2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
I am always appreciative when a complex idea is made clear by the use of a metaphor in the Scriptures. Christ used this technique to bridge the gap between His omniscience and mankind’s limited perception when he taught using parables. Paul does the same thing when he likened the Jews to a cultured olive tree and the Gentiles who come to faith as the wild olive branches being “in-grafted” to the cultured olive tree. There is another metaphor which actually has its origins in a physically observable phenomenon recorded in EX 34: 29-35, which is the veil, which has a major impact on many lives, including my own personal life. “When Moses went down from Mt. Sinai carrying the Ten Commandments, his face was shining because he had been speaking with the Lord; but he did not know it. Aaron and all the people looked at Moses and saw that his face was shining, and they were afraid to go near him. but Moses called them and Aaron and all the leaders of the community went to him, and Moses spoke with them. After that, all the people of Israel gathered around him, and Moses gave the all the laws that the Lord had given him on Mt. Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil. Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle of the Lord, he would take the veil off. When he came out, he would tell the people of Israel everything that he had been commanded to say, and they would see that his face was shining. The he would put the veil back on until the next time he went to speak with the Lord.”
If we stop and think about this actual situation and put it together with our profound belief that God is always in control, it isn’t hard to imagine that God wanted this temporary glow from His own glory to show on Moses’ face for an important reason. God knew it was essential that the people believed that Moses had encountered God and that what Moses was saying was really an expression of God’s will. Note the initial reaction of the people; “they were afraid.” When we don’t understand something and feel the enormity of it, aren’t we afraid initially? Of course, Moses and Aaron together were equipped by God to explain His commandments to the people so they would believe and overcome their fright. Herein, we see the example of how knowledge of the truth dispels fear. JN 8: 31-32, “If you obey My teaching, then you will really be My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Even though Christ was not yet on the scene in Moses’ time in way the people of Israel could see, He was indeed on the scene (as the second personality of God) Who had been with God since before the Creation.
Since this portion of our messages on covenants is about the consistency of covenants, let’s see how this concept of the veil is repeated. As you know from my detailed description of the Tabernacle, the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was called the Inner Veil [HE 9: 6-12 &10: 20]. This is significant to us as we remember that in MK 15: 38, the Inner Veil in the Jerusalem Temple was rent from top to bottom, surely a supernatural act, upon the death of Christ on the cross. The citations in HE explain how Christ’s death opened the heavenly Holy of Holies to all believers. The animal sacrifices of the old covenant which had to be repeated and were imperfect were replaced by the shed blood of Christ, the once-for-all eternally acceptable sacrifice, sealing the Covenant of Grace.
When Paul wrote his metaphor of RO 11: 16-25, he was not only speaking about the “in-grafting” of Gentiles to the cultured olive tree, but he was also speaking about a lifting of the veil from people’s hearts, the veil which kept them from access to God and the truth of the Gospel. RO 11: 25 is very significant for traditional Jews, because it is a prophecy that their stubbornness regarding rejecting Jesus Christ as the true and only Messiah is temporary. Like so many other things, God unveils this secret truth in His most perfect time-the time He knows people are ready for it. Remember what Paul said in 2 COR 3: 12-16, “Because we have this hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who had to put a veil over his face so that the people of Israel would not see the brightness fade and disappear. Their minds, indeed, were closed; and to this very day their minds are covered with the same veil as they read the books of the old covenant. The veil is removed only when a person is joined to Christ. Even today, whenever they read the Law of Moses, the veil still covers their minds. But it can be removed, as the Scripture [EX 34: 34] says about Moses: ‘His veil was removed wen he turned to the Lord.’” ZECH 13: 8-9 tells us that a remnant of about 1/3 of the Jews living at the time of the Tribulation will come to faith in Christ in response to the evangelism of the 144,000 Jews preaching the Gospel. Those Messianic Jews who had the veil lifted earlier than that are truly privileged. God has blessed me to be among that number. Knowing the truth of the Gospel, being equipped to serve God in passing it along to others, and setting the stage for the Holy Spirit to bring others to faith really does set us free. Please claim RO 1: 16-17 today and meditate on how it impacts each of our individual lives, whether Jew or Gentile.
PRAYER: O Lord, in Your infinite wisdom, You are always aware of the limitations of human perception. However, You account for that in the ways that You inspire the writers of the Scriptures, including Christ Himself, to convey Your will and Your word to us. You know that a veil is draped over the human mind, one that being joined with Christ alone can remove. The veil keeps us from seeing the whole truth or from having easy access to You. How compassionate You are that see this problem and sacrifice Your only Son on the cross as a remedy for it. With His death, the heavenly Holy of Holies was opened to all who would believe in Him. Your reasons for keeping the veil over the eyes of so many of Your chosen people are not fully understood, but were described as a temporary condition until all the Gentiles came to faith who answered Your call in RO 11: 25. For reasons which bring me to eternal personal gratitude, You have chosen to lift that veil for a growing number of Jews who have now come to know Christ as their Savior and the Messiah for Whom their people continue to search. Today in America alone there are over 300 Messianic Jewish congregations and more being established all the time. That is a magnificent testament to Your compassion and love for Your children. You command us through Paul that the Body of Christ is to be unified and edified. We are all truly one in Him. We accept Your invitation to know the truth from study and prayer, to learn from the discernment You give us to maximize our faithfulness (especially in the context of our circumstances), and to pass that truth along with accuracy and love to others. We pledge to You in humility our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, honor, glory, trust, obedience, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, God has put it in my heart to present a comparison of the law and grace economies. While this may be a review, He directs me to say that it is an important one. Remember that God often repeats what He feels we must know and know well. It is His great love for us that motivates His actions. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn