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For some time many have been influenced by the concept that the church life depends mainly on the young people. Those who are under the age of thirty may think that the Lord’s recovery is their kingdom, and the ones over the age of thirty may feel that they are useless and out of date. This concept is not accurate. In the Old Testament those under the age of thirty were not qualified to minister in or around the tabernacle, which is a type of the church today as the Lord’s testimony. Instead of being useless, those who are thirty and over are the ones most useful in caring for the tabernacle, for the church as the Lord’s testimony.
In the Lord’s move there are two main types of service: the service for the tabernacle and the fighting. Today we must, on the one hand, maintain a strong and living testimony; on the other hand, we need to fight the battle. For fighting the battle we need those under the age of thirty, but for maintaining the testimony we need those thirty and over.
Because in the past we did not make it clear about these two services, some were confused and thought there was only one service and that it depended solely on the young people. Therefore, I am concerned that we see these two categories of service in the Lord’s move. Today many of the young people are on the campuses fighting to gain ground for the Lord. The older ones, however, are maintaining the testimony. This is much more important than fighting.
Many of the middle-aged and older brothers and sisters have become dislocated or disjointed members. It seems that the fingers have been functioning but that the shoulders have been dislocated. I hope that through this chapter and the four chapters to follow, all the members will be put back in the proper location.
Various portions of the Old Testament speak of the different age groups among the Lord’s people (Exo. 30:12-16; Lev. 27:2-8; Num. 1:3; 4:3, 30, 46-49; 8:24-25). Because Exodus 30:12-16 deals with the matter of redemption, it makes no distinction among the age groups. From the standpoint of God’s redemption we are all the same; we are all sinners. In Exodus 30:14 the age of twenty signifies the ability to bear responsibility before God as a full-grown man. Everyone twenty years of age and older had to give the same offering to the Lord, half a shekel. This half-shekel, ten gerahs, fulfilled the requirements of the Ten Commandments. Each of the children of Israel paid a half-shekel of silver. Since a shekel is twenty gerahs, a half-shekel is ten gerahs. Thus, we once again have the number ten signifying human completion. God’s commandments for man are also ten. Ten commandments signify a full and complete demand on man. Because God’s people must bear the complete responsibility and have a complete fulfillment of God’s requirements, each must pay ten gerahs.
Exodus is a book of redemption, but Leviticus is a book of consecration. In redemption we all are the same, but in consecration there are differences. Leviticus 27:2-8 mentions various age groups: those from twenty to sixty, from five to twenty, from one month to five years, and those over sixty. In redemption everyone had the same value, half a shekel. In consecration, however, there are different evaluations for different ages. Among those from twenty to sixty the male was worth fifty shekels, and the female, thirty. Among those from five to twenty the male was worth twenty, and the female, ten. Among those from one month to five years the male was worth five, and the female, three. Finally, among those over sixty the male was worth fifteen, and the female, ten. Therefore, in Leviticus 27:2-8 there are four age levels, with the most valuable age being that between twenty and sixty. The testimony of the Lord depends mainly upon those in this age group. As we shall see, according to God’s scale, the most important age for His testimony is the age between thirty and fifty.
Following Leviticus we come to Numbers, a book of service. The Hebrew word service in Numbers 4:3 has the meaning of military service and thus refers to warfare. God viewed the children of Israel in the wilderness as an army fighting for His testimony. Apparently, the children of Israel were fighting for themselves. Actually, they were fighting for God’s testimony on earth, for among them was the Tabernacle of the Testimony, God’s dwelling place on earth. In this warfare there were two main functions: the function of fighting the enemies and the function of maintaining the tabernacle, which represented God’s testimony in the universe. Only those between the ages of thirty and fifty had the privilege of doing the work in and around the tabernacle. Those between twenty and thirty, however, were qualified for the military service, that is, for fighting the enemy. Numbers 1:3 says, “From twenty years old and upward, all who are able to go forth for military service in Israel, you and Aaron shall number them by their companies.” This indicates that those over the age of twenty were qualified for military service.
Numbers 4:3 says, “From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, all who enter into the service to perform the skilled work in the Tent of Meeting.” When the tabernacle was set up, those in this age group maintained it. When the children of Israel were traveling, those in this group also carried the various parts of the tabernacle and its utensils. Hence, those between the ages of twenty and thirty were the fighting ones, and those between the ages of thirty and fifty were the ones to maintain and carry the tabernacle.
Applying this type to today’s situation, we see that the young people are on the frontier fighting, but the older ones are at home maintaining the testimony. Maintaining the Lord’s testimony is more important than fighting. If there is no testimony, the young people are fighting in vain. Therefore, let us rise up and keep the testimony. Then the warfare in which the young people are engaged will be meaningful. The testimony today is the church. The middle-aged brothers and sisters must be those who set up the testimony, maintain it, and carry it from place to place. What a responsibility this is!
Numbers 8:24 mentions those who were twenty-five years of age. This was the age when one began his apprenticeship, not for fighting but for serving in the tabernacle. Probably no apprenticeship was necessary for fighting; however, in order to learn how to minister in the tabernacle, it was necessary to pass through an apprenticeship of several years in length. A great deal of learning was necessary for this ministry. The years of apprenticeship were necessary and practical. Every aspect of the service in the tabernacle had to be exact; no mistakes were tolerated. Therefore, those who served in and around the tabernacle had to be thoroughly trained to do things accurately. After a Levite had completed his five-year apprenticeship, he was qualified, at the age of thirty, to serve in the tabernacle.
Numbers 3:28 strangely mentions the male Levites “from a month old and upward,” indicating that they also were to keep the charge of the sanctuary. This verse reveals that even a very young one is useful in keeping the charge of the tabernacle. A baby a month old is, of course, not able to fight. However, he can help to keep the testimony.
Concerning the service or ministry in the tabernacle, there are three age groups in the book of Numbers: those between thirty and fifty, who were fully qualified to serve; those between twenty-five and thirty, who were engaged in an apprenticeship of five years to learn how to minister in the tabernacle; and those a month old and upward, who could keep the charge of the tabernacle. A baby a month old may not seem to be able to do anything, but he is a help for keeping the tabernacle. If a thousand little children were to surround our meeting hall, they would certainly be helping to keep it.
The service in Numbers is a picture of the church service. The church service does not depend mainly on the young people. For the service of the tabernacle, we need the little ones, from one month to twenty years of age; the apprentices, aged twenty-five to thirty; and those between the ages of thirty and fifty, who are fully qualified to serve. We need many more infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers, and those in elementary, junior high, and high school. We need a great many more in this age group to surround the tabernacle.
You may think that such young ones are useless for God’s testimony, but God’s economy is different from our natural concept. According to Numbers 3, God would use even the infants to protect His testimony. We need to follow God’s strategy. This means that we need more young ones from one month to twenty years of age, and we need enough older ones to take care of them. The churches in the Lord’s recovery need to become normal in this matter.
Among us there have been a number of brothers who were seeking eldership because of ambition. I am concerned that such a desire is still to be found in certain brothers today. Even the sisters may be ambitious for leadership. If you have this kind of ambition, you may be disappointed when someone else is made a leader. In the United States there is only one president. This does not mean, however, that of the more than two hundred million people in this country, there are none more intelligent or capable than the president. This country is maintained not only by the president but also by a great many other capable people. Although this illustration is not adequate, it may help us to see that in the church life we should not expect to be an elder or a leader. There are many ways to serve the Lord’s testimony.
In November 1975 all the elders and deacons in Taipei resigned, many of whom had held certain positions for more than twenty-five years. After they resigned, the church there was revived and became very living. That was a church with twenty-three thousand members and seventeen meeting halls. In Anaheim there are only several hundred brothers and sisters. For this number we do not need very many elders, but we do need more brothers and sisters to take care of the young ones and of so many practical matters. It is impossible for every brother to be an elder or for every sister to be a leading sister. Let us drop the preoccupation with leadership and devote our attention to taking care of the young ones. We need some sisters who do not care to be leaders but who are burdened to take care of the young people. What a shame to be ambitious for eldership and leadership!
We need those who are faithful to the Lord’s recovery. Such faithful ones are not preoccupied with leadership. Instead, they take care of the practicality of the church life. Where are the ones typified by the age group spoken of in Numbers 3:28? In today’s tabernacle of the Lord we are short of them. There is no need for you to wait for an elder to ask you to care for some young ones. Simply pick up the burden and come together with others to pray. Tell the Lord that you are willing to be burdened for the young ones and to take care of them.
Often we emphasize the need to function in the meetings, and we encourage all the saints to function. However, many who frequently give testimonies in the meeting function according to their eloquence, not according to the riches of Christ. We do not want testimonies of eloquence; we want testimonies of reality. Many of those who cannot speak eloquently feel useless in the meetings. They feel all the more useless when they consider that they are not elders or leaders of any kind. Hence, they are disappointed. Please forget about eldership and eloquence and begin to take care of the young ones.
We have seen that twenty-five was the age at which the Levites began their apprenticeship. We may also apply this to today’s situation. It is right that those under thirty be engaged in the fighting. However, when some reach the age of twenty-five, they should be willing to return to the tabernacle to learn how to care for the Lord’s testimony. Many have the aspiration to be elders, but along with this aspiration they need to be trained. Furthermore, the elders should have the burden to train others. There may be four elders in a locality, but there should be many more apprentices. However, some churches have been in existence for years, and yet no new elders have been produced there. For this reason we are short of leaders.
After the summer conference in 1964, many brothers in Los Angeles were eager to move to other localities for the practice of the church life. However, I told them that it was not yet the right time for them to go out and that they needed to stay in Los Angeles for a period of time. Most took this word and remained. Those who did go out experienced failure and returned a few months later. In 1967 a number again felt that it was time to start the church life in other places. However, in one of the meetings I suggested that they stay in Los Angeles until 1970 and then begin the migrations. The migrations in 1970, 1971, and 1972 were successful. But some of the migrations that took place in 1973 suffered because the leadership was not adequate. We had depleted the leadership that had been developed. Therefore, the decision was made to consolidate certain churches. By this we see that it is not sufficient simply to aspire to be an elder. There is the need of training. Only through training can a brother become a proper elder.
All those who are presently elders should have both the desire and the ability to train the apprentices. In Taipei we have always had a number of apprentices, those learning to be elders. At every elders’ training, several brothers, some still in their twenties, attended as learners.
We are short not only of elders but also of leaders in the church service. In the past there has been too much organization in the church service. We strongly disapprove of organization, but we welcome life and living function. We do not have an organization; we have an organism. If the service functions when there is organization but stops otherwise, this is an indicator that the church is not normal. Instead of organizing things, we should learn to take care of the young ones and to train the apprentices. Even in the church service there is the need of learning.
Whenever a matter pertaining to the service is put in your hand, do not organize anything. Instead, exercise your spirit to pray and to minister life to others. The best shepherding takes place in the context of the church service because all the leaders of the service groups spontaneously are shepherds. However, in practice many of the leaders have functioned as organizers, not as shepherds. It is easy to organize, but to shepherd requires considerable exercise of spirit, patience, and love. It also demands that we minister life to others, even to those who are not so open. Do not neglect the ones you regard as useless. It is your responsibility to care for them, to make them living, and to help them to grow in life. In other words, you need to make them useful. This does not come by organizing; it comes by praying, shepherding, nourishing, and ministering life to them with patience. Do not concentrate on the ones whom you think are the best. Instead, pay attention to the ones who seem to be useless ones, even the worldly ones. The right way is to care for a certain worldly one, ministering life to him until a transformation has taken place in him. This is not the way of organizing; it is the way of shepherding by praying and ministering life.
Some elders and co-workers still have the concept and attitude that they cannot do anything with those who do not seem to be promising. Sometimes I have asked the elders in certain places why they have not produced any useful ones. The reason for the lack is that they have not trained anyone. Forty years ago, in my hometown of Chefoo we trained the brothers and sisters. We were like carpenters making furniture. If we could not obtain the best wood, we used whatever wood was available, and if there was no wood, we used cardboard. Likewise, if we do not have the most qualified people, we should train the people we have. If a carpenter knows his trade, he will be able to make tables out of almost any material. We need to be like this in the Lord’s recovery.
We have seen that the Levites between the ages of thirty and fifty were the ones who bore the testimony. They were qualified both in age and in training. To bear the testimony is to have the actual church life. Neither the fighting on the frontier nor the taking care of the young ones is the direct service of the testimony, the direct church life. However, in order to keep the church life, we need both the fighting and the caring for the little ones. Those fighting on the frontier keep the enemy away, and the little ones, forming a wall around the tabernacle, maintain the testimony. But those typified by the Levites between the ages of thirty and fifty carry on the direct church life, and with them are a number of learners. A great many people are needed for the Lord’s testimony, all of whom are for the tabernacle either directly or indirectly. Presently, we are seriously lacking those who know how to care for the tabernacle in a fine way in order to carry the Lord’s testimony. In the Lord’s recovery we need a group of experienced ones who have been trained to bear the testimony.
We are not here as part of Christianity; neither are we here to be another denomination or independent group. We are the Lord’s recovery. For this we must be serious with the Lord and go on with Him according to our age. Then a strong testimony will be built up. There will be a clear testimony to the Christians, to the unbelievers, and to the principalities and powers in the air. We shall be able to testify to all that the Lord has fulfilled His prophecy in Matthew 16:18 concerning the building of the church. The clear picture of the type in the Old Testament helps us to see what we need today.
