Category: Scripture

Joshua 2

Rahab Hides the Spies

2:1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent¹ two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. 2 And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.

8 Before the men² lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.³ 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign 13 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”

15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. 16 And she said⁴ to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.” 17 The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. 20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.” 21 And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

22 They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. 23 Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.”

Footnotes

[1] 2:1 Or had sent

[2] 2:8 Hebrew they

[3] 2:10 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)

[4] 2:16 Or had said

(ESV)

Joshua 1

God Commissions Joshua

1:1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success¹ wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua Assumes Command

10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’”

12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, ‘The LORD your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

Footnotes

[1] 1:7 Or may act wisely

(ESV)

Exodus 40

The Tabernacle Erected

40:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. 4 And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, 7 and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.

9 “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. 10 You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. 11 You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. 12 Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water 13 and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. 14 You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, 15 and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

16 This Moses did; according to all that the LORD commanded him, so he did. 17 In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. 18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 20 He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 22 He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, 23 and arranged the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 24 He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, 25 and set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 26 He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 28 He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30 He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, 31 with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the LORD commanded Moses. 33 And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

The Glory of the Lord

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

(ESV)

Going Deeper

Exodus 35-40 (1-27-18)

Today we finish our reading through Exodus. These last 5 chapters are full of the details given for the building of the Tabernacle and the priestly garments. While it would be interesting to mine down into these details, I want to instead look at what to point us to. Jesus. In Christ, much of the Old Covenant system is fulfilled. So, today I want to take some time and show us how Jesus himself is the truer and better tabernacle and Priest.

Look with me at: John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”.

The word “dwelt” here means Tabernacled.

Dwelt : to tent or encamp, to occupy, to reside (as God did in the Tabernacle of old).

When He took on flesh, God the Son (Jesus) pitched His tent on earth for thirty-three years. This is a key fulfillment in reference to the tabernacle of Israel we read about in Exodus. The Old Covenant tabernacle had a typical significance in that it foreshadowed God the Son incarnate. Let’s see how the Old Covenant Tabernacle is the type of the anti-type who is Jesus.

1. The “tabernacle” was a temporary appointment. In this, it differed from the temple of Solomon, which was a permanent structure. The tabernacle was merely a tent, a temporary convenience, something that was suited to be moved about from place to place during the journeying of the children of Israel. So it was when our blessed Lord tabernacled here among men. His stay was but a brief one—less than forty years; and, like the type, He abode not long in any one place, but was constantly on the move—unwearied in the activity of His love.
2. The “tabernacle” was God’s dwelling place. It was there, in the midst of Israel’s camp, He took up His abode. There, between the cherubim upon the mercy seat He made His throne. In the holy of holies He manifested His presence by means of the Shekinah glory. And during the thirty-three years that the Word tabernacled among men, God had His dwelling place in Palestine. The holy of holies received its anti-typical fulfillment in the Son of God. Just as the Shekinah dwelt between the two cherubim, so on the mount of transfiguration the glory of the God-man flashed forth from between two men—Moses and Elijah. “We beheld his glory” is the language of the tabernacle type.

Now look at the second part of John 1:14.

John 1:14b “and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father”.

The phrase “We have seen” here doesn’t translate deep enough in my opinion.

The word “seen” here is better translated “beheld”. To behold means: to look closely at; or intently at. John’s comment here is directly referring to the first disciples, yet it is the blessed experience of all who are in Christ today. In this, I want to be sure we grasp the fullness of the difference between just seeing something and beholding something. You see a lot of things in your daily life. But what are the things you stop and really behold? Just the practice of beholding is lost on us much of the time as we live in a fast paced, fast travel, fast food, fast download speeds, have it now and move on kind of culture.

One of the questions we could really stop and ask this morning is what are you beholding? Or what is worthy of beholding? The problem in our sin is that we often behold the wrong things.

I want you to think of the things you really slow down and behold. The things you don’t just see but the things you behold? Here is what is very sobering. Often the things we are guilty of making time to behold are sinful things. What are the images or scenes or people that you behold? That you look intently or closely at? I am not going to list what they could be because I think if you stop long enough and are honest enough you will see what I am talking about.

I want you to now consider this game-changing reality in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We can behold his glory. Please don’t toss aside what this means for us.

2 Corinthians 3:18

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

In Isaiah 6, Isaiah is looking into heaven and he says, “Behold, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted. The train of his robe filled the temple, and around him were angels crying out, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty! Heaven and earth are full of his glory!’”

Fast forward. John 12:41 where John says, “Isaiah saw Jesus and spoke of his glory.”

So, the picture that Isaiah experienced of heaven being open was a glimpse into the majesty and the glory of the presence of Jesus, seated on a throne, ruling over all peoples, times, and places, and being worshiped as God.

The Old Testament celebrities only had occasional and passing glimpses of God’s glory. But, in contrast from these who only “saw,” we “behold” His glory. But more particularly, there is a contrast here between the beholding and the non-beholding of God’s glory.

This is good news because the Shekinah glory resided only in the holy of holies before Christ, and therefore was veiled or hidden. But now we behold His divine glory!

“The glories of our Lord are infinite, for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. No subject ought to be dearer to the heart of a believer. ” AW Pink

“We beheld his glory” refers to His essential “glory,” or divine perfections. This is clear from the words which follow: “The glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” From the beginning to the end of His earthly life and ministry, the Deity of the then Jehovah was again in Israel’s midst.

And it is a remarkable fact to which we have never seen attention called, that at either extremity of the Word’s tabernacling among men, the Shekinah glory was evidenced. Immediately following His birth we are told, “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.” (Luke 2:8-9 KJV). And, at His departure from this world, we read “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9 KJV)—not clouds, but a cloud! We beheld his glory, then, refers, first, to His divine glory.

AWESOME! God is so good.

Now, let’s shift our attention to the passages we read about the priests and their holy garments. These, too, point us to Christ in such a powerful way.

A priest always denotes one who interceded and offered sacrifices on behalf of the people.

In Hebrews, it says, “where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:20) The priest was the God appointed office of intercessor for the people.

As Priest, Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for all our sin. In the Old Testament, the high priest was the mediator between the holy God and sinful people specifically those in the old covenant. As mediator, the high priest entered the holy place and offered a sacrifice to God on behalf of the people once a year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:34). He sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat “because of the uncleanness of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins” (Leviticus 16:16).

In the Old Covenant system, the priest did this year after year after year. In contrast, Christ, as our Mediator and High Priest, not only offered the sacrifice (once and for all his people), but He is the sacrifice. Like the high priest of old, Christ entered the holy place, but unlike the high priest, He entered to offer Himself. He had to enter only one time for He sprinkled His own blood on the mercy seat. As the writer of Hebrews reminds us:

Hebrews 9:11–14 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Why do we need a truer and better priest?

Hebrews 7:25 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.

Intercede = to appear on behalf of someone who is on trial.

I’ll explain with this example. I was randomly audited a few years ago by the IRS.

It was a random audit. Nothing illegal involved. They just pulled my number. All we had to do was prove that what we said were right offs were valid right offs by showing proof. So, if I prove these things I owe nothing. If I don’t, I owe thousands.

The problem is I don’t know how to rightly represent myself in these matters so I hired an intercessor. My tax accountant. Someone to represent me who knows what he is doing. Knows the technical jargon. The ins and outs.

Now, here is the key that we must understand if this makes sense. What do I look like in court?

I look like my intercessor. I didn’t even have to be there. He went before the judge and represented my case. The judge hears him while he thinks of ME! I AM IN HIM!

So, what it comes down to is if he is brilliant, then I am brilliant. And if he fails, then I fail.

Your intercessor represents you in the courtroom. You are in your intercessor.

Romans 8:34 says Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Jesus is the perfect intercessor for us because of his relationship with the rest of the trinity.

Now, look at this verse in Hebrews 7:26. Here we hear the understatement of the year!

Hebrews 7:26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. That is the understatement of the year!

Jesus alone can reconcile a holy God to a sinful people because He, as God, became a man and took upon Himself our sin. That’s why Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:5, “there is only mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ.”

Hebrews 4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God

Jesus took on flesh. He came here to be our great High Priest. His coming alone is amazing! But He didn’t just come. LOOK…

Realize: High priests were absolutely covered in gold and jewels. The net worth of a community was put into the robes of the high priest.

The other picture that is important to see is this: when you are in Christ and the Father looks up on you and sees Jesus, the HIGH PRIEST, He sees you as utterly beautiful. Completely accepted. Not because of ANY worth or work in/by you. Don’t get this mixed up. God doesn’t love you because you’re worthy, He loves you despite your unworthiness BECAUSE of Jesus– because of grace made possible by Jesus. You were marvelously brought into God’s family.

Oh, how wonderful it is that Jesus is all these things to us. God is so good to provide for us such a perfect and all satisfying answer in Christ. Join me in praising God for his mighty plan. Praise Jesus for his perfect work while tabernacling here on earth now every day as He intercedes for us before the Father.

By His grace and for His glory,

-Shepherd

Soldiers for Jesus MC

Exodus 39

Making the Priestly Garments

39:1 From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments,¹ for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

2 He made the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 3 And they hammered out gold leaf, and he cut it into threads to work into the blue and purple and the scarlet yarns, and into the fine twined linen, in skilled design. 4 They made for the ephod attaching shoulder pieces, joined to it at its two edges. 5 And the skillfully woven band on it was of one piece with it and made like it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

6 They made the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold filigree, and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. 7 And he set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

8 He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, in the style of the ephod, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 9 It was square. They made the breastpiece doubled, a span² its length and a span its breadth when doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; 11 and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. 14 There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 15 And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 16 And they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 17 And they put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 18 They attached the two ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree. Thus they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 19 Then they made two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 20 And they made two rings of gold, and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it should lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

22 He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue, 23 and the opening of the robe in it was like the opening in a garment, with a binding around the opening, so that it might not tear. 24 On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 25 They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe, between the pomegranates—26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

27 They also made the coats, woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, 28 and the turban of fine linen, and the caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen, 29 and the sash of fine twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, embroidered with needlework, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

30 They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the LORD.” 31 And they tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did. 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 34 the covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins, and the veil of the screen; 35 the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat; 36 the table with all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 37 the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; 38 the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent; 39 the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its stand; 40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for their service as priests. 42 According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.

Footnotes

[1] 39:1 Or garments for worship

[2] 39:9 A span was about 9 inches or 22 centimeters

(ESV)