TRUE AND FALSE SHEPHERDS

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Introduction

 

The nature of Satan is to lie and deceive.  The use of counterfeits is a tool used by Evil to try to devalue and demean what is good, righteous and a blessing.  We see this technique utilized throughout history.  The goodness of God is mimicked by an alternative to that goodness.  Where you have God’s plan for mankind to worship the One True God, Satan gives man a plethora of false gods and religions that can be chosen by man as an alternative.

 

We have an opportunity to choose Christ; however, Satan will give us the opportunity to choose alternative christs (also known as antichrists).  Where there is a true prophet, there can also be a choice of a false prophet.  Some other places where we see alternatives are places like the New Jerusalem as contrasted to Babylon, the Bride of Christ as opposed to the Harlot and the Lamb in contrast to the Beast. 

 

The area that we will deal with in today’s teaching is the difference between good shepherds and false shepherds.

 

 

Jesus as Good Shepherd

 

In our last teaching we talked about Jesus as the good shepherd of the sheep.  In John 10, Jesus compares himself to both the gate to the sheep and himself as the good shepherd of the sheep.  Below are the first fifteen verses of John 10 where Jesus talks about this.  Keep in mind the old adage that the best way to protect yourself from counterfeits is to have an intimate knowledge of what is true.  By looking at Jesus very carefully and by studying the word of God we can better identify what is real and what is counterfeit. 

 

Here is John 10:1-15:

 

Very truly I tell you Pharisees anyone who does not enter the sheep

pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber.

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen

to his voice.  He calls the sheep by name and leads them out.

When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them,

and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

But they will not follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away

from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.

Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not

understand what he was telling them.

 

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you,

I am the gate for the sheep.  All who have come before me are thieves and robbers,

but the sheep have not listened to them.

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.

They will come in and go out and find pasture.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.

 

I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life

for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd and does

not own the sheep.  So when he sees the wolf coming,

he abandons the sheep and runs away.

Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  The man

runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

 

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—

just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—I lay down my life

for the sheep.

 

 

What is Jesus saying in these passages?  First, keep in mind that Jesus is talking primarily to the Pharisees who were the religious establishment of his time.  Further, they were the leaders and “shepherds” of the people of God.  Jesus was also talking about the masses of people who were following him and who were saying things like “No one ever speaks like this man” (Jn. 7:46) or that he “teaches with authority” (Matt. 7:29).

 

Jesus’ comment to the Pharisees was that he (Jesus) was the true teacher who knew God.  Further, that God’s people were hearing him.  Their hearts recognized their Master’s voice.  The religious establishment did not own the flock; instead the flock of sheep (people of God) belonged to God.  When danger came whether it was physical or demonic, the religious establishment fled away.  They were not casting out demons or healing the sick.  The religious establishment (Pharisees and Sadducees) were in it for the pay.  They got the money.  They got the spiritual honor and respect.  But when danger from evil came, they ran away.  They were the “hirelings.”

 

Jesus’ affirmation and promise was that he was the “true shepherd.”  He would defend the sheep.  When evil came, he would lay down his life for the sheep.  He would die protecting them.  This was the promise of Christ in John 10 and it was this promise that he carried out.

 

 

Hearing the Sounds of Our Master’s Voice

 

 

Jesus said that his sheep would hear the sound of Jesus’ voice.  How do we do this?  I do not believe that it is as difficult as you might think.

 

First, we know what Jesus said.  We have the Bible.  Why not read the Bible and get use to hearing the words of Jesus.  Then if you hear a shepherd saying things that do not sound like Jesus, you will then easily know that the shepherd is speaking from his own spirit and flesh and not from the words of Jesus or through the Holy Spirit.

 

However, God in his grace and generosity gave us another means to discern as well.  Christ sent to us the Holy Spirit of God so that we might have an internal witness to the heart and mind of God.  In short, we are not left helpless.  We have the written word of God to lead us and we have the Spirit of God which is living and which was given to remind us what Christ said and did.  Further that Holy Spirit empowers us and leads us both individually and corporately just as the Pillar of Cloud and Fire did for the Israelites in the wilderness when they escaped Egypt.  We have escaped a morally polluted world through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Jesus, through his Holy Spirit, guides us and protects us in the wilderness of this world.

 

 

Delegated Authority as a Shepherd

 

In the Old Testament, God delegated his authority to oversee Israel to mankind.  We see God giving authority to political leaders to shepherd Israel.  Authority was given to the elders of Israel under Moses, to the Judges who ruled over Israel and to kings such as King Saul and King David.  God also delegated spiritual authority to his priests and his prophets.  In the old Testament we see both the King and High Priest as exemplifying God’s authority.  This is especially true in such prophetic books as Zechariah where we see Zerubbabel illustrating political authority and Joshua representing spiritual authority.  In the New Testament, the political authority and the spiritual authority are combined into Jesus Christ who combines the roles of both King and High Priest.  His authority as a High Priest derives from the authority of Melchizedek according to the Book of Hebrews as opposed to the Levitical line of Aaron the brother of Moses.  Both Priest and King (one person, Jesus Christ) is from the ruling tribe of Judah.

 

Jesus was appointed as shepherd over his people–  “From Bethlehem will come a ruler who will shepherd my people” (Matt 2:6 quoting Micah 5:2,4).  Jesus is the good shepherd and has God’s authority to shepherd God’s people.

 

That being said, Jesus delegated his authority as a shepherd to his disciples and followers.  After the resurrection of Jesus, he tells Peter in John 21:15-17, “to feed his sheep.”  Peter makes clear that this authority is passed on by Christ to the leaders and elders of the church.  1 Peter 5:1-4 says the following:

 

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and as a witness

of Christ’s sufferings who will also share in the glory to be revealed.

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care,

watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing,

as God wants you to be, not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;

not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown

of glory that will never fade away.

 

Part of God’s plan is that there be leaders in the church.  These “under-shepherds” are responsible to the “Chief Shepherd”.  If you are in a leadership position, you have responsibility to some degree for those who are under your care.  Peter warns those who are in positions of authority that they should not be pursuing dishonest gain and that you are to be an example to your “flock” and not lording it over them.  How many times have I seen religious leaders profiting off their flock and taking advantage of their flock for their psychic needs of being important and recognized.  I have seen them victimize their flocks both emotionally, physically and sexually.  God does not grant a license to those in spiritual authority to do this.  Those who fail to be responsible will be held accountable either in this life or the next.  God gave authority to Saul to shepherd his people but when Saul chose not to do what God wanted to do he was judged and his kingdom was given to David and Saul met God’s judgment on the battlefield.

 

Delegated authority from God is not a license to do wrong and it is not an indulgence which exempts those in authority from judgment from their actions.  To the contrary, there is every reason to believe that those who are in authority or those who teach may be under a higher standard of conduct than others.  (James 3:1).

 

Also keep in mind that the Chief Shepherd is the one who is in charge.  In the military, a general can easily override the commands of a sergeant.  Jesus is your commander and shepherd.  Thankfully, we as erring sheep, have returned to the flock and the person in charge of us is Jesus.  1 Peter 2:25 says, “For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”  Peter was quick to acknowledge that the church does not belong to Peter or to the disciples but to Jesus himself.  That being said, be sure that you are listening to Jesus for your commands and not to the desires of your flesh or your mind.

 

 

How can I recognize a false shepherd?

 

The Bible gives us a pretty good method to recognize the difference between a true shepherd and a false shepherd.  We have previously mentioned one method which is to look at Christ as a model of the good shepherd.  Would Christ be acting in the same manner that a particular shepherd acts.  If not, then you may wonder whether a person acting as a shepherd is in reality a “false shepherd.”

 

Keep in mind coming to a conclusion is not always an easy thing.  False shepherds, false teachers and false prophets are not always easy to recognize.  In many instances, you have to look carefully at their actions.  You need to test the actions of the shepherd, teacher or prophet against the written word of God.  In addition, you have to look at the fruits of the shepherd’s life.  Are the fruits the fruits of the spirit including love, peace, joy, longsuffering or the like?  Alternatively, are the fruits the fruits of the flesh.  Is the person taking advantage of others in turns of abusing them from the pulpit, taking sexual advantage of the weak, and taking the assets of the flock while becoming wealthy themselves.  False shepherds often are charismatic and they seek to cut you off from contact with others and seek to control you all in God’s name and “for your own salvation and benefit.”

 

In Ezekiel 34, false shepherds are described.  Below is a chart showing the characteristics of a false shepherd under Ezekiel 34 and the characteristics of a “good shepherd” which are the opposite of those of a false shepherd.

 

 

FALSE SHEPHERD                                                                          TRUE SHEPHERD

 

  1. Feeds themselves from the sheep.                             Feeds the sheep.
  2. Does not strengthen the sick sheep.   Strengthens the sick sheep.
  3. Does not heal the diseased sheep.   Heals the diseased sheep.
  4. Does not bind up the broken sheep.   Binds up the broken sheep.
  5. Lets the sheep be scattered.   Brings back the scattered sheep.
  6. Does not seek the lost.   Seeks the lost sheep.
  7. Dominates the sheep.   Protects the sheep

 

 

Is your shepherd, seeking the lost, feeding the sheep regularly, leading them beside still waters, helping the sheep to heal, protecting the sheep and helping those sheep who have been hurt to heal?  If so, it is likely you are dealing with a true shepherd. 

 

On the other hand, if your shepherd is using you to enrich himself, lording his position over the sheep, beating up the sheep through his sermons and actions, not showing compassion to the lost, hurt, sick and broken, then it is possible that you may be sitting under a “false shepherd.”

 

Don’t be deceived.  False shepherds, false teachers and false prophets all look religious.  Like the Pharisees in the time of Jesus, they have no shortage of religiosity or legalism.  They pray often, fast often and hold to the many requirements of the Bible, but they are still Pharisees. 

 

Jesus kept telling his followers stories about religious people who were not doing what was in the heart of God.  He told about a Samaritan who gave help to a hurt man while Pharisees and priests crossed to the other side of the road.  Jesus told about the Pharisee and the tax collector who went up to the Temple to pray.  It was the Pharisee who reminded God that he kept the law and fasted twice per week.

 

In my own personal experience, I have run into a number of false shepherds.  Several of them had very visible ministries and were acclaimed by the masses.  At the same time, some of the people who were close to these individuals knew the ugly truth.  When they tried speaking up they were initially not believed.  Later, the truth came out.  My point is that upon a superficial glance false shepherds may initially appear to be “good shepherds” until such time that the seed that they have sewed grows and produces fruit which over time is recognized as rotten.  Ask God to help you to discern correctly and make good and wise choices. 

 

In a few cases, I have had a witness of the spirit that something was not right but no real fruit to back it up.  In those cases, I have withdrawn rather than say anything publicly or privately.  The reputation of people is important and so be cautious in what you say until you have a clear witness of the truth.

 

False Prophets and False Teachers

 

In our next edition of Locusts and Honey we will be discussing false prophets and false teachers and their characteristics.  For the present, let me say that it is fairly common to see a false Shepherd also engage in the actions of a false prophet or a false teacher.  There are clear characteristics of false prophets and false teachers and we will deal with these characteristics in a future edition of Locusts and Honey.

 

 

Short Conclusion

 

There are true shepherds and false shepherds.  They all appear to look alike at first glance, but you can spot the difference by looking carefully.  First take a look at Jesus.  Does the shepherd do what the Great Shepherd Jesus does or is the shepherd doing something else?  Is the shepherd doing what the Bible says to do or is the shepherd doing something else?  Is the shepherd bringing forth bad fruit?  Is the shepherd not being a good example?  Is the shepherd taking advantage of the flock?  Is the shepherd overly interest in money and power?  Does the shepherd strengthen the sheep or does the shepherd really not care if the sheep are diseased, lost, hurt and hungry?  Does the food the shepherd supplies strengthen the sheep or does it beat them down?  Does the shepherd beat the sheep verbally?  These are some of the questions which you must consider.  You must pray and evaluate your own situation.  Do not be afraid of making your own decisions after checking Scripture, praying and carefully observing the fruit of the shepherd to tell if the fruit is good and sound or whether it is rotten. 

DAVID AS SHEPHERD

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DAVID AS SHEPHERD OF ISRAEL

Locusts and Honey

1 Cor. 2:13

2023-Edition 2

 

 

Introduction

 

God could have chosen a people who raised crops to be his people.  Instead, God chose a people who were nomadic and who raised sheep and goats.  In the initial sacrifice made by Abel and Cain, God selected the sacrifice of Abel which were the first fruits of his flock over the sacrifice of Cain which was an offering of agricultural produce.  I believe that part of the reason for the selection was that in God’s plan, the remission of sins required “innocent blood” and the redemption of man would require the innocent blood of the Son of God who would also be the Son of Man.  Throughout the history of Israel, God utilized those who cared for sheep and goats as his leadership.  Abraham was one who raised livestock as opposed to being a farmer.  Likewise, Isaac, and Jacob were involved in the raising of sheep and goats.  When Moses was being trained to lead Israel, God saw that not only did he spend forty years in Pharaoh’s court but he also spent the next forty years of his life tending sheep in Midian learning the care of the helpless animals and the humility of those who work with them.  God’s training of the young David also involved the care of sheep.

 

David as Shepherd

 

Working in the sheep pens was not a mark of honor. Instead, it was arduous and unglamorous work.  In Jesse’s family of eight sons, it was relegated to the youngest, David.  In fact, when Samuel came to hold a feast and look for a new king, David did not even attend because he was in the fields tending the flock of his father.  When Samuel saw the oldest son, Eliab, he thought “Surely the Lord’s annointed stands here before the Lord.”  However God upbraided Samuel and reminded him that people look on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.”  (1 Sam. 16:6-7).  After Samuel worked his way through seven sons, he finally asks Jesse: “Are these all the sons you have?”  Jesse answered “There is still the youngest…He is tending the sheep.”

 

The three oldest sons of Jesse, were part of Saul’s army facing Goliath.  Jesse instructed David to take some gifts to the commander in charge of his sons.  When he got there, the eldest, Eliab, looked down his nose at David and said at 1 Sam. 17:28:

 

Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave

those few sheep in the wilderness?  I know how conceited

you are and how wicked your heart is;

you came down only to watch the battle.

 

Obviously, Eliab was incorrect, and it was little brother David who killed and defeated Goliath.

 

God Prepared David in the Sheep Pens

 

God used David’s time in the sheep pens to prepare David to lead God’s people Israel.  The menial and sometimes dangerous tasks of being a shepherd were used by God to prepare David for the challenges of leadership.  David’s battles against the bear and the lion were preparation for his battle against Goliath and his many battles against the Philistines.

 

Saul responded in doubt and unbelief to David desiring to fight Goliath by saying, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”  (Sam. 17:33).  David’s response at 1 Sam. 17:34-35 was as follows:

 

Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep.  When a lion or a bear

came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it,

struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. 

When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair,

struck it and killed it.  Your servant has killed

both the lion and the bear.  This uncircumcised

Philistine will be like one of them because he has

defied the armies of the living God. 

The God who rescued me from the paw of the lion

and paw of the bear will rescue me from the hands of this Philistine.

 

Today, I hear many Christian leaders talking about paying their dues and convincing themselves that they are now “worthy” of serving as a head Pastor because they have served in lesser positions.  In fact the concept of working in menial tasks as a way of deserving to be entrusted with greater responsibilities has some legitimacy to it.  A person who has been faithful over little can later be entrusted with much.  That being said, the concept of “paying your dues” has been overused.  I have actually heard teenagers in both the secular and religious world talk about moving ahead because they have “paid their dues.”  We should not however forget that there is also the matter of “calling”.  The other brothers of Jesse may have well paid their dues both in the sheep pens and in the army, but it was not “paying their dues” which made the difference.  Instead it was the calling and anointing of God.  David was “called” to become a leader of Israel, whereas his brothers who may have served more time and appeared to be more ready to accept leadership were not.

 

Leadership of the Church of Christ is not a “right” nor is it because you “paid your dues.”  Instead, it is because you have been called by Christ to be a leader.

 

Moreover, one does not ascend into a leadership position and leave the lowly sheep pen behind.  Humility is not a virtue to be laid aside when one “ascends” into a leadership position.  Many Christian leaders seem to treat leadership as a position in the military.  They were at one time “privates” and now it is time for others “to be a private and serve” and learn from them.  In all of this there is a hidden pride.  Instead, the position of being a servant and a shepherd are inexorably woven together in the heart.  Jesus reminded his disciples of this at the Last Supper when he washed their feet.  Being a shepherd and being a servant are matters of the heart and they are not to be discarded just because of kingly robes.  Today, there are many leaders but few leaders who are also servants.  After all, they have “paid their dues” and that is a form of legalism cloaked in holy garb.

 

God as Shepherd

 

God defined his relationship over his people by comparing Himself as a shepherd watching over his sheep, Israel.  Jacob when he was blessing his twelve sons said of God:

 

…because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,

because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

because of your father’s God who helps you,

because of the Almighty who blesses you

 

Jacob, who had spent his life raising sheep and goats,  recognized God as being the primary shepherd over his people Israel.

 

In a number of passages by David and others God is pictured as the Great Shepherd.  The people of God are pictured as sheep.  For instance, it says in Isaiah 53:6 that “all we like sheep have gone astray, each unto his own way, but God has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.”  A similar verse is found in Ps. 119:176 which says, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep.”

 

 

David Saw God as being the Shepherd of Israel

 

It is clear that David in the Psalms saw God as being the Shepherd of Israel.

 

All of us are familiar with the 23rd Psalm in verses 1-3 where David writes:

 

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures. 

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

 

Some other verses where David sees the people of God as being “sheep” are the following:

 

Ps. 78:52—“Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.”

 

Ps. 79:13—“But we your people, the sheep of your pasture will give thanks to you forever.”

 

Ps. 100:3—“It is He who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

 

God is the primary shepherd over his people.  He entrusts his authority to leadership but is careful to hold those responsible who abuse this authority.

 

Jesus is the Good Shepherd

 

Jesus was of the line of David.  We have studied previously how at his birth, angels appeared to shepherds in the fields.  Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the City of David and his father, Jesse.  Matt. 9:36 says that ”When he saw the crowds, he (Jesus) had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

 

In Matt. 18:10-13, Jesus told the story about the shepherd who left the ninety-nine on the mountains to seek the one that went astray.  (See also Luke 15:4-7).  Jesus is that compassionate shepherd.

 

In John 10:11, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

 

Jesus is the good shepherd.  He laid down his life for us.  When danger came from Satan he did not run away like “the hireling” but instead gave his life for the sheep.

 

David was a shepherd for the nation of Israel and Jesus, who came from the line of David, is the Great Shepherd who gave his life for the sheep that they might be delivered from the  lion of Satan.

 

 

 

 

Final Comments

 

God is the shepherd of Israel and that includes all of his people in both the Old Israel and the New Israel which also includes you and me.  God’s leaders are expected to act as shepherds of God’s people.  King David was not only a shepherd but he was a great leader of Israel and in that capacity God expected him to love and protect his people.  David was called by God into leadership and went from the sheep pens to shepherding the people of Israel.  David made many mistakes including stealing an “ewe lamb” which in effect was the stealing of beautiful Bathsheba and the killing of her husband, Uriah (2 Sam. 12:1-13).  God judged this terrible action.  Despite David’s great failings, God worked with him to become a great King of Israel and promised to build him an eternal house, which meant that God would take from his line and raise up an eternal King over Israel from the stock of Jesse and the line of David (2 Sam. 7:1-16).

 

 The time came when God fulfilled that promise and one came from the line of Jesse to become a King over the people of God and who would rule eternally.  That king is Jesus Christ, Immanuel (“God is with us”).  Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Instead of just shepherding Israel, he became the good shepherd over both the Jews and Gentiles, that is, the full house, people and kingdom of God.  The Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep.  Moreover, He ever lives to watch over us and has given his Holy Spirit to teach us, protect us and comfort us until we finally reach those green pastures and living waters that He has prepared for us.

THE GREAT DAY OF ATONEMENT

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Today, we will be looking at the Day of Atonement and how it is a preview of the saving work of Christ.  The Jews today continue to celebrate the Day of Atonement.  It is called Yom Kippur and is the holiest day of the Jewish year.  However, the Day of Atonement as described in the Bible is very different from the present celebration of Yom Kippur because the Day of Atonement in the Bible involved a number of blood sacrifices, which are no longer made due to the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. and the inability of the High Priest to continue the sacrifices required to be made in the Temple in Jerusalem.

 

The Day of Atonement as Described in Leviticus-an Overview

 

In Leviticus 23:26-32, Moses sets forth an annual observation of the Day of Atonement which was to be a day of rest and denial.  It was to be a day of fasting; no lotions or ointments were to be used and sexual relations were prohibited as part of the observance.  The particulars of the sacrifices and observations are spelled out in detail in Leviticus 16.

 

Leviticus 16 instructed Aaron that he could only enter into the Holy of Holies one day per year.  He was to sacrifice a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering.  The bull offering of blood was to be for the High Priest and his family.  He was then to take hot coals and place them in a censer along with two handfuls of incense and take them behind the curtain of the Holy of Holies so that the incense might prevent the High Priest from dying.  The High Priest then would spread the blood of the bull seven times on the Atonement Cover.

 

There were also two goats.  Their roles in the ceremony were determined by lot.  One would be sacrificed and one would be the “scapegoat” and bear the sins of the people out to the wilderness.  The goat for the sin offering for the people would be sacrificed and its blood would be taken by the High Priest into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled seven times on the Atonement Cover of the Ark of the Covenant just as he had done with the blood of the bull.

 

Then the High Priest would take some of the bull blood and goat blood and go to the brazen altar outside the Holy of Holies and put it seven times on the horns of the brazen altar.

 

In this manner, there had been a blood sacrifice for the High Priest and his family, blood had covered the Atonement Cover in the Holy of Holies and blood had covered the horns of the Brazen Altar in the Holy Place where normal sacrifices and offerings were made.

 

Next, the High Priest laid his hands on the scapegoat and confessed the sins and rebellion of the Nation and people of Israel.  The scapegoat was then taken into the wilderness bearing the sins of the people.

 

The High Priest next would bathe and change from his simple white garments which he wore on the Day of Atonement to his ornate High Priest robes.  He would then return to the Brazen Altar in the Holy Place and make a burnt offering of a ram for himself, his family and for the people of Israel.

 

Finally the remains of the bull and the goat sacrificed were taken outside of the camp and burned.

Below I discuss the meaning of these sacrifices and how they relate to our faith and the work of Jesus. 

 

The specifics of the sacrifices were taken seriously.  Aaron had lost two of his sons who had decided earlier to do sacrifices their own ways as opposed to God’s way (Lev. 10:1-3).  Therefore prohibitions such as not going into the Holy of Holies except by the High Priest and then only once a year were taken very seriously.

 

 

The High Priest and His Robes

 

Normally, the High Priest had ornate robes.  Among other things, the High Priests carried the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on his shoulders (with six tribes being inscribed upon each of the two onyx shoulder stones)  and also the names of the twelve tribes were inscribed upon twelve jewels which were imbedded on the Ephod worn by the High Priest.  However, for the Day of Atonement these vestments were removed during the initial part of the ceremony and the High Priest was dressed simply in white.  I believe that there are several spiritual reasons for this.  First, we all come to God for atonement of sins with a humble heart knowing that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  Someone once wrote that the ground at the foot of the cross was level meaning that we all come with sin and we come for help based upon the grace of God and not on our own merits.  The High Priest, like all of us, needs the forgiveness of sins.  Second, when Christ came to be our advocate and priest, he laid aside the beautiful garments of divinity and put on the simple and humble garments of the flesh.  Later after the initial sacrifice was made, the High Priest put back on his normal High Priestly vestments including those items which represented that he was interceding for the Jewish people.  Once again, he had the names of Israel upon his shoulders and the names of the Twelve Tribes upon his Ephod making intercession for them.

 

Christ did the atoning work.  However, he did it simply.  After the sacrifice was made, Christ lived to intercede for mankind (Heb. 7:25).

 

 

The Sacrifice of the Bull

 

The bull was sacrificed and its blood covered the sins of the High Priest and his family.  Aaron had lost two sons who had tried to do sacrifices their ways and in their own efforts.  The blood of the bull was placed not only on the Atonement Cover but upon the brazen altar.  The Atonement Cover covered the Ark of the Covenant.  Inside the Ark was the law which condemned men and women.  It is interesting to me that the bull shows up in pagan religions.  In fact when Moses was on the mountain getting the Ten Commandments, Aaron was making at the request of the people a false god in the form of a bull.  Also the bull shows up as foreign gods such as Moloch.  Each of us encounters alternatives to God.  We can worship these alternatives or we can permit them to be sacrificed to God.  Aaron and Moses sacrificed the blood of bulls, lambs and goats to God.  In fact, the Book of Hebrews says that nothing was made holy without blood (Heb. 9:22).  Sacrificial blood is inexorably connected with salvation.  The covering of blood made things holy.  In addition blood covered the effects of sin which is death.

 

We sometimes use the word “propitiation.”  This is a long word which in effect means averting the wrath (or judgment) of God through a gift.  It is also a fancy word for atonement which is the making of peace with God.  The blood was placed on the Cover of the Ark.  This Cover was also known as the Atonement Seat which covers the penalty for sin.  Interestingly, the Atonement Cover is also called “the mercy seat” because it is there where we find the presence of God and it is there where we also find the mercy of God.  Each of us has a choice.  The place of the presence of God can bring wrath and judgment or it can bring mercy.  There is no half-way or middle ground.  The amazing thing is that God allows us to choose freely which we will embrace-judgment or mercy.  It seems almost unimaginable to me that people would not choose mercy over judgment. 

 

 

The Incense

 

Prior to going into the Holy of Holies, the High Priest would get some hot coals and two handfuls of incense and place it into a censer where the incense would rise to protect the High Priest (Lev. 16:12-13; Heb. 9:8).  Incense is often considered to represent the prayers of the people.  Incense also has another use.  In one sense it is like perfume or deodorant.  It covers the foul odor of our sins.  It not only obfuscates the smell of the sin but it also makes things more opaque so that they are not so clearly seen.  In one sense, prayer may well do the same thing.  At any rate, to the observant Jew, incense definitely reduced the likelihood of God’s immediate judgment upon sin.

 

As believers in Christ, we pray to God asking forgiveness for our own sins and for the sins of others.  God hears our prayers and shows mercy to others because of our prayers.  James 5:16 reminds us “that the prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective.”

 

The Two Goats

 

One of the most fascinating offerings involved the use of two goats on the Day of Atonement.  Both goats were taken to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.  Lots were cast.  One goat was chosen by lot to be a sacrifice and the other goat was chosen to be a “scapegoat.”  The goat chosen to be the sacrifice was slaughtered and the High Priest placed its blood on the Atonement Cover in the Holy of Holies and on the Brazen Altar where regular sacrifices were made.  The High Priest would put his hands on the scapegoat and confess the sins of the people of Israel and then the goat would be taken into the wilderness and released.  The Hebrew is unclear regarding the scapegoat and some think that the Hebrew says that the scapegoat was to be a goat “for Ariel” which is an evil spirit. However, most Hebrews and scholars believe that the better translation is just that the goat is for “the wilderness” and it is this translation which was utilized in the translation of the Hebrew into Greek utilized by the Septuagint in the Second Century B.C.

 

In short, one goat dies and its blood is used to cover the demands of the law for death to those who sin.  The other goat takes the sin of the people which is confessed upon it and takes the sin out into the wilderness.  Obviously, it was impossible for one goat to do both functions so two goats were utilized.  However, in a theological sense, the Lamb of God fulfilled both roles.  Christ suffered and died and his blood covered the demands of the law for death to those who sin.  At the same time, Christ ever lives to intercede for us and to carry our sins.  Through the resurrection, Christ fulfilled both roles utilized by the two goats.  “He ever lives to intercede for us.” (Heb. 7:25).

 

Jewish lore says that the High Priest attached a red thread to the horns of the scapegoat.  Further, it was believed that once the sacrifice was approved by God, the thread would turn white.  Some believe that this is in effect the meaning of Isaiah 1:18 which says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”   The scapegoat would be taken a long way from the camp and pushed down into a ravine or down a steep mountain so that it could not return.  At any rate, the important fact is that the sins of the people were taken far away.

 

 

 

 

The Ram Burnt Offering

 

After the sins were confessed and “laid upon” the scapegoat, it was time for the burnt offering.  The High Priest bathed and changed his clothes into the vestments of the High Priest.  It was then time for the ram to be sacrificed as a burnt offering.  Included in the clothing of the High Priest was the vestments containing the names of the tribes of Israel both inscribed on the shoulders on onyx stones (Ex. 28:9-12; 39:6-7) and on the twelve jewels embedded in the ephod of the High Priest (Ex. 28:15-28).  The High Priest then offered the ram as the atonement offering both for himself, his household and for the people of God.  The sacrifice was of a ram just as a ram was used for the sacrifice in place of Isaac, the son of Abraham.  The ram (a male sheep) is an image of the blood sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

The important thing to remember is that God was preparing the Jews and all mankind for the event of Christ.  Instead of lambs, bulls and goats, God would use the blood of Jesus Christ, the very son of God, to cover the sins of the world and to provide a means for saving people from death and enabling them to return to God.  God pictured in the Day of Atonement the reconciliation of the world to God through the life and death of Jesus Christ.  We who were far away from God are brought close to God.  God has made a way for us where there was no way.  Further, in that sacrifice is portrayed not only the shedding of blood to cover our sins but the resurrection of the Son of God who like the scapegoat carries our sins out to the wilderness.  The Bible says so far has he removed our sins from us as far as the east from the west. (Ps. 103:12).

ANGELS ON HIGH

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Angels on High

 

As part of the Christmas story we are aware that angels appeared to shepherds who were tending their flocks by night in order to announce the birth of Jesus.  That account is found in Luke 2:8-16 which reads as follows:

 

And there were shepherds, living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over

their flocks by night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory

of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 

But the angel of the Lord said to them, “Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you,

he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: 

You will find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

 

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the

angel, praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those

upon on whom his favor rests.”

 

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven,

the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go Bethlehem and see

this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.

 

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby,

who was lying in the manger.

 

 

One might ask why it was that angels would announce the birth to shepherds as opposed to announcing the birth of Jesus to a larger audience.

 

 

Jesus as the Great Shepherd

 

We have been studying Jesus as the Lamb of God.  His role as the Lamb of God is pivotal in history.  Yet even so, it is only a part of the story.  Jesus is not only the Lamb of God but he is also the Great Shepherd of Israel and not only  just Israel but  all the people of God, both Jews and Gentiles.  It is almost as if there are two sides of one coin.  One side is the Lamb and the other side is The Shepherd.  Jesus combines both of these functions just as he combines the roles of both priest and king.

 

It is easy for us to forget that the Jewish people were a nomadic, sheep-raising people.  Abraham raised sheep.  Isaac raised sheep.  Jacob raised sheep and goats.  Moses met the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  The life of Moses was divided into three forty year periods.  The first was being raised in the House of Pharaoh.  The last forty years was as the leader of Israel.  The middle forty years was tending sheep in the Land of Midian.  Later, in the history of Israel would come a king whose name was David.  David was from a sheep herding family in Bethlehem and he would learn his warrior skills while tending his father’s sheep.  Later, David would become King of Israel and tend the sheep of God, the people of Israel.  God promised that from the line of David would come a “branch” who would become a King forever.  That Branch was Jesus Christ.  David would later write the 23rd Psalm.  That psalm is about the Lord who is the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd is Jesus Christ.

 

Therefore, it is not surprising that the angels would appear to shepherds, because not only was the Lamb of God being born who would save the world through his sinless blood sacrifice, but the Lamb of God was also the Good Shepherd of the Line of David and descendant of David.

 

It is not accidental that Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem.  Luke 2:1-7 talks about why Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem.  Caesar August thought that he was taking a census but in reality God was fulfilling his promises that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.  Also he would be born in the town of the Great Shepherd of Israel, King David.  Further, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem would satisfy the demands of prophecy where Jesus would be born.  If you will recall, the wise men later would later come to King Herod looking for the baby who was to become the Messiah and King Herod called together the Chief Priest and the teachers of the Law to find out where the Messiah was to be born.  Herod was advised that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:6).  The prophecy of the birth was taken from Micah 5:2:

 

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel.

 

Further the passage indicates that the Messiah will be a shepherd over his people Israel at Micah 5:4 where it says, “And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord….”  (See also Micah 7:14).

 

Note the word “shepherd” in the prophecy.  The Great Shepherd who was to come from the line of David was indeed born in David’s city, which was Bethlehem. Isaiah 53:6 describes the work of the Shepherd Messiah: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

 

Jesus identified with the role of a shepherd and referred to himself as the good shepherd and the one who would lay down his life for the sheep.  (John 10:11-14)  Jesus also saw himself as the one who left the ninety-nine safe sheep and looked for the lost sheep.  (Luke 15:3-6).

 

The writers of Hebrews called Jesus the “great shepherd.”  (Heb. 13:30).  The Apostle Peter called Jesus “the shepherd and bishop of our souls.”  (1 Pet. 2:25).  In 1 Peter 5:4, Peter refers to Jesus as the “Chief Shepherd.”

 

God even caused circumstances to occur which aided the prophecy in being fulfilled.  The Roman Empire ordered that a census be taken and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem according to the Roman edict because it was the city of his birth.

 

 

 

Not Your Ordinary Shepherds

 

 

Some scholars and students believe that the shepherds at Bethlehem were not your ordinary shepherds.  The Roman General and author Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews estimated that more than more than 265,000 lambs were sacrificed at the Temple in Jerusalem annually in connection with the Passover.  The raising of lambs for this festival was big business.  A Jewish scholar, who became a Christian, Alfred Edersheim, in his book The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, believed that most of these lambs came from the fields near Jerusalem which provided lambs for the Temple services.  The normal raising of lambs took place in the “wilderness.”  However, there was an exception allowing lambs to be raised in the vicinity of Jerusalem for purposes of the temple services.  Bethlehem was close to Jerusalem and was about five miles away and it was here that the Passover lambs were raised.  A few years ago, my wife and I had the opportunity to visit the fields of Bethlehem where these sheep were raised and where the inhabitants of Bethlehem believe the angel appeared to the shepherds.  The place of Jesus’ birth is believed to be nearby at the spot where the Church of the Nativity is located in Bethlehem.

 

Also keep in mind that Jesus was killed in the Passover season.  Further those Jewish priests who had charge of the Passover festivities were the same priests who opposed Jesus and arranged for his slaughter.

 

The important fact is that it is likely that the angels made their announcement of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds who were caring for the lambs which would be slaughtered in the future as Passover lambs.  Jesus was the Lamb of God and he was also the Great Shepherd who would care for the people of God; therefore it was appropriate and wonderful that the announcement would be made to the shepherds who would care for the Passover lambs.  Further, Jesus as the Lamb of God, was born at that place where the Passover lambs were birthed and raised.  Further the birth was at the place prophesied by Scripture.

 

Dressed in Swaddling Clothes and Laying in a Manger

 

The baby Messiah could be recognized easily.  He was a child who was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  The star which we associate with Christmas was apparently the guide utilized by the wise men at a later time to locate Jesus.  There is no indication that the shepherds had the advantage of the star but they did know that the child was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  He may have been outside in a temporary enclosure utilized by shepherds or he may have been in a cave utilized by shepherds.  When we visited the fields where the shepherds tended the sheep there were caves where the shepherds could take cover in case of inclement weather and we visited some of these caves where locals believe Jesus may have been born.  At any rate, the baby was wrapped in swaddling clothes.  These are simply strips of cloth which were wrapped snugly around an infant to keep them safe and comfortable after coming out of the womb.  Further the child was lying in a manger.  A manger as used in the Bible can have a variety of meanings.  It can be used as a stall or an enclosure of an animal.  It can also be used as a trough where animals can get food.  In our Nativities we often see both.  When we were in Israel, most believed that it was a feeding trough where baby Jesus was lying.  Interestingly, the feeding troughs used there were not the wooden troughs pictured in the Middle Ages and in paintings.  Instead they were stone troughs.

 

In conclusion the disciples were given fairly precise directions on where to find the Messiah (and heir of King David from Bethlehem).  The shepherds were to go to the town of Bethlehem and look for a newborn child who was wrapped in swaddling cloths and who was lying in a manger.  The birth of the Messiah is “good news” and is “a great joy!”

 

 

The Angels Announced the Birth to the Humble

 

Not only did the message come to those who watched over the Passover Lambs but they came to the humble.  Being a shepherd was hard work.  My friends who work dairy farms tell me that it is hard to take a day off because the cows have to be milked regularly.  The same was also true for the shepherd.  Being a shepherd was an around the clock business because sheep had to be looked after twenty-four hours a day.  You could put them in a pen but they still had to be looked after.  One of the customs of shepherds was that when they died some of them were buried with a turf of wool clasped in their hand to remind God that they were shepherds and therefore were forced to miss many of the synagogue services.

 

We know from the time of David and from the parables of Jesus that it was not always a safe job.  David had fought with bears and lions while tending sheep many years previously  in the very area where Jesus was born.  We also know from the accounts of Jesus that wolves would also attack the sheep.  The care of sheep was probably not a popular job.  David had seven brothers and he was the youngest.  When it came to caring for the sheep, the other brothers pushed it down to the youngest which means to me that it was not a very popular job  In fact, when Samuel the Prophet invited Jesse and his sons to a feast, David did not attend because he was busy tending the sheep.

 

God could have made the announcement by the angels of the birth of the Messiah to go to the Roman emperor or to Herod, or to the Chief Priests or to the Religious Leaders of the time.  He did not do this.  In fact God went out of the way to make sure that Herod did not know where the Messiah was born, instructing the wise men in a dream not to return to Herod.

 

The fact of the matter is that the Messiah was both King and Priest.  He was viewed as a threat to the rulers in charge, both civil and religious.  Instead, God favored the humble and those of a low station to know what He was doing and to know about the birth of the Messiah.  We are reminded in the Bible that “Blessed are the poor in spirit” and that it is the rich who “oppress us and drag us into court”.  (James 2:6).  God loves those with a humble heart.  Isaiah 66:2 says, “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”  Also, Isaiah 57:17 says, “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

 

God was sending his son Jesus Christ to live among men and to be the Passover Lamb to save them from their sins and to redeem them from eternal death and separation from God.  The announcement of the birth of the Messiah went to the humble and those who were shepherds.   Phil. 2:5,6,8 says:

 

Have this attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus,

who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God

a thing to be grasped…

and being found in the appearance of a man,

He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

 

What is love?

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Love has many meanings.  Most of us desire to hear the words, “I love you.”  However, these words can be deceiving.  Here is an example.  A husband abuses his wife and then says, “I love you.”  These words are more likely to be means of manipulation than expressions of real love.  Likewise, an obsessed fan stalks a star and makes frequent professions of love.  This is not likely to be love.  In another instance, a teenager carves I love you on a parent’s nightstand with a knife.  Again, one wonders whether this is a legitimate expression of love.

Paul in 1 Cor. 13 talks about love.  Some of the words which Paul uses to describe love are words like: patient, kind, not proud, not self-seeking, protecting and never-failing.  There are all kinds of love in this world with different meanings.  These include a godly love, romantic love, parental love and brotherly love.

We often bandy about words of love and use expressing of love like saying “good-bye” or “have a good day!”    In fact, some people end their telephone conversations by saying “I love you” or “Love Ya.”  In churches we proclaim that we love one another, but in most cases we don’t even know our neighbor or our fellow church member but we still use the word “love”.  In reality,  we don’t even “know” most of our church members personally.  In short, we often cheapen and even demean the words of love.    If you are like me, you have a long way to go in learning to love God, your relatives, your neighbors or even yourself.

Words are cheap.  Really.  In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus said:  “Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”  Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?”  And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”  This verse should literally strike fear into many of our hearts.  Jesus was saying clearly, “It is not what you say that counts, but it is what you do!”  The people in Matthew 7 were saying good things but they were practicing lawlessness.  In James 1:22 we are commanded to be doers of the word and not just hearers.  Saying the right words or expressions of love is NOT enough.

 

Saying “I love you” is cheap.  These words can have a variety of meanings and can be used for a multitude of purposes including to manipulate and enslave.  Jesus did not just no say “I love you” or “I will do what my father wants me to do.”  Instead Jesus did the works of love.  He was obedient to the will of His father and He demonstrated his love for us.  Romans 5:8 says that  “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.  Jesus Christ did not just speak pretty words but He did the words.

 

Do the fruit test.  I once had a boss who told me not to listen to what the negotiators on the other side of the table said, but instead I should look at what they did.  I believe this is good advice.  I also believe that Jesus would support this.  Saying “Lord, Lord” was not enough for Jesus, but he will judge on what people do not just on what they say.  We should do the same.

 

Even John, the Apostle of Love, agreed with this.  In 1 John 3:18, he wrote:  “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”  I agree with the Apostle John on this.  This also means that I need to do a better job personally in loving with my actions instead of just words.

CHURCH EVALUATION CHECKLIST

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Below is a Church Evaluation Checklist.  It is my hope and prayer that you are not only satisfied  with your local church but that you are in love with it.  These days many people are abandoning the local church.  I believe that God wants us to be associated with a local church and to support our local church with our time and finances.  However, from time to time, some people find it necessary to change churches or seek another church for various reasons..  

Church changes are not always bad.  For instance, if you are on a boat thinking it is going to London and you find that it is bound to Buenos Aries, you might be better off to change your boat rather than to head for somewhere where you are not supposed to be and do not want to go.  If it becomes necessary to change churches for some reason, I would encourage you to do it only after prayer and with plenty of consideration.  Also I would encourage you to do it peacefully and lovingly.  As Paul wrote, we are called to peace.

The checklist below, sets forth some factors that our family  considers important in a local church.  I am setting forth our family checklist, so that if the unfortunate should occur (think of it like disaster planning), you can make your own checklist.  The items on the checklist say a lot about what our family believes  to be important.  Your checklist will be different but perhaps you will find some items on the checklist below which you may want to add to your own checklist.  Below is the Church Evaluation Checklist:

CHURCH EVALUATION SHEET

INFORMATION

Special Note:  If you feel God’s call to attend a certain church you should do so despite what the evaluation says.

 

 

Name of Church:___________________________________________________________

Address of Church:______________________________________________________________

Church Website or FB Page:_______________________________________________________

Name of Pastor:_________________________________________________________________

Time of Church Services___________________________________________________________

QUESTIONS

(Check if Yes; X if No)

Is Jesus Christ and his blood sacrifice lifted up and preached?

 

Is the Holy Spirit welcomed or are the Holy Spirit and the gifts feared by the church?

 

Is the name of Jesus lifted up, honored and exalted?

 

Do you experience a feeling of love and acceptance when you go there?

Is Salvation by grace clearly taught?

Do people address you by name?

Are people friendly?

Are the greetings real as opposed to being formal and perfunctory?

Is it Orthodox in belief?

Is it Evangelical?

Is the church Biblically based?

Is there a sense of outreach and mission (Matt. 28:19&20)?

Does the church support local, national and international missions and outreach?

Is there an emphasis on Prayer?

Is there a teaching program for small children?

Are small children welcomed and accepted?

Are the poor accepted?

Are the disabled accepted?

Is it accessible to the disabled?

Is there a spirit of Praise and Worship?

Is baptism practiced?

Does the church have one or more spirit-led praise leaders?

Are there elders?

Are there deacons?

Are the people encouraged to worship as opposed to just sing?

Are the gifts considered to be for today?

Is there healing and anointing with oil?

Prophecy?  Are there prophetic words?

Is the Holy Spirit welcome in the church?

Are there ever tongues in church and interpretation of tongues?

Is it a one man rule church?

Is there a group of elders?

Are the names and identities and contact information for the elders publicly given?

Is there a group of deacons?

Are the names and the contact information for  the deacons publicly available?

Does the church allow different views on the Book of Revelation?

Does the church permit different views on creation or is it wedded to only one view?

Is communion held in high esteem ?

Is there a vibrant youth program?

Are the people taught as opposed to every service being an evangelistic service?

Is there a ministry to single moms?

Is there a ministry to widows?

Are the elderly allowed to be part of the church (as opposed to it being totally a youth church)?

Are home groups encouraged?

Is there a spirit of judgment, condemnation or “sheep beating” at the church?

Does the church support the study of the bible and provide opportunities for bible study?

Is leadership in the church encouraged as opposed to being feared?

Does the church require personal information such as financial statements, income amounts or social security numbers?  (If so, then avoid.)

Is there a time during, before or after church when people with needs can be prayed for?

Do the leaders or leader model a holy life?

Does the leadership move in humility as opposed to pride?

Is there a servant attitude by the leadership?

Are people encouraged to grow as opposed to personal growth being feared?

Are the church financials kept well and made available to the members of the church?

Is the church administered honestly and openly?

Does the church believe in the priesthood of the believer?

Does the church communicate with its people openly or does it communicate sporadically or does it not communicate at all ?

Are decisions of the church made openly and disclosed or are they kept in the dark?

Does the church have a security team?

Are leaders in the children and youth departments checked for past criminal records and moral issues?

Are the church financial statements public and transparent or are they hidden?

Does the pastor have any specific theological or other religious training?

Does the church subscribe to historical Biblical standards of morality for its leadership or has it adopted new standards of morality?

Do the teachings of the Pastor and church reflect Biblical standards and principles?

Is  the church’s articles and by-laws public and available or are they hidden?

Learn how the church is controlled.  Is it controlled by only two or three people?

Is there a lot of nepotism in the church in its leadership?

Does the church have a balanced and healthy view of giving?

Do the actions of the church revolve around controlling people or in strengthening people?

 

CAVEATS

 

  1.  This form is developed by someone who moves in teaching and administration.  If you move in gifts such as discernment or prophecy, this form may be of less use to you.
  2. This form represents aspects of the church that appear to be useful or even essential to me and my family.  You and your family may have different characteristics that you are looking for.
  3. This form is to be a “help” in listening to God not a replacement for listening to God.  You should be a part of a local body where God tells you to be.
  4. No church will meet all the characteristics set forth on this form.  Like everything else, no place is perfect.  In real estate they say that you can show a buyer 85% or what they want for the price, you have sold the house.  In any church search, you cannot expect to find 100% of what you are seeking. 
  5. The items in this checklist are not in any order of importance or priority.
  6. The perspective in using a list such as this is that it involves assessing  a local church against an arbitrary set of criteria.  As we do this we should also keep in mind the words of John F. Kennedy:  “Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country.”  Keep in mind that God may lead us to a local church precisely because it may be in need of your abilities or the gifts which God has entrusted to you for edification of His body.
  7. Hopefully this list will encourage you to make your own list and the items in this checklist may provide you with some ideas.

 

Lamb of God-The Passover Lamb

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LAMB OF GOD-THE PASSOVER LAMB

Locusts and Honey

1 Cor. 2:13

Vol. 9, Pt. 4

 

 

 

Introduction

 

 

In our prior edition of Locusts and Honey we dealt with the pivotal account of the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac.  This account is “pivotal” because it represents a picture of the central point in the history of mankind which was the sacrifice of God’s only son, Jesus Christ for our sins.  The central point in history is the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is what it is all about.  It stands at the center stage of history which begins at the creation and the Garden of Eden and ends at the restoration of the new heavens and earth after the return of Jesus Christ.

 

If the account of Abraham and Isaac demonstrates God’s future plan to send his only begotten son (John 3:16), the account of the Passover lamb illustrates how the blood of the Lamb covers our sins and protects us from sin, judgment and death.  The events which happened at Passover are commemorated by the very important Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread among the Jews and are used to educate each upcoming generation as to how God protects, redeems and delivers his people.

 

 

A Synopsis of What Happened on Passover

 

In the process of extracting the Jewish people from Egypt, God sent the final and Tenth Plague to strike down the firstborn of Egypt.  God protected the first born of the Israelites by the blood of the Passover lamb.   The account of the Passover lamb and the institution of the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread can be found in Genesis, Chapter 12.   Here are some of the characteristics of the Passover lamb:

 

·        It could be a sheep or goat;

·        It was to be without blemish;

·        It was to be male;

·        It was to be one sacrifice for one household;

·        It was to live with the family from the 10th of the month to the 14th day of the month;

·        It was to be killed at twilight;

·        It was to be roasted, not boiled.  That included the head, inner parts and legs.;

·        It was to be eaten with unleavened bread.  There was to be no leaven or yeast;

·        It was to be eaten with bitter herbs;

·        Any part that remained after being eaten was to be burnt before morning;

·        The Hebrews were to eat the Lamb dressed and ready to go;

·        The blood was to be placed on the doorposts and lintel of each house;

·        Blood was to be applied with a hyssop branch;

·        None of the bones of the Lamb was to be broken.

 

At midnight, the Lord struck down the first born of each person and the first born of each animal, but “passed over” all those dwellings where the blood had been spread.  The first born from the Pharaoh to the prisoner in the dungeon died as well as the first born of each animal.  The Pharaoh after the Tenth Plague (and many other warnings) finally let the Hebrews leave Egypt.  The Hebrew people had eaten of the lamb and goats sacrificed and were dressed and ready to depart.

 

 

So what does the Passover Lamb have to do with Jesus?

 

The Passover Lamb is a picture to show what the Messiah would do in the future.  The shed blood of the Passover Lamb protected the Israelites from judgment and death and enabled them to escape their enslavement and captivity.  Similarly, the blood of Jesus does the same for us.  If we are covered with the blood of Jesus then we are protected from the judgment of God and the chains of our enslavement to sin are broken and we find freedom.

 

Many people have written about the comparison of Jesus to the Passover Lamb.  Some of the comparisons including the following:

 

·        Blood Shed for Us-The blood of the Lamb was spread upon the lintel and the two doorposts of each house.  The blood covered those people of God who had the faith to apply it.  The blood of Jesus covers our sins and provides us protection against judgment and death.  Some see the way that the Lamb’s blood was sprinkled (Door post, lintel, door post) to be in the form of a cross.  (See Romans 5:8-10; Exodus 12: 7; 12:21-23).

·        The lamb or goat was to be male and first-born.  Although many sheep or goats are female, there was a specific requirement that the Passover lamb be male and be first-born.  The first-born male of the Israelites and their sacrificial animals were considered to belong to God.  Jesus was the first-born son of God.  He was God’s unique (“only begotten”) son.

·        The lamb had to be one year old.  The lamb had to be a young lamb and in the first part of its life.  Some feel that this reflects that Jesus was young (about 33 years old) when he was sacrificed for our sins.

·        No Blemishes.  The Lamb was to be without blemishes or defects.  It was suitable for sacrifice.  Jesus was suitable for sacrifice in that he was without blemish—he was sinless.  (Ex. 12:5; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).

·        The Lamb had to live with the family.  Each lamb was to live with the family for four days.  In short, the Hebrews were not sacrificing a lamb which they did not know.  Instead the lamb lived with them and became part of the family before it was sacrificed.  Likewise, Jesus lived  with his people prior to his sacrifice for them.

·        The sacrifice was of the whole lamb.  Most sacrifices involve just part of the lamb or goat.  However, in this instance, the entire lamb or goat was roasted.  It had to go through the fire and be burnt.  Jesus went through the fire for us.  His sacrifice was total and not just in part.

·        What was left was to be burnt.  Sacrifices which were holy were never thrown out if there were anything left over.  Instead, what remained, if anything, was to be burnt.  Jesus was a holy sacrifice.  His sacrifice was complete.  There are no leftovers.

·        No bones were to be broken.  At the cross the Roman soldiers broke the bones of the legs of the two crucified with Jesus but did not break Jesus’ legs seeing that he was already dead.  The Passover Lamb was to have no broken bones.    (See John 19:36).

 

 

Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread

 

To make sure that God’s people never forgot what God had done for them, God instituted the annual celebration of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are considered to be a “feast to the Lord.” (Ex. 12:14).  The Jews call the Passover Feast by the name “Pesach” meaning “to pass over.”  It is fairly clear from Scripture that Passover and the meal associated with it should be celebrated on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan. (See Lev. 23:5-7; Ex. 12:6; Nu. 9:1-5 and Nu. 28:16).  Jews have the Seder or Passover meal on the fifteenth of the month because animal sacrifices no longer occur in Jerusalem due to the destruction of the Temple.

 

Before we proceed further, there are a couple of things regarding Jewish dates which I should make clear.  The first is that Scripture calls the Passover month Abib; however the name of the month “Abib” was changed to a different name of “Nisan” after the Jews returned from the Babylonian Captivity.  It is the same month with just different names.  Second, the Jewish day works differently than our days.  The day for Jews begins at sundown instead of after mid-night for us.  For instance your Jewish friends consider the Sabbath or Saturday holy; however they begin celebrating the Sabbath at sundown Friday evening and the Sabbath ends at sundown on Saturday evening.  Third, the Jewish calendar is not like our Gregorian Calendar.  Our calendar is based upon the sun while the Jewish calendar is based upon the lunar calendar.  For instance the Feast of the Unleavened Bread which we will discuss in the future, begins upon the fifteenth of Nisan.  That date varies each year somewhat like Easter does for Christians.  For instance, Nisan 15 in 2023 will be on Thu., April 6; in 2024 it will be on Tues., April 23; in  2025 it will be on  Sun., April 13 and in 2026 it will be on Thu. April 2.

 

Immediately after the Feast of Passover (the day after), God instituted the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  That Feast begins on the fifteenth of Nissan.  During this Feast, the Jews are to eat unleavened bread.  No leaven or yeast is to be eaten or found in the house from the 14 of the month until the evening of the twenty first day.  The rules for celebrating The Feast of the Unleavened Bread are found in Exodus 12 and 13.  Part of the reasons for the Feast were to educate the first born sons of the importance of Passover and to cause them to remember what God had done in redeeming the Hebrews from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.

 

During the feast there was to be no leaven in the household or in the areas where the Israelites lived.  People ate unleavened bread.  There were several reasons.  One reason was that the Israelites had to be ready to go.  There was no time for the bread to be prepared to rise.  Exodus 12:24 says, “So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders.”  (See Ex. 12:29).  From a spiritual side, the Jews see yeast as exemplifying sin.  The spiritual meaning of getting rid of the leaven (“chametz”) is to get rid of sin.  Observant Jews clean their houses thoroughly and also clean their ovens and cooking utensils thoroughly to make sure that there is no leaven present.  Spiritually, the Jews see leaven as representing sin.  One needs to be scrupulous in removing both the leaven from the home and to also be scrupulous in removing sin from your life.

 

The Feast of Unleavened Bread along with Passover represented a wonderful opportunity to thank God for removing Israel from the bitter bond of slavery in Egypt and to remember God’s efforts to extract Egypt from slavery through the Tenth Plague and the Angel of Death.  Faithful Jews were saved from the judgment upon the firstborn through the blood of an innocent lamb or goat.  Remembrance of this great salvation was assisted through the combined Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread.  It also provided a way for the Jews to teach their children about God.  In fact children as a part of this celebration are to ask questions such as “Why is this night different from all other nights?”  In my opinion, the emphasis on removing leaven/sin is interesting.  After all, the Jews were saved by the grace of God and by placing blood upon their homes.  Therefore why is there a great emphasis upon removing leaven/sin for the days of these feasts?  I believe the answer is that we are saved for a purpose.  We are not saved because we are holy.  Instead we are saved by grace so that we can become holy.  Holiness for both the Jew and the Christian is not an accident.  Instead it is an intentional act.  God saved us to become a holy people.  He took the Israelites out of Egypt in order to make them a holy people not to be a bunch of people acting like Egyptians and taking their gods and their evil ways into the Promised Land.  Similarly, when we come to know God we become part of the church, the ekklesia, meaning the “called out ones.”  We are called out from the world.  Part of our purpose is to become holy, to become lights in the darkness and the shining city sitting on the hill in a dark world.  The Israelites were called to holiness, and we are too!

 

The Israelites ate unleavened bread or matzah during the feasts.  The unleavened bread is bread that does not have sin in it.  It is a humble meal, not blown up with pride.  It is food for those who are ready to depart and go where God leads.  It is the “hard tack” for those who are pilgrims and seek the Kingdom of God as opposed to the Kingdom of this World.  As part of the Feast, Jews ate bitter herbs to remind them of the hardship of Egypt.  The Jews when they were in the desert from time to time looked back to the “good old days” of Egypt when they had plenty of food and water.  Yet like all of us their memories were selective.  They remembered the good but not the evil.  They forgot the slave driver’s lash, the toil, the killing of the babies, and the indignity of being an enslaved people.  As part of the two feasts, they were reminded by the bitter herbs of the bitterness of their slavery.

 

 

Jesus as Passover Lamb

 

God set in motion a witness to the coming Messiah by using the Passover Lamb to deliver the Israelites from death by the shed blood of the lamb.  When John the Baptist first saw Jesus he recognized him as the “Lamb of God” and said “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  (John 1:29).  The Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:19 “that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

 

Unless we somehow miss the point, we are reminded that Christ died at the Passover Season.  There are no coincidences in God’s plan for us.  In short, as the lambs were being killed for Passover, Christ suffered and died for us covering the real sins of mankind with his shed blood.  Both in Mark and Matthew it makes clear that Jesus and his disciples were preparing for Passover.  Jesus’ disciples came to him and asked where he wanted to eat the Passover.  Both Mark and Matthew report that the question was addressed to Jesus on the first day of Unleavened Bread, “when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed.”  (See Mark 14:12; Matt. 26:17).  Much has been written regarding exactly when Jesus was sacrificed.  Like many, I believe that the last supper was a Passover meal on Thursday evening (the beginning of the Jewish Friday).  Jesus was condemned, crucified and died on that Friday before sunset (when it became the Sabbath during the Passover Season).  In John 18:28, it says that Pilate went outside to meet the Jewish leaders so that they might not be defiled and might eat the Passover.  I believe that this was the Sabbath meal (beginning on Friday evening and the Sabbath during the Passover period).  (John 18:28).

 

The important thing, however, is not exactly when various people took meals during the Passover Season but the fact that Jesus was the Passover Lamb.

 

 

The Lord’s Supper

 

Most (but not all) theologians believe that Jesus celebrated the Passover Meal on the Thursday evening (beginning of Friday [Thursday after dark] when he was crucified).  At that meal, he took the bread which was most likely unleavened and proclaimed it as his body and the wine he proclaimed as his blood.  Earlier Jesus had said that if you were going to follow him you needed to eat his body and drink his blood (Jn. 6:56; Matt. 26:26; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).  At the last supper, he told the disciples that the bread was his flesh and the wine was his blood.  He also washed the feet of his disciples.  It is of interest to me that the “bread” was “sinless” in that it was made without leaven.  Jesus was the sinless Son of God.  He was the Bread of Life (Jn. 6:35).  He was the “perfect (unblemished) lamb.”  Previously Jesus had also instructed his disciples that he was the “vine” and the fruit from that vine was his life.  Like the grapes he was to be squeezed by tribulation and his blood would provide life and joy to the world.  After the Last Supper Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane.  “Gethsemane” means the place of the olive press or where there was crushing.  It is also of interest to me that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper.  The washing of the feet is a sign of humbleness.  The unleavened bread (Matzah) is a sign of humbleness.  It does not have the leaven of pride in it.  Jesus was humble.  Paul pointed out in Philippians 2:6-8 we are to be humble like Christ who “did not think equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross.”

 

 

Summary

 

Jesus is the Passover Lamb.  His blood was shed for our sins.  God pictured the coming Messiah to Moses and the Israelites and instituted the Feasts of Passover and the Unleavened Bread to testify both to the Jews and to us that God brings us deliverance from slavery, sin and death through the shedding of innocent blood.  That blood in ancient times was exemplified through the shedding of the blood of innocent lambs and goats.  In these “last days” God has revealed to us that the true Passover Lamb is not a simple lamb or goat but is the true Lamb of God who is the only begotten Son of God.  His blood which is flawless is sufficient to redeem us from sin and to liberate a holy people who are to be priests to God and who are to live holy lives free from evil and sin.

 

Next week, we will be looking at the Great Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and what it means.

Lamb of God, Vol. 9, Part 3

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LAMB OF GOD

Locusts and Honey

1 Cor. 2:13

Vol. 9, Pt.3

 

The account of Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac is pivotal in understanding God’s plan of redemption.  God’s plan to save mankind is reflected in John 3:16 which says:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life.”  The account of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice Isaac embodies and illustrates John 3:16 to us visibly and experientially.

 

Synopsis of the Abraham-Isaac Account.

 

This account is found in the 22nd Chapter of Genesis.  God “tests” Abraham and instructs him to go to Mt. Moriah and offer Isaac as a burnt offering.  Abraham cuts wood for the offering and immediately goes a three day journey along with Isaac and two servants to Mt. Moriah.  Abraham takes the wood from his donkey and loads it on to the back of Isaac.  He also takes fire and a flint knife.  Isaac asks Abraham where the lamb for the sacrifice is and Abraham responds that God would supply the lamb.  They build the altar from the wood and Abraham binds Isaac and lays him on top of the altar.  He takes the knife to slaughter his son and the Angel of the Lord stops him.  Abraham looks up and sees a ram caught in a thicket by his horns and sacrifices the ram instead of Isaac.  God commends Abraham for his faith and willingness to sacrifice that which was dearest to him.

 

 

Isaac is a Symbol of the Coming Lamb of God

 

The name Isaac means “laughter.”  He was the son of promise.  God had promised Abraham and Sarah a son and heir.  When the child was promised, Sarah had laughed because she was about 90 and Abraham was about 100 years old.  There was at first the nervous laughter of unbelief at such a strange and impossible promise.  Later there was a laughter of joy as the child was born.  The Angel of the Lord says at Gen. 22:12, “…I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.”  I find it interesting because there was another son, Ishmael.  Ishmael was not the son of promise. Instead Ishmael was the issue of Abraham and Hagar, the maid of Sarah,  when Sarah and Abraham had concluded that it was impossible to have a child themselves.  The writers of the New Testament saw Isaac as being the son of Promise whereas Ishmael was the son of “works” or man’s efforts to accomplish the promises of God.

 

At any rate, Isaac is a symbol or “type” of Jesus Christ.   Below are some comparisons between Isaac and Jesus Christ.

 

Issac

Jesus

 

 

The only son of Abraham.

The only begotten son of God

Gave birth to a nation-Israel

Gave birth to a nation-The Kingdom of God

Bore the wood of the altar on his back.

Bore the cross on his back

Went as the “lamb” to be sacrificed.

Went as the Lamb of God to be sacrificed.

Went willingly.

Went willingly

Was “resurrected” in that a ram took his place.

Was resurrected by God.

Altar was on Mt. Moriah

Altar was on Mt. Calvary

Was the son of Promise

Was the promised Son of Woman promised by

God in Genesis

 

 

 

 

Why did God specify Mt. Moriah?

 

 

One of the interesting questions is why God specified Mt. Moriah as being the place of sacrifice.  The sacrifice was to be done at a particular place.  In Gen. 22:2 God tells Abraham to go to the land of Moriah and offer up Isaac “on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”  The place was about 60 miles away and a three day journey for Abraham.  On the third day of the journey Abraham “lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar.”  There are a number of reasons why the sacrifice is to be done at this particular location.  At Mount Moriah, God supplies the ram for the sacrifice.  Abraham will name the place “God will provide.”  (Gen. 22:14). 

 

In future years, this location will show up repeatedly.  Jews believe that when Jacob was fleeing the wrath of Esau and on his way to his relative Laban, it was at this location that he spent the night. Using a stone for a pillow, Jacob had a dream of angels ascending and descending on a ladder from God.

 

The name Moriah appeared a second time again in Scripture.  During the reign of King David, David against good advice demanded a census be taken.  For his sin, he is given the choice of three years of famine, three months being at the mercy of his foes or three days of the sword of the Lord bringing pestilence upon the land.  David chooses the pestilence.  As the pestilence continues, the Angel of the Lord with upraised sword is prepared to destroy Jerusalem.  The Lord relented from carrying out the destruction of Jerusalem and commands the angel saying “It is enough; now stay your hand.”  (2 Chron. 21:15; 2 Sam. 24:16).  The prophet Gad conveys a message to David that David is to build an altar there.  The land where the wrath of God ends is at the threshing floor of Arunah (Canaanite or Jebusite name).  Sometimes, the Hebrew or Jewish name of Ornan is used.  Arunah was the former Jebusite king who had once ruled Jerusalem.  King David does not appropriate the land but buys it for full price saying that it is not right to burn sacrifices to God which have cost him nothing.

 

David’s son Solomon built Solomon’s Temple at this location.  2 Chronicles 3:1 says, “Then Solomon began to build the house of the lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.”

It was at this very location that the judging sword of the Angel of the Lord was stopped and peace had been made.  At this location, sacrifices were made at the Temple of Solomon.  It was at this location that the Temple would be restored after the Babylonian captivity and it was at this place that the animal sacrifices would be made at the Temple of Herod. 

 

The Lamb of God however, would not be sacrificed at this location.  As animal sacrifices were being made in Herod’s Temple during the Passover period, Jesus, the Lamb of God would be sacrificed in the near vicinity just outside the walls of Jerusalem. That which was considered to be unholy was always taken outside the gate of the camp.  Jesus took our sins upon himself and as he became sin, it was necessary that sin be taken “outside the camp.”  Scripture says that the Messiah was sacrificed “just outside the gate.” (Hebrews 13:10-14). The real sacrifice of the true Lamb of God happened just outside the walls of Jerusalem at a rock known as Golgotha meaning the “Skull.”  We know this place as Calvary.

 

They say in the real estate world that the important thing is “location, location, location.”  The command to Abraham as to where Isaac was to be sacrificed was not accidental or haphazard,  Instead it was “location, location, location.”  The place of sacrifice on Mt. Moriah looked both to the institution of the blood sacrifices at the Temple of God but it also looked more specifically to the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ whose blood covered the law and the judgment against man not just at Jerusalem but in the true temple of God where the real presence of God resides.

 

It will be provided.

 

Mt.Moriah was renamed by Abraham and became “The Lord will provide.”  Genesis 22:14 says, “So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided.”  The symbol of God’s provision for sin is “On the Mount of the Lord, it shall be provided.”  Abraham instead of sacrificing his own son, sacrificed a ram provided by God in place of his son.  At that same location in the time of David, sacrifices would be made in honor of the Angel of the Lord from sparing Jerusalem.  At that same location the Temple of Solomon would be built and sacrifices would be made to cover the sin of the Israelites.  Each year the atoning sacrifice would again be made (which shall be discussed in another edition).  After Solomon’s Temple was destroyed, eventually the restored Temple under Nehemiah would be built and regular and annual blood sacrifices would be made at that location.  Those sacrifices would continue at the very same location during the period of Herod’s temple, during the time of Christ and until the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Titus in 70 A.D.

 

At the time of Christ, regular and annual sacrifices were still being made at Herod’s Temple.  The real sacrifice for the sin of mankind was made close by at the  mountain called The Place of the Skull or Golgotha very close at hand but just outside the city gates of Jerusalem.  Hebrews 13:11-14 says,

“ For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp”.  So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.  Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.  For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come”.

 

The author of Hebrews saw that Jesus suffered “just outside the gate.”  We too must go to Christ and join with him outside the gate.  There was no room for Christ to die inside the gate at the place where Abraham sacrificed Isaac and where the sacrifices pointing toward his sacrifice for us were carried out by religion.  Legalism also usurps the place rightfully belonging to God and reality.

 

It is amazing to me that God saved Abraham from actually having to sacrifice his son.  Instead God provided a replacement for Abraham.  It is further amazing to me that when it came to God making the sacrifice of his only begotten (or unique) son, there was absolutely no possibility for a replacement.  Instead, God did what he prevented Abraham from having to do.  There was no ram or lamb or other sacrifice for Jesus Christ.  Only the sinless blood of Jesus would do to cover the sins of mankind.  There were no replacements and no substitutes.  Only the real thing would do.

 

Therefore the name “It will be provided” is the appropriate name for what happened and what would happen in the future.  God would provide his only son for sins.  Man could not do it.  Man was a sinner.  Instead, God provided the sacrifice on man’s behalf.  God redeemed man from his trespasses and his sins.  God made provision for mankind’s fatal error in the Garden and God paid the price for mankind’s error.

 

The resurrection was pictured by Isaac walking away from his “near death” experience.  However, in the case of Christ, the sacrifice had to be actually made.  There were no substitutes.  As John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son….”  The love of God for us was not just in words but in deeds.  There was a real sacrifice of the ONLY begotten son.  Only real death and real sinless blood would work.  Man can only sit back and watch like Abraham did when God struck a covenant with him.

 

 

 

 

Atonement and Reconciliation

 

We have previously discussed atonement and will discuss it again here and in future editions.  Remember the “atonement” brings us back to God.  It is “at-one-ment.”  We also use the word “reconciliation.”  We were separated from God through our sins.  God reconciled man to himself through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ which was pictured in the past by the sacrifice of blood (and life) from sinless animals.  These sacrifices were a promise of the real sacrifice which was made through the sacrifice of Christ.

 

Through the sacrifice of Christ, God reconciled the world to himself.  Jesus who knew no sin had to become sin for us.  At the same time, we who were sinners, put on the righteousness of God.  There is an exchange.  Christ bears our sin and we are restored to relationship with God.  We can put on the coats of righteousness.  We no longer are consigned to wear the fig-leaves of our own efforts, or the skins of animals which died so that we might be covered.  Instead, we are clothed by the Lamb of God and our covering is now the garments of praise and the clothing of righteousness.

 

Our reconciliation to God through Christ, who is both the son of Man and the Son of God, is described at 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 which says:

 

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself

and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is in Christ

God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their

trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,

so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.

 

 

Human Sacrifice in the Old Testament

 

God graciously gives salvation.  God gave his only son, Jesus Christ, to make provision for us.  Satan and religion demand religious acts and demand sacrifice of innocent blood.  However, that innocent blood often involves the innocent blood of real people and real children. 

 

Satan comes to “kill, steal and destroy.”  (1 Peter 5:8).  Satan hates people.  Perhaps it is because mankind is granted the opportunity of fellowship with God which is a situation which Satan has already despised and rejected.  There is no mercy and no kindness in Satan.  Instead there is hatred, jealousy, pride and the vices of the flesh.

 

There have always been alternative religions to Judaism and Christianity.  Satan has an alternative.  There is an alternative church, alternative nations, alternative leaders and alternative religions.

 

During the time of the Hebrews, God warned the Jews not to adopt the religious practices of the surrounding people who worshipped false gods.  Instead of listening and obeying God, the Jewish people in many instances turned to the religious practices of their pagan neighbors.

 

Some of these religions involved the worship of Baal and the worship of Molech and these religions required the sacrifice of children.

 

Despite the account of Abraham and Isaac, God was very clear about the sacrifice of children as required by false religions.   Both the Moabites, Canaanites, and Phoenicians all worshiped gods such as Baal and Molech who required the sacrifice of children, especially the first born.  In Israel, the first born was dedicated to God.

 

The Levitical law prohibited the sacrifice of children.  Leviticus 18:27 says, “You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.”  Deuteronomy 12:31 says, “You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.”  Leviticus 20:2 states, “You shall also say to the sons of Israel: Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death….” 

 

The Israelites prostituted themselves with the gods of their neighbors.  They adopted their foreign gods, they also adopted idolatrous practices like human sacrifice.  Part of these practices included having their sons and daughters “pass through the fire.”  (See 2 Kings 17:17), We have some indication of what “passing through the fire” meant from Carthaginian sacrificial practices in North Africa where small children were placed on the extended arms of the Bull God Molech and rolled down into a pit of fire to their death as drums were beat loudly to extinguish the crying of the children.

 

The sacrifices of children also occurred in Judah especially after Solomon allowed his pagan wives to build altars for their foreign religions.  Some of the Kings of Judah accepted these false religions and practiced child sacrifice as well.  We know that King Ahaz of Judah (Son of King Joram) made his son pass through the fire.  (See 2 Kings 16:3 and 2 Chronicles 28:3).  Likewise evil king Manasseh of Judah caused his son to pass through the fire. (2 Kings:21:6 and 2 Chronicles 33:6).

 

Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel attributed child sacrifice as being one of the many things which brought God’s judgment upon Israel and Judah.  (See Jer. 7:31; Jer. 32:35; Ezek. 16:21; 20:31).

 

In Jeremiah 19:5 God says that the Jews, “… have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind….”

 

When it comes to the sacrifice of children, secular materialism through such practices as abortion, has made the flow of innocent blood by pagan religions seem paltry by comparison.  In the past, God has Judged nations due to the sacrifice of innocent blood.  It seems to me to be unreasonable that God would judge the evil practices of the past and then excuse them today because the practices are advocated by secularists as opposed to pagan religions.

 

Conclusion

 

In summary, Satan has come to enslave mankind through the imposition of impossible demands.  He delights in killing, stealing and destroying.  Satan delights in the death of the innocent.    There is no mercy in Satan or in the law.  In these pagan religions, you give of your first born.  Your children and your flesh and blood are demanded.  In Christianity, we are saved by grace.  You do not provide the sacrifice which brings peace with God.  Instead, it is the Lord who provides the ram to redeem Isaac and it is God who provides his son the Lamb of God for your redemption. 

 

In our next edition of Locusts and Honey we will take a look at the Passover Lamb.

 

OUTRAGE

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It is an amazing thing to me that I hear such screams of outrage regarding state laws abolishing or inhibiting abortion.  Don’t get me wrong.  State laws need to be looked at carefully for all involved.  However, even where there are state laws which seem to be overly protective of the fetus, think of the number of people who are seriously inconvenienced or wronged.  The number is limited.  In contrast look at the number of innocent lives lost to abortion which is estimated since Roe v. Wade to have been in the 60 million level.  When you compare the two wrongs, it seems to me that one seriously out weighs the other.  

At any rate, yes, many of the laws are overly inclusive.  We need to protect lives both the woman’s and the baby’s.  Do not assume that because laws have changed that this issue is dealt with.

As Christians, we need to listen.  My advice is that we need to  listen in particular to the voices of godly women.  As male believers, we need to tone down our rhetoric and listen to the voices of our Christian mothers, sisters and daughters and hear what they have to say.  Just sayin’ 

Lamb of God, Vol.9, Pt.2

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LAMB OF GOD

Locusts and Honey

1 Cor. 2:13

Vol. 9, Pt.2

 

 

In this edition of Locusts and Honey we continue with our study of the Lamb of God and of sacrifices in the Old Testament.

 

Dueling Sacrifices

 

In Genesis 4 we are introduced to two competing sacrifices.  The first sacrifice was by Cain.  Cain was a worker of the ground.  (Gen. 4:2).  His sacrifice was an offering of the fruit of the ground.  (Gen. 4:3).  The second sacrifice was by Abel.  Abel was the younger brother to Cain and his sacrifice was of the “first born of his flock.”  (Gen. 4:4).  Scripture says that the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering but not for the offering of Cain.  (Gen. 4:5).  In response, Cain got angry.   God warned Cain that “if he does well” his offering will be accepted but if he does not do well sin is “crouching at the door” and “its desire is contrary to you but you must rule over it.”  (Gen 4:6-7).  Cain gave in to anger and killed his brother.

Later, God asked Cain where his brother was and Cain responded “am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9). God replied to Cain “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me, from the ground.”  Cain is punished by God.  The ground no longer would give its strength to Cain and Cain became a fugitive and wanderer upon the earth. (Gen. 4:12).

 

The two sacrifices raise a number of questions.  One of the first questions is why there was a sacrifice in the first place?  We have discussed in a previous edition that God used the skins of animals to clothe Adam and Eve.  Did Cain and Abel arrive at the idea that a sacrifice was a way of pleasing God because of that?   We simply do not know from Scripture.  Nonetheless, it appears that Cain and Abel both recognize that a sacrifice has something to do with pleasing God and perhaps atoning for sin, but the concept was not yet clear to them. 

 

Another question is why did God accept the sacrifice of Abel but not of Cain.  Various commentators have speculated regarding this.  Some say that God did not accept Cain’s offering because it was just of fruits but not necessarily of the “best” fruits or from the “first” fruits.  In contrast, Abel brought  the “first born of his flock and of their fat portions.”  (Gen 4:4).  In other words, perhaps Abel brought  his best and Cain brought just some of his fruit.  We know that later on both grain offerings and animal offerings were acceptable offerings; however grain offerings were never used for atonement sacrifices.  Only blood will do.   At first blush it appears that God’s partiality for the animal sacrifice is arbitrary.  However, it is not.

 

We have previously mentioned the verse that “without the shedding of  blood there is no remission of sin.”  (Heb. 9:22).  At the heart of both the Old and New Testaments is the concept that mankind’s guilt and sin must be satisfied.  There is a price to be paid for sin and mankind’s willful and intentional choices not to obey God.  There is  justice.  However, there is also mercy.  The mercy is shown in the fact that the innocent blood of a lamb would satisfy at least on a limited basis the sin of mankind until the real sacrifice of Jesus Christ would occur.  That real sacrifice was to have the Son of God to provide the saving blood that would completely satisfy the justice of God.  In short, God Himself provides a way out of the trap that man had laid for himself.  Until the real Lamb of God would atone for man’s sins, the blood of goats, bulls and lambs served as place-markers until the real sacrifice occurred.

The reality is that the sacrifice of Cain could not satisfy the justice of God nor could it ever represent the future sacrifice which was to come for mankind.  The sacrifice had to do with the remission of sin and without blood there is no remission of sin.  Vegetables and fruits are not good enough to represent the atonement.  Man would try to earn his salvation through his own efforts and through his own fruits.  The efforts of man to do that may be commendable but they are NOT effective.  Only the blood can satisfy man’s sin.  Further it is not our fruits which justify us but it is innocent blood which justifies us.  Only the blood can work and only the blood can satisfy.  As a Christian, we have the opportunity to understand better why the sacrifice of Cain was not efficacious.  We, as believers, have all tried to lay our good works on the altar and we find that God has “no regard” for our nice efforts and good works.  It is only by God’s grace through faith by which we experience the covering for our sins and escape the eternal judgment and penalty for our sins.

 

Grace and favor seem at first to be arbitrary and fair.  However, I submit to you that it is not.  God is fair and invites all into his kingdom.  Cain was invited.  It was not foreordained that Cain sinned and killed his brother.  God warned Cain that sin was crouched at the door.  God told Cain that even though sin was waiting at the door, that Cain must “rule over it.”  Cain had a choice just like Adam and Eve did.  However, Cain, like his parents, chose to follow his own will and his own flesh rather than the words of God to overcome sin.  Interestingly, sin is pictured like a tiger crouching at the door to leap on  Cain.  I believe personally Cain opened the door to sin by such things as his own pride (his face was fallen when his sacrifice was not accepted by God), anger (Cain was angry because his sacrifice was not accepted) and jealousy (Abel’s sacrifice was accepted and Cain’s was not).  I wonder if Jesus was thinking about Cain when he said that anger was the seed of murder and that by saying “Thou Fool” that we were getting near to the fire of hell.  ( Matt. 5:22).  Cain’s anger grew from a seed to the act of murder.  (From little seeds great oaks grow) 

 

I am reminded of a poem called “The Poison Tree” by William Blake which goes like this:

 

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I watered it in fears
Night and morning with my tears,
And I sunned it with smiles
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright,
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine,–

And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning, glad, I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

 

 

Sin was not only at the door of Cain, but Cain opened the door and sin pounced.  I believe that Satan was at work in all of this.  After all, God had prophesied that the Son of Eve would crush the head of the serpent.  Satan was not interested in letting that happen.  When sin pounced, Satan killed two birds with one stone so to speak.  Certainly Abel and Abel’s offspring would not be able to crush the head of the serpent because Abel was dead.  Likewise, Cain would be a murderer.  Therefore, it is at least my belief, that behind the scenes a cosmic war was going on whereby Satan was making efforts to frustrate God’s judgment through the prophecy that the serpent’s head was going to be crushed.  I believe that if Satan felt that he could frustrate this prophecy by having people kill people so much the better.  The murder of Abel is the genesis of all murder, all killing, all crime and all war.  Anger, jealousy and pride are nurtured and watered by mankind and grow to produce fruits of misery and death.

 

 

Innocent Blood Cries Out

 

Blood cries out.  In one sense, the sinless blood of the sacrifice cries out “mercy!”  However, the blood shed by the sinful acts of mankind cry out for Justice.  God said to Cain, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.”  Sin loves to shed the blood of innocents.  We see that God hates murder and the blood of the innocent cry out for justice and for revenge.  In the Old Testament we see many instances where innocent blood is shed.  We see Naboth being killed innocently so the King Ahab can steal a vineyard, we see David killing Uriah the Hittite so he can have Uriah’s wife Bathsheba and we see righteous person after righteous person being killed (see Matt. 23:35). We also see both Israel and Judah sacrificing young innocent children to Moloch and Baal.   We see Pharaoh killing the innocent male children of the Israelites.  In the New Testament we see the same things such as Herod killing the innocent children under two years old to prevent the birth and ascendancy of the Messiah, the beheading of John the Baptist and the killing of Jesus Christ God’s only son.  It is the innocent who die.  In Revelation we see the blood of the martyrs crying out for justice and asking “how long” (Rev. 6:10).  God allows the death of the innocent.  Today  the blood-letting continues through the wholesale abortion of young children.  Blood flows in the streets in both the time of the Old Testament, in the time of Jesus and in our own time.  There is however, one difference.  The blood of Jesus Christ does not cry out for justice like Abel’s.  Instead the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, cries out for forgiveness and for mercy.  Jesus on the cross said “Forgive them for they know what they do.”  ( Luke 23:34).  Likewise Hebrews 12:24 says that Jesus’ sacrifice “speaks better things than that of Abel.”

 

Mankind always has a choice.  We can shed blood or be covered by the blood.

 

 

God’s Covenant with Noah

 

After the flood and after Noah, his family and the animals had left the ark, Noah built an altar to sacrifice to God.  That sacrifice was not of grain or the fruits of the ground but instead was of some of every clean bird and every clean animal.  In short, it was a blood sacrifice.  (Gen. 8:19-20).  As a result God made a covenant or agreement with Noah that God would not again destroy all of the earth by water.   The covenant was memorialized by the rainbow in the skies.  As part of this covenant, mankind was instructed not to eat flesh with its blood in it.  Genesis 9:4 says, “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”

 

Blood in essence was the equivalent of life.  Blood was sacred to God because God had made man in His own image and man was not to shed blood.  (Gen. 9:6).  Blood was not for consumption.  Instead its purpose was “atone for sins.”  The Hebrew position pertaining to the purpose of the blood can be easily seen through the references below.  The first is Leviticus 17:11-12 which says the following:

 

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have it for you on the altar

to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes

atonement by the life.  Therefore I have said to the people of Israel,

No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who

sojourns among you eat blood.

 

The other reference is found in Deuteronomy 12:23-25, 27 which says:

 

Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life,

and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.  You shall not eat it,

you shall pour it out on the earth like water.  You shall not eat it,

that all may go well with you and your children after you,

when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord…

The blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar

of the Lord your God, but the flesh you may eat.

 

The Hebrews treated blood differently than most nations.  The blood which represented life belonged to God and it was sacred.

 

 

The Covenant of God with Abraham

 

In Genesis 15, God enters into a covenant with Abram (a.k.a. Abraham).  This is a unilateral covenant meaning that it is an agreement by God to Abraham and Abraham does not have any real responsibilities under it.  For instance, if I said, “I will pay you $10 on Monday” this would be a unilateral covenant.  If I say “I will pay you $10 if you let me drive your car” this would be a bi-lateral covenant.  Your receipt of $10 depends upon whether you do something (in this case, let me drive your car.”)  God promised Abraham both an heir and the land where he resided.  God ratified this promise through a covenant.  Covenants were based upon such things as blood and salt.  Here God instructs Abraham to sacrifice some animals by cutting them into half.  He was instructed to sacrifice a three year old heifer, a three-year old goat and a three year old ram.  Also there was a sacrifice of a turtledove and a young pigeon. The blood of all of these animals were shed.  The heifer, goat and ram were divided into half.  (Gen. 15:8-11).  Abraham goes to sleep or falls into a trance.  As the sun sets and it becomes dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass between these pieces.  God makes a covenant with Abraham that he will possess the land which we know as “The Promised Land.”  All of this seems a bit mysterious and I will try to explain it more fully below.

 

First, we have a unilateral covenant being made between God and Abraham.  The cutting of the sacrifices in two is a solemn oath (under the pain of death) that a covenant will be fulfilled.  We see an example of this in Jeremiah 34:18, which says, “And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts….”  In short, this is similar to what we might call a “blood oath.”  God has determined to make Abraham a “nation of people” and to give him a “promised land.” 

 

To the Christian, Abraham is indeed a Father of Nations.  Not only is he a father to the Jewish people but he is also a father to all those who have faith in God.  God gave to Abraham a nation.  Similarly, Jesus has a nation of children who are followers and children of God .  God gave Abraham a possession made up of the promised land which had been inhabited by the enemies of God.  To Christ, God has given a nation and a promised land and that land is the Kingdom of God.  Moreover that land is also an eternal kingdom ruled over by Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

It is interesting to me that God had  a specific requirement that the heifer, ram and goat be three years old. (Gen. 15:9).  Why did God specify a particular age?  No one can say for sure.  I believe that the reason was that in the future there would be a sacrifice of God’s only son, Jesus Christ.  Most believe that the crucifixion of Christ occurred when Jesus was about 33 years old.  Jesus was of a young age and had lived about one-third of his life span.  The average life span of the three animals sacrificed were in the 10-15 year range.  By utilizing animals which were three years old, in effect the sacrifice was in its early adult period of the animal  and each animal had used up about one-third of its life span.  Now my thoughts on this are only speculation; however, sacrifices always looked forward to the future sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God. 

 

Previously I have mentioned that the sacrifice was unilateral.  After Abraham had selected the animals and prepared them, he fell into a deep sleep. (Gen. 15:12)  After dark, “a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.”  Both Jewish and Christian commentators agree that the smoking fire pots and flaming torch represented the presence of God.  Almost all commentators believe that the torch passing through the two halves of the sacrifice was God’s Presence.  God predicted that the children of Abraham would be afflicted and will serve in a land “not theirs at Genesis 15:13.  Commentators connect the torch with the presence of God found in the burning bush that appeared to Moses and with the pillar of fire which protected and led the children of Israel in the Sinai desert at night.  The meaning of the smoking pot is more obscure.  The smoking pots were often bee shaped and were small ovens where bread could be cooked.  Many commentators say that the smoking pot represents the smoke of God’s holiness which is later seen on  Mount Sinai when God was present and also with the smoke that was in the pillar of cloud which led Israel by day.  Others believe that the smoking pot may be a precursor to the ovens in Egypt where bricks were made believing that the pots indicate that tribulation was ahead but that God was still present in the midst of tribulation.

 

The understanding that the covenant of God was sacrificial and unilateral is important.  Abraham is asleep as the covenant is made.  Abraham does not walk through the two halves of the heifer, goat and ram.  He rests from his own efforts and works and can only look on as God does all of the work and makes all of the commitments.  This is important because salvation comes to us by grace through faith and not by works.  We do not deserve salvation and we cannot work to be saved.  The picture of God’s covenant to save us and bring us into an everlasting kingdom is one of grace.  God saves us.  It is the sacrifice of Christ which saves us alone.  By grace alone are we saved.  We are the beneficiaries of the blood covenant and our only action in the process is to receive the gift which was been bought for us at such a dear price.  The gift of salvation is just that—a gift.  We do not earn it.  It is given to us at great cost and it is given freely!  Also like the children of Israel, we too must experience the tribulation of going through this life (like the Israelites in Egypt) but God is with us and will bring us through the tribulation.  After all, Jesus is known as Immanuel meaning “God is with us.” 

 

In our next edition of Locusts and Honey we will be looking at the account of Abraham and Isaac.  This account is pivotal in understanding God’s plan for the salvation of mankind.

 

Until then, keep on hopping.