FEB 10 The Ransom Reminder and the The Anointing

FEB 10 -TODAY’S READING IN THE ONE YEAR BIBLE: Exodus 30:11-31:18; Matthew 26:47-68; Psalm 32:1-11; Proverbs 8:27-32

Today's Reading; The Ransom Offering, The Anointing Oil, Laver, Sabbath  and the Betrayal of Christ

THE RANSOM OFFERING- EVERY SOUL COUNTS-  LET THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD SAY SO BY CONTRIBUTING TO THE TABERNACLE’S  CONSTRUCTION

The Lord tells Moses that everyone who is to be counted as a member of this new nation, the people of Israel, is to bring a tribute in recognition of the fact that they have been ransomed by the Lord and the atoning work that He provides by grace. (Exodus 30:11-16)

This was not to be a free will offering. It was not to be a matter of ‘proportionate giving’ in which each gives in accordance to how much they had prospered. This particular offering was to be a half-shekel contribution from everyone, rich or poor. It would be used to construct and maintain the Tabernacle.  This ‘tent of meeting’ would be a reminder to all that they had been redeemed. It would tell the story of their Redeemer and His perfect work of redemption. It was their Redeemer who gave the command that it should be built. And everything was to be built according to the pattern He had given. It was all to speak of Him. The sacrifices and furnishings would tell how every soul can find redemption from sin and become part of the holy people of God through faith in the Redeemer of Israel.

The preciousness of every soul, and its equal value before God, is reflected in this ransom tribute. All were to give honor to the One who paid the full price of atonement for their souls by contributing to the telling of the story portrayed in the Tabernacle.

Exodus 30:15 "The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves.

The rich are not of any greater worth before the Lord than the poor. Nor are the strong worth more than the weak. The half-shekel was a memorial before the Lord and His people that we all are of equal worth. We all have an equal need for Him. Nothing can secure our access to God but the blood of Jesus, the atoning sacrifice.  Our money cannot buy us out of our bondage. Nor should our poverty keep us in bondage. The ransom offering was not to be given according to how much a person had of wealth but according to whether or not they were numbered among God’s people brought out of Egypt. Each half-shekel represented one person.

This offering brings forth an acknowledgment that we all need to be right with God and we need to be pure before Him. We all need the story of the Tabernacle. Only what is illustrated in the Tabernacle of God’s redemptive work on our behalf can ransom us. This of course speaks of the full atonement provided in Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection and ascension.

  The Bronze Laver (Exodus 30:18-21)

The hands and the feet of the priest must be washed at the laver in the outer court whenever they came to minister. The laver, like the altar, was made of brass that had been furnished by melting down mirrors from Egypt.

Mirrors speak of proper assessment. The brass speaks of the verdict of judgment. The water speaks of the word of God (Eph 5:26). The ceremonial washing of the priests hands and feet speak of the constant need of cleansing in everything we handle in life and everywhere we go. The Word reminds us of the sacrifice of Christ and the fact that “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

 The Anointing Oil (Exodus 30:22-33)

The Anointing Oil is a graphic description of the influence of the Holy Spirit to enable His servants to communicate the life of Christ, the Truer and Greater High Priest, Prophet and King. Everything about the anointing is to communicate the truth about Christ. It is related to no other!

The oil was used for the anointing of the Tabernacle, its furnishings and utensils. It was used to set apart Aaron, the High Priest, and his sons for the service of the tent of meeting. (It would also be used for anointing the Prophet and King- all pointing to the coming Messiah, the Christ- The Anointed One- King, Priest and Prophet. That which is poured out on the Head will also flow down to the body; Psalm 133. This foreshadows the outpoured Holy Spirit upon believers.)

What is particularly important about the description of the Anointing oil is that it is of a distinct composition and for a distinct purpose.

There were 4 component spices mixed according to God-given proportions.  All the components were fragrant and were to bring to mind the virtues of Christ. (We learn in the Book of Leviticus that sweet smelling sacrifices speak of the various attributes of Christ and how pleasing they are to the Father).

The dominant spice in the anointing oil is MYRRH.  It is a precious fragrant gum extracted from a Commiphora tree (usually about 8 feet tall) found in Asia and Africa. 12 ½ pounds of myrrh were to be mixed into the olive oil.

We see the virtue of love and sacrificial devotion in the use of myrrh in the Bible. Myrrh was employed in perfumes (Esther 2:12), embalming spice (John 19:39), and was also one of the precious gifts of the Magi from the East who came to worship Jesus (Matt 2:11).  Myrrh features often in the love poem of Song of Songs. It was mingled with wine and offered to Christ on the cross to alleviate his suffering but Jesus refused it. (Mark 15:23).

Cinnamon, calamus and cassia (6 ½ pounds of each) were other sweet spices added into the anointing oil.

Strict instructions were given not to manufacture anything similar that would be a counterfeit anointing. Neither was it to be used for any other purpose but for which it was prescribed. 

“ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;  Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You  With the oil of joy above Your fellows.   All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.” (Psalm 45:8)

The purpose of the anointing was to point to the perfections of the person of Christ.

THE ARTISTS

The first person recorded as being filled with the Spirit was an artist, a master craftsman named Bezalel.  He was assisted by Oholiab, of the tribe of Dan. What a special honor it must have been for these two men to know that they had been called by name to do this special work with their God-given talents. (Exodus 31:2). The Lord knows your talents and how they can be used for His glory! Ask Him for the wisdom to apply what He has given you for the work He is doing in your area!

THE SABBATH

 The Old Testament reading concludes with the reminder of the Sabbath as a sign of God's covenant with Israel (31:17). In the New Testament Jesus introduces Himself as Lord of the Sabbath, indicating that the true source of rest and satisfaction is found in Him. (Matthew 12:8).  He offers Sabbath (rest) to all who come to Him (Matt 11:28). Whereas the principle of a regular Sabbath is a God-given one, the do or die command is not one that is taught by Jesus, or one that is repeated in the New Testament, because Jesus fulfilled it. We are called to enter into His rest (the benefits of His finished work of redemption) by faith.

NEW TESTAMENT READING: Matthew 26:47-68

Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss. This reminds us of the incident in King David's life when he was betrayed by Ahithophel and said “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread,  has lifted up his heel against me.” The apostle John applies this verse to Judas (John 13:18-19).

But it is not just Judas who betrays. “All the disciples deserted him and fled.” (Matt 26:56). This reminds us that we have all betrayed Jesus in that “all we like sheep have gone astray.”

For Jesus it would be a night in which he is shuffled from one hearing to another.  These council meetings were not customary or lawful. They were conducted without regard for due process, after hours when only some could be present, and without previously established credible witnesses. In the first hearing before the Sanhedrin, Jesus, brought like a sheep to the slaughter, refers to the Messianic prophesy of Daniel 7:13. This causes the Sanhedrin to charge Him with blasphemy and to mock Him, spit in His face, and beat Him.

PSALM 32:1-11

This is a great psalm extolling the blessings of getting right with God through honest repentance expressed in confession.  We would be wise to take the warning:  “Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found” (Psalm 32:6).

PROVERBS 8

What we have read today of the excellencies of Christ as displayed in the features of the tabernacle and priesthood and to consider how Jesus was treated by His own people causes us to shudder, especially as we see Him in Proverbs 8 as our Wisdom. Proverbs 8:27-32 gives a wonderful witness to His preincarnate existence.

OPERATION WORLD- Today we pray for Afghanistan (p. 92-93)

http://www.operationworld.org/today1

Pastor David

So, naturally, we proclaim Christ! We warn everyone we meet, and we teach everyone we can, all that we know about him, so that, if possible, we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ. (Colossians 1:28, J.B. Phillips paraphrase)

New Life Community Church, Concord, MA 10742

www.newlife.org

Meeting Sundays at 10:30 AM at the Emerson Umbrella for the Arts, 40 Stow Street, Concord MA

Mailing Address: Post Office Box Five, Concord, MA 01742

Church Offices: 35 Bypass Rd. Lincoln, MA 01773  978-369-0061

Home Office: 978-371-3176

New Life Fine Arts

"Theater you can believe in."

www.newlifefinearts.org

JANUARY  3 -TODAY’S READING IN THE ONE YEAR BIBLE

Genesis 5-7:24; Matthew 3:7-4:11; Psalm 3:1-8; Proverbs 1:10-19

GENESIS 5

Genesis 5 contains the genealogy with the length of years lived and the fact of their death.  In this chapter we see the repeated phrase—  “and he died.”

Here we have God's judgment upon sin: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a)

Some have pointed out that the meaning of the names listed in this genealogy when put together give us the hope of the gospel in a sentence:

Man (Adam)
is appointed (Seth)
mortal (Enoch)
sorrow (Cainan) but
the blessed God (Mahalaleel)
shall come down (Jared)
teaching (Enoch) that
His death shall bring (Methusekah)
the despairing (Lamech)
rest (Noah)

Matthew 11:28 (NIV) ²⁸ "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

GENESIS 6

Mankind in 'going astray' is ‘flesh’ (Gen 6:3). This use of the word 'flesh' is similar to the way that the Apostle Paul uses it to describe the fallen nature of man- 'going astray- bent on a rebellion and indifference towards God and a demonstrable independence from Him.

 “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him (the suffering servant).” (Isaiah 53:6)

 There is widespread corruption on the earth.

“The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”(Gen 6:5)

Jesus certainly believed that Genesis 6 was historically accurate:

²⁶ "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26-27).

The ark of Noah is a picture of God’s plan of salvation in Christ.  Noah was saved because he believed God’s message (Hebrews 11:7)

The ark, like the plan of salvation in the Christ event- (the incarnation, sinless living and substitutionary dying of Jesus to fulfill the law), is planned by God. Noah had no part in the planning.  God ordained that the ark would be the means of salvation from the wrathful judgment against sin. God was judging the old creation with the flood. Those who entered the ark (plan of salvation) would be saved.

As with the story of man’s fall in Genesis 3, no sooner had God announced His judgment against sin, He also announced His provision of escape from judgment.  In every case, that provision speaks of Jesus!

¹⁴ So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. (Genesis 6:14)

The ark is made of wood. Wood speaks of humanity. Cypress wood is known for its resistance to corruption. The wood represents the sinless humanity of Jesus that qualifies Him to be our Savior. The wood is covered with pitch. The Hebrew word for ‘pitch’ is ‘kopher’ – covering. The common Hebrew word ‘kopher’ relates to atonement. His blood would provide atonement for our souls (Lev. 17:11). There are three sections to the ark, just as there are three sections to the tabernacle (another picture of the plan of salvation in the Old Testament!) Jesus is the Greater Ark of Noah.

There are many wonderful parallels to the plan of salvation seen in the ark of Noah and the plan of salvation that we can enter into through faith in Christ.

NEW TESTAMENT READING: MATTHEW 3:7-4:11

Jesus comes to John the Baptist to be baptized. At first John refuses, as he has been preaching a baptism of repentance, and Jesus was without sin, the spotless Lamb of God, and therefore no repentance was required of him.  John recognized immediately that it was he, John, who was the sinner who needed to be baptized by Jesus and not Jesus by him.

The River Jordan is a type of the life of the natural man. Although its source is in the highest heights of Mt. Hermon, it follows a circuitous 200 mile course as if it is trying to avoid its end which is the Dead Sea. It is death that is the natural end of man. Jesus was willing to be fully submissive to the plan of God to be the substitute for man- offering the obedience that Adam and his race failed to give and dying the death that Adam and his race deserved to die under the judgment of God for sin. He came to John as the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)

Jesus’ baptism speaks of his being identified with man. He is man as He as God made man to be- without sin and fully alive to God. All that He does now, He does on our behalf. He fulfills the righteous requirements of the Law through His perfect obedience to God. All that He does, He does as our Representative. He is led by the Spirit to rewrite our history in the first Adam.  Where Adam went wrong, He would do right. Like the first Adam, He was put in a position of being tempted by Satan. Where the first man sinned, Jesus resisted temptation through full devotion to His Father’s will revealed through the Word.

Where the first Adam failed through disobedience, Jesus as the Last Adam would be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

When Jesus emerges from the Jordan, He becomes the resting place for the Holy Spirit descending in the form of the dove, who according to the Scriptural record of Noah’s flood has found no resting place since the ‘old creation’ (in Adam) was judged. Jesus is the second man, the federal head of the New Creation. Our history as a new creation is being written in Him!

Psalm 3- Jesus is a shield about us, our glory and the lifter of our head! He is our sustainer; the one who answers our prayers. He is the author and finisher of our salvation!

PROVERBS- A dramatic picture of temptation:

Proverbs 1:10-19 (NASB) ¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. ¹¹ If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause; ¹² Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit; ¹³ We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil; ¹⁴ Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse," ¹⁵ My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, ¹⁶ For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood. ¹⁷ Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird; ¹⁸ But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. ¹⁹ So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.

JAN 2 - Genesis 3 and 4; Christ as God's Answer, God's Son and God's Wisdom

January 2 - TODAY’S READING FROM THE ONE YEAR BIBLE- Genesis 3-4:26; Matthew 2:13-3:6; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 1:7-9 

GENESIS 3

In Genesis 3 we have the account of the fall of humanity. But we also have the first mention of the gospel and a prophetic picture of it.

The first mention of the Coming Redeemer is found in Genesis 3:15. Theologians call this the “protoevangelium”, the first mention of the gospel.

Genesis 3:14-15 (NIV)
¹⁴ So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. ¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

The Promised Redeemer would be “the seed of a woman”. The expression, “to crush the head” is an oriental expression meaning to “depose the governmental rule”. This is the prophetic picture of the Messiah who would not be the Son of fallen man, but the Son of God, born of a virgin. He would come to save us from our sins and destroy the works of the devil, deposing his rule.

In Genesis 3:21 we have a picture of the failure of human attempts to cover sin (Operation Fig Leaf!) and God’s provision through the sacrifice of an innocent animal on behalf of the guilty sinners, a picture of the sacrificial Lamb of God.

Genesis 3:21 (NIV)
²¹ The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

This is the gospel of God. The good news of the Messiah and the provision of the atoning sacrifice.

GENESIS 4

The gospel presented in Genesis 3:14-15 and 3:21 was to be passed on to Adam’s children.

Prior to the fall, the man and the woman lived as a one flesh unit. They shared the same name. After the fall, with sin, came dissolution of oneness. The woman was named Eve. Whereas Adam was created in God’s image, Adam’s children were born in the image of fallen man (Genesis 5:3). Therefore although Adam was the first man, his son, Cain, was not qualified to be called the second man. Cain was no longer, man, as God created man to be. Instead of being filled with the Holy Spirit, his nature was fallen and he was spiritually subject to the dominion of the god of this age, Satan. Never in human history would there be another ‘man’ until the Messiah. He would qualify as the ‘second man’ because He was born, not of Adam’s seed. He would be, as Adam was originally, born without sin. His obedience would be tested. Where the first man Adam disobeyed and brought sin and death into the stream of humanity, Jesus would obey and bring righteousness that would be extended as a gift to believers, and a new stream of humanity that would be born of the Holy Spirit.

Abel, the second son of Adam, is a picture of one who is obedient to the gospel. Cain brought to God what he thought best. He is a picture of man living by human reason without revelation. His religion is one of self-redemption.

Abel brought what God required- an innocent animal substitute, a type of Christ. This sacrificial system was instituted as a means of communicating the gospel. Abel received the witness from the Holy Spirit that He was accepted by God on the basis of the sacrifice of another made on his behalf, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Cain rejected the gospel. Although God appealed to him that both a sin offering and the rule of sin were at his doorstep, Cain rejected the sin offering and submitted to the rule of sin.

“By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.” (Heb 11:4)

We see the first case of depression in Cain. Failing to believe the gospel, he does not have the witness of God’s acceptance. He is still in his sins and under God’s wrath. He is angry that he is not accepted by God by living on his own terms. He is jealous of his brother Abel’s peace and joy. The spirit of antichrist takes over and we have the first religious war. Cain rises up to persecute and kill Abel.

“This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.” (1 John 3:11-12)

Jesus is the greater Abel who was despised, rejected and slain by His brothers. Abel was the first shepherd and Jesus is the Great Shepherd (John 10:11) Abel died a violent death and his blood called for judgment. Jesus died a violent death but His blood cries out for mercy. (Hebrews 12:24)

The rest of Genesis 4 is a powerful study on human sociology.

AS YOU READ THE GOSPELS

 Matthew 2:13-3:6

Matthew gives us insight into God’s sovereign protection in delivering Jesus from His would-be killers. In doing so, Messianic prophecies were being fulfilled (Hosea 11:1; Numbers 24:8; Exodus 4:22).

God graciously spoke to Joseph several times in his dreams (Matthew 1:20, 2:13, 19, 22). God speaks to us primarily through His written Word but we should be open to Him speaking to us in the ways the prophets foretold (Acts 2:17, Joel 2:28).

Matthew also carefully points out that John the Baptist fulfills the prophecies regarding the one who would call Israel to repentance and prepare the way for the Messiah (Matt. 3:3; Isaiah 40).

Worship the One who came to save us from our sins (Matt 1:21). He went right to the root of our problem. John the Baptist says it well: “ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”.  Jesus did not come to prune our sinful nature. He came to deal with its root. He goes right back to the beginning of the problem- Adam. Where Adam fell into disobedience, Jesus would bring judgment on Adam and his progeny, as “the last Adam”, by identifying Himself with his sin on the cross. Sin would be cut down and thrown into the fire. As “the second man”, the federal head of a new humanity, he would rewrite our history as one of perfect obedience.  

Jesus, though sinless, identified with the natural man in baptism. Notice the commendation by the attending persons of the Trinity. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased! (Notice also that the dove who is not seen after being sent out by Noah after the old creation is judged (Gen. 8:12) is finally seen in Matthew 3:16 resting on the head of Jesus Christ, the second man, the head of THE NEW CREATION!)

Where the first man was tested and failed, this man would succeed. The woman (whose name was also Adam) was tempted in the garden to live autonomously and to break fellowship with God through disobedience at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil through the lust of the flesh (she saw that the fruit was good for food) the lust of the eyes (a delight to the eyes) and the pride of life (desirable to make her wise). Jesus was tempted in the wilderness in the same areas: the lust of the flesh (to make stones bread, to break fellowship with the Father and to satisfy his hunger independently from the Father’s provision); the lust of the eyes (Luke has this as the second temptation, Matthew the third- to behold the glory of the kingdoms of this world) and the pride of life (prove who you are by casting yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple and commanding angels to save you).

As Jesus resisted the temptation to worldliness and sin by hiding the Word of God in His heart, let us do the same!

⁴ Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"  (Matthew 4:4)

AS YOU READ THE PSALM

           Psalm 2- Jesus is the Son of God

AS YOU READ PROVERBS

Proverbs 1- Jesus is our Wisdom from God (1 Cor 1:30; Prov 4)

Proverbs 1:7-9 (NASB) ⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. ⁸ Hear, my son, your father's instruction And do not forsake your mother's teaching; ⁹ Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck.

Notice the starting point for true knowledge- It is the revelation of God’s answer to the human dilemma- Christ- “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3)

Pastor David

P.S. As we pray for the global harvest, may the Lord increase our vision, our compassion, our prayer life and our obedience.  Let’s pray for the “Global Hot Spots” on page 10 of the prayer guide, "Operation World" and “the Global Trends to Watch” on page 12.

If you need online source material, go to these links:

www.Oneyearbibleonline.com

www.operationworld.org

JAN 1 Reading through the Word 2012

JANUARY 1  READING FROM THE ONE YEAR BIBLE

Genesis 1-2:25; Matthew 1-2:12; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 1:1-6 

What a great way to start the New Year! I want to encourage you to give sufficient time this year to read, study, memorize and meditate upon God’s Word. 

The Psalmist had the right attitude towards reading the Scriptures:

Psalm 119:162  I rejoice at Your word, As one who finds great spoil.

Psalm 119:18  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law!

Psalm 119:11  Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

Psalm 119:130  The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

Psalm 119:133 Establish my footsteps in Your word, And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.

As we read through the Bible together, let us read to worship!

Worship the Living Word, Jesus Christ as Creator, the Image of God, the perfect Adam, the God-man, the Bridegroom, the Promised Seed of the Woman, the Promised Redeemer, the Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the World, the Greater Abel, the Greater Ark of Noah, the Blessed Man, the Anointed Son, our Shield, Glory, Lifter of our Heads and Salvation!  And that is in just the first three readings of the One Year Bible!

We would do well to remember what Jesus said to the Bible interpreters of His day: "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering." (Luke 11:52) What had the lawyers done to deserve such a reprimand from Jesus?  They had taken away “the key to knowledge” which is the revelation of Himself as God’s Promise, the Messiah.  

The key to knowledge is the revelation of the Christ. To give people the law without the One who was promised to fulfill the law is a crime. To interpret the Old Testament without the Promise of the Messiah at the core is a false interpretation. Jesus is the key to the Scriptures.  Jesus said “they testify of me” (John 5:39). “Moses wrote about me” (John 5:46); “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44)

The Bible is the written Word of God and Jesus is the Living Word of God. In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3)

So we read the Scriptures to see Christ and know His gospel.

Here are some pictures of Christ in the first few readings in the One Year Bible. I pray that it will encourage you to read and worship!

GENESIS 1

In Genesis 1:1  Jesus Christ is Creator (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Psalm 33:6).

Jesus is the Light of the World (John 9:5); He is the Great Separator of things of earth and heaven (John 3:19-21)

God, the Son, operates in one resolve with the Father and the Spirit (Genesis 1:26)

Adam was the first man, the prototype man, all that Jesus as God designed man to be, as the express image of God. (Jesus is the perfect image of God- Hebrews 1:3)

GENESIS 2

In Genesis 2 we see the first man, Adam, in the state of untried innocence; not yet in perfect obedience. He is a picture of all that Jesus would be as man, except that Jesus is the perfect man in the state of perfect obedience.

In the New Testament we learn that Jesus is referred to as “the second man” (1 Cor. 15:47) and “the last Adam” (1 Cor 15:45)

A bride was taken from Adam’s side to be His co-regent, one appointed to reign together with him in oneness. (Gen 2:21-22)

Adam, the first bridegroom was put into a deep sleep. (The word ‘sleep’ is used in the New Testament for a believer’s death; death, no longer as “the wages of sin” (Romans 6:23), but transition to new state).

The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." ²⁴ For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.  (Gen 2:23-24)

A bride was taken from Adam’s side to be a partner he could perfectly correspond with. She would complement him and be his co-regent.

Jesus fulfills this prophetic picture as the second man, the heavenly bridegroom. He was put into the deep sleep, His death on the cross. His shed blood and sacrificial death not only provided atonement for our sin but made possible the formation (the Hebrew word is ‘building’) of a bride, the church as His eternal companion.

Paul writes of this mystery in the Book of Ephesians.

³⁰ For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. ³¹ "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." ³² This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:30-32, NKJ)

Jesus left His Father’s house to gain a bride at the price of His own life. In this prophetic picture, Jesus, like the first man, Adam, must be put into a deep sleep, a picture of His death.

We can see how the wounded side of the first man points to the wounded side of the second man:

³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. (John 19:34)

We can also see here in His wounded side a portrait of our purchase as the bride, the church, the Eternal Companion of the Lord, destined to reign with Him in wedded oneness in the ages to come. From His side redemption flows. The church is purchased with His own blood. (Acts 20:28)

AS YOU READ THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

The Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Promised Messiah.  He is "born King" (Matt 2:2). He is the King of Kings, the prophesied Son of David whose kingdom rule would be without end. He is the promised seed of Abraham who would bring the blessing of salvation to all the people.  

The genealogy that Matthew gives for Jesus of Nazareth demonstrates to the reader that Jesus legally qualifies for the Messianic title as a descendant of David. Matthew records the ancestry of Joseph, the step father of Jesus, to whom Jesus was legal heir. Luke demonstrates that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also a direct descendant of King David. The prophecies for Messiah could not be fulfilled by just anybody. The Messiah must be a descendant of Abraham through the line of David (2 Sam 7:12; Psalm 89:3). 

We see God's sovereign mercy in the genealogy of the Messiah. Jesus' ancestors made many foolish mistakes recorded in the Old Testament narrative. But God was at work throughout history to preserve His purpose of bringing forth a Savior. 

Matthew 1:21 (NASB) ²¹ "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." 

Worship Jesus (Yeshua): His name means “God to the rescue!” 

AS YOU READ THE PSALMS

Psalm 1  Jesus is the Blessed Man!

And we will be blessed as we meditate upon the Word both day and night.

AS YOU READ PROVERBS

Proverbs 1- Jesus is our Wisdom from God (1 Cor 1:30; Prov 4)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Today we start reading Genesis, the Book of Beginnings.

In this book we have an account of the origin of man, marriage, family, human disobedience, murder and the development of government and culture. We see how God and man are intimately related. We see the inherent dignity in man in that God made him in His image and after His likeness. We see the equal status of the sexes in that “in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Gen 1:27).

Although it is not written as a science textbook, the book contains the foundational truths of theology (the science of God), cosmology (the science of the cosmos), anthropology (the science of humankind), sociology (the science of society, hamartiology (the science of sin), and soteriology (the science of salvation).

 Jesus referred to the Genesis account as being the authoritative Word of God (Matthew 19:4-6). So should we.

We start with a declaration of our origin- the introduction of the uncreated Creator, the One source of all- Genesis 1:1

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

In this first chapter the Godhead has revealed Himself as a plurality of persons in a singularity of substance and essence. We have the subject of the sentence in the plural ‘Elohim’ with the verb ‘created’ in the singular form.  This plurality in unity is seen also in verse 26: “Let US make man in OUR image, according to OUR likeness..”

As we read through the Bible there will be a progressive revelation of the mystery of the Trinity, God as a holy ‘echad’;  ‘Echad’ is the Hebrew word that describes a composite oneness, or, a community of Oneness (Deut 6:4; Genesis 2:24; Ezek 37:17; Ezra 2:64).

The God of Genesis 1:1 is the God of the Gospel of John Chapter 1, verse 1. In the Gospel of John we see the Creator God defined as the Word of God, the Son of God, who is Jesus Christ (John 1:14).  As you read through the Bible you will see that He is the second person of the Trinity. The apostles also refer to Him as the Creator (Colossians 1:16).

The third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit of God, is introduced in verse 2.

With the heavens, God created the heavenly beings- the angels (Gen 1:1)

This is followed by the account of six days in which various parts of the creation are brought into manifestation:

DAY ONE- The Light; and He separated it from the darkness.

DAY TWO- The atmosphere; He separated the waters creating an expanse in between called ‘sky’ or ‘the heavens’.

DAY THREE- The land appears as God separated the waters into the seas. God said, “Let the earth sprout with vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind.

DAY FOUR-  God says “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens.” The greater light (the sun) and the lesser light (the moon) and the stars are revealed.

DAY FIVE- God says, Let the waters teem with living creatures and let the birds fly above the earth. (Marine life and birds).

DAY SIX- God says, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind.” God also says, “Let us make man in our image.” Male and female He created them.

Some observations:

·         The second day is without any commendation that the expanse of sky was ‘good’, nor the darkness.  The likely cause is that Satan, ‘the prince of the power of the air’ (Ephesians 2:2) was already present as one who had usurped authority as an enemy of God. We learn about the “rulers of the darkness of this world” in Ephesians 6:12.

·         There is no record of a morning or evening on the seventh day in which God rested from His work of creation. This will speak prophetically of the ‘ETERNAL REST’ we will enjoy in the sufficiency of Christ’s perfect work of salvation. It is eternal. It is not a 24 hour REST, but it is a FOREVER REST that we find in Christ, our true Sabbath (Matthew 11:29)