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Heavenly Father; light our path and lead us into peace with one another as we reflect on your word today. Fill us with thy Spirit and lead us in our thoughts and words. May we find our joy in you.
Response to Numbers 8:1-9:23
From one base to the flowers (reproduction?), the lampstand was hammered of the richness of creation according to the will of the Father. Aaron the High Priest was to tilt the lampstand forward to light the path in front if it. This light faced east toward the entrance of the temple - towards Moses and Aaron's dwelling, towards the banner of the tribe of Judah. You may imagine that if the lampstand represents you or the church that the Spirit within lights your path and direction in life as you seek after God, or it provides light to all who may enter and leads them to God. It leads you, it draws them. The job of the High Priest is to set you in the right direction.
Matthew 5:14-16 ""You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
In Numbers 8:5-22, Moses is instructed to prepare the Levites - those individuals whom God had called to be his own - today that may represent the children of God - those who choose to be called by His name. Matthew 5:9 states: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons (children KJV) of God. Wouldn't it be a good idea to consecrate ourselves and one another into service to our Lord and Savior? Let's look at what was involved in our passage from Numbers:
1. Sprinkle them with water symbolizing atonement. 2. shave all the hair from their bodies and wash their clothes symbolizing purity. 3. Have the community lay their hands on them before the Lord symbolizing consecration (to make or declare sacred - devoted to the Lord for His service). 4. Have the devotees lay their hands on the symbolism of the sacrificial atonement that represents the atonement and purity given for them allowing them to be utilized in the service of God. 5. Present these children of God to their Father to be used for His service.
Note that this is similar to the ordination of Priests in Leviticus 8-9, but this is for the ordination of the other ministers within the Tabernacle. Today, within various churches, there are elders or deacons, or other positions held within the church. This is more representative of what these Levites represented in today's reading.
In Numbers, God chose the Israelites in place of the firstborn of the Israelites. Today, He calls you and me to a lifetime of service within our circles whether or not we are in ministry as a full time profession. Of course, this was a requirement of all the people in that day also among the Israelites. Jesus referred to this first and greatest commandment in Mark 12:30: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." As you set out for ministry or missions, it is worthwhile to receive a similar ceremonial blessing and ordination from the family of God. It does wonders in consecrating you before the family and changes your heart within as you devote yourself to God.
Our reading today from Numbers continued into chapter 9:1-14 where we visit the first anniversary of the passover celebration. If we check Numbers 1:1, this passage represents the previous month. On the first day of the first month of the second year, the people began the assembling and dedication of the tabernacle in Exodus 40:17. Also, in writing to the people of God regarding the observance of annual festivals, Moses had discussed the passover in Leviticus 23:4-8. This rememberance and observance of Numbers 9 is the first observance and celebration of the people experiencing their freedom from the land of Egypt at the foot of Mount Sinai in the wilderness (desert) of Sinai.
The call for all the people, both clean and unclean who are a part of or abide among the people of God are called to an observance of the Passover. Today, this holiday has been overshadowed by the observance of Easter Sunday. There are no eggs or bunnies associated with Passover, just joy and gladness that the power of death has been conquered through the power of an Almighty God. However, most people who celebrate Easter do not know how to plan for it's observance until they look at a calendar. Because of the Sader dinner and the observance of Maundy Thursday, many people assume Passover was held on a Thursday. Truth be told, Passover - has more to do with the moon than any given day of the week. Passover is observed during the first full moon of Spring. Thus, Easter is held on the first Sunday following the first full moon of Spring.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover "Passover is a spring festival, so the 14th day of Nisan begins on the night of a full moon"
With many words, Numbers 9:15-23 explains that the people of Israel followed the will of the Lord. Wherever the Spirit of the Lord went, there they followed (Notice the similarity found in Ezekiel 1:20-22). In Numbers 9, the Spirit of the Lord was easily recognized by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Today, it may be tougher to know the will of the Spirit of God. One way is to see if the fruits of the Spirit are present. Paul wrote a great passage regarding the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:13-24:
"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature (the flesh); rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."(Lev. 19:18) If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus claimed that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him in fulfillment of Isaiah 4:18-19: "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners (the blind), to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
And now, if you choose to take His name, own the words of Isaiah 42:5-10a as you accept His Holy Spirit to work through you as you serve His Kingdom: "This is what God the Lord says - He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 'I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness."
"I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."
"Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth" Isaiah 42:10a.
Follow the Love of the Father as He spreads His Spirit through all the world. If Love for all men is not present, the Spirit of the Lord is likely not at work based on what we read in the Bible. The Bible calls for more than loving our brothers. It calls for loving the sojourner as ourselves and prods us to even love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Herein lies a choice! You are forced to believe that Jesus spoke the words the Father had given Him to speak or that He is a liar and a fraud. You are left with the burden of proof: Listen to the words then of God through Jesus Christ:
Matthew 5:43-48: ""You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor (Deuteronomy 23:6, Psalm 41:10) and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect (love perfectly), therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (loves perfectly)." Let the Spirit move you also.
In the darkness, the Spirit of God may still appear to be a pillar of refining fire, but in the light of day, He rejuvinates the earth with clouds of blessing, washing the earth with the water of his love. Be prepared and wait until God moves you to find that strength that comes through His Spirit of Love, Joy, and Peace! It will change your life, and the lives of those around you, and the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMH4DLD96Mo you will know when to move.
Response to Mark 13:14-37
It is difficult to attempt to interpret prophecy into our present day. Undoubtedly, someone will be offended as they have spent much time in determining how everything will play out in the end. Unfortunately, it is quite possible much of what is talked about in Mark 13:14-27 may have already taken place, and attempting to apply it to today's happenings can be very confusing indeed. As I believe our final days on earth will be of great victory for a God who loved His world so much that He gave His own flesh and blood that everyone who believe in His existence might have life through Him and have it abundantly, I tend to look for fulfillment of wrath and judgement predictions as historical, spiritual, or symbolic in nature.
As I read of "the abomination that causes desolation" in Mark 13:14, I also checked the footnotes referring us to the following verses:
Daniel 9:27 "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' (week) In the middle of the 'seven' (week) he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. (it) " (And one who causes desolation will come upon the pinnacle of the abominable temple , until the end that is decreed is poured out on the desolated city)
Daniel 11:31 "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation."
Daniel 12:11 "From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days."
I Maccabees 1:41-54 (ASB) "Then the king (vs 10: Antiochus Epiphanes) wrote to his whole kingdom (Greek & Egyptian) that all should be one people, each abandoning his particicular customs. All the Gentiles conformed to the command of the king, and many Israelites were in favor of his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath.
The king sent messengers with letters to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah ordering them to follow customs foreign to their land: to prohibit holocausts, sacrifices, and libations in the sanctuary, to profane the sabbaths and feast days. to desecrate the sanctuary and the sacred ministers, to build pagan altars and temples and shrines, to sacrifice swine and unclean animals, to leave their sons uncircumcised, and to let themselves be defiled with every kind of impurity and abomination, so that they might forget the law and change all their observances. Whoever refused to act according to the command of the king should be put to death.
Such were the orders he published throughout his kingdom. He appointed inspectors over all the people, and he ordered the cities of Judah to offer sacrifices, each city in turn. Many of the people, those who abandoned the law, joined them and committed evil in the land. Israel was driven into hiding, wherever places of refuge could be found.
On the fifteenth day of the month Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty five, (early December, 167 BC), the king erected the horrible abomination upon the altar of holocausts (original Hebrew: 'a contemptuous pun on the title "Lord of heaven" given to the god Zeus Olympios, to whom an image or perhaps an altar was erected upon the altar in the temple of Jerusalem (Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:31)), and in the surrounding cities of Judah they built pagan altars."
Hannakah is now a celebration of the purification of the temple (3 years later) following the defeat of Lysias. The history is shared in I Maccabees 4:36-59. vs. 59 "Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary every year for eight days, from the twentyfifth day of the month Chislev."
Now back to Mark 13:14. This story of Hannakah and the desecration of the Temple could not be referring to times past, as it is obvious Jesus is talking of the future. However, Jesus terminology would cause the disciples to relate to the story of Hannakah as it was a part of their culture. It stands to reason to me then that Jesus is still talking to them of the destruction of the Temple already spoken of in Mark 13, being the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD. Not one stone was left atop another and this happened in many of the desciples lifetimies. As the entire paragraph of Mark 13:14-23 hinges on this occurance, it can be assumed that this war is what Jesus is prophecying about. The same is true then with the associated passages from Matthew 24:15-28 and Luke 21:20-24.
Following the context of the rest of Mark 13, it should then be assumed also that Mark 13:24-27 follows the same timeline. The audience is the people of Jerusalem - being told that the very foundations of their lives would be torn away from them. The Temple would be completely ruined and their city would be burned - the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and sparks will be falling from heaven. Lest you lose faith in that terrible hour, know that (the Son of Man) still loves you and will send his angels to gather his loved ones together with him. Destruction, burning, warfare, yet there is no need to fear death.
This same faith can bring us through trials as brought these inhabitants of Jerusalem through the destruction of everything they were. As he was speaking of something that would happen in their very lifetimes, his statement "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened" is much easier to understand. The only confusing part is when we attempt to apply such prophecy to our own lives as we are prone to do. Apply the teaching, the symbolism, and the application of faith in the midst of crisis to this reading and know God will take care of you in spite of the loss of everything you ever held dear or believed in. Everything in this world - even our religious foundations - can be taken away, but the Love of God and the truth of His salvation remains. This assurance given to this first generation of Christians in Jerusalem is portrayed in Mark 13:28-31, Matthew 24:32-35, and Luke 21:29-33.
As Mark closes this passage in Mark 13:32-37 (see also Matthew 24:32-35 and Luke 21:29-33), he relates this application of scripture we have just mentioned. Although we do not know what the future holds - our death - or impending destruction or catostrophy - we must be ready. Our Lord and Savior will return on a day and at an hour we do not know. Some lunatic could push a button causing devastation to our world. You could get hit by a car at your next intersection. The Lord could return at any moment. Be ready! Be serving! Be Loving.
Response to Psalm 50:1-23
This is the first Psalm of Asaph (singer, composer, and musician). 1 Chronicles 6:39; 15:17; 16:4-7; 25:1-9; 2 Chronicles 5:12; sons of Asaph 2 Chronicles 35:15; Nehemiah 7:44.
From out of Zion, God calls to the earth. "The Heavens declare His righteousness reminds me of Romans 1:20: "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Through the Psalmist, God is changing the Sacrificial law. Already at this time, during the time of David, God asks his people (the earth vs. 1) to offer Him thanksgiving and vows of honor with their lives. This change of sacriment and ceremony was also seen in I Samuel 15:22 which was written around the same time. "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."
Asaph chastises those who would deny God His requested honor and vows in verses 16-21. You recite scripture, but you don't apply it. you dispise discipline, you steal, you ignore me, you commit adultery and you approve of those that do. You scheme, you curse, you hate. I have been patient, but now I open my mouth.
For glorifying God with thanksgiving and honor; God will show Himself a mighty deliverer and the recipient will glorify God with thanksgiving and honor; and God will show...
Response to Proverbs 10:29-30
Each verse of Proverbs 10 represents a contrasting Proverb. Only 5 of 32 verses do not use the word "but to set up the contrast. Each Proverb sets up a law of nature: Blessings for righteousness, Cursings for rebellion.
Choose Righteousness
Until tomorrow
Rick
Sunday, March 7, 2010
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