The nets of checker work with wreaths of chain work signify the complicated and intermixed situations in which those who are pillars in God’s building live and bear responsibility, as they live by faith in God. Amen!
The Bible truly is an amazing book, and when we read a book like Ruth we need to consider the entire Bible in order to understand its intrinsic significance.
Boaz is a type of Christ, and Ruth is a type of the church. In particular, Boaz is a type of the all-inclusive Christ who is rich, kind, and generous, and He is willing to redeem us so that we may return to our God-given birthright to enjoy God as our portion.
Furthermore, in 1 Kings 7, we see that one of the pillars in the temple built by Solomon was called Boaz; this is not random but rather it is full of significance.
The fact that Boaz is one of the pillars in the building of God means that those who shepherd others and redeem their birthright are pillars in the church life.
The fact that this pillar was of bronze indicates that those who are pillars in the church life are under God’s judgment; they consider themselves as being nothing, even as being good for nothing except death and burial.
However, even though in our natural man we are not good for God’s service or to redeem others’ birthright, we can do all things by the grace of God.
Hallelujah, we are what we are by the grace of God, and we can labor more abundantly than others because grace operates in us.
On one hand, we are crucified with Christ; on the other hand, we still live but Christ lives in us, and He as grace works in us, operates in us, and does everything in us.
May we judge ourselves as nothing and as being qualified only to be crucified, and may we be what we are and do what we do by the grace of God, which is with us (1 Cor. 15:10).
May there be bronze with us; may there be the judgement of God in our living and being, so that we may do all things no in ourselves but by the grace of God. Amen!
May we be saved from any critical spirit or condemning attitude toward others, and may we be delivered from the thought that we are better than others.
It is only when we experience the Lord as the man of bronze that He will become in us our love which is extraordinary, our forbearance which is boundless, our faithfulness which is unparalleled, our humility which is absolute, our purity which is utmost, our holiness and righteousness which are supreme, and our brightness and uprightness.
Christ in us can be this and do this. He was judged by God, He was approved by God, and He lived a life under the cross; now we follow Him to live a crucified life and do all things in and by the grace of God, which is with us.
We Live and Bear Responsibility in God’s Building in the midst of Complicated and Intermixed Situations
![I am crucified with Christ; and [it is] no longer I [who] live, but [it is] Christ [who] lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the [faith] of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Gal. 2:20](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/I-am-crucified-with-Christ-and-it-is-no-longer-I-who-live-but-it-is-Christ.jpg?resize=750%2C750&ssl=1 "I am crucified with Christ; and [it is] no longer I [who] live, but [it is] Christ [who] lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the [faith] of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Gal. 2:20")
The pillars in the temple were of bronze, and on the capitals of the pillars, there were nets of checker work (like a trellis) with wreaths of chain work (1 Kings 7:17).
These signify the complicated and intermixed situations in which those who are pillars in God’s building live and bear responsibility (see 2 Cor. 1:12; 4:7-8).
There are a lot of details related to these pillars, which shows that it is not that simple to be a pillar in the temple of God, a pillar in the church life.
On the capital of these pillars, there were two bowls sitting on top of each other; the first bowl was three cubits high, the second bowl was two cubits high, and altogether they were five cubits high. The number three here signifies resurrection, even the process of resurrection.
On the capital of the pillar the first bowl is of three cubits, signifying the process of resurrection; sitting on top is another bowl of two cubits, signifying a testimony.
This column is something related to the process of resurrection and the Lord’s testimony. On top of all these, there was something of nets of checker work with wreaths of chain work.
The checker work refers to the complicated situations in our daily life; a checker work is like crisscrossing, like a trellis.
![So he made the pillars; and there were two rows [of pomegranates] around the one network, to cover the capitals that were at the top of the pillars. And he did the same for the second capital. And the capitals that were at the top of the pillars in the portico were of lily work, four cubits [in diameter.] So then the capitals that were on the two pillars were above [and] close to the bulge that was beside the network. And there were two hundred pomegranates, in rows around both capitals. 1 Kings 7:18-20](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/So-he-made-the-pillars-and-there-were-two-rows-of-pomegranates-around-the-one-network.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "So he made the pillars; and there were two rows [of pomegranates] around the one network, to cover the capitals that were at the top of the pillars. And he did the same for the second capital. And the capitals that were at the top of the pillars in the portico were of lily work, four cubits [in diameter.] So then the capitals that were on the two pillars were above [and] close to the bulge that was beside the network. And there were two hundred pomegranates, in rows around both capitals. 1 Kings 7:18-20")
Many times we find ourselves in our daily life, with the spouse and children that God has arranged for us, with the co-workers and relatives we have, and with all the situations around us – all these are complicated and intermixed, like the nets of checker work.
We may think that, as long as we love the Lord, he will bless us, and we will have the best and most peaceful situation for us to pursue Him and for Him to gain us.
But what we get is a trellis kind of a situation, a checkered work, a very complicated and complicating situation.
It is here in the midst of complicated and intermixed situations that we live and bear responsibility in God’s building.
The chain work on the capital is like a necklace that is wrapping around it; it signifies that we are restricted, we are restrained, and we are not free to go wherever we want.
The more we go on with the Lord, the more we serve Him in the church life, the more limited we are.
We may think that, when we give ourselves to serve the Lord, we can do this or that, and there is so much we can do; however, the Lord arranges intermixed and complicated situations, and there is a chain work that limits us and restricts us.
![For our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in singleness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you. 2 Cor. 1:12 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us. [We are] pressed on every side but not constricted; unable to find a way out but not utterly without a way out. 2 Cor. 4:7-8](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/For-our-boasting-is-this-the-testimony-of-our-conscience-that-in-singleness-and-sincerity-of-God.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "For our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in singleness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you. 2 Cor. 1:12 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us. [We are] pressed on every side but not constricted; unable to find a way out but not utterly without a way out. 2 Cor. 4:7-8")
The more we go on with the Lord, the more free we are in Him, but the more restricted we are in what we can do and are able to do for Him in the church life.
There is much restriction on us; there are so many demands, so many needs, but we can’t just do the things we like to do or have the burden to do – we are restricted and limited by the Lord.
If we want to be pillars in the church life, we need to not only come under God’s judgment but also to subject ourselves to the Lord’s arrangement in our environment, with the intermixed and complicated situations, and with His limitation and restriction.
Many times our situation is quite unexplainable: there we are enjoying the Lord and have a time of prayer, and in an unexplainable way, the dog starts barking, or the children start crying for your help.
We want to enjoy the Lord, and there are so many distractions.
Why do we have all these complicated situations in our human life all around us?
We shouldn’t think that just because we love the Lord and are for Him, everything will be worked out, and everything will be smooth and easy.
Rather, if we want to be today’s pillar in the church life, we need to be ready for much checker work in our human life and a lot of chain work that restricts us and holds us back; however, in the midst of all these, we live a pure life of faith in God, a life of trusting in the Lord.
Lord Jesus, we love You and we want to serve You in the church life, being one spirit with You in everything we do. We are nothing, Lord, but we take You as grace and we want to do all things in and by the grace of God. Amen, Lord, we just give ourselves to You to bear responsibility and serve in the house of God even in the midst of complicated and intermixed situations. We look to You, Lord, in all these things, with all the limitations and restrictions, and we want to live a life by faith in You. Have a way in us. Make us one with You. Live in us a life for the building up of the church and for the shepherding of those who are backslidden.
Living a Pure, Simple Life of Trusting in God to Express the Riches of His Life for God’s Building in the Midst of Complicated and Limiting Situations
![And why are you anxious concerning clothing? Consider well the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, neither do they spin [thread.] But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. And if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is [here] today and tomorrow is cast into the furnace, [will He] not much more [clothe] you, you of little faith? Matt. 6:28-30](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/And-why-are-you-anxious-concerning-clothing-Consider-well-the-lilies-of-the-field.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "And why are you anxious concerning clothing? Consider well the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, neither do they spin [thread.] But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. And if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is [here] today and tomorrow is cast into the furnace, [will He] not much more [clothe] you, you of little faith? Matt. 6:28-30")
On top of the capitals, above all the checker work and chain work, there were lilies and pomegranates (1 Kings 7:18-20).
Lilies signify a life of faith in God, a life of living by what God is to us and not by what we are (S. S. 2:1-2; Matt. 6:28, 30; 2 Cor. 5:4; Gal. 2:20).
The bronze means “Not I” and the lily means “but Christ” (Gal. 2:20).
On one hand, we need to realize that we are good for nothing but death and burial, for our natural man with all his efforts and desire to please God is not qualified to do so.
On the other hand, we need to live a life by faith in God, a simple life of trusting in God; we live a life by what God is to us and not by what we are.
We have the bronze upon us – we condemn ourselves, we put ourselves under God’s judgment; but praise the Lord, we also have the lily – we live a life of trusting in God, a life by faith in Him.
This is so wonderful! While we are condemning ourselves, realizing that we are nothing, we realize and testify that Christ is here, and we trust in Him.
Christ is, and we are not; we are crucified with Him, and we live – yet not us, but Christ who lives in us. It is no longer we but Christ, for He is the One. He is trustworthy.
We have no trust in ourselves; we are lilies trusting in Him.
The pomegranates on the wreaths of the capitals signify the fullness, the abundance and beauty, and the expression of the riches of Christ as life (Phil. 1:19-21a; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:19).
Upon these pillars of bronze, on their capitals, there is the checker work, the chain work, the lilies, and the pomegranates; all these are very rich and meaningful when applied to our experience.
They point to our experience of Christ’s death and resurrection.
As Gal. 2:20 says, we are crucified with Christ, and it is no longer us who live but Christ who lives in us.
We have the experience of the death of Christ, and there is the experience of His resurrection.
This whole experience is carried out in the process of resurrection to bear a testimony, eventually with the fullness, the richness, of this life.
Through the crossing out of the network and the restriction of the chain work, we can live a pure, simple life of trusting in God to express the riches of the divine life of Christ for God’s building in life.
In the midst of the complicated and intermixed situations, with the restriction and limitation, we can live a life of faith in God.
We condemn ourselves, we realize we are fallen, incapable, unqualified, and that we are nothing; so we live by faith in God, a life not by what we are but what God is and what He can do.
May we be such a lily, one who exists by what God is to us, not by what we are (Matt. 6:28, 30).
Our living on earth depends on Him; we cannot bear the responsibility in the church life, in all the intermixed and complicated situations.
In ourselves, we are not capable, but we can do this by living a life of faith in God! It is not us who live but Christ who lives in us.
May we be those who bear the testimony of living by faith to express the riches of Christ through the process of resurrection under the crossing out of the checker work and the restriction of the chain work.
May we come to the Lord and tell Him,
Lord Jesus, we want to simply live a pure life trusting in You, a life by faith in You. Amen, Lord, we have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us! We come to You, Lord, and we acknowledge that we are nothing and can do nothing without You; we put ourselves aside and live a life of faith in You, a pure life of trusting in the Lord! May there be a testimony in us and in the church life of living by faith to express the riches of Christ through the process of resurrection even in all the intermixed and complicated situations. Yes, Lord, make us those who live a pure, simple life of trusting in God to express the riches of the divine life of Christ for God’s building in life!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. James Lee for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Genesis, msg. 84, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth (2021 summer training), week 11, Boaz and Ruth Typifying Christ and the Church.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Living for Jesus, oh, what rest! / Pleasing my Savior, I am blest; / Only to live for Him alone, / Doing His will till life is done. / Living for Jesus, everywhere, / All of my burdens He doth bear; / Friends may forsake me, He’ll be true; / Trusting in Him, He’ll guide me through. (Hymns #458)
– It can bring with it nothing, / But He will bear us through; / Who gives the lilies clothing, / Will clothe His people too: / Beneath the spreading heavens / No creature but is fed; / And He, who feeds the ravens, / Will give His children bread. (Hymns #706)
– Hallelujah, overcomers, / “In the temple of My God, / I will build them in as pillars, / Nevermore to go abroad.” / God’s own name is written on them / And the new name of the Lord. / With the triune God they’re blended; / They’re the city of our God. (Hymns #1275)
