In order that we may be deeply impressed with these conditions, especially with the sequence in which they are presented, let me say a further word concerning them. Not only is every condition meaningful, but the sequence of the five conditions is particularly meaningful. The first condition is that of redeeming the firstling of a donkey with a lamb. This indicates that if we would enjoy the Lord, we need to realize that we are “donkeys,” that we are poor beasts under the load of a heavy burden. Furthermore, as donkeys we are unclean. According to Leviticus 11, a donkey is listed among the unclean animals. We have seen that the donkey here signifies our natural life and natural being. We cannot enjoy the Lord with our natural being. If we remain unclean beasts under a heavy burden, we cannot have the enjoyment of Christ as the feasts, and we cannot rest with Him. Therefore, our natural life needs to be replaced. Concerning this matter, the New Testament is full of light. The natural life has been crucified on the cross. Now it must be rejected and fully abandoned by us in our Christian life.
According to the sequence, the next condition is that, as redeemed ones, we should not mix the redeeming blood with a sinful life. If we intend to enjoy the Lord, we must stay away from leaven.
It is logical that this condition is second and not first. It would not make sense to first require that we not mix the redeeming blood with leaven and then go on to require that our natural life be replaced. The proper sequence is that first our natural life is replaced with Christ. Then after this replacement, we must learn to stay away from sinful things. This is to fulfill the condition of not mixing the redeeming blood with leaven.
The third condition is that we enjoy our present portion of Christ to the uttermost and not leave any part of it for the next age. However, very few of today’s Christians exhaust the enjoyment of their portion of Christ. Not many Christians, including us, enjoy Christ to the uttermost.
As an illustration of the third condition, we may speak of a mother who tells her little child to finish his food, to clean his plate. She may say to him, “I want you to finish your food. Clean your plate. If you don’t finish what you have, I won’t give you anything else to eat.” Certain mothers are strong with their children regarding this. But some mothers are too lenient and easily let their children have their way. They may give a child something to eat, and if he does not like it, they will offer him something else instead. However, other mothers will insist that the children eat what they have before they give them something else. I believe this illustrates the way God would train us to enjoy Christ today. He may say, “Finish what I have already given you of Christ. If you do not enjoy the portion you have now, I will not give you anything else. You must exhaust your portion of Christ today.”
The next condition in the sequence is that as we enjoy our portion of Christ in a full way, we should reserve the topmost portion, the firstfruit, for God’s enjoyment and satisfaction. We should bring this topmost portion of our enjoyment of Christ to God’s house for His satisfaction.
The last condition is that we should not kill any believers, especially young ones, in the sphere of the life supply. The milk in 34:26 indicates the sphere of the life supply. As we are enjoying Christ to the uttermost and offering God something of Christ for His satisfaction, we should be careful to avoid killing others. We should never boil a kid in its mother’s milk.
These five conditions describe the actual experience of the enjoyment of the Lord. I came to understand these conditions through my experience in the Christian life. Through my experience I see that in my natural life I am a donkey and that I need to be replaced. I also see that I need to stay away from leaven, that I need to be obedient to the requirement to enjoy Christ today, that I need to have the topmost experience of the enjoyment of the Lord for God’s satisfaction, and that I must not commit any kind of spiritual killing in the sphere of the life supply. I believe that many of us can testify that what is signified by these five conditions corresponds to our spiritual experience.