Schoolmaster to Christ
DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 14
Schoolmaster to Christ
DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 14
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 14 (KJV)
"Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead: for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth" (vv. 1, 2).
The opening of this chapter reveals the basis of all the privileges and responsibilities of the Israel of God. It is a familiar thought; we must be in a relationship before we can know the affections or discharge the duties that belong to it. This is a plain and undeniable truth. No amount of argument or explanation could make one who is not a father understand the feelings or affections of a father's heart. However, the moment he enters the relationship he knows all about them.
So it is regarding every relationship and position; and so it is regarding the things of God. We cannot understand the affections or duties of a child of God until we are on the ground. We must be Christians before we can perform Christian duties. Even when we are Christians, it is only by the gracious aid of the Holy Spirit that we can walk as such. But clearly if we are not on Christian ground, we can know nothing of Christian affections or duties. This is so obvious that argument is needless.
It is God's prerogative to declare how His children should conduct themselves, and it is their high privilege and holy responsibility to seek His gracious approval. "Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves." They were not their own; they belonged to Him. Therefore, they had no right to cut themselves or disfigure their faces for the dead. In its pride and self-will, human nature might say, "Why may we not do like other people? What harm can there be in cutting ourselves, or making a baldness between our eyes? It is only an expression of grief; an affectionate tribute to a departed loved ones. Surely there can be nothing morally wrong in such a suited expression of sorrow."
To all this there was one simple but conclusive answer, "Ye are the children of the Lord your God." This face altered everything. The ignorant and uncircumcised Gentiles around them might cut and disfigure themselves because they did not knew God and were not in relationship to Him. But as for Israel, they were on the high and holy ground of nearness to God and this one fact was to give tone and character to all their habits. In order to be the children of God they were not called on to adopt or refrain from a particular habit or custom. This would be beginning at the wrong end; but, being His children they were to act as such.
"Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God." He does not say, "Ye ought to be an holy people." On their own, they could never be holy people or peculiar people unto Jehovah. That would be utterly impossible. If they were not His people, no effort of theirs could ever make them such. But in His sovereign grace, in pursuance of His covenant with their fathers, God had made them His children, made them a peculiar people above all nations on earth. Here was the solid foundation of Israel's moral edifice. All their habits and customs, doings and ways, food and clothing, what they did and did not do; all was to flow out of one grand fact which they received because of their natural birth: they were the children of God, the people of His choice, the people of His own special possession.
As Christians we know the privilege of having the Lord near and interested in our habits and ways. No doubt, to mere human nature, to one who does not know the Lord, who is not in relationship to Him, the idea of His holy presence or of nearness to Him would simply be intolerable. But to every true believer, every one who really loves God, it is a delightful thought to have Him near, knowing that He interests Himself in all the minute details of our personal history and private life; that He takes cognizance of what we eat and wear; that He looks after us by day and by night, sleeping and waking, at home and abroad; in short, that His interest in and care for us go far beyond those of the most tender, loving mother for her babe.
All this is wonderful; and surely if we fully realized it we would live a different sort of life and have a different tale to tell. What a holy privilege, what a precious reality to know that our loving Lord is about our path by day and bed by night; that His eye rests on us when we are dressing in the morning, when we sit down to our meals, when we go about our business, and in all our relationships – from morning till night. May the sense of this be a living and abiding power in the heart of every child of God.
From verse 3 to 20, we have the law pertaining to clean and unclean beasts, fishes and fowls. The leading principles regarding these have already come under our consideration in the 11th chapter of Leviticus. But there is an important difference between the two Scriptures. The instructions in Leviticus are primarily given to Moses and Aaron; in Deuteronomy they are given directly to the people. This is characteristic of the two books. Leviticus may be termed the priest's guidebook. In Deuteronomy the priests are almost entirely in the background and the people are prominent. This is strikingly apparent throughout the book, so much so that there is not the slightest foundation for the idea that Deuteronomy merely repeats Leviticus. Nothing can be further from the truth. Each book has its own peculiar province, its own design, and its own work. The devout student sees and accepts this with deep delight. Infidels are willfully blind and can see nothing.
In verse 21 of this chapter, the marked distinction between the Israel of God and the stranger is strikingly presented. "Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself; thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates; that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien; for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God."
Israel's relationship to Jehovah set them off from all nations under the sun. It was not that they were, in themselves, a whit better or holier than others; but Jehovah was holy and they were His people. "Be ye holy, for I am holy."
Worldly people often think that Christians are Pharisaic in separating themselves from other people, refusing to take part in the worldly pleasures and amusements; but they do not understand. The fact is, for a Christian to participate in the vanities and follies of a sinful world would be, to use a typical phrase, like an Israelite eating that which had died of itself. The Christian has something better to feed on than the poor dead things of this world. He has the living bread that came down from heaven, the true manna; and he eats of "the old corn of the land of Canaan" – type of the risen and glorified Man in the heavens. Of these precious things the unconverted worldling knows absolutely nothing and, hence, he feeds on what the world has to offer. It is not a question of the right or wrong of things looked at in and of themselves. If God's Word had not settled it, no one could possibly have known anything about the wrong of eating anything that had died of itself.
This is the all-important point for us. We cannot expect the world to see or feel with us regarding matters of right and wrong. It is our business to look at things from God's standpoint. Many things may be consistent for a worldly man to do that a Christian could not touch at all, simply because he is a Christian. The question the true believer has to ask regarding everything that comes before him is simply, "Can I do this to the glory of God? Can I connect the Name of Christ with it?" If not, he must not touch it.
In other words, the Christian's standard and test for everything is Christ. This makes it very simple. Instead of asking, "Is such a thing consistent with our profession, principles, character, or reputation?" we have to ask, "Is it consistent with Christ?" This makes all the difference. Whatever is unworthy for Christ is unworthy for a Christian. If this is thoroughly understood and laid hold of it will furnish a practical rule that can be applied to a thousand details. If the heart is true to Christ, if we walk according to the instincts of God's nature as strengthened by the ministry of the Holy Spirit, guided by the authority of Holy Scripture, we will not be troubled with questions of right or wrong in our daily life.
Before proceeding to quote the lovely paragraph that closes this chapter, we briefly call attention to the last clause of verse 21. "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." The fact that this commandment is given three times, in various connections, is sufficient to mark it as one of special interest and practical importance. But, what does it mean? What are we to learn from it? We believe it plainly teaches that the Lord's people must carefully avoid everything contrary to nature. It was contrary to nature that what was intended for a creature's nourishment should be used to seethe it.
Throughout the Word of God, we find prominence given to what is according to nature – what is comely. "Does not even nature itself teach you?" says the inspired apostle to the assembly at Corinth. There are certain feelings and instincts implanted by the Creator in nature that must never be outraged. We may set it down as a fixed principle (an axiom in Christian ethics), that no action can possibly be of God that offers violence to sensibilities proper to nature. The Spirit of God may, and often does, lead us beyond and above nature, but never against it.
We now turn to the closing verses of this chapter: "Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee; then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose; and thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth; and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, and the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates And the Levite (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat, and be satisfied, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest" (vv. 22-29).
This is an interesting and important passage. With special simplicity, it sets before us the basis, the center and practical features of Israel's national and domestic religion. The grand foundation of Israel's worship was laid in the fact that both they and their land belonged to Jehovah. The land was His, and they held it as tenants under Him. To this precious truth they were periodically called to bear testimony by faithfully tithing their land. "Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that thy field bringeth forth year by year." In this way, they were to acknowledge the proprietorship of Jehovah, and never lose sight of it. They were to acknowledge no other landlord – only the Lord their God. Because all they were and all they had belonged to Him. This was the solid groundwork of their national worship – their national religion.
The center is revealed with equal clearness. They were to gather to the place where Jehovah recorded His Name. In this passage, as we also see in many other portions of the Word of God, God attached importance to the periodical gatherings of His people. He delighted to see His beloved people assembled in His presence, happy in Him and in one another, rejoicing together in their common portion and feeding on the fruit of Jehovah's land. "Thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which He shall choose, to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn . . . that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always."
In the judgment of every faithful Israelite, every true lover of Jehovah, there was, there could be, no other place like that. All such would delight to fellowship at the hallowed spot where that beloved and revered Name was recorded. To those who did not knew the God of Israel and who cared nothing about Him, it might seem strange and unaccountable to see many of the people traveling a long distance from home, carrying tithes to one particular spot. They might feel disposed to question the necessity for such a custom, perhaps saying, "Why not eat at home?" But the simple fact is, such persons knew nothing whatever about the matter, and were incapable of entering into the preciousness of it. To the Israel of God, there was one grand moral reason for journeying to the appointed place, and that reason was found in the glorious motto, Jehovah Shammah – "the Lord is there." If an Israelite had willfully determined to stay at home or go to some place of his own choosing, he would not have met Jehovah or his brethren, and thus he would have eaten alone. Such a course would have been an abomination, incurring the judgment of God. There was only one center that was not of man's choosing, but of God's. For his own selfish political ends, the godless Jeroboam presumed to interfere with God's order, setting up his calves at Bethel and Dan; but the worship offered there was to demons and not to God. It was a daring act of wickedness that brought down on him and his house the righteous judgment of God; and in Israel's after history we see that "Jeroboam the son of Nebat" is used as the model of iniquity for all the wicked kings.
But the faithful in Israel were sure to be found at the one divine center, and nowhere else. They would not make excuses for staying at home; neither would they run here and there to places of their own or other people's choosing. No, they would be found gathering to Jehovah Shammah, and nowhere else. Was this narrowness and bigotry? No, it was the fear and love of God. Jehovah had appointed a place where He would meet His people – His people should meet Him there.
But, not only had He appointed the place, in His abounding goodness He devised a means of making that place as convenient as possible for His worshipping people. Thus we read, "And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee; then thou shalt turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose . . . And thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy household."
This is beautiful. In His tender care and considerate love, the Lord accounted for everything pertaining to assembling round Him, leaving not a single difficulty in the way of His beloved people. He had special joy in seeing His redeemed people happy in His presence. All who loved His Name would delight to meet the loving desire of His heart by being found at God's appointed center.
If an Israelite were found willfully neglecting the occasion of assembling with his brethren at the divinely chosen place and time, it would have proved that he had no heart for God or for His people. He might reason about being happy at home or happy elsewhere; but such reasoning was a false happiness, found in the path of disobedience, the path of willful neglect of God's appointment.
All this is full of valuable instruction for the Lord's church in this age. It is the will of God that His people should assemble in His presence on divinely appointed ground – to a divinely appointed center. The instincts of God's nature, the leadings of the Holy Spirit, and the teachings of Holy Scripture, all unquestionably lead the Lord's people to assemble themselves together for worship, communion, and edification. However dispensations may differ, there are certain principles and characteristics that always hold good; and assembling of ourselves together is certainly one. Whether we are considering the old economy or the new, assembling of the Lord's people is a divine institution.
This being so, it is not a question of happiness, one way or the other; though we may be sure that true Christians will be happy being found in their divinely appointed place. There is joy and blessing in the assembly of God's people. How could we be together in the Lord's presence and not be happy? It is simply heaven on earth for the Lord's dear people – those who love His Name, love His Person, love one another, and love to be together round His table, around Him. What can exceed the blessedness of being allowed to break bread together in remembrance of our beloved and adorable Lord, to show forth His death until He come; to raise in holy concert our anthems of praise to God and the Lamb; to edify, exhort, and comfort one another according to the gift and grace bestowed on us by the risen and glorified Head of the church; to pour out our hearts in sweet fellowship in prayer, supplication, intercession, and giving of thanks for all men, for kings and all in authority, for the whole household of faith, the church of our Lord, the body of Christ, for the Lord's work and workmen all over the earth.
What true Christian would not delight in all this and say from the heart that there is nothing this side the glory to compare?
Again, our happiness is not the question; it is less than secondary. In this, as in everything, we are to be ruled by the will of God revealed in His holy Word. The question for us is simply this, is it according to the mind of God that His people should assemble themselves together for worship and mutual edification? If this be so, woe to all who willfully refuse or indolently neglect to do so on any ground whatsoever. They not only suffer serious loss in their souls, but they are offering dishonor to God, grieving His Spirit, and injuring the assembly of His people.
These are weighty consequences, demanding serious attention of all the Lord's people. It must be obvious that it is according to the revealed will of God that His people should assemble themselves together in His presence. In the tenth chapter of Hebrews, we are exhorted not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. There is special value, interest, and importance attached to the assembly. The truth regarding this begins to dawn on us in the opening pages of the New Testament. In Matthew 18:20, we read the Words of our blessed Lord, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Here we have the divine center – "My Name." This answers to "The place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there," so constantly named and strongly insisted on in the book of Deuteronomy. It was absolutely essential that Israel gather at that one specific place. Human choice was absolutely and rigidly excluded. It was "The place which the Lord thy God shall choose," and no other.
It is the same with the Lord's church. It is not human choice, human judgment, human opinion, human reason, or human anything. It is absolutely and entirely divine. The ground of our gathering is divine, because it is accomplished redemption. The center round which we are gathered is divine, because it is the Name of Jesus. The power by which we are gathered is divine, because it is the Holy Spirit. The authority for our gathering is divine, because it is the Word of God. Is there a specific place where His name is located today? Yes, in each individual Christian. Is there a specific location where the Lord's people are to assemble for worship in this age? Yes, wherever two or three Christians are "gathered together."
The simplicity of faith allows us to take all this in and act on it. If we begin to reason it, we will be sure to fall into darkness. If we listen to human opinions, we will be plunged in hopeless perplexity between the conflicting claims of religious sects and parties. Our only refuge, our only resource, only strength, only comfort, only authority is the precious Word of God. Take that away and we have absolutely nothing. Give us that, and we want no more.
This is what makes it all so real and solid, consolatory and tranquillizing for our souls. It is the privilege of all Christians to be as sure that they are gathered on God's ground, around God's center, by God's power, and on God's authority, as that they are within the blessed circle of God's salvation.
Perhaps one may ask, "How can we be certain of being round God's center?" The answer is by the Word of God. Israel of old was sure about God's chosen place for their assembly by His commandment. Were they at a loss for guidance? No; His Word was clear and distinct regarding their place of worship; as clear as it was regarding everything else. It left no ground for uncertainty. It was plainly set before them, so much so that for anyone to raise a question could only be regarded as ignorance or disobedience.
In the fourth chapter of John we find our Lord's marvelous discourse with the woman of Sychar: "The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (vv. 19-24).
This next passage completely sets aside the thought of any special place of worship now. There is really no such thing. "The Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord; or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?" (Acts 7:48-50).
And again, "God that made the world, and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with man's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things" (Acts 17:24, 25).
From beginning to end the teaching of the New Testament is clear and decided regarding the subject of worship; and Christians are solemnly bound to heed that teaching, seeking to understand and submit to its authority. From the earliest ages of church history there has been a strong and fatal tendency to return to Judaism, not only on the subject of righteousness, but also on worship. In other words, Christians have not only been put under the law for life and righteousness, but also under the Levitical ritual for the order and character of worship. We attempted to deal with the former of these in chapters 4 and 5 of Deuteronomy; but the latter is certainly no less serious in its effect on the whole tone and character of Christian life and conduct.
We must keep in mind that Satan's great object is to cast the Lord's church from the excellence of her standing, her walk, and her worship. No sooner was the church set up on the day of Pentecost than he commenced his corrupting and undermining process, and for all these long centuries he has carried it on with diabolical persistency. In the face of the plain passages quoted above, in reference to the character of worship the Father is now seeking, and as to the fact that God does not dwell in temples made with hands, we have seen in all ages the strong tendency to return to the condition of things under the Mosaic economy. Hence the desire for great buildings, imposing rituals, sacerdotal orders, large attendance, and increased contribution – all of which are in opposition to the mind of Christ and the plainest New Testament teachings. The professing church has obviously departed from the spirit and authority of the Lord in these things; and yet, strange and sad to say, these very things are continually appealed to as proofs of the wonderful progress of Christianity. We are told by some modern day preachers, teachers, and leaders that the Apostle Paul had little idea of the grandeur to which the church was to attain; but if he could only see one of our venerable cathedrals with its lofty aisles and painted windows, and listen to the peals of an organ and the voices of the choir, he would see what an advance had been made since the upper room at Jerusalem.
Be assured it is all a delusion. Yes, the church has made progress but it is in the wrong direction; it is not upward but downward. It is away from Christ, away from the Father, away from the Spirit, away from the Word.
Here is a question: "If the Apostle Paul were to come to large modern day city next Lord's day? Where could he find what he found in Troas, as recorded in Acts 20:7? Where could he find a company of disciples gathered simply by the Holy Spirit, to the Name of Jesus, to break bread in remembrance of Him, showing forth His death till He come? Such was God's order then, and such must be His order now. Would the apostle accept anything else? No, he would look for the divine thing; he would have that or nothing. Where could He find it today? Where could he go and find the table of his Lord, Jesus Christ, as appointed by Him the same night He was betrayed?"
We believe that the apostle Paul would insist on having the table and the supper of his Lord, as he had received them direct from the Lord; given by the Spirit in the tenth and eleventh chapter of his epistle to the Corinthians – an epistle addressed to all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We simply cannot believe that Paul would teach God's order in the 1st century and accept man's disorder in the 21st. Man has no right to tamper with God's institution. He has no more authority to alter a single jot or tittle connected with the Lord's Supper than Israel had to interfere with the order of the Passover.
So, the question was where could the apostle find this in a large modern day city next Lord's Day? Where could he go and take his seat at the table of his Lord, in the midst of a company of disciples gathered simply on the ground of the one body, to the one center, the Name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and on the authority of the Word of God? Where could he find a sphere in which he could exercise his gifts without human authority, appointment, or ordination? We ask these questions in order to exercise the heart and conscience of the serious student of Holy Scripture. We are convinced that here and there are places where Paul could find these things carried out, though in weakness and failure; and we also believe true believers are solemnly responsible to find them.
We may perhaps be told that if people knew it was the apostle Paul, they would willingly allow him to minister. But then he would neither seek nor accept their permission, because in the first chapter of Galatians he plainly tells us that his ministry was "not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead."
We may rest assured that the blessed apostle would insist on having the Lord's Table spread on the divine ground of the one body; and he could only consent to eat the Lord's Supper according to its divine order as laid down in the New Testament. He could not and would not accept anything but the divine reality. For Paul it would that or nothing. He could not and would not admit any human interference with God's institution; neither could He accept any new ground of gathering, or any new principle of organization. He would repeat his own inspired statements, "There is one body and one Spirit;" and "We being many, are one bread, one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread."
His inspired Words apply to "all that in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord; and they hold good in all ages of the church's existence on earth."
The serious student must be clear and distinct regarding this. God's principle of gathering and unity must never be surrendered for any reason. The moment men begin to organize, form societies, churches, or associations, they act in direct opposition to the Word of God, the mind of Christ, and the present action of the Holy Spirit. Man might as well set about to form a world as to form a church. It is entirely God's work. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down to form the Lord's church, the body of Christ; and this is the only church, the only body that Scripture recognizes; all else is contrary to God, even though it may be sanctioned and defended by many thousands.
What would have been thought of an Israelite of old who could be content with being a child of Abraham and could enjoy his vine and fig tree, his flocks and herds, but never think of going to worship at the place where Jehovah had recorded His Name? Where was the faithful Jew who did not love that sacred spot? "Lord, I have loved the habitation of thine house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth"
And when, by reason of Israel's sin, the national polity was broken up and the people were in captivity, we hear the truehearted exiles among them pouring out their lament in the following touching and eloquent strain, "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down; yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion, We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy" (Ps. 137).
In Daniel 6, we find that beloved exile opening his window three times a day and praying toward Jerusalem, although he knew that the penalty was a lions' den. But why insist on praying toward Jerusalem? Was it a piece of Jewish superstition? No; it was a magnificent display God's principle; an unfurling of God's standard amid the depressing and humiliating consequences of Israel's folly and sin. True, Jerusalem was in ruins; but God's thoughts respecting Jerusalem were not in ruins. "Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together, whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of Lord. For there are set thrones of judgement, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good" (Ps. 122).
In days gone by, Jerusalem was the center for Israel's twelve tribes – it was God's earthly center. But now the Lord's church has only one center – the glorious and infinitely precious Name of Jesus. "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." This is a most precious center. The New Testament points this alone, to only this the Holy Spirit gathers. It matters not where we are gathered, in Jerusalem, Rome, London, Paris, or New York. It is not where but how.
Be it always remembered that it must be a real thing. It is of no possible use to profess to be gathered in to the blessed Name of Jesus, if it is not really so. The apostle's Word regarding faith may apply with equal force to the question of our center of gathering. 'What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say" he is gathered to the Name of Jesus? God deals in moral realities; and while it is clear that a person who desires to be true to Christ cannot possibly consent to any other center or any other ground of gathering but His Name, yet it is possible for people to profess to be on that blessed and holy ground, while their spirit and conduct, habits and ways, their course and character prove they are not in the power of their profession.
The apostle said to the Corinthians that he would "know not the speech but the power." Weighty Words, badly needed at all times, but especially needed in reference to the important subject now before us. We would lovingly, yet solemnly press on the conscience of the serious student the personal responsibility to consider this matter in the holy retirement of the Lord's presence, and in the light of the New Testament – set it not aside on the plea that it’s not essential. It is essential because it concerns the Lord's glory and the maintenance of His truth. In fact, this is the only standard by which to decide what is essential and what is not. Was it essential for Israel to gather at God's appointed center? Was it an open question? Might every person choose a center? Let the answer be weighed in the light of Deuteronomy 14. It was essential that the Israel of God assemble round the God of Israel's center. This is unquestionable. Woe to the man who presumed to turn his back on the place where Jehovah had set His Name. He would have quickly been taught his mistake. And if this was true for God's earthly people, is it not equally true for the church and the individual Christian? Sure it is. By the highest and most sacred obligations we are bound to refuse every ground of gathering but the one body; every center of gathering but the Name of Jesus; every power of gathering but the Holy Spirit; every authority of gathering but the Word of God. May we be led to consider those things in the fear and love of His holy Name.
We now close this lesson by quoting the valuable last paragraph of Deuteronomy 14: "At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates; and the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat, and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest."
Here we have a lovely home-scene, a touching display of the divine character, a beautiful outshining of the grace and kindness of the God of Israel. It does the heart good to breath the fragrant air of such a passage as this. It stands in vivid and striking contrast with the cold selfishness of the scene around us. God would teach His people to think of and care for all in need. The tithe belonged to Him, but He would give them the rare and exquisite privilege of devoting it to the blessed purpose of making hearts glad.
There is peculiar sweetness in the words, "shall come"; "shall eat"; "and be satisfied." This is so much like our ever-Gracious God. He delights to meet the need of all. He opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing. And not only so, but He joys to make His people the channel through which the grace, kindness, and sympathy of His heart may flow forth to all. How precious and what a privilege to be God's almoners, the dispensers of His bounty, the exponents of His goodness. May we enter into the blessedness of all this and may we breathe the atmosphere of the divine presence. Then and only then will we more faithfully reflect the divine character.
Since the deeply interesting and practical subject presented in verses 28 and 29 will come before us in our study of chapter 26, we will not dwell further on it here.
