2002-01-01
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
The connections between the OT and the NT are real and very important to each of us. In general terms, what happened in the OT foreshadows what happens or will happen in the NT. Understanding this principle helps us to see just how very consistent a Promise-keeper our Partner in the New Covenant really is. The Holy Spirit leads me to discuss the part of God’s plan that grants us eternal forgiveness through His Son, Jesus Christ. Those of you who read the series of devotions I wrote about the Passover will remember the description of this event in LV 23: 5-14 given by Moses from God to the Jews. It was to commemorate annually each Spring how God freed the Jews from Egyptian slavery and, through Moses, led them out of Egypt to the Promised Land. The detailed story of the Passover and the exodus from Egypt can be found in EX 12: 1-51, which I hope you will take the time to reread. A significant part of that story is God’s instructions to the Jews to sacrifice a lamb without spot or blemish and to paint marks in its blood over the door posts and lintels of their homes. This was meant to prevent them from losing their first-born sons when God brought down the tenth plague on the recalcitrant Egyptians. Jewish homes this way were “passed over.” I mention this, because of the issue of forgiveness. In the Covenant of the Law, it was made clear that animal sacrifices offered under strict guidelines brought temporary forgiveness. The basis of that is LV 17:11, “The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the Lord has commanded that all blood be poured out on the altar to take away the people’s sins. Blood, which is life, takes away sins.”
As I said above, what happened in the OT foreshadows what is to come in the NT. This is particularly clear in two passages from the NT, HE 9: 22 and 1 COR 5: 6-8. HE 9: 22, “Indeed according to the Law almost everything is purified by blood, and sins are forgiven only if blood is poured.” (Remember that when a capital “L” is used in the word “Law,” it refers strictly to the laws given to the ancient Jews. When a small “l” is used for that word, it refers to the entirety of God’s teachings. Hence, the Covenant of the Law refers to the Old Covenant, as opposed to the Covenant of Grace, which is the New Covenant). 1 COR 5: 6-8, “It is not right for you to be proud! You know the saying, ‘A little bit of yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise.’ You must remove the old yeast of sin so that you will be entirely pure. Then you will be like a new batch of dough without any yeast, as indeed I know you actually are. For our Passover festival is ready, now that Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us celebrate our Passover, then not with bread having the old yeast of sin and wickedness, but with the bread that has no yeast, the bread of purity and truth.” The symbolism in this passage is unmistakable. In the Scriptures, yeast often is used to symbolize sin. It’s something like the picture of a drop of blood on the corner of a piece of white linen cloth. Once it hits the cloth, it migrates staining the whole piece. God has always known this, which is why He has instructed mankind throughout their entire history to get rid of all sin in their lives. It is the very reason that He called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeas long ago to establish a people, the Jews, who were supposed to worship only Him and spend their lives getting rid of sin by making these sacrifices and following a God-centered way of life.
It wasn’t until the New Covenant or Covenant of Grace was instituted by the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross that real salvation and eternal forgiveness of sins was possible. When Christ died on the cross, God felt that mankind was finally ready for this extraordinary opportunity to defeat Satan at his game and someday live eternally with the Lord purified from the sins of the past. The slavery that Christ’s death frees the believer from is not slavery in Egypt, but instead, is slavery from sin’s control over his life. In other words, slavery to the temptations and evil of Satan and his followers. That makes Christ the Avenger or Kinsman Redeemer for anyone who repents of his sin and comes to faith in the Son. Where that leaves Satan is in defeat! We will take a deeper look at Satan’s defeat in tomorrow’s message, but for now, we must see how this Passover Lamb impacts our lives today.
We know that Satan is not completely defeated and won’t be until the Day when he and his followers are cast into the lake of fire and sulfur [REV 19: 20-21 and 20: 10]. However, each time a person decides to reject Satan’s temptation to control us by our giving in to the demands of our flesh, he suffers the loss of a battle. Each time we use the discernment God gives us through Scriptures and prayer to walk away from an old, bad habit and learn to think and act with the love Christ commanded us to have, Satan is knocked down a few more pegs. Each time we give God some of our time to do His service, Satan is pushed away. It’s these everyday battles that we must win by trusting and obeying God that will allow us to become perfected and not waste a drop of the blood that our Lord and Savior shed for us on the cross.
PRAYER: O Lord, the Psalmist in PS 93: 1-5 gives us the words we wish to speak to You today. “The Lord is King. He is clothed with majesty and strength. The earth is set firmly in place and cannot be moved. Your throne, O Lord, has been firm from the beginning, and You existed before time began. The ocean depths raise their voice, O Lord; they raise their voice and roar. The Lord rules supreme in heaven, greater than the roar of the ocean, more powerful than the waves of the sea. Your laws are eternal, Lord, and Your temple is holy indeed, forever and ever.” How blessed we are that You were willing to give Your Son’s physical life on the cross for us and then go on to grant us the gift of Your Spirit to dwell within us! We acknowledge that You have opened the heavenly Holy of Holies through His atoning sacrifice, so that He could take our prayerful pleas to You and intercede for us [HE 8: 1-2 & 9: 12]. You love us enough to have inspired Paul to tell us that not only does the Son plead for us, but so does the Spirit [RO 8: 26]. We are weak, and in our weakness, You are strong. You provide us with the protection of Christ’s power [2 COR 12: 9]. Without You we have nothing and are worthless. With You in leadership in our lives, we are the recipients of the greatest blessing ever made available, that of eternal life with You. Today, we come before Your altar to humbly confess our sin, present ourselves to You, and to beseech You to fill us with the Holy Spirit. Our wish is that we can serve You and be Your friends in a way that will please You. We acknowledge the greatness of Who You are and of what You do for us. This goes with our pledge of loyalty, diligence, adoration, worship, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
As mentioned above, tomorrow’s message will take a deeper look at Satan’s defeat. Our Lord loves each of us so much that we are His treasures. Even the weakest and seemingly least important of us are viewed this way by Him. Throughout our lives, He encourages us to walk with Christ and even to allow Christ to carry us when we are too weak to walk on our own. His joy is seeing us obey His commands and act toward Him and each other with love in our hearts [JN 13: 33-34 and 14:21]. He repeats messages in the Scriptures many times when He thinks they are important. He roots for us in our battles against Satan and finds express pleasure in being the Giver of life to us. God loves each of you and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn