God's Appointed Times - Passover And Unleavened Bread

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

God's Spring Calendar Begins With:

Passover – Redeemed From Egypt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Feast of Unleavened Bread – Food For The Journey

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

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

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

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

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

Today we think of the symbolism of unleavened bread from a New Testament perspective but the bread without yeast didn't mean very much to the people that were leaving Egypt, it was probably a practical matter for them, dough without yeast would stay fresh longer. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RELATED ARTICLES

What are the Lord’s appointed times? (gotquestions.org)

Koshering Your Kitchen (chabad.org)

What Jesus Meant When He Said, “You Must Eat My Flesh” (desiringgod.org)

Feasts of the Lord (firmisrael.org)

God's Appointed Times - A Weekly Sabbath

The first event on God's calendar.

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

God knew that we would be dissatisfied with our work. 

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

God knew that we would use work for evil:

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

God knew that we would need to change our focus.

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

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

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

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

God gives us rest for today and for eternity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

RELATED ARTICLES

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

What Is the Sabbath in the Bible and Should Christians Observe It? (bibleproject.com)

How is Jesus our Sabbath Rest? (gotquestions.org)

I Am The Lord

You really should mean it when you call him Lord.

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

Top ten books to use "the Lord"

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

The story of "the Lord"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I am the Lord and I will do...

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

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

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

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

The Lord Gives Us The Perfect Example

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

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

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

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

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

RELATED ARTICLES

The Attributes of God and the Power They Hold in Your Life (davidjeremiah.org)

Living Under Authority (ligonier.org)

Authority (redeemer.com)

Do Not Do As Egypt Or Canaan

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

How did:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RELATED ARTICLES

How Should We Be In The World But Not Of It? (ligonier.org)

John MacArthur: Becoming a Better You? (youtube.com)

Yom Kippur - Day Of Atonement

God with us has some requirements that cannot be ignored.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. The second goat is for the people

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

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

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

The slain and abandoned Savior offers you atonement.

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

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

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

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

RELATED ARTICLES

Day of Atonement (bible.org)

The Rule Of God With Us

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Eternal King And His Kingdom: 

 

The characteristics of the king:

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

The characteristics of the kingdom:

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

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

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

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

When Jesus returns as king: 

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

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

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

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

RELATED ARTICLES

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

What Is The Millennial Kingdom? (gotquestions.org)

The Millennial Reign of Christ (ligonier.org)

The Kingdom Of God (thegospelcoalition.org)

Advent Word Study: Shalom / Peace

A video by BibleProject.com

Video: Advent Word Study: Shalom / Peace 

The Peace Of God With Us

God's people will have peace when sin is defeated.

Peace On Earth, Good Will To Men

Is there really any peace?

Peace With God

Find out from Billy Graham.

The Peace Of God With Us

God's people will have peace when sin is defeated.

Isaiah 9:1-5 Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. 3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. 

4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor's rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. 5 The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire.

God redeemed his people from Egypt and ended their slavery to that kingdom of darkness but it didn't last forever. Another dark kingdom would come along and oppress God's people again and again but most of the time it was their own fault. 

God was using the nations to reprimand his people, they are living in the same darkness as the rest of the world because they are living just like the rest of the world. Despite the warnings from God through Moses that they were given before they even got to the Promised Land they have failed to live by God's standards over and over again. (Deuteronomy 31:14-30, 32:1-47)

Since Israel refused to be a light to the nations God eventually chose to punish his people, the one nation became two and later they both were defeated. First the Northern Kingdom was taken away by the Assyrians 800 years before Jesus comes, and then the Southern Kingdom of Judah was taken into captivity by the Babylonians 200 years later.

The people of Isaiah's day needed the message of hope that peace was coming to their nation. The message of peace was received by King Ahaz that he would have victory over his enemy but there is more to the prophecy than that, there was a distant prophecy and also another application of the prophecy that we are still waiting for thousands of years later.

God's message through Isaiah told about a new ruler, that would be victorious over their enemies, a ruler that will bring true peace that will end all wars. It sounds like God must be sending a mighty warrior to save the day but suddenly we get a prediction that a baby boy is on the way.

Isaiah 9:6-7 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven's Armies will make this happen!

They wanted a great military victory that would get rid of their enemy forever but that's not the way God works. The people living in darkness that heard Isaiah speak these words probably didn't find much comfort in the announcement of a baby. They wanted to immediately see a great light of hope that would give them the peace that was promised in the previous verses.

One of the most difficult things to understand is why God loves to send a baby to do a man's job. Why can't a full grown man arrive on the scene and take care of things right away? We want someone with strength, know how and determination but God prefers to send a special baby to do the job.

Jesus first advent was prophesied for hundreds of years and then there was another 400 years of silence after Malachi. When baby Jesus finally arrives it is very similar to the situation when God's people were in bondage to Egypt. 

Back when they were in Egypt for 400 years without a word from God, there was a baby that would eventually be their savior, he would have to be protected from Pharaoh, and then the baby reached 80 years old before his ministry began. 

The light of the world came in peace to be with us.

Luke 1:78-79 Because of God's tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace."

If you look at world history in Europe and the Middle East for hundreds of years before Jesus arrival you will begin to understand how miserable the conditions are when Jesus is born. The Promised Land has been invaded by many different countries, various world powers will rise and fall, many of them will invade Israel, including Jerusalem, and the temple.

Finally God is with us, up close and personal, but without the fear that was always present back in the Old Testament. When God came to us as a baby there wasn't any restrictions on who could see or touch him. But, as accessible as he was and as exciting as the news was, his arrival was unnoticed by almost everyone.

Eventually the baby grew up and although he did nothing wrong, he became a disappointment for his people, they were just like King Ahaz, they wanted a military victory. They wanted a savior from today's problems but Jesus came to solve their eternal problem.

The final war that will bring us permanent peace is on the way.

Daniel 7:13-14 As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal-it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.

There will be a final war to set-up the eternal kingdom of our savior, God's people will rejoice at his arrival and his final victory over evil. (Isaiah 9:3-5) The everlasting kingdom of the Messiah will give permanent rest for his people but the sad truth is this peace is not for everyone. 

God's peace will be rejected by the enemy and the children of the enemy, they will not survive the harvest that Jesus told us about at the end of the age. You must accept God's offer of peace before it is too late, those that are not a part of the kingdom now cannot become citizens of his kingdom later. (Matthew 13:36-43)

Peace in this world can only happen if you have peace with God. 

My ultimate enemy has been defeated and I have accepted God terms to make peace with him. Even in the worse chaos I know that I am secure for eternity in God's eternal kingdom of peace. 

When this world has no peace to offer I need to remember that: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep, The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men."

RELATED ARTICLES

What Happened Between the Old and New Testament? (olivetree.com)

31 Reasons Why Christ Came (kevinhalloran.net)

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (credomag.com)

Advent Word Study: Yakhal / Hope

A video by BibleProject.com

Video: Advent Word Study: Yakhal / Hope 

The Hope Of God With Us 

God's people don't need to look for hope in anything or anybody other than him.

The Hope Of Christmas

You're still the light when the world looks dark and you're still the hope of my heart.

The Best News Ever

Because of Jesus I have an incredible hope.

The Hope Of God With Us

God's people don't need to look for hope in anything or anybody other than him.

Isaiah 7:10-14 Later, the LORD sent this message to King Ahaz: 11 “Ask the LORD your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.” 12 But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the LORD like that.”

13 Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? 14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

God's people are in the Promised Land, but they are not living the lifestyle that they promised. God's chosen people have turned their backs on God's way to live which they enthusiastically promised just a few hundred years earlier. (Exodus 24:1-18)

If they made the right choices their obedience would continue the special favor that they had already received from God. They would continue to receive so many blessings including security and abundance so that all the nations around them would glorify God. (Deuteronomy 33:26-29)

Pleasing God is the most important thing in the world and the only way to please him is to become like him and that means being holy. Not only are they not holy but God's people are just as bad as the nations around them.

Isaiah 1:4 Oh, what a sinful nation they are- loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the LORD. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.

Their lack of holiness will bring about their ruin, the nation has already split into two and God has promised that he will discipline his people. They will be "cut down" until there isn't any visible signs of life. But God would keep his promise to bring Messiah through the lineage of King David. God will cut his people down but out of the tree stump a holy branch will appear. (Isaiah 6:9-13, 11:1)

King Ahaz had a great opportunity to do the right thing when the alliance of Syria and Israel threatened to come after Judah to force them into their coalition. The alliance of Rezin, of Syria, and Pekah, of Israel, will fail to force Judah to join them and they will also fail against the Assyrians. (2 King 16:5-20, 17:5-18 and also in 2 Chronicles 28:5-27)

God gives his people hope in spite of their disobedience.

(Isaiah 7:1-9)

King Ahaz was afraid of the future like trees shaking in a storm (Isaiah 7:2) and fear of the wicked schemes of man. (Isaiah 7:4-6) His fears sent him to Assyria for help instead of trusting God. Ahaz still gets another chance, even though he went to Assyria to get help, God still tells Ahaz through Isaiah that the threats coming against Judah will never be successful despite the fact that he didn't trust God for his future.

The nations can plot to come against God's people but it is God who decides the victory. Isaiah tells us what God thinks of their plans very clearly in Isaiah 7:7-8, 16. Don't be like Ahaz, he relied on his own wisdom instead of listening to the message from Isaiah that the feared invasion isn't going to happen. He should have accepted God's word as his source of hope and joy but if you don't have faith in God then you will have nothing but fear of the future. (Isaiah 7:9) 

God gives his people a sure sign of the hope of Messiah.

(Isaiah 7:10-16)

But God didn't just tell Ahaz that the plot against Judah would not succeed he also gave him a rare opportunity to ask God for any sign whatsoever that would prove what God said was true. Ahaz said that he wouldn't test God but he wasn't being strong in his faith, he had already tested God's patience by putting his faith in the strength of Assyria. 

Jon Courson's Application Commentary - “The Lord will indeed give you a sign,” Isaiah said. The word “you” is plural. Therefore, it speaks not only to Ahaz, but to all humanity through all of history. You who feel threatened, intimidated, pressed upon, worried, anxious—the Lord will give you a sign: A virgin shall conceive and bear a Son whose name means “God with us.”

At least 700 years before Jesus birth God gave a sign for his people to know that he is with them back then and will be in the future when the Messiah finally arrives. 

The folly and sin of seeking hope in man's wisdom.

(Isaiah 7:17-25)

Israel and Syria are described as smoldering sticks that are not going to exist much longer. Both of these countries would lose their military strength and become useless for protection. In Ahaz' lifetime he would see the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel but Judah would still survive.

Isaiah 2:22 Don't put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they?

Isaiah 8:13 Make the LORD of Heaven's Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.

Assyria would prove to be the enemy of Judah and would destroy her but the promised survival of Judah would eventually lead to Hezekiah, a future Godly king that would lead the nation back to God.

God with us restores our hope.

The loss of "God with us" back in the Garden of Eden was restored for brief moments in the history of God's people. 

God was with his people when he:

• Moved them to Egypt to save them from famine. 
• Took them out of Egypt and made a nation of them.
• Gave them unexplainable military might.

God has always been with a chosen people that have known his presence in their lives but now we can celebrate the most wonderful news of "God with us" in a more personal way.

Matthew 1:22-23  All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

The son of God came as it was promised long ago to give us victory over our enemy! King Ahaz received the promise of victory over his enemy and now with the arrival of Jesus we can celebrate our own victory.

The New Testament writers quoted Isaiah more than any other prophet, Matthew makes the connection with the prophecies of Isaiah at least a dozen times to prove that Jesus is our God and also our savior.

God with us gives us eternal hope

The "God with us" doesn't have to end! God is with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we put our hope in Jesus, our Messiah, we will receive God with us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 5:5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

God's chosen people have never deserved the privilege that God has offered to us. We don't deserve it any more than the people we read about in the Old Testament. Our friendship with God has been restored by God's mercy and grace through our savior so that we can have victory over our enemy because God is with us. (Romans 5:1-11)

RELATED ARTICLES

Ten Key Verses On Hope (crossway.org)

Advent Word Study: Yakhal / Hope (bibleproject.com)