Christ in all the scriptures Preparing for war

 Christ in all the scriptures

Preparing for war  Numbers chapter 1

"Take ye the sum of all the congregation of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; from twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel, thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies"-Numbers 1v2-3.

A whole year and one month has passed, since they left Egypt.  They have learned to walk with the Lord (accepting His laws and commandments and statutes (Exodus).  They have been instructed in the worship of the Lord (Leviticus).  Now they are introduced to a new phase of the life of faith, that of warfare with the Lord (Numbers).  God's redeemed people are to journey through foreign lands, to enter the promised land, and they will encounter hostilities.    Here God establishes that they must be ready, whatever comes.  Indeed, these three aspects of the life of faith, (walk, worship, and warfare) are prominent in the letter to Ephesians to the Church.  

Worship  Chapter 1v6 "..to the praise of the glory of His grace"; 1v12"...that we should be to the praise of His glory"; 1v14 "...unto the praise of His glory"; 3v21 "unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end.  Amen".

Walk  Chapter 4v1 "...that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called"; 4v17 "...that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind"; 5v2 "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us..."; 5v8 "...walk as children of light"; 5v15 "...walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil".

Warfare  Chapter 6v10-17 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil...take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the (spoken) word of God.

These three cardinal exercises sum up the lives of all who are in association with God.  Our Lord Jesus Christ is said to be "...the captain of our salvation, bringing many sons to glory..."-Hebrews 2v10.  We are on a journey to our eternal home, in the meantime we are in a hostile environment and we must be prepared.  The scripture speaks in military terms to describe the spiritual warfare of the people of God.  We are not of this world, we are strangers here, and some will be peacable toward us, others not.  This was the lot of Israel; it is also the lot of the Church.

Those of faith in Christ, today, must adopt a militant mentality, when faced with evil, as we will be.  God is a man of war (Exodus 15v3), and He opposes evil.  There are many sources of opposition to trouble the faithful, principal among them the following:

Evil from the world around us   Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation; be of good cheer, I have overcome the world"-John 16v33; If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.  If ye were of the world the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world..."-John 15v18-19; it was the "Princes of this world that crucified the Lord of glory"-wrote Paul in 1st Corinthians 2v8; his attitude to the world is in Galatians 6v14 "God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world".  The world system is evil and is hostile to the believer, and while we live in it we should not fraternise with it, and, if need be, oppose it.

Evil from within ourselves  Listen to the language of Peter, "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which WAR AGAINST THE SOUL"-1st Peter 2v11.  Evil resides within us this side of the glory, and there is a battle to be fought there.  Paul wrote in Galatians 5v16-21, "This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one too the other...and they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections thereof".  We cannot be complacent, we must meet head on the enemy within passed on from Adam.  

Evil from above from the demonic empire in the stratosphere  Demon spirits who rule the air (including the airwaves) are the avowed enemy of believers.  This reality is expressed by Paul in Ephesians 6v12, "For we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickednesses in high places".  Peter also says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world"-1st Peter 5v8-9.

From all around us, from within us, from above us, there are enemies seeking our downfall.  It is true with us, it was true with Israel under Moses.  The truth of God in this world is too precious, and must be preserved in the face of opposition.  Also the people of God must be protected.  The language of the New Testament indicates we are in a war situation, spiritually speaking.

Jesus advised His disciples, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation"-Matt. 26v41. Paul appealed to Timothy to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ, by enduring hardness-2nd Timothy 2v3.  The word translated "kept" in the New Testament carries the thought of "kept as by a military garrison".  Examples are: 1st Peter 1v5, "Who are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time".  "Holy Father, keep  through thine own name those whom thou hast given me...While I was with them in the world I kept them in thy name...keep them from the evil.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world"-John 17v11-16.  "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day"-2nd Timothy 1v12.   Believers are asked to keep things that are important to God, with a determination to preserve what is of value to Him.

Ephesians 4v2, "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace"; 1st Timothy 5v22, "Keep thyself pure..."-this in the context of separating from leaders who persist in sin; 1st Timothy 6v20, "O, Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust; 1st John 2v5, "But whoso keepeth His word, in Him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby we know that we are in Him"; 2nd Timothy 4v7, Paul said "I have kept the faith"; Jude wrote 1v3, "...earnestly contend for the faith that was once (for all) delivered unto the saints".

All of these have military connotations, and, in this world where we are strangers, we are to contend without being contentious.  Peter adds to it saying in 1st Peter 4v1, "For as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind". 

Like Israel of old we are on a journey.  It could be long or short, smooth or rough.  The end is certain, and God will preserve us, but He wants us prepared for whatever comes.

Christ in all the scriptures A Prophet like unto Moses

 Christ in all the scriptures

A Prophet like unto Moses

Jesus gave us the key to the understanding of scriptures in John 5v39, when He corrected the error of the Jews, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me".  He expands this in Luke 24 by including all three sections of Old Testament revelation, referring to the writings of Moses, and the Psalms and the Prophets as "the things concerning Himself"-Luke 24v27v44.  Therefore the best understanding of scripture is that which reveals Him.  This is the whole purpose of these studies. 

In the book of Numbers we have already considered Christ as the Rock of Israel.  Now we can think of Him as the Prophet like unto Moses.  Deuteronomy 18v15 says, "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me: unto Him shalt thou hearken".  The New Testament confirms that he was referring to Jesus.  There was a long expectation that "the Prophet" would come who would deliver them from the oppression of Rome.  They thought John the Baptist was the one, but he denied it-John 1v21 and 1v25.  Philip, in 1v45 seems to say Jesus is the one, "Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write".  Jesus, Himself said in John 5v46, "Moses wrote of me"; in John 7v40 many of the people were persuaded that Jesus was the Prophet.  Peter, in Acts 3v22-26 identified the Prophet as Jesus.  This is confirmed in the sermon by Stephen before the Sanhedrim in Acts 7v37-55.  As we read through this amazing record of Israel's wanderings, we shall encounter many similarities between the man Moses, and the incarnate Christ.  A cursory reading of the book reveals the overriding similarity, which is that they both spoke the words of God.  No less than 45 times do we read "The Lord spake unto Moses...", (or similar), and Moses transmitted His words to the people.  Moses was the great communicator of God in Old Testament times-Exodus 24v3-4, "And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments...and Moses wrote all the words of the Lord...".   Exodus 33v11, "And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to His friend".   This means that all the instructions that Moses gave to Israel in the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy find their fulfilment in Jesus who communicates God to the Church today.

There is, of course, a vast difference between Moses and Christ but the principle remains the same.  Jesus is the ultimate communicator of God to men:

"The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him-John 1v18

"He that hath received His testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.  For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him"-John 3v33-34.

"I have given them the words which thou gavest me"-John 17v8

"If any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness£-1st Timothy 6v3.

We have established that Moses, therefore is a type of Christ, and his commandments to Israel find a greater fulfilment in Christ.  The commandments laid down reflect the will of God for His redeemed people..  Using this as a guide we shall find many fruitful lessons for our spiritual lives today. 

Christ in all the scriptures The Rock that followed them

 Christ in all the scriptures

The Rock that followed them  Numbers chapters 1-36

"Moreover brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ"-1st Corinthians 10v1-4.

The book of Numbers is the record of the journeyings of the children of Israel, following their release from bondage in Egypt.  A journey that should have taken only eleven days (Deuteronomy 1v2-3) took almost 40 years because they were slow to learn the ways of the Lord.  How true to life that is for most of us, that it takes a long time from our conversion till we commit ourselves fully to the Lord.  The book of Numbers proclaims the patient longsuffering of the Lord.

This fits in perfectly with the Pentateuch teaching of the five books of Moses.  Scripture is most profitable when we study it as a revelation of God Himself, and these first five books have a specific revelation of the character of God.

Genesis the Sovereignty of God; Exodus  the Power of God; Leviticus  the Holiness of God; Numbers  the Patience of God; Deuteronomy  the Love of God. 

Each of these wonderful attributes of God are developed throughout the books.

They journeyed from Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea on the borders of the promised land: at Kadesh-Barnea they were turned back to the wilderness of Paran; from Paran they moved to Moab where they learned so much, and from Moab they entered the promised land.  Numbers chapter 33 makes very interesting reading and details all their journeys before they entered Jericho.  Every move was a massive effort, as the people without a land lived a pilgrim type life.  It is a story of the failure of men and the faithfulness of God.  Over the best part of 40 years they wandered from place to place.  God fed them in wilderness conditions, a company of over 2 million people.  They were never abandoned, though oftentimes they were severely chastised.  The lovely comment of Paul, cited above, that they drank of the Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ!  He was with them all the wilderness journey and supplied their every need.  There is an astonishing statement in Psalm 78v15-16, "He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.  He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers".  Imagine it if you will, all through a wilderness God gushed fresh water from the rock.  Paul applies that to us today spiritually.  What water is to people's bodies, Christ is to our souls, and He follows us all the way.  Spiritually, this world is a wilderness to the Christian today, and only the constant supply from above will satisfy us.  Manna from heaven, and water from the Rock, this is the spiritual diet for all the redeemed who have come through the waters of baptism unto Christ.  He was the Rock that followed them, and He is the Rock that is by us through life.

It is a very touching thing that our Lord, in His incarnation, experienced every aspect of Israel's trials, and the same for us His believing people today.  This aspect is stated in Hebrews 4v15 and 2v17-18, "Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren...for in that He himself suffered being tempted (tested); He was in all points tested like as we are, yet sin apart".  And so we read in Matthew 2v15, He was called out of Egypt.  Matthew quotes from Hosea 11v1, which refers to Israel, but Matthew, through the Holy Spirit, applies it to Christ.  What this means is that all the prophecies concerning Israel are fulfilled in Christ.  In Matthew 4 and Luke 3, He was tested in the wilderness, during 40 days, just as they were tested 40 years.   Israel is a small rejected country, surrounded by many enemies, yet are destined to rule the world of nations.  Likewise Christ is despised and rejected by men, but He will rule the world in righteousness.  He experienced poverty, and hunger, and thirst, and weariness, and sorrow, and rejection, and persecution, all things which are the lot of humanity in this world.  Redeemed Israel murmured against Him, they disobeyed Him, they mocked Him, yet He followed them and supplied them through all their journey.  He was with them at Sinai, at Kadesh, in the wilderness of Paran. in Moab, and on into Jericho and the Promised Land.  This is the story of the book of Numbers, He was the Rock that followed them, and supplied their every need.  To bring them streams of fresh water in the desert, God had to "clave the rock" Psalm 78v15.  This points to Calvary, where Christ was crucified for the life of the world.  Remember it was "in the cleft of the Rock" that Moses beheld the glory of God pass by (Exodus 33v21-23).

Well might we  sing, "Rock of ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee...".

He is our Rock (Psalm 18v2), we can depend on Him.  Can He depend on us??  

EASTER MESSAGE

 EASTER MESSAGE

The wonder of the resurrection of Christ

Today, Sunday 20th April 2025, is a worldwide celebration of the resurrection of Christ.  We cannot be sure it is the exact date, but we can be sure about the reality of the great event.

The resurrection declares Him to be the Son of God with power  Romans 1v4.  He came in a human body, subjecting Himself to bodily limitations, and even more to the cruel whims of godless men.  "For though He was crucified through weakness, yet now He liveth by the power of God"-2nd Corinthians 13v4.  For the sake of our salvation He allowed men to mock Him, abuse Him, torture Him, kill Him.  Now, in the same body, glorified in heaven, He is the Son of God with power, no more humiliation, as Paul wrote, "He is the head of every principality and power".  All His adversaries will become the footstool of His feet.

The resurrection guarantees the justification of every believer  Romans 4v25 "He was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification".   God ratified His work on the cross to remove our offences by raising Him from the dead.  He presented His work before the supreme judicial throne, and God accepted it enabling all who believe to be justified.  All who believe are justified from all things, from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses

The resurrection proclaims Christ's victory over sin and its consequences  Romans 6v9 "...knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him".  He had no sin of His own, but became sin for us.  "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death"-1st Corinthians 15v26.

The resurrection guarantees that the bodies of all believers will be raised from the dead-Romans 8v11 "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you".  No longer mortal, no longer sinful, raised, changed, and glorified just as He was raised in glory.

The resurrection guarantees every believer an eternal inheritance- 1st Peter 1v3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you".

The resurrection of Christ is fundamental to the preaching of the gospel  1st Corinthians 15v1-4.  Paul goes on to shew the futility of life without the resurrection of Christ.  It means we are all doomed without hope, that the apostles are liars, that all preaching is vain-refer verses12-19, and all believers are "of all men to be pitied".  He concludes, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.  The faith of all believers will be ratified, their sins are forgiven, their bodies raised and glorified, and the apostles preached the good news to the world!

ON A MORE SOLEMN NOTE 

The resurrection of Christ assures all men that God will judge the world in righteousness  Acts 17v31 "He hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance to all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead".

Christ in all the scriptures Devotions

Christ in all the scriptures

Singular vows in devotions to the Lord  Leviticus 27

This closing chapter of Leviticus is intriguing and introduces another dimension to the wonder of our God.  In chapter 26, the issue was statutes, laws, judgments, commandments.  These were mandatory, the observance of which brought blessing, and the disregard brought cursing.  Now in chapter 27 the issue is vows of devotion to the Lord, and these are voluntary: they are gifts to the Lord beyond His commandments in gratitude to His goodness.  A look at the New Testament reveals that Paul differentiated between what was mandatory, and what was expedient in his letter to the Corinthians (refer chapter 7 and 14 particularly)  In1st Timothy 2, he divides the chapter into two sections-v1-7 "I exhort therefore..."; and v8-15 "I will therefore...".  The first appeal was exhortatory in light of Divine grace to the world; the second was mandatory using apostolic authority.  There are things we must do, there are other things we could do in light of the goodness of God.  The God of majestic holiness demands our obedience, but He also deserves our offerings.

At the heart of this intriguing chapter is the fact that all our possessions are His; that "He made the world and all things therein", and anything we give to Him is of what He gave us. The chapter begins "When a man will make a singular vow..."-v2.  The Hebrew word pala means wonderful, or marvellous, something hard to do, something extraordinary, or beyond the call of duty-refer Genesis 18v14 (hard); Exodus 3v20 (wonders); Exodus 34v10 (marvels).  How gracious of the Lord to describe anything we give to Him as wonderful, but this is the meaning throughout the chapter.  He speaks about devoting persons (v2-8), animals (v9-13), houses v14-15), inheritance (v16-21), land (v22-25).  A reading of the chapter reveals He does not necessarily mean the giving of all these, but He puts a monetary value by which they would be deemed to have given the gifts as stated.  He gives some regulations regarding all these, for these are gifts to the LORD, and there should be due reverence.  That which is given to the Lord, is called "a devoted thing", and was not for return except on redemption terms.  He makes provision, however for recall, because He graciously accepts that people make vows hastily without counting the cost, and find themselves in difficulty.  For example Paul reminded the Corinthians (2nd Cor. 8v10-12) that they had purposed a year ago to give to the poor saints in Jerusalem, but it had not still materialised, and he said, "As there was a readiness to will, so there would be a performance out of that which ye already have".  They had promised but not yet fulfilled.

All of this goes to the integrity of our words and our ambitions.  A vow is not necessarily for the time it was made, but perhaps for time in the future.  It is a noble thing to make a vow, a commitment unto the Lord, but sometimes the ambition is beyond our ability.  God does not expect us to give of what we do not possess, and He graciously compensates, both now and in eternity for anything we give.   The subject is so vast that we cannot linger, save to say that what we give of an extraordinary nature is a delight to the Lord.

To bring all this in line with our core subject, namely, "Christ in all the scriptures", we can look to the greatest example of all, Christ Himself, who vowed to save the world by the sacrifice of Himself.  There was no duty upon Him to do all that He did, but He did it out of compassion and love to us.

God, Himself, made vows, and unlike most of us He keeps them.  As Balaam the prophet proclaimed under inspiration, "God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent: hath He said and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken and shall He not make it good?-Numbers 23v19.  He first made an oath to Abraham-Genesis 22v16-18 to bless all his seed.  He swore to David that of the fruit of his body He would set on his throne-Psalm 132v11; and that this throne would be everlasting-2nd Samuel 7v16.  He swore to Christ that He would be a priest forever after the order of Melchisedek-Psalm 110v3-4.  "All the promises of God in Christ are yea, and in Him Amen unto the glory of God by us" wrote Paul in 2nd Cor. 1v20.  To Titus he wrote (1v2) "...in hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the world began". 

The singular vow that Jesus made is truly wonderful, yet it was also truly hard for Him.  This is recorded in Hebrews 10v5-10.  It is His vow to God on behalf of us:

At His birth "When He cometh into the world, He saith, (quoting from Psalm 40v6-8-Septuagint version) sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offerings and offerings for sin thou hast had no pleasure.  Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will O my God".  Above when He said "Sacrifice and offering and burnt offering and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither had pleasure therein"; which are offered by the law; then said He "Lo I come to do thy will O God", He taketh away the first that He might establish the second.  By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all".

In His public life (Luke 9v51) "And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem".  He came into the world to die, to glorify God and save mankind.  Like the flint of an arrow, He set His face, nothing would stop Him until He had finished the work.

At His death (Isaiah 50v5-7) "The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.  I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheek to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.  For the Lord God will help me ; therefore I shall not be confounded: therefore have I set my face as a flint; and I know that I shall not be ashamed".

A truly hard pathway, a truly noble cause, a marvellous vow accomplished for He could say, "I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work thou gavest me to do"-John 17v4 The hymnwriter-Wylie McLeod in his lovely hymn, "A perfect path of purest grace..." crystallises the thought-"THE VOW WAS ON THEE THOU DIDST COME TO YIELD THYSELF TO DEATH.  AND CONSECRATION MARKED THY PATH AND SPOKE IN EVERY BREATH".

Christ in all the scriptures Redeemed from the curse of the law

Christ in all the scriptures 

Redemption from the curse of the law   Leviticus 26

God demands that His redeemed people observe His wishes and keep His commandments.  The purpose of this is that they might know His holiness, His zero compromise with sin, and His terms of approach to Him.  This is the God of the Bible speaking, the only God in existence, in whom they are dependent for their very livelihood.  Note the emphasis throughout the chapter: "I am the Lord your God"-v1; "I am the Lord"-v2; "I am the Lord your God which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt..."-v13; "I am the Lord their God"-v44; "I am the Lord"-v45.  The title "Lord" is Jehovah, the eternal God who is, who was, and who is to come.  There is not, there never was, nor will ever be, any other God.  The title "God" is Elohim, the triune God, in N/T terms the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the only ones to be worshipped in all existence.  This God in verses 1-4 demanded that:

They make NO IDOLS, nor graven image, nor standing image, nor stone image to bow down to them as gods

They keep the SABBATHS, and reverence His SANCTUARY by keeping one day per week for Him

They walk in His STATUTES, and keep His COMMANDMENTS in obedience to Him.  Statutes are Divine principles covering a range of situations: commandments are specific directives in a given situation.  Psalm 19v8 reveals, "The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure enlightening the eyes".

There is nothing capricious about God, His ways and directives rejoice the heart and enlighten the eyes.  In the ensuing verses, He outlines the blessing that will result in following His way (v4-13), then the curses that result from opposition to Him (v14-39).  The language used in both sections is very "colourful", He holds nothing back, He says it as it is.  Obedience will bring such blessing as to supply them and secure them for life; disobedience will result in the Divine curse upon them in every aspect of life.  The blessings on obedience are as delightful, as the curses are dreadful.  Association with God demands strict adherence to His ways.  This is the Mosaic covenant, "These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses"-26v46.  The curse that opposition to God would bring was fearful in the extreme.  The only alleviation was confession and forsaking of sin, resulting in Divine mercy toward them.  The raw details of this are repeated in their history, notably in Deuteronomy 28 where blessings and curses are detailed.

It is so important that we go through all this if we are to fully understand the gospel (the good news) of Christ.  The curse of the law is spoken of in the New Testament-Galatians 3v10, "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written (quotation from Deuteronomy 27v26) "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the law to do them".  James' the apostle's comment on the law was "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one, shall be guilty of the whole".  We must grasp the solemnity of this; one sin, one deviation from the law of God, will bring the condemnation of the law upon us.  It's just as if we have broken all the law, such is the holiness of God, and His revulsion against sin.

This means that NO MAN OR WOMAN CAN EVER KEEP THE LAW, and so everyone is a lawbreaker and are under the curse of the law.  The record shows that no one kept the law, not Moses or Aaron, not Samuel or David, not Isaiah or Daniel-no one; as Paul said in Romans 3v10-12, "There is none righteous (none that have kept the law of God) no not one".   The rest of the verses repeat the same judgment in different ways.  This is God's estimate of centuries of human morality, referring to all Jews and Gentiles, in other words to every single human being that has ever lived-NONE RIGHTEOUS NO NOT ONE!  This seems terminal for us all, what is the answer?  Here is the understanding.  God gave the law to Israel, for them in turn to give to the world.  It was only in the perfect fulfilment of the law that any man could saved from the curse and enjoy the blessings of conformity.  Paul explains in Romans 5v20-21, The law entered that the offence might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (super abound); that as sin reigned unto death, even so might grace abound unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord".  The gist of it is this, God did not introduce His law to see if man could keep it, He introduced it to prove that no one ever could, making the intervention of Christ an imperative, if mankind was to be saved.  The law could not save us, it could only condemn us, and it was introduced to expose the blackness of sin.  

"CHRIST HAS REDEEMED US FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW BEING MADE A CURSE FOR US..."-Galatians 3v13.  By His death on the tree He has removed the curse of the law, and there remains only the blessings!  He took on Himself all the condemnation of the Divine law that was due to us.  The curse is removed, and the blessings of God are upon the nations by faith in Christ.  He doesn't ask us to do anything, for it has all been done.  All we have to do is believe.

Would you turn away from a benign and loving and majestic God as this?  Or would you soften your heart and receive Him into your life now?  Instead of Him being against us, He will be for us, with all the wonderful blessings that only He can give!

Christ in all the scriptures Year of Jubilee REDEMPTION

 Christ in all the scriptures

The Year of Jubilee--REDEMPTION Leviticus 25

One of the themes in the chapter is that of redemption, particularly the aspect of the Kinsman Redeemer.  Several times the word is used, as in v24, v25, v26, v29, v30, v31, v32, v48, v49, v51v54.  The subject is so vast, biblically, we cannot expound it here: suffice to say that it involves the return, the restoration of all that has been lost, because of sin, by means of a purchase price called a ransom.  Multiple and varied examples throughout the bible are:

Redemption of the planet earth   Romans 8v21 with Genesis 1v28

Redemption of the nation of Israel  Exodus 6v6, 12v51, 15v13, Isaiah 43v1 Luke 2v38

Redemption of the promised land  Leviticus 25v23-24

Redemption of the Church  Acts 20v28, Romans 3v24, Ephesians 1v7v14, 1st Peter 1v17-18

Redemption of the Tribulation saints  Revelation 5v9

Redemption of the human soul  Psalm 49v7-8

Redemption of the human body  Romans 8v23

Redemption from the curse of the law  Galatians 3v13

Redemption from this present evil world  Galatians 1v4

These and many more, like the redemption of the firstborn in every family; of the firstborn in all animals to be used in sacrifice, these reveal the extent of the losses due to sin, and the comprehensive nature of God's redemption.  The different words to describe this blessing range from "buying back"; buying out of"; "releasing"; "rescuing"; "delivering".  They are all delightful concepts worth studying in detail.  Not a "stone has been left unturned" by the Lord to restore conditions originally intended in creation.  It is the most marvellous reality for human beings who take advantage of it.  It does not depend on my worth or any achievement I can make, but on the priceless value of the blood of Christ.

In Leviticus 25, the thought is of the kinsman redeemer, a near relative, who can bail me out of trouble, whether of person or property.  This unique concept in scripture is illustrated in the book of Ruth, where the near kinsman Boaz redeemed all that Naomi had lost through circumstances beyond her control.  Bible scholars tabulate the responsibility of the kinsman redeemer as follows:

He must be a near kinsman, the nearest being first in order.  He must be able to pay the redemption price.  He must be willing to pay the full price.  He must assume all the liens and debts of the one being redeemed.  This left the person or property so redeemed free from any claim on them by others.  We can see how the Lord Jesus fulfils all these requirements and so becomes our Kinsman Redeemer.

He is our near kinsman-not only did He create us (and so no one closer than He); He became one of us the incarnation, when He took human flesh, as it is written, "Forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same..."-Hebrews 2v14-15.  The purpose of this was to deliver us from the power of Satan, and the bondage in which he held us.  He is our Kinsman Redeemer.  He was able to pay the price, as being the only one able-refer Acts 20v28, Colossians 1v14, 2v14.  He was willing to pay the price-Romans 3v24 "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"-it costs us nothing, it cost Him everything!   He assumed responsibility for all our sins and transgressions-Colossians 2v14; 2nd Corinthians 5v21; 1st John 3v5.

We bask in the wonder of this, and so we should.  We have in Christ the forgiveness of sins-Ephesians 1v7.  We are justified from all things-Acts 13v39. We are redeemed from all iniquity, and now are a special people zealous of good works, instead of selfish and unholy pursuits-Titus 2v14.  We have been redeemed from our "vain conversation", an empty wasted life-1st Peter 1v18. This includes empty religion without Christ.  Ask yourself, what would you be doing right now without Him?  

In redemption, however, there is involved more than the blessings, there is also the aspect of responsibility.  The redeemed belong to the Redeemer, as in 1st Corinthians 6v19-20, "...ye are not your own.  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and spirit, which are God's".  God said to Israel, "I have redeemed thee, thou art mine".  This brings security and care, but it also brings responsibility.  In redemption, God owns us "lock stock and barrel", and expects our dutiful response.   Leviticus 25, which oozes with the practice of redemption, brings this out very clearly.  It is not so much about the year of Jubilee, as the effect the Jubilee had on their lives throughout the 50 years previous to it, and on the following years.  The Jubilee conditioned their behaviour, even down to the buying and selling of land and property, and their relationship to one another.  They had to adjust their dealings in light of it.  

They were to respect the will of the Lord for the land.

They were to release land and property to the original owners.  No land or property could be permanently held as it all belonged to the Lord.

Value of property and land was determined by the number of years to the Jubilee. 

They could not enslave their "brothers" (countrymen), but hire them until the Jubilee.

In all their dealings they were to treat one another respectfully. 

If money was lent because of need, they were forbidden to charge usury (interest),

They should at all times live and act in the fear of the Lord.

They must treat their brothers mercifully and with kindness.

They should respect the needs of strangers living among them, while ensuring they contribute to their society.

In like manner, the redeemed of the Lord today are to alter their demeanour in light of their ultimate redemption.  Time would fail us to go into the details, but the New Testament is replete with advice on how we should deport ourselves, as being disciples of the God of grace.  With redeemed souls, and soon to be with redeemed bodies, and inhabiting a redeemed earth, there ought to be a response now.   Paul wrote to the Galatian believers-chapter 2v20

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me"; this was his response to chapter 1v3-4 "Grace be unto you from     God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this present evil world".

 

Christ in all the scriptures The year of Jubilee RELEASE

 Christ in all the scriptures

The year of Jubilee--RELEASE...Leviticus 25v39-41

"Ye shall...proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family"-Leviticus 25v10.

This was God's order for the nation when they occupied the promised land.  The rest of the chapter unfolds the details of how this would work in practise, and the fundamental principle was freedom from debt, from servitude, and restoration of property on a 50 year cycle.  This way, no one became too poor, or too rich, maintaining the balance of a Divinely ordered society.  The emphasis on family revealed the desired structure, as a nation thrives when the family unit is preserved.

Those who had fallen on bad times were obliged to hire themselves as servants to their debtors, but this all ended at the Jubilee.  The servant with all his family were set free from all obligations, and they could choose to remain in hired service, or make their own way anew.  What a wonderful provision this was!  It is symbolic of an even greater freedom in Christ from the thraldom of sin, which was the lot of every one of us.   

The debt of sin was an offence against God, but it was also an inward power controlling our lifestyle.  We were not free, we were "the servants of sin", as the bible teaches.  Jesus said to the Jews of His day, "Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin"-John 8v34.  Sin incurs a penalty against us, but it is also a power that controls us.  In his teaching on the reality of sin which separated us from God, Paul describes sin as a monarch, controlling everything we do.  He describes it like this, "The good that I would I do not; but the evil that I would not that I do"-Romans 7v19.  When we are in debt, we are not our own; we are in servitude to another, in this case the monster sin which wields control over us.

In the year of Jubilee, all in servitude were set free: "And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant: but as a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee UNTO THE YEAR OF JUBILEE: and then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return". 

 Born in sin and shapen in iniquity, as the bible reveals, w are subject to the power of sin within.  Only in Christ are we free, "If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed!"-John 8v36.  Christ announced, as He opened the modern equivalent of the Jubilee to the world, "deliverance to the captives" and "liberty to the bruised".  Paul expands on this in Romans 6, and the freedom from the power of sin in the present time.

Romans 6v6 "...that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin".

Romans 6v7 "For he that is dead is freed from sin".

Romans 6v11 "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord".

Romans 6v12-13 "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God".

Romans 6v14 "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law but under grace".

Romans 6v17 "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you".

Romans 6v22 "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life".

The bondage in which sin held us with all its dread consequences, both now and in the future, has been broken in Christ, and God has declared the year of Jubilee.

"AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE" John 8v32. 

 

Christ in all the scriptures REMISSION

 Christ in all the scriptures

Year of Jubilee-- Remission...all debts cancelled  Leviticus 25

Imagine you are in debt, and have been unable to pay it back, then the year of Jubilee is sounded by the blowing of trumpets.  All is well, for by Divine decree all debts are cancelled, you can make a fresh start!  Wouldn't that be something special in the present economic climate?  For example they say that a debt of £3.7 billion is owed to the electric providers in the wake of Covid-19, and the surge in price of electricity.  Were this to be the case in the Jubilee, this debt would be cancelled! (as well as every other debt!).  Debt is a reality of modern life; it may come through mismanagement of finances; or through circumstances beyond our control; or through the greed of the service providers with their interest charges and increase in prices.  What a blessing to know that every debt is cancelled every 50 years! This is what God decreed for Israel.

"Ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family"- Leviticus 25v10.

A cursory reading of the chapter will reveal that this was a proclamation of liberty from all debt, from slavery, and the restitution of all property and possessions lost in the previous 50 years.  This was God resetting the economy and giving everyone a fresh start.  In the enactment of this there was to be no arguments, simply to obey the edict from above.  In this matter the Lord states, "ye shall not oppress one another"-25v14, v17.  Again, what was said, to curtail natural tendencies, "If thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him..."-25v35.  Again, "...ye shall not rule one over another with rigour"-25v46, v53.  God initiated a time of rich generosity of spirit, on the basis that the land was HIS (25v23), and everything in it was HIS as a consequence.  This was His wonderful way of redressing imbalance in Jewish society.  What a difference it would be if the present world was run according to the Divine thoughts!

Yet, in a spiritual sense it is so!!  Jesus declared in His home town of Nazareth the suspension of Divine judgment on the world and the introduction of the "ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD" (the Spiritual year of Jubilee)-Luke 4v19/20.  Paul described this dispensation of God as the "dispensation of the grace of God (Ephesians 3v2), and "the day of salvation" (2nd Corinthians 6v2).  He said, "Behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation".  Twice over the word BEHOLD...look intently, grasp the meaning of this, stop everything else you are doing and understand this"!  The day of vengeance of God on the world has been suspended and God has opened the day of grace.  This day has now run its course for nigh on 2000 years!  It will end sometime, and His wrath will begin, but right now the mercy of God is proclaimed.  In this first aspect we look at the DEBTS THAT ARE BEING CANCELLED from above right now.  Just as monetary debts in Israel were cancelled in the year of Jubilee, so in the present the moral debts of every believing soul are being cancelled.

To understand this we must understand that every sin we commit is a debt we owe to God, and that debt we can never repay.  There are three words used in the bible, sin, iniquity, and transgression, all of which occur multiple times, and all of which have afflicted all human beings.  Taking the first of these, SINS, they are shortcomings, failures, debts, we have before our Maker-refer Romans 3v23, "For all have sinned, and COME SHORT of the glory of God".  These are debts we owe to God, debts we cannot pay...we were created to worship Him, in the language of the first and great commandment, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind-Matthew 22v37.  This debt has been cancelled, as it has been paid in full by our Redeemer, and all we have to do is BELIEVE!  Another has paid our debt to God, and He has proclaimed the time of Jubilee across the whole world for 2000 years, and it is still in force.  Believe, before it closes, and the day of vengeance begins.  Be careful, this is not a mental assent to a doctrine, this is a heart belief in the word of the living God.  It is not about attending a church, or about doing good things to make up for the bad.  It is about believing God to the exclusion of all else and allowing Him into your life.  This happened to me in October1966 and I have never looked back, and have been blessed as a result.  This is a world wide proclamation, just as the Jubilee was for all the land and for all the inhabitants thereof.  Here is the word of the living God available to all right now if they will believe: it is my greatest joy to be able to share this with you.

BEHOLD

"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances, that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross"  Colossians 2v14

"In whom we have redemption through His (Christ's) blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace"  Ephesians 1v7

"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses"  Acts 13v28-29

"For this is my blood of the New Testament (Covenant) which is shed for many for the remission of sins"  Matthew 26v28

"To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins"  Luke 1v77

"And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem"  Luke 24v47

"And to Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins"  Acts 10v43

Remission is the cancellation of all your sins in the records of heaven.  God forgives and pardons all sins, past, present and future.  He removes the guilt and the penalty due to your sins.  The offender is treated as though the sins had never been committed, as they were answered in Christ.  This is what God is doing today; it takes only a few seconds to deal with the greatest need of your soul.

GOD'S COVENANT

"Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more"  Hebrews 10v17 (quotation from Jeremiah 31v34).

We are living in the biblical year of Jubilee!  Let us rejoice together.