Galatians 6: 8-10
1 Samuel 6: 10-13
I just had a thought, dear brethren, as to consistency and steadiness of walk and exercise. These scriptures refer to spiritual exercise. The second one, referring to the kine or oxen, brings forward the animal which especially represents steadiness of walk: nothing spectacular or fast, but steady and deliberate. Other matters too enter into what the ox speaks of. Our brother has been referring to what would involve a certain patience that might be needed in view of reaping. We have had reference to reaping, and how blessed it is that we reap! We know that the labourer must have patience too, “the labourer awaits the precious fruit of the earth, having patience for it”, James 5: 7. Spiritual results are not always immediate but rather involve a steadiness and continuance in things. By nature, we perhaps would tend to wish for quick results and a situation which does not demand patience, but through a patient walk something substantial is arrived at.
The question in Galatians 6 is as to sowing and reaping, and it is a question of something that in God’s government cannot be changed. “He that sows to his own flesh, shall reap corruption from the flesh”: it is very individual, your own flesh. We might say that the flesh is the same in us all, and yet we have each our own proclivities and the temptation is as to that, to sow to our flesh, and we will certainly reap a harvest from that, a very sad harvest, for it is corruption. You cannot get anything else from the flesh, you are not going to reap any other kind of harvest. The more you sow the more you will find that you are not finding spiritual life and blessing, you are not finding these satisfactions in spiritual things that our brother has been speaking about.
But then the great matter is to sow to the Spirit, meaning that in what we do, how we spend our time, how we devote ourselves, we make way for what the Spirit would bring to us. He would sustain us and help us, bringing impressions of the Lord Jesus into our hearts, helping us in our spiritual exercises and in our understanding of the truth, giving us the ability to take in spiritual things (they are communicated by the Spirit and understood by the Spirit), and also helping us in our practical exercises. One side is sowing to one’s own flesh, a very individual - it might be private - matter, but an individual can sow to the Spirit, for it says “he that sows to the Spirit, from the Spirit shall reap eternal life”. What a thought that is to arrive at! One would love to understand more fully just what the Spirit has in mind in that wonderful expression “eternal life”. It is not natural life, it is not bounded by earth or nature, but is a wonderful character of life that belongs to the believer. It belongs to him no doubt through faith, but it is enjoyed through sowing to the Spirit. You reap this wonderful matter in your soul, not corruption, but what a contrast, “eternal life”, life that goes beyond death, and cannot be tainted by death. It involves very great blessing for our souls in the knowledge of divine Persons and of divine love. For us it reaches on to very wonderful relationships that we have with divine Persons, including collective thoughts in a special way. Here it is individual; it says “he”, but then it says, “let us”. Verse 9 was in mind, “let us not lose heart in doing good.“ The oxen plods on and is not spectacular but it keeps going step after step and there is power in its movements, not only steadiness but power: it would not be easy to stop it. And so “let us not lose heart in doing good; for in due time, if we do not faint, we shall reap”. Now that is the test that comes in, “if we do not faint.” How are we going to be sustained in this path of doing good and sowing to the Spirit? Is there what is going to sustain us? The Spirit Himself would sustain us, and what our brother has been speaking about, the offerings that would build up what is in us that is priestly and levitical, wonderful food, an apprehension of the death of Christ and all His perfect humanity; there is so much to sustain us.
Something else that scripture teaches us that helps us not to faint is prayer; the prayer meeting is a very important meeting. The scripture in Isaiah says “they that wait on Jehovah shall renew their strength … they shall run, and not tire; they shall walk, and not faint”, chap 40: 31. That is, in the prayer meeting you can draw resources from God. Not only is it a question of presenting petitions, being together in our exercises and having some sense of divine care, but I believe that that is one of the features of the prayer meeting that is so important, that as in God’s presence and bringing out our exercises there is an impartation of divine strength. In the chapter in Isaiah there is the power of God alluded to, and then power in those that wait upon Him. So there is resource so that we should go on and not faint but continue in well doing and arrive at eternal life.
The milch kine in 1 Samuel 6 are simply an illustration. The Philistine used the kine and the cart to take the ark back. They could hardly stand before the ark. They had to send it back and they devised means to do it that God accepted. These two milch kine are very remarkable, because they were walking steadily on a path they did not want naturally. Their calves were shut up at home, and every natural instinct in them was to go back to find their calves, but they did not. They just kept on “by the one high way, lowing as they went”. They were feeling the matter. Negating the flesh, denying the flesh, is a hurtful matter. If you suffer in the flesh you have done with sin, 1 Pet 4: 1. It is a painful matter not to cater for the flesh, and you feel it, but these kine did that, they went “lowing as they went”. The ark was there, you see; the ark was in the cart. It might have been a Philistine device to take it back, but still God accepted it and the ark was there. I think the kine represent spiritual instincts, spiritual power in a believer as connected with Christ in the testimony, that they would go against nature and not turn to the right nor to the left. So these are very practical matters, dear brethren, but what we have already had tonight and what enters into these scriptures sets before us blessing and satisfaction; not satisfaction for the flesh or for our natural proclivities but satisfaction for these deep spiritual instincts and desires that have developed in us since God acted sovereignly in new birth. So that there is in the believer a longing, a desire after Christ, and after spiritual things. These scriptures help us as to the path that leads us to the satisfaction of these spiritual desires, the satisfaction of our souls, eternal life.
We did not read all of this; in fact the oxen end up as a sacrifice when they arrive and fulfil what is to be done. We sang at the beginning about the will of God which it has been given us to do, Hymn 411. It is what has been given us to do; so we do it. It might involve sacrifice, it will involve sacrifice, but then what an honour to be fulfilling what the Lord would give us to do. We get recompense presently, but there is a recompense that lies ahead and we should not forget that. It is not only what we reap now in the way of blessing, but there is going to be a recompense in future. The Lord is coming and His reward with Him (Rev 22: 12), and He would say to the faithful servant, “Well done, thou good bondman”, Luke 19: 17. What a thing to have before you, that you might receive that approbation of the Lord. Well these are practical things and they test us all but I believe they are the path of spirituality and blessing, so may we be helped to take that path for His Name’s sake.
Glasgow
13th October 2009