October 1, 2006
Scripture:
Can we turn again to the passage we had in the 16th of Leviticus; there is so much in this chapter, filled with precious gems. The few verses we read earlier showed a type. “And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: and he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not” (vv. 13 & 14). You see, just reading a little portion shows us a type of Christ. When He endured all on that cross, a sweet-smelling savour arose to God. What it does not tell us here is that there was a cloud in the Holy of Holies, the visible presence of God: the Shekinah Glory. So in burning the incense, a cloud ascended to meet that cloud, to match it in glory and purity. Then he sprinkled the blood, and it was the words, “that he die not” that came before me. In what we are reading, Aaron is doing this for himself. Before he could accomplish that ritual of atonement for the people, He first had to do it for himself: he was a poor, failing, sinful man, too. Yet in the Antitype, the One whose blood covered our sins did not have to offer a sacrifice for Himself; He offered the sacrifice of Himself. It is this that lifts our hearts in worship unto Him. That blood was seen by God; think of the blood that Aaron sprinkled on the mercy seat. There were two cherubim, messengers of God’s of judgement, looking down at the mercy seat. It has been said, what would have happened if they were looking out at Israel, or under the mercy seat at the law? Yet they saw the blood. “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” The Lord was pure and sinless; even after walking in the world, He was still whiter than snow. He gave Himself as the sacrifice and offering so perfect, and we rest in the blessing of it all. We were reminded of the value of the Person and work; wondrous it is. God can see the true value of it and we rest in this. How precious is our portion in Him!
EG Hymn 290 – Praise the Saviour, ye who know Him, Prayer • Today I want to look at how Samuel fits into God’s plan. What is the first book in the Bible? Genesis; “Genesis” means “beginnings,” and you can see there are many beginnings in Genesis: the beginnings of the world, sin, etc. Then there is Exodus, when the Children of Israel leave Egypt. Leviticus describes the offerings, the ways man had to do with God. Numbers shows us the experiences of the Israelites. Deuteronomy records the death of Moses. These five books make the Pentateuch; “penta- ” means “five.” Then Joshua tells us how Israel got into Canaan and conquered it. Judges tells us about a dark time for Israel, when they did not always follow the Lord. Next is Ruth, who was a Moabitess and became a Gentile bride of a Jew. Then we have the books of Samuel. Up until the time of Ruth, God was approached through the priesthood. When Samuel came on the scene, the priests were ungodly, so God raised up a prophet in Samuel. The children of Israel wanted a king at this time, so they chose one: a handsome young man named Saul. He was not a good king, so God chose David, the man after His own heart. Now this history shows us God’s plan for the future. God made the world, but man ruined it by sinning. Then, in Ruth, we see the Gentile Bride the Lord purchased for Himself when He died, and is being gathered in, during the day of grace. David is a picture of Christ in judgement at the beginning of the Millennium, and Solomon shows us the Lord reigning in peace during the Millennium. There is one more thing I want to say: it is good to know all this in our heads, but in Proverbs 23:26, God asks us to give Him our hearts, to live for Him and love Him.
Hebrews 11:30–34 • Last week we talked about how God delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians by bringing them through the Red Sea—all because of their faith. This chapter is bringing out people who, because of their faith, received a special blessing. Faith is a vital ingredient in our lives; without faith in the first place, we cannot be saved. So by faith, Israel crossed the Red Sea. The Egyptians tried, but drowned, because they had no faith. Once Israel is on the other side, they are a picture of the enjoyment of Salvation. But then, we see nothing of the wilderness—we jump all the way from the Red Sea to the conquering of Jericho. When the first spies came back from looking at the land, they said they could not enter, because of the walled cities. But here we see that God can bring down those walls. At the Red Sea, He told the Israelites to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:13). Did they have to do that much more at Jericho? They had only to march around the walls in a parade. In type, Jericho is a picture of the world, which will someday receive judgement. How do we know this? Turn II Peter 3:10; we are not looking for this now; it will come after we are taken. V. 9, the Lord is just waiting, but soon He will take us, and then the judgement described in v. 10 will come. Read v. 10. This is certainly judgement; we can be glad we will not be here. So now, v. 31—“the harlot Rahab” could not have had the best reputation, but she had faith, not in idols, but God. Read Joshua 2:8–14; Rahab is truly convicted. She lived on the wall, v. 15, which looked out, not into the wicked city. Read vv. 16–18. She had an obligation: she had to display the scarlet cord, a reminder of the blood shed in Egypt. And Rahab and her family were saved by faith, a picture of the gospel. Here we can see two sides to the story. If Rahab had faith, Israel had grace. And if we have the faith, God has grace also; He will get the glory, and we, the salvation. So did the rest of the city not believe? Well, they trembled, and realized that God was more powerful than their idols. But amazingly, Rahab became a member of a Jewish family, a Gentile bride. In Matthew 1, both Ruth, the cursed Moabitess, and Rahab, the harlot, are in the lineage of the Lord—amazing grace! EG Hymn 155 – By Thee, O God, invited, Prayer