God’s Intention is to have a People Formed into an Army Fighting for His Interests

In Exodus 30:1-10 we see a revelation of the golden incense altar, and in 11-16 we see something called “the expiation silver”. There must be a reason that these records are placed so close together: there must be a connection between the incense altar with the intercession of Christ, and what is described for the expiation silver.

After God spoke of the incense altar with the high revelation of the prayer that cooperates with God, He spoke of a census: the sum of males in Israel from 20 and upward, each having to pay half a shekel of silver as a heave offering, and they were numbered to be in the army.

This week we want to see the picture portrayed in the expiation silver of the military census which was conducted to get an exact number of the males (those who are strong in spirit), 20 years and above (those who have some degree in maturity), those who are qualified to be formed into an army.

The topic for this week is, The Expiation Silver for the Formation of an Army to Fight for God’s Interests and Move on Earth. Today we want to see God’s intention, which is to have a people formed into an army that will engage in spiritual warfare to fight for His interest and move on the earth.

God is Not welcome on Earth: He moves by Fighting, and He Needs an Army to be Formed

The tabernacle in Exodus with everything related to it is for God’s move. The tabernacle is the moving and the movable church life. Those who pray at the incense altar pray for God’s move on the earth; they pray for the move of the tabernacle with everything related to it.

As those who learn to enter into the prayer life of the corporate Christ by praying for the Lord’s move, we realize that nowhere on earth is God welcome: every place is closed, people are against Him, and even God’s people don’t offer Him the cooperation He needs. Therefore, the only way God can move is by fighting. God moves through the tabernacle, and He moves by fighting.

This fighting requires an army that is formed and trained, so that God would accomplish His purpose on earth. However, not everyone among God’s people is qualified to be drafted into God’s army; there are certain requirements: those in the army had to be males (in typology), that is, they have to be stronger members of the Body of Christ, strong in spirit, regardless of gender. Also, those in the army had to be at least 20 years old, that is, they had to have a certain degree of maturity.

Such ones, those strong in spirit and with a certain degree of maturity, are qualified to be formed into an army that fights so that God could freely move on earth to reach His goal.

The initial connection that we see between the incense altar and the expiation silver is that the prayer of intercession for God’s move offered at the incense altar issues in a military census to produce and bring forth a number qualified for the army to fight for God’s interest on earth.

The Lord wants an army to be formed where there’s the most absolute and fine coordination as in a fighting unit, where everyone is under authority, caring for the others, and having a common goal, under experienced leadership.

This matter of the army raises a question: God is omnipotent, He can do anything He wants, and nothing can match His power; can He right now do whatever He wills on the earth? The answer is NO, not yet. Why is that? Why is it that the omnipotent God with power that is unrivalled and unlimited – why can’t such a One do anything He wants on earth?

It is because God created man with a will, and He placed upon Himself certain limitations that can be abolished only when His people are absolutely one with Him! The obvious reason for which God cannot do what He wants to do on earth is that there’s rebellion everywhere; but this is not what concerns Him – He is concerned that His own people, the church, is limiting Him by not giving Him the cooperation He needs in order to accomplish what He wants!

God created us in His image, with His likeness, and with a will; He desires that, in response to His grace and love, we would obey Him, submit to Him, be one with Him, follow Him, express Him, and carry out His heart’s desire. How much the omnipotent God can do on earth is in a very real sense determined by us, His people!

What God can do on earth is determined by whether or not the Lord will have among His people those whose will has become absolutely one with His will, and when they pray, their prayers open the way for God’s will to be done on earth – as it is being done in the heavens! Oh, our God has been limited so long by the general rebellion, reluctance, reticence, and disobedience among His people!

Today God’s people as Christ’s enlarged mystical universal Body needs to give Him their best cooperation so that He may do what He wants to do. This is why God is seeking for many to be in the army: those who can fight against any resistance to God because in them there’s no resistance, those who are brought to the point that they only care for the desire of God’s heart and the doing of God’s will on earth!

Lord Jesus, save us from being reluctant or disobedient toward You; save us from being rebellious against You and therefore limiting You in what You want to do on earth. We want to limit You no more in what You intend to do on earth. Lord, we give ourselves to You to grow in life unto maturity and be those strong in spirit who are qualified to be in Your army! Oh Lord, in response to Your grace, we submit ourselves to You, we follow You, and we care for Your heart’s desire to be accomplished. Lord, may Your kingdom come on earth, and may Your will be done on earth!

God’s Intention is to have a People Formed into an Army Fighting for His Interests

The entire Bible shows us one thing — that God’s intention is to have a people formed into an army to take Christ as their meaning of life, testimony, center, Leader, way, and goal and to proceed on and fight for God that He may gain the ground on earth and have a people built up as His kingdom and His house, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem. (Witness Lee, Life-study of Numbers, p. 6)

Amen! Because Satan’s will is set against God’s will, spiritual warfare is necessary, and we as God’s people need to align our will with God’s will (see Matt. 6:10; 7:21; Isa. 14:12-14).

We see even from the garden of Eden that there were three wills, three persons: Satan with the tree of knowledge has the satanic will, God with the tree of life has the divine will, and man has a free will which needs to choose one of the two wills.

When we repent and believe into the Lord, we choose the divine will; when we are baptised, we are brought out of the authority of darkness – the satanic will – and into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love (see Col. 1:13). Now as believers in Christ we daily need to exercise to choose God’s will.

God doesn’t want only to fulfill His purpose and satisfy His heart’s desire but He wants to defeat His enemy, Satan. For the fulfillment of God’s purpose, the church is a new man; for the satisfaction of God’s heart’s desire, the church is the bride of Christ; for the defeating of Satan, God’s enemy, the church needs to be a warrior fighting for God’s interest.

We need to walk according to truth and grace to fulfill God’s purpose, we need to live in love and light to satisfy His heart’s desire, and we need to fight by choosing God’s will for the defeat of God’s enemy.

The purpose of the spiritual warfare is to bring in the kingdom of God (Rev. 12:10); this is not only the manifestation of the kingdom but the kingdom as a realm in which God can do whatever He wants. The kingdom of God is the realm where God is unhindered in doing whatever He wills to do.

God’s will is done in heaven: when He commands an angel to smite Herod, for example, he does so; but on earth God needs the church to cooperate with Him to the extent that His will is done on earth! Our fighting today is to bring about on the earth in the church age in miniature a sphere where our God can do whatever He wants.

God has many enemies, and He is not welcome anywhere (see Exo. 23:23; Num. 14:45; 21:1); because of all these enemies, God doesn’t have the freedom to move on earth, and so He must fight in order to destroy His enemies.

God is seeking to obtain the active cooperation of the will of His people; when He has that, He will move without hindrance. God will never move past man’s free will to display His awesome power: He wants to gain an army that is formed to fight for His interests on earth!

According to Ephesians 6:10-18, the church must be a warrior fighting against God’s enemies. May the Lord gain us to the point that, in response to his grace, we will tell Him with sobriety yet deep love and strong commitment,

Lord Jesus, You may do with us whatever You want! We only want Your will to be done on earth as it is in the heaven. Lord, we align our will with Yours: may Your will be done and may Your kingdom come! Gain a formed army that will engage in spiritual warfare to fight for Your interests and move on earth! Lord, gain the church as the corporate warrior fighting against God’s enemies! May we hinder You or limit You no more in what You want to do on earth!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, brother Ron Kangas’ sharing in the message for this week, and Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 528-530 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Exodus (3), week 8 (week 32), The Expiation Silver for the Formation of an Army to Fight for God’s Interests and Move on Earth.
• All Bible verses are taken from, Holy Bible Recovery Version.
• Hymns on this topic to strengthen this burden:
  # 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 cooperating by prayer)
  # The churches are the Body / Of Christ on earth today. / They are His testimony, / That He may have a way. / They are the golden lampstands / In cities far and wide. / They are His fighting army, / And His beloved Bride. (Hymns #1265)
  # Fierce may be the conflict, / Strong may be the foe, / But the King’s own army / None can overthrow. / Round His standard ranging / Victory is secure, / For His truth unchanging / Makes the triumph sure. (Hymns #469)