One of those Days

Have you ever had one of those days where you start out thinking you're totally in control and prepared for whatever life throws at you?


Why wouldn't you be able to handle it? You're prepared. Bible study done. Check. Dinner already prepared and waiting in the fridge. Check. Early start on homeschool so kids will be done by doctors appointment at 1:30. Check.

Then you can't find your purse and know you had it last night when you returned from Wal-mart. You search everywhere and it's gone. You know it's been stolen. The 3rd time your purse has been stolen out of your car. (Yes, I know I'm a slow learner.) So you start making phone calls. Bank. Husband. But you're running late to the doctor's appointment so off you race after grabbing a new checkbook out of your drawer.

You're so frazzled about your purse that you don't even think to look at your gas guage and although you make it safely to the doctor's office you realize upon leaving that you're stranded because you've managed to run out of gas. Have you ever had one of those days?

So then you call your husband and can't get him. You still don't have a cell phone so you're using the phone in the doctor's office and call your mom next. Your mom doesn't have her car today either.

But, she calls her mom, your Granny, who drives to your mom so she can come pick you up and rescue you. Then she takes you to the bank where you undo all the holds and stops on your accounts because your 8 yr old had just squashed your purse down the crack in the passenger seat of the car and it wasn't stolen after all. Then your husband and dad go fill your car up with gas and bring it home to you. Have you ever had one of those days?

Christ Our Grain Offering

The grain offering was also to be offered twice daily, morning and twilight just like the burnt offerings discussed in my last post. The grain offering was also to be “continual” and for “a sweet smelling aroma to the Lord”. (Exodus 29:41&42) Where the daily animal sacrifices were to symbolize the people’s need for atonement, the grain offerings were to be a memorial. (Leviticus 2:2) The grain offerings could be prepared numerous ways, but there were three requirements for the grain offering which help further shed light on its meaning. First of all, they had to be without leaven, which symbolized corruption, just as the lambs offered to the Lord were to be without blemish. Second, the grain offering was to be anointed with oil. Anointing is used throughout the Bible as a way of denoting a person who is set apart for God. In 1 Samuel 16 Samuel anoints David, the one the Lord had chosen, with oil. Being anointed and being chosen go hand in hand together with the former signifying the later. After his anointing, “the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward,” (1 Samuel 16:13) showing us that God gives His spirit to those whom He has chosen. Anointing the grain offering with oil, set it apart for a special purpose “as a memorial”. What was it they were supposed to be remembering? Perhaps that they, too, as God’s chosen people were to be holy, set apart for the Lord. In fact, the grain offering is called “most holy” of the offerings to the Lord made by fire (Leviticus 2:3). The third requirement of the grain offering was that it be seasoned with frankincense and salt. Since frankincense was used to make perfumes, it must have been included to make the “sweet smelling aroma”. Salt was used as a preservative, to delay the spoiling of food.

During Advent, we are putting ourselves in the position of Old Testament saints anticipating the coming of the Messiah. We are also looking back, in my series, at how Christ fulfilled all of the types and shadows of the Old Testament that point us to His coming. So, how does Christ fulfill the grain offering? In other words, as God’s people, why do we no longer need to offer grain offerings twice daily? Ephesians 5:2 reminds us that God showed His love for us in giving Himself for us, “an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”, but I want to look at how Jesus fulfilled each of the three requirements of the grain offering. First of all, Jesus was perfectly holy, without sin at all. Our Lord, our great High Priest, is called “holy, harmless, and undefiled, separate from sinners” in Hebrews 7:26. 1 Peter 2:22 quotes Isaiah 53 in saying Christ “committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.” So, Christ was without leaven! Secondly, Jesus was the long awaited Anointed One that God had chosen and set apart to redeem His people (Luke 4:18, Acts 4:27). And finally, since Christ was the sweet smelling sacrifice, even though He didn’t need frankincense, I find it interesting that it was one of the gifts brought to Him by the Magi who visited from the east to pay their respects to the King of Kings. And of course, Jesus is the ultimate preservative, not only slowing the rot and decay of the world, but conquering sin once and for all. In the same way that salt keeps food from going bad, our Lord Jesus Christ preserves His people and sanctifies them. Isn't that cool to think about?

Since Jesus fulfilled the grain offering, we no longer need to offer it. “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14)

Christ our Perfect Sacrifice

This post is really a follow-up to my post on the tabernacle and its furnishings and how they foreshadow the coming of Christ and are fulfilled by Christ. Today I want to consider how the sacrificial system in the Old Testament served to keep Israel’s sin always before them and remind them of their need for a savior. I also want to look at why we no longer need to offer sacrifices and how Christ fulfilled each type of sacrifice that was required of Israel.

There were five types of sacrifices that were to be offered on a regular basis to the Lord:

1. Burnt offering
2. Grain offerings
3. Peace offerings
4. Sin offerings
5. Trespass offerings

I’ll focus on the burnt offerings for this post. The burnt offerings which I also described in my last post were to be offered twice daily, once in the morning and a second time at twilight. There was to be a “continual burnt offering” to the Lord (Exodus 29:42). In fact, the fire on the altar was never allowed to go out (Leviticus 6:12). This signifies our perpetual need for atonement for our sins because we are constantly falling short of God’s holy standard.

You may also remember that each man was responsible to bring his offering (male livestock without blemish) himself, in person. And each one who brought his lamb, would kill his own lamb after touching its head to signify a transfer of his guilt and that of his family to the sacrificial lamb. Then when the priest took the blood of the sacrificial lamb and sprinkled it around the altar, it was to signify atonement, or the covering of the sins of the one whose lamb was sacrificed in his place.

Did this burnt offering actually atone for the sins of the people? In other words, did these sacrifices save them? Many have wondered why would God have a plan A (law and sacrifices) for Israel and a plan B (grace and faith) for us. The book of Hebrews sheds light on this.

“For the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” (Hebrews 7:19)

“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:1-4)

In other words, the law never perfected Israel, but served to remind them of their sins. Paul says it this way, “The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Galations 3:24) Hebrews 11, the famous faith hall of fame explains to us that we are all saved by faith, even Abel, Abraham, Rahab, and all saints who lived before the coming of Christ. Our children’s catechism explains it this way. They were saved by believing in the Savior to come. The Israelites understood that if the sacrifice they offered saved them, then they would have no further need for sacrifices. The purpose of the offerings was to keep their sin continually before them to cause them to repent and trust in God that He would cover their sins. They were believing in the Savior to come.

The Old Testament saints didn’t have the full understanding we have of Christ, but they knew that God would atone for their sins, cover their guilt with the blood of a Sacrifice He would provide.

Remember what Isaac asked Abraham as they climbed the mountain where Abraham would sacrifice his only son, the son of promise? Isaac saw that his father held a knife, wood, and fire. He saw that only the lamb was missing. So Isaac asks his father, “Where is the lamb that we will offer to the Lord?” And Abraham explains to him that God would provide the lamb. And we know how that story ends, God did provide the ram caught in the thicket to be the “scapegoat” for their sins. Abraham named that mountain, “The Lord will provide.” Old Testament saints were saved just like we are, by believing that God Himself would cross the great chasm that our sin has made between us and God. The Lord will provide. That’s what Advent is all about, celebrating the provision of the Lord to save us from our sins. The coming of Christ was the Lord’s provision. It was His only plan from the beginning of time. Jesus was not an afterthought or a plan B. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

You know it's time to organize your puzzles when...

You know it's time to organize your puzzles when...

...your puzzle drawers look like this

...and you have puzzles coming out your ears.

Step 1- Work the puzzles.

Notice anything about these puzzles? Don't you just hate it when you're missing pieces?

With as many pieces as we're missing, I'm surprised they don't turn up from time to time. It's a mystery kind of like how socks go missing from the dryer.

I was so excited that each number had all its pieces until I realized we're missing number 9. Not one piece, but all 9 pieces of number 9!!

Well, it wasn't all bad news. At least half of the puzzles had all their pieces. Now it's just a matter of condensing our puzzle collection to one location and organizing them. Check back to see about my progress.

The Tabernacle and its Furnishings Point to the Coming Messiah

After the Lord gives the law on Mt. Sinai, He says to Moses, “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.” (Exodus 25:8-9)

The Ark of the Covenant was to contain the tablets of law within it and the mercy seat flanked by two cherubim on the outside of it. The mercy seat was the place God said, “I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony.” (Exodus 25:22) So the mercy seat stood between the presence of God (pillar of cloud) and the unattainable law of God. The mercy seat bridged the gap that sin makes between us and God. The Hebrew meaning of the word for mercy seat means “to cover”. In one sense the mercy seat covered the Law, as a lid. But in a deeper sense, the mercy seat was to cover or atone for the people’s sins. The mercy seat is also where the High Priest, entering the Holy of Holies just once a year on the Day of Atonement, would sprinkle the blood of a young bull as a sin offering for himself, a ram as a burnt offering and a goat chosen by lot as a sin offering “to cover” the sins of the people of Israel. (Leviticus 16:3-16) The mercy seat symbolized to Israel their need to have their sins covered and was fulfilled in Christ. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4) But Jesus, “after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:12-14)

The table for the showbread is where twelve unleavened cakes of bread were placed each Sabbath as a memorial offering to the Lord. The purpose of the showbread was to remind the Israelites that it is God who completely provides and cares for them. Remember the bread from heaven that the Lord so graciously provided for Israel while they wandered in the desert? Six days they would gather bread, but twice as much on the day before the Sabbath, so that they could rest in obedience to the Lord on the Sabbath. Jesus affirmed this in His model prayer when He asked His Father to, “Give us this day our daily bread.” And Jesus also fulfills this symbol in the tabernacle when He says, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” (John 6:35)

The gold lampstand stood opposite the table of showbread in the tabernacle and the seven lamps were to be arranged “so that they give light in front of it”. (Exodus 25:37) And the Israelites were commanded to bring pure olive oil for the light so that the lamp would burn continually (Leviticus 24:2). The golden lampstand points us to Christ who is the “true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world”. (John 1:9) Jesus says in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

The altar of burnt offering is where the burnt offerings were consumed. The Israelites were commanded to bring an unblemished male offering from their herds to offer of their own free will at the door of the tabernacle before the Lord. Each man would put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, symbolically transferring his sin to that of the sacrifice, before the offering was accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. Each man would then kill the bull (or sheep or goat or bird) before the Lord (acknowledging his own guilt) and then the priests would take the offering and prepare it by skinning it and cutting it into pieces, sprinkling the blood around on the altar by the door and then finally burning the offering “a sweet aroma to the Lord.” (Leviticus 1) Christ replaces the need to offer burnt offerings since He “has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smellling aroma.” (Ephesians 5:2) “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.’” (Hebrews 10:5-6) But, by the will of God, “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10)

And finally, there was the veil that served as a divider between the holy place and the Most Holy, or Holy of Holies. (Exodus 26:33) So the veil separated the area where the table of showbread, the golden lampstand, and the altar of incense was from the Holy of Holies where the ark of the covenant resided. Remember that only the High priest could enter the Holy of Holies and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. The veil served as a reminder for Israel that their sin kept them apart from God. They could no longer enjoy the intimacy with God that Adam and Eve had once known in the garden. The veil separated the people from their God, and only the High priest could serve as an intermediary between themselves and God. When Jesus was crucified, immediately after He died, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Mark 15:38) signifying that Jesus having served as our sacrifice once for all, is truly our High Priest and He alone serves as intermediary between God and His people. “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

The Simple Life

I'm taking a break from my Advent series because I'm just too tired to think tonight. I've been wanting to post on this topic anyway since I'm going through Becoming A Woman of Simplicity by Cynthia Heald in my ladie's Bible study and have really loved several quotes she uses. By the way, the timing of our study over the Christmas season was not accidental:)

"We Christians must simplify our lives or lose untold treasure on earth and in eternity. Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. It wears us out by multiplying distractions and beats us down by destroying our solitude, where otherwise we might drink and renew our strength before going out to face the world again." A.W. Tozer

So, what does that mean? How do we simplify? I read a book called Better Off by Eric Brende and in it he tests the hypothesis that modern technology has actually made our lives worse, not better. He and his wife move into an Amish community for 18 months and during that time make some interesting observations. They found their sense of community was much greater when they relied on their neighbors to survive and prosper. They found they didn't miss technology as much as they thought they would, and they found great pleasure in the simple life.

Am I suggesting we all become Amish, or become The Village as Big D has been suggesting for a while now to several families in our church? No, I think we can all simplify where we are in life.

"Our Lord did not teach detachment from other things; He taught attachment to Himself. Jesus Christ was not a recluse. He did not cut Himself off from society, He was amazingly in and out among the ordinary things of life; but He was disconnected fundamentally from it all. He was not aloof, but He lived in aother world." Oswald Chambers

So the idea here is that the more connected we are to the Lord, the more disconnected we become to the things of the world around us. The more in Him we are, the more focused we are on spiritual things, the more we are meditating on Scripture, the less we are weighed down by the busyness of life around us. Maybe not everything will get crossed off our list each day, but if we put first things first, then that's ok. We don't want to spend our lives majoring on the minors. The main thing in life is that we can know God, everything else we spend time and energy on should be measured against that.

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." (John 15:4)

A Great Deliverance

The Exodus is such a beautiful picture of salvation and I just love thinking about it. The Jews loved thinking about it, too. So many Psalms are sung in remembrance of God’s gracious and mighty deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt. Isn’t it interesting to think about how Joseph described Israel’s entrance into Egypt as a great deliverance (from famine in Canaan) and now Israel’s exit from Egypt is described as the same! What a wonderful Lord we have who is our Deliverer! There is so much in the story of the Exodus that parallels the gospel, but I want to start with examining how Moses is a type of Christ.

Moses foreshadows the coming of the Messiah in both his person and mission. There are many details surrounding the birth and life of Moses that are similar to that of Christ. Moses was born a Hebrew during a time of intense persecution by the Egyptian Pharoah who had ordered every male baby born to a Hebrew woman be killed (Exodus 1). Jesus was also born around a time of persecution under Herod who ordered every Hebrew male baby under 2 years to be killed (Mathew 2:16). God in His providence spared both Moses and Jesus for His salvific purposes.

It’s also interesting to notice how Moses was born a Levite (priest), adopted by Pharoah’s daughter (prince), and later was given the role of speaking God’s Word to His people (prophet). These are the three roles Christ fulfilled, that of prophet, priest, and king. Moses more clearly points us to Christ than any type we’ve examined thus far. Of course, Moses only served as a shadow of the Savior to come, he was not sinless as is clearly shown by his killing an Egyptian task master, and even in the desert when he shows himself to be a man of God, but one that does make mistakes.

When Moses first tells Pharoah that the God of Israel demands he let His people go, Pharoah said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2) God then begins to work signs and wonders through Moses to show that he is God’s messenger and that God is to be feared. This is the same reason Jesus gives for why He works signs and wonders- so that we might know He has authority from the Father (John 10:25, 14:11, 20:30-31). In both cases, the point of the miracles is to give God glory, and in the case of Jesus to show He is God.

I love how the Lord assures Moses of victory. “I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” (Exodus 6:6) The Hebrews were enslaved by the Egyptians and God used Moses to deliver them out of that slavery into the promised land. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, came to deliver us from our bondage to sin and we will reign with Him in heaven forever. Like the Israelites, we too must wander through the desert as strangers and foreigners, waiting on God’s time to bring us into that heavenly country (Hebrews 11) that’s been promised to us.

But before Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, God struck Egypt with 10 plagues each time giving Pharoah an opportunity to let His people go and each time the plagues grew worse. The tenth plague, the death of the firstborn, was God’s final judgment on this hard hearted ruler and rebellious land. Every family would lose their firstborn son, even the Israelites, unless they took a young male lamb without blemish, killed it and smeared the blood on the doorposts and lintel of their houses. So, God in His infinite grace and mercy, allowed His chosen people to escape His judgment of death. He accepted a substitute for their firstborn, an unblemished lamb. Isn’t God good? He does the same for us. None of us is innocent, none of us can escape His judgment of death, unless He accept a substitute in our place. We were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1:19).

The Passover meal was to be eaten with bitter herbs to remind the Hebrews of their suffering and travail that God was delivering them from. They were also to eat with their belt and sandals on and staff in hand, in haste, ready to go in a moment’s notice (Exodus 12:11). I love this idea of imminent departure, just like we’re to live with the thought always before us of Christ’s imminent return. And the Passover bread was to be made without leaven, which is often used as a symbol for corruption. The Lord didn’t want them taking the wicked practices of the Egyptians with them, He wanted them to be pure and set apart for Him. Also, if you’ve ever baked bread, you know that it takes a long time for bread to rise and God wanted them to be ready to leave in a hurry.

And just as the Israelites were to keep the Passover feast in remembrance of God’s passing over their firstborn and accepting the substitutionary lamb, we’re to take Communion in remembrance of Christ’s shed blood on our behalf and the freedom it purchased for us. As we remember God’s mighty deliverance of His people in the past, we also look forward to Christ’s second coming and the consummation of our great deliverance. And that’s what Advent is all about.