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Sunday school from October 27th, 2019
Okay, we're gonna pray and we are going to get started. Lord Jesus Christ giver and perfecter of our faith. We thank and we praise you for Continuing among us the preaching of your gospel for our instruction and for edification.
Send your blessing upon the word which has been spoken to us and by your Holy Spirit increase our saving knowledge of you. That day by day we may be strengthened in the divine truth and remain steadfast in your grace.
Give us strength to fight the good fight by faith and to overcome all the temptations of Satan our flesh the world So that we may finally receive the salvation of our souls. For you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit one God now and forever Amen.
Okay, any questions crop up as a result of the sermon. Any questions. Yes, sir.
Of you.
Well in this particular case it was the manifestation of God in the whirlwind, okay.
Yeah.
So he was still he didn't really see the face of God in that sense, but I Would say that having a tornado speak to you with the voice of God that would leave a that would leave a mark you know, at least that would indelibly imprint something on your mind and so he was one of the few who got to.
Have his faith result in some type of sight. Does that make sense? Whereas we purely walk by faith and not by sight. All right now have any of you I mean The book of Job. I mean, have you found that book to be challenging?
I almost hate to say it, but then it kind of seems like Satan was right. He did turn Against God. God had to intervene. Yeah.
He didn't curse God, but he did end up trying to find guilt with God and Where he faltered is so instructive for us because he faltered in the belief That his good works made him righteous and that God then was in the wrong for treating him as an evildoer.
It's not as righteous not even one not even joke. Yes. Yeah, the scholars debate on this now I'll tell you. So my translation skills in Hebrew are not Nearly as sharp as my translation skills in in Greek, but I can tell you that Job's Hebrew is Really difficult to translate and as a result of it There are scholars who believe that it represents kind of a pure older form of Hebrew.
Then we get in even the later prophets. And so Hebrew is one of these Languages that over the over the course of the time that the Old Testament was being written You can see that the language is changing.
I guess I would I would liken it to this. It's the difference between reading a modern-day translation as opposed to reading the King James you can still read the King James. So when you read when you when you look at Job's Hebrew, it's more akin I liken it to the King James version of Hebrew, you know.
That's the best way I can put it and there are some real challenges as how to how to properly pull into English some of the things that are being spoken in in in Job and for that reason there are some scholars who believe that's that may be the oldest book.
This was all available like to the Pharisees they just ignored.
Yeah, I would note that the self-righteous who are in it within the visible Christian Church. That all of these scriptures are available to them and they somehow find a way to ignore it, you know somehow deluding themselves into believing that their law-keeping that their obedience somehow merits their Salvation and it doesn't.
It just doesn't you know, and and so we learned from Job's Sin in this part in in putting blame on God by claiming his own innocence that in so doing when we put. Let's just say that for a second. I was sitting there go.
All right, I'm suffering. I'm suffering terribly right and I sit there and go. God. What are you doing here? Why am I being made to suffer? I'm.
Righteous, I.
Worked at the soup kitchen last Thanksgiving, you know, look how much money I gave to Kongsvinger last year. Look at all the good things that I'm doing. Lord, you know, why are you treating me? Like I am unrighteous.
That when you don't recognize your own sin and you think that you're righteous in and of yourself that what you end up doing is. Whether you recognize it or not you are placing on God guilt. When when you are made to suffer and That's that's a that's a that's a dangerous thing to do very dangerous.
So self-righteousness is ruled out in a thousand different ways. And one of the ways the scripture rules it out is because if you think you're righteous in and of yourself. Then when you experience suffering then God has done something evil truly wrong.
To you that and when God doesn't do that.
So a lot of times you hear the story of Joe. What you hear is that well God tested him or the devil tested him, but he was saved by his faith. His faith was strong. You never hear that.
Nearly.
Yeah, I mean I don't know if God were to come barreling down the road at me in a super solo Thunderstorm drop a tornado and start talking to me from it. I.
You know, yeah.
So that would. The experience itself might cause PTSD for like the rest of my life, you know you know and and we've all seen the we've all seen video footage of Tornadoes if you haven't seen one in real life, these things are not small, you know.
And when they're doing their thing, I mean, it's it's just wow. And what would it take for the voice of God to be heard above the sound of the tornado itself? You know. So, yeah, I I think Job is a difficult book.
I liken it to. Have you all seen the movie The Sixth Sense? Okay, like so your first time through The Sixth Sense, you know, you think you know what's going on. But you don't. Okay, and then you have the turn.
All right, and you realize whoa, wait a second what? Okay, so after you watch the movie the first time and then you see the the turn the twist. What do you do you go back and you rewatch it again? And you sit there and you go, of course, it was there the whole time.
It's like wow, right, you know. Okay, so Job is kind of like that. So you you you get the set up, you know. The devil has caused Job to suffer. He sits there in and ashes and and his friends are there in silence for seven days.
And then they open up their mouth and the thing is is that the the the theology the doctrine that is coming out of their mouth.
Sounds.
Reasonable. It's not like they're saying.
Well.
Job what you really need to do is you need to offer some you know and an offering of incense to Elvis Presley and everybody. Knows that once you do that, it'll clear clear right up. It's not wackerdoodle like that what they say sounds so Reasonable, but they each of the different three.
Of the three of them they. You know, they have a different spin off of it and everything they say is wrong. But on a first read you sit there and go well. Yeah, that makes sense. And then you read and then by the time you get to the end of the book you realize oh.
Oh, whoa, wait a second. Nothing. Nothing. They said was right. Okay, cuz God won't even allow God won't even hear their prayers. He'll only deal with them through Job and he he basically says you have spoken falsely of me.
So all that being said then when you see the punchline at the end, then it makes you go back and you reread okay, so what is. Why is this Temanite guy? Why is he? Why is his theology bad? Why is he not speaking the truth about God?
So you have to go back and you have to work your way through it. Once you know what the turn is so Job but Job is like that and and not only that. The the language is very poetic even in the English translations and it's just it's it's a it's a book you have to kind of apply yourself to.
Intentionally and once you do you can start to you can start to suck the marrow out of it. But it you're not gonna get it and on the first read. On a second read you'll start to kind of see okay I can see how this works, but maybe three or four or five reads through it, you know.
And then you can really kind of you know, plumb the depths of it. So.
Atheists.
Go to do. Try to say that God isn't good. Look what he did to this person. Yeah, okay.
So I'll give you an example of what you just said. So we talked about atheists. God isn't good. They'll invoke Job or they'll invoke invoke suffering in and of itself. All right, so Stephen Fry a very famous British.
Actor.
He's also a well-known atheist and he was asked a question this is probably more than ten years ago now. He was asked the question What if after you die you stand before God and you realize that you were wrong that God really exists?
Right and. And he immediately his answer was oh. Well, if that's the case, then I would stand my ground and I would say to God God really? Really giving children bone cancer. What kind of being are you as if somehow he can explain it?
He was God of evil, right? And. And that was his answer and I'm thinking a dude. Dude, you do not know what you are doing here. You see none is righteous and that includes children. We are all conceived and born in sin each of us are under the dominion of darkness the wages of sin is death and that sin itself and the rebellion against God has profound Consequences it has profound consequences in our life.
Individually in our lives within our family within our lives as society and then within the whole planet itself even the creation itself is groaning in laboring, you know and under the curse waiting in anticipation for the revealing of the sons of God and to be Set free from the bondage that it is into to decay.
And so we will never be able to point a bony finger at God and say God you were wrong. Really you think you're gonna pull that one off, right and so the in In ten technical terms that they call that the problem of theodicy, you know, what are the existence of if God is good?
Why is there evil in the world? But the reality is when you work through all of the different potential. You know ways of resolving it God by letting sin run its course. Actually, there's a there's a there's a there's profound wisdom because if you say well, all right God, why do you permit evil in the world?
So God goes, okay fine. I'm just gonna eliminate all evil. Oh. By the way, you're gone. You know you got swept up in that one, too. Yeah, be careful what you ask for, you know. It reminds me of it reminds this is there's this fellow who has this Twitter account and it is a riot.
And he's he's a he's a who does photo processing using Photoshop and people send him requests on Twitter. You know, they'll give him a photograph and say, you know, you know, I I look terrible in this picture.
So that you have this woman. She's she's lying in water and the photo didn't turn out right and so she says I'm lying in some water right here. And you know and because the background is black. You can't really tell that I'm in water.
Could you fix the photo so that I everyone would know that I'm in water and he said no Problem and next thing, you know, he photoshopped her face in inside the circle of a washing machine. Everybody now knows you're in water, you know.
So well God needs to get rid of evil. Okay. Yep. Now now everyone's gone. All right, but there's another piece to all of this and that is and this is the part that everybody overlooks. And this is where Ellie who?
His.
Although he's he's youthful in in this account. He's the only one who preaches the gospel and the gospel itself Really changes everything because here's the thing God knows full well. How evil is because he sent his only begotten Son and the Son of God?
Experienced the greatest injustice ever in human history. The sinless spotless never did anything wrong always did good. Lamp, you know son of God he was betrayed and he was murdered and he was crucified and he died and.
So you'll note then that God himself then Doesn't save us by eliminating the consequences of sin. Instead he takes those consequences on himself and then he conquers death on the other side of it. And so he's saving us through the curse and he's saving us through death not Taking death out of the equation.
Does that make sense? So it's a yeah, it's a it's frightening when you consider all of that. But such are the real consequences of sin. So the atheist and remember it's not the educated that says in his heart there is no God scripture says it's the fool.
It's the fool. Okay.
Mm-hmm, and that's a rebuke from the Word of God and the purpose of that rebuke is that they would avoid the pit that God Would rescue them from it as well. All right, we're back in Leviticus chapter 20.
We're gonna keep working our way through all of these Commandments as it relates to nakedness and sexual immorality again noting then that it's it's absolutely Just an indictment against us in our sinfulness that God has to Drill down to the nano commandment to to make it clear that there are certain things that you ought not to do that when it Comes to sexual immorality There's so many different perversions involved in this that God had to get very specific and cut off all of the different Ways in which that people would try to twist it and say well, I didn't do that.
So that's that means I didn't my Britain didn't break the commandment alright, so if a man takes his sister a Daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother sees her nakedness and she see and and she sees his nakedness.
It is a disgrace that shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people he has uncovered his sister's nakedness and he shall bear his iniquity and so you'll note then that this is a this is a means by which you cut off all forms of any kind of Sexual abuse within a family.
These are these are commandments that that rule that out altogether. It's not merely Intercourse that is ruled out here, but just seeing the nakedness of a daughter. You know this or a sister, you know of it, you know.
This all is ruled out. So if a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness He's made naked or fountain and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among the people.
You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister of your father's sister for that is to make Naked ones relative they shall bear their iniquity if a man lies with his uncle's wife. He's uncovered his uncle's nakedness They shall bear their iniquity and they shall die childless if a man takes his brother's wife.
It is impurity. He has uncovered his brother's nakedness. They shall be childless. You shall therefore keep all my statutes all my rules. Do them that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out.
So note here.
Sin.
According to scripture is kind of one of these things that has quantum impacts on the environment itself and so You remember that this earth was not created for sin you were not created for sin that when you engage in these things that it Pollutes even the environment, you know, we worry about, you know.
Are there heavy metals in our water and we worry about whether or not there's certain? Pesticides that are getting into our our groundwater and into our wells and stuff like that. I think we also need to consider the impact that our sin is having on the environment.
You shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you. They did all these things and therefore I detested them. I have said to you you shall inherit their land. I will give it to you to possess a land flowing with milk and honey.
I am Yahweh your God who has separated you from the peoples. You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by the beat by beast or by bird or by anything with Which the ground crawls which I have set apart for you to hold unclean.
You shall be holy to me. I am Yahweh. I am holy. I have separated you from the people's that you should be mine. And then a reiteration of the commandment against Medium spiritists and necromancers. A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death.
They shall be stoned with stones their blood shall be upon them. Chapter 21. Yahweh said to Moses speak to the priests. The sons of Aaron say to them. No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people and we noted this when we were working our way through the parable of The Good Samaritan.
That over and again that scripture, you know that we read about you here. We got the priest and the Levite they see a fellow he may be dead on the road and they don't stop to help him and. So when you don't put the Old and the New Testament together, you immediately want to find fault with them.
Because they aren't going to the aid of this man. But Numbers 21 Forbids them from doing that. Again, it's not the law that saves. It's the gospel only the Samaritan had the freedom to administer the gospel.
To the man who had been beaten and left for dead. The two priests were strictly ordered by God. They're not permitted to make themselves unclean for just anyone. They're not and so consider that then so you always said to Moses speak to the priest.
No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people except for his closest relatives. His mother his father his son his daughter his brother or his virgin sister who is near to him because she has not no Husband for her he may make himself unclean.
He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. They shall not make bald patches on their heads nor shave off the edges of their beard nor make any cuts on their body.
They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God for they offer Yahweh's food offerings the bread of their God therefore they shall be holy. So you get the idea here? It's like, you know.
There's a very very short list and remember being within the presence or touching a corpse. Makes you unclean so a Levite or a priest who's just coming back from the temple is Forbidden by God and unless you're on the short list.
Right a mother a father a brother a virgin sister. You're not allowed to do this. So there's the priest and Levite. They see the guy left for dead and they can't tell if he's dead or not. All right, I mean.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes it's not it's not easy to tell whether or not somebody's dead. You know, this is before they knew that you can just put your fingers here and feel a pulse, right? How would you do it in the old days?
Yeah, they would only be about permitted to make themselves unclean for their fallen comrades, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and then Levites by the way weren't. I don't. I don't know if they made a practice of actually being in the army.
It was usually the other tribes who did that.
Okay.
All right talking more about the priest. They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled either shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband? For the priest is holy to God and so all right, so you get the idea here.
You shall sanctify Him for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you. I am Yahweh who sanctify you. I am holy. And the daughter of any priest if she profanes herself by whoring profanes her father.
She shall be burned with fire. The priest who is chief among his brothers on whose head the anointing oils poured and who has been Consecrated to wear the garments shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes.
All right. So this is the high priest then these are restrictions for him. He shall not go into any dead bodies or make himself unclean even for his father or for his mother. He's like forbidden altogether.
He shall not go out of the sanctuary lest he profane the sanctuary of his God. For the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am Yahweh now. This commandment is going to come into play shortly.
So, you know the high priest. There is no list. You're not allowed to make yourself unclean by being in the presence of a dead body. Period doesn't matter if it's mom or dad or son or daughter when you are in your office and you Are doing your duties in the high priest if a close relative dies.
You stay on.
Duty.
Period. Well, it's kind of like when you're in the military, right? You know, have you ever been on a deployment and somebody on the ship had a father or mother die while you guys were at sea. All right, you turn the boat around say oh we got to get you the funeral.
Okay, it depends on the mission. All right, but then you risk like the limb. Yeah, and then yeah.
Yeah, but if I mean during times where we're involved in military engagements and then the mission is There's no way to do it, you know. So the person they get where mom dad died and they will get to grieve and mourn on the ship and They won't get to visit the grave until after they get home.
And what. Nine ten months.
Wow.
How you didn't know until you.
Yeah, it seems cruel, right.
It's cruel, but it's it's not that there's some duties that.
You know.
That morning. Doesn't permit. A death doesn't permit the ability to mourn properly. So the note the high priest here is not permitted to do this. And so that you know. What will happen coming up is that Aaron will be installed by Moses into?
The.
Into the high priesthood and two of his sons are Going to offer up what's called strange fire an offering that was not Authorized by God and they will die as a result of that and Aaron will not be permitted.
To.
Leave his duty post as the high priest to take care of his sons. All right, so he shall take a wife so note then that the priests are required to take a wife in a virginity a Widow or a divorced woman or a woman who has been defiled or prostitute these he shall not marry but he shall take as his wife a virgin of his own people that he may not profane his offspring among his people for I am Yahweh who sanctifies him.
So Yahweh spoke to Moses saying speak to Aaron saying none of your offspring throughout their generations. Who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God? For no one who has a blemish shall draw near a man blind or lame or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long or a man who has injured an injured foot or an injured hand or a hunchback or a Dwarf or a man with a defect on it in his sight or an itching disease or scabs or crushed testicles.
No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish Shall come near to offer the Lord's food offerings since he has a blemish. He shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. He may eat the bread of his God both of the most holy and the holy things.
But he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar because he has a blemish. That he may not profane my sanctuaries for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them. So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the people of Israel, so you'll note then that Perfection is a requirement Here in this sense and then we note then that all of these Ailments that befall humanity in one form or another these are the consequences of sin and are the physical Reminders of our fall into sin and God will not permit somebody to serve him.
If that is the case so I can just see the the lawsuit filed today By certain groups saying how dare you not permit You know people with handicaps to serve in the uh-huh. All right. So Yahweh spoke to Moses saying speak to Aaron and his son so that they may abstain from the holy things of the people Of Israel which they dedicate to me so they do not profane my holy name I am Yahweh say to them if any one of your offspring throughout your generation Approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to Yahweh while he has an uncleanness.
That person shall be cut off from my presence. I am Yahweh. None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a discharge may eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or a man who has had an omission of semen.
Whoever touches a swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or a person from whom he may take Uncleanness whatever his uncleanness may be. The person who touches such a thing shall be unclean Until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has bathed his body in water.
Which again is a type and shadow of baptism when the Sun goes down He shall be clean and afterwards he may eat of the holy things because they are his food. He shall not eat what dies of itself or is torn by beasts.
So if you see a deer in the dead of winter that has just been hit by a truck and is dead on the road And it's still steaming. You don't get to have that for yourself. Sorry. Bummer. Okay any. He shall not eat what dies of itself torn by beasts or so make himself unclean.
I am Yahweh. They shall therefore keep my charge lest they bear sin for it and die there bore thereby when they profane it I am Yahweh who sanctifies them. A Lay person shall not eat of a holy thing nor foreign.
Guest of the priest or hired worker shall eat of a holy thing. But if a priest buys a slave as his property for money the slave may eat of it. Anyone born in his house may eat of his food if a priest's daughter marries a layman.
She shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things. But if a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced and has no child and returns to her father's house as in her youth She may eat of her father's food yet.
No lay person shall eat of it. And if anyone eats of a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add the fifth Fifth to his value to it and give the holy thing to the priest they shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel which they contribute to Yahweh and So cause them to bear iniquity and guilt by eating the holy things for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.
Now if you remember a few months back we talked about the fact that.
David.
When he was on the run from Saul He goes to the high priest and he asks for provisions and the priest says the only thing I have is the holy bread and The priest gives it to David this text forbids that and so we noted then that that Christ Addresses that issue and basically says that God Desires mercy rather than sacrifice and that when push comes to shove and you're put into a catch -22 and the catch -22 is I'm going to break the fifth commandment and I'm going to bodily harm my neighbor or I'm going to break the commandment that forbids People from eating the holy things that the fifth commandment stands and that and their physical bodily need trumps The need for these this bread to be not given to lay people.
Does that make sense? All right, and you can see that You can actually see that in action throughout the scriptures Over and over again. I always like to point out that David when he was on the run He ended up sojourning in the land of the Philistines and the Philistine princes and the people in the army of the Philistines Knew exactly who David was and they didn't understand why the the king of the region was giving him amnesty and Said that's David.
This is the guy who's killed like thousands and thousands and thousands of our people kill him now. And what did David do to save his life? He pretended like he was insane he pretended like he was insane so he would go around and he would drool on and let drool run out of his mouth and spittle run down his beard and he would mumble incoherently and he would also whiz in public, you know and What the text talks about and there's a result of this the the king of the Philistines says listen We have enough madmen.
I'm not gonna kill this guy. And so by pretending to be insane and he wasn't He saved his life. So, you know, so you'll note then that putting on a pretense like that. And he's never censored by God as doing something evil, you know, so Getting creative and saving your skin may may not actually be counted against you by Christ just saying Point that out.
All right.
So the Lord Yahweh spoke to Moses saying speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel say to them when any One of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt Offering as his offering or any of their vows a freewill offering that that they offer to Yahweh.
It is to be accepted for you. It shall be a male without blemish of the bulls or the sheep or the goats. You shall not offer anything that has a blemish for it will not be acceptable for you and when anyone offers the sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh to fulfill a Vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock to be accepted.
It must be perfect. There shall be no blemish in this and all of this is type and shadow of Jesus Christ who is the Sacrifice for our sins and he was without blemish. He was without sin. Animals blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs?
You shall not offer to Yahweh or give them to Yahweh as food offering on the altar. It's sad that people that God has to say this and then you'll note then that in Israel's history later in Israel's history It became a practice a commonly accepted practice that it's time for you to bring your offerings to the Lord.
And so you look in your sheep and go. Oh, there's that mangy awful scabby looking thing. Let's let's offer that to the Yahweh. All right, not much of a sacrifice. I'm just saying so the one you were gonna kill anyway is.
Is that that's not acceptable and the Lord has to say this because otherwise Sinful beings what sinful beings are they'll do that. You may present a bull or a lamb that has A part too long or too short for a freewill offering but for a vow offering.
It cannot be accepted any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut. You shall not offer to Yahweh. You shall not do it within your land. Neither shall you offer as the bread of your God any such animals?
Gotten from a foreigner since there is a blemish in them because of their mutilation. They will not be accepted for you and Yahweh spoke to Moses saying when an ox or a sheep or a goat is born It shall remain seven days with its mother and from the eighth day on it should be acceptable as a food offering to Yahweh.
But you shall not kill an ox or a sheep or her young in one day. When you sacrifice the sacrifice of Thanksgiving to Yahweh, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. It shall be eaten on the same day.
You shall leave none of it until the morning. I am Yahweh. And again, this goes back to the fact that You see this is just a recurring theme here sacrifices. Animal sacrifices are eaten. They are consumed.
You know very little of it it goes up as a burnt offering and the rest it becomes a feast. So you shall keep my commandments do them. I am Yahweh. You shall not profane my holy name that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel.
I am Yahweh who sanctifies you who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am Yahweh. So then the Lord spoke to Moses saying speak to the people of Israel and say to them These are the appointed feasts of Yahweh that you shall proclaim as your holy convocations.
They are my appointed feasts now. We know from the book of Colossians that these feasts in and of themselves are Types and shadows that point to Christ and here's our governing text on this in Colossians chapter 2 after the Apostle Paul so clearly says that we were dead in our Trespasses in our sins and the uncircumcision of our flesh that God has made us alive together with Christ has forgiven us all of our Trespasses canceled the record of death that stood against us with its legal demands.
He has set it aside nailing it to the cross. He then goes on and says therefore as a result of this fact that you have been forgiven in Christ let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and Drink or with regard to a festival a new moon or a Sabbath.
All right, so the festivals referred to here are the ones that we're going to be reading about. These are a shadow. These are a skia of the things to come but the body the soma belongs to Christ. So the idea here is is that this governing sentence from Colossians chapter 2?
Makes it clear that the Old Testament feasts. They are a type and shadow and the body that's casting the shadow is Jesus himself. So we're to look for the different ways in which we could find Christ His attributes something he's done.
We're to look for those in the feasts. All right. So let me ask you guys. Um, when was the last time y 'all here at Kongsvinger celebrated Sukkot? You have you haven't you haven't celebrated Sukkot?
Yeah, no.
Yeah. So you have you guys haven't. When was the last time we had the Passover here, oh boy, yeah. Yeah, actually, you're right. But okay, but I mean like old-school Passover, you know. We haven't all right.
So you're gonna note here that they are a type and shadow. Christ is the fulfillment. Then as Christians are we required to? Celebrate the old covenants. Passover.
No, we're not required to do this.
Feast of.
Tabernacles.
Feast of trumpets.
Feast of booths.
No. All right. Okay, so we'll talk about this. So when we work our way through this list now. So these are the appointed feasts the holy convocations of the Mosaic Covenant. We know from Colossians 2 These are a type and shadow pointing to Christ.
So for six days shall work be done but on the seventh day it is a Sabbath a Shabbat of Solemn rest a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It's a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwelling places. So the Sabbath is the first thing listed.
How is it a type and shadow of Christ? I've taught on this enough. I'm kind of hoping that it's starting to sink in. So Sabbath are we required on Friday afternoon when the Sun sets to stop all work? No work until Saturday when the Sun sets again, are we required to do that?
No.
It sounds until it gets to the winner because starting a fire during the Sabbath is punishable by death. Okay, so I don't know if you know, so it's a little chilly up here at certain times of the year.
So, I mean have you ever started a fire on a Saturday? Yeah, okay. So what then is how then is the Sabbath a type and shadow that in Christ is the substance. What is it is a type and shadow of? Eternal rest.
Correct. So here's our text to help us with this. Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4. So therefore while the promise of entering his rest still stands. Let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.
So the Sabbath is pointing to the rest that we have in Christ. For good news came to us just as to them. But the message they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened for we who have believed.
Enter that rest as he has said as I swore in my wrath. They shall not enter my rest although his works were finished from the foundation of the world for he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way and God rested on the seventh day from all his work.
And again in this passage He said they shall not enter my rest. Therefore since it remains for some to enter it and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience. Again, he appoints a certain day and that certain day is today today.
Saying through David so long afterwards in the words already quoted today. If you hear his voice do not harden your hearts. So if Joshua had given them rest God would not have spoken of another day later on.
So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. So I was like to put it out and this is a good day to do this on because we just heard from Paul that No one will be declared righteous or justified in God's sight by works of the law.
How then are we justified? By grace.
Through faith.
Is that a work? Nope. All right. So a good way to think of it. Then is that the Sabbath of the Mosaic Covenant is a type and shadow pointing to salvation by grace through faith apart from works. Period.
So in the Sabbath in the Mosaic Covenant anyone found working. They were put to death. To work on the Sabbath is a punishable crime. It's a capital crime. You were put to death if you are found working for your salvation Rather than entering into the rest of Christ and receiving it all as a gift.
Are you saved or are you damned? Damned.
Right.
So the idea then is the Sabbath points us to Salvation by grace through faith alone. So I always like to say it this way and I've said it before so if somebody says to you Rose, bro. You don't even seem like you're working for your salvation.
Absolutely, right. In fact I'm gonna sit down. Oh. Whenever it comes to my salvation, I refuse to even get up. I'm not gonna do. I'm not gonna lift a finger. I'm just gonna sit here and just.
I'm gonna rest.
Okay, it is the only time when being a couch potato is Absolutely, right. Okay. So when it comes to salvation, I'm a complete couch potato. In fact, oh man, I'm just oh, yeah.
And so and I don't care how many pious people come and say get off the couch. Rose, bro. Look get busy. Jesus is gonna be here any second right now. You don't want to be left behind. Oh. Oh, I'm so oh, yeah.
Oh, this is so comfy here. Oh, would you grab my fuzzy bunny slippers? I'd you know the only time when that's a virtue. Okay, I refuse to lift a finger. For my salvation. I'm gonna rest in Christ that so Christ is the substance.
He is our rest. Salvation is by grace through faith apart from works. That's how that works out. Okay, so these are the appointed feasts of Yahweh the Holy Convigation. Which you shall proclaim at the time of the appointed for them in the first month on the 14th day of the month at twilight.
It's Yahweh's Passover. Twilight by the way is what time of the day? 3 in the afternoon. 3 in the afternoon. That's when twilight begins. It is the Lord's Passover on the 15th day of the same month of the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Yahweh for seven days.
You shall eat unleavened bread on the first day. You shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. But you shall present a food offering to Yahweh for seven days on the seventh day is a holy convocation.
You shall not do any ordinary work. All right, so the Passover. So you get rid of yeast. No leavened bread for seven days. It's like oh man, no sourdough. Oh. Sorry, sorry, sorry, it's a weakness of mine.
Yeah, that's it. I'm out of here, okay, yeah and so and you'll note then that leaven is used as a Metaphor for sin and for false teaching, you know, what does Jesus say beware of the leaven of the Pharisees?
So the idea here is is that you put away from yourself false teaching false doctrine you put away from yourself Sinful, you know behavior sent, you know, because a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
That's kind of the whole point and then Christ our Passover lamb has been slain. Let me find this real quick in the in the epistles Passover and I want it in the epistles. Here it is. Okay. So 1st Corinthians 5.
All right, and this will this will be our governing passage to understand how the types and shadows work regarding the Passover itself. All right. So listen to what Paul says 1st Corinthians 5 6 your boasting is not good.
Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump talking about sin? So cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump as you really are unleavened for Christ our Passover lamb Has been Sacrificed.
Let us therefore celebrate the festival not with the old leaven the leaven of malice and evil. But with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Uh-huh, so you can see what's going on here. And of course it makes perfect sense.
So the Passover lambs are killed at 3 in the afternoon at twilight. Christ himself died. When what time? 3 in the afternoon at twilight. And Anybody who has their door? Covered in the blood of the lamb what happens when the destroyer comes and knocks on the door?
It sees the blood and passes over and they do not experience God's judgment. Anybody who does not have the blood of a lamb on their house what happens? The firstborn die. So Christ then his body his blood he's the sacrifice.
He's the one that we consumed today and I was like to kind of put in these kind of Passover terms and. So today Dwayne made it clear. We celebrated the Passover. Alright, so today we had the body and blood of Christ given and shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins and These the body and blood of Christ.
These are the signs of the new covenant. So there's God present for us and he sees in your mouth the blood of Christ. And what does he remember to do? To forgive us. The destroyer comes and goes. I'm gonna pass over this one.
All right. So then rather than experiencing God's judgment the blood of Christ now in us. We experience instead mercy grace forgiveness release from slavery. God fighting for us. So Yahweh spoke to Moses saying speak to the people of Israel and say to them when you come into the land that I give You and reap its harvest you shall bring the sheaves of the firstfruits of the harvest to the priest.
He shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh so that you may be accepted on the day after the Sabbath. The priest shall wave it and on that on the day when you wave the sheaf. You shall offer a male lamb a year old without a blemish as a burnt offering to Yahweh and the grain offering.
It shall be two tenths of an ephah fine flour mixed with oil a food offering to Yahweh. With a pleasing aroma and a drink offering and with it shall be a wine of a fourth of a hen you shall eat Neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until the same day until you have brought in the offering to the Yahweh.
It's a statute forever throughout your generations and all your dwellings and then you shall count seven full weeks. From the day after the Sabbath from the day that you brought the sheaf to of the wave offering you shall count 50 days.
To the day after the seventh Sabbath now, this is kind of an important thing. Let's come back here.
So.
Think to the church here real quick. What big Feast festival do we recognize? 50 days after Easter. Pentecost. That's what this is. All right, so you'll note this is the feast of Pentecost. Pentecost means 50 so Christ is our Passover lamb and What happened on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts chapter 2?
What happened Church got rolling right? Now you'll note that the feast of Pentecost here. It's all about the harvest. It's all about the harvest. So with the kicking off of the feast of Pentecost the harvest has begun.
The Word of God goes out raises people from the dead and You'll note that the great harvest has begun the harvest of humanity and so you can see here. This is a type and shadow pointing to all that. So you count count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath.
Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to Yahweh. You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be a fine flour. They shall be baked with leaven as firstfruits to Yahweh.
You shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish. One bull from the herd two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to Yahweh with their grain offering their drink offerings as a food offering with a pleasing aroma to Yahweh, so you get a drink offering and a bread offering together.
It sounds a lot like you know, I Don't know. Lord's Supper. Kind of like it just saying.
You shall offer one male goat for a sin offering two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice for peace offerings and the Priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before Yahweh with the two lambs.
They shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest. You shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It's a statute forever and all your dwelling places throughout your generations and you'll note then that this Convocation this feast day of Pentecost is another one of these required feasts.
Which is why on the day of Pentecost you had people who were Jews from like all over the world in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost because the Mosaic Covenant Required it so Jews that were far-flung and scattered.
They come back and so this is and so you can see how this is all but it's like God is laying the foundation That the New Testament will be built on. So when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge.
Nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest you shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner. I am Yahweh your God now, that's not a feast day. I love the fact that God put that here as a reminder and the reminder is You care for your brother fifth commandment.
You shall not murder. Requires you to care for them. And so God has created the perfect opportunity for this. Don't pick up your gleanings. Don't harvest all the way to the edges. It belongs to the poor.
They'll go out and do their work and we noted again that this is how God saved all of us because Ruth Met Boaz as a result of you know Keeping that commandment so Yahweh spoke to Moses saying speak to the people of Israel in the seventh month on the first day of the month you shall Observe a day of solemn rest a memorial Proclaimed the blast of trumpets.
So this is the feast of trumpets a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. You shall present a food offering to Yahweh now quick here When you think of the word trumpets in relation to the New Testament What comes to mind?
Regarding trumpets. Okay birth of Christ. No, not quite. Not quite the angels sang but there were no trumpets.
Huh?
Revelation.
Second coming. Okay, so when Christ returns He returns with the shout of the Archangel and.
Trumpets, right? So trumpets if you kind of work the word association here it is a picture of the return of Christ. Let me show you Matthew 24.
And then this other oh.
They did. The walls of Jericho came a-tumbling down come a-tumbling down come a-tumbling down. Anyway, the reason why they came a-tumbling down was because they did they blew. What? Trumpets. All right, and we'll note then that.
Okay that that the that the trumpets of The fall of Jericho which means and Jericho is the first city to fall Once the children of Israel enter the promised land. And what did they do for like the first seven days, you know?
They just marched around The city in silence.
Yeah, I'll ever do a Jericho March, please say no. So they they walked around seven days, it's complete sense. Then on the last day there was a shout Blasted the trumpets and the walls came a-tumbling down.
The the battle of Jericho Is a type and shadow of the return of Christ. Who's the head of the army here at Jericho? Joshua what's Jesus's name in Hebrew? Yeshua, Joshua, right? Okay, you kind of get the idea now consider what Jesus says in Matthew 24.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the Sun will be darkened. The moon will not give its light the stars will fall from heaven. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man and then all the tribes of the earth They will mourn they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and They will gather The elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.
Okay, and let me give let me find that the cross reference here. Hang on a second here Angels with a loud trumpet call and I'm looking for first Thessalonians 4. Hang on a second here 1 Thessalonians 4.
Okay, listen to what Paul says now we don't want you to be uninformed brothers first Thessalonians 4 13 about those who are asleep. That you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
So note here. The picture is of the end of the world. All right, so when Jesus returns he ain't returning alone. Who's he bringing with him? Everybody who is already dead. They are coming back with him.
All right. It's like he's at the head of a big army, right? For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord that we who are alive who are left Until the coming of the Lord we will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with the cry of command with the voice of an archangel and With the sound of the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Now think of the time of the year then. If the first month of the year for the Hebrews in the ancient world was During the Passover the first month of the year then would have been in the spring. What time of the year then is it if you count seven months from the Passover?
It's fall. It's the harvest. It's on the edge of winter. So, you know then the Feast of Trumpets is a type and shadow Pointing to the return of Christ the end of the harvest. Right, and so you'll note that the Feast of Pentecost Is given the next feast is the Feast of Trumpets and the close of the harvest the bringing in of the sheaves the end of the world all the shoutings over and time to celebrate.
You get the idea. All right, we'll pick up the rest of the feasts next week.