2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
When we think about the defeat of Satan, this issue opens a floodgate of feelings. It is a great challenge of God’s work in which He has invited us to participate. Satan is the cause of pain, suffering, and loss for us, so we must deal with him as we would our worst enemy. Yet, we don’t do this without first being empowered by God with the same amazing and supernatural power that He used to raise Christ from death to life [EPH 1: 18-20]. This is so important for us to understand that the Spirit prompts me to repeat it often as a reminder. God knows it is easy for us to forget that whilst we deal with Satan’s arrows in our lives. Working side by side with the Lord toward the eventual and inevitable defeat of Satan provides God with the opportunity to sanctify us too. That means that as we chip away at Satan’s arrogance, ability to tempt us, attempts to teach us to hate, and efforts to thwart God, God is able to move us forward in perfecting us and bringing us to spiritual maturation. I never really understood the phrase, “sanctified by Thy commandments” so often used in the OT so well as I did when I realized what sanctification actually is. That is so, even through I have repeated that phrase every time that I have offered the prayer over the Sabbath lights that Jews say every Friday night, at Passover seders, on Chanukah [the festival of lights], and on other special occasions.
Yesterday I wrote about how Christ is our Passover Lamb, citing 1 COR 5: 6-8. Today, lets look at another fulfillment of OT practices that He is. LV 16: 1-34 is the part of this book of rules for Jewish life that tells us about the observance of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which I hope you will read. A significant part of that observance was the purification of the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle followed by the send off of the scapegoat. LV 16: 7-10, “Then he [Aaron, the high priest] shall take two goats to the entrance of the Tent of the Lord’s presence. There he shall draw lots, using two stones, one marked ‘for the Lord,’ and the other marked ‘for Azazel.’ [The meaning of the Hebrew word ‘Azazel’ is not clear, but it is thought to mean the name of a desert demon]. Aaron shall sacrifice the goat chosen by lot for the Lord and offer it as a sin offering. The goat chosen for Azazel shall be presented alive to the Lord and sent off into the desert to Azazel, in order to take away the sins of the people.” Further illumination of this rite is given in LV 16: 21-22. “He [Aaron] shall put both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the evils, sins, and rebellions of the people of Israel, and so transfer them to the goat’s head. Then the goat is to be driven off into the desert by a man appointed to do it. The goat will carry all their sins away with him into some uninhabited land.”
Now that we have seen the OT practice, let’s look at how Christ is the consummation of it in the NT. We all know the enormity of God’s sacrifice of His Son and of the suffering that Christ went through from the period just prior to His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, through His trial, His scourging, and His death on the cross. The true significance of these events and their connection to the story of the scapegoat just recounted here is seen in two key citations, LK 22: 42 and MT 26: 46. LK 22: 42 is Christ’s words in the Garden of Gethsemane that clue us in on the fact that He understood the pain He was about to have and its significance. “’ Father,’ He said, ‘if You will, take this cup of suffering away from Me. Not My will, however, but Your will be done.’” As I have often said, the most intense part of Christ’s suffering done for us comes with His temporary cut-off from the Father as He is taking on the sins of the world. This is seen in His words from MT 26: 46, his fourth utterance on the cross. “At about three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’” At that moment, Christ could not communicate with the Father or feel the Father’s presence. It was His greatest moment of pain and sorrow, necessitated by the task of taking on the sins of the world, so we could have the chance to be saved. What more poignant moment has ever happened in the history of the world? Christ had become our Scapegoat sent spiritually to “an uninhabited land.”
Of course, that is not the end of this story. We’ll take up the next phase of God’s plan in tomorrow’s message. But if we ask ourselves where Satan is on the backdrop of what I’ve just written, the answer is clear. With Christ’s seventh utterance on the cross found in LK 23: 46, “’Father! In Your hands I place My Spirit!’ He said this and died,” we find the beginning of Satan’s eventual defeat. This, Dearest Readers, was accomplished for each and every one of us. It’s a good reason for me to encourage all of us not to waste a drop of the blood Christ shed on the cross for us by allowing Satan to convince us to give in to him. No matter what Satan sends our way, God has given us the faith to endure if we will only use it. When trouble befalls us, as it does to all of us, we must not lose sight of God’s plan to bring us all not only salvation, but to bring us eternal forgiveness, joy, and closeness to Him. That is the greatest gift we, who should always be grateful, can be given.
PRAYER: O Lord, we begin our prayer with David’s words from PS 31: 1-5, which express what is in our hearts today. “I come to You, Lord, for protection; never let me be defeated. You are a righteous God; save me, I pray! Hear me! Save me now! Be my Refuge to protect me; my Defense to save me. You are my Refuge and Defense; guide me and lead me as you have promised. Keep me safe from the snare that has been set for me; shelter me from danger. I place myself in Your care. You will save me, Lord; you are a faithful God.” We are weak. It is easy for us to be swallowed up by the demands of our outer fleshly selves. Satan stands ready to set traps for us to lure into his hatred and evil. But, praise be to You, O Lord, that You have given us a Scapegoat, Who had made a way out for us. It is His Atonement on the cross that allows us to choose righteousness and a life centered on You. We further pray the words of PS 31: 14-18, “But my trust is in You, O Lord; You are my God. I am always in Your care; save me from my enemies, from those who persecute me. Look on your servant with kindness; save me in Your constant love. I call to You, Lord; do not let me be disgraced. May the wicked be disgraced; may they go silently down to the world of the dead. Silence those liars-all the proud and arrogant who speak with contempt about righteous men.” We know, Dearest Abba, from 1 COR 2: 14 that, “Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God’s Spirit. Such a person really does not understand them; they are foolishness to him, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis.” Satan has control over these people, and we must not be tempted to allow him or them to lure us into evil. Our discernment and power come from the Scriptures and prayer. We leave You to judge and pledge You our trust and obedience in dealing with them. We love You and offer You thanks and praise for sending Christ to be our Scapegoat. In His holy name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, I am led to write about the next phase of God’s plan, Christ’s resurrection, and what it means to us today. Satan’s defeat will indeed happen, and I hope you will join me in wanting to be part of it. All of this is possible, because our Abba loves us enough to have brought His Son into our lives and sacrifice His Son on the cross for us. Enjoy the warm glow of His love today and join me in placing your trust in His guidance and protection from Satan’s arrows. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn