November 7, 2010
Exodus 33:7-9
I’d just like to pass on a thought that I enjoyed while I was sick. In Chapter 32 of Exodus, the Children of Israel had seen Moses go up Mount Sinai. He had been gone a long time, so they said to Aaron, “Make us gods.” So Aaron took their gold and made a calf. Moses came back down the mountain and saw that the people had turned their backs on him and God. They had made a god that had no ears and no heart.
Vv.7-9 - If you can imagine this, it’s a beautiful picture. The people had dishonoured God, and Moses had smashed their idol. Then he took his tent, and pitched it outside the camp. And the cloud that had led them came and stood over the tent. Moses could have the intimacy of God’s presence, and could talk to Him.
This is like Christendom today. Churches have ministers that take the place of the Holy Spirit. This is a dishonour to God. They have brought in things that appeal to the flesh: beautiful buildings, stained-glass windows, organs, and bands.
We come apart from that and what do we find? The Lord’s presence. This should encourage us to keep going. It may be lonely; but one and God make a majority.
So may these things encourage us for the short time that remains. May we go on in the things which honour the Lord till He comes and takes us to glory.
Hymn 230 - I’ve found a Friend,
Prayer
Today we’re going to look at three more of God’s creatures.
The first is the Cock, or the Rooster. Matthew 26:34 - Peter did deny the Lord, and was very sad afterwards. Mark 14:30, 13:24-25 - These verses tell us about the Lord’s Coming. We don’t know when that will be; it could be at midnight, the cock-crowing, or the morning. The cock is watchful, and reminds us to watch and wait for the Lord’s Coming.
The second creature is the Colt - this could refer to a young horse, ass, or camel.
Genesis 49:8-11 - Here Jacob is talking about Judah’s future. He tells us that the sceptre will not depart from Judah. This is speaking of the Millennium, when Jesus will always be king. When Jesus was here on earth, he rode an ass’ colt and the people spread palm leaves in His way and shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” This was a picture of His appearing when He comes to reign. Colts are hard to break; they have a strong will, just like the Jews that didn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah. But one day their will will be broken, and they will recognize that the person they hung on a cross is indeed their Messiah.
The third animal is the Cony.
Psalm 104:18
Proverbs 30:26 - The conies live among the rocks, and are very watchful. They make their homes in rock crevices. As Christians, we must find safety in Christ. When the cony is in the rock, he is safe from his enemy, the lion. If he comes out, he is in danger. If we leave our Rock - which is Jesus - then we are in danger from Satan and his attacks.
So that’s the Cock, the Colt, and the Cony. I hope we can take lessons from them for our Christian lives.
Last week, we saw what happened in the 400 years between the testaments. Let’s spend a bit of time looking at what happened when the curtains re-opened at the beginning of the book of Luke. This is usually considered to be the sequel to Malachi, since it begins with a small community of people who are going on for the Lord … just like Malachi ended with. There is still a remnant here.
Although we are not told, it seems probably that Luke was not a Jew. As he begins, he is writing to Theophilus. Who is Theophiluls? We don’t know very much about him, but his name sounds Greek. Why is Luke writing this? He says that many others have written accounts of the Lord’s life, but he want to set the record straight. He seems to be saying that he has done much research (he wasn’t present during the Lord’s life), and wants to clearly write—for Theophilus—what occured.
Each of the gospels shows the Lord in a different light; Luke portrays the Lord as the Son of Man.
As the curtains open, we can see the new setting. The powers have changed: now the west is in control, and an Edomite is ruling over Israel. However, not everything has changed. Those who are going on for the Lord are still following the law. We see that Zacharias is a priest at the temple. To do that, he would have had to be able to trace his lineage back to Aaron. So, a few have been faithful … but only a few. We’ll see as we go on that there are three couples, each at a different age, who desire to honour God.
Hymn 341 - Jesus bids us shine
Prayer