The Place Which The Lord Thy God Shall Choose by Richard Burson
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The Place Which The Lord Thy God Shall Choose by Richard Edwin Burson
In the Book of Deuteronomy we find the expression, which is the title of this article, exactly 21 times. "Three" is the number that speaks of manifestation (God, fully manifested, is Father, Son and Holy Spirit), and "seven" speaks of perfection or completeness of good or evil, but especially of good.
These 21 times where the expression occurs will all come under four heads, and these are:
- worship (26:1-11)
- ministry (18:6-8)
- discipline (17:8, 13)
- tithing or gifts (12:5-6)
These things correspond with what we have brought out in the Epistle to the Corinthians, and were doubtless given us by God as types of what is unfolded in that epistle of church order.
Worship
Deut. 26:1-11, with 16:16-17, give a very fine picture of worship (which is giving to God). When they appeared before God in the place which He had chosen to place His name, we see that they were not to come empty, but were to give as they were able, so in chapter 26 they bring their basket of firstfruits and set it down before the Lord their God and worshipped.
We have a very beautiful picture of this aspect of the truth in 1 Samuel 10:3, "Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine."
Note how it is put, "going up to God to Bethel." Why Bethel? Because He had chosen it as the place where He had caused His name to dwell, and the Glory abode between the cherubim. Thus He distinguished it from every other place, and from every part of the land, Israel assembled there.
His name just stood for Himself, and these three men are going up to God, but it is put in such a way as may well speak to our consciences, "going up to God to Bethel. They are not legalists, who are wholly occupied with the place, nor on the other hand are they so liberal as to believe that they can find God in every place. And mark, they are obeying the exhortation given in Deut. 16:16-17, for they are not going empty.
1 Cor. 11:20-34 answers perfectly to this. In verses 20 and 33 we have the gathering of the church together, specially for the remembrance of the Lord in breaking the bread, an occasion preeminently for worship, not a time of asking from God, but a time when we give to Him. But how we fail here, for some seem to regard it as a prayer meeting, others an experience meeting or Bible reading. That which specially marks the remembrance feast, is worship and thanksgiving.
"The place which the Lord shall choose to place His name there" finds its antitype in Matt. 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them." As from all parts of the land, the people of Israel gathered to the place where Jehovah had put His name, so the Holy Spirit in this age would gather believers unto Christ, as God's center. The word rendered "gathered together" in Matt. 18:20 means "to be led unto." When the disciples followed the man with the pitcher of water (Luke 22:10), he led them to the upper room where the remembrance feast was instituted. And where Christians obedient to the leading of the Spirit now, He would gather them around the Lord Jesus, away from human sects and systems, to shew forth His death on the first day of the week. "Gather my saints together unto Me" (Ps. 50:5).
Were believers asked where they were going on the Lord's day morning, how different would be their answers. Some would say that they were going to hear Mr. So-and-So preach. Others to such-and-such a meeting. And some would say that they were going to the breaking of bread. None of these answers is to be compared with how it is put in the case of those three men "going up to God to Bethel." And the intelligent believer, who delights to please God, goes to meet the Lord. He is in the midst, according to His faithful promise, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." May it ever be our joy to gather "unto Him".
What those men were carrying (1 Sam. 10) brings before us our Lord Jesus. The loaves speak of His incarnation, as when He took the loaf and said, "This is My body." The kids speak of His death, "My body which is given for you." We cannot separate from the kid, the thought of the sin offering. The wine (a type of joy) brings before our hearts the thought of His resurrection and coming again. "Ye do shew the Lord's death till He come," and that coming will make our joy complete.
In the feast that David made in 1 Chron. 16, we get practically these three same things, which bring before us the same precious truths. "And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine (v. 3). The measure in which we enter into what these things set forth, in that measure will our hearts be filled with worship when we are gathered together. Then it shall be a feast to our hearts. And better still, it will be a feast to His heart. It will be true then, "There they made Him a supper" (John 12:2).
