The word of God is connected with the apostleship. (Chap. 3:1)
In the last verses the priesthood of Christ the subject. These are the
two means of our being carried through the wilderness—the word of God,
and priesthood of Christ. Israel were treated as a people brought out
of Egypt, but liable to fall by the way. So the warning to these
Hebrews, (chap.
4:1) “as to seeming to come short.” The word is softened. In chap.
3
we have seen them addressed as a body brought out under the name of
Christ, but admitting the possibility of hypocrites among them.
There are two distinct things connected with the people—redemption, and being carried on when brought out into the wilderness.
The
epistles to the Hebrews and to the Philippians both address saints as
in the wilderness. In Philippians it is more personal experience that
is spoken of, e.g., “I know that this shall turn to my salvation
through your prayer.” In both it is as passing through the wilderness,
and not yet in the rest.
Ver.
1
We have “
His
rest.” Not merely
rest,
but
God’s
rest; and this makes all the difference. It is not merely as tired ones, and glad to rest: we are going into the rest
of God.
There is an allusion to creation when God saw all that He had made very
good. He delighted in it, and rested. Spiritual labour now is not rest, nor the worry and plague of sin.
God
will rest in His love. (Zeph. 3:17.)
How could He rest here? Not till He sees all those He loves perfectly
happy. How can He rest where sin is? Holiness cannot rest where sin is.
Love cannot rest where sorrow is. He rested from His works in the first
creation, because it was all very good; but when sin came in, His rest
was broken. He must work again. God finds rest where everything is
according to His own heart. He is completely satisfied in the exercise
of His love.
When
conflict and labour are over, we shall get into the rest in which He
is. That is the promise. “A promise being left us of entering into his
rest”—God’s own rest. If affections have not their object, they are not
at rest. They
will
have this then, and we shall be like Him. There will be also comparative rest, even for this poor creation, by and by.
These
Hebrews, who are addressed, are compared to the Jews who came out of
Egypt, some of whom fell; but he says, “We are persuaded better things
of you,” ye “are not of them that draw back into perdition.” What had
they got? Their Messiah on earth? No. He was gone, and they were left
strangers as to what was here below and not having reached heaven
either. That is what every Christian is: the state of his heart is
another thing.
Ver.
2
“Gospel preached.” We have glad tidings preached to us as well as they. The apostle is speaking
of
the character of those who go in (heaven, God’s rest, the promise for
us, as Canaan was for Israel). Unbelievers do not go into
rest—believers do. That is the door they go in by.
As
to God’s creation, there is not rest for them in it—it is not come for
them. “If they shall enter,” etc. This means they shall not, but God
did not make the rest for
no one
to enter. He begins again. (Ver.
7) David came five or six hundred years after Moses, and in
Psalm 95
he says, “To-day after so long a time,” etc. If they did not get into the rest by Joshua, there
“remaineth
a
rest to the people of God.” That is not come at all yet. It is to be
under the new covenant, when Christ comes, the Messiah according to
their own Scriptures.
“He that is entered into His rest hath also ceased from his
own works”
not only from sin. When God ceased, it was not from sin, but from
labour.
Godly
works are not rest. God rests in Christ. I have ceased from my works,
as regards my conscience because I have ceased from works for
justification. I have not ceased from godly works; that rest is not
come yet. Labouring to enter in here, does not mean as to
justification. “There remaineth a rest.” We have the former, but there
is more we wait for.
The
two means of carrying us through, spoken of before, are the Word
applied by the Spirit, and the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We
never get union with Christ spoken of here; there is no discerning,
judging, etc, connected with
that;
but as
Christians
in the wilderness, there is, and the intercession of Christ is needed;
as distinct, separate Christians going through the world, beset with
snares on every hand, we are addressed.
It
is remarkable how the word of God is made to be the revelation of God
Himself. “The word of God is quick and powerful, manifest in His
sight.” Whose sight? The word of God, the revelation of Christ.
He is
called
the word of God—“God manifest in the flesh.” He was the divine life—the
perfection of all divine motives in a man in this world. The word of
God brings the application of God’s nature. All that He is, is applied
to us in going through this world. That begins by our being begotten by
the word—born again, of incorruptible seed—the divine nature imparted,
which cannot sin because born of God. Then all the motives and
intentions of the heart have to be displayed by this word. The written
word is the expression of God’s mind down here. Divine perfectness, as
expressed in the life of Christ, in the written word, is applied to us.
What selfishness was there in Christ? I do not now refer to His going
about doing good, but as to the feelings and motives of His heart. How
much has self been our motive? Not like Christ. It is not gross sins
that are spoken of here, but “thoughts and intents of the heart.” How
much self through the day!
In
John 17
our Lord says, “I sanctify myself.” Christ set apart as the perfection
of man—Christ, a model man, if I may so speak—all that God approves
in
a man was seen in Christ. The same should be seen in us. “Sanctify them
through thy truth.” The word applied to us in all this path, in
motives, thoughts, and feelings, is for this purpose. Christ was not
only doing good; He walked in love, and He says to us, “Walk in love,
as Christ also hath loved us, and given Himself,” “forgiving one
another, even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven you.” What comes
down from God goes up to Him. Self may enter in our doing good; but
only what is of a sweet savour goes up to God—“
an offering to God.”
What is not done exclusively in the power of divine love, in the sense of an offering, is spoiled—self has come in.
“Dividing
asunder of soul and spirit.” God has created natural affections, but
how much self and idolatry come in! Self-will, too, and
self-gratification, how awfully it comes in! That is soul, and not
spirit. The word of God comes in, and knows how to divide between soul
and spirit, what looks like the same thing, the very same affections,
as far as man sees. What a mass of corruption! Can we have communion
with God when self comes in? How powerless Christians are now—you, and
I, and every one. There is grace, blessed be God! but, in a certain
sense, how low we are! “I will give myself unto prayer,” said one. All
blessing comes from the immediateness of a man’s life with God. There
are rivers of living water. How are you to get them? “If any man
thirst, let him come unto me and drink.”
and
“out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” A man must drink
for himself first, before there can be rivers, etc. In the time of the
prophets they had a message, “thus saith the Lord,” and then had to
enquire the meaning of the prophecy, but with us, we
drink ourselves first.
We are so connected with Christ, that we have it ourselves from Him, before communicating it to others.
What would make us fall in the wilderness? The
flesh.
It
has no communion with God; flesh in saints, as well as in others, is
bad. What would make us fall is flesh—the unjudged “thoughts and
intents of the heart.” The word of God comes and judges all that is of
nature in us, after He has brought us out of Egypt. According to the
new nature, everything is judged. Everything in Christ is applied to
the motives and intents of our hearts—everything is judged according to
God Himself. The word is a sword—not healing, but most unrelenting in
the character. It detects poor flesh, shows it up, and marks its
thoughts, intents, will, or lust. All is sifted. But are there no
infirmities? Yes. But whenever the will and intent is at work, the word
of God comes as a lancet to cut it all away. For infirmities,
weaknesses, not will, we have a high priest, who was in all points
tempted like as we are, without sin.
This
is beautifully expressed in a figure in the Old Testament. There was
water wanted; the rock was smitten, and the water flowed. (There are
resources
in Christ
Himself, the smitten rock, for us; but besides, for us there is the
water, a well in us.) They were also tried all through the wilderness.
The two edged sword was wanted. There were murmurings. They must be
turned back. God turns back with them. How did they get through? What
was on Moses’ part, for he was like the apostle here, set forth? How
was he to get rid of their murmurings? The rock has
not
to
be smitten again. The rods must be put in. There are leaves, buds,
blossoms on Aaron’s—life out of death—living priesthood. Then go and
speak to the rock. Suppose God had only executed judgment! How would
they have got through the wilderness? There was the living priesthood
come in; grace in the shape of priesthood. That carries us through; and
all the infirmities, and even failures, when they are committed, are
met by Him who has passed through the heavens, etc.
There
is not the least mercy on the flesh. This is judged by the word. Moses,
the meekest man, failed in that. Abraham, who had been taught God’s
almightiness, goes down to Egypt, and fails through fear. God glorified
Himself. He glorified Himself at the rock in the wilderness, but Moses
did not glorify Him, and He was shut out of the land.
Ver.
14
There are things mentioned, very important, about the priesthood.
1st
:
The priesthood is exercised in heaven, where we need it; it is the
place where God is. When it was an earthly calling, the priesthood was
on earth. Ours is a heavenly calling,
and
Christ, our high priest, has passed through the heavens. Another
important part is, Christ in no sense has any of these infirmities
while He is exercising the priesthood for us. He has passed through all
the course in holiness, obedience, and sanctity. When He putteth forth
His own sheep, He goeth before them. He walks the sheep’s path, and
they follow Him. Christ went through all these exercises of a godly man
(e.g, wanting bread, and being tempted to make it, but not yielding to
it). Everything that a saint can want as a saint, Christ went through
before in perfection. There is the example of perfectness in Him, in
the sheep’s path; but that was not the time of His priestly work. He
has passed through the road, and now can be “touched with the feeling
of our infirmities.”
In
Hebrews we have, as another brother has remarked, more of contrast than
comparison. The vail in the tabernacle, and the priesthood of Israel
all in a contrasted state to that in which we have them. Our high
priest is not compassed with infirmity. Mark the consequence of that:
His being in heaven, He brings all the perfectness of the thought and
feeling of the place He is in to bear on us. I have these infirmities
and difficulties, and He helps me up into all the perfectness of the
heavenly places where He is. That is just what we want. He can show a
path, and feel what a path is of passing through this world, and bear
the hearts down here clean up into heaven.
People often think of priesthood as a means of
getting
justified; but then God has the character of a judge in their eyes.
They are afraid to go straight to God, and, not knowing grace and
redemption, they think of enlisting Christ on their behalf. This is all
wrong. Many a soul has done it in ignorance and infirmity, and God
meets it there, but it is to mistake our place as Christians. Does our
getting the intercession of Christ depend upon our going to get it? It
is when I have got away from God—when not going to him—I have an
advocate with the Father. Again, Christ prayed for Peter before he
committed the sin. It is the living grace of Christ in all our need—His
thought for us, or we should never be brought back. It was when Peter
had committed the sin that He looked on him. Even when we have
committed faults, His grace thus comes in. It is in heaven He is doing
it: then how can we have to say to Him if we have not righteousness?
The reason I can go is because my justification is settled. He has
given me the title of going into heaven in virtue of what He is, “Jesus
Christ, the righteous,” and what He has done. Our place is in the light
as God is in the light—sitting in heavenly places in Christ. Our walk
on earth is not always up to this. Our
title
is
always the same, but our walk not. Then what is to be done? I am within
the vail, and not in a condition to go there at all. The priesthood of
Christ is there to reconcile this discrepancy between our position in
heaven, and our walk down here. Jesus Christ is the righteous one; and
the righteousness
I have in
Him is the title I have to the place. The priestly work restores me to
the communion of the place where I am in righteousness. It is
immediately connected with the perfectness of His own walk down here
and the place where He now is.
Satan
came to Him, when here, and found nothing. He ought to find nothing in
us, but he does. I do not want to spare the flesh; then there is the
word of God for that. But in all the feelings down here, as He said,
“reproach hath broken my heart.” In Gethsemane He was in an agony and
prayed the more earnestly. He had the heart of a man; and all that the
heart of man can go through, He went through but in communion with His
Father, no failure possible. Apart from sin, is better than “yet
without sin,” because there was no sin in him inwardly any more than
outwardly. In all these feelings He is now touched for us. Verse
16,
“Come boldly to the throne of grace.” This is going straight to God,
not to the priest. It is to the “throne of grace.” We want mercy; we
are poor weak things, and need mercy; in failure we need mercy; as
pilgrims we are always needing mercy. What mercy was shown to the
Israelites in the wilderness! their garments not getting old; God even
caring for the clothes on their backs! Think of the mercy that would
not let their feet swell! Then, when they wanted a way, Oh! says God, I
will go before with the ark to find out a way. That was not the place
for the ark at all. It was appointed to be in the midst of the camp,
but God
would meet them in
their need. They want spies to go and see the land for them; fools that
we are to want to know what is before us. They had to encounter the
Amorites, high walls, giants. A land that devours the inhabitant, is
their account of it, even with the grapes on their shoulders. Just like
us on the way to heaven. They cannot stand these difficulties. We are
as grasshoppers, say they; but the real question is, what
God
is.
As
saints we are weaker than the world, and ought to be; but when waiting
on God, what is that? When they have not confidence in God, they find
fault with the land itself. What a wonderful God He is! He says, If you
will not go into Canaan, you must stay in the wilderness; and He turns
them, and turns back with them. It is grace, but the throne of grace.
God governs: it is a throne. He will not let a single thing pass. See
the people at Kibroth-hataa-vah! In case of accusation from the enemy,
as Balaam, there is not chastening, but He says, “I have not seen
iniquity in Jacob.” The moment it is a question between God’s people
and the enemy’s accusation, He will not allow a word against them; but
when there is an Achan in the camp, He judges. Why? Because He is
there. It is a throne. If you are not victorious, there is sin.
We
may come boldly to the throne, etc. Still it is a throne (not a
meditator), but all grace. If I go to the throne, instead of the throne
coming to me, so to speak, it is all grace; I get help. I never can go
to
the throne of grace
without finding mercy. He may send chastening, but it is a throne of
grace and all mercy—“grace to help in every time of need.” If you have
a will, He will break it; if a need, He will help you. Do you feel that
you can always go boldly, even when you have failed? humbled, of
course, and at all times humble, but humbled when you have failed.