March 12, 2006
Scripture:
Let’s go back for a moment to the passage we had in Proverbs; Proverbs 8. Before our brother read this portion, we read John 1. “In the beginning”; we sometimes remember that this was the beginning that had no beginning, going back into a past eternity. “Was the Word”; the Word, Jesus, was there as far back as our hearts can see, and beyond. In those verses we can see a divine Trinity, in a past eternity, establishing creation. But we can ask, what were they doing before that? Proverbs 8 partly answers this question; they were thinking about us. Is that possible? “Then I was by him, as one brought up with him.” This is the Lord speaking, as the one who was by Jehovah. “I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.” We can see the joy, love, and communion of the Father and the Son when they are together. Then we have verse 31, we see that this love begins to dribble over onto the earth, the habitable part of the earth. And this earth has habitants, “the sons of men.” That was Adam and Eve, you might say; God walked and talked with them. Yet Adam and Eve were not sons of men; however, they had sons—and daughters, too—and the Lord delighted in them. But did God not know that Adam and Eve had sinned? Yes. Did God not know that because of this their offspring was born in sin and conceived in iniquity? Yes. And God could find joy in them? Yes; because He had a plan. In Hebrews we have been seeing how there was that plan in a past eternity. This plan was to have the sons of men inhabiting, not earth, but Heaven. That plan has been executed up to the present time, because that One who was brought up by Him was the One who came, gave his life and his blood, all for us. Oh, beloved, isn’t it amazing that God, who could make whatever plan He chose, made it possible, through full atonement, to enable us who were earthly people to become heavenly people, recipients of that divine love.
EG Hymn 48– There is life in a look at the crucified One; Prayer • Last time, we had a story about a family who had leprosy in their house. Today we will have a story about the same family, but it takes place while they are in the wilderness. It started at the evening meal; the mother, named Tirzah, was serving dinner. Everyone was sitting around the table. When Ehud, the father, received his dish, he said, “Not again; everyday, all we ever have is manna.” “I do the best I can,” Tirzah replied apologetically. “I know,” sighed Ehud, “You make manna bread and manna cakes and manna muffins and manna dumplings. My parents used tell me about all the wonderful food they had in Egypt: cucumbers and leeks, garlic and onions, and melons. All we ever have is manna, manna, manna.” “Ehud,” said Tirzah, “we should not be talking like this.” “I know, but it seems as though Moses has brought us out here to die.” After dinner, Ehud said, “I’m going out to bed down the sheep.” In a few moments, he returned. “I just got bit by a snake; this viper jumped out and bit my leg.” Reuben, the oldest, jumped up and said, “I want to go and see the snake.” He ran out with Miriam and Benjamin trailing behind him. Outside the tent, they met their neighbour, Hoglah. “What’s going on? People are getting bitten by snakes, and some of them are dying,” he exclaimed. The three children quickly ran back in and told their parents the alarming news. “God sent these snakes because we have complained,” Tirzah said. Numbers 21:4 tells us that the people were discouraged; it was not only Ehud. Whenever the cloud over the tabernacle moved, they had to pack up and follow it; at least 40 times during their wilderness journey they did this. They thought that they were going to die while wandering around in the wilderness. Because of this, they spoke against God and Moses (v. 5). So God sent these serpents to bite the people; their fangs had poison in them and it would kill them very quickly. As Ehud sat there, he had an idea: “Tirzah, remember that poultice you made when the donkey bit my arm? Why don’t you make one of those and put that on this snake bite; maybe that will help.” As Tirzah set to work, Reuben ran in and said, “Some of the people went to talk to Moses about the snakes, they told him that we were wrong in complaining and asked him to talk to God for us” (v. 7). Not too long after this, Benjamin came in and said, “Guess what, Dad? Moses has made a serpent out of brass, and put it on a pole, and said that whoever has been bitten can look at it and be healed!” (v. 8). Ehud just laughed and said, “Come on, Ben, what can a brass snake do for me?” Sometimes when you try to share the gospel with people, they will just laugh. “Ehud,” said Tirzah, “God has told Moses to do this.” “Well, I’m too weak to get there.” “I have an idea,” said Miriam, “we can hook up the wagon and pull you over.” They did that, and Ehud’s life was saved. What God had promised, he did (v. 9). This story can remind us of some verses in John 3: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (vv. 14 & 15). What happened in Numbers 21 was a shadow of the cross. The brass serpent had never bitten anyone, but it was made in the likeness of what had. So the Lord had not sinned at all but Romans 8:3 tells us “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.”
Hebrews 10:19–25 • V. 19 begins the practical half of this chapter. We can expect to see some instruction on what we should do. The connection between the two parts is the word “therefore.” We were looking at the amazing sacrifice of the Lord, and the witness of the Holy Spirit, making these truths known in our hearts. We have had our conscience purged and “therefore” we can come into the presence of God as a worshipper. This is one of the benefits of the Lord’s death; no one was allowed to go behind the veil before (Aaron went in once a year, at a special time under special conditions). There are two important things here: 1)We are now made fit for God’s presence; and 2) we would not be comfortable in God’s presence without that fitness. In other words, God is happy that we are in His presence and we are happy to be there. There should be no hesitation to go into His presence; if we hesitate, we are implying that Christ’s work was not satisfactory. If we were trusting in our own works, then we could, and should, hesitate. The whole Trinity worked towards this through history and now they can say, as Joseph did, “Come near unto me.” Some people think you need to have a man who has been to seminary and is paid a salary to go between you and God; this is a serious insult to God. There is only one Mediator, the Lord Jesus, and to think of another is to take from the Lord his glory and from Christians their perfect consolation. When can we go into God’s presence? We had the privilege of coming into His presence this morning collectively, and we can do so individually any time. It is wonderful to know that “The holiest we enter in perfect peace with God.” Although no veil is hindering you, you have to make sure there is nothing between you and God. This invitation to come into God’s presence is consequent on two things: 1) “By the blood of Christ,” and 2) “By a new and living way.” “The blood of Jesus” speaks of his great sacrifice. When the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies on the Great Day of Atonement, he brought in blood; from which offering was that blood? It was not from the burnt offering, the most important one; it was from a sin offering. The sin offering is a picture of the Lord dying for our sins. This offering was burnt, not on the brazen alter, but outside the camp, typifying that the Lord has not only dealt with our sins, but also with our whole person: we are new creatures. In other words, Jesus died for our sins and we died with Him. Our old nature is dead to God; he only sees our new one. Next time we will look at the new and living way, through the veil. It will bring us to Calvary, where Jesus said, “It is finished.” We are blessed to be allowed into God’s presence; in the Old Testament, it was such a dreadful thing, which is no wonder, if you had been at Mt. Sinai, with all the thunder, lightning, quaking, and smoke. If you touched that Mountain, you would die. Yet at Calvary, when God’s judgement came down, it did not touch those who deserve it, but was poured out on the Son of God. It reminds you of Mt. Carmel, where the fire fell on the sacrifice, not on the idolatrous children of Israel. LF Hymn 136– The veil is rent:—our souls draw near, Prayer