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Scripture Reading: Exo. 3:13-15; Rev. 1:4-5; John 8:24, 28, 58; Mal. 1:2; Rom. 9:10-13; 8:28-29; Eph. 3:17-19; Rev. 21:1-23; Gen. 12:8; 13:18; 18:1; 26:17, 25; 33:18; 35:21; Heb. 11:9-10
I. Jehovah Elohim (Gen. 2:4-22) — Exo. 3:15:
А. The self-existing and ever-existing Triune God — vv. 13-14.
B. The Triune God who was, who is, and who is to be — Rev. 1:4-5.
C. The great eternal I Am, the I Am Who I Am — Exo. 3:14; John 8:24, 28, 58.
D. The complete Triune God of the three sections of the life of a corporate person:
1. God the Father who loves man and chooses man, in the section of Jacob — Mal. 1:2; Rom. 9:10-13.
2. God the Father who calls man, justifies man, and equips man to live by faith and live in fellowship with Him, in the section of Abraham — Gen. 12:1; 15:6 chs. 17—18; 19:29; 21:1-13; 22:1-18.
3. God the Son who blesses man with the inheritance of all His riches, with a life of the enjoyment of His abundance, and with a life in peace, in the section of Isaac — 25:5; 26:3-4, 12-33.
4. God the Spirit who works in all things for the good of His lovers, transforms man, and makes man mature in the divine life so that man may be able to bless all the people, to rule over all the earth, and to satisfy all the people with God the Son as the life supply, in the section of Jacob with Joseph — 27:41; 28:1—35:10; chs. 37, 39—49; Rom. 8:28-29.
II. The Triune God’s preparation for the carrying out of His eternal economy:
А. Initiating it in a man (Adam) — Gen. 1:1—11:26.
B. Issuing in three persons — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — v. 27—50:26.
C. Resulting in one people — Israel — Exo. — Mal.
D. To bring forth Christ the God-man, the complete God mingled with the perfect man — Matt. 1.
E. For the producing of the Body of Christ — Eph. 1—4.
F. As the organism of the processed and consummated Triune God — 3:17-19.
G. Consummating in the New Jerusalem — Rev. 21:1-23:
1. The eternal enlargement (cf. John 3:30) of Christ the God-man.
2. The eternal mingling of the Triune God with the tripartite man.
3. The mutual dwelling of God and man:
а. The redeemed to be the tabernacle for the dwelling of God — Rev. 21:3.
b. The redeeming God to be the temple for the dwelling of the redeemed — v. 22.
4. To express the processed and consummated Triune God in His nature and glory — vv. 18b, 21b, 10-11, 23.
5. In the redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified tripartite man for eternity — vv. 12-21a.
III. The God of the tabernacle:
А. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:
1. All of them living in a tent — Gen. 12:8; 13:18; 18:1; 26:17, 25; 33:18; 35:21; Heb. 11:9.
2. Eagerly waiting for the eternal tabernacle of God, the city of New Jerusalem — Heb. 11:10; Rev. 21:2-3.
B. The Triune God embodied in the Son being incarnated to be His tabernacle on the earth:
1. As the individual God-man Jesus — Matt. 1:21-23.
2. Consummating in the corporate New Jerusalem:
а. As the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles in the millennium — Lev. 23:34, 39-43; Rev. 2:7b.
b. As the full enjoyment of the processed and consummated Triune God in eternity — Rev. 22:14, 19.
In this chapter we want to see the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Exodus 3:15 this divine title was spoken by God Himself when He told Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial from generation to generation” (cf. vv. 6, 16; Matt. 22:31-32).
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is Jehovah Elohim (Gen. 2:4-22; Exo. 3:15). Genesis 1 uses only the title Elohim for “God,” not Jehovah. In Genesis 2 God’s title becomes Jehovah Elohim. Elohim means “the faithful mighty One.” God is faithful and mighty. Jehovah means “He who was, who is, and who is to be.” Genesis 2:4-22 repeatedly mentions Jehovah Elohim, a divine title indicating God’s relationship with His elect.
Jehovah as the great I Am is the self-existing and ever-existing Triune God (Exo. 3:13-14). He is self-existing, without beginning, and ever-existing, without ending. The beginning and ending in the whole universe is God. God is the beginning, the Alpha, and He is the ending, the Omega (Rev. 22:13).
Revelation 1:4 speaks of “Him who is and who was and who is coming.” In the past He was, in the present He is, and in the future He is to be. From eternity to eternity Jehovah is the One who exists, so He is the One who was, who is, and who is to be.
Jehovah Elohim, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the great eternal I Am, the I Am Who I Am (Exo. 3:14; John 8:24, 28, 58). As the I Am, He is eternal. In John 8 the Lord Jesus mentioned three times that He is the I Am. In John 8:24 He said, “Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.” In verse 28 He said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am.” Finally, in verse 58 He said, “Before Abraham came into being, I am.” Strictly speaking, the English grammar in verse 58 is wrong. To keep the correct grammar, the Lord should have said, “Before Abraham came into being, I was,” but the Greek text uses the present tense. Christ is the great I Am who, as the eternal, ever-existing God, was before Abraham. He is the eternal I Am, the I Am Who I Am.
The book of Genesis reveals the complete Triune God of the three sections of the life of a corporate person. Genesis does not consider Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as three separate persons but as one complete corporate person with three sections.
Our God is the God of three particular persons — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. In the final chapters of Genesis another person is mentioned, by the name of Joseph. Among the elect of God, four persons are covered in Genesis — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, but the Bible does not consider Joseph as a separate person. His life was actually the continuation and consummation of Jacob’s life. Jehovah is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Triune God.
We see God the Father loving man and choosing man in the section of Jacob (Mal. 1:2; Rom. 9:10-13). Jacob is the last of the three, yet he is used by God to signify the Father in His loving and choosing man. Malachi 1:2 says that God loved Jacob, and Romans 9:10-13 says that God selected Jacob, choosing him even before he was born.
In the section of Abraham, we see God the Father who calls man, justifies man, and equips man to live by faith and live in fellowship with Him (Gen. 12:1; 15:6 chs. 17—18; 19:29; 21:1-13; 22:1-18). Genesis 12:1 shows us the Father’s calling, and 15:6 reveals His justification. Chapter 17 shows us how God equipped Abraham to live a life by faith. Then chapter 18 reveals how God made Abraham to live a life in fellowship with Him. It is a chapter of fellowship between God and His human friend, Abraham.
The section of Isaac represents God the Son, the second of the Triune God, who blesses man with the inheritance of all His riches, with a life of the enjoyment of His abundance, and with a life in peace (25:5; 26:3-4, 12-33).
In the section of the life of Jacob with Joseph, we see God the Spirit who works in all things for the good of His lovers. This is based upon Romans 8:28, which says, “All things work together for good to those who love God.” According to the context of this verse, the good here is not related to physical persons, matters, or things. It refers to our gaining more of Christ, to our having Him wrought into our being so that we may be transformed metabolically and may eventually be conformed to His image, the image of the firstborn Son of God (v. 29), that is, that we may be brought into the full sonship.
Romans 8:28 says that all things work together for our good, but we need to see that it is actually the Spirit who works in all things. In the church in Shanghai many years ago, I gave an illustration of how the Spirit works in all things for our good. This illustration was concerning a sister who loved her long gowns much more than she loved God. One day she dressed herself with the best long gown, but right after she went out the door, a dog came by, splattered mud on her gown, and the gown was spoiled. The dog surely did not know the time that she was coming out with the best long gown, but the Spirit knew. The Spirit can direct anything in our environment and work in all persons, all matters, and all things to cause them to work together for good to us so that we may be transformed and conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God.
Brother Watchman Nee called this the discipline of the Spirit (see chapter 15 of Watchman Nee — a Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age). We are daily passing through the discipline of the Spirit. All persons and situations related to us are being arranged by the Spirit of God to match His work within us so that we may be conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God. The Spirit as the third of the Divine Trinity works in all things for the good of His lovers. The sister with the long gown loved God, but she loved her long gowns more than God. Thus, the Spirit worked in her environment to discipline her so that she might be transformed and matured.
In the life of Jacob with Joseph, we see that the Spirit transforms man and makes man mature in the divine life so that man may be able to bless all the people, to rule over all the earth, and to satisfy all the people with God the Son as the life supply (Gen. 27:41; 28:1—35:10; chs. 37, 39—49; Rom. 8:28-29). Without Joseph the life of Jacob could have never been completed. The life of Joseph was the completion of the life of his father. It was in his old age that Jacob blessed all the people, and his old age was at the time when his son Joseph was ruling in power. Jacob lived in such a way in his old age because of his son Joseph. Whatever Jacob did and whatever Jacob was in his old age were fully due to his son Joseph. Jacob with Joseph blessed all the people, ruled over all the earth, and supplied the whole earth with food. This is in typology. In actuality this refers to God in Christ. God in Christ is the food supply to all the earth. Joseph distributed this food supply, but Joseph was the reality of his father. Thus, Jacob did this with Joseph. The end of Jacob’s life with Joseph shows us the maturity in the divine life through the working of God the Spirit.
In the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as a corporate person, we can see someone who was loved, chosen, called, and justified by God and made to enjoy all the riches of Christ. Also, this one was destined to live a struggling life, a suffering life. Last, through all these sufferings this one was transformed by the Spirit and matured in the divine life. When he was old, he knew only to bless people, to reign for God, and to distribute God as the life supply.
Every day we are suffering ones and enjoying ones. On the one hand, we are enjoying Christ. On the other hand, we are experiencing sufferings. Christ is ministering all His riches to us, whereas the Spirit is always working in all things to discipline us. If we do not behave in the Spirit, the things we have can become instruments used by the Spirit to deal with us. If a brother has many suits and loves these suits more than he loves God, these suits can be used by the Spirit to trouble him. In a physical sense, it is more convenient for a brother to have a number of suits so that he can dress appropriately. But if he does not behave in the Spirit, these suits can become more instruments used by the Spirit to deal with him. Whatever we have can be used by the Spirit to trouble us. This works together for our good, the good of being conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God.
The many things that Jacob had were used to trouble him. Jacob had four wives, and these wives became a suffering to him. The married brothers know that even to have one wife is sufficient for being troubled by the Spirit. The Spirit uses the wives to trouble the brothers for their transformation. All persons, all matters, and all things related to us are the means of the Holy Spirit to work good for us so that we can be loaded with good (Psa. 68:19a), with the Triune God Himself. This is the way the Holy Spirit transforms us, and this is the way we can become mature in the divine life. Eventually, through the transforming work of the Spirit to make us mature, we will be those who bless others. Today God uses all persons, things, and matters to trouble us so that we can become mature in the divine life to bless all the people.
Eventually, we will not be those who are complaining and condemning others. We will know only how to stretch out our hands to bless others as Jacob did in his old age (Gen. 47:7, 10 ch. 48; 49:1-28). When Jacob became old, his unique job was to bless people. Blessing people was his profession. When you can bless people, surely you have the scepter, the authority, to rule. Then when you can rule, you will be able to distribute all the riches of God as the food supply to others. In Jacob’s old age we see the maturity of one of God’s elect. The book of Genesis selected three persons to be one complete person with three sections to reveal the complete Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
The entire Old Testament was the Triune God’s preparation for the carrying out of His eternal economy. We may wonder why there are so many stories and events recorded in the Old Testament. The events in the life of Jacob are very peculiar. He and his twin brother Esau were struggling with each other even within their mother’s womb (25:22-23). Then Jacob struggled with his brother to come out of the womb as the first, and he was holding his brother’s heel at birth (vv. 24-26). Later, he bought the birthright from his brother for a bowl of soup (vv. 27-34). Then he cheated his father to obtain the blessing of the firstborn son (ch. 27). Because of the threatening of Esau, he was forced to leave his father, his loving mother, his home, and his country. Then as he traveled to his uncle Laban’s house, he was forced to sleep in the open air.
When he arrived at his uncle Laban’s home, his cousin Rachel met him and he wept due to his long, lonely journey (29:1-14). He had to serve under an uncle who was always trying to deceive him. Laban promised Jacob that if he would serve him for seven years, he would give him his daughter Rachel. But when his seven years were completed, he gave Jacob his daughter Leah. He made Jacob agree to serve another seven years so that he could marry Rachel. Eventually, Jacob took the handmaids of Leah and Rachel as his wives. He married four wives and begot eleven sons by fourteen years of hard labor and much grinding under his wives (29:15—30:24). Laban was subtle, but Jacob was even more subtle. Jacob eventually became rich by deceiving his uncle Laban with his subtle skill (30:25-43). Later, Jacob wrestled with God (32:24-32).
Many things related to the life of Jacob are very strange. When we read the strange occurrences in the life of Jacob, we may wonder why they are recorded in the holy Word. We need to realize that the life of Jacob was part of the Triune God’s preparation for the carrying out of His eternal economy. Without all these things that happened in the Old Testament, Christ could never have been born; God could never have become flesh to be a man through His incarnation. The history in the entire Old Testament is God’s preparation for the carrying out of His eternal economy.
This preparation for the carrying out of God’s eternal economy was initiated in a man (Adam) (1:1—11:26).
This initiation eventually issued in three persons — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v. 27—50:26).
These three persons resulted in one people — Israel (Exo. — Mal.). In the Triune God’s preparation for the carrying out of His eternal economy, there was first one man, then three persons, and finally a collective people.
This preparation was for bringing forth Christ the God-man, the complete God mingled with the perfect man (Matt. 1). The thirty-nine books of the Old Testament are not books of waste. They are books that reveal the preparation to bring forth Christ the God-man. Matthew 1 speaks of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham (v. 1). Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers (v. 2). Eventually, Jesus who is called Christ was born of Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph (v. 16). The God-man was brought forth for the accomplishment of God’s New Testament economy. The incarnation was the start of the New Testament, the first step of God’s actual move on the earth.
The bringing forth of Christ was for the producing of the Body of Christ (Eph. 1—4).
This Body of Christ is the organism of the processed and consummated Triune God (3:17-19).
The Body of Christ as the organism of the processed and consummated Triune God will consummate in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:1-23). This consummation, the New Jerusalem, is the eternal enlargement (cf. John 3:30) of Christ the God-man. Then this enlargement is the eternal mingling of the Triune God with the tripartite man and also the mutual dwelling of God and man. The redeemed will be the tabernacle for the dwelling of God (Rev. 21:3), and the redeeming God will be the temple for the dwelling of the redeemed (v. 22) to express the processed and consummated Triune God in His nature and glory (vv. 18b, 21b, 10-11, 23) in the redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified tripartite man for eternity (vv. 12-21a).
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of the tabernacle.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each lived in a tent (Gen. 12:8; 13:18; 18:1; 26:17, 25; 33:18; 35:21; Heb. 11:9). It is significant that the Bible does not say that Joseph lived in a tent. This shows that Joseph was a part of the life of Jacob. While Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were living in tents, they were eagerly waiting for the eternal tabernacle of God, the city of New Jerusalem (Heb. 11:10; Rev. 21:2-3). The tent in which they lived was a type of the New Jerusalem as the coming reality, the eternal tent. They were living in a type, eagerly waiting for the reality, the New Jerusalem.
The Triune God embodied in the Son was incarnated to be His tabernacle on the earth. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (John 1:14). That man was a tabernacle. He was God becoming a man, a God-man. By His incarnation He mingled God with man. This person as the mingling of God with man is God’s tabernacle. By incarnation God eventually became our dwelling, making us His dwelling, a mutual abode of God and man.
The tabernacle of God was first the individual God-man Jesus (Matt. 1:21-23). The individual God-man Jesus as the tabernacle of God consummates in the corporate New Jerusalem. This corporate New Jerusalem will be the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles in the millennium (Lev. 23:34, 39-43; Rev. 2:7b). The Feast of Tabernacles was the last feast of the year for the Israelites. In the millennium Christ will be the reality of that feast as the full enjoyment of the processed and consummated Triune God in eternity (Rev. 22:14, 19). Christ in eternity will be such a full enjoyment for us to enjoy God as our eternal portion.
In eternity future the New Jerusalem will be the enlargement of Christ, the eternal mingling of God with man, and the mutual abode of God and man. Revelation 21 says that the New Jerusalem will be the tabernacle of God for God to dwell in and that God will be the temple for His elect to dwell in. Therefore, the upcoming New Jerusalem will be a mutual abode for the redeeming God and for His redeemed to express the processed Triune God mingled with the regenerated, transformed, and glorified tripartite man. This is the ultimate consummation of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with Joseph.
