We have seen many things regarding the entering of the good land. They are all related to the enjoyment of Christ, starting with the enjoyment of Him as the passover lamb to the enjoyment of Him as the Ark enlarged with the tabernacle, including the offerings and the priesthood. At this point in our experience, we are rather matured; thus, we are in the position to assume some responsibility. It is at this stage that we are able to function in the priesthood, which means that to a certain degree we can serve God.
Everything in the book of Exodus is presented in a progressive way. From the starting point of enjoying Christ as the passover lamb, the children of Israel went on until one day the tabernacle was reared up among them. It was then that they enjoyed Christ as the testimony of God, and at that stage they could take responsibility for God as priests. This is the book of Exodus.
Following Exodus, we come to Leviticus, where Christ is seen as so many offerings to be enjoyed. God’s people may thus enjoy Christ in a much fuller way than before. They can then bear the full responsibility of the priesthood and realize all the divine regulations concerning the holy life. We have seen that in Leviticus there are three portions: the first deals with the offerings, the second with the priesthood, and the last with the divine principles of the holy life.
After Leviticus, we come to Numbers. Most expositions and commentaries on this part of the Bible declare that Numbers is a book wholly occupied with the numbering and the wandering of the children of Israel. Apparently this is true, but in essence it is not. Although this element exists, yet principally and spiritually it is a book of glorious records. It is a book which records the formation of the divine army. Only at this point, after the experiences of Exodus and Leviticus, is it possible for the people of God to be formed into an army to fight the battle for Him. It is indeed glorious that a group of the Lord’s children could be formed into an army for the Lord on this earth. And it is further glorious that these very people are those who will take possession of the land. Those who are able to fight the battle for God are those who will divide and take possession of the land.
In the book of Numbers, the people of Israel were numbered twice. They were numbered the first time to be formed as an army to fight the battle. They were numbered the second time, not only as an army for the warfare, but also as a people to divide and inherit the good land. Those who share the land are those who fight the battle. In this book, therefore, we may realize not only the numberings or the wanderings but the glorious fact of being formed as an army and designated to inherit the good land.
What then is the way to possess the good land? It is not so simple. Let us enumerate and review the steps. First of all, we must enjoy Christ as the redeeming lamb. We must receive Christ as our Savior. We must pass the judgment of God. This is the first step. If we have done this, we can put a check here; the first item has been passed. What is the second step? We must leave Egypt and enjoy Christ as our daily manna, as our daily life supply. Of course, we cannot take food without drinking water, so at the same time we must enjoy Christ as the rock with the living water flowing forth. We enjoy the manna and we enjoy the rock with the living water. Do you have such an experience day by day? Many of you can boldly say that you do. Every day you enjoy Christ as your food and as your drink. Otherwise, you could not live, you could not go on, you could not maintain your life as a Christian. Day by day we must enjoy Christ as our daily food and our living water; we must have something to eat and something to drink. Whenever we meet in the morning, instead of greeting one another with “Good morning!” let us ask, “Have you eaten?” I do prefer such a greeting. Have you eaten this morning, brother? Have you drunk something this morning, sister? Some of you can answer that you have had three good meals today. Praise the Lord! We must tell people that day by day we are feeding on Christ. We are eating Christ and we are drinking Christ. If we have this experience, we can check this also.
Now let us come to the third. Do you have a tabernacle where you live? And do you enjoy Christ as the center, as the testimony of God among you? Do you really experience Christ as the manifestation and the explanation of God in a solid way, as well as the expansion of Christ, the tabernacle, as His real expression among you? Do you have this experience in the locality where you live? Do you have a tabernacle with such a Christ, not only as the lamb or as the daily manna, but as the testimony of God? Or is there some problem at this point? In other words, is there a group of people in your city who experience Christ as the manifestation of God with the increase of Himself, the church, as His real expression? What is your answer? Perhaps some are beginning to have this experience. If so, praise the Lord! Perhaps many must confess that they have nothing in this way.
The first item, of course, is easily passed. Concerning the second, there may be some doubt. With the third, however, there is a considerable problem. The experience of the Ark with the tabernacle is rare indeed. What then can we do? Brothers and sisters, we must pray. You who live together in a certain city must come together to pray for this matter. Pray that the Lord will reveal to you and cause you to experience Christ, the very testimony of God, as your center as well as the church, the enlargement of Himself, as His expression. This is not a teaching to be stored in your mind. You must realize your actual situation before the Lord and deal with Him about this matter. You must pray that a spiritual tabernacle be reared up where you are, that there will be a new beginning. This is not a small thing; it is an entirely new start. At a certain point, something new must be started among you. Formerly, all you have enjoyed has been Christ as the lamb, as the manna, and at the most as the rock with the living water. Now you must enjoy Christ in a new way, in a new stage, so that there will be a new start of the Spirit among you. You must come to “the first day of the first month...in the second year” that the tabernacle, the church, might be reared up (Exo. 40:2, 17). This is a new beginning in the second stage. You have already begun in the first year in the first stage. Now you must start the second year in the second stage. You must go on to have Christ as your center and the tabernacle as His expression raised up in your locality.
Let us come now to the fourth item. Suppose we have the tabernacle here. Then we must go on to experience Christ in a much richer way. We must experience Him as all the offerings—as the trespass offering, as the sin offering, as the peace offering, as the meal offering, and as the burnt offering.
The fifth item is the experience of Christ as the high priest so that we can assume the priesthood. What about this? Can you say that you have a real priesthood in your locality? Perhaps you have been able to check all the items so far. But can you check this one? This is a deeper experience.
The thought or line of the Holy Spirit in the record of the Scriptures is always progressive, is always improving. From the first to the second, to the third, to the fourth, and now to the fifth, there is a steady improving, solidifying, and deepening. But if most of you speak honestly before the Lord, you must confess that it is rather difficult to pass this fifth item. Not many groups of the Lord’s children ever realize the priesthood. Is there a priesthood in your city? Take time to consider all these items one by one. Then you will know where you are.
At the present time one can hardly find a group of the Lord’s people who have come to this stage, who have enjoyed Christ as the high priest to such an extent that they have taken up the priesthood. In our prayers we say, “O Lord, You are our high priest!” But this is just words; we do not have the experience. We have not experienced very much regarding Christ as the high priest, so we are not able to assume the priesthood. We must know what the priesthood means to us and to God.
Now we come to the sixth item. We must be formed into an army. This is a further development. We as a group of the Lord’s children must be formed into an army to fight the battle for Him on this earth. Oh, this is tremendous! If this strikes fear in you, you may turn back. This is indeed a matter of universal significance.
Brothers and sisters, you must take all these matters most seriously. You must pray together: “Lord, do we know something of experiencing You as the Ark, the testimony of God, with its expansion as Your expression?” Check with the Lord and learn by His grace to apply Christ in this very aspect. Then ask the Lord, “Do we have some experience of You as the high priest so that we are able to assume the priesthood among Your people?” By the grace of the Lord, learn it and experience it; apply Christ as the priesthood life.