Old Covenant cf. New Covenant

Joshua 18:1–19:9, 2 Corinthians 12:1–10, Psalm 56:1–13

The OT regulations for land allotment did not include the priests. “To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him . . .  The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage . . .” (Joshua 13:14 and 18:7)

In the book of Numbers, the Lord explained that He would be “your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel” and that “the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.” (Numbers 18:20–24)

In the NT, God tells Christians that we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) There is nothing about inheriting land or land allotment, only that all of God’s people now inherit eternal life.

I don’t know for sure, but it seems like the old covenant is a fuzzy picture that becomes clearer in the new covenant. The priests were people wholly dedicated to God, serving on behalf of others. They got no land from God, but neither do God’s NT priests. For us, this is not our permanent dwelling place. The earth is not our home. We look forward to our eternal home, and for now are like Jesus who owned nothing yet owns everything. I’m learning about the types and shadows in the OT and if this is not one of them, it is an interesting comparison.

The NT verses for today remind me not to get too excited about the discoveries that I make for God isn’t going to let me have a swelled head about anything. He said these amazing verses to Paul, a much wiser and more knowledgeable Christian than I’ll ever be . . .

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7–10)

I don’t mind the weakness part nearly as much as I once did. Along with the psalmist, I am able to say . . .

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?  . . . You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?  . . . I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. (Psalm 56:3-4, 8-11, 12–13)

Thank you, Jesus, for the most amazing day of blessing, weakness, and contentment.

My faithful High Priest

Some church traditions include a priest who acts as an intermediary between the church members and God. When there is sin to confess, this is made to the priest who then offers forgiveness.

However, there is a better way. Instead of priests who sin themselves, Jesus “has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this once for all when He offered up himself.” (Hebrews 7:27)

To those who have a personal relationship with Jesus, John wrote, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1) This means that I can go to Jesus, my High Priest, to confess my sin and receive forgiveness. He is my intercessor with God.

The Bible gives more reasons for Jesus as High Priest. One of these is that He lives forever, therefore is always available to sinners of every generation, no matter when or where we live. 

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but He holds his priesthood permanently, because He continues forever. 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. (Hebrews 7:23–25)

I love that word “uttermost” — which means full-ended, completion. If I confess my sin to another person, he might be able to assure me that God forgives sin because of the sacrifice Jesus made for me, but only Jesus can forgive AND remove that sin.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

This is a lifetime process, yet cleansing is a reality. The more willingly I draw near to God, the more He is at work in my heart. He changes the way that I think and how I respond to others. He takes away bad attitudes. He replaces my grouchiness with a thankful heart.

Confession can be humiliating. Sin is difficult to admit to a loving, forgiving God, never mind another person who may not be as gracious. Yet because of Jesus, I know that God never turns His back on me. He is always ready to listen to my confession, forgive my sin, and change my life.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

He is my Priest in dry ground

Several hymns use the idea of “crossing Jordan” to represent believers dying and entering heaven. I’m reading Joshua and the description of this action, and for the Israelites, going into Canaan could hardly be anything similar to entering eternal bliss.

Instead, this action was the beginning of a new phase of obedience. They would be involved in battle as they fought to claim all that God promised them. It was the end of a life lived by their human effort and in rebellion, and the beginning of a life of faith and obedience. It was not a picture of entering eternal glory, not yet.

Most commentaries focus on how the crossing happened. The Bible says the Jordan was flooding at the time, but upstream about 15 miles the flow stopped—just when the priests put their feet in the water—and then the Israelites crossed over on dry land. The commentaries explain that a landslide may have stopped the water, since this happened on other occasions. Odd that here and in other Old Testament instances, the water stopped and the riverbed was dry—exactly when God’s people needed to cross.

At that point, the Jordan River was almost 1300 below sea level and close to flowing into the Dead Sea. It was wider than this photo, fairly shallow, but muddy and filled with silt and minerals. I can imagine a landslide, but I cannot imagine, even in the heat of that area, that this riverbed could dry up that quickly.

Aside from that, the verse that catches my attention says, “Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.”

Other passages in the Bible about dry ground describe barren, difficult places, even calls them places that God creates for those who disobey. One passage also describes Jesus as being like a “root growing out of dry ground.” That gives me an image of incredible life happening in a place that it normally would not happen, a tough and uncomfortable place.

The Bible also shows how priests represented God to the people and the people to God. Since Jesus came, He is God’s High priest, our access to the Father and the One who intercedes for us before the Father’s throne.

If this event in the Old Testament is depicting what happens to God’s people in the New Testament, and if it is about God calling us into a new phase of obedience, then the priests going first and standing on the dry ground makes perfect sense.

Jesus goes before me into every phase of the life that He calls me to live. He has ‘been there, done that’ in the truest and most encouraging sense. The battles that God calls me into are trials that will help me become the person He wants me to be, the person He promises that I will become. But to enter into my “promised land” I must go through some barren places. I must fight what seems like impossible battles.

Jesus stands there in the barren places, my Priest. He will not move until I am safely on the other side.

My devotional book takes this thought one step farther and reminds me that I too am a priest of God. I intercede for others and bear witness to them of God’s grace and faithfulness. In my journey and battles for all that He promises me, He may call me to stand in barren places too, watching and caring for others until they are also safe on the other side.