And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said,"I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things, and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Gen 6:6)
"For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you." (Gen 6:18)
Lessons:
1. In Genesis 6, the author speaks of an absolute depravity that prevailed among humankind in those days. There was no good to be found in men's hearts or minds anymore. God determined to bring judgement to man's sin, and the judgement would be a universal, worldwide one. This was a judgement by floodwaters. In the last days, God will again destroy the world and cleanse it, this time by fire.
"Scoffers will come in the last days, with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say,'Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgement and destruction of the ungodly." (2 Peter 3:3-7)
The same apostasy, and wickedness, will be present in the Last Days.
"And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold." (Matthew 24:12)
God has already indicated that He will destroy the old world by fire; it is only a matter of time before He pours out his wrath again on mankind. God's judgement upon sin is coming. What we need is a way of escape.
2. Noah put his hope in the Ark, which God told him to build as a means of safety and refuge. Likewise, our hope is in our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jesus is our Ark, the only one through whom we may be spared the judgement to come. The Ark shows that we are spared from God's wrath through Christ, our substitute. The propitiatory wrath of God fell on Jesus, just as the wrath of God fell on the Ark rather than those inside.
"He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10) (Propitiation: Work of Christ on the Cross which met the demands of the righteousness of God against sin… satisfying the requirements of God's justice.)
Jesus said,"Truly truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24)
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)
Jesus said,"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out… And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day." (John 6:37,39)
Like Noah, by faith, we must be moved to trust in Jesus for the saving of our souls.
3. The Ark shows God's provision of salvation in Christ; this was forethought, not afterthought. Before the Flood came, God ordained that Noah and his family should be saved in the ark. He was told to construct it 120 years before the Floodwaters. Likewise, salvation through Christ was not something God planned only after the fall of man. This was the plan of God from eternity past, and Christ "was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8)
4. The Ark shows that Christ is the only way to salvation. There is only one door to the Ark. Likewise, there is only one way of escape from the wrath to come.
Jesus said," No man comes to the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
5. The Ark shows the absolute security of those who are in Christ.
Once Noah was in the Ark, God Himself "shut him in".
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:5)
6. Ahead of the impending judgement of God, 2 Peter cautions us with the injunction to live obediently and expectantly before God. We are also called to be watchful.
"Since everything will be destroyed in this sort of way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." (2 Peter 3:11, 12)
"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:28)
"Father, we acknowledge that we live in a world of darkness and sin and that we in ourselves are weak and helpless. We need help; we need a Saviour. We thank you, Father, for the story of Noah and the ark and the way in which it points to Jesus Christ our ark. Move us to find our refuge and our hope in Christ even as we accept your Word as truth. Hear us, we pray, for Jesus' sake. Amen."
*Text taken from Christian Reformed Church ((https://www.crcna.org), and "The Typology of the Ark" by Dr R.L Hymers, Jr (www.rlhymersjr.com)
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Picture of Christ as sacrificial lamb from Genesis 3
When Adam & Eve sinned in the Garden, and God made skins to cover their nakedness, this was a foreshadowing of the death of Christ to cover our sin. I realise as early as Genesis 3, the Bible pointed to the need for a coming Messiah, the Lamb of God. Indeed, the whole word of Truth tells from early on the need for redemption, which only God can initiate, and fully provide for. Thank you Father! Thank you Lord Jesus!
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves loincloths. (Gen 3:6-7)
"And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins of clothed them." (Gen 3:21)
Lessons:
1. From Genesis 3, we see the first sacrifice in the Bible. This followed man's disobedience. Adam and Eve tried a poor cover-up for their guilt and shame (fig leaves) but God, even in chastising them and before chasing them out of Eden, chose skins to cover them.
2. In the Scripture, garments are symbols of righteousness, either God's all-sufficient righteousness or man's self-made righteousness.
"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." (Isaiah 64:6)
The coats of skin which the Lord clothed Adam and Eve in represent righteousness provided by Him which allowed them to stand in His holy presence. This foreshadowed the redemptive work to be done by Christ: only in Christ is a man's nakedness properly covered.
3. To provide the garments of skin, an animal had to be slain. This was a "substitutionary death", an innocent sacrifice. The animal that was killed (probably a lamb) was an innocent victim. This principle of sacrifice and covering of sins is an eternal divine principle from which there is no deviation. This foreshadowed the death of Christ Jesus … which in the fullness of time, God himself provided as a perfect sacrifice to cover our sins and make us perfectly righteous before Him.
The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)
Jesus Christ was the just dying for the unjust, the innocent Lamb dying for the guilty sinner.
4. There is only one way for a sinner to approach a holy God, and that is through shed blood.
"Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin." (Hebrews 9:22)
"God made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
"Knowing that you were ransomed… not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19)
5. Salvation is a work of grace. The animal was God's gift and not the work of man. The Lord furnished the skins to cover Adam and Eve. They did nothing satisfactorily to cover themselves. The only sacrifice God will accept is His work and His gift.
(Adam's leaf covering was sufficient only to cover his loins. God's provision was sufficient to cover his whole body.)
6. The crimson thread is developed throughout Scriptures until the grand climax in Revelation.
Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." (Genesis 22:8)
Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your house to strike you." (Exodus 12:21-23)
"He (Jesus) was oppressed and he was afflicted,
Yet he opened not his mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
And like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
So he opened not his mouth…
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
He has put him to grief." (Isaiah 53:7-8, 10)
"Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)
And they sang a new song. saying,
"Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood
you ransomed people for God
from every tribe, and language, and
people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom
and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth." (Revelation 5:9-10)
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" (Revelation 5:12)
"And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb." (Rev 21:22)
7. In the fullness of time, God sent His Son Jesus to make atonement for sin once for all. What begins as small ray of light in Genesis shines forth in full noonday sun in the Gospels. Jesus died for our sins, yours and mine. God provided the perfect sacrifice in His Lamb, but man must appropriate it by faith.
"My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and righteousness."
*Text quoted from Wil Pounds (www.abideinchrist.com)
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves loincloths. (Gen 3:6-7)
"And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins of clothed them." (Gen 3:21)
Lessons:
1. From Genesis 3, we see the first sacrifice in the Bible. This followed man's disobedience. Adam and Eve tried a poor cover-up for their guilt and shame (fig leaves) but God, even in chastising them and before chasing them out of Eden, chose skins to cover them.
2. In the Scripture, garments are symbols of righteousness, either God's all-sufficient righteousness or man's self-made righteousness.
"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." (Isaiah 64:6)
The coats of skin which the Lord clothed Adam and Eve in represent righteousness provided by Him which allowed them to stand in His holy presence. This foreshadowed the redemptive work to be done by Christ: only in Christ is a man's nakedness properly covered.
3. To provide the garments of skin, an animal had to be slain. This was a "substitutionary death", an innocent sacrifice. The animal that was killed (probably a lamb) was an innocent victim. This principle of sacrifice and covering of sins is an eternal divine principle from which there is no deviation. This foreshadowed the death of Christ Jesus … which in the fullness of time, God himself provided as a perfect sacrifice to cover our sins and make us perfectly righteous before Him.
The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)
Jesus Christ was the just dying for the unjust, the innocent Lamb dying for the guilty sinner.
4. There is only one way for a sinner to approach a holy God, and that is through shed blood.
"Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin." (Hebrews 9:22)
"God made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
"Knowing that you were ransomed… not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19)
5. Salvation is a work of grace. The animal was God's gift and not the work of man. The Lord furnished the skins to cover Adam and Eve. They did nothing satisfactorily to cover themselves. The only sacrifice God will accept is His work and His gift.
(Adam's leaf covering was sufficient only to cover his loins. God's provision was sufficient to cover his whole body.)
6. The crimson thread is developed throughout Scriptures until the grand climax in Revelation.
Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." (Genesis 22:8)
Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your house to strike you." (Exodus 12:21-23)
"He (Jesus) was oppressed and he was afflicted,
Yet he opened not his mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
And like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
So he opened not his mouth…
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
He has put him to grief." (Isaiah 53:7-8, 10)
"Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)
And they sang a new song. saying,
"Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood
you ransomed people for God
from every tribe, and language, and
people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom
and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth." (Revelation 5:9-10)
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" (Revelation 5:12)
"And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb." (Rev 21:22)
7. In the fullness of time, God sent His Son Jesus to make atonement for sin once for all. What begins as small ray of light in Genesis shines forth in full noonday sun in the Gospels. Jesus died for our sins, yours and mine. God provided the perfect sacrifice in His Lamb, but man must appropriate it by faith.
"My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and righteousness."
*Text quoted from Wil Pounds (www.abideinchrist.com)
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Starting 2016
Starting 2016, quoting from an Xmas present I received - a wonderful book by John Stott, the preacher and avid bird watcher. The book is called "The Birds, our teachers."
In a chapter on "The migration of storks", John Stott talks of the homing instinct of birds.
"Even when they are taken to an unfamiliar place and released, they can still find their way home. Pigeons, for example, have been famous for this for centuries, indeed ever since Noah's dove found its way back to the ark (Gen 8:8-12). During WWII, 'pigeon post' became so valuable that the British Air Ministry initiated a register of carrier pigeons and sought to destroy all Peregrine Falcons, which are the principal predators of pigeons. In 1943, a special medal was awarded by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals to a pigeon named 'Winkie', because it had helped rescue the crew of a Bristol Beaufort, which had crashed into the North Sea, by carrying an emergency message more than 120 miles."
"Another example of the 'homing' instinct of birds is of special interest to me. Since 1954, I have had a cottage on the coast of Pembrokeshire in south-west Wales. Offshore are the islands of Skomer and Skokholm, on which more than 200,000 pairs of Manx Shearwaters are believed to breed. Manx Shearwaters are birds of the open ocean, which winter as far south as the coast of Argentina. They come to land only to breed, and lay their single egg underneath at the end of a rabbit burrow. In 1952, one was taken from Skokholm and released inland in Cambridge, about 240 miles away; it was back in its burrow seven hours later. On another occasion, a Manx Shearwater was flown 3,000 miles from Skokholm across the Atlantic, and released at Boston's Logan International Airport. Twelve and a half days later, it had returned to its burrow home, having travelled an average of 250 miles a day."
Would that we had as strong a homing instinct spiritually as birds have physically! The more we come to recognise that God is the true home of the human spirit, and that we are waifs and strays without him, the more quickly and painfully will we become aware of even the smallest estrangement from him, and the more eagerly will we return to him. For when we come back, we have come home.
I am challenged … entering 2016 … to know where home is. It is at the bosom of the Father, near the heart of my elder brother and Lord, Jesus. It is in His presence, knowing the nearness of Him. It is being in the Father's house, His holy habitation. It is being at the centre of His will, following Him as He leads (like the pillar of Cloud by day and Fire by night).
"Lord Jesus, please help me to know where Home is. Home is where my Heart is. Help me to know where to store up real treasure too. For where my treasure is, there my heart will be also. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."
In a chapter on "The migration of storks", John Stott talks of the homing instinct of birds.
"Even when they are taken to an unfamiliar place and released, they can still find their way home. Pigeons, for example, have been famous for this for centuries, indeed ever since Noah's dove found its way back to the ark (Gen 8:8-12). During WWII, 'pigeon post' became so valuable that the British Air Ministry initiated a register of carrier pigeons and sought to destroy all Peregrine Falcons, which are the principal predators of pigeons. In 1943, a special medal was awarded by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals to a pigeon named 'Winkie', because it had helped rescue the crew of a Bristol Beaufort, which had crashed into the North Sea, by carrying an emergency message more than 120 miles."
"Another example of the 'homing' instinct of birds is of special interest to me. Since 1954, I have had a cottage on the coast of Pembrokeshire in south-west Wales. Offshore are the islands of Skomer and Skokholm, on which more than 200,000 pairs of Manx Shearwaters are believed to breed. Manx Shearwaters are birds of the open ocean, which winter as far south as the coast of Argentina. They come to land only to breed, and lay their single egg underneath at the end of a rabbit burrow. In 1952, one was taken from Skokholm and released inland in Cambridge, about 240 miles away; it was back in its burrow seven hours later. On another occasion, a Manx Shearwater was flown 3,000 miles from Skokholm across the Atlantic, and released at Boston's Logan International Airport. Twelve and a half days later, it had returned to its burrow home, having travelled an average of 250 miles a day."
Would that we had as strong a homing instinct spiritually as birds have physically! The more we come to recognise that God is the true home of the human spirit, and that we are waifs and strays without him, the more quickly and painfully will we become aware of even the smallest estrangement from him, and the more eagerly will we return to him. For when we come back, we have come home.
I am challenged … entering 2016 … to know where home is. It is at the bosom of the Father, near the heart of my elder brother and Lord, Jesus. It is in His presence, knowing the nearness of Him. It is being in the Father's house, His holy habitation. It is being at the centre of His will, following Him as He leads (like the pillar of Cloud by day and Fire by night).
"Lord Jesus, please help me to know where Home is. Home is where my Heart is. Help me to know where to store up real treasure too. For where my treasure is, there my heart will be also. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."
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