This week we come to the first part of the Crystallisation-Study of Numbers, and the title is simply, Being Formed into an Army to Fight with God for His Interest on Earth. Today we want to see that the book of Numbers doesn’t speak merely of the wanderings and repeated failures of the children of Israel, but rather, this book is a book of victory and glory, for God is forming an army to fight for His interest.
We need to realise that, because God desires to gain a corporate man to represent Him in subduing the enemy and regaining the earth from the usurping hand of Satan, God’s chosen and redeemed people need to be formed into an army to journey with God and fight with God for His interest on the earth.
We all need to be such ones, that is, we need to be those who are being formed into the army to journey with God and fight with God for His interest here on the earth.
Many of us today are in the period of the formation of the army, and some that are more mature are already fighting the battle, but we all need to pray that the army would be formed and trained so that our real Joshua, Christ, would lead us to war and into victory corporately.
Why does God need an army? Even though the Lord Jesus on the cross terminated every evil thing, destroyed the devil, and cast out the ruler of this world, what He has accomplished must be testified and executed by the church, the Body of Christ, the one new man, the warrior wife.
The principle is that God Himself will not deal directly as God with the enemy; rather, He will deal with the enemy through His Son, the Son of Man, a creature, and this Christ is a corporate God-man who deals with Satan, a rebellious creature.
One of the main responsibilities of the church, therefore, is to stand in the victory in Christ, proclaim the victory of Christ, and apply it. This is what the church as the army does.
Furthermore, the army doesn’t remain in the same place for a long time. Rather, as the Lord leads, the tents are taken down, the tent of meeting with its finishings is packed and ready to go, and the Lord signals the sounding of the trumpet to guide His people by Himself as the pillar of cloud during the day and the pillar of fire at night.
The army the Lord is gaining will move wherever the Lord wants to go.
Today as we live in the age of grace, the age of the church, which is also the age of the mystery, we are accomplishing one major thing – we cooperate with the Lord to gain a sufficient territory through the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom and establishing the churches as the practicality of the kingdom of God, to give the Lord a place to land, a beachhead on the earth.
When the Lord returns with His bridal army, His warrior wife, He will receive the earth as His inheritance from God, and the whole earth will be the Lord’s. He will then establish His throne in Jerusalem, and His co-kings will be dispersed all over the earth.
Today there’s an increasing cry in us for the Lord to return and remove the rebellious government, nullify the work of the enemy, end this age, and rapture His bride!
It pleases the Lord when we cry out to Him and long for His coming, and as we do this, we realise He’s not coming for some “thing” but for “someone”, that is, His counterpart, His bride to be His wife, and this wife is an army, a warrior wife.
She doesn’t go from basic training to Armageddon but rather, she engages in lots of conflicts with the enemy, she has a lot of experience, and when the Lord realises she is mature and she has been built up as a corporate person, He will return to rapture her.
In such a one there is no blemish, for she is mature, her wedding garment consists of the righteousnesses of the saints, and she has been formed into an army, trained for battle. Amen, may the Lord gain us as such ones, the components of His army!
The Book of Numbers is a Book of Victory and Glory – God is Forming an Army to Fight for His interest!
When we think about the book of Numbers, what do we think of? What is the main theme or topic in this book?
It is not accurate for us to say that Numbers is merely a book of wanderings and repeated failures; rather, according to God’s view, this book is of victory and glory (see Num. 1:1-3, 18, 24, 45-46; 2:1-2, 17, 32; 33:52-53).
We need to have a radical adjustment to our concept or notion of the book of Numbers, an adjustment from our natural concept to God’s concept.
We may say that this book speaks of the two hundred fifty leaders rebelling against Moses and Aaron and God opening the earth to swallow them, the budding rod, Aaron and Miriam criticising Moses for marrying a Cushite woman and Miriam getting leprosy, or the ten spies who felt like grasshoppers besides the giants in the land of Canaan and thus having a heart of unbelief.
All these are in the book of Numbers, but this is not God’s view of this book, and this is not the view that the ministry that opens the Bible presents to us. We need to be open to the Lord, actively exercise our spirit, and be re-oriented in our being as we approach the book of Numbers.
In the first chapter we see the numbering of the males, from age twenty to no age limit, for the formation of the army. Then there are many experiences presented for the forming of the army.
And then at the end in ch. 33, we see the second generation in Israel, those born in the wilderness who heard from their parents what they experienced in the past, and who inherited positively what the previous generations enjoyed. These, the second generation, were formed, trained, and ready, and God arranged for a transfer of leadership from Moses to Joshua.
The book of Numbers begins with the formation of the army and it ends with the army poised to enter the good land, and there’s also a word on how to allocate the portions of the good land to the tribes of Israel.
We need to let this sink into us and have our understanding grounded by having an overview of the book of Numbers – how it begins and how it ends.
Yes, in this book we also see rebellion and disorder, for there’s a war going on; but all the rebellion and disorder is dealt with, and it becomes part of the preparation of the army!
And then we also have Joshua and Caleb, only two out of the whole generation that came out of Egypt, who were experienced warriors; Caleb told Joshua that, when he saw the mountain in Hebron, he knew it was his, and he claimed it – yes, there were giants there, but he at 85 felt as strong as when he was 40. We need to have such a spirit!
In the church life we need the strong young men and the older and more experienced warriors, so that we all may enter the good land together; we all need to exercise our spirit and have a different spirit – not a spirit of unbelief when we see the giants in the land, but a spirit of faith, believing that God has given us the land, and these giants are our food! Hallelujah!
The book of Numbers presents a glorious scene with standards and ensigns, with formations and order; it was glorious that on the earth God not only had a dwelling place but also had an army (see Num. 22:17; Exo. 25:8; 6:26; 7:4; 12:41, 51; 13:18).
From beginning to end the book of Numbers is a glorious book; in the beginning God is forming an army, and at the end we have a record of the dividing of the land conquered by this army (Num. 1:1-3; 33:52-53).
Lord Jesus, we exercise our spirit to not look at the failures and the rebellion which is being dealt with but to look to You and cooperate with You to be formed into an army to fight for Your interest! Amen, Lord, may Your concept become our concept, and may Your view become our view, so that we may realise that there’s a war, and we need to be trained and formed into Your army! Amen, Lord, deal with all rebellion and disorder in our being, adjust our concepts, and have a way to gain us as Your army! May we have a different spirit – not a spirit of unbelief but a spirit of faith, trusting in You and cooperating with You for the formation of the army and the taking of the good land!
The Triune God and His Chosen People are Mingled as one Entity for God to Move on Earth
If we have our concept adjusted to have God’s view of the book of Numbers we will realise that the picture in Numbers shows us the Triune God and His chosen people mingled together as one entity so that God may move on the earth and conquer His enemy so that He may regain the earth for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose (Num. 10:33-36; Eph. 3:11).
Wow, what a reason for living, what a purpose, and what a goal!
Numbers is not a book of failures but a book of victory and glory; isn’t it glorious that on this earth God not only has a dwelling place but also a camp with an army? Hallelujah!
In Num. 2:1-2 we se how the children of Israel were encamped around the tent of meeting, each by his own standard with the ensigns of their father’s households, encamping to face the tent of meeting on every side.
There were three tribes on each side – Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun on the east, Reuben, Simeon, and Gad on the south, Ephraim Manasseh, and Benjamin on the west, and Dan, Asher, and Naphtali on the north (see vv. 3-31).
In the center there was the tribe of Levi, who cared for the tabernacle; the priests could never be separated from the tabernacle – they were one with the tabernacle and always with it (Lev. 1:50-53; 2:17).
This picture of the twelve tribes encamped on the four sides of the tabernacle, with the Levites in the center with the tent of meeting, is a preview of the coming New Jerusalem, where we also see four sides with three gates, each gate having the name of a tribe of Israel (see Rev. 21:12-13). Hallelujah!
This shows us that the entire Bible speaks of the one thing which is on God’s heart and mind – the building of God, the mingling of God and man.
Three times four signifies the Triune God (signified by three) mingled with man (signified by four). Furthermore, there’s the formations and the order of the army; there were four divisions with three tribes in each division – again, we see three times four, the Triune God mingled with man.
This is what God wants with His people – He wants to be mingled with them so that He may gain both a dwelling place and an army for His expression and representation on earth. The New Jerusalem as the holy city is filled with number twelve – God mingled with man, God’s building.
This picture that we see in the book of Numbers shows us how the Triune God is mingled with us, His chosen people, so that God may move on earth and conquer His enemy to regain the earth for the fulfillment of His purpose.
God’s move in Numbers was in the Ark with the tabernacle, that is, in Christ – the God-man, the mingling of God and man, with the church as the enlargement and increase of Christ. Hallelujah!
Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see the picture in Numbers concerning the Triune God mingled with His people for God’s move on earth and His conquering of His enemy! Show us how the Triune God and His chosen people are mingled together as one entity so that God may move on earth to conquer His enemy in order to regain the whole earth for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose! Amen, Lord, mingle Yourself with us and form us into Your army so that You may have a way to move in the church as the enlargement of Christ to subdue Your enemy and bring in Your kingdom on earth!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1964, vol. 4, “The Vision of God’s Building,” ch. 9, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallisation-Study of Numbers (1), week 1, Being Formed into an Army to Fight with God for His Interest on Earth.
- Hymns on this topic:
# God wants His holy people to become His army; / Rise up, all ages! March on for His testimony; / Christ is our meaning of life, testimony and center, / In everything He’s the way, the goal and the Leader. (Song on, Christ in Numbers)
# From the beachhead in our spirit / To our mind, emotion, will. / Christ will spread through all our being / And our vessel wholly fill. / He will cast out all rebellion, / Change our darkness into light. / Satan’s kingdom will be swallowed, / And Christ will reign with might. / This is the Lord’s recovery, / This is His very best! / Brothers, give the Lord the ground in you / Till His kingdom’s manifest. (Hymns #1297)
# Let us move together with the Lord through prayer; / For His move on earth we must prepare. / Lord do grow in us ’till we’re matured in life, / As Your army fully qualified. (Song on, Let us work together with the Lord through prayer)
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