Message 10
In this message we need to see the complete view of God’s call of Moses. According to chapters three and four of Exodus, this call covers five points: the burning thorn-bush, the revelation of who God is and of what God is, the purpose of God’s calling, the three signs, and Aaron’s matching and Zipporah’s cutting. We shall consider the purpose of God’s calling in the next message; in this message we shall look at the other four aspects of God’s calling.
Firstly, Moses saw the vision of a thorn-bush that burned without being consumed. Such a vision was unique. After Moses beheld the burning thorn-bush, God revealed Himself to him. The unveiling of God’s name was actually the revelation of God Himself. No other portion of the Word affords us as clear and profound a revelation of the divine name as the third chapter of Exodus. God said to Moses that His name was “I AM THAT I AM.” This indicates that God’s name here is a form of the verb to be. Revelation 1:8 says that the Lord God is “He who is, and who was, and who is coming.” Furthermore, God told Moses that He was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. This title reveals that God is not only the God of being, of existence, but that He is also the God of resurrection.
In chapter four Moses was given three signs: the sign of the rod becoming a serpent, the sign of the hand becoming leprous, and the sign of the water becoming blood. Toward the end of this chapter he received the male help and the female help. The male help, afforded by Aaron, was the matching, and the female help, provided by Zipporah, was the cutting. This cutting caused Moses to be a “bloody husband,” a man under the sentence of death. Only after Moses had received these two kinds of help was God’s calling of him complete. By then Moses was useful to the Lord and was fully prepared to carry out God’s commission. If we see this complete view of God’s calling, a view that reaches from the vision of the burning thorn-bush to Zipporah’s cutting, we shall be deeply impressed.
When Moses was called by God, he saw the great sight of a burning thorn-bush. We have pointed out that the burning thorn-bush refers to God’s redeemed people. Once we were thorns under the curse in Genesis 3, but in Exodus 3 we are a redeemed thorn-bush. Now God is burning within us and upon us. This burning thorn-bush is both the children of Israel in the Old Testament and the church in the New Testament. In the church today there are still “thorns”; the church is not yet precious stone. Nevertheless, we praise the Lord that we are undergoing the process of transformation.
In Deuteronomy 33:16 Moses spoke of God as the One who dwelt in the thorn-bush. This word was uttered when Moses was one hundred twenty years of age, forty years after he had seen the vision of the burning thorn-bush. Moses never forgot that vision, even after the tabernacle had been built and God had come to dwell in it. In Deuteronomy 33:16 why did not Moses speak of the good will of “Him who dwelt in the tabernacle”? I believe that for Moses to speak of God dwelling in the tabernacle would not have been as sweet as it was for him to speak of God dwelling in the thorn-bush. I believe that even when we are in the New Jerusalem we shall recall how we once were a thorn-bush indwelt by God. How marvelous that a thorn-bush can be God’s dwelling place on earth today!
All the way from Exodus 3 through Revelation 21 we can trace the line concerning God’s dwelling place. God’s ultimate goal is to obtain a dwelling place. This means that God’s eternal purpose is to build up His habitation. In Genesis we have the revelation of the house of God at Bethel, but we do not have the actual building of the house of God. At the beginning of Exodus God dwelt in the thorn-bush, but at the end of the book He dwelt in the tabernacle. The tabernacle with the ark thus became the focal point of the history of the children of Israel. Eventually, the tabernacle was enlarged into the temple.
The Lord Jesus came both as God’s tabernacle (John 1:14) and as God’s temple (John 2:19). The church today is also the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16). Ultimately, this temple will consummate in the New Jerusalem, which will be God’s temple in eternity.
In the beginning God’s dwelling place was a redeemed thorn-bush, but gradually this thorn-bush is being sanctified, transformed, conformed, and even glorified. The tabernacle is an illustration of transformation. In the tabernacle there was acacia wood overlaid with gold and also linen embroidered with golden thread. Both the acacia wood and the linen signify humanity, and the gold signifies divinity. Such an overlaid and embroidered humanity is a transformed humanity. In Exodus 3 God’s dwelling was a thorn-bush, but in Exodus 40 His dwelling was the tabernacle made of humanity overlaid by and interwoven with divinity.
Both the thorn-bush and the tabernacle are symbols. God’s actual dwelling place was neither the physical thorn-bush nor the tabernacle; it was His people. After the children of Israel had been dealt with by God, they became acacia wood overlaid with gold and also linen embroidered with golden thread. The church today is the fulfillment of this type. At present the church may be a redeemed thorn-bush. However, the day is coming when we shall be gold, pearl, and precious stone. Praise the Lord for the marvelous vision of God’s dwelling place! This vision covers God’s habitation from the initial stage, the stage of the thorn-bush, to the consummate stage, the stage of the New Jerusalem.
When Moses was called by God, he saw the holy fire burning within the thorn-bush. When Paul was called, he saw the same vision, at least in principle. He saw the Triune God burning within His redeemed ones. Through this divine burning, the holy fire was one with the thorn-bush, and the thorn-bush was one with the fire, which is the Triune God Himself. Today God the Father in the Son and the Son as the Spirit have come down upon us as fire. The Lord Jesus once said that He came to cast fire upon the earth (Luke 12:49). On the day of Pentecost the Spirit came in the form of tongues of fire. Today the Lord is still casting fire upon the earth. This holy fire, this divine burning, has captured us, and now we are part of the thorn-bush that is burning with the Triune God. The Triune God is burning within and upon the church He has chosen and redeemed. Thus, the church is the Triune God burning within a redeemed humanity. This is the divine economy (1 Tim. 1:4, Gk.).
This economy was revealed to Paul (Eph. 3:3-5, 9). It is, in fact, the focus of the divine revelation. Moses saw this in symbol, but Paul saw it in reality. How we praise the Lord that His economy has also been unveiled to us! We boldly proclaim that we have seen the vision of the burning thorn-bush. Every local church is a thorn-bush burning with the Triune God.
I have been asked why I am so persistent and unchanging concerning God’s economy and its accomplishment in the local churches today. The answer is that I have seen the heavenly vision. Moses and Paul could not forget the vision they had seen. Paul’s Epistles reveal that nothing, including imprisonment and martyrdom, could turn him from the vision. Paul was steadfast unto the end because he had been captured by the heavenly vision. The death of those martyred for the Lord can only cause the thorn-bush to burn more than ever.
Thousands of us today have seen the vision of the burning bush, and no one can change us. We cannot even change ourselves. If we try to turn away from the vision, the vision does not let us go. We have been “wrecked” by the vision we have seen. In these days I have become fully convinced that nothing can shake the saints in the Lord’s recovery. Shaking only makes them more absolute. Many have testified that they cannot turn away from the vision of the church in God’s economy. The opposers should realize that it is too late to stand against the Lord’s recovery because so many have seen the vision of the burning thorn-bush. Hallelujah for the vision of the Triune God burning within the church!
Every aspect of God’s calling of Moses can be found in the writings of Paul. In Paul’s Epistles we see the vision of the burning thorn-bush. In Ephesians 1 and 3 we have the divine economy, the dispensing of the Triune God into His redeemed people so that they may become His expression. This dispensation brings into being the church as the burning thorn-bush today. How glad I am to be part of this burning bush! Because we have seen this vision, we could never go back to religion. Rather, the vision causes us to press on. Even many of the young people can bear witness that they have seen the vision of the burning thorn-bush, the vision of God’s economy in today’s church.
This vision has been revealed into us. Even if we were to go back to the world, we could not eradicate the vision that has been burned into our being. Have you not seen the vision of the church? Have you not seen that the Triune God is dispensing Himself into His redeemed ones? Praise the Lord we have seen it! You may be weak or even backslidden, but this vision will not let you go. Even when you no longer want the vision, the vision will not leave you. You are part of the burning thorn-bush, and there is no way to escape. Hallelujah for the vision of the burning thorn-bush! This vision is the first aspect of God’s calling.
The second aspect is the matter of who God is and of what God is. God is the unique self-existing One. Everything else comes and goes, but God remains. We are not, but God, and God alone, always is. As we have seen, the name of God as revealed to Moses in Exodus 3 is simply the verb to be. This indicates that before anything else came into existence, God was. After so many things have passed out of existence, God will still be. God was, God is, and God will be.
As the self-existing One, God is the reality of every positive thing. The Gospel of John reveals that He is all we need: life, light, food, drink, pasture, the way.
It is necessary that we know God as the One who is. Heaven and earth may pass away, but God is. Are you discouraged by your weaknesses? One day your weaknesses will cease to exist, but God will still be. Do not believe in anything other than God. Do not believe either in your weakness or in your strength, for both your weakness and your strength will pass away. However, when they are gone, God will continue to be the One who is. According to my experience, I can testify that both riches and poverty pass away, but God abides. Whether we are rich or poor, God is. We should not even put our confidence in the wife or husband the Lord has given us. Even if we suffer the loss of wife or husband, God will yet be. At such a time, we must believe in Him as the ever-existing One. If we know God as the One who is, we shall be greatly encouraged, especially during difficult times.
Many Christians know God in a shallow way, perhaps only as the almighty God. But this aspect of God is not revealed to Moses in Exodus 3. Rather, the revelation here concerns God as the One who is. It is sufficient to say that He is. There are times when it is a hindrance to go further and say that He is able. Likewise, there is no need to say that He is mighty. It is enough to know that He is. In Himself, God is always able and mighty, but to us He may appear to be neither able nor mighty. Consider Paul’s experience. In his early ministry Paul healed many people. Even handkerchiefs that had been in touch with him could heal others (Acts 19:11-12). But in his later ministry Paul did not experience so much healing power. When Timothy became ill, Paul exhorted him to take wine for the sake of his stomach and his frequent infirmities (1 Tim. 5:23). Furthermore, when Paul was imprisoned, he did not ask God to break down the walls nor did he ask Him to miraculously open the gate, as He had done for Peter in Acts 12. There are times when God acts as the almighty One. But when Paul was about to be martyred, he knew God not as the almighty One, but as the One who is. This was a source of comfort and strength to Paul. Paul knew God and believed in Him, not as the One who was able to rescue him from prison, but as the ever-existing One, as the One who is and who always will be. Even when God apparently does nothing for us, we should still believe in Him as the One who is. All Christians today know the almighty God, but we may know Him in a deeper way as the One who is.
We also believe in God as the God of resurrection; that is, we believe in Him as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Although God did not release Paul from prison, Paul knew that, after his martyrdom, God would come in to resurrect him. Before his martyrdom, Paul enjoyed Him as the One who is. But afterward, he would enjoy Him as the God of resurrection. Martyrdom simply gave him the opportunity to experience God as the God of resurrection.
We should not seek to know God merely according to His miraculous acts. In fact, we should not expect miracles. In John 2 the Lord Jesus did not commit Himself to those who sought miracles. We need to know God as the One who is and as the God of resurrection; we must know Him as the self-existing One, the ever-existing One, and the resurrecting One. If, as God’s called ones, we desire to carry out His commission in His recovery, we should not be those who expect miracles, but we should be those who know God as the One who is and as the God of resurrection. He is the I Am, and He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. In addition to seeing the vision of the burning thorn-bush, we need this revelation of God. Do not simply know God according to what He does, but know Him according to what He is. Whether or not God does something for us means nothing. The environment may change drastically, but God still is. Everything may fluctuate; but God is, and He is forever. With Him, there is no change. Furthermore, every death situation affords Him an opportunity to be in our experience the God of resurrection.
My experience during the early days in Taiwan confirms this. When I was sent to Taiwan by the work in 1949, Taiwan was very backward and very poor. Although I was sent there, I was not given any financial support. Because I was fully occupied with the work of the Lord, I did not take a job. Nevertheless, with very limited financial resources, I still had the responsibility to support a large family. Discouraged by the situation at first, all I could do was look around at the small living quarters and ask myself what I was doing there. I had experienced a drastic change of environment in the move from the mainland, where the work was thriving and where there were hundreds of churches, to an undeveloped island. But although almost everything outward had changed, my God still was. In the days that followed we experienced what He was to us, and we saw His abundant spiritual blessing and even His material provision.
My experience was the same in principle when I came to this country. I received no financial support from the church in Taipei and very little support from the church in Los Angeles. The brothers in this country thought that the churches in all the other places were taking care of my needs. However, none of the churches sent me anything. From where did I receive the supply for my existence? I received it from the One who is. In those days I lived by the heavenly manna. But I did not look for miracles, for the God in whom I believe is the One who is.
In the midst of the turmoil in the past months I did not do anything, because I believe that the recovery is the Lord’s recovery. Since this is the Lord’s recovery, no man can damage it. The Lord’s word in John 2:19 applies today: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” I simply said, “Lord, You do something to confirm that this is Your recovery. Lord, there is no need for me to do anything. If this were my work, then I would have to do something to maintain it. But, Lord, this is Your recovery.” How we must thank and worship Him that in the past several months He has done so much. This encourages us to trust in God as the One who is and in God as the God of resurrection.
After we see the vision of the burning thorn-bush and after we come to know who God is and what God is, we still need the three signs. The first sign is that of the rod becoming the serpent. The subtle serpent who poisoned Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 is exposed in Exodus 4. This sign helps us to know the Devil. It indicates that anything we rely upon apart from God is a hiding place for the serpent. Through the years I have learned that whenever I trust in something, the serpent is hidden in that thing. We have pointed out that the rod which Moses had used for many years was a hiding place for the usurping serpent. However, Moses did not realize this until, at the word of the Lord, he cast the rod to the ground. Then the hidden serpent was exposed.
The second sign is that of the hand that became leprous. This sign is for knowing the flesh of sin. We are not only leprous, but we are leprosy. This means that we are sin, not just sinful. When Christ died on the cross, He not only bore our sins (1 Pet. 2:24), but He was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Because we were sin, Christ was made sin for us. Every called one must have the subjective knowledge that his flesh is a flesh of sin and that nothing good dwells in it. Our flesh is a constitution of sin, rottenness, and corruption.
Furthermore, the called one must realize that the world is filled with death. This is revealed in the third sign, the sign of the water becoming blood. To the people of the world, enjoyment comes from the supply and entertainment of the world, signified by the Nile that watered the land of Egypt. However, in the eyes of God’s called one, the world is not filled with living water, but filled with the blood of death. What the world has to offer is not water to quench our thirst; it is death that poisons us and kills us.
As God’s called ones, we must know the Devil, the flesh, and the world. Paul had this threefold knowledge. Regarding Satan, Paul said, “We are not ignorant of his thoughts” (2 Cor. 2:11). Regarding the flesh, he said, “For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells” (Rom. 7:18). And regarding the world, he said, “The world has been crucified to me and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). Again we see that what Moses experienced in type, Paul experienced in reality.
After all this, Moses still needed the male help and the female help. The male help is that of matching. This kind of help balances us, restricts us, and humbles us.
Through his brother’s matching Moses learned to let others do what he was able to do. Do not think that Aaron was more eloquent than Moses. Whatever Aaron did, Moses was able to do also, but he was restricted from doing so. In the church life the Lord will often raise up an environment that forces us to allow others to do what we can do. This should be a principle of our functioning in the church. If a brother is able to do a certain thing, let him do it, even if you can do it better. This will humble you. However, I have seen many, especially sisters, who insisted that they alone be allowed to do a particular thing. According to our natural makeup, we do not want others to interfere with what we are doing. Nevertheless, we all must learn to let others do the very thing we are able to do.
I do not believe that Aaron was more capable than Moses. Nevertheless, God sovereignly arranged a situation that allowed Aaron to do what Moses was able to do. In the church life we should not do everything ourselves. Instead, we should let others do what we can do. This does not mean, however, that we should be idle. On the contrary, it means that in a matching relationship we are restricted, balanced, and humbled.
This restriction is a safeguard and protection. Nothing is a greater protection in our spiritual life than the brothers’ matching. The more we are matched with others, the more we are protected.
In 4:24-26 we see that Zipporah was used by God to cause Moses to be a “bloody husband.” The matching is objective, but the cutting is very subjective. In the Bible the male represents objective truth, whereas the female represents subjective experience. Thus, Aaron’s matching was outward and objective, but Zipporah’s cutting was inward and subjective.
If we would be used of the Lord in His recovery, we must bear a sign of having been cut. This does not mean that we should talk about the cutting we have experienced. On the contrary, it means that we should silently bear this sign. Let others say we have been cut. In Exodus 4 it was Zipporah, not Moses, who said that he was a “bloody husband.”
Both in the church life and in married life we need to be such a “bloody husband.” If a brother is to be truly God’s called one, he needs to be cut in a subjective way. We learn a great deal through the cutting. Sometimes my wife cuts me by restricting my eating. This cutting keeps me healthy and prevents me from indulging myself. Because of her helpful cutting, I am not permitted to give in to fleshly indulgence in eating. Thus, the cutting keeps us from living according to the natural life.
Outside the recovery it is difficult for a group of Christians to stay together longer than fifteen years because no one is willing to be cut. Instead of the cutting, there is the playing of politics. Only those who are willing to be cut can be useful to God. Every useful one is a “bloody husband.” Daily and even hourly we need to experience the circumcision of the natural life. It is not sufficient merely to see that we are sinful. Our natural life must also be circumcised, either by those in our family or by the brothers and sisters in the church. I am willing to be cut. I gladly present myself to those who cut me. This cutting is the last aspect of God’s calling. Only after we have been cut can we carry out God’s commission. After Moses had been cut, he was truly useful in the hand of God.
When we compare the aspects of God’s calling in Exodus 3 and 4 to the record in the New Testament, we see that whatever Moses experienced, Paul experienced also. Furthermore, all this must be our experience today. We need to see the vision of the burning thorn-bush: the Triune God burning within and upon His redeemed ones. This is the focal point of the divine revelation in the Scriptures. Then we need to know who God is and what God is. Furthermore, we must know the Devil, the flesh, and the world. Following this, we need the matching and the cutting. If we are willing for the subjective experience of the circumcision of our natural life, then we shall live by the resurrection life, we shall become useful in the hand of the Lord for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose, and we shall be prepared to carry out God’s commission. May every aspect of God’s calling be our experience in the Lord’s recovery today.
