2015-08-28
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Our God keeps His promises. This morning we will look at the sacrifices some OT figures made, and their reliance on God in keeping His promises. One example is when the Jews were wandering in the desert and complained that they were thirsty. EX 17: 5-7 is proof of two things: that God was with them, and that God will provide (just as His names “Immanuel” –“God With Us” in MT 1: 23 and “Jehovah Jirah”—the “Lord Will Provide” in PHIL 4: 19) tell us. Moses was told to strike a particular rock, and when he obeyed, water gushed from the rock for the Jews to drink. The Jews were considered the “apple of God’s eye.” This is a reference to the pupil of the eye, not an apple that one eats. When we think about it, our ability to see is very precious and that’s genesis of this reference. PS 17: 8 is a prayer all of us can pray. “Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings.” And now, we can know what this means, what we are asking of God.
The story of Passover is found in EX 12: 1-42, which I hope you will read. Our Covenant Partner has promised to protect us. PS 91: 14-16, “God says, ‘I will save those who love Me and will protect those who know Me as Lord. When they call to Me, I will answer them, when they are in trouble I will be with them. I will rescue them and honor them. I will reward them with long life; I will save them.’” If we look at the words in this passage, we can see “I will save them,” which can mean physically save or spiritually save faithful believers for eternity. Even though Christ’s name isn’t uttered anywhere in the OT, we know He is the second personality of the Father, and thus, is present throughout it. The Jews were commanded to commemorate the Passover every year, so that the significance of blood sacrifices and blood painted on their homes is never lost. Remember the significance of blood to life and forgiveness is found in LV 17: 11 and HE 9: 22.
Even a man as holy and loved by God as Moses had to endure the consequences of not being obedient. This happened when he struck a rock, rather than speaking to it, as God had commanded, in NU 20: 6-20; DT 3: 23-29. Moses never entered the Promised Land, but he was allowed to see it for that reason. On Mt. Nebo, Moses instructed the people to obey God’s laws [DT 5: 1; DT 34: 7]. God held Moses so dear that He buried this leader of the Jews Himself [DT 34: 6]. Even before Moses, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob didn’t have the law, but God was there to guide and protect these faithful fathers of Judaism in return for their piety. GN 22 is a very significant story, revealing God’s heart. God tested Abraham’s faith by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac on the altar. Isaac was Abraham’s son of the promise. Abraham didn’t flinch or refuse this tremendous command. Just at the moment before the death-blow would come, God stopped Abraham and gave him a ram stuck in a nearby bush as a substitute sacrifice. This prefigures the Atonement of His own only Son, Jesus, on the cross and demonstrates that God will not hold back anything needed to bless those who love Him [GN 22: 9-18; JN 3 :16; RO 3: 24-25]. The time in human history of these people’s lives helps place the earliness of God’s intervention in perspective. Jacob’s death is estimated to be around 1859 BC. Moses probably lived from 1526 BC to 1406 BC, about 120 years. The exact date of the Passover isn’t known, but is estimated to be sometime around 1446 BC.
It’s necessary to review the purpose of the law, as the word of God shares it. DT 5: 32-33, “So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left . Walk in all the ways the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you all will possess.” The Law (before the first century Jewish rabbis made as if they were lawyers and ballooned it up to 613 commands, which no one but Jesus Himself could keep) was intended to be the original Ten Commandments [EX 20: 1-17]. This is the Law that Moses conveyed to the Jews and which came from God Himself [EX 24: 7-11]. This Law was irrevocable, because of the solemn giving of it and because of the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant [GN 12: 1-3; GN 15: 17]. We already know that this law was to give people a knowledge of what is acceptable and what isn’t in God’s sight. The Covenant of the Law was also a call to a greater covenant to follow, one which involved salvation, eternal forgiveness, and justification. These latter things were not carried out by the Covenant of the Law. Sadly, the traditionally Jewish people have gotten hung up on format over the content of God’s teaching. It is that subject that Jesus argued with the Pharisees in the temple during the last week of His earthly life. This is the reason for the legalism of that belief system. God knew a different covenant was necessary and picked His most effective time in mankind’s history to bring it to the world. This is one example of the wisdom of His ways. Praise and thanks be to Him!
PRAYER: O Lord, Your Son’s words of MT 5: 14-16 are firmly stamped on our minds and hearts. “You are the Light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it give light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see Your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” We come before You today to remember the sacrifices and obedience of people long ago, so as to remind ourselves of how important our faithful obedience is to you at all times in human history. We are eager to return to You and to join with others who have gone before us at Your side for a blissful eternal life. But first, we must let Your light be reflected from us through our own attitudes, reverence, and good deeds. We are unable to do and see what You can, but we have assurance that Your purposes for our lives will be carried out if we follow Your commands and seek You often for Your guidance. We are grateful and honored that You are here with us and stretch out Your hand to us, to help us through our challenges and to lead us “through the narrow gate that leads along the hard path to eternal life” [MT 7: 13-14]. Your love for us is something wonderful and totally undeserved. Your grace extended to us gives us better, more fulfilled lives. You have shown us, as our Covenant Partner, that You keep Your promises. You have set an awesome example for us to follow in meeting the obligations of our being Your human covenant partners. You love us unconditionally, even through our imperfections can disappoint and frustrate You. We seek You out for Your guidance in teaching us to be better believers, better servants, better people with regard to both attributes and deeds. We thank You for Your promise, in JER 29: 11. “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you not to bring disaster, plans to give you the future for which you hope.” We pray all these things and to be better covenant partners, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We will look at some additional aspects of God’s will for our lives and the Covenant of the Law. The more we study God’s word, the greater perspective we have on our Covenant Partner, His will for our lives, and how we can be effective as servants of His teaching. Our relationships can be peaceful and useful in helping others. Our love for Him grows every day, as we better understand the relationships between what happened in the OT and what happens in the NT. I recently had a seeker chat in with In Search of Shalom remark, “The Bible isn’t consistent.” It was my job to convince him that this is wrong. God’s teaching is the same yesterday, today, and forever. When we know this, and we make the commitment to follow Jesus Christ, God shows us through inner peace gained, successful relationships gotten, and fulfillment experienced that His way is the one that leads to a blissful and eternal fellowship with Him in heaven. While Jesus made us God’s friends, God’s will for us is carried out. Friends are willing to sacrifice for the sake of others, just as Jesus did when He went to the cross for us [RO 5: 9-11; JN 15: 13]. God has given us immediate access to Him through the study of His word and prayer. We are never alone and miserable, unless we allow the evil one to establish a stronghold in our lives. Even that can be avoided with invoking the power Christ gave us when we came to faith [EPH 1: 18-20] to be victors in spiritual warfare in His name. We can chase away the evil one and make Christ the center of our lives. All we have to do is to remember to summon the courage to take these bold steps. That’s how much Christ loves us. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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