phrases Comments turned off

What hath God wrought

By on March 23rd, 2011

Click for source

“What hath God wrought” was the first message Samuel Morse ever tapped out on his new invention.  And it’s almost certainly that fact (more than its original appearance in Scripture) that lies behind its fame.  Interestingly, today if it’s said at all, it tends not to refer to great discoveries as much as terrible tragedies.  (Perhaps that reflects a different view of God, or technology, or both!)

When we think of a mighty act of God we think of a disaster.  Morse thought of an invention.  But in the bible God’s work is a whole lot more personal.  As we’ll see, what God “hath wrought” is a people – an unbreakable, forever-blessed people.

The phrase appears in Numbers chapter 23.  The Moabite Balaam has been contracted as a freelance prophet to curse the Israelites.  But when King Balak makes his second demand for a magical malediction, here’s what Balaam says:

Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: God 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?  Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.  He 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.  God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely 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! (Numbers 23:18-23)

Balaam is stressing the irreversibly resolute character of God.  In particular, there is a work to which God is immovably committed.  What is it?  He has determined to bless the seed of Abraham.  Nothing can undo this blessing.  No coercion from outside (an enchantment or divination) and no u-turn from within (God’s repentance) will thwart this.

What God hath wrought is a people.  He has blessed this people, saved this people, and even after all we’ve seen, He refuses to credit them with “iniquity” or “perverseness”!  No foreign power can ruin God’s work, not even their own sin can spoil it.  The LORD makes it His crowning achievement to create a people for Himself.

What is God’s great work?  The Horsehead Nebula?  The Grand Canyon?  The blue whale?  No His great work is to build a family.  The Father has forever blessed His Son, filling Him with His eternal Spirit.  And He has forever desired brothers and sisters for His Son (Romans 8:29).  His work of redemption is to sweep these up by His Spirit into His Son that they may be blessed in the Beloved.

If you belong to Christ you are a member of this uncurseable people (Galatians 3:29).  You are eternally secure.  God will not repent of His work.  Your sin will not cost you your position.  No dark art can dislodge you from your place.  You are some piece of work!

Behold, what God hath wrought!

phrases 2 comments

Fell flat on his face

By on March 22nd, 2011

Click for source

When we say “I fell flat on my face” we’re usually speaking figuratively.

e.g. “I tried to impress the girl with my scant knowledge of Italian arias.  Turns out, she’s a classical soprano.  I fell flat on my face!”

We use the phrase to indicate embarrassment.  But in the bible, falling on one’s face is always literal.  And there are very different ways of doing it, as we’ll see.

To fall flat on one’s face happens just the once in the King James translation – Numbers 22:31.  But that’s the phrase that has really stuck with us – perhaps because of its alliteration.

Balaam is the one to have fallen flat on his face.  And in his case, embarassment is entirely justified.

As we saw yesterday, he has just been rebuked by his own donkey.  Then…

the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.”  (Num 22:31)

Here is a revelation of Christ – the Angel of the LORD.  He’s the same one who met Abraham in Genesis 17, Moses in Exodus 3, Joshua in Joshua 5, Isaiah in Isaiah 6, Peter in Luke 5, Paul in Acts 9 and John in Revelation 1.

On all these occasions, they felt an overwhelming weight of glory, their knees gave way and they fell flat on their faces.

For Balaam it was a shaming.  For those listed above, it was worship.  But everyone falls when Christ is revealed in glory.

There are those who walk tall in this life but have no love for Jesus.  They will be brought low.

There are those who are down at heel in this life yet trust in Christ.  They will fall in wonder and be lifted in mercy.

On that day the bible says we’ll all be flat on our faces – some to everlasting shame, others to everlasting joy and gratitude.

at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)

phrases 6 comments

Balaam's ass

By on March 22nd, 2011

Click for source

Christianity is big business today.  Speakers can command live audiences of tens, even hundreds of thousands.  Millions more can view on television or buy their books.  What should we make of their popularity?  How should we assess their ministry?

Balaam’s ass is in the bible to remind us that speaking spiritual words is no guarantee that the speaker is spiritual!

Balaam was a Moabite who lived at the time of the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings.  He was a prophet whose services were sought by his king, Balak.  Balak was worried that the Israelites were a threat to Moab so he asks Balaam to curse Israel.  He says of Balaam:

“he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.” (Numbers 22:6)

Balak seems to think that Balaam is a kind of Abraham figure – that he has the power to bless and curse peoples (cf Genesis 12:1-3).  But when Balaam himself consults the LORD he’s told:

thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.  (Numbers 22:12)

Whatever powers Balaam is said to have, the seed of Abraham is not curseable!  The LORD has blessed the seed of Abraham and has blessed it irreversibly.

In the next couple of days we’ll see what happens when Balaam is brought before Balak and asked to call down these curses.  But our incident for today happens on the road there.  Whatever awe Balaam is held in by his own people, the Scriptures will take him down a peg or two.

The prophet is riding his donkey, but when the Angel of the LORD (Christ Himself!) turns up on the road we see just how much spiritual insight this prophet has.  The donkey sees Christ, the prophet is blind.

And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he smote her again.  And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.  And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.  (Numbers 22:23-27)

This great man – lauded by multitudes, known as a spiritual leader – can’t see the Prophet of prophets.  But not only does a donkey prove to have better spiritual sight, he also has better speech too.  To shame this prophet even further, the LORD allows Balaam’s ass to rebuke him:

And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?  And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.  And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.

It’s so comical!  The donkey speaks, and Balaam speaks back as though nothing strange has happened. And then the donkey wins the argument: All the prophet can say in reply is “Nay!”

Here’s the message: Yes spiritual men can speak arresting words.  They can even speak true words.  And millions may listen to them.  But even if they occasionally speak truth, it is only what the LORD has allowed to be said.  And the credit never lies with such speakers.  The LORD can make a donkey speak if He wishes.

We mustn’t be lead astray by spiritual speakers today.  If they speak any truth it’s no testimony to their wisdom, only the LORD’s who can even speak through dumb animals.  The real test is whether the speaker sees Jesus.  He is Truth and the test of it.  Let’s not be impressed by speakers.  Let’s pray they see Jesus.  And let’s look to Him ourselves.

phrases 1 comment

Brazen serpent

By on March 20th, 2011

Click for source

What is faith?

Often people think of faith as a special quality that the religious happen to possess.  It’s like some magic elixir.  Apparently some people have lots of faith coursing through their veins, others have very little.

But how does Jesus think of faith?

Well when Jesus wanted to explain faith to a bible scholar, He retold the story of the brazen serpent.  It’s a bit of an odd one, but let me give you the details:

The Israelites have been wandering through the wilderness and they’ve been doing what they do so well: grumbling.

the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. (Numbers 21:4-5)

How seriously do we consider grumbling?  It’s the characteristic sin of the Israelites in the wilderness.  And it provokes the LORD’s anger more than any other sin.  Here is a God who wants our hearts, and who takes discontentment as a personal affront.  He sends judgement:

And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. (v6)

Here is a handing over of God’s people to diabolical powers.  Serpents remind us of that ancient serpent from Genesis 3, the devil.  The people are given over to Satan in judgement.

But judgement is not God’s final word.  Judgement is the context for the LORD to reveal His salvation:

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.  And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (v7-9)

The people are saved when they simply behold the bronze serpent.  The very thing that caused them harm was to be their salvation if only they looked.

It seems such a strange story.  Why would Jesus be so keen to draw attention to it?

Well here’s what Jesus says:

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.  (John 3:14-15)

The story from Numbers is our story.  We are the faithless grumblers.  And we’re sick with sin, awaiting death.  There’s only one cure – behold the One lifted up.  He became the very thing that afflicted us – He became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).  And now, what must we do to be saved?

Behold!

That’s it.  Just behold.  We are simply to “look and live” (Numbers 21:9).

Don’t ignore the snake bites.  Don’t try to reason with God.  Don’t try to suck out the poison.  Don’t offer up some sacrifice of your own devising.  Don’t turn to some voodoo spell.  Don’t run to Moses to seek salvation.  Just look to the One lifted up.

So what is faith?

Faith is not a quality you find within yourself.  Faith is looking away from yourself.  Faith is not a thing you conjure up.  Faith is beholding something (someOne) else.  Faith is looking to Jesus.

How do I become a person of faith?  It should be obvious: Behold!  Behold Christ, the One lifted up for you.  On the cross, He became our sin, so that we might become His righteousness.  Don’t look to yourself, don’t look to Moses (through some regime of law keeping), just look to Jesus.

Because,

whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  (John 3:15-16)

phrases 12 comments

Wilderness Years

By on March 19th, 2011

The journey from slavery to the promised land should have been straightforward.  If they’d kept the Mediterranean on their left they could have arrived within a fortnight.

The LORD took them a different route – through the Red Sea.  The LORD gained great glory by saving them through adversity.  This was some of the reason for the Israelites’ wilderness time.

But even with the LORD’s slight detour it should have taken a matter of months to get to the land of Canaan.  In the end, it took Israel 40 years.  Why?

Because of their mistrust.

The Israelites did not trust the report of the good spies – Joshua and Caleb bearing the firstfruits of the land.  They let fear hold sway.  They shrank back and the LORD did what He is always doing in judgement – He gave them what they wanted.  (For more examples, see this post on the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart).

The LORD confirms their decision and resolves never to let this faithless generation see the promised land:

27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. 28 Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: 29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, 30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. 32 But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.  (Numbers 14:27-33)

This is a fearful judgement but it is also poetic justice.  If the people don’t want the promised land, they don’t get the promised land.  And it’s completely fair.

Not even Moses would get into the land of milk and honey.  Not even Mr Law himself could make it across the river Jordan.

Only Joshua, whose name means “Jesus”, and Caleb, whose name means “man after his heart”, would make it.  This “Jesus” figure would have to lead a new Israel into Canaan.  The old must die, only the new can enter glory, and only with “Jesus” at their head.  And this preaches to us today.

The law won’t get us to heaven.  All the trappings of religion and ritual will leave us short.  We must let all our natural efforts die.  Ultimately only Jesus gets into the promised rest.  And those whose hearts are with Him.

We’re in a wilderness time ourselves – in between our salvation from sin and entrance to glory.  These years will be the death of us too!  So let us die to the law and to all efforts at self-salvation.  Let us trust our Forerunner Jesus, with hearts set on Him.

phrases 2 comments

Spy out the land

By on March 18th, 2011

Click for source

What will the future bring?  Blessings or curses?

Wouldn’t it be nice to send someone on ahead to make sure the future’s bright?

That’s what the Israelites do in the book of Numbers.  Let’s catch up with the story so far…

In Genesis, Israel begins as the seed of Abraham then, with Joseph, they head down to Egypt.

In Exodus they are saved out of slavery and brought to Sinai to receive the law.

In Leviticus, aspects of that law (especially the priests and sacrifices) are explained.

And now in Numbers the Israelites travel on from Sinai to the desert of Paran.  They come to the brink of the promised land – the land flowing with milk and honey.  And the LORD tells Moses to send out spies…

to spy out the land of Canaan, and Moses said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:  And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;  And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;  And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land.  (Numbers 13:17-20)

Moses sends a leader from each of the 12 tribes.  And he makes a point of renaming one of the spies (Numbers 13:16).  His old name was Hoshea, his new name would be Joshua, and in the fullness of time he would lead the Israelites into the promised land.  “Joshua” and “Jesus” are the same name ( they are different ways of translating the same Hebrew word).  Another spy is from the kingly tribe of Judah and is called Caleb, which means “after the heart” (as in a man after the LORD’s heart).  So these 12 men head off to spy out an area of about 200 miles.  And it takes them 40 days.

As they spy out the land there’s good news and bad news.  Joshua and Caleb emphasize the good news, the others emphasize the bad.

The good news is – it’s every bit as fruitful as the LORD had promised.

They take a massive cluster of grapes back with them, carried on a pole, and also some pomegranates and figs.  These are described as the firstfruits from the land, just as these spies were the forerunners into the land.

And so the good news is – the promised land is wonderful.  In Numbers 14:7 Caleb calls it “exceedingly good.”

But the spies bring back bad news too.

Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there…  all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.  And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.  (Numbers 13:28, 32-33)

So the spies’ report boils down to this: the land is good but the inhabitants are giants.  The question for the Israelites is this: will they move forwards in faith, or shrink back in fear?

To press forward in faith they would need to look around them and be captured by the right vision.

The should look back with remembrance and see that turning back to Egypt is no life for them.  It’s slavery.

They should look around with gratitude and see that the LORD is with them.  As Moses says in Numbers 14:14

thou LORD art among this people… thou LORD art seen face to face, and… thy cloud standeth over [us], and… thou goest before [us], by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

They should look forwards with imagination to the “exceedingly good land”.  Whatever they risk will be worth it.

They should look up with faith and see that the LORD had “sworn” to bring them in (Numbers 14:16).  He who had brought them thus far could be trusted to finish the job.

And perhaps most of all they should look to Jesus!   This forerunner called “Joshua” was the one who would bring them into the promised land.  And he was there in their midst bearing the firstfruits of the future.  If only they would come to Joshua and listen to him, they could see, touch and even taste what was to come.  If they trusted him, the firstfruits would loom larger in their vision than the giants and they would move forwards.

But as we’ll see tomorrow, the Israelites feared the giants more than they trusted the firstfruits.  So they turned back from the LORD’s will for them.

How about us?  In the short-term, we too face scary things.  Consider now what giants might be putting you off from forging ahead in God’s will.  How will we press forwards?

We too need to remember that our past in sin is nothing to return to.

Our present is a present with the Lord Jesus.

Above us is a heavenly Father who has promised to see us home (Philippians 1:6).

Ahead is an exceedingly good future.

And our Forerunner Jesus can be trusted.  He has returned from the far country and appeared among us.  His resurrection was a firstfruits of new creation life.  Let’s  look to Him who has appeared among us as a pledge of the future.  Then we will move forwards trusting that the best is yet to come.

Christ is risen from the dead… the firstfruits of [those who have died]…
…Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.  (1 Corinthians 15:20, 58)

phrases 3 comments

God bless

By on March 17th, 2011

Click for source

Some people have only two uses for the name of God.  Either to carelessly curse, or to carelessly bless.  In either case the speaker knows not what they do!

In its biblical setting, “God bless” was never said lightly.  In fact it was a distinct privilege of the priests.  In particular, the High Priest, Aaron.  From him would come the divine blessing.  It’s all taught so beautifully in Psalm 133.  Here is the Psalm in its entirety, try to enter into the imagery:

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!   It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;  As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”

The LORD commands a blessing through the High Priest, Aaron.  And that blessing is like oil poured on the head, running down to the body.

The High Priest was modelling the LORD Christ to the people.  The “brethren dwelling together” is His body.  And the oil, as throughout the bible, represents the Spirit.  So the Father blesses the world by pouring out His Spirit onto His Son.  That blessing overflows to the people.

And so it is particularly Aaron who is commissioned to pronounce God’s blessings on the people.  Here is that famous instruction from Numbers chapter 6:

Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:  The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.  And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.  (Numbers 6:23-27)

To speak this blessing is to put God’s name onto the people.  Just as a bride takes the name of her husband, so this pronouncement from the High Priest brings the people under God’s protective care.

And, naturally enough, this one blessing (which bestows God’s one name) comes in a three-fold movement.

First: The LORD bless thee and keep thee.

Here is the fountainhead and foundation.  The word “bless” is not mentioned again in the blessing, it all comes from here.  And it is secured here.  The LORD will keep His people.

Second: The LORD make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee.

We have seen the “Face” of the LORD as another title for the Son of God (see here and here).  The blessing of the LORD involves revealing the radiance of God’s Face.  This is grace.  God’s merciful initiative is expressed in this: He makes His Face shine upon us.

Third: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

The word translated “countenance” is, again, simply the word “Face.”  So in this third movement we have the gracious Face not simply shining but turned upon us.  This gives us our subjective feeling of peace.

Out comes the overflowing blessing, mediated through the shining Face, enjoyed and experienced as peace when that Face is turned to us.

No wonder when Paul sought to bless the church in Corinth he identified the same three-fold encounter.  With the Father he associated the term “love”, with the Son he used the word “grace” and with the Spirit he spoke of “communion.”  (see 2 Corinthians 13: 14)

It has always been this way.  The one blessing of God comes from the loving Father, through the gracious Son who is communed with by the peace-giving Spirit.

Is the LORD’s Face shining upon you?  Open the Scriptures and see: He is given to you as free as the sunshine.  Today, may the Spirit lead you into the peace of Christ.

Or in other words, God bless.

phrases 4 comments

Love thy neighbour

By on March 16th, 2011

Click for source

What’s the law all about?  A supposed expert in the law asked Jesus that very question.  Jesus boiled it all down to ‘love’.  He quoted from two places in the Old Testament:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)   This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.“ (Leviticus 19:18) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.  (Matthew 22:37-40)

Here are six observations.

1. Jesus zooms in on a part of the bible we rarely study.  For Him the very essence of the Law and the Prophets (i.e. the whole Old Testament) is containted in Leviticus 19!  What we often skim over as irrelevant, Jesus highlights.  Let’s value every word of Scripture.

2. “Love thy neighbour” shows that we can’t play off law and love against each other.  The law is not simply about harsh externals moved by the will.  The law describes the life of love.  Its very heart is love.

When people say “Let’s not be legalistic, let’s remember to love” they commit a triple-error.  Firstly, this entreaty is itself a law!  Secondly, the law is already calling us to love.  But most crucially of all, such thinking makes us believe we’re avoiding legalism simply by talking about love.  In reality, the most legalistic preaching in the world is preaching that simply commands my affections.  Being told to work up external acts is bad enough.  Being ordered to whip up internal emotions is impossible.

The difference between the law and the good news of Jesus is not that law is about dry duty and Jesus is about groovy vibes.  They are both about love.  It’s just that the law only describes the life of love.  The good news of Jesus, when trusted, actually  produces it.

3. When the law says “Love thy neighbour as thy self” – loving self is not the command, it’s the assumption.  God knows we love ourselves. We naturally spend vast tracts of time, money and energy on ourselves (even when we claim to be hating ourselves).  The LORD says, “Spend that time, money and energy on others.”

This law is not an excuse to spend more time focussing on me.  Very often I’ve heard Leviticus 19 as the launching pad for this grievous error: “How can I love my neighbour without first loving myself.”  And off they go, taking leave to dive into the deep, dark waters of “Lake Me.”  That is the last thing the law is urging me to do.

It’s true that we can’t love others without another love coming first.  But that initial love is not self-love, but divine: “We love because He first loved us.”  (1 John 4:19)  That’s the love we first receive.  And then we love others.

As Martin Luther would say, we are to live far above ourselves in God by faith, and far beneath ourselves in our neighbour by love.  In this way we are turned outwards from ourselves.  The last thing we should do is turn in on ourselves.

“Love thy neighbour” is actually about being self-forgetful.  It’s about refusing to shut ourselves off from others.  It means extending our self-preserving impulse to those around us so that we treat them as our very selves.  I no longer treat you as an outsider because I’ve turned to you entirely.  I don’t even love you as you any more, I love you as me.

4. Jesus was only asked to highlight the greatest commandment in the law (Matthew 22:36).  But it seems like Jesus can’t limit Himself to “Love God.”  “Love God” must spill over into “Love thy neighbour.”  This is because of the nature of God.  As we’ll see.

5. Once we see this summary of the law, it’s plain to see how Jesus fulfills the law.  Jesus is the One who loves God and loves His neighbour.  From all eternity that has been His life.  He has always loved His Father and His Neighbour (the Spirit).  In fact, each of the three Persons live this other-centred life.  They are completely turned out from themselves.

No wonder that, when God’s son, Israel is given house rules by their Father, these would describe Christ’s life.  The Good Life does not consist in random hoops for humanity to jump through.  The Good Life is the loving life of the Son of God.  It is described in the law, lived out in His flesh, then given to us by the Spirit.

6. Because the law is a description of Christ’s life, let’s be astonished at His love.  Leviticus 19 begins with these words:

Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.  (Leviticus 19:2)

The holy life He sets out before us is a reflection of His life.  The LORD loves us as Himself.  He is turned outwards to His beloved to spread His love.

And who could doubt this when we look to Jesus.  There He is on the cross, offering Himself utterly to the Father.  And there He is, offering Himself utterly to us.  At the cross, we have seen the love described in the law.   But more than that.  We’ve been its recipients.

To experience His love is to be released into His kind of life.  When we see Christ’s love we find ourselves loving our neighbour.  And such love, as Paul says, “is the fulfilling of the law.”   (Romans 13:10)

phrases 3 comments

Unclean! Unclean!

By on March 15th, 2011

Click for source

I’ll never forget when Mark told me he was HIV positive.  We were in a cafe in London and had just ordered all day breakfasts.  Many of us had tried to help him off the streets and off the drugs but he’d finally succumbed to a dirty needle.

He had quite a few scabs on his face that were red raw.  And some of them were bleeding.  As drops of blood formed on both cheeks, it was all I could do to croak, “Hey mate, you might want to mop up your blood.”

I managed half a mouthful of breakfast that day.

AIDS is more than a disease in our culture.  It’s not just a physical death-sentence.  Unfortunately it can be a social one too.  In the Old Testament there was one disease that, for the purposes of the law, was invested with massive social and spiritual consequences.  Leprosy.

As we’ve often said, the Old Testament law was a dramatization of spiritual truths.  The tabernacle, priests and sacrifices didn’t actually “do the trick” but they pointed to the future work of Christ.

In amongst all these laws were regulations about surface level realities.  So, for instance, walls that were infected with mildew were a big deal (Leviticus 14:35-57).  They were a sign of a creation that is deeply flawed.  Similarly, skin diseases were highlighted in the law not because the skin is more important than the rest of us.  In fact it’s the opposite.  The law concerns itself with external “uncleanness” as a sign of deeper issues within us.  The leper, with unclean skin, reminds us of ourselves with unclean hearts.

And so it is chilling to be reminded how our uncleanness deserves ostracism from God and man alike.  Here is what the priest was to declare about the leper:

He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head. And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.  (Leviticus 13:44-46)

This is what we deserve on a much deeper level.  Outer darkness and shame.  And just as with the leper, there is nothing we can do about it.

Yet there is hope for the leper.  There is nothing that the leper can do, but here are things that can happen to the leper for his cleansing.

First,

the priest shall go forth out of the camp  (Leviticus 14:2)

Here is the beginning of it all.  The priest would meet the poor wretch in his wretchedness.

Secondly, sacrifices.  There is a ritual involving two birds (Leviticus 14:4-7): one bird is sacrificed, the other is sprinkled by the first bird’s blood, then released.  The leper is being taught that his freedom costs the blood of another.

Thirdly, the leper goes away for a week and shaves off every hair on his body.  He returns on the eight day looking like a newborn baby.  For truly he is born again.

This is a picture of our own spiritual cleansing.  Christ meets us in our depravity, dies for us, cleanses us with His blood and raises us in His resurrection to new life.

And when He met a leper in Mark chapter 1, Jesus was able to effect this reality in person:

And there came a leper to Jesus, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.  And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.  And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. (Mark 1:40-43)

The Jews, I’m sure, feared that Jesus would have become unclean by contact with the leper.  But instead Jesus gives the man a good infection.  He is “moved with compassion” for the man’s plight, reaches out to touch him (unthinkable in Jesus’ day) and His cleanness passes over to the leper.

Let me take you back to my friend Mark.  Imagine the same scenario.  He confesses to this infectious and fearful disease.  But imagine the person opposite is not like me.  They don’t shrink back, they reach out.  Imagine them touching his face, getting their own hands bloody.  And imagine them healing the sores, cleansing the blood, curing the illness, restoring Him to health and wholeness.

This is what Jesus does to the leper.

It seems so effortless here.  But just as the freed bird was only released at the cost of blood, so the leper’s cleansing had a price tag attached.  Jesus had to die the death of the unclean.  He was strung up outside the city and accursed by all.  He became despised and rejected to bring the outcasts in.

But it’s not simply the lepers who benefit.  All who understand their spiritual uncleanness can run to Christ – our Priest and Sacrifice.  We can say “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  And with that same heart-felt compassion, His response will be, “I am willing, be clean!”

phrases 3 comments

Scapegoat

By on March 14th, 2011


Click for source

We don’t like hearing about “scapegoating”.  It sounds like bullying.  A group picks on a weakling, identifies all its maladies with this one individual and punishes the scapegoat for the sins of the community.

That’s horrible.

But it’s horrible because of the power relationship.  The strong sacrifice the weak.

The original scapegoat was modelling something quite different.

One day a year Israel held the day of atonement.  It was a multi-media presentation of how the Ultimate High Priest – Christ – would get into God’s presence carrying the people on His heart.  The High Priest would enter into the inner sanctum where the throne of God was on the basis of blood.  And here is the key blood sacrifice which opened the way:

And [the high priest] shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.   And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.   But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

One goat is treated as a scapegoat.  The other goat is treated as the LORD!  What a fearful thing!  Between these two goats they tell us of the work of the LORD Christ on the cross.

On the one hand Christ is the scapegoat, taking our sins upons Himself and carrying them away from us.  And how does Christ do this?  By being the LORD sacrificed in our place.

So if you want to understand the atoning work of the cross according to the day of atonement, imagine this:

From the Most Holy Place – the inner sanctum – you hear the LORD’s own voice.  “Get out!”

The priests hitch up their robes and start running, they usher you quickly away from the altar where you were just about to sacrifice your lamb.  As you all run to a safe distance, the LORD climbs down from His throne, walks through the Holy Place and out into the courtyard.  He lays down on the altar and is slain for your sins.  As His blood runs down, you know that your sins are well and truly dealt with – removed from you as far as the east is from the west.

When the LORD takes on the role of Scapegoat it’s not the oppression of the weak.  It’s the willing sacrifice of the Strong.  The LORD Almighty has chosen out of love to become so meek.  He stoops to identify with us on every level.

The Apostle Paul says that Jesus became sin for us on that cross, so low did He stoop.  But this is what a sinful people need.  Not simply the blood of animals.  Everyone knew that animals never paid for sin.  That’s why as they sacrificed this goat on the day of atonement they called it ‘the LORD’.  They knew that our sins demand more than animal blood, more even than human blood.  They demand the blood of the LORD Himself.  But, wonder of wonders, He freely offers it!

And when we identify with His sacrifice, we can know our sins to be once and for all cleansed.

That was the experience of Charles Simeon.  He became a wonderful preacher in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  But before this, he was wracked with guilt and weighed down by a heavy sense of sin.  Where could he find relief for his soul and forgiveness with God?  When he looked to Christ his Scapegoat and sacrifice he was born again!

“My distress of mind continued for about three months, and well might it have continued for years, since my sins were more in number than the hairs of my head; but God in infinite condescension began at last to smile upon me, and to give me a hope of acceptance with Him. . . . In Passion Week, as I was reading Bishop Wilson on the Lord’s Supper, I met with an expression to this effect—‘That the Jews knew what they did when they transferred their sin to the head of their offering’. The thought came into my mind, What, may I transfer all my guilt to another? Has God provided an offering for me, that I may lay my sins on His Head? Then, God willing, I will not bear them on my own soul one moment longer. Accordingly I sought to lay my sins upon the sacred head of Jesus; and on the Wednesday began to have a hope of mercy; on the Thursday that hope increased; on the Friday and Saturday it became more strong, and on the Sunday morning, Easter Day, April 4, I awoke early with those words upon my heart and lips: ‘Jesus Christ is risen to-day! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!’ From that hour peace flowed in rich abundance into my soul: and at the Lord’s Table in our Chapel I had the sweetest access to God through my blessed Saviour.”

Have you laid your sins on the sacred head of Jesus?  He died to bear them.  Don’t you carry them a moment longer.  Call out to Jesus and give Him your sins.  It is His glory to take them and to give you His righteousness in return.

For God hath made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.  (2 Corinthians 5:21)