"And
the Lord God called unto the man, and said unto him,
Where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9)
"Behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he
said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?" (1
Kings 19:9)
"I John, ...was in the isle that is called
Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus."
(Revelation 1:9)
There are times when we are called upon to give an
account of where we are and why we are there. This is
what happened on the three occasions which are described
in our texts. The two in the garden were so challenged by
God Himself, as was Elijah when he fled from Jezebel.
Then there was John who commenced his book of the
Revelation by declaring where he was when he received
that revelation, and why he was there.
The Lord's purpose in the case of the garden at the
beginning was represented and symbolised by the tree of
life. Everything circled around it, as may be verified by
the reference in the final book of the Bible, the
Revelation. So the original man's position was challenged
as to its relationship with the Lord's testimony of life.
Elijah was the great prophet of life. How much he had to
do with the meeting and overcoming of death! Eventually
he went up in a whirlwind, untouched by death and
triumphing gloriously over it. Here, however, we read of
his being questioned as to his position, and pressed by
the Lord to state just why he was where he was at that
time.
There can be no doubt about the spiritual position of the
apostle John. His whole ministry had been concerned with
the testimony of Christ's triumphant life, and it was for
that testimony's sake that he found himself in the isle
of Patmos. There was no need for the Lord to ask any
questions as to the whereabouts of His faithful servant,
for He Himself had permitted the banishment, but others
might ask and, if they did, John had his answer. He was
where he was for the sake of the testimony.
Each of these three men had a different relationship to
the testimony and each had to declare just what his
position was. Which immediately confronts us with our own
personal feelings. Where do we stand? We have church
associations and activities, we have doctrinal beliefs
and Bible teaching, but the real question is whether we
are in the good of a real and effective testimony to
triumphant life in Christ. This is not just a matter of
orthodoxy or sound evangelism, but rather of the impact
of victorious life upon the kingdom of spiritual death.
ADAM and Eve had lost their living, God-appointed
testimony. They hid themselves from the Lord. This means,
of course, that there had awakened in them a conviction
as to their maladjustment to the will of God. There was
something gravely wrong with Adam's position. When the
Lord asked: "Where art thou?", it was not
because He did not know Adam's whereabouts so much as a
stern challenge concerning his departure from the
spiritual relationship with Himself which the man had
previously had.
In the first place Adam was in a wrong relationship
because of disobedience. He had been given light, had
been instructed as to his proper procedure, but he had
wilfully disobeyed. Perhaps he thought that he could get
something better by taking this wilful way, or conversely
that he would have lost by not taking it. This latter was
certainly the suggestion made to him by the tempter. In
any case, though, the point of the story is that, having
been given light by God, he had disobeyed it and so
fallen out of vital relationship with the Giver. So far
as he and Eve were concerned, the door was now closed,
and it would require another and a different 'Adam' to
re-open it. It is a very serious thing to be shown the
Lord's purpose and then to reject the light and sin
against it. Adam tried to make excuses, as we so often
tend to do, but the Lord cannot be put off in that way.
No excuses will pass with Him. Adam is out of touch with
God, that is where he is, and the inevitable consequence
is death.
ELIJAH, of course, is in quite a different category, and
yet, for the moment, we sense a certain peril in his
position. His difficulty was not disobedience but
unbelief. This man who had maintained such a glorious
testimony of victorious life, was longing to be quit of
it all. 'It is no good. Please take away my life, Lord',
was what he said, although he was the one man in the
whole of the Old Testament who could be expected never to
succumb to such a death-wish. Yet here he was, the man
who had proved the power of God's life in miraculous
ways, now pleading with God to let death have its way
with him.
I am not criticising Elijah. Far be it from me to
reproach God's servant, for under much less trial, I have
sometimes been tempted to feel that it was not worthwhile
to go on. Under such Satanic pressure, it was no wonder
that the prophet lost heart, became discouraged, and
longed to get away from it all.
God, of course, would not accept Elijah's proffered
resignation. He first challenged him as to why he was
where he was, and then listened while Elijah poured out
his mournful story. So often when we do that, there is
not much in it, and even the telling of our tale makes us
realise how wrong we are in our hasty reactions. With
Elijah, God went on to point out that his assessment of
the situation was quite erroneous: "I have yet seven
thousand...". It was as though the Lord said to him:
'Your claim to be the only one is quite wrong. Go back
again. Prove once more that the testimony which you bear
is one of triumphant life. You are not finished yet, but
when you are, the testimony will still go on.'
WITH John the story is quite different. Adam had perfect
surroundings, but he lost his testimony. In his cruel
banishment John had just the opposite; but he was where
he was both because of and in the good of this testimony
of triumphant life. It is not environment which decides
this issue, it is not circumstances, but rather personal
relationship with the Lord. Adam in Paradise departed
from the testimony: John in Patmos maintained it. Think
of his situation, his position, and then remember how he
sat down and wrote Spirit-inspired words about the river
of the water of life. This victim of Roman persecution,
exiled and oppressed, penned his book of Revelation which
abounds with references to life. There can be no reproach
about John's location; he was in the right place and was
there for the Lord.
Some of us may complain about our situation or
surroundings, feeling that where we are and in our
circumstances there is no opportunity for an expression
of victorious life. The best remedy will be to re-read
Revelation 1:9, and to get inspiration from this old
warrior who could sing so triumphantly even in the midst
of outward opposition. Here was a man who could answer
the challenge as to his whereabouts by declaring that he
was in the good of the testimony of throne life.
Really the matter resolves itself into a matter of being
or not being in the will of God. Adam's position, even
though at that time he was still in the garden, was that
he was out of the will of God. Elijah's location was due
to doubts and questions about the will of God. John could
claim that for his part he was in the centre of God's
will. Men would call his situation unhappy and unjust,
but he was able to rejoice as he accepted God's
overruling permission of the tribulation which had
overtaken him. That explains the flow of living ministry
which went out from Patmos to Asia and to the world, from
that day to this. He knew where he stood, and God was
with him.
Now in each of these three cases, the element of Satanic
power and guile was very obvious. The Devil is one who
deals in death, and he is the fierce opponent of the
testimony of life. He saw that if Adam ever became a
partaker of incorruptible life, he would forever have
lost his chance with the human race, so he made his
supreme bid to get in between man and God, and he did so
by deception. By this he tricked Adam into a break with
the will of God, robbed him of his birth-right, and
spoiled the purposes of God for that first humanity.
In Elijah's case it was Jezebel who was Satan's agent in
putting intolerable pressure on God's servant. Elijah
withstood and overcame this enmity so well and for so
long, but then in physical weariness and soul
disappointment the prophet temporarily succumbed. So it
was that Elijah felt unable to withstand the pressure any
longer and decided to ask God to relieve him of any
further responsibility for the testimony. This can happen
to us all. It is not a matter of the kind of deception
which defeated Adam and is not a direct temptation to
flagrant disobedience, but the sheer pressure of doubting
whether we can go on any more. Satan never lets up in
this unceasing endeavour to get a man out of the place
where he ought to be, either geographically or
spiritually. He knows that only those who abide in the
will of God are any match for him.
There is no question about the evil nature of the powers
which made John a prisoner on Patmos, and it is
specifically stated that it all arose from John's
faithfulness to the word of God and the testimony of
Jesus. The apostle, however, refused to capitulate. Adam
might defy the will of God. Elijah might doubt it, but he
would glory in it. This is the way of certain victory; to
accept God's will, however painful it may be, and to
trust Him in the certain faith that His will must triumph
in the end. John stood his ground, maintaining his
testimony in the face of every foe, and as a consequence
has exercised a mighty ministry of life right down the
centuries.
For us it must be the Lord's testimony that determines
our position - not things, not people, not arguments and
not apparent failure. There is, of course, a battle. It
is never easy to maintain that testimony of life, but it
is all important that we should do so. At any point we
may be challenged as to why we are where we are, and we
can always face that challenge if we keep true to the
Lord in every circumstance. Any sense of question, any
lack of assurance, any capitulation to the tempter, will
rob us of our testimony; but provided we can affirm that
we are standing for God where we are, then we need fear
no challenge.
From "Toward
the Mark" May-Jun 1976, Vol. 5-3.