Old Testament Archives - Page 50 of 143

Your Reasonable Service

Christ Church on January 2, 2022

INTRODUCTION

We have already covered the 5 main sacrifices in the first five chapters, but the next two focus on specific tasks and duties of the priests with regard to the sacrifices. Here, God is instructing Israel to obey carefully, making distinctions between holy and common, clean and unclean.

REVIEW

Leviticus 1: Ascension/Burnt Offering – God invites us to draw near with all that we are: the whole animal goes on the altar.

Leviticus 2: Tribute/Grain Offering – God provides our daily bread and all things, and therefore, He claims our full allegiance: bread on the altar.

Leviticus 3: Peace Offering – God invites us to have fellowship with Him and one another with a meal: the fat goes on the altar and we eat together in the presence of God.

Leviticus 4: Sin Offering – Sin defiles us and our land, but God takes it upon Himself so we can be clean: the blood goes in front of the veil and on the altar for cleansing, the carcass is burned outside the camp.

Leviticus 5: Guilt/Reparation Offering – All sin requires repentance and sometimes restitution: a ram for the Lord and restoring what was lost or stolen plus twenty percent.

THE TEXT

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law for the burnt offering…” (Lev. 6:8-7:38)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

While the earlier chapters described God’s provision of sacrifice for Israelites to draw near, here God gives commands to the priests for carrying them out. Instructions include the continual sacrifice, every morning and evening for the Ascension Offering (6:9-14), which portions of the Tribute Offerings (grain) belong to the priests (6:15-6:23), how the blood of the Sin Offering consecrates whatever it touches (6:24-30), how the Reparation Offering is like the Sin Offering and who may eat it (7:1-7), as well as the skin and Tribute grain that belong to the priests (7:8-10).

Peace Offerings may be made on occasions of thanksgiving (with unleavened and leavened bread), or upon the completion of vows, or as a voluntary offering, but must be eaten on the day of the offering (thanksgiving) or on the second day (vows/voluntary) (7:11-18). The meat of the Peace Offering must be kept ceremonially clean, ceremonial cleanness is required for all who partake of the Peace Offerings, and any unclean who partake are to be cut off from the people (7:19-21). While the Israelites may use the fat of animals for other purposes, they may not eat it, especially from a sacrifice, nor drink the blood (7:22-27). Finally, while individual Israelites must bring their own the Peace Offerings, the priests are to receive their portion and see to it that the fat is burned (7:28-36). This concludes the law of all the sacrifices and offerings (7:28-38).

HOLY, CLEAN, UNCLEAN, & CUT OFF

We will have opportunity to consider these categories more as we go on, but just notice how God is requiring the priests and the people to pay close attention to details: clean (6:11), holy (6:18), most holy (6:25, 29), clean (7:19), unclean (7:20-21). These generally correspond to whom the sacrifice belongs (holy/priests, clean/congregation). And those who fail to honor these distinctions are to be “cut off” (7:21, 25, 27). This means they are excommunicated from the presence of the Lord while the uncleanness persists, often only requiring a washing (Lev. 22:3-7). While these instructions are primarily given to the priests, we see that individual Israelites are also responsible to make sure the priests are following the instructions (7:18). The overarching principle here is the holiness of God. On the one hand, one does not just saunter into the presence of God, and yet, on the other hand, the whole sacrificial system was God making a way for sinners to draw near.

These categories were training wheels for New Covenant holiness. In the New Covenant, the holy blood of Jesus has gone into the Most Holy Place and splashed on this planet earth, consecrating the whole world to the Lord. Zechariah foretells this when he described a day when the bells on the horses would be consecrated with “Holiness to the Lord” as well as every pot in Jerusalem (Zech. 14:20-21). This is particularly true of believers who have been sanctified with the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:29). All that we do and touch is now holy to the Lord. In the New Covenant there is only “one baptism,” one washing, but we apply the promise of that cleansing through confession of sin: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7). This is also the goal of all correction (Gal. 6:1, Mt. 18:15).

This requires Christians to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers: “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you” (2 Cor. 6:17). And yet, if God saves you in a situation where you are already yoked to an unbeliever, trust Him to use it to sanctify the unbelieving spouse, otherwise the children would be unclean (1 Cor. 7:14). So an unbeliever is not a marital option for believers, but when it comes to friends and business partners, the question is: which way is the influence going? “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 21-23).

CONCLUSION: YOUR REASONABLE SERVICE

While God raises up teachers and ministers, all believers have priestly responsibilities in the New Covenant: “Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ… But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:5, 9, cf. Rev. 1:5-6). The Bereans were more noble because they “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). “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” (Rom. 12:1). “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22).

The Knowledge of Good & Evil

Christ Church on December 26, 2021

INTRODUCTION

The Lord Jesus was born in this world in order to reestablish mankind. The first mankind in Adam had failed at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and so Jesus was born into this world in order to rebuild the ruin we had created here. Our celebrations at this time of year are dedicated to a remembrance of what He came in order to do. And as we remember, and understand it more fully, that work which He has accomplished is actually advanced in our midst. Most of you have not taken the Christmas tree in your living room down, so remember that in Scripture a tree can be a place of great folly or of great wisdom. Adam disobeyed at a tree, and Jesus obeyed on one.

THE TEXTS

“But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17).

“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5:14).

BACKGROUND TO THE TEXTS

We all know that there was one prohibited tree in the Garden of Eden, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Note that the tree of life was not prohibited (Gen. 2:16), but once sin had entered the world it then went off limits—lest we should eat from it in a rebellious condition and live forever that way, unredeemable (Gen. 3:22, 24). So God in His mercy barred the way to the tree of life, until it was opened up again in and through the gospel (Rev. 2:7). But what about that tree of the knowledge of good and evil? What was it?

So we need to take a moment to consider what that phrase means, and what it does not mean. The two basic alternatives are that it was bad for us to have knowledge of the difference between good and evil, period, or that the prohibition was temporary, and the sin was in grasping for something prematurely.

We should be able to see that it was the latter by how God responds to the situation when our first parents disobeyed. We see that it cannot mean experience of sin. The Lord said, “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil” (Gen. 3:22). The serpent earlier had promised that this knowledge would make them “as God” (or gods), “knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5). Millennia later, the author of Hebrews does not identify this ability to distinguish sin from righteousness as sinful in itself, but rather with maturity, with the capacity to handle “strong meat.”

Too many Christians assume that a pre-fall lack of the knowledge of good and evil was a total blank innocence, with no ethical categories at all. But if this were the case then how would Adam have been able to fall into sin? How would he have known it was evil to eat from the prohibited tree? No, the knowledge of good and evil here has to mean something more than a simple knowledge of the difference between right and wrong.

PREPARATION FOR RULE

God had created mankind to rule over creation and all the creatures (Gen. 1:27-30). In learning how to judge and rule the created order, man really would be like God (Ecc. 12:14). Entering into that rule would have been a transition from immaturity to maturity, and not a transition from moral cluelessness into an ability to tell right from wrong. Kings make judgments. They have to be able to discern right and wrong in the case before them.

Now it is quite true that the Bible often speaks of “good” and “evil” in simple moral categories of individuals learning to love good and hate evil. But when we talk about discernment, we are talking about the ability to tell good from almost good, to discern the difference between white and off-white. Because God created us for rule, He created us for this. And when our first parents ate this forbidden fruit, they were grabbing for that rule prematurely, before God gave it to them as a gift.

WHAT CHILDREN DON’T DO, WHAT KINGS DO

Consider the language of Scripture.

“Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither . . .” (Dt. 1:39; cf. Jer. 4:22).

This was true of a type of the Messiah, the child born in fulfillment of the promise to Isaiah.

“Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel . . . for before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings” (Is. 7:14-16).

Extreme old age prevents a man from being able to serve as a judge between good and evil, as Barzillai observed:

“I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil . . .?” (2 Sam. 19:35).

And how did Solomon please the Lord when a vision was given to him at Gibeon? Even though he sacrificed in the high places, he did love the Lord (1 Kings 3:3). When the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask for whatever he would have, Solomon’s answer pleased the Lord (1 Kings 3:10). So what did Solomon ask for? He said first that he was “but a little child” (1 Kings 3:7), and so what deficiency did he think needed to be corrected?

“Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people” (1 Kings 3:10)?

GROWING UP IN JESUS

We are called to understand the world so that we might grow up into a maturity that is capable of ruling the world. The verb to speak a proverb is a word that also means to rule. The wisdom of Scripture is wisdom that is geared to dominion. The author of Hebrews knows and understands the creation mandate. He quotes Ps. 8, and says that we do not yet see everything subject to mankind—but we do see Jesus (Heb, 2:9). The world to come is not subject to angels, but to mankind (Heb. 2:5ff). Mankind in Christ is therefore being fitted for godly rule (Heb. 5:14). Because we grabbed the forbidden fruit out of order, we have needed to be retro-fitted for it, but this is what is happening.

So in the child Jesus, given to us at Christmas, our response should be the same as that of the wise men. We look at a little child and we see a king. And all around you, you should see princes.

The Coming of Christ (A Star Out of Jacob #4)

Christ Church on December 19, 2021

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THE TEXT

And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”

¹⁵So he took up his oracle and said:

“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
¹⁶The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
And has the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:

¹⁷“I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of tumult.

¹⁸“And Edom shall be a possession;
Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession,
While Israel does valiantly.
¹⁹Out of Jacob One shall have dominion,
And destroy the remains of the city.”

²⁰Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said:

“Amalek was first among the nations,
But shall be last until he perishes.”

²¹Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:

“Firm is your dwelling place,
And your nest is set in the rock;
²²Nevertheless Kain shall be burned.
How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”

²³Then he took up his oracle and said:

“Alas! Who shall live when God does this?
²⁴But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus,
And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber,
And so shall Amalek, until he perishes.”

²⁵So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way (Numbers 24:14–25).

Through Covenantal Eyes (A Star Out of Jacob #3)

Christ Church on December 12, 2021

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THE TEXT

Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland. Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.

Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

Then he took up his oracle and said:

“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:

“How lovely are your tents, O Jacob!
Your dwellings, O Israel!
Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens by the riverside,
Like aloes planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be in many waters.

“His king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.

“God brings him out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall consume the nations, his enemies;
He shall break their bones
And pierce them with his arrows.
‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’

“Blessed is he who blesses you,
And cursed is he who curses you.”

Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”

So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? (Numbers 23:27–24:13).

The Shout of a King (A Star Out of Jacob #2)

Christ Church on December 5, 2021

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INTRODUCTION

This second blessing pronounced by Balaam doubles down on the first, insisting that God is determined to bless Israel because He always keeps His promises. On top of that, God insists that He sees no evil or trouble in His people. This doesn’t seem right to us, and that’s why we need to be reminded how His grace works.

THE TEXT

And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:¹⁹God is not a man, that he should lie; neither 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?²⁰Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.²¹He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.²²God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.²³Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!²⁴Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain (Num. 23:18-24).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

God address Balak with a “shema” summons to hear, just as Israel is command (cf. Dt. 6) (23:18). God assures him that he doesn’t lie and he doesn’t change his mind like men; what He has promised to do, He will surely accomplish (23:19). Balaam repeats that he has received another instruction to bless; God has blessed and it cannot be reversed (23:20). But this isn’t merely a refusal to curse; God does not see any iniquity in Jacob, no reason to curse Israel (23:21). The Lord Himself is in the midst of Israel, and therefore God only hears the voice of a great king (23:21). God brought them out of Egypt with the strength of a unicorn, so there is no incantation or divination that can come against them and the whole world is impressed with what God has done (23:22-23). Therefore, Israel will be a conquering nation, like lions that devour their prey (23:24).

UNBREAKABLE COVENANT PROMISES

When God says He isn’t a man who changes his mind or breaks his promises, He is pointing back to the covenants He has made and kept. God made covenant with Adam in the Garden after the Fall, promising to one day crush the seed of the serpent (Gen. 3). God renewed covenant with Noah, saving his family and promising never to flood the world again (Gen. 9). God renewed covenant with Abraham and promised that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 15, 17). God kept those promises by delivering Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 3) and renewing covenant at Sinai (Gen. 19-24). This track record has only increased, as God kept covenant through the judges and renewed His promises to David (2 Sam. 7). All of these promises are being fulfilled in Jesus. This is what Mary and Zechariah sing about at the coming of Jesus (Lk. 1:55ff). All the promises of God find their “yes” in Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20). God is not a man who lies or goes back on His word. But God is the kind of God who loves men who have.

WHAT GOD SEES

We noted last week that Balaam’s first blessing is already incredible since God pronounced a blessing on a nation full of complaints and unbelief, but God goes even further here insisting that He has not seen any trouble or wickedness in Israel (23:21). On the surface this is outrageous, since the book of Numbers chronicles Israel’s troubles and evil. But the same verse explains how this is possible: God Himself is in Israel, the shout of a king is in their midst (23:21).

What Balaam is prophesying is God’s covenant love and promises. The God who calls light out of darkness and life from the dead, calls those things which do not exist as though they did (Rom. 4:17, cf. 2 Cor. 10). God promises the complete remission of our sins, a perfect standing, and His complete approval and everlasting blessing in Christ crucified and risen from the dead. Faith in Christ is being fully convinced that what God has promised, He is able to perform (Rom. 4:21). And when that kind of faith receives those promises, an individual is justified. Faith sees Christ for us, and God simultaneously sees Christ in us. God forgets all our sins in the blood of Jesus, and the status of Christ’s perfect obedience is imputed to us (Rom. 4:22-24).

In the covenant, God declares His love and intention to bless. In the covenant, He declares us holy, saints (1 Cor. 7:14, cf. 1 Cor. 1:2, Eph. 1:1, etc.). And when that love is received, when that promise is believed, we are justified, and all that God sees in us is Christ. All He hears in us is the shout of our King. And one of the most glorious things our king shouts is: It is finished. In Christ, He doesn’t see any trouble or evil in you. This isn’t a blind, sentimental love; it’s a bloody, truthful love.

CONCLUSION

Christianity is a militant religion, but what is frequently misunderstood or misconstrued is the fact that our militance is driven by God’s fierce grace. What do we want to see fill Moscow? God’s grace: His fatherly, covenantal affection. So, fathers, are you for your children? Can you pronounce this blessing on your family?

Do you have a critical eye or a covenantal eye? A covenantal eye is not blind to flaws or weaknesses, but it is inclined to overlook them, wants to see them repented of. Love covers a multitude of sins, and love confronts some sins. But God’s grace is lavish, and we are called to give what we have been given.