It is quite amazing to realise that the record in Numbers is structured with the Divine Trinity, and that we need the Divine Trinity for following the Lord, serving Him, and being supplied by Him.
There are at least five main cases in Numbers that shows us the Divine Trinity working, operating, and being manifested in type and in picture, and the entire book is structured with the Divine Trinity.
Actually, the entire Bible is structured with the Divine Trinity, and if we take away the Triune God in His Divine Trinity from the Bible, what we have is doctrines and teachings with no reality, experience, or enjoyment.
All that God is, has, has done, has accomplished, and wants to do is in His Divine Trinity, and we simply need to open to Him and receive the dispensing of the divine Trinity so that we may be His people and become one with Him for His purpose.
In the separation of the Nazarite we see that we need the Divine Trinity; it is only under the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity that we can offer ourselves willingly to God to be His Nazarites, those one with Him for the fulfillment of His purpose.
In the threefold blessing of Jehovah to His people we clearly see how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit blesses us with all that the Triune God is, and the Triune God blesses us, His people with Himself, in His Divine Trinity. Wow!
Furthermore, in the function of the tabernacle and the offerings we see that we as God’s people need the Divine Trinity for our function before God and in the church life.
In the cloud and the fire covering the tabernacle and leading God’s people we see that we need the Divine Trinity in following the Lord; unless we enjoy the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity, we cannot follow the Lord.
In the water flowing from the smitten rock we also see a revelation of the Divine Trinity; the Trinity needs to be the source of living water that always follows us to quench our thirst.
Wow, Lord, open our eyes to see, realise, and enter into the enjoyment and experience of the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity! May we see all these cases, open to You about our daily life and service before the Lord, and just be open to the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity, realising that we need the Divine Trinity for everything in our Christian life, church life, and serving life!
We need the Divine Trinity in our Function as Priests for Others to Enjoy the Riches of the Divine Trinity!
The Divine Trinity is revealed in the function of the tabernacle and the offerings (Num. 7:1, 11-17).
In Exodus we see the matter of the tabernacle, in Leviticus we see the priesthood with all the offerings, and in Numbers we see the function of the tabernacle and the altar and the service of the priesthood.
Yes, the tabernacle and the altar were all set up in the last chapter of Exodus, but their function began in Numbers 7 with the offerings for the dedication of the altar; this dedication was for the tabernacle with all its furnishings and the altar with all its utensils to be put into function.
What does this have to do with us, and how does this show us our need to enjoy the Divine Trinity?
The dedication of the tabernacle – pointing to our function in the church life – was through the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity so that God’s redeemed people could enjoy the riches of the Divine Trinity all the time through all their generations.
The beginning of the function of the tabernacle and the altar involved the Divine Trinity: here we have the tabernacle (a type of Christ), the holy anointing ointment (a type of the Spirit), and Jehovah who gives the blessing (a type of God the Father).
Jehovah is here, the tabernacle (a type of Christ) is here, and the anointing oil (a type of the Spirit) is here – the entire Triune God in His Divine Trinity is here to initiate the functioning of the tabernacle and the temple, for God’s redeemed people to enjoy all the riches of the Divine Trinity.
For us to enter into function in the church life we need the Divine Trinity – we need to enjoy the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity, and when we do this, all the saints will enjoy the riches of the Divine Trinity!
For us to function as priests in the church life, we need to enjoy the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity: the Father blessing us, Christ being the embodiment and expression of God, and the Spirit anointing us.
Lord Jesus, cause us to see that we need the Divine Trinity for our function as priests in the church life. May we all be brought into our function as priests by enjoying the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity so that all the saints may enjoy the riches of the Divine Trinity! Amen, Lord, keep us enjoying You as the blessing Father, the enterable enlarged Christ, and the anointing Spirit so that we may function in the church life as priests!
We need the Divine Trinity for Following the Lord; God’s Presence is with us as the Divine Trinity
A very important aspect of the people of Israel journeying through the wilderness was the leading of Jehovah through the pillar of cloud during the day and the pillar of fire during the night (Num. 9:15-18, 21).
When the cloud or the fire would lift up from the tabernacle and move, the tabernacle would follow and the whole people of Israel would follow; God’s presence was leading the children of Israel through the wilderness to where God wanted them to go.
The cloud and the fire covering the tabernacle indicates that the Divine Trinity is for God’s people to stay or journey so that they may enjoy the riches of the Divine Trinity all the time and all the way.
The journey of the people of Israel through the wilderness was actually the journey of the tabernacle, for whenever the pillar of cloud or fire would move, the tabernacle would also move, and the whole people would move.
The pillar of cloud typifies the Spirit in the day, and the fire typifies the Spirit in the night; the tabernacle typifies Christ as God’s dwelling among His people, and Jehovah’s presence is God Himself.
This means that for us as believers we need the Divine Trinity for our remaining or our journeying, for God’s presence is with us as the Trinity to supply us and to lead us.
Sometimes God may be objective to us, but the Divine Trinity is always subjective; in other words, when we experience God, He is the Trinity.
In our Christian life the Divine Trinity is for us to stay or journey so that we may enjoy the riches of the Divine Trinity all the time and all the way.
Whether we remain or we journey, God’s presence is with us as the Divine Trinity, and we enjoy the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity all the time! May we open to the Lord and tell Him,
Lord Jesus, we open to Your leading as the Divine Trinity in our daily life. Our life and living depends upon Your instant, living, and subjective leading; we need the Divine Trinity to follow the Lord! Thank You Lord for being with us, for God’s presence with us is the Divine Trinity leading us, supplying us, and guiding us for us to follow the Lord wherever He wants us to be! Amen, Lord, we love Your leading as the Spirit – we love enjoying the riches of the Divine Trinity all the time and all the way!
The Divine Trinity follows us in our Journey to Quench our Thirst so that we may Enjoy the Riches of the Divine Life
In Num. 20:6-8 we see the story of the smitten rock; the Divine Trinity is revealed in this story. God’s people were thirst, they wanted water, and God charged Moses to speak to the rock.
It seemed that there was a rock that followed the children of Israel (see 1 Cor. 10:4) for them to drink the water flowing out from it; first, Moses struck the rock, and then later, he had to speak to the rock, so that the rock would give water.
The rock typifies the crucified Christ following God’s people, and the water typifies the Spirit of life (John 7:37-39; Rev. 22:1-2).
The water flowing from the smitten rock points to the river of water of life flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem; here we see God, Christ, and the Spirit flowing out to His people to quench their thirst on their journey through the wilderness.
As we journey today through the wilderness, the Divine Trinity follows us to flow out as living water for the quenching of our thirst, so that we may enjoy the riches of the divine life (1 John 5:11-12).
The rock points to the crucified Christ, the flowing water points to the Spirit, and Jehovah speaking is God Himself. We need the Divine Trinity to flow living water for us to drink and be satisfied so that we may enjoy the riches of the divine life and follow the Lord in our Christian life!
Hallelujah, it is only by the divine dispensing of the Triune God in His Divine Trinity that God’s people’s thirst can be quenched, they can be satisfied, and they can go on their journey!
We should not look at our environment for water, neither should we try to dig up our own wells to find water; we simply need to speak to the rock – speak to the Triune God, open to Him, ask Him for living water, and He will flow into us to quench our thirst and satisfy us!
Hallelujah, the Triune God is following us in our Christian journey to flow out living water so that our thirst may be quenched and we may enjoy the riches of the divine life! Amen, Lord, we open to You, we open our heart and mouth wide, and we want to drink the living water! Only the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity can quench our thirst and supply us with the riches of the divine life so that we may follow the Lord in our Christian life and become His testimony on the earth!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by James Lee for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1983, vol. 3, “The Divine Trinity as Revealed in the Holy Word,” ch. 8, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallisation-Study of Numbers (1), week 6, The Divine Trinity as Revealed in Numbers.
- Hymns on this topic:
# The Triune God has now become our all! / How wonderful! How glorious! / This Gift divine we never can exhaust! / How excellent! How marvelous! (Hymns #608)
# We will all stir up this gift that’s deep within / As the wonderful Spirit in us. / When we call “Lord Jesus” how our spirits spring / With this life-giving Spirit in us! (Hymns #1113)
# My Christ, He is the smitten Rock / Whence living waters burst; / He is the fountain in my heart / Which quenches all my thirst. (Hymns #510)
