The Lord's Coming Part 3

I would here observe that what has ever made the history of nations and the movements of mighty kings and conquerors, matters of interest to the Holy Spirit, has been the connection of such things with the history of the people of G.o.d. Beyond this they possessed nothing of moment to Him. He could find no pleasure in dwelling upon the abstract history of man. The busy strife and tumult of nations--the fierce contests of unG.o.dly tyrants grasping after power--the movements of armies, could not attract the notice of the Spirit of peace; nevertheless, when such things became, in the least degree, connected with the history of a "righteous soul," the Holy Ghost can be most minute in detailing the circ.u.mstances of a battle, as is observable in the case under consideration.

What then were the results of this contest to Lot? Ruin to him and his family. He was made prisoner and all his goods were taken. (Ver. 12.) He had laid up treasure for himself upon earth, and the thieves had broken through; and thus, while Abram was above it all, in the power--the separating power of communion with G.o.d, _he_ found himself a prisoner and a beggar. He had sown to the flesh, and of the flesh he must now "reap corruption."

But this was just the moment for Abram to show himself in the powerful activities of love. He had, as above observed, hitherto surveyed with calm indifference these movements of "kings and their armies," but the very same faith which had made him indifferent about the strifes of men, made him quick to take cognizance of a _brother_ in distress.

Faith not only purifies the heart from worldly and carnal desires, but it also "works by love," as is powerfully shown in Abram's case, for "when Abram saw that _his brother_ was taken captive he armed his trained servants," etc. (Ver. 14.)

Now, it is to be observed that it is in the hour of distress and difficulty that the relations.h.i.+p _of brother_ gets the prominent place. In days of unruffled peace, Lot might be known to Abram as "his brother's son," but now he was in sorrow, and therefore the claims of brotherhood act, and act powerfully and effectually.

We are now called to witness a deeply interesting scene. Abram himself is about to meet a temptation--a temptation at once repulsed indeed by the power of G.o.d in him, but nevertheless, a temptation. The king of Sodom was about to come forth to display his treasures before the eye of Abram, and he had by nature a heart to value those treasures.

That man knows not his own heart who could say that the world does not present many--very many attractions to the natural heart. There is a species of misanthropy which looks like elevation above the world, but which, after all, is not it. The Cynic philosopher Diogenes, when he told Alexander to get out of his suns.h.i.+ne, was as proud and as worldly a man as Alexander himself. The only true and real way in which to be separated from, and elevated above, the world, is by the knowledge of heavenly things, and Abram was led, through the mercy of G.o.d, into that knowledge.

But the victory obtained by Abram, was not owing to any power in himself. He had, as I have observed, a heart to value the things which the enemy had to give him; and, therefore, if he triumphed, it was through the operation of a power outside himself. In all this transaction, the One who had watched over His dear servant during the dark season of his sojourn in Egypt, and who, moreover, had, by that very sojourn, taught him a lesson as to the true character of the world, was now closely observing his ways, and making preparations for his relief; He was cognizant of the movements and designs of the enemy, from first to last, and He therefore prepares to supply a heavenly antidote to nullify his poison.

It is particularly worthy of observation that between the time at which the king of Sodom went forth to meet Abram, and that wherein he made the proposal to him with reference to "the persons and the goods," there is a remarkable character introduced, namely, Melchizedek. This stranger, commissioned by G.o.d, was on his way to fortify Abram's heart at the very moment when the enemy was on his way to attack (Comp. ver. 17, 18, and 21). Now, why did not, "the priest of the Most High G.o.d" come to meet Abram before? Because this was the very moment in which Abram most needed the strength which he had to bring. The enemy was about to display his gilded bait before the eye of the man of G.o.d, and therefore is Melchizedek at hand to display in his view the divine realities of the kingdom. He was about to feed and strengthen his soul with the "bread," and cheer him with the "wine,"

of the kingdom, in order that, "in the strength of that meat" he might mount above the influence of all the allurements of the world. From all this we may learn that it is communion with the joys and glories of the kingdom that can alone cause the heart to reject the pollutions of the world.

Reader, upon what are _you_ now feeding? What const.i.tutes your habitual food? Is it "the bread and wine" which the Lord provides, or "the goods" of Sodom? Are your ears open to the pernicious suggestions of the _King of Sodom_, or to the heavenly communications of the _King of Salem_? The Lord grant that our hearts may ever choose that in which He delights.

But to proceed, Melchizedek leads Abram's soul into present communion with "THE MOST HIGH G.o.d, THE POSSESSOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH," and thus completes the wondrous contrast between "the King of Sodom" and "the Most High G.o.d, possessor of heaven and earth,"--"the goods of Sodom"

and the extensive possessions of heaven and earth. Blessed contrast, which faith ever draws! It is needless to say that Abram at once rejects the offer of the King of Sodom. The bread and wine, and the benediction of "the priest of the Most High G.o.d," had raised Abram to such a height that he could, in one comprehensive glance, take in the vast possessions of heaven and earth, and further, look down from thence upon the despicable proposal of the King of Sodom and reject it. Melchizedek had just said, "the Most High G.o.d, the possessor of heaven and earth," and Abram had laid hold on these words and made use of them in his reply to the adversary. "I have lifted up my hand,"

said he, "to the Lord, the Most High G.o.d, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich" (vers. 22, 23).

Abram appears to breathe the very atmosphere of the presence of Him, "who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance, in whose sight the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance. Behold! he taketh up the isles as a very little thing, and Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering. All nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted to Him as less than nothing and vanity." (Isa. xl. 12, 15-18.)

And surely, we may say, it was only thus that Abram could triumph; and let no one who moves not, in some measure, in the same sphere, affect to despise the world--nothing can be more truly vain. There must be the experimental acquaintance with _the_ better thing--the fondly cherished hope of "_good things to come_"--ere we can obtain full victory over present things, and our own worldly desires. "Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, _knowing in yourselves_ that ye have in _heaven a better and an enduring substance_" (Heb. x. 34). If we are really waiting for the manifestation of the glory, we shall be found standing apart from everything which will be judged in that day: and it is written, "Yet once more, I shake not the earth only but also heaven; and this word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain" (Heb. xii. 26, 27).

We have, in the last verse of our truly interesting chapter, a happy feature in the character of the true man of faith. Abram would not force others to walk according to his elevated standard. Although _he_ might be able to reject, in the most unreserved manner, the offers of the king of Sodom, yet _others_ might not be able to do so, and therefore he says, with regard to "Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, _let them_ take _their portion_." Our walk should ever be "according as G.o.d hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Rom. xii. 3). We have seen, in our own day, many persons led, at the outset, to give up a variety of worldly things, and afterwards plunge still deeper into those things; and why? Because they acted through mere excitement or human influence, and were not able to say with Abram, "_I have lift up my hand unto the Lord_."

CHAPTER XV.

In the opening verse of this chapter, we have a principle fraught with comfort and encouragement to us--a principle eminently calculated to call out into full exercise a spirit of true devotedness to the Lord.

We observe here, the Lord's grace in acknowledging and accepting the sacrifice laid upon His altar--the willing offering of the devoted heart of His servant. Our G.o.d is never slow in owning such things, nor in rewarding them a hundredfold. Abram had just been manifesting a spirit of self-denial in refusing the attractive offers of the King of Sodom. He had refused to be enriched from such a source, and had taken "the Most High G.o.d" for his portion and his reward, therefore the Lord comes forth to confirm the soul of his servant with these words, "Fear not, Abram, I AM thy s.h.i.+eld, and thy exceeding great reward." "G.o.d is not unrighteous to forget the work and labor of love"

(Heb. vi. 10). A similar principle is presented to us in chapter xiii.

where Abram is seen giving way to Lot, in the matter of choosing the land. Abram's whole anxiety in that matter was about the Lord's honor, as maintained in the harmonious walk of "_brethren_" before the "Canaanite and the Perizzite." "Let there be no strife," says he, "between me and thee ... _for we be brethren_." Nor did Abram desire to suppress the strife, by _exacting concessions_ from Lot. No; he was willing to concede everything himself--to surrender every claim--to sacrifice every advantage, provided the strife were suppressed. "Is not the _whole land_ before thee?" _Take_ what you please--possess yourself of the fairest spot in all the region round about. Here, as some one has observed, is the liberality--the unselfishness of faith.

What was land to Abram in comparison with the Lord's glory? Nothing.

He could give up anything, or everything, for that. How then does the Lord meet this self-sacrifice on the part of His servant? Just as He does in this xv. chapter, by coming in, in the plenitude of His goodness, to make it up to him a hundredfold. "Lift up _now_ thine eyes ... for _all the land which thou seest_ to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee" (xiii. 14, 15). How truly gracious it is of the Lord to enable His servant to make a sacrifice for Him, and then reward that sacrifice by a vast increase of blessing. Such are His ways--His ever adorable ways.

We are now called to trace in Abram the development of a feature which, in a special manner, demonstrates the high order of his communion with G.o.d. After all G.o.d's revelations and promises to him, his soul still breathes after an object without which all besides was defective. True, he had surveyed, with the eye of faith, the promised inheritance--the magnificent gift of divine benevolence; yet, notwithstanding all this, was there a great desideratum--a mighty blank. He sighed for a SON. A son _alone_ could render complete, in Abram's estimation, all his previous privileges. "And Abram said, Lord G.o.d, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and _the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus_. And Abram said, Behold to me thou hast given no seed: and lo, _one born in my house_ is mine heir"

(vers. 2, 3). Now, we have, in tracing the path of this remarkable man, beheld him, at times, displaying some very n.o.ble features of character. His generosity--his high elevation of mind--his pilgrim-like habits--all these things denote a man of the very highest order; yet I hesitate not to say, that we find him, in the pa.s.sage just quoted, exhibiting a temper of soul, more in harmony with the mind of heaven than anything we have met hitherto. Abram desired to have his house enlivened by the cry of a child. He had been long enough conversant with the spirit of bondage breathed by "the steward of his house," but the t.i.tles of _lord_ and _master_, though all very good in their place, could not satisfy the heart of Abram, for Abram had been taught of G.o.d, and G.o.d ever instructs His children in those things which He loves, and which He exhibits in His dealings with them. And I would just observe, in connection with this, that we see in the case of the prodigal in Luke xv., the development of a principle very much in connection with what we have been saying. He says, in the very midst of all his misery "I will arise and go unto my Father, and will say unto him, _Father_." Here we have a fine feature in the character of this poor wanderer. He had such a sense of the grace of him against whom he had sinned, that he could yet say "_Father_" notwithstanding his long course of rebellion and folly.

But let us observe with what accuracy Abram lays hold of the great principle afterwards brought out by the Spirit in Romans viii. "_If children, then heirs._" Abram felt that sons.h.i.+p and heirs.h.i.+p were inseparably connected, so much so, that without the former the latter could not be. This is the meaning of his question, "Lord G.o.d, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?" Abram rightly judged that to have "_no seed_" was to have _no inheritance_, for the word is, not if _stewards or servants_, then heirs, but "if _children_, then heirs" (Rom. viii.

17).

How very important it is that we should ever bear in mind, that all our present privileges and future prospects stand connected with our character as "_sons_." It may be all well and very valuable, in its right place, to realize our responsibility to act as "faithful and wise stewards," in the absence of our Master; still the most ample privileges--the highest enjoyments--the brightest glories, which belong to us through the grace and mercy of our G.o.d, stand intimately connected with our character and place as "_sons_." (Comp. John i. 12; Rom. viii. 14, 19; 1 John iii. 1, 2; Eph. i. 5; v. 1; Heb. xii. 5.)

In the vision presented to us in the close of our chapter, and which was granted to Abram as an answer to his question, "Lord G.o.d, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" we have a further ill.u.s.tration of the teaching of Romans viii. Abram is taught by the vision, that the _inheritance_ was only to be reached through _suffering_--that _the heirs_ must pa.s.s through _the furnace_, previous to their entering upon the enjoyment of that which G.o.d was reserving for them; and I doubt not that, were we more deeply and experimentally taught in the divine life, we should more fully apprehend the moral fitness of such training. Suffering then, is not connected, in this chapter, with _sons.h.i.+p_, but with _heirs.h.i.+p_; and so we are taught in Romans viii.

"If children, then heirs, heirs of G.o.d, and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that _we suffer_ with Him, that we may be also _glorified_ together." Again, we must, "through much _tribulation_, enter into the kingdom of G.o.d" (Acts xiv. 22). The Lord Jesus Himself, likewise, stands as the great ill.u.s.tration of the principle upon which we are dwelling. He occupied the place and enjoyed the favor of a Son from before all worlds, (Prov. viii.) yet ere He could lay His hand upon the inheritance He must pa.s.s through suffering. He had a baptism to be baptized with, and was straitened (s??e??e???) until it was accomplished. So also when He remembered that "a corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die," or else abide _alone_, His soul was "_troubled_." Now, we are to "know Him in the fellows.h.i.+p of His sufferings," before we can know Him in the fellows.h.i.+p of His glory; hence it is that the palmed mult.i.tude mentioned in Revelation vii. had to pa.s.s through "great tribulation" (t?? e?a??? ????e??) ere they reached their peaceful, heavenly home. Pa.s.sages of Scripture might be multiplied in proof of this point, but I will merely refer to the following, viz.--Phil. i. 29; 1 Thess. iii. 4; 2 Thess. i. 5; 1 Tim.

iv. 10; 2 Tim. ii. 12; 1 Peter v. 10.

But, in this remarkable vision, there are two points which, as they appear prominently in the whole of Israel's after history, deserve to be particularly noticed. I allude to "the smoking furnace, and the burning lamp." (ver. 17.) It has been well observed, by a recent writer, that Israel's history might be summed up in these two words, "the furnace and the lamp." Egypt was a trying furnace to the seed of Abraham. There the fire burned fiercely, but it was soon followed by "the burning lamp" of G.o.d's own deliverance. The cry of the suffering seed had come up into the ears of Jehovah. He had heard their groanings and seen their afflictions, and had come down to display above their heads "the lamp" of salvation. "I am come down to deliver them," said He to Moses. Satan might take delight in kindling the furnace, and in adding to its intensity, but the blessed G.o.d, on the other hand, ever delighted in letting the rays of His lamp fall upon the dark path of His suffering heirs. So, when Jehovah had, in the faithfulness of His love, brought them into the land of Canaan, they again and again, kindled a furnace by their sins and iniquities; He, as frequently, raised up deliverers in the persons of the judges which were as so many lamps of deliverance to them. Further, when by their aggravated rebellion, they were plunged into the furnace kindled at Babylon, even there we observe the glimmerings of "the burning lamp,"

and finally it shone out for their full deliverance, in the decree of Cyrus.

Now, the Lord was constantly reminding the children of Israel of the above truth. He says to them, "But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the _iron furnace_." (Deut. iv. 20; 1 Kings viii. 51.) Again, "Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers, in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from _the iron furnace_."

(Jer. xi. 3, 4.)

Finally, we may ask, are the seed of Abraham now suffering in the furnace, or are they enjoying the lamp of G.o.d?--for they must be experiencing either the one or the other--the furnace, a.s.suredly. They are scattered over the face of the earth as a proverb and a byword, a reproach and a hissing among all the nations of the earth. Thus are they in the iron furnace. But, as it has ever been, "the burning lamp"

will a.s.suredly follow "the smoking furnace," for "all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, there shall come out of Sion _the Deliverer_, and shall turn away unG.o.dliness from Jacob." (Isa. lix. 20; Rom. xi.

26.)

Thus we see how that Israel's eventful history has all along stood connected with the smoking furnace and the burning lamp, here seen in vision by Abram. They are either presented to us in the furnace of affliction, through their own sin, or enjoying the fruits of G.o.d's salvation; and even at this moment, when, as has been already observed, they are manifestly in the furnace, we can witness the fulfillment of G.o.d's promise, so often repeated, "And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a _lamp_ (margin) always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen Me to put My name there." (1 Kings xi. 36; xv. 14; 2 Kings viii. 19; Psalm cx.x.xii. 17.) If it be asked where does this lamp s.h.i.+ne now? Not on earth, for Jerusalem, the place of its earthly display, is "trodden down of the Gentiles," but the eye of faith can behold it s.h.i.+ning with undimmed l.u.s.tre "in the true tabernacle," where it will continue to s.h.i.+ne "until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in;" and then, when the furnace, seen in this chapter by Israel's great progenitor, shall have been heated to the very highest degree of intensity, when the blood of Israel's tribes shall flow like water round the walls of Jerusalem, even then, shall the blessed lamp come forth from the place where it now s.h.i.+nes, and cast its cheering rays upon the dark path of the oppressed and sorrowing remnant, bringing to mind those oft-ill.u.s.trated words, "O ISRAEL, THOU HAST DESTROYED THYSELF; BUT IN ME IS THY HELP."[3]

[3] I would refer the reader to the following scriptures in confirmation of what has been above advanced on the subject of "the lamp."--Ex. xxvii. 20; 2 Sam. xxii. 29; Ps. cxix. 105; Prov. vi. 23; xiii. 9; Isa. lxii. 1.

CHAPTERS XVI., XVII.

These two chapters give us an account of Abram's effort to obtain the promised seed by hearkening to the voice of his wife, and also of G.o.d's mode of teaching him the unprofitableness of such an appeal to the mere energy of nature as that which his effort involved.

At the very opening of Abram's course we find his faith put to the test in the matter of the famine, but here we find him tried in quite another way, a way moreover, which involved a far higher exercise of faith and spiritual power. "His own body now dead and the deadness of Sarah's womb;" although, in the main, "he considered them not," must have acted upon his mind to a considerable extent.

Now, as in the case of the famine already alluded to, Egypt was at hand, holding out a refuge from anxiety as to present supply, so here, "_an Egyptian maid_,"--one of those maid-servants, doubtless, which Abram had gotten during his sojourn in that evil place--was presented to him as a relief in the time of anxiety touching the promised seed.

"_Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai._"

But why introduce the element of bondage into his house? Why did not Abram's mind shrink from the thought of "the bondwoman and her son" as much as it had shrunk from the thought of "the steward of his house?"

Might not the question, "Lord, what wilt thou give me," be asked in connection with one as well as the other? Surely it was as much opposed to the divine economy to grant the inheritance to the seed of "_a bondwoman_," as to a "_servant_." In either case it would be an allowance of the claims of nature, which cannot be.

The principles involved in this act of Abram's are fully laid open to us in the inspired commentary given in the Epistle to the Galatians.

There we read, "Abram had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the free woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." (chap. iv. 22-26.)

The churches of Galatia had been led away from the simplicity and liberty of Christ and had returned to "_the flesh_." They were beginning to subst.i.tute religious ceremonies for the energies of the Spirit of Christ. Hence it is that the Apostle, in the course of his reasoning with them on their unhappy movement, refers to the matter recorded in our chapters, and the way in which he expounds it to them renders it unnecessary to dwell longer upon it. This step of Abram's only "gendered to bondage;" it introduced an unhealthy and an unhappy element into his house which, as we shall see when we proceed further with our subject, he had to expel ere he could reach the highest point of elevation in his course.

In chapter xvii. we have G.o.d's remedy presented to us, and most consolatory it is to observe how the Blessed One at once comes in in order to lead back His servant to the _simple_ yet _difficult_ position of faith in Himself--simple, because therein we have but _one object_ with which to be occupied--difficult, because therein we have to contend against the workings of "an evil heart of unbelief,"

leading us to "depart from the living G.o.d."

"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I AM THE ALMIGHTY G.o.d; _walk before_ ME, _and be thou perfect_." Here was at once the effectual cure for all impatient anxiety. "_I am Almighty_"--I can quicken the dead--I can call those things that be not as though they were--I can, if needs be, raise up of stones, children unto you--no flesh shall glory in My presence. "I am Almighty, walk before Me and be thou perfect."

It is perhaps one of the finest principles with which the mind can be occupied, that our G.o.d desires that He may ever be learnt, in the variety of His perfections, by the need of His people. We have already met a striking ill.u.s.tration of this important principle, in the matter of Abram's conflict with the king of Sodom, in chapter xiv. There, when Abram was tempted by the offers of the enemy, he found relief in the apprehension of G.o.d's character as "the Most High G.o.d, the possessor of heaven and earth." The character of the communion into which Melchizedek led the soul of Abram was suited to the circ.u.mstances in which he stood. So is it exactly in this 17th chapter. Communion with G.o.d as "the Almighty" was the sole remedy for impatient anxiety as to the fulfillment of any promise.

Now, when once the Lord exhibits Himself in His character of "Almighty," there can be no obstacle whatsoever to the outflow of His grace; for, when almighty power and almighty grace combine in behalf of the sinner, faith may count upon a rich and an abundant harvest.

The promises, therefore, with which this chapter abounds are just such as we might have expected. "I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a G.o.d unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their G.o.d."

(xvii. 6-8.) Surely these are promises which _almighty grace_ alone could utter, _almighty power_ alone fulfill.

The above promises stand connected with "the covenant of circ.u.mcision"

which is specially important as looked at in connection with Abram's effort to obtain the seed otherwise than by the operations of G.o.d's own hand. It would be profitable to dwell for a little upon the doctrine of this covenant of circ.u.mcision but my design in taking up this history, is not by any means to handle it in a doctrinal way, but rather to draw from it some of those valuable principles of a decidedly practical tendency with which it so richly abounds; and therefore I pa.s.s rapidly over chapters xvi., xvii. which contain a mine of precious doctrinal truth quite sufficient to occupy a separate treatise.[4]