With all this in mind, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12: 19-21,

• "We speak before God in Christ; and all things, beloved, for your building up. For I fear lest perhaps coming I find you not such as I wish, and that I be found by you such as ye do not wish: lest there might be strifes, jealousies, angers, contentions, evil speakings, whisperings, puffings up, disturbances …".

• It is by way of this great ministry, bearing upon the glory of Christ, in His ascendancy alone, which can displace the dreadful relics of Haman influence, imbibed so easily, but retained, alas, so long, unless such a ministry is furnished.

Esther represents assembly state that is set now for the promotion of Mordecai. There are three references to his glorification:

1. firstly, his being taken through the city as "the man whom the king delights to honour". This would answer to Christ's glorification morally, Corinthian-wise as in the Lord's supper.

2. Secondly – chapter 8: 15 – his going out from the king's presence with a great crown of gold – corresponding to Colossians – His glory personally.

3. Finally, his greatness in the last verse of the book, as second only to king Ahasuerus, would typify His official glory in Ephesians.

• So that we are in a rich realm here, in relation to the positive ministry of Christ, to assure, as with Paul in 2 Corinthians, the extermination spiritually of the man who would have exterminated everything for God here.

• That is what is behind every conflict that arises; a long look-out is needed to see the enemy's objective. One of his names is 'the destroyer' – Revelation 9: 11, see footnote d – as seeking to destroy every trace of God and Christ here.

We are to enter in faith into battle in the sobriety of that long look-out, and in the determination that the foe shall be met in divine power, as winning over the throne to the support of the testimony.

• I think the way the king has to be gradually won over, sets out, in a veiled way, the fact that God will not give His power easily to His warring saints in a broken day such as ours, and such as the book of Esther suggests.

• There have to be the features seen in Esther in chapter 5, that bring the throne over to our side, so to speak. Ahasuerus takes a hand increasingly now in matters in the power universal that is his, to give effect to the very desires of Esther.

J.P. Every true assembly person would desire the exaltation of Christ, but one feels too, that the brethren would support your remark that it is the hanging of Haman's sons that is really needed. The difficulties in so many localities are continued because of the failure to hang Haman's sons.

P.L. There are persons who would suggest, 'Just leave one of them! Do not be so extreme! The ten have been killed; the decision has been reached, and I submit!'

• But that does not go far enough; after the ten sons are dead, they must be hanged. What a public sight of shame!

• In it the real plans of the foe through Haman are laid bare. That is what was demonstrated at the cross as in Colossians 2: 15,
  • "having spoiled principalities and authorities, he made a show of them publicly, leading them in triumph by it".

• We see the triumph of God at the cross in dealing with everything at its root, and exposing it publicly. That has been done supremely by God, and eternally in result, but that feature is to be maintained by us as the crown of every assembly conflict.

D.C.W. Who is to do the hanging now?

P.L. One's hands are full with the hanging of these ten sons in one's own mind and soul in self-judgment. Each is to do it, as stimulated by ministry, according to 2 Corinthians in regard to the exaltation of Christ as supreme, now to dominate all, making room for headship in Colossians.

L.F. You would say then that in regard to the conflicts locally, one of the sources of weakness can be just that spirit of accepting an assembly judgment, instead of really making it my own in self-judgment – that is the hanging of Haman's sons in my own real inward exercises.

P.L. Exactly.

E.G.E. In 2 Corinthians 11: 2 Paul says,

• "I have espoused you unto one man, to present you a chaste virgin to Christ".

• Would that be the setting out of the positive side of the truth?

P.L. Quite so, having in view the development of the Esther feelings and state. She has the ascendancy now without any assumption.

• She is often referred to as the queen, yet she preserves her lowly attitude, and, as preserving it, she has the ear of the king in relation to the people she loves, who are her people.

• What we owe to assembly prayers to God in relation to the preservation of the saints in the presence of the destroyer, who shall say?

H.J.M. Following upon the issues of 1 Corinthians being settled, it is apparent in the first chapter of 2 Corinthians that there was still an undercurrent. For some were saying that Paul's word was yea and nay;

• but he meets it by alluding to the preaching of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, among them. He says,
  • "He … did not become yea and nay, but yea is in him. For whatever promises of God there are, in him is the yea, and in him the amen, for glory to God by us", 2 Corinthians 1: 19-20.

• Then he speaks of their being established in Christ, and so on; that was to secure the saints. I wondered if it was a little like taking the ring from Haman, and giving it to Mordecai in relation to the ministry.

P.L. In a beautiful spirit, Paul meets their charge that he was prevaricating, when actually it was their state that made him hesitant about coming to Corinth. His resort is to Christ as the Yea and the Amen.

• The enemy would set on disparaging remarks as to a divinely raised-up leader, in the magnifying of imagined or actual weaknesses, in order to discredit the truth, in relation to which he has led the saints to victory.

• We see this illustrated in Gideon, and might well turn aside for a moment to refer to the opening of Judges 8. The men of Ephraim disputed with him sharply, so to speak, but in the meekness and gentleness of the Christ, Gideon answers them in terms of fruitfulness:
  • "What have I done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer?", Judges 8: 2.

• His soul has been steeped in the thought of a yield for God. He was working in the wine-press at the start; he knew its true purpose, although for the moment he used it to thresh wheat, and he is seeking, as was Paul at Corinth, to bring in all the brethren responsively, as distinct from the opposers.

• We have to take warning from the subsequent movements of Gideon, which bring him into contrast with Paul. For in accepting honour from the saints, as expressed in their earrings, he opened the door to an aftermath of the conflict, which works out devastatingly in his son Abimelech in the next chapter – though God meets it in the trees of Jotham's parable.

• We can see that if there is not a consolidation of the position, and a unification of the saints in the truth, the door is left open through lack of vigilance – as with Gideon at the end – for the resurgence of the opposition from a fresh angle. I am only alluding to all that to show the urgency of getting the ground cleared.

• I trust we shall see in Ezra this afternoon, the great vindication of queen Esther in regard to all these matters, in the positive fruits and spoils of victory, in fresh openings up of the truth, which, after all, is the divine objective in all conflict.

• Let us never go into conflict for conflict's sake; let us always bear in mind that the issue of conflict, in its fullest extent, is the Ephesian ministry.

C.P.H. Would the letters of Mr. Taylor enlighten us as to past phases of the conflict, so that, in paying heed thereto, we might now be able to keep step with our brethren in the conflict?

P.L. I am sure that is so, and that takes us on to the end of the book of Esther, where the devotion of Mordecai and Esther is to be perpetuated in the minds of succeeding generations, through the establishment, on the calendar of the Jews, of the feast of Purim.

• In other words, we do not enjoy the blessings of recovered truth without appreciation and continual thanksgiving to God, in relation to those who have so waged battle to assure it.

J.P. We would like further help as to the king being won over by Esther, and reaching a point where he says to queen Esther,

• "The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the fortress, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? And what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee; and what is thy request further? and it shall be done", chapter 9: 12.

P.L. The king's enquiry as to what has been done in the rest of the king's provinces is a very searching challenge. We may feel that we are getting on a little in our locality, but what about the testimony universally?

• Do we have assembly ears? How are the brethren getting on in America, in New Zealand, or any other universal setting?

• Esther did not answer that enquiry. I have no doubt she knew the answer, because the assembly does know; the assembly has ears. But the king's challenge is searching in regard for instance of our meetings for prayer.

• While not insensible to immediate local needs, we are there in priestly power to voice assembly needs universal, and that involves a general knowledge of current war news, so to speak, that is to say, what is transpiring in the conflicts for the testimony universally.

• Later, Nehemiah calls upon all those engaged in the rebuilding of the wall to support one peculiarly assailed position. It is in prayer that we afford this succour to our hard-pressed brethren elsewhere.

D.C.W. In regard to the matter of extermination, of which you have spoken, had you in mind that as matters may arise in a place, things should be thoroughly followed up at the time, and not allowed to lapse?

P.L. Well, this spiritual ministry and the exaltation of Mordecai is collateral with the hanging of the ten sons, and the Jews fighting for their lives.

• For Mordecai is not yet given universal glory until the last chapter, though we have suggestions from chapter 6 onwards which speak to us of a continual presentation of Christ in diverse features of His glory. We have referred to three of them.

1. We might say of the first, in chapter 6, that the leading round the city of the man whom the king delights to honour indicates the way in which the Lord gets His place with us morally, as in the Lord's supper, according to Corinthians.

2. Secondly, in Colossians, the way He gets His place with us personally. It says as to Mordecai in chapter 8: 15,
   • He "went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a mantle of byssus and purple". That suggests to our minds, "Christ is everything, and in all".

     "And the city of Shushan shouted and was glad" – are they not to do that according to Colossians 3: 16, "teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God"?

3. Then according to Ephesians 1, it is a question of what Christ is made officially, answering to what Ahasuerus makes Mordecai in chapter 10, which speaks of
   • "the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him".

1. So firstly we have his exaltation in regard to Christ's place with us morally;

2. secondly, His place with us personally in relation to who He is;

3. thirdly, His place officially in relation to all things – that is, the universe of bliss.

F.E. Those three features, which you have presented to us as to Christ, as ministered to the saints, would no doubt greatly help to carry them body-wise in any conflict. Would that be the reason why there is no opposition to Esther's petitions?

P.L. I think so. Mr. Darby writes, after a time of conflict, 'now, let us get along with Christ'.

• I am sure that, after the foe's defeat, the ground has to be consolidated, for the enemy will counter-attack, and the consolidation and unification of the saints lies in the ministry of the exaltation of Christ.

J.P. So it is when Mordecai is first exalted, as sitting upon the king's horse and acclaimed, that he becomes a type of Christ? Previous to that he prefigures the spirit of Christ?

P.L. Yes, as seen in a good lead, telling Esther that she must die. What other lead spiritually could you give the brethren in a crisis? You die to see it through. Asking counsel in spiritual quarters may help, but Mordecai's word is 'die', which is the solution alone to every question.

J.G.C. In dealing with matters of the aftermath, are these letters in Esther and Mordecai's name not important?

P.L. Yes; the writing bears on permanency; and the feast of Purim is established in wonderful wisdom.

• As prefiguring Christ, what a man Mordecai is in unifying the saints.

• In Shushan, where the trouble arose, there is double battle, and double feasting universally as a result. There was one day's fighting in the provinces, and two days' in Shushan. Consequently, at the time of the conflict, the day of rest in Shushan did not coincide with the day of rest in the provinces.

• So to preserve and promote the unification of the saints universally, two days of resting and feasting were established in the feast of Purim, so that the saints universally might, in a united way, commemorate the devotion of persons who saved them from extermination through Haman's dark designs.

H.J.M. What had you in mind about all these various letters? Is it not in persons that the writing takes place, and then the sealing comes in?

P.L. Yes, indeed; the apostle Paul alludes to the Corinthians as Christ's epistle, "known and read of all men", 2 Corinthians 3: 2-3.

It is the idea of things being secured subjectively and permanently, as in that chapter. God is the subject, Christ the writer, the ink the blessed Spirit, and the writing material the fleshy-tabled hearts of the saints.

H.J.M. And in Revelation, the great book of conflicts, we get, "I will write", Revelation 3: 12. There are several other allusions to writing in that book. It involves what stands in living impressions in the saints. And what would you say about the sealing?

P.L. It represents divine authority. It means that things are not going to die.

• I think that the recent book* reviewing the conflicts of the testimony is a reminder to us to keep the feast of Purim.

  * 'The Recovery and Maintenance of the Truth' by A. J. Gardiner.

• Further, as has been remarked, the letters of our brother Mr. Taylor are calculated to contribute to the perpetuation of the feast, so that it is always present to our minds; because we ourselves are the calendar in which the feasts are inscribed.

• We shall find all these thoughts of feasting and joy developed in Nehemiah, in relation to the feast of tabernacles. It awaits the sequential unfolding of the truth as found in Nehemiah 8.

C.P.H. Is it a feature of the moment that the little ones are coming vitally into the testimony? It says in chapter 8: 11, "that might assault them, their little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey".

P.L. Yes, the little ones are a special object, too, of Satan's attack. Later Nehemiah exhorts the wall-builders to fight for their brethren, their sons and their daughters, their wives and their houses. Nehemiah 4: 14.

W.B.H. The reversal of Ahasuerus' decree, as requested by Esther in chapter 8: 5, was not just an annulment, but put the onus on the Jews to take the initiative against all that would cause them hurt.

P.L. Yes, what a day it is when the throne is moved to action! We may wonder at Ahasuerus' tardiness at the beginning, but we may read into it

• God's determination that He will have full warrant morally in the features set out in Esther, for what He will do manifestly in support of His saints in the conflict.

• It is to the humble Galileans that the Lord says,
  • "Behold, I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age", Matthew 28: 20.

A.G.W. The Jews were to gather themselves together in every city and stand for their life. Chapter 8: 11.

P.L. Yes, 'gather together' is a fine expression, as indicating the unifying power of Mordecai's ascendancy. The thought of gathering together finds development in relation to Ezra's ministry, as we hope to see this afternoon:

• "All the people gathered together as one man … and they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses", Nehemiah 8: 1.

• As the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities,
  • "no man could withstand them; for the fear of them had fallen upon all the peoples. And all the princes of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors and officers of the king, helped the Jews; for the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king's house … for the man Mordecai became continually greater", Esther 9: 2-4.

• We might say that he now prefigures Christ as Son over God's house, and judgment begins at the house of God.

J.G.H. How would you regard the matter of the reviewing of an assembly judgment; what basis would we look for in doing that?

P.L. Well, one cannot lay down any formula.

• If there has been unconstitutional practice, or worse, an assembly trespass, a sin-offering should be brought to the door of the tabernacle, according to Leviticus 4: 13-21.

• But then the enemy in imitation, has taken that thought, and at times has made it a weapon in the hands of murmurers who, so to speak, would like Haman's case to be reviewed, because it is their case, in the sense that they have not yet hanged his sons.

• I have to recognise that what everyone of these ten sons represents is in me. It is remarkable that each of their names is given in chapter 9: 7-10, indicating that I have to name them severally in myself, in order to have part in the hanging of them collectively.

J.P. What has been said as to the difficulty of tracking this thing down is very real. It is sometimes met in the most decisive way in ministry, and if each one takes to oneself the edge of the ministry that is brought to bear upon the matter, it would be settled.

• But, practically speaking, we find it raising its head again, indicating that there is refusal to accept the edge of the word given by the Lord to settle the matter.

P.L. Because what is represented in the hanging of the ten sons goes against human sentiments, but it is a divine and spiritual necessity.

• The scaffold was a very high one. It refers, typically, to the cross, where men intended to remove Christ for ever, but in it God has, in Christ, removed man in judgment.

W.B.H. Does not Paul confirm that in 2 Corinthians 13: 3-5,

• "Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me"

  – that is to say, his ministry was challenged –

  "examine your own selves if ye be in the faith; prove your own selves: do ye not recognise yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed ye be reprobates?"

P.L. That is very important, because insistence in whisperings as to re-investigation of past assembly judgments is often allied with indifference to present spiritual ministry.

W.B.H. It is really the ministry which the enemy is attacking all the time, is it not? As you said earlier, the great issue is the Ephesian position, and the enemy is constantly trying to divert the saints from the truth of that, by bringing up past matters in an attempt to discredit any who have legitimate authority in the truth.

P.L. He would seek to prevent us from arriving at what Esther 10 sets forth in a spiritual way, and if we do not reach that, we shall not get to the unfolding of the truth, and all the exercises attendant on it in relation to Ezra and Nehemiah.

• We shall not discern the intent of divine Persons in their activities in this great assembly revival. To be professedly in it, and to miss the gist and marrow of it, would be sorrowful beyond words.

L.F. Is it important for us in our day to get hold of what God has before Him, as you have mentioned in relation to chapter 10? God has before Him the matter of heading up all things in the Christ, has He not? And all the conflict has to be viewed in the light of that.

P.L. That gives us a priestly approach to battle. The horse-gate, that is, the militant gate, is repaired by the priests according to Nehemiah 3: 28.

• Sometimes, success in conflict is jeopardised by lack of a priestly state, demeanour and action. Phinehas in Numbers 25, is an example of a warrior-priest.

H.S.D. A very subtle form of attack is that which does not openly oppose an assembly judgment, but expresses dissatisfaction as to the way in which it was carried out. Can you say more as to that?

P.L. It is an old device of the enemy. We are publicly in crippled conditions, and no one comes out of assembly conflicts with medals. Is it not so, that we all feel humbled and chastened, because there is always something that might have been done better?

• Let us suppose, by way of illustration, that a house has caught fire, and some ornaments have been broken in the battle to extinguish it. If the owner afterwards makes claims for damages, he beclouds the whole issue, by magnifying a detail incidental to the accomplishment of the rescue.

R.G. It says, "they laid not their hand on the prey".

P.L. Yes, three times that is said; there is the reversal of every natural feature in these Jews; they are not seeking anything for themselves in the conflict.

• They stand for genuineness in spiritual inwardness that would repudiate the thought of a reputation for self, but would seek that all the glory should be God's.

• We have in chapter 10 a glorious climax, already anticipated in the saints in the light of Ephesians 1, where Christ is seen as set over all things, and His consort is beside Him;
  • but the relation of Mordecai to Esther is not that of Christ to the assembly. That is why, it may be, that Esther is not mentioned in the last chapter.

W.B.H. Up to this point, Mordecai's advancement seems to have depended upon Esther.

P.L. Yes, but now no longer; and yet we love the thought that He who has secured everything for us will have, in the day of His appearing, a yield from those who delight to contribute to His glory, whether now or in that day.

G.J.D. What is the significance of the tribute upon the land and the isles of the sea?

P.L. It impresses one with the extensiveness of the dominion under the king's hand, far beyond the bounds of Israel, the universe of bliss, no doubt, is in mind.

• The tribute suggests what we have in the doxologies, such as the one in 1 Timothy 1: 17.
  • "Now to the King of the ages, the incorruptible, invisible, only God, honour and glory to the ages of ages. Amen".

• Then we have the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, looking on to Christ as the Sun and Centre of the universe of bliss. It is his greatness to which the king advanced him.

• In this setting the glory is God's supremely. The city that magnifies Christ in the coming age is God's city.

D.C.W. Does the emphasis on the matter of Purim, as confirmed by the decree of Esther, and written in the book, precede Christ in figure having this exalted place?

P.L. Yes, that is important. Whilst the display of Christ's glory is God's answer to His conquest through suffering, and the Lord's supper must be the basis of all our calling to mind;

• the feast of Purim, in its application to us, brings to our minds the devotion of those who have taken character from Him, as laying down their lives for the brethren.

• As we keep the feast of Purim, by recalling the devotion of such as Paul, Priscilla and Aquila, and sufferers for the testimony in our day, our souls become imbued with the greatness and glory of Christ, for whom such faithful warriors of His lived and died, to make Him great in the hearts of the saints.

• One is reminded of the men just come from Babylon in Zechariah 6: 14 who, having been engaged in crowning Joshua the high priest, who is typical of Christ, are themselves to have crowns in the temple.

• I believe Mr. Darby, and other leaders since his day, who, as refusing to accept honours in the religious world, have consistently laboured to crown Christ before the assembly, are now crowned, so to speak, in the temple, in the confidence and appreciation of the spiritual. The diligent pursuit of their ministry is bound up with this.

Finally, we have this last reference to writing, in chapter 10: 2: "are they not written in the book of the chronicles?" The whole subject of writing in the book of Esther is one that we could well look into.

• These simple suggestions, culled from a book which, in divine inspiration, is purposely veiled, may stimulate us to look further into it as we have opportunity. We might write across the book of Esther:
  • "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; but the glory of kings is to search out a thing", Proverbs 25: 2.

• The very obscure character of such a book but invites closer investigation in diligence and spirituality.

R.C.R. The last verse does not refer to Esther, but to Mordecai, his brethren, his people, and his seed, suggesting three testimonial features in which the saints are viewed.

P.L. What a fine climax this is!

• "For Mordecai the Jew was second to king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews".

• Where is Christ great? Not in the cathedrals of the world, but among those who stand vitally related to Him, and who already furnish Him testimonially with a sphere for the expression of His greatness.

• Later we shall find that Nehemiah has one hundred and fifty Jews at his table. Indeed, I think we shall discover many threads of the book of Esther gathered up in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah which we have in mind to consider this afternoon.

L.F. As reviewing this tenth chapter, would we see that the practical activities, flowing from true subjective state, result in the exaltation of Christ and the welfare of His people?

P.L. Yes. Mordecai is "accepted of the multitude of his brethren".

• Let us see to it that we do not elect ourselves out of such a company. Then he is
  • "seeking the welfare of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed".

• Peace according to God is the divine objective to which all true conflict for the truth is directed.

A.G.W. "For Mordecai the Jew was second to king Ahasuerus".

P.L. He is typical of Christ as the great Operator for God, in the day of His glory and power as in Ephesians 1.

• The Christ is the One who does things for God. The rights of the throne in the world to come will be exercised by the exalted Man, the Christ of God.

There are in these two books of Ezra and Nehemiah threads that link on with the book of Esther.

• For instance, one hundred and fifty Jews does Nehemiah take to his table every day, as if he took his cue from Mordecai the Jew – indicating reality – with whose history he would, no doubt, be acquainted. It was in Shushan, the very place where Mordecai and Esther had stood for God, that Nehemiah is found at the opening of his book.

• There is a link, also, between the much writing in the book of Esther, and the thought of "Ezra … the scribe". When saints are scattered geographically, written ministry is of great importance, and this is emphasised in a broken day in Paul's request for the books, and especially the parchments. 2 Timothy 4: 13.

• Then, again, the spirit of laying down one's life, which shone in Mordecai and Esther, is continued in Nehemiah. When his enemies sought to intimidate him, he replied, "Should such a man as I flee?", chapter 6: 11.

• It is as if the feast of Purim, in its moral implication, is being celebrated in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah; because the consolidation of the position is evidenced in the extent to which the spoils of the victories gathered, are bound up with the liberation of heavenly ministry.

• It is this which makes way for the celebration of the feast of tabernacles, according to Nehemiah 8, bringing us into the realm of the service of God in its higher elevations, in relation to which we are being greatly helped by the Holy Spirit.

• The service of God is not developed typically in the book of Nehemiah, but it is provided for, we might say, in the personnel, Ezra himself being a teaching priest, and Nehemiah contributing priestly garments.

The consideration of all this indicates that we may view the book of Esther as preparing the ground with us in moral history, so that we take full advantage of the assembly revival, as appreciating in our measure the supreme intent of divine Persons in furnishing it.

• The closing of our ranks militantly in the testimony of our Lord is stimulated by Nehemiah, and developing us in priestly state, intelligence and enquiry into the truth in view of the service of God, is promoted by Ezra's ministry.

J.P. As thinking of apostolic days, we have often wondered at the word that the latter glory of the house shall be greater than the former. There seems to be a peculiar glory attaching to recovery; and whilst that word in Haggai would have primary application to the millennial day, it bears fully on us now, does it not?

P.L. Yes, indeed; and we can trace in the post-captivity books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi some beautiful features of grace, that are not found even in the glory of the reigns of David and Solomon.

• The ark, at one time symbol of the divine presence in power, as at Jericho, had now under divine government been lost. The humble recognition of this by the returning remnant thus calling the more for that inward and spiritual power accompanying the faith which is in Christ Jesus as in 2 Timothy.

R.C.R. So does what we get in Esther pave the way on the one hand for a greater flow of ministry, and on the other, for a greater interest in the truth on the part of the brethren generally?

P.L. Yes; you are now exploiting the spiritual territory for which you have been in conflict, and you look on the truth as part of your inheritance, not as an optional matter for non-combatants. It is your life, and you are going to enjoy it and pursue it now with your brethren.

• Ezra has to do with the son of the king Ahasuerus of the book of Esther. In Ezra 7: 14-15, we again have allusion to the seven counsellors of the king, who may figuratively be likened to
  • "the seven Spirits which are before his throne", Revelation 1: 4.

• Not only are these seven counsellors to be viewed in militant character, as meeting an attack on the throne according to Esther 1, but also as standing in relation to the throne in support of the truth.

• For they have part in the sending of Ezra to Jerusalem, and are associated with the king in freely offering silver and gold
  • "to the God of Israel, whose habitation is at Jerusalem".

D.C.W. Would you say a little more as to the link in Nehemiah 1: 1 with the book of Esther in relation to Shushan the fortress?

P.L. We come up through the militant exercises of the book of Esther, and find in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah that the objective is nothing short of Jerusalem.

• The very feature of conflict carried forward to the book of Nehemiah converges on the defence by the builders of the wall of Jerusalem. We may regard the spiritual exercises in the book of Esther as the background to this great revival developed in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

• As to Ezra personally, it is to be noted that his genealogy is established right back to Aaron. Every christian who has the Spirit can, or should, trace his genealogy to Christ; he has no other.

• Further, the Spirit's comment as to Ezra is that he had directed his heart to seek the law of Jehovah, and to do it and to teach in Israel the statutes and ordinances. It indicates that it is now a question of grappling, not with Haman, but with the truth, which opens a fresh chapter of even greater spiritual testing.

H.J.M. "Strive diligently to present thyself approved to God, a workman that has not to be ashamed, cutting in a straight line the word of truth", 2 Timothy 2: 15.

P.L. Exactly. Ezra's going to Jerusalem is spontaneous:

• "this Ezra went up from Babylon", Ezra 7: 6,

  and then in verse 9:

  "the project of going up from Babylon was determined on".

• There was a going out in Esther's day in relation to the foe, now there is a going up, with Jerusalem as the objective, and elevation always tests the inward strength of our spiritual constitution.

• The element of spiritual inwardness and genuineness, set out in the Jews of the book of Esther, lays the basis of spiritual constitution for the Ezra-Nehemiah revival. As already remarked, what a place Nehemiah gives to the Jews at his table –
  • "there were at my table a hundred and fifty of the Jews", Nehemiah 5: 17.

• They were never absent, it would seem; fine weather, poor weather, the Jews are there at the prayer-meeting, reading-meeting, all the meetings, so to speak.

H.J.M. Some of us feel, as we are getting older, that we have lost much through lack of devotion and diligence in relation to the truth. Would there be a word here for the younger men in the prime of their lives, to give themselves wholly to these things?

P.L. Is it not so that there is scarcely one in Scripture, taken up pronouncedly by God with whom He did not start young? Joseph, seventeen years of age, David a lad among the sheep-folds, and so on.

H.J.M. One has been struck by that.

P.L. We see in Ezra no human forcefulness, but a priestly spirit of grace and dignity, promoting among the saints the element of enquiry temple-wise, with body feelings, as we would now say.

• Apparently he was in Jerusalem for thirteen years, before he was brought forward in the opening up of the truth according to Nehemiah 8.

• Many moral questions had to be taken up by Nehemiah – for which, indeed, God sent him to Jerusalem – involving the repair of the wall and the gates and so on, before the people could be unified in relation to the truth.

• Ezra did not push himself forward, but during this period of seclusion with God, he would be looking into the law of God and, in priestly discernment, learning to apply it to the exigencies of his day.

• He was content to wait till the then existing difficulties had, under God, been in a measure resolved through the spiritual leadership and influence found with Nehemiah. Ezra now goes forward in the simplicity of spirituality.

• Nehemiah humbly makes way for him, according him the leading place in the first choir. Nehemiah 12: 36. Nehemiah himself, the governor, recognised that administration was not an end in itself, but was to be maintained authoritatively, that the saints might be secured in entire submission to the truth in relation to God's service and testimony.

• We all of us want to be developing in true spiritual perspective and balance in the truth, appreciating it as one great entity, as illustrated in the tabernacle so varied in its component parts, yet, according to the divine pattern, one complete whole, constituting God's habitation in the wilderness.

H.S.D. When you speak of the throne as in support of the truth – according to the suggestion in Ezra 7: 14-15 – you have in mind the principle of authority working here among the saints in view of making way for the truth?

P.L. Yes, it is now a question of divine authority in Paul's ministry being recognised submissively by the saints. The expression

• "the Lord stood with me", 2 Timothy 4: 17,

• surely bears also on the Lord's determination to stand by Paul's distinctive ministry as to Christ and the assembly until the end, Paul being viewed as the architect of the assembly: so to speak.

• We are favoured to have part in the divine recovery to this at the end of the dispensation, and submission of the saints thus to what is distinctively Pauline has drawn forth the Lord's manifest support amidst much felt weakness on the responsible side.

J.P. Are we to link the support of the truth in regard of Ezra with what we have in Luke's gospel?

P.L. Yes; the matter of genealogy that Luke traces, in regard of Christ, is to God Himself.

• Our spiritual genealogy stands related to our being born of God. It is a question of spiritual generation coming in to support the truth, as seen in the expression "the Jews" found in these books.

W.B.H. The service of God being now in view, would the support given by the throne to Ezra's going up to Jerusalem be reminiscent of David's rule in Jerusalem in view of God's service?

P.L. That is the point. David was placed by God on the throne in Jerusalem, to administer in relation to the blessing of Israel, but supremely and ultimately in view of the service of God, in which David had so large a part.

R.C.R. Is the truth to be sought out for its own sake, first of all, not primarily with a view to giving it out? According to Ezra 7: 14, he is sent by the king and his seven counsellors

• "to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem"

• so that the assembly is largely in mind in regard of the truth.

P.L. Yes. It is called "the pillar and base of the truth", 1 Timothy 3: 15.

• As you suggest, we do not primarily look up scriptures in view of serving others, necessary in its place as it is; we read them as seeking food and light, and further we sit among our brethren temple-wise, as enquiring into the truth.

• Then what we may receive as together thus, should give assembly character to our levitical service in general, as directed by the true Eleazar, the prince of the princes of the Levites.

It is as coming to Jerusalem that Nehemiah disconcerted the enemies of God's people.

• "It grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel", Nehemiah 2: 10.

• Nehemiah's operations in Jerusalem are prefaced by his sojourning three days there. How his relations with God concerning the holy city would deepen and strengthen in this three-day period, according to the moral import in the Scriptures of the numeral three, which so often bears on resurrection power in testimony.

• He thus develops in spiritual stamina in relation to God's chief interest – Jerusalem – to deal with all that might obstruct its realisation by the saints available, however difficult the day. Having sorrowfully surveyed the ruined condition of Jerusalem, he calls upon his brethren to rise up and repair the walls.

• The inveterate hostility of the foe now finds expression in a form yet more subtle because of its imitative character, Nehemiah's enemies assuming to have a portion and a right in Jerusalem, Nehemiah 2: 20, which claim he strenuously refutes.

• It was among the returning captives, not the ones still remaining in Babylon, that this sorrowful situation had come about, because they had not followed up God's sovereign intervention in their favour.

• It is true that the original conditions of ruin had been allowed in divine government upon the nation, Nebuchadnezzar being the instrument of it under God's hand many years before.

• But while "Lo-ammi", Hosea 1: 9, was still written over the nation publicly, it was for faith to discern that there had been a divine intervention in grace on behalf of the returning captives.

• The apathy which allowed such a sorrowful situation to continue unchallenged, testified to spiritual weakness with those who had returned. Nehemiah was peculiarly raised up as a man of God to stir up the saints out of this inertness; and what a spiritual leader he became in so doing.

• The faith and courage in which he saw to the completion of matters long outstanding, paved the way for Ezra's more spiritual service of opening up the truth.

• The assembly revival must fail in its divine intent if it stops short of the establishment of the saints in the Spirit's power in the full range and varied features of the Pauline ministry as to Christ and the assembly.

• This covers the ground from the foundation laid in his assembly work at Corinth, to the top-stone of it in the Ephesian epistle.

R.C.R. Does this emphasise the need of resolving difficulties that may be amongst us, so as to be quite free to be fully occupied with these things?

P.L. Surely. According to Haggai 1: 2, the people had become discouraged through difficulties, and were saying, "The time is not come … that Jehovah's house should be built".

• But Haggai brings home to them, in his prophecy, that their discouragement found its roots in their settling down in their wainscoted houses, preferring them to God's house.

• Having waned in their interest in it, they were made to cease building by external force, until Haggai and Zechariah stirred them to action, both by the prophetic word, and by example, and that without any immediate royal permission.

• Now Ezra goes up to Jerusalem. The expression "this Ezra", chapter 7: 6, laying emphasis on his personality, as one divinely commissioned in spiritual authority in relation to the truth. Ezra is accredited according to the stability of the throne;
  • "Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, an accomplished scribe of the law of the God of the heavens, and so forth", Ezra 7: 12.

• So that the throne's intervention in appreciation of the moral worth and ministry of Ezra, can be likened in a veiled way to the Lord's continued support of what is peculiarly Pauline in character. Without this the mind of God as to the assembly, whether as related to God's service, or His testimony, cannot be reached and worked out.

• The sovereignty of God in the raising up of a distinctive vessel in regard of ministry is always bound up with the moral worth in such a one that will spiritually accredit the truth. Hence the word in 2 Timothy 3: 10,
  • "But thou hast been thoroughly acquainted with my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, endurance …".

R.C.R. Is that to guide us in our following up of written ministry, so that we discern the line of spiritually accredited, authoritative ministry?

P.L. Yes, and it is important to recognise that the divine authority as to it abides, although the vessel, who was raised up to give expression to it, may depart. So we have in Hebrews 11: 4, in relation to Abel, "having died, he yet speaks".

R.C.R. Yes, and we can say of the Lord's servant, now no longer with us, that his voice still speaks in the ministry, and the young ones, and all of us, should thoroughly follow it up.

P.L. Quite so. Artaxerxes writes, "I have given orders", these standing in relation to the respect in which Ezra is to be held.

• It suggests that the authority of the throne will not permit of an optional spirit, which would select from ministry what suits it, at the expense of the truth as a whole, ever searching in character, but so blest as humbly appropriated and maintained.

• But may we not view as a spiritual suggestion the king's expression "and so forth" as entering into his salutation to Ezra the priest,
  • "an accomplished scribe of the law of the God of the heavens", verse 12?

• However formal might have been the use of the words "and so forth" by other letter writers – as in Ezra 4: 10-11, 17 the Spirit's record of the expression in relation to such a one as Ezra opens the door to spiritual enquiry as to it.

H.J.M. Does that bring forward the matter of the communion of the Spirit? Ezra has the law of God, he has directed his heart to it, to do it, and to teach it.

• But in the "so forth" is there a suggestion of the communion of the Spirit, involving that Ezra is to be trusted in his application of the truth, and that he gives a spiritual touch and import in relation to it, as he brings it forward?

P.L. Whilst only touching such an expression very lightly, it might, as taken up here by the Spirit of God, bear on the manner, tenor, and spirit of things found with Ezra himself.

• It reminds us, in a way, of the book of Deuteronomy, which is not the formal law as given in Exodus, as from God to Moses. Deuteronomy brings forward a law, which Moses enunciates.

• That law was to furnish spiritual manners, and promote spiritual features proper to the inheritance, which the book of Deuteronomy has particularly in mind, leading on to the service of God.

H.J.M. In that regard one has been very interested in the number of times the hiatus occurs in the Old Testament. It is as though there is something more than what lies in the letter of that which is expressed, and provides for the communion of the Spirit in spiritual meditation over what is suggested.

P.L. Yes, indeed. The hiatus invites the spiritual soliloquy of John, expressed in his "I suppose" in the last verse of his gospel.

• It defeats theological reasoning, and opens the door to spiritual reflection, not only as to what is said, but as to what is omitted. It is to be noted that in several instances where the hiatus occurs, the Spirit is looking on to Christ.

We should now pass on to the book of Nehemiah. We saw previously that in the book of Esther the Jews were gathered together against their enemies in relation to the matter of Haman.

• Now, as stirred up by Nehemiah, they are rallied in view of the positive features of construction, and the conflict necessary to defend this. Chapter 2: 18 and 4: 20.

• When we come to the matter of the truth, and the interest prevailing as to it, we are told that
  • "all the people gathered together as one man to the open place that was before the water-gate", chapter 8: 1.

• This illustrates the spiritual progress that marks the saints in that spontaneous interest in the truth, which is a precious feature pertaining to these last days. It leads on to the unity in song, under the direction of Ezra and Nehemiah, at the dedication of the wall. Chapter 12.
  • "The open place that was before the water-gate"

• suggests the Spirit as recognised in liberty.

• Anything less than "the open place that was before the water-gate" is a parochial and limited sphere, restricted within the human limitations of orthodoxy.

• The people spoke to "Ezra the scribe". There is respect for spiritual leadership as set forth in him; and "the book of the law of Moses" suggests that they were intent upon looking into the truth as one great whole.

H.J.M. Why does it say, "he read in it … in presence of the men and the women, and those that could understand", verse 3?

P.L. It is good to see the sisters brought into these things, and the young ones get impressions too.

• "The seventh month" speaks to us of the crown of Israel's agricultural year, the time of in-gathering.
  • "Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop fatness", Psalm 65: 11.

• We are privileged, in these last days, to have part in this crowning period. The Spirit is in-gathering the best in tillage and vintage, as promoted by all the varied seasons, to assure the service of God in its perennial freshness, variety and substance, as set out here in relation to the feast of tabernacles.

D.C.W. You were referring to the people looking into the truth as one great whole; are we to follow Paul's word to Timothy,

• "Have an outline of sound words", 2 Timothy 1: 13?

P.L. That is very important, because the enemy will attack us if our minds are not bulwarked with the truth, forced into them in sequential teaching in the school of Tyrannus, by divinely selected vessels ministering in the Spirit's power.

• To use an illustration, an architect has an arduous course of training to the end that his mind may be imbued with the idea of construction, so that he can view abstractly what is to be built, and regulate all his operations concretely according to the plans. What an urgent feature this is, if we are to proceed constructively assembly-wise!

L.F. Is one distinctive feature of authoritative ministry that it brings forward the truth as a whole? Has not the breakdown in christendom come about through trying to divide the truth up?

P.L. Yes, the theological mind seeks to pigeon-hole divine things, so to speak, and thus loses all.

• But a spiritual conception of the truth preserves it in the mind as one entity, each of its component parts standing in relation to the whole according to the divine plan.

• It is stimulating to take account of the sustained interest in the truth on the part of the people; they continued from the morning until mid-day, and still desired more. The inheritance, for which they have fought, they are now exploring.

There is instruction for us in the high stage of wood, made for the purpose, on which Ezra stood. Wood has a great place in the book of Nehemiah. We have timber mentioned in chapter 2.

• The king had given Nehemiah a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's park – see note d to chapter 2: 8 – which was evidently close to Jerusalem. In the preservation of that park, with its potential timber, God, no doubt, had in mind the rebuilding of the wall, for which much timber would be required, and it is remarkable that a Jew was put in charge of it.

• No doubt there would be some saplings in that park upon which Asaph would keep his eye in view of their ultimate use in the rebuilding of the wall. Asaph is a type of the blessed Spirit, and how watchful He is as to potential material for the building of the wall of separation.

• We would surely, in the spirit of Nehemiah, desire to claim the young ones among us – not yet in Jerusalem, but in the environment of the assembly – that they might be serviceable for the strengthening of the wall in relation to Jerusalem, and as furnishing support for rule – because Nehemiah requests timber also for the gates of the governor's house.

• Wood, in Scripture, generally speaks of manhood according to God. We might say, perhaps, that the wood in the park under Asaph is a view of the saints in Romans, in view of the Corinthian wall-building, according to the first epistle.

• In 2 Corinthians we may see what answers to the high stage of wood. In chapter 1 of that epistle Paul alludes to his preaching of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and associates Silvanus and Timotheus with him. They are presenting another order of man.

• It is not a theological pulpit of human domination, but it suggests the spiritual elevation connected with the anointing, according to the word, "and has anointed us", 2 Corinthians 1: 21.

• It is a provisional structure, made for the purpose, but it is made of material that bespeaks another Man, and those who characteristically stand on that high stage of wood are preserved in their ministry.

• Finally, in the book of Nehemiah, we get allusion to wood for burning; the wood-offering is mentioned in the last verse of the book.
  1. So we have wood potentially in the park,

  2. wood constructively in the acceptance of assembly obligations,

  3. and wood in the burning, in the sacrifices of love, to assure the service of God. The sweet savour of the offerings could not go up to God, without the consumption of the wood, laid in order, on which the sacrifices are placed.

• In each of these instances in Nehemiah, wood bears on the order of man which is essential to assembly recovery. We cannot have the truth vitally, apart from being formed after Christ, in the order of man in which alone it can be maintained and set forth.

F.R.H. So that in Haggai's prophetic ministry, he says,

• "Go up to the mountain and bring wood", Haggai 1: 8.

P.L. Exactly. Now Ezra opens the book in the sight of all the people, and they are engaged with the truth worshipfully. It says that they stood up; they are all attention.

• "He that has an ear, let him hear", Revelation 2: 7.

• The beneficiaries of a will, when called together to hear its contents, are all ears. The sense of our participation in divine thoughts should stimulate us in relation to this faculty of hearing, crowned, as it is here, with the spirit of worship. It is to be noted that in verse 8 it says,
  • "And they read in the law of God distinctly out of the book, and gave the sense".

• Ezra's leadership has made way for others to come into the matter. Leadership in authority in the truth is calculated to promote mutuality in spiritual consolidation.

• On the other hand, we are not to be governed by democratic feelings, lowering everything to one level.

J.G.H. So it says that Ezra was above all the people. Verse 5.

P.L. Yes, while the gathering together on the first day called forth soul feelings,

• on the second day, when the chief fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered together to Ezra, rein is given in the teaching and atmosphere prevailing, to what pertains to spiritual understanding.

• Their diligent investigation of the truth results in a fresh discovery, relating to the feast of tabernacles, the climax of all the feasts.

• The revival would fall short of its objective, if it did not reach the divine climax, whether in the testimony militantly, or whether in the service of God. Hence we should be ready for fresh discoveries of what may have remained hidden hitherto.

R.C.R. They came to gain wisdom. We want to understand these great things that are coming out in our day.

P.L. Yes, indeed. What diligence and patience marked the early gold prospectors on this continent, and, speaking humanly, what success crowned their strenuous efforts!

• Should we not be marked by the noble Berean spirit that habitually delves and digs in regard of the truth, and never without a spiritual yield, when we are dependent alone on the blessed Spirit.

• Spiritual conditions among the saints furnish that atmosphere of holy enquiry in which the truth is drawn out, and beaten out amongst the saints temple-wise, as they are sustained in body feelings.

J.P. I believe that is the way the saints have been brought into this very understanding of things. The ministry as to the hill of God, bearing on the mid-week reading, and the stimulation afforded as to temple enquiry, has helped us much over the past fifteen years.

P.L. Exactly. So on this second day they find written in the law that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month, and immediately they act upon it.

• Going forth to the mount involves spiritual energy, and they bring down branches of these various trees, suggestive of the spiritual variety found among the brethren.

• It is to be noted that the mention of the wild olive-branches is made between that of the olive-branches and myrtle-branches. We may, perhaps, regard Eutychus in Acts 20, as illustrating the thought of the wild olive-branch.

• How calculated to weaken will – of which the wilderness speaks – is the merging with brethren who evidence the fruit of divine cultivation! The young are to be greatly encouraged to merge with those who are marked by spiritual maturity.

• The trend with the young, at times, is to gravitate to youthful company. That is sometimes evident after the close of a meeting, when spiritual impressions might well be followed up among those whose maturity and capacity, in relation to the things of God, enable them not only to receive spiritual thoughts, but to diffuse them.

• The youthful Jacob's affinity with his grandfather Abraham, as to divine things tended, no doubt, to leave an indelible mark upon him. We are told in Hebrews 11: 9 that Abraham dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. It would appear that Jacob would have been no more than fifteen years of age when his grandfather died.

• The feast of tabernacles bore upon the fact that the children of Israel had sojourned in their tents, as set closely together in divine ordering round the tabernacle in the wilderness. Hence the keeping of the feast was calculated to promote intimacy in regard to spiritual things.

D.C.W. In relation to these booths, they begin by making them, everyone upon the roof of his house.

P.L. Yes, that is where you begin, is it not? A spiritual man knows well how to entertain his visitors "upon the roof", in nearness to heaven, in the light of Ephesian ministry.

• He would recoil from the thought of taking them into the cellar, so to speak, to gossip there about the brethren.

• "In their courts" would bear more on what is public and testimonial, as set out in the epistle to the Romans. Then there is the thought of "the courts of the house of God". When the time comes to go on to the reading, we do not find it far.

• In one sense, it is the continuation and filling out of the conversation on the roof; though the distinctive character of our gathering together in temple enquiry must be preserved in our minds and hearts.

D.C.W. What you say is very helpful; indeed all that you have been bringing before us in these meetings is to promote with us a continual desire after what is spiritual.

P.L. And the question is, have we come to the house of God from our roofs – the place of communion with God? It was on the house-top that Peter received the heavenly vision. Acts 10.

• We come also from our courts, the testimonial sphere, where the rights of God are maintained. If we come from those two settings, we shall come contributively.

• Then how attractive is "the open space of the water-gate". It suggests that the Spirit is given a free hand and a free way.

• Further, there is "the open space of the gate of Ephraim". Let us ever maintain an expectant attitude in relation to the recovery of missing brethren; for Ephraim represents the ten tribes, carried away in captivity.

H.J.M. Ephraim is brought forward so blessedly in the prophet Hosea, in relation to the greatness of God in recovery, is it not? And the meaning of Ephraim's name is 'double fruitfulness'. Genesis 41: 52, note c.

P.L. Yes, indeed. We might say, who of us would be here today but for the gate of Ephraim, so that we keep that gate open, in our spirit and demeanour, and availability to all the saints.

R.C.R. What helps those from without, as coming along, is the great gladness found amongst the saints.

P.L. Yes; as the feast of tabernacles is kept by us, they will find an atmosphere prevailing that is always encouraging to enquiring souls.

• They will be impressed with the love and unity marking the brethren, and with the fact that the divine objective, whether in relation to God's service, or His testimony, is governing them.

• The Spirit's reference at the end of verse 17 to the glorious days of Israel under Joshua is very stimulating for us.

• Whilst we cannot publicly return to the pristine days of the assembly in apostolic times, we can humbly prove, in the present operations of divine Persons in this great assembly revival, the blessed character of what was originally set up by God here, as abiding here unimpaired in the Spirit's power.

What a spiritual climax is reached according to the last verse of Nehemiah 8!

• "Also day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they observed the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance".

• While "seven" is suggestive of completion in the Spirit, "the eighth day" is brought in as a heavenly crown to the seven. The numeral "eight" in Scripture bears upon the gathering up of what has preceded in the "seven" and goes through to eternity.

• But the "eighth day" must be kept distinct in our minds from the bearing of "the first day of the week", conveying the thought of an entirely new beginning, introducing an order of things which has no end.

J.G.C. Is not every company, and every saint, responsible to read? I was thinking of the injunction to Timothy, 1 Timothy 4: 13, and also to the saints in Colosse to cause the epistle to be read to all the brethren, and also the epistle written to the saints at Laodicea. Colossians 4: 16.

P.L. That is very good.

You will remember how God spoke to Satan in relation to the seed of the woman, testifying to his doom.

• Her suffering in pregnancy and travail would be great, but the results would be worth all the suffering, and far more.

• She had undermined the throne in disobedience to divine command, and had let in the foe with disastrous consequences.

• How precious, that the very one who had so failed, and had brought in the disaster through self-gratification, should, through maternal travail in suffering, have part in bringing in the only One who could deal with the fruits of the disaster, and reveal God as above all the evil which had come in.

• We are in the testimonial setting here in all the scriptures before us, because the throne does not bear upon the service of God, as does the sanctuary, but on the rights of the King, the Heir of the universe, so soon to be displayed without challenge. Whose rights are now to be maintained in the presence of every challenge. In the support of these alone can the service of God be assured.

Adam was evidently affected by what he heard. Before he listened to God's words, addressed directly to himself as to the discipline which would be his portion in toil, he was attentive to the divine announcement to the serpent, as to the seed of the woman.

• Not a word of complaint does he utter as to his richly merited discipline – which in God's goodness was divinely calculated to render him safer outside the garden in self-judgment, than within it in innocence.

• But he lays hold of the precious light afforded as to the incoming of Christ, and immediately salutes his wife as
  • "the mother of all living", Genesis 3: 20.

• We should not have known that Adam had faith, but for this utterance.

• A disciplined person, exercised by divine chastening, regards the saints with respect. Rest assured, that a fault-finding saint among the brethren betrays a refusal of discipline.

• But how blest it is to observe that God reserves to Himself the right to speak directly to the subjects of His grace about the discipline His love sees necessary. He does not tell it to the enemy.
  • "And to Adam he said …", Genesis 3: 17.

• Being what we are, in our fallen condition, we must be secured afresh in the formative work of His grace, as Paul could say,
  • "By God's grace I am what I am", 1 Corinthians 15: 10.

Discipline, in constant toil and suffering, is in the divine curriculum, for it belongs to the way of the bringing in of Christ, the Seed of the woman.

• So that Adam, as now subject, would feel that it was all worth while, and he addresses his wife with respect: he calls her "Eve", because she is the mother of all living. What an outlook he now has!

• We know how the discipline of a son, according to Hebrews, places him at large in the divine domain.
  • "But ye have come to mount Zion", Hebrews 12: 22,

• says the writer to the Hebrews, after speaking of the Father's chastening.

• What a galaxy of glories is there unfolded to our view, all for our spiritual understanding and enjoyment. But if we are to be in the joy that centres in Christ in that realm, we must be in accord with God's mind, set forth in Christ in His death, and accept death as the order of the day.

• As submitting to his discipline from God, Adam becomes a contributor, and saints all down the ages have had the gain of his brief but pungent utterance, as well as of the sorrowful warning resulting from his exposure.

• For what are we ourselves, other than Satan's easy prey, if we exercise our wills in disobedience to the divine will?

This utterance on Adam's lips, so condensed and full of holy interest, invites spiritual investigation. What does it convey?

• That the channel of the disaster shall, in grace, as divinely renewed, become the means of bringing in Christ, as God's answer so blest to the disaster, and infinitely more. It is thus that Eve comes before us as the mother of all living.

• One loves to think of that husband and wife, committed to the common path of suffering, for their own preservation in a scene of evil, pausing amid the toils of the way to salute one another in the grace of redemption.

• Let us see to this matter of mutual respect, lest the material affairs of the household dominate the situation. Important as they are in their place, they are but transitional and provisional. What abides is the spiritual relation between husband and wife as
  • "fellow-heirs of the grace of life", 1 Peter 3: 7.

• We may say that these two became such, Adam leading the way now. He once surrendered his headship to listen to his wife in relation to an evil course. Now he asserts his place, not as lord to his wife, but as head to her, and he salutes her in relation to God's thoughts about her, to which he had paid full attention.

• It is urgent that we hear in such manner so as not to forget what reaches our ears:
  • "he that has ears to hear, let him hear", Matthew 11: 15.

• Adam had earlier, through his wife, lent his ear to the foe instead of to God; now he listens to God in regard of his wife, and he keeps things on a high level.

• They are going to have their sorrows in divine government, their first son a murderer, the second a martyr; but they are going to reach Seth, representing an established order of things, for his name means 'appointed'.
  • "For God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel", Genesis 4: 25.

• Eve regards Seth as in the divinely appointed way of the bringing in of the King – not that the kingly thought is developed here, but what is in view is the glorious triumph of Christ over the enemy, crushing the serpent's head, as laying bare all his schemes.

Feminine devotion to the throne is a blest theme throughout the Scriptures. It is seen pre-eminently in Mary the mother of Jesus. How often, in those early chapters of Matthew, we read of

• "the little child and his mother", Matthew 2: 13!

• Herod, usurper of David's throne, has no other thought than to destroy that little Child; but the divinely destined Occupant of Jerusalem's throne, and of that of the universe, is the meek and lowly One, the Man after God's own heart, the King.

• In the meantime, Mary is favoured with the maternal care of the little Child. In so doing she portrays the character of the testimony in difficult times, the foe taking advantage of the weakness of the situation, with murderous schemes.

• For the dragon, according to Revelation 12, is waiting destructively for the Man-child to be born. He hates Christ, for in Him the serpent has met his doom; although not finally manifested in divine judgment, it is with God a settled matter; but Satan is assured of it, and knows that his time is short.

• Hence his deadly opposition to the domination of Christ as the one Man for God in the hearts of the saints. Therein lies the incessant battle, bound up with the conflicts of the testimony.

Now in regard to Hannah, she lived in a day when conditions in Israel were very weak.

• Eli, the high priest, is heavy and insensible as to what is due to God. What is to happen? Shall Hannah retire from the field irresponsibly?

• She is but a weak woman; her husband is marked by lethargy – a most depressing element – and with it, hand in hand, goes self-complacency.
  • "Am not I better to thee than ten sons?", 1 Samuel 1: 8 he asks!

• He thought so, and advertised it to his own exposure, little knowing that down the ages this utterance of his would furnish warning to the saints, whilst Hannah and her son, Samuel, have furnished stimulation and buoyancy to the whole generation of faith that has come after them.

You remember how she is misunderstood. Humbly she tells her story. Her circumstances of sterility have helped her. Things which apparently are most against us, are actually most in our favour.

• To quarrel with our discipline is to question the wisdom of God, who has sent it. Our own folly at times may have brought us into it, but it is no less the ordering of God for that, for God triumphs over our failures, to bring about, in His government through them, the fruits of the grace He is determined to establish with us.

We shall find, when we come to Hannah's song, that it issues in the introduction of the King. He is to be brought in by Samuel.