HIS WAYS UNTO MOSES
In Psalm 103:7 we read these words:
"He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the children of
Israel."
Notice the difference! His "acts" were made known to the
entire nation; but His "ways" only to Moses. His "acts"
were His mighty deeds—signs and wonders wrought by His
mighty power. All the people of Israel saw
the miracles which God performed for their deliverance
and preservation. They saw the Red Sea rolled back for
them to cross over; they saw the Egyptians destroyed by
a mighty act of God; they saw the miraculous cloud which
led them by day and the fiery pillar by night; they saw
the heavenly manna provided for their sustenance,
and they beheld the water surge forth from the rock by
the mighty hand of God. These and other "acts" they
constantly beheld as God performed mighty miracles in
their midst. But ONLY MOSES ascended the "mount of God"
to have made known to him the "ways" of God—the "ways"
in which God wanted the people to WALK, in obedience to His Word, that
they might be prepared for
that which God wanted to do THROUGH them according to
His foreordained purpose.
His "acts" the people beheld, that their needs might
be met, and that their faith might be quickened, as they
realized their mighty God and Savior was in their midst. But His
"ways" they had to learn.
And God had to have a man to whom He could reveal His Ways, and that man
was Moses. Moses, thereafter, made known God's Ways to the people. But the tragedy
of the situation was simply this: the people were
constantly clamoring for a demonstration of the mighty
"acts" of God, but they did not want to learn His "ways."
How much Christian people are like
this today! Multitudes are willing to seek after
the "acts" of God, but only a few (a Moses company) are
willing to fully learn His "ways." This does not mean
that His "acts" are not important, but we should be
primarily concerned with His "ways." In Psalm 77:11-13
we read: "I will remember the works of the Lord: surely
I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate
also of all your work, and talk of your doings. Your way, O God is in your sanctuary: who is so great a
God as our God?" We are to remember and talk of all his
doings (acts), but His WAY is in the sanctuary. The Hebrew word
translated "sanctuary" means a "separation "or a
"separated place." In the Old Testament the
"sanctuary" was the tabernacle or the temple built by
command of God as a separated place where the priests
ministered to the Lord on behalf of the
people, and where the "presence" of the Lord was
manifested that He might speak to His specially chosen
servants, Moses and Aaron. In the New Testament the
"sanctuary" is a separated
people, the very Body of
Christ and the Temple of the Holy
Spirit (I Cor. 3:16, 6:19; Ephes. 2:20-22); a royal
priesthood that ministers to God (I Peter 2:5,9), and to
whom God speaks and makes known His ways.
"Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary." This means two
things. First, the sanctuary (tabernacle) built by Moses
in the wilderness is actually a divinely ordained
picture or pattern (in symbols of materials, structure,
measurements, and objects) of GOD'S WAYS for His people.
(This is too great a subject to go into at the present
time and is beyond the scope of this article.) Secondly,
it means that HIS WAYS are being made known TO and
revealed THROUGH that "sanctuary" or "separated people"
He is calling to Himself in these last
days—a people who are willing to learn His ways.
[prophecy]
"Oh my people, are you willing to
learn my ways, says God. How long have I
waited for a people who will give themselves wholly to me, that I might teach them
to walk in that which I have foreordained for this hour.
For I say to you, that even before the
foundation of the world I determined that a people
should show forth my glory in these last times, even
that which is the consummation of many ages and
generations. But my people, how much are you willing to
give yourselves to me that I might teach you my
ways? Are you just Interested in beholding my wonders,
of seeking after signs, and in rejoicing only in that
which I can do for you? Are you not rather willing to be
an instrument in my hand, that I might show forth my
glory to this world? I say, if you
are willing to learn my ways; if you are willing to
subject yourselves to me and to one another in the body of
Christ; if you are willing to take my Word and study
that which I have revealed through my servants of the
past; if you are willing to forget your ways and seek my
face; then, and only then, shall you become my
sanctuary—even that body in which my ways shall be made
known, says the Lord. For is it not
written that my ways are not your ways and my
thoughts are not your thoughts? (Isa. 55:8). Why
will you then continue to insist on
following your ways? Are not my ways, which are high as
the heavens, revealed only to those whose minds are set
on the heavens, to do that
which has been revealed from heaven? And is not that
voice from heaven heard only by that Spirit which has
come from heaven to show my ways? Listen then to His voice, for
He will show you my ways and glorify me in your midst says the Lord. Why will you then seek only after signs
and wonders and not seek ME, says your God. For did I not say
that I AM your way, your truth, and your life? (John 14:6). Am I
not He that revealed myself of old to Moses my chosen,
even as I spoke to Him on the mount? And do I not call
you to my "holy mount" in these
last days, that I might speak to you as it were "face to face",
and to speak to you concerning my ways? Listen to my voice, for I will
speak to you once, yes twice, but if you are not willing to hear, will I
continue to speak to you says the Lord? Must I "badger"
and "buffet" in order to get you to listen? Will I
"bargain" with you and "beg" you says the Lord? I say "nay"—I
will not! But I speak to those who have ears to hear and
hearts to receive, and I will call you to myself even as I called
Moses to my mount; and I will deal
with you to bring you into my way, that you may be a
witness to my people in this day, says the Lord." (end of
prophecy).
[commentary]
Again, let me quote Psalm 77:13,
"Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary." During the forty
days that Moses spent with the Lord in the mount, the
Lord revealed to him the details for the building
of the sanctuary (tabernacle). The Lord then admonished
Moses: "And look that you make them after their pattern, which was showed you in the mount." (Ex. 25:40).
In contrast to this temporal tabernacle which served the
Israelites in the wilderness, in Heb. 8:2 we have
reference to "the sanctuary" and "the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." This
true (real) sanctuary or tabernacle is the church, which the Lord Jesus
said He would build (Matt. 16:18). The
temporary tabernacle in the wilderness was but a TYPE of
the real and permanent.
Now the question is simply this: Is
it not foolish to think that God would be so meticulous
about detailing the PATTERN for a temporary tabernacle
in the wilderness made out of perishable materials, and
yet fail to give a PATTERN
for the reality of which it
was a type, even the true tabernacle (church) which
the Lord Jesus is building? And yet most Christians fail
to realize that there is a DIVINE PATTERN and ORDER
for the church given in the New Testament. After Moses
had made all things "according to the pattern," the
tabernacle was erected and everything was "set" in its
proper order. We read of this in Exodus Chap. 40. Notice
God's instructions to Moses: "And you shall put therein the ark of the
testimony, and cover the ark
with the veil. And you shall bring in the table, and set in order the things that
are to be set in order on it; and you shall bring in the candlestick, and
light the lamps thereof. And you shall set the altar of gold for the
incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to
the tabernacle, And you shall set the altar of the burnt
offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent
of the congregation. And you shall set the laver between the tent
of the congregation and the altar, and shall put water there." (Ex.
40:3-7). Notice that everything had to be brought
in and "set” in the proper place as God commanded.
Beginning with Verse 19 of this chapter we see how Moses
carries out God's instructions. The phrase "as the Lord
commanded Moses" is used seven times in the rest of the
chapter showing Moses’ obedience. Following this we
read: "So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of
the congregation and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And
Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the
congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and
the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." (Ex. 40:34-35). Of
this I am convinced: the glory of the Lord would never have filled that
tabernacle, if Moses had not made all things "according
to the pattern," and if he had not "set" every article
in its proper place according to God's divine order. How
much more important is it that the "true tabernacle"
(the church) be "set" in "divine order" by our Moses
(Jesus) that it might be filled with the glory of God.
The "glory" of God is the "presence
and power of God in the midst of His people"—manifested
in one way or another. In the Old Testament His
"glory" is primarily associated with the visible "glory
cloud" which filled the
tabernacle, and which led the Israelites through the
wilderness. In the New Testament the "glory" of God is
the reality of His presence and power through the Holy Spirit.
The result of this presence
and power is the manifestation of the divine
attributes and perfections in His people, such as love, joy,
peace, victory, deliverance, miracles, wisdom,
knowledge, faith, revelation, divine utterance, etc. The
"glory of the Lord" in His Body is to bring that Body
into His own perfection and fulness. Now brethren,
the Lord wants to fill His Body with His Glory, not just
in part, but in fulness; and
this will happen only as we submit ourselves to His
divine order for His church ... letting Him "set"
each member in the Body as He chooses. This IS going to
happen, and God has patterned it in His Word as
follows:
[Saul vs.
David]
The KEY is found in a statement
made in Acts Chap. 13, by the apostle Paul as he
preaches in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia.
Recounting the history of their people, Paul says: "And
afterward they desired a king: and God gave to them Saul, the son of Cis, a
man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty
years. And when he had removed him, he raised up to them David to be their king;
to whom he gave testimony, and said, I have found David,
the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will." (Acts
13:21-22).
"Saul" means "asked for." God
allowed the people to have Saul because they desired a king and "asked for"
him. In time God removed Saul and raised up David,
because in him God saw a man after His own heart, who
would fulfill all His will. God is now "raising up" a
David company who will fulfill God's
perfect will and order for His church in these last
days. Saul represents, in type, the old order of
man-controlled churches which are a result of the desires of the people; and what
the people "ask for" God gives, so that they might learn by experience the folly of their own desires and ways.
One of the first things that David
wanted to do after He was raised up to the throne was to
bring the ARK back to Jerusalem. He said,
"let us bring the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul." (I Chron. 13:3). Just
think, during the entire reign of Saul, the ark, which
symbolized the very presence of God in the midst of His
people, was not in its rightful place, nor was the
Lord enquired of at it. It was in the land of the
Philistines for seven months after the Philistines had
captured it, and when the Philistines sent it back
it was placed in the house of Abinadab (1 Sam. 6:1,
7:1-2). In type, the ark
represents Christ, the head of the church which is His
body (Ephes. 1:22-23). In the man-controlled churches
represented by Saul, the ARK (Christ the HEAD)
is not in His rightful
place. But David desires to bring the ark back.
Even so there is a "David company" that God is
raising up who are willing to fulfill all His will and
see that the ark (Christ) is restored to His rightful
place as HEAD OF THE CHURCH.
[David's
errors in order]
But here we need to walk carefully,
seeking the face of the Lord and examining His Word
daily, for David made some mistakes, even though he
wanted to do what was right. His first mistake was in
consulting the leaders and the people instead of the
WORD of God. "And David consulted with the captains of
thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. And
David said to all the congregation of
Israel, If it seem good to you, and that it be of the
Lord our God. . . let us bring again the ark of our God
to us ... And all the congregation said that they would
do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the
people." (I Chron. 13:1-4). We should not do something because it is
right in the eyes of the people or because some leaders
we have counseled with say so. We should seek God and
His Word, and let Him teach us by His Spirit.
Next we read that "they carried the
ark of God in a new cart out of the house of
Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart." (I Chron. 13:7).
This was contrary to God's Word because only the Levites
were to carry the ark with
the specially made poles slipped through the rings on
the ark. Not realizing this, David was bringing the ark
back on the cart. "And David and all Israel played
before God with all their might, and with singing, and
with harps, and with psalterles, and with timbrels, and
with cymbals, and with trumpets." My, what a
glorious meeting they were having; a real "Pentecostal"
campaign. Everything went fine until they came to the
"threshing floor of Chidon." There the oxen stumbled,
and Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark. "And the
anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, and he
smote him, because he put his hand to the ark; and there he died before
God." (I Chron. 13:10). Numbers 4:15 shows that none but
the priests and Levites were in any way to approach or
care for the ark, so that Uzza was the victim of
inexcusable ignorance of God's Word. We might think
that God was unreasonably harsh, and yet we must realize
that God was teaching them a necessary lesson, as well
as enacting a TYPE or PATTERN for us that we might
learn.
Notice that God did not intervene
until they reached the "threshing floor of Chidon." A threshing
floor is a type of JUDGMENT:
a place where the wheat is separated from the chaff.
Such was pointed out by John the Baptist in his words
recorded in Matt. 3:11-12. "He (Christ) shall baptize
you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire; whose fan is in
his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his (threshing)
floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will
burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." The
"threshing floor" represents a place of humbling
and breaking (the grain trampled), a place of separation
(wheat from chaff), and a place of testing and
purging (fire). Even so is the Lord putting us through
fires of testing and purging, separating from our lives
those things which hinder His working, and causing us to
be broken and humbled before Him in a way that we have
never known before.
Just as in the TYPE God overlooked
the Ignorance and carelessness of David and the people
UNTIL they reached the
"threshing floor of Chidon," even so the Lord has
overlooked our ignorant and wayward ways regarding
His church, BUT NOW JUDGMENT HAS BEGUN TO INTERVENE. God is causing us to
realize that He will not allow that which He has allowed
before if we want the fulness of His blessing. We must take our hands off of the ark. God caused the oxen to
stumble at the "threshing floor of Chidon" as a TEST.
And the reaction of Uzza portrays that which is so
characteristic of human nature. It is so human to want
to put forth our hands and try to PROTECT what God is doing. We
feel we have to organize, systematize, programize,
publicize, officialize, etc. what God is doing so
that it will be protected and preserved and propagated.
Uzza putting forth his hand symbolizes the attempt to
rely on the "arm of flesh" which was the great sin of
the Israelites, and has also been the great sin of the
church. God spoke through Jeremiah thus: "Cursed be
the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord." (Jer. 17:5).
God wants us to keep our hands off what He is
doing.
In I Chron. 13:11, we read that
"David was displeased, because the Lord had made a
breach [against] Uzza: wherefore that
place is called Perez-uzza to this day. " "Perez-uzza"'
means "breach of Uzza." It
means a "breaking forth or through." Later David
realized that God had made a "break through" [against]
them by killing Uzza because they were not bringing the
ark back according to His divine order. Hear his words
in I Chron. 15:13: "The Lord our God made a breach [against] us, for that we sought him not after the due order." People, God is going to
"break through" in judgment on the church in this day
because Christendom is not seeking His divine order for
His church. We need to realize that the Lord cannot
sanctify with the fulness of His glory an end-time
"tabernacle" or "house" until we get that house in
divine order.
[David's
success in order]
In I Chron. 15, we have the record
of David's success in
bringing the ark back to Jerusalem. This time he
is careful to do it God's way, for he said: "None
ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them
has the Lord chosen to carry
the ark of God, and to minister to him forever." (1 Chron.
15:2). "So the priests and the Levites sanctified
themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of
Israel. And
the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the Lord." (I Chron. 15:14-15). As
the ark was returning, we read that certain priests "did
blow with (seven) trumpets before the ark of God." (I
Chron. 15:24). In its final
application the return of the ark to Jerusalem is a picture
of the personal return of Christ to this earth. Going
before (preceding) that return we have the seven trumpets of Revelation,
Chapters 8 through 11. Christ's return is at the
consummation of the 7th, or last, trumpet. BUT FIRST,
Christ (the ark) must "return" to His rightful place AS
HEAD OF THE CHURCH, that He might bring the BODY into
His perfection and fulness. Even so, there is now a
"trumpet ministry" which is
"going before the ark" to HERALD ITS RETURN, and
to sound forth (trumpet) a MESSAGE of preparation and sanctification, saying
"sanctify yourselves, both you and your brethren',
that you may bring up the ark of the
Lord God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for
it. " (I Chron. 15:12).
[study of the
word "breach"]
Previously we mentioned that David
said, "The Lord our God made a breach [against] us, for that we sought
him not after the due order." (I Chron. 15:13). The word
"breach" used in this passage is the same Hebrew word
used in Nehemiah 6:1 where Nehemiah says that he had
"built the wall, and there was no breach (break) left therein."
In ancient times a WALL was a city's protection. It was
absolutely necessary in those days of marauding bands of
robbers and constant threat from hostile tribes and
nations. After the Jewish "remnant" had returned from
Babylon, they began to rebuild the
temple of
God as recorded in
the book of Ezra, but the wall was still broken down. God
then raised up Nehemiah to return from Babylon to lead the
people in the task of rebuilding the wall, as recorded
in the book of Nehemiah. Not
until the wall was built was there real success in
that which the Lord had commissioned the people to do.
THE WALL is a type of divine
order. It is our protection, both from the enemy
(Satan), and from a "break through" of the righteous
judgment of God. Divine order for the church is
absolutely necessary for the success of that which God
has commissioned us to do.
Another example of the use of the
word "breach" is found in the 13th chapter of Ezekiel.
God accuses the "prophets" of failing to fill in the
breaches and build up the wall in preparation for the
"day of battle." Hear the words spoken through Ezekiel
the prophet: "Son of man prophesy against the prophets
of Israel that
prophesy, and say you to them that prophesy out of their own hearts. Hear [ ] the word of
the Lord; Thus says the Lord God; Woe to the foolish prophets,
that folIow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in
the deserts. You (prophets) have not gone up into the gaps
(breaches), neither made up the hedge (wall) for the
house of Israel TO STAND IN THE BATTLE
OF THE DAY OF THE LORD."
God's judgment on present day prophets
(preachers) is that they are not filling the gaps
(breaches) nor building up the WALL OF DIVINE ORDER so
that the people may be prepared to STAND IN THE
BATTLE OF THE DAY OF THE LORD. The "battle" of the "day
of the Lord" IS AT HAND. Instead, the preachers of today
are building up the walls of their own kingdoms and
organizations and telling the people that "everything is
all right." (peace). They are thus fulfilling the
words of Ezek. 13:10: "Because, even because they have
seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no
peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others plastered it with untempered
mortar (or, as the Berkeley translation
puts it, "plaster it over with whitewash"). Beloved, this is a
hard word, but it is true. Preachers as a whole (there
are notable exceptions), whether they realize it or not,
are engaged to a great degree in a big job of whitewash
of the manmade walls (systems) which have been erected
before them, and of which they have become an integral
part. The Lord God has commissioned us to "say to them which plaster it with untempered
mortar (whitewash), that it
shall fall: there shall be an
overflowing shower; and you, O great hailstones, shall
fall; and a stormy wind shall [tear] it [down] (a picture of the
JUDGMENT which is coming).
“Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall
it not be said to you, Where is the [mortar with which you
plastered] it?. . . So will I break down the wall that you have plastered with untempered
mortar." (Ezek. 13:11-14). God says in Ezek. 22:30, "And
I sought for a man among them, that should
make up the hedge (wall), and stand in the gap (breach) before me for the land, that I should
not destroy it: but I found none." God found none in
Ezekiel's day, but we can be thankful that He is finding
men in this day who will stand in the breaches and BUILD
UP THE WALL OF DIVINE ORDER, that we may stand in the
"day of battle."
People, we can talk a lot about
"divine order," and there is a divine order for
everything—our lives, the home, the church, the nation,
etc., but unless we have the willingness to obey in our hearts, then all of
our talk will avail nothing. Divine order begins in
the heart, with a
willingness to set our own house (inner life) in order
first, that the spirit of
reason and righteousness may RULE instead of the soulish
desires and emotions. Having begun in the heart, we can
then see that willingness to have all things conformed
to His divine will and plan extend to all of our other
relationships.
We have not sought in this article
to set forth the many "ways" of God; we have sought only
to show you how important it is to seek and learn His "ways." Do you not
see how important it is in this hour to seek God and His
divine will in everything; and to abandon everything
that is not of Him, as you would flee from a building
that is about to collapse? Will you not be among that
"Moses company" that the Lord is CALLING up into His
"holy mount" to teach them HIS WAYS? "Oh my people, listen to the voice of your God in this hour; for time
quivers in the balance, and the very heavens and earth
quake in anticipation of His appearing.” But first, He
will "appear" in spirit and power in a Body that He is
preparing, to show forth His glory; yes, a people who
will walk in HIS WAYS."
[Next:
REBUILDING IN TROUBLESOME
TIMES
]
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