And the saviour of the world is … Joseph of course!

As you read through the book of Genesis, none of the patriarchs deserved God’s blessing apart from his mercy and grace. Abraham, Jacob and Joseph succeeded in their faith in God’s promise as evidenced by their (at times inconsistent and flawed) obedience to God.

They were first hand participants in the conflict between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. The serpent’s seed are tyrants of death and destruction, whereas the woman’s seed are faithful warrior priest-kings who lead their families to worship Yahweh.

When Joseph arrives he seemingly fulfils the Genesis 3:15 prophecy of the seed of woman who will bring salvation and undo Adam’s failure. As a prophet, he speaks God’s word to his brothers and suffers affliction and (a fake) death at their hands (Gen 37:26, 31-33, Acts 7:9). As a priest he serves Potiphar and resists the allure of the “daughters of men” (c.f. Gen 6:1-4 w/ 39:6-12). As a king, he brings God’s Word to the nation through diligent stewardship, marries a Gentile bride and gives an inheritance to his brothers (c.f. Gen 41:16 w/ Heb 2:10-18). [NB: The pattern of Word, Sacrament and Government.]

Following the pattern established during Creation week of Genesis 1, on Day 1 God spoke and kick started the universe, the story of Genesis is the kick-start of Israel – how it came to be and through whom. As the sun sets on this “Day 1” of the Bible story,  God has spoken, initiated his covenant and created his nation of priests, who are led by Joseph. He is a light and saviour to the nations as he manages the food distribution during a wide-spread famine.

The separation of light from dark is illustrated in the conflict, between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, which reaches a climax as Joseph, seed of Abraham (c.f. Gal 3:16) defeats the serpent and effects a salvation of the known world. Not altogether like his anti-type, another bloke with a name starting with “J” (Heb 2:14, 1 John 3:8, Rev 12:4-5, 20:10).

 

Father Abraham… a better priest than Adam

Photograph of medieval canvas "Abraham and Melchisedek"

Abraham is chosen as a new priest as God works to overturn the curse and draw men back to himself. Abraham hears God’s Word, leaves his old life, and approaches God through faith. He is a first-fruits of those justified by faith (Gal 3:6-9). The inheritance of the promised land looks back to Eden and forward to an incorruptible inheritance. (Heb 11:8-16, 1 Pet 1:3-4)

The promise-curse of Genesis 3:15-16 is fulfilled through the miraculous births of Isaac, Esau & Jacob and Joseph to Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel. (Heb 11:11-12)

Abraham is a faithful priest who protects the land in the battle of the city-kings in Genesis 14. His defense and rescue of Lot is opposite to Adam’s protection of Eve. When Melchizedek arrives, they celebrate with “bread and wine” (Gen 14:18). Following this, God cuts a covenant with Abraham (Gen 15) reiterating his promise of salvation given to Adam and Eve (c.f. Gen 15:2-6 w/ 3:15). In Hebrews 7, Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek, he brings the bread and wine of his body and blood (Matt 26:26-29), which are tokens of the new covenant.

 

Tripped up in the journey to holiness

The period covered by the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy is a time when God separates Israel from the world, to himself. He makes them a holy people.

What does it mean to be a holy people?
To have a higher view of God than I do of myself and to live in obedience to the good news of God’s Word in such a way that God’s purity & purpose is seen by others to be higher and bigger than me.

This separation or distinction (holiness) is marked several ways:

Passover
On Day 2 of the creation week, the division of sea and sky created an atmospheric cover for the earth (Gen 1:6-8). The waters (clouds) cover the earth and protect it. During the 1st passover Israel was protected from death under a covering of blood as God passed over the land of Egypt (Ex 12:13, 23).

When Israel prepared for the first night of passover, a veil of blood was painted over their door (Ex 12:7, 22). This veil served to divide Israel from Egypt (Ex 12:13, 23, 27, 42, 51). The veil also features in the tabernacle to separate the most holy place (Ex 26:31-35). That veil is decorated with angels who guard the entry to God’s dwelling place just as an angel guarded the door to Eden.

Ten Commandments
The terms of God’s covenant are summarised in the ten commandments. (Ex 20:1-21, Deut 5:1-22). To breach the ethics of the covenant makes you liable to the sanctions of the covenant. In this way, the law reveals the righteousness of God and it also reveals our unrighteousness. It is our schoolmaster, teaching us what sin is.

The Tabernacle
When the Lord makes a new Covenant in the Bible, it is spoken of as a New Creation. The instructions for the Tabernacle (Ex 25-31) are seven speeches which follow the pattern of the Creation Week. The Tabernacle was a miniature “clean” world, a micro-cosmos. It was the DNA for a new Creation.1

Sacrifices
Leviticus presents many pictures of Christ and His work of redemption on the cross. Hebrews 10:1–14 makes it clear that in Christ we have the complete fulfillment of each of the OT sacrifices. In return we can still offer sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving and devotion to Jesus and the gospel.

Festivals
The festivals involved eating and drinking. We are reminded that the Son of Man came eating and drinking (Matt 11:18-19, Luke 7:33-35) and each of these not only point us to Jesus, but call us to celebrate God’s work of redemption. When we observe communion today, with bread and wine (eating and drinking!) we are celebrating Christ and anticipating the full and final feast at the end of history (1 Cor 5:6-8, 11:23-26, Rev 19:9).

All of these gifts are meant to provide Israel with vivid, tangible demonstrations of the greatness and glory of God.

The four books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy cover a period of 120 years.

When Moses is 40, he is set apart as a Judge and Deliver. He is rejected by the people and they are condemned to another 40 years of slavery while Moses goes into the wilderness to receive God’s Word. A new (2nd) generation will inherit God’s promise of deliverance.

After that time, Moses returns, God judges Pharaoh and Egypt and following the first Passover, God delivers his people as he promised.

They are a holy priesthood divided from the world by the water of the Red Sea and will be tested and refined (threshed) so that they can inherit the land given to Abraham.

In the first passover, their faith is tested at the Red Sea, their commitment is tested and during their travel in the Wilderness, their obedience is tested.

When presented with the opportunity to enter and occupy their inheritance from Abraham, the 2nd Generation also fails to trust the judgement and deliverance of God. As a result they are condemned to another 40 years of wandering in the wilderness so that the next (3rd!) generation will receive and benefit from the promises.

How did that happen?
Compare the people’s behaviour in Exodus 15:13-18 with their attitude in Numbers 14.
In Exodus 15, they are focused on what God had done and would continue to do.
In Numbers 14, they focused on what they could not do and looked away from God and to themselves.

They allowed unbelief to cloud their vision of God and the purpose he had called them to.

Biblical faith abides in  (lives, rests, tenaciously clings to) the promises of the Word of God and yields an faithful and fruitful life.

Holiness and obedience is based in the Word of God. When we act independently of scripture we do not enter, we do not overcome and we do not occupy the place God calls his people to be. So often, Christians trip up in their pursuit of holiness because they seek something outside of scripture. Whether it be an experience, feeling, or some other “sign”, it moves our focus away from God to ourselves. We are not the centre of the universe.

 

Leviticus your neighbour

No, it’s not a naughty word, nor is it the title of a film about the life of Nelson Mandela. It’s the 3rd book of the Bible. You know, the one with all the gory sacrifices and (seemingly!) obsolete laws and rituals.

This time of year, many Christians make plans to read through the Bible in the coming year. It’s a commendable goal and regular bible reading ought to be part of the life of anyone who is serious about knowing, believing in, trusting and living for God. However in an average reading plan, say 3 or 4 chapters a day (8-15min) many people come unstuck somewhere around the end of January.

Why? Well there are many reasons; lack of discipline, lack of encouragement, overwhelmed by the task, or as is often the case… they hit the book of Leviticus and balk. The stories of the patriarchs in Genesis are great, they give the background to all those Sunday School and Children’s Spot lessons we’re so familiar with. The account of the plagues in Egypt and the amazing crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus is an easy read, because, after all, most of us have seen the movie and we know the story. Right?

But, blood, guts, more blood, weird definitions of cleanliness and did I mention blood? What on earth has that got to do with the ‘golden rule’ and loving my neighbour and all that stuff Jesus spoke about? Here’s the rub, the first time that is taught in the Bible is, you guessed of course, Leviticus 19:18, which says,

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. (NIV84)

Leviticus tells what it means to be God’s holy people and how that is displayed in day to day life. More specifically though, blood is a divider and separator. It is through sacrifice that we move (or rather are moved by God) into worship. We are taken hold off, separated from what we were and established as something altogether new.

During my preaching at Grace Church in January, I am going to spend 2 Sunday mornings at Kogarah and 1 at Sutherland going through some of the highlights of Leviticus. We’ll have a look at some of those gory details and see how they connect to Jesus and the New Testament. As we do that, you might like to have another go at reading the book of Leviticus. There’s only 27 chapters, 3 a day and you’ll knock it over in 9 days. Give it a shot.

If you’re still thinking or wondering about a plan to read through the rest the of the Bible, here’s a couple of links that might help out.

Bible Reading by Spurgeon

Bible Gateway Reading Plans

 

How does communion provide comfort in the midst of pain and suffering or other problems?

1 Corinthians 11:26 – For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

We practice and observe this ordinance and “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Our remembrance of what Jesus has done, in the past, is in anticipation of what he will do, in the future.

It is because of what he has done, in the past, that we have a hope, in the present, for him to do something else, in the future.

He was successful in his campaign to die for our sin, rise from the dead & ascend into heaven. We do not need to linger, staring into the sky wondering what happens now.

Am I to continue in my pain, suffering, difficulty – Does he not care? Will he put it right?

“… is everything sad going to come undone?” – as Sam said to Gandalf in Tolkien’s LOTR

Those without God are left in the opposite condition. For you have no basis upon which to say that any experience of pain or suffering is wrong – the fact that you can & do, is attributable to the promise of God in Christ – that he will return, fill the earth with his glory and set it aright.

Examine yourselves friends – ask, Who is Jesus to you? Historical figure, famous teacher, or misguided martyr? These provide you no hope and no promise.

If, though, with the eyes of faith, you see he is Lord of all, has paid the ransom of your sin and declared you adopted into his family, then come and receive this small supper as memorial of his gift of life and hope and be filled with anticipation.

 

Should you work on a Sunday

Another quick response from the Formspring file: This time it’s about whether it’s ok or not to work on a Sunday.

From the Bible, is it right to work on a Sunday?

Firstly, I’m a Pastor so I work EVERY Sunday!

Jesus once asked the religious leaders of his day a question about the importance of observing the Sabbath by not working. They insisted that no work whatsoever be performed on the Sabbath and had very strict guidelines on what constituted “work”. They would even prepare all their meals the day before so no cooking was done that day. Jesus asked them, “Which of you, if you have a sheep that falls into a ditch on the sabbath will not work to rescue that sheep?”.

The idea is that sometimes there are priorities that mean they might have to work, even though they really don’t want to.

Someone supposedly once asked Billy Graham (American Evangelist from last century) about working on Sunday’s and he quoted the same story from Jesus. Then he added… “If the same sheep keeps falling into the same ditch every Sunday, either fill the ditch or shoot the sheep.”

In other words, there might be occasional reasons that legitimately prevent gathering with other believers in a covenant community for regular corporate worship in obedience to Jesus and scripture. However, if your habit is to avoid that due to work “commitments” – you need to rethink your priorities. Now some roles, really do require regular work on a Sunday – but usually not all day. If you’re a Doctor and have a regular shift in the EMD every Sunday morning – then maybe you need to consider an Evening Congregation for worship.

The same applies to “study“. If you’re regularly skipping Church because of study, exam or assignment prep – maybe your priorities need checking. One, you’re probably not managing your time very well and leaving things to the last minute and two, you think Church is an optional extra when it comes to living a life of consecration and obedience to God.

So the question is not whether you should work on a Sunday (or whatever day it is that your Church family regularly gathers for worship), but rather what priority and place does God have in your life?