Going With God

In the wilderness with God is better than going somewhere without him.

Exodus 32:34-35 Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about. Look! My angel will lead the way before you. And when I come to call the people to account, I will certainly hold them responsible for their sins." 35 Then the LORD sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped the calf Aaron had made.

Exodus 33:1-4 The LORD said to Moses, "Get going, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt. Go up to the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I told them, 'I will give this land to your descendants.' 2 And I will send an angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites."

3 "Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way." 4 When the people heard these stern words, they went into mourning and stopped wearing their jewelry and fine clothes.

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God's people are on the way to the Promised Land after hundreds of years in Egypt, that's where God sent his people to save them from famine and then after the government turned on them, God took them out of the kingdom of darkness to lead them to their new homeland.

We don't always see God at work, they didn't realize it, but God was probably using all of the events in Egypt to prepare them for this trip. All of the difficulty they endured, all of the miracles they witnessed, should have produced a people that were strong in faith and ready to bless the nations because of the blessing they has received.

It is amazing that this is the same people that just saw God's mighty power through the ten plagues in Egypt, they saw proof that their God is the only one that can control the weather, the animal kingdom and he even has the power of life and death.

After leaving Egypt they have seen the signs of his presence as he led them to cross the Red Sea on dry ground in an area of the sea that was deep enough to drown their enemies. God continued to lead them through a cloud by day and a fire at night. (Exodus 13:18, 21)

God's people were sustained by supernatural food and water from Heaven, this too was a test for them that they would fail. (Exodus 15:25, 16:4, Deuteronomy 8:2, 16 Psalm 78:24 ) Later on they would fail the test by storing up more than their daily bread and after that they would grumble about the menu and fail the test. 

God took them to Mount Sinai where he would display his glory so they could learn even more about him. While they were at the mountain they received God's commandments, which they were thrilled to get and they agreed to God's terms wholeheartedly. To ratify the covenant, over seventy of their leaders ate a covenant meal where they could see that they were up close to God.

It really looks like God's people have learned enough about trusting him to keep them from looking for a better god, but right after the meal, God called Moses further up the mountain to continue receiving instructions on how to be God's people they immediately they act like they never knew anything about God. (Exodus 24:1-18)

Exodus 32:1 When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. "Come on," they said, "make us some gods who can lead us. We don't know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt."

After all of that! Within the forty days while Moses was up the mountain the people break their covenant by asking Aaron for a god that can lead them. The only god that Aaron could possibly create would be a powerless man made god just like the gods that was proved to be worthless back in Egypt. (Exodus 32:1-35)

We are told that God's people were very upset when God told his people to continue the journey to the Promised Land without his presence to guide them there. Out of mercy God wasn't going to be intimate with these "stiff necked" people. Their reaction is a good sign that they are not too far gone but they still need to learn more about God. (Exodus 33:1-4)

God's people need to learn:

1. The peril of God’s presence 

This is probably more difficult for God's people today to understand, the idea that God is not safe isn't a popular concept in a world full of teaching that God is love. We tend to think of God in the New Testament as a different God or a new version of God that Jesus was able to pacify but the book of Revelation proves that the wrath of God still exist.

2. The privilege of God’s presence 

Somehow Moses knew more than anyone else that being with God was a privilege and he knew that he needed a special place reserved to meet with God. Even before the Tabernacle or the Temple was ever built Moses had a tent where he could maintain his relationship with God and intercede for the nation.

3. The priority of God’s presence 

If we truly love God and have an awareness of his glory then we will desire to have his presence more and more. We will prioritize our time and energy to be in God's presence and we will be hesitant to make a move without him going along. Having a guardian angel may be good but how much more incredibly better is it to have God going in fellowship with you?

4. The promise of God’s presence 

It is a shame that out of the thousands that left Egypt to go to the Promised Land, no one else enjoyed God's presence like Moses did. God didn't grant everybody the same level of access, that was reserved for those who find favor in His sight. God's people had so much experience with him in the past that they were without excuse.

The outline above is from "God’s Presence: Dangerous, But Essential" with some of my own thoughts mixed in.

God's Man Wants More 

Exodus 33:11 Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting.

Exodus 33:15-16 Then Moses said, "If you don't personally go with us, don't make us leave this place. 16 How will anyone know that you look favorably on me-on me and on your people-if you don't go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth."

With all of the experiences that God's people had with him you would think that more of them would desire to know, at a deeper level, the only God that has done so much for them. Why would you not want to maintain your relationship with someone who has treated you so well?

The only person that developed a chose relationship with him as a result of these supernatural experiences was Moses. Everyone else was upset that God wasn't going to personally lead them to the Promised Land, but they only wanted to know God the way they already knew him, but Moses desired to know more. (Exodus 13:18, 21, Exodus 33:18-20)

The same man that began to know God deeper at the burning bush kept on pushing their relationship to the next level. Moses knowledge and his faith in God continued to grow so that he would become the bold, mighty and faithful leader for God's people.

This is both the longing of the redeemed and the goal of their redemption—to behold the glory of God!

-A. W. Pink, Gleanings in Exodus

It is amazing that God treats his people so abundantly gracious and kind and very few of his people really get it.

1 Corinthians 10:3-6 All of them ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did,

We are just like the pilgrims in the wilderness, this is not our home, we need to travel with God and nurture the desire to know him more before we reach the Promised Land.

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God Gave Us His Word - New Testament

Believing the New Testament is very logical and reasonable.

1 John 1:1-2 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 

2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.

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In the previous post we saw that God gave us his word through the Old Testament so that when Jesus came into our world to be "God with us," we would be sure that he is really the promised Messiah. When someone makes a promise and then they come through, it helps you believe them even more when they make another promise to you, that's the main reason we can trust the Old Testament.

When you analyze the incredible amount of detail in the prophecies about who Jesus is, how he would come to be with us and what he came to do for us, it is easy to see that the Old Testament was telling us the truth.

Today we will see that God gave us his word in the writing of the books that would become the New Testament. The writers were so excited about Jesus life, death and resurrection that they wanted to share their experiences with everyone. But how could they possibly remember the events and the teaching of Jesus?

God's Word Inspired

John 14:25-26 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative-that is, the Holy Spirit-he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

John 16:13-14 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

Jesus told his disciples that when his ministry is finished and he returns to Heaven, the Father would send the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit, to represent him. Jesus wanted the disciples to know that the Holy Spirit was going to come to be their helper for a task that they wouldn't be able to do. 

The Holy Spirit would help the disciples:

• Remember vividly the events that happened over the past 3 years
• Recall and quote relevant Old Testament scripture to explain their teaching
• Reveal the truth found in Jesus teaching that they didn't understand before

So much of what Jesus taught these guys didn't make any sense until after Jesus left them and God sent the Holy Spirit. Suddenly their wisdom and insight increased greatly as they seemed to have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:10-16)

God's Word Verified

John 19:35 This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe. 

John 20:30-31 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

We need truth to make informed choices about God, eyewitness accounts and John’s experiences support belief in God's word, making disbelief even harder. Since it was written while the eyewitnesses were still living to verify the content, we can be sure that the information is accurate and can be trusted.

Trusting God requires faith but God also provides reasoning to support belief in Jesus for eternal life. Thankfully God protected his written word so it can be analyzed and studied as part of verifying it. Imagine how devastating it would be if we only had a verbal record of what God wants us to know.

2 Peter 1:16-17 For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes 17 when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy."

Peter agrees with John and firmly supports the compelling case for Christ. He brings up his profound experience with Jesus during the remarkable event of the transfiguration, a significant moment when he, along with John and James, had the unique opportunity to witness this extraordinary occurrence in which Jesus' divine glory was momentarily revealed to them.

It is likely that Jesus selected these three witnesses to fulfill the legal requirement for credible testimony. In the future, they would come to fully comprehend and appreciate this revelation of Jesus' glory only after Jesus' departure and only after the arrival of the Holy Spirit to guide and enlighten them.

2 Peter 3:15 And remember, our Lord's patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him.

Peter confirmed Paul’s writings by saying Paul received wisdom from God. Their agreement in theology supported their message as well as the message of at least seven men that wrote the New Testament.

The original Bible manuscript is lost, but many copies exist that show the scribes copied it accurately. Thousands of copies in various languages keep being discovered, and they are nearly identical. This should help us take the Bible seriously as God's word. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

Thank you God for revealing yourself to your people, allowing us to know where we came from, why we need a Savior and what you did to save us. Help me to see your glory through your written word just as vividly as it is seen in Jesus. (John 1:14)

RELATED ARTICLES

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God Gave Us His Word - Old Testament

The Bible confirms that Jesus is our Savior.

Luke 24:21  We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

Luke 24:27  Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

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Just before Jesus leaves us behind here on Earth he encourages his followers to examine the Bible. He did not actually tell them to examine the scripture, instead he personally led them through the writings of Moses and the prophets to encourage his followers to find their hope again in the Messiah. 

They needed to look back at the Old Testament to understand that these things happened just as God promised. So many people that like to read the Bible do not consider the importance of the Old Testament but today I want to help us see why God gave it to us.

The Bible is mostly a book about predictions, there are over 1,800 prophecies in the Bible, the fact that almost half of them have already come true helps us to be reasonable, and logical with our faith in God and his message he preserved for us. 

The Bible is a necessary part of God's plan for his followers, without it we wouldn't be able to trust the teachings about God that are passed down orally, it would all just be rumors passed down through the ages that would have been altered each time the message was passed to the next generation.

God made it clear before Jesus came so that we can be certain and not miss his arrival.

The Messiah Will Come:

Genesis 3:15  And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

God created perfection, man corrupted and brought about catastrophe and confusion. God's perfect creation included a perfect plan to redeem us and as soon as the need for redemption came the plan was revealed to the first sinners. But God's promise to Adam and Eve was just the beginning. Just look at how many times he affirmed the promise over hundreds of years.

Genesis 22:17-18  I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.  18  And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

The scriptures continue to speak of Jesus in the life of Abraham and his descendants. God promised to bless Abraham and then he renewed his commitment by restating the promises to Abraham's son and his grandson (Isaac and Jacob) which then passed the promise down to Abraham's great grandson (Judah). (Genesis 26:1-5, 28:13-15, 49:9-12)

Exodus 12:23  For the LORD will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the LORD will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.

The Old Testament continues to teach us about the Messiah as we remember the original Passover lambs that saved the children of God from the angel of death. They could only save their sons through their obedience to God's word and their exodus from Egypt would occur as a result of the death of the first born sons of Egypt.

Why Is The Messiah Coming

Deuteronomy 4:13 He proclaimed his covenant-the Ten Commandments-which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.

The law of God shows us why the Messiah is needed. We are too stubborn and insist on doing things the way the world does them instead of living God's way. That's why we need the Messiah to come and give us forgiveness from sins and the power to live for God.

God's law showed us that we could never save ourselves, it taught us that God's standards are much higher than we can ever achieve, it shows us that we don't deserve to be a child of God without a Savior.

Who Will Be The Messiah

2 Samuel 7:12, 16 For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. 16 Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.'"

We already know that he will be a descendant of the family of Abraham (Isaac, Jacob, Judah) but as their family line continues throughout the ages we will see that King David is also a descendant of Abraham.

The promise was revealed to David through the prophet Nathan during a time when David's kingdom was prospering and peaceful, just as God had promised. He was living in a beautiful palace but his heart was unsettled because the Ark of God was still in the tent that was used to transport it to the Promised Land.

God's promise to David stated that the lineage of his family that started with Abraham will continue and it will become a dynasty of kings that the world has never seen before. Other kingdoms have come and gone but this one will be eternal.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

The Messiah would be a king but not just any king. This king would leave the splendor of Heaven to live on earth in an unexpected lifestyle and to be treated in an unexpected manner. This isn't what a king does, kings collect taxes, make the rules and live in luxury, but not this king.

This king lived in poverty and allowed himself to be mistreated, instead of demanding his rights as king he submitted himself to the needs of his people. This king loved his people to the point of death so that he could save his people.

The Messiah Has Come

Matthew 1:1This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham.

After Jesus was dead and gone, Matthew connects the dots in his book, to show God's people that their Savior had arrived. Matthew helps us connect the Torah and the prophets with the life and death of Jesus. 

Matthew primarily wrote to a Jewish community close to Jerusalem, a community of Christ followers that would have to deal with the influence of the Jewish traditions in their daily life. He wants to prove to the Jews that the promises have come to pass, the fulfilment of their traditions and the promise of salvation had come.

Hebrews 1:3 The Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.

The "god of this world" has made his word more popular than God's word, Satan doesn't care what your theology is just as long as it isn't based on God's word, just as long as it doesn't acknowledge that Jesus is God and that he came to cleanse us from our sin.

The original followers of Jesus were so confused, it was probably more difficult for them to understand that Jesus was "God with us." We can analyze the incredible amount of detail that the Old Testament gives us about who Jesus is and figure it out easily.

The Old Testament told us:

• Jesus Birth - How he would come to be with us
• Jesus Life - What he came to do for us
• Jesus Resurrection - Why he wouldn't stay dead

Very smart, logical people have studied God's word in the Old Testament and determined that there is no other way to explain the fulfilled prophecy, this must be God's promises. He gave us the promise and then he came through and made them happen.

We have the luxury of looking back at the big picture, we have God's word in our homes and on our phones, we can study it and learn for ourselves so that we can determine to build our life on God's word or on man's word.

Even today it is easy to lose our hope and get discouraged while we wait for the next arrival of Jesus. It is helpful for all of us to get into God's word and remember what he predicted in the past and that it came true. That's a great indicator that we can trust his promises for our future.

God's Appointed Times - First Fruits And Festival Of Weeks

The third and fourth annual events on God's calendar.

Leviticus 23:9-10 Then the LORD said to Moses, 10 "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you enter the land I am giving you and you harvest its first crops, bring the priest a bundle of grain from the first cutting of your grain harvest.

Leviticus 23:15-16 "From the day after the Sabbath-the day you bring the bundle of grain to be lifted up as a special offering-count off seven full weeks. 16 Keep counting until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days later. Then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.

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In the previous post, we discussed how God has a calendar, and by examining the events on it, we can learn a lot about Him. God wanted His people to use His calendar to know Him, remember Him, and reflect on all He has done for His chosen people.

We started with the weekly event God gave us, the Sabbath day, the day God stopped creating. Then, we looked at the first two annual events on God's calendar: Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 

All of these events should have helped God's people stay focused on Him, but the Old Testament believers, much like us, quickly lost their focus and did not remember His goodness to them. (Judges 2:10, 8:34, Nehemiah 9:17)

God's Spring Calendar Continues With:

First Fruits - Reishit

(Exodus 23:19)

Deuteronomy 26:8-10 So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and powerful arm, with overwhelming terror, and with miraculous signs and wonders. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey! 10 And now, O LORD, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest you have given me from the ground.' Then place the produce before the LORD your God, and bow to the ground in worship before him.

Preparations for the First Fruit celebration began on Passover day. The first barley harvest was carefully selected, bundled, and left in the field overnight. The priest meticulously chose the best barley, just as he did with the Passover lamb. 

These barley sheaves would be prepared for the priest to present as the first of the spring harvest. This offering would be waved before God, acknowledging that the land's abundance was a gracious blessing from Him.

Festival of Weeks  – Shavuot

(Exodus 34:22; Numbers 28:26)

Leviticus 23:15-17 "From the day after the Sabbath-the day you bring the bundle of grain to be lifted up as a special offering-count off seven full weeks. 16 Keep counting until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days later. Then present an offering of new grain to the LORD. 17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up before the LORD as a special offering. Make these loaves from four quarts of choice flour, and bake them with yeast. They will be an offering to the LORD from the first of your crops.

Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks, is the next significant harvest celebration that occurs at the end of the fall harvest season. The word "Pentecost" is derived from the Greek word for "fifty," as it is celebrated 50 days after the observance of Passover. 

This festival is marked by the offering of the first fruits of the wheat harvest, which are prepared into two loaves of bread and waved before God. Interestingly, the rules for this bread is different than the bread of Passover, they were commanded to use yeast for this bread. Yeast representing sin in a believers life wasn't a concept until Paul wrote about it in his letter to the church at Corinth.

Pentecost was not only an agricultural celebration but also a time to remember the giving of the law and the commitment of God's people to live by His rules. It's important to note that the laws of God were originally intended to be celebrated, before religious leaders started adding more and more man made rules. (Psalm 19:7-14, Philippians 3:8)

The Ultimate First Fruit

1 Corinthians 15:20,23 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

Revelation 1:5 He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.

Since we don't grow our own food, these holidays don't mean much to us, we don't think much about the blessing of having extra food. But as always there is more to this holiday than just food.

Just as Jesus fulfilled Passover and Unleavened Bread, he also fulfills the First Fruit and Pentecost festivals we celebrate. The first fruit was planted in the ground to be raised up on Easter Sunday.

Jesus rose from the grave and stayed remained on the earth for 40 days to give his people plenty of proof that he is the first fruit and to give his people instructions about their next steps.

Pentecost is the birthday of the church

Acts 2:1-4 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

God changed the significance of Pentecost dramatically. The festival would no longer be seen as an agricultural holiday, and the word "Pentecost" would take on a new meaning. Most importantly, God's relationship with his people would never be the same.

The Old Testament prophets had foretold that God would have a new place to live, no longer in physical places and things, but in his people. When the Holy Spirit filled the lives of believers, it was a spectacular event, just as when God had appeared in the burning bush, on Mount Sinai, or in the Tabernacle and Temple.

It's no surprise that people came running to see what was happening as this drama was confusing to most of the people that were there. A week after giving his disciples the task of being the church, Jesus gave them the power they needed to accomplish it by entering his new dwelling places on earth.

This was the promise of the new covenant, where God could now live with his people in a way even better than in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:8-10, Jeremiah 31:31-33, Ephesians 1:13)

God's plan to save us from ourselves is revealed by the events on his calendar:

• Have your sins been forgiven by the ultimate Passover lamb that willingly became the sacrifice for your rebellion?
• Have you begun to walk in obedience to his teaching to begin the process of getting rid of sin in your life as you follow the true bread of life?
• Have you experienced Emmanuel, God with us, personally in your life as you walk with him through his power that dwells within you?

If you can answer yes to these questions then you are ready for the next event on God's calendar. God told us all of this so that his chosen ones would be prepared for the Feast of Trumpets! (Matthew 24:31, Revelation 8:1-11:19)

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God's Appointed Times - Passover And Unleavened Bread

The first and second annual events on God's calendar.

Leviticus 23:1-4 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. These are the LORD's appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for holy assembly.

3 "You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the LORD's Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.

4 "In addition to the Sabbath, these are the LORD's appointed festivals, the official days for holy assembly that are to be celebrated at their proper times each year.

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One of the best ways to know what is important to someone is to check out his calendar. In the previous post we saw the first of God's appointed times, the weekly Sabbath day, the only one of God's appointed times that the Bible tells us that he actually did. 

Today we will start the annual events that God has appointed for his people to observe. Some of these are related to past events that need to be remembered but there are also future events that we need to be prepared for. When we look at God's calendar we can learn from what he has done in the past and what his plans are for the future. 

God wants us to learn from our experiences so that we will be sure of who he is and how much he cares for us. Observing these annual events was also a great tool to help them pass down their knowledge of God to the next generation.

For one week each spring the Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated beginning on the Sabbath with the Passover meal on the first day and the Feast of First Fruits on the third day of this important week.

God's Spring Calendar Begins With:

Passover – Redeemed From Egypt

Leviticus 23:4-5, Exodus 12:1-4

Exodus 12:13  But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Passover shows us the first thing we all need to know about God is that we need a Savior to forgive us and save us from our bondage to sin. This was the final plague in Egypt and it was the only one that required God's people to do something, a perfect lamb had to be sacrificed and his blood applied to the doorpost of their homes so that the death angel would pass over.

This annual observance helped God's people remember that their sons were saved by the blood of the lamb while the sons of Egypt died. It is ironic that the first Passover happened in Egypt where Pharaoh thought that he was in control when he killed the sons of Israel but years later God made it clear that he is in charge when he turned things around and took the first born sons of Egypt.

After the Passover lamb was sacrificed and the blood applied to the doorpost the lamb was prepared for the people to eat, it would be the last hearty meal that they would have for a very long time. They would eat this meal fully dressed and ready to go first thing in the morning as soon as the Egyptians found their dead sons.

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

The annual Passover sacrifices for sin reminded God's people of their need for the true Passover lamb so imagine their thoughts and their reaction when somebody suddenly announces that the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world is here. They turn around and look and it isn't a lamb.

At this point in history God's people had been abused and oppressed, by their government and the governments of the nations that had invaded them, even their religious leaders were abusing them, so much so that they lost their focus on their greatest need. They were still doing Passover every year but Satan was using their physical needs to distract them from their spiritual need.

Feast of Unleavened Bread – Food For The Journey

Leviticus 23:6-8, Exodus 12:15-20

Exodus 12:18  The bread you eat must be made without yeast from the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of that month.

Passover day was just the beginning of a weeklong ceremony, the rest of that week would commemorate their hasty exit from Egypt and the food that God told them to take with them. When they exited Egypt they ate unleavened bread for a month until their supply of dough ran out. (Exodus 16:1-2)

The annual ceremony would help the people remember that God provided for their physical needs when he took them out of Egypt. God knew his people would forget the miraculous signs that his people experienced, they would have to be reminded of God's love and protection for them. (Exodus 16:1-15, Deuteronomy 8:14-17)

I have to wonder why God wanted them to leave Egypt in a hurry and why he waited to tell them so they couldn't be better prepared to leave? Why were they not allowed to prepare their dough ahead of time? 

Maybe God didn't want them to stock up on supplies and take credit for sustaining themselves? Or maybe he wanted them to take unleavened dough because it wouldn't spoil so soon?

Today we think of the symbolism of unleavened bread from a New Testament perspective but to the people that were leaving Egypt, they didn't have this point of view. It was probably a practical matter for them, dough without yeast would stay fresh longer. 

From our perspective it is a wonderful illustration but The Old Testament doesn't make the connection between the effects of leaven in dough and associate it with the effect of sin in our life. Also, there are times in the Old Testament when yeast is supposed to be in their bread recipe. (Yeast is allowed in Leviticus 23:17, leaven represents the effects of sin in our life: 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, Matthew 16:5-12, Mark 8:15, Galatians 5:9)

John 6:26 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs." 27 But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval."

When the true Bread of Life came to be God with us, the miraculous signs were still being ignored or misunderstood by the hungry crowds. Jesus allowed an impossible situation to occur so that the people would learn about him but the people that Jesus fed from a young boys lunch didn't figure it out. 

The customary blessing over the bread in the Passover meal was “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.” The Bread of Life probably said this same blessing in the upper room at the Last Supper. (Matthew 26:26)

The physically hungry people that followed Jesus around in the remote areas of Galilee were very much like the physically hungry crowd that left Egypt. We all have a tendency to want a Jesus that makes our life easier and meets our physical needs but Jesus wanted to change their perspective.

John 6:32-33 Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, Moses didn't give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

John 6:47-50 "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 Yes, I am the bread of life! 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die.

When Jesus arrives in Jerusalem for the event that we call the triumphant entry, it is three days before Passover, the lambs that will be slaughtered are being set aside and inspected. For the next three days the Lamb of God will be tested and found to be lacking by the religious leaders.

Do you know the true bread that came down from Heaven? The only source of everlasting life? Jesus is the only one that could be a substitute for the punishment that each of us deserve. 

Jesus became the pierced and stripped matzah for us. Jesus took the abuse and the death penalty that was intended for me, despised, rejected, crushed and whipped. Jesus sinless obedience made him the only Passover lamb that could intercede for us rebels so that we can have eternal life in Heaven. (Isaiah 53:1-12)

The symbolism of God's calendar should be a clear revelation or a reminder of what God has done to provide for us. The first two festivals show us that we need a Passover lamb to redeem us from our sins and we need the sinless true bread from Heaven to sanctify us as our knowledge of him and our application of his word in our lives helps us grow in godliness.

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God's Appointed Times - A Weekly Sabbath

The first event on God's calendar.

Leviticus 23:3 "You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the LORD's Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.

Genesis 2:1-4 So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 

2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. 

4 This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

Deuteronomy 5:12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

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In the beginning God created, day after day he didn't stop creating until his work was perfectly completed, then he rested. But don't get the idea that he was tired and needed to re-energize as a result of his labor, his rest was a result of the fact that creation was 100% perfectly finished. (Psalm 121:3-4)

Thankfully God is always working and never gets tired, if he stopped sustaining his creation then everything would fall apart. When we spend time creating something we will eventually need to spend time restoring our energy level but that's not true of God. I have to wonder if work was tiring for Adam and Eve before sin entered our world.

God introduces the idea of resting right after he completed the work of creation but we don't have any evidence that God told man to rest one day out of seven until after the exodus from Egypt. 

God knew that we would be dissatisfied with our work. 

Contentment will always be a struggle for us, no matter how hard we try we will execute our plans and never produce the exact outcome that we were striving for. We can look back on our work and see the imperfections staring back at us and we will have to say that it is good enough.

God knew that we would use work for evil:

• We work to gain God's favor
• We work to gain favor with the people around us
• We work so that we can feel good about ourselves

God knew that we would need to change our focus.

Ezekiel 20:20 And keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the LORD your God.' 

We need to turn our eyes upon God and put more effort into knowing and enjoying him instead of the achievements that our work gets us. God wants us to want him more than the blessings that we can gain from our daily grind. 

I need to make sure that I keep my treasure in proper perspective, my time and abilities are from God so therefore everything I produce also comes from him. All of my flawed outcomes are made possible because God gave me the time and ability to make my treasure.

God wants me to rest from earthly labor and he also wants me to rest from my attempts to earn my salvation. The Sabbath helps me remember that I cannot produce holiness in myself, I will only be good enough when I put my faith in Jesus work instead of my own.

God gives us rest for today and for eternity.

Matthew 11:28-29 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

This is the one gift that nobody will return because everybody can use some more of the gift of rest. When Jesus came into our world his people were in a very desperate state of mind, the country had been invaded for hundreds of years by various political leaders, some of them invaded the temple and stole anything valuable while others broke the temple rules, desecrated and defiled the place. 

Even the religious leaders made the burden of the people even worse as the turned the Sabbath into a legalistic nightmare. The religious leaders sought to so narrowly define the rules of the Sabbath to the point that nobody could really enjoy the day. It got so bad that every other day of the week was far more enjoyable and restful than the Sabbath.

Hebrews 4:1-2 God's promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. 2 For this good news-that God has prepared this rest-has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn't share the faith of those who listened to God.

God is still looking for people that will rest in him. People that will trust his love and care enough to have peace with him for this life and for eternity. I can look forward to eternal rest and enjoyment in God’s presence in the new place that he is preparing for me. (Isaiah 26:19, John 14:1-4, Revelation 14:13)

Thank you Lord for the gift of rest. I need to realize that my work will never be perfectly complete as your work of creation was. I will be tempted to keep working but it will never be fulfilling. Help me to focus on you and your work in my life.

RELATED ARTICLES

Resting on the Sabbath and Unpacking Its Treasures (firmisrael.org)

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I Am The Lord

You really should mean it when you call him Lord.

Leviticus 19:1-4 The LORD also said to Moses, 2 "Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. 3 "Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest. I am the LORD your God. 4 "Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.

Exodus 20:2-3 "I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 "You must not have any other god but me.

Luke 6:46 "So why do you keep calling me 'Lord, Lord!' when you don't do what I say?

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Communication is a problem for everyone and God's people are no exception, we have our own language that can easily confuse newcomers, our use of certain words and phrases can be foreign to people outside of Christianity. 

In any culture, language is so individualistic, so much so that people that claim to speak the same language really don't. Just look at America's version of English that obviously came from England yet we insist that Americans are the ones speaking English correctly.

The word "Lord" is seldom spoken outside of religious circles, in a respectful way, and the concept of having a Lord over us is so against our culture that we tend to shy away from the idea. Sure we use the word Lord plenty of times each Sunday but it's meaning and the consequences of having a Lord is lost in the overuse of the word. It's like the word awesome, most of the time we use that word when things are nowhere near causing us to be in awe.

A search in my Bible study software for the short phrase "the Lord" in the New Living Translation comes back with 6,836 matches, found in 60 of the 66 books of the Bible. Perhaps the most significant thing I saw in this search is that God is usually speaking about himself when this phrase is spoken. 

Top ten books to use "the Lord"

1. Jeremiah - 600
2. Psalms - 485
3. Deuteronomy - 447
4. Isaiah - 405
5. Numbers - 358
6. Exodus - 355
7. 2 Chronicles - 304
8. Leviticus - 300
9. 1 Samuel - 238
10. 2 Kings - 225

The story of "the Lord"

God's story begins with the beginning of the Lord's work, it was the Lord that created the perfect world for the first man and his wife to enjoy. (Genesis 2:4) It was the Lord that shared his authority to reign, he gave mankind the authority as lord over the rest of creation, and it was the Lord that walked with mankind in the garden each day until the day that they questioned God's authority as Lord. (Genesis 1:26, 3:8)

It was the Lord that graciously made the first sacrifice to forgive their sins, since the offense was against him he had the authority to decide how the sins would be forgiven. (Genesis 3:21) I find it interesting that Adam, Eve nor the serpent say "the Lord" as they discuss the idea of rebelling against God which is the basis for every sin. (Genesis 3:1-7)

It was the Lord that approached Cain and gave him a choice, he could embrace sin as his parents did or he could learn from their mistake and also from his own sin to embrace God's warning to worship him correctly. (Genesis 4:1-8)

It was the Lord that had the authority to wipeout mankind, the Lord chose Noah to preserve the seed of the coming redeemer while he eliminated the rest of the population because of their wickedness. (Genesis 6:5-8)

It was the Lord that scattered mankind when they rebelled so quickly after the flood. It is amazing how fast the descendants of the flood survivors started living without any thought about the Lord, it seems that they must have known about the recent worldwide flood but they still ignored God's authority as they decided to make a name for themselves. (Genesis 11:1-9)

It was the Lord that chose Abram and even chose which of Abram's (Abraham) many children would be the heir of the promise. It was the Lord that continued choosing a son from each new generation, father Abraham had many sons but the Lord chose Isaac and then he chose Jacob over Esau and then from the 12 sons of Jacob, God chose Judah and then he chose a son from Judah.

We could keep on going through all 66 books of the Bible but it is already obvious from this quick outline of the book of Genesis that someone is in charge and it isn't the humans.

I am the Lord and I will do...

Exodus 6:6-7  “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the LORD. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment.  7  I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt.

In the book of Exodus, the Lord is about to do something important so he goes to Moses with important information. God told Moses who he is and what he will do for his people, he will do things that only God can possibly do, and he will do it without asking for the approval of the thousands of people that it would affect.

When God was about to take his people out of Egypt, he just did it! This is a very strong argument in favor of God's sovereignty and the election of a chosen people. When our Lord decided that you are his chosen child he didn't extend an offer to you and ask for your consent, he just did it! Our Lord does not answer to anyone and he isn't depending on something that any of us might do.

In fact it is a very good thing that God didn't require a minimum amount of faith or goodness before he took them out of Egypt because they would have never been able to leave. You would probably expect the faith of God's people would have grown during each of the ten plagues that the Lord sent upon Egypt but somehow they didn't learn.

The Lord Gives Us The Perfect Example

John 6:38 "For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will."

God didn't just command us to live a certain way he also gave us the perfect example of someone that did live under the authority and reign of our Lord. Jesus submitted to the Lordship of God and obeyed him despite the physical difficulties and the spiritual opposition.

Philippians 2:7-8  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,  8  he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Whatever rights, control or privileges that we think we should have must be given up to please our Lord. If our Lord stooped down from his high position to submit to God's lordship then we must do the same. We need to state the same thing that Thomas declared "My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28) and we also need to let it really be true in the way that we live. (Luke 6:46)

God help me to call you the Lord and grasp what it really means and allow you to truly be the Lord. Help me to live like it is really true so that your kingdom will come and your will, will be done in my life for your glory.

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Do Not Do As Egypt Or Canaan

It is easy to imitate the ways of this world but God wants his people to be like him.

Leviticus 18:1-5  Then the LORD said to Moses,  2  “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the LORD your God.  3  So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life.

4  You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the LORD your God.  5  If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the LORD.

Leviticus 18:30 So obey my instructions, and do not defile yourselves by committing any of these detestable practices that were committed by the people who lived in the land before you. I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:1-2 The LORD also said to Moses, 2 "Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

Leviticus 20:7-8 So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the LORD who makes you holy.

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The good news is our holy God loves us so much that he wants to have a close intimate relationship with us. But the bad news is because he is holy we cannot have an intimate relationship with him. But we don't have to live in the reality of the bad news!

Holiness is the most important truth that you must comprehend about God, it is a huge kindness on God's part to give us his instructions on how to safely draw near to him. The book of Leviticus is the first record that we have on how to live to please God. 

I have to wonder how God's people knew what God's standards are before the exodus from Egypt when he began teaching them at Mount Sinai. It seems that somehow people knew about God and what he expects from mankind before the law was revealed. 

How did:

• Abel please God and how did Cain know what was right and yet he chose the wrong way?
• Enoch have close fellowship with God so that he would be taken directly to Heaven? 
• Noah know how to have God's favor when everyone around him missed the boat?

God's people today have the luxury of looking back at thousands of years of history that God has preserved for us in the Bible to give us a clear picture of how to have his favor. 

The Old Testament shows us a very clear picture of the difficulty mankind has in living up to God's standards. By the end of the book of Genesis (Genesis 46:1-34, 47:1-12) we see that God's people wound up in Egypt for their own good so they would escape the famine in Canaan, but later on we see that while they were in Egypt they started to live like Egyptians.

God's people are conformed to the world when they leave Egypt, their character was proven very quickly and with great repetition. After 400 years of Egyptian influence, God's people didn't look much like God's people, Israel needed to get out of Egypt but God knew that he needed to get Egypt out of Israel.

Deuteronomy 18:9  “When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there.

Perhaps that is the reason God did not take them directly to the Promised Land. (Psalm 106:35, Ezekiel 20:7-8, 23:8) God used the wilderness to get his people away from everyone else so that they could be taught how to live by his rules so that they could live long, prosper and be a blessing to the other nations. 

God's people need to be transformed, this goes way beyond nonconformity to the world, this is way more than withdrawing from the world or living by a list, this is a rebirth that comes from a new nature.

Romans 12:2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

A change of character is exactly what God requires for his people but don't be confused, the change is not a requirement to have a relationship with him but rather it is proof that you do have a relationship. Your obedience will be a natural outcome of the transformation of your character.

God is perfect in holiness to the point that all of his divine attributes are holy attributes, because he loves us and wants the best for us, God wants us to also be holy. This is a condition that mankind doesn't long to achieve, our carnal minds are more concerned about happiness and pleasure, we want ease and comfort.

Everybody has a choice to make, we can behave like Egypt or Canaan or we can be renewed with a new nature by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we will be a reflection of God for the world to see. We struggle with this decision because we want God to solve our problems and carry our burdens, we want our best life now and that doesn't include a God that demands control our lives and a huge change in our character.

Ephesians 4:17, 23-24  With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God-truly righteous and holy.

Paul repeats the warning from Leviticus in his letter to the Ephesian church, it was still an issue hundreds of years later, as long as we are in this world we will struggle with this decision. God's people still need the encouragement to make the right choice:

• Will we allow the Holy Spirit to renew our thoughts and attitudes? (Ephesians 4:23)
• Will we desire to put on our new nature which was given to us to make us like God? (Ephesians 4:23)

Instead of saying "don't do as the..." it's still a good idea to ask yourself, WWJD? Jesus is the only man that God fully approved so that makes him the perfect example for us to follow. (Matthew 3:17)

We will mess up as we continue to grow, the Bible makes it clear that God's people will not automatically or perfectly implement the practice of being like God, it takes time to change our minds about the ways of Egypt and Canaan. We must remember that God is just as patient with us as we wonder around in our wilderness on the way to our Promised Land.

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Yom Kippur - Day Of Atonement

God with us has some requirements that cannot be ignored.

Leviticus 16:1,6-10, 30 The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons, who died after they entered the LORD's presence and burned the wrong kind of fire before him.

6 "Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the LORD.

7 Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 8 He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the LORD and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. 

9 Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the LORD. 10 The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the LORD. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the LORD.

30 On that day offerings of purification will be made for you, and you will be purified in the LORD's presence from all your sins.

To know God and have "God with us" is an accomplishment that few will ever achieve despite the fact that so many of us are seeking to know him. Anyone that is interested in knowing God has so many worldly options available but there is only one way that God has provided. 

We don't have to figure it out for ourselves, God's word gives us a great amount of teaching on how to have "God with us" and the benefits that it brings. In my three previous post, from the book of Isaiah, we looked at the: Hope of God with Us, the Peace of God with Us and the Rule of God with Us.

God gave his people the desire to have a relationship with him and he mercifully gave them the rules to follow so they could approach him without losing their life. Don't forget the consequences of Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu, back in Leviticus 10:1-3, the sons were the first priest that did not take God's holiness serious.

It is amazing enough that God would come to be with us and give us hope and peace for this world but the good news of God's story doesn't end here. It is even more amazing that God would give us his plan for us to follow so that he can be with his people for all of eternity.

Our relationship with God is governed by God's rules.

Exodus 30:10 "Once a year Aaron must purify the altar by smearing its horns with blood from the offering made to purify the people from their sin. This will be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the LORD's most holy altar."

God gave his people a calendar full of rituals, feast and festivals but the most important annual day that he gave his people was Yom Kippur. A day that God's people did nothing physically to provide for their own forgiveness, they could not bring a sacrifice, they had to depend on the sacrifice and the work of their high priest to provide atonement and forgiveness of their sins.

God's people in the Old Testament could not come into God's presence as casually as we do today. (Hebrews 10:19-22, Ephesians 2:18) Only the high priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place and that was only allowed one day a year on the Day of Atonement.

The day began as every other day, the daily sacrifice of a one year old lamb, would precede the annual Day of Atonement rituals which would allow the high priest, Aaron, to enter the most holy place without the penalty of death. (Exodus 29:38-42, Numbers 28:3-6)

Two goats are needed to represent the truth of the atonement.

1. The first goat shows us the debt that must be paid.

Our rebellion against God requires the death penalty, we didn't believe God when he told us that "we would surely die" as a result of our sin and now we live in the reality that God is true to his word. (Genesis 2:17)

Psalm 103:9-10 He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. 10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

Jesus work on the cross was the ultimate fulfillment of this ritual sacrifice, the blood of the animal sacrifices were a picture of the true sacrifice that God's people needed. When we were transformed by the gospel we became members of God's family and that includes an inheritance as heirs of God's kingdom.

2. The second goat is for the people

The goat which is driven away from the camp, into the wilderness, to never return, symbolizing the even greater agony of our Lord, His separation from the Father because of our sins but it also symbolizes the removal of our sin away from us.

Psalm 103:12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

God's people confess their sins and God sends their sin as far as the East is from the West to no longer be brought up as a charge against us. And since we are freed from our sins we can experience God with us here on earth and we have have the hope of glory. (Jeremiah 31:34, Colossians 1:27)

The slain and abandoned Savior offers you atonement.

Matthew 27:45-46 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. 46 At about three o'clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"

The two goats together are an illustration of the work that was accomplished through the death of Christ on the cross. Jesus blood was spilled to be the substitute sacrifice that was required to pay the debt of sin that we owed and he was sent outside of the camp, abandoned by God. (Hebrews 9:1-29)

Jesus sacrifice is the ultimate fulfillment of the Day of Atonement, our great high priest did all of the work, he brought the sacrifice that was offered for our forgiveness so that we could approach God intimately. (John 1:29)

Jesus offers his children the true and lasting day of atonement that each of us must experience in a personal way. Have you had a personal day of atonement when you were made made right in God's eyes?

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The Rule Of God With Us

God's people are longing for an eternal kingdom with a righteous ruler.

Isaiah 9:6-7 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven's Armies will make this happen!

God with us should be a glorious thought that is too wonderful to describe, in the past couple of post we saw The Hope of God With Us and The Peace of God With Us, It is amazing that God would come to be with us and give us hope and peace. But God's story doesn't end there, he is going to bless his people even more when he returns to reign on earth.

We all long for a better country that is ruled by a better king, but for most of us that is just a crazy dream, it may be crazy for the rest of the world but it is reality for God's people. The day is coming when God will setup his kingdom and tear down the kingdoms of this world that stand in opposition to him.

God's people are always waiting for God's timing.

God's people have a long history of waiting, a lot of God's promises seem like they will never happen, don't forget that there are more prophecies of Jesus second coming than there were of the first so we can be sure that The King Is Coming (music video). 

When Jesus finally arrived to be God with us the first time, there was nothing to fear, as a baby he was defenseless, as an adult he was gentle and kind. Jesus had power over everyone he met but he only used his power to reveal his deity in a gracious and merciful way for our benefit so that we would believe. (Philippians 2:5-9) 

Jesus second advent will not be the same, anyone that wasn't prepared for the first advent could either carry on business as usual or they could have their life radically changed, either way there wasn't any devastating consequences. When he comes again it will be totally different.

The Eternal King And His Kingdom: 

 

The characteristics of the king:

• Wonderful Counselor - Every other counselor will be gone as the supernatural wisdom of this counselor will be far superior. We exaggerate and overuse "wonderful" so we need to pause and consider it's true meaning. Jesus is wonderful in a way that is truly boggling to the mind. (Jeremiah 23:5, Romans 11:33, Colossians 2:3)
• Mighty God - Powerful enough to return after 3 days in the grave and powerful enough to defeat every evil and restore his kingdom to the state it was in before it became marred by sin. (Deuteronomy 10:17, Nehemiah 9:32, Psalm 50:1-6)
• Everlasting Father - The only source of compassion and care that God's people will ever need. They have a peace treaty with the mighty God so they can enjoy being in his presence for eternity without fear. (Isaiah 63:16, John 10:28-30)
• Prince of Peace - God's people should strive to live at peace with each other but as Jesus told his disciples his first advent wasn't about bringing peace. The conflict that we see in the New Testament continues, Jesus is a polarizing figure, the spiritual battle is not over yet. (Matthew 10:24 and 2 Corinthians 6:14-16) Some day the peace that God's people have with him will finally be enjoyed with each other and with all of God's creation. (Romans 12:18, Ephesians 4:1-3, Philippians 4:6-7, Hebrews 12:14)

The characteristics of the kingdom:

Isaiah 11:3-5 He will delight in obeying the LORD. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. 4 He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. 5 He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.

Isaiah 11:10 In that day the heir to David's throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.

The kingdom of God will be the true creation of the "holy land" where love, justice, peace and joy are the norm. The prayer of Jesus for "thy kingdom come, thy will be done" is a summary of God's kingdom. When the kingdom comes it will be God's will done on Earth as perfectly as it is in Heaven.

The new Heaven and new Earth will not have the destructive influence of sin, man's rebellion will be overthrown and Satan will be bound. The whole story of the Bible is about our rebellion against the king and his work to bring us back under his reign.

When Jesus returns as king: 

• The new kingdom will be known for God, his presence will be all that we will ever need for eternity.
• The new king will obviously be the promised heir of King David's throne. Nobody will question who he is or why he is reigning.
• The old king of this world will be dethroned and the devastating consequences of his evil empire will be reversed and the earth will be restored.
• The promises made to Israel and all of God's people through the prophets will finally be realized and the people of every nation will be blessed. Every covenant God has made with man will be 100% fulfilled.
• The Promised Land will finally belong to Israel, all of it, the boundaries of the nation in Bible times and today do not include all of the land God promised.
• The scattered people will return to Jerusalem to live completely submitted to the rule of their amazing king. 
• The world peace that everyone says they long for, but does little to achieve, will finally be real and eternal. More than peace it will be shalom, Greater than just the absence of conflict, everything will work together in perfect harmony as creation is made whole.

Our king has gone on a long journey, before he left he gave us resources to be used to help others find their way in, when he returns we need to be prepared to give an account for how we used our blessings, our skills and our time for his pleasure. (Matthew 25:14-30)

God has made it clear that we must submit to his son, we must see our need for Jesus before we die or before his return, don't discount the opportunity to transfer your citizenship to the kingdom of God. 

Will you remain in the kingdom of darkness that leads to destruction or will you renounce your citizenship there and move to the kingdom of God that will last for eternity? (Luke 13:22-30, Colossians 1:13-14)

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What Is the Kingdom of God? (desiringgod.org)

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The Kingdom Of God (thegospelcoalition.org)