July 10, 2011
Scripture:
Scripture:
Ministry:
Can we turn back to the portion our brother read in Psalm 102:28. I want to pick up that word “seed” and read Isaiah 53:10: “he shall see his seed.” We have been occupied with the Lord’s death this morning. When a seed is taken from a plant and put into the ground, it will grow into a plant just like the original one. The Lord went to the cross and was crucified. Then, He was taken down and put into the ground. But on the third day, He rose, like a growing seed. When it says, “He shall see his seed”, that refers to us: all born-again believers. We are exactly like him. What a wonderful thought!
Originally, we had only an old nature, from Adam’s seed. That old nature was dealt with at the cross. Now, God sees Christ when he looks at us. Therefore, we should be growing before the Lord; reproducing His characteristics.
For a seed to grow, it needs light and water. The Lord is the light of the world; also, the Holy Spirit gives us light as we read His word. The water is His word. In a future day, we will be transformed to be like Him.
Read I John 3:9: “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” This is an amazing fact. Unfortunately, we still sin, because we have Adam’s nature. But we don’t have to: we can live like Christ; it is not impossible.
The death of Christ has dealt with the sin question. May we praise Him for it!
Hymn 358 - Tell me the story of Jesus
Prayer
1 Samuel 25:35-44
Today we’ll finish 1 Samuel 25. Last time David had just realized that God had sent Abigail to stop him from shedding blood.
We’ve said that David is a picture of the Lord Jesus. Our hymn stated that the Lord was despised, afflicted, homeless, rejected and poor. David was all of that. Nabal had the attitude that the world has toward Jesus today, while Abigail is a picture of communion with the Lord Jesus. Abigail knew that David would some day be the king and praised him.
Abigail went home and found that Nabal had gotten drunk at the sheering feast. The next morning she told Nabal everything she had done. When Nabal heard it, his heart became like a stone. The Bible doesn’t say that he died right then, but maybe he become unconscious. Ten days later Nabal died.
When David heard that Nabal had died, he wanted Abigail to become his wife. So he sent his young men to ask Abigail if she would marry him. Again, we see Abigail making haste to go to David. Nabal had a lot of sheep which meant that he was wealthy. He probably had a very nice house. Where did David live? He lived in the wilderness, in caves. Still, it didn’t take Abigail long to make her decision. David was what made the difference.
May we each have a heart like Abigail and want to be with Jesus.
Luke 6:1-12
Here is Darby’s footnote on the term “the second-first sabbath”. “The expression ‘second-first sabbath’ is explained thus: The year, as regards the worship of God amongst the Jews, began with the month Abib (Heb. ‘green corn’), which lasted from the middle of March to the middle of April. In Leviticus 23, in which we find the Jewish feasts described, we may observe that in addition to the general and weekly recurring feasts of the sabbath, the chief feasts begin with the passover (the 14th of Abib), and that, in immediate connexion with it, it was ordained that on the day after the following sabbath the first-fruits of the corn should be offered in the ear, a foreshadowing of the resurrection of Jesus which took place on the morrow after the sabbath of the passover week, or feast of unleavened bread. The sabbath immediately following the passover was therefore the ‘first’ or great sabbath, and after the offering of the first-fruits on the morrow after the sabbath, the first day of the week, the harvest might be commenced, and the new corn eaten, which was not permitted before, even though corn stood ripe in the fields. On the following sabbath, the ‘second’ after the ‘first’ or great sabbath, we see that the disciples ate ears of corn on the way, for the offering of the first-fruits had already taken place on the first day of the week; and, as seven weeks or sabbaths were counted from this day to the feast of Pentecost, it was therefore the ‘first’ of these seven sabbaths, or the ‘second’ with reference to the great sabbath of the Passover.”
He refers back to Leviticus 23, where God gives the sabbath and the seven feasts of Jehovah to the children of Israel. (This is a interesting and instructive chapter to study, because the seven feast show us the different dispensations.) The first feast is the Passover, which joins with the feast of unleavened bread. After that we get the feast of the first fruits (Leviticus 23:9-15). This was to be celebrated once the Children of Israel were in the Land of Canaan; because, of course, it couldn’t be done in the wilderness. Once they had harvested their crops, they couldn’t eat any of it until they had brought the first fruits as an offering to the Lord. This would be offered on the day following the Sabbath, after which you could enjoy your harvest. After this first Sabbath, they numbered sevens sabbaths and one day, and that brought them to the feast of Pentecost. This was the first sabbath after the Sabbath of first fruits; or the second-first sabbath.
In effect, it was all right for the disciples to eat this “corn” (wheat) by the dates; but the scribes and Pharisees asked why are they doing this on the sabbath. They were making it out as though the disciples were harvesting. Now, when you’re harvesting wheat you can take some of the kernels, rub them in your hands to get rid of the chaff, and eat them. This, apparently, is what the disciples were doing. It’s a nice little refreshment, but it’s hardly harvesting. Harvesting, for them, meant getting out the scythe, cutting the field, binding the sheaves, and so on. The way that the Pharisees brought this up shows us the Pharisee, or legalist, personality. They could stretch the law much farther than God intended.
The sabbath was the last day of the week; what we would call Saturday. It was a day of rest. The word sabbath actually means rest. But we have the word “rest” in the Bible long before we have the institution of the sabbath. “God…rested on the seventh day” (Genesis 2:2). At that point, man didn’t enter into this rest. He was in paradise; it was God’s rest. But when sin came in, man was told that he would have to work by the sweat of his brow. Therefore, God instituted the sabbath in Exodus when He sent the manna for the Israelites. He sent manna six days, and on the sixth day they were to collect enough for the seventh day; the day of rest. Then, at Sinai, God wrote it in the law. It became a connection between God and the Jews, because it was never given to the Gentiles. It also represents the time that God will rest during the Millennium, and the final rest of the saints.
There are two sabbath stories in this chapter; this one with the disciples, and the story of the man with the withered hand. In both cases, the Pharisees were stretching the meaning of the sabbath. First they tried to say that the disciples were harvesting, and then they tried to prevent the Lord from giving help and mercy to the man with the withered hand.
Let’s look back at the end of the fifth chapter, where we see the new wine and the old bottles. The new wine had new energy. The new wine (grace) was trying to bubble up, but the Pharisees were trying to keep the top on it, and to stay with the old wine (the law). These Pharisees didn’t acknowledge that they knew it, but they were trying to enforce the law on the One Who gave the law. Jesus said that He was “Lord of the Sabbath”.
The Pharisees were like three year-olds, always asking, “Why?”. “Why do ye eat with publicans and sinners?” “Why to John’s disciples fast, and yours don’t?” “Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?” Graciously, the Lord answered each question.
He answered their question on harvesting with a story form the life of David. He was hungry, and asked a priest to give him some shewbread. Eating the shewbread was a serious offence. The explanation of such behaviour was that things were out of order. The rejected king was out asking for food. The Lord was looking for a response from the heart of His people.
What is the application for us today? Many people today are too legalistic. The Lord didn’t come to do away with the law; but He brought in a new system for the basis of our relationship with God: grace.
God rested on the seventh day until sin came; and then, as Jesus said, “My father worketh hitherto and I work” (John 5:17). We can see the work that He has done on Calvary to save us.
Jesus personifies the sabbath. He said, “Come unto me and find rest.” God rests on the work of Christ, not on the stones of Sinai, and so can we. And now we can find the power, in Him, to do His will.
Hymn 106 - O Christ in Thee my soul hast found
Prayer