Bibledoorajar: There Ought to Be a Law

     I live in America. We like to call it the land of the free. Did you know that in America there are more laws on the books than anywhere else in the world? We like to say, we may have our problems (as a country), but I would rather live here than anywhere else because "at least I know I'm free." Freedom has come to us because laws have been made to ensure our freedoms. Yesterday, I had the freedom to attend church and share the seed of God's truth (laws) with fellow believers. It is important to separate that truth (law, good seed) from error (lack of law, bad seed) and to determine if I am producing good fruit from a new seed made possible by my new birth. I will be known by my fruit says the Lord God. God help me, I do not want to be a hypocrite, saying one thing but doing another.
     In Leviticus 19, God forbade His chosen people to plant a mixture of seed together in the same field. God said the very soil would be corrupt because corrupted fruit would fall to the ground. In God's world seeds cannot mix for in doing so good and bad become intermingled or as Paul, the apostle said, become corrupt. Paul says that we have been born anew to live uncorrupted lives that began with the catastrophe in the Garden. There were two trees planted in the Garden. One was a Tree of Life (truth) and one was a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God specifically told Adam and Eve to only eat of the tree of Life(truth) and other trees that were pleasant and good for nourishment. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they were not to eat because they would be mixing two very different seeds. And we know from the story, the evil one, the serpent, that beguiling, cunning one, deceived Eve and her husband was with her. Seeing the deception and the breaking of the law was not enough to keep Adam from accepting the mixed fruit (truth). And so the Bible says that sin entered into the world through one man, Adam.
     Jesus said that it was a bad thing when the evil one sneaked into the field and planted the bad seed. Now we have tares and wheat growing in the same field. In Leviticus, we find law after law provided by God to keep His people safe from the law of sin and death. They were admonished to choose life. Jesus said to keep His commandments for the same reason. Spiritually, to know we are free and not enslaved of another, is the most important truth we can pursue.
     Thank God for sin leaving the world through the second Adam, our Lord and Savior, but until He returns we must stay alert.  Our enemy, the shining slick one, still roams the earth to tempt us with mixtures of all sorts. Compare every message with the law (truth, Word) of God. Choose life.

Bibledoorajar: Scapecoat?

 Knowing God, acknowledging Him, leads to His wishes and His desires becoming paramount in our hearts and minds. Acknowledging Him is to embrace His desire that we be clean before Him. Not every one can embrace this desire. They rebel against some aspect of the requirements. They say, surely a loving God this or surely a loving God that, but Leviticus 16 shows us to what length God intended the children of Israel to come before Him free of guilt and clean of heart; to come to Him as unworried children. It hearkens back to the proof that God gave His friend Abraham that He would indeed give him a son. What was Abraham to do to get the proof? Prepare animal sacrifices.The revelation of the son followed. Pause and remember that story.

At Yom Kippur, the High Priest would don a special robe and sash and place a turban on his head. He then ceremoniously selected a bull and two goats. The bull and one of the goats would be sacrificed as a substitute offering to absolve the children of Israel of their guilt. That guilt was placed on their innocent heads by the High Priest. Then the scapegoat was brought to the High Priest. It was to be the recipient of all the sins of the nation. The goat bearing the sins would be taken outside the walls of the camp and let loose to carry the sins of the nation far, far away.

On Crucifixion Day, Jesus, like Isaac, carried the wood on His back for the sacrifice. As He neared the cross, He was accused of the very sins of which the priests and High Priest were guilty; they said He was a blasphemer. Unlike Isaac, there would be no substitute worthy to replace Jesus because He was God's ultimate substitute. And there outside the walls of Jerusalem, the city of Shalom, He absolved guilt and carried sins forever and away. And Barabbas, the guilty,  was set free that day. "In all they ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path." He is worthy; He had done this great thing.

Bibledoorajar: Laying Hands on the Lamb

     The Jew who was bringing the lamb to the Priest was thoroughly acquainted with it. In some instances it had become a family favorite touched often. The Jew, himself, had to know the lamb was of a certain age and that he had carefully examined it (laid hands on it) to ensure that it was without blemish of any kind. It would not work for the person to be identified with a blemished lamb for God had made clear that such a sacrifice would not be an acceptable representative of the Jew for the atoning of his sins. Before its' death, the priest(s), too, would lay hands on the lamb examining it for deficiencies and so, they too, were identified with the sacrifice.
     Jesus was led into Jerusalem on a donkey. Before his crucifixion he was examined by both the Jewish priests and the Romans. They laid hands on him, pushed and pulled, and tried their best to find a blemish. They may not have realized that they had thus identified with THE perfect sacrifice but they had and did. The Great Lamb of God asked His Father to forgive them for they knew not what they did.
     Many sinful people think that they have found an approved avenue by which they can be reconciled with God. They have not examined their means well enough, for others have pointed out the flaws in it. Read the account of the representative, Jesus, who was willing to be your sin offering, your substitute, carefully. If you are burdened by the lack of reconciliation with God then please identify with Christ, find "no fault in Him"and trust His saving work. "He is willing to aid you, He will carry you through."

"Faith in Christ will save me;
Let me trust that gracious Son,
Trust the work that He has done,
To His arms, Lord, help me run;
Faith in Christ will save me."

Robert Lowry

Bibledoorajar: Intentional Sacrifice

       In the book of Leviticus, we find written all the requirements for the sacrificial system based on God's laws. The requirements were very intentional in nature. You could not "turn to the left if the requirement said turn to the right."  The Jew was to intentionally select a perfect or unblemished sacrifice and the sacrifice was to be brought to the priest for verification that the requirements of perfection had been met. When verification was complete, the process of allowing the sinful Jew to draw closer to God would begin. And all would remain intentional to the very end of the process.
        Jesus intentionally went to where John the Baptist was baptizing in water. John was from the Aaronic line of priests and he was therefore qualified to verify that Jesus met the requirements to be a sacrifice.
This is what John said:
      "Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a man which is preferred before me for He was before me."
                                                                             John 1: 29ff

John proclaimed that the right sacrifice had been brought to him for verification. He proclaimed that he, an Aaronic priest of God, was not worthy to even unlatch his shoes. But the sinless perfect Lamb allowed John to baptize Him so that the mystery of the remission of sin through being born of water and the Spirit could be made known and believed. Have you intentionally accepted this perfect sacrifice and have you experienced the mystery of the remission of your sin by being baptized and born of water and the Spirit?  Jesus Christ is the Lamb in whom God is well pleased. He is the intentional way to draw closer to Your Father. As the hymn says:
                    "Why not tonight, Oh, why not tonight,
                      Wilt thou be saved, then why not, oh why not tonight?
                                             Elizabeth Reed

Bibledoorajar: What Moses Wanted

     Moses went up Mt. Sinai twice. The first time as he came down, he was filled with anger at what he saw the people doing (golden calf incident),  and he threw down the tablets of stone. I  personally think Moses had become fully aware that the laws given by God totally revealed man's inability to keep them.  He decided more of God was what was needed. On his second trip up Sinai his emphasis was entirely different. Basically, he said to God that He(God) knew all about him (Moses) and he asked if he could know more of Him (see God's glory). What had God shown Moses up there before? He had revealed His Name. He had revealed His Law. He had revealed His character. These were to be the proof of His holiness and worthiness. But these also brought judgement and death.  But this time, Moses asked if he could see more of the God of the Name, the Law, and Pristine Character. God told Moses that no one could look on His perfection and live. But He would do a great thing to help Moses know Him nevertheless. He told Moses that there was a place nearby God where He would put Moses. He was to be nestled IN the cleft of the ROCK and be covered by God's hand as He passed by. Talk about a different RESULT!!! Moses came down the mountain with the tablets and his face shone gloriously. His aim for the tablets was different. His intent was to place them in the ark in the Most Holy Place. Interestingly enough, Moses did not even realize that his face was glowing, but the people saw it and knew. Their "view" of God was also elevated by this event!!! And so it is, even today, that when we can see the glory on the faces of Christians hidden in the Rock our faith is elevated. It is not so much what these Christians do for God, but the solace and peace they seem to have gained from being hidden with Him.
      This week our minister said that he wanted us to focus on elevating our worship during these next months even as the world elevates its worldly approach to the holidays. Perhaps one way to do that would be to meditate on the safety from the death of the law that we have been given as God has placed us in the cleft of the Rock. Let's see if anyone can see our shining faces and thus honor and worship our God. Meditate of John 14: 9ff. and let your heart sing. Have a great week.
    

Bibledoorajar: Love Never Fails

This week has been a week of the Father renewing within me the principle that love never fails. It did not fail Aaron when he did not meet the challenge of being a bridge builder to God for the people at the golden calf incident. But the love of God shown brightly as Moses reminded Him that Aaron and the people were His and that they needed Him. God's love swelled toward them and the Holy Spirit led Moses to record this about the high priest who had failures. It is referred to as the Aaronic blessing and can be found in Numbers 6.

The LORD bless you and keep you: The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26 RSV) 

In this prayer we see an Aaron who is much more in tune with the God of Israel than before. He asked the Lord to see the people with respect and give them blessings. He asked Him to guard the people and keep them safe. He asked the Lord to let the people sense his loving expressions on His face for them and to illuminate their lives with His presence. He asked Him to give them a protection that they would not want to run from. And lastly to set them in a place where they would feel totally safe.
     Yesterday in Bible class the teacher shared a film about how one evolutionist found the Creator God by studying some of the marvelous intricacies He has provided for particular species. These provisions spoke of how intentional and specific God is with His creation. The Holy Spirit overwhelmed me with God's goodness and spoke to my heart: "never again question that 'love never fails'. Thank you Father for all you do for us. Today may we see your many facets of love shining on us and see how much you love us and bless us. May the loving work of our High Priest of our confession shine brightly within as we find the power to share love even as He.

Bibledoorajar: Are You Being Served?

Aaron was High Priest of Israel but oh how he failed Israel when the talk of the calf erupted. Where was the sacred influence he could have had on the misled people? Could he have not called them back to the system of worship that God had placed with he and the Levites? Could he have not reminded them of the awesomeness of their God and the benefits they enjoyed? Could he not have acted from the dignified position of his office? But maybe that was the trouble, his dignity was from an office and was not personal. The writer of Hebrews makes it plain that our Redeemer's mediation and His person is so great that the glory of the most noble angels wains in comparison. Set your heart on these verses:



  "Being so much better than the angels inasmuch as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they"   Hebrews 1: 4

" For unto which of the angels said He ever, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?" Hebrews 1: 5





"and let all the angels of God worship him."  Hebrews 1:6      AMEN