Transcribed from
a message given by T. Austin-Sparks in 1959. The spoken
form has been retained verbatim. Words which were not
clearly discernible or questionable have been enclosed in
[square] brackets.
Our meditation for a few
minutes will be in the book of Joshua, chapter 4:
"And it came to pass, when
all the nation were clean passed over the Jordan, that
Jehovah spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men
out of the people, out of every tribe a man, and command
ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of the
Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood
firm, twelve stones, and carry them over with you, and
lay them down in the lodging-place, where ye shall lodge
this night. Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he
had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every
tribe a man: and Joshua said unto them, Pass over before
the ark of Jehovah your God into the midst of the Jordan,
and take you up every man of you a stone upon his
shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the
children of Israel; that it may be a sign among you,
that, when your children ask in time to come, saying,
What mean ye by these stones? then ye shall say unto
them, Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off
before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it
passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut
off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the
children of Israel for ever. And the children of Israel
did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out
of the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord spake unto
Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the
children of Israel; and they carried them over with them
unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down
there. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of
the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests
which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are
there unto this day. For the priests which bare the ark
stood in the midst of the Jordan, until everything was
finished that the Lord commanded. [Joshua 4:1-10]
Chapter 5: And it came to
pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, that were
beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the
Canaanites, that were by the sea, heard how the Lord had
dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the
children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their
heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more,
because of the children of Israel.
As you know, historically and
symbolically this represents the crisis of the fullness
of Gods purpose concerning His people - that for
which He had moved and worked and been patient through
many years, that which now was immediately before them.
And at this crisis or this turning-point, in that
relationship, as at every crisis relating to something
more of the Lord, the people were, and we are, brought
back to our foundation: to the foundation. These stones,
twelve on the land and twelve in the Jordan, were the
foundation stones of everything concerning the purpose of
God.
We know the typology, that these
waters of the Jordan - which at this time were spread over
not only the riverbed but the land round about in a
mighty inundation, for it says that season Jordan
overfloweth all its banks - these waters
typify the floods of death. The floods of death; death at
the full.
The ark, we know, is the symbol
figure of Jesus and Jesus taking up His position, the
great priestly ministry, right in the heart of deaths
flood and flood time. And as He did so, death gave way.
As we are told in the Word, He could not be holden
of it that is, it had NO power over Him. It
had to yield to His presence, He conquered it, it stood
up, the mighty flood was held in its course and broken in
its way; it had no power. Death had no power over HIM.
And here, this record is intended to teach us that in the
place where death reigned universally, a testimony is
planted, and planted forever, for whenever we come on
that little phrase And there it is until this day
it is meant to imply permanence; it goes on, it is
something unchanged. Right in the place of deaths
fullness and overwhelming there is a testimony that its
power has been broken, that its long course has been
interrupted, that it has not held on its way forever.
Theres something which FOREVER says death
has been arrested and its power broken.
Well that is, of course, the Gospel in
its objective form but the message here for us this
morning is this: that what is there, right in the very
scene of that triumph, of that overcoming, of that mighty
thing; has got to have a counterpart on the land
where it can be seen, right here, where everybody can
note it and the children can say What is the
meaning of this, what do you mean by this?
Something clearly manifest in the very LIFE of the
people, that it is not only a looking back to something
that was, but its looking to something that here is
and we can say what was, is! What was there is here, its
something to be seen.
The very foundation of everything in
the purpose of God and in the FULL purpose
of God for His people has got to be a literal ACTUALITY,
right here, every day where it can be taken note of. That
means more exact words, for there have got to be people
who will take it up on their shoulders and say I
make myself responsible for that testimony. I carry
on MY shoulders that testimony, I am one in
whom, through whom, it CAN be seen. Jesus has
conquered death! There is a death-conquering Life present
with us!
And inasmuch as twelve men were
chosen and twelve stones were placed here and twelve there,
while we know that in the symbolism of numbers twelve
means government (well not stay with that aspect)
twelve is always representation of the Lords
people. And the Lord does choose amongst His people those
who know something deeper of the death and [might] of the
resurrection, whove gone in and come out with a
testimony on their shoulders - a representative company.
Its His will for all of His people of course, but
there are those whove got to stand FOR the
people of God in this matter, carrying the burden OF& this testimony FOR the people of God, that all in
looking may see what God wants concerning them and see it
in these.
My brothers and sisters, the great
Joshua, (its the same name you know, Jesus - Joshua,
the Lord, the Saviour) this greater Joshua, our Lord
Jesus, would select men and women who He can take into the
testimony in a very real way and bring them out - on their
shoulders, so to speak, carrying its responsibility.
We do not think in terms of an elect
of the elect, of a select people in that technical sense,
but we do know it is true, we see it through the Bible
again and again, right to the end of the Bible in the
book of the Revelation, that there are those who come
into a closer association with the Lord in the meaning of
His death and resurrection ON BEHALF OF OTHERS! On
behalf of others that others may SEE what the Lord
wants, ah, that they may see that this thing is real;
these have gone into the depths, these have known
something of the place of the flood, these have been
where the Lord has been in measure, and have learned HIS
victory, have learned HIS power, who have come out
with something on their shoulders of a testimony to the
power of His resurrection; His death-conquering Life.
He would select a representative
company and if the Lord deals with any in that deeper
way, that so much deeper way, understand, understand that
He is building something that is not just doctrine -
teaching about the death and the resurrection - but
making it very real in certain lives, perhaps in certain
places, that it may be seen; taken note of, that coming
generations now rising around may be affected and say
What is the meaning of this? and be
instructed by that which has come out of Jordans
deep bed, that which carries in it the significance of
His mighty, mighty, victory.
And it is not only for themselves,
it is not only for other believers; thats why we
went on and into chapter five and saw that the chapter
was divided at that point - it should not have been - all
the enemies of the Lord lost heart when they saw this
testimony in action! The conquest of the land, the
possessing of the inheritance, the overthrow of the evil
forces which were against them, came about because this
thing was REAL in the life of the Lords
people. They fought, but they fought without a heart.
Listen to what Rahab said about it, When we heard
what the Lord did our hearts fainted, there was no
strength left in us any more. And when the
enemy fights, and he will fight, but he hasnt got
much heart for this fight for then he sees that this
testimony is not theory, not teaching, not doctrine, but
its on the very shoulders of men and women - they
carry it, its something that is REAL in them.
Well, we may be going into the deep places, but this is
the Lords object: that there shall be a concrete
testimony to the power of His resurrection and His
victory over death.
You notice that the waters came back
again, they overflowed as before, they spread themselves
over the earth again, and yet not as before; there were
twelve stones right down there at the bottom which said
Your sway is not universal while were here!.
They were a denial. And friends, death spreads over the
earth, even since Calvary, even since the resurrection,
its spread over; but has the Lord got His stones of
testimony which say Yes, but death is not universal
and while this testimony remains as it WILL, the
heart of death is taken out of it, the power of death is NOT
universal, we testify to the fact that that power HAS
been broken and that eventually it will be utterly
destroyed! The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death.
Do you get the message of the Lord?
Im sure the message to you, to me, to us - what Im
going to do - no, thats not just a message, thats
a challenge: shall we take up with both hands the stones
of testimony and say As for me, by the grace of
God, I WILL be something that others can see in
this matter, HE HAS CONQUERED DEATH and in me the
power of His resurrection SHALL be seen.
The Lord help us.