What Makes One Eligible?
What Makes One Eligible?
WHAT MAKES ONE ELIGIBLE?
A number of brethren have written to me
from time to time, wanting to know what makes them eligible to receive the Seal
of God. Some want to know whether they
will be sealed by doing this or by doing that.
Others want to know whether they will be left without the seal by not
doing this or not doing the other.
The questions are indeed very timely and
commendable. Such vital questions
deserve answers as concrete as are the questions themselves. And who can give a more concrete answer than
those who have gone before us, those whose duties were similar to ours, those
who were passing through a similar experience, those who traveled the same road
that we are traveling, those who were preparing themselves for the Kingdom as
are we.
In whom do we find such a parallel? � In no
others than those who left Egypt and started for the promised land. No, in none others. They are our only type. Says Inspiration: "Now all these things
happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon
whom the ends of the world are come." (1 Cor. 10:11.) Their duties, therefore, are our duties, and
their failures should be our stepping stones to success. Thus it is that the deeds of those who
entered into the promised land must be our deeds, and if we are to be sealed,
then the deeds of those who failed to enter therein, we must shun as completely
and as quickly as we would shun a lion's den.
We are now to find out why some of them
went into the promised land, and why others did not go in, for this is what
Inspiration commands us to do. This
scripture implies that if the experiences of ancient Israel had not been for
ensamples, they would never have been written.
How important, then, that we diligently study them. Yes, in order for us to know what we must do
or must not do to receive the seal and to enter into the Promised Land, we must
examine the deed of both those who entered it and of those who were left out of
it.
Let us begin our examination by starting
with Moses, with the human agent, the visible leader of the movement. Reared in the courts of Pharaoh, he received
the highest education the world then offered.
And having understood that he was the one to free his brethren from
Egyptian bondage, he felt quite capable for the job.
You remember the story of how he started
out to deliver them although he was not yet told to do so. He killed an Egyptian, fell into a quarrel
with one of the Hebrews, and then fled for his life. So it was that in Midian he obtained a job, became a shepherd,
and married his employer's daughter.
During those forty years of shepherd's life he forgot the Egyptian
language, and with it the Egyptian learning.
In its place, though, he learned to tend well to sheep. He therefore dismissed from his mind the
idea of ever delivering the people of God from their Egyptian bondage. Then it was that God saw him strong and well
able, and commanded him to go back to Egypt and to bring out of it His groaning
people. You recall that Moses protested
against the idea and argued that he had failed at his first attempt, the time
he was young and well-informed and that at that late hour of his life he was
not trying again, that he could no longer even speak the language. After a prolonged conversation God removed
his objections by promising to give him his brother, Aaron, to be his
spokesman, and Moses finally consented to return to Egypt.
There with his shepherd's rod he performed
many signs and wonders before both the Egyptians and the Hebrews. And you remember what took place the night
of the Passover, the night before they left Egypt: Moses had proclaimed
throughout the land that in every dwelling where no blood was found on the
doorpost, that very night the firstborn in each such dwelling would die.
Those who disobeyed the Divine injunction,
were, on the day following busily moaning and burying their dead, while those
who obeyed the command were joyously and orderly marching out of the cities. Yes, only those who were able to take orders
were made free from slavery. It is,
therefore, prerequisite that we learn to take orders if we are to receive the
seal of God in our foreheads.
Let us not forget, though, that the
children of Israel left Egypt with great zeal and high hopes. But when they saw the Red Sea ahead of them,
and Pharaoh's army behind them, they were filled with consternation. They saw themselves in a death trap although
they were at the brink of another marvelous deliverance. Then they turned on Moses and accused him of
bringing them to the sea, of making their escape from their enemies absolutely
impossible.
Humanly viewing the situation, they were
in a precarious predicament. In that
moment they forgot their miraculous deliverance from Pharaoh's taskmasters and
their eyes closed to the wondrous cloud by day and pillar of fire by night that
had led them all the way. As they saw
it, the evidence against Moses' ability to lead them safely was overwhelming. Insofar as they were concerned, the whole
venture appeared doomed to failure.
Their hopes of going ahead or of even going back left them, and all
because they thought Moses, not God, was their deliverer! How shortsighted, unstable, doubting, and
forgetful human beings are! Experience
in the gospel work has taught me that God's people of today have the same
tempter to contend with, and similar temptations to overcome if they are to
receive the seal of God.
What a great difference would there have
been had the Israelites only believed that God, not Moses, was their Leader,
that that which appeared to be their death trap, was their door of hope. Let their experience teach us to remember
that God is either leading us altogether or not at all, that His ways are not;
our ways, and that what may appear to be our greatest obstacle, may actually
turn out to be our greatest blessing.
Israel's real danger, we now see, was not
in what Moses did, but in their unbelief of God's having the reins in His
hands, in not knowing that His ways are beyond finding out � contrary to
ours. They failed to see that God could
again and again perform miracle after miracle to deliver them from their
enemy's hand, that He could dry the ocean as easily as He could flood the earth.
Having their failures before us, we should
make them our stepping stones to success.
Let us therefore wholeheartedly believe that God is in charge of our
salvation, of our lives and of our death, too.
That He is able to take us to safety even if the earth should drop out
of space, that we cannot die if He wants us alive, and that we cannot live if
He wants us dead. Let us ever bear in
mind that we of ourselves know nothing about God's plans except as told through
His appointed servants, the prophets, and as we witness them day by day. If we daily walk with God, if we commit all
to Him, then the responsibility is all His.
God, in His wisdom, brought Israel to the
Red Sea for their own good, and though they could not see it His way, He
nevertheless for His Name's sake divided the sea, took them safely across, and
at the same time, by the same miracle, He destroyed their enemies!
Had Moses been as doubtful of God's power
and leadership as were the people that were with him, what effect would his rod
have had as he struck the sea with it? � None whatsoever. If the Judgment of the Infinite were the
same as the judgment of the finite, then Pharaoh's army would have either
killed or enslaved Israel anew.
Their mighty deliverances should,
therefore, forever establish our confidence in God, and should stand as
everlasting memorials that the wisdom of men is foolishness with God, and that
faith in Him does actually remove mountains and seas, too.
Notwithstanding these ensamples, though,
men still expect God to work in accordance with their judgment, and that is why
sometimes He uses children in His work instead of wise and prudent men.
The Hebrew host well knew that they were
led to the sea by following the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by
night. Yet none of these wonders seemed
to have made any lasting impression on them.
There is a danger that we, too, may forget the way the Lord has led us.
After Israel crossed the sea, and after the
sea closed in on their enemies, they all sang and gave God the glory, but
though Pharaoh's army and the sea were no longer objects of fear but of
interest, their trials, doubts, and fears were not yet at an end: Almost
immediately after they saw the sea behind and the desert ahead they began to
recriminate Moses for having brought them into the desert to starve there for
want of water and food. It never
entered their minds that if God can dry the sea, He can certainly flood the
desert and make it blossom as a rose.
Notwithstanding their doubts and their moanings God again performed an
even greater miracle: He caused water to gush out of the rock and He brought
manna from Heaven!
Today as in Moses' day many are duplicating
the sins of that people: Some are all on fire on day, and all on ice the
next. Others praise God to the top of
their voices while their ship is smoothly sailing, but when the sea becomes
rough and the waves start beating against them, then they see only a man at the
wheel and rather than expecting God to calm the sea they begin to hunt for a
jumping off place. Still others are
constantly trying to promote themselves by continual fault-finding against the
ones that bear the whole burden of the load.
So it is that there must be among us today � antitypical doubters,
complainers office seekers and faultfinders, admitting one great truth one day
and forgetting it the next day � yet expecting to be sealed with the seal of
God and to stand with the Lamb on Mt. Zion!
The Lord fed His ancient people with
Angel's food, the kind their work and climate required. He delivered it fresh daily, and it did not
cost them one cent. All they had to do
was to bring it into their tents and to eat it. But they disliked the manna, and wished they were back in Egypt
eating from its flesh pots, "the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick." In their eyes, Moses was the greatest of
sinners, and they blamed him for every trial of their faith. Had God given them something other than
manna, they would have been just as dissatisfied with it because an evil spirit
was in them. Let us gladly and with
thanks eat and drink what the Lord gives us and when He gives it to us.
You recall that by craving flesh food they
made the situation unbearable for Moses.
So, to their great surprise quail filled the camp, and the multitude
carried them into their tents. But at
what a cost! Thousands of them died
even while the flesh was yet between their teeth. Then they understood that the manna was the better food. It was a great lesson, but an expensive
one. What about us Vegetarians?
Their murmuring, however, did not end even
then. They found something else to
murmur about. They grew jealous of
Moses and of Aaron. "They are
taking too much on themselves," the office seekers complained. "We are just as much favored of God as
are Moses and Aaron. God speaks with us
as much as He speaks with them," they said. And who were the chief complainers? � The princes of the nations,
the men who were the most capable, the very ones who should have known
better. Those who could have been the
greatest help to Moses became the biggest hindrance to him. They wanted Aaron's office; they wanted
Moses' office. They refused to be
satisfied with anything less. The Lord
Himself got nowhere with them. The only
thing He could do was to cause the earth to swallow them. Thus in one day thousands � practically all
the so-called wise � fell into the bowels of the earth. Are we, too, seeking office by which to
exalt self and are we, too, endeavoring to usurp the seat of the Spirit of
Truth?
Finally, the emancipated children of Israel
came to the borders of the promised land.
And though they had witnessed great miracles right along, yet they did
not believe that God could procure the land for them! They had seen that He was able to deliver them from Pharaoh's
brick yards, to take them dryshod through the sea, to destroy their enemies, to
give them food and water in the desert where there was none to be had, yet they
did not believe that He was able to take the land for them and that He could
finish what He had started!
There are thousands today who are doing
virtually the same when they say, "Isaiah, chapter 2, Micah, chapter 4,
Jeremiah, chapter 31 and Ezekiel, chapters 36 and 37 will never be
fulfilled." It was those who were
of age, those who should have known better, that started the ball rolling down
hill to destruction. The youth, of
course, must have echoed the murmurings of their elders, but the Lord did not
hold it against them. And in order to
salvage the youth, God had to bury all their murmuring parents except the two
faithful, trusting men who protested against the evil report of the other ten
spies. Mark you, every adult that left
Egypt, except Caleb and Joshua, had to be buried before the youth could cross
the Jordan! Why? � Because though God
did take them with ease out of Egypt, He could not get Egypt out of them. Are you still wondering why the prophet
Elijah must "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart
of the children to their fathers"? (Mal. 4:6.)
Christians often think that the Israelites
were very wicked and unruly people, but after having their experiences to
profit by, think how much worse we would be if we do as they did! If we do no better than they, how can we
expect to be eligible for the seal and for the Kingdom since they were not
eligible?
In the very prime of life, Moses thought
himself capable of delivering the children of Israel. But Providence said: "You are not fit for the work, come out
and I will make you fit." And out
Moses went.
He
did not need Pharaoh's training in order to do God's work. It was a hindrance to him! Why?
Because it made him self-sufficient, independent of God. Such a person would be the right one to lead
God's people away from Him and into sin, but the wrong one to lead them to God
and away from sin.
How true the statement in Testimonies,
Vol. 5, pg. 80: "...In the last solemn work few great men will be
engaged. They are self-sufficient,
independent of God, and he cannot use them.
The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will be
disclosed to view."
God can help only those who know that they
are unequal to their task, those who know that they need His help. So, then, those who think that they can do
wonders are the very ones who can do nothing but harm.
Plainly, those whom God is to use in His
final work, in the time of the end, are not to be anything like the Egyptian
crown prince, not anything like the learned Moses. Those who can learn to keep and feed sheep well and to readily
take orders, are the ones who can be taught how to keep and feed God's people.
Moses' wife was the only Ethiopian in the
entire company. For this reason some
thought they were superior to her. They
thought that Moses had committed the unpardonable sin by marrying out of his
nation, as though race had anything to do with making people superior or
inferior. Moses' own sister, Miriam,
was caught in that sin. There she was,
trying to break up his family, yet Moses prayed for her recovery when she was
stricken with leprosy.
Who went into the promised land? � All but
the murmurers. Do you suppose that you
can entertain the same spirit of murmuring and complaining, and in spite of it
receive the seal? � How absurd the very thought! How unfair it would be for a just God to destroy the disobedient
of that day, but to save the disobedient of this day.
What made one group eligible to cross the
Jordan? � It was their trust in God, knowing that He was their Chief
Leader. They recognized Moses and
Joshua as the ones through whom God was communicating with them. They did not look upon them as being anyone
other than who they actually were. They
were satisfied with their lot. They
took orders as the orders were given.
So it was that they were the only ones who entered into the land.
Having these ensamples before us, this
picture to go by, I can confidently tell whether I am headed for the Kingdom or
whether I am headed for the bowels of the earth (Rev. 12:16). And I am sure that you, too, can tell which
way you are headed. The Lord does not
require more or less of us than He required of our types. There is therefore no mystery as to what we
must do, and what we must not do to receive the seal of God.
We need not go into a land of wonderment,
need not entertain the idea that we must have a mysterious feeling, exciting
emotion, need not wallow in the dust or jump to the ceiling. No, we need not make fools of ourselves. All we need to do is be ourselves. Be calm, decent, respectable, heaven-like
beings, endeavoring to do God's will on earth as it is done in heaven. We need not make a display of ourselves, but
we need to mind our God-given business and to keep our noses out of other
people's business.
Only when we have done all we can to comply
with the requirements of the message for today, not of yesterday, shall we be
sealed and stand with the Lamb on Mt. Zion.
Should we not be glad that while we are
being invited to the Kingdom, we are also being told how to get there? Seeing all these, we must never let our
confidence in God wane. We ought to be
stable, firm in everything, lacking nothing.
God's eleventh-hour servants, says Inspiration, are to be "a great
people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any
more after it." Joel 2:2. They
know what they believe, and believe what they know. Most important of all, they know that they are led by God, not by
man.
They are not like the Pharisees who were building monuments in memory of the dead prophets (Matt. 23:29-31) and at the same time were slaying the living ones! With this light shining on our pathway, Hebrews, chapters 3, 4, 10 and 11 become self-interpreting.