THE DIVINE STANDARD
John Laurie
Exodus 25: 8-15, 40; 36: 1; 39: 32
I had the impression to say something, beloved brethren, about these words, “according to”. They occur numerous times throughout the whole of Scripture and in a very particular way they come into Paul’s ministry, indicating that there is a certain standard of things. It is so attractively set before us even in regard of our calling and our place of blessing before God where we are reminded that God has called us “not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace”, 2 Tim 1: 9. What an encouragement that is. We have been helpfully reminded of the need of gaining encouragement and moving in the enjoyment of it. God would afford us thoughts about this even in the dignity and standard of His calling because it is not according to our works which would surely fail and accomplish nothing, but it is according to His own purpose and grace, and He has acted “according to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph 1: 5), so that He should be glorified in all that is accomplished among the saints. Paul clearly had a distinct impression about this and repeatedly brings in the thought of things being done at that level and according to that dignity in view of God securing His pleasure and an answer in glory from it. I thought that might in some way be illustrated in these three different settings in which the thought is presented in Exodus.
I might suggest that firstly in what was indicated to Moses in chapter 25 we would have the divine requirement that things should be according to the pattern and according to the word of God. It is presented there as a divine requirement. When we come to chapter 36, the ability to do the work according to the word of Jehovah is the particular point; God afforded needed wisdom to persons to carry it out. And then in the last section it was done and finalised according to the original requirements of God. These three things are important. I can hardly see how we are able to move according to the mind of God unless we have some understanding of what His mind is. It would be rather futile to exhort someone to move according to a plan if they had no knowledge of the plan! But I believe God has helped us through the way the truth has been opened up among us in such a wonderful way, no doubt by the help and power of the Holy Spirit and of the Scriptures, but also by the help of the apostle Paul and others whom God has distinctively raised up, and to whom the Lord has given gift. There has been a long, long time of distinctive teaching for us in many ways so that we should learn the mind of God and it seems to me important that things must be according to that. There is a necessary requirement that things should be according to the divine mind and Moses was given the pattern of that on the mountain and was exhorted to act and move in accordance with it. There had to be no deviation from that, as is made abundantly clear in what we have read here. It had to be according to the word of God in every way, and so we read in chap 25: 40, “see that thou make them according to their pattern”, as if God would emphasise it again to Moses in a summary at the end in order that he should attend to that carefully. It is clear that the ark, and I read about the ark specifically, had such a prominent and central place in everything. How important for us to understand that if there is anything presented to our minds in the way of a standard and a pattern its answer is distinctively set forth in Christ Himself. He is the very centre of the whole divine system. God’s pleasure is focused and centred in a blessed Man. The good pleasure of God is connected with His will, and clearly God’s will is “to head up all things in the Christ”, Eph 1: 10. And so, understandably, God began by calling the attention of Moses to the ark and to the distinctive features of it and to the distinctive place it had in God’s mind in the whole pattern of things that had to be so carefully constructed.
But then when we come to chapter 36 we find God gave wisdom to “Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every man that was wise hearted”; so that they should have an understanding how to do this. It is one thing to understand that there is a requirement to do it, but if I have not the means or the ability to carry it out then there is no progress, but God has not left us without that means. He has furnished the saints with wisdom; characteristically I would say that is seen in the gatherings of the saints in local companies. We have to credit the saints with having wisdom to work out things according to the divine mind in administration in local companies. Characteristically that is true and has to be respected by us so that we do not assume to be superior in our understanding of things to what God has set in wisdom in the assembly. And that is typified in what is said here about these persons to whom special skill was given so that they would know how to act. It says, “to know how to work all manner of work of the service of the sanctuary - according to all that Jehovah had commanded”. I just leave that further thought with us that if through divine help we have come to understand some measure of the scope and importance of the truth, then it falls upon us to seek help in divine wisdom to work it out according to that. There is a requirement then as well, not only to know about the truth, but to speak and think and act according to the pattern that has been given, and God would help us in that. The Lord is the source of wisdom for all that is needed so that things should be filled out in suited dignity in the assembly, and I think as Head of the assembly we have an infinite resource to draw upon. By the help of the Holy Spirit that is made livingly good amongst the saints so that there should be power to give effect to things.
In the last section read, it says there so beautifully, “And all the labour of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was ended; and the children of Israel had done it according to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses - so had they done it”. How pleasing it must have been to God that the work had been carried out and completed according to His mind. But one of the things that interested me was that, through intelligence given of God, all was completed entirely in accordance with the divine plan, but firstly it seems from the record that the curtains were made, and the tent or covering formed, before the ark was made. Now we might say the ark was presented first, and that was right and proper that God should show where His prime thoughts lay, but through intelligence being given it was found suitable that there should be a covering made to protect the ark and that the ark and all that it represented should not be exposed to danger or harm. I think that helps us in understanding how things are worked out according to the principles of the truth if Christ is to have His true place among us. God’s mind is that Christ should have the central place and the place of glory in the affections of the saints. But if that is to be fulfilled then there must be this maintenance of the principles of the truth that the curtains and the coverings would represent and so, apparently, they were made first to provide that needed shelter and suited place for the ark to be set in so that all that was in God’s mind should be brought to completion. Thus it was carried out that the whole labour of the tabernacle of the tent was ended, and God was honoured in that.
I feel we are coming near the end of the dispensation and we have been reminded that there are many tests and tribulations coming in, and we should not lose heart; we should seek grace that we might be vessels available in view of the divine work in this dispensation being brought to completion because when it is brought to completion the whole church will be raptured! I feel we are coming very near that point! In some way, it might be suggested in the ark and the work of the tabernacle being brought to completion and God’s pleasure secured in it. We want to be vessels available to the Lord that are usable in relation to the completion of His interests here, intelligently serving and moving in view of His own glory.
Well, I leave these three thoughts concerning "according to" before our minds so that we may be moving pleasing to the Lord and in view of a full answer for God in glory.
May it be so for His glory.
Word in Meeting for Ministry in Brechin
6thNovember 2017