Lesson two on the Tabernacle part one The Ark and the Mercy Seat
Scripture text Hebrews 9:4 and Exodus 25:10-22 (Amplified Bible)
Hebrews 9:4 (Amplified Bible) 4It had the golden altar of incense and the ark (chest) of the covenant, covered over with wrought gold. This [ark] contained a golden jar which held the manna and the rod of Aaron that sprouted and the [two stone] slabs of the covenant [bearing the Ten Commandments. We see here three different things within the ark.
10They shall make an ark of acacia wood: two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. (A CUBIT is app 18”) So that would make the ark 45” x 27” x 27”)
11You shall overlay the ark with pure gold, inside and out, and make a gold crown, a rim or border, around its top.
12You shall cast four gold rings and attach them to the four lower corners of it, two rings on either side.
13You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold,
14And put the poles through the rings on the ark's sides, by which to carry it.
15The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it [that the ark be not touched]. 16And you shall put inside the ark the Testimony [the Ten Commandments] which I will give you.
17And you shall make a mercy seat (a covering) of pure gold, two cubits and a half long and a cubit and a half wide.
18And you shall make two cherubim (winged angelic figures) of [solid] hammered gold on the two ends of the mercy seat.
19Make one cherub on each end, making the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat, on the two ends of it.
20And the cherubim shall spread out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, facing each other and looking down toward the mercy seat.
21You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony [the Ten Commandments] that I will give you.
22There I will meet with you and, from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the Testimony, I will speak intimately with you of all which I will give you in commandment to the Israelites. The Ark of the Covenant. What a representation this piece of the furnishings is. Normally I am given to understand by teachers and their writings that the study of the Tabernacle begins with the outer court and proceeds inward until it ends at the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat but the text that I am using starts with the Ark and the Mercy Seat and proceeds outward. And the reasoning behind this is that we will study God’s approach to man first rather than the other way around and I’m referring to man’s approach to God.
John 1:1 says “In the beginning was the WORD AND THE Word was with God and the Word was God.”
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God” And Hebrews 1:1,2 says, “ God who at sundry times and in divers places spoke in times spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets , has in these last days spoken UNTO US by His Son,…..
These three scripture references point out the fact to me that God came to us, not the other way round. He came to me. I was lost and Jesus found me. I was the sheep going astray. I was the prodigal who came to himself in a pigpen. And it was the call of home and heaven and the father that made him come to himself. I was the backslider that the Spirit convicted and drew back unto Himself. IT is always God coming to us. The initiative has always been on God’s part…not ours. Some folks from their hearts say “I found God” but in reality it is because He found me first. The gospel of Luke records the story of that one lost sheep that the shepherd risked the ninety and nine for, to go out and find it and bring it back home and Jesus said that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that repents than over ninety nine just persons that need no repentance. The initiative is always His. Amen?
And so it is that we study this portion of scripture which we will refer to as the “Pattern” from the inside out; that is we will begin in the Holy of Holies with the furnishings and work outward. God came to us. (To this point tonight ….just a little review.) With this principle in mind (that God came to us first) we will start with the furnishings because that is what God did when He gave Moses the Pattern in Exodus ch. 25 The Ark of the Covenant of course represents the very Presence of God. His Presence dwelt above the Mercy Seat between the cherubim and that is where He met with Moses and He talked with him and gave him instructions to govern and care for the children of Israel. What an awesome place that must have been. But that is getting a little bit ahead of where we want to be right now.
Before we go on tonight, I want to refer you to our text verse found in Hebrews 8:5 which is a reference to Exodus 25:9,where it says “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” The NRSV reads, “In accordance with all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and all of its furniture, so shall you make it.” And then God says in the very next statement, “they shall make an ark of acacia wood.”
I hope you see the reason behind this seemingly reversal of the order of teaching this subject; starting with the furnishings…God came to us. Jesus said in the book of Revelation, ch. 1 vs. 8 “I AM Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending…….which is, which was and is to come, the All Mighty. So we will start with God and we will end with GOD. Instead of starting with man’s approach to God we will start with God’s approach to man. (part two of lesson two tomorrow.)
About Me
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
part three of lesson one
The tabernacle typifies the Lord Jesus Christ in every detail and we will see this as we go along. Now I understand that most teachings and I would say that it is so, most of the teaching regarding the tabernacle starts with man coming to God and really that is true with the messages preached on salvation, man coming to God. And that is alright but first and foremost God came to us did He not? He planned our salvation from before the foundations of the earth, the Bible says.
From the beginning in the Garden of Eden, before the fall, in the cool of the day, God would come down to man to fellowship with him. Have you ever pictured what that must have been like? God coming down and walking with man in the garden? Telling him His plans? Gracing the garden with His very presence?
(What was life like in God’s garden? Let’s read it in GEN 2:8 THROUGH 24 AND THEN VERSE 8 OF CHAPTER 3.)
8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel;[a] it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Sin brings shame and we try to hide. But you can’t hide from God. You cannot hide from God. I cannot hide from God. No one can. Be sure your sin will find you out.
Proverbs 28:13 says “Whoso covers his sin will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes it will have mercy” That may not be the exact quotation but that is what it says. But look at this life in the Garden that Adam and Eve enjoyed. God said “It is not good for man to be alone; I will
make him a wife comparable to him.” NKJV. Thank God He made woman for man. Can you husbands say amen? He did not make her for another woman nor did He make another man for man. He made a woman for a man. And He said therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.” Hallelujah! Of all that God graced the Garden with, beside His Own Presence was this surgery he performed on man so that He could produce a woman for him. And in this union, we see a picture of Christ and the church. Man and Woman, Husband and Wife. A man should love His wife as Christ loved the church Eph. 5:28,29. We are members of His body! If that be the case why do we treat each other the way we do? Why do we backbite and murmur and complain against one another? If we are all members of His body it is high time we began to act like it and I think that deserves an amen! And especially so when it comes to loving our wives. Have you told her today that you love her? Then do it now. And it works the other way too. Backing up a few verses here in Eph. 5, verses 1 and 2 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering, and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma.”
And here we are talking about the offerings for the tabernacle. These offerings are fulfilled here in Eph. This is what they are pointing to….CHRIST and His eternal, once for all eternity sacrifice because “He ever lives to make intercession for them” and here we are back in Hebrews 7:25 Let’s read it from the NKJV “Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them”
13
Looking again at Exodus ch. 25 beginning at verse 1, God says “ Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying: Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering, from everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering; vs. 3”And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze,” The first piece of the furniture that God gives Moses the pattern for is the Ark and the Mercy Seat. A picture of God coming to us…
From the beginning in the Garden of Eden, before the fall, in the cool of the day, God would come down to man to fellowship with him. Have you ever pictured what that must have been like? God coming down and walking with man in the garden? Telling him His plans? Gracing the garden with His very presence?
(What was life like in God’s garden? Let’s read it in GEN 2:8 THROUGH 24 AND THEN VERSE 8 OF CHAPTER 3.)
8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel;[a] it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Sin brings shame and we try to hide. But you can’t hide from God. You cannot hide from God. I cannot hide from God. No one can. Be sure your sin will find you out.
Proverbs 28:13 says “Whoso covers his sin will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes it will have mercy” That may not be the exact quotation but that is what it says. But look at this life in the Garden that Adam and Eve enjoyed. God said “It is not good for man to be alone; I will
make him a wife comparable to him.” NKJV. Thank God He made woman for man. Can you husbands say amen? He did not make her for another woman nor did He make another man for man. He made a woman for a man. And He said therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.” Hallelujah! Of all that God graced the Garden with, beside His Own Presence was this surgery he performed on man so that He could produce a woman for him. And in this union, we see a picture of Christ and the church. Man and Woman, Husband and Wife. A man should love His wife as Christ loved the church Eph. 5:28,29. We are members of His body! If that be the case why do we treat each other the way we do? Why do we backbite and murmur and complain against one another? If we are all members of His body it is high time we began to act like it and I think that deserves an amen! And especially so when it comes to loving our wives. Have you told her today that you love her? Then do it now. And it works the other way too. Backing up a few verses here in Eph. 5, verses 1 and 2 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering, and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma.”
And here we are talking about the offerings for the tabernacle. These offerings are fulfilled here in Eph. This is what they are pointing to….CHRIST and His eternal, once for all eternity sacrifice because “He ever lives to make intercession for them” and here we are back in Hebrews 7:25 Let’s read it from the NKJV “Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them”
13
Looking again at Exodus ch. 25 beginning at verse 1, God says “ Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying: Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering, from everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering; vs. 3”And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze,” The first piece of the furniture that God gives Moses the pattern for is the Ark and the Mercy Seat. A picture of God coming to us…
Friday, September 28, 2007
whoops!
All of a sudden it dawned on me that we have two weeks to mull over this first lesson instead of just one. So there is no need to give you a whole lot each day as we have until October 9 before the next Bible Study at the church. And besides I am realizing that I gave too much in the first session. We did not have scarcely enough time to read the scripture references. Sorry about that. Upon reflection backward, I am taking C.M.'s advice where she said "we can go over things at our own pace"...You will have to forgive me, I'm a litle slow sometimes.
I will let you meditate on the first few posts regarding our study on the tabernacle before giving you anymore. But look for a new post soon....Randall
I will let you meditate on the first few posts regarding our study on the tabernacle before giving you anymore. But look for a new post soon....Randall
Thursday, September 27, 2007
The TABERNACLE
This is the next part of our study given at the church house on tuesday evening, Sept 25, 2007.
Tonight for a while at least, I want to look at this offering or offerings and in these verses we just read we see that God is asking the people for an offering to build and provide for all the needs of the tabernacle. He did not ask for the tithes here. He didn’t ask for an offering for missions here. He didn’t ask for an offering for the needy, and there is no doubt that they were all in need. He asked for an offering that would take about all they had. He had intended to supply their needs but they would have to be totally dependent on Him. He was asking for an offering for His sanctuary, His dwelling place…They had come out of Egypt laden with jewelry, but what good was that in the desert? If you were lost in the deep woods of New Brunswick for instance, what good would a lot of jewelry do you because a lot of jewelry isn’t worth much when you need food and water. You can’t trade it for anything.
God had a plan for them just as He has a plan for us today. How many know God has a plan for your life? Remember when the children of Israel left Egypt and God told them to ask the Egyptians for some things? Let’s read from Ex. 13:33 through 36. He knew they would have to bring an offering for the work of the LORD. Where did they get it ? From the Egyptians. After all they had been slaves for four hundred years or so and this was just back wages that were owed them. So when GOD told Moses “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering:” where did the gold and silver and all of these other materials come from? It was this plundering the Bible calls it; from Egypt. Even though it was a request it was still plundering. In the Amplified Bible ch.13 and vs. 36 it says “And they stripped the Egyptians [of those things].
There is a portion of this chapter here in Ex. 13 that is most interesting to me and it is found in verse 38. “A mixed multitude went up with them also” “A mixed multitude” Obviously there were some Egyptians and possibly some other nationalities who decided that it was better to be with God’s chosen than it was to stay in Egypt. It was a mixed multitude. GOD HAS A PEOPLE FROM EVERY NATION. Amen? In Tunisia there are 9 million people with 300 Christians…in Morocco 30 million and 2000 known Christians. In one small city in MOROCCO THERE ARE THREE (3) KNOWN Christians. How about those kind of statistics? Aren’t you grateful for the family of God here in Saint John. We are not alone. But we need to be on guard and evangelize this city. Many have never heard! We have a mixed multitude in Saint John and God has given us an opportunity to win them to Him. Perhaps instead of complaining about our immigration practices we should rather thank God for bringing these people to our shores so that we can better reach them. This life will soon be over… only what’s done for Christ is going to count; not what we accumulate here, so what difference does it make if we have more immigrants…we should seize the moment for eternity’s sake. We spend thousands of dollars sending missionaries overseas and rightly so. Here is an opportunity that won’t cost a cent…God has brought them to our doorstep. When we go to heaven pray that a mixed multitude will go with us. Amen? Let’s not be afraid of their religions, but let’s offer Christ to them and let them see that we have been with Jesus. It is important that we be aware of these religions but we do not have to be afraid of them. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
God said to Moses, see that you make it according to the pattern. Just so shall you make it. No substitutes. I think in many of today’s worship services we have substituted style for the Spirit.
We have replaced the moving of the Holy Spirit with copying worldly methods. Our music has conformed to the style of the world. Bro. Wickens said “we are worshipping our worship.”
Let’s get back to the pattern again. If you can’t hear the words and understand what is being said, then something is wrong with the music. Gospel music is the greatest music in the world. And that includes the old hymns. However let me say that much of the newer style music is good and appeals to everyone, but there is some of it that perhaps doesn’t have the kind of style some of us older folks like but it still helps our young people to worship. And if I complain about it, perhaps I am wrong in so doing and I am being selfish. Now you’ve got my opinion. Both sides of the coin.
We’re talking about the free will offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. Does God need our offerings? Doesn’t He own everything? The cattle on a thousand hills? The wealth in every mine? Doesn’t it all belong to Him in the first place? So who reaps the benefit if we give an offering to Him? We do don’t we? But it must be from a willing heart. God doesn’t bless stinginess. Or if we give grudgingly. You might give a good amount but if it is given grudgingly then there is no blessing in that.
Look at Romans ch.12:8. Look at 2 Cor. 9:6,7 God loves a cheerful giver. And here in Ex. 25, He is saying to Moses, “let them bring an offering from a willing heart” Our offerings should be from a willing heart. Ephesians 2:19-22 says, “Now therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Moses had been forty days and forty nights with God on top of Mt. Sinai when God gave him these detailed instructions and the Bible tells us that Joshua went with him. As also Aaron and his two sons and seventy elders of the children of Israel, but these didn’t stay there and they never went all the way up to the top, only Moses and Joshua went all the way. God sent the rest home. And He spoke to Moses. It’s all there in ch.24
I hope you will read it this week. It is required reading for this study.
This whole tabernacle exercise was for one purpose and one purpose only and that was to point men to the fact that God wants to dwell in us through the Lord Jesus Christ and that could only come about through the shedding of blood, “for without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.”
And that can only happen in our individual lives through our offerings. And I’m speaking of the giving of ourselves unto Him and that requires repentance. There is a common need in every man, woman, boy and girl on this earth that binds us like a thread, weaving it’s way through every life and connecting us together in our great necessity and that is our need to repent of our sins. We all have to come to that place where we surrender our very being to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ and cast our burdens on Him.
And the Bible says in the book of Isaiah that “God has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” “All have sinned” we read in Romans. And when we think about the offerings for the building of the tabernacle, how can we not think about the offering of Himself on the cruel cross of Calvary? He suffered there for you and for me. As no man suffered for Jesus did not only endure physical pain but He was bearing the sin that we should have died for and worse than anything….rejection from the heavenly Father because He cannot look upon sin. If we understood how terrible sin is like God understands it then I think we could more easily abhor that which is evil. If we would look at sin through the eyes of God how different some of our lives would be lived. We need to pray like Jabez prayed in 1 Chronicles 4:9,10 “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory and that Your Hand would be with me and that You would keep me from evil that I will not cause pain” or in the KJV “that it will not grieve me” Hallelujah! Jesus offered up Himself as a free will offering, willingly, cheerfully; without a grudge…not grudgingly. God loves a cheerful giver, whether it is of your substance, your money or your life, He loves it when we give ourselves or of ourselves willingly. Paul says it in Romans 12:1,2 “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
It was a truly dramatic scene there on Sinai….a black thick cloud, flashing lightening, thunder rolling, even smoke like that of a furnace, the Bible says. A voice like the sound of a trumpet
shook the entire mountain. It was a demonstration of the very Presence of Almighty God. And it was in this atmosphere that God told Moses , “of every man that gives willingly with his heart, you shall take My offering.” They were a redeemed people
They were to give willingly because they were a redeemed people.
They were redeemed by God by the shedding of blood…the blood of a lamb. We are a redeemed people and we too have been redeemed by the shedding of the Blood of the Lamb of Calvary.
Everything we have belongs to God; our houses, our automobiles, everything belongs to Him,; so we can give cheerfully and willingly because it is all His anyhow and we are His as well. How gladly and willingly we should offer back to God that with which He has entrusted us. We are to be stewards. The children of Israel gave so willingly that they gave too much and Moses had to issue a stop giving order. Imagine, in any church if the pastor announced on Sunday morning that we won’t be taking an offering for the next several weeks as you have given too much! Wouldn’t that be something? Have you ever been in a church service where that has happened?
That was the case here in the gathering of the offering for the tabernacle .We’ll come to it later.
Part three of this first lesson tomorrow. If you want me to e-mail you when there is a new post you will have to send me your address. Mine is atlmiss@nbnet.nb.ca.
Tonight for a while at least, I want to look at this offering or offerings and in these verses we just read we see that God is asking the people for an offering to build and provide for all the needs of the tabernacle. He did not ask for the tithes here. He didn’t ask for an offering for missions here. He didn’t ask for an offering for the needy, and there is no doubt that they were all in need. He asked for an offering that would take about all they had. He had intended to supply their needs but they would have to be totally dependent on Him. He was asking for an offering for His sanctuary, His dwelling place…They had come out of Egypt laden with jewelry, but what good was that in the desert? If you were lost in the deep woods of New Brunswick for instance, what good would a lot of jewelry do you because a lot of jewelry isn’t worth much when you need food and water. You can’t trade it for anything.
God had a plan for them just as He has a plan for us today. How many know God has a plan for your life? Remember when the children of Israel left Egypt and God told them to ask the Egyptians for some things? Let’s read from Ex. 13:33 through 36. He knew they would have to bring an offering for the work of the LORD. Where did they get it ? From the Egyptians. After all they had been slaves for four hundred years or so and this was just back wages that were owed them. So when GOD told Moses “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering:” where did the gold and silver and all of these other materials come from? It was this plundering the Bible calls it; from Egypt. Even though it was a request it was still plundering. In the Amplified Bible ch.13 and vs. 36 it says “And they stripped the Egyptians [of those things].
There is a portion of this chapter here in Ex. 13 that is most interesting to me and it is found in verse 38. “A mixed multitude went up with them also” “A mixed multitude” Obviously there were some Egyptians and possibly some other nationalities who decided that it was better to be with God’s chosen than it was to stay in Egypt. It was a mixed multitude. GOD HAS A PEOPLE FROM EVERY NATION. Amen? In Tunisia there are 9 million people with 300 Christians…in Morocco 30 million and 2000 known Christians. In one small city in MOROCCO THERE ARE THREE (3) KNOWN Christians. How about those kind of statistics? Aren’t you grateful for the family of God here in Saint John. We are not alone. But we need to be on guard and evangelize this city. Many have never heard! We have a mixed multitude in Saint John and God has given us an opportunity to win them to Him. Perhaps instead of complaining about our immigration practices we should rather thank God for bringing these people to our shores so that we can better reach them. This life will soon be over… only what’s done for Christ is going to count; not what we accumulate here, so what difference does it make if we have more immigrants…we should seize the moment for eternity’s sake. We spend thousands of dollars sending missionaries overseas and rightly so. Here is an opportunity that won’t cost a cent…God has brought them to our doorstep. When we go to heaven pray that a mixed multitude will go with us. Amen? Let’s not be afraid of their religions, but let’s offer Christ to them and let them see that we have been with Jesus. It is important that we be aware of these religions but we do not have to be afraid of them. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
God said to Moses, see that you make it according to the pattern. Just so shall you make it. No substitutes. I think in many of today’s worship services we have substituted style for the Spirit.
We have replaced the moving of the Holy Spirit with copying worldly methods. Our music has conformed to the style of the world. Bro. Wickens said “we are worshipping our worship.”
Let’s get back to the pattern again. If you can’t hear the words and understand what is being said, then something is wrong with the music. Gospel music is the greatest music in the world. And that includes the old hymns. However let me say that much of the newer style music is good and appeals to everyone, but there is some of it that perhaps doesn’t have the kind of style some of us older folks like but it still helps our young people to worship. And if I complain about it, perhaps I am wrong in so doing and I am being selfish. Now you’ve got my opinion. Both sides of the coin.
We’re talking about the free will offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. Does God need our offerings? Doesn’t He own everything? The cattle on a thousand hills? The wealth in every mine? Doesn’t it all belong to Him in the first place? So who reaps the benefit if we give an offering to Him? We do don’t we? But it must be from a willing heart. God doesn’t bless stinginess. Or if we give grudgingly. You might give a good amount but if it is given grudgingly then there is no blessing in that.
Look at Romans ch.12:8. Look at 2 Cor. 9:6,7 God loves a cheerful giver. And here in Ex. 25, He is saying to Moses, “let them bring an offering from a willing heart” Our offerings should be from a willing heart. Ephesians 2:19-22 says, “Now therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Moses had been forty days and forty nights with God on top of Mt. Sinai when God gave him these detailed instructions and the Bible tells us that Joshua went with him. As also Aaron and his two sons and seventy elders of the children of Israel, but these didn’t stay there and they never went all the way up to the top, only Moses and Joshua went all the way. God sent the rest home. And He spoke to Moses. It’s all there in ch.24
I hope you will read it this week. It is required reading for this study.
This whole tabernacle exercise was for one purpose and one purpose only and that was to point men to the fact that God wants to dwell in us through the Lord Jesus Christ and that could only come about through the shedding of blood, “for without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.”
And that can only happen in our individual lives through our offerings. And I’m speaking of the giving of ourselves unto Him and that requires repentance. There is a common need in every man, woman, boy and girl on this earth that binds us like a thread, weaving it’s way through every life and connecting us together in our great necessity and that is our need to repent of our sins. We all have to come to that place where we surrender our very being to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ and cast our burdens on Him.
And the Bible says in the book of Isaiah that “God has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” “All have sinned” we read in Romans. And when we think about the offerings for the building of the tabernacle, how can we not think about the offering of Himself on the cruel cross of Calvary? He suffered there for you and for me. As no man suffered for Jesus did not only endure physical pain but He was bearing the sin that we should have died for and worse than anything….rejection from the heavenly Father because He cannot look upon sin. If we understood how terrible sin is like God understands it then I think we could more easily abhor that which is evil. If we would look at sin through the eyes of God how different some of our lives would be lived. We need to pray like Jabez prayed in 1 Chronicles 4:9,10 “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory and that Your Hand would be with me and that You would keep me from evil that I will not cause pain” or in the KJV “that it will not grieve me” Hallelujah! Jesus offered up Himself as a free will offering, willingly, cheerfully; without a grudge…not grudgingly. God loves a cheerful giver, whether it is of your substance, your money or your life, He loves it when we give ourselves or of ourselves willingly. Paul says it in Romans 12:1,2 “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
It was a truly dramatic scene there on Sinai….a black thick cloud, flashing lightening, thunder rolling, even smoke like that of a furnace, the Bible says. A voice like the sound of a trumpet
shook the entire mountain. It was a demonstration of the very Presence of Almighty God. And it was in this atmosphere that God told Moses , “of every man that gives willingly with his heart, you shall take My offering.” They were a redeemed people
They were to give willingly because they were a redeemed people.
They were redeemed by God by the shedding of blood…the blood of a lamb. We are a redeemed people and we too have been redeemed by the shedding of the Blood of the Lamb of Calvary.
Everything we have belongs to God; our houses, our automobiles, everything belongs to Him,; so we can give cheerfully and willingly because it is all His anyhow and we are His as well. How gladly and willingly we should offer back to God that with which He has entrusted us. We are to be stewards. The children of Israel gave so willingly that they gave too much and Moses had to issue a stop giving order. Imagine, in any church if the pastor announced on Sunday morning that we won’t be taking an offering for the next several weeks as you have given too much! Wouldn’t that be something? Have you ever been in a church service where that has happened?
That was the case here in the gathering of the offering for the tabernacle .We’ll come to it later.
Part three of this first lesson tomorrow. If you want me to e-mail you when there is a new post you will have to send me your address. Mine is atlmiss@nbnet.nb.ca.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Today is the first installment in my study from the books of Hebrews and also Exodus as it pertains to the tabernacle.The Tabernacle in the wilderness,i.e./God’s Pattern We have been studying the book of Hebrews and we have come to the place in chapters 8&9 where it talks about the tabernacle and this is the first installment in our series that we will be covering over the next few months; I believe it will take us that long, we will study the tabernacle and see how the tabernacle that Moses erected in the wilderness points in all of its aspects to the cross of Calvary and the finished work of Christ the Messiah. I do not see this as an interruption of our study in Hebrews but rather as an integral part of it This is not a departure from our study in Hebrews.. I believe the writer of the epistle was the apostle Paul as do others and he was giving this reference to the tabernacle to these Hebrew Christians as part of his exhortation to continue in their walk with God and especially to show to them that the ceremonies and types seen in the Tabernacle worship pointed to the reality that Jesus came to bring. And we know what that reality is, it is knowing Him and His sacrifice on Calvary and our salvation. We sing a song “He has opened the way to the Father”…He is the Way.
Tonight to get us started we will read from chapter 9, a good portion of chapter nine That is a lot of verses but I feel to lay down the scriptural foundation in it’s fullness before we proceed with our study. Let’s read ch.9 OF HEBREWS down to verse 15 for now. Then each session we will begin with the text verse found in ch. 8 vs. 5 here in Hebrews and it is a quote from Ex. 25:40 where it says, “ see that ye make it according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.” The Amplified Bible says 40And see to it that you copy [exactly] their pattern which was shown you on the mountain.(C)That is what we are about to embark on in our study….”the Pattern” or “God’s pattern”There is a point that needs to be made here in our study and that is that God came to us, He searched for us, not the other way around.
3
Oh yes, He placed a hunger in our hearts for Him; He put a desire in our hearts and He placed within man a need for worship, but the initiative was on His part. I want to stop here for just a moment and ask a question. This is one of those opportunities for you to comment. Why does God place a hunger in some men’s hearts for a deeper relationship with Him than others have? Why is it that some folks have an insatiable hunger for His Word more than others do?
The songwriter penned it rightly when he said, “I was lost but Jesus found me, I was blind but now I see….Oh glory, glory hallelujah, I was bound but now I’m free” He searched for me!
1 John 4:10 from the New Century Version reads, “It is not our love for God; it is God’s love for us in sending His Son to be the way to take away our sins. Another translation, the New Living Translation reads, “This is real love---not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a sacrifice to take away our sins. And that is how our study in the tabernacle will begin …from the inner part called the Holy place and works outward.
God coming to us. He states in Hebrews ch. 9 vs. 2, “For a tabernacle was prepared, the first part in which was the lamp stand, the table and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All….the Holy of Holies…I have passed the riven veil where the glories never fail, And I am living in the Presence of the King. Praise God we are living in the Presence of the King of kings….the Lord of lords. If you aren’t living there tonight then why aren’t you? He has opened up the way for us to enter into His very Presence tonight. Why are we not living up to the place God has prepared? Why do we go around murmuring and complaining? Why do we miss the Shekinah glory that the Old Testament priests experienced at the dedication of Solomon’s temple? You know that a person can be well versed in the Word of God but have such a critical spirit that they miss God entirely. The people of God were encamped at Mt. Sinai. Every day for six days they gazed with trembling and bated breath at the cloud covering the mountain. Ex. 24:13-18. The cloud signified that God had come down to them to speak to them. On the seventh day God spoke to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.(Read Ex.24:18. “So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” There God gave to Moses a command and instructed Moses to speak to the children of Israel to provide the necessary materials for the construction of the tabernacle. On the day that it was finally completed and erected, as they watched, “the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ”Ex. 40:34. Read verse 35 “Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle”NRSV… the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. I pray that we will see that again, when the glory of the LORD fills the tabernacle. I’M JUMPING AHEAD OF MYSELF SOMEWHA T. God came down to dwell with His people. He gave them the opportunity to become partakers and we also have been invited to be partakers. Hebrews 3:1 says “we are partakers of the heavenly calling” Why are we not partaking then? If that is the case? Why are we missing out? I am not going to miss it. As I was preparing these thoughts for tonight….and I have been studying this all summer in anticipation of tonight…I felt the
5
Shekinah glory of God’s Holy Spirit flooding through the deepest inner recesses of my soul and I felt a joy springing up within. Does that mean I do not have trouble? Does that mean I do not have problems? Not on your sweet buffy…I have the same kind of problems and trials that are common to man….I don’t think I deserve them…at least not all of them. Some of you here tonight could tell of circumstances in your lives that would make my troubles pale in comparison. But you aren’t going to let them defeat you. Amen? We will rejoice in the Lord…in the prophecy of Habakkuk, he says in verse 17 of the last chapter (3) , “ Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food, Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls--- Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Is that your purpose tonight? Will you be one whose rejoicing is in the LORD? That is what I want to do. Rejoice! Hallelujah! How many will join me? We’d better get back to the lesson
Ex.25:8”And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” God said to Moses His servant.. ”let them make me a sanctuary……that I may dwell among them.” Praise God! Aren’t you glad He said that? Because He was setting forth a truth here, a greater deeper truth, a pattern for you and I tonight and that is that we are His dwelling place…we are the house of God! We are His dwelling place. Think of it tonight. Think of it!
Let that thought settle into your soul, let it soak into your spirit…we are His dwelling place…Hallelujah! I don’t think that we are fully aware of that truth; we haven’t quite grasped it like we should. This body of believers make up the church, don’t you agree and 1 Timothy 3:14 we are told that the church of the living God is the pillar and ground of the Truth.
The great apostle Paul asked the question of the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 3:16 “
6.
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Peter said in his first letter, the second chapter and verses 4&5, “Coming to Him, as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” I want to tell you tonight that you will be rejected….by men. Jesus said that the servant is not greater than his master.
You and I are that house he is referring to in this passage….if we have been born again by the Spirit of God. And we will be rejected by men. The servant IS NOT GREATER THAN HIS MASTER. We might as well face it.
As we look into the subject of the tabernacle, we will be referring much to these verses found here in Ex. 25. I think we should read these first 9 verses. “Just so you shall make it.” God doesn’t want any changes from His pattern…”just so you shall make it” Only the shed blood of Jesus will be sufficient for our salvation.
We just read it in Hebrews chapter 9. Works won’t do it. We must stay with the pattern. We will talk about works in a later lesson. It is only by His grace.
(I am going to stop here and give you the rest of lesson #1 over the course of the next few days, so as not to overload you all at one sitting.)
p.s.. if you want me to notify you of a new post, then you must send me your e-mail address which I will not share with anyone else. You can also access another blog that Naida and I share at www.moreaboutHisWord.blogspot.com
Tonight to get us started we will read from chapter 9, a good portion of chapter nine That is a lot of verses but I feel to lay down the scriptural foundation in it’s fullness before we proceed with our study. Let’s read ch.9 OF HEBREWS down to verse 15 for now. Then each session we will begin with the text verse found in ch. 8 vs. 5 here in Hebrews and it is a quote from Ex. 25:40 where it says, “ see that ye make it according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.” The Amplified Bible says 40And see to it that you copy [exactly] their pattern which was shown you on the mountain.(C)That is what we are about to embark on in our study….”the Pattern” or “God’s pattern”There is a point that needs to be made here in our study and that is that God came to us, He searched for us, not the other way around.
3
Oh yes, He placed a hunger in our hearts for Him; He put a desire in our hearts and He placed within man a need for worship, but the initiative was on His part. I want to stop here for just a moment and ask a question. This is one of those opportunities for you to comment. Why does God place a hunger in some men’s hearts for a deeper relationship with Him than others have? Why is it that some folks have an insatiable hunger for His Word more than others do?
The songwriter penned it rightly when he said, “I was lost but Jesus found me, I was blind but now I see….Oh glory, glory hallelujah, I was bound but now I’m free” He searched for me!
1 John 4:10 from the New Century Version reads, “It is not our love for God; it is God’s love for us in sending His Son to be the way to take away our sins. Another translation, the New Living Translation reads, “This is real love---not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a sacrifice to take away our sins. And that is how our study in the tabernacle will begin …from the inner part called the Holy place and works outward.
God coming to us. He states in Hebrews ch. 9 vs. 2, “For a tabernacle was prepared, the first part in which was the lamp stand, the table and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All….the Holy of Holies…I have passed the riven veil where the glories never fail, And I am living in the Presence of the King. Praise God we are living in the Presence of the King of kings….the Lord of lords. If you aren’t living there tonight then why aren’t you? He has opened up the way for us to enter into His very Presence tonight. Why are we not living up to the place God has prepared? Why do we go around murmuring and complaining? Why do we miss the Shekinah glory that the Old Testament priests experienced at the dedication of Solomon’s temple? You know that a person can be well versed in the Word of God but have such a critical spirit that they miss God entirely. The people of God were encamped at Mt. Sinai. Every day for six days they gazed with trembling and bated breath at the cloud covering the mountain. Ex. 24:13-18. The cloud signified that God had come down to them to speak to them. On the seventh day God spoke to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.(Read Ex.24:18. “So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” There God gave to Moses a command and instructed Moses to speak to the children of Israel to provide the necessary materials for the construction of the tabernacle. On the day that it was finally completed and erected, as they watched, “the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ”Ex. 40:34. Read verse 35 “Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle”NRSV… the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. I pray that we will see that again, when the glory of the LORD fills the tabernacle. I’M JUMPING AHEAD OF MYSELF SOMEWHA T. God came down to dwell with His people. He gave them the opportunity to become partakers and we also have been invited to be partakers. Hebrews 3:1 says “we are partakers of the heavenly calling” Why are we not partaking then? If that is the case? Why are we missing out? I am not going to miss it. As I was preparing these thoughts for tonight….and I have been studying this all summer in anticipation of tonight…I felt the
5
Shekinah glory of God’s Holy Spirit flooding through the deepest inner recesses of my soul and I felt a joy springing up within. Does that mean I do not have trouble? Does that mean I do not have problems? Not on your sweet buffy…I have the same kind of problems and trials that are common to man….I don’t think I deserve them…at least not all of them. Some of you here tonight could tell of circumstances in your lives that would make my troubles pale in comparison. But you aren’t going to let them defeat you. Amen? We will rejoice in the Lord…in the prophecy of Habakkuk, he says in verse 17 of the last chapter (3) , “ Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food, Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls--- Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Is that your purpose tonight? Will you be one whose rejoicing is in the LORD? That is what I want to do. Rejoice! Hallelujah! How many will join me? We’d better get back to the lesson
Ex.25:8”And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” God said to Moses His servant.. ”let them make me a sanctuary……that I may dwell among them.” Praise God! Aren’t you glad He said that? Because He was setting forth a truth here, a greater deeper truth, a pattern for you and I tonight and that is that we are His dwelling place…we are the house of God! We are His dwelling place. Think of it tonight. Think of it!
Let that thought settle into your soul, let it soak into your spirit…we are His dwelling place…Hallelujah! I don’t think that we are fully aware of that truth; we haven’t quite grasped it like we should. This body of believers make up the church, don’t you agree and 1 Timothy 3:14 we are told that the church of the living God is the pillar and ground of the Truth.
The great apostle Paul asked the question of the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 3:16 “
6.
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Peter said in his first letter, the second chapter and verses 4&5, “Coming to Him, as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” I want to tell you tonight that you will be rejected….by men. Jesus said that the servant is not greater than his master.
You and I are that house he is referring to in this passage….if we have been born again by the Spirit of God. And we will be rejected by men. The servant IS NOT GREATER THAN HIS MASTER. We might as well face it.
As we look into the subject of the tabernacle, we will be referring much to these verses found here in Ex. 25. I think we should read these first 9 verses. “Just so you shall make it.” God doesn’t want any changes from His pattern…”just so you shall make it” Only the shed blood of Jesus will be sufficient for our salvation.
We just read it in Hebrews chapter 9. Works won’t do it. We must stay with the pattern. We will talk about works in a later lesson. It is only by His grace.
(I am going to stop here and give you the rest of lesson #1 over the course of the next few days, so as not to overload you all at one sitting.)
p.s.. if you want me to notify you of a new post, then you must send me your e-mail address which I will not share with anyone else. You can also access another blog that Naida and I share at www.moreaboutHisWord.blogspot.com
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Strong tower series Friend of sinners: He was called a friend of sinners; as a matter of fact He was accused of being a friend of sinners. One day Jesus was sitting with some friends who just happened to be sinners; I tell you if we didn’t have sinners to sit with to talk to we wouldn’t have anybody to talk to, would we? The Bible says “all have sinned”; these guys Jesus was talking to were “tax collectors and [notorious and especially wicked] sinners “ quote, unquote. That is taken from Luke 15:1 from the Amplified version. The next verse says “And the Pharisees and the scribes kept muttering and indignantly complaining, saying, This man accepts and receives and welcomes[preeminently wicked] sinners and eats with them.” These were not ordinary sinners, at least according to the Pharisees as recorded by Luke. They were especially and preeminently wicked sinners. I don’t think I know anyone like that. These guys were pretty bad. And yet Jesus received them as His friends.
I saw some people on motorcycles just a couple of days ago and they looked tough; at least they tried to look tough and in my heart the old Pharisaical nature rose up and I silently judged them; there were two men and two women. They were dressed typical of their breed or so I JUDGED THEM. And their bikes were loud…you know the type. But then I thought where would Jesus be and what would He do if he were here (we were sitting on a ferry crossing a bay)? I think He would have got out of the car and went and talked to them, probably started with a comment like, “hey guys nice bikes”. But it wouldn’t be long before He had their undivided attention as He led them to Himself while explaining the plan of salvation.
Maybe you have a loved one whom many religious people have ignored because of their ungodly and wicked ways. And you have sort of given up on them. Jesus will never give up on them no matter how wicked their lives may be, how socially unacceptable they are. The Pharisees saw just how wicked and sinful this bunch were and yet here was Jesus sitting down with them and having lunch with them. Notice also that these especially wicked people were coming near to Jesus to listen to Him. Yes He accepted and received and welcomed these preeminently wicked sinners even to the point of sitting down to eat with them but He did it so that He could talk with them about their soul’s salvation. We might have to sometimes step out of our comfort zone to win people to Christ but wouldn’t it be worth it? The shepherd in Jesus’ parable found in Luke 15 certainly had to leave his comfort zone in order to find his lost sheep but what rejoicing there was when he found that one lost sheep. Jesus is a Friend of mine!p.s. I don’t recall any record where it says a Pharisee had any friends, I guess they never learned how to make a friend
I saw some people on motorcycles just a couple of days ago and they looked tough; at least they tried to look tough and in my heart the old Pharisaical nature rose up and I silently judged them; there were two men and two women. They were dressed typical of their breed or so I JUDGED THEM. And their bikes were loud…you know the type. But then I thought where would Jesus be and what would He do if he were here (we were sitting on a ferry crossing a bay)? I think He would have got out of the car and went and talked to them, probably started with a comment like, “hey guys nice bikes”. But it wouldn’t be long before He had their undivided attention as He led them to Himself while explaining the plan of salvation.
Maybe you have a loved one whom many religious people have ignored because of their ungodly and wicked ways. And you have sort of given up on them. Jesus will never give up on them no matter how wicked their lives may be, how socially unacceptable they are. The Pharisees saw just how wicked and sinful this bunch were and yet here was Jesus sitting down with them and having lunch with them. Notice also that these especially wicked people were coming near to Jesus to listen to Him. Yes He accepted and received and welcomed these preeminently wicked sinners even to the point of sitting down to eat with them but He did it so that He could talk with them about their soul’s salvation. We might have to sometimes step out of our comfort zone to win people to Christ but wouldn’t it be worth it? The shepherd in Jesus’ parable found in Luke 15 certainly had to leave his comfort zone in order to find his lost sheep but what rejoicing there was when he found that one lost sheep. Jesus is a Friend of mine!p.s. I don’t recall any record where it says a Pharisee had any friends, I guess they never learned how to make a friend
Friday, August 10, 2007
Before starting a series on the Tabernacle which will come in September, I had a thought that I wanted to share and so this will be the initial blog for Godspattern.
Revenge is sweet someone has said. Another saying in our times goes like this, “I don’t get mad, I just get even.” The other day we were driving to town and I was driving the XG in the center lane of a four lane street and I wanted the right lane but a young man in a nice new style Ford pickup cut me off and wouldn’t let me in and soon I discovered after he passed by that he had really wanted my lane anyway. In fact he was going to the same place as me so he had to cut back into my lane again. He had to get there first. You know the type. They would run over you if they had to in order to be first. What a jerk!
But then we came upon a place where we had to detour and he being first was ahead of me(makes sense don’t it), so he got to go into the wrong street first. So I in turn now became first and I got to take the lead and said to my wife….revenge is sweet!
Stupid, stupid, stupid. It didn’t last for long, he passed me going down a hill, on the outside lane and got wherever we were going first. Now isn’t that a stupid story? Yes, you agree “it is.” It is just as stupid as a Christian who seeks revenge from another Christian who perhaps knowingly or unknowingly has brought pain to bear by saying something they shouldn’t have said, or maybe it was an action that never should have happened. Sometimes we may not say it but we think (what a jerk!) The Bible says “vengeance is mine saith the Lord, I will repay.” Have you ever been hurt by someone, maybe even someone you love and you wanted to hurt them back? And perhaps you did just that…you hurt them back, you got even? What good did it do you?
There is no room in a Christian’s life for getting even. No room for revenge.
Jesus said something like “if your enemy thirsts…give him a drink, if he is hungry …give him some food.” That may not be word for word …but that is the gist of it. And He was talking about our enemies ,sooo …if we are to treat our enemies like that, how about somebody we love, even though they said something that hurt or they did something that hurt. Sometimes you hear a person say, “I’ll never trust him or her again.” That may be well and good in some cases but not in every case. The Bible says that we are to be imitators of God, read it in Eph. 5:1-2…I’ll read it for you from the Amplified New Testament, “Therefore be imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example] as well-beloved children [imitating their father] and walk in love, [ esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.
You can turn to Philippians 2 and read in the third verse these words in the last part of the verse, “let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves]. I’ve got to finish verse four also (can’t leave it alone) -“Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not [merely] his own interests, but also each for the interests of others.”
What can I say now? I was as much a jerk as the guy in the truck. I repented this morning of such trivial foolishness.
But what about you? You who have sought revenge against your brother or your sister or perhaps someone even closer? Revenge is not sweet …..it belongs to God….it’s not for us.
How does this story relate to the study on the tabernacle, you ask? Well the Tabernacle is all about sacrifice and love is all about sacrifice, is it not? p.s. read all of Philippians 2, it’s all about love…RC
Revenge is sweet someone has said. Another saying in our times goes like this, “I don’t get mad, I just get even.” The other day we were driving to town and I was driving the XG in the center lane of a four lane street and I wanted the right lane but a young man in a nice new style Ford pickup cut me off and wouldn’t let me in and soon I discovered after he passed by that he had really wanted my lane anyway. In fact he was going to the same place as me so he had to cut back into my lane again. He had to get there first. You know the type. They would run over you if they had to in order to be first. What a jerk!
But then we came upon a place where we had to detour and he being first was ahead of me(makes sense don’t it), so he got to go into the wrong street first. So I in turn now became first and I got to take the lead and said to my wife….revenge is sweet!
Stupid, stupid, stupid. It didn’t last for long, he passed me going down a hill, on the outside lane and got wherever we were going first. Now isn’t that a stupid story? Yes, you agree “it is.” It is just as stupid as a Christian who seeks revenge from another Christian who perhaps knowingly or unknowingly has brought pain to bear by saying something they shouldn’t have said, or maybe it was an action that never should have happened. Sometimes we may not say it but we think (what a jerk!) The Bible says “vengeance is mine saith the Lord, I will repay.” Have you ever been hurt by someone, maybe even someone you love and you wanted to hurt them back? And perhaps you did just that…you hurt them back, you got even? What good did it do you?
There is no room in a Christian’s life for getting even. No room for revenge.
Jesus said something like “if your enemy thirsts…give him a drink, if he is hungry …give him some food.” That may not be word for word …but that is the gist of it. And He was talking about our enemies ,sooo …if we are to treat our enemies like that, how about somebody we love, even though they said something that hurt or they did something that hurt. Sometimes you hear a person say, “I’ll never trust him or her again.” That may be well and good in some cases but not in every case. The Bible says that we are to be imitators of God, read it in Eph. 5:1-2…I’ll read it for you from the Amplified New Testament, “Therefore be imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example] as well-beloved children [imitating their father] and walk in love, [ esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.
You can turn to Philippians 2 and read in the third verse these words in the last part of the verse, “let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves]. I’ve got to finish verse four also (can’t leave it alone) -“Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not [merely] his own interests, but also each for the interests of others.”
What can I say now? I was as much a jerk as the guy in the truck. I repented this morning of such trivial foolishness.
But what about you? You who have sought revenge against your brother or your sister or perhaps someone even closer? Revenge is not sweet …..it belongs to God….it’s not for us.
How does this story relate to the study on the tabernacle, you ask? Well the Tabernacle is all about sacrifice and love is all about sacrifice, is it not? p.s. read all of Philippians 2, it’s all about love…RC
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