Tag: redemption

Set Apart for the Lord (Numbers 8:5-22)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Consecration of the Levites, by Dutch artist Jan Luyken (1649-1712)

The Lord said to Moses: “Take the Levites from among all the Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. And so they will purify themselves. Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of the finest flour mixed with olive oil; then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.

“Bring the Levites to the front of the tent of meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community. You are to bring the Levites before the Lord, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them. Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of the Lord.

“Then the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, using one for a sin offering to the Lord and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites. Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering to the Lord. In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.

“After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering, they are to come to do their work at the tent of meeting. They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn, the first male offspring from every Israelite woman. Every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal, is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself. And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel. 

“From among all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the tent of meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary.”

Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses. The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement for them to purify them. After that, the Levites came to do their work at the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses. (New International Version)

Levite priests, by Sefira Lightstone

Holiness is very important to God; therefore, people are to be properly set apart for special divine work.

Perhaps we might think about this in the context of a professional vocation – which requires a good deal of training and development. The process, as well as the participants, need to be certified by a certification body. Without a specialized training, their work may hurt others, and even harm themselves.

Setting apart the Levites for the special work of caring for all the aspects of worship required a particular sort of calling, initiation, and ritual in order to have them ready – without harming themselves, or others. Because God is holy, things must be done in a way that helps, not harms.

The ritual for preparation essentially involved de-sinning the Levites, and purifying them from any ceremonial uncleanness. The community was to lay their hands on them, setting them apart for service as representatives of the people.

The Levites served before the Lord in a vicarious position, that is, all Israel came to God through them. They performed the needed sacrifices, handled the worship symbols and implements, and protected the sacred objects in the tent of God’s presence, the tabernacle.

With the Levites in their sacred role, they were near to the people, but distinct from them. They acted as a conduit between God and the people. Levites were something like the sunglasses protecting the people from the bright sun of the Lord’s presence; and like the workers laboring to make people thrive and flourish before God.

In the holiness of worship, the Levites were living sacrifices, offered to God for sacred purposes. So, as such, they understood their need to be continually pure of heart and free from anything that would defile them.

Sacrificial service was literally the job description of the Levites. They absolved themselves of any self-assertive ambitions, and pursued God’s will for the lives without question. This is, of course, the expected ideal, which would soon become deflated in the lives of the two older sons of Aaron the high priest.

Nevertheless, the descendants of Levi were a permanent visual aid and a daily reminder for God’s people of their unique status before Yahweh, as well as the redemption secured for them from Egyptian slavery. Whenever the people saw a Levite – consecrated to God – they knew that the Lord was with them.

God had said that the Levites belonged to him, were completely given over to the Lord, and set apart for dedicated holy and divine work. Moving into the New Testament, every Christian belongs to God, and those who labor for Christ and maintain holiness of life, demonstrate God’s ownership and special relationship to them.

Self-surrender and commitment to the common good of everyone in the community is supposed to be a hallmark of every Christian person. Whereas others may give themselves to self-discovery and self-fulfillment, followers of Jesus are to wholly dedicate themselves to self-sacrifice.

All believers, much like the ancient Levites, are called to a different life, with Christ as their constant mentor and model.

Loving God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, may the holy sacrifice of your Son cleanse my soul, strengthen my heart, pardon my past, and restore me in your peace. May I always adore you through my sacrificial service, fueled by your divine love. May I learn to sacrifice my own comfort, plans, and dreams, if it is not for your glory and the good of others. Amen.

Jesus Prays For Us (John 17:6-19)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Word of Life, by Millard Sheets

“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.

“I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.

“Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 

But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 

“I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth. (New Revised Standard Version)

It seems to me only fitting that Jesus concluded his time with the disciples in the Upper Room before his betrayal, crucifixion, and death with prayer. It also seems to me that if you really want to know the heart of a person, listen to them pray.

The prayer of Jesus was thoroughly oriented toward the spiritual needs of his followers – even potential believers who will follow him in the future. And it was a prayer completely devoted toward honoring the heavenly Father through praying consistent with God’s will for this world.

Without the physical presence of Jesus – which would soon be gone – his followers would have to rely on prayer. And Christ was intent on instilling within his disciples the confidence and hope they needed for a solid life of prayer.

For post-resurrection Christians living in an ever-expanding world of oppression, greed, and indifference, we can be encouraged not to settle into despair or loneliness. Why? Because believers can have a solid hope and an abiding trust in the continuing presence of Jesus by means of the Holy Spirit.

God Gives

God gives. Jesus gives. Both the Father and the Son are givers. This is a major reason and motivation for prayer because God is not a reluctant giver. In the act of giving, the Father and the Son are fully on the same page; God is ready and willing to give. The Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Spirit – are in complete unity, and act as One, in giving to us what we need.

“Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14, NRSV)

“Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (John 6:27, NRSV)

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28, NRSV)

We Belong

Through giving we are included. Believers and followers of Jesus – having been given the grace of faith – know that they belong to God. Christians are in union with Christ. The redemption which Jesus has secured is a million billion times stronger, and bonds us closer, than any sort of Gorilla glue. And, what’s more, once we belong, we are never forgotten, but always remembered by God.

“The Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:15-16, NRSV)

Christ the King, statue in Swiebodzin, Poland

The Name of Jesus

Because we belong, we know God’s name. The divine name stands for all that God is and all that God has done. It’s all focused in Christ. In the name of Jesus, through the person and work of Jesus Christ, we have everlasting life, spiritual power, and eternal security.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31, NRSV)

We Have the Word

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Jesus has given to his disciples only those words which he first received from the Father. Those who accept the enfleshed Word and his words have been given power to become God’s children (John 1:12). Because believers belong to God, they know the truth and that truth has set them free.

It is the Christian’s mission to live into the words and ways of Jesus, to follow Christ in thought, word, and deed. The very glory of Jesus in his cross and resurrection is focused within the believing community, who is in union with Christ and belongs to God.

In his prayer, Jesus claimed an intimate oneness in the sharing of concern for people who are the objects of the Father’s gracious giving of love through the Son. All who belong to Christ belong to God, and vice versa. All the love that went into the cross was poured out upon us.

Those who believe in the name of Jesus Christ are the very glory of Jesus, and thus, the glory of God.

Sent Into the World

Because of the Father’s name—because of who the Father is and what the Father has given in love to the Son—we are set apart for truth; the words of God are truth.

Since we belong to God and bear the name of Christ, we don’t belong to the world’s systems of guilt, shame, injustice, and evil. And yet, we are separated from the world for precisely the reason of immersing ourselves in the world. In other words, Christianity is meant for the life of the world, and not as a religion that’s only concerned for itself.

To reach the world, we must be different from it. To reach the world, we need to have boots-on-the-ground in it. To reach the world, Christians are to be both far from the world, and near to the world.

As the Father sent the Son, so the Son sends us into the world – not to be like the world, but to embody the words and ways of Jesus to and for the world.

Just as the world rejected Jesus in his suffering and death, so the world, too, will reject his followers. Which means we will need to pray, a lot! And there is no better scriptural prayer to emulate than the very words of the Lord Jesus, who loved us and gave himself for us.

Holy Father, guard our hearts and minds in Jesus, as we pursue this Christian life which you gave as a gift through Christ, so that we can be united, just as the Father and the Son are one. Although we long for heaven, don’t take us out of the world until we have fulfilled our sacred mission to carry the words and ways of our Lord to the world. Make us holy, and give us everything we need for life in this present evil age; through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit are one God, now and forever. Amen.

Ascension of the Lord (Acts 1:1-11)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (New International Version)

Ascension Day often feels like the weird stepchild in the family of church events in the Christian Year. It’s often overlooked without ever really being missed.

O sure, there are a few congregations that worship on this Thursday, coming 40 days after Easter Sunday. And a few more churches will observe Christ’s ascension this coming Sunday. Yet, most Christians will go about their usual business; thus, in my opinion, for what it’s worth, missing a grand opportunity.

It’s hugely important that Christ is now presently sitting at God’s right hand, offering continual prayers on our behalf to the Father. Ascension Day teaches us, and reminds us, that we have an advocate, a champion who has gone before us and secured deliverance from sin, death, and hell.

On top of it all, Christ’s ascension to heaven means that Jesus is the universal ruler; he commands a kingdom which will never end. Ascension Day proclaims from the heights of the clouds that Jesus is Lord – which means nothing and no one else is. It is because of his ascension that Jesus can authoritatively grant us repentance, forgiveness, and new life.

Speaking of clouds, the reference to a cloud in Christ’s ascension is not a heavenly elevator with a special pass to the umpteenth floor to be with God. The cloud is meant to be a sign of God’s presence – much like the pillar of cloud for the Israelites in the exodus from Egypt; or like the cloud that surrounded Jesus and his disciples on the mount of transfiguration.

Jesus ascending into the cloud is the divine welcome into the Father’s presence. This is a whole lot more than returning to the status quo of things before Christ’s incarnation. No, everything has changed.

The life, ministry, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Christ makes the ascension possible – and now Jesus is enthroned at the right hand of God. Jesus has permanently impacted the world. The dark forces and the demonic powers of this world have been stripped of their control.

Through humiliation, Christ has been exalted. Jesus gladly bore the shame and rejection that was ours. We now have spiritual freedom and are no longer in bondage to sin, death, and hell.

The stage is set for Pentecost and the giving of the Spirit. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. God’s Spirit is moving in the world to bring a new thing: the birth of the Church and the mystical union of Christ and his Church.

Every good spiritual thing comes through patience and faith; we must wait and trust in God’s good promise. The disciples, of course, saw no need for this waiting thing. They were ready for a restoration of everything immediately.

Unfortunately, their idea of restoration was an old-style sort of kingdom, very hierarchical with themselves in control and calling the shots. These apostles needed to discover what the rule and reign of God was actually all about. It’s not a turning back of the clock to the good old days.

Rather, it’s in doing away with the dark shadows of old ruling oppressions and allowing the divine light of Christ to shine into the world so that hearts are transformed and justice for all is the norm. In other words, all things are being redeemed.

By God’s grace, the Church and all believers will be steadfast in proclaiming good news, teaching the words and ways of Jesus, loving one another, and serving with the model given to us by Christ. The ascension and glorification of Jesus makes this possible.

So, this is a day in which Christian churches and believers are to shake off their collective spiritual A.D.D. (Ascension Deficit Disorder) and stop staring up in the sky, slack-jawed and shoulders hunched. Hopefully, no angels will come along and ask us what we’re doing just standing there.

Jesus will come back when he comes back. You and I aren’t going to know when. Now is the time to get busy with what Jesus just told us to do two minutes ago: Tell everyone about me.

Christians since the time of the ascension have been proclaiming Christ crucified, died, risen, ascended, and coming again. This is a day of joy and celebration for us. Jesus is our ascended and glorified king! The fate of the earth is with the benevolent and mighty Ruler of all. Jesus is Lord!

The great Reformed Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, question and answer 49, states the following question and answer:

How does Christ’s ascension to heaven benefit us?

First, he is our advocate

            in heaven

            in the presence of his Father.

Second, we have our own flesh in heaven

            as a sure pledge that Christ our head

            will also take us, his members,

            up to himself.

Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth

            as a corresponding pledge.

            By the Spirit’s power

                        we seek not earthly things

                        but the things above, where Christ is,

                                    sitting at God’s right hand.

Amen.

Trust and Obey (Deuteronomy 32:44-47)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Moses and His People, by Marc Chagall, 1973

Moses and Joshua son of Nun recited this song, so that the people of Israel could hear it.

When Moses had finished giving God’s teachings to the people, he said, “Be sure to obey all these commands that I have given you today. Repeat them to your children, so that they may faithfully obey all of God’s teachings. These teachings are not empty words; they are your very life. Obey them and you will live long in that land across the Jordan that you are about to occupy.” (Good News Translation)

It seems that most people don’t like being told to do anything. There’s a lot of reasons for that. For me, it’s a trust issue. I have a very hard time obeying an authority that I don’t have much faith in.

That’s why I’m just fine submitting myself to God and obeying God’s commands and instructions – because I am firmly convinced that God knows what God is doing; and what’s more, that God has my best interests at mind and at heart.

The ancient Israelites were exhorted by Moses to obey all of God’s teachings because it would be the best way for them to live as a new nation in a new land. The Lord truly wanted what was best for the people, and so, God made sure to give them solid instructions on how to live and thrive together as a nation.

Deuteronomy is the fifth and final book of the Hebrew Torah, and of the Bible’s Pentateuch. The core of the book is a restatement of God’s Law received at Mount Sinai 40 years earlier for the generation about to enter the Promised Land.

The book of Deuteronomy emphasizes God’s love, justice, and transcendence; and stresses the covenant relationship between God and Israel. It looks forward to Israel’s life in the land being established. Foundational to their society, was maintaining God’s social and religious laws.

And those laws were in no way meant to be onerous or oppressive, but were a divine gift to the people. By obeying the Law, the divine/human relationship was secured and the people brought close to God. Foremost to the society was a humanitarianism and concern for the welfare of the poor and disadvantaged.

What’s more, Deuteronomy has a strong intellectual orientation. It urges all Israelites to study God’s laws. There is the expectation that everyone is to be smart and learn how to live wisely.

The participation of Joshua with Moses in teaching he laws was appropriate and important because Joshua was the one who would take over the leadership of Israel and bring them into the Promised Land. The leaders of the people were thoroughly committed to God’s Law – and it was through their wholehearted devotion that they could encourage others to follow them and do the same.

They were to take all of God’s words to heart. The mind, will, and emotions of individuals and families were to be captivated by the standard of God’s divine gift of the law to them. Only in this way would obedience truly become a reality. In other words, it takes complete faith and trust in order to obey.

The way to receive all the blessings of being in the land is through knowing God’s instructions and following them with wholehearted obedience. That means future generations need to be educated about the Law’s stipulations and about the necessity of obeying them with confidence.

Moses made it clear to the people that the divine laws are what life is to be oriented around. God and God’s Law cannot be separated because God’s Law is an expression of God’s very character. For the ancient Israelites, there was no other way.

Many generations later, King David received and learned these laws, understanding the relationship between the Lord and the Law:

The law of the Lord is perfect;
    it gives new strength.
The commands of the Lord are trustworthy,
    giving wisdom to those who lack it.
The laws of the Lord are right,
    and those who obey them are happy.
The commands of the Lord are just
    and give understanding to the mind. (Psalm 19:7-8, GNT)

When it comes to passing on the faith and spiritually forming others, we must have a holistic concern for both what and whom is being taught, as well as how to teach and why we do it. 

For Moses, he was open about expressing the great redemptive acts of God that brought deliverance and vindication to the people. He was convinced that there is no God but the Lord. And he wanted all Israel to know this and to never forget.

All of us, in every generation of believers, are to remember, recite, and rehearse the mighty acts of God, who secured salvation for us. We are responsible to learn, know, and keep the commands of the Lord in our hearts so that we can live into the freedom we possess as believers.

And the Lord has made it known that learning, knowing, remembering, and doing is no trifle thing; rather, this is our very life.

This is one reason why I have devoted myself to the reading, learning, teaching, and living of the Bible. It’s important stuff! And I can testify that living according to the understanding I have of God and Scripture is satisfying, as well as far superior to any other way I have ever tried to live before.

God’s Word must be personally received – no one else can do the work that I myself must do. God’s Word must be faithfully shared and communicated with our children. And God’s Word must be carefully obeyed and observed with head, heart, and hands. This is the responsibility of every believer.

Moses knew that the people could not possibly enjoy life if they deliberately chose to ignore the words given to them in love. I’m glad that, by grace, I know that, too.

Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.