We have seen that the land is rich first in waters, second in vegetables and plants, third in animals, and last in mines or minerals. There are four categories. Let us consider their order—it is very meaningful and very spiritual.
We must have water first; otherwise, the plants cannot grow. Without water, plants and vegetables can never exist and never grow. So water brings in the vegetables and the plants.
In 1958 we went to the physical land of which we are speaking, the land of Palestine. After staying in Jerusalem for a few days, we went to see Jericho, that cursed city. Jerusalem is built on a mountain, from three to four thousand feet above sea level, and the valley of Jericho, where the Dead Sea is located, is six to seven hundred feet below sea level. So from Jerusalem to Jericho’s “Death Valley,” we went down, down, down—a drive of about three hours. When we arrived at the bottom of that valley, it was like a furnace. Oh, the heat! And there was no breeze! It was a burning, barren wilderness—just heat and dust. We went immediately to see the remains of the ancient city of Jericho in the midst of that bleak and arid scene, and just outside the city, to our delight, was water, a spring of water. It was the very water that was healed by the prophet Elisha, and because of this we were very interested in seeing it. There it was—a spring, a fountain bubbling up, and a stream flowing forth. Following the water with our eyes, we could see at a distance, in the midst of that wild valley, a place of green grass, palm trees, and many other kinds of trees. It was beautiful. You see, there were the spring, the fountain, the stream flowing forth, and then a land full of green.
The Holy Spirit put the water first. The spring, the fountain, and the stream bring in all kinds of plant and vegetable life.
Then what do the cattle feed upon? They feed upon the vegetables, upon the plant life. So you see the order: first the waters, then the vegetables, then the animals. After these three, the Spirit turns to something else—to the stones and to the mountains, out of which the iron and the copper come.
Brothers and sisters, we must be deeply impressed with this order. It corresponds one hundred per cent with the stages of the spiritual life.
In the first stage of the spiritual life, we experience Christ as the living water. Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). This is the gospel for the sinners. Come and drink, and you will be filled; your thirst will be quenched. When we come to the Lord, we experience Him as the living water, as the living stream. By continuing in this experience we are brought further. We are told that from the throne of God and of the lamb, there flows a river of living water, and in this river grows the tree of life. The living water brings us the supply of Christ as food. By experiencing Christ as the living water, you will find growing in this water different kinds of plants; you experience Christ as your food supply. With the flowing of the living water is the bread of life, the food of life. This means that you not only experience the waters but also the supply of Christ as different kinds of food. All these kinds of food will bring you to maturity; they will bring you to the place where you are filled with the Holy Spirit. You will be an olive tree before the Lord, a son of oil.
At this point you are mature. Your experience of Christ is so rich and sweet, just as milk and honey. What is honey? Honey is the cream of all the plant life. And what is milk? Milk is the cream of all the animal life. Milk and honey are the cream of all the food supply. Sometimes when you are weak in spirit and you taste a little of Christ, you sense how rich and sweet He is. You have enjoyed just a little of Christ as milk and honey. But when you are really mature in the life of Christ, Christ will be just as milk and honey to you through the whole day. When you first come to receive Christ, you feel that you are drinking the living water, but when you are matured in Christ, you feel day by day that you are drinking milk and honey. He is so sweet and so rich to you. Of course, the living water is included in the milk and honey, but this drink is exceedingly richer than water.
The first time I came to America, I received a deep impression. I was thirsty and asked the brother with whom I was staying for something to drink. I asked him if he had a teapot, and he replied that he was sorry, but he had no teapot. I exclaimed, “Is America so poor? You don’t even have a teapot!” Where I come from, we have all kinds and sizes of teapots. Then I asked him if he had some thermos bottles of water. He replied that he had none of them either. “What is the matter?” I thought. Then to my surprise he gave me a cup of milk, saying, “Brother, here in America we drink milk instead of water. Every day, morning, noon, and evening, we drink milk.” I was much impressed. I said, “Oh, you are really rich in this country! You are so rich that instead of water, you drink milk!”
The first experience of Christ is that of living water, but after growing in Him and maturing in life, a certain point is reached where Christ is not only the living water, but the flowing of milk and honey. You must notice the order. The Holy Spirit put honey at the end of the list of the vegetables, and He put the milk and butter after the cattle and the flock, the animals. This means that if you enjoy Christ to a certain extent as the plant life, you will enjoy Him as honey. And if you enjoy Him to a certain extent as the animal life, you will feel that He is just as the milk. He will be so rich and sweet to you. This means that you are somewhat mature.
Now we come to the last stage, the stage of the minerals. We come to the place where we have something to do with the stones, the mountains, the iron, and the copper. What are these for? They are for the building, for the kingdom, for the battle, and for the security. Whenever there is a matured life in Christians, the building of God’s house will take place and the battles of the spiritual warfare will be fought. In other words, when there are believers who are matured by experiencing Christ, with them the house of God is built and by them the battle is fought. We must be very clear that whenever we enjoy Christ to a certain extent, there is always an issue—the building and the battle. These two always go together. If you would have the building of God, you must prepare to fight. For the building of God we need the materials, and for the fighting of the battle we need the weapons. All these depend on the stones, the mountains, the iron, and the copper.
We must remember that upon the land, the city and the temple are built, and they are built with these very materials—stones, iron, and copper. These minerals signify that there is something in the life of Christ as materials for the building of God and as weapons for the fighting of the battle. All these things are still something of the riches of the life of Christ.
Whether or not we have arrived at this stage depends upon the measure of our experience of Christ. If we just enjoy Christ as the living water day by day, we can never reach the point where the building of God will be realized among us. We are still very young. We must enjoy Christ as the living water, as the wheat, as the barley, as this and as that. We must enjoy Christ to a certain extent; then there will be a building for the Lord and the battle with the enemy.
Sometimes you meet a brother or a sister, and you feel that he or she is quite good, but there is something short, there is a real lack. It is not that they are sinful; on the contrary, they are upright with the Lord and their attitude is positive. But deep in your spirit you sense a lack. You can hardly explain it; it is difficult to find the right word. Perhaps you could say that they are a little limp, a little soft. I believe you know what I mean. They are just like a piece of bread. The bread is good and wholesome, but how soft and limp it is. Or they could be compared to a cup of milk. The milk is good and rich, but it is only liquid and as weak as liquid. Now take a stone, or a piece of iron or copper—oh, here is something strong! But these people are not like that. It seems that they are not a stone, and no iron or copper is in them. You cannot fight with milk as a weapon. You cannot do battle with a piece of bread or go to war with a fig. How ridiculous! You must have some iron or copper; you must have something of strength. You cannot build a house with milk. You cannot pile up loaves of bread and have a building. You must have stones; you must have building materials. Furthermore, you must have a mountain from which you may quarry the materials and upon which you may build the house.
Sometimes when I meet one of the Lord’s servants, I have the feeling that I am meeting a mountain. I cannot tell how rich, how strong, how solid, and how secure he is. He is just like a mountain. When he is sitting there, a mountain is there. You cannot beat him. If you attempt it, you will be beaten by him. This is a mountain, this is a hill. You cannot deal with him; you have to be dealt with by him.
This is the last stage of the spiritual life. It is quite possible for you to come to this point. It is quite possible for you to be a stone among the children of God, a pillar in the church. Can you use bread for pillars? Can you pile up grapes for pillars? No, you cannot do that. You can make a pillar of stone, of iron, or of bronze—that will be quite adequate. The building of God requires the stone, the iron, the copper, and the mountain. All these materials are related to the building of God and, as we will show later, to the kingdom of God.