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Joshua 3; Psalms 126–128; Isaiah 63; Matthew 11

Happy Canada Day! This is a great place to live!

Hundreds of years ago, God gave His people a great place to live too. The first chapters of Joshua describe the beginning of that new life. Moses, who gave them God’s Law, passed leadership to Joshua, whose name means Jehovah saves, the same meaning as the name of Jesus. The main event is crossing a river. God instructs Joshua that the priests go first. They carry the Ark of the Covenant and when their feet enter the water it stops flowing upstream and the people cross on dry land.

I wondered why this? When Moses led the people out of bondage in Egypt, they crossed water too, but all Moses had to do was give the order by lifting his staff. One of my commentaries explains: “When the symbol of God’s presence is in the river, the waters will miraculously cease to flow.”

God’s still small whisper often says things that stop me in awe. Is this important event pointing to a truth about the role of priests? I looked it up in a Hebrew word book and found their primary function was to officiate at the sanctuary and pray on behalf of the people. They were also to set a personal example of holiness, to inquire of God, teach the law and serve as judges. Priests were the first to enter the promised land.

In other words, the priests were more than a symbol. They are also intercessors who take the needs and sacrifices of the people before the Lord, offering them on their behalf. In this case, the Promised Land was the place where God’s people would live out the fullness that God wanted for them. They had to obey God but the priests had a huge role in leading the way and showing them how to live, as did the prophets and kings who came later.

My word book goes on to say that the OT priests were types of Christ. He accomplished the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the people. The prophets later suggest a future reappearance of Levites. For instance, Jeremiah 33:18 says, “the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.” This points to Christ however the NT also says Christians are a priesthood also:

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4–5)

God’s whisper hints that this story in the OT illustrates the truth to come in the NT, that Jesus is my high priest who leads me into the life that He promised, a full and abundant life. Since the Bible also says I am part of His holy priesthood, this reinforces my role in His kingdom of being an intercessor that leads others by prayer and example into the fullness of life in Christ. I am immediately on my knees. This is huge, seems impossible. I don’t see it. Yet God, as He often does, tells me I am not to walk by sight but by faith. Then He adds these thoughts . . .

“Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.” (Psalm 128:1–2)

“ . . . Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit, who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble. Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name.” (Isaiah 63:11–14)

“ . . .  Jesus declared, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.’” (Matthew 11:25–26)

APPLY: Worship the Lord who has given me a place in His kingdom as one of His many priests. All of us are to intercede for His people and for those not yet His people. Sometimes I become impatient or fatigued with praying, but He encourages me with His Word and with knowing Jesus lives forever to intercede for me. I must keep on doing the same.

 

 

Why am I still here?

Numbers 3; Psalm 37; Song of Songs 1; Hebrews 1

With this pandemic news, I’m thinking of a few near-death experiences. The first was early in life when rheumatic fever put me in the hospital twice. Two doctors gave up, one stuck with it. My mother prayed and I survived. Health issues have threatened since, enough to cause the question: why am I still here?

I tell others that God has a purpose for their lives. What about mine? However, the Lord gave me something that defines my purpose. His message began in Numbers, of all places.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the LORD.” (Numbers 3:11–13)

God’s angel of death took all the firstborn in Egypt when He delivered His people from bondage in that place. However, He spared the firstborn males of Israel at that time. He declared that all the firstborn of men and animals should belong to Him. This principle resulted in the tribe of Levi appointed to serve the Lord full time as a substitute for all the firstborn of the other tribes.

This principle is a pattern for the new covenant explained in the New Testament. The death all should suffer because of sin has been given God’s grace by the blood of another lamb, the supreme Passover Lamb:

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. (1 Corinthians 5:7)

That is, I have been saved by the shedding of His blood. By faith, I now belong to Him because He redeemed me from the death my sins deserve, not a physical death but a spiritual death that would separate me from God forever. Redemption involves being set free from bondage to sin by the payment of a price. God says that whoever experiences that redemption becomes His . . .

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)

Because I am His, I am to serve Him with my whole life, just as the Levites were marked out as His priests. In fact, that is a major part of why I am here; I belong to a new nation, a nation of priests.

You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)

Many Scriptures describe the role and the character of God’s priests. I am to be holy, to praise and worship Him, but also to intercede in prayer on behalf of His people, offering myself as a “living sacrifice” for God’s use. My role is to serve God full time, doing whatever He asks of me. I’m hearing His constant call to pray, to be a priest, to intercede for others and take their concerns to Him, particularly when they are not able, for whatever reason, to approach Him themselves.

APPLY: My immediate thought is that a priest does not offer my opinions or assumptions, nor tell God what to do. I’m to pray in His will. That is not as easy as it sounds. It is a sacred duty, not bringing God a ‘gimme list’ but considering what He is doing and taking very seriously what I say to God. A big reason why I am here is because He put me into an army of priests that belong to Him and all of us are to pray without ceasing.