"But [Stephen], being full
of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55).

 

It is impossible to read the
closing verses of Acts 7 and not see the powerful effect produced upon Stephen
by the object which filled the vision of his soul. He looked up into heaven and
saw Jesus. Earth was rejecting him, as it had already rejected his Lord; but
heaven was opened to him and, looking up, he caught some of the rays of glory shining
in the face of his risen Lord. He not only caught them, but reflected them back
upon the faces of his murderers. His countenance was radiant with the light of
that glory into which he was about to enter. We see in Stephen a man who
reflected the glory of Christ in a very positive, practical way.

 

We may talk largely about
heavenly glory while our practical ways are anything but heavenly. It was not
so with Stephen. He was a living mirror in which men could see the glory
reflected.

 

Is it so with us? Are we so
absorbed with our risen Lord that our fellow men can see His image reflected in
our character, our habits, our spirit, our life style? Alas! We cannot say much
on this score. But can we not at least say that it is our heart’s deep desire
to be so occupied with Christ that His lovely grace may shine out in us to the
praise of His name? May God, in His rich mercy, grant that our eye may be so
fixed on Jesus that we too may, in some degree, mirror His glory, and thus shed
some tiny ray of that glory upon the darkness around!

 

A. THE FIRST MAN, ADAM

 

1. A Race Created in God’s
Image

 

Come together with me in
Scripture back to our roots. Let us trace the old, old story of Jesus and His
love. First turn to Gen. 1:26-31. This is the first account of the creation of
human beings. From verse 31 we see that what God did here was "very
good." Note that throughout Genesis 1, "God" is plural—three or
more— in the original Hebrew. God said, "Let Us" and "Our"
in verse 26.

 

The same verse (26) tells us that
human beings were:

 

a. made by God in God’s image and
after, or according to, God’s likeness;

 

b. made male and female
(connected with being God’s image);

 

c. blessed with fruitfulness to
multiply on the earth;

 

d. given dominion over the earth
and all in it; and

 

e. given vegetables and fruit of
the earth to eat. Here in these simple pronouncements are great and profound
truths. They relate to man’s origin, man’s purpose, and man’s destiny in the
created universe and beyond. Let us take a closer look at some of these truths
as they are unfolded by Scripture.

 

First, let us look at mankind as
the image and likeness of God. There are two words here. The word
"likeness" denotes a resemblance of appearance or behavior. In this
context it might refer to man having been created as a sinless being, morally
like God. The word "image" literally means "shadow," or a
shadowing forth of something or someone. It carries the thought of
representation. The image of Caesar on a coin (Matt. 22:20) represented the man
actually in power at that time in the Roman Empire. So man has been created to
represent God on the earth. As one example of this, God delegated to man
dominion and authority over the plant and animal kingdoms (Gen. 1:26-29). In
keeping with "image" referring to a shadowing forth, the first man
Adam shadows forth the second Man Christ who is coming to establish His kingdom
and dominion over the earth (1 Cor. 15:45,47; Dan. 7:13,14).

 

Another example of how man was
made in the image of God is given in Gen. 1:27:"So God created man in His
image; in the image of God created He him; male and female created He
them." This gender difference is cited by the Lord Jesus when discussing
the loose thinking about marriage and divorce (Matt. 19:4-12). Marriage is
uniting two very different, but equal, persons into one. This is a picture of
God, the Divine, three-Person Unity—the "Us" that created Man. God
put the marriage unity together from the beginning. To break up a marriage is
to destroy a two-dimensional image of the Trinity, the three-Person God who
created us.

God is a person, that is, He is a
rational being with intellect (He thinks, speaks, writes, chooses; Isa. 55:8;
Exod. 34:1,6; Eph. 1:4), sensibility or emotion (He loves, grieves, shows
anger; John 3:16; Psa. 78:40; 79:5), and will (Eph. 1:5,9,11). Man, made in the
image of God, likewise has personality with intellect, emotion, and will,
though all of these qualities are possessed in measure, compared to what God
Himself possesses. Man, as made in the image of God, has a God-consciousness
and the ability to know and communicate with God.

 

2. The Image Shattered

 

"In the day that God created
man, in the likeness of God made He him. Male and female created He them…and
called their name Adam…. And Adam…begat a son in his own likeness, after
his image, and called his name Seth" (Gen. 5:1-3).

 

Here we are reminded that man was
originally made in God’s likeness. Also, one aspect of man being in God’s
image—male and female joined together in one ("He…called their name
Adam") —is mentioned. But what about Adam’s offspring? Man’s moral
likeness to God had been lost due to his fall into sin. Seth is specifically
said to be in Adam’s own likeness and according to his image. Seth inherited
Adam’s fallen, sinful nature, so no longer could he be said to be in the
likeness of God.

 

How did the fall affect man being
in the image of God? It may be inferred from other scriptures (such as Gen.
9:6) that although that image has become greatly marred and corrupted by sin
and selfishness, yet man continues to manifest the image of God in his
personality, marriage relationship, and dominion over the earth. Thus, to the
extent that Adam retained the image of God after the fall, his son Seth, whom
he begat "after his image" carried that image.

 

It is ironic that man was not
content to be created in God’s image, but fell for the serpent’s temptation
that they should be "as God, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:5 JND).
How sad to lose sight of what God has done for us, and then to substitute our
own wisdom. We tend to do this today too. We ignore or neglect the spiritual
blessings that are already ours. In their place we try to substitute the
world’s religion, its culture and its entertainment.

 

3. A Second Start

 

Turn to Genesis 9. Here is a new
beginning, a second chance for the human race. Sin had gotten so bad that God
had to destroy the earth and all on it. Only Noah and seven of his family were
saved. After this God gave man the authority to govern himself. This was so
that sin would not run rampant as it had before the flood.

 

Verse 6 introduces capital
punishment:"Whoso sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for
in the image of God made He man." The death penalty is required for the
case of murder of a human being. Man is to destroy from this earth anyone, or
any living thing (see Exod. 21:29), who dares to kill a human being. God still
cites the original creation as the reason for this, despite the corruption of
His image by sin. (Note that the death penalty is never said to be for a
deterrent, retribution, or vengeance. Its use is based upon mankind having been
created in the image of God.) There remains, despite sin, a dignity associated
with the original creation in which man represents God on the earth. That image
is to be respected and preserved by man. For a similar case, see Jas. 3:9,10:
"[With the tongue] bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we
men, who are made after the similitude of God." As the Lord pointed out in
Matt. 5:21,22, to curse a person is just as bad as murder. We must take care
here. There are some today who say that we have an intrinsic worth to God
because we have been made in His image. They teach that God sent His Son to die
for us because of our value to Him. They build up our self-image and thoughts
of self-worth this way. But such thoughts must be maintained in proper balance
according to the Scriptures. It was because of grace—unmerited or demerited
favor—that He died for us. We did not deserve mercy. He did not die for us
because of our intrinsic worth. We were lost, rebel sinners (Rom. 5:12). Man is
offered salvation "by grace… through faith" (Eph. 2:8,9).

 

Nevertheless, because man was
made in the image of God, he is to be respected. Human beings are to be respected
even if we are corrupt beyond recall (Rom. 3:9-25). An illustration of this
might be a photograph of me. The paper and dyes are worth little or nothing. If
someone spits on it or tears it up it is an insult to me. It is just as if they
had spit on me or injured me. This is not because of the cost or worth of the
picture, but because it represents me. It is my image. We are God’s image. That
is why murder is to be punished by death.

 

4. Fallen but Responsible

 

"A man indeed ought not to
cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God" (1 Cor.
11:7). Man’s sin has corrupted and distorted the image of God. The image is
crooked like a fun house mirror or, perhaps more like a shattered mirror. Yet
we are still responsible beings. We are responsible to represent God as His
image. Having disobeyed and

 

sinned and rebelled does not
excuse us from our created responsibility. We were created to glorify God. We
are still responsible to image Him faithfully to others. In the passage quoted
above, the males are instructed in one way to do this symbolically by not
having long hair and by removing any head covering when in prayer or
prophesying. Other ways we may show forth the image of our Creator are by (a)
seeking a closer, deeper unity with our marriage partner at all
levels—spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical— of our relationship; (b)
using our faculties of intellect, emotion, and will to bring glory and honor to
God and edification to others rather than to please self; and (c) seeking to
learn all we can about God through the Holy Scriptures and developing a more
consistent communion and communication with Him. Believers are now, in
this present life, privileged to show forth the image of their Creator. We do
this as a simple love offering to the One who gave Himself to restore us from
Adam’s awful fall.

 

5. Hope for a Change

 

"As we have borne the image
of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Cor.
15:49). This verse reaffirms the message that we are all born in Adam’s image.
He was "the earthy." We are just like the first man. He was
originally made from dust. However, verse 49 does not stop there. It tells us
that we (believers) shall also bear the image of the Heavenly—Jesus Christ. Now
here is hope! Here is a promise for faith to lay hold upon. Human beings need
not bear for eternity that marred image of God which fallen Adam bore. There is
a new race, a heavenly mankind. It is headed by the heavenly Man, Jesus Christ.
We (believers) shall bear His image.

 

B. THE SECOND MAN

 

1. A New Race and a New Head

 

Turn now to Rom. 5:12-21 and 1
Cor. 15:22. Here we have two men. Each is the head of a race of men. Adam’s
race is fallen, corrupt, sinful, lost. Christ’s race is risen, newborn, holy,
saved eternally. Now stop and think about Jesus Christ. Is He really qualified
to head a new race of humans? To be so, He must be a real human being Himself.
Is He truly a man? Turn to 1 Tim. 2:5,6:"There is one God, and one Mediator
between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for
all." This Man, Jesus, is not only the chosen Mediator, He is the full
Ransom. God has chosen to deal with lost sinners through this Man, and
no one else. Rom. 5:15 accents this grace "by one Man, Jesus
Christ." He, the Son of God, came in the flesh (1 John 4:2). His life and
death was not a stunning theatrical performance by God in a man’s costume. He
is a real man. He "was made in the likeness of men" and "found
in fashion as a man" (Phil. 2:7,8). He came "in the likeness of
sinful flesh" (Rom. 8:3). Here the likeness to man refers to physical,
emotional, and intellectual likeness, but clearly not a moral likeness. Christ,
in contrast to every one in Adam’s race, did no sin (2 Pet. 2:22), knew no sin
(2 Cor. 5:21), and in Him is no sin (1 John 3:5). He took part in flesh and
blood (Heb. 2:14,15) so that He could die. By dying He annulled the devil who
had the power of death. Jesus is really a Man. He is a Mediator, a Ransom, and
a Deliverer. He is the worthy, sinless, godly head of a new race.

 

2. False Images and the True
Image

 

Man corrupted the image of God by
his first disobedience.  Then Adam’s descendants distorted it more and more as
they followed their downward path away from God. Turn to Rom. 1:20-23. Man
reversed things. He could see God’s invisible things, "His eternal power
and Godhead," from the creation. Nevertheless, he proudly used his
imagination to change "the glory of the incorruptible God into an image
made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and
creeping things." Man, who was created in the image of God, corrupted that
glory and brought it down to the level of corrupted man.

 

Mankind also became hypocritical,
always with a vain show, a false front. We are a "vain show" (or
literally, "an empty image") trying to look good (Psa. 39:6). We are,
by nature, self-centered, living in selfish covetousness, which is idolatry
(Col. 3:5).

 

As a result of the corrupted
image of God in their minds, men developed idolatry. History reveals that
Nimrod, earth’s first ruler, and his wife, set up idolatry. Abram’s father,
Terah, was an idolater (Josh. 24:2). Over 400 years later, God, through the law
of Moses, the ten commandments, finally prohibited idolatry. No images of any
kind were to be made (Exod. 20:4; Lev. 26:1). The nation of Israel promptly broke that commandment and Aaron made a golden calf (Exod. 32:4). From then on
idolatry plagued Israel until they were carried away captive. The nations of
the earth are now, or have been, by and large idolatrous. Similarly, modern
man’s scientific thinking has been corrupted, although with an exceptionally
deceptive sophistication.* Even Christendom has developed or adopted icons and
idols down through the years since the Apostle Paul was martyred.

 

(*Modern scientists have recently
proposed the so-called "Maia Theory" (maia is Greek for
"mother") suggesting that the earth itself may actually be a vast
living organism. The all-encompassing, subsisting unity and power of life
provided by Jesus Christ is evident to them, but they have been blinded by
unbelief, and do not recognize its true Source. Instead they prefer to imagine
a monstrous living planet as their "Mother Nature" and god. What
folly!)

 

Idolatry takes the form of image
worship, saint worship, or  leader worship in Christendom. These are an insult,
spitting as it were in the very face of Christ. He is the Head of the Church,
the true Image of God. He is the true, faithful, complete, visible image of the
invisible God. Many scriptures clearly state this. He became flesh and has
declared the invisible God (John 1:14,18). He says, "He who has seen Me
has seen the Father" (John 14:9). He is the "express image" of
the essence of God’s person; He is the "impress" or engraving (the
Greek word for "express image" is charakter) of the substance
or essential being of God (Heb. 1:1-3). He is "the image of the invisible
God" (Col. 1:15), and "in Him all the fullness of the Godhead was
pleased to dwell" bodily (1:19; 2:9). He was in the very form of God and
voluntarily took upon Him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of
men. Then being found in fashion as a man He humbled Himself and became
obedient unto death (Phil. 2:6-8).

 

O soul-inspiring story—

God’s majesty and grace

In lustrous strokes of glory

Deep-carved in Jesu’s face!

Hearts rapt in contemplation

Of Godhead’s Image bright,

Break forth in adoration,

In wonder and delight!

 

There Manhood, all perfection,

And Godhead-fullness shine;

God’s love and Man’s affection,

The human, the divine;

A life, a death, transcendent,

Revealing God as love:

Here, lowly Man, dependent—

God over all, above!

 

Unsullied blaze of glory!

O ever-radiant Face!

Thy rich, unfathomed story

Transfigures us in grace!

Made like Thee, soon, completely,

With love-lit eyes we’ll scan

God’s face unveiled sweetly

In Thine, Thou Son of man!

                                                                                                                                           F.
Allaben

 

Thou art the everlasting Word

The Father’s only Son,

God manifest, God seen and heard,

The Heaven’s beloved One!

 

In Thee most perfectly expressed,

The Father’s self doth shine,

Fullness of Godhead, too:the
Blest,

Eternally divine!

 

Image of th’ Infinite Unseen,

Whose being none can know,

Brightness of light no eye hath
seen—

God’s Love revealed below!

Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou

That every knee to Thee should
bow!                                                                            J.
Conder

 

3. Come to Christ

 

"He came unto His own and
His own received Him not" (John 1:11-13). This is declared prophetically
in Isa. 52:14 and 53:2,3:"He has no form nor comeliness;… there is no
beauty that we should desire Him." "His visage was so marred more
than any man." The face mirrors or images the heart and character of a
person. It also mirrors one’s joy or suffering. Here, His face was marred more
than any man by suffering in our place for our sins. May I plead with you?
Don’t you reject Him! Your sins (and mine) are responsible for His
suffering and death. You are responsible to display His image. You are corrupt,
lost, a living insult to Him who made you.

 

Your sinful nature is the image
of him who first sinned, the head of our race—Adam. Come to Jesus! Come just as
you are. It is impossible to change yourself back into God’s image. Israel tried for 1500 years to keep His holy law and failed. The door of grace and mercy is
open now. Come to Jesus Christ who says, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the
Life" John 14:6).

 

Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for
me,

And that Thou bidst me come to
Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 

Won’t you come just as you are,
let Him cleanse you from your sins, and then change you to be like Him?  (To be
continued.)

FRAGMENT  ‘The express image of
His Person" (Heb. 1:3). Christ is the very impress of God’s substance. Our
blessed Lord was an exhibition of the full character of God—His holiness,
wisdom, goodness, love, power. All that God is—not merely in His ways, but in
His being—is expressed absolutely by the Son.        S. Ridout

 

The Old Testament Book of Job is
not easy to understand. First, because of the long orations expressed in poetry
it is sometimes difficult to understand what is going on among the various
persons in the book. Second, even after one grasps what each person is saying,
there are mysteries about God’s dealings with His people, the role of Satan in
those dealings, why good people suffer, and so on. Several Bible scholars,
wiser and more spiritually gifted than the present writer, have written
commentaries on the Book of Job and have grappled with the issues mentioned
above.

 

Many say that Job was a
self-righteous man, and that this was the reason for God allowing him to be
tried so severely. This may very well be true, but because of this assessment
of Job, we often overlook the very practical information given in the Book of
Job as to what constitutes a righteous man. Therefore, the focus of this
article is on lessons we can learn from the description of Job’s life before
all the calamities befell him.

 

The fact that our knowledge of
Job’s life comes primarily from his own description of it should not deter us.
While Job may have been guilty of self-righteousness, God Himself described Job
as "a blameless and upright man, fearing God, and turning away from
evil" (Job 1:8 NASB). Therefore, even if Job thought too much of his own
righteousness, we can assume that his own account of his deeds is accurate.

 

In chapter 29 Job describes his
actions as an elder sitting in the gates of the city. From other Old Testament
passages we know that these elders served as the law courts for their towns and
cities. Job’s judiciary decisions were righteous. He served as protector to
widows and orphans. He says, "I investigated the case which I did not
know" (verse 16 NASB). In our society the legal system is organized
differently, but in the assembly there is opportunity for encouraging and
helping in various ways widows and orphans, as well as other saints who are
hurting. And sometimes, sadly, there is wrong-doing to be dealt with. Let Job
be a model for the leaders of the assembly—for thoroughly investigating the
cases that come before them rather than relying on hearsay, and for dealing
with wrong-doers according to righteousness rather than according to personal
feelings or prejudice.

 

Chapter 29 describes Job’s public
life and chapter 31 his private life. We see that he was as upright in private
as in public. He did not demand more righteousness from others than he did from
himself. He not only did not commit adultery (31:9), he did not even look at
other women (verse 1). He did not ignore the complaints or grievances of his
servants (employees) (verse 13). He shared his material blessings with the poor
(verses 16-20). He did not mistreat anyone because that person was a social
outcast, because it would have made him popular with others, or because he
thought he could get away with it (verse 22).

 

Although Job was wealthy, he did
not gloat over his wealth or put his trust in it. He acknowledged that all his
blessings came from God.

 

Job did not rejoice or gloat when
evil befell one of his enemies, nor did he ask for any evil to come upon an
enemy of his (verses 29,30). He was hospitable and was known far and wide for
his generosity (verses 31,32). His life was an open book—he had nothing to hide
from anyone (verses 33,34).

 

We are told to hunger and thirst
after righteousness (Matt. 5:6). Job was a righteous man who happened to be
wealthy. His wealth was used for the benefit of others, not to gratify his own
lusts or pleasures. His lifestyle provides many lessons for us who would be
righteous as we live in a materialistic society.

 

There is one quality shown by Job
in these chapters that we must not emulate. That is his speaking a great deal
of himself. "Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a
stranger, and not your own lips" (Prov. 27:2). This is evidence of the
self-righteousness that the Lord was trying to get him to judge.

 

Let us hunger and thirst after
righteousness and ponder Job’s example of a righteous life. But at the same
time, let us not get carried away with looking inward and proclaiming our own
righteousness; rather let us focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, our
Redeemer, and our perfect Example.

 

"At the end of every seven
years you shall make a release. And this is the manner of the release:Every
creditor who lends anything unto his neighbor shall release it; he shall not
exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord’s
release…. If there be among you a poor man of one of your brethren within any
of your gates in your land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not
harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother; but you shall
open your hand wide unto him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his
need, in that which he wants" (Deut. 15:1-10).

 

Here the deep springs of the poor
selfish heart are discovered and judged. There is nothing like grace for making
manifest the hidden roots of evil in human nature. Man must be renewed in the
very deepest springs of his moral being before he can be the vehicle of divine
love; and even those who are thus through grace renewed have to watch
continually against the hideous forms of selfishness in which our fallen nature
clothes itself. Nothing but grace can keep the heart open wide to every form of
human need. We must abide hard by the fountain of heavenly love if we would be
channels of blessing in the midst of a scene of misery and desolation like this
fallen world.

 

How lovely are those words,
"You shall open your hand wide"! They breathe the very air of heaven.
An open heart and a wide hand are like God. "The Lord loves a cheerful
giver" (2 Cor. 9:7), because that is precisely what He is Himself. He
"gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not" Jas. 1:5). And He
would grant unto us the rare and most exquisite privilege of being imitators of
Him. Marvelous grace! The very thought of it fills the heart with wonder, love,
and praise. We are not only saved by grace, but we stand in grace, live under
the blessed reign of grace, breathe the very atmosphere of grace, and are
called to be the living exponents of grace, not only to our brethren, but to
the whole human family. "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good
unto all men, especially unto those who are of the household of faith"
(Gal. 6:10).

 

Christian reader, let us
diligently apply our hearts to all this divine instruction. It is most
precious; but its real preciousness can only be tasted in the practical
carrying out of it. We are surrounded by ten thousand forms of human misery,
human sorrow, human need. There are broken hearts, crushed spirits, desolate
homes around us on every side. The widow, the orphan, and the stranger meet us
daily in our walks. How do we carry ourselves in reference to all these? Are we
hardening our hearts and closing our hands against them? or are we seeking to
act in the lovely spirit of "the Lord’s release"? We must bear in
mind that we are called to be reflectors of the divine nature and character—to
be direct channels of communication between our Father’s loving heart and every
form of human need. We are not to live for ourselves; to do so is a most
miserable denial of every feature and principle of that morally glorious
Christianity which we profess. It is our high and holy privilege, yes, it is
our special mission, to shed around us the blessed light of that heaven to
which we belong. Wherever we are—in the home, in the field, in the market, in
the office, in the school, in the factory, in the assembly, all who come in
contact with us should see the grace of Jesus shining out in our ways, our
words, our very looks. And then, if any object of need come before us, if we
can do nothing more, we should drop a soothing word into the ear, or shed a
tear, or heave a sigh of genuine, heart-felt sympathy.

Reader, is it thus with us? Are
we so living near the fountain of divine love, and so breathing the very air of
heaven, that the blessed fragrance of these things shall be diffused around us?
Or are we displaying the odious selfishness of nature, the unholy tempers and
dispositions of our fallen and corrupt humanity? What an unsightly object is a
selfish Christian! He is a standing contradiction, a living, moving lie. The
Christianity which he professes throws into dark and terrible relief the unholy
selfishness which governs his heart and comes out in his life.

 

The Lord grant that all who
profess and call themselves Christians may so carry themselves in daily life as
to be an unblotted epistle of Christ, known and read of all men. In this way,
unbelievers will be deprived of one of their weightiest arguments, their
gravest objections. Nothing affords a stronger plea to the infidel than the
inconsistent lives of professing Christians. Not that such a plea will stand
for a moment, or even be urged, before the judgment seat of Christ, inasmuch as
each one who has within his reach a copy of the holy Scriptures will be judged
by the light of those Scriptures, even though there were not a single
consistent Christian on the face of the earth.

 

Nevertheless, we Christians are
solemnly responsible to let our light so shine before men that they may see our
good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16). We are
solemnly bound to exhibit and illustrate in daily life the heavenly principles unfolded
in the Word of God. We should leave the Christ-hater without a shred of a plea
or an argument; we are responsible so to do.

 

"At the end of every seven
years you shall make a release…. Every creditor who lends anything unto his
neighbor.. .shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because it
is called the Lord’s release" (Deut. 15:1,2).

 

The increasing wealth of the
people of God as dwelling in the land and gathering in its fruits is
beautifully brought out in this chapter. There is a continually increasing
yield for God and for His people. From the first year there is a tithe for
service and for assembly enjoyment. From the third year there is a tithe for
the benefit of the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.

 

There is ability to give
expression to what God is in grace to those who have need. Then "at the
end of seven years you shall make a release." All this is a blessed
picture of the formation of the divine nature in God’s people. The saints are
viewed as continuing to be nourished in the good of the land and as increasing
in spiritual wealth. God’s sons are becoming more like Him—more imbued with the
spirit of grace. They are getting freed from the spirit of demand. If I am
requiring and demanding from my brethren, even if what I require is due to me,
I have not lived long in the land. I have not been there "seven
years." I have not learned much of God’s ways of acting.

 

I may know that I have a
righteous claim on my brother for something that is due to me which has not
been rendered. In such a case I am in the position of a creditor. We may be in
that position sometimes, though I fear we are more often in the position of
debtors to our brethren. There are parts of Scripture that apply very
distinctly to debtors and to what is due on their part, and we must have full
regard to those scriptures. But this is not a chapter for debtors but
for wealthy persons, sons of God, heirs of all God’s wealth. It is a chapter
for creditors.

 

"Every creditor shall relax
his hand from the loan which he has lent unto his neighbor; he shall not demand
it of his neighbor, or of his brother; for a release to Jehovah has been
proclaimed (verse 2 JND). This indicates such maturity in the divine nature
that God’s people can act even as He has acted Himself. What an exalted
privilege is that! To sing truly, "Oh what a debt we owe" would
enable us to take up the creditor’s privilege in the year of
"release."

 

There are times when our brethren
come under obligation to us. A creditor is one who has a righteous claim on his
neighbor or his brother for something. It is well to consider whether we have
righteous claims that remain unsatisfied. Let us turn over our ledgers and see
if we have any entries standing against brother or sisters. Yes! Brother So and
So did not treat me with the respect that was due to me; he did not show me
Christian consideration or courtesy! And another brother took full advantage of
my kindness, but expressed no gratitude; he made no return for all the good I
have done to him! And a sister spoke unkindly of me; she even said what was not
true! And another promised to do a certain thing, but he never did it! All such
things as these put us in the place of creditors. Such debts as these go on
piling up year after year, and the creditors get soured by thinking so long
about the debts that have never been paid! God does not like to see His sons
maintaining demands on one another, so He steps in to confer a great privilege
on all creditors. The creditor here is the one who gains, for he shines in the
glory of correspondence with God. How could you enjoy your sabbatical year if
you were thinking all the time of undischarged debts due to you from your
brethren? Many local difficulties are the result of old standing accounts.
There is a rankling sourness in the heart on account of things said and done
years ago, and it is destructive of family affections and spiritual prosperity.
These things show that we have not been "seven years" in the land; we
have not yet acquired sufficient wealth to "make a release." If we
keep up personal grievances against our brethren we are missing the creditor’s
privilege in the year of release.

 

How often people say, "But I
want righteousness." They forget that righteousness now consists in acting
towards others in the same way that God has acted towards us (Matt. 18:21-35).
Certain things are due on the debtor’s part, and God’s work in him would lead
to the acknowledgment of this. But, as we have said before, this particular
scripture is not occupied with the debtor, or the relief that he gets; it is
the setting forth of the creditor’ s privilege, and of the gain which accrues
to him as he takes it up. It is not even spoken of here as a release to the
debtor; it is "a release to Jehovah." The creditor has an opportunity
of showing how he appreciates Jehovah’s gracious favor, and of reflecting it in
his conduct towards his poor brother. It is poverty in our brother that has
brought him into the place of a debtor. If he had been spiritually wealthy he
would never have incurred the debt; he would have undoubtedly discharged all
his righteous obligations. But his poverty may furnish me with an
opportunity to act as a wealthy son of God and to make a release.

 

Making "a release to
Jehovah" is not writing it off as a bad debt. It is really transferring
the undischarged debts to God’s account, who will certainly see that the
creditor loses nothing by reflecting His character and ways. There is no
question of the justice of the creditor’s claim, but he is wealthy enough
through divine favor to relax his hand and not demand it. He knows that God
will give him such wealth that he will be far better off by freeing his brother
from all demand than he would have been by insisting on having all that was
due. "For the Lord shall greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your
God gives you for an inheritance to possess it, only if you carefully
hearken unto the voice of the Lord your God, to observe to do all these
commandments which I command you this day" (Deut. 15:4,5). With an
attitude like this you will never yourself be a debtor; you will never be a
poor man in Israel. I have often seen people who insist on their rights and
demand what is due to them, but I have noticed that they are invariably poor in
spiritual wealth. When the spirit of demand has been in my own heart I have
found it spiritually impoverishing. The spirit of "release" comes out
in such scriptures as the following:"Forbearing one another and forgiving
one another, if any man have a quarrel against any:even as Christ forgave you,
so also do you" (Col. 3:13). "And be kind one to another,
tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has
forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32). The Lord taught His disciples to pray,
"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one who is indebted to
us" (Luke 11:4). It assumes that those who thus pray have observed the
year of release; the Lord would have us to enjoy the privilege of doing so. On
the other hand, the consequences of not making a release are very serious.
"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you; but if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:14,15).

 

The children of Israel went into captivity because they had apparently ceased to observe the sabbatical year about
the time of David. They had to go into captivity for 70 years to make up for 70
sabbatical years that had not been kept (2 Chron. 36:21). Governmentally, we
may lose all spiritual freedom and enjoyment if we do not "make a
release." If I find my heart indisposed to do it, I have to recognize that
I am small in the divine nature; it is 7 who am not acting as a son of God; I
am the debtor rather than my poor brother; I must judge myself rather
than him. The effect of making a release is that in my spirit I am in the
liberty of grace and love towards my debtor.

 

Then there is to be gracious
consideration for "a poor man" and "thy poor brother"
(verses 7-11). The word "bountifully" occurs three times in these
five verses (in JND; "open your hand wide" in KJV). This is a
perpetual obligation, "for the poor shall never cease out of the
land." God will see to it that there will always be opportunity for His
bountifulness to be expressed through His children.

 

I am not referring altogether to
temporal needs, though surely such a scripture has a definite bearing on them.
But I am thinking for the moment of those who are spiritually poor. How
many there are who never seem to know spiritual prosperity; they never acquire
resources of their own; they never contribute anything; they seem always to
need to be supported and kept up by the spiritual wealth of others! Well, they
furnish a fine opportunity for bountifulness on the part of those who are
spiritually richer than they are. I knew a brother who felt keenly how poor
spiritually the saints were among whom he lived and served. They never seemed
to get on, or to be capable of taking in spiritual thoughts. He got
discouraged, and asked the Lord to move him to some place where there would be
more interest and appreciation. He told me that the Lord seemed to say to him,
"Do you want to care for my saints?" And he answered, "Yes,
Lord, I do." "Well, there they are; go on caring for and feeding
them!" And he went on doing so until the Lord called him home.

 

There is a tendency with us to
look for some kind of return, and to shut up our hand if we see no prospect of
getting it. But as wealthy sons, it is our privilege to support, and to supply
the lack of, the spiritually poor without considering whether there will be any
return or not. The Lord’s own words were, "Do good and lend, hoping for
nothing again, and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the children of
the Highest" (Luke 6:35). If I am only prepared to dispense my spiritual
wealth on condition that i should be appreciated or honored or respected, it is
"a thing of Belial" in my heart. Paul was a wealthy son, and he said,
"I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly
I love you, the less I be loved" (2 Cor. 12:15). He had drunk deeply into
the spirit of the scripture we are now considering. We like to be with those
who understand us and who can reciprocate our thoughts and feelings, but this
must not be allowed to diminish our bountiful-ness to those who have need. They
are to be valued and ministered to because of what they are to God.