We must realize why God said that this land was the rest for His people. The lamb was not the rest. The manna was not the rest. But the land is the rest. The people of Israel enjoyed the passover lamb, but they did not enter into rest. They enjoyed the manna day by day for forty years, but they still did not enter into rest. We know what rest is. Rest is something complete, something in full, something perfect. When you have everything, then you can really rest. Since the passover lamb was not the complete and perfect portion for God’s people, it was not the rest. It was good to a certain point, but it was not the rest. The manna too was good in a particular aspect, but it was not the full, the perfect, and the complete portion. Only the land was the rest to the people of God, because the land was the completion, the perfection, and the fullness. In the land you have everything; the land will satisfy you.
By Hebrews 3 and 4, we may realize that the land which was the rest to the people of Israel is the type of Christ. Christ is the rest because Christ is everything to us. Most of us are still not in the position to realize Christ as the all-inclusive One. We just know Him as our Savior, as our Redeemer, as our life, and as our way. Very few of us know Christ as everything to us. The land is the goal; the land is the aim; the land is the eternal purpose of God. Unless we are able to realize Christ as the land, we are lacking. We must see that there is much more than what we have experienced of Christ. We have only a little experience of Him. This is what burdens us very much in these days. We do believe the Lord is going to recover this.
Many times in the Old Testament this piece of land is called a good land. It is really remarkable. “I will bring you into a good land.” If you do not pay special attention to this, you will feel that it is just an ordinary statement. We are always saying that something is good; it becomes just an ordinary mode of description to us with no special significance attached to it. But when the Lord says that something is good, we must pay attention. This is not commonplace. And He says it over and over: a good land...a good land...a good land! It must really be good!
What is the goodness of this land? Since the Lord said that it is a good land, what then is its goodness? In the past most of us have not paid much attention to this matter. We have just taken it as the good land and let it go at that, not inquiring into the reason for its goodness.
It is rather difficult to fully define the goodness of this land. First of all, I will point out to you a rather peculiar definition. You have read it already. Exodus 3:8 says, “I am come...to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large” (ASV)—a large land. Mr. J. N. Darby informs us that it is better to translate the word large as “spacious.” It is a good and spacious land. It is good first of all in spaciousness.
You understand what spaciousness is. But can you describe the spaciousness of this land? Can you tell us the extent, the expanse, of Christ? In other words, do you know how big Christ is? Every one of us has a certain measurement, but what is the measurement of Christ? The apostle Paul gives it to us in Ephesians 3. The measurements of Christ are the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth. Can you tell how broad is the breadth, how long is the length, how high is the height, and how deep is the depth? If you asked me, I would have to say, “I don’t know. It is unlimited.” The breadth of Christ is the breadth of the universe. Christ is the breadth, Christ is the length, Christ is the height, and Christ is the depth of the whole universe. If the universe has a limit, that limit must be Christ. You can never measure the dimensions of Christ. This is the first item of the goodness of the land. The land is good in the unlimited measurement of Christ.
Now I would ask you, How can you apply this? Can you apply the measurement of Christ? Can you apply the breadth, the length, the height, and the depth? Let me illustrate. One day a sister came to me and said, “Brother, you know my family. You know that my husband is such and such a person.” “Yes,” I said, “I know, I know.” “And you know I have five children, and one more is coming—that will make six. I am still young, and I am afraid that after the sixth there may be more. Brother, I am concerned about this situation.” Then I asked her, “Sister, do you know how big Christ is?” She said, “Oh, brother, this is a strange question. I have never thought about that. What do you mean?” Then I brought her to realize that the Christ whom she had received is an unlimited Christ. But it is not easy to help people realize how great Christ is in a practical way. “Brother,” she said, “I know that the Lord is so great; I know it quite well.” So I said, “Sister, I am quite familiar with your problem, and I thank the Lord for what you have always experienced. Tell me, how have you been sustained, how have you been able to stand through all these years?” “Oh,” she replied, “it is the Lord! Without the Lord I could never have made it.” Then I said, “Sister, do you think the Lord is so limited? If the Lord could help you get through in the past years with one husband and five children, can He not help you make it with one or two children more? Is the Lord so small, so restricted?” Then she understood. “Brother, of course, the Lord is unlimited, the Lord is unlimited!” she exclaimed. I said, “Sister, good! As long as you know the Lord is unlimited, that is sufficient. Be at peace and cast all your burden upon Him. Take the Lord as your unlimited help.”
Another time a brother came to me and said, “Brother, my wife is such and such a person. I fear that matters will get worse and worse. I have been able to bear it until now, but if something else happens, I am afraid it will be too much for me; I will have a nervous breakdown. The very thought is unbearable.” Then I answered him in the same way as I did the sister. “Brother, how have you been able to manage during the past years?” “Oh, it was only by Christ!” he exclaimed. Then I said, “Brother, do you think the Lord is limited to this extent? If you would experience Him in a greater way, if you would experience a greater Christ, you must be ready to encounter a worse situation.” “Oh!” he cried, “That’s just what I am afraid of. It’s bad enough now. I would ask the Lord to stop right now!” “Well,” I told him, “if this is good enough, you can only know Christ to this extent. If you want to have an increasing experience of Christ, you must be ready to meet a worse situation day by day.”
Oh, brothers, by your experience you may realize the extent, the expanse, of Christ. By your experience you may realize the spaciousness of Christ. It is unlimited. Christ is good in His unlimitedness.