A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 9 (Part 1)

Ever have a significant event come up, but you couldn’t make it and you wished you could have a do-over? Well, there were times when some of Israelites had the same problem. Something had happened and they could not keep the Passover at the appointed time, but still wanted to keep it. Could they get a do-over? Well, yes. Numbers 9:1-15—1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: 2 “Let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time. According to all its rites and ceremonies you shall keep it." 4 So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.”

So they were in the first month, Nisan, on the 14^th day of the month—little time has passed since Numbers 1—and therefore kept the Passover as God had commanded (Exodus 12). Just to refresh your memory, you can read the commands for the Feast in Exodus 12:1-51. The only change would be that they did not have to strike their doorposts with blood—since they did not have doorposts in the wilderness. There are some historians who posit that the blood was sprinkled around the Altar of Burnt Offering, while others reject that claim, seeing as how only Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar remained of the priests, and only the priests could sprinkle the blood on or around the Altar. Now, I don’t think I have ever described all that was involved in the Passover feast, so let’s go ahead and do that. 

First, they had to find a lamb (or goat) without spot or blemish. Exodus 12:3-5—3 “…On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.” This was not a time for “close enough”. You had to thoroughly inspect that animal to make sure there were no defects in it. You couldn’t just give it a quick once-over and say it was good enough. It wasn’t like buying a used car, “well, it’s got a bit of a misfire but it’ll do”. Because for the Passover lamb, God did not deal with “good enough” or “close enough”. It couldn’t be lame, couldn’t have any kind of physical defect, couldn’t have Mad Sheep Disease. Your job was not to bring just any sheep, it had to be perfect. 

Just like the Lamb of God. God was pretty particular when He chose the Lamb whom He would offer on behalf of His people. John the Baptist cried out, in John 1:29—“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” This Lamb was of course, His Only Begotten Son. The only, ever, perfect Lamb of God, upon Whom God could lay all the guilt and all the sin of all of His Elect, who could carry His blood into the Holiest in the Heavens, and from Whom the Father could accept that Sacrifice, and say “Well Done! Sit at My right hand!” (Psalm 110:1). Who better than the Son of God to come as our Lamb, as our Passover (1st Corinthians 5:7). A perfect Lamb, "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth" (1st Peter 2:22, quoting Isaiah 53:9). And keep in mind, this initial Passover was not to be eaten alone. It was to be consumed by the whole household. Just like Christ and the Church. Granted, we do not eat the actual flesh and drink the actual blood of Christ. And with that said, I want so badly to launch into the wrongness of the Romish doctrine of transubstantiation, but it will be better suited to a later text. Suffice it to say that for those of us who are in Christ, we are all one in Him. And we are not meant to be alone in this life. Which is why it says in Hebrews 10:24-25—24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Just as the Israelites were to celebrate their deliverance from captivity to Egypt by the Lord on that first Passover, we are to celebrate, with other members of the Church, our being set free from our bondage to sin. 

Now, after you found a perfect lamb, you had to keep it in the house for four days. Exodus 12:6(a)—Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. You got used to it being there. The kids got used to it being there. They might have even grown fond of it and given it a name. Probably not “Mutton”, since there might have been some fondness there. At any rate, this lamb had to be in your house for 4 days. Let’s do a little math here, shall we? Our Lord rode into Jerusalem on a Sunday (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19). He is there Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. And He is taken and arrested on Wednesday. Four days. Interesting, no? Almost like God has a perfect way of designing things. Then He was crucified on Thursday. Not Friday, but Thursday. I have talked about that previously here, you can read it if you like. Anyway. 

Then what did you do on that fourth day? Exodus 12:6(b)—Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. After you had had this lamb in your house for 4 days, all your house gathered together and slit its throat, and drained all the blood from it until it was dead. You were not to eat anything that had blood remaining in it (Leviticus 17:10-11). You take this innocent lamb—this perfect, little, innocent lamb—this lamb that had done no wrong, you take it into your home, let the kinds grow fond of it, then four days later you kill it. Now, if you think about it, this whole thing is kind of odd, isn’t it? How do you celebrate being set free from 430 years of bondage? Kill a lamb and eat it. Doesn’t make sense to us, does it? But does it make sense to God? Absolutely. Because it pointed not only the Israelites in Egypt that night, but Israelites hundreds of years later, and even us today, to the day when God would send His son into the world, to preach deliverance from sin to the world, come into the city where God placed His name, and have His blood spilled by order of the High Priest four days later. Or rather, by the earthly High Priest. Who delivered our Great High Priest over to be slaughtered. Delivered over to the pagan Romans. Who did not know, or care, that they were nailing the Son of God to that tree. Which is why Jesus said "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:34). And really, it was not the Romans’ idea to kill Him, or even the Jews’, but rather the Father’s. Isaiah 53:10—Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. 

You see, Adam’s sin did not take God by surprise. God did not have to whip up some plan to save men from their sins. It was done before the foundation of the world. If one thinks that God did not see it coming, one has a very low view of God. That is why He chose His people before He laid the first cornerstone of Creation. And He considers that death of His Son to have taken place at that time. How do you think the saints of the Old Covenant were saved? By the blood of bulls and goats and lambs and rams and turtledoves? No. They were saved as we are, by the blood of Jesus. But how, since they did not know Him? Because He was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). 

And once they killed that first Passover lamb, they were to cook it. How were they to cook it? Exodus 12:8-9—8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. This lamb was most likely roasted on a spit over an open fire. But why not boil it; wouldn’t that have been easier and quicker? Because the lamb was not to be cut up and divided. To boil it, and fit it in the boiling pot would have required the lamb to be cut into pieces, and possibly some of its bones to be broken. It was to be a whole lamb when it was cooked and eaten. Now, were they to eat with the Egyptians? Were they to share in the eating of the lamb with those who were not of Israel? No. Likewise, when we partake of the Lord’s Table, we are not to have unbelievers partake with us. 1st Corinthians 11:26-30—26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 

So what did the unleavened bread and the bitter herbs symbolize? Well, the unleavened bread (מַצָח, “matzah”) symbolized the haste with which the people of Israel had to flee Egypt. And they were to eat it for seven days, beginning on 15 Nisan, and have no leaven in their household. Exodus 12:15-20, 39—“15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread'"… 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves. If you’ve ever made bread (as I have tried once and it turned out, well, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly Wonder Bread™) you know that when you add the yeast, you have to cover it and put it in a dark place to “proof”, that is, to rise. The people did not have the time to proof dough, and even if they thought they did, God said “Don’t”. There was no time.  They were to roast the lamb, make bread with no leaven, eat the bitter herbs, then GO! Now, the command to eat unleavened bread for seven days probably came later, as the people had to make haste to vacate Egypt. Now, a little bit about leaven. When you add yeast to your dough, and it rises—what is it that makes it rise? Well, the yeast consumes the sugars found in the dough, and then expels carbon dioxide as a waste product. Which is why no offerings made to God were to contain leaven—because it is a waste product (Leviticus 2:11, Leviticus 6:17 and Leviticus 10:12). 

Many times in the New Testament we are told to watch for Christ’s return, and that the Kingdom of God is near at hand. Matthew 24:42, 44—42 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming…44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” 1st Peter 4:7—But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. We do not know when He will return. All of the appointed days and feats in the Law, the people knew when they would come, and they could be ready for them. But the Day of the Lord—that Day when Christ returns to bring in His people—we don’t know when that will be. Despite all the Doomsday prognosticators and all their “this is a sign of His return” bluster, no one—NO ONE—is able to say with truth “This is a sign, and it means He will return on such-and-such a day”. But know this—that when He does return, we want to be found doing well. Matthew 24:45-46—45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.” Do we want to be found fornicating, or robbing, or committing some other shameful act when He calls us home? No. Therefore, let us always let our bread be unleavened, that we may not be ashamed at His coming (1st John 2:28). 

Matthew 16:6 (also Mark 8:15)—Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." 1st Corinthians 5:7-8—7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. In the New Testament, leaven is used to denote sin and unbelief. Jesus was warning the Apostles to watch for the leaven—the broken doctrine, the waste products of the beliefs—of the men who opposed Him, to be ready to answer it, and to show them the truth. Paul tells us to let us keep the Passover—not by taking a lamb into our home and roasting it, but by bringing to remembrance our Lamb of God who takes away our sins. And to not let the leaven of sin permeate the body of Christ, His beloved bride, and to not let it infect her with sin, but to get rid of it, to purge it, to cleanse the bride of it, that she may be a bride without spot or blemish. To not fettered to our old man, who is passing away, but to lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1). We cannot do that if we are waiting for our bread to rise, we must be always ready to go, ready to leave this world behind and go on to glory. Even as the women carried their kneading bowls bound up in their sacks on their shoulders (Exodus 12:34). 

The bitter herbs (םִךןֹך, maror). These were to call to the people’s remembrance the 430 years of bitter bondage the people served in Egypt. And should we not feel the same about all our years serving sin and the flesh? How many times are we told to repent of our sins, to put off the old man, to put on the new man, that we are a new creation, etc. etc. Because that old man is ugly, and must not be allowed to rear his ugly head. Do you ever look back at the person you used to be? How do you feel about that person? Does that person make you proud? Or does your remembrance of that person make you grieve who you used to be? I, for one, don’t want to be the man I once was, because he was full of lust, greed, fornication, and almost any other sin you could think of. And I don’t want to be him again. I am much happier being a servant of the King, than to be the king of my own sinful domain. Albert Barnes—

 

If a drunkard becomes reformed, there is no impropriety in saying that he is a new man. If a man who was licentious becomes pure, there is no impropriety in saying that he is not the same man that he was before. Such expressions are common in all languages, and they are as proper as they are common. There is such a change as to make the language proper. And so in the conversion of a sinner. There is a change so deep, so clear, so entire, and so abiding, that it is proper to say, here is a new creation of God - a work of the divine power as decided and as glorious as when God created all things out of nothing. There is no other moral change that takes place on earth so deep, and radical, and thorough as the change at conversion. And there is no other where there is so much propriety in ascribing it to the mighty power of God.

Now, suppose a member of the “mixed multitude” wanted to keep the Passover. What would they do? Exodus 12:43-45, 48-49—43 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 But every man's servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it…48 And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. 49 One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you." Just as there was one lamb to be eaten that night, there is one Savior to be worshipped now. If one wanted to keep that Passover, they had to be circumcised outwardly and be brought in to the house of Israel. And today, there is one way to salvation—to be circumcised inwardly, that is to have your heart circumcised, and be brought in to the house of God. Romans 2:28-29—28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. Colossians 2:11—In [Christ] you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ. Philippians 3:3—For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. At the time of the first Passover, to partake of it you had to be circumcised of your foreskin. Now, Christ circumcises our heart, that we may love Him and obey Him and seek to please Him. Many New Testament passages tell us of the better circumcision, that made by God of our hearts, rather than the circumcision mad of our foreskin by men (Romans 4:1-25; 1st Corinthians 7:19; Galatians 5:6, 6:15). 

Suppose someone wanted to break off a leg and eat it by themselves. Could they do that? No. Exodus 12:46 (also Numbers 9:12)—…nor shall you break one of its bones. It was all to be consumed as a whole inside the house by the entire household. Again, a picture of the commonality of the house that they were under the protection of God, and that they were all of one accord. The people were to show that they all shared the table of God, that there was one source of life, and that source was not divided (Deuteronomy 6:3-5). When one sat down to eat in those times, they were basically saying “I agree with this person, and will partake of what they have provided, and show that we are of the same mind”. It is the reason David said in Psalm 1:1-2—1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He was telling us not to partake of the table of those opposed to God. To not show support of them, nor to live in their way. But rather, we should delight in the one Source of all life and truth and righteousness, and live according to His way. 

We find the fulfillment of this command in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as He hung upon His cross. John 19:33, 36—But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs…For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken." These Roman soldiers were accustomed to crucified victims, and knew how they acted when they were running out of breath. Many times they would gasp loudly, trying to draw air into their lungs, and would cry out for mercy. And to the soldiers, this played upon their nerves, so they would break the legs of the victims, so they may more quickly expire, thus sparing the soldiers of having to hear their desperate cries. But they noticed something. This Man on the middle cross—the One who said we could come—was already dead. “How could this be?” they thought. “It has only been a few hours since we nailed Him here, and He is already dead! Interesting.” But this was no criminal they killed. It was not the loss of blood, or the inability to breathe, or even the shock of the pain of the nails that brought our Lord to death. He Himself said in John 10:17-18—17 "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again". Paul Kretzmann, once a faculty member of Concordia Theological Seminary and author of the “Popular Bible Commentary”, has this to say—

 

The laying down of His life was not due to His yielding to His foes and their cunning; it was an act of His will. He had the power to give His life, to lay it down in death; but He had the power also to take it again. No other man could dream of having such power; every other person succumbs to death, but Jesus differs from all other men in this respect, because He is Himself true God. The fact of His voluntary death gave to His sacrifice its real worth and value; without such free will His sacrifice would have been in vain. And herein He agrees with His Father, whose command He has received and now carries out for the salvation of mankind.

 

Christ did not die because they nailed Him to a cross. He laid down His life for His sheep, He gave up His life, He resigned Himself to the grave that He may offer to the Father a worthy sacrifice. And in doing so, fulfilled the Passover command that …nor shall you break one of its bones, that He may be a whole sacrifice, that We may all partake of Him as one Lord, that we may be all one body, that there should be no schism in the body (1st Corinthians 12:25), having one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen. 

A Suyrvey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 8 (Part 2)

Numbers 8:5-7—5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 6 “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and cleanse them ceremonially. 7 Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purification on them, and let them shave all their body, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.” This begins the actual act of consecrating the Levites to God. When a Levite was consecrated to God, it was not an easy task, and certainly not one to be undertaken lightly. But did they have any choice in the matter? No. If a son was born to the tribe of Levi, they were set apart to God to do the work of ministry. Well that’s not fair, is it? “Just because someone is born into a certain family, they have to go into the service of the Tabernacle?” Yes. Well, what if a daughter is born in the tribe of Issachar? Why can’t she go into the service of ministering to God? Well, the answer is real simple. Because that is what God wants. And, as I have said before and will continue to say ad infinitum, be glad that God isn’t “fair”!

The ceremony begins with the cleansing with water. All these steps were symbolic of their inward state. Washing the outside of the man symbolized that the inward man was being cleansed. When God has to remind the people of Israel of these their early days, He tells them, in Ezekiel 16:9—“Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil.” As God washed His people from their sins with water, so the Levites were to be washed as a symbol of that washing. When He was telling them that He would scatter them among the Gentiles, He promised them that He will once again bathe them and cleanse them when they return to Him. Ezekiel 36:20-27—20 “When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name—when they said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.' 21 But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. 22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

And, as is so often then case, we see this act referenced in the Pauline Epistles, namely Ephesians 5:25-26—25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word. For so long I read that passage and thought that was a rather clumsy way of phrasing something. But then I came across this passage, and the light bulb came on and I said “hey, it makes sense now!” The English “washing of water” is translated from the Greek λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος (loutro tou hudatos). Λουτρῷ is from the same root word we find in John 13:10—Jesus said to him, "He who is bathed (λελουμένος, from the root word λούω (louo)) needs only to wash (νίπτω (nipto) his feet, but is completely clean..." This word λούω (louo) refers to bathing as opposed to νίπτω (nipto), which refers to washing the hands or feet. It is a thorough bathing. That is the washing Paul says Jesus wants to use to cleanse His bride—to thoroughly bathe her, immerse her, cleanse her. How? By the word. He wants to make her clean by imparting to her His word, that it may saturate her. And that is the bathing, the immersion, the cleansing that is symbolized by the sprinkling of water on the Sons of Levi to set them apart to God.

We see in Leviticus 8 that he was also to put the blood of the ram that was sacrificed to set them apart to God on their right ear, their right thumb, and their right great toe. Leviticus 8:22-24—22 And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23 and Moses killed it. Also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 Then he brought Aaron's sons. And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar. Why the ear, thumb and toe? Well, the ear so that they would remember to hear justly, that they may not be partial to either the poor or the rich, their brethren or the stranger, and that they would deal justly with all. The thumb, so that everything they did would honor God, and that their hands would be set apart to do God’s work. The toe, so that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord that set them apart to Himself.

Numbers 8:8-15—8 “Then let them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull as a sin offering. 9 And you shall bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall gather together the whole congregation of the children of Israel. 10 So you shall bring the Levites before the LORD, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites; 11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD like a wave offering from the children of Israel, that they may perform the work of the LORD. 12 Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, and you shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites. 13 And you shall stand the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and then offer them like a wave offering to the LORD. 14 Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. 15 After that the Levites shall go in to service the tabernacle of meeting. So you shall cleanse them and offer them like a wave offering.” If these men were going to minister to God for the people, they had to have their sins forgiven first so they would be fit to perform their duties. But they couldn’t just say “Forgive me” and *poof* their sins were forgiven. Sin required death, and the shedding of blood. Hebrews 9:22—And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. So what happened was, the Levite brought a bull as a Sin Offering, he laid his hands on the head of that bull, transferring his sins to that bull, and the bull was killed. What did that bull do to deserve death? Nothing. It was just living its life, being a bull, doing bull things. And then it is picked out, a guy lays his hands on its head, and it is killed. An innocent animal died because of sin. In the New Testament, we have—not a bull, not a sheep—but an innocent shepherd being put to death because of sins, none of which were His. Because He never sinned. And yet the sins of so many were placed upon Him, and He bore them to the Father. 1st Peter 2:21-24—21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

There are some who want to make it out that our Great High Priest sinned, or that at least He wanted to sin. My friend, even the desire to sin is a sin (Matthew 5:21-22, 26-27). You see, the biggest problem with sin is not the sin itself—although that is a problem. And rules do not do anything to control desires. They only deal with the consequences of the actions. That is why Jesus—and Paul—fought so hard and worked so tirelessly to make the people know that they could not do enough to become righteous. For it is not the doing of things that makes one righteous, but rather having a heart that is geared toward God and pleasing Him. Because, quite frankly, no matter how perfect the Law is, it can make no one perfect. Galatians 3:21—Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. Acts 13:39—By Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Romans 3:30—Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. You see, there can be a sign by the side of the highway that says “Speed Limit 55”. You can see double solid yellow lines down the middle of the road. Or a “No Trespassing” sign on a fence. But can those things prevent you from speeding, or passing, or trespassing? No. All they can do is tell you that you will be punished summarily if you disobey them. Likewise the Law, and all 613 commandments held therein, cannot change your heart, or prevent you from sinning. All they can do is let you know there will be punishment for anyone violating them.

And even the Levites had sins to be forgiven of. I mentioned a few chapters ago the two different sins of the two different Levites in the Book of Judges (Judges 17, Judges 19). Now, we may not consider the sins of these Levites at Sinai as being as bad as those in the Book of Judges, but they were still sins, and they still had to be atoned for. So they were put on this innocent animal, which was killed so those sins could be forgiven. And when our Sacrifice cried out “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” (Mark 15:34), it was then that God put His hand on the head of that Sacrifice, placed all of the sins of all God’s elect on that Sacrifice, and that Sacrifice died.

Because we sinned.

‘Til on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

(“In Christ Alone”, Stuart Townend)

Jonathan Edwards, in his treatise “Christ exalted”, writes thus:

Christ appeared above all the corruption of man, in that hereby he purchased holiness for the chief of sinners. And Christ in undergoing such extreme affliction, got the victory over all misery; and laid a foundation for its being utterly abolished, with respect to his elect. In dying he became the plague and destruction of death. When death slew him, it slew itself. For Christ, through death, destroyed him that had the power of death, even the devil (Heb_2:14). By this he laid the foundation of the glorious resurrection of all his people to an immortal life.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 8 (Part 1)

 Numbers 8:1-4—1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "Speak to Aaron, and say to him, 'When you arrange the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.'" 3 And Aaron did so; he arranged the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, as the LORD commanded Moses. 4 Now this workmanship of the lampstand was hammered gold; from its shaft to its flowers it was hammered work. According to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand. This is a rather odd passage, and a rather odd place for it. In the middle of all these commands about what was to be consecrated and how, God drops in this command about how to light the lampstand. Before this passage, we read about how He commanded the carts and oxen to be brought to the Levites, and after this passage we read about the consecration rites for the Levites. So why do we see this passage about lighting the lampstand?

Well we read later in the chapter (verse 22) that the ministry of the Levites was to begin either that day or shortly thereafter. Which is why it is so important to not just pick out a verse or passage at random and use it to build a doctrine. Every verse in the Bible must be understood in its context, and should not be wrestled out of its context to fit one’s desires. Jeremiah 29:11 is such a verse. People will pluck it off the page and call it their “life verse”, when they were never and Israelite that was taken into captivity to Babylon. Now, does God promise good to His people? Yes. But not always in this life. We may see persecution in this life, we may see poverty or disease. But after this life is over, He has promised us joy unspeakable.

So then, the reason this passage comes where it does is that there needed to be light in the tabernacle, as the coverings cut off any light from getting in. And notice, there are instructions on how the lamps were to be placed in the lampstand. They were to give light to the area in front of the lampstand. They were not to face the curtain behind it. They were to shine into the first room in the Tabernacle. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16—14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” If these lamps faced the curtain, they would provide no light for the tabernacle, and would be like a lamp hidden under a basket. They would not have served their purpose. And in the same way, we do not fulfill our purpose if we do not let the light of Christ shine forth from us.

Many people go to church on Sunday morning, sometimes Sunday night or even Wednesday. They sit and listen to the preacher, they sing, they sit in Sunday School. But when they are outside the church walls, there is nothing in their lives that would show that they are a Christian. Or worse, they have been at the bar the night before—not sharing the gospel, but reveling with drunkards and storing up wrath against themselves. They are like lamps in the lampstand lighting the curtains. And as James wrote in James 2:14-26, does that faith save us? Our faith, if it does not have works to give evidence of it, is dead. It is alone. It is, as he points out in James 2:19, the faith of demons.

 You see, Jesus said we are to let the light we have been given shine out of us, and we are not to hide it. And when we do let that light shine forth, the people that see it will glorify God. You may say “but many will not believe!” This is true, many won’t. They will still glorify God, but not willingly. They will glorify Him in their destruction. Before we knew Christ, not only were we in darkness, we were darkness. Romans 12:12-13—12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. The things we did prior to knowing Him were darkness, and we were right smack dab in the middle of them. Notice I say “we”, including myself. If God had not brought me out of the darkness, I would have glorified God in the depths of Hell. It still astounds me that He would pick me out of that and make me what I am today. I do not boast of myself, nay, I abhor myself in dust and ashes as did Job. And were it not for Him keeping me, I would go right back to wallowing in the same mud I was in before.

And let no one think they are any different. None of us was ever any more worthy that another when it comes to salvation. As Martin Luther so famously said, “We are all mere beggars showing other beggars where to find bread.” And as another quote says, “the only thing we contribute to our salvation is the sin that made it necessary.” We are never righteous enough to earn salvation, no matter what The Vatican says. And to say we can be evil enough to lose our salvation—that is really saying we can be righteous enough to keep it. John MacArthur said the following:

It’s impossible to lose your salvation because you didn’t do anything to gain it. I’ll reverse that a little bit: if you could lose your salvation you would. If my salvation depended on me, I would lose it. I don’t have the power to keep my salvation. Listen to the words of Hebrews, that He ever lives to make intercession for us, for the purpose of bringing us to glory (Hebrews 7:25). The reason that Christians are going to get to heaven is not because they hold on; it’s because Christ holds on. He will bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). If Christ didn’t hold onto me, I would never get there. That is the incredible reality of His high priestly work.

You don’t keep yourself saved. Jesus keeps you saved. Romans 8:35-39—35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: " For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. In other words, if you are saved, there is absolutely nothing on earth, under the earth, in the Heavens, nor principalities nor powers that can separate you from Christ. He is the light of the world (John 8:12). In 1^st John 1:7, the Apostle says that if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. Jesus’ light shines in the darkness, and His blood cleanses us when we walk in His light. So let us always walk in His light, that we may be forgiven of our sins and walk in fellowship with one another.

One more thing about the lampstand. It was set opposite the Table of Showbread. So it cast its light on that bread. And we have to ask, what is the purpose of the showbread? It was to be food for the priests as they ministered in the Holy Place on the Sabbath. But there was to be one other thing on that table: wine. Exodus 37:16 (ESV)—And he made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates and dishes for incense, and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings. I use the ESV version here, since the NKJV—and even the KJV—do not fully render this verse, and leave out the portion that deals with drink offerings. But that is an important part of this verse. Because it really completes the meaning of the Table of Showbread. And really lends more meaning to how the lamps in the Lampstand were to face. You see, as I said earlier, we are to be a light in this dark world. We are to let our light so shine—why? So we can look good to the world? So that we can outshine our neighbor and bring more attention to ourselves? No! “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” We are to let our light shine to guide the world to Christ. We are to let our lives show forth Christ, so that all may see Him and glorify Him.

All through Scripture, bread and wine are symbols that point the way to Christ. And even the Table of Showbread, with the bread and wine, are not the first time we see this. In Genesis 40, we see Joseph in prison in Egypt, and who do we read about being imprisoned with him? The Pharaoh’s butler and baker. “Butler” is better translated as “cupbearer”, the one who gave Pharaoh his wine. So the cupbearer handled the wine, and the baker made the bread. And interestingly, Genesis 40:20-22—20 Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. 21 Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. 22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. So on a national holiday, a pagan ruler brings out two prisoners. He sets the one prisoner free, and then hangs the other on a tree. Think about that.

Jesus, when He is criticizing the people for only following Him to get a free meal, tells them in John 6:32-35—32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always." 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” He is not to be, as the showbread, eaten but once a week. He is to be taken in every day, to give us life and to sustain us. And let us not forget when our Lord kept the Passover with His disciples. What did they have at what we call “The Last Supper”? What are we to partake of when we eat of the Lord’s Table? Bread and wine. Matthew 26:26-28 (see also Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20)—26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” In one of His last lessons to His disciples before His crucifixion, Jesus once again uses the elements of the Table of Showbread to point to Himself as the true bread from Heaven. And we, as lights in this dark world, are to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Part 2 next week

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen. 

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 7

 Numbers 7:1-9—1 Now it came to pass, when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, that he anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings, and the altar and all its utensils; so he anointed them and consecrated them. 2 Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, who were the leaders of the tribes and over those who were numbered, made an offering. 3 And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart for every two of the leaders, and for each one an ox; and they presented them before the tabernacle. 4 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 5 "Accept these from them, that they may be used in doing the work of the tabernacle of meeting; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service." 6 So Moses took the carts and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites. 6 So Moses took the carts and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites. 7 Two carts and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service; 8 and four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the authority of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 9 But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because theirs was the service of the holy things, which they carried on their shoulders.

This may very well have taken place after what we read in Leviticus 8:10. When we are reading Scripture, especially the Torah, we need to remember that it was not all written in chronological order as we think. Consider, almost every chapter (not every chapter, mind you), from Exodus 20 through Numbers 6, begins with the words “And the LORD spoke to Moses…” So all these chapters deal mostly with God speaking, and Moses speaking those words to the people, with very little action on the part of the people, save, for example, the Golden Calf episode and the actions of Nadab and Abihu. That is the trouble with many skeptics: they think that some “Middle Eastern goat herder” was sitting around in a cave, and said to himself “I think I’ll write a Bible”. That is why one must not just read the Bible, but rather study the Bible, so he may have a better understanding of it, so he does not fall into the trap of not believing Him. There are some passages of Scripture that are difficult to understand, and cannot be interpreted except by other Scriptures. As Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 2:14—But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. And since all Scriptures was given by the Holy Spirit (2nd Timothy 3:16), what better way to understand the difficult passages of Scripture than by way of other Scripture?

Now, as far as the passage at hand. This was the first offering God required of the heads of each of the 12 Tribes. What was the purpose of the carts? Well, if we refer back to Numbers 4, we will understand that these were for carrying the elements of the Tabernacle. Not every item could be carried by staves on the shoulders of the Levites, so they had to be loaded onto a cart and carried that way. The sons of Gershon were to carry 25 …the curtains of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of meeting with its covering, the covering of badger skins that is on it, the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, 26 the screen for the door of the gate of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and altar, and their cords, all the furnishings for their service and all that is made for these things (Numbers 4:25-26). Ever help someone take out a carpet? How heavy is it? This was the burden of the sons of Gershon. They had to carry the curtains and coverings for the Tabernacle, and trying to carry this on their shoulders would have required an enormous amount of effort. So they were given these carts to carry them through the desert. The sons of Merari were to carry 31 the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, 32 and the pillars around the court with their sockets, pegs, and cords (Numbers 4:31-32). This one really needs no explanation. These things could not have been carried by themselves, or they would have been dropped, the cords would have gotten their feet tangled causing them to fall, etc. They had to be carried in a cart to facilitate their transport to Canaan.

But then we get to the sons of Kohath, and they get no cart. Numbers 7:9—But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because theirs was the service of the holy things, which they carried on their shoulders. They were to carry the Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Showbread, the Lampstand, the Altar of Incense and the Altar of Burnt Offering on their shoulders via staves inserted through the rings of gold on each corner of each item. They were not to be transported on one of the ox-carts. Remember how I said earlier that Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture? This is one of those places. 2nd Samuel 6:6-7—6 And when they came to Nachon's threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. Some people are amazed that God would strike down Uzzah. After all, he was just making sure the Ark didn’t fall to the ground. But there are two things we need to consider: (1) In Numbers 4:15 we read that when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. If it were not lawful for the ones carrying the Ark to touch it, then it goes to show that one who was not a Levite could not touch it, lest he die. Furthermore, and more related to our passage in Numbers 7:9, (2) the service of the sons of Kohath was the service of the holy things, which they carried on their shoulders. The Ark of the Covenant was the most holy thing in the Tabernacle, and it was not to be treated as a common thing. It was where God met with the High Priest on Yom Kippur. It was where He dwelt between the cherubim. And as such, God has a right to determine how it is to be handled, and how it is not to be handled. The same is true for the teachings of Christ. They are not to be handled lightly but are to be held in higher esteem than any volume written by man. He will hold those accountable that write any literature against the Christ, and who openly (or even secretly) write anything against His Christ, or teach men to do things which are abominable to Him.

And there are many today who do just that. They want to make God more palatable to the masses, and to the sinner, so they make God, they make Christ, and they make Christ’s cross, less offensive, and they leave the Cross out of their teaching. Elevation Church, pastored by Steven Furtick, one of the most man-centered “preachers” there is, left out the words “Calvary” and “Resurrection” on their invitations for their Easter service, because they didn’t want to offend anyone:

I'm putting a lot of my focus, energy, time, resources toward what I would call the ‘cold audience,’ people far from God,” she reiterated. “I'm not going to say the word ‘Calvary,’ not going to say the word ‘resurrection,’ I'm not going to say the ‘blood of Jesus,' I'm not going to say any of these words that make someone feel like an outsider. This is really an important guide for how we develop language. Anyone can be a part of our church; it might not be for everyone, everyone might not like it, but anyone can come.”

(https://www.christianpost.com/news/elevation-church-sent-easter-invites-that-omit-resurrection.html)

Brandon Robertson, who calls himself a pastor, is an openly gay man who sells a brand of “Christianity” that has no problem with homosexuality. He has said that “drag is holy”, that when Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb, He was really calling him to come out and announce he was gay, and other such despicable heresies. This is how he is described in one magazine:

Rev. Brandan Robertson is a noted spiritual thought-leader, contemplative activist, and commentator, working at the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal and the author of Nomad: A Spirituality For Travelling Light and writes regularly for Patheos, Beliefnet, and The Huffington Post. He has published countless articles in respected outlets such as TIME, NBC, The Washington Post, Religion News Service, and Dallas Morning News. As sought out commentator of faith, culture, and public life, he is a regular contributor to national media outlets and has been interviewed by outlets such as MSNBC, NPR, SiriusXM, TIME Magazine, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Associated Press.

(https://progressingspirit.com/paupress/profile/20015)

Do you think God is okay with these kinds of things? Do you think He is okay with ignoring the cross because it might offend someone? Jesus said to Peter, after Peter told Him that He would not go to the Cross, “Get the behind Me, Satan!” (Matthew 16:23). Do you think God is okay with a man claiming that He will accept those who live a life of debauchery into His kingdom? Paul said in 1st Corinthians 6:9-10—9 …homosexuals, nor sodomites 10 …will inherit the kingdom of God. These are those that Jesus spoke of, who worship mammon instead of God, who lead men away from God and into Hell, who do not give the proper reverence to God, and who do not see Him as more than a plaything. They are like Uzzah, who do not take into consideration the glory of God and His righteousness. AW Pink wrote the following in his book “The Attributes of God”:

The wrath of God is His eternal detestation of all unrighteousness. It is the displeasure and indignation of Divine equity against evil. It is the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin. It is the moving cause of that just sentence which He passes upon evil-doers. God is angry against sin because it is a rebelling against His authority, a wrong done to His inviolable sovereignty. Insurrectionists against God’s government shall be made to know that God is the Lord. They shall be made to feel how great that Majesty is which they despise, and how dreadful is that threatened wrath which they so little regarded. Not that God’s anger is a malignant and malicious retaliation, inflicting injury for the sake of it, or in return for injury received. No; while God will vindicate His dominion as the Governor of the universe, He will not be vindictive.

Is God love? Yes (1st John 4:8). But He is also a God of wrath, and will not allow Himself to be worshipped in any other way than in righteousness, and will punish any who mock His name or mock His Christ. Numbers 7:10—Now the leaders offered the dedication offering for the altar when it was anointed; so the leaders offered their offering before the altar. The phrase “dedication offering” is the Hebrew word חֲנֻכָּה (hanuka). Does that look familiar? It should. It is the same word as Hanukkah, the Jewish festival celebrated in December with the lighting of the Menorah.

Numbers 7:13-88 outline the offerings that were brought by the heads of each tribe, which were 13 one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 14 one gold pan of ten shekels, full of incense; 15 one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; 16 one kid of the goats as a sin offering; 17 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings: two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year (Numbers 7:13-17). Do not think the Israelites had it easy in the desert. They had to give much to His service, including articles of gold as well as animals to be sacrificed. They had to give up a lot. But they had this hope: The Promised Land. If they gave up a little now, they could look forward to a far greater promise in the land of Canaan. We can see a picture of Christ in all this. Hebrews 12:1-3—1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Jesus gave up more, and endured more, than we could ever imagine. God the Son, who lived in perfect harmony and unity with the Father since eternity past, had to set His glory aside and be made in the form of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3), to face hostility, be mocked, spat upon, called Beelzebub, reviled by those who called themselves by His name, then be nailed to a cross to die, something God had never done (which is why He had to be made flesh), in order to obtain that eternal pardon for all whom the Father had given Him.

And you see, this is why I do this. This is why I go through the Old Testament Law—to show how it all points to Christ and our walk with Him. Can you imagine all this as your life? We have it easier—although not always easy by any stretch of the imagination—than those did when it was written. We are no longer bound by this Law, since Christ has set us free from it (Romans 8:2). We have the fulfillment of the Law, Christ Himself, living in us so we no longer have to bring sacrifices of bulls and goats, we merely look to the One who was sacrificed for us (1st Corinthians 5:7). But we think we have it so hard. Many don’t want to hear hard truths because they are hard to hear. Why? Because men are growing dull of heart. They want to be eased through this life. They don’t want to have to think, they want things given to them on a silver platter with a big red bow tied around them. They don’t want to sing hymns that are based on theology, they would rather hear pop tunes with a little Bible kinda sprinkled in. The PCUSA, the liberal arm of Presbyterians in the United States, thought the words “til on that Cross, as Jesus died/The wrath of God was satisfied” was too controversial, and they didn’t like the fact that it spoke of God as being wrathful.

Last summer the modern hymn “In Christ Alone” made headlines for its lyrical references to the wrath of God and atonement theology. A hymn committee with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) wanted to add the song to their new hymnal, Glory to God, released this fall. But in doing so, the committee requested permission from the song’s writers, Stuart Townsend and Keith Getty, to print an altered version of the hymn’s lyrics, changing “Till on that cross as Jesus died/the wrath of God was satisfied” to “Till on that cross as Jesus died/the love of God was magnified.” The songwriters rejected the proposed change, and as a result the hymn committee voted to bar the hymn.

“The song has been removed from our contents list, with deep regret over losing its otherwise poignant and powerful witness,” committee chair Mary Louise Bringle told The Christian Century. The “view that the cross is primarily about God’s need to assuage God’s anger” would have a negative effect on the hymnal’s ability to form the faith of coming generations, Bringle explained.

 (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/keith-getty-on-what-makes-in-christ-alone-beloved-and-contested/)

So rather than admit their theology is faulty, they decided to just ignore the fact that God is a God of wrath, and just make their congregants feel happy-clappy through the service, and not feel uncomfortable about their sin. Now, are there saints in the PCUSA? Possibly. There will be saints in Babylon the Great, for it says in Revelation 18:4—And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.” We are not to sit in service with those who reject the reverence of God in order that they may feel good about living in their sin. We are to come out of such assemblies, and worship with those who worship God in spirit and in truth.

Numbers 7:89—Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him. The phrase “mercy seat”, in the Greek Septuagint it is rendered ιλαστηριου (hilasterion), which means

“relating to an appeasing or expiating, having placating or expiating force, expiatory; a means of appeasing or expiating, a propitiation; used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement (this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim, and that God by this ceremony was appeased and their sins expiated); hence the lid of expiation, the propitiatory”

It is the same word that is translated “propitiation” in Romans 3:25—[Christ], whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed and Hebrews 2:17—Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people and 1st John 2:2—And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world and 1st John 4:10—In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. And in the English translation of the Septuagint, it is rendered “propitiary”. Interesting, isn’t it? That the mercy seat would be described as the place where forgiveness of sin was given by God on the Day of Atonement, would be referred to by a word which was used to describe Christ! When we put our faith for forgiveness in Christ, God meets us in the ιλαστηριου (hilasterion), which is Christ, thereby making propitiation for us and forgiving us of our sins. And not only for us, but for all those who belonged to God before Christ came in the flesh. For how were they saved? By the blood of bulls and goats? No! They were saved as we are, by the blood of Christ. You may say “well, that’s ridiculous, they lived and died without knowing Christ, having lived long before His coming!” But you see, that is thinking in human terms. But Revelation 13:8 says that Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. And since He was slain before the foundation of the world, then His blood was given for those who lived before His coming! And He was known to some before He came, like David (Psalm 110:1), Abraham (John 8:58) and Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah 53:2-10). In a sermon on Leviticus 16:34, Charles Spurgeon said thus:

But mark, this goat's blood was not only shed for many for the remission of sins as a type of Christ, but that blood was taken within the vail, and there it was sprinkled. So with Jesus's blood, "Sprinkled now with blood the throne." The blood of other beasts (save only of the bullock) was offered before the Lord, and was not brought into the most holy place; but this goat's blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat, to make an atonement. So, O child of God, thy Saviour's blood has made atonement within the vail; he has taken it there himself; his own merits and his own agonies are now within the vail of glory, sprinkled now before the throne. O glorious sacrifice, as well as High Priest, we would adore thee, for by thy one offering hot hast made atonement for ever, even as this one slaughtered goat made atonement once in a year for the sins of all the people.

We have a far greater propitiation than a goat, that only took away the sins committed in the previous year. A goat that would have to be replicated the next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and so on. And each one would only take care of the previous year’s sins. But now we have a Lamb, one who takes away ALL our sins we have ever committed, One who has gone inside the Holiest Place in the Heavens, with the most perfect and precious blood, One who is without spot or blemish, One whose blood has made propitiation for not only those who show up at the door of the Tabernacle, but wherever those people might be—in the mountains of Tibet, or the jungles of Africa; in Los Angeles, CA or in Union Springs, NY. On the islands of the Philippines or in the shadow of Ayer’s Rock in Australia. In the Mansions of Park Place, or the prisons of Romania. He is always there, waiting to forgive, that He may present you as a gift to the Father, not having spot or blemish. A perfect Savior can make the most vile sinner a Perfect saint!

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 6, the Nazirite Vow (Part 4)

"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."

4) The LORD…be gracious to you. Grace. The one thing we need from God, and one thing it is so hard to ask for if we are allowing our flesh to dictate our lives. Because, for one thing, grace is a gift. Romans 4:4—Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. One thing that separates Christianity from all other religions is grace. In Islam your good deeds must outweigh your bad deeds, and if not—even by the weight of an atom—Allah the All-Merciful™ will send you to Hell. In Buddhism and Hinduism, you must do your dharma—your religious duty—in order to advance. In Roman Catholicism you must do good works to be saved—not that you must do good works to show you are saved as it says in James 2:18. The grace shown by God is this, that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Other religions cannot grasp that. They think that you have to do good in order to be accepted by God. What was so special about these pitiful little Israelites that God said “you are Mine”? Nothing. What was so special about Abram that God sais “all nations shall be blessed in you”? Nothing. What was so special about Isaac or Jacob—especially Jacob—that God would bring about a great nation from them? Nothing. What was the defining characteristic of Moses that made God say “That’s him! That is the man who is perfectly capable and equipped to lead over a half million people in the wilderness and appear before me!” Absolutely nothing. Zero, zip, zilch, nada. Nothing. What was it about you that made God say “Yes! I want that person! He/she has done spectacularly amazing things and I want them on My team!” Answer: less than nothing.

So why did God choose Abram? Why did He choose Isaac and Jacob? Why did He choose Moses? Why did He choose—you? One word: GRACE. The passage that is stamped on your forehead whenever you join a Baptist church is Ephesians 2:8-9— 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. The argument is “well, which of them is the gift—the grace, the faith, or the saved?” The answer of course is “Yes”. It is all of them. Grace is obviously a gift, “good-will, loving kindness, favour: of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues” according to Strong. Romans 11:5-6— 5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace. Guess how much God’s grace depends on us? Again, nothing. Zero, zip, zilch, nada. Nothing.

 

How do I know this is true? Because I know me. I know the man I used to be. The music I listened to, the movies and TV shows I watched, the beer I drank. But I will say this much—I did not have a problem with pornography. I watched it every chance I got with no problem. I lived the struggles men face—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1^st John 2:16)—and I didn’t back down to them, I charged full face right into them and enjoyed every minute of it. If you had told me back then that I would one day have a website where I would tell everyone reading it the truth of God and His Christ, I would not have believed you, even for a second. From the hymn “I Know Whom I Have Believed” by DW Whittle:

 

I know not why God’s wondrous grace to me is daily shown,

Nor why, with mercy, Christ in love redeemed me for his own.

I know not how this saving faith to me he did impart,

Nor how believing in his word wrought peace within my heart.

I know not how the Spirit moves, convincing us of sin,

Revealing Jesus through the Word, creating faith in him.

I know not when my Lord may come, at night or noon-day fair,

Nor if I’ll walk the vale with him, or meet him in the air.

 

There is also a refrain in there, taken verbatim from 2nd Timothy 1:12—I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. That is another component of grace, is God keeping those who are His until that last Day. It was a hurdle I had to get over, that when God saves someone, they are in His hand forever. Some dismissively call it “once saved always saved”. I prefer to call it the Perseverance of the Saints, and is found all over Scripture, most notably Philippians 1:6 and Hebrews 10:14 and, as above, 2nd Timothy 1:12. To say that one can be saved and God would not hold on to that person not only makes the one who thinks that turn God into an unfaithful God, but also contradicts Scripture.

 

5) The LORD lift up His countenance upon you. What does it mean for God to “lift up His countenance”? Well, we know God does not have and actual face. We see all the Renaissance paintings of God sitting on the clouds, a bearded old man who reaches out a finger to give life to Adam in Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But in all reality, God is Spirit (John 4:24), and does not have an actual face like you or me. In fact the Westminster Confession says “There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions” (Westminster Confession, 2.1).

Well, it is what we call “anthropomorphic language”: giving human traits to a being that is not human. And we know God is not human—obviously. But He had to express Himself in a way the people could understand. And this is but one way. The first place we see it is after Jacob wrestles with the Angel in Genesis 32:30—So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered." Now we know that Jacob did not really see God’s face, because God tells Moses in Exodus 33:20—“But,” he said, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” Again, Jacob used anthropomorphic language.

We must understand that the “face of God” is not something that can be seen, but something that must be sought after. It is us knowing Him, and Him knowing us. It is us seeking Him so we may know His will, and Him looking upon us that He may lead us and guide us. The phrase “seek His face” is used 7 times in the Old Testament, 3 times in the Psalms. David was a man after God’s own heart (1st Samuel 13:14), and constantly sought the face of God, that he may know what His will was and how he should go about pleasing Him (1st Chronicles 16:11 [which is repeated in Psalm 105:4], Psalm 27:8). This phrase is also used in 2nd Chronicles 7:14, Hosea 5:15 and Hosea 7:10. When we seek the face of God, we are asking for an audience with Him, to pour out our prayers and supplications.

Now, does God hide His face? Yes. He even hid His face from David. Psalm 30:7—LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. Why would God hide His face? Well, even though David was a man after God’s own heart, he stumbled. There was a time when he REALLY stumbled (2nd Samuel 11:4). And when he did stumble, God would not be there for David. And no matter how he may have been treated by men, this made David cry out even stronger. When I was in high school, I tried to sneak off with a friend of mine. When mom found out—and caught me—she didn’t hit me or lay any kind of corporal punishment on me. Know what she did? She said “I’m really disappointed in you”. Ouch! There I was, in my high school football jersey, bawling my eyes out because of her words. It hurt worse than any kind of lashing. But it got her point across. That is what it was like for David when God hid His face.

A couple other times when God hid His face, the first is Isaiah 54:8—"With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer." Of course, this is right after the prophecy of Christ, in Isaiah 53. He is speaking, I believe anyway, to Israel after they crucify the Lord of Glory, and He turns away from them. But this will not be a turning away forever, and He will bring them back to Himself (Romans 11:1-5). We also see Him hiding Hid face in Ezekiel 39:23—“The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.” This was when God allowed Israel to be taken into exile by Babylon (2nd Chronicles 36:16-21). He allowed them to be taken away because they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy (2nd Chronicles 36:16). Then when calamity fell upon them, they had nowhere to turn, there was no one who would fight for them, and God Himself fought against them and they fell into captivity.

 

But God… My favorite phrase in all of Scripture. Romans 5:8—But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God, who is rich in mercy, lifted His face to us Gentiles--Gentiles from whom He had hidden His face for so many years--and welcomed us into His kingdom. He sent His Son, His perfect, beloved Son, in the flesh, to dwell with us, and to give His life for us so that all those who believe on Him could gain eternal life—not by the blood of bulls and goats, but by faith in the Only Begotten Son of God, His death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead! Praise His name! And when we say God looks upon us—let’s face it, God sees everything. He is always there, omnipresent, all-seeing, all-knowing, all and in all—what we mean is summed up neatly in 1st Peter 3:12—For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers. He does not hide Himself from those who believe and belong to Christ. He may seem far away, but He isn’t. He is there, always there, to hear our petitions and supplications, and to offer a way of escape from temptations. JC Ryle has this to say about our free forgiveness in Christ—

 

If any man is willing to be saved, the Lord Jesus Christ stands ready to save him. "Come unto Me," He says, "weary soul, and I will give you rest. Come, guilty and sinful soul, and I will give you free pardon. Come, lost and ruined soul, and I will give you eternal life. Come and be freely saved." Oh, reader, let this message be a word in season! Arise and call upon the Lord. Let the angels of God rejoice over one more saved soul; let the courts of heaven hear the good tidings that one more lost sheep is found. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.

 YHVH lifts His countenance on all who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. A great blessing these Israelites did not know at the time, but understood when Christ entered through the gates of Heaven, leading captivity captive, leading His saints into everlasting glory. Amen!

6) The LORD…give you peace. When men talk about peace, it is always temporary. And it always hinges on both sides giving what the other side wants. And it never lasts. Why? Because humans are involved. James 4:1-3—1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Why does negotiating for peace take such a long process? Because neither side wants to give anything up, but they want the other side to give up stuff. Look at the Middle East. They have had a merry-go-round of peace talks for how many years? And are they any closer to having a lasting peace in that area?

Consider the Camp David Peace Accords, signed in 1978 by Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin. The three men agreed on a plan that would suit everyone. And what happened in 1981? Anwar Sadat was assassinated. By whom? By an Islamic extremist who was ticked off that Sadat would sign a peace deal with Israel. In 1993, Bill Clinton negotiated a peace settlement between Yitzhak Rabin and Yassir Arafat, which split the West Bank into Israeli and Palestinian sectors. Donald Trump brought Benjamin Netanyahu together with the leaders of Bahrain and the UAE in 2020. And yet, today, we have Palestinians holding Israelis hostage while Israel bombs Palestine. Not to mention the war in Ukraine (and oh by the way, neither side in the Russia-Ukraine war is a “good guy”. The people of those countries, yes. Their leaders? Not so much). Nations will never be at peace with each other because human beings are involved.

But God… The One who rules over all of Creation, the One who holds all things in His hands, the One of who it has been said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” (Abraham Kuyper), has made a way for us humans to be at peace with Him. He gives us peace through the blood of His cross. And we give Him…..what, exactly? What is there that we can give Him that He needs? Our good deeds? Isaiah 64:6—But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. Titus 3:4-5—4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us… Galatians 2:16— knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. We are not saved by our “good” works. It has been said that “we contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin that makes it necessary.” This quote has been attributed to both Jonathan Edwards and Philip Melanchthon, and I have found nothing that settles the debate of who said it originally. But whoever said it, it is correct.

God gives us eternal life and what do we give Him? Our sins. Doesn’t seem like a fair trade now, does it? But God is not fair, and we should be eternally grateful for that. Because if God were fair, we would all be burning in Hell for all eternity, and Christ would not have come down to die on the cross to bear away our sins. But God was not fair! He was not fair to His Son, who died that we may have peace with God. John 14:27—“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Romans 5:1—Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul starts his epistles with the words “Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. See, the Greeks and Romans believed in a plethora of (little-g) gods. And by plethora, that says a lot 😀. Sorry, couldn’t resist, Well, I could have, but…Anyway. One thing they never had with any of these gods was peace. They were always worried about offending them; they had to continually offer oblations and sacrifices to them. But what do we do if we do something that offends the God of all Creation? Pray. Ask forgiveness. And guess what? He’ll forgive. The hymn “O God of Love, O King of Peace” by Henry Williams Baker:

 

O God of love, O King of peace,/Make wars throughout the world to cease;

Our greed and violent ways restrain./Give peace, O God, give peace again.

Remember, Lord, your works of old,/The wonders that your people told;

Remember not our sins' deep stain./Give peace, O God, give peace again.

Whom shall we trust but you, O Lord?/Where rest but on your faithful word?

None ever called on you in vain./Give peace, O God, give peace again.

Where saints and angels dwell above/All hearts are joined in holy love;

Oh, bind us in that heav'nly chain./Give peace, O God, give peace again.     

 In our fallen state, we were at enmity with God. He gave us His Son, who gave His life on Golgotha that we may be saved from our sins and from the wrath of God. And what do we give Him in return? We give Him nothing that He needs, for He needs nothing. But we give Him our lives, our love, and our sins, which made it necessary for us to be saved from His wrath and from death and hell.

 "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.