February 4, 2007
Scripture:
Ministry:
A brief thought comes before me; we have had such a wondrous theme this morning. It reminds me of a scene in the life of Moses, in Exodus 3. Going to the Old Testament, it is interesting to see how God revealed Himself. In Genesis 1, we have “God.” When man comes along, it is “the Lord God.” To Abraham, He revealed Himself as “God Almighty”; this is what Abraham needed. Then came Moses, who was raised up to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land of Canaan. It was a rather spectacular way that God revealed Himself to him: through a burning bush that did not burn up. “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (vv. 14 & 15). Amazing, isn’t it? Here, God connects Himself with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”; I wonder how many times after this that phrase is used. This is the way God made Himself known to those people of old. I make a point of this because it is much different for us today. Ephesians 1: 3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” People of old knew Him as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How precious for us to know the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” so that we, too, can call Him “Father.” This is the precious, blessed One who seeketh worshippers to worship Him in spirit and in truth. May we do so.
EG Hymn 335 – I am so glad that our Father in heaven Prayer • Last time we talked about the sin offering; that finished the offerings in Leviticus. Now we’ll look at the red heifer in Numbers. Number 19:1–19 • You might think that this offering should be in Leviticus with the others; but those are sacrifices which have to do with sin from within. Numbers is a wilderness book and this sacrifice is for purification from defilement due to contact with sin from without. So for this sacrifice, they needed a red heifer (a young cow). Of course, it had to be perfect, with no spot, and it could not have been yoked, so as to be directed by man. The Lord’s yoke was His obedience to His Father’s will (Matthew 11:29 & 30). Galatians 5:1 mentions the yoke of the bondage of the law. Now this red heifer had to be killed outside the camp; the Lord was killed outside the city of the Jerusalem, the center of Judaism. The priest would take the blood and sprinkle it before the tabernacle seven times; seven is the number of divine perfection. Then they would burn the whole thing; at Calvary, all we were was destroyed. The priest also put cedar and hyssop on the sacrifice. Cedar speaks of the loftiness of man, hyssop, of the lowliness of man. Man’s loftiness, lowliness, and everything in between was burnt; God has done away with our old nature. Then the priest and the burner of the offering had to wash their clothes. The ashes were then gathered and kept outside the camp as waters of purification. The Israelites were to follow this process on the third day after they were made unclean; three is the number of resurrection. On the seventh day, they were completely clean. So I hope we can see in this how God feels about sin and death and also what the death of Christ has done for us.
Hebrews 13:6–10 • V. 6 should really end with a question mark (?); it is a quotation from Psalm 118:6. Yet this question doesn’t have an answer. It follows v. 5, which ends with a quote from Joshua. That was given to Joshua when he was taking over Moses’ responsibilities and now it is given to Christians as well. Now, v. 7 tells us to remember our leaders and imitate them. Think of the time this was written: the apostles were receiving the Word from God and sending it out to the Christians as epistles. These were special men, and the Christians were exhorted to copy them. Even today, some can look back and remember ones who taught, guided, and lived the faith out. And if the Lord doesn’t come soon, younger ones will find themselves in that same position. The torch will be passed on and they will think of those who mentored them. You might think it sounds scary. It is, but “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever,” (v. 8). What must it have been like to have listened to Paul, John, or Peter? Now, over two thousand years later, we can say things have changed very much. Yet the Lord is the One who hasn’t changed; he was there for Joshua and He will be there for us. Philippians 3:13 talks about “forgetting those things which are behind”; yet here we are exhorted to remember those faithful ones who have gone before us. And, as it reminds us in our verse, it is not only what they said, what they taught, what they wrote, but really, it is their “conversation,” or walk of life. And if the Lord doesn’t come soon, there could be those that will look back and see us, and follow the way we are living; it behooves us to live in a way that is worthy of remembering. EG Hymn 215 – Happy they who trust in Jesus, Prayer