"You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a moulding of gold around it." (Exodus 30:1-3)
The Lord said to Moses, "Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane, 24 and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil." (Exodus 30:22-25 ESV)
The Lord said to Moses, "Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part), and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. You shall beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you. It shall be most holy for you." (Exodus 30:34-36)
In this one chapter of Exodus, chapter 30, where God informs Moses the procedure where the priest may enter into the presence of God himself, we encounter the Magi's gifts again. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. I believe this reveals the most significant and prophetic aspect of these three gifts: They relate to the presence of God himself!
Even in the previous passage relating to Solomon we can see imagery that is rich with symbolism of the presence of God himself. The column of smoke in the wilderness and the golden "seat" transported on two poles. Strong parallels with the presence of God above the ark during the time of the exodus.
Before Jesus came to die, he came to live and fulfil the prophecy of Immanuel - God with us. Jesus was (and is!) the very presence of God in the midst of his people in a way that the ark and the temple could only foreshadow. God himself became flesh and dwelt among us. The Magi's gifts were thus also a fitting prophetic declaration that now one greater than the temple was here!
Frankincense was made into incense used by the high priest when he entered before the presence of God.
Myrrh was made into the holy anointing oil used on God's prophets, priests and kings.
Gold was used to cover everything in the temple that communicated the glorious presence of God himself.
Jesus came as our great high priest to bring us back into the presence of God. He came as the Christ - the anointed one - to live a life full of the power of the Holy Spirit. He came as king and to reveal the glory of God the father.
But there is still one more truth to unlock. For the true message of Christmas is not the gifts the Magi gave to the Christ, but the gift God in Christ gave to the world. The gold, frankincense and myrrh are also prophetic of the gifts that Christ still gives to us.
He has opened up the way for us to come freely into the presence of God. He has poured out the Holy Spirit for us to live in his anointing. He has given us authority to demonstrate the glory of his presence - his here and now kingdom rule on earth as it is in heaven. Frankincense, myrrh and gold - given by Christ to all those who have called on his name.
Have a wonderful Christmas.
Showing posts with label meditations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meditations. Show all posts
12.12.11
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh
And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11 ESV)
'Tis the time of year when thoughts turn to all things Christmas. Family, turkey dinners, shopping, carols, fir trees, tinsel and of course the tableau of the baby in the manger - the greatest gift ever given - that of God himself who so loved the world that he gave his only son.
We all know the story of the wise men / kings / magi who came from the east to worship the baby king, and of the three gifts they gave. The way the bible records these gifts shows that they were clearly significant.
Conventional wisdom states that the gold was a gift for a king, and the other two fragrant gifts were to prepare him for burial. Perhaps so. He certainly was the king who was born with a mission to die. He came to take upon himself the punishment that we deserved so that all might be forgiven freely by his grace if they accept him as Lord.
But perhaps there is more here to dig out. Even if the death symbolism is correct, I certainly doubt it was what the Magi had in mind. They went to lengths to save him from Herod's machinations. Even his own disciples who had been with him three years struggled to grasp the significance of his death until after the resurrection. As always the best reference to biblical imagery and symbolism is the bible itself. So what does the bible say about gold, frankincense and myrrh? Where else do we find these three together in the scriptures?
One description I believe is highly significant is that of Solomon, the Son of David, riding out of the wilderness in his kingly glory:
What is that coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of a merchant? Behold, it is the litter of Solomon! King Solomon made himself a carriage from the wood of Lebanon. He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, its seat of purple; its interior was inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. (Song of Songs 3:6-7a,9-10 ESV)
This would certainly fit with the messianic expectation surrounding God's promised king. He would be the son of David, like Solomon, smelling of myrrh and frankincense and seated on gold. This was how many people received Jesus, especially those who were looking for deliverance: "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!" or those who were looking for a restoration of the kingdom of Israel, "Hosanna to the son of David!"
Jesus may have been born in a manger, but the Magi recognised that this was God's chosen king. The promised son of David come to bring deliverance and restoration whose kingdom rule would never end.
But this is not the only place these three are found together. There is I believe an even more significant occurrence in the temple of God itself...
[Continued here]
'Tis the time of year when thoughts turn to all things Christmas. Family, turkey dinners, shopping, carols, fir trees, tinsel and of course the tableau of the baby in the manger - the greatest gift ever given - that of God himself who so loved the world that he gave his only son.
We all know the story of the wise men / kings / magi who came from the east to worship the baby king, and of the three gifts they gave. The way the bible records these gifts shows that they were clearly significant.
Conventional wisdom states that the gold was a gift for a king, and the other two fragrant gifts were to prepare him for burial. Perhaps so. He certainly was the king who was born with a mission to die. He came to take upon himself the punishment that we deserved so that all might be forgiven freely by his grace if they accept him as Lord.
But perhaps there is more here to dig out. Even if the death symbolism is correct, I certainly doubt it was what the Magi had in mind. They went to lengths to save him from Herod's machinations. Even his own disciples who had been with him three years struggled to grasp the significance of his death until after the resurrection. As always the best reference to biblical imagery and symbolism is the bible itself. So what does the bible say about gold, frankincense and myrrh? Where else do we find these three together in the scriptures?
One description I believe is highly significant is that of Solomon, the Son of David, riding out of the wilderness in his kingly glory:
What is that coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of a merchant? Behold, it is the litter of Solomon! King Solomon made himself a carriage from the wood of Lebanon. He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, its seat of purple; its interior was inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. (Song of Songs 3:6-7a,9-10 ESV)
This would certainly fit with the messianic expectation surrounding God's promised king. He would be the son of David, like Solomon, smelling of myrrh and frankincense and seated on gold. This was how many people received Jesus, especially those who were looking for deliverance: "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!" or those who were looking for a restoration of the kingdom of Israel, "Hosanna to the son of David!"
Jesus may have been born in a manger, but the Magi recognised that this was God's chosen king. The promised son of David come to bring deliverance and restoration whose kingdom rule would never end.
But this is not the only place these three are found together. There is I believe an even more significant occurrence in the temple of God itself...
[Continued here]
3.7.09
The Word is in your Mouth
I have put my words in your mouth (Isa 51:16)Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.(Jer 1:9)
I was struck again by how God gives us his word. It is not a word that he puts in our minds. It's not a word that he puts in our notebooks. Those are not the places that the word of God is meant to abide. He puts his words... into our mouths.
God's word is meant to be spoken. It is designed to be verbalised. Faith comes not just be reading, but by hearing. There is a power in the spoken word of God. I'm sure God could have created the universe at a thought, if he had chosen to, but he did not. He spoke and it came to be. It is the spoken word of God that is our daily bread [Dt 8:3].
If a word is never spoken it remains merely a thought. It is a transient and nebulous thing that can disappear without trace when our mind wanders onto something else. But the spoken word is different: it is concrete and deliberate, it cannot be retracted. In the Old Testament, once a word was spoken that was the end of the matter, regardless of the consequences [Jos 9, Jdg 11, Ps 15:4].
If God puts his words into our mouths, and if it is designed to be spoken, then there is a pretty obvious application: we need to speak it.
Paul instructed Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of scriptures [1Ti 4:13]. Reading the scriptures aloud is one obvious way to verbalise the word of God. It blesses us twice over, in the speaking and in the hearing. It is something I'm giving myself to more, not just in public, but also the private reading of scripture. So I am speaking and hearing the word of God.
Speaking in tongues is another great example. As it is literally the Spirit putting his words directly into our mouths. It's a key gift that builds us up and unlocks so much to us. It also sets us a great example, because you can't move in this gift without speaking; for the words of God to flow, they have to be spoken. God puts his words in our mouths but nothing happens unless we speak.
But the word is not just put into our mouths so we can speak to ourselves it is given so we can speak it to others. Both those who already belong to Christ, and those who don't yet know him. God gives us his word, as he gives us his Spirit, so that we can be his witnesses. Our witness comes by what we say, not just with our words, but with our deeds too. That's why Jesus commanded that we teach people, not just so that they might understand, but so that the might obey [Mt 28:19-20]. As the saying goes: actions speak louder than words.
But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. (Dt 30:14)
I like this verse. The word is not just in our mouths so we can speak it, but so that we can do it. God's word always demands a response. He's put his word in our mouths... the rest is up to us.
The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.(Nu 22:38)
13.5.09
If you see me, it's yours!
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” (2Ki 2:9-10)
We know that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and that he is an example for us in the area of prayer (Jas 5:17) I believe that in this passage Elisha (even though he is addressing Elijah rather than God) also sets an example in how we are to pray, and importantly, how we can pray prayers that get answered!
First, Elisha asks for a "hard thing." I like that! He doesn't make a "safe" request, but goes out on a limb to make a bold request. That's how our prayers should be: those that reach in faith beyond the boundaries of what we have currently experienced or received. If we only ask for things we already believe for, how are we exercising faith. It may seem odd to express it this way, but if we limit our prayers to our current measure of faith, we are not really operating in faith at all. Faith cannot be static; if it not expanding it is contracting. As Jesus put it: Those who have will be given more, but those who do not have, even the little they do have will be taken away. Whilst we should never pray for things that we have no faith that God will answer - those are totally pointless and hollow prayers - we should always stretch our current measure of faith to reach for more.
Next Elisha asks for the "double portion." There is plenty that could be said about this. But what strikes me in particular is that this was the portion of the first-born son. Elisha is saying, "Let me be like your first-born son." Again, I like this! This is how we should pray to our Heavenly Father, and this should be the prime motive behind our prayers: "Let me be like Jesus!" That's what we should be reaching for in faith. More of the life, character, gift and power of Jesus in our lives. That the manifestation of his wonderful nature may be displayed in us and through us.
Finally, I like the response that Elijah gives to his son in the faith: "If you see me it's yours!" I think this is the voice of God to us as a praying people too: "If you see me, it's yours." It is as we see him, and our vision of who he is and what he is like is expanded, that our faith to receive all that he is promised is increased. Abraham and Sarah believed because they considered him who had made the promises... not just the promises in isolation (Heb 11:11).
It's not just seeing what he is capable of doing either, but what he is doing. Jesus was the most anointed, most faith-filled person to ever walk the earth. Yet the secret of his success in prayer was this: He only did the things he saw his Father was doing. He saw. He prayed. He received. He saw what the Father was doing and prayed to see that same reality manifest on earth as it was in heaven. And that's how he taught his disciples to pray. Seeing the kingdom activity of the Father in heaven and praying it into reality on the earth. Praying in this way is another way we become more like him.
Let's be those who do not just pray according to what we see on the earth, but those who in faith pray into being that which we have seen in heaven.
We know that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and that he is an example for us in the area of prayer (Jas 5:17) I believe that in this passage Elisha (even though he is addressing Elijah rather than God) also sets an example in how we are to pray, and importantly, how we can pray prayers that get answered!
First, Elisha asks for a "hard thing." I like that! He doesn't make a "safe" request, but goes out on a limb to make a bold request. That's how our prayers should be: those that reach in faith beyond the boundaries of what we have currently experienced or received. If we only ask for things we already believe for, how are we exercising faith. It may seem odd to express it this way, but if we limit our prayers to our current measure of faith, we are not really operating in faith at all. Faith cannot be static; if it not expanding it is contracting. As Jesus put it: Those who have will be given more, but those who do not have, even the little they do have will be taken away. Whilst we should never pray for things that we have no faith that God will answer - those are totally pointless and hollow prayers - we should always stretch our current measure of faith to reach for more.
Next Elisha asks for the "double portion." There is plenty that could be said about this. But what strikes me in particular is that this was the portion of the first-born son. Elisha is saying, "Let me be like your first-born son." Again, I like this! This is how we should pray to our Heavenly Father, and this should be the prime motive behind our prayers: "Let me be like Jesus!" That's what we should be reaching for in faith. More of the life, character, gift and power of Jesus in our lives. That the manifestation of his wonderful nature may be displayed in us and through us.
Finally, I like the response that Elijah gives to his son in the faith: "If you see me it's yours!" I think this is the voice of God to us as a praying people too: "If you see me, it's yours." It is as we see him, and our vision of who he is and what he is like is expanded, that our faith to receive all that he is promised is increased. Abraham and Sarah believed because they considered him who had made the promises... not just the promises in isolation (Heb 11:11).
It's not just seeing what he is capable of doing either, but what he is doing. Jesus was the most anointed, most faith-filled person to ever walk the earth. Yet the secret of his success in prayer was this: He only did the things he saw his Father was doing. He saw. He prayed. He received. He saw what the Father was doing and prayed to see that same reality manifest on earth as it was in heaven. And that's how he taught his disciples to pray. Seeing the kingdom activity of the Father in heaven and praying it into reality on the earth. Praying in this way is another way we become more like him.
Let's be those who do not just pray according to what we see on the earth, but those who in faith pray into being that which we have seen in heaven.
24.2.09
Extraordinary Miracles
And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. (Ac 19:11-12)
I have been thinking about this passage of scripture. I mentioned it over on Ricky's blog the other day, and it was mentioned in the word to our church on Sunday.
What got me thinking was not whether God still does extraordinary miracles through the hands of his servants. To me that's not the question. What I have read, what I have seen, what I have heard, and what I know and understand about the nature of God leaves me in no doubt. God has not run out of "miracle-juice", nor has it become watered down over the millennia. He is the same awesome miracle working God today that he was two-thousand years' ago.
What does intrigue me though is what form these extraordinary miracles take today. You see, and you can feel free to disagree with me on this, I don't believe it's about sweaty handkerchiefs!
God is a God of infinite resourcefulness and imagination. The handkerchiefs was something extraordinary he chose to do through the hands of Paul. We don't read of it happening though the hands of anyone else, not even Peter. The fact that they were classified as "extraordinary" underlines the point further. It was something special and distinct to the man and his ministry, not a new pattern that emerged relating how we are to minister to remote sick or demonised individuals.
In Acts 5:15 we read of another type of extraordinary miracle. Peter's shadow only had to fall on the sick as he passed them in the street and they were healed. This again is not something we see attributed to anyone else. It was extraordinary, distinct, different, unique.
When Jesus healed people, on occasion he would heal them with his spit! This also is not something we see anyone else do (thankfully!) I wonder if Jesus chose this method deliberately so that it wouldn't be copied as an empty ritual! Jesus healed people in so many different ways for the same reason, I believe. He wanted to leave us principles to engage our faith, not patterns to be entrenched in formulaic religion.
So Jesus healed with his spit, Peter healed with his shadow, and Paul healed with his sweat. The pattern I'd draw from these extraordinary miracles is that they were all different!
So if we are seeking to be those who move in extraordinary miracles today, we need to be looking not to what God did through somebody else at some other time. We don't have to go out to buy a new range of ministry hankies, or go looking for a sunny spot where the sick folks hang out... we need to raise our expectation of how our awesome God can transform the ordinary things in our lives into an extraordinary means of his grace.
How about someone being healed by just receiving a text message from a servant of God? That would be extraordinary! Or someone who gets healed on their way in to a meeting just because they were handed a bulletin by a man or woman stirred in the Holy Spirit. Ordinary everyday actions transformed by an infinitely creative God into something extraordinary.
How many ways can God be extraordinary?... my guess is about six and a half billion!
I have been thinking about this passage of scripture. I mentioned it over on Ricky's blog the other day, and it was mentioned in the word to our church on Sunday.
What got me thinking was not whether God still does extraordinary miracles through the hands of his servants. To me that's not the question. What I have read, what I have seen, what I have heard, and what I know and understand about the nature of God leaves me in no doubt. God has not run out of "miracle-juice", nor has it become watered down over the millennia. He is the same awesome miracle working God today that he was two-thousand years' ago.
What does intrigue me though is what form these extraordinary miracles take today. You see, and you can feel free to disagree with me on this, I don't believe it's about sweaty handkerchiefs!
God is a God of infinite resourcefulness and imagination. The handkerchiefs was something extraordinary he chose to do through the hands of Paul. We don't read of it happening though the hands of anyone else, not even Peter. The fact that they were classified as "extraordinary" underlines the point further. It was something special and distinct to the man and his ministry, not a new pattern that emerged relating how we are to minister to remote sick or demonised individuals.
In Acts 5:15 we read of another type of extraordinary miracle. Peter's shadow only had to fall on the sick as he passed them in the street and they were healed. This again is not something we see attributed to anyone else. It was extraordinary, distinct, different, unique.
When Jesus healed people, on occasion he would heal them with his spit! This also is not something we see anyone else do (thankfully!) I wonder if Jesus chose this method deliberately so that it wouldn't be copied as an empty ritual! Jesus healed people in so many different ways for the same reason, I believe. He wanted to leave us principles to engage our faith, not patterns to be entrenched in formulaic religion.
So Jesus healed with his spit, Peter healed with his shadow, and Paul healed with his sweat. The pattern I'd draw from these extraordinary miracles is that they were all different!
So if we are seeking to be those who move in extraordinary miracles today, we need to be looking not to what God did through somebody else at some other time. We don't have to go out to buy a new range of ministry hankies, or go looking for a sunny spot where the sick folks hang out... we need to raise our expectation of how our awesome God can transform the ordinary things in our lives into an extraordinary means of his grace.
How about someone being healed by just receiving a text message from a servant of God? That would be extraordinary! Or someone who gets healed on their way in to a meeting just because they were handed a bulletin by a man or woman stirred in the Holy Spirit. Ordinary everyday actions transformed by an infinitely creative God into something extraordinary.
How many ways can God be extraordinary?... my guess is about six and a half billion!
20.2.09
The King's Priestly Prayer
For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.” And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. (2Ch 30:17-20)
Picture the scene. A nation has forsaken God; a people have abandoned his law. But an invitation goes out... an offer from the king to come to the table of the Lord and enjoy his favour.
But there's a problem. The people are not in any state to return to God. They have not kept themselves pure or lived up to the righteous standard required to approach his table. They want to return but know that their own actions now separate them from God.
So the king himself rouses himself on their behalf and makes intercession for them. Although the people are unworthy to return, God hears the priestly prayer of his appointed king and opens up the way so that all who have a heart after God may return. They can come and sit down at the Lord's table without fear and without condemnation.
What Hezekiah did for the people of Israel is a shadow of what Jesus now does for all people.
We were separated from a holy God by our own actions with no way back. But Jesus himself makes intercession for us, and presented himself as the spotless passover lamb to be slain on our behalf. This intercession and sacrifice now holds the door to heaven open so that whoever has a heart towards God may come without guilt or condemnation.
The king's priestly prayer was heard. The way back to God is open.
Picture the scene. A nation has forsaken God; a people have abandoned his law. But an invitation goes out... an offer from the king to come to the table of the Lord and enjoy his favour.
But there's a problem. The people are not in any state to return to God. They have not kept themselves pure or lived up to the righteous standard required to approach his table. They want to return but know that their own actions now separate them from God.
So the king himself rouses himself on their behalf and makes intercession for them. Although the people are unworthy to return, God hears the priestly prayer of his appointed king and opens up the way so that all who have a heart after God may return. They can come and sit down at the Lord's table without fear and without condemnation.
What Hezekiah did for the people of Israel is a shadow of what Jesus now does for all people.
We were separated from a holy God by our own actions with no way back. But Jesus himself makes intercession for us, and presented himself as the spotless passover lamb to be slain on our behalf. This intercession and sacrifice now holds the door to heaven open so that whoever has a heart towards God may come without guilt or condemnation.
The king's priestly prayer was heard. The way back to God is open.
4.12.08
He has his Father's eyes
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. (2Ch 16:9a)
In the middle of a prophetic word of rebuke to king Asa, Hanani the prophet gives us a great insight into the heart of the Father.
Some think of the all-seeing eyes of the Lord in a negative way. They picture a God who is on the lookout for stuff to get cross about. This scripture reveals that exactly the opposite is the case! Although God is perfect in his righteousness and is never unjust to let guilty go free; he takes no delight in the punishment of the wicked. [Eze 33:11]
Remember it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us. The Father saw us in all our sinfulness, and his reaction was not to get out a big stick, but to send his one and only son to die in our place. That's the heart of the Father towards those who are still in their sins, just as it was towards us.
You see you don't have to look hard at this world to find the stuff that is wrong. But the Father searches this world diligently, seeking out any glimmer of goodness and godliness, and when he finds it he is swift to respond with his "strong support." And this is no ordinary strong support, this is the strong support of the Lord Almighty himself!
This got me thinking... when we look at the world how much do we reflect the Father's heart? Are we quick to see all that is wrong? Are we quick to point the finger and condemn? Are we those Christians who are only known for what they are against? Or are we like our Father, looking past the superficial and diligently searching out any trace of good, and when we find it giving it our full support?
I want it said of me... "He has his Father's eyes."
In the middle of a prophetic word of rebuke to king Asa, Hanani the prophet gives us a great insight into the heart of the Father.
Some think of the all-seeing eyes of the Lord in a negative way. They picture a God who is on the lookout for stuff to get cross about. This scripture reveals that exactly the opposite is the case! Although God is perfect in his righteousness and is never unjust to let guilty go free; he takes no delight in the punishment of the wicked. [Eze 33:11]
Remember it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us. The Father saw us in all our sinfulness, and his reaction was not to get out a big stick, but to send his one and only son to die in our place. That's the heart of the Father towards those who are still in their sins, just as it was towards us.
You see you don't have to look hard at this world to find the stuff that is wrong. But the Father searches this world diligently, seeking out any glimmer of goodness and godliness, and when he finds it he is swift to respond with his "strong support." And this is no ordinary strong support, this is the strong support of the Lord Almighty himself!
This got me thinking... when we look at the world how much do we reflect the Father's heart? Are we quick to see all that is wrong? Are we quick to point the finger and condemn? Are we those Christians who are only known for what they are against? Or are we like our Father, looking past the superficial and diligently searching out any trace of good, and when we find it giving it our full support?
I want it said of me... "He has his Father's eyes."
12.11.08
The Suffering Servant
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:10-12)
In my last post I stated that there didn't have to be an outbreak of God's wrath against a servant of God before there could be a breakout of God's purpose.
I'd now like to qualify that statement: The reason that there doesn't have to be another breakout against a servant of God, is because there has already been a full breakout of God's wrath on the servant of God. And this outbreak was necessary before any of the purpose of God could breakthrough into our lives or this world.
You see, Nadab and Abihu were struck down at the beginning of the priesthood, and this brought a breakthrough in the presence of God amongst his people.
Uzzah was struck down at the beginning of David's kingdom and this brought a breakthrough in the purpose of God - his rule established on earth.
Ananias and Sapphira were struck down at the beginning of the church, and this brought a breakthrough in the people of God - a holy people set apart for the glory of God alone.
But Jesus is the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world! It is because he was stricken for our sakes that we can be joined to his people, called to his purpose and filled with his presence! The full outbreak of God's wrath upon his servant Jesus now releases a full breakthrough of the power of heaven to earth.
It is Jesus who is the Lord of the breakthrough.
If wisdom and the fear of the Lord are foundational to every established work of God, then we must also acknowledge that these cannot come through any other means than through our union with Christ himself. The foundation of the church is not a practice or a doctrine or an attitude but a person, and that person is none other than Christ.
For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1Co 3:11)
In my last post I stated that there didn't have to be an outbreak of God's wrath against a servant of God before there could be a breakout of God's purpose.
I'd now like to qualify that statement: The reason that there doesn't have to be another breakout against a servant of God, is because there has already been a full breakout of God's wrath on the servant of God. And this outbreak was necessary before any of the purpose of God could breakthrough into our lives or this world.
You see, Nadab and Abihu were struck down at the beginning of the priesthood, and this brought a breakthrough in the presence of God amongst his people.
Uzzah was struck down at the beginning of David's kingdom and this brought a breakthrough in the purpose of God - his rule established on earth.
Ananias and Sapphira were struck down at the beginning of the church, and this brought a breakthrough in the people of God - a holy people set apart for the glory of God alone.
But Jesus is the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world! It is because he was stricken for our sakes that we can be joined to his people, called to his purpose and filled with his presence! The full outbreak of God's wrath upon his servant Jesus now releases a full breakthrough of the power of heaven to earth.
It is Jesus who is the Lord of the breakthrough.
If wisdom and the fear of the Lord are foundational to every established work of God, then we must also acknowledge that these cannot come through any other means than through our union with Christ himself. The foundation of the church is not a practice or a doctrine or an attitude but a person, and that person is none other than Christ.
For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1Co 3:11)
10.11.08
The Breakout and the Breakthrough
And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God. And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza [the breaking out against Uzzah] to this day. And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” (1Ch 13:9-12)
And David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up, and I will give them into your hand.” And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim [the Lord of breakthrough]. And they left their gods there, and David gave command, and they were burned... And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations. (1Ch 14:10-12,17)
I spotted a connection last night that I had not seen before; a link between 1Chronicles 13 and 14. A progression and a contrast between the breakout at Perez-uzza and the breakthrough at Baal-perazim. In the first the Lord breaks out against Uzzah because of his presumptuous outstretched hand and brings the fear of God to the house of God. In the latter the Lord brings a breakthrough by David's (obedient) hand that brings the fear of God to the nations.
Now I don't believe that there has to be a breakout against a servant of God before there can be a breakthrough in God's purpose in the nations. I thank God that in his mercy and grace that doesn't have to be the way! But there is a progression. Before the fear of God can extend out to the nations it first has to be re-established amongst the people of God. Nadab and Abihu, Uzzah, Saul, Ananias and Sapphira - these warnings are recorded in the scriptures so we can learn from their mistakes and learn to fear God right and remember that to obey is better than sacrifice. God does not need our sacrifices, but he does expect our obedience.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Pr 9:10)
By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; (Pr 24:3)
Wisdom, and thus the fear of the Lord, are foundational for every established work of God.
And David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up, and I will give them into your hand.” And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim [the Lord of breakthrough]. And they left their gods there, and David gave command, and they were burned... And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations. (1Ch 14:10-12,17)
I spotted a connection last night that I had not seen before; a link between 1Chronicles 13 and 14. A progression and a contrast between the breakout at Perez-uzza and the breakthrough at Baal-perazim. In the first the Lord breaks out against Uzzah because of his presumptuous outstretched hand and brings the fear of God to the house of God. In the latter the Lord brings a breakthrough by David's (obedient) hand that brings the fear of God to the nations.
Now I don't believe that there has to be a breakout against a servant of God before there can be a breakthrough in God's purpose in the nations. I thank God that in his mercy and grace that doesn't have to be the way! But there is a progression. Before the fear of God can extend out to the nations it first has to be re-established amongst the people of God. Nadab and Abihu, Uzzah, Saul, Ananias and Sapphira - these warnings are recorded in the scriptures so we can learn from their mistakes and learn to fear God right and remember that to obey is better than sacrifice. God does not need our sacrifices, but he does expect our obedience.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Pr 9:10)
By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; (Pr 24:3)
Wisdom, and thus the fear of the Lord, are foundational for every established work of God.
30.9.08
The Lord of Glory
You cannot separate the glory of the Lord from the Lord of Glory. When God comes to make his manifest presence known amongst his people he does not come as an entertainer or a warm-up act, he comes as the king; he comes to rule. When the presence of God comes into a meeting, there is no item two on the agenda; there is no more important thing we need to do, nor any more important place we need to be. He comes to fit us into his plan, not to be slotted neatly into ours! If we are really hungry for the presence of the Lord, we will not be hasty to move on when the Lord grants us what we have been calling out for.
And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. (1Ki 8:10-11)
Often the tragedy is not that the presence of God prevents us from ministering the way we had planned... but that it does not... and so we do... and the glory moves on by.
And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. (1Ki 8:10-11)
Often the tragedy is not that the presence of God prevents us from ministering the way we had planned... but that it does not... and so we do... and the glory moves on by.
12.8.08
The Prophetic Cup
Then he commanded the steward of his house, "Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain." And he did as Joseph told him.As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, "Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid evil for good? Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.'" (Ge 44:1-5)
I don't know if you have ever wondered about this passage. Did Joseph really use a cup for divination? Had he been led astray by the practices of the Egyptians to the extend that he forgot the one who had revealed to him the future on many occasion through dream and interpretation? Had he sunk to pagan rituals and practices to try to gain knowledge that can only be found in God?
Or was it a ruse? Was he still playing the part of the stern foreign ruler, who had set himself against the brothers from a foreign land? A deliberate deception to play his brothers into his hands?
I don't believe the former, and while the later is certainly true to an extent, I don't think it captures the full significance of this passage. To divine, was to predict the future, by the means of interpreting signs. Now, if Joseph had used the cup to peer into and make predictions based on the shape of the residue left in the bottom, he would clearly have strayed into pagan ritual. But what if the cup itself was the sign, the means by which he prophesied what God would do in the future.
The problem is there is no record of how Joseph used the cup to communicate what would happen in the future... or is there?...
You see, there is something powerful here. A first mention of a "prophetic cup." One that was hidden to be revealed at the right time. One that was found with the grain to make the bread they needed to live. One that spoke of a sentence of death, that was lifted because Judah offered himself willingly as a substitute for the punishment that should have come.
Joseph's cup is indeed a prophetic cup for it speaks of Christ's cup. One from the line of Judah who would offer himself willingly for those of whom he is the first of many brothers. One who took fully the punishment that was rightfully ours, because of the sin found in our own sack. One who took a cup that spoke of the Lord's wrath and drained it to the bottom, so that what comes to us is instead a cup of blessing, of reconciliation, of joy and of peace.
Jesus himself used a cup to prophesy what was to come. For although we now drink this cup to remember his death, his resurrection, the sealing of the New Covenant in his blood, and the unity of his body, the church, brought forth from his sacrifice; Jesus when he took the cup was prophesying and declaring the things that were yet to come.
And the cup of Christ is still a prophetic cup. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that the blood of Christ still speaks; it speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. It declares the "Yes, and Amen" of God to all the promises of God in Jesus. It prophesies the blessing of God to those still living in the residue of the curse. It prophesies health to those who are sick. It prophesies the abundance of God's rich provision to those who are in need. It prophesies fruitfulness to those who are barren. It prophesies that goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. It prophesies of a bride who has made herself ready to drink the cup with joy in the wedding banquet of the Lamb.
Down through history, men have been in search of the true cup of Christ. The vessel imbued with the virtue of Christ himself, a means of blessing to all who find it, and a source of eternal life to all who drink of it. But it was never to be found in the Grail, it has been hidden all along within the Church and the gospel message she carries, waiting to be revealed! We are now the Lord's prophetic cup. A sign to the world though which he chooses to speak of what is to come.
One day every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. One day the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God. One day God's kingdom will be established and his will done on earth as it is in heaven. But in the church these future hopes are a present reality. The church is the community of those who bow the knee and confess that Jesus is Lord. The church is the place where the knowledge of God's glory is revealed. The church are those who have submitted themselves to his rule and bring the will of heaven down to the earth.
The church is God's precious chosen vessel through which he continues to speak to this world of what is to come.
What is true on a corporate level is also true on an individual level. The Lord's house contains a treasure of precious cups, just as it did under the Old Covenant. We are all vessels in the master's hands, chosen for his service and pleasure. The only question is what sort of vessel do we desire to be? Are we content to sit on the shelf until he comes, or do we want to be those precious cups, kept clean and ready for his use? Not those who are looking inward at the dregs of the flesh and trying to bring forth something to fill the air, but those full of the new wine of the Spirit, overflowing with the joy of the Lord - willing to be used to speak on his behalf: the Lord's precious prophetic cups.
Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honourable use, some for dishonourable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonourable, he will be a vessel for honourable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. (2Ti 2:20-21)
30.7.08
Calling Down Fire from Heaven
And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” (1Ki 18:36-39)But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. (2Ki 1:10)
Calling down fire from heaven was one of the hallmarks of the prophet Elijah. He did it on three occasions. Once, famously, on mount Carmel when he defeated the prophets of Baal, and twice more when two presumptuous military captains thought that fifty men were a more than a match for one man of God.
Elijah is also a powerful type of the church in the Old Testament. Those who in the Spirit and power of Elijah will prepare the way for the Lord by turning the disobedient back to the way of God, and preparing his people for his coming. Just as Elijah made way for Elisha (lit. Lamb of God) and John the Baptist prepared the way for the first coming of Jesus; the church are those with the ministry of getting the world ready for his second coming. Elijah must come first and restore all things.
Does this mean that the church should also be hallmarked by those who call fire down from heaven?
It's an interesting question. I wonder if James and John were thinking along these lines in Luke 9:54? Although though they clearly got the wrong end of the stick, they obviously had an expectation that they should be following the pattern of Elijah.
And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. (Luke 9:54-55)
Jesus' rebuke makes it clear that if we are to call fire down from heaven it is not for the purpose of consuming our enemies. In fact, the disciples would have to wait for Pentecost to see the kind of fire he had in mind.
John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Luke 3:16)
And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Ac 2:3-4)
It's a fire that does not consume, but rests and abides. A fire that does not destroy the enemies of God, but causes them to turn aside to see. A fire that does not fall upon a sacrifice of dead flesh, but a fire that falls upon living spiritual sacrifices that have laid their lives on the altar and soaked themselves repeatedly in the river of living water that flows out from within. It's a fire that falls upon a restored altar where the living stones are together in unity. It's a fire that falls in response to the prayer, "That they may know that you are God, and we are your people." It's a fire that causes the prophetic spirit to burn so bright within all that men fall down and exclaim, "The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!"
These are the days of Elijah. Now is the time to call down this fire from heaven.
25.7.08
The Festal Shout!
Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face. (Ps 89:15)I'm back from a great week away at the Without Borders Bible Week. Although this verse wasn't mentioned, it highlights for me one of the main themes of the week.
One of the first prophetic words that came was that we are a people who enjoy the privilege of the light of the Lord's face upon us. Even Moses when he beheld the Lord's glory was not permitted to see his face.
Several times in the evening meetings there was a great shout of praise that went up to the Lord. Not forced, not manufactured, though on occasion encouraged, they were an entirely fitting and appropriate response to the presence of God in the midst of his people. A festal shout from a people celebrating the light of the Lord's face upon them.
The word translated here as "festal shout" is the Hebrew word "teruwah" - it represents a powerful tumultuous noise. It was used for a loud shout or cheer of joy, the blast of the trumpets, a war cry, and the sound of a tempest.
It was in response to the people of God's mighty shout [teruwah] that God brought down the walls of Jericho. It was with a joyful shout [teruwah] that the people of God responded when the ark of the Lord was brought into their midst (1Sa 4:5) and when the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid (Ezr 3:12).
I like the way the ESV translates this word as "festal shout" in Ps 89. The NASB uses "joyful sound" and the NIV just uses "acclaim" which doesn't really capture the means (or volume) of this acclimation of joy! You can't really imagine the walls of Jericho falling to a polite hand-clap and a muttering of "well done" or "good show!"
Perhaps this highlights a problem that exists in many of the expressions of the church today, where to shout in a church meeting seems strange, foreign, out of place, inappropriate or maybe even sacrilegious. Many believers today have lost the blessing of the festal shout.
Is it because we (in this country) are too British? I don't think so. Up and down the length of this nation you will hear roars of festal shouts rising from stadia every time a leather ball hits the back of a net. I've never yet had to hear a commentator address a home crowd and say. "Now we are going to watch the replay, and this time, when the ball goes in I want you to stand up and make some noise." It's a natural expression. It's almost unnatural not to raise a festal shout in such situations. Yet in the church, it seems so often such instruction is required. Those who have so much more to celebrate. Do we not realise the significance of what God has done, or do we not know how to respond?
I believe the problem is not too much Britishness (or insert other nationality here) but too much religion! Shouting is an affront to the high-minded religious prude that can lurk beneath the surface of our spirituality. While our inner child wants to shout with joy to the king, our inner Pharisee will try its best to reign it in.
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant (Mt 21:15)
Perhaps this is part of the blessing of the festal shout. It binds the spirit of religion and releases the true spirit of worship. It is an appropriate response from earth to heaven that provokes a response of blessing from heaven to earth.
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them,
and the shout[teruwah] of a king is among them. (Nu 23:21)
29.4.08
Displaying the invisible
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Col 1:15)
You shall take fine flour and bake twelve loaves from it; two tenths of an ephah shall be in each loaf. And you shall set them in two piles, six in a pile, on the table of pure gold before the Lord. And you shall put pure frankincense on each pile, that it may go with the bread as a memorial portion as a food offering to the Lord. Every Sabbath day Aaron shall arrange it before the Lord regularly; it is from the people of Israel as a covenant forever. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, since it is for him a most holy portion out of the Lord's food offerings, a perpetual due.” (Lev 24:5-9)
I have been thinking some more on how God is made manifest - the invisible made visible, and how like Christ, the church bears the image of the invisible.
I have found a powerful example in the Old Testament with the showbread. Under the Old Covenant God's presence was hidden behind the veil, yet in front of the veil were golden objects that represented the hidden glory of God. The altar of incense, the lampstand, and the table where the showbread was placed. Each of these is worthy of a study in its own right. The prayers of the people, the prophetic witness of the people and the presence among God's people, but it is this last one I want to examine today. For the showbread was also called the "bread of the Presence." It was there to show - make visible - the invisible presence of God.
Since we know that it is in Christ that we find the perfect image of the invisible, it should not surprise us to find elements of him and his covenant meal - the bread of life - the table of the Lord.
But here's where the symbolism gets interesting... there's not one loaf on the table but twelve. Twelve tribes, twelve apostles - twelve is the number of God's chosen people. So are we looking at a representation of Christ or the Church? The language in Leviticus mixes it around a bit too, for we are told of the bread that is is both from the people (v8) and from the Lord (v9).
We see that the showbread, the bread of the Presence, is the people representing Christ, making the invisible presence visible.
Some other details of the showbread then take on a relevance for how we as the people of God make his presence known.
The bread was covered in frankincense - it was a fragrant offering from the people to the Lord. It represents the people offering themselves to God, laying their lives on the altar - engaging in true spiritual worship.
The bread was arranged in two piles of six. The significance of this symbolism would not have escaped the notice of the people in their journey through the wilderness - for it was their marching order! When the people camped they were arranged in four groups of three, one to each point of the compass, with the presence of God in the middle. But when they were on the move the formation changed; two groups of six with the presence of God in between - six tribes in front and six tribes behind.
So the showbread doesn't represent a holy huddle of the people of God, camped round the presence keeping it to themselves. But the church on the move, going out, following the mandate to go, taking the visible display of the presence with them.
As we go we go with a message, so the two piles of bread that can be seen represent the two angelic cherubs behind the veil that cannot be seen, and in between... is the Presence!
You shall take fine flour and bake twelve loaves from it; two tenths of an ephah shall be in each loaf. And you shall set them in two piles, six in a pile, on the table of pure gold before the Lord. And you shall put pure frankincense on each pile, that it may go with the bread as a memorial portion as a food offering to the Lord. Every Sabbath day Aaron shall arrange it before the Lord regularly; it is from the people of Israel as a covenant forever. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, since it is for him a most holy portion out of the Lord's food offerings, a perpetual due.” (Lev 24:5-9)
I have been thinking some more on how God is made manifest - the invisible made visible, and how like Christ, the church bears the image of the invisible.
I have found a powerful example in the Old Testament with the showbread. Under the Old Covenant God's presence was hidden behind the veil, yet in front of the veil were golden objects that represented the hidden glory of God. The altar of incense, the lampstand, and the table where the showbread was placed. Each of these is worthy of a study in its own right. The prayers of the people, the prophetic witness of the people and the presence among God's people, but it is this last one I want to examine today. For the showbread was also called the "bread of the Presence." It was there to show - make visible - the invisible presence of God.
Since we know that it is in Christ that we find the perfect image of the invisible, it should not surprise us to find elements of him and his covenant meal - the bread of life - the table of the Lord.
But here's where the symbolism gets interesting... there's not one loaf on the table but twelve. Twelve tribes, twelve apostles - twelve is the number of God's chosen people. So are we looking at a representation of Christ or the Church? The language in Leviticus mixes it around a bit too, for we are told of the bread that is is both from the people (v8) and from the Lord (v9).
We see that the showbread, the bread of the Presence, is the people representing Christ, making the invisible presence visible.
Some other details of the showbread then take on a relevance for how we as the people of God make his presence known.
The bread was covered in frankincense - it was a fragrant offering from the people to the Lord. It represents the people offering themselves to God, laying their lives on the altar - engaging in true spiritual worship.
The bread was arranged in two piles of six. The significance of this symbolism would not have escaped the notice of the people in their journey through the wilderness - for it was their marching order! When the people camped they were arranged in four groups of three, one to each point of the compass, with the presence of God in the middle. But when they were on the move the formation changed; two groups of six with the presence of God in between - six tribes in front and six tribes behind.
So the showbread doesn't represent a holy huddle of the people of God, camped round the presence keeping it to themselves. But the church on the move, going out, following the mandate to go, taking the visible display of the presence with them.
As we go we go with a message, so the two piles of bread that can be seen represent the two angelic cherubs behind the veil that cannot be seen, and in between... is the Presence!
16.4.08
The Visible Love of God - part 2
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. (1Jn 3:1a)
In my last post I wrote about how Christ is the visible manifestation of God's love (agape). But it is not just in Jesus that the visible love of God is displayed...
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God...
The primary way that God's agape love is made visible to the world today is not through Christ, whom they cannot see, but through us! The church, the community of the children of God, is designed to be a display of what the Father's love looks like to the world.
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1Jn 4:12)
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:35)
John's message, time and time again in his first epistle is that our love - the love between brothers and sisters in the faith - is a visible expression of the Father's own love. If we love each other we display the love of the Father. If we do not love each other then it is a telling evidence of an absence of the Father's love - not toward us, for that remains steadfast even while we were still in sin - an absence of that love reflected in our own hearts.
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1Jn 4:20)
Our display of agape love to each other, I believe, is the primary way we make God manifest to the world. Even the gifts of the Spirit, which are described as manifestations of the Spirit - and thus by design function to make God known, are meaningless if they do not operate in the context of love. You cannot have chapters 12 and 14 of 1 Corinthians without chapter 13!
We are happy to boast in the Father's unconditional love towards us, but how is that reflected in our attitude towards a brother or sister who does not measure up to our own "conditions"? We thank God for the journey he has taken us on out of error and into truth; yet how do we react to those who speak what we consider to be in error? Do we instruct them gently or rebuke them harshly and publicly? It's all too easy, like Peter, to be confessing Christ one minute, and be a mouthpiece for the Accuser the next. As James says - my brothers, this should not be!
If the light does not shine on its own stand how can it illuminate the world?
How are we to love each other? In the same way the God loves us. Not just conceptually or emotionally, but tangibly and visibly, with a love that does something that can be seen.
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1Jn 3:18)
In my last post I wrote about how Christ is the visible manifestation of God's love (agape). But it is not just in Jesus that the visible love of God is displayed...
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God...
The primary way that God's agape love is made visible to the world today is not through Christ, whom they cannot see, but through us! The church, the community of the children of God, is designed to be a display of what the Father's love looks like to the world.
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1Jn 4:12)
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:35)
John's message, time and time again in his first epistle is that our love - the love between brothers and sisters in the faith - is a visible expression of the Father's own love. If we love each other we display the love of the Father. If we do not love each other then it is a telling evidence of an absence of the Father's love - not toward us, for that remains steadfast even while we were still in sin - an absence of that love reflected in our own hearts.
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1Jn 4:20)
Our display of agape love to each other, I believe, is the primary way we make God manifest to the world. Even the gifts of the Spirit, which are described as manifestations of the Spirit - and thus by design function to make God known, are meaningless if they do not operate in the context of love. You cannot have chapters 12 and 14 of 1 Corinthians without chapter 13!
We are happy to boast in the Father's unconditional love towards us, but how is that reflected in our attitude towards a brother or sister who does not measure up to our own "conditions"? We thank God for the journey he has taken us on out of error and into truth; yet how do we react to those who speak what we consider to be in error? Do we instruct them gently or rebuke them harshly and publicly? It's all too easy, like Peter, to be confessing Christ one minute, and be a mouthpiece for the Accuser the next. As James says - my brothers, this should not be!
If the light does not shine on its own stand how can it illuminate the world?
How are we to love each other? In the same way the God loves us. Not just conceptually or emotionally, but tangibly and visibly, with a love that does something that can be seen.
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1Jn 3:18)
9.4.08
The visible love of God
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. (1John 3:1)
During my recent holiday I was meditating on 1John and Jude. Sometimes when you read the Word a verse will jump up and grab you; sometimes it can be single word. As I read the verse above it was the first word that arrested my attention.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us...
What kind of love has the Father given to us? The visible kind! The kind that can be displayed and seen!
John doesn't say we should know the love of God theoretically, or read about it, or just feel it touching our emotions... he tells us to see it! The love of God is not an abstract concept, but something that has a visible expression. That is one of the main themes of this letter of John. He is telling the brothers what the love of God should look like.
I love the way the letter starts...
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life — the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us (1Jn 1:1-2)
Right from the beginning John frames his discourse, not on nebulous concepts, but on the tangible, visible realities of God's nature that had been made manifest to him.
God's love is visible, his life made manifest, primarily through the means that John is referring to here - through Jesus.
If we want to know what the Father is like, we have a perfect representation in the Son.
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. (Jn 14:18-19)
So if we want to see the love of God, the first place we need to look is at Jesus himself. For God so loved the world... and that love resulted in a visible expression - Jesus, who embodied and demonstrated the love of the Father.
It's interesting... Jesus has many names and titles in the Scriptures. The one most frequently used in connection with him is Christ - the anointed one. But there are two times when God the Father speaks directly, and audibly, from heaven concerning the Son; what title does he use?
And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:17)
He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Mt 17:5)
The word used in the Scriptures for "the Beloved" is "o agapetos" - the Agape-One. Jesus was and is, the Agape-One, the perfect expression of God's covenant love. Not just because he was beloved, but because he made visible that same expression of love that is the very nature of God himself.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love [agape]. (1Jn 4:8)
Love is at the core of who God is. It is the expression of his nature. It is the motivating force behind all he does. Whenever God is made manifest it is always in the context of love. So when the Father describes the son, it seems even his status as the Anointed-One is subordinate to his ultimate expression as the Agape-One. His anointing is also on the basis of his love.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. (Heb 1:9)
If the visible love of God is so crucial, so central, how does this effect how we seek to represent God to the world?
[More to follow...]
During my recent holiday I was meditating on 1John and Jude. Sometimes when you read the Word a verse will jump up and grab you; sometimes it can be single word. As I read the verse above it was the first word that arrested my attention.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us...
What kind of love has the Father given to us? The visible kind! The kind that can be displayed and seen!
John doesn't say we should know the love of God theoretically, or read about it, or just feel it touching our emotions... he tells us to see it! The love of God is not an abstract concept, but something that has a visible expression. That is one of the main themes of this letter of John. He is telling the brothers what the love of God should look like.
I love the way the letter starts...
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life — the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us (1Jn 1:1-2)
Right from the beginning John frames his discourse, not on nebulous concepts, but on the tangible, visible realities of God's nature that had been made manifest to him.
God's love is visible, his life made manifest, primarily through the means that John is referring to here - through Jesus.
If we want to know what the Father is like, we have a perfect representation in the Son.
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. (Jn 14:18-19)
So if we want to see the love of God, the first place we need to look is at Jesus himself. For God so loved the world... and that love resulted in a visible expression - Jesus, who embodied and demonstrated the love of the Father.
It's interesting... Jesus has many names and titles in the Scriptures. The one most frequently used in connection with him is Christ - the anointed one. But there are two times when God the Father speaks directly, and audibly, from heaven concerning the Son; what title does he use?
And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:17)
He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Mt 17:5)
The word used in the Scriptures for "the Beloved" is "o agapetos" - the Agape-One. Jesus was and is, the Agape-One, the perfect expression of God's covenant love. Not just because he was beloved, but because he made visible that same expression of love that is the very nature of God himself.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love [agape]. (1Jn 4:8)
Love is at the core of who God is. It is the expression of his nature. It is the motivating force behind all he does. Whenever God is made manifest it is always in the context of love. So when the Father describes the son, it seems even his status as the Anointed-One is subordinate to his ultimate expression as the Agape-One. His anointing is also on the basis of his love.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. (Heb 1:9)
If the visible love of God is so crucial, so central, how does this effect how we seek to represent God to the world?
[More to follow...]
17.3.08
On Rivers, Threads and Motifs
A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (Ge 2:10-14)
And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. (Ex 28:6)
I mentioned in a previous post about the link between the symbolism in the four-coloured threads of the high priest's garments, and the four rivers that flowed out of Eden. This was because I saw in the four colours four aspects of God's eternal plan to reach the whole world.
The gold, the colour of the presence, represents the glory of God and God's purpose to fill the whole earth with the knowledge of his glory.
The blue, the colour of heaven, holiness, and the revealed word of God. It is God's intention that his voice go out to every nation, and that we follow his revealed purpose to bring the realities of heaven into being on the earth.
The purple, the royal colour is the colour of the kingdom, and God's intention that his righteous kingdom order be extended to the whole earth as men and women in his image establish his rule on his behalf.
The crimson, the colour of shed blood, that represents the covenant - and ultimately the gospel revealed in the New Covenant in Christ's blood. A message of good news that must be taken to every people, tribe and tongue.
Clearly there is a link with the symbolism of the waters of Eden dividing into four to reach the four corners of the world. But I wondered if there was a closer correlation between the four rivers and the four threads, or more specifically the motifs behind them: glory, revelation, kingdom and covenant.
The first link is easy to make: the Pishon is described in terms of the gold that it flows through.
The others are not so easy, but these are the connection that I made...
The Gihon is described in terms of flowing around the whole land. As taking the land is a frequent parallel in the Old Testament with extending the Kindom, this would link it with the purple thread.
Tigris means "Rushing waters" - as the voice of God is described in terms of the roar of many waters, this would link it with the blue thread.
Euphrates means either "Fruitful" or "Carrying forward". It's not unreasonable to link this with the covenant purpose of God in the gospel that is carried forward to produce a fruitful harvest from among men.
Of course, all of this is purely academic unless the Scriptures themselves associate these rivers with these motifs elsewhere. So what are the associations linked with these rivers when they are next used in Scripture?
Is Gihon linked with Kingdom?
King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel. Then blow the trumpet and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ (1Ki 1:32-34)
Is the Tigris linked with revelation?
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris)... (Dan 10:1-4)
And is the Euphrates linked with the covenant purpose of God?
On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates (Ge 15:18)
Just coincidence, or a helpful framework for unpacking some of the symbolic significance in the Scriptures? I'll let you decide.
And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. (Ex 28:6)
I mentioned in a previous post about the link between the symbolism in the four-coloured threads of the high priest's garments, and the four rivers that flowed out of Eden. This was because I saw in the four colours four aspects of God's eternal plan to reach the whole world.
The gold, the colour of the presence, represents the glory of God and God's purpose to fill the whole earth with the knowledge of his glory.
The blue, the colour of heaven, holiness, and the revealed word of God. It is God's intention that his voice go out to every nation, and that we follow his revealed purpose to bring the realities of heaven into being on the earth.
The purple, the royal colour is the colour of the kingdom, and God's intention that his righteous kingdom order be extended to the whole earth as men and women in his image establish his rule on his behalf.
The crimson, the colour of shed blood, that represents the covenant - and ultimately the gospel revealed in the New Covenant in Christ's blood. A message of good news that must be taken to every people, tribe and tongue.
Clearly there is a link with the symbolism of the waters of Eden dividing into four to reach the four corners of the world. But I wondered if there was a closer correlation between the four rivers and the four threads, or more specifically the motifs behind them: glory, revelation, kingdom and covenant.
The first link is easy to make: the Pishon is described in terms of the gold that it flows through.
The others are not so easy, but these are the connection that I made...
The Gihon is described in terms of flowing around the whole land. As taking the land is a frequent parallel in the Old Testament with extending the Kindom, this would link it with the purple thread.
Tigris means "Rushing waters" - as the voice of God is described in terms of the roar of many waters, this would link it with the blue thread.
Euphrates means either "Fruitful" or "Carrying forward". It's not unreasonable to link this with the covenant purpose of God in the gospel that is carried forward to produce a fruitful harvest from among men.
Of course, all of this is purely academic unless the Scriptures themselves associate these rivers with these motifs elsewhere. So what are the associations linked with these rivers when they are next used in Scripture?
Is Gihon linked with Kingdom?
King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel. Then blow the trumpet and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ (1Ki 1:32-34)
Is the Tigris linked with revelation?
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris)... (Dan 10:1-4)
And is the Euphrates linked with the covenant purpose of God?
On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates (Ge 15:18)
Just coincidence, or a helpful framework for unpacking some of the symbolic significance in the Scriptures? I'll let you decide.
12.3.08
Still got the Blues
While we are on the subject of "blues". I couldn't resist a little detour to highlight some Blues of the musical variety!
The first clip is Gary Moore, one of my all-time favourite musicians, playing Still Got the Blues.
The second clip is a recent discovery for me. He's an American blues/rock guitarist by the name of Joe Bonamassa. I saw him live a few weeks ago, and well... superlatives fail me. This is him playing Bridge to Better Days live on Dutch T.V.
The first clip is Gary Moore, one of my all-time favourite musicians, playing Still Got the Blues.
The second clip is a recent discovery for me. He's an American blues/rock guitarist by the name of Joe Bonamassa. I saw him live a few weeks ago, and well... superlatives fail me. This is him playing Bridge to Better Days live on Dutch T.V.
11.3.08
Sacré Bleu!
Pardon my French! The title to this post literally means "Holy Blue!" and is an outdated expletive in French. Please excuse me if I have offended any French readers sensibilities... but I couldn't resist!
You see my friend, Richard, pointed out that the colour blue is also associated with holiness. As this is an important point, I decided to write a new post rather than hide a response away in the comments section.
In my own studies into the significance of this colour, I found the same thing. Especially in relation to the holy things in the tabernacle.
When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. (Nu 4:5-6)
Here the ark, the representation of the holy presence of God, was covered with a cloth of blue. If you read on, you discover that all the holy things were to be covered in blue when they were transported.
The writer to the Hebrews says that these items were just copies of the heavenly realities that are fulfilled in Christ. They are thus pieces of a heavenly reality made manifest on the earth.
Blue is therefore an appropriate colour for these holy things, for it is after all the colour of the heavens above. It symbolises something of heaven made present on the earth.
This adds an important significance to the "blue thread" of God's eternal purpose that runs all the way through Scripture: it is the Father's heart to make heaven manifest on the earth.
This is how Jesus taught us to pray - that his kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven. This is the vision that Daniel interpreted - a rock cut out of a heavenly mountain that grew until it reproduced that same mountain on the earth.
This is not a contradiction of seeing blue as representing the word of God, but it does align it (as I thought) more with the prophetic ministry of the word, rather than the teaching ministry. For it is the essence of prophetic ministry to see into the realities that are in heaven and lay hold of them, bringing them into the here and now.
Indeed the concepts of heavenly holiness, the word of God, and the river seem to be closely linked - not just by colour-coincidence...
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Eph 5:25-27 NIV)
Perhaps this also is the significance of the tassels of blue on the corners of the robes. As we walk in line with the word of God, with every step we take, the colour of heaven is touching the earth.
You see my friend, Richard, pointed out that the colour blue is also associated with holiness. As this is an important point, I decided to write a new post rather than hide a response away in the comments section.
In my own studies into the significance of this colour, I found the same thing. Especially in relation to the holy things in the tabernacle.
When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. (Nu 4:5-6)
Here the ark, the representation of the holy presence of God, was covered with a cloth of blue. If you read on, you discover that all the holy things were to be covered in blue when they were transported.
The writer to the Hebrews says that these items were just copies of the heavenly realities that are fulfilled in Christ. They are thus pieces of a heavenly reality made manifest on the earth.
Blue is therefore an appropriate colour for these holy things, for it is after all the colour of the heavens above. It symbolises something of heaven made present on the earth.
This adds an important significance to the "blue thread" of God's eternal purpose that runs all the way through Scripture: it is the Father's heart to make heaven manifest on the earth.
This is how Jesus taught us to pray - that his kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven. This is the vision that Daniel interpreted - a rock cut out of a heavenly mountain that grew until it reproduced that same mountain on the earth.
This is not a contradiction of seeing blue as representing the word of God, but it does align it (as I thought) more with the prophetic ministry of the word, rather than the teaching ministry. For it is the essence of prophetic ministry to see into the realities that are in heaven and lay hold of them, bringing them into the here and now.
Indeed the concepts of heavenly holiness, the word of God, and the river seem to be closely linked - not just by colour-coincidence...
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Eph 5:25-27 NIV)
Perhaps this also is the significance of the tassels of blue on the corners of the robes. As we walk in line with the word of God, with every step we take, the colour of heaven is touching the earth.
10.3.08
The Blue Cord
"You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. It shall be on Aaron's forehead" (Ex 28:36-38a NIV)
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. (Dt 6:6-8)
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. (Nu 15:37-40)
I promised to post on the connection between the word of God and the colour blue. Here it is.
Aaron was to have a plate bound to his forehead by a cord of blue. It had the word of God - "Holy to the Lord" engraved upon it. In a parallel analogy, the Lord commanded the people through Moses to have the word of God bound upon their foreheads.
The blue cord appears again in the curious commandment about the tassels. Here the blue chord and the tassel were again to remind them of all that the Lord had spoken to them, that they would obey it and be holy to the Lord.
Slightly more tenuously, perhaps, a blue cord is reminiscent of a river. When God speaks it is often described like the "roar of many waters." This takes us back to the four rivers that flowed out of Eden. There is more to be said here too, which I will write in another post.
[Again, just to stress: this is not meant to be taken as a rigorous theological basis for the meaning of the colour blue in the scriptures , but I trust it does lend weight to my association of this colour with the revealed word of God.]
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. (Dt 6:6-8)
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. (Nu 15:37-40)
I promised to post on the connection between the word of God and the colour blue. Here it is.
Aaron was to have a plate bound to his forehead by a cord of blue. It had the word of God - "Holy to the Lord" engraved upon it. In a parallel analogy, the Lord commanded the people through Moses to have the word of God bound upon their foreheads.
The blue cord appears again in the curious commandment about the tassels. Here the blue chord and the tassel were again to remind them of all that the Lord had spoken to them, that they would obey it and be holy to the Lord.
Slightly more tenuously, perhaps, a blue cord is reminiscent of a river. When God speaks it is often described like the "roar of many waters." This takes us back to the four rivers that flowed out of Eden. There is more to be said here too, which I will write in another post.
[Again, just to stress: this is not meant to be taken as a rigorous theological basis for the meaning of the colour blue in the scriptures , but I trust it does lend weight to my association of this colour with the revealed word of God.]
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