THE SIGN OF THE CROSS AND THE PASSOVER LAMB

JAN 31- TODAY’S READING IN THE ONE YEAR BIBLE

Exodus 12:14-13:16; Matthew 20:29-21:22; Psalm 25:16-22; Proverbs 6:12-15

OLD TESTAMENT READING: EXODUS 12:THE SIGN OF THE CROSS AND THE PASSOVER LAMB

Today’s reading from Exodus 12 is of fundamental importance. The entire history of Israel stands in relation to it. Israel's emergence as a nation can be traced to their deliverance from Egypt. As a people they commemorate this defining moment with the annual celebration of the Passover feast. We should devote some time to not only reading the account, but reflecting upon it to more fully appreciate its significance.

If we want to be free from the deadly consequences of sin that plague our humanity and have put us all under the sentence of death, we need to carefully consider how this story applies to our lives today.

The Lord gave specific instruction to spare the lives of the sons of Israel from the Plague of Death that was coming upon the land.

“You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts.” (Exod 12:22). 

God said that the blood had a special value before him. We will learn more of its value as we read the Book of Leviticus 17:11:

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood BY REASON OF THE LIFE that makes atonement.”

The Lord makes it clear that the blood signals that the LIFE OF ANOTHER has been offered on behalf of those who were under the death sentence:

 “I am the Lord. ..When I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13)

Do we believe what God has required for our deliverance, the sacrifice of a perfect lamb without defect?  Do we see that the shed blood is evidence of a perfectly lived life being offered as a substitute for us, and as a representative of the firstborn? Will we recognize that only the blood of the Lamb applied to the post and the lintels of the door of our hearts can avert the angel of death from striking us with sin’s full penalty?  Do we recognize that only the blood of the spotless Lamb can provide the perfect atonement needed for sin?

That plan of salvation that God has provided can only be experienced if we personally put faith God’s provision of the Passover Lamb. As a pre-requisite for Israel’s escape from bondage in Egypt and as the only means of being spared from God’s judgment of death, the blood of the Passover Lamb needed to be applied to the two doorposts and lintel of each home, representing each heart. As the head of the home dipped the hyssop branch into the blood and painted the blood on the appointed places on the door frame, he would be making the sign of the cross.

“For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed” (1 Cor 5:7).

 As the Book of Genesis unfolded the promise of redemption from our captivity to the hold of sin and death, the Book of Exodus introduces us to the procedure of redemption.  Exodus Chapter 12 shows the role of the Passover Lamb in the deliverance of God’s people. The plan of redemption requires that we put our trust in God’s Word about a chosen spotless lamb whose blood alone could avert the consequence of sin, the penalty of death. We need to personally respond to that Word by claiming that Lamb’s sacrifice as our only hope for salvation.

Like the children of Israel in the time of Moses, we need to be liberated from slavery. Our common human bondage is our slavery to sin. All of us have sinned (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:10). There are none who are righteous (Romans 3:10). All of us will sin (1 John 1:8). Therefore we are slaves held captive to sin.  Left to ourselves we cannot be delivered from its power or consequences.  Our own efforts, achievements, religious piety, cannot atone for our sins. A ransom of supreme value must be paid. Only the offering of an impeccable life that was obedient unto death can satisfy the righteous demands of God’s law. The offering of a blameless Substitute, whose shed blood would be evidence of the full price being paid, would be the only method to secure forgiveness and provide release from sin’s captivity.

Jesus referred to His role as our Ransom in Matthew 20:28

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Some people question the emphasis within Judaism and Christianity on the need for substitutionary sacrifice which included the shedding of blood. ‘Couldn’t we have a bloodless religion?’ they ask.

We have already seen that Cain’s bloodless sacrifice was rejected by God (Gen 4:4-5). Cain gave God what he thought best, the fruit of His labor. His brother Abel gave God what God required- the shed blood of an Innocent Substitute.  The evidence of God’s satisfaction with Abel’s sacrifice was obvious to all. This pattern of covering sin with an innocent animal sacrifice was shown to the first man in Genesis 3:21 and continues through the Bible. 

In the Bible we see God providing a way when there is no other way.  This is the story of our salvation. There is no other way than the one that God provides.

In Genesis we learned that from the moment man sinned, he suffered sin’s consequences, spiritual separation from God. But God was there to clothe him with the provision of a Substitute (Genesis 3:21). We learn that the Promised Seed (Gen 3:15) would eventually reverse the curse. He would come from the line of an ‘appointed’ substitute- Seth (Gen 4:25). The promise is renewed with Abraham (Gen 12, 15 and 17). God gives Abraham a son, Isaac, as He promised. In Genesis 22 God tells Abraham to take his only son to the mountains of Moriah (lit. meaning ‘seen of God’). 

 Isaac asks, ‘Where is the sacrifice?’

Abraham tells him prophetically, “God will provide for Himself a lamb” (Gen. 22:8). The death and resurrection of the Lamb of God is foreshadowed in Abraham’s obedient act of worship (Gen 22:12, 16-22). A ram caught in the thicket becomes a substitute for his own Son. Abraham names that place, “Yahweh-Jireh”, “The Lord Himself will provide” (Gen 22:.14). That place would become the threshing floor for Araunah, the Jebusite, would be purchased by King David (2 Sam 24:21). There David built an altar to avert the plague that was coming upon Israel. That threshing floor would become the site for the temple of Jerusalem, and part of that same shelf of rock would be recognized Golgotha, where God would provide the sacrifice of His Son.

There on Mt Calvary, at the place called Golgotha, at the time of the Passover, the one who was first announced by John the Baptist as being  “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)  would shed His blood as an atonement for our souls. “Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures (1 Cor 15:3). Jesus’ sacrifice is a perfect once and for all sacrifice that pays the complete ransom for sin (Hebrews 10:10).  From the altar of the cross, Jesus shouts, “Tetelestai!” (The Greek word meaning, “Paid in Full”, sometimes translated, “It is finished”, referring to the work of redemption, or “It is a completion.” (John 19:30).

When Jesus dies, the veil that separates the Holiest of All from the Holy Place in the temple in Jerusalem is torn in two, signaling the end of any ritual sacrifices needed symbolizing an innocent substitute (Matt 27:51). Access to a holy God could no longer be denied because sin’s penalty was paid (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Why should an innocent lamb be the victim for the wrong-doing of another? There are some who have questioned the idea of a substitutionary sacrifice for sin and have created a caricature of God as a person with an anger problem.  They picture Him arbitrarily sending His Son to earth, as if He had no choice in the matter and punishing Him instead of the guilty offenders. They say that this diversion of anger is like kicking the cat at home when we are frustrated with the people at work, or what some liberal theologians have called “a form of cosmic child abuse”.

However, this caricature is a straw man. It inaccurately frames the teaching of the Bible of a God who lovingly offers all that He is and all that He has to reconcile the guilty offending parties to Himself, the offended.

Some fail to see the unity of the Trinity not only in having anger against sin, but also having a participation in the costly measures of redemption.  They mistakenly see Jesus as victim rather than a willing Savior who chooses to lay down His life for those whom He loved. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”  (John 10:30). The Father is offended by sin and so is the Son. Not only do we read of the wrath of God against sin (Romans 1:18), but we read of “the wrath of the Lamb” in the book of Revelation (Rev 6:16). We also read of the Spirit being grieved by sin (Eph 4:30) and participating in Jesus’ offering of Himself to the redemptive mission (Hebrew 9:14). The Father is a participant in the redemptive work of Christ, for “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” (2 Cor 5:19).  Jesus said, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me” (See John 14:10).  And Jesus’ love is described in Paul’s letter to the Romans and only makes sense if Jesus Himself is God:  

^“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Although Jesus’ sacrifice puts an end to animal sacrifices being offered, reference to the blood does not disappear at the cross. Jesus’ death on the cross was not just a way to eliminate sacrifices. We are to be continually reminded of the value of Jesus’ ransom price on the cross when we break bread and drink from the cup with our brothers and sisters at the Lord’s Table. Reference to the blood of the Lamb continues throughout the New Testament into the last Book of the Bible. In the book of Revelation Jesus is referred to as The Lamb of God thirty times!

NEW TESTAMENT READING:  Matthew 20:29-21:22

Here the mother of James and John makes a request that her boys be given positions of honor in Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus’ reply silences self-seeking: “Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” I marvel at the wisdom of this answer that excludes ‘self’ and champions ‘servanthood’ as the way of the Master.

“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to  give His life a ransom for many.

The healing of the blind men remind us to make our requests know to God. The crowd did all they could to stop these blind men calling out to the Lord. But their faith was not deterred, “they cried out all the more” (Matt 20:31)

THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

Jesus came into Jerusalem on the 10^th day of Nisan, four days before the Passover. On this day (according to yesterday’s Old Testament reading, Exodus 12:3) the fathers from each household were to search for a lamb without blemish among the flocks outside the city gates and bring him into the city. There the lamb would be scrutinized by the elders to see if any spot, fault or defect was to be found. The elders would scrutinize Jesus and try to trap him with their questions. They would see if they could find any fault in Him.  At the time when leaven was being cleansed from the households of Israel in preparation for the Passover (Exodus 12:15)  Jesus was cleansing the temple from the leaven of the money-changers.

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

What Do You Mean, "Oh My Goodness?"

REFLECTIONS ON THE READINGS FROM THE ONE YEAR BIBLE

JAN 29 2011 

Exodus 8:1-9:35 ~ Matthew 19:13-30 ~ Psalm 24:1-10 ~ Proverbs 6:1-5

Matthew 19:13-30

WHAT DO YOU MEAN “OH MY GOODNESS”?

Each of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) give the account of the rich young ruler who professed a desire to follow Jesus.  He represents all that most people would love to be: RICH, YOUNG and one who had influence with others, a RULER.

But there was something lacking. He knew he needed eternal life. But how to obtain it? 

“What good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” he asks.

Jesus answers the question with another question that will reveal the presuppositions of the questioner.

“Why are you asking Me about what is good?”

This is often the method of the Lord. He knows that we have certain presuppositions, some true and some false.  It is important to have these presuppositions examined.

Someone asked Ravi Zacharias the question whether a certain sexual practice was right or wrong.

He responded, “Do you believe there is a difference?”

Here Jesus exposes the false assumption of the rich, young ruler. It is one that many hold today- that mankind is basically good and that good behavior is the result of good decisions based upon  good thinking from a good heart. We are all basically good guys.

Jesus contradicts this assumption, saying, “There is only One who is good.”

Jesus attacks a basic presupposition of the Enlightenment philosophers. He also challenges the assumption that eternal life can be earned.

Instead Jesus affirms the fact that man was made in God’s image, to be a mirror of God’s nature. A mirror is not the origin of the image.  It is not the source of the beauty it reflects. The quality of the mirror is quite different from the quality found in the origin of the image it reflects.  The origin of the image humankind is designed to reflect is God Himself, the only One who is good. The goodness of the mirror is determined by its ability to reflect an image clearly.  If a beautiful or handsome face is reflected in a mirror we don’t compliment the mirror as being beautiful or handsome.  A good mirror is one that is in good condition and in a right position in relationship with the source it is to reflect. It is clean and unbroken. And if it is so, no inherent goodness will be noticed in the mirror, only the source image which it reflects.  Mirrors that bring attention to themselves are those that are dirty, cracked or distorted.

Then Jesus rephrases his original question to reflect what he perceives as being the real question behind the question. Jesus says is not a matter of “obtaining life” but “entering into life”. 

What does that require?

Keeping the commandments.

The rich young ruler asks, “Which ones?”

Jesus quotes a few of the commandments that the rich, young ruler would be familiar with. He carefully omits one of the ten commandments that proves that he has been and continues to be, a law breaker. For all have sinned. 

The rich, young ruler’s self-justification blinds him. He sincerely sees himself as a keeper of the law.

“What am I lacking?”  he asks.

His question reminds me of the self-deluded and self-absorbed prince in the film, “Enchanted” when he is asked the question, “Do you like yourself?” 

“What’s not to like?” he glibly explains.

Jesus responds to the young man with a little ‘reality check’. The commandments are given to show that we are broken mirrors.  Of the ten commandments, Jesus must have deliberately withheld ‘thou shall not covet’ in order to zero in on what truly gripped the ruler’s affections.

Matthew 19:21-22 (NASB) ²¹ Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." ²² But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

Jesus clarifies in this episode that entrance “into the kingdom of heaven” or, “entering into eternal life” is impossible for those who are looking to anyone other than the One who is good for their justification.

Matthew 19:25-26 (NASB) ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?" ²⁶ And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

With people, entrance into life is IMPOSSIBLE. Salvation is casting all hope and trust upon God. He is the source of all goodness and only through His Son’s perfect living as the “express image of God” and His atoning death on the cross, can he be both JUST and the JUSTIFIER of the ungodly.

What is impossible with men is made possible with God. The apostle Paul clarifies in his Epistle to the Romans:

Romans 3:20-26 (NASB) ²⁰ …by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. ²¹ But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶ for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

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

EGYPT IS PLAGUED FROM ABOVE

January 28, 2011- TODAY’S READINGS FROM THE ONE YEAR BIBLE:

Exodus 5:22-7:25 ~ Matthew 18:21-19:12 ~ Psalm 23:1-6 ~ Proverbs 5:22-23

Egypt is in our world news today.  The Egyptian government shut down the internet and disrupted cell phone service to hamper protestors from organizing mass rallies. Thousands of Egyptians were clashing with police in Cairo and Alexandria as the country is experiencing a week of tension and trauma.

Egypt also features in today’s headlines from our daily readings from the One Year Bible.  

• ·         Moses and Aaron return to Pharaoh: Aaron’s Rod- Turned- Snake Devours the Competition (Exodus 7:8-12) .

• ·         Moses warns Pharaoh of Danger to Nation’s Water Supply (Exodus 7:14-18)
• 
  
• ·         Israeli-Egyptian Negotiations Break Down; Pharaoh Ignores Warning;  Nation’s Water Supply Turns to Blood (Exodus 7:20-21)
• 
  
• ·         Egypt Cannot Work the Magic to Reverse The Curse. Efforts of Court Officials Only Increase Contamination (Exodus 7:22)
• 
  
• ·         Pharaoh Refuses Israelite Demands (Exodus 7:22-23)

A genealogy is inserted in the narrative of the Exodus story (Exodus 7:13-26) to remind readers that the events that follow, as incredible as they may seem, are rooted in history. They involved real people.

The series of events that follow make up a defining moment in the history of Israel that would be commemorated through the centuries in the Celebration of the Passover. The events are divinely designed to be unforgettable.  And yet the human heart so easily forgets the deliverances that God provides.

The nature of the human heart is to forget the unforgettable. For this reason the events of the first exodus were to be commemorated annually by the Jewish people in the Feast of Passover, lest they forget what their God had done to make them a free people. The unforgettable events of the Greater Exodus (the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth to provide our exodus from our bondage to sin, death and Satan) are to be commemorated regularly by believers from all nations.  in the ordinance that Jesus gave His disciples, a meal of Thanksgiving in which His self-sacrifice for our salvation is remembered in our partaking of one loaf of bread with other believers, and His shed blood for the remission of our sins remembered through drinking the cup. May we never forget what God has done to purchase our freedom!

The ten plagues inflicted by the hand of God will also bring to light the hand and heart of Pharaoh. As in Moses’ demonstration of the leprous hand, Pharaoh’s hand will stubbornly refuse Moses’ demands and resist God’s will because, like all human hearts, it is infected with the sins of pride and unbelief.  Only the power of God can bring the cure.

What does the Bible tell us about the purpose of the plagues?

1. They are a public manifestation of the Supremacy and the Authority of Yahweh’s Sovereign Power. Even the Egyptian magicians concede that “This is the finger of God.” (Exodus 8:19).  Later in the Book of Exodus, the Lord delivers Moses two tables of stone written by “the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18; Deut. 9:10). Jesus says that He casts out demons “by the finger of God” (Luke 11:20). He also writes in the ground with his finger when the Pharisees bring before Him the woman caught in adultery to see if He would condemn her.  His act of writing in the ground reflects that He is the author of the Law, that His is the finger of God.

In Exodus 18 we learn that the plagues convinced Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, and a priest of Midian, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and now Moses, was above all powers:

Exodus 18:10-12 (NASB)
¹⁰ So Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people."

2. The plagues were a warning and a judgment upon Pharaoh to bring conviction of sin and provoke repentance.  For a moment this proves effective. After the plague of locusts, Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and says, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.” (Exodus 10:16) But Pharaoh’s heart was again hardened.

3. We also see how the plagues were an exposé of the false gods of Egypt and a judgment upon them. (Numbers 33:4)

	HAPI- THE GOD OF THE NILE could not prevent the water supply from turning to blood. We are to worship the One True God, Creator of heaven and earth and not created things. No created thing is to have power over you. If it does, you have fallen into idolatry. Nature is appreciated, but never worshiped.
	HEQT- THE GODDESS OF FERTILITY is pictured with the head of a frog.  Fruitfulness and family are gifts from God, but never to be given the devotion that is due God alone.
	GEB- THE GOD OF THE EARTH.  The Lord turned the dust of the earth to gnats.
	KHEPRI- THE GOD OF CREATION had the head of a fly.  Quite miraculously, not a fly appeared in Goshen where the Jews lived. There is One Creator God. He will not share His glory with another.
	HATHOR- is often pictured with the head of a cow. Hathor could not protect the livestock of Egypt from dying. APIS, the bull, is another Egyptian deity who proved to be powerless when put to the test.
	ISIS- THE GODDESS OF MEDICINE.  She could not prevent the Egyptians from suffering from the plague of boils.
	NUT- THE GODDESS OF THE SKY could not prevent the devastating hail storm, nor could RESHPU- the GOD of THUNDER.
	AMON-RA- THE SUN GOD.   Normally light casts out darkness unless it is a false light.  Amon-Ra could not prevent darkness from covering the earth.  Beware of false light. Jesus said, “If the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness”. THE ONE TRUE GOD is THE TRUE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
	PHARAOH- The Egyptians worshiped their Pharaoh. Pharaoh is Egypt and Egypt is Pharaoh. This celebrity status of divinity would not go unchallenged by THE ONE TRUE CREATOR GOD. The last plague would affect the firstborn of Egypt, even Pharaoh’s son. The angel of death would strike. This time God’s people could not trust that living in the right neighborhood would save them. No religion, association or claim of heritage could save them. Only the blood of the Lamb applied by faith would cause the angel of death to pass over (Exodus 12).

Paul Johnson in his book, “The History of the Jews” writes: “The stories of the plagues of Egypt, and other wonders and miracles which preceded the Israelite break-out, have so dominated our reading of Exodus that we sometimes lose sight of the physical fact of the successful revolt and escape of a slave –people, the only one recorded in antiquity.”

NEW TESTAMENT READING- MATTHEW 18:21- 19:12

Jesus illustrates the imperative to forgive instantly and completely with an unforgettable story of a man who was completely forgiven and released from a million dollar debt, but in turn, found someone who owed him a paltry sum by comparison. He mercilessly seizes him, chokes him and demands that he be paid immediately. When others hear of this, he is brought back to his lord to whom he was originally indebted and tortured until he pays back all that is owed. Jesus concludes, “My heavenly father will do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart.”

How are we at releasing forgiveness towards others? Are we mindful of how merciful God has been to forgive us?  Have we forgotten how much our Savior suffered that we might be forgiven of our debt to God’s holy law?  Be radical, instant and total in your forgiveness.

DIVORCE AND MARRIAGE

Matthew 19 brings us to the subject of divorce and marriage.  Remember John the Baptist had been very outspoken on this subject, especially in relationship to Herod’s divorce and remarriage. Herod had him jailed for this and eventually John was beheaded.  The Pharisees were hoping Jesus would slip up and be similarly removed from the scene.

There was a debate among two popular schools of Rabbinical thought on the interpretation of the phrase “some indecency” in the divorce provision in the Law (Deuteronomy 24:1). The rabbi Hillel had the more liberal view that “some indecency” could include a trivial annoyance like burning the toast while the school of Shammai interpreted “some indecency” as something as serious as adultery.

So the Pharisees ask whether Jesus sides with the liberal view of the school of Hillel, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all”

Notice that Jesus does not fall into the trap of identifying himself as a follower of Hillel or Shammai. His reference point is not popular theologians but the Word of God. He appeals to Genesis.

“Haven’t you read?” he asks. (Aren’t you glad you are reading? And have just read the book He referred to?)  Jesus never quotes his contemporary theologians. Instead He appeals to the authority of inspired Scripture itself, the book of Genesis. He declares “that from the beginning, the Creator ‘made them male and female’”. He defines marriage as a being in the eyes of the Creator, a heterosexual union of man and woman as husband and wife; an exclusive, permanent, indissoluble one-flesh union. He concludes that they are no longer two, but one.

How wonderful it would be if husbands and wives would be renewed in their understanding of how their marriages are seen of God!

Jesus does not discount the provision of divorce in the law. But neither does he recommend it. If we are alive to God and our hearts are not hardened by sin, with God’s help, we will seek to preserve and protect what He has joined together and originally intended to stay together.

READING FROM THE PSALMS: PSALM 23

What can we say?  Psalm 22 is the Psalm quoted most often in the New Testament, but Psalm 23 is probably most often quoted in conversation. It is worth committing to memory for regular meditation. It will help guard your heart from covetousness, anxiety and discontent.

A Staff Turned To A Serpent; A Hand Turned Leprous; Water Turned to Blood; And What Can Make Us Whole Again

Please be praying for our Annual New Life Elders Retreat that begins tomorrow in Maine.

We’ve been busy today but I thought I would quickly type out some notes on today’s readings before the day is over!

JAN 27- TODAY’S READINGS IN THE ONE YEAR BIBLE

Exodus 4:1-5:21 ~ Matthew 18:1-20 ~ Psalm 22:19-31 ~ Proverbs 5:15-21

HEADLINES:

· God displays His authority with three mysterious signs (Exodus 4:3)

The Shepherd Rod Turns Into a Serpent and then is Restored.
A hand is turned leprous and then is Restored.
The Water of the Nile is Turned to Blood. What do these signs mean?

· The Wrath of God turns on Moses and threatens Him with Death

· Jesus Answers the Big Question: Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?

The Bible is the best commentary on the Bible. As we read of Moses’ first encounter with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as recorded in the Book of Exodus Chapters 3 and 4, we have the advantage of learning more in the New Testament. Jesus has another dialogue with Moses about the Exodus on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Luke 9:30-31 (NIV)
³⁰ Two men, Moses and Elijah, ³¹ appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure (Greek word ‘exodus’), which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

There is a first and second exodus in the Bible. As we read of the first in the Book of Exodus, we can see how it prefigures the second, recorded in the New Testament. As Jesus said, “Moses wrote of me” (John 5:46; Luke 24:44).

The first exodus is one in which God delivers His chosen people, Israel, from the oppressive rule of Pharaoh who has held them in slavish bondage in a country far from what had been promised to them in the covenant made with Abraham. He does this through the Mediator, Moses.

The second exodus is one in which God delivers those from every people group on the planet from the rule of Satan (2 Cor 4:4; 1 John 5:19; Col 1:13) and their bondage to sin and death. He brings them into the eternal fellowship promised in the new covenant through the one true Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 12:24).

So what do we learn of the gospel from this introductory dialogue in Exodus 4?

Moses’ attention is grabbed by the manifestation of God’s glory in the ordinary desert bush that is set ablaze, yet not consumed. When the Lord sees Moses draw near, He makes Himself known. The God of glory who made Himself known to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is now making Himself known to Moses. He draws him with the light of His glory. He reveals His Name, as the Great I AM. He makes His promise to Moses to bring the Israelites out of the affliction of Egypt and deliver His people to the promised land of Canaan (Ex. 3:17). He verbally commissions Moses to go before Pharaoh with His command to let His people go. He also promises that ultimately Moses’ voice will be listened to, although Pharaoh’s heart is hard.

Moses clearly feels inadequate to the task. Although the Lord promised that He Himself would deliver His people and cause Moses’ voice to be heard, Moses makes excuses as to why the mission will fail. He sees himself as a liability to the plan. He feels that he will lack any credibility before his own people much less the Egyptians. How will anyone know that the Lord has truly appeared to him?

“What is that in your hand?” the Lord asks Moses.

“A staff,” Moses replies. It’s an ordinary shepherd's staff. It is the same Hebrew word that is translated ‘sceptre’ in Psalm 110:2; “The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies.” It is a symbol of authority, the delegated authority and responsibility to rule over the enemy. The shepherd is appointed to care for, lead, and deliver the flock from its enemies.

“Throw it on the ground.” The Lord says.

Moses obediently complies in submission to the Word of God.

The rod becomes a serpent. Moses runs from it. But the Lord commands Moses to take it by the tail. When he does this the serpent becomes a staff in his hand once again.

The meaning of the first sign has significance for Moses, the Israelites, the Egyptians and for all of us.

First, the sign has significance for Moses. He is to cast down his own right to rule and submit to the rule of God. He is no longer a humanly appointed authority, tending sheep for his father-in-law Jethro. He is appointed by God and God will substantiate that fact with the signs that He gives. The rod will turn to a fearsome serpent. But Moses is not to cower before the serpent but to take the serpent by the tail, assured that God will not allow him to be bitten by the head. (It is interesting to see how the Egyptian headdress for the Pharaoh has a cobra-like headpiece. The Uraeus was a cobra in upright position worn as a symbol of his authority.) Not only would this encourage Moses that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had greater authority than Pharaoh, but also the gods of Egypt. We are reminded of Jesus’ words:

“ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19)

The sign also has significance for the people of Israel. It establishes the fact that the Lord did appear to Moses. Their forefathers had come to Egypt in a highly favored position. The staff, representing the right to rule, had been placed in Joseph’s hands, when he was made prime minister of Egypt. God upheld that rule for the salvation of His people from famine. After the death of Joseph, the rule was thrown down and passed into the hands of the Pharaohs of Egypt who would oppress, humiliate, and rule over them. This sign of the serpent being turned back to the rod indicated that the time had now arrived for the reestablishment of the covenant promise of the rule of God in their midst and deliverance from their enemies.

A greater prophetic meaning is seen in the light of what we have already learned as we have been reading the Scripture from the beginning. In the Book of Genesis we see how mankind, created in the image of God, had been given the delegated authority to rule over the earth (Gen 1:26). That rule was thrown down at the fall through the mankind’s disobedience to God and faith in the serpent, whom the Bible identifies as the Devil or Satan, (Gen 3:1-14, Revelation 12:9). Jesus said that he was a liar and murderer from the beginning (John 8:44).

God promises deliverance from the curse through the seed of the woman who would “crush the head” of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). (This is an oriental expression meaning ‘to depose the rule’). Jesus, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, lays aside His right to rule and becomes a man, born under the law to fulfill the law on our behalf. He does this by His righteous living and His substitutionary dying. On the cross, Jesus, who never sinned, becomes a representation of sin (2 Cor 5:21). He takes the wrath of God against sin upon Himself, becoming a curse on a tree. He becomes the antitype of the brazen serpent that Moses makes to deliver his people from the curse of the snake bites in Numbers 21:6-9.

Jesus said, “ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-16).

By faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work of redemption on the cross (illustrated by our taking the serpent by the tail, knowing that the head has been crushed by the Lord Jesus) we are delivered from the world (Egypt) the ruler of the world (Satan- Col 1:13), the hard taskmasters of sin, and our bondage to fear of sin’s penalty – death.

Hebrews 2:14-15 (NIV)
¹⁴ Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

The Bible tells us that we are helpless before the god of this world (Pharaoh) and taken captive by him at his will (2 Tim 2:26). Because of sin we are under the sentence of death. Our greater Moses, Jesus, as the Mediator of a new covenant, has released us from the power of sin, death and fear, thereby overcoming the power of the devil.

The second sign also has great significance. Moses is told to put his hand beneath his cloak and over his heart. When he takes it out it becomes leprous. When he does this a second time, it emerges restored to its original condition.

Leprosy is a type of sin in the Bible (Leviticus 13:2- 14:57). Sin is insidious. It starts with what looks like a harmless spot. Then it spreads rapidly and destroys our sensitivity. It kills the members of the body. It is contagious. It separates us from others. It separates us from God and makes us unclean in God’s sight.

In this case, when the hand is put beneath the cloak and over the heart, when Moses withdraws it, his hand becomes leprous. The hand that serves, representing our human instrumentality, will manifest the corruption that is in the heart.

When Moses repeats the action, the leprous hand is restored. We can see how the action performed twice reflects the first man, Adam, and the second man, Christ; the revelation of sin under the first covenant (the Law) and the revelation of righteousness as a gift under the new covenant (God’s grace).

The first instance of introducing the human hand over the human heart represents the corruption of Adam’s sin. That sin would become manifested in an obvious way as Moses would be the means of bringing this to light through the law.

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned- for until the Law (represented by Moses) sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there is not law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses.” (Romans 5:12-14a)

There is a repeat of the action of the human hand going over the human heart. This speaks of the healing and cleansing that God will bring through the gift of righteousness offered in the new covenant.

“…much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. (Romans 5:15b)

The Book of Exodus is about deliverance. It is about the work of redemption. Redemption would come through Christ Jesus, the Rod of God (Ps. 110:2) becoming a sinless substitute identifying with the corruption brought in through the serpent. He is taken up again not only to restore us to the rule of God but to cleanse us.

Grace, grace, God’s grace
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within
Grace, grace, God’s grace
Grace that is greater than all my sin.

What God would do through Moses in Egypt would test and reveal what is in the heart.

The third sign was that of water from the Nile being poured out on the ground and turning to blood. This would be a sign of the judgment that was to come. The Nile was Egypt’s life. It brought the blessing of refreshment and fruitfulness to the land. Egypt’s health depended on the health of the Nile. But that ‘life-giving blessing’ would be turned into a scourge of death if His Word is not heeded.

Even after theses signs are given, do you notice how Moses continues with his excuse making? Do we do the same? Let us be careful to recognize the fact that God made the mouth. He made you. He would not call you to do something if He were not committed to doing it through you.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NIV)
²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

What about the incident where the Lord wants to kill Moses for not circumcising his son?

This incident reminds us that God is holy. He was calling Moses to fulfill the covenant promise given to Abraham by bringing His descendants into the promised land. Yet the very sign of that covenant was circumcision (Genesis 17:10-14) and Moses had neglected his responsibility to implement that rite in his own family. This is a great reminder that as those appointed to lead others, we need to practice what we preach.

Moses learned that God is to be feared more than Pharaoh and we are not to excuse ourselves from obedience to His Word.

NEW TESTAMENT READING: MATTHEW 18:1-20

In Matthew 18 we see the importance of humility and the horror of sin or causing others to sin.

When asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” the disciples are wondering which one of them would be honored. Imagine their surprise when Jesus passes by them and calls a child to stand among them!

“Before honor comes humility” (Prov 15:33; 18:12). And for the human heart to be humble requires conversion.

Matthew 18:3 (NIV) ³ And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Lord Jesus then speaks about the severe danger of causing others to stumble or be led astray by our words, or poor examples.

Jesus also speaks of our removing from our lives what makes us stumble or could cause others to stumble. Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus used the example:

Matthew 5:29-30 (NIV) ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Now He says:

Matthew 18:8-9 (NIV) ⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Jesus warns those who would follow Him of the dangers of hell. We need to be aware of God’s provisions for the judgment of sin. There are only two provisions for the judgment of sin in the Bible: the blood of Jesus and hell.

The fires of hell do not ultimately satisfy the justice of God. This is why hell’s fire is eternal. If God’s justice could be satisfied with the punishment of hellfire, it would not last forever. Only the blood of Jesus truly satisfies God’s justice.

If we truly realize the adequacy of God’s gracious provision in which He punished our sin two thousand years ago when His holy Son Jesus bore the full wrath of God against sin for us on the cross, we will want to walk humbly before the Lord and remove all cause for stumbling in our lives, and anything that might make people turn away from the provision found in the person and work of our Savior.

What can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus,

PASTOR DAVID