Sun, 20 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

James 2:8-13

⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹ But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. ¹¹ For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James is chastizing his readers for the way they are making distinctions between people who come to worship. He tells them it is wrong to warmly greet the rich, while being rude to the poor. Any kind of discrimination based on economic, societal, or racial grounds within the church is sin. He doesn’t sugar coat it at all. Such discrimination is a violation of the royal law: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. As Christians we must not do such things, and if we ever do, we are sinning and should repent.

In telling us to avoid this sin, James goes on to say that whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

What do we learn from this?

God’s standard for our obedience is perfection. We are to perfectly obey His law always. Any deviation from His commandments is a violation against God Himself and earns us damnation. Since we have all sinned, we are all guilty before God. We all have violated His law and stand condemned before Him.

If we have found forgiveness for our sins in Jesus Christ, we have no right to treat anyone as inferior. We have found mercy from God for our many sins. Since we have broken God’s law and found His forgiveness, we have no right to look down on anyone else because they are poor, or are from a “lower” social class, or from a different race.

As James puts it, So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. We expect to be judged with the mercy of God. We should then treat others with kindness and respect. We should treat them as we would want to be treated.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Everyone is guilty of sin before God. Even if we could limit the number of times we have sinned to just one sin in our lifetime, we still would be guilty before God. If in my entire lifetime I managed to only violate God’s law once, and that one time was something “inconsequential” like a little white lie, I still would be guilty of violating the law of God, and I would be subject to God’s punishment. In reality, I am guilty of far more than just one sin in my lifetime, and so are you. And so our guilt before God is enormous.

Our only hope is to come to God, seeking His mercy that is found in Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus Christ that we find forgiveness for our sins, and are made right with God. It is through faith in Jesus Christ that we are made acceptable in God’s presence and are greeted with God’s favor. It is only through Jesus Christ that we can find forgiveness for the way we have become accountable for all the law.

Sat, 19 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

1 Chronicles 13:5-14

⁵ So David assembled all Israel from the Nile of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. ⁶ And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD who sits enthroned above the cherubim. ⁷ And they carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio were driving the cart. ⁸ And David and all Israel were rejoicing before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.

⁹ And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. ¹⁰ And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God. ¹¹ And David was angry because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza to this day. ¹² And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” ¹³ So David did not take the ark home into the city of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴ And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

This is a famous passage. David in his ignorance of God’s commands transports the ark of the covenant in an inappropriate way, and Uzzah ultimately dies for the violations. David’s intentions are good, and so are Uzzah’s. But they have violated God’s law in their casual treatment of the ark, and God does not excuse the violation just because of their ignorance. There is a lesson for us in this. God takes worship seriously enough to kill a person for violating His standards. Do we take worship seriously? Are we concerned to worship God only in the way He desires? Learn from Uzzah that good intentions in worship do not matter when we violate God’s standards.

After this incident, David apparently takes time and searches the scriptures to see how to appropriately transport the ark, and we see he follows the Biblical instructions in chapter 15 when he finally brings the ark the rest of the way to Jerusalem.

I have heard many sermons that pointed out how they transported the ark on a cart instead of carrying it, as they were supposed to. But it isn’t until recently that I had pointed out to me the violation of the people playing instruments as part of the worship.

What do we learn from this?

The musical contrast between before Uzzah’s death and after is quite striking. Before Uzzah’s death (and apparently before David studied how the ark should be transported), the text tells us in verse 8: And David and all Israel were rejoicing before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets. In chapter 15, after study and thought, notice the difference:

1 Chronicles 15:16-28

¹⁶ David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. ¹⁷ So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brothers Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their brothers, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸ and with them their brothers of the second order, Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. ¹⁹ The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound bronze cymbals; ²⁰ Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth; ²¹ but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to the Sheminith. ²² Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, should direct the music, for he understood it. ²³ Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. ²⁴ Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, should blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.

²⁵ So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom with rejoicing. ²⁶ And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. ²⁷ David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod. ²⁸ So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres.

After careful study, David realizes the correct way to bring the ark to Jerusalem is for priests to carry the ark. He also changed from having the general public playing instruments to have only Levites play instruments, and to sacrifice animals in the process. David apparently learned that in the first attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem, the musical instruments were not being used appropriately. In worship, instruments were only to be played by the Levites, and then only during the animal sacrifice.

This point is made even more clearly when Hezekiah restores pure worship in the temple at Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 29:25-30

²⁵ And he stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, according to the commandment of David and of Gad the king’s seer and of Nathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the LORD through his prophets. ²⁶ The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song to the LORD began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. ²⁸ The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. ²⁹ When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. ³⁰ And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.

Notice that the text explicitly states that the priests played the musical instruments only during the sacrifices. When the sacrifices began, the priests began playing the instruments. And when the sacrifices stopped, the priests stopped playing the instruments.

Instruments as part of Old Testament worship are clearly associated with animal sacrifice. Since we have no New Testament command to use musical instruments in worship, and since the animal sacrifices have been fulfilled and therefore abolished after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I believe the use of instruments in our New Testament worship has also been fulfilled and abolished. The playing of instruments pointed forward to the coming of the true sacrifice, Jesus Christ. Now we should worship God in song with just our voices, not accompanied by the musical instruments. We don’t sacrifice animals as part of our worship, and neither should we use musical instruments. Both have been fulfilled in Christ.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Although our main passage didn’t mention correct Old Testament worship with animal sacrifice accompanied by priests playing musical instruments, we do see that correct worship in the Old Testament pointed to Jesus Christ. He is the perfect sacrifice for the sins of His people. He would come and take the punishment of the sins of all His people upon Himself on the cross.

Fri, 18 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Luke 2:39

And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

After the birth of Jesus, He was circumcised and His parents went to Jerusalem to offer the sacrifice required by the law for the purification of the mother after the birth.

What do we learn from this?

Luke tells us that everything required by the law was done as part of Jesus birth. Nothing was skipped. This is consistent with what we learn of Jesus Christ in the rest of scripture.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us as much.

Matthew 5:17

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus Christ came to perfectly fulfill the law. We have all failed to keep the law of God. Like Adam, our father, we have broken God’s law, and are guilty before God.

Jesus Christ came to pay the price for the guilt of the sins of all who come to Him in faith. But we need more than just to have our guilt removed. We need to be perfectly righteous before God. We need to keep God’s law.

But the good news is that Jesus Christ did keep the law perfectly. He lived the perfect life and completely fulfilled the law. He did that which we have failed to do. And as we come to Him in faith, He grants us His perfect righteousness, so that we can be accepted by God. He not only pays for our sins, but He also gives us His righteousness, as He did everything according to the law of the Lord.

Thu, 17 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Amos 6:1-7

¹ “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
the notable men of the first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel comes!
² Pass over to Calneh, and see,
and from there go to Hamath the great;
then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory,
³ O you who put far away the day of disaster
and bring near the seat of violence?

⁴ “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
and calves from the midst of the stall,
⁵ who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
⁶ who drink wine in bowls
and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
⁷ Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”

In our text for today, Amos is calling woes upon notable persons, to whom the house of Israel comes. These leaders are at ease in Zion (Judah) and in Mount Samaria (Israel). They are comfortable and consider themselves secure. Their trust is in their own nation. They believe they as a nation are able to handle the future. Just look around, they say. We are prospering economically. We have a strong military, and no one can conquer us. We are secure and prosperous, and have no concerns. We can spend a large portion of our income on our own entertainment, and we are so busy amusing ourselves that we have little time or resources left to consider the needs of others.

God, through Amos says, Woe to the people who think and act this way.

Why does Amos tell Israel to take “field trips” to Calnah, Hamath, and Gath, the various areas already conquered by Assyria?

These were prominent, fortified cities. However strong they were in the past, they are now in a very degraded situation. The mighty have fallen to the Assyrians. They are presented as an example to Israel of how God has acted in judgment of major fortified cities. Jerusalem and Samaria can and will fall, just as easily, under God’s hand of judgment. Samaria to the Assyrians, and Jerusalem to the Babylonians.

Amos lists sins of self-indulgence and luxurious extravagances in verses 4 – 6:

1. Sloth: Ivory beds and couches (v4).
2. Food: Lambs and calves (v4).
3. Recreation: Invent Musical instruments (v5).
4. Drink: Wine from large bowls (v6).
5. Best ointments (v6).

These actions themselves are not necessarily sinful. But consider the context. Amos has come with a message calling Israel back to God, but they have not listened. God has sent afflictions to cause them to repent, but they have not returned. Again and again, God has called them to repent, but they have refused. And rather than repent and fast in sackcloth and ashes, they are indulging themselves.

In the face of the suffering of the poor, the rich indulged themselves rather than mourn and grieve.

The result of ignoring the call to repent and ignoring the needs of poor is that the leaders shall become captives first, and the indulgent will be removed (v7). The leaders were responsible for the people, and instead of caring for them, they indulged themselves at the people’s expense.

What do we learn from this?

Matthew Henry makes the application to us: “It is a great offense to God when His church is in affliction and we are not grieved for it, nor lay it to heart.”

What should grieve us? Who is being afflicted around us?

The unborn. People in the inner city. Our children in the schools. The persecuted church in other parts of the world.

Amos is calling us repent of our sin, and to have concern for those in need around us. And if we do not heed this call, we are in danger of judgment from God.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus tells us that when we serve the needy around us, we are serving Him.

Matthew 25:34-40

³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Wed, 16 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Hebrews 11:31-34

³¹ By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

³² And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets– ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

Hebrews 11 is the faith hall of fame, as the writer lists heroes of the Old Testament who are commended for their faith. We meet the familiar big names: Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David. No surprise there. But there are some names here that are rather surprising. Rahab the prostitute. Gideon, who was afraid to obey God and laid out the fleece to test God. Barak, who wouldn’t lead the Israelites against Jabin’s army unless he was accompanied by a Deborah. Samson who kept falling into sin with women to his final destruction. Jephthah, who sacrificed his daughter in fulfillment of a rash vow.

What are these folks doing in the faith hall of fame? We mostly remember them for their failings and weaknesses. How did they end up being honored like this in scripture?

What do we learn from this?

Oh the great mercy of our God. We see the weakness and the failings of the people around us and dwell upon them. God sees their faith.

We can have great doubts and fears. We can even have great failings and weaknesses. But if we have faith in God, that is what is important. It isn’t the amount of faith we have that is important, since even a faith as small as a mustard seed is greatly honored by God. The issue isn’t how much faith you have, but rather the issue is the object of your faith.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus Christ is to be the object of our faith. These Old Testament saints who are lauded as examples of faith did not fully understand the salvation that God would provide, but they were trusting in God’s provision for their salvation.

We have a great privilege of looking back on the Old Testament scriptures in the light of the New Testament, and we can see how they point to Jesus Christ. We can see that we are called to trust in Jesus Christ only for our salvation. Like the Old Testament saints before us, the amount of our faith isn’t the issue. The issue is: What are we trusting in? We are to trust in Jesus Christ.

Tue, 15 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

1 Chronicles 3:10-17

¹⁰ The son of Solomon was Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, ¹¹ Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, ¹² Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, ¹³ Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, ¹⁴ Amon his son, Josiah his son. ¹⁵ The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. ¹⁶ The descendants of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son; ¹⁷ and the sons of Jeconiah, the captive: Shealtiel his son….

The books of Chronicles lists names. There is chapter after chapter of names. Sometimes it is difficult to read these lists of names since they are so hard for us to pronounce, and we know next to nothing of the people. But God gave us these scriptures for a purpose, so no matter how hard it is for us, we still need to spend time reading these lists and seeking what God has for us in them.

What do we learn from this?

It really isn’t difficult to understand how today’s lists is significant. Chapter three lists David’s sons, and traces the line of kings from David through the exile in Babylon. King of Judah after king of Judah up to the exile. Then it traces the line of David through the exile.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Why is this list significant? Compare this list with Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus Christ. Notice anything? This list in Chronicles is the line of the promise. God promised David that he would have a son on the throne for all time. The Messiah was promised to come from the line of David. This list of names is significant because it leads us to Jesus Christ.

Update: I just realized today’s reading was 1 Chronicles 5-6 instead of 1 Chronicles 3-4, so I used the wrong text for today. Sorry.

Mon, 14 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 146:3-4

³ Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
⁴ When his breath departs he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.

⁵ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
⁶ who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;

As we come to the end of the Psalter, we are now in a group of Psalms that all start and end with the phrase Praise the LORD! This is a great doxology of praise to conclude the hymnbook God has given for His church to sing.

In this midst of the praise in Psalm 146, we are told in verses three and four that we should not trust in people. But in contrast, we are told in verses five and six that God blesses those who trust in Him.

What do we learn from this?

We are told to praise God and trust in Him but not to trust in man. Even the noblest of man, the princes of the land, are not trustworthy, according the Psalmist. Put not your trust in princes.

Why aren’t princes trustworthy? Why can’t we rely upon them? Well, in a certain sense, and to a certain degree, we can trust in them. They are in charge of our governments. They can possibly do a good job of governing our society, and may be trustworthy in that respect. There is no guarantee that our leaders will do well in governing, and even the best of them will govern badly on occasion, so we know we can’t trust even the best of them fully. But the Psalmist makes it clear that the issue isn’t how well they govern. We can not trust in our princes at all for salvation. There is no salvation in our princes.

This is something we need to loudly proclaim in our modern culture. There is no salvation in our political leaders. They are just people like us who breath for a while, and then die. There is no salvation in our government. It is made up of people with plans who will die, and their plans will die with them. Government is a God-given institution, and it provides much needed protection and organization for our society. But it cannot provide salvation. There are people who look to government to provide everything for us from cradle to grave, including protection from disasters natural, man-made, and economic, but government can’t keep us from dying. Government can extend our lives through offering medical care for the people and regulating dangerous and harmful behavior, but we will all eventually die, and no government can ever change that. Do not put your trust in the government. There is no salvation there.

But in contrast to our princes who have no salvation and die along with their plans, God has power. He is the one who created and maintains everything. He is forever faithful. Therefore, God is worthy of our trust. And He is worthy of our praise.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The Psalmist tells us not to trust in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. Instead we are to trust in God who does save. Son of man is an interesting choice of words, as Jesus Christ is the Son of God who became man to earn salvation for His people. He liked to use the phrase Son of man when He was speaking of Himself.

Sun, 13 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Amos 2:11-12

¹¹ And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
and some of your young men for Nazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the LORD.

¹² “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’

Amos has been bringing God’s word of judgment upon the people. Starting with the surrounding nations, Amos tells of God’s anger and how He will pour out His wrath. Since Amos’ audience was from the northern tribes of Israel, they probably enjoyed what he had to say as he pronounced judgment upon the Syrians, the Philistines, the Phoenicians, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the southern kingdom of Judah. “Let ‘em have it, Amos!” was probably their attitude. “Let’s hear some more of that hell-fire-and brimstone preaching against those pagans!”

But now Amos turns his sights on his hearers as he pronounces judgment upon the northern tribes. All of the sudden, Amos isn’t such a popular preacher anymore.

In listing all the reasons for God’s judgment on Israel, Amos tells them that God has sent them prophets and Nazirites, but they didn’t listen. The prophets were those who brought God’s word to the people, and the Nazirites were those who took a special vow to be set aside for God. Samson was a Nazirite, and Samuel and John the Baptist probably were also. So in rejecting the prophets and the Nazirites, the people were rejecting God’s word and His rule.

What do we learn from this?

God provided His word to the people. He gives prophets His word, and expects the people to respond. But if they do not listen to His word, and reject those who bring it, God holds the people guilty and promises to bring judgment for their mistreatment of His word.

The people of Israel rejected God’s word to the extent that they silenced the prophets, and they forced those who were trying to live for God to break their vows to God. Therefore they faced God’s hand of judgment.

We might be tempted to think that this has nothing to do with us. We haven’t forced any prophets to stop bringing God’s word, nor have we forced any Nazirites to drink wine. We’re just fine then, right?

Wrong. God has given us the precious gift of His word. We have access to the scriptures that were undreamed of in years past. But what have we done with them? Do we read them regularly? Do we study them and meditate upon them? Do we regularly put ourselves under the faithful preaching of the scriptures? What have we done with God’s word? Are we silencing God’s word by ignoring it when we have it all around us? Remember, when God has provided His word to us, He then holds us responsible to make use of it. And if we fail to do so, He holds us culpable. What was one reason God sent Israel into the Assyrian captivity? Because they abused the word He sent to them.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The prophets who faithfully brought the word of God were pointing the people to the coming Messiah who would pay the price for the sins of His people. They pointed to the coming Prophet, Priest and King who would bring salvation to those who come to Him in faith. They pointed the people to Jesus Christ.

Sat, 12 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

Hebrews 7:23-28

²³ The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴ but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. ²⁵ Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶ For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

The author to the Hebrews is teaching us that Jesus Christ is our great High Priest. The problem is that Jesus Christ was not from the tribe of Levi. He was not eligible to be a priest; He was from the tribe of Judah. And so the author explains for us the importance of Psalm 110:4 where the Psalmist says: The LORD has sworn
and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Jesus is the fulfillment of Psalm 110. He is the Priest in the order of Melchizedek. He is the Priest who is holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, He doesn’t need to offer any sacrifice for Himself.

What do we learn from this?

We can have a great confidence in our salvation. Our High Priest continues forever. He saves to the uttermost all those who come to Him in faith. What a great comfort that is.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Our great High Priest is not like the priests of the Old Covenant. They offered animals for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people. They were sinners themselves, and they would die and have to be replaced by a new priest who likewise was a sinner and would die and need to be replaced. It was a perpetual cycle of killing animals and replacing high priests.

But that cycle ended with the new priesthood of Jesus Christ. As the great High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, and also the perfect sacrifice, He offered Himself for His people. His one sacrifice saves to the uttermost. We no longer have to bring the endless string of animals that only pointed to the Perfect Sacrifice to come.

And as Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead and lives even now as our great High Priest, He allways lives to make intercession for us.

Fri, 11 November, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Kings 24:18-20

¹⁸ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ For because of the anger of the LORD it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

We are coming to the end of the kingdom of Judah. Judah is a vassal state of Babylon, and due to their continuing rebellion, they are being deported in stages. But this national defeat at the hands of the Babylonians is no accident. The author of Kings goes out of his way to make it very clear what is happening: God is judging the nation of Israel because of their sin.

What do we learn from this?

God punishes sin. Often, but not always, that punishment initially comes in the lifetime of those who are sinning. For example, we see around us every day the wrecked lives from drunkenness, drug abuse, and sexual immorality. The results of sin destroys the lives of the sinners.

But we also see people who seem to prosper in their sin. They continue on with no ill effects, but instead, they are healthy, wealthy, and admired. They thrive in their sin, and we could be tempted to think that God is pleased with them despite their sin.

But then we consider Judah. We have read the account of how long they wallowed in their sins, and God spared them. Yet eventually, God cast them out from His presence, because of their sins.

There will come a time when our sins will be punished. It might seem like God passes them over, but that is only for a time. God will punish all sin. That punishment might start in this life, but even if it doesn’t start now, it will come.

Where is Christ in this passage?

All sin must be punished. It will either be punished in us, or in the Substitute that God has provided. Jesus Christ took the penalty for the sins of all who come to Him in faith. He bore the punishment for His people upon Himself on the cross, and He provides salvation to them as they trust in Him only for their salvation.