The Spiritual Journey (6)

Bible Reading:

Numbers 10:33~11:3~6, 31~34; 12:1~15;

2 Corinthians 4:10~12;

1 Corinthians 2:12;

Luke 9:51~56

  We have already mentioned that the people of Israel started out from Rameses, passed through Pi-hahiroth, crossed the Red Sea, and proceeded to Marah, Elim, and the wilderness of Sin. Then they reached Rephidim and were blocked by the Amalekites. This illustrates that when we move toward Christ’s abundance, the flesh, as symbolized by the Amalekites, will come out to hinder us. However, Moses and Joshua led us, signifying that Christ had become our victorious life. Thus, we can overcome the Amalekites until we come to Mount Sinai. This explains that in the matter of service, the Lord will certainly lead us into experiencing Christ as our victorious life.

From here, we start to learn how to serve the Lord.  Upon reaching Mount Sinai, first it was the handing down of the Ten Commandments, depicting that the flesh is powerless and we must depend on Christ to serve.  Spiritually, this means that only Christ is the power for service.  Following that, the Lord told Moses to make the tent of meeting according to the pattern shown on the mountain. This tells us that Christ is the means of service.  In other words, the revealed Christ is the vision in service.

XIII.  Fire consumed all the complaints (Numbers 10:33~11:3)—The trial and refining of the cross of Christ

[Taberah]

The people of Israel journeyed from Mount Sinai to Taberah, and further into Kibroth-hattaavah, gradually journeying to Hazeroth. These three places depict three spiritual experiences.

What happened in ‘Taberah’?  The people encountered difficulties along the way and grumbled. Thus the Lord consumed them with fire. Spiritually, this refers to the trial and refining of the cross. True enough, we now have Christ as our life, yet there are still much complexities and carnality inside you and me. How can we enter the fullness of Christ in this desolate state? It is through the trial and refining of the cross that deals with the corrupt flesh and lets Christ increase in us, until the whole church is filled with Christ and ultimately reach His fullness.

The fullness of Christ refers to His boundless riches. When all the Christians throughout the ages and in all places have cumulatively experienced the fullness of Christ, it is also the time when the church attains maturity, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. In other words, the fullness of Christ does not only refer to the individual life reaching the measure of the fullness of Christ. It also refers to the church as a whole (all the saints). When the church becomes a full-grown man and attains to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, then this is called the fullness of Christ.

The eternal and great plan of God is the centrality and universality of Christ. His magnificent plan is not a piece of work but a Man. This Man is the extended Christ.  His head is in heaven but His body is on earth. This is a mysterious Man. This mysterious Man refers to all the saints united into one body with Christ. This is being filled with Christ. Everything is Christ, and Christ is the head.  Therefore, to achieve this eternal plan of God, the process of ‘entering into the fullness of Christ’ requires a person to have quite an abundant spiritual experience.

1. The three days’ journey was difficult

   Numbers 10:33 says, "So they departed from the mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them for the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them."  This implied that they had met difficulties along the way. ‘Three’ is the number for God, meaning that God measures out or allows difficulties to come upon Christians. Psalm 103:19 says, "The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all." This means that no matter when and where, whatever adversity we encounter in our surroundings, it is out of God’s arrangement.

2. The people grumbled with evil words

   Next, Numbers 11:1 states, "Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord"  In the wilderness, it was only either desert or thorns everywhere.  From one place to another, there was no site of comfort. From one moment to the next, there was no instance of rest. Furthermore, the adversity was greater than the previous one. Therefore, the people started to fret and uttered evil words in complaint. They did not realize that this matter seriously offended God and hurt His heart.

   Experience-wise, this incident also shows that adversity exposes the ugliness of man’s nature and the corruptness of his flesh.  This is because the corruptness of man’s flesh is hidden, isn’t it so?  We always feel that we are better than others.  When we see a certain brother weak and failing, or a certain sister backsliding, we condemn them and even despise or abhor them.  Who would have thought that the flesh hidden in you and me is far more corrupt than that in them?  Maybe their corruptness is five points on the scale but ours is ten points.  Nevertheless, it is not very easy to know our own nature.  That is why God has to arrange the circumstances to expose the truly abominable and shameful side of our flesh.  He also reveals the corruptness of our flesh through all the difficulties.

3. The consuming fire called ‘Taberah’ — The trial and refining of the cross

   When the evil words of the people of Israel reached the ears of the Lord, the Scripture immediately records: "The Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp." (Numbers 11:1)  Here, the flesh is exposed so that we may see that the flesh is extremely corrupt and detestable.  The flesh of man does not know how to obey God; it only knows how to resist and oppose God. So, the murmuring of the people of Israel reached the ears of the Lord, and He allowed fire to burn among the Israelites.  Then the people cried to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire abated.  It is specifically recorded in the Bible, "So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them." (Numbers 11:3)

   Literally, ‘Taberah’ means burning. Spiritually, it refers to the trial and refining of the cross. ‘Murmuring’ is not only a product of the corrupt flesh; at the same time, it is also an indication that man will not accept God’s arrangement of his circumstances.  The fire burned and consumed all the complaints. This signifies that God is displeased when man does not accept His leading and His arrangement. Therefore, God uses the trial and refining of the cross (suffering that is like burning in the fire) to purify man’s corrupt flesh.

4. The three-fold meaning of the cross

   We will look further into the meaning of the trial and refining of the cross.  Thus, we will discuss the three-fold meaning of the cross in order to understand why we must accept the trial and refining of the cross.

   1. Objective fact (Romans 6:6) — Dying with Christ

      When the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross in Golgotha, He not only bored the sin of the entire human race, He also crucified our old man with Him on the cross.  This is the great salvation of the cross of Christ, and it is a fact which had already been accomplished.  Therefore, Romans 6:6 tells us, "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."

      Nearly ten years ago, there was a baptismal service in the church in Manila. That day, sixty-nine people were baptized. On Tuesday, I attended the prayer meeting and an elderly sister praised in a loud voice, saying “Oh Lord!  I praise and thank you… that there were seventy people who were baptized this time…” I was very surprised when I heard that.  It had been announced on the pulpit that there were sixty-nine people.  Well, maybe the sister was elderly and heard it wrong.  After the meeting, I told her, “The number of people baptized last Sunday was sixty-nine and not seventy.”  She immediately replied, “I know.  My daughter-in-law was baptized, and she has a baby in her womb.” Oh, brothers and sisters! From this small illustration and testimony, it is not hard for us to see that when the Lord Jesus was crucified, we were also crucified with Him, just like the fact that the baby was baptized together with his mother while in her womb.

   2. Subjective experience (Romans 8:13) — Putting the flesh to death by the Holy Spirit

      Undoubtedly, we have been crucified with Christ. But experience-wise, we still have to apply the fact of dying together in our experience. Therefore, the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:13, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." This means that in practice, we still have to put our flesh to death by the Holy Spirit.  In other words, we need the subjective experience of the cross.  How then shall we experience dying together with Christ?

      Thank the Lord!  It is through abiding in Christ.  Because we are in Christ, there is no more condemnation.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and of death. (Romans 8:1-2)  Verse 13 continues to tell us that by the Spirit, we must put to death the deeds of the body.  This points to the fact that when we abide in Christ, the Holy Spirit will naturally put to death the evil deeds of the flesh.

   3. The circumstantial arrangement (II Corinthians 4:10~12) — Trial and refining

      Since the time we live “in Christ” is far less than when we live “out of Christ”; hence our old man does not decrease, and we often live out the evil deeds of the flesh.  We are still selfish, self-confident, self-righteous…, and our spiritual life grows very slowly.  As a result, God arranges the circumstances to get rid of our flesh, and uses these circumstances to refine us.

      This is a step further in our experience, and is just like the experience of the children of Israel in the old days from Mount Sinai to Taberah. The Lord arranges people, events, and things in order to refine us. Sometimes as thousands of us gather for the meeting, we experience electrical interruption; this is the arrangement of the Lord. At other times, we have enough electricity and that is also God’s arrangement. Sometimes the water supply is not enough; at other times, it could be plentiful. These are all of the Lord’s arrangements.  These days, we are encountering water shortage; this is also the arrangement of the Lord. During unfortunate situations, we must wait patiently, for the Lord arranges everything.  If we have a spirit that is willing to learn, we will discover that from morning till night, numerous big and small encounters are all arranged by the Lord. And all these are but for the purpose of testing and refining us, and to eradicate our flesh.

5. The trying and refining work of the cross

   Proverbs 17:3 says, "The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts.." People in ancient times used the refining pot for smelting ores.  After complete removal of impurities, silver comes out. However, smelting gold requires even a stronger fire; that is, out of the furnace comes gold.  What is more precious is that God uses different situations, and various adversities and hardships to refine man’s heart, in order to purge his flesh and self.

   1. Tearing down by God’s loving hand

      When God tries and refines a person, the first step is to extend His loving hand to tear him down. Once, when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He went out of the temple, and as He was about to leave, His disciples came near and pointed out the buildings of the temple to Him. And Jesus answered them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." (Matthew 24:1~2)  There is an underlying spiritual meaning here. It indicates that God’s hand is going to tear down our old man for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.  In other words, the Lord is stretching out His loving hand to tear down our old nature and then build the new one.  ‘Tearing down’ refers to the trial and refining of the cross.

      Experience-wise, what can be done if a person is very opinionated?   The Lord will arrange for him a wife with a much stronger character compared to his. That way, whenever he gives a certain opinion, his wife will oppose and go against him. Therefore, as the husband and wife live together for many years, and go about their daily living, they rub and refine each other. Unknowingly, the flesh and old nature are torn down.

      In Manila there are about twenty-one single co-workers living together in the youth coworker’s dormitory.  Every Saturday, there are about three hundred people serving the Lord together.  As we live and serve together, the Lord does the work of tearing down.  Amidst the process of tearing down, if we forget that it is the Lord who is behind all these, stretching out His loving hand to tear us down, then there will be grudge and dissatisfaction.  We may even think that it would be best that Brother X would encounter some accident and not be able to come, or that Sister Y would get sick and be hospitalized.  We are unaware that all these are out of God’s loving hand, in order to destroy our old nature.

      The Old Testament mentioned about a man named Job. He was perfect and upright, one who feared God and abstained from evil. The Lord delighted in him, and everything he did prospered. His outward nature, with many good and beautiful virtues, and his kind deeds and works of charity far surpassed ordinary people. However, these things inadvertently increased the self-righteousness in him. How then could he be built up? Because of the mercy of God, the Lord stretched out His loving hand to tear him down.  Outwardly, it looked like an attack of Satan; however, everything that happened had the Lord’s permission.  During the early stages of his tribulation, Job was still able to withstand even if his wife ridiculed him, saying, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” At that time, he still could revere God and replied to his wife, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all these, Job did not sin with his lips.  However, when he was under the trial and refining of the cross, the natural form of his corrupt flesh gradually revealed itself.  His three friends made an appointment to come together. Initially, they came to condole with him and to comfort him. In the end, they ended up reprimanding him. The self-righteousness of Job was uncovered completely in the more than thirty chapters of his fluent, endless, and non-stop contention with his friends. Thank God! After Job went through suffering, the trial and refining of the cross, not only was his hidden flesh exposed; at the same time, his self-confidence and self-righteousness were also torn down. Therefore, his words stopped and his whole being surrendered.  At that moment, the Lord spoke to Job through a whirlwind. Job met the Lord, saying, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."  Oh! This man Job was completely destroyed by God. Consequently, the Bible continued to record that the Lord turned the captivity of Job; "Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before." (Job 42:10)  This means that after Job passed through the trial and refining of the cross, not only was his old nature destroyed and the new one established, his spiritual life also entered into the fullness of Christ.

   2. The flesh decreases and Christ increases

      It is written in John 3:26 that the disciples of John came and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, he is baptizing, and all is coming to Him.” John replied, “You yourself bears me witness that I said I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him…”  Following that, he said, “He must increase, I must decrease.” (John 3:30) This means that my attitude as a witness of Christ during my lifetime is that Christ would continuously increase while I continuously decrease. The Lord prospers and I decline.  How then can I decrease and let Christ increase? There is no other way except through the trial and refining of the cross.

      Every time I have to stand on the pulpit to be God’s channel, I have to repeatedly come before the Lord, praying and asking Him to put ‘me’ in the lowest and smallest position. I have to empty myself again and again and admit that I have nothing, because the flesh of man can not accomplish the will of God. Thus, aside from this, the Lord must stretch out His loving hand and do a long term work of tearing down. Through trial and refining, a man will slowly humble down. Self-confidence and self-righteousness will gradually collapse and fall down.

      As everyone knows, the natural disposition of Jacob was selfish and crafty.  That is why the difficulties that he suffered were exceptionally many. This is nothing else but God molding him to become a person with abundant spiritual life through the trial and refining of the cross.

      In his youth, Jacob enjoyed special love and favor from his mother.  Because of his selfishness, he cheated his brother Esau of his birthright with the lentil soup. Then with his craftiness he deceived his father Isaac. He pretended to be the firstborn Esau and acquired his father’s blessing. However, God, by way of Esau’s grudge, left Jacob with no alternative but to leave his warm family and the love of his compassionate mother. He fled to the ruthless house of his uncle and encountered wage stripping because of his uncle’s greediness.  He shepherded for twenty grueling years, experiencing the scorching sun during the day and the chilly frost during the night. With labor and hardship, he suffered the ordeals of the vicissitudes of life. No wonder when Jacob later on in life recalled his life before Pharaoh in Egypt, he sighed, "...few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage." (Genesis 47:9)  But the Jacob that had undergone the trial and refining of the cross, had become the Israel that reigned on behalf of God and brought blessing to Pharaoh.

      
      

XIV. Smote the greedy (Numbers 11:4~6, 31~34) — Christ is everything (world) [Kibroth-hattaavah]

When the people of Israel journeyed onward from Taberah, they soon reached the place called Kibroth-hattaavah.

1. The Israelites desired the pleasures of Egypt

   It is written in Numbers 11:4~5, "Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic."

   Here it tells us that a mixed multitude was among the congregation and they went up with the children of Israel when the latter left Egypt (Exodus 12:37~38). These people had greedy desires, which means that they were a group of people who were not pure in heart. They have an ulterior purpose and intention. Isn’t that so? These "mixed multitudes" and impurities exist in our natural flesh. They symbolize the complexities of the flesh.

   Many times we say we want to offer to the Lord but our offering is so impure and mixed with other intentions. Some people would say, “I want to offer but You must repay me and bless me with several times more.” Then after some time, when they feel that the Lord did not seem to give the expected reward, they would stop offering. They would even stop serving the Lord. If we look into the reason why, we see that it is because they loved the world and yearned for Egypt. The matters of offering and serving are enough to make us see how complex and impure we are within.

   Even if their physical bodies were traversing the wilderness, their hearts lusted with the memory of Egypt where there was meat, fish, cucumbers, leeks, onions, and garlic. They had completely forgotten the hard labor in Egypt where they had to burn bricks to build the city, bear heavy load, and suffer as slaves. Today, many Christians follow the Lord halfway, and then the spirit of the world enters. Some had even offered themselves before and gave up everything, expressing that they would live for the Lord for the rest of their lives.  They rejected sin, loved the Lord, followed after Him, and ate the manna. However, the spirit of the world (the pleasures of Egypt) entered again.

2. Detested the manna

   When their hearts longed for Egypt and lusted for the pleasures of Egypt, they said, "but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!" (Numbers 11:6)  This clearly states that when the congregation longed for the pleasures of Egypt, they considered manna bland and tasteless. Moreover, this explains that the moment the spirit of the world enters, the suffering in Egypt is forgotten, together with the taste of salvation.

   Their attitude towards the manna "there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes" indicated that they detested the manna. They did not know that the original purpose of the Lord in giving the manna to them was that: as long as they had manna, it would be enable them to walk through the wilderness.  ‘Manna’ symbolizes Christ. The assembly detesting the manna meant they abhorred Christ.  Oh!  No wonder 1 John 2:15 tells us, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

3. God smote with a great plague

   It is recorded in Numbers 11:31~34, "Now a wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp...And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail...But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving."

   The spiritual meaning of this historical fact: "The Lord brought quails from the sea" refers to God giving the people of Israel the chance to come in contact with worldly pleasures. "The people gathered the quails" means that they then pursued worldly pleasures.  "They were struck before the meat was chewed" pertains to God judging the worldly spirit.  From here, we can see that any time we have the worldly spirit, we will be hindered from entering into Canaan. Therefore, the Lord has to drive out the worldly spirit.  In the past, the Lord smote the Israelites who ate the quails.  Today, the Lord will likewise judge those Christians who are filled with the spirit of the world.

4. Being refined from the spirit of the world

   How then does the Lord refine us from the spirit of the world?  Experience-wise, the Lord shines upon us and refines us from the spirit of the world through fellowship among the saints or through the messages. If we are given grace, we will accept the light from the Lord and get rid of the world. Otherwise, the Lord will refine us through the environment, people, circumstances, and things, until we turn back to Him and submit in prayer, saying, “Lord, Egypt is not my world. Only Christ is my world, and manna is my satisfaction and delight.”

   Just like what the hymn says: Refining Fire, go through my heart, illuminate my soul; Scatter Thy life through every part, and sanctify the whole…

5. Christ is all (the world) — There is nothing apart  from manna

   The experience of Kibroth-hattaavah is that of Christians with more spiritual depth, because they have entered into the realm of Christ being their world. The world has been driven out from me, and it doesn’t belong to me from now on. I can live on this land, manage the business and earn money, stay in a mansion with gardens, ride in private vehicles; yet my heart is neither filled nor dominated by the world, nor is it touched and tempted by the world. In other words, the world can no longer have a place in my heart again.

   There was once a rich lady who was born into a non-Christian family. Later, she heard the gospel and was saved by grace. From that time, her heart was drawn to the glory and beauty of Christ. Her parents persuaded her not to believe in the Lord; however, she held fast to her faith. Later, her parents bought her a car of the latest model and put a lot of valuable items in the trunk. They told her, “Daughter, if you give up your faith, all these will be yours. But if you insist on having Jesus, then none of these will belong to you anymore. Now, here is the key. Make your choice at once!” Effortlessly, this young sister replied to her parents, “I’d rather have Jesus.”  Oh!  This is an actual example of having Christ as the world.

   
   

XV. Miriam contracted leprosy (Num 12:1-15)—Establishing the upright spirit of Christ

[Hazeroth]

Thus, the people journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah to Hazeroth, and they were at Hazeroth.

1. Miriam’s spirit was not right

   "Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, 'Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?' And the Lord heard it...Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, 'Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!' So the three came out. Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. Then He said,...'Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face...Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?' So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow." (Numbers 12:1~10)

   It was not right for Moses to marry a Cushite, but when Miriam stepped out to say, “Has Jehovah indeed spoken only to Moses?  Has He not spoken also to us?” The Lord said that those words were slanderous. Miriam implied that Moses wanted to exalt himself above them. Her intention was not right. She did not want to subject herself to Moses, and she condemned Moses.  In other words, Miriam looked down on Moses and would not subject herself to him.  She was arrogant; she condemned Moses. Her spirit was not right. The Lord heard this and came out to defend Moses, saying, “He is faithful in all My house.” This means that with regards to matters concerning God’s house, Moses is responsible to God. This was not Miriam’s business, and she did not have to intervene.

2. Miriam became leprous

   After God had spoken, His anger was kindled against Aaron and Miriam and He went away.  This turning of His back is something to be greatly feared. It is written in the Bible that the cloud departed from off the tent and Miriam immediately beheld that she was leprous.

   "The anger of the Lord was aroused against them". Spiritually, it means that God wants man’s spirit to be upright. "Contracting leprosy" speaks of God coming out to purify Miriam’s wrong spirit. Brothers and sisters, when the Lord leads us to walk this pathway of life, He not only demands that our outward sins be stripped completely and the world be strictly rejected, He also demands that our inner spirit be dealt with so that it would become pure and upright.

3. God wants to purify and refine our crooked spirit

   Through different situations, the Lord tries and smelts away the impurities within us, the wickedness and filthiness of the corrupt flesh.  Furthermore, He deals with our spirit from many aspects. ‘Spirit’ refers to man’s intentions and motives; it is in the deepest part of you and me.  The spiritual depth of a person depends on what is  stored in the deepest part of his being.  God wants to touch the depths of our being to see if it is pure and upright.

   Miriam’s spirit was not right. As the church progresses in the Lord’s pathway, we may see problems with the church or the leaders. We must know that the Lord allows these situations to happen in order to teach us, so that we may learn to be upright and not crooked in our spirits. We must maintain the uprightness of our spirits. Do not condemn, judge, or criticize the elders. Any intention or motive that contains condemnation, judgment, and criticism is a manifestation of a crooked spirit. Even if the brother or sister is wrong, we still must not judge. Romans 14:4 tells us, "Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand."

   Speaking till this point makes us truly see how faulty our spirits are! How we need the Lord’s mercy, that He may fine-tune our spirits and work in you and me. Miriam contracted leprosy and was contaminated with the filthiest of diseases; therefore, she had to be shut outside the camp. God caused the skin and flesh of her whole body to decay and she became leprous. She was beyond recognition and her appearance was extremely horrible.  This was to make her see how many more times unclean she was than Moses. Moses was corrupt. I, Miriam, was far more corrupt than Moses, and there was no place for me in this world. God taught her, that she may deal with her crooked spirit, and would no longer dare judge, speak against, or slander their leader Moses lightly.

   If the Lord is merciful and gracious to us, He will continuously accomplish a deeper work of refining in us as we progress in His pathway. This is done so that our crooked spirit may be dealt with, that we will not dare judge, speak against, or backbite others as we please. Rather, we can always be like Paul, feeling that I am a sinner and the foremost of all sinners.

4. Establishing the upright spirit of Christ

   When the Lord Jesus was training His disciples for three and a half years, He also wanted them to establish an upright spirit. And it came about, when the days were approaching for His ascension, that Jesus resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem, and He sent messengers on ahead of Him. And they went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make arrangements for Him. The people of the village did not receive Him, because He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.”  This means that the spirit of the disciples was not upright and was full of condemnation.  Following that, Jesus told them, "For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them." (Luke 9:51~56) This means that the Lord corrected the crooked spirit of the disciples and established an upright spirit.

   There was another time when the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and set her in the midst. Then they said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses,  in the Law commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” Jesus did not answer but stooped down, and with His finger, wrote on the ground. When they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. When they heard these words, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they?  Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “ Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:3~11) 

   From this, we can see that the spirit of the Lord Jesus was upright.  An upright spirit does not condemn. If God takes us to Hazeroth, it is to establish our  upright spirit. In the ministry, we often condemn others. For example, we condemn a certain sister for praying too long in the meeting, saying that with her praying, others won’t have the chance to pray. Also, we criticize a certain brother for having such a soft voice like a mosquito despite his big stature, thinking that it is best for him not to pray publicly. Some of us going on visitation condemn our partners for being too wishy-washy in sharing… Summing up, it is condemning others and commending oneself; but bear in mind that what God wants is for us to establish an upright spirit.

   David, the great king of Israel in the Old Testament, committed a sin with Uriah’s wife, and used a devious plot to kill Uriah because his spirit was not upright. The Lord immediately struck David. David repented before the Lord in sackcloth and ashes. When he repented with a broken and a contrite heart, he wrote Psalm 51:10, saying, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

   May the Lord be gracious to us that in our service, we may often come before the Lord to be illumined. Oh Lord, search my spirit and try my heart. See if there be any grievous way in me. Lead me in the way everlasting and establish in me an upright spirit…Amen.

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