
Thus we have, in the opening of our chapter, a millennial scene. All
the fields of glory lie open in vision before us. "_The Jew_" stands
forth as the great earthly witness of Jehovah's faithfulness, His
mercy, and His power. This is what the Jew has been in bygone ages, it
is what he is now, and what he will be, world without end. "The
Gentile" reads, in the book of God's dealings with the Jew, his
deepest lessons. He traces the marvelous history of that peculiar and
elect people--"a people terrible from their beginning hitherto;" he
sees thrones and empires overturned, nations shaken to their centre,
every one and every thing compelled to give way, in order to establish
the supremacy of that people on whom Jehovah has set His love. "Now I
know," he says, "that the Lord is greater than all gods; for in the
thing wherein they dealt proudly He was above them." (Ver. 11.) Such
is the confession of "the Gentile" when the wondrous page of Jewish
history lies open before him.
Lastly, "_the Church of God_" collectively, as prefigured by Zipporah,
and the members thereof individually, as seen in Zipporah's sons, are
presented as occupying the most intimate relationship with the
deliverer. All this is perfect in its way. We may be asked for our
proofs. The answer is, "I speak as unto wise men: judge ye what I
say." We can never build a doctrine upon a type; but when a doctrine
is revealed, a type thereof may be discerned with accuracy and studied
with profit. In every case, a spiritual mind is essentially necessary,
either to understand the doctrine or discern the type. "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.)
From verse 13 to the end of our chapter, we have the appointment of
rulers, who were to assist Moses in the management of the affairs of
the congregation. This was the suggestion of Jethro, who feared that
Moses would "wear away" in consequence of his labors. In connection
with this, it may be profitable to look at the appointment of the
seventy elders in Numbers xi. Here we find the spirit of Moses crushed
beneath the ponderous responsibility which devolved upon him, and he
gives utterance to the anguish of his heart in the following accents:
"And Moses said unto the Lord, 'Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy
servant? And wherefore have I not found favor in Thy sight, that Thou
layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all
this people? have I begotten them, that Thou shouldest say unto me,
Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the suckling
child, unto the land which Thou swarest unto their fathers?... I am
not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for
me. And if Thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray Thee, out of hand,
if I have found favor in Thy sight; and let me not see my
wretchedness." (Numb. xi. 11-15.)
In all this we see Moses evidently retiring from a post of honor. If
God were pleased to make him the sole instrument in managing the
assembly, it was only so much the more dignity and privilege conferred
upon him. True, the responsibility was immense; but faith would own
that God was amply sufficient for that. Here, however, the heart of
Moses failed him (blessed servant as he was), and he says, "I am not
able to bear this people _alone_, because it is to heavy for _me_."
But he was not asked to bear them alone, for God was with him. They
were not too heavy for God. It was He that was bearing them; Moses was
but the instrument. He might just as well have spoken of his rod as
bearing the people; for what was he but a mere instrument in God's
hand, as the rod was in his? It is here the servants of Christ
constantly fail; and the failure is all the more dangerous because it
wears the appearance of humility. It seems like distrust of one's
self, and deep lowliness of spirit, to shrink from heavy
responsibility; but all we need to inquire is, Has God imposed that
responsibility? If so, He will assuredly be with me in sustaining it;
and having Him with me, I can sustain any thing. With Him, the weight
of a mountain is nothing; without Him, the weight of a feather is
overwhelming. It is a totally different thing if a man, in the vanity
of his mind, thrust himself forward and take a burden upon his
shoulder which God never intended him to bear, and therefore never
fitted him to bear it; we may then surely expect to see him crushed
beneath the weight: but if God lays it upon him, He will qualify and
strengthen him to carry it.
It is never the fruit of humility to depart from a divinely-appointed
post. On the contrary, the deepest humility will express itself by
remaining there in simple dependence upon God. It is a sure evidence
of being occupied about _self_ when we shrink from service on the
ground of inability. God does not call us unto service on the ground
of our ability, but of His own; hence, unless I am filled with
thoughts about myself, or with positive distrust of Him, I need not
relinquish any position of service or testimony because of the heavy
responsibilities attaching thereto. All power belongs to God, and it
is quite the same whether that power acts through one agent or through
seventy--the power is still the same; but if one agent refuse the
dignity, it is only so much the worse for him. God will not force
people to abide in a place of honor if they cannot trust Him to
sustain them there. The way lies always open to them to step down from
their dignity, and sink into the place where base unbelief is sure to
put us.
Thus it was with Moses. He complained of the burden, and the burden
was speedily removed; but with it the high honor of being allowed to
carry it. "And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Gather unto Me seventy men
of the elders of Israel whom thou knowest to be the elders of the
people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of
the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come
down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is
upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden
of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone." (Numb.
xi. 16, 17.) There was no fresh power introduced. It was the same
spirit, whether in one or in seventy. There was no more value or
virtue in the flesh of seventy men than in the flesh of one man. "It
is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing." (John vi.
63.) There was nothing in the way of power gained, but a great deal
in the way of dignity lost, by this movement on the part of Moses.
In the after-part of Numbers xi, we find Moses giving utterance to
accents of unbelief, which called forth from the Lord a sharp
rebuke.--"Is the Lord's hand waxed short? Thou shalt see now whether
My word shall come to pass unto thee, or not." If my reader will
compare verses 11-15 with verses 21, 22, he will see a marked and
solemn connection. The man who shrinks from responsibility, on the
ground of his own feebleness, is in great danger of calling in
question the fullness and sufficiency of God's resources. This entire
scene teaches a most valuable lesson to every servant of Christ who
may be tempted to feel himself alone or overburdened in his work. Let
such an one bear in mind that, where the Holy Ghost is working, one
instrument is as good and as efficient as seventy; and where He is not
working, seventy are of no more value than one. It all depends upon
the energy of the Holy Ghost. With Him, one man can do all, endure
all, sustain all; without Him, seventy men can do nothing. Let the
lonely servant remember, for the comfort and encouragement of his
sinking heart, that, provided he has the presence and power of the
Holy Ghost with him, he need not complain of his burden nor sigh for a
division of labor. If God honor a man by giving him a great deal of
work to do, let him rejoice therein and not murmur; for if he murmur,
he can very speedily lose his honor. God is at no loss for
instruments. He could from the stones raise up children unto Abraham,
and He can raise up from the same the needed agents to carry on His
glorious work.
O for a heart to serve Him!--a patient, humble, self-emptied, devoted
heart,--a heart ready to serve in company, ready to serve alone,--a
heart so filled with love to Christ that it will find its joy, its
chief joy, in serving Him, let the sphere or character of service be
what it may! This assuredly is the special need of the day in which
our lot is cast. May the Holy Ghost stir up our hearts to a deeper
sense of the exceeding preciousness of the name of Jesus, and enable
us to yield a fuller, clearer, more unequivocal response to the
changeless love of His heart!